Homeward Bound (WriterGuy101 and DontxBlinkk)

The hot afternoon sun was beating down on the sidewalk like a blinding force, toasting the back of a man that stood quietly peering through the glass of the front door to The Source. Short, fuzzy-looking, straight blonde hair glinted under the bright rays, his hazel eyes scanning around the store's interior thoughtfully, seeking something or someone in particular. He was dressed in military regalia; standard issue combat boots, camo-pants, and a matching camo-jacket that covered a brown t-shirt, embroidered with various patches, the two most prominent being on either side of his chest. 'LAVERY' striped his right breast, and 'MARINES' striped his left. He was tall, broad shouldered, and though he was only 25 years old, his gentle face looked aged and somewhat word.

The last three years had been long and hard, a true trial to his very being, but three years in a harsh desert-like aria had taught him one thing for certain; the age old saying that distance makes the heart grow fonder couldn't have been more spot on. But as his gaze fixated on one of the employees' backs, his lips curved into a small, warm smile. He wasn't in the desert anymore, that much was evident, but he wasn't home either. He was far from it, in fact, until he could finally be reunited with an old friend, one that meant much more to him than anything else life would be able to toss his direction.

The man stood on the street for a few more minutes, despite the fact that they felt like hours, waiting until the employee was observing was no longer busy helping any customers or completing any other tasks. When their back was turned, he nervously pulled open the front door and stepped over the threshold, swallowing hard to fight the new wave of emotions that flooded his chest and mind. Keeping his footfalls as quiet as possible, he approached the person of his interest, and cleared his throat. "Excuse me miss?" He spoke quietly, his voice tinged with a warm Georgian drawl. "I'm looking for an old friend of mine. I heard she works here and I haven't seen her in years. Perhaps you know her?"

The friend he was talking about was of course the same woman he was talking to, but he figured he'd be as discreet as possible for the moment. It had been a good eight months since they'd last exchanged any letters, and he had kept the news of his homecoming a secret, fully intending to surprise her with the best possible intentions. A slight smile curved the corners of his lips as he leaned back and watched the woman, awaiting her response patiently.

If it wasn't for the air conditioning inside the store, Lottie would be dying of the heat. Although she was a manager, the uniform she was put in still wasn't the best for the hot days, but lucky for her, there was a display of fans on top of the machine produced cool air. She had a slight rush at the moment, but lucky for her everyone knew what they wanted so it went by quickly. She returned to restocking shelves when the door opened.

"Welcome to The Source," a coworker greeted the man, cracking a smile to show a bit of interest, only to have him walk right past her. The girl's smile drifted away and she watched as Chase went straight for the woman he was here for.

Charlotte, or Lottie as her friends grew to know her as, was only 5' 6", tall enough for a girl her age, but still short so she didn't tower over the men around her. Despite many arguments and disbelief, Lottie's sunflower blonde hair was completely natural, although the cut was a bit wild. The tips of her shoulder length hair were recently died light, lime green, bringing out the natural green in her sea green, hazel eyes, which happened to be hiding behind a pair of black, rectangular rimmed glasses. Her uniform was the same black pants and red button up dress shirt that every other manager had to wear, but her shoes were certainly her; a pair of bright pink, high top Converse.

Lottie hadn't grown up in Georgia, and she barely picked up the drawl from her years of living there. She was brought to the state by her parents several years ago, while she was still in high school and spent from the age of 17 to 25 in the same town. Chance had been one of her first friends when she moved, but when he left, she didn't waste a second to write the first letter to the man. She had missed him just as much as he missed her, but when his letters stopped coming, her heart sank further each day that she didn't hear a word from him.

"She may not be working today," Lottie said, not glancing up at the man beside her, quite yet. "What's her na--" Her eyes shifted to the side in mid sentence, forcing her voice to drop off at the sight of black, uniform army boots. She took a moment to look up, letting her eyes trace up the man's legs to finally his face. She slowly raised herself up from the ground, almost unbelieving the man was now standing in front of her. "Chance...?"

The moment she turned and rose to face him, Chance's heart skipped a beat, his chest flooding with such a strong array of emotions that he felt a pang. It had been three years since he'd been able to stand in her presence; three years since he'd been able to hear her voice; three years since he'd looked into her eyes or felt the warmth of her embrace. After so long of not having any contact with her, he found himself unable to clear his mind enough to fathom a reply to her shell-shocked question. In reality, he could have cried he was so happy, though his eyes remained dry.

She looked different than he'd last remembered. Her hair was cut differently, and the green tips looked nice, complimented her eyes even. She seemed slimmer, or perhaps her figure had just developed further. There were other things too, differences he couldn't quite identify, but despite them all, one thing remained the same without question. She was still the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes on, and had been from the very day he'd met her.

Pushing his thoughts back in his mind, Chance realized that he'd been standing silently, simply looking at her for at least a good three minutes or so. It seemed that, amusingly, his plan of surprising her with his homecoming had backfired just slightly, and he himself was just as amazed to be in her presence at last. He cleared his throat, feeling blood rushing to his face as his cheeks turned a very slight shade of red.

"Sergeant Chance Lavery at your service." The man said in a quiet voice, his lips curved into a warm smile. His hazel eyes softened, warmth evident in the golden-green hues as they fixated on hers. "It's been a long time, Lottie." He added after a brief pause as he spread his arms to either side, silently encouraging the woman to fall into him.

Lottie listened to the man in front of her, taking him in as much as humanly possible before choosing her next action. Her greatest fear was that something had happened to him, that her letters would forever be lost and that she would never see her friend again. A smile cracked over her lips as he spoke, even if he was mocking himself and his own training while doing it, she found it entertaining and perfectly in character. She didn't need the prompting from him though, to know what she should do next. She nearly leapt forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Chance's neck as she gave him the hug she had been meaning to give him since he left.

Although she had been there when he left on the plane, three years was still far too long to go without seeing a man she was so close to. After she took a moment to hold onto the man, greeting him like any friend would, she drew back long enough to give him a slight slap to the face, as a punishment of sorts. "Why haven't you responded to my letters?" she asked, her voice raising slightly. "I thought something had happened to you!"

Chance's arms tightened around the woman's waist when she finally embraced him. He beamed, lifting her feet from the ground with ease, and spun her in a quick circle, being careful not to knock anything down from the shelves or displays. When he stilled, he kissed her cheek happily, just before she caught him off-guard with her light slap to his cheek. He blinked, not because it was painful, but because it surprised him. Her action was definitely not something he'd anticipated.

The man leaned down then, gently easing his friend's feet back onto the floor, though he kept his arms around her shoulders tightly. "I'm sorry Lottie." He said quietly, the tone of his voice reflecting some hint of sorrow and deep meaning. "I've was in some rough areas the last few months and I wasn't able to receive or send and post. I wanted to, believe me I wanted to more than anything, but I didn't have the ability to." He paused, hesitating for a moment as he simply looked at her, taking her in, absorbing the warmth of her embrace and the comfort it brought. "I'm here now, see? Nothing happened to me."

Lucky for the pair, another rush stayed away to give the two a chance to catch up, and her coworkers were polite enough to allow this to happen. Lottie wouldn't have cared too much if the owner of the entire chain walked in the door at that very moment. Chance had all of her attention and she wasn't about to give it to anyone else. Rough patches would explain the lack of letters though, and she could completely forgive him for that. After all, he was working the whole time, and she couldn't truly expect a note every single time she wrote. It wasn't as big of a deal to her right now, since Chance was standing in front of her at that very moment.

"Good thing you are too," she added, right before dropping the idea. She no longer wanted to think about the man not being around and there was no reason to. She had more important questions to ask. "How long are you back for?" she asked, beginning the rain of questions. "Was this your first stop? 'Cause I mean really, what about your family? They've been worried sick as well."

Chance took a tiny step back as he lowered his arms back to his sides, though his gaze didn't falter from hers for a split second. A warm smile crossed his lips as he listened to her first line of questions patiently. "Well," he began, his head tilting to one side thoughtfully. "I do admit seeing you is indeed the first thing I have done since I got off the plane this morning, aside from picking up my truck from the base and calling around to find out where you were, and what you were doing."

The truck he was referring to was a black Ford pick-up that could arguably have been at least a hundred years old. There were dents in the fenders and large spots of missing paint or rust, but the engine worked beautifully and the muffler wasn't loud or obnoxious. In their senior year of high school, Chance's dad had cut a deal with him about the truck. At time, the thing was a piece of junk, a sure fixer-up. It had needed plenty of engine work, brakes, a new radio, new seats, tires, and some new fuses for the lights. But if Chance was able to fix the beast on his own and get it to a condition well enough that any used car lot would make a decent offer for it, all while maintaining good grades, then the truck was his. He couldn't count the number of late nights he'd spent with Lottie in his garage, laying on a creeper under the truck while she'd read off study questions to him and fill out his homework.

"In regards to your other question," he continued, fighting a wide smile and instead pushing his mouth into a small frown, his brows pushing low over his eyes. "I'm home for good."

"Woh, that thing's still running?" Lottie asked with a laugh. She had fond memories with that truck and was quite proud of what little parts of it she helped fix up. For the most part it was helping Chance study while he worked on the truck, but at the same time, she used her slender 'girly hands' to reach into certain areas that Chance's fingers simply couldn't get. It was her own way of helping and it meant her friend could keep the truck, and on top of it all, she had transportation around. She still lacked the car, but a bike was good enough transportation for her at this time.

But it was the next set of news that really pleased Lottie to hear. Since he left, this was exactly what she wanted to hear. With another grin, Lottie gave her friend a short, tight hug of joy before pulling back, keeping her hands on the man's upper arms. "That's great! Oh, that's perfect, actually. You have no idea how worried everyone was. This'll serious make everything better for everyone."

Chance laughed quietly as he nodded to her question, his shoulders shaking slightly. "You darned right it is. That ol' beast's got at least another 5 years on it before she's gotta go. After all, the best people in the world worked on her, remember?" He winked then, his eyes twinkling with fond happiness and warmth. There was a wide smile spread across his mouth as he searched her gaze, knowing that the mention of his truck brought back all the memories for her too, and not just him.

He grunted softly when Lottie lurched forward to embrace him again, his own arms automatically tightening around her mid-back. As she pulled back, he slid his arms back and bent his elbows in order to lightly rest his hands on her sides, his eyes locked with hers. "Well, you're my number one Lottie, first priority on my list. So, as long as it makes things better for you, then the rest'll surely fall into place." He smiled warmly, his hazel eyes flicking back and forth as they searched hers.

Lottie's eyes locked with Chance's and every bit of happiness that she felt showed in her eyes. Her best friend had returned and at that very moment, she felt nothing less then perfect. Sadly, she was still in her workplace, and by now had lost track of time. Without pulling away, she dropped her hand down to her pocket, taking out her phone to check the time. Her face broke into a grin as she returned to Chance. "I'm done in five minutes," she told him, squeezing his arm with her free hand, still holding onto his arm. "Can you wait for that time for me to sign out?" There wasn't anything more pressing then spending time with Chance at that very moment and she knew her co-workers could handle everything until the next manager came in an hour later.

She didn't seem to want to wait for an answer from the man, and smoothly pulled away from his arms to finish the final bit of work she had to do. Nearly racing around the store, she instructed her coworkers what had to be finished for the day, what she had already done and of course, what to tell the evening manager. Lottie wasted no time checking out of her computer, her fingers gliding over the keyboard as fast as they possibly could and still be entered correctly. With a solid click of the enter key, she backed away and pronounced a solid "Done." The girl who tried to greet Chance and snag his eye gave Lottie a short wave before smiling and waving again to the military man. Lottie vanished into the back of the store and came back out with her backpack and a dark black, Schwinn bicycle, made for around-the-town rather then mountain riding.

"Ready when you are," she told him, quite cheerfully with another smile to match.