Lilliputia And Her Bath

this chap features a little bit of lovin' so please skip if you dont want to read - Nothing explicit though!

Lith

This was it. It was finally here. There was no escaping it now. Zero hour.

Don and I were at the hotel Danni had booked for us (obviously neither of us knew until we were leaving). We'd gotten one of the better rooms, since Danni had thrown in Colonel Sink's name; the bed (even though yes, everything seemed that little bit bigger to me) was huge, there was a large vanity, and luxury en suit bathroom. There was even a dozen red roses and champagne on ice when we walked in. As Taylor would say, it looked real spendy.

Even though we'd gotten up to a bit of no good the night before, I was still terribly nervous. I'd succeeded in putting the whole shit, kit and caboodle off the night before; Don having slept on the floor beside my bed at Mum's… but there was no way to avoid it any longer. Don put the suitcase we'd brought (mainly my clothes and makeup) down by the vanity, while I wandered into the bathroom. The bath had a 5 inch mark on, but it didn't bother me. Don appeared over my shoulder, resting his arm above my head in the doorway.

"Huh, so that'd just be like a regular bath to you, right?" I frowned at him through the mirror as best I could, considering I could only see the top half of my head through it, flipping him off the same way. He grinned, dipping his head down to my cheek, still looking at me through the mirror. His lips skated down to my neck, nibbling the part just under my ear. I made a noise that was somewhere between a whimper and squeal, my skin beginning to tingle. With flushed cheeks, I ducked under his arm, back into the room and sat on the side of the bed. I began to fidget with the hem of my dress and Don joined me, sitting beside me with a hefty sigh.

I glanced at him. He glanced at me. Then suddenly the pattern on the rug became a lot more interesting. Don cleared his throat; a paltry attempt to break the sudden ice that had settled over us.

"So."

"So." I nodded, tucking my hair behind my ear. There was no follow up, well, none other than Don sucking in a deep breath.

"Ailith…" He said, after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah?" I looked at him, nervously.

He stared back quietly… for a while.

"We don't have to… you know…" His face flushed while he rubbed the back of his neck. I thought back to the day the day we'd first met, when he asked me to go to lunch almost in Morse code. His fingers entwined with mine between us and I smiled shyly, feeling a little more at ease.

"I know."

We fell back into an awkward silence. I wasn't naïve; I knew that Don had had girlfriends, the last one he had dumped him right before he left for Toccoa, so I knew he'd been there and done that… but right now, it looked like the two of us had no idea what we were doing.

"Are you sure?"

Now I couldn't help but laugh.

"I thought you were the one with the experience! You're making me more nervous!"

"I just don't want to make you do something if you're not ready for it… Bill said you were… well… he told me you'd asked about…"

My cheeks went red. Bill, you shithead! I'd only gone to him because, A. I couldn't find Danni and B. Taylor would have just about died; when it came to me and boys, Taylor was almost as bad as Finland, always ensuring I'd steered clear of them before we got here.

"I did ask him, yes…" I admitted with a sigh. "You know I haven't done it before… I just… wanted to know what to expect…"

It was Don's turn to turn a nice shade of cerise. He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand and blew out a puff of air.

Bill, being the darling, self-declared big brother of mine, had sat me down to a lesson on the birds and the bees… not that I hadn't already been to sex-ed classes at comp, but the way Bill told it seemed a bit more… honest and plain. He had told me he couldn't really explain what kind of pain it was, since obviously it wasn't him feeling it, but if I'd been shot, stabbed and blown up, I should be able to cope with it, adding that Don wouldn't be the type to just carry on if he knew I was in pain.

"If it hurts too much, I'll stop. You just gotta tell me, okay?" Don gazed earnestly at me, tucking a bang behind my ear, leaning in to kiss me.

Considering that the only people who had ever seen me naked before were my parents and brother (when I was a baby), Danni and Taylor, you can imagine I was embarrassed, lying in bed in a dark hotel room with just enough light for Don to see every part of me. I had fretted about what I looked like naked since before he asked me to marry him; I wasn't the type of girl the boys at school clamoured for, I wasn't even acknowledged by boys at school unless it was for home work. I'd been wondering if the scars I'd acquired in Normandy would lessen the attraction he felt towards me… the answer, it turned out was, no, it did not.

It didn't really help either, that back home, I'd watched a lot of soaps and I don't think any of them I'd seen, geared toward teenagers, had shown people's first time how it could happen; most of the plot lines dealt with the… darker side of sex and that terrified me. I think that and what Finny had told me about guys had really set me on edge about the whole thing…

But that's the total opposite of what happened.

Don was so careful, as if I was made of glass or porcelain, stopping almost every time I made a noise or gave the slightest look of discomfort. He kissed me all over, all the time, told me I was beautiful and how much he loved me, until he couldn't speak, until I couldn't hear over the sound of my own heartbeat in my ears, the heady scent of his aftershave and clean skin washing over me, until I couldn't even focus on that anymore.

Eventually, he collapsed at my side, breathing heavily as he wound his arms around me, pulling me close to his chest. His little quaffed fringe now stuck to his forehead with sweat, as my own hair did mine and he reached over, tucking it away behind my ear, softly stroking my cheek.

"Are you okay?" It made me smile, hearing him say that, knowing that his first priority was making sure that I wasn't in too much pain. I nodded, out of breath myself. "You're so beautiful."

"So you keep telling me." I smiled. Don chuckled and sat up and I pouted, instantly feeling the loss of warmth and comfort. He threw on his trousers (could have been boxers, but it was dark) and disappeared into the bathroom. I immediately panicked; was he going in there to clean himself? Did he think I was that dirty? Was it that bad? After a few minutes, he reappeared.

"Your Lilliputian bath is ready."

"Eh?"

What on Earth was he on about?

"I ran you a bath, but since you're so small-"

I rolled my eyes (and breathed a sigh of relief), "Alright, very clever Gulliver." I winced. Though the pain had initially gone, it had resurfaced as soon as I sat up. Apparently my legs didn't want to work either and I felt like Bambi trying to stand on the ice. Don let out a soft laugh through his nose and in an instant, I was whisked into his arms and dropped carefully into the tub… which was just about the right depth for me.

Don

The only sounds that came from our room that night were the gentle clinking of our dog tags, soft pants and the quiet roll of my name from Lith's lips. We'd fallen asleep a tangle of limbs, with Lith softly apologising for the marks she'd left on my shoulders. When I woke up, she was still sleeping soundly by my side. She looked so peaceful and so calm as her long, thick lashes brushed against her cheeks as she dreamt, her coffee ground hair fallen into her face as she rolled over. I propped myself up on my side, brushing her hair from her face, watching her bury her face in the eiderdown I'd pulled over her shoulders, covering her bare chest that was smattered with fading bite marks.

I spent a good amount of time counting her freckles, until she woke up, feeling my eyes boring into her. She looked a little dazed at first, her cheeks tinted pink as her round brown eyes settled on me, giving me a tired, but ever so sweet smile.

"God morgen min kjære." Even her sleepy voice sounded like silver bells ringing. I grinned and leaned to kiss her, but she pulled the comforter over her face. "I've got morning breath!" came a muffled explanation.

I rolled my eyes, "So do I!" I tugged the comforter. "Come out of there and kiss your husband already."

I propped myself up on the bed, having quickly showered and dressed first. I pretended that I was reading a magazine, but in reality, I was just staring at Lith while she got ready. I'd seen the most physical, intimate parts of her, but watching her get ready in a morning seemed like a whole other intimacy. The towel she had been wearing had fallen to her waist as she sat at the vanity. Her hair cascaded down her back, while she massaged in some face cream and brushed out those perfect arched brows. I wondered to myself if this was what she used to do back in the comfort of her home or if she was putting on a show just for me. I really wished I could have met her under different circumstances; as much as I loved her, she would always have that missing piece that I couldn't replace.

She glanced, catching me staring at the soft curves of her body, the feint crescent shaped marks I'd left on her hips just visible above the towel that wasn't really covering much anymore. I watched as her back seemed to arch as she sat up and stretched and smirked.

"What?" Ailith threw me a coy look through the mirror. I smiled and put my magazine down.

"I was just thinking how beautiful you are."

She grinned back, her cheeks once again tinted pink, as she rested her cheek on her first, "I love you."

"I love you too."

As she turned her attention back to her reflection, my smile dipped at the corners. Here I was, on my honeymoon, married to one of God's own angels and I felt guilty. Obviously my parents couldn't be here, but poor Lith. Her parents didn't even exist yet… she had told me before about her home and the town she lived in; how she loved the going to the beach, going every chance she got. I glanced away, but then heard a clink, turning to see Lith putting down her hairbrush with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Whatever it is that's got you frowning like that, banish it. I don't want that thought hovering over you like a dark cloud all week."

I smiled, wondering how she came to know me as well as she did. I couldn't imagine my life without her in it.

"You're beautiful."

"You just said that."

Lith

It was safe to say, we didn't end up leaving the hotel until after 1200; Don's nicely pressed uniform quickly becoming un-pressed as he hung it up on the floor. I decided to treat him to a chippy tea and the two of us, having found a nice, quiet park bench to sit on, watched the ducks bobbing on the pond and all the people go by.

"Shouldn't I be treating you?" he asked, looking at a chip before he ate it.

"Why can't we go 50/50?" I replied with my own question. "What happened to I'll give whatever you give?"

"We can still do that… I just thought it should be my responsibility."

I sighed, rolling my eyes, "Don, I don't want to be a kept woman at 21 years old. And, I hasten to remind you, I am a 21st century woman and I think I've proved that anything you can do, I can do, haven't I?"

He nodded, his mouth full.

"You certainly did. I don't think I'll ever meet another woman who pulls a bullet out her side with her bare hands."

"What? When did that happen?"

"You don't remember?"

I raised my eyebrows. Well, I wasn't going to argue; if Don said I did it, I did it… and it sounded like something I'd do. As we settled back into silence, I noticed two women walking down the path, glancing at Don and giggling. Great. Just what I wanted; two more Miss Lambs. Don glanced up, sensing I was stewing over something, eliciting a giggle from the two girls.

"What's up with them?"

"They're fancying an American serviceman, that's what." I pouted. This was the only downside of being married to someone way hotter than you; everyone else thought there'd be room for competition. Just as I was about to start sulking, I felt his lips on mine and the two women started sulking instead. Ailith 10 Other ladies 0.

"Ah, they can fancy me while I sit with my beautiful wife." He grinned and I chuckled and shook my head.

"You're such a flirt… since when do you flirt?"

He shook his head, "Ailith, if I'd have known you liked me back then I'd have turned on the charm years ago."

I snorted, "I've heard your pick-up lines; you can keep your charm Donald."

"You sure? You only get one chance."

"I'm sure."

He held up his hands, "Alright, that's it. The Malarkey charm is gone!"

I rested my head on my arm as I looked at him, "Well, since I'm a Malarkey now, does that mean I've got the Malarkey charm?"

"Take me back to the hotel and we'll find out!"

"Oh, you!"