Game: Halo
Pairing: John/Kelly
Genre: Romance/Hurt/Comfort
Rating: K+
Blessed Curses
Blue eyes blinked, tracing mental fingers across scarred skin. The skin was pale, though not as pale as it had once been when it had been hidden behind green, stalwart armor. The tank top that covered the pale skin did little to hide the muscles of the chest, fully exposed those in the arms, though, like the skin that had once been deathly white, the muscles had lost some of their bulk.
He was getting old.
She smiled.
Old. He was getting old.
It was inevitable, this aging, one of the curses of being human. It was a curse she had never thought he—or she, for that matter—would ever live to experience. Perhaps having once entertained that thought, the thought of an early grave, made her morbid, but no one would blame her. He and she were soldiers after all, Spartans, and early graves were a part of the job description.
So no, she had never thought they'd live long enough to look in the mirror and see shocks of grey where there had once been dark brown. And yet there they were, in their bed, soft puffs of breath escaping his parted, scarred lips, a strand of drool dripping down his chin.
He was getting old.
And it was glorious.
Wrinkles traversed marred flesh, and while he had developed crow's feet relatively early on in life, there were more lines now, due to time rather than stress.
Her smile grew wider.
Well, most of the wrinkles were now due to time. Some had been born of yet another curse she had never thought they'd live to see—parental worry.
She bit her lip, her smile stretching her cheeks to the point that they hurt, and buried her head in her pillow, keeping one gleaming blue eye on him.
Parents.
They were parents.
It still amused her to this day, nearly thirty years later when their son was grown and had a family of his own, that they were parents. If it had been taboo for her to think of him growing old, it had been against god for her to imagine him—to imagine her—with children. And yet a child they had. Grandchildren, too. And it was amazing.
He slipped one eye open suddenly, his mouth quickly curling to mimic hers in its joyous display. She had known he hadn't truly been sleeping, and he had known that she had known, but neither had been willing to disturb the pristine silence. It had been enough to just be.
The sheet fell down to his torso as he sat up and extended one large hand towards her face. She leaned forward, anticipating his touch, closed her eyes as he ran his rough thumb across her scarred cheek, breathed deeply as he lightly brushed her lips.
The sun had begun its ascent; she could feel its warmth on her back as its rays slipped inside their sacred haven. But the sun wasn't responsible for the fire burning inside her.
Soon they would have to rise and greet the day. Soon they would have to report for duty for, old as they were, the job was never really done. But for now it was just them.
"Kelly."
A shiver worked its way down her spine.
"Kelly."
It felt good to hear him say her name. There had been a time long ago when she had been afraid she would never hear it from him again.
"Kelly."
Something inside her chest tightened.
It was only her name, but with it he said so much.
She opened her eyes at long last, gaze softening as she placed her hand on top of his, could feel the shakiness with which he held it against her.
Time.
She swallowed hard.
Time.
It was the greatest enemy that they had ever faced and one day…one day…it would win.
There would come a point where he would reach the end of the aging process and there was only one thing left for him to do. It was something he couldn't shoot or blow up, something he couldn't outrun or outsmart. Hell, she couldn't even outrun it, though she'd certainly give it all she had. She'd run until she was beyond breathless, pulling him along with her until her legs gave out beneath her, and even then, she'd damn it all and keep going.
As if he could read her mind—and he probably could, long as he'd known her—he took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. Her smile returned and she placed her free hand on top of his, their fingers intertwining.
"Kelly."
Yes, one day time would win.
But not today.
And when it eventually did, she would welcome it, curse and all, with open arms.
For any time was better than none.