Elliot Finn, a military reserve soldier, enters the barracks late one night carrying a duffel bag. He walks toward an empty cot and comes upon Justin Matthews, a fellow soldier, who has already arrived and claimed a bunk, his duffel bag open and his uniform neatly folded on the edge. They both politely but gruffly greet each other, acknowledging that they are both here for the drill, an intensive two-day weekend refresher for military reserve soldiers to sharpen their skills when they’re not on duty.
They both had to drive hours to get to the base and have opted to use the barracks as lodging instead of hotels or friends’ places since it’s more convenient.Justin removes his clothing down to his boxers, turns off the light, and crawls into his cot, turning away from Elliot. Elliot seems a bit confused about what exactly just happened but shrugs it off, removes his own clothing, and gets into bed.
The next morning, Justin is walking along a trail where they’ll be doing some exercises. As he approaches, he sees Elliot chatting with a couple of other soldiers while warming up with some pre-jog stretches. We get the sense that Elliot and the other soldiers are being boastful with each other. Justin slows his pace to let his eyes linger on Elliot. He watches the way Elliot smiles when he laughs and inadvertently puts his hands on another soldier in jest.
He studies the way the guys interact together so effortlessly, when he has been so fearful to make similar connections in his own life. A wave of anxiety washes over him. The reserve becomes startled when Elliot happens to glance his way and make eye contact. Afraid of having been caught staring, Justin overcompensates by straightening up and acting hyper-masculine as he approaches the group.
Elliot is surprised again by Justin’s sudden aggression, but laughs it off as all four of them jostle and taunt each other for a while longer. Clearly the men are most at ease with putting on a sarcastic front to bond with each other. The other two ask if Elliot and Justin are coming, but Justin says he hasn’t warmed up yet and Elliot piggy backs by adding that he needs to finish up as well. Elliot says he’ll catch up and Justin retorts with an emasculating joke. The other two jog off, leaving Elliot and Justin alone. There is another awkward silence, as both men resume stretching.
Once again, Justin can’t help but look over at his bunk mate as he stretches. Justin looks around briefly, as if he’s trying to see if there’s anyone else around that he could potentially be talking to or that he’s afraid of someone seeing them together. Elliot senses this nervousness. Justin stands up and starts running, leaving Elliot to catch up. As Justin runs, we can see the anxiety on his face. He wipes past as Elliot stands up to start running.
Elliot and Justin jog together. At first, it’s competitive as they both strive to have the best form or even outpace the other. But gradually, they fall more in line with each other. The men’s taut muscles, tight clothing, and sweaty body are inches away. Justin’s so caught up in running that he fails to realize that Elliot is checking him out, but much more subtly.When they’re done jogging, they both kneel down to catch their breath. Panting, Justin snorts out a backhanded compliment.
Elliot laughs and there seems to be a moment of admiration between them, with each one of them catching the other’s eye and not flinching this time. Elliot puts his hand on Justin’s knee. His fingers linger for a second longer than seems appropriate and Justin stiffens. He seems to want to say something derisive but bites his tongue, though it clearly takes some effort. Justin stands up and abruptly jogs off. Elliot stands up as he leaves and watches curiously after him, with a hint of a forming crush in his eyes once he’s sure Justin — or anyone else — can’t see.
That evening, Justin and Elliot both enter the barracks together after a long day of doing mostly boring drills, which they are both complaining about. They begin to undo their boots and Elliot casually asks why Justin enlisted. Elliot opens up first, and Justin seems surprised but also uncomfortable about Elliot being so honest with him.
By reflex, he puts on his macho front. Justin bristles in reaction to Elliot calling him ‘tough guy’, almost as if he’s upset at the words but also a bit flattered by Elliot giving him a nickname. He gets out of bed and starts putting something away. Justin tenses, a brief flash of anger on his face and through his body posture. He looks like he’s about to shout back but when he looks back at Elliot, he sees his bunkmate grinning on his bed.. Justin realizes Elliot was pushing his buttons and softens … walking back over to sit on the bed.
He explains his strained relationship with his family. Elliot seems intrigued by how riled Justin becomes as he speaks. He nods and awkwardly compliments Justin. It’s meant to be a genuine compliment but toxic masculinity further gets in the way. Justin stiffens, still riled and on the defensive. Elliot is frustrated.Justin stares after him, rattled, before turning to punch the wall beside him.
The next day, Justin walks into a warehouse and approaches the two soldiers from the trail. They are holding clipboards.They greet each other and we learn that Justin is going to be helping with inventory. Justin isn’t thrilled about this but has to do it as part of the drill, anyway. Elliot then approaches and Justin tenses a little. There’s an awkward moment as their eyes meet but they don’t have time to react before the two other soldiers put them to work.
A short montage of Justin and Elliot moving boxes and other objects around while the other two soldiers make notes on clipboards. However, the other soldiers fade into the background as we focus on Justin and Elliot, who seem to be in their own little world. Neither of them talks much, since they’re supposed to be working, but they send each other glances. They both seem to be secretly lusting after each other, although Justin is more obvious about it than Elliot. Just like on the trail, Justin is fixated by Elliot’s muscles and strength.
Although they start off working separately, eventually they work together, handing objects off to each other. At first there are instances of them still being at odds with each other – stiff movements, ‘hey, watch it!’ moments of clumsiness, etc. However, they begin to get more in sync with each other, developing a natural rhythm and even flashing a couple of sincere smiles at each other as they work.At one point, as they pass a box to each other, their hands brush.
Their eyes meet and Justin is hit with attraction and fear at once. He visibly jolts as he shoves the box into Elliot in his effort to quickly offload it. He then abruptly pulls away and starts moving things elsewhere, putting obvious distance between them. Elliot is startled but watches after Justin with increased intrigue and desire. He’s starting to realize that Justin is hiding something.
That night, Elliot is reading in his cot when Justin silently returns to the barracks. The atmosphere is awkward as Justin starts to pack his duffel to be ready to leave first thing in the morning. Elliot presses his book against his chest and waits for Justin to say something.
He mentions that they’re done for another month and Elliot asks if they should discuss what’s been going on between them.Justin stiffens, instantly looking like he’s in fight or flight mode. But he tries to play dumb. Elliot persists getting up to approach Justin, reaching his hand out to rest on Justin’s shoulder in a sympathetic way. Justin aggressively knocks Elliot’s hand away and jumps back in recoil.
Elliot looks angry but resists pushing Justin back. Justin’s volume starts to rise and Elliot screams over Justin that he’s gay and that he knows Justin is too. Justin yells at Elliot and Elliot tries to get him to quiet down, worried someone will hear them. Elliot gets a bit more upset from seeing Justin denying the truth.Justin is shocked, stumbling over his words as he tries to defend himself. He’s flustered but also very confused and angry.
A comment Elliot makes at Disruptive Films triggers Justin and Justin panics. He pushes Elliot again, this time hard against the wall. He holds him there, pinning him. After an exchange of angry words, Elliot throws Justin onto the bed frame and Justin winces in pain as he stands up.
They both stand in silence, the tension building between them. Even though they are both clearly riled up and mad at each other, panting heavily, Elliot starts to back down at seeing he hurt Justin. Elliot is startled when Justin suddenly grabs him and hauls him in for a kiss. Elliot is stunned as their lips touch, his eyes go wide but then close as he melts into the kiss, returning it. They desperately make out and grab at each other, and it’s clear that there’s no going back.
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