“No!”

The yell tore Yewon from her sleep, and she shot up in bed, quickly turning to face Eunbi who was sitting next to her, breathing heavily. Yewon’s hand fluttered nervously over Eunbi, but she was hesitant to touch her, unsure whether Eunbi wanted her to or not.

“Hey, you’re okay, you’re home,” Yewon murmured, looking at Eunbi with concern. After a few moments, Eunbi turned to face Yewon and gave her a small smile, squinting slightly as she tried to make out Yewon’s face. Quickly reaching for her glasses, she slid them on and looked back over at Yewon with a slightly bigger smile.

“Good morning,” Eunbi said, leaning over to give Yewon a slow kiss before she flopped back down on the bed. Yewon frowned slightly as she looked at Eunbi, who was smiling and holding her arms open.

“Eunbi-” Yewon started but was cut off before she could continue.

“I’m fine, Yewon. It was just a bad dream,” Eunbi said, giving her a half-smile.

With a small sigh, Yewon cuddled up next to Eunbi and threw one arm across her, holding her tightly. “Do you want to talk about it?” Yewon asked.

“No,” Eunbi whispered. “Not right now.”

After a quick pause, Yewon decided not to push her. Eunbi always told her what was bothering her when she was ready. Instead, they both laid there in each other’s arms, and Yewon listened to Eunbi’s steady heartbeat while Eunbi trailed her fingers in a swirling pattern over Yewon’s back.

They stayed that way until the sky started to lighten outside, and the weak early morning sun started to shine through a gap in the curtains. Eunbi was running her fingers through Yewon’s hair, and Yewon felt her take a deep breath as if to steady herself.

“So..we...uh..we need to talk...about me re-enlisting,” Eunbi said slowly. Yewon carefully extracted herself from Eunbi’s arms and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and pushing herself up.

“Can’t we just have breakfast first?” Yewon asked, running a hand through her hair as she turned to look at Eunbi with a grim look on her face.

Eunbi sighed as she reached out for Yewon, before letting her arm flip back down on the bed when Yewon didn’t make a move to get back into the bed. “Yewon, you can’t just keep avoiding the conversation,” Eunbi told her.

“I’m not avoiding it. I would just prefer to not have it right now,” Yewon replied.

“Yewon, please,” Eunbi said, giving her a pained look.

“Eunbi, I-” Yewon started.

“I’m not re-enlisting, you donut!” Eunbi exclaimed, cutting Yewon off with a laugh as she rolled her eyes.

Yewon’s brain took a moment to register Eunbi’s words and she blinked in surprise. She opened and closed a few times as she tried to make sense of what she had just heard. “Wha- I don’t understand. Y-You’re not re-enlisting? Ever?” Yewon said slowly, tilting her head to the side as she frowned.

“Never ever,” Eunbi said, grinning up at Yewon as she sat huddled in the blankets.

All the air rushed out of Yewon’s lungs and she let out a breathless laugh, before jumping on the bed. She tackled Eunbi and pinned her down beneath her, smiling widely as her eyes welled up with tears. Leaning down, Yewon pressed kisses all over Eunbi’s face as they both laughed.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Yewon squealed excitedly, bouncing on the bed as she smiled at Eunbi. Laughing, Eunbi struggled into an upright position and wiped away the tears of joy streaming down Yewon’s face, before leaning in and giving her a kiss.

The door banged open to reveal an annoyed Eunha rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “You two better have a good ing reason for making this kind of racket this early in the morning. If you don’t you better shut the up or I will personally kill you,” Eunha grumbled as she frowned at them.

“Oh, I was just telling Yewon about how I’m not re-enlisting,” Eunbi said casually, biting her lip to stop herself from smiling.

“What?” Eunha said, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “You’re serious?”

Eunbi nodded and Yewon laughed as Eunha ran into the room and dived on the bed, laughing as she tackled her sister in a massive hug. Yewon felt happier than she could ever remember; this was it. Eunbi would go back for another four or five months and that would be it. They just had to make it through the rest of this deployment and then Yewon would never have to let her go again.

“Okay..um...I have to go and wake mom up,” Eunha, jumping off the bed and smiling at them both excitedly.

“Wake me up for what?” Jessica asked from the doorway, tying the belt on her robe as she yawned.

“Guess who isn’t re-enlisting,” Eunha sang as she bounced over to Jessica and hugged her mom. “I’m going to go and put some coffee on.”

Jessica whipped around to face Eunbi at Eunha’s words, and she smiled widely, holding her arms open to Eunbi. Slipping out of bed, Eunbi walked over to her mom and let her wrap her in a hug. Yewon smiled as she watched them hug and talk excitedly, before getting out of bed and making it. She walked over to the door, and Jessica looked at her with a wide smile, her eyes filled with tears before pulling her into a hug.

“I bet you’re pleased,” she said with a small laugh and Yewon smiled brightly at her as she agreed.

They wandered downstairs to find Eunha pouring them all coffee with a happy look on her face. Yewon smiled at the sight, it was the happiest she had ever seen Eunha, and she suspected that she looked the same.

Picking up her coffee, Eunbi took Yewon’s hand and pulled her towards the front door. They stopped to put their coats on over their PJs, and Eunbi grabbed the blanket from the living room before walking outside with Yewon. They both sat on the porch swing, drinking their coffee as they shared the blanket and watched Angkko run around the garden with a stick in .

“What is it?” Eunbi asked, looking at Yewon expectantly. Yewon smiled slightly as she looked at Eunbi.

“I’ve missed you being able to tell when I’m thinking too hard,” Yewon quietly laughed, before looking down at her cup and frowning slightly. With a small sigh, she looked back up at Eunbi. “It’s just...why aren’t you going back? I-Is it because of me?” Yewon asked.

“Of course it is,” Eunbi laughed, brushing the hair out of Yewon’s face and kissing her on the forehead.

“Then don’t, don’t do it for me,” Yewon told her.

“Let me finish,” Eunbi laughed. “Yes, I did it for you, and for Eunha and for my mom, but I also did it for myself. I knew I would have to decide soon, and I put it off because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. When I told you I needed more time, I think I already knew I wasn’t going back after this tour. I knew I was coming home to see you, I just...I needed to see you so I could realize exactly how much I have to lose. Like I knew, of course, but I just- I don’t know how I’m going to leave again for another few months, let alone again and again over the next two years.”

“So you’re sure? This is what you want? Not me, not your family. You.” Yewon asked.

Eunbi laughed, throwing an arm around Yewon’s shoulders and pulling her close so she could press a kiss on the top of her head. “I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life. Well, I mean...minus a couple of things, like being sure I love you.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re sure of that one,” Yewon laughed, resting her head on Eunbi’s shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me you were staying yesterday though?”

“You told me not to!” Eunbi exclaimed, laughing as she tickled Yewon in the side. “You were