Title: Camoflauged Passion
Category: M/L
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Thanx to my beta, Lissalou, and the banner made by Amara.
Rating: ADULT
Summary: It's another star-crossed lovers fic. But I've never seen one quite like this.
Feedback: If you don't like, I don't continue.
CHAPTER 1
“I used to wear my baggy jeans!” The staff sergeant barked out.
“Used to wear my baggy jeans!” The soldiers repeated.
“Now I’m wearin army greens!”
“Now I’m wearin army greens!”
The staff sergeant ran next to the line formation of soldiers running up the steep slope of what the soldiers had dubbed NBC Hill.
“I used to drive a Cadillac!”
“Used to drive a Cadillac!”
“Now I ruck it on my back!”
“Now I ruck it on my back!” Liz Parker jogged up the hill while singing along to the cadence behind her roommate Maria DeLuca. Maria was in front of Liz starting to bend over a bit. Liz knew what that meant. She was going to quit any minute now. So Liz did the same thing she did every time Maria got to that point in a run, she put her hand on her back and helped push her forward to keep her moving.
“Come on, DeLuca, you can do this. We’re almost home,” Liz gasped out. She could hear Maria’s breathing getting heavier, but she wasn’t speaking. “Let’s go home, girl!”
She kept her hand on Maria’s back, pushing her along until SSG Markus yelled, “Quick time...march!” The soldiers came to a walk and marched along the street headed back to the grassy knoll they had started this 4 mile run on. “Left, left, left, right, left! Mark time...march!” SSG Markus called out and the soldiers began walking in place until he yelled “Halt!” He then told everybody to get in formation.
Once all the squads were formed up on the grass, the command sergeant major, CSM Evans came to the front to address her soldiers. “Good run, guys! Nobody fell out, that’s what I like to see.” She called them to attention and dismissed them to go do personal hygiene.
Liz and Maria drove back to the barracks in Maria’s red jetta. “Thanks for back there. I don’t think I would’ve made it without you.”
“That’s what friends are for,” Liz told her without thinking about it.
“So, what are we doing tonight, Parker?”
“Let’s go to Icon. It is Friday night.”
“Cool. What’s on the agenda for today?” Maria asked a little nervous.
“Gas chamber.”
“Oh thank God, easy training.”
Liz laughed at her best friend. Her and Maria met last year in Basic Training on Fort Jackson, South Carolina. They were roommates back then and went to AIT, job training, in the same place as roommates again, and finally made it to Fort Carson, Colorado, working together in Finance, and you guessed it, roommates once again.
Maria had been having some problems with her PT since she started Basic Training, but she has definitely gotten a lot better since then. Her run could still use some work, but everything is going great for her. Contrary to Liz, who was a runner in high school and has had no problems with her PT at all. So Liz likes to help Maria out every now and again. That’s what camaraderie is all about, anyway.
Liz joined the Army straight out of high school. She had no idea what she wanted to do with her life and figured that the Army would help her find it. At 19 years old, she was well on her way. Maria, also 19, on the other hand, told Liz that she had joined for the guys in uniform. Which is probably why Liz loved her job, and Maria hated it.
Once they got back to their barracks, Maria showered while Liz ironed her uniform. The barracks were relatively new, for that they were grateful. Just inside the door to the outside hall, was a little kitchenette, and a bathroom to the left. There were two doors right outside the bathroom, one room for each roommate. Inside each room was a bed, a walk in closet, a dresser, and a computer desk. Liz had a computer on her desk and they both had a 25 inch tv on top of their dressers. Maria had a large stereo in the corner of her room and was always blasting music. Not that it mattered, the halls were always packed with young soldiers partying. It was like living in a dorm which was kind of cool.
Since the war in Iraq started, soldiers have been partying extra hard, just in case they would be deploying anytime soon. They wanted to have as much as fun as possible first. Liz spent a lot of time studying to be a sergeant. She had a promotion board coming up and she didn’t want to blow it. She had been a specialist for a year now and wanted her stripes. Unlike Maria, who wanted nothing more than to continue being a specialist forever. Maria always told her, “Being a specialist is the shit! You’re nothing more than an overpaid private, and I love it. Too experienced to be put on crappy details, and too inexperienced to be blamed for your actions! Why would anyone wanna be a sergeant?” But Liz disagreed. She wanted the responsibility and the power, not to mention the extra money.
Once the girls were showered and dressed, they headed to the finance office to get ready to go out for training. Every Friday was a training day. So instead of dealing with pay problems and irritated soldiers, they went out and did some sort of training. Today they would be going to the gas chamber where they would don gas masks and get CS Gas thrown at them. It was easy training though, just like Maria had said.
They had all marched up NBC Hill to the gas chamber, this time in all their gear. The soldiers called it full battle rattle. It included a ruck sack, a gas mask, a helmet on their heads, and an M16 in their hands. The gear could get pretty heavy at times, and with the weather in May being 68 degrees outside, it got pretty hot underneath all that gear. By the time the unit had made it to the chamber, Liz and Maria were sweating bullets. Once they had been through the chamber, they were sitting on the grass with their helmets off, Liz and Maria started talking about their plans for the night.
“Yeah, so we’ll get back to the barracks, order a pizza, eat dinner, and head out around 10. Cool?”
“Yeah, that’ll work, Parker. Is anyone else coming?”
“No, just me and you...unless you wanna invite SGT Guerin, that is.” Liz referred to Maria’s crush. Michael worked with them in the office and Maria wanted nothing more than to jump his bones.
“What about me?” Sergeant Michael Guerin came upon the girls in grass.
“Hey, sarge, DeLuca and I were just wondering if you wanted to come clubbin with us tonight?”
“No thanks. I gotta be in some dumb ass parade tomorrow and I gotta be up at like 0600. Maybe Saturday though, alright?”
“Okay,” Liz told him as he walked off. Maria tilted her head to the side as she watched him walk away. Liz laughed at her friend and shook her head.
*********************
Liz and Maria walked into Icon, a local nightclub, at around 10:30, looking around for some prospective dance partners. They found a little table in the corner and Liz sat down while Maria went to grab a couple cokes. Liz scanned the area, just checking the place out when she saw the hottest guy in the club strut toward her. He had dark hair and tanned skin, but that’s all she could really see because of the lighting. He smiled as he approached her and leaned close to ask, “Don’t you smile? You are having fun, aren’t you?” Liz looked directly into his beautiful amber eyes, and smiled brightly for him. Then he asked her, “Wanna dance?” Liz nodded and allowed the handsome stranger to lead her to the floor.
TBC...
Tell me what you think please.
If I had known that this issue would cause such craziness, I might not have posted it. But then, what fun would that be? 
So, without further ado, on with the show!