WARNINGS/TAGS: Reader discharged from military, second person POV, Lawrence is reader's dad, a bit of hurt/comfort and fluff
WORD COUNT: 900
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Lawrence paces back and forth in the airport anxiously, checking the arrival boards every two seconds. His heart is pounding in his chest and his legs feel wobbly.
There are people swarming all around, dragging luggage or greeting loved ones, but all he can see are those arrival boards. The board suddenly flicks over. "Arriving" becomes "Arrived," and Lawrence almost cries.
He sprints off to the gate where his kid will be pouring out in a crowd of people. He scans over them frantically as they pass by one by one, most of them rolling suitcases behind them.
Then, in the far back, he sees you. You look exhausted with a distant expression on your face and bags under your eyes. When you lock eyes, yours widen. Your name leaves his lips in a sob, and he pushes through the people still pouring out until he reaches you.
He pulls you close in a hug so tight it knocks the breath out of your lungs. You laugh in his ear as tears start flowing from both of you. He pulls away briefly to look into your eyes and scan over your face for any changes or scars, making sure everything was right. Everything looked alright to him, other than your tired eyes.
After his evaluation, you pull him back into the embrace and bury your head in the crook of his neck. "I'm home," you say into the collar of his dress shirt.
Lawrence sniffs. "You're home." He hugs you tighter and longer.
Your heart feels fit to burst and all the stressors that weighed down your shoulders seemed to fall away. The tension and exhaustion leave you body in an instant. As you breathe in his cologne mixed with a more familiar scent of vanilla, a deep sense of safety and protection wraps around you like a blanket. It was always hard being so far away from him. No matter how many letters, emails, or calls passed between the two of you, nothing compared to having him physically there with you
As much as you didn't want to leave the hug, you needed to breathe, so you slowly pull away from his arms.
Lawrence releases you slowly, lingering, hesitant to let go. As soon as you fully step back from each other, he holds your hands in his and looks into your eyes, his own tearful and sparkling. "You really are back home," he murmurs, smiling brightly.
Noticing some people staring, you clear your throat. "Can we get out of here? I've had enough airports for one lifetime."
"Oh, of course, kiddo!" He grabs the bag off of your back. You try to resist. "No, no! Please! Allow me!" Lawrence chuckles at the light struggle. His hand slips into yours, warm, as you walk out to his car together. He keeps stealing glances at you as you walk. Your hand is calloused, roughed up and scarred from your work overseas. Lawrence doesn't mind this at all, just happy to have you back in his care.
"I missed you," you murmur to him, swinging your hands back and forth.
"Not as much as I did!" he replies quickly. He swings your hand higher as if proving a point.
On the drive home, he mostly rambles about everything that has happened while you were gone, which hasn't been much. It's just been him alone in that big house, only leaving occasionally for work purposes or for the few people he actually considers friends.
You nod along, listening intently to his words and taking them in. You'd forgotten what his voice sounded like after so long without hearing it in person.
When you get home, you notice it hasn't changed a bit. He's grabbing all of your luggage before you can even protest, using all his strength to lug everything inside. Once it's in the foyer, he wraps you in another long embrace. "I'm never letting you go ever again," he says into the top of your head.
There's a pause, before you pull away. "Well, I guess you won't have to worry about the military again. I got discharged. Honorably."
He gasps. "Huh?" Fear fills his eyes. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?!" Once again, he starts checking you over.
You nervously laugh. "No, no. Um. I don't really wanna talk about it, but I'm fine."
"No, hey, sweetie—" His grip on your upper arms tighten as he looks you in your eyes. "I'm here for you, y'know. Always will be. I wanna help you through anything. No matter how old you get, you'll always be my baby." He smiles kindly at you, leaning in and kissing your forehead.
"I know, I just..." You let out a shaky breath and nod. "I will tell you about it eventually, just... not now." He nods, gently releasing his grip on your arms and giving you a gentle smile.
"Well, how about I order take-out? We could celebrate! What are you hungry for? And how much? I'll order a million burgers if that's what your heart desires. I bet you miss normal food, yeah?"
"Wow, you offering take-out? This is a rare experience."
"Well, I was originally gonna use it to bribe you into quitting the military, but now I just want to treat you to something tasty. And then movie night! How does that sound, munchkin?" Lawrence boops your nose, grinning.
"Weeell... if you insist." Even under said circumstances, you feel glad to be home.
