Ad Astra Per Aspera [2] - Band of Brothers

24 | broken

* heavy topics - reader discretion is advised *

" We will carry pieces of all those who have built and broken us."

- Atticus

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Hazel eventually left all her things near her bed for the day, and headed out into the town. Lizzie had showed her how to do a braid crown a while back, and she had took some time after the rest of the men had left to try and perfect it. She sat with the bobby pins that had been provided by Gene and carefully placed them into her hair, holding the braid crown together.

So when Hazel walked into the bright sunlight, she couldn't help but glance up towards the vast sky.

No stars until night fall.

She slowly continued forward again, heading towards the center of the square in search of some of her friends. Hazel slowly approached the group of men. Everyone seemed relaxed for the moment.

A few of the guys like Tab and Webster had brought out a game with a ball, while Skinny, Babe and Joe were all chatting in a circle. Chuck and Catherine were sharing a smoke, and a few others were just milling about working through a cigarette or enjoying a well-deserved nap. Hazel slowly headed over to Skinny, Babe and Joe, just narrowly avoiding getting pummeled by Webster who caught the ball Tab chucked at him.

" Hey," Hazel called as she approached them with a smile.

" Hey, Tiny." Babe said.

" Hey there, Tiny." Skinny said as he lit up a cigarette and placed it on his lip. Hazel smiled and walked up to Joe who was staring at her with an innocent smile on her face. She smiled up at him.

" It's called a braid crown if you're wondering." Hazel said with a tiny smile. Joe's eyes didn't move from hers.

" It looks nice." Joe said, his eyes admiring her brown hair brought up in all of the braid. Hazel glanced to Skinny and Babe who were looking between her and Joe. Hazel narrowed her eyes and they looked away.

" Lizzie taught me, her mom always did that hairstyle for her when she was younger." Hazel said with a smile up at them.

Joe was still looking at her with a dorky smile on his face.

But she just ignored him and his dorky smile.

Being best friends with the man had brought upon many of those moments before, she was sorta used to it.

Sorta.

But Hazel couldn't help but glance up at Joe slightly and just stare up into them, with slightly reddened cheeks. His hair looked fluffy, like you could just run your hands through it forever, and his little nose looked too cute that it just made you want to kiss it softly, and the way his OD top was opened slightly with a bit of the white t-shirt underneath showing made her heart pound a bit faster than it normally did.

She looked away again.

" Hey, Tiny, did you hear me?" Skinny asked her and she shot her head up to look at him.

" Huh?" she asked him, her face flushing further in embarrassment.

She had been checking the Joe Liebgott out.

In front of other people, in plain SIGHT!

What was wrong with her?

Maybe in this moment he just looked really good, like more handsome than usual?