Note: Twenty-something, domestic Gwen/Kevin, apparently. I was just going to write a drabble, but somehow this fell out instead. Hope you like! :)
I got to choose my own prompt for this one. I chose 'tattoo'.
The door was unlocked, much to Kevin's concern. He had warned Gwen about keeping the door locked numerous times, but she never listened to him. He stepped into the hallway and shut the door behind him almost soundlessly. The next thing that he noticed was that Gwen had almost every light in the house on. He would have complained and reminded her about the electric bill that would inevitably land on the doormat at the end of the month, if it had been any other evening. However, it was an important night, as it marked Kevin's return from his three-week-long mission. Although, he was completely unexpected, because he was a whole two days early.
Kevin ditched his large bag at the bottom of the stairs and followed the sound of music to the back of the house. As he crept down the hallway, he passed Gwen's simple and tasteful décor and all the pictures she had hung on the walls. There were plenty of shots of her immediate - and extended – family. Grandpa Max with the prize fish he had caught three years ago, old family portraits of Gwen with her parents and brother, and plenty of Ben with his family. Not to mention all the individual pictures Gwen had hung of her 'niece and nephew', which was what she called them, even though they were technically some kind of cousin, either secondary or removed. Kevin just preferred to call them 'Ben's brats', though never in Gwen's earshot. Ben's kids annoyed him pretty much constantly, always climbing all over him and desperately trying to make him play or absorb stuff that made him look funny. Although Kevin did like the way they double teamed and ran rings around Ben, they had really grown on him after they had figured out how to do that.
Of course, the other problem with Ben's kids was that they always made people ask when he and Gwen would be having children of their own. The question always made Gwen stutter, and that in turn made him sweat. He hated when people asked those things, because it really was none of their business. After all, Gwen was busy with her second degree, and she had taken up the role of ambassador for Earth on several interstellar councils, and then there were the missions that she still helped out with. Kevin was stretched in just as many ways as Gwen was, so there was hardly time for babies at the moment. He knew it was something she wanted to happen one day though, because they had that 'big talk' years ago. Although, the way she had pinked at the question the last few times was kind of suspicious…
In the hallway there was only one photograph of the couple themselves, because Kevin had put his foot down over that. He really did not want to be one of those couples. The ones that had grinning pictures of themselves in embarrassing embraces plastered all over their walls, the kind that always made visitors feel uncomfortable. The only reason he had allowed that one picture to grace the wall was because she was the main focus and his face was turned partially away from the camera. Her mother had taken it whilst they were at her parents' beach house. They were sat eating brunch out on the sand; the bagels had lain just out of shot and Gwen was nestled between his legs and leaning back on his chest. The way she had smiled so sweetly for the camera made her seem a little more carefree than usual, and that was what really made the photo so good, in his opinion.
When Kevin reached the kitchen, the door was already open, so he leant against the doorframe and watched Gwen rinse the bubbles from the day's dishes. She spoke occasional words of the song on the radio, for she was never really one to sing. As Gwen held another plate under the stream of water, Kevin looked her up and down. Her hair was bundled into a messy knot and she wore a very simple tee. Although, as Kevin looked lower, he was slightly puzzled as to why she was wearing both very brief sweat-shorts and fuzzy socks; he wondered why the uncovered legs in-between were not cold. Nevertheless, she was a welcome sight and he could not think of a way that she could have looked more attractive. In the end, Kevin could resist no longer, and so he called out to her.
At the sound of his voice Gwen whipped around and clutched her chest in surprise; her soapy hands left spots of water on her shirt. She had been completely unaware of his presence over the sound of the radio and the rushing water, and she was a little embarrassed that he had caught her looking less than her best. Although, all her little insecurities were cast to one side when she saw the smile on Kevin's face. Gwen hastily grabbed a dishtowel, dried her hands and then tossed it on the counter just before she rushed towards Kevin with her arms outstretched.
They embraced tightly, glad to be reunited. Gwen nuzzled into his chest and forgot that her hair was messy and that she was not wearing a drop of makeup. She dropped back a little from the hug, but still stood close enough that their bodies touched.
"You're early." She said, as she traced loopy patterns on his chest with her forefinger.
"Yep, and y'know what that means…" Kevin began, before he leant down slightly and whispered in her ear, "Two days off."
Gwen smiled and started to plant kisses along his jaw line. As much as it pained Kevin to peel her away from him, he knew he had to, because he had something important to show her.
"Hold up, I got a surprise for you."
Kevin peeled his shirt off and draped it over Gwen's shoulder. He turned so that his left side faced her, and then needlessly pointed at his upper arm.
"What d'ya think?" Kevin asked.
Gwen had already put a hand to her mouth in shock. Square in the middle of Kevin's upper arm was her name, written in a curly script and black ink.
"Ain't it romantic?" He teased, flexing his bicep slightly.
"This might be the stupidest thing you have ever done." Gwen snapped, as she grabbed his shirt from her shoulder and thrust it into his unsuspecting hands.
Kevin's smile faded from his face when Gwen turned and walked away from him, all the while she muttering under her breath. She moved to the refrigerator and jostled the items inside around noisily. The sudden need to busy her hands a direct result of her annoyance. She pulled out a bowl of grapes, set it down on the countertop, yanked a few from their stalks and let them rest in her cupped hand. She then popped a couple of grapes in her mouth and chewed.
"How? Why?" She spluttered through her mouthful of fruit, unable to contain her questions any longer.
"A couple of the guys were getting them, and I just thought…" Kevin said, though he realised there was no point continuing, as Gwen was pretty set with her opinion.
Kevin sighed internally. He had already gotten quite attached to the tattoo and had even made some theoretical plans for another, but he guessed it would be better if he kept that fact to himself for now. Her reaction had left him somewhat disappointed. He had expected her to be shocked, maybe even scold him a bit, but this really had her steamed.
When some of the guys on base had tossed the idea around, Kevin had almost immediately counted himself in. He knew he was never really any good at telling Gwen how he felt, so he had thought that such a gesture would have said it all for him. The rest of the group had spent all day discussing the merits of dragons and lions over skulls and eagles, but Kevin had known what he wanted to get straight away. Some of the others had tried to talk him out of it, but he had remained constant and simply clenched his jaw as the needle buzzed into his skin.
Meanwhile, Gwen silently fumed, tossed the remaining grapes back into their bowl and wondered if Kevin would jump off a cliff if 'the guys' were doing it.
"Why did it have to be my name, couldn't you have gotten a heart, or an anchor, or… or something?"
"Why would I get an anchor?" Kevin replied, raising his eyebrow in confusion.
Gwen threw her arms upwards, frustrated and fed up. Kevin had clearly missed her point entirely,
"What if we break up?"
"I guess I'll have to find another chick called Gwen." He smirked.
Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose, she was not sure if she could take another joke. Suddenly another thought came to the forefront of her mind,
"What are my parents going to say when we go to the beach house this summer?!"
"Jeez, Gwen. Lighten up, it's only four lil' letters. Guys get 'em so they can be identified, you know, in case..."
"But why would they need to…" Gwen began, before realising what he meant, "Oh."
Gwen knew perfectly well what he was talking about. Each of them had been on missions that had arrived home with less people than they set out with, and they had both escaped tragic ends by a hair's-breadth so many times. They had both seen friends and enemies in pieces and strewn across scapes. Sometimes it took days to figure out how many had been captured and how many had been killed. Fortunately, they never had to take part in the macabre game of identifying the dead personally, but Gwen had spent long days comforting groups of women who waited to find out how many of them were widows.
In the grand scheme of things, one tattoo suddenly seemed so insignificant, and yet at the same time, so poignant. Gwen was not even sure how she got there, but she found herself cuddled into his bare chest, as his surprised arms gradually folded around her. She took comfort in the familiar, gentle slope of his muscles, and they stayed that way, silently, for quite some time.
He broke the silence,
"So, you don't like it, huh?"
"I just…" She sighed, "I mean, it's forever, right?"
Kevin nodded and stroked the top of her head,
"That's kinda the point."
Gwen smiled thoughtfully as she ran her fingertips over the tattoo. Some of the ink was still raised, not quite healed.
"I guess it's not so bad." She lied.
Really, she loved it already.
FIN
I think Gwen's family seem like the types who have a beach house, right? Would tattooing Kevin even work? Who knows..?
