Reunited by bekahgirl2
Summary:

Kevin and Leah are reunited after 17mos of separation


Categories: Original Fiction Characters: None
Classification: General
Genre: Family, Friendship, Romance
Story Status: None
Pairings: None
Warnings: Original Characters
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 3 Completed: No Word count: 2056 Read: 8235 Published: 16/12/11 Updated: 23/12/11

1. Chapter 1 by bekahgirl2

2. Chapter 2 by bekahgirl2

3. Chapter 3 by bekahgirl2

Chapter 1 by bekahgirl2

She stands impatiently at the Southwest Airlines Baggage Carousel. She's been waiting for this day to come for so long. She's been praying that this day would come and not anything else. She's gonna finally hold him without having to let him go; holding onto him at her leisure.

December 13,2011

Leah leans forward and back at a rapid pace. Then, she stops, peers at the stairs thinking, 'There are people coming down, it's time' but no, it's not a large group. She releases a long breath of disappointment and goes back to leaning back and forth. This irritates the older lady standing nearby her.

The older lady, Beverly, decides to engage the younger woman in conversation "You know planes are always late, right?"

Leah looks at her and responds "I know, it's just that I've been waiting for this day to come for so long. I even took my time coming here so I wouldn't prolong my waiting experience."

Beverly smiles, "Who are you waiting for, if I may ask?"

"My husband " Leah responds.

Beverly takes an appraising look at her. If someone had asked her she wouldn't say that the young lady looked any older than 17. "Oh really? You don't look old enough to have a husband."

Leah smiles "Yeah, I get that a lot."

Beverly asks" How old are you?"

"I'll be twenty next week" Leah tells her.

"You're right, I wouldn't have given you twenty, maybe sixteen or seventeen at most."

"I got married really young," Leah says.

"I should say so. How long have you been married?"

"Two years, we got married right after graduation and before he shipped off. He's been deployed pretty much for the entirety of our marriage so far."

"Ah, a military man," Beverly says with a smile. " Well, that does make your situation a bit different. What branch?"

Leah, who at first didn't seem to want to speak to the lady, is grateful to have someone to take her mind off the tedious wait and responds "The Army , he is a Private First Class who was stationed in Iraq," she says, with quite a bit of pride.

"How long was he stationed there?"

"15 long, scary months. Honestly, it was a nightmare. I didn't want him to enlist; I wanted him to go to college," Leah tells Beverly as a distant look comes over her face.

(Flashback) March 11, 2009 setting: Audubon Park New Orleans, La

"Hey baby, I have something I want to talk to you about," says an eighteen year old, tall (6'2",) dark-haired boy named Kevin. His girlfriend, Leah, looks at him with a guarded expression on her face.

"What about?" She asks.

"It's about my college plans," he tells her.

"Did you change your mind about wanting to go to Loyola? I understand, baby, you don't have to go there if you don't wanna. I mean what's a little distance between us? College would totally rule if we were together, but hey - distance makes the heart grow fonder," she says with a smile braver than she feels.

"Well, yeah, I don't want to go to Loyola. I want to-"

"Where are you gonna go then?" She interrupts him, a little more hurt than she thought she felt.

"I'm not - I'm gonna enlist in the army," he tells her in a rush, afraid that she's gonna interupt him before he can get that last part out.

"What do you mean enlist? Why? Can't you wait until after college? Have you told your parents? What did they say?" Leah's mind is racing, trying to figure this all out. She knew that Kevin wanted to enlist but had figured he would wait until after college. They had made these plans back when they first got together two years ago.

"Well, I mean I've told them, you know and we talked about it; they've agreed to support me. I know we've been planning to go to school together for a while now, but college is expensive. And my older brother and sister are already in school, and I still have two younger siblings. My parents are struggling hard to put my older siblings in school without us sacrificing everything. It's too much of a burden on my parents. Besides, when I finish, my college will be paid for. It's a win-win."

"A win-win for who? The only person who wins in this situation is the US Military. Don't get me wrong- I support the soldiers fully. It's just that you don't know what could happen: I do. I've been through it before: both of my parents were army. The long separations, no phone calls, not knowing what's gonna happen. If when you see them again, will it be vertical or horizontal?" She spat, her voice choked with tears. "Now you want me to do the same for you? To deal with that trauma all over again? I don't think I can," she says while sobbing so hard.

"Lee. Lee. Don't cry. Please don't cry, baby. I'm sorry, I should've told you earlier, it's just that- there's no way I can afford college. I'm not qualified for any other job. Baby, I'm sorry; don't cry," Kevin feels a burning sensation behind his eyes, so he closes them and pulls Leah into his arms. " I love you so much and I need you to support me in this. Please."

"I don't know if I can; I'mma try, though. We've been together two years, and you couldn't tell me before this?"

"Baby, it took so much for me to do this."

"Let's do it then"

Chapter 2 by bekahgirl2
Author's Notes:

Hi, all! This story took a shape of its own. I'm growing to love the characters and I hope y'all do as well. Shout out to my beta, the wonderful Noah. Thanks a lot, I appreciate it. I can't wait to beta your story. Also, thanks to the readers and reviewers. Your kind and beautiful words make me smile.

Kevin sighs in relief and kisses Leah passionately. Leah clings to him, terrified of the future.
Present Day Airport 2011
Leah is lost in her memories. Beverly’s quiet and intrigued voice brings her back to the present.
“What happened next?” she asks.
“Honestly, I went home and cried for three hours. I had believed for two years that we would go to the same college, graduate, and then get married. I was devastated; all my plans had been ruined. But I loved him, so I did my best to support him.”
“How did that go?” asked Beverly.
“It was rough, to be frank. I don’t think, at eighteen, that I was fully prepared to be an army girlfriend. I was finishing up high school and preparing for college. I was pretty immature. But my baby needed me...”
Flashback. The Day After Prom
Leah and Kevin are in her backyard, looking up at the clouds. Leah lays her head on his strong chest and sighs, this feels so right. However, at any moment she knows that reality will hit her. But, Kevin has been so amazing and loving. He spends as much time with her as possible. He always holds her hand, kisses her cheek or lips, giving her so much attention. She loves it.
“Baby,” Kevin says tentatively, while entwining his hands with hers.
“I received my orders. I report to Fort Polk for basic training in four months,” he says and then kisses her hand.
“Really? So soon, that’s only three months after graduation,” Leah says, while fighting back tears.
“Don’t cry baby, it’s only Basic Training. I haven’t been deployed. Fort Polk is only four hours away, it really isn’t that far.”
“I know what Basic Training is Kevin. Don’t be an ass! Basic Training is the beginning of everything. You’ll be gone from me for nine weeks, after that you’ll get your orders. I just... I was in denial over all of this, but it’s really about to happen. I just wanted to pretend our senior year would last forever,” she tells him.
“We have four months until it happens, and I want to spend every minute of that time with you. I want you to be in every memory I have of the next few months,” he tells her, while gathering her in his arms. “I want to hold you, kiss you, and make love to you. I want to carry your scent on me. I want you to be mine completely.”
Leah blushes while he tells her this and pulls him closer to her. She brings his lips to hers, kissing him passionately. Something has come over her, something she hasn’t felt before. It’s taking over her body, she scoots closer to him. She wants to touch him at all available parts of her body. He presses her into his hard body, the body that is already prepared for the tough training. Now, it is prepared for a different type of exercise.
The two are feverishly kissing and rubbing, because their time is so short, discretion is thrown to the wind. Only the vibrating of her phone, in her pockets between their bodies, slows them down. He pulls away from her and rests his forehead against hers.
“Are you gonna answer it?” He asks.
“I don’t want to; it’s probably just Noah. I think she wants to go to the movies or something. I just wanna be with you today,” she responds, as she runs her hands up and down his chest. “We don’t have a lot of time left and everything is about to get real busy. So, I’m dedicating the weekends to my man.”
“What does your man have to do to get you to dedicate the rest of your life to him?” asked Kevin.
“Kev, what are you talking about? What do you mean?” asked a nervous Leah.
“Leah, stand up!” Kevin says in a commanding voice, reminiscent of the voice his drill sergeants will use. Leah stands up as if she is in a trance. Kevin gets in to position, dropping to one knee. He takes her hand and says:
“Leah Christina, I love you. I know that I threw a curve ball into our plans for the future and I know that hurt your feelings. But, I don’t want to lose you; I want to hold you and love you forever. I want our forever to start as soon as possible. Like, today possible. Will you marry me?” Kevin asks, sounding alternately confident and unsure.
End Notes:

Thanks for reading. This is the first story I have written in four years, so it's a bit slow getting. However, I appreciate constructive criticism; so please rate and review. 

Chapter 3 by bekahgirl2
Author's Notes:

Hi all! Here goes Chapter 3. I'm enjoying the response to the story. Hopefully, I'll get creative inspiration and write seven chapters tomorrow. It's kinda late so I'll probably get a late start tomorrow. Oh well, enjoy though!

"Ma-marry you?" squeaked Leah. "Marriage, baby, I don't know about all that, we're too young to get married."

"You're about to turn eighteen next week; I'm already eighteen. What's the problem? I want to marry you and then go to military. It's better that I go already married; I don't want you to wait for me. It wouldn't be fair," Kevin responds.

"What's not fair is you changing all of our plans without discussing them with me. What's not fair is you going off to the army. What's not fair is expecting me to marry you before I finish college!" Leah responds, incensed and defensive.

"Baby, baby, calm down. I want to marry you. I want to make you mine completely. I also want to live with you. But this is also practical; there is a chance I could get sent somewhere...dangerous. I want to protect you, and if something should happen to me I want to die with no regrets."

"Die?? So now you plan on dying on me? What the hell, Kevin? What kind of proposal is this?" Leah shouts angrily.

"Lee- just think about it okay? This, this isn't how I planned on doing the proposal; I just couldn't wait to ask you. Think about it for me. I have to go, my grandma is comin' over for dinner," Kevin tellls Leah. He kisses her softly on the lips as he gets up to leave. She nods in response.

Leah thinks to herself "Proposal? Marriage? Forever? Completely? Death? What is Kevin thinking? Why? I'm too young for this! I have so many plans. What if he dies? What do I do then? Screw you, Kevin!"

Meanwhile, Kevin is driving home. He suddenly bangs his hands hard on the steering wheel. He is frustrated. "I didn't mean to propose to her like that! I'm so stupid! Romance, candles, dinner, a nice ring. That's how I should have done it. She won't want to marry me if I don't. That's what I gotta do. Next week, at Sculpture Garden," Kevin deliberates out loud.
End Notes:

I hope you liked it. Please rate and review. Shout out to my beta Noah! Also, how does one go about creating a banner? Thanks.

bekahgirl2

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