World War Two AU (Jari)

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Jake had simply stood listening as Marilyn explained that they had been successful in their mission, only speaking when he needed to assure his commanding officer that they had, indeed, worked well together. They'd been dismissed shortly after and Jake had headed off towards his section, putting his bag on his camp bed and heading off towards the showers.

He'd spent as long as he could in there, despite the water being freezing, cleaning himself as much as he could and getting rid of the old bandages that we're no longer needed. He'd then headed towards the mess, meeting up with his platoon and enjoying their company. Of course, the questions had started in an instant when they realised he'd been out with Captain Caldwell.

"Did you guys... you know?"

"No."

"Oh come on, she's really pretty!"

"We're working, nothing happened." Jake insisted, munching down his food hungrily. "And besides, just because we all think she's wildly attractive, doesn't mean we could... ever be up to her standards, darlings!" Jake insisted, putting on a really bad English accent towards the end of the sentence. He didn't really believe that, he was just throwing the idiots off of the real story.

He'd moved back off to his bed space after that, penning a message to Victoria to once again tell her he was okay, and that he loved her as always. After that he'd tidied out his bag, making sure everything was neat before relaxing back in to his bed. It might not have been the most comfortable, but it was better than sleeping on his roll mat. He'd been dozing when a Private came up to him, slightly out of breath and telling him that Captain Caldwell had requested his presence. Nodding, Jake pulled on his beret and shouldered his semi-automatic before heading across camp.

Captain Caldwell had a tent to herself, and Jake slipped in to the tent, fastening the sides in to place before turning to the woman and saluting her. "You wanted to see me, Captain?" Jake asked, purposefully being formal until he was told otherwise. What she wanted, he wasn't sure, but he was rather hoping this would be more of a social call. None of this showed though, because he didn't want to look like... well, a lost puppy.

Subject: Re: World War Two AU (Jari) Sun Nov 23, 2014 10:42 am

"You wanted to see me, Captain?"

"Mhm," She walked past him and made sure the tent was sealed. Most people steered clear of her tent, knowing that gorgeous as she was, she was not to be messed with. Thus they were safe. Then she sat on her desk and beckoned him to come closer, voice lowering as he did so.

"I was wondering...if you'd be interested in...continuing our previous arrangement."The woman spoke calmly, eyes dark on his. Why she was doing this she didn't know. It didn't make sense for her, but an old part of her was awakening. Apart that told her to take what she wanted.

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Jake didn't move as she moved past him, checking the tent and then heading back to her desk. He moved closer when she asked him to, lowering his rifle to lean against her desk. The safety was on, so it was safe, he was simply always on guard in case the Germans tried anything.

"I was wondering...if you'd be interested in...continuing our previous arrangement."

Checking around the tent to make sure there wasn't anyone here, Jake's eyes fell back to Marilyn's with both confusion and apprehension clear in his eyes. "I don't... know if that's wise, Captain..." Jake began despite wanting to simply say yes. "What if someone finds out? Or we get caught?" He asked. Fooling around whilst they were on missions was different. But here...

"I mean to say that I would very much like to... but I think it would be foolish." Jake told her, ignoring the urge to just kiss her, to hell with protocol. But if she convinced him it would be okay, he would be hers again and again, she only had to ask.

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https://hogwartsafuture.rpg-board.net/t3464-ww2-part3-au-jari

"I wish you could stay all night,"

"I can stay a while." Jake assured her, pulling the covers over them and holding her close. Tucking her hair behind her ear, Jake pressed another gentle kiss to her lips. He knew he couldn't stay long, but he threw caution to the wind for now.

"Jake?" The woman asked, "Have you thought about what we could do if we hadn't met in the war? If we'd met in our normal lives?"

The question was one that was becoming more poignant, but Jake wasn't sure. Thinking about it for a moment, his eyes searching hers for what she wanted. "Well... I..." Jake started uncertainly. "I guess, if this were a normal situation, I wouldn't have done this..." Jake admitted softly, yes he had had sex with another girl, but he'd been certain he was going to marry her before her dad carted her away because he wasn't good enough for her. "I would have courted you properly... taken you dancing maybe, and stolen kisses from you as I dropped you home. I would have done things right, and... I would have asked you to marry me once I was sure we both wanted the same thing. But the war throws morals out of the window, and I'm sorry for not doing this... right."

Jake didn't know if that was the right answer, or whether that was completely off of the mark.

Subject: Re: World War Two AU (Jari) Sun Nov 23, 2014 3:59 pm

"I would have courted you properly... taken you dancing maybe, and stolen kisses from you as I dropped you home. I would have done things right, and... I would have asked you to marry me once I was sure we both wanted the same thing. But the war throws morals out of the window, and I'm sorry for not doing this... right."

Sofia's breath hitched at his words and, impossible as it was, she could see it, all of it. Though it wouldn't have been possible in her old life. She'd spent her whole life belonging to someone or other, never able to decide for herself, never brave enough to try. Even Louis hadn't been able to save her from the past, try as he had. He'd had his heart in the right place but had ended up letting her pass into government posession instead.

"I would've loved that," she said honestly, utterly honestly in a way she'd never allowed herself to be before. She pressed a kiss to his lips, "Think your parent's would've liked me?" She asked, because following a fantasy was better than following reality.

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The notion that she would have loved the situation made Jake relax. Did it matter that it might have only been in this moment that she meant that? No. Jake was simply happy to have someone he could pretend to be normal with, even for a night.

"Think your parent's would've liked me?"

"Hmm..." Jake teased, pretending to think about it for a moment. "I think they would have loved you." He told her softly, pressing another soft kiss to her lips. "Victoria would love you, too. Victoria loves everyone, she is upset with this whole war because violence isn't the answer." He explained, chuckling lightly and shaking her head.

"My family are pretty easy going though, so long as I was happy, they would be happy." Jake explained, resting his head back on to the pillow. There was quiet for a while, comfortable as Jake tried to think of something.

"This is... well, crazy, but if when the war is finished we're... we make it through... Come back to America with me." Jake started, moving his fingers to her lips. "Don't answer now, make no promises. But on the day everyone leaves, I'll wait by the boat going back to America until I can wait no longer. If... if you want to, come with me then." He whispered, his arms holding her closer as he kissed her soundly. Promises would kill them, but an understanding... an understanding could work.

Subject: Re: World War Two AU (Jari) Sun Nov 23, 2014 5:29 pm

"My family are pretty easy going though, so long as I was happy, they would be happy."

"That sounds nice. They sound nice." She whispered, kissing him back.

"This is... well, crazy, but if when the war is finished we're... we make it through... Come back to America with me." Jake started, moving his fingers to her lips. "Don't answer now, make no promises. But on the day everyone leaves, I'll wait by the boat going back to America until I can wait no longer. If... if you want to, come with me then."

Sofia's eyes widened at his offer, it was crazy. Insane. More than that; it was impossible. But she wanted it. She wanted it badly. "You're crazy," she smiled, kissing him, "and I'm crazy." The couple kissed and cuddled until he had to leave. They kept it up for months, going on missions and coming back, growing closer and closer to each other until they knew tiny details of the other. Marilyn told him revised stories that were true, she just changed the setting and the people. She was honest about her mother dying when Mari was eleven, she just didn't say how. How she was adopted, she didn't say by whom.

She told him as much as was safe, possibly a little more. And she never lied about how she felt. The first time they said those three words they'd been laid in Marilyn's tent around New Years Eve, somewhere around midnight, curled up together. Marilyn had almost cried, it was the softest he'd ever seen her as she whispered them like a secret.

Whilst they'd grown emotionally Marilyn had gathered more and more intel on the traitor and now she had firm suspicions and a suspect. But that meant she was running out of time. She'd written Jake a long letter explaining everything that she now, on New Years Morning after they'd gotten dressed together was holding in her hand as they sat on the her bed.

"Jake, I have to tell you something that's very long and hard, but, but I love you," she kissed him, "So much, I never thought this would happen to me, but I'm running out of time so here, this explains everything..." She handed him the letter but in that moment they head gunfire and she stashed it inside his coat before the tent opened to armed guards who grabbed her and tore her out kicking and screaming.

Cap.Andrews stormed out of his tent with his gun and fired at the attackers, who were dressed as Nazi's. They threw Marilyn into the trunk and drove off, but you could hear her screaming for Jake until they revved the engine.

The letter:
My real name Sofia Bonnot. I'm not English either, by the way, I'm French.

Have you ever heard of Jules "Le Bourgeois" Bonnot? He was shot in 1912. He was one of the most prominent members of the Bonnot gang. He married Sophie-Louise Burdet in August 1901, but, because to his crimes, in 1907, Sophie left Bonnot, taking their child with her. That child was my mother, she was two. And my grandmother Sophie died before my mother turned sixteen. But, as things usually work in the Milieu (the French Mafia) she wasn't alone for long. By then another gang had taken over France, the gang now known as the Gang des Tractions Avant. They took my mother in and she quickly fell into the lifestyle, showing similarities to her father in her posh lifestyle. At age seventeen she had me. And I was raised the same way. But not for long.

When I was eleven we were found in our mansion, one of the few occupied by the gang in Marseilles by the French Police who shot everyone they could find, including my mother. Hearing them arrive she had hid me in a closet. That night our leader Pierre Loutrel, whom you know in the news as 'Crazy Pete', came home to the scene and found many of his friends and cohorts dead, but when he couldn't find me he assumed I had run away and left. He and my mother never married, but he was my father. It wasn't until I was older that I realised he'd kept my mother as a mistress and was waiting for me to turn sixteen to sell me as well.

It was only when the Government Agents came the next morning that I was found by Agent Louis Clement, then still an active Agent, now he manages the training program for new recruits. He took me in after I'd been questioned for days, let me stay at his home. He adopted me a year later and Sophia Bonnot became Sofia Clement. But I wasn't a normal girl, I'd grown up in the Milieu, I was eleven and a better shot than most on the force, I could hotwire cars like a pro and had a few...bad habits. So he spent ages trying to find a way to get through to me, or to get me to use my skills for a good purpose. He was a bachelor suddenly stuck tryinng to help a gangster's child, he was in over his head. And so it came that under the watchful eye of the French Secret Service, I was trained formally.

At age sixteen I began to do undercover work in small gangs, helping collect evidence, but I couldn't keep it up for long before I was exposed, only two years. In two years I helped put a hundred men in jail. But the gangs knew me and most wanted me dead by then. I remained in France until the war started but with the Carlingue gaining power it wasn't safe for me to work there, so I was taken to England where my services were needed. And that's how I landed here. There were rumours of corruption amongst the American ranks, specifically this division. There's a mole, but we didn't know who, so they sent me in to find out, because they weren't sure how deep the corruption ran here.

Destroy this after you read it, if it comes out that there's an 'English spy' then it won't matter that we're actually on the same side. America and England would break ties and we could lose the war.

I'm sorry. For so many things, and I've done some awful things, but the worst thing I ever did was hurt you, though I never meant to. And I hope that if all goes well you'll be reading this in my presence and I can answer any questions.

I lied about a lot of things. But never about how I felt about you, how I feel. How you make me feel. Every kiss, every touch, was true. I am completely, utterly,

Yours,

Marilyn

P.S. If you're reading this without me then I am either missing or dead. I'm sorry. If I have been taken, then I was toolate. It's Andrews. He's working for the Carlingue. They're coming for me.

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"You're crazy," she smiled, kissing him, "and I'm crazy."

Jake let out a soft chuckle at that information, pressing a firm kiss to her lips and holding her close. There were no promises and soon he as gathering his clothes and heading off for the night. It had been similar for weeks to follow, both of them playing the game of not knowing what they'd promised each other, when in reality they both knew.

New Year had come and the rest of the camp had been partying on the watered down beer, but Marilyn and Jake had left them to it and spent the night together in peace. They'd fallen asleep together, throwing caution to the wind for once because everyone else would be much too busy. But not before Marilyn had told him she loved him. A smile had touched his lips at that, and he'd told her softly that he also loved her, very much.

But the bliss that came with the turn of New Year had not lasted. It hadn't lasted at all.

"Jake, I have to tell you something that's very long and hard, but, but I love you,"

"Okay..." Jake had responded, before Marilyn had told him she didn't have long. Confusion hit in waves as he tried to insist that they had plenty of time. They were safe, they were going to be safe...

But it was a moment later that the gunfire sounded much to close to hear, and a couple moments more before the shouts of the camp rose and men grabbed their arms. But both of them were too slow, and before Jake could so much as reach for his rifle they'd infiltrated the tent, taken Marilyn and knocked the American out as he tried to wrestle them away.

How long he was out of the cold ground, Jake didn't know, but he came round with a great thumping headache. Rolling on to his side, Jake looked around. "Marilyn..?" He asked, hoping it had all just been some stupid dream, but as no sound came, Jake straightened himself and put his hand in to his pocket. Paper...

Pulling out the piece of paper, Jake had looked at it confused, not recognising the handwriting as he pulled it open. He read, slowly and carefully, his heart leaping in some parts, and aching in others. The woman he'd known had been undercover, but he wasn't mad. This was war, and he'd fallen... he'd fallen in love with the woman behind the alternate persona. His eyes were blurry by the end of it, his cheeks wet, but the soft clink of metal brought him back to reality. Looking down at the key, Jake took in the space and the only thing with a lock. Moving to the desk, Jake opened it with trembling hands, wiping at his eyes.

There was time. There had to be time.

Opening the drawer, Jake pulled out the information, scanning it quickly before grabbing his backpack and shoving everything in there. Her letter he put in to his pocket on his chest. He knew she told him to burn it, but he couldn't. Only if he thought his life were in danger would he destroy it because it held the truth he needed. Shouldering the bag, Jake picked up his rifle and hurried to the armoury which was, thankfully deserted. Filing his bag with rounds, the young man took up a sniper rifle and then hurried back through the camp.

Stopping at Captain Andrews tent. Immobilising the two guards outside silently, Jake moved in to the tent with his pistol raised, loaded and ready. "Where have they taken her?"

"How would I know, Sergeant?"

"Don't play stupid, she told me everything, I know what you're doing."

"Then you know that she'll be dead before you can reach her." Captain Andrews told him, but Jake moved closer, gun still raised and ready.

"You're a bastard. I trusted you." He spat, before smashing the man over the head with the butt of his gun. A killing blow, but Jake wasn't stupid enough to arose suspicion. Taking the keys from the man, Jake hurried to the car outside, turning the ignition and stepping on the gas. He zoomed past his comrades, but didn't stop for anyone, not even the gate. He would pay for this, he knew, but some things... some things were worth doing.

Jake drove for over an hour until he located the spot he needed to be. Abandoning the car, he crept to a nearby hill, scoping the area. The camp was relatively small, twenty at the most. It was manageable, but Jake knew every shot he took could potentially mean Marilyn got killed. No, not Marilyn, Sofia. Closing his eyes for a moment, Jake took out the man in the watchtower, watching as the light stopped moving. With that done, the young man moved towards the fence. A temporary fence that hadn't been set up quite right and he could slip through.

He wasn't an agent, so this was not how he'd been trained, but he worked with what he had to do. A guard was coming in to view nearby, and Jake waited in the shadows, only moving when the man was close enough. There was a struggle, but Jake outdid the man and as the man took his last breath, Jake whispered a soft sorry before moving on.

The young man continued through the camp in the same manner, taking guards out one by one and ending up in more than one struggle. He'd cleared everywhere outside within half an hour, standing against the wall catching his breath and trying not to throw up at the realisation of what he'd done. Killing someone from a distance was so different to killing someone with your own hands, but Jake had to.

Drawing his pistol, Jake moved in to the building, checking every corner as he moved and walking silently. Adrenaline was pumping through his system and he could hear his heartbeat loud in his ears. Everything seemed to be clear which was raising his nerves so much. Pressing himself outside of a door, Jake listened to the sounds of... voices, male, demanding... and the sound of a hit and a female response.

Sofia.

Opening the door, Jake moved in, taking out the guard with a bullet much quicker than his reaction time before focusing on the man who must have been the leader. "Let her go. I've killed enough people, and I'm not afraid of adding another to my list." Jake told the man, moving in to the room. He was sure it was clear, but his eyes were on the man before him, making sure that any movement would lead to at least a bullet in the man's head and two in his chest.

Subject: Re: World War Two AU (Jari) Mon Nov 24, 2014 2:52 am

Sofia had been thrown into the car's trunk, which was highly cramped, and felt tears hot on her cheeks that she quickly wiped away. They couldn't see her cry. She'd been too late. Too late to tell the authorities that Andrews had a contract with the Carlingue; which was the French Gestapo and highly inflitrated by the French mafia. Andrews sold information to Germany over the Carlingue. And the Carlingue got her in exchange, plus a handsome fee, of course.

They'd taken her to an abandoned shed, where she'd found out they were hiding, and had tied her to a wooden post that held her hands behind her head, interrogating her to see how much info they could get before they killed her. Three mob bosses formed the group leaders of the team of mobsters they'd sent to get her and they took great amusement in dunking her head underwater everytime she refused to answer. But she remained hopeful that Jake still loved her, that he was coming.

And she was right, when he burst through the door she'd called out his name as he took down one boss to the indignition of the other two and within seconds they had a gun cocked to Marilyn's head.

"Let her go. I've killed enough people, and I'm not afraid of adding another to my list."

"She's a pretty weapon, isn't she? Reminds me of her mother, I had the pleasure once... it seems she inherited too much Bonnot though," He nudged her temple with the cold metal of the gun. "She'll always be one of us, such a waste really, that she betrayed family like this. We could've used her talents. But she's still ours, she could've never been yours, but I understand the temptation..." The man clicked the safety off, "Shoot me and she dies."

Sofia looked at Jake and slyly wobbled back and forth to show that she could throw herself backwardsto avoid the shot and for him to please, please take the shots.

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The talk from the man, Jake ignored. He didn't care about families of power, he didn't care about what Mari- Sofia was supposed to be, all he cared about was the woman he knew, the woman he'd fallen in love with and made love to again and again.

The woman he'd killed many men for just to get her out safely.

"Shoot me and she dies."

Jake's hands faltered momentarily, calculating reaction to him pulling the trigger. The corner of his eye noted Marilyn's movement.

"Oh look, he can't pull the trigger." One of them laughed, only a single syllable before Jake's pistol fired four shots in quick succession, leaving Marilyn to fall away from the danger. Each shot had pierced the men in the eyes, and Jake fired four more - two in each man's chest.

Ignoring the tremble in his hands, Jake moved to the woman, cupping her face and kissing her firmly. "I'm sorry for taking so long." He whispered, drawing his knife and cutting her free. Helping her to her feet, Jake took a new magazine for his pistol and reloaded, handing her the semi-automatic. "We should be safe. But we can't go back to camp. I... I killed Captain Andrews and everyone's going to think I'm a deserter... But if we don't... don't go back they're going to write home and tell them I'm a coward..." Jake explained, realisation of what he'd done hitting him like a punch in the stomach.

His eyes moved back to Sofia's questioning what they should do now.

Subject: Re: World War Two AU (Jari) Mon Nov 24, 2014 10:12 am

When he pulled the trigger she threw herself backwards and landed hard on the floor, thankfully uninjured, just cold and wet. But soon he was cupping her face and she was kissing him back, shaking her head at his apology.

"If you forgive me then all is well" she whispered, huggimg him tightly.

"We should be safe. But we can't go back to camp. I... I killed Captain Andrews and everyone's going to think I'm a deserter... But if we don't... don't go back they're going to write home and tell them I'm a coward..."?

Marilyn shook her head, "No, we cant run, it would blow my cover, and I have proof of Andrews corruption. They cant call you a deserter if we come back, Jake."

But she was wrong. It was chaos when they returned, try as she might Marilyns cries fell on deaf, angry ears as she yelled out that he'd saved her, that she had proof. But they restrained her as they forced Jake to kneel in parade square. a soldier had a gun pressed to his temple and marilyn was screaming at them to stop when a shot rang out.

the new commanding officer had fired a shot in the air calling for ordering.

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"If you forgive me then all is well"

Jake smiled slightly at that, nodding. "There's nothing to forgive, you were doing what you had to do." He told her softly, he really wasn't mad, couldn't be mad.

"No, we cant run, it would blow my cover, and I have proof of Andrews corruption. They cant call you a deserter if we come back, Jake."

Jake nodded slowly at that, and they made their way back to the landrover he'd stolen, driving them back to camp. He was worried, of course he was, but if Marilyn told him it was going to be okay, Jake would believe her. The moment they got back though, Jake was pulled from the vehicle and dragged to the square. He felt a foot collide with his stomach but he couldn't double over in pain as they held him straight.

The cold metal against his temple made Jake know what they were going to do. He didn't, instead lifting his head enough to see the woman he'd fallen in love with, because if he was going to die, he was going to die looking at the most beautiful woman in the world. Even when hysterical she was beautiful.

He didn't need to tell her to make sure his family knew the truth, he had a quiet confidence in Marilyn to do that for him. By letter or in person, she would make sure his story was told truthfully.

Closing his eyes, Jake started a murmured prayer - he might not have been as religious as his Ma would have liked, but he knew that in his last breaths he should probably make an effort. He'd barely said Amen when the sound of a gunshot rang.

He was dead.

But the sound simply rang in his ears, and he could hear himself breathing, opening his eyes... he'd opened his eyes, and everything seemed to go in slow motion. There was a man walking towards him, heaving him to his feet by the scruff of his shirt, barking incoherent orders as people moved off.

He was being led somewhere, a tent, and everything was not making any sense.

"Sergeant Newbury, I don't know what you were playing at, but your actions were not okay, do you hear me? You were not authorised to leave camp." The man was shouting at him, but Jake was just smiling to himself, in a trance of some kind.

"To make sure you don't do anything stupid, I'm reassigning you, Lieutenant." Jake blinked, looking towards the man. He'd... just been promoted. "Captain Caldwell will remain here. You, you will be going to the front line. If you want to try your hand at new skills, we'll see how the front is to your liking. You leave tomorrow."

Jake was a trained sniper, a clever man, intricate in his workings. He wasn't a frontline soldier, he'd been written off for that job when they saw he had brains, so this... this made no sense. But he didn't raise an argument. "Sir." Jake managed, his mouth suddenly dry. "An-anything else, sir?" Jake asked, and when he was dismissed he glanced towards Captain Caldwell, giving her a shaky smile and then moving off.

Likely she'd get a grilling, but she'd be kept safe.

Subject: Re: World War Two AU (Jari) Mon Nov 24, 2014 11:21 am

Marilyn had fallen to her knees when she'd been released, numbly following Jake to the tent, in shock. She'd almost lost him... Marilyn didn't even realise she was shaking until she heard the new Captain assigning Jake to the frontline. Her heart skipped a beat.

"To make sure you don't do anything stupid, I'm reassigning you, Lieutenant." Jake blinked, looking towards the man. He'd... just been promoted. "Captain Caldwell will remain here. You, you will be going to the front line. If you want to try your hand at new skills, we'll see how the front is to your liking. You leave tomorrow."

"Sir-"

"And you, Captain, please feel free to enlighten me to what just happened?" He barked.

So Marilyn told him about how she'd noticed suspicious behavior in the former Captain Andrews, how she'd investigated further and how she'd gathered evidence he was actually selling information over the Carlingue to Germany. How they'd found out she knew and kidnapped her but she'd managed to tell Jake how to find her and how he'd saved her life.

"I see..." He spoke, looking over the files of evidence she'd given him, copies of which she still had in her tent. "And the nature...of your relationship to Lieutenant Newbury is..."

"We're...promised."

"Engaged?"

"So to say..." Mari said, hoping it would make the Captain change his mind about sending Jake to the front lines. But he wouldn't so it seemed. And so, with a warning, he sent Marilyn back to her tent where she saw Jake waiting inside and once inside she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close.

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Jake had moved straight to Marilyn's tent when he'd been dismissed, pacing back and forth in the tent. The front line? This was not good, not good at all. Time also seemed to be going very slowly as he waited for Marilyn to get back, and his stress levels were going through the roof. The realisation of what he'd done, probably making everything worse, but then he'd saved her from being killed...

The moment the tent opened, Jake turned on his heel, hurrying to Marilyn and holding her close. They stood for a while, holding one another, Jake pressing light kisses against her temple and trying to hold his composure. But really, he couldn't, not for long. Not now. "I'm scared, Marilyn." He told her softly, not sure whether to use her real name of the one they'd been using throughout the time they'd known each other.

Pulling back only enough to kiss her, Jake ignored the soft trail of tears running down his cheeks in that moment. He didn't want to leave, he wasn't this kind of fighter. But he had no choice. "You've got to... stay strong for me." He whispered, pressing another light kiss to her lips. "Stay alive and meet me at the boat." He continued, pressing yet another kiss to her lips. "Promise me, now, promise me you'll be there."

The whisper only grew quieter with the weight of what he was asking, knowing it was all too much and still not enough. But he had to hear it so that he had something to take with him to the front.

Subject: Re: World War Two AU (Jari) Mon Nov 24, 2014 3:07 pm

"I'm scared, Marilyn."

Mari nodded, holding him so very close, "I know, I know, love." She pressed a kiss to his tear-stained cheeks and kissing him back, feeling a sob choke her throat when he said she'd have to stay strong for him, but she nodded.

"Stay alive and meet me at the boat." He continued, pressing yet another kiss to her lips. "Promise me, now, promise me you'll be there."

"Of course," She whispered, "Of course I'll be there." She cupped his face and looked him deep in the eyes, ignoring their tears and smiling at him, "You've still got to take me dancing, and steal kisses when you drop me off, God knows where, and you've still got to ask me to marry you." She kissed him again, arms around his neck, pulling him close.

"I promise you, I'm yours, I'll always be yours."

Guest

They were both a mess, tears staining both their cheeks now. Jake didn't want her to cry, but they needed this moment to be able to continue on until the end of the war.

The soft words of how he had to take her dancing and steal kisses and ask her to marry him brought a smile to Jake's lips, despite it making the tears flow faster. He wanted to give her all of that, and he would one day.

"I promise you, I'm yours, I'll always be yours."

Jake pressed a light kiss to her lips before moving to her desk and taking out a piece of paper. "If... If anything happens to me, go to the address on the envelope and give this to my parents. Please. They'll look after you." He explained, carefully penning a letter to explain who Marilyn was and that if anything happened to him they were to look after her for him. It also explained that he loved all of them, and that he'd done everything he could to make sure they'd stayed safe. Jake scanned it once before folding it in to an envelope and writing his address on the front before handing it to Marilyn.

Remembering a moment later that he hadn't destroyed the letter Marilyn had sent him, Jake took it out of his pocket. Looking towards the woman, Jake moved to the candle and set it on fire. "All of this... it doesn't matter." He told her, watching the flames. "Your past is only your past. So don't think that it changes anything for us." He told her, laying it down on the metal box to fizzle out before moving back to Marilyn's arms.

"Can I stay until morning?" He asked her softly, because the future was much more hazy now, and it worried him. Just one more night of certainty with Marilyn and the world could throw anything his way.

Subject: Re: World War Two AU (Jari) Mon Nov 24, 2014 5:35 pm

"If... If anything happens to me, go to the address on the envelope and give this to my parents. Please. They'll look after you."

Taking the letter and putting it in her safe the woman saw him burn her letter and fresh tears pricked her eyes at his sweet words.

"Your past is only your past. So don't think that it changes anything for us."

Marilyn was quick to pull him close again, kissing him deeply and running her fingers through his hair and holding on like she'd never let go, whispering 'I love you' again and again, pulling him into bed with her where they made love throughout the night, holding each other for the rest of it. Promising, finally promising, each other all kinds of things, because if not now then when?

He left with her hankerchief that had a red kiss print on it to take her love wherever he went. Marilyn performed her work dutifully, but cried softly through the nights. They wrote letters, nothing long, just little promises.

"I promise to kiss you on our first date"

"I promise not to step on your toes (much)"

"I promise to make you your favorite food when you've had a bad day."

Just little things, always sealed with a kiss and a "Yours, Mari"

And he always wrote back, once a week, the highlight of her days, the war couldn't end soon enough, but end it did but also, a week bfore ship off, so did his replies. Which worried her beyond belief. As she raced the day of, ten minutes after boarding started, to the American ship, having written her resignation after demanding one last favour. That Sofia Bonnot-Clement be marked dead and that Marilyn Caldwell become an American citizen.

She stood there, hair loose around her shoulders and swallowed the lump in her throat.

He wasn't there.

Guest

The night had gone too quickly, from promises, to love, from tears to small smiles. Nothing had been left out as they fell asleep, Jake holding on to Marilyn more than he ever had before. He'd never stopped pretending he was brave until now, and now he knew that he had someone to confide in, Jake hadn't stopped until he'd exhausted himself in to sleep. The next morning he had built himself back up, allowing Marilyn to tuck her handkerchief in to his top pocket.

He didn't have a token for her, and he'd told her that. He'd brought nothing of value with him, because his parents needed everything back home to keep them alive. But Jake simply told Marilyn that though she didn't physically have anything, she had his heart, would always have his heart, and she had all the memories they'd made together in the months they'd known each other.

Jake had left the next morning with a handful of other soldiers, being marched from the camp with a stiff upper lip. His eyes didn't move to the people that were seeing them off, because he knew his resolve would crumble. The American walked out of the camp with his dignity intact, but his heart had stayed safe with the woman he loved. Which meant, it didn't matter what was thrown his way, because so long as Marilyn was safe, he would be too.

But that didn't mean hell would be kept at bay, which was what Jake had been thrown in to. Mud pits became his home, and gunfire constantly sounded. Men were being stretchered away left right and centre, and the mortar shells landed way too close for comfort far too often. Each time he was told to lead an advance, Jake had taken his handkerchief from his pocket and kissed the place Marilyn had left her lipstick mark. It was silly, but it got him through each wave of attack. They pushed the Germans back each day, but as of yet there was no knowing how much longer it would be.

So he wrote, in his free time.

"I'm watching the stars tonight, seeing as I have no tent, but I haven't found a single star that outshines you..."

"Do you want a summer or winter wedding? Please summer, I don't think I could bare waiting until winter..."

"I've started a count down til I'll see your face, and I know that I'll only have another hour, and I'll see your smile again..."

"I promise that tomorrow, I'll be in your arms, for tomorrow always has to come..."

Each letter he signed with 'love always, Jake' before he pressed his lips to the piece of paper. They were muddy, and damp most of the time, but he did his best. Each letter he received he kept, and each night he would read through them to remind himself there was hope.

It was the Eve of the war ending - not that anyone knew - and Jake was sat having a quick smoke to steady himself for the next wave of attack. Sitting behind an abandoned shower cubicle, Jake waited for the order to move, straining his ears as much as he could. Listening for anything. The whistling sound was coming closer and the mortar exploded only feet away, throwing up debris and the Jake, but only the force knocking him from his feet. The shout went up the next moment, and Jake readied himself for the move.

The clunk as something hard hit his helmet was the last sound Jake heard before everything went black. Sprawled out in the mud, Lieutenant Newbury didn't hear the gunfire around him, not the celebration of the war being over as it was announced the next morning. He wasn't considered as the lorries rounded up his comrades from the frontline, and only as rain hit his face did the young man stir.

Groggy and alone.

Getting to his feet, Jake stumbled back the way he'd come from, seeing figures moving in the field before him. What had happened? Pressing on despite the dizziness, Jake remembered only falling in to the arms of a medic and then the orders that went over his head to get him back before the boat left.

"We... won?" Jake managed dryly, shaking his head. "We have an attack on the next town, how can we..."

"We won two days ago, lad."

"We're leaving?"

"The boat goes... In two hours."

"I need to get to the boat. My... my future wife is waiting for me." Jake explained, his cheeks once again flowing with tears of relief. He'd made it.

"We all have people waiting for us son. You'll be getting off the other side at the same time as the rest of us."

"No, this side."

"Funny lad, funny." Came the reply. "We'll get you to the boat, but if you miss it, there will be the next one."

Jake didn't accept that, didn't accept that at all and stumbled away from the man, noting a motorbike nearby. Hurrying to it, Jake climbed atop it and started it up, not listening to the protests as he hurried towards the meet point. His head rang, but he didn't stop, pushing the bike to it's limits.

The boat came in to view - with less than half an hour to go to board - and Jake pulled up, dismounting and hurrying up towards the area people were moving on. Marilyn... Marilyn...

At the corner of the bay, Jake spotted the brunette, perfect as he'd always remembered and clearly ready to head home. Jake moved towards her, silent awe clear on his face. Himself... well, he looked a mess, his stubble was grown out a few more millimetres than normal, his face still painted in camo and covered in mud from the field.

But he was back. He'd made it back.

"I'm sorry I'm late." Jake managed before he pulled the woman in to a tight embrace, holding her close to him and kissing her temple, her cheek, anywhere his lips could reach before coming to her lips. "I thought I might be too late, but I made it." He whispered, not helping the huge smile on his lips.

Subject: Re: World War Two AU (Jari) Tue Nov 25, 2014 1:12 am

"I thought I might be too late, but I made it."

Marilyn was sobbing from relief, kissing him back and holding on to him for dear life, laughing and crying at the same time. He made it, she thought, he made it, he made it, he made it... She shook her head at his words, "You'd never be too late, I would've waited here for a hundred years," The woman whispered.

"Your letters, this week none c-came and I- I thought-" Mari swallowed, "I thought you weren't- But you're here. God, we can do this now," She kissed him soundly, cheers coming from onlookers on the boat, "We can do everything..."

Guest

"You'd never be too late, I would've waited here for a hundred years,"

Jake only smiled at her words, continuing to hold her close and kiss her despite the state he was in. As she explained that she thought he was dead, Jake paused, pulling back from her slightly and finding the scrap of paper he hadn't had chance to send. Handing it to the Captain, Jake waited.

"Marilyn, things are changing, I can feel it. For the better, I hope. But so much uncertainty makes me wonder if I should wait... so Marilyn, yes I know this isn't the way you wanted me to do it, but Marilyn, will you marry me?" The letter read, and behind it, Jake had sunk to his knee.

He had a ring from a man who'd told him to keep it safe on the battlefield. His friend who had pressed it in to his hand and told her to make sure he got back to put the ring on her finger. An English man. Jake didn't know if he could go against the man's wishes.

"So what do you say?" Jake asked softly, expression hopeful as he looked up at Marilyn.

Subject: Re: World War Two AU (Jari) Tue Nov 25, 2014 6:10 am

"Marilyn, things are changing, I can feel it. For the better, I hope. But so much uncertainty makes me wonder if I should wait... so Marilyn, yes I know this isn't the way you wanted me to do it, but Marilyn, will you marry me?"

Mari clutched the paper tightly, reading it twice to be utterly sure that it said what she'd thought it said. And when she looked at him behind the paper she looked down to see him holding a ring and on his knees.

"So what do you say?"

Marilyn nodded, her right hand covering her mouth as she did, her left holding the note before she managed to actually speak. "Yes, yes, yes, yes!" She let him slip the ring on her finger and felt watery laughter bubble from her throat as she wrapped her arms around him and the kissed, proper loud applause accompanying them now.

Together they boarded theship that would takethem home, to their Happily Ever After.

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