Title: Preventing a War
Word Count: 336
Rating: PG
Pairing: MaesGracia
"You know I love you, right?"
Hughes turned, frowning at the serious tone. "Gracia, of course I know that," he said, looping an arm around her waist, touching her face softly. She smiled, touching his hair, following the wire frame of his glasses.
"You just don't tell me that often," she said, pressing up against him, breathing in deeply. "You're so busy lately..."
"Yeah, I've got a lot of work and you know how much time the Scar case takes up..." he intoned quietly.
Gracia nodded, pulling back a bit, placing her hand over his, swaying with him lightly to the rhythm of his slow heartbeat. "You always look so sad when you're crawling into bed," she sighed. "Even when we're like this..."
She moved her hand off of his to remove his glasses. "More stress lines on your face..." she intoned, setting the glasses on a side table. "You crawl into bed and you don't fall asleep. You stay there for a long while and listen to my breathing, trying to tell if I'm asleep or not..."
He sighed, but didn't move away, knowing she was right.
"We rarely make love anymore," she said, placing one of his hands on her hip. "Elysia asks me if you like your job still..."
"Of course I like my job," he assured it. "It's just..."
"Really hard right now," she finished. "I love you, Maes."
"I love you, too," he said softly. "More than I can even understand."
She nodded, tears in her eyes, pulling him close, squeezing him tight, knowing it must hurt. "Go tuck your daughter into bed," she said hoarsely. "I'm happy you came home for dinner tonight. I know you have to go back to work... but it means a lot to Elysia."
He nodded, kissing Gracia gently, feeling her tears on his cheek. "You weren't even this stressed when you worked that desk job during the war..."
"I know," he said, swallowing hard. "But preventing wars is just as hard as fighting them."