Rose for a Sniper

Linda had seen the roses that Kelly had gotten from John. She admitted that sometimes she wished she could have that. John never would have done such an emotional romantic thing before he'd married Kelly, before they'd had kids. She sometimes wished she could have that. She sometimes wished that someone had changed just because they'd been with her. She still didn't know how John had gotten roses that were blue.

Linda lounged on the couch, flipping to the next page of her book. She paused as she realized that she hadn't actually read the last page. Linda flipped the page back just stared at the first line of the page, not really reading. She slipped her bookmark in and shut the novel before setting it on the table. She didn't like that it was bugging her. She'd been happy for so long with just living with Mark, not needing such romantic gestures. Maybe age was getting to her. After all, back when she was a teen she wouldn't have wanted to stay with Mark for too long. It was particularly different since she wasn't getting anything physical out of it but that had been the only reason she'd spent any time with a man in the past.

The door to the house opened and Linda looked over as Mark walked in. "Hello." He moved over to the couch and sat down on one end of it. "How was your day?" Linda didn't reply. She just sulked a bit on the couch. She didn't need to do anything more to tell him that she'd had a bad day. "What happened?"

Linda thought about what to say. She decided that, because honesty had always been her policy with Mark, she didn't want to change that now. "John got Kelly a dozen blue roses for their anniversary."

Mark stared at her for a few moments then turned his attention to his boots as he removed them. "I thought you didn't like such gestures. I can't imagine that the Master Chief would have given them while someone was around." Linda ignored the fact that Mark used John's rank. He usually did with most of the Spartan IIs. He just wasn't that close to them.

"He didn't. They were on her desk this morning." Linda moved so that she was sitting up a bit more, the position was more comfortable. "I saw them when she was carrying them home."

Mark looked at her for a few seconds. "I don't understand then why it upset you." He set his boots to the side and leaned back in his seat, shifting so that he was facing Linda.

Linda shrugged. "I'm just jealous." The words felt odd in her mouth. She didn't like admitting that she was jealous, but she was. "I've just never gotten anything like that."

Mark studied her. Usually she wouldn't care but the way that he was looking at her made her nervous. "I'm sorry." Linda didn't understand the apology so she remained quiet. "If I'd known you were all right with receiving such gifts I would have been giving you them for holidays and anniversaries."

Linda stood and moved a bit toward Mark. She leaned down, placing a light kiss on his forehead. "You're very sweet." She grabbed her novel and moved toward the kitchen to make something to eat.

~*~*~'

Linda stared at the single red rose sitting in the vase on the table. Her finger trailed over one soft petal. Her other hand still held the card that Mark had left with the rose. It had made her smile, something that she did more often since the end of the war, but which was still rather rare. She turned her attention back to the card to read it again.

Dear Linda,

I was going to get you a dozen roses, but my training told me that it would make you more visible to enemies, so I decided on a single rose. It fits more with a sniper.

Love,

Mark

Linda smiled and turned her gaze back to the single bright red rose. It wasn't a dozen roses, but to her it was just as special.