Today was finally the day.

Nico was going home. He’d been deployed for two months, and he was well and truly over it. He wanted to see you, he wanted to see his daughter. He just wanted to go home.

And now, he finally was.

It had been a tough, long two months of no sleep, constant pressure, and barely any contact with you due to the remote location. Finding reception for a simple phone call was borderline impossible, amongst finding the time. And when he wasn’t busy, you were either asleep or working.

Nico had been going insane. But now, he was only a couple hours from seeing your face, and hearing your voice in person rather than through a spotty internet connection; which was a much better upgrade by far.

He would always have that worry, that one day he’d return and you wouldn’t be there to tap him out. That you’d eventually grow sick of being alone, and call it quits.

But so far that hasn’t happened, and that nightmare has stayed as only that. A nightmare.

The soldiers lined up in their assigned formation, his heart almost beating out of his chest and his gaze already seeking you out through the throng of families and loved ones coming to see his fellow soldiers.

The only one he hasn’t seen… is you.

A couple minutes pass, and for a moment he was terrified that he’d jinxed it. Maybe you weren’t coming, and he’d pushed it too far. “I promise I’ll be the first one there,” you told him over the phone a few weeks ago. Did you break the promise? This was one of the longest he’d done since being with you after all. A pit begun to form deep in his stomach.

And then there was a light tap on his back, jarring him out of his slowly increasing panic. He turned, eyes locking with yours, and then to the small body in your arms, her arm still extended after tapping him out.

It was you.