Mettle of Honor (gxg)

Chapter 1

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A/N - Okay, so let's just get this out there. These works are mine. My poor little brain came up with the plots and characters, and I'd really prefer you to not steal them. If you're reading this on a site that is NOT Wattpad then it is most certainly stolen. No, I really don't want them converted into fanfics or into other languages as well.

Thanks!

Loiosh

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              "And with that, I'd like to say congratulations to the class of 2024!" the school principal intoned. "You've officially graduated!"

Through the caps flying through the air, four young women eagerly sought each other out. The graduation ceremony had been held on the football field, and at the far end under the goalposts, Sara took her fiancé Kate in her arms, while their friend Justice took her fiancé Elsie into her arms as well. The four of them had been inseparable for years while going to school in Charlotte, with Kate and Elsie having grown up together, and then Justice moving there ten years earlier when her father retired from the military. Last to join was Sara, who joined them when her mother moved back home after her father was killed in action in the military.

"We did it, little one," Justice picked up Elsie, who quickly wrapped her legs around the hips of the ebony skinned young woman who towered over her. Her auburn curls bounced as Justice spun her around, kissing her deeply. Looking at the pair, some onlookers turned away, not liking to see the interracial couple, while others curled their lips to see two women kissing, but neither girl cared. Justice's fists had taken care of too many people who had disrespected their relationship, and at this point nobody else was going to say a thing.

There wasn't nearly as much of a height difference between the other two, but Sara and Kate found themselves in an equally passionate kiss that left their surroundings a blur as they got lost in one another. Like Justice and Elsie, neither cared about the haters anymore. Sara might not be as tall as Justice, but the blonde with short, tousled hair had boxed for years, and had made sure people shut up about them too. Indeed, for several months her nose had a little curve to it from a broken nose that hadn't set properly when a guy tried to take Kate from her at a party once and it turned into a brawl. She finally got it fixed before prom so that Kate could have the cute pictures she wanted. "I can't wait to make you my wife," Sara murmured as they broke apart, both of them with happy tears in their eyes.

Kate's green eyes, which matched her ginger hair perfectly, nodded happily. "I can't either!"

The friends had all dated other people another off and on before Justice asked out Elsie. Kate was upset, as she was going to do the same thing, but then Sara asked Kate out, which turned out fine. The foursome finally found their rhythm over the summer between their sophomore and junior years, and those pairings just seemed to stick. Now, with high school over, the two couples planned to marry quickly before Justice and Sara took their oaths and joined the army, just like their fathers had many years ago. Justice already had a brother in the Air Force, but she would go into the Army like her dad had done. Sara was joining alongside her, and they hoped to serve together for as long as possible.

Kate and Elsie would be moving up to an apartment in Raleigh-Durham to go to UNC, and they would do college while the others did their enlistment. If they were lucky, which was hard to predict with military assignments, then they could move to wherever their wives would be stationed once they graduated.

Within minutes of their little celebration getting started, their parents were all gathered around them, joining in their hugs. There had been some issues with Elsie's parents over her relationship years ago, but they'd gradually grown to accept it. Part of that was because Justice's father, Clive, a giant of a man who still carried himself with a martial disposition, told them point blank that they were being racist and bigoted, and that their daughter would be more than welcome at his house with his daughter whenever she liked.