Return Home Again

"Home sweet home," Walt said as he pulled up the driveway. He stopped next to Sasha who was waving at him.

"Hey, Walt," Sasha said grinning. "Give me a lift?" She had her arms full of equipment.

Walt grinned and nodded. "You betcha! Put that stuff in the back."

Sasha nodded and did just that. She climbed into the cab of the truck and Walt drove them over to the storage. "Thanks!"

Walt nodded. "Don't mention it, Sasha. How's it going?"

"Pretty good," Sasha told him and started to fill him in on the progress they'd made. Walt helped her clean and put the equipment away as he listened to her report.

He grabbed the last of it himself passing her hus flask. "That's a good start, Sasha. Thanks for that."

Sasha smiled and accepted the flask. "Thanks Walt. Prost!" She drank and tried to pass it back but he shook his head. He wanted her to keep drinking while he finished up. He felt he owed her at least that much for all the hard work.

Sasha smiled and took another sip watching him. He had left the suit and gear to get analyzed by his guys and taking his coat off he only had on jeans and a shirt. He removed the shirt too as he started cleaning mud off and drying some of the equipment.

*Wow,* Sasha thought. *That's a good look for him. Free show and a drink before dinner!* She wasnt shy. Too much time in the barracks. She looked him over and thought not for the first time that it was a pretty good bod for an older guy. But she was much more interested in- "left shoulder?" She asked pointing.

Walt blinked and glanced then nodded. "Before," he said meaning before RealDreams. Sasha was good at picking out the "old" scars. ".50 caliber sniper round. I almost didn't spot him in time. Mary gave me hell for coming home with that one. Saved a life though..." he paused blinking. "Whose name escapes me right now... Washington? Wallace? Warren? Something like that with a "Wa" at the start of it. Can't believe I'm blanking on their name."

Sasha smiled. "Well it has been a few years. What was he like?"

Walt chuckled. "It has and she was a crazy son of gun. Medic. It was her who patched it up on the way outta there." He smiled softly. "Mary got jealous of me buying her drinks at the club until I explained. She still got jealous but she was the one buying her the drinks after that anytime we saw her. But there was no reason to be jealous. It wasn't like that."

Sasha nodded. It could be like that sometimes. Sometimes. "It wasn't?"

Walt shook his head. "Not for me it wasn't. And it didn't matter long. Landmine a few months later." He paused again. "Katherine Wallace. 23. Small town on the coast of Maine. Mother and two brothers."

Sasha could tell. He was reading her gravestone in his mind. She cleared her throat. "Cut. Just above the right hip. Fingers length or a little smaller?"

Walt blinked. "Show me?"

She traced her finger across the faded scar just a little above the waist if his jeans and chuckled as he jumped. He did too. "Oh that one! Always used to make me do that when Mary'd touch it just like that too. Guess it still does!"

She smiled and blushed thinking about how he'd just admitted she'd touched him like his wife had. It looked like Walt blushed too. "War wound?"

Walt laughed and shook his head. "No. No medals for that one. Mexico. Barroom brawl. Nice little fight. Still just a dumb kid. No one got seriously hurt. Picked up a sweet little senorita and things were getting... intense. After we had left though got jumped in an alley. Her cousin or boyfriend or something. I never got the whole story. My buddies were pulling me off the guy pounding his face in, telling me we had to get to the hospital. I didn't understand until they told me. I still had the knife he stuck me with in my back."

Sasha laughed and so did he. "A souvenir then," she said. "Of a memorable trip!"

Walt shook his head laughing. "Yep! That was when I first realized I had a big back that made a damn good target. Didn't stop me from being injured there obviously but I became much more aware of it from that point on and the dangers of dark alleyways after drinking. I avoided those for a longtime."

He turned around having finished up and she handed him back the flask. Walt smiled and said, "Prost," taking a drink and then cleaning his hands, he put his shirt back on.

Sasha smiled. "So you avoided drunkeness in dark alleyways for a longtime after... until?" She sensed abother story there.

Walt nodded. "Yeah. Until Mary died and tgings kept getting wirse and worse... I... kinda remembered that close call then and started to make a habit of frequenting them afterwards for a time... not a proud moment for me or my escalating behavior at the time."

Sasha nodded. *He was trying to get himself killed,* she thought. *Suicide in a way.* She looked at him and reached out to help him button up his shirt. "I'm sorry... but I'm glad it worked out the way it did. We likely wouldn't be here otherwise."

Walt nodded. "Thanks. I know. I'm better now... have been for a long, long time and while many things didn't work out the way I would have wanted them to... I'm honestly glad they have for the same reason. I've tried to do some good with my life and help folks. It's been moderately successful and now I have all of you." He gave her a hug. "I wouldn't change that. You're all too special to me."

Sasha hugged him back. "Same. It's hard not to have regrets about "past" things. People lost along the way. But I'm genuinely happy with my "now". Thanks in large part to you for that."

Walt smiled. "It's my pleasure, Sasha." He hugged her awhile longer until-

*Stomach growling sound*

Sasha laughed embaressed and Walt laughed too as his growled back. "Dinner time?"

Sasha nodded and drooled. "Ooohhh yeah!" They went to the house. "By the way," she said. "Do me a favor?"

Walt nodded. "Sure. I got one to ask you too."

Sasha grinned. "Done. Whatever you need."

Walt nodded. "I gotta get some advanced mobility practice and training in. I got a specialist coming to visit tomorrow and was hoping you'd help too?"

Sasha nodded. "You got it... and uh, whatever is going on... please make sometime for Tsu? I don't know or need the exact details but she's... distracted by stuff and I'm guessing you know more than me about it?"

Walt nodded thinking about Tsu and the other night. It had been a longtime for him but just a short while ago here. The day before? Or was it yesterday? Didn't matter. It was near the top of the list. "Yep. It's on my "to do" list after taking care of someone else. I'll spend sometime with her tomorrow if not sooner." He slipped his arm around her pulling her next to him as they walked for the house and kissed the top of Sasha's head. "Thank you for being a damn good friend! You're awesome!"

Sasha blushed a bit, his arm around her waist felt... nice. Comfortable. He was a damn good friend to her too but maybe sometime...

[Walter Stark Penny Polendina F.R.I.D.A.Y Neopolitan Pyrrha Nikos Nora Valkyrie Yang Xiao Long Blake Belladonna Kali Belladonna Sienna Khan Willow Schnee Glynda Goodwitch Zwei Ahnassi Lifts-Her-Tail Senko Sayoko Shinozaki Roberta Cisneros Haruna Sasha Blouse Ilulu Rachel "Raven" Roth Manami "La Brava" Aiba Tsuyu "Froppy" Asui Haruhime Sanjouno Anastasia "The Baroness" Cisarovna/DeCobray Demona Mystique Pirotess Lydia Aela the Huntress Serana Mission Vao Curie Ada PAM KL-E-O Merida Gwen "Gwenom" Stacy Jubilation "Jubilee" Lee and Jennifer "She-Hulk" Walters

Will Return In

Truthful Potato

Coming Soon]