Lukesse Oneshots~2018 Wattys

A True Hero

Jesse fell to the ground, her back pressed against a closed door. One hand went to cover her mouth, the other held against her rapidly growing belly. It couldn't be true. He promised he would come back safe and sound, not just for her but their child as well. The ebony-haired girl's dreams and hopes for a bright future with a loving husband and beautiful family had been dashed in a single moment, just by a single acronym.

Lieutenant Lukas Historia was K.I.A.

~~~~~~~~~

Almost five years had passed since that dreadful day. The day that put Jesse in a never-ending state of grief. I'm sure you all wish to know what happened, so I'll tell you. It's why you're here, right?

~~~~~~~~~

Lukas' gaze darted around. He held a rifle up to his chest, keeping the muzzle pointed at the ground just in case his finger resting against the trigger slipped. The rest of his unit was nearby, waiting while Lukas went ahead before giving the okay. While he may have been a lieutenant, he would much rather not send an inexperienced and young scout off to his potential death before the rest of the unit came. It was just in his blood. He couldn't stand to see those he had grown to care for get hurt.

His unit, in their time of training and fieldwork, grew to have close friendships with each other. It hurt Lukas every time he saw a comrade fall to the ground and not get back up from his place on the ground. His unit had already lost so many good men, he would much rather not lose an inexperienced, but potential-filled, soldier.

A sudden rustle in the bushes made Lukas snap to face the sound, his rifle aimed and finger poised, ready to shoot if it was an enemy. Instead, one young man from his unit walked forward from the bushes. Lukas sighed and lowered his weapon, rolling his blue eyes in exasperation at his friend. "Axel, what are you doing?" he asked. "I came to check on you. You know we don't need to have our lieutenant dead," Axel replied. The black-haired male was what the unit called a 'Griefer'. He adored explosions and was always one of the bravest and first to run into battle.

"Yes, but I don't need to lose inexperienced men when we're already so short on troops in our unit," Lukas said. Axel sighed. "Yes, but you could send one of us more experienced men. You have a wife and kid to go back home to, majority of us don't have that." Lukas sighed as his free hand moved from holding the barrel to the breast pocket of his uniform. In it were two pictures, one of his wedding day kissing his wife, and the other of an ultrasound of their child. Axel's gaze softened. "You go back and I'll take point. Okay?"

Before Lukas could reply, a gunshot rang through the air.

Lukas held his hand to his stomach as he collapsed to the ground, gritting his teeth in pain. Axel rushed forward and immediately radioed the rest of the unit, telling them they were under attack and Lieutenant Lukas had been shot. After the order had been made, Axel raised his own rifle and looked around, keeping close to Lukas to try and protect the injured blond while their unit made their way to them.

Silence was all there was after the gunshot. It unnerved both men, making them dart their gazes around looking for even the slightest hint of an enemy. Lukas finally noticed a soldier peeking through the undergrowth, aiming their gun at Axel. "A-Axel...!" he gasped. Axel spun around and prepared to pull the trigger, but was too late. Another gunshot rang out and the Griefer fell to the ground, holding an injured leg. Slowly men emerged from the undergrowth, all wearing the gear of the enemies. They looked between Axel and Lukas, their gazes calculating and relaxed. "Take the blond. He's higher up," one ordered.

Two more men walked forward and each grabbed one of Lukas' arms. They roughly hauled him to his feet before walking away from the direction of the incoming unit. "N-No! L-Lukas!" Axel cried. "And make sure he can't follow," the man ordered. A fourth soldier walked forward and pulled out a pistol, aiming it and shooting a bullet into Axel's uninjured leg. Then he kicked Axel in the face, and the black-haired man was knocked unconscious. "A-Axel...!" Lukas weakly exclaimed. With an unspoken command, two more soldiers walked over to where Lukas had once been laying with a blue bag in hand. They opened it and-

~~~~~~~~~

Jesse smiled ever so slightly at the blonde-haired girl sitting in the living room, playing with her dolls. She was about to turn five. The girl, whom she had named Louise, which meant warrior, just like her father. Louise had been born a few months after word of Lukas' death, and the pain had only been freshened at seeing her daughter bore a striking resemblance to her father. Jesse sighed when she heard the doorbell ring. She wasn't expecting visitors and didn't exactly want to leave the comfy place she had in the chair watching over her daughter. Jesse pushed herself up and walked to the door, opening it to reveal who was standing on the other side.

And nothing could prepare Jesse for what she saw.

Standing there was a blond-haired man. He looked older, with bags and wrinkles covering his face, but they betrayed his real age. A faint blond stubble covered his chin as if he had recently shaved, but now it was growing back. A scar almost perfectly matched his cheekbone, which had his tan skin pulled against it to reveal a skinny body. He held a duffel bag over his shoulder, and he wore a pair of camo cargo pants with tan combat boots and a white t-shirt which hugged his body, showing off his ribs through the shirt. His cheeks were raised up, pulling his lips away to reveal a pearly-white smile. His silver dog tags glinted in the sun from the chain hanging around his neck, making his sea blue eyes glow brightly. Honestly, it looked like he had been through hell and back and somehow managed to keep a smile on his face.

Jesse couldn't stop the tears that had begun flowing down her cheeks. The blond dropped his bag and opened his arms wide, tears springing into his blue eyes as well. Jesse wasted no time in hopping into his outstretched arms, happily smiling and laughing as he twirled her around. When Jesse was placed back on the ground, she immediately bunched up part of the blond's shirt and pulled him down, bringing him into a kiss which he happily returned.

"Mommy?"

Jesse pulled away to turn back to her daughter who was standing in the doorway, looking between her mom and the blond with wide, curious blue eyes. "Who's he?" she asked. Jesse smiled and the blond walked forward, gently picking her up in his arms.

"My name is Lukas. And I'm your dad."

~~~~~~~~~ 

I am sure you are wondering how Lukas is alive. Well, let me take you back to where I left off.

~~~~~~~~~

"A-Axel...!" Lukas weakly exclaimed. With an unspoken command, two more soldiers walked over to where Lukas had once been laying with a blue bag in hand. They opened it and pulled out a body. "Drain some of his blood," the leader ordered. A soldier walked forward with a tube which was connected on one end to the body lying where Lukas had been. He pushed the needle into the vein in the crook of Lukas' elbow, causing blood to flow into the body. Only after Lukas had nearly fallen unconscious from blood loss did they remove the tube and continue on their way, covering any sign that they were ever there. Leaving only an unconscious Axel and dead man who bore a striking resemblance to the Lieutenant.

~~~~~~~~~

Now you see? They didn't kill Lukas, he was far too valuable. He carried information they were desperate to get their hands on and held him captive for almost five years before he was rescued at the end of the war. Now, you must be wondering how they managed to make it seem like Lukas was K.I.A. Well, after finding and killing a doppelganger of Lukas, they drained all blood from him. What blood they took from Lukas and put into the body would have a blood test confirm it was Lukas, when it truly was not. What happened next?

Let's just say Lukas and Jesse got to live their dream of a happy, beautiful family together.