A/N: Okay. Mini-poll on this one. I'm contemplating making the next one a LEMON. I know right? Little bit of a leap for me... I already have it mostly written. I just wanna know what you guys think about it. I haven't actually written the "big scene" because I'm torn between LEMON and LIME... Your opinion counts. Why? Because I love my readers that much. :D
LadyV.2102: I'm glad you and your friend enjoyed them so much. And don't worry. Random things remind me of random song verse too, lol.
forgetMEalways: Psh. Slash makes everything better. XD But I know what you mean. A few weeks ago, I was snowed in and slash was all I had for entertainment. XD
julliette: Bound and Audience were my favorites to write, actually. The pictures that inspired them (that were, unfortuantely not archived like I thougth -_-') really stuck with me for some reason. Especially the one for audience. :b
beginningxofxthexend: I'll agree that Chase didn't flow quite so well, but that was the feeling that I got from the picture that inspired it. It was kind of a scene probably in the middle of something else. (knowing the background of the characters involved, I'd probably say a little bit of an argument ended with an unexpected smooch.) Ah yes... Passion... That one was kind of meant to leave you hanging. Something so randomly spontaneous...It's perfectly Reid. XD When I wrote "Bound", the picture sparked a picture in my mind that was just Tyler acting nonchalant about the pink marks on his wrists while Pogue tried to ignore them, Caleb tried to not kill Reid, and Chase was generally unruffled like always, lol. Again, I'm still looking for someone who had those pictures archived. Sorry to get your hopes up. =/
LawleyPop024: People seem to agree that "Bound" was a favorite, lol. At any rate, I'm glad you enjoyed.
Dark Angel's Blue Fire: Glad you liked it and I'm always willing to share when I have inspriation. :D
It was a little, meaningless trinket to anyone who glanced at it, to anyone who didn't know the history behind it. But it was more than that to Tyler. It was a lot more than that to Tyler. It was almost a girly bracelet. But Tyler stopped caring about that a long time ago. It was a simple chain with a thick but narrow curved plate to fit his wrist with the word "Forever" written in a flowing script across it. He took comfort in it's surprising weight, in the faint jingling sound it made when he moved.
There was only one other trinket that he could claim to hold just as dear as that bracelet. They were the cold metal dogtags that Reid gave him before he left. They were stamped with their names and their anniversary date and the word "FOREVER". Reid had said something about buying silencers for them, but Tyler had insisted otherwise. He took comfort in the way they were so close to his heart; Took comfort in the almost annoying and irritating clanking they made constantly.
He remembered when Reid had come home and told Tyler that he'd enlisted in the Army. First Tyler had yelled and screamed. Then he cried and sobbed. And then he began to accept that it was happening. It was rough for him, when Reid started his basic training. Tougher for him when Reid had announced he was going to Air-Borne School so he could get "jump certified". And then Reid had been home for a while and it was all okay. Sure, Tyler had moved closer to the base so he could see Reid whenever possible, but if that's what it took, that's what it took.
The heartbreak didn't set in until Reid was called up. Active duty. And Tyler couldn't follow him because they weren't married and couldn't be married in the state. So Tyler had to wait for the letters to come promising that he was still okay, promising that it was alright and he'd be home soon and he'd be moving in with Tyler, off-base, as soon as he was state-side.
So until Reid came home, he would rely on the girly bracelet and the annoying tags. Though, he'd been relying on them more and more heavily of late, now that the letters had stopped, now that the latest letter was a month and a half late. Reid always wrote regularly.
"Why don't you come see a movie with me sometime?" Kate asked.
"Maybe you could come to the bar with me and Chase." Caleb suggested.
"You could always tell the mechanic that his systems are shit when I get the Ducatti upgraded." Pogue smiled.
Tyler had turned their offers down and decided, instead, to go to work. Come home. Pay his bills. Wait for a letter. Listen to the reminders Reid had left. Because Reid had promised him "forever".
It was another two weeks before the car showed up. It was a sleek black car with American flags pouring from the rear windows. Tyler felt suddenly sick and fought the urge to bolt the doors and pretend he wasn't home. It was a typical condolance car.
"Sorry Sir/Madam. I regret to inform you that your loved one, -insert name here- was killed honorably and in the course of their duties. They died a patriot serving their country." (1) Tyler didn't want to hear the cookie-cutter speach coming from a person who didn't know Reid. He didn't want to hear that Reid was dead. Because Reid promised him forever and he meant it.
Tyler watched from the kitchen window as the door opened. Service dress slacks, patent leather shoes, up to a shine that reflected every pinpoint of light. Tyler felt tears sting his eyes. This was really what was going to happen. He closed his eyes against the tears and forced himself to look out the window. The man was older, grayed, wrinkled, withered, wizened. Tyler realized he was spewing out these adjectives to avoid describing what the man really was, at least in Tyler's mind; He was the Messenger of Death.
The man ducked down and a second pair of feet appeared. Tan combat boots, scuffed up and leading to desert digi cammies. Tyler felt his heart jump. Had they sent one of Reid's friends from his platoon to break the news easier? To hear it from someone who actually knew him? Tyler saw the standard-issue cap appear above the car door. Crutches set down by the boot-clad feet. Someone Reid died saving, then. Tyler thought tiredly. He supposed that when it all actually sank in, he would sit at home and until there was nothing left of him.
The soldier started hobbling out of the way and Tyler walked to the door. Might as well face this head-on. The car door was closed and the pair had started up the path to Tyler's front door when he finally stepped out on to the porch. And it had to have been a mirage. Or a cruel trick from God.
"Reid." Tyler whispered. Reid smiled and started moving a bit faster up the walkway. Tyler leapt from the porch and ran to Reid, holding his lover's face in his hands, unable to stop the tears flowing down his face.
"Reid? Reid? Oh God." Tyler threw his arms around the blond's neck and never wanted to let go. Reid hugged him back, albeit a little awkwardly while still tring to support himself on the crutches.
"What are you doing here with the Messenger of Death?" Tyler asked, too excited to recognize the less than endearing term.
"What?" Reid asked.
"The goddamned condolance car, Reid." Tyler said angrily.
Around this time, the Messenger of Death managed to catch up to them.
"I take it you're the Tyler Simms he wouldn't shut up about then." The old man said with a smile.
"Yes." Tyler said with a cool tone.
"I'm Garwin's Commanding Officer. Garwin has been in the hospital for the past two weeks recovering." The man said in a measured tone that was clearly used to cadenced orders.
"Recovering? Reid, what the hell did you do? Why didn't you call?" Tyler demanded.
"Hey, easy Baby Boy. I tried calling. The landline was disconnected and your cellphone kept going straight voicemail, which was full." Reid rolled his eyes.
"Oh, God. I thought that was Kate trying to call me from her sister's number." Tyler groaned.
"I understand that these past few months have been difficult on you, Mister Simms. I came with Garwin here as a bit of a courtesy. I came to give you this. Garwin says he won't put the damned thing on. For all his loud-mouth bragging, he sure knows how to play the saint card."
Tyler took the thin, black case from the man who wasn't, in fact, the Messenger of Death. The man saluted Reid, who hastily (and a bit sloppily) returned the gesture. He man got back into the car and it drove away. Tyler opened the case and wasn't entirely surprised.
"A Purple Heart and you won't touch it." Tyler smiled. Reid shrugged and the brunette helped his lover inside.
They sat on the couch and held eachother for a few long minutes before Tyler asked the question that really broke his heart.
"How long before they call you back?" Tyler asked.
"That depends." Reid sighed.
"On what?"
"If I'll ever walk properly again. One of the docs said I'll always have a limp and might not be able to really run like I used to." Reid shrugged.
"And what if you can't?"
"Honorable medical discharge with full benefits."
"What...What did happen out there?" Tyler asked slowly.
"It was all Martinez. It's always Martinez." Reid laughed.
"What did he do this time?"
"He decided that he was going to play a prank on Griffiths, supposedly harmless, right?"
Tyler nodded and clung a little closer to Reid while he spoke, glad that Reid had kept his promise of "forever".
(1) I don't think/know that's how it really goes. I've never had to deal with that, so I'm just sort of going on all the old war movies I've watched. XD
A/N2: I know this one was a little depressing and a little down-beat, but it kinda hits close to home. Two of my brothers just graduated Marine Corps boot camp and a boy I've had my eye on for years landed in Afghanistan on Wednesday. I gotta write what I feel. =/