Prompt:
Bartlet: "What I lack in memory, I more than make up for with exceptional
powers of deductive reasoning."
Debbie: "That come with tights and a cape?"
The West Wing
Prompt by lska
Word count: 1345 words. Exactly.
Category: Romance
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own them.
A/N: The story is set post series finale.
Eternal thanx to my beta-reader, Colie!
Realization on Demand
It was a good decision.
The warm afternoon sun shone down on her kindly. The sky was a heavenly shade of blue, with only a few clouds marring its perfect texture. Her skin tingled under the heating rays, the intermittent breezes keeping her from feeling scorched. The air was laden with the smell of the nearby ocean and of trees and home-cooking and life.
A smart decision, certainly.
She lay on a comfortable sun lounger in her bathing suit, enjoying a quiet Saturday afternoon. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply; inflating her lungs to their highest capacity, then slowly let the air out. Physically, life was bliss.
It was the best decision she could've made.
She turned over to her stomach, giving her back some sun time as well. Resting her head on her arms, she stared at a point on her deck, and tried to will her mind to stop buzzing.
It had been a smart decision to go to San Diego. It was a smart move for her. The position was very good, and the sun and sea didn't hurt one bit. So why did she feel like she wasn't done convincing herself of that?
She sighed and buried her face in the crook of her elbow. She missed him. It was eating at her heart in small bites of misery. She had a feeling he was missing her too, but couldn't be sure. Their communication was broken by work and different time-zones. She wanted him there; next to her, close, a breath away.
Instead he was thousands of miles, two flights, and an 8 hours difference away. In a city that was the exact opposite of the one she was in.
Thing was, it actually suited them. They both wanted to get ahead. He liked rain. She loved the sun. Maybe it really was better this way...? Was her heart supposed to be breaking, then?
The rustle of wind through the leaves and the comfortable temperature lulled her to sleep despite the thoughts whirling inside her head.
She had no idea how long she'd slept. The sun was still warm on her back but it wasn't as warm and she felt... something... Focusing on her breathing, she calmed the muscles that twitched under her tan skin. Turning all her senses outward, she tried to decipher the feeling in her gut. She felt... but it couldn't be... it was her mind playing games with her.
She shook her head briskly from side to side, trying to forcibly shake the thoughts away. Finally opening her eyes, she turned to her side and what she saw made her heart lurch to her throat.
He smiled affectionately.
"What are you doing here?!" were the first words out of her mouth. Nice one, MacKenzie, couldn't have put it better if you tried...
He just kept on grinning and walked over to her. "Is this seat taken?" It took her a second to register he was pointing to her chair and move before he sat down on her.
"Not at all, feel free." She said wryly. His grin did not diminish or change. His eyes traveled along her body, his finger helping them on their way up from hip to shoulder. She shivered under his touch and her eyes fluttered closed for a moment.
"Harm.." She whispered in a wondering indulgence once she opened her eyes again.
"Hello." Was all he said. She stared at him. He raised a brow and slowly lowered his face to hers. Their lips met softly for a brief moment, before urgency took over and they deepened the kiss with fervor. Her hands held on to his face and she was half-way out of the chair with the need to get closer to him, feel him, make certain she wasn't dreaming.
They ended the kiss when they were both flushed and breathless. She was now sitting upright, her arms around his neck, while his wrapped loosely around her waist. Forehead against forehead they worked on regaining their breath.
"Not that I'm complaining," she took a few more breaths, "but to what do I owe this exquisite pleasure?" She rubbed her nose for a moment against his, and smiled at his laughter.
"Well..." he drawled, "if memory serves, you said you simply had to see me as soon as possible or else-"
Her jaw dropped. "You have a really bad memory there, sailor."
That gave him pause, but she could tell the exact moment he chose his come-back when a tell-tale glint appeared in his eyes. "What I lack in memory, I more than make up for with exceptional powers of deductive reasoning." There was such conviction in his voice, she absolutely had to laugh. And then laugh some more.
"That come with tights and a cape?" She managed between laughs.
"Matter of fact, it does!" She just laughed harder, throwing her head back.
A swift kiss to the base of her throat calmed her some and she laid her head on his shoulder with a sigh and a few last vestiges of mirth.
"God, Harm, I haven't laughed that much in ages."
"Glad to be of help, Marine." He kissed her temple. "See, I just knew you needed me to come."
Mac pulled back to look him in the eye. "Seriously, Harm, I talked to you only yesterday and you said your work load was hell. What changed?" She paused. "Or did you plan this and were lying to me yesterday..?"
Harm shook his head and gave a short laugh. "No, I did not plan this." He kissed her nose at the face she made; practically spelling out 'should've known'. "I just had this inexplicable urge to see my wife, so I went to the airport, took the first flight out and here I am."
"You did not!" She looked at him incredulously.
"Oh, but I did."
"You're crazy." She shook her head. "Certifiably, 100 percent crazy."
"Watch it, Marine. I just might think you don't want me here." She wrapped her arms tightly around him and kissed the tip of his ear. "I want you here with me more than anything, sailor. Always remember that." The sincere statement earned her a long, sincere kiss. "This whole long-distance-marriage thing is wreaking havoc on my nerves, why did we do this again?" She sighed into his shoulder.
"Because you didn't want to leave the Corps, I didn't want to leave the Navy, and fate decided to escape the decision and let the General take over..."
"Ah, yes... I remember now" As if she could forget the General seizing the coin Bud had tossed, from its seemingly endless twirl through the air, and asking them if they'd lost their collective, soon-to-be-married mind.
For a moment they'd considered answering in the affirmative, then regained their officer senses. It was decided they'd each go to their predestined post and wait for the next available, fitting post that would hopefully bring them to serve in the same city/country/continent.
They'd gotten married a couple of months after leaving for their respective posts, in a beautiful affair, then after a short honeymoon, went back to their jobs on opposite sides of the planet.
"Sorry, I just could not wait till our next planned vacation." He delivered a lingering kiss to her throat. "I wanted to see you... and our... not quite chilly phone conversations were not helping." He paid due attention to the other side of her throat.
Mac laced her fingers through his hair and tilted her head to give him better access. "Are you saying you came here 'cause you were tired of the phone-sex?" She brought his head level with hers and made good use of the fact that his lips were inches away; effectively cutting off the answer she knew was poised on said lips.
Turned out her worry was for naught; Harm was done talking. He got up, bringing her with him and not breaking the kiss, lifted her into his arms and made his way inside.
They'd save the talking for the phone.
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End
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