The Rest of Our Life

Safety

It was a little past one when Derya heard a noise. It was as if someone opened and then closed the door leading to the house. She opened her eyes almost immediately at that, as she was what people considered a light sleeper. Will there ever come a time when people are not trying to sneak in to my house?, she thought, before silently getting out of the bed.

She remembered locking the front door and she didn't hear someone actually breaking in. However, it was more than too late for anyone to pay a visit. That's why she decided to type 911 on her phone and quietly go downstairs to check the situation before actually making the call. Maybe I'm just overworked or this stupid horror movie I watched before going to bed spooked me, thought Derya. All in all, she didn't want to seem paranoid if it turned out that it was just in her head.

When she was at the top of the stairs, she heard some footsteps, but it wasn't until she went all the way down that she saw a dark shadow move into the living room from the kitchen. She cursed in her head when she thought of the gun she left upstairs. I can't believe I survived Dragan's attempts at assassinating me just to die at home dressed in my pajamas by the hands of some stupid burglar, she mused. That's just disappointing. Suddenly, the dark shadow that seemed to look familiar turned around and started to move in her direction.

Then a few things happened at once. She punched that someone in the face as they turned on the light. The phone, forgotten in her hand, fell down with a loud thud. The "burglar" started to curse, covering their face.

"Honestly, Kopuk, what the fuck?!" She should have known it was him from the very beginning. It couldn't be Yavuz and none of her family members were stupid enough to actually try to sneak in here without informing her first. "Are you insane or do you just want to die?!"

Derya was pretty pissed but who could blame her. She just wanted to get some rest before spending the whole day in the court tomorrow where she would have to put up with all the bullshit the defense attorney managed to come up with. There was nothing worse than a terrorist with enough cash to hire those fancy-ass lawyers with their shiny suits and snake eyes.

"I didn't want to wake you up, you're scary when you're tired," whined Kopuk, nevertheless following her, as Derya went to the kitchen.

"Yeah, it's better to scare me to death then," she muttered and kept looking for an ice pack she had in her refrigerator for emergencies.

Kopuk sighed. He could have expected such a reaction from her but, in his defense, experiencing Derya's wrath was much different than imagining it. He would be the one to know.

"Out of the two of us, I think I'm the one who's closer to dying," he pointed out, plopping down on a chair.

"Oh, stop acting like a baby, I didn't hit you that hard," she rolled her eyes and turned into his direction with the ice pack in her hand.

"Say that to my swollen eye... Argh, stop pressing this so hard, woman, are you always so gentle?" He hissed, but, seeing the look on her face, he immediately became quiet and lowered his head a little bit.

"Why are you here anyway? Yavuz will be back tomorrow," she reminded him, and let him handle his wound. He would be okay now and, well, she was neither his nurse nor his mother. Tired is what she was.

"I know. I wanted to see if everything's okay."

That definitely took her aback but she wasn't called Derya if she wouldn't get to the bottom of this.

"In the middle of the night? By checking the kitchen and the living room? What were you trying to find? Some leftovers in the fridge and bread crumbs on the couch?" She asked sarcastically. "Anyway, you could have just called, phones were invented for a reason."

"It's just... We all heard this guy threatening you when you were leaving the interrogation room today. Frankly, I don't know who didn't hear him."

So that's what it was all about. Derya sighed and sat down on a stool next to him.

"Look, Kopuk, I've been threatened countless times ever since I got this job, and even before that. This really is nothing new for me."

"Maybe. But it's different now," he said, averting his eyes from hers.

"How so?" She asked, not quite knowing what he was getting at.

"You're married. And Komutanım is not here. If something happened to you while he was gone and I could've done something to prevent it...," he stops for a second. "He lost so many people. I won't let it happen again."

"I get it. I know how much you care about Yavuz. But this is life, you can't predict what's gonna happen next. And I know how to take care of myself, as you can tell by your swollen eye."

He smiled at that and nodded, pressing the ice pack to his face.

"I care about you too, you know," he admitted, albeit a little shyly.

"I know," Derya smiled gently, patting his hand. "Get some sleep, Kopuk. The couch is yours and you know where the blankets are."

And with that, she got up and went upstairs.

When he thought about love, Yavuz thought about big brown eyes full of warmth, a soft hand caressing his cheek, a cheerful laugh and the sound of Derya's humming in the kitchen in the morning. It was moments like these when he was more than grateful for her. She was his partner in every way possible, his equal, and it was impossible for him to imagine a life without her. She was his everything, as simple as that.

Coming home was the best part of returning from the missions, yet when he went inside the house, Derya was not there. The lights were turned off and all that was waiting for him was just a note scribbled down on a piece of paper.

Dinner is in the fridge. I have to attend a last-minute meeting with the attorney general, might come back a little later than usual.

Love, Derya

He smiled under his nose. As much as he loved this house, coming home was something more than just crossing the threshold. It was wrapping his arms around his wife and just feeling her relax into his touch. And apparently, he would have to wait a little longer for that.

Ultimately, she came back not even a full hour after him, all loving eyes and tender smiles, which expressed what the words never could. Although they were Yavuz and Derya. They never really had to say much to understand each other.

At the end of the day, Derya was safe, in his arms, and everything was okay with the world.

"Why was Kopuk staying in our house last night?"

Ever since finding out that Kopuk resided on their couch, Yavuz had some questions.

"He was worried and just wanted to check on things," answered Derya, not even bothering to open her eyes.

Her husband was finally home, they were both tired, and she just wanted to cuddle. Was that too much to ask for?

"Worried? Why would he be worried?" He asked, feeling much more awake than a second ago, but he didn't get an answer. "Derya..."

"It's just a work thing, calm down. Some guy threatened me after an interrogation and Kopuk wanted to see if everything's okay."

"Well, I'm here now," he stayed silent for a second. "I can't believe you punched him in the face though."

"It felt amazing. And he deserved it for interrupting my sleep."

"Wait, so you actually did this on purpose?" Derya didn't respond to that but her silence spoke volumes. "I didn't know my wife was into violence."

"...next time he'll know to just call."