Wildlands (rskde & BurningWillows)

[Risky]

After a couple more days of roadblock duty Kyle gets sent back to Basecamp with his squadron, by the time they get back it is very late at night. Kyle doesn't tell Arya he is coming back.

He walks into her tent quietly, looking around for her to see if she is sleeping or not. He catches sight of her sleeping figure.

He pads over to her, shaking her gently before lowering his face down to hers, gently kissing her, as if she were Sleeping Beauty.

 

[BurningWillows]

Her eyes flutter open, exhausted wracking her sore body. Being a doctor was a grueling job.

"Huh, what? Who...Kyle?" her eyes blink slowly, one hand reaching up and touching his cheek, "good. You're safe. Come to bed darling, its bedtime."

She's still slightly out of it, groggy from sleep. Her eyes shut and she almost falls back asleep before she wakes more, her eyes opening bigger.

"You're back," she whispered, kissing him softly, "Why didn't you tell me?"

 

[Risky]

He kisses her back before breaking away, kneeling down next to her. "I wanted it to be a surprise." He whispers to her, touching his lips to hers again with each word that he says.

He pulls his head away from hers and smiles at her. "Eight months until we rotate out, back to the States." He says with a soft chuckle. "It's flying by so fast.."

Days seem to fly by as their deployment draws to an end, the Marines promising another deployment for both of them in about four weeks, still needing all hand on deck.

Kyle walks with Arya, his hands over her eyes as they step into the apartment he had bought, their stuff already inside. He takes his hands off of her eyes. "Like it?" He asks her, walking inside and raising his hands, as if showing the place off.

"I was thinking about holding a dinner here, inviting all of our friends and anybody else who wants to come, a homecoming party." He suggests.

 

[BurningWillows]

They step into their new home and she absolutely loves it.

"Four weeks of vacation," she sighs, dropping her bags and flopping on the couch, calling Max to cuddle her feet, "Call them all, but I'm not cooking one thing. That's on you. I wonder how everyone i doing."

It took her six aching months to bring both organizations to their knees. Between planning and executing, it was by far her greatest achievement, single handedly finishing the cartel once and for all, while massively wounded the enemy in Afghanistan, leaving clean up and the stragglers for the military. She hadn't seen them, but she had hear Kyle and Arya were amongst the marines. However she couldn't be seen, not with how she went out.

In order to finish the cartel she had faked her own death. It was the logical thing to do, being as she had become the face of the company. With her "alleged" death, she had been deployed home, going through the same formalities as when she had left Bolivia. This time though she had left the White House and gone straight to the airport, boarding the first flight home. Kevin had no idea she was coming, and the surprise had been well deserved, both of them missing the other immensely.

After that, Katerina took a well needed vacation, flying her and Kevin out to the Bahamas for a month, returning just a day before their two friends across seas came back. Katerina was glowing with her tan, and Kevin looked wonderful in his. After almost two years of dating, Kat knew she had found the one, and she was quietly waiting for him to propose., hoping he had the same future in mind she had. Katerina wanted to retire from the spy life, a part of her interested in following Alex's footsteps into SWAT, and another part hoping she could get a office job in the FBI, able to do high profile work without leaving the city.

Two and a half years had passed, and Serena wanted no one else. Ever.

They had gotten passed the robbery, passed the money, passed it all. She trusted him again now, with her life and her love.

Other things had happened in the eight months. She had won a scholarship and finished schooling, and her internship. Serena now worked from home, giving her the ability to make dinners most nights, except weekends when it was his turn. Everything seemed to be settling into place.

 

[Risky]

He nods and gets to work, starting to cook while calling everybody from the Ghosts, and some of his and her personal friends, most of them agreeing to stop by.

About an hour later he finishes cooking as guests arrive at the door, he puts all the food out on a table before greeting them. They all have a large dinner, he stays at Arya's side for the entirety of it, chatting with anybody who wanted to in the process.

When everyone was eating Kyle calls out to everyone. "Hey! I have something important to say!" He calls out.

Everyone in the room turns towards him. "I've been in the Marine Corps for four years now, I've had three tours of Iraq and now two of Afghanistan, and I've learned a lot from all of my deployments." He says. "One of the biggest things I learned is that lfie can be taken away from you at a moments notice, it only takes a millisecond for your life to be changed forever." He says.

"But what does that have to do with now? I've realized that I am a lucky guy who is missing out on a big part of life, and that if I don't start counting my lucky stars, I'm gonna lose them all." He says. "Which is why I'm doing this." He finds Arya in the crowd, getting down on one knee and withdrawing a small ringbox from his pocket, opening it for her to see.

"Arya, will you marry me?"

 

[BurningWillows]

Everyone falls into pure silence, and then he's there, on one knee. Proposing. To her.

"Kyle," her hands shake as tears well in her eyes, "Oh my god yes. Yes."

Applause erupts but she could care less, holding her hand out so he can put the ring on, trying hard not to break into happy sobs.

 

[Risky]

He puts the ring on her finger before pulling her into a hug, kissing the top of her head gently.

After Kyle's little surprise the party is a major success, when everyone leaves they leave happy and content with the food, leaving Arya and Kyle behind, Kyle can't wipe the grin from his face.

 

[BurningWillows]

Saying goodbye to the last of their friends, she softly shuts the door before turning to him.

"Well my fiance, we should get to cleaning up these dishes shouldn't we?" she can't help but use the word, excitement coursing through her veins, "I can't believe we are really engaged. Oh Kyle, it's such a pretty ring."

 

[Risky]

He nods and starts getting the dishes. "Yeah, I bought it in Baghdad." He says with a laugh. "A little bit ironic but I didn't have enough time to buy one somewhere else." He says while finishing up the dishes.

When he's done he walks over to her and presses his lips to hers, his hands finding her hips. He breaks away from her and rests his forehead against hers. "You look great, I can't wait to start planning this wedding." He says to her quietly, kissing the tip of her nose.

 

[BurningWillows]

"Tomorrow," she sighs, "We can begin planning tomorrow. Can I be honest love? I'm surprised we were the first. Kat and Kevin had been together longest, and I kind of expected them to elope by now. And Serena and Alex...they are so head over heels for one another I'm surprised he hasn't popped that question either. I'm just happy you did. Our future now...together."

 

[Risky]

"I dunno why the others haven't proposed, but we don't need to worry about them, we have us." He says to her quietly, running his thumb down her cheek. "I love you Arya." He says to her while leading her towards their new bedroom, which he hadn't explored yet.

He lays down with her on their bed, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face into the crook of her neck, kissing her neck softly. "It's been nine months since I slept next to you last." He says to her. "It was terrible.." He explains to her.

He yawns and feels himself slipping into the darkness of his own mind, his eyes sealing themselves shut before he drifts off.

 

[BurningWillows]

"I love you too," she yawns, following him to their brand new King size.

"I'm spoiled now," she laughs, taking in the size of the bed, "First a ring, now an actual bed?" Boy do you ever love me."

Getting into pajamas and crawling in with him she sighs, happy to be in his arms again and no on the tent cot.

"Goodnight," she whispers, her eyes closing, "See you in the morning love."

 

[Risky]

In the middle of the nigh Kyle jolts awake, a shiny layer of sweat coating his body, he clenches his eyes shut, trying to remove the memories from his mind as he starts breathing heavily, tears starting to roll down his cheek as he forgets where he is.

 

[BurningWillows]

She feels him stir and at first thinks nothing of it, not until he jolts up. Then she is awake and sitting up too, rubbing her eyes before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Kyle? My love, are you alright? Was it a nightmare?"

Serena groaned and rolled over, staring at the clock. 3 am flashed in her face. Sighing she rolled back into Alex's arms, finding comfort in them. She had a morning appointment with Jordan, and for the first time she was dreading it.

Her therapy sessions had started two months after her physical therapy did. While eight months of physical therapy had left her hip in better shape so she could move around now freely, six months of psychiatry had barely bit off the tip of the iceberg. She had one therapy session a week, although there had been days here and there she had to cancel due to her schooling, or a work meeting. But most weeks she had been there, and all they had drudged through was her childhood. It was painful to speak about, especially living on the streets, but she had trusted him with the information, like she trusted Alex when she had told him. It had been the worst to try and explain the day she ran away, the day Annabelle died. In the end even she didn't trust him enough with that truth, so she lied about Annabelle and never mentioned her leaving with them, saying Emberly had stolen her in the night and the two had run away together.

In the last month they had gotten into the more recent memories, most of them circling around Bolivia. Since the government was paying for her therapy due to her time in Bolivia and what she had seen and done, it was safe to talk to him about it, knowing if he said anything to the press or the like the government would be down his throat faster than he could say 'Bolivia'. However talking to someone who wasn't there felt like dragging her feet through mud. She had to explain everything in detail for him to understand, and the more she spoke on it the more her stomach churned. Alex had been her saving grace in Bolivia, able to cry on his shoulder without saying much, and he already understood. Jordan couldn't, having never witnessed what she had. He was patient though, and complimented her on her strength every session, surprised how far she had come.

But she dreaded going now. Talking about being kidnapped and tortured had made her weary. On the days she had sessions she'd come home and collapse in bed, not wanting to eat or see Alex, just sleep off the gross feeling stirring in her. And tomorrow they were going to talk about the personal torture she had gone through, with them forcing her to stare at her dead sister, or the way they touched and mauled her like animals, making her feel slimy.

But she had to go. The government was paying, and Alex wanted her nightmares to end, so she had to bite her tongue and push through it, praying the end of the dark tunnel she was in would come soon, granting her freedom from the nightmares and the horrid memories in her mind.

 

[Risky]

Kyle nods. "I had a nightmare, it was about Bolivia, and them Afghanistan.." He whispers to her as he holds her close, his breath shaky as he speaks. "Whenever I'm home I'm not actually home, Arya.. The only time I ever know where I am is when I am out in the shit, but yet I don't want to be there.." He says to her softly.

Alex feels her wake up, he opens his eyes and takes her hand with his, intertwining their fingers and giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Bad dreams?" He whispers to her. "I'm not going back to sleep until you are asleep." He whispers to her.

 

[BurningWillows]

Arya~

"Aw love," she murmured, kissing his shoulder, "we are safe, and home right now. We are engaged. Think of those things. I know it's only a short time we are here, but think of this as a vacation. A vacation from all that shit."

She leans into his arms, holding him close, "we could apply for an extra month off, to give you time to adjust. Is that what you need?"

Serena~

"Don't worry, no nightmares," she sighed, curling into him, "just nervous about tomorrow's session with Jordan. Don't worry of it though baby. You need your sleep. I'm not going to have you tired on the job."

 

[Risky]

"No. I've already told you that I need to go back.. We already have time to get married and all, then another couple of weeks for a honeymoon.. And then I guess that's it." He says to her quietly before kissing her forehead.

"Baby, I don't want you to go back." He whispers to her, his head against hers. "You were talking about white picket fences and a family.. You being with me in Afghan isn't gonna help that, if you get your job back at the hospital and we can make enough money for that fence and that house.. Or we could raise the kid, or kids here, there's a guest room we can make it into a baby's room.." He suggests.

"No, I need to worry about you." He whispers to her, nuzzling the back of her head softly, pulling her completely against him. "Remember what I said, if he's giving you trouble you gotta say something." He says to her quietly.

 

[BurningWillows]

Arya~

"Your not getting rid of me," she sighs, "not that easily. I can't just quit the marines Kyle. That's not how it works and we both know that. I signed on for five years. And besides a wedding takes time. Like a lot of time. We can probably have it on our next rotation. We can talk about picket fences then."

She bit her lip, keeping the rest of her thoughts from him. In truth she wasn't even sure she wanted a child. Not one that could potentially end up fatherless. And even being a full time Doctor did not make enough money to keep a mortgage, raise a child and feed herself. That kind of planning felt much into the future.

"A year from now we can be married," she whispered, kissing him, "focus on that."

---

Serena~

She sighed, nuzzling his neck. He knew her too well.

"He's not, not yet. I just don't like talking about it. Can we just not think about it? I want to sleep."

Rolling over she spoke over her shoulder.

"Can you stroke my hair like you do when I've had a nightmare? It always puts me to sleep."

 

[Risky]

He closes his eyes and sighs softly as he feels her nuzzle his neck, he opens his eyes and listens to what she has to say before speaking.

"You can go back to sleep." He whispers before nodding. "Of course I can." He says as he reaches to her heads lightly running his fingers through her hair, kissing the back of her neck gently as he does so.

"Goodnight beautiful." He whispers.

"I love you too much for you to die in that hellhole.. You can apply to be a doctor in Germany, they have a NATO hospital there you can work for." He says to her softly. "You'd still be a Marine and you'd still be helping soldiers, and you'd be safe, I can rest easy knowing that." He mutters to her.

He kisses her back softly. "I love you Arya, I don't want to wait a year.." He whispers to her, nuzzling his forehead against hers. "I'm not gonna be able to sleep baby, if you want to go back to bed you can." He whispers to her.

Winters wakes in the middle of the night next to Katerina, he kisses her softly on her lips as if trying to wake her up, his arms still wrapped around her half clothed body.

"Wake up baby." He mutters into her ear, nipping at her earlobe after he had finished speaking.

 

[BurningWillows]

Serena~

"Goodnight..." Her voice drifts off, his calming touch putting her to sleep.

Arya~

"I'll think about it," is all she can say, her eyes staring down at her hands, "and we will have to wait Kyle. Just booking a venue can be up to a year long wait. And if we just go to court, their next available appointment is six weeks from now. We'll be back in Afghanistan by then."

 

[BurningWillows]

Katerina~

Kat wakes up, her eyes lazily half open as she half turns in his arms.

"I was sleeping," she giggled, feeling his teeth on her ear, "and I was quite enjoying that dream."

For someone who had seen so much horror in her life, Katerina remained oddly happy, mostly when Kevin was around.

"Why are you waking me in the middle of the night?" She whispered.

 

[Risky]

"I was thinking about you." He says to her quietly, nuzzling her neck before kissing the soft flesh. "I was having a dream about us, and I couldn't wait for morning to come." He whispers.

"We have an awesome thing going.. I want to talk about the future is all." He explains to her quietly. "I figured that was worth waking you up at three am for." He says with a chuckle.

"I'm not gonna be able to go back to sleep." He says to her quietly before lightly kissing her lips. "I'm too terrified to even think of going asleep." He is actually shaking while holding her, sweat continues to run down his face.

 

[BurningWillows]

She caresses his cheek, then gets out of bed and turns on a light, finding a tank top. Lately she had grown to sleep in only a pair of short shorts while they were back in San Fransico, enjoying the freedom of it.

"Chocolate chip pancakes," she grins, "C'mon, we will bake our worries away. 3am pancakes are the best kind of pancakes."

Even though she's exhausted she could care less, wanting him to stop focusing on her safety and focus on something more positive.

Katerina rolled the rest of the way over so she was nose to nose to him, kissing the tip of his nose playfully.

"My future is being with you," she whispered, a twinkle in her eyes, "We have nice jobs here, in the city. We have a beautiful apartment we own. As long as your with me, I'm happy Kevin."

 

[Risky]

Kyle gets out of bed and watches her put her tank top on. He walks into the kitchen eith her and laughs. "I've never had 3 am pancakes." He admits. "Though I am looking forward to it now." He says while leaning against the counter.

"I'm happy too.. But I want kids." He says to her softly, smiling when she kisses the tip of his nose. "At least two, I want to get married and live the life we've been dreaming of since we first found that we were in love." He says to her softly.

He buries his face into the crook of her neck, muttering into her soft flesh. "I'm not saying right now.. But would you want kids?" He asks her.

 

[BurningWillows]

She throws a pan on the stove, "3 am pancakes are the best. Because its when you have the munchies, and nothing beats the munchies better than some pancakes. My dad used to make them when I was a kid and would wake up hungry."

She set about making them, pulling him into the kitchen to help.

"I'd love a kid. I don't think I can handle two of me. But of course I want one with you. I want to experience everything with you, like I've told you a million times."