(no subject)
Title: Son of a Preacher Man
Fandom: The Pacific
Pairing: Snafu Shelton/Eugene Sledge
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 700
Warning: Underage-ish (17) and swearing
Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no profit.
Summary: When Snafu starts to question his sexuality, his mama calls the preacher, who thinks that maybe his son can be a good influence. Basically, this is an AU loosely based on the song "Son of a Preacher Man."
The summer that Snafu turned seventeen, he started to seriously question his sexuality. After pitching a conniption fit and going to pieces, his mama had the preacher come by and talk to him. Brother Sledge said that this was just a phase Snafu was going through and all he needed was guidance.
The next week, Eugene, the preacher’s least boy, stopped by, saying that his father thought that he would be a good influence on Snafu. Almost every afternoon that summer, Eugene would come to the Sheltons’ and go for walks with Snafu, sometimes while his father sat at the kitchen table and visited with Mrs. Shelton. As it turned out, he was a good influence on Snafu, but not the way their parents had hoped. Eugene showed him that there was no shame in what he was.
They didn’t talk about religion or sexuality at all for the first couple of weeks. Then, one afternoon at the beginning of June, Snafu turned to Eugene and said, “Hey, Sledgehammah, ain’t you supposed to be savin’ my immortal soul?”
Eugene smiled at him and answered, “Hate stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. Proverbs 10:12.”
Snafu wasn’t sure what to make of it, so he changed the subject to some rumor he had heard downtown. They didn’t mention it again until July, when Snafu’s mama told Eugene that she was glad he had been making such progress with her boy, because she just knew that no son of hers could be capable of that kind of depravity. He grabbed Snafu by the collar and dragged him out of the house before he could make a scene, but when they got to the woods, he couldn’t stop him from slamming his fist into a tree trunk. He pulled him back, saying “Hey, hey, stop,” but Snafu just kept getting more and more agitated. Finally, Eugene grabbed Snafu, looked him in the eye, and tightened his hands on his shoulders.
“Calm down, Merriell, I can’t help you if you’re all ornery like this.”
“Don’t fucking call me Merriell.”
“Come here, you idiot.”
Eugene pulled Snafu to him, cradling his head against his shoulder. Snafu finally stilled, calmed like a child in his mother’s arms.
After a minute, he mumbled into Eugene’s shirt, “Sledge. I don’t even know if I’m gay or not, and my own mama’s all but condemned me to hell.”
“Snaf, it’ll be fine.”
“But what if I am?”
“So what if you are?”
“What the hell do I do then?”
“You deal with it until you’re out of your mama’s house, then you do whatever the hell you want.”
“Hey, what the hell do you know, anyhow?”
“More than you might reckon.”
“…What do you mean by that, Sledgehammah?”
Eugene remained silent. Snafu stared at him, like he was gauging something, and then he leaned into Eugene and pressed their lips together. Eugene pulled him closer, not giving the slightest bit. When he pulled back, Snafu looked back at him with a dazed expression.
“Well, that explains a hell of a lot.”
They saw each other ever day after that, sneaking out to meet at night as well as during the day. Snafu’s conscience nagged at him sometimes, positive that Eugene would still be at least acting like the dutiful preacher’s son if it wasn’t for him, but Eugene always reassured him that they weren’t doing anything wrong.
“I know would your daddy would say about this, Sledge. Know what God would say about this. Can’t help but wonder if this is my fault.”
“Shut up, Merriell. ‘My beloved is mine, and I am his.’ Song of Solomon 2:16.”
“Don’t call me Merriell, jackass.”
“Fine, beloved.”
“Fuck you.”
“Done that already.”
“Oh, he’s got jokes. Eugene. You sure about this?”
“Above all, love each other deeply, for love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8. Now, I swear, Snafu, if you ask me if I’m sure again, I’m not sure if I’ll kiss you or bust you on the mouth.”
“Fair enough, Preacher’s Boy. Fair enough.”