Byul closed the door to her room with a kick letting it shut loudly behind her, way too tired to care about noise complaints or anything similar. With a sigh, she let her duffle fall at her feet with a thump, undid the few buttons of her shirt and she made her way to the bed, flopping on it face down. Since she had joined the spec-ops team a few months back the exhaustion of training had fixed right up her insomnia, now she was lucky if she actually made it to bed before falling asleep. Not only had her transfer been tricky on its own, but her team had to be built from the ground. The chemistry they all shared had sped things up a bit but their impressive results in the first couple missions had higher-ups pushing her to best themselves and earn the designation of Alpha Squad. Which translated in very little, if any, personal time.

 

Byul groaned tiredly when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Without even bothering to check the caller ID she answered.

 

“Captain Moon speaking.”

 

“You know...you have an adorable work voice. It's all serious and professional, almost badass really...no one would guess how whiny you can get when the remote is just out of reach from that voice.” Byul smiled as she recognized the voice on the other side of the line. “Are they working you too hard?”

 

“Not more than usual. We managed to finish the drill in record time so we should be in the safe zone for a couple weeks. How is Madrid?”

 

“So beautiful…Warmer than I remembered tho.” Yongsun said with a smile in her voice.

 

“Of course it’s beautiful, my girl is there.” Byul teased waiting for the reaction as she ran a hand through her hair.

 

“Good lord, how can you be so greasy…”

 

“Ah, your beauty inspires me” The captain joked, barking a loud laugh when she heard Yongsun groaning from the other side of the line. “How are you? And I want a good, long, detailed narration of what you did today my dearest.”

 

“So romantic, I feel so loved and appreciated.” Byul chuckled at Yongsun’s tone, almost regretting teaching her girlfriend how to be sarcastic. “You only want to know that mine was bad too so you don’t feel sad for yourself and your exercises, don't you? It was great, to be honest. Finally got to go to El Prado this morning and just spend the day being a tourist. God Wheein would love it here Byul…Everything is the perfect mix of classic and modern. I just got back from a walk around a big park here near the hotel, kinda reminds me of back home. Next time you have some free time I’m taking us somewhere. We need a proper vacation. Together.”

 

“I'd love to sweetheart. I can read up on the place beforehand so you don't have to guide us everywhere again."

 

"You are a menace with a map Byul.”

 

"And you are exaggerating. I am not that bad."

 

“You got lost driving us to your father's place. I swear I don’t understand how you can organize amazing secret special operations for the military but don’t know how to follow simple directions to a place.”

 

“The GPS was being confusing” Byul laughed, running a hand through her hair and freeing it from her tight bun. “And it was one time. One.”

 

“Shhh.” They drifted into comfortable silence just enjoying each other, even if it was through the phone. They didn't have many times to just talk without one of them having to leave soon and they planned on not hanging up soon. “I miss you, baby.”

 

Byul hummed in agreement mumbling her answer. Taking a deep breath she pulled herself off the bed, picked up the item next to her duffle bag from the floor and walked out the room. She dragged herself to the next door down the hall knocking a couple times before leaning back against the wall.

 

“I’m sorry work has been so bad lately.”

 

“Hey, it’s ok. I’ll get to see you next week right? You arrive Sunday night, right? I can just wait for you at the airport, pick you up and we'll spend a week in Busan. We haven't been there since your birthday.”

 

“I don’t know if I’ll make it home by Sunday, to be honest.” Byul frowned knocking again on the door a bit harder.

 

“Byul, you promised!”

 

“I know! I know sweetheart, I’m sorry.”

 

She could hear Yongsun groan on the other side of the line mumbling some insults to the blonde woman.

 

"Don't go anywhere, I'm not done with you yet but I need a minute. I'll call you right back. I’m serious Byul-Yi, don’t move a muscle.”

 

"Yes, ma'am." Byul chuckled shaking her head and stuffing her phone into her pocket as the door opened in front of her.

 

“What?!”

 

“Hello to you too,” Byul smirked pushing herself off the wall and standing up straight to look into the chocolate brown eyes of the woman she loved.

 

She didn’t have time to move the flowers from behind her back before Yongsun launched herself into her arms. Laughing she hugged her girlfriend around the waist and kissed the side of her head. Her laughter was cut short when Yongsun snatched the bouquet from her hands and started using it to hit Byul anywhere she could.

 

“What.the.hell. are you doing here!?”

 

“Ow ow ow! Yongsun, babe, yeba stop it! C’mon lets get in your room…” Byul said with a smile before she picked Yongsun up, helped her get settled around her waist and entered the hotel room.

 

Walking to the bed slowly she sat down with the flight attendant on her lap, almost refusing to leave any space between them. Byul smiled up at the teary eyes of her girlfriend, moving her fingers carefully over Yongsun’s jawline. Yongsun leaned into the touch, turning her face to kiss Byul's hand softly.

 

“I told you. I have the next week full. And so do you. I already talked to your boss and he gave me the ok for 10 days of vacation around Europe. We leave tomorrow morning for Paris.”

 

Yongsun’s squeal was the only warning Byul had before she got pushed back into the mattress and Yongsun peppered her face with kisses.

 

“I love you…I'm so hopelessly in love with you it's stupid,” Yongsun whispered against her lips, nuzzling Byul's cheek softly.

 

Byul reached up to grab the brunette’s chin between her thumb and pointer finger forcing Yongsun to look her in the eye.

 

“And here I was hoping to be the first to say it in Paris during a walk along the Seine…You ruined my confession yeba”

 

She finally pulled Yongsun down to kiss her, but their smiles were too wide. With a final peck, Byul changed a bit her hold so Yongsun could tuck her face on the crook of her neck.

 

“I love you too Kim Yongsun, aggressive instincts and all”

Yongsun ran as fast as her legs would allow, almost flying through the eerie white halls of the hospital.

 

She had rushed out the door the moment Byul's second in command had called her about the less than perfect outcome in their latest mission.

 

Following the desperate screams coming from the end of the hallway, she forced her legs to push harder, bursting into the room.

 

Four nurses were trying to restrain who she imagined was Byul, while the body on the bed kicked and screamed.

 

“LET GO OF ME! I NEED TO GO BACK!”

 

Two of the nurses separated allowing Yongsun to finally look at Byul knocking the air out of her lungs. She was covered in dark dry blood from head to toe making it almost impossible to distinguish between clothing, skin, and wounds.

 

Her whole right leg seemed to have gotten the worst off it by the way it lay limp on the mattress no matter how much Byul fought against the nurses.

 

When the head nurse tried to kick her out of the room Yongsun simply shook her head and made her way to the bed. No matter how much the back of her eyes burned she swallowed the tears and forced herself to be strong. There would be time to cry and to let her walls fall later, but right now Byul needed her.

 

Pushing away the last nurse she cupped Byul’s face with both hands making the captain look at her straight in the eye.

 

“Byul? Baby, it’s me, I’m here.”

 

Byul snapped out of it but not fully, her eyes looking over Yongsun's face as if she didn't really recognize who she was or what she was doing there.

 

“Yong-yongsun?” The blonde asked carefully, barely above a whisper.

 

"Yes. Shhh don't worry Byul, I'm here now. Just breathe for me ok..." Yongsun whispered running her hands over her girlfriend's face and hair soothingly.

 

“You need to help me. Tell them to let me go, they wont listen to me. I need to go back! They have Umji. She has no ammo, I need to go back!” Byul said looking desperately into her girlfriend’s eyes.

 

Yongsun sighed, worrying her lip to try and stop the tears once more.

 

Jackson, Byul's second in command, had given her a rundown of the events the second she entered the hospital. According to him, no one had seen it coming.

 

The whole operation had been fairly easy to plan from the start and the actual sting was going down smoothly. They had managed to locate the headquarters of the drug dealers and were able to take control of the building with no losses on either side in just a few hours. They were looking for any possible hiding renegades when all hell broke loose. One of the rookies, Byul's protege, had managed to find a secret room and decided to check it out without any backup. Umji went in guns blazing and failed to notice the two soldiers by the door walking herself into a culdesac. After hearing the gunshots everyone had been quick to get into motion, Byul the first one to run towards the action when she noticed Umji was the one missing. By the time the team managed to reach them, Byul had taken down the drug dealers, but not fast enough to save Umji.

 

The shock of seeing her protégée shot in front of her eyes sent her into a state of shock. When Jackson and the boys walked into the room they found their captain clinging to the lifeless body of their teammate, her gun raised to take out anyone else.

 

Yongsun could see realization reach her girlfriend's eyes before she even opened or tried to push her away.

 

 

 

"We leave no one behind Yongsun! LET GO OFF ME"

 

It took her almost an hour until Yongsun managed to calm down her girlfriend. The blonde girl wasn’t fighting her off anymore, instead, she held onto Yongsun’s clothes as if her life depended on it, her head on the older girl’s chest as she sobbed.

 

“I couldn’t save her yeba. I shouldn’t have let her go. I should've known she wasn't ready.”

 

“Baby it’s not your fault. You trained her well it was just an accident. She forgot to ask for backup. It's not on you.”

 

“I couldn’t save her…”

 

"You can't be looking over your boy's all the time. You told me these things happen, Byul. It wasn't your fault."

 

Yongsun pulled Byul closer, kissing the top of her head as she rocked them both back and forth soothingly.

 

“Wh-what if I can’t save you…”

 

Yongsun's heart broke at her girlfriend's words. She pulled back, enough to be able to look into Byul's eyes properly.

 

“You already have Byul. You saved me the moment you came into my life.”

 

“I’m serious Yongsun…What if you get hurt and I can’t do anything about it. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you." Byul whispered, her bandaged hand moving to cup Yongsun's cheek adoringly.

 

Yongsun turned her face to drop a kiss to the palm on her cheek before taking Byul’s face in her hands and pulling her in for a long and slow kiss. When they finally separated she dropped their foreheads together and remained close enough to feel the other’s breath on their lips.

 

“Byul, you have already proven yourself more than enough. You protected me against my own mother the first day you met her because she doesn’t approve of what I do. You went to my boss in full gear to threaten him into giving us proper working hours and vacation compensations even before we started dating. You make sure I eat when you know I’m rushing back to the hotel from the airport skipping meals left, right and centre. But even more important you protect my heart. It's been yours from the start and I wouldn't trust anyone else with it."

 

Byul answered by cuddling closer and forcing them back on the bed. With her arms wrapped tightly around Yongsun’s waist and her head on her chest, she succumbed to sleep lulled by the brunette's heartbeat.

 

“To Yongsun for putting up with the cap!!”

 

The whole room roared with a collective laugh, raising their bottles to the couple. Yongsun blushed chuckling while Byul smacked her friend up the head, probably way harder than was necessary in Yongsun’s opinion.

 

A shiver ran up Yongsun's spine when the cold November air hit her exposed back. She barely had time to protest when she felt Byul tightening her grip on her waist, pulling her closer to her chest and moving her hand up and down her back to try and warm her up. With a soft smile, she hid her face in the crook of the taller girl's neck dropping a small appreciative kiss on the officer's pulse point.

 

When she shivered again Byul was quick to shed her bomber jacket and put it over her shoulders without even breaking eye contact with Jungkook and Dean as they argued about the latest celebrity scandal. Yongsun smiled and shook her head. For a bunch of hardheaded, cold, effective soldiers they were the worst group of gossips she had ever met.

 

Then a loud bang filled the roof terrace and reached the group.

 

Immediately the team straightened their positions. Their eyes started scanning the room trying to find the source, all of them moving a hand to their waist to grab their handheld guns instinctively.

 

Only when Hwasa’s laugh filled the party did they relax. Dean was the first to crack a joke about all of them being too focused on work and wanting to share some words with the smartass that made champagne sound like a gun going off.

 

 

Yongsun sighed, moving her hands slowly up Byul's arms to cup her face and force her to look down into her chocolate brown eyes. Familiar enough with the situation the boys managed to block the couple out of the group in order to give them privacy. To everyone else in the party...well to everyone else they were just the cheesy, handsy and way too affectionate couple they always were.

 

"Hey, look at me. It's ok. It was just a bottle, okay? Byul look at me…Breathe for me baby" she repeated over and over softly to break the blonde's trance. Once she got the girl's attention she smiled and kept their little routine. "Good, that's my girl."

 

Her hands moved down so that one rested over Byul's heart while her left took Byul's right. She could feel more than see the tension slipping off the soldier's body with each of her thumb over the engagement ring adorning Yongsun's fourth finger.

 

"Better?"

 

"Mhm, yeah. Sorry yeba."

 

"Shh, we are here to have fun with our friends. You have nothing to be sorry about." She smiled giving her fiancee a peck on the lips before she turned around and spoke loud enough so everyone heard them. "Now, while you little rascals talk about whatever new idol couple has you so excited I'm going to get some food."

 

With a final kiss on the taller girl’s cheek, she walked off to the back of the terrace in search of the buffet.

 

Yongsun chuckled as she approached the tables with food and heard what seemed to be a very annoyed Hwasa scolding Wheein.

 

“Yongsun-unnie!” Wheein said excited hugging Yongsun when she got within reach.

 

“Hey girls” Yongsun kissed them both on the cheek keeping Wheein in her arms. “What did you do to her now Hwasa?"

 

“What did I do?! She’s the one that invited her ex!” The sassy girl said sipping her glass and raising an eyebrow.

 

“Wheein…”

 

“I was drunk when I called ok? And I felt bad telling someone not to come when half of the city is going to be here.” The younger girl sighed looking for comfort in Yongsun’s arms trying to act cute in order to get away from a scold.

 

Shaking her head with a smile Yongsun pulled Wheein closer, as the conversation drifted to Hwasa's new found love for French author cinema. As they kept talking Yongsun kept feeling a pair of eyes on her, but whenever she turned around Byul was looking some other way, although every single time Yongsun could see the ghost of a smile in her fiancée’s face.

 

Years of walking up and down aisles in the plane and the many hours on her feet had taken a toll on Yongsun’s back, so when later that night it started to hurt she decided that it was time to go home. Too tired to go look for Byul in the crowd she settled for sending her a text saying that she’d be taking the car so Byul would have to catch a ride with one of her boys.

 

She had almost reached her car when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and she felt a chin rest on her shoulder.

 

“You were really gonna leave without saying goodbye?”

 

“I texted you I was leaving. I think you can survive me not saying goodbye when you are in the middle of one of Wheein’s parties. Plus you were having fun if I told you I wanted to leave you’d have come with me.” Yongsun deadpanned, turning around to put her own arms around Byul’s neck.

 

“Maybe…but don’t ever do that. What if something happened and I didn’t know you were gone?” Byul mumbled bumping their noses together.

 

Yongsun deflated slightly when she could notice the concern hidden in her fiancée's whine. The first few months after the accident had been bad, but no matter how much progress they seemed to make the doctor had told Yongsun that there would always be a part of Byul that needed to make sure she was safe.

 

“You are so annoying. Let me go I’m sleepy” The older girl said pushing Byul away softly with amusement evident in her voice, and started walking back towards the car.

 

 

They finally pulled away a few minutes later when the need to breathe overpowered their need to make out like teenagers. With a final kiss on her lips, Byul took a step back making their interlocked hands the only connection between their bodies.

 

“Ok, you can go now. I’ll go home early too, just let me ta-”

 

“No, you won’t. It’s been months since the whole team has been together in Seoul for more than a day, you want to go out and I understand that. Just don’t make a lot of noise when you get home or you’ll wake up Jing Jing, and I refuse to have an awake puppy around the house at 5 am. I swear he has almost more energy than you do, and that's saying something.”

 

“Yes, ma’am.” Byul saluted with a laugh leaning down to steal a kiss from Yongsun's lips as she opened the car door for her. “Drive safe please, text me when you get home.”

 

Nodding Yongsun entered the car and lowered the window so Byul could lean on it.

 

“I love you. Don’t drink too much. And keep the boys away from Wheein, please? Her ex is here and god knows what she’ll do if she sees someone like Dean or JB…”

 

Byul laughed hard leaning through the window to share one last sweet kiss and an I love you before Yongsun drove off.

 

The blonde went back inside to have one final scotch with her friends, ready to go back home and cuddle in front of the TV with Yongsun, knowing that the brunette would surely try and wait up for her.

 

 

 

“New things! Not die you idiot!! I was born to be on a plane not jump off one!!”

 

Byul chuckled at the state her wife was in. They had only been married for 5 days and Yongsun had already asked for a divorce 20 times. She counted.

 

Yongsun was currently hanging tight to the side of the plane with her eyes closed, all colour drained from her face.

 

“Sweetheart, I promise it will be fine. You are not even jumping alone! John right here will be with you at all times during your jump.”

 

“You only say that cause you’ve jumped before! I’m going to die!”

 

"Exactly, I've jumped before, you can trust me!"

 

"I've been with you 6 years, I've learned to not believe a thing you say."

 

Byul raised an eyebrow, internally face-palming at the dramatic older girl. Moving across the cabin she stopped in front of Yongun and took her face in her hands kissing her nose and forehead.

 

“You really think I’d let you die, right after I managed to get you to marry me?” the blonde captain chuckled when Yongsun refused to stop frowning. “How about this, I’ll jump first. Then you can follow me,” she said backing her way to the door.

 

“NO!!!” The flight attendant said reaching to try and grab her wife's harness.

 

Internally loving the torture she was inflicting on Yongsun, Byul put her arms on the top edge of the door and leaned back in the open space. She looked down between her legs and smiled at the sight of the blue Caribbean waters. Taking a deep breath she looked back at the 'slightly' panicked girl in front of her.

 

“Fine, we can make a deal, how ‘bout that? If anything happens, at all, during your jump I’ll let you divorce me!” Yongsun’s eyes opening wide told Byul her words did indeed reach the older girl’s ears. “But if you love it, I get a free pass from going to your mum’s place, to be used whenever I want.”

 

“What!? That’s not fair!!” Yongsun said trying to pull her wife back inside the cabin.

 

They had agreed to each organize a surprise for each other during the honeymoon to keep things interested. After an amazing hike up a dormant volcano and a picnic at the top with local food, Yongsun was pretty confident that she would have the better surprise. So, when Byul drove them to a hangar on the west side of the island that morning she had no idea what to think. She said many times that she wanted to jump off a plane, but didn't really expect Byul to be listening. While on the ground she was extremely cocky, taunting and poking fun at Byul over and over, confident in her many flight hours helping her get through the experience.

 

 

Chuckling Byul crossed the cabin to give Yongsun one last kiss before walking back to the door, giving them a salute.

 

“I’ll see you two down there, I love yo-” before she could finish Byul let her body fall back and out of the plane.

 

“I am going to kill her,” Yongsun mumbled too focused on the many ways she could use to kill her wife to notice John standing up and approaching the plane's door. “I’m going to kill her so dead she won't eve-AAAAAHHHHH”

 

Clutching the grips of her harness, Yongsun screamed the second she started falling.The guy behind her was trying to talk to her but she was having none of it. She couldn’t even see Byul at first, but the added weight of two bodies made them catch up with the captain soon enough.

 

Yongsun was starting to feel more relaxed and used to the sensation of falling as she saw Byul floating in front of her with a toothy grin on her face twirling around. Right when she started actually enjoying herself she heard a clank and an apology on her ear before her harness was dismounted and the guy flew away from her.

 

Almost immediately she felt a familiar presence behind her and expert hands that tugged every possible joint of her harness. With a similar clank to what she had heard seconds before she could feel secured to whoever what behind her before the parachute opened.

 

“You really thought I’d let you enjoy this view with anyone other than me?” Byul spoke right into her ear.

 

“I hate you so much right now…” Yonsgun said, her eyes closed and her whole body tense.

 

Lifting her legs a little Byul tried to create a somewhat sit for Yongsun so she could relax, nudging her with her knee.

 

“Open your eyes yeba.”

 

“How do you even know if I have them closed?”

 

“Because, my dear, I know, and love, you with every cell in my body,” Byul said kissing Yongsun’s shoulder as she managed to control the parachute. “Open them and you’ll see the second most beautiful thing in the whole archipelago after you in the mornings.”

 

"I swear to God your lines get worse as time goes by"

 

Opening first one then the other Yongsun smiled at the sight before her. Blues, greens and the white of the beaches mixing to create a picture perfect. Reaching upwards with one of her hands she interlaced her fingers with Byul’s, careful not to stop her from being able to control the parachute's direction.

 

“It’s beautiful…”

 

“I know, my wife does have great taste.”

 

 

“Oh shut up and enjoy the view woman.”