Lilly breathed in deeply as she stepped off the plane. It was good to be home, especially after everything she had experienced overseas. The passengers behind her grumbled and she moved forward slowly, enjoying watching as children gripped their parents' hands tightly, couples clung to each other, and fathers or mothers rushed off the plane in a hurry to see their grown up children.

"You ready for this?"

The blonde turned to see her companion, Leah, hoist her bag to get a firmer grip and give her a grim smile. Lilly grinned back at her.

"Boy, am I," she said excitedly.

"I know that you wanted to avoid the topic, but how long until you go back?" Leah asked, and Lilly's face immediately darkened.

"Two months," she said. She knew she was lucky. Many other soldiers were only getting three weeks, but she still wanted more time. "After that, I go back to base, then get flown back over to Afghanistan for another nine months. If I survive that, then I get another month back at home and they transfer me back to base until my enlistment time is up."

"You're lucky," Leah said grumpily. "I get two weeks, get transferred back to base for two months, then I'm over in Afghanistan for a year, which we both know will be extended because you know how the government loves to pretend that we really haven't been over there as long as we really have."

"I'm sorry," Lilly said genuinely as they entered the terminal and headed towards baggage claim. She could see her family waiting for her and her excitement started to grow. Glancing over at Leah, she could see that she already had eyes for a man standing right outside the gates. "Hey, I might see you at base in a couple months," Lilly said. "Good luck." She held out her hand and Leah clasped it tightly, pulling her into a hug quickly before starting to back away.

"You too," Leah whispered.

They both knew that they most likely would never see each other again, so their departure was depressing. The first time they had met was in the training camp they had both attended before getting shipped off together to Afghanistan. Of the squad they had been in, other than the leader, they had been the only ones to survive after a bomb had exploded. Their comrade, Christopher, had pushed them out of the way and the two of them had survived with only a few minor scratches.

Lilly watched as Leah slowly backed away from her, then they both rushed towards each other, gripping each other tightly as tears streamed down both of their faces. "It's not going to be the same without you," Lilly whispered. "Who's going to pull you out of danger when you don't realize it's there?"

"Hey, I wouldn't be talking, missy," Leah laughed through her tears. "How many times have I hauled your ass out of shit?"

"Okay, maybe we've helped each other out equally," Lilly said, grinning. "Just…promise me that you'll keep in touch. We have each other's e-mails. Update me at least once a week, okay? And as often as you can with letters when you get shipped back out."

"You promise me too, Miss Truscott," Leah said.

"Of course."

They squeezed each other one last time before Leah turned to the man, her husband of two and a half years, and Lilly turned to her family. Her parents smiled and waved to her and her older sister grinned. Her sister's husband tried to keep their twin sons from running to Lilly, but gave up after a few moments. Lilly dropped her bag to the ground and held out her arms, gathering the two boys in her arms and holding them close.

"Hey, Tyler! Hey, Evan! How're you two doing?" Lilly asked, tickling them both into submission as they tried to poke her in the side and get her to laugh. The two boys managed to wrestle their way out of her arms and ran back to their dad, hiding behind him for protection.

"Lillian, leave that there and let your father get it," her mother instructed as Lilly reached down to pick up her back. She just laughed and picked it up, even as her dad started forward. "Since when have I ever let someone else do anything for me when I can do it perfectly fine for myself?" she asked, walking forward and pulling her mom into a gentle hug.

But it was comforting to know that her mom hadn't changed. Ever since she could remember, her mom had always wanted Lilly to be the baby of the family. The child who would have everything provided for her and wouldn't ever have to worry about anything. Lilly had rebelled almost immediately, refusing everyone's help and learning to do things for herself.

"Same old Lilly we know," her dad said, laughing as he engulfed her in a bear hug. He was twice as big as Lilly was, who wasn't on the small side at all. She could beat anyone in an arm-wrestling match…except for him. He was the one who had inspired her to join the military because he had enlisted when he graduated. She had done the same thing and planned on going to college after her enlistment time was up. Originally, she had planned on reenlisting, but after everything she had seen in Afghanistan…she didn't want to have to go through it again.

She shook hands briefly with her sister's husband, Eric, and hugged her sister, who was smaller and thinner than she was. "It's good to see you again, Lisa," she whispered. "I missed you, over there. Even all your crazy vegetarian dishes and your environmental group lectures."

"Thanks, Lilly," her sister whispered, letting her go.

"We have your suitcase," her mom said, gesturing to the rolling suitcase the army had supplied her with to pack the few belongings she owned at the base and in the pack she carried with herself when she was in the field. "Are you ready to head home?"

Lilly glanced over her shoulder at Leah, who was involved in a heated make-out session with her husband. The blonde felt a slight pang when she realized that she had no significant other who would be waiting for her. "Yeah, I'm ready," she whispered, turning to her family and plastering on a fake smile. She was good at pretending to smile. She had been doing it in the military for the children, for the women, for everyone she had saved. Why not do it for the people she was protecting? There wasn't much of a difference.

As they headed out of the airport, Lilly caught her dad looking at her worriedly. When he noticed that she saw him, he gave her a small, put an arm around her shoulders, and faced forward. But he knew something. Lilly stowed that piece of information in the back of her head to confront him about later. Maybe next week. She wanted to start out on a good foot, especially when she only had two months to visit.

"Why does love always feel like a battlefield…"

"Can we turn this off?" Lilly asked, even as her mom and sister sang along with radio.

"Wait until the song is over," her sister said.

"Please, just turn it off," Lilly said desperately.

"Can you wait two minutes?" her sister asked.

"Turn it off!"

Her mom quickly reached for the radio, turning the music off as her sister turned to face her. "What the heck has gotten into you?" she asked.

"I asked you twice to turn the music off," Lilly said quietly, staring out the window.

"Why does it matter?" Lisa asked.

"Leave her alone," her mom said gently, putting her hand on Lisa's shoulder. Lisa sighed in aggravation and turned away from Lilly. A single tear trailed down Lilly's cheek and she wished with all her might that she was with someone who could understand. Someone who would listen to her without bias and tell her that it was all going to be okay and no matter what she said, they were going to love her forever and ever and ever.

As soon as her mom pulled into the driveway and parked the car, Lilly ran out of the car and into the house, unlocking the front door with the spare key that was in its usual place under the fake rock in the flower garden out front. She dropped the key on the small table just inside the door and ran up the stairs to her room. Going through her drawers, she found a bikini and quickly put it on, running down to the back door, grabbing her surfboard where it was leaning against the side of the house, and called to her family.

"I'm going surfing!" she yelled.

She knew that her sister would be mad that she wasn't spending time with the family, especially since she just got back, but she needed to burn off her anger, and surfing or skateboarding was the only way she could do that. Either that, or target practice, and Lilly hadn't brought her gun with her and had no desire to pick up another gun until she was forced to. She heard her mom give her consent and she rushed down to the beach, running into the ocean and throwing her board on top of the water.

Getting on top of her board and lying on her stomach, she paddled out until she spotted a good wave and let it take her over. After three hours of surfing, the waves started to die down and she just sat on her board, staring out to see.

"Hey, you okay?"

Turning, she saw a pretty brunette sitting on a surfboard behind her. She smiled, looking her over even as she did so. She was wearing a white bikini, which showed off her tan, and while she wasn't well-muscled, like Lilly, she had a gorgeous body. If Lilly had been a little braver, she would have started flirting with the girl immediately, but she knew that not every girl was open about their sexual orientation as she was.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, giving the girl a small smile. "I'm Lilly Truscott."

"Miley Stewart," the girl said, matching her smile. "You're pretty good at surfing."

"Thanks, do you surf?" Lilly asked curiously.

"Naw, this is my brother's board," Miley said, tapping the surfboard under her. "He's tried to teach me a few times and failed miserably. I wipe out every time. I'm just a horrible klutz. At least, when it comes to sports like this. You get me on a stage dancing, then I'm your girl."

"Where're you from?" Lilly asked, tilting her head as she noticed Miley's accent.

"I moved her a year ago from around Nashville, Tennessee," Miley said. "Crowley Corners, to be exact. It's the accent, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but don't be ashamed of it. I think it's cute," Lilly said.

Miley laughed. "Thanks," she said. "That's a first. I've heard that my accent is hot, sexy, and weird, but never cute."

Lilly shrugged. "Hey, I call it as I see it," she said. "Was it all boys commenting on your accent? That might have been the reason you got such a…colorful variety of adjectives."

"Actually, they were all from girls," Miley said, looking at Lilly anxiously. "Boys aren't really my type."

"Hey, me neither," Lilly said.

"Lilly!"

The blonde turned to the shore to see her mom waving her arms and motioning for her to come in. "Hey, sorry, I have to go in," she said with an apologetic grin to Miley. "I just got home three hours ago, and the first thing I did was grab my board and hit the waves. Do you…do you want to meet again sometime soon?"

"I'd like that," Miley said shyly, looking down at the board beneath her.

"Okay, where do you live?" Lilly asked.

"Right there," Miley said, pointing to the house next to Lilly's. "How 'bout you?"

"The house to the right of yours," Lilly laughed. "Do you wanna meet me tonight at, say, eleven, on the beach?"

"Sounds like a date," Miley grinned.

"Lilly!"

"I have to go, I'll see you tonight," Lilly said, starting to paddle towards the shore. She could feel the excitement coming on and hoped that eleven would come a lot faster.

Lilly snuck out of her house. Her parents had gone to bed an hour earlier when Lisa and her husband had left with Tyler and Evan. She knew that her dad wanted to talk to her about what had happened in the car, since her mom had told him, but she had avoided him like the plague. She needed time to sort it out before she talked about it with anyone. Besides, she needed to get ready to see Miley.

Normally Lilly wouldn't have hooked up with a girl so soon after getting home, especially when she was supposed to leave for Afghanistan in two months, but Miley…she seemed different than any of the other girls she had dated or been interested it. While they had all been athletic, loud, and very outspoken, Miley was beautiful and seemed quiet and shy. She had no idea what had spurred the brunette to talk to her, but she was glad that she had.

"Hey," she said, approaching Miley, who was walking down the beach towards the water. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Hey, yourself," Miley said playfully. "So you know more about me than I know about you. Tell me what you just got home from."

The blonde looked away. "I really don't like to talk about it," she said quietly.

"Does it have to do with the scars on your stomach?" Miley asked softly.

"Yeah," Lilly whispered, remembering all the cuts and scrapes she had gotten from sliding on the ground, getting thrown out of the way of enemy fire, people crushing her as they tried to protect her from bombs. "Please don't ask again. I just…I came home to forget for a while, and I don't really want to talk about it until I'm ready."

"I completely understand," Miley said quietly.

They stood there in a comfortable silence until Miley took Lilly's hand and sat down on the sand, pulling the blonde down with her. Lilly smiled as the brunette leaned into her. "Do you usually get this close to girls on the first date?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, especially when I've only met them the day that I have the date with them," Miley whispered, and Lilly laughed softly. "But really," Miley said quietly. "I…I feel drawn to you. Like you need someone there for you. And I feel like I already know you. Like you're someone that I've met before."

"That's funny, I feel the same way," Lilly said, looking down at their entwined hands.

"I think it's someone's way of telling us that we're meant to be together," Miley said.

Lilly stared out at the ocean and spoke softly, as if not to break a spell. "Maybe we were."

Over the next few weeks, Lilly spent all of her time between her family and Miley. When she wasn't with one, chances were that she was with the other. And a lot of the time, she was with both her family and Miley. After a week of sneaking out after her parents had gone to bed to see Miley, she finally decided to introduce the brunette to her parents, saying that she thought that there was something between the two of them. Her mom was ecstatic, but her dad looked at her cautiously, and Lilly wondered what he was thinking.

Every day that Lilly spent with Miley, she fell in love with her more and more. They did everything they could think of together: watched movies at the theater and in each other's houses, went bowling, swam in the ocean and in Miley's pool, met up with a couple of Lilly's old friends and some of Miley's new friends, played Miley's older brother's video games, and walked on the beach. And no matter what Lilly was doing, she couldn't get the brunette out of her head.

"Can I ask you something without you getting mad?" Miley asked two weeks before Lilly was due to leave for Afghanistan. She still hadn't told Miley that she was leaving, or even that she was in the army.

"Yeah, sure, of course," Lilly said.

"Are you leaving?"

Lilly hesitated. "Yes," she said quietly after a moment.

"Where are you going? Back to college? Where do you go to college? Are you going to come back and visit on your breaks? Will I be able to visit you?" Miley asked anxiously.

The blonde looked away, trying to hold back tears. "I should have told you," she said quietly, and Miley looked at her with a puzzled expression on her face. "Miley, I'm in the army. I'm leaving in two weeks to go to Afghanistan for nine months."

"What?" Miley asked in surprise, reeling away from Lilly. "The army? Afghanistan? Two weeks? Nine months?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but I didn't want you to worry," Lilly said apologetically, tears streaming down her face. "I wanted our relationship to…to be unhindered and…and…"

"How about honest?" Miley snapped. "Genuine? Truthful? Do any of those adjectives suit you? Was I just a toy until you went back? Are you even really gay? Should I even take you seriously? What am I to you, Lillian, really? I want you to tell me. Am I hot? Sexy? Weird? Cute?"

"Miley, please…" Lilly said, reaching out for the brunette as she started to back away.

"No, Lilly, I think you've had a long enough time to tell me," Miley said, shaking her head. "And I think I had a right to know. Did you know that all this time my dad's been telling me that I should ask you where you're going? For you to be honest? But I said, 'No, she'll tell me when she's ready. I don't want to push her.' I guess he was right, wasn't he? You've had almost two months to tell me, Lilly, and you were going to wait until the last second, weren't you? I can't believe that I thought you were any different from the others."

She turned on her heel and ran to her house, leaving Lilly staring after her with tears running down her face.

"Get out of the way!"

Another of Lilly's fellow comrades knocked her out of the way as enemy fire pierced the place where Lilly had just been kneeling. She thanked the soldier with her eyes and crawled forward, her gun slung over her back. It had been a month since she had left Malibu, California, and Miley, behind. The brunette hadn't talked to her once since she had found out Lilly was in the army and Lilly had moped around the house for the last two weeks she was there.

"MOVE!!!"

Lilly blinked and there was an eruption of lights behind her eyes. People yelled and there was an immense amount of pain on the left side of her body. The last thing she thought of was Miley before she blacked out.

Well, there's the first part of this two-shot. Thank you to Faith Karma for giving me this idea! You really are awesome!!! And thank you to my readers for supporting all my writing. I really appreciate it. REVIEW!!! I'm planning on getting the second part of this up tomorrow, so review. I want to see what you all think of this before then. Thank you all again!

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