The Marine Ch. 09

"He cooks!"

"A soldier or Royal Marine marches on his stomach. Take a seat at the table. Coffee or tea?"

"Tea, please."

"I'll have a pot with you in two minutes. Spreads for toast?"

"Marmite?"

I pulled a face at that. "Still haven't found anywhere that sells Vegemite," I muttered, "Marmite for toast, coming up."

"Nate?" I glanced her way. "I really love you right now."

I made sure nothing was burning or burned before I carried the pot of tea to the table, leaning down to give her a soft kiss. "Well, I love you too, gorgeous."

I had a toast rack prepared, carrying that to the table, making sure she had butter, Marmite and an assortment of jams available. I then served up sausages, bacon and eggs on two plates, carrying those to the table too, taking the seat nearest to her. "This is all rather domesticated, Nate."

"When I'm not on duty, my life is as normal as yours. I'll have breakfast here, go to work, come home, have dinner, chill out, go to sleep. It's only when I'm deployed that life is vastly different."

I spent most of the time listening to Hannah talk about her life. She was doing great in her job, she made sure to visit home at least once a month, and she kept herself occupied with hobbies whenever she was feeling lonely. I hated hearing that she felt lonely, though she admitted that was only in her mind. She had great friends, her family wasn't far away... but I wasn't there, and that just made life dull.

Making another pot of tea, we moved to the couch, lots of cuddling and kissing, interspersed with conversation. I knew she worried, so I told her about some of the good things I'd done in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Yes, it had been dangerous. Yes, I'd been scared shitless at times. But I'd come out of both deployments unscathed, hadn't lost a soldier under my command, and was looking good for promotion soon enough.

Then she asked the question I expected. "Will you deployed again soon?"

"Haven't heard anything yet, but if we go anywhere, it'll be back to Iraq. Afghanistan is a shithole. Iraq is hell on earth. Considering the insurgency that's kicked off since Saddam was toppled, it's just become a terrorist's fucking playground."

She cuddled me tighter. "Thank you for being honest, but that's when I do get scared."

Amy and Emma returned before lunchtime, and it was quickly agreed that we'd head out together for lunch so the three girls could spend time catching up. Of course, the three asked me to wear at least something that suggested uniform, which didn't bother me, while also making sure I wore my green beret. My sister smiled upon seeing it. "Grandad is still so proud," she said.

"His photo now takes pride of place on the mantelpiece," Hannah added.

Hannah drove us all the way to Bristol as there were a million and one choices on offer there. We ended up spending the afternoon wandering around after filing our stomachs, stopping at a pub or two for a drink. We eventually found a place for a late afternoon coffee and cake, and that's when the three girls talked about how it would all work. I was going to leave it to them to figure out. I was happy with the three of them.

"I'll try and visit twice a year," Amy said, "Nate keeps me up to date with his deployments anyway, so I'll know when to fly in."

"I don't live too far away," Hannah added, "What about you, Emma?"

I noticed her blush. "I think I might have to move a tad closer, at least," she replied quietly.

"I have a two room place. Bristol to London is only a ninety-minute journey."

"Are you sure?"

"Emma, it's not like I'm going to be bringing men home, and it would be nice to have a roommate."

"I'll need to run down my current lease, but okay," Emma stated happily, "Then what about him?"

"We'll figure it out." Hannah glanced at me. "You're not having continuous threesomes, Nate, though as Amy is visiting, we're all staying with you until she goes home."

I held up my hands in surrender. "Whatever you guys decide. The important thing is you know how I feel about the three of you."

I'll admit one thing. While threesomes are fun, they can still be awkward at times. But having three women in bed? I'm only one man, and one or two people are always going to feel left out. But it was only a situation we had to deal with for a couple of days before Amy flew out. As she was going from Heathrow, the four of us piled into Hannah's car and drove east.

We arrived early so we could spend plenty of time together. I remembered when leaving home that Amy and my family had gone all the way to the gate with me. That simply wasn't possible now, we so grabbed a light bite and a drink before escorting Amy to departures. She hugged Emma and Hannah tightly before they left Amy and I together.

No tears this time. We now had a future, of sorts. It was going to be long distance. It was going to suck. She'd mentioned once or twice moving to the UK, but she had her career, and didn't like the idea of leaving the family behind, nor all the benefits of living in Australia. "Not sure how you tolerate the cold, wet and damp all the time?"

"Helps I spent eighteen months cold, wet and damp while training."

I have no idea how long I held her for. She didn't want to let me go. I certainly didn't want her to go home. But while I wanted to ask her to stay, I knew that would be unfair. We would be together, and also... not, if that makes sense. That last kiss was almost as good as that last one we shared when I was departing. This time, when we pulled apart, she couldn't stop smiling.

"So you're not letting any of us go now?"

"No. Not anymore. It'll work out in the end."

"I love you, Nate. That'll never change."

"I love you too," I leaned towards her ear, "Dear sister of mine."

"Can't believe I fell in love with my little brother. Don't regret a damned thing though. One day, you'll come home. Bring those two with you as well."

She gave me a tight squeeze, kissed me one last time, before she joined the line to go through security. Emma and Hannah joined me, and only when Amy disappeared did I finally release a sigh.

"Ready, Nate?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah. Thing is, it doesn't feel as bad this time. It feels like everything is sorted. Somehow, we'll make this all work." I kissed both of them on the cheek. "Come on, let's go home."