Ad Astra Per Aspera [2] - Band of Brothers

37 | soft

" I told the stars about you."

- d.j. 

✰✰✰

That night Hazel had dinner with Speirs in his office - supposedly there was a new variation of her weapon coming out for the Pacific theater and the variation sat right in his office, like it were the most prized thing. Speirs was very much in-tune with the method of snipers, he was basically Hazel's number one fan and literally made it like it was his birth right for her to have representation everywhere. The field, PT, maneuvers, everywhere. 

Bill Guarnere would've been proud.

" It's beautiful," Hazel said as she lifted the weapon out of the encasing, holding it up within her grasp.

" And..." Speirs said leaning across his desk to grab something from an open drawer. It was a new version of the Redfield Scope.

" Whoa," Hazel said taking it and admiring it with wide eyes.

" This..." Hazel said," this is fantastic." Speirs smirked, crossing his arms and smiling at her.

" Friggin miracle, it was almost on backlog." Speirs said eyes wandering over the weapon. Hazel smirked. Speirs watched as Hazel held the weapon up as if she were taking aim, with perfect, precise, expert level form.

" It's so much lighter as well," she said weighing it out.

" Of course, at the end of the war as well, but you know." Speirs said and Hazel laughed.

" Where'd you learn to shoot?" he asked her, " I know you just didn't walk into the military, pick up a weapon and become a sniper." Hazel quirked out a small smile.

" My dad." she answered, her grip growing firm against the weapon.

" He must be proud." Speirs said and Hazel shrugged.

" He left 13 years ago, I wouldn't say that." she said, but her tone wasn't angry or snappy. It was calm, a scary calm.

" Sorry," Speirs said quietly but Hazel met his gaze.

" His fault." she said as Speirs met her gaze. Hazel had come to terms with her father in November 1944 when she had written that letter to him. It was his fault, not Hazel or her mother's his own. And Hazel never had to see him again if she didn't want to. And sometimes families didn't work out the way they were planned. Hazel had let him torture her mind for too long, and she had been sick and tired of the thoughts that had consumed her brain. She wouldn't allow it to continue.

" It doesn't bother me like it used to," Hazel said, looking down the barrel of the weapon, down towards the scope, " used to eat me alive, if you call it. But he doesn't control me. I learned that after a full war, but no one controls me except myself. It was a hard lesson to learn, but worth it." Speirs watched the woman stand with the weapon, so firm, so confident, so proud, so expert like.