WARNING: fluff (uwu with this one)

a soldier's return

that was it; the war was over. yourself and sidney has arranged for him to pick eugene up from the station, letting them have an hour or so together before allowing eugene return to home live in mobile. sidney would drop eugene off at his home, leave him and his family alone and then eugene would find you.

you had desperately missed him during the war. when sidney left, it was just you and eugene to keep each other company. that was until, a year later, eugene signed up for the marine corps and was set off to training camp, leaving you all alone without the safety of your two best friends. luckily, it was only three years before sidney returned home. you finally had his company again after four years and you both had to patiently wait for eugene's arrival.

the only information you knew was that eugene's train got in at 10:48. it would take an hour and a half for sidney to drive to the sledge household meaning you would probably see eugene in the late afternoon, but nothing was set in stone.

throughout the war, your mind had wandered off to eugene fighting bravely in the war zones of the pacific. your heart ached whenever you begun to imagine what he was dealing with, and your heart further ached whenever you received a letter from him. his writing was always messy, but his words were true and filled with love. your best friend was thinking about you even miles away from home. the letters began piling up on your bedside table, that being only nine letters, but nine nonetheless.

when it got to the afternoon, your parents had left hours previously, leaving you to clean and tidy the house before eugene's arrival. you were glad that they had left, wanting as much time with him without any interruptions. it had been four years since you had seen him face to face.

you were almost done fluffing the last pillows on the sofa when the doorbell rang. it was around 16:30 which made you know that it was eugene. excitedly, you skipped to the front door, stopping before you opened it. a shaky breath escaped your lips as you prepared yourself for seeing your best friend.

feeling prepared, you grabbed the door handle and pushed it downwards, ready to met eugene's hazel eyes with your own.

"post for miss (y/l/n)." the cheery postman smiled at you, handing you a small bouquet of flowers. you hoped the disappointment on your face wasn't evident as you thanked the man for the flowers, smiling back at him slightly. he turned to leave, letting you sigh sadly, rolling your eyes at your unnecessary excitement for the mail.

before you could fully shut the door, a hand stopped it, stronger than the force you put into shutting out the world. you turned around, ready to shout at the person who had paused your depressing moment, but a soft pair of hazel eyes stopped you.

"gene?" you whispered, shock completely filling you. not even caring about the beautiful flowers you had been gifted, you pushed yourself forward and into eugene's arms. one hand holding the bouquet, the other wrapped itself tightly around eugene's neck. his hands instantly found the bottom of your back, holding you in place against his chest.

he seemed almost taller than when he left. his muscles had definitely improved and his once tiny frame was broad and strong, one of the only advantages of being a marine. the pair of you held each other close; four years had been too long since you shared an embrace.

reluntantly, eugene was the first to pull away. "i'd love to stay and hug you, darlin', but i can't have you ruining my flowers."

"they're from you?" you smiled as eugene nodded his head in reply. "i love them, thank you."

"you're welcome, i couldn't turn up empty handed after not seeing you for four years."

"well, technically you did turn up empty handed 'cause the mailman brought 'em for me."

"you know what i mean, smartmouth." he chuckled, pressing his fingers into your sides.

"do you wanna come in? we've got years to catch up on." a smile made its way onto both of your faces. the thought of sitting and talking to you made eugene's heart flutter; it's been the only thing he's thought of throughout the war. that, and of course his ma.

"i've got to get ready for tonight, actually." eugene's smile feel, his hand reaching around the back of his neck to scratch it slightly; it was something he did when he was nervous.

"why are you nervous, gene?" your voice was filled with concern as to why he was worried. "what's happening tonight?"

"well, i've hopefully got a date tonight." 'hopefully'. that's what upset you. well, that and the fact that the man you were in love with was potentially going on a date tonight. any girl would be lucky to go out with eugene.

"who with? anyone i know?" you wanted to sound happy for him. you hoped you sounded happy for him.

"i haven't asked her yet, but i'd say you know her pretty well."

"you know mary's taken, gene?" you giggled, making eugene chuckle nervously.

"i know. she wasn't who i was thinking of."

"who then?"

"do you wanna get dinner tonight?"

"me?" eugene giggled less nervously at your confusion, the way your face contorted as realisation hit you. "i'm the girl i know pretty well?"

"i guess you do know her, then."

"i'd love to have dinner with you tonight, gene. give us a chance to catch up."

"i'll pick you up at seven, is that okay?" he asked, always the gentleman.

"of course it is," you smiled widely at eugene, happy that it wasn't some other girl who occupied his time tonight. "i'll see you at seven. bye, genie."

you stepped backwards, over the threshold of your home, all while still looking at eugene. his smile hadn't faded and neither had yours. the silence that fell over you two as you just basked in the other's features wasn't awkward. it was nice. very nice, indeed.

just before you closed the door, eugene's hand stopped it from closing like he did earlier. "this isn't a friend date, (y/n)."

a smile couldn't be stopped as you heard those words. "that's alright with me, sledge." he took his hand off of your door, biding you goodbye with a smile and a small wave. after closing your door, you spun around, leaning back against the door and sliding down it. once you hit the floor, you brought the flowers up to your nose to smell them.

daisies. your favourite.

seven soon came around. after you got up off of the floor, you placed the daisies in a vase, cutting the stems down to make them fit perfectly in the glass. then, you waltz into the bathroom, showering and then styling your hair as nicely as possible, applying a bit of makeup, too. next was your outfit. you chose a beautiful, pastel yellow swing dress which was flowered with white daisies; eugene's favourite.

what felt like a short while, time soon ticked over and seven o'clock arrived. as if on a timer, the door knocked soon after the grandfather clock in your house chimed seven times. the smile on your face couldn't be contained as you opened the door to reveal a flushed eugene, a single rose in his hand. once he saw you, his face mirrors yours.

he looked dashingly handsome. the suit his mother had bought him before the war (once baggy and draped off of his shoulders) now fit him perfectly, his broad shoulders filling out the jacket. his hair was slicked back, but still natural, a minimal amount of product used to style it. the toothy grin was by far the best thing he wore right then and there.

"i got you this." he spoke through his smile, handing you the red rose.

"thank you, genie," pressing the rose to your nose, you inhaled it's scent. "it's beautiful." you carefully placed the rose on the table beside the door before stepping outside to meet eugene.

"not as beautiful as you, darlin'" eugene's compliment brought a blush to your cheeks as he held out his arm for you to take.

the walk to the restaurant was filled with chatter and quiet laughter. your hand rested through and on eugene's arm, as his hands were in both of his pockets, keeping away from the cool air. both of you walked in unison, stepping closer and closer to the restaurant without even realising.

"we're here, love." eugene spoke, stopping you both in your tracks before you could both pass the chosen place of dining.

"it's look amazing, gene. thank you," you turned to look at him and give him a smile of appreciation. "hang on, let me fix your tie." he moved his neck up slightly, allowing you to get to his tie easier. his tie wasn't wonky, you just wanted an excuse to be closer to his warmth.

"better?" he smirked.

"much better." grabbing his hand after replying, you both stepped forward to the entrance, stopping behind a stand where a concierge stood.

"i have a reservation under sledge, sir." eugene spoke, giving your hand a short squeeze while you waited for your table.

"i'm sorry, sir. there's no reservation for a mr sledge." the concierge replied, panic setting into eugene's face.

"none at all?"

"no, my apologies, sir." eugene only nodded, gripping your hand slightly tighter and moving away from the stand. once he had pulled you away and out of sight of the restaurant, eugene began apologising profusely for his mistake.

"i'm sorry, i wanted this to be perfect and i couldn't even make a reservation to treat you to the perfect date you deserve. god, even after four years of war i'm still as nervous as anything. i'm so sorry, darlin'. i shouldn't have promised you something that i couldn't deliv-"

"shut up and kiss me." you interrupted; the only way to stop his prolonged ranting.

"w-what?" he whispered.

"shut up and kiss me, genie." you smiled, looking at the nervous expression on his face. your hands found their way onto eugene's cheeks as his nerves started to settle. his hands landed gently on your hips, slowly pulling you two closer together.

you were both hesitant at first, worrying about bumping noses or missing the other's lips all together. but once your lips found each other, all your worries melted away and your eyes closed in bliss. all the nerves that eugene has built up inside of himself were gone. all that mattered was that you were here with him, alive and well, having your first kiss.

it was soft, gentle. there was no rush or need, just delicate kisses. once you were fully certain that eugene was calm, you gave him one final kiss, releasing your lips from the other. both of your breathing was slightly heavy, nothing majorly above normal; it hadn't been a heavy kiss after all. you stayed close to him, your foreheads pressed together as your hands went around his neck to play with the small hairs there and his hands stayed on your waist.

"it's a perfect date because i'm with you. we don't need to do anything else, let's just go home, okay?" both of you still had your eyes closed, relishing in the feeling for as long as possible.

"okay," eugene whispered in reply. "okay, let's go home."