Before you could return to your normal life, CENTCOM made sure none of you talked about this matter by making some sort of strictly confidential pact. In this way, your mission would've ended positively and all of you could finally go home without any other complications; well, it was easier said than done because you, Jason or the others could never forget the day you all had survived from the House of Ashes.

Once all the bureaucratic stuff was sorted out and all the documents were signed, you packed your things in the bag and crossed the Iraqi lands to reach the airport, along with your team; during the road, Rachel and Nick didn't stop teasing both you and the cap boy, until your faces were completely red with embarrassment...really, you prayed that none of them had heard your noises last night and avoided thinking about it so as not to be discovered.

At the airport, your group was separated during the checks and you ended up boarding alone; later, you saw Rachel and Nick sitting one behind the other, while Eric was somewhere and away from you, definitely you didn't want him to sit next to you or you two would've ended up arguing...but suddenly, another person stopped beside you and smiled when you saw your First Lieutenant.

After he had argued with the woman at the counter about getting the ticket he wanted, Jason had managed to get the seat next to you and as soon as he saw you, a big smile was printed on his face.

《May I sit here, missy?》  Jason asked pretending to be a stranger and you just did his game, of course.

《Well, I was waiting for someone but it doesn't seem like he's coming so...why not?》  You smirked placing a hand on the free seat next to you and although you're joking, Jason raised a suspicious eyebrow before sitting down.

《No shit, would you really have done that?》  He asked without stopping to stare at you, definitely he couldn't bear if another person-man took his place, but you just looked at him with an amused expression and Jason muttered something to himself, now clearly annoyed.

《Depends on what that jar-head of yours thinks...》  You tilted your head to peek at his bratty pout under the cap; Salim was right to call him a cutie, you thought holding back a chuckle.

《...I would've punched anyone who did, that's what I think.》  There, Jason's brown eyes returned to meet yours with a deep jealousy in them  《The only one who can get his ass on this fuckin' seat is me.》

When Kolchek barked that, your faces were inches apart and although he intended to be threatening, his expression just softened as he had your lips kissing his left cheekbone.

《Ooh don't worry Lieutenant, your nice ass is more than enough here.》  You replied with a sweet wink; suddenly, you placed a hand on his left thigh, which immediately made him stiffen but without making him react properly.

Or so he was trying to prove himself in front of you.

《Damn Y/n, if you don't stop teasin' me right now...》  Jason grumbled lowly, as he took your hand in his palm and lowered his head towards you to silence that bold mouth of yours once and for all.

But, as your lips were about to meet, the stewardess' voice began to talk from the speaker to warn all passengers of the imminent departure, forcing you to postpone the kiss.

The flight lasted about 12 hours and although it was so much, you didn't get bored like you were on the outward journey, not when you had a guy like Jason Kolchek sitting next to you...you two talked, joked, kissed and slept on each other's shoulder to support you, just like you had done for all those tiring days. And when you could, you enjoyed the sight of the southern boy asleep next to you peacefully, without letting go of his bigger hand gripping yours.

Again, you couldn't explain why you loved this man so much. The truth was, you had never been a romantic type, rather you preferred to keep your guard up with a man, but definitely Jason had been the first one to break that wall of yours...and the same was true for him, honestly he was hoping for everything in that mission except to find the woman who would make him lose his track so much! In a way, it was as if one had found the other half of oneself and now that you had found yours, you would never let him go.

But unfortunately, that was what happened when the plane landed at the New York airport; of course, each of you would go your own way, but you were sure you would see them again...well, Rachel was the first to make sure that, if she needed a warrant officer to lead her team, she would've no doubts who she would rely on to fulfill that task.

《See you Y/n, and best wishes for your promotion, you deserve it after all.》  The CIA woman shook your hand warmly, before finally letting herself go in a happy hug.

《Thank you and good luck to all Rachel, it was a pleasure for me to work with you.》  You replied in the same way, sure you would never forget a strong woman like her and the complicity that bound you two.

The three men did the same too and Jason greeted Colonel King, as he would've done with any of his former superiors and as much as it bothered him, Nick repeated the same gesture after him; in any case, Eric didn't seem to think about the affair between him and his wife anymore, not when their own marriage was about to end. Beyond that, the blond man took the opportunity to apologize for all the bad things he had said to you at the temple and you forgave him with a simple and professional handshake, hoping that, after such a terrible experience, he would've become a humbler man than before.

《You're so cool Hale, now I understand why Jason has such a thing for you!》  Right there, Sergeant Kay told you in an amused voice as he squeezed your shoulders friendly, just for the sake of seeing his dear buddy become mortally jealous and you slightly blushed because of that.

By now, you knew perfectly well there wasn't just that between you two and Nick seemed to understand it, as he winked at you a moment before being pushed away by the other marine, apparently he couldn't keep his mouth shut even if you were there!

But after they were done teasing each other, it was your turn and Jason's and for some reason, your chest ached until he hugged you tightly, his face buried in your hair as his hands gently stroked your back.

《I've stuff to fix on my own but swear I'll be there to see my sweetie all hot for the big day, okay?》

Kolchek reassured you without breaking away and you took the opportunity to grab the T-shirt behind his back, while your face rested against his chest to keep him from letting him go.

《You better hurry the fuck up then, or I'll never forgive you!》  You replied harshly, but Jason could clearly hear the tremor coming out of your voice and just raised your chin to gently wipe away a little tear with his thumb...God, how beautiful you were also with your chubby, red after-cry face, he thought with a side smile.

《Hell Y/n I think I've already told ya. There's nothing I wouldn't do for my little girl.》  After that, Jason suddenly took off his cap to put it on your head, getting a confused expression from you.

《Jason, what—》

《You'll give it back to me when we meet again.》  He stopped you, now with his short hair exposed in front of the whole world after he had kept them secretly hidden, but he was capable of making such a sacrifice for you.

Then, his lips left a gentle kiss on your softest ones, definitely the slowest, sweetest one he ever gave you.

《A marine always keeps his word.》

Jason added once more before moving away from your arms, your lips and everything that he had just begun to love about you, repeating to himself that he would've done as quickly as possible to get back to his Miss Marshal, now intent on peering over the visor of the cap as her marine walked away from the group.

And away from you.

At that point, you had nothing left to do but search for your next flight, direct to Delafield in Wisconsin, which would take just a couple of hours. Although a few minutes had passed since that sort of promise between you two, you knew you wouldn't stop thinking about Jason Kolchek even in a dream, until the day you saw him again.

• • •

USA - July, 2003

It was a perfect day at St. John's Northwestern Academy. The sun shone clear in the sky and warmed the feverish hearts of all who, on that big day, had gone to attend the award ceremony of new commissioned officers for all ranks of the US Army and Navy; of course, most of them were family and friends and by now, you got used to that and the wishes your grandparents sent you were more than enough for you, as well as those of your companions.

When they saw you come back there two months earlier, they had praised you like a war hero for all the blows you had received; besides, they noticed that unusual baseball cap you had been wearing, definitely it wasn't your style, other than clearly belonging to a man...and despite the endless questions of Sarah, your roommate, you had told her nothing of your adventure in Iraq if not something about your military squad and some quick field works. Of course, your friend wasn't so stupid to not understand that you were hiding something else, as well as getting jealous of a worn baseball cap when she tried to steal it from you.

Well, you were constantly thinking about its owner and for a long time now, until you just sank into reality again, when it was your turn to stand up and wear your new rank with such honor, ignoring the fact that you couldn't find his face among those present. Right there, you felt a deep void inside you and when you finished exchanging fake smiles with the others, you wandered off to the building's outdoor garden alone.

You were a Chief Warrant Officer 2 now and that was supposed to be the happiest day of your life, proud of the hard work you had done all these years, but you just couldn't be, not when you wished someone was there...

You stopped under a large tree to shade yourself under its leaves and, with a quick gesture, you took off the beret you were wearing with your elegant black uniform, meticulously decorated on the sleeves and on the shoulder pads by the insignia of rank along with the badge you had just earned; because of the light summer breeze of that place, some tufts of your middle hair moved around your neck, previously collected to make a bun just above your nape. You wished he had been there to see you...

Why aren't you here, Jason?

You stopped the tear from your eye right away, definitely you didn't want to spoil the mood of that beautiful day, in addition to that of your well-posed makeup and make everyone else understand that you had cried for a fucking marine idiot...

Where the hell are you??

But suddenly, your thoughts were interrupted by some footsteps and you immediately turned in that direction.

《Oh, it's you Sergeant. Something wrong?》

Your expression softened a little when you saw your friend. No doubt, you would've missed the times spent with her, especially when there were some problems around the academy it was always her who warned you about them, just like you were always the one who had to solve them...in a way, Sarah reminded you of Nick's loyal and brotherly attitude towards Jason.

But this time, her smile was far too big to be anything serious.

《Oh, much worse Chief Hale, there's a guy at the front door who didn't stop barking like a mad dog ​​from this morning!》  The girl started to explain with a bewildered expression.  《But you know what the funny thing is? When I mentioned your baseball cap, well, he didn't stop repeating your name till death!》

Your eyes and lips were wide open from all those sudden informations and without wasting any more time, you followed her into the building and when you were a few steps from the front door, you saw a young man pacing nervously back and forth on the other side of the glass, cursed anyone who approached him to make him leave. Honestly, he couldn't understand why nobody was telling him where the hell was a certain young warrant officer, he had to hurry the fuck up so as not to miss her ceremony!

Of course, this guy was too pissed off to notice the presence on the other side of the closed door and when it happened, he just put a hand on his head to pull back his messy hair and make himself more presentable despite his casual appearance.

《You see? That's definitely someone who needs a cap like yours!》  Sarah joked without stopping to stare at the informal but manly aspect of the stranger  《I thought you didn't like guys like him so why such a cool, Southern boy knows you!?》

You sighed as you tried to ignore the sergeant's words and when your gaze met that of the Marine Corps' First Lieutenant, it seemed to you as if the world around had just stopped spinning. Of course, Jason stood looking at you with an astonished expression, he almost had no words to describe such a wonderful vision; without breaking eye contact, he moved a foot towards your figure and there, he recognized the badge you had on your jacket.

《Fuck, I knew it!》  Jason grumbled and scratched his nape in frustration, realizing it was too late.  《I'm so sorry Y/n, I—》

But suddenly, you forced him to take you into his arms after you had jumped on him. That gesture made your beret fall to the ground, but you just buried your face on his neck.

《Shut up and hug me, you fucking idiot!》  You cried out as you squeezed your fingers on his blue T-shirt  《D-do you have any idea how long I've been waiting?! I thought you...!》

But you stopped when you felt Jason hold you back and tighter, to the point where your heels hardly felt the floor beneath.

《Don't say it sweetheart.》  He pulled away just enough to look you in the face  《There's no way I've forgotten it. For the past two months, you've always been in my thoughts and now that I'm here, swear I'm not fuckin' let you go!》

You had missed his drawled voice and every emotion that only him could give you; Jason started to kiss you repeatedly and when reached your reddish lips, he took off some of your lipstick, definitely your performance caught the attention of the people around there as if they were watching a sort of The Times Square Kiss! Well, they weren't all that wrong and so you and Jason stayed like this, hugging each other after you had been apart for two long and grueling months.

《God you're so damn gorgeous today. Congratulations on your new rank, Miss Marshal.》  The marine said with a dimpled smile, looking you up and down before leaving just another kiss on the back of your hand, from which burst of happiness from all pores.

《Well, I don't think you're so bad either, Lieutenant, it must have been tough without your trusty cap for all this time...》  You smiled when you looked up at his brown hair, styled like a military cut but with a nice, straight tuft that fell on the left side of his head, definitely you were eager to touch it.

《Yeah, that's the second thing I've been missin' in these months, hope you haven't lost it somewhere...》  Jason chuckled at his own statement, surely he had missed your pretty fingers on his hair more than that.  《And where's that weird headband of yours, I prefer more to this stuff here!》

Suddenly, when Jason harassed your tidy bun on your nape, you stopped him before he messed it up completely.

《Is that so? I'll take your cap hostage if you don't cut it out!》  You replied with an obvious grin on your face as you backed towards the door, but Jason just followed you step by step and with your own grin on him.

He had missed that beautiful and stubborn woman so fucking much and just couldn't wait to be alone with her, just like she couldn't wait to get out of there with him...

At this point, you were ready to finally leave the academy and once you had collected your things and changed clothes, you went to greet your major in his study; you knew him for being a good friend to your father, as well as your mentor and after seeing the results of your mission in Iraq, he had no doubts that you would take your father's place someday. Unlike what Colonel King told you in the temple, the major knew you were just like him, if not better.

After you left, the man made his way to the office window and just then, he saw you walking with an unknown young man and with a dazzling smile on your face. At that moment, the wise words of a blind poet returned to his mind like this:

"Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to Light."

A tight smile formed on his skinny lips as he sat back behind his desk, definitely your experience would've stayed on everyone's mouths if you had told about what really happened in the Arabian Desert...well, you didn't do it for reasons and the strange man slowly crossed his fingers, staring at the ancient candlestick in the corner with a relaxed expression...though it was daylight, all six candles were still burning brightly for too long now...

His work was more than done there.

• • •

《...》

《YOU DID WHAT!?》

You couldn't believe what you just heard. Not only Jason left Georgia on that same morning to come where you were with a fucking bag, but he had also forgotten to ask for a room somewhere, so as not to be late for your promotion, but which failed to witness the end! You were speechless, if not incredulous about that whole story.

《So, you're telling me you don't have a place to stay...》  You really wanted to hit your head against the table when you said it, especially when you saw his cocky face you liked so much but that you just wanted to slap in that right moment!

《Damn Jason, how can you be so moron!?》

With his arms crossed on the small bar table where you two stopped, the southern man seemed otherwise amused to see your angry, but worried face and unlike what you thought, no one would ever do what Jason Kolchek had done that early morning with the sole purpose of returning to his girl.

《S'pose I just have to go back then...》  Jason was about to get up from his chair when suddenly you grabbed his left forearm to stop him; of course, you didn't want that and he just smirked in front of your evident gesture.

《T-that wasn't what I meant, but it's also obvious that you cannot wander alone in a place you don't know!》  You explained with your grip still on him, as if you were afraid he would try to escape again, until you felt his calloused fingers playing with your tufts.

《And what you suggest to do 'bout that? I'm all ears, Miss Boss.》  There, his brown eyes met yours waiting for an answer.

Sure, you blushed a little when you heard him call you like that and Jason pretended not to notice too much, though the dimples struggled to disappear from his cheeks; anyway, he would've found a room in a nearby hotel without bothering you, but you just didn't want to let him do it.

《Well, my home is not far from here, is it good for you?》  You added seriously although you weren't entirely sure about it; Jason looked at you puzzled, especially when your hand squeezed his nervously, in a way it reminded him of the handshake you two had exchanged on your first meeting at Camp Slayer, with all the sensations he had perceived that day...

And even now, he felt it wasn't good at all for you to let him into your house.

《Better not Y/n. I mean, not that I don't want to, actually I'd like it but just no, if you know what I mean...》  Jason said with clear confusion in his head, he knew himself too well to be sure he wouldn't keep his hands away from you if he walked into your house, but at the same time he wanted to spend all the time he had there with you, so yeah, his brain was literally screwing up trying to give you a decent answer...

Until you gave him the coup de grace.

《I'm serious Jason, my house is big enough to host another person and right now, I really want you to come and stay with me.》

After your words, the marine swallowed hard letting his Adam's apple make up and down nervously, literally you were playing with the fire that blazed inside him and you could feel it by the sudden heat that his knuckles emanated, now closed in a fist on the table...he had to make an important choice.

《Okay, I'm fine with it.》  Finally, Jason broke that uncomfortable silence between you two, until he got up from his seat to slowly approach your little figure.  《Just hope you know what you're doing sweetheart, don't want you to change your mind and leave me out later...》

When Jason whispered that in your ear, you didn't move an inch and just looked up at him with a determined look and a mocking smile on your shiny lips.

《...be a good boy and nothing will happen to you.》

After that, Kolchek raised his back and without further ado, he headed for the counter to pay for what you two had consumed at the table with a defiant look on his face; you noticed it of course, and your heart started beating fast, thinking about the bullshit you just did...and thinking about Jason Kolchek inside your own house...

You would've regretted this choice very soon.