Cherished
It was warm here in his arms; his young, strong arms that held her so tenderly, so lovingly. Arms that she knew had been paid with time, blood, tears and sweat. To think, she would never have known this sort of happiness. This love, this warmth, this sense of completion.
She still followed her colonel, would still serve him as long as she still breathed, would give him his coffee, keep him in line, smile and offer comfort. But he no longer held her heart in the palm of his hand. That honor had now been bestowed upon the gray-eyed youth lying before her.
His hair was a long and flowed like bronze silk over his tanned shoulders. She scraped the palm of her hand over the defined outline of his bicep, traced her finger into the rigid groove of his muscle, all the while smiling down at him, gazing lovingly at those honeyed lashes that fanned over his young cheeks. He still retained that hint of a curve to his face, his cheek soft and rounded, giving him that innocent air she found so endearing.
It was so easy to slide into affection with him. His whole being just demanded it. She could look at him for hours on end, just gaze upon his angelic countenance and feel so utterly content, so completely whole. No man had ever meant as much as him.
No man ever would.
He was sweet, kind, patient, tolerant and most of all, he lovedher. Sometimes she'd catch him looking at her as if she were a goddess, his cheeks flushed, his eyes dazzled, his arms reaching out to her tentatively afraid she was only a figment of his imagination.
And when finally he held her in his arms, she heard the words, the fears buried deep inside, "I'm afraid it's all a dream, I'm afraid that one day I'll wake up and I'll be stuck back in that armor. Afraid I wont be able to feel your warmth, the texture of your skin, the smell of your hair…" a part of her heart always cracked when she heard these painful admissions, a part of her wanted to hold him in her arms, protect him against all his fears, but she knew that these inner demons would -COULD- only be defeated with time.
They had all the time in the world after all.