The mission had been a long five weeks. Five long weeks of nothing but male soldiers, sweat, and grime. Five long weeks of nothing pleasant but his thoughts of you.

He’d missed you. You were the first person to have ever loved him like he needed to be loved. The first person to have ever understood him and stayed by his side through arguments and struggles.

You were stunning too, beautiful in the eyes of the ragged soldier. So incredibly gentle with him, even when he said he didn’t want to be cradled. But his favourite part was your scent. No matter if it was morning or evening, your carefully chosen perfume smelled heavenly to him. And even when he’d wake up in the middle of the night, your natural scent was more comforting than a warm blanket could ever be.

The ride back to your apartment felt longer than it had ever been before. His muscles ached and he was running on two hours of rest. He hadn’t washed himself properly in weeks. He was restless, wanting nothing but to wrap his big arms around your frame and bury his face in your neck and feel your touch after he’d been deprived of a woman’s presence for so long.

He wasted no time in finding you after he’d closed the door to you apartment behind him. He dropped his bags on the floor and made a beeline for the kitchen that would make him look insane to anyone outside. And here you stood, looking more enticing and ethereal in the low light than you ever had before.

He ripped off his mask and his nose found your neck as his strong arms circled your waist. He has to hold back a groan as he feels the tones of your perfume go right to his brain.