Le's Soldier

Part 27

The morning felt stolen.

The good kind.
The kind you clung to because you knew it wouldn't last.

Lilly woke up with Leah half on top of her, a leg thrown over her waist and her face buried in Lilly's neck like she'd decided that was where she lived now. Lilly didn't move. She barely breathed.

"Le," she murmured softly.

A grumble. Then a kiss pressed lazily into her skin.

"You're awake," Leah muttered.

"Been awake for ages."

"Rude. You should've stayed asleep so I could pretend you don't exist yet."

Lilly snorted. "Charming."

They stayed tangled until Leah finally groaned and rolled onto her back. "I have training," she said bitterly.

"Call in sick."

"As captain?"

"Power move."

Leah laughed, sitting up and stretching. "You're an idiot."

"Your idiot."

That earned Lilly a grin and a quick kiss before Leah disappeared to get ready. They had breakfast together—burnt toast, strong coffee, Leah stealing food off Lilly's plate and then denying it aggressively.

When Leah finally left, she kissed Lilly twice at the door like she wasn't sure one was enough.

Tommy and Mara showed up late morning like a bloody cyclone.

"Why do you look like you've just woken up from a depression nap?" Tommy asked, immediately opening the fridge.

"Why do you keep coming into my house uninvited?" Lilly shot back.

"Because you love me."

They ended up outside, beers cracked, smoke drifting into the air. Tommy leaned back, staring at the sky.

"Leah good?" he asked casually.

Lilly nodded. "Yeah. She's... good."

"That pause told me everything."

"Fuck off."

Tommy smirked. "You ever get tired of pretending you're okay?"

Lilly took a drag, exhaled slowly. "Every day."

Tommy didn't say anything after that. And somehow that was worse.

Leah came home flushed, sweaty, glowing with that post-training adrenaline. She jumped straight into Lilly's lap like she hadn't seen her in years.

"Missed you," she said.

"You were gone three hours."

"Still counts."

They played games all afternoon—trash talking, laughing, Lilly deliberately losing just to watch Leah celebrate like she'd won the World Cup.

Mexican for dinner. Too much food. Too much laughing.

For a while, everything felt... safe.

When Tommy and Mara left, the silence crept back in.

When It Breaks

They were curled up on the couch when Leah finally spoke.

"I don't think I can do this anymore."

Lilly's heart stopped. "Do what?"

"This," Leah said quietly. "Watching you disappear."

"I'm right here."

"No," Leah whispered. "You're not."

Lilly sat up. "That's not fair."

"Neither is waking up next to someone who looks like they're drowning and won't tell me why," Leah snapped, tears already forming.

"I don't want to scare you."

"You already do," Leah said. "Because I love you."

That hurt worse than anger ever could.

Lilly's chest tightened, memories flooding in uninvited—her brother's face, her dad's voice, hands she didn't want to remember.

"This job is all I have," Lilly said sharply. "It's how I survive."

"And what about us?" Leah cried. "Am I just supposed to accept that one day you won't come home?"

Lilly stood abruptly. "You knew what I did when you fell in love with me."

"I didn't know what it was doing to you."

Silence.

Then Leah whispered, "I don't know if love is enough."

That broke her.

Lilly's voice went cold, defensive armour slamming into place. "Then maybe it shouldn't be."

Leah stared at her like she'd been slapped.

"That's not you talking," Leah said.

"Maybe it is."

Leah shook her head, tears falling freely now. "I just want you to let me hold the broken parts too."

Lilly looked away.

Because if she let Leah see those parts...
they might both shatter.