#and bubbles with a crush IS adorable. sweet little Kentucky boy

[latibvles]

"Bubbles has a crush on you." for Inez, bc I was just reading her description on your oc list and I think it would be funny and also Bubbles having a crush is adorable.

merc, this is delightful. you and @upontherisers lined up on this and it's definitely snowballed into something a lot more than what it was. but for now we can have some funny and sweet baby beginnings. everybody say thank you jean for your service.

—

To Harry’s credit, he waits until they’re a few feet away from the sick bay before springing it onto her, handing off his letter and making a poorly-executed attempt at “suddenly remembering” what Mrs. Jean Crosby wanted him to tell her. He moves his thumb from the part of the letter he’d been hiding from Bubbles when they paid their sick friend a visit — Inez takes the letter in full anyway, skimming its contents, squinting to make it easier on the eyes.

‘Sounds like Bubbles might have a bit of a crush on Inez! Can’t say I blame him, she’s a big sweetheart after all. Let me know how that goes, will you?’

She feels herself go red from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

“Huh?” Harry is smiling at her now, closed-lipped, hands in his pockets. “I don’t— that’s not— I don’t think…” Harry kisses his teeth, head bowing to watch as he kicks at the dirt.

“Damn, guess that’s a no-go on a double date when we’re back stateside huh?”

“Harry!” Inez hears her own voice rise in pitch and she wants to wither away at the sound. Still she reaches to swat at his arm and he leans to the side like she’s hit him hard enough to knock him off balance. He laughs at that like he had when shoving his damp hair in Bubbles’ face only a couple minutes ago.

“Just trying to figure out what I should say to Jean.” He puts his hands in the air in mock surrender. Inez huffs, cheeks burning as she looks back at Jean’s neat script, rereading the sentences over and over again.

You should say nothing to Jean, she thinks, thoroughly ruffled. She doesn’t even know what she’s supposed to say to that — much less what he should be telling Jean about it. What even was “it”? What’s she supposed to do with this information? If it’s even true, that is.

“What’ve you even told her, Harry?” Inez asks, still trying to wrap her head around the statement. A million different scenarios start racing through her brain: all of them circulating about censors, and fraternization, and they all end with her in Harding’s office having to explain in soft humiliation that no, she isn’t having… “relations” with Lieutenant Payne. The very thought makes her feel like she might spontaneously combust, which might just be better than—

“Nothing crazy. Promise,” he pulls her from her thoughts but she can only glare at him in a way she knows isn’t intimidating because he’s still smiling.

Bastard.

“Just… y’know, he wanted to ask you to dance last week but talked himself out of it. And uh— he was asking if you and Hambone were close.”

“Oh my God.”

“I can stop talking if you want,” Harry offers. If she hadn’t already hit him once, she’d do it now. But she doesn’t do that, just hands back the letter while he snickers and tries in a weak attempt to calm down her brain, which is already leaping back to the blue of his eyes and the gap in his teeth. She huffs and squints at him.

“Don’t tell Jean nothin’ or I’m telling June to come set you straight, Croz.”

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