Chapter Text
It was late when he got back to base.
It was even later when he hit the outdoor showers, to wash off the stale sweat and dirt - souvenirs of a day spent out in the desert. Somalia was hot - scorching hot, and even the nights could be warm and clammy. Tonight was one of those nights, and Sullivan felt hot and sticky again by the time he reached his barrack tent.
'Yo, Bobby,' a voice called out quietly, careful not to disturb the men actually getting some shut eye. Rob hadn't been on aid rotation today, but instead of catching up on sleep he was up, waiting for Sullivan to get back, sprawled out in one of the crappy folding camping chairs scattered outside of the tent.
Sullivan broke out in a sweat that had nothing to do with the weather as his stomach dropped violently.
'Something happen, Rob?' His voice hoarse from a day spent in the arid desert.
'I'm fine dipshit,' he kicked the chair next to him, 'sit with me - need to tell you something.'
They'd installed a policy after Sullivan's awkward coming-out. Of course brokered by Mrs. Maitra, who was ten times more mature than both of them combined. It was called the no-bullshit-between-us-policy. They told each other their shit now: it was blunt and to the point, and it worked for them.
'What's up?'
Liam asked, sitting down.
Rob tossed him a bottle of water. 'Drink. You sound and look like shit.'
Liam did as told before saying: 'Why do I have a feeling I should actually be drinking vodka for whatever you have to say?'
Rob cracked a grin. 'Nah, it's okay, Liam. You remember how my satellite phone was acting up?'
He nodded: your communication crapping out in the middle of nowhere was every Marine's nightmare and Rob had been bitching about his faulty phone for days.
'Took advantage of my day on base to get it looked at. Some of the guys told me to go see this one communications specialist in particular. A genuine mister-fix-it. Young Corporal by the name of Cope.'
Cope.
Corporal Cope.
It took longer than it should for Liam to remember how to breath. 'Bullshit.'
It had to be bullshit.
Cope - wasn't a run of the mill kind of name, but it wasn't exotic either. There was bound to be at least one more Cope serving and there were thousands of marines in Mogadishu. There was no way in hell this Corporal Cope was his recruit Cope.
Cope had gotten a front row seat to the absolute clusterfuck of a man Sergeant Liam Bobby Sullivan had become - there was no way he was still serving.
'Yeah, that's what I thought,' Rob drawled. 'But you know me - had to check for myself.'
There was a beat of silence. Liam cleared his throat. 'And?'
Rob grinned. 'Your boy's nice for a Marine. Quirky though.'
'Not my boy, Rob,' Liam said sinking down into his chair, jaw set so tightly he was afraid he was going to break his teeth.
Two years had gone by. Two years of fixing himself, forgiving himself - two years of surviving without a bottle of booze to pull him through and now Cameron Cope was in fucking Somalia. In the same fucking camp as him.
'He saved your ass, Bobby. And you haven't stopped talking about him since.'
Liam let out a sigh. 'It wasn't like that, Rob. You know it wasn't.'
'I wouldn't know what it was like because you were too busy being a martyr to tell your brother shit,' Rob stated. 'What I do know is that it's been two damn years and you still talk about him at least once a week.'
'Because I don't understand why,' Liam snapped. 'I fucked with that kid's head, Rob. I made his life even harder than it had to be! I tried to fucking destroy him. And what did he do when I was about to nuke my life? He stepped up for me - he lied for me-,'
'He did what I should have done,' Rob said quietly, taking a drink from his own bottle of water, his face stormy. He'd been angry when Liam had finally told him the truth. But not for the reason Liam had expected...
Rob had been angry that Liam hadn't told him, that he hadn't trusted him, that he hadn't thought Rob cared enough to stick around. They'd thrown hands over it. And Liam had cried when he'd realised why exactly Rob had been so spitting mad.
'I didn't want to put that on you, Robby,' Liam said knocking their knees together. 'I told you.'
Rob cleared his throat. 'I'm glad he helped you.' The "I don't want to lose you" went unspoken, but heard. Rob was his family, and he knew he was his too. 'Even if helping you meant telling everyone about your brain damage,' he added with a grin.
Liam threw his bottle at him. Rob caught it laughing.
'Asshole,' Liam mumbled with a small grin.
'You should go see him.'
'What I should do is leave the kid alone.'
'He's not a kid - he's a marine. If he wants you to fuck off, he'll tell you.'
Liam let out an amused huff, running a hand over his face. 'He's too polite for that.'
'Didn't he once throw a bucket of piss on someone? If he wants you gone, Liam. I'm sure he'll fucking tell you.'
'I outrank him.'
'Yeah, and he out-dirts you. Cope could ruin your life if he wanted to, but here's the thing: I think he'd rather put a bullet through his head than hurt you and that's exactly what you need man,' Rob said with a pointed look. 'Now get your damn shit together and go talk to him. I'm not saying it has to be like...romantic and shit. I just think it will be good for you. Your brooding martyr shit is getting old.'
Liam took a deep breath. 'NCIS asked him if I was fucking him - point blank,' he closed his eyes, the humiliation still fresh even after two years. 'I can only imagine how fucked up that must've been. Kid was a virgin, hadn't been passed second base with a girl and there he was getting questioned wether or not I bent him over my office desk.'
'You were cleared,' Rob reminded him. 'Cope and that friend of his really sold the fact there wasn't anything between the two of you. And they couldn't prove jack shit about you and the Major.'
'They sold it because there really was nothing going on,' Liam said leaning back and glaring at the night's sky.
'You're soft on him Bobby, it's okay to be soft sometimes. Isn't that what you said at my wedding? Go visit Cope. If not for yourself than do it to clear the air or some shit. Go thank him or apologise, I don't know. Just - I think you need to do this.'
'What I need to do is sleep,' Liam said shoving himself back onto his tired legs. 'And so do you, let's go.'
Rob groaned as he got up, limbs stiff. 'Just so you know: I'm not going to let this go, Bobby.'
'Wasn't counting on it, Robby.'