you went through your normal routine, trying to ignore the pit of anxiety forming in your stomach, "do you have everything?" you asked, wrapping your arms around yourself as a way to seek comfort.

"think so." alejandro nodded, setting the last of his bags down next to the small pile of other bags he had set aside next to the front door of your home.

"i made you a snack." you produced a plastic container of cookies you had baked the night before and set them on top of one of his bags.

"you didn't have to do that." he smiled, moving through the bags on the ground and wrapping his arms around you.

"wanted to." you hummed happily as you wrapped your arms around him. neither of you said anything, just stood in your entryway, hugging.

"i'm going to miss you, hermosa." he pressed a kiss to your head.

"gonna miss you, too." you didn't feel like moving. everything was perfect, "i wish we didn't have to say goodbye." you frowned.

"we aren't." he pulled away just he could look you in the eyes, "i'm coming back," he promised, and you believed him.

"you better, alejandro." something in him softened at the use of his first name.

"i promise." he nodded, pulling you back in for one more hug, "i'll always come back." you didn't dare think of the worst possible outcome.

"i love you." you told him.

"i love you, too." he pressed another kiss to your head and gave you one last squeeze before he pulled away, "don't get into too much trouble."

you rolled your eyes at that, "i'll try not to." you handed him one of the bags on the ground as he opened the front door.

you followed him outside and helped him load up his trunk. once the last bag was safely tucked away, he turned to you again, "i love you." he told you again, and you couldn't help but smile.

"i love you, too, ale." you leaned up on your tiptoes and kissed him, reaching out for his hand and giving it a squeeze, "be safe." you whispered as you pulled away.

"i will. promise."

(gif not mine)

Out of curiosity, Simon checked out a book at the library. It was about the 5 different love languages. He was expecting it to be a bore but was pleasantly surprised when he didn't want to claw his eyes out.

He was trying his best with you, he really was, but he wanted to show you how much he cared, and this book was going to help him show how much he cared about you.

i. acts of service - "Do chores together or make them breakfast in bed. Go out of your way to help alleviate their daily workload."

Saturdays were dedicated to laundry. Somehow it piled up, and you were often confused as to how. You let out a sigh as you started yet another load of laundry.

"I think we need to clean out our closet again."

"You say that every week." Simon pointed out, a hint of a smile on his face.

"And every week I mean it. I mean, how do we have so many clothes. I feel like I'm drowning in clothes and laundry detergent." You flopped back onto the bed, the same one Simon had just made.

"I'll do the next load." He volunteered.

"Will you really?" You peeked an eye open at him.

"Yeah." He nodded. He hated laundry almost as much as you did, if not more.

"You are a saint, Simon Riley." You leaned over and placed a dramatic kiss on his cheek.

"I wouldn't say a saint." He muttered but you didn't hear.

-

You watched him from the chair in the corner of your room as he folded clothes, "So, what do you want for dinner? We can have leftovers or there's some frozen chicken nuggets, I know you like those."

You spotted something of a smile on his face, "I'll take care of it."

You looked up from your book, then looked down at Stanley, your dog, who was laying at your feet and looked just as surprised as you, "You're going to cook tonight?"

"Don't sound so surprised." He grumbled.

"All right, you take care of dinner then. One less thing for me to do." You shrugged happily.

-

After laundry, you watched from your spot at the kitchen island as Simon moved around the kitchen. He was grabbing different things from different cabinets and from the fridge.

It was almost foreign for him to be in the kitchen, not that he had ever not cooked, it was just you were cooking (or ordering) for him because he was tired from a long mission.

"You know what you're doing, right?" You joked. He hardly heard you as he meticulously measured out his spices. You decided to wait it out in the living room, and you grabbed your glass and made your way over to the couch.

He finished his dish and carried the plates over to you. He sat down and handed you your utensils before handing you your plate. He watched your face the entire time for your reaction as you chewed on his dish.

"So?" You looked up to see the nervous, almost panicked look, on his face, "What do you think?"

"Simon, it's delicious." You complimented without hesitation, "Really." You set the plate down and reached over and hugged him.

You felt his body deflate as he relaxed, "I'm glad."

"Well now that we know you can cook, looks like you'll be in the kitchen." You nudged him jokingly. Stanley propped his front legs onto the couch, his tail wagging and his tongue hanging out, "I think Stanley wants to try some too." You smiled.

ii. physical touch - "Hug, kiss, hold hands, show physical affection often. Make intimacy a thoughtful priority."

Simon had only been away for a week and a couple days, but you couldn't help but feel nervous. This was, by far, not the longest mission but any mission was still too long in your eyes.

You had just talked to him the night before, and he had vehemently reassured you that everything was okay and he was on track to get home sometime in the afternoon.

You were riffling through your closet trying to find something to wear. You knew he didn't care what you wore, but that didn't mean you didn't want to look good.

"What do you think Stanley?" You were trying on different outfits in front of the mirror and had no one to show these outfits to except the dog.

You turned away from the mirror to look back at Stanley who was laying in his bed, his head resting on his legs, "Too colorful?" He tilted his head to the side.

You sighed turning back to the mirror, "You're right. I'm overthinking it. Just go with something simple." You nodded, "You've done it again, Stan."

You piled yourself and Simon into the car and drove to the base where everyone was landing. You waited in the designated area where you and Simon agreed you would always wait for him when you could.

You sat on the floor with Stanley, giving him all the love because you knew the moment he saw Simon, he would abandon you and charge straight for his other parent.

And you were right to think that. The moment the door opened and Stanley spotted Simon, he was jumping up and ran over to greet him, "It's good to see you, too, Stanley." Simon greeted the dog, bending down to give his head a pet and a scratch.

He set his bags down before his eyes finally landed on you. He carefully moved past Stanley before making his way over to you. You stood up and wrapped your arms around him, savoring the feeling of having him home and in your arms.

"Did you miss me, too?" You asked.

"Of course, love." He muttered into your hair, pressing a kiss to it, "Soap doesn't hold a candle to you when it comes to hugs." He joked, cracking a smile when you laughed.

With him in your arms, it was almost liked time stopped. You didn't know how long you stayed in that position but you honestly didn't care, "You ready to go?" Simon broke the silence.

"Not yet." You murmured.

"All right, we'll stay here, like this." He hummed.

And so you did.

iii. gift giving - "Give thoughtful gifts and gestures. Small things matter in a big way. Express gratitude when receiving a gift."

You were ready to give up on work. Everything was starting to blur together and the caffeine you were drinking could only help for so long.

You glanced up at the clock and groaned when you realize you had a couple more hours to go, "She's right over here." Your co-worker stopped next to your desk.

Your brows furrowed together but your questions were quickly answered when Simon stepped out from behind her, "What're you doing here?" You asked, getting out of your chair and wrapping him in a quick hug.

"You forgot your lunch at home, so figured I would drop it off." He held up a bag, which you assumed your lunch was in.

"You didn't have to bring it. I would've just ordered something."

"Wanted to see you, too." He responded, producing a bouquet of flowers from behind his back, which you had somehow missed.

"They're beautiful." You gushed, taking the bouquet in your arms, "Thank you."

"And I thought I could have lunch with you." He suggested, almost nervous.

"I don't have lunch for another 20 minutes."

"I can wait." He stated.

"All right, you can sit there." You pointed to a chair somewhere in the office. He sat there for 20 minutes and once those 20 minutes were up, he got up from the chair and walked over to your desk.

"Lunch time." He announced, pulling up a chair next to you and sitting down, giving you no choice but to stop working and give him all your attention.

He began unpacking the bag, and it was then you realized he was pulling out stuff you hadn't prepared the night before to bring. He had prepared food for you and brought it.

"Si, did you make this?"

He shrugged, "Figured if I was gonna bring you lunch, might as well be good." You made a face, "Not to say your sandwich isn't tasty, love." He quickly corrected himself, "Just sayin' you eat that sandwich every day. Why not try something new?"

You smiled so big your cheeks started to hurt, "Thank you, Si." You reached over and squeezed his hand, knowing he wasn't big on PDA.

He squeezed your hand back, "Eat, please." He scooped up some pasta and held it in front of your face.

"All right, all right." You grabbed the fork.

iv. quality time - "Create special moments together, take walks and do small things with your partner. Weekend getaways are huge."

Out of the blue, Simon surprised you with a mini getaway to a cabin in the woods, away from the rest of the world, something you mentioned to Simon a couple of times.

You spent your days doing whatever you wanted. Whenever you went on trips, you usually had a plan or at least an idea of what you wanted to do, but since Simon had planned this trip and had sprung it on you, he didn't really have anything planned, which was his plan.

He knew you were organized and always liked to plan ahead, so instead, he planned, for your trip, to do absolutely nothing.

After lunch that you and Simon had cooked together, something new that you were doing now that you knew he knew what he was doing in the kitchen, you decided to go for an afternoon walk.

When Stanley heard his leash being picked up, he was sprinting down the hall and jumped up on Simon, who just so happened to pick it up.

"Whoa." Simon stumbled back but quickly caught his footing. He bent down and clipped the leash to Simon's collar. Once you were both suited up, you finally stepped outside.

Stanley happily trotted in front of you and Simon, taking in everything. He was sniffing everything and even tried to eat a mini pinecone.

"Aye, no." Simon gently yanked Stanley back, who looked up at Simon like a scolded child.

You smiled, walking ahead of the two of them, completely oblivious to the picture Simon snapped of you. He caught up with you and wrapped an arm around your shoulders, "Thank you for this trip." You hummed happily, looking up at him.

"You seemed like you needed it." He shrugged.

"Still, this was so out of left field, I didn't even see it coming."

"That was sort of the point, love." He pointed out.

You rolled your eyes, "Thank you, Si."

"You're welcome, love."

v. words of affirmation - "Send an unexpected note, text, or card. Genuinely encourage, and often."

When you woke up, Simon was already gone, off to work out. You selfishly lay in bed for a few more seconds, debating if you should cancel your plans for the day and just stay there.

You eventually pulled yourself out of bed and made your way into the bathroom. As you reached for your toothbrush, you found a post-it sitting on the front of the cup holding your toothbrush.

You smiled to yourself when you saw Simon's chicken scratch messily written on the note.

"Hope you have the best day. Give Stanley an extra kiss from me." - S

You looked down at your dog Stanley who stood guard at your side. The funny part was when you first adopted him, Simon wasn't too excited about it, but he often found it hard to say "no" to you.

Even so, it took Simon a while to finally accept Stanley. But they quickly became best friends and you would often have to fight for your spot in bed.

You gave Stanley a few extra kisses before moving on with your morning routine. By the time you got to the kitchen, you were hungry, so when you saw the donut box sitting on the counter, you dug right into it.

You spotted the note when you were halfway through your donut. You reached for it and it brought another smile to your face.

"Something sweet for my sweet." - S

That one made you laugh.

-

Throughout the day, Simon would send you texts. They were nothing big, but they were from Simon, and they were new. It was a nice surprise.

"Hope lunch is good. Don't forget to drink water." - S

"Me and Stanley miss you" - S

"Get home safe." - S

As you drove home, you couldn't help but smile. You don't know what caused Simon to start writing you sweet notes and texts, but you weren't complaining.

When you got home, you were happy to finally spend time with your little family. Just you, Simon, and Stanley. You spent the night catching up on episodes of Hell's Kitchen, and no matter how much he denied it, Simon did like the show.

You turned the bathroom light off and were very much ready to crawl into bed and crash. But right as you were about to climb in, you saw another post-it sitting on your pillow.

Your heart fluttered as you read it, then reread, then reread it again.

"I love you." - S

-

The next morning, Simon woke up alone. You had mentioned the night before that you had to leave earlier than normal the next day to finish up some work.

Stanley laid next to him, taking advantage of you not being in the bed. He smiled, carefully petting Stanley's head and then climbing out of bed.

He flicked on the bathroom light and got ready to burhs his teeth. He stopped when he saw a post-it sticking to the front of the glass. He picked it up and read it, then reread it, then reread it again.

"I love you, too." - Y/I

-

tagging @2manytabsopen cause you're slay <3