Homecoming [ p r i v a t e -- Colbs ]

Colton Kyle Winters stood in front of the Zeus cabin, the sunlight flooding the courtyard, and bouncing off of the medal pinned to his shirt. He was shining. Not literally of course, but he looked amazing in his Navy uniform. A white cap was perched on his head, and a serious look was plastered on his face. He gazed at the large, grand building in front of him, his gaze lingering on the door, waiting for a certain red-head to come flying out of it. It had been a year since he'd last seen his beautiful girl and he'd been exchanging letters with her every week.

Sometimes the letters were hard to keep up with, considering he didn't always have time to write, but Cole made time. In a few letters, he'd thought about proposing to her but, whenever he spoke about it with his men, they were never supportive of it. Turns out that a few of them tried it but a long distance relationship never worked. So Cole didn't do it. Instead, he saved his money, played his cards well, and bought a ring as soon as he was on land. The ring was a beautiful, princess cut diamond, set in white gold. The rock wasn't very big, but he didn't think she'd care about the size of it.

Staring patiently at the door, Cole unfolded his hands from behind his back and brought his left hand foward, letting it brush his left pocket, where the box was. A shiver went up his arm and across his shoulder and down his spine.

He wrapped his arms tightly around Des, her petite, little body pressed tight against himself. He smiled down at her, his eyes shining with happy tears. "I'm so happy to see you, Destiny," a smile rested on his lips and he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I kind of thought I'd never see you again," he admitted, slowly, carefully choosing his words. He'd told her that he'd be seeing combat, but, he didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't like it.

Cole pulled away from Destiny, barely containing his grin. The day was beautiful, the sun shining down warmly on the couple. The flowers and trees around them were alive, and bursting with colors from the blossoming flowers. The birds were chirping happily away in the trees and the bees were buzzing and the bugs were flying. 'It's a great day for a wedding,' the thought crossed his mind before he could stop it. A grin spread wide across his cheeks, and he stooped downwards next to the fountain outside. A small lily was blossoming from the weeds around the fountain. He plucked the little flower from the ground and reached up into her ear and placed it there with a smile.

Cole peeled her arms off of his slowly, "I'm just going to come out and say this, but Des, I'm only on a leave. I'm not staying permanently. I'm only here for a month, but I do have something for you," his eyes were full of happiness but he was shaking. Cole was totally terrified. He loved Destiny a lot, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, he just really hadn't rehearsed how he'd ask her. He figured he'd just plop down on one knee and pop the question. Now that he was thinking about it, he probably should've come up with some elaborate scheme to propose. But, no.

Slowly, he bent down on one knee, his joints cracking as he went down. He was an old navy boy, now. His joints were a little weird. Once on his knee, Cole struggled to balance a little, his knee wavering and threatening to give out. Cole smiled upwards at his girlfriend, and reached into pocket producing the small velvet box. He opened it and said, "Destiny Grace Skys, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you...marry me?" He let the box sit on the palm of his hand. His gaze flickered upwards, locking on her soft, blue eyes.