“What the hell is wrong with you?” Big Boss hissed.
Welsh placed his weapon to the side and glared at his bunk mate. Big Boss sat on his bed, his area neat and pristine, and Welsh had the childish urge to fuck it all up on principle. “What are you talking about?”
“The doctor. You left her.”
“And how is that any business of yours?” Welsh growled through clenched teeth. He was not in the mood for this shit. His heart pounded, his dick was hard enough to vaporize shit, and the new kid wanted some sort of heart-to-heart. Not happening. Welsh ripped off his gear and stowed it all away before he sat down on his bed to remove his shoes.
“A gentleman doesn’t leave a woman alone when she is in need,” Big Boss said, his eyes alive with pain, but Welsh didn’t have time to care about it.
“You know what? Fuck you, alright? You don’t know me or what I’m about. You’re here by a fucking technicality. If—”
“You are pathetic.”
Welsh lost it. Emotions swirled through him—rage over the loss of his friend, at not letting himself take Rose up on her obvious offer, and dealing with Big Boss. He speared Big Boss with his shoulder, lifting the man off his bunk, and barreled them both outside their tent. They slammed into the ground, dirt flying around their forms. Big Boss didn’t take it easy, though. Welsh barely dodged a well-placed knee to the balls before Big Boss braced his feet flat on the ground and lifted his hips. The sudden shift of weight sent them tumbling over each other, Big Boss landing on top. Not to be deterred, Welsh drove his elbow down into Big Boss’s thigh and swung a punch with the opposite hand.
“Dodge that, fucker.”
“Try to breathe,” Big Boss returned.
Belatedly, Welsh realized he didn’t have time to escape the knuckle punch Big Boss angled at his throat. He’d landed both of his strikes, but Big Boss had the position of advantage. Fucking great.
“I should shoot both of you!” Heim yelled.
A tanned fist halted Big Boss’s punch at Welsh’s throat, and Glitz blocked both of Welsh’s strikes at his cousin. “Enough,” Glitz said.
Welsh slipped out from under Big Boss and got to his feet. Heim, Snake, and Cry Baby stood just a hair behind Glitz, who slapped his cousin over the head as Big Boss got up.
“English,” Glitz warned his cousin when he opened his mouth to speak.
“We were just blowing off steam,” Big Boss explained to Heim.
“I don’t care what you were doing,” Heim argued. “We’re in the middle of a mission, and in the center of mixed population here. Is this how you want them to view the SEALs?”
“No, sir,” Big Boss said.
“Look—” Welsh started.
Big Boss moved in front of him and stepped into Parade Rest—his feet shoulder-width apart with his hands, right over left, at the small of his back—facing Heim. “I shouldn’t have antagonized him. I picked at his inability to function without Hawk, and it set him off. It’s on me.”
What the fuck? Welsh glared at Big Boss’s back. That was not what had happened. If Big Boss had done that, he’d have put a bullet in his fucking head, damn the consequences. But he stood tall in front of Welsh, bearing Heim’s thunder alone.
“You want to be a part of this team, you get your shit together. Winning a few competitions doesn’t make you better than any of us, you get me?”
“Hooyah.”
“Run if off, SEAL, until I get tired,” Heim ordered.
Big Boss nodded, then sprinted off to run the perimeter of the compound until Heim sent someone to stop him. Welsh knew all about SEAL punishments, and he knew Big Boss’s body would give out long before Heim gave in.
“Heim, that’s not how it went down,” Welsh said after Big Boss was gone.
“I know it. He took that shit for you like a SEAL brother should. You’ve been vibrating hot for weeks since Hawk left, and we all see it. Your mission comes first. Lock that shit up, or you won’t be an asset to the team, either. And Hawk would kick your ass if he knew you were crying about him.”
“If you wanted to come out of the closet, all you had to do was ask me about it,” Glitz joked. “I’d have helped you.”
Welsh swung wide, but Glitz ducked and laughed. “Shut up,” Welsh snapped.
“My cousin is a good man. In Korea, things are very different in society, so he still has to get used to it here. We are … more blunt … in my country, with what you may perceive as insults. But we are less confrontational when something is actually wrong. He may not have meant any offense. But he understands brotherhood and what it means to be a SEAL. Give him that chance, for me.”
Welsh nodded, already feeling like shit. Welsh’s ever-present frustration wasn’t Big Boss’s fault. He could admit that. Hell, he could appreciate what Big Boss had just done for him. Welsh sighed, releasing his pent-up anger. It wasn’t good for the team to battle with Big Boss, nor was it the new SEAL’s fault he’d been brought in.
“How far from tired are you, Heim?” Welsh asked.
“Oh, very far. I haven’t gotten to talk to Katya yet,” Heim answered.
Welsh groaned, knowing Heim had some of his own frustration to work out. “Then we’re about to be running a really long time, aren’t we?”
“Come on now, SEAL. The miles won’t even faze you.” Heim’s sardonic smile didn’t reassure Welsh, but he took off at a sprint to catch up with Big Boss. If his brother was going to take a punishment, he’d do it with him. Their commander had said they needed to be like glue and all.
Damn.