I read the synopsis for the movie that the skin was based off of, and holy moly... I think I should watch it now lmao. I used the basis of the beginning of the story line to give me a plot, I hope that's not a problem haha.
The sound of papers fluttering to the ground caught your attention. You cautiously made your way outside of the door to the colonel's cabin. Distinct muttering under the breath could be heard from your position leaning against the door. Carefully, you pushed the door open, unnoticed by the angered colonel. You barely caught yourself from stepping on one of the discarded papers littering the floor.
"What are you doing in here?" His voice was a quiet shout, resulting in angry words at an inside volume. You began to collect the papers strewn about the room as you had done many times before. You take the now neat stack of papers, presumably notes from his last meeting, and set them on his desk, his eyes following your every move. As your hands left the desk, a hand reached for your wrist, holding it in a loose grip. "Normally, you knock." He let you go as he stared you down, you responding to his stare with a friendly grin of your own. He sighed and shook his head, a small smile revealing itself at the sight of yours. He moved to his seat and slumped in his chair, you right next to him.
You were, to him, a comfort. Ever since his first dramatic outburst, you have been by his side to calm him down or give him the comfort he needed. Not to mention, he did the same for you, but most days you had too much on your agenda to call for unnecessary over-emotional frenzies. Instead, you handled the stress of other people needing you, and Naib helps you with that. Together, you were an unstoppable team, bringing together the people you lead to victory. As a colonel, Naib always had to be strong, and you were determined to be strong by his side.
He pulled the stack of papers you previously collected towards him and began flipping through the pages again. Seemingly unconsciously, he reached for his shoulder, where your hand resided. You gave a firm pat and bent down to his face level, his eyes focused on scanning the strategy he was tasked with devising. You caught a faint mumble under his breath as he did quick calculations in his head.
"What's wrong, Naib?" As the words leave your lips, his head whips towards you, eyes wider than they were when looking over the papers. His words seemed to come out before his mouth moved.
"It's suicide." he paused, looking at a specific document he had pulled aside, "We are to take a well-defended position from the enemy. There's no plausible way I can lead my soldiers to victory in this situation." He held his head, removing his eyes and hand from you, once again zeroing in on whatever plan he was trying to come up with where not everyone dies. You reach your other arm across his opposite shoulder, not normal for an advisor consulting with their superior, but quite a normal position for someone comforting their significant other. You began to think of ways to help him come up with a solution, but the look in his face told you that this was not something he needed an advisor for.
"Naib, it'll be ok." You start, him facing you as you console him. "The attack isn't for weeks, we have time to figure something out, and I'll talk to the general, that is my job, afterall." You tried to give him a confident smile, but both of you knew that there wasn't much to be done in the circumstance. You remove yourself from behind him as he stood up, sighed, and brought you into a tight, insecure hug. He pulled you as close to himself as he could, arms underneath yours and holding your back in a heart-to-heart. Here, alone with him, there were no problems. No ongoing war, no one else to be responsible for, not worrying if either of you would live another day. In his arms, you were safe. You wished that could last forever. It would, you convinced yourself, slightly tightening your grip as if to convey your thoughts of being together; the two of you would make it home alive. You thought back to all the long nights where neither of you could sleep, hopefully discussing what life in the future would be like. You were going to buy a house together, get a dog, think about children someday. You were going to make it.
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The next morning, he told you to wait. Wait to find the general, wait to speak of the plan, wait for him. Wait for him to what? You didn't know, but everything seemed to be as fine as 'fine' could be. It wasn't until you saw him later the next day did things begin to go wrong.
You learned that he sent a scouting group out late the night before, and that someone had yet to return. Later, a different scout found him dead. To make matters worse, the general had pushed forward the date to attack, still adamant on causing unnecessary deaths for the sake of a promotion. Naib was sick of it, and so were you. Neither of you got much sleep on the days leading up to the charge. Each night was a different conversation. You tell him that no matter what happens, he's tried so hard, and his efforts aren't wasted, and that he is the bravest, kindest man you've known. Him holding you, telling you that he wasn't going to leave you, that you do so much for him, and how grateful he is for you, as well as his soldiers, who viewed you like the angel Naib sees you as. You both reassured the other of your love. You spent the last day before the attack together.
You played card games with him and a group of others, took time to reassure the men you've grown to care about like your family that things would not be as dire as they were made out to be. Even if both parties knew the statement was a lie, they were appreciative of the effort and sentiment behind it. You helped Naib go over the roles, who would be part of Company A and who would be part of Company B, a way to ease the nerves. The end of the day drew nearer and nearer. At the evening meal, he never strayed far from you. When the two of you retired to bed, he held you tighter than ever before.
"If I die tomorrow-" He started, though was soon cut off by you.
"You won't die." You kept a finger to his lips until you were sure he wasn't going to preemptively ensure his own demise. He sent his message to you silently with a squeeze. He pressed his lips against yours, savouring everything about you. You loved him with all of your being, and he loved you the same. That was everything.
You were both up before the crack of dawn, the sun not yet peeking above the horizon, though you only had moments before your relationship became strictly professional for an uncertain amount of time. You were supposed to stay behind, tending to the wounded and ill, while he went to lead an army. And as much as you wanted to stay with him, you weren't going to disobey a superior's orders. That was until the general told you to follow him just under an hour after the colonel left for the trenches. He was going to have you, his advisor, to stay with him for the entire attempted siege, for him to ignore every piece of 'advice' you give to him. Why did you think that would be the case? You didn't even make it to the bunker.
It was overwhelmingly loud, you couldn't hear yourself think without the sound of canons and gunshots interrupting you mid-thought. There were many soldiers lining the walls, covering their heads and ears. You wished no one had to go through this, and knowing that many men wouldn't make it out made you feel much worse. Maybe it wasn't just guilt making you feel worse. Someone recognized you, you were too dizzy to tell who. Why were you dizzy? Your stomach churned and the world was spinning, and suddenly, you were in front of Naib.
-ou shouldn't be here. What are you doing here?" Naib's mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out. That's when you became acutely aware of your surroundings and feelings. Naib was covered in dirt. He had made it back from no-man's-land, all these soldiers still here. Did they do it? Your mind wandered through hazy thoughts of relief until the deep concern etched onto his face. He was leaning you back, holding you up with his arms. You heard nothing but ringing in your ears, and you found it harder to keep your eyes open. In your last few moments of lucidness, you realized the full reality of the situation. Company A was gone, almost all of them, and B didn't follow. Naib was alive, in front of you and you had a chance to tell him how proud you were of him, if you could just hold on a little longer.
"Naib." Were you talking? You hoped he could hear you, but judging by how close he brought his ear to you, you needed to speak up. "Naib, I don't think I'll be ok, I'm sorry." You had so much to say, why couldn't you force more words out? You started again, despite his shaking head and silent pleas for you to be quiet.
"You aren't going to die! Please, just, stay for a little bit longer, I can get you back to-" You could barely tell up from down at this point, heavy drops of blood flowing like a river from your ears.
"You have people to lead, Naib. We can win this, stay strong for me." You were fighting for consciousness, maybe life, but for a brief moment, your head was clear, calm. There was no shouting, no deafening explosions, just you and Naib, how you always want it to be.
"But, you're not-" He was shaking. You could feel the slight vibrations of his shaking hands on your back, the last thing connecting you to him.
"I will. I will always be with you." You let your eyes slip shut. No ringing, no shouting. You let yourself be enveloped in a memory you have yet to experience. Across your green field of a backyard, a distant bark echoed through the area, and in the distance, a man playfully shaking a stick at a dog. You recognize him. Perking up, you run towards him, your husband, and launch yourself into his arms. A memory you wanted so desperately, that you now had.
As you lay limp in his arms, Naib could only dream about what your mind was thinking about, but he could find solace in the fact that his beloved died with a smile.
