“Is this what you wanted, MacIntrye?”

From his vantage point atop Hawkeye, Trapper looked at Frank and Frank returned the glance with a passable imitation of a smirk. The small white pot in Frank’s hand was indeed what Trapper wanted; and by the way Hawkeye was starting to mutter, it would be a good plan to get it. Quickly.

“Yes, Frank. Pass it to me, please?”

Pursing his lips and storing up every moment to recount (both to Henry, for revenge, and to Hotlips, for... other reasons) later, when he’d won the bet, Frank obliged, and headed back to his own cot—remembering, on the way, to pick up that most useful of army supplies: a pair of earplugs.

I think Frank would have been incredibly titillated, and that would have made him even more indignant (to foaming, frothy, incoherent -- I can see telling hotlips about it and being all sneaky-weasel-lipless and slightly salivatory, but then realizing she knew it turned him on so getting all high-pitched whiny and indignant), and he would have had to try to report, then there would have been many Wacky Shenanigans as they found something (like wearing women's panties, complete with pictures) to blackmail Frank about so he couldn't tell. The finding the pot and pretending it didn't matter would fit Charles Emerson Winchester, III (and I always have to say that just like he would in my head whenever I write it), better.

I think Frank would have been incredibly titillated

Yes. But someone took the idea that place only a couple of weeks ago on the list I'm writing this for, so I was trying to take it somewhere else. You're right it's a little out of character; I was hoping that by not going into his head, I wouldn't have to show how much so. Perhaps I should take the grin out, that would help.

Oh, if you're taking it somewhere else, that's more difficult. Frank's a pretty strange puppy. It's hard for me to imagine him taking anything that has to do with sex calmly.

Frank's a pretty strange puppy. It's hard for me to imagine him taking anything that has to do with sex calmly.

I think the calm is an exterior based on wanting to win the bet-- partly because of the money, but more to do with beating the Insufferable Hawkeye for once. I've edited the last line, you might want to take another look.

Yes, much better, though maybe getting and putting the earplugs in could be quite ostentatious? and maybe they don't really go in?

maybe getting and putting the earplugs in could be quite ostentatious? and maybe they don't really go in?

It's a thought. I shall think about it.

An extra line on the end, something like: "If they didn’t quite fit, nobody needed to know. Frank certainly wasn’t going to tell them."

?

I think they're pretty universal, just little things in the ears that you squish to fit. Maybe palming them, with some rationalization that he wasn't going to let THEM know he was listening, but that he had to have all the details to make a full report, after he won the bet?

Well, the little earplugs (sonics) don't block out sound completely; they're designed to muffle the higher registers and cut the db levels down . So the plugs would really have been more symbolic than anything else; he'd still hear them.