It was all over, but nothing was the same. Keladryie threw away the Sais she had been using for the past nine years with a heavy heart. They'd been through so much with her, but now, broken and jaggered down the side in the wrong direction, they were useless. Or at least, they weren't good enough any longer, and she'd be a fool to use them. Kaddar suggested she could still keep them, for memories sake, but she couldn't let herself do such a thing. If she did, she'd end up keeping a little bit of everything, and in their job they had to be moveable. Living with few possessions and few ties to the world since after all, they couldn't really exist.

Every night now, Kaddar locked Keladryie away in his arms, and secretly she did the same to him, although she didn't announce it. He could feel the way her hand turned into a fist against his leg, gripping the fabric there since he never wore a shirt to bed, her other hand tangled in his hair, petting slowly until he fell asleep. He sort of wished she were more vocal about 'things like this', but then again he found her silent affection and clingyness adorable. It had taken ages to see it though, she was just way too strict on herself to let her personal feelings known. In the mornings he never hesitated to hug her closer as she tried to get up early, and yet really it had turned out that she had been awake for a lot longer before he ever woke up, content to just curl close to him and gaze at him as he slept.

Although things were shaky all around them, they never failed to just get stronger. Keladryie allowed him to see her vulnerable. She gazed at him openly a little more, made the point of coming over to him and sit or stand by him, instead of letting him come to her. It was what they both, especially him, needed at a time like this.

Still though, things were pretty bleak and horrible, and in Keladryie's views, things didn't get any better when the parents stepped in.

"It's not going to be as bad as you think it is." Kaddar grinned, pausing as he towelled his hair dry to grin cheekily at Keladryie who was still sitting in the corner, hunched up and her arms folded in front of her chest, resting on her knees. "It's just a bit of sand and sun..."

"I hate the beach." Keladryie frowned. "You know that. Why couldn't we have gone somewhere else?"

Kaddar shrugged, disappearing under the towel once more as he ruffled his wet hair dry, his muffled voice answering her after a moment of thought. "Jadette came up with it and Dad organised it. We could be going to worse places, and it's only for a month..."

"A month is way too long!" Keladryie protested.

"No, dear, you're just a workaholic." Kaddar replied dryly, remaining under the towel so he could concentrate on her voice instead of watching her be grumpy.

"It's not a bad thing." her voice sounded softer.

"I didn't say it was, I-"

"You sounded like it was."

Kaddar dropped his damp towel on the sulking Keladryie, making her glare at him half heatedly, shifting over a little as he sat beside her. He nuzzled her cheek teasingly with his still wet hair, and laced their fingers together as she slowly shifted her hand to rest on his. "It's not Kel, because we work together. If perhaps you worked somewhere without me and you never came home from it, then yeah, it'd be a bad thing." He wrapped an arm around her as she leaned against his side. "So...it i could have /i been a bad thing...I think the thought of a workaholic, the sound of it, is negative automatically, it kept Dad away from Reya and I a lot when we were younger...but in this case it's not, because we're together."

"You're too soppy." Keladryie grumbled after a moment, and was rewarded with a kiss on the cheek before Kaddar pulled her to her feet.

"C'mon, you have to finish packing." he opened the wardrobe doors and began pulling things out for her, everything from work uniforms to winter jackets until she shoved him out of the way and demanded he clean up his mess, but she was smiling so it meant everything was okay.

After dinner that day, they packed themselves into the mini bus, (Keladryie commenting on the two huge suitcases Fureya was taking, compared to the tiny one Keladryie had packed in the end) Liam, Jadette, Fureya and Willard, Devon, Sasuke, Kaddar and Keladryie along with Keladryie's family. Seth had also been granted time off work for the holiday and he had paid the extra for his wife and son to join them. This all made Keladryie happier, having Dorian in her lap even though he was getting a bit too big for it, but at the airport she had arranged with her mum so they wouldn't have to sit together. As much as she loved her brother he got annoying on long trips and the flight to the Goldcoast, although only five hours, was a bit too much for her to handle him for. Especially when all she wanted to do was watch the new movie Kaddar had bought on their PSP.

"Comfortable?" Kaddar asked in amusement after two minutes of the seatbelt sign being off in the plane, in which Keladryie had immediately wrenched up the armrest between herself and him, leaned both their chairs back, turned off the lights above them and switched on the PSP.

"Very." Keladryie snuggled up against Kaddar's side and rested her head under his chin, handing him one half of the headphones while she wore the other and switched on the PSP while he arranged the blanket around them and then wrapped an arm around her protectively. Although he trusted his father (who was sitting on the other side of Keladryie) he felt safer also, while she was under his arm.

"So, this is what a holiday feels like." Keladryie raised an eyebrow at Kaddar while they waited for a taxi at 5:45am, dead tired and sick of her brothers irritable sooking.

"It'll get better." Willard nudged his girlfriends-brothers-girlfriend, making Keladryie glare at him. It wasn't often that he didn't annoy her when she was even in a good mood, so his speaking to her when she was in a terrible mood was fairly daring of him. Kaddar himself knew to remain silent and just hold her when she rested against him, and nothing more.

"Why?" Keladryie demanded. "I hate the beach, I dislike the sun and I demand more sleep than this."

"Just ignore her, she'll go away after a while." Mikola joked, ruffling her daughter's hair. "Kela's just irritable because her boyfriend kept her up by joining them both in the Mile High Club..."

"MUM. Rack off!" Keladryie lashed out, her arm caught by her father easily who always seemed to work better until lack of sleep.

"Some holiday this is." Keladryie growled to herself, folding back away against Kaddar in the folds of his jacket.

By the time they got to their holiday house after even more hours of travelling, tempers were high and most were sitting in stony silence. However, Fureya, Willard, Jadette and Liam seemed quite happy and content, something that irked Seth and Keladryie off more than ever since they saw no reason for it, other than humour at their expense. For if they were grumpy, then everyone else should be too, in their own personal views.

"Everyone go and unpack and then assemble back here." Willard announced. "We have something to say..."

"Is it about a certain operation?" Keladryie grumbled, although she allowed Kaddar to lead her down the hallway to his usual room. It was their Verona holiday house, situated an hour from Robina and only a five minute walk from the shore, and Kaddar and Fureya had usually been taken there at least once a year for years.

"It'll get better." Kaddar reassured Keladryie quietly, both ignoring their bags on the floor and the unmade room as they instead curled up together on the floor by the bay window.

"I'd rather be working...when I'm working at least I can distract myself from everything that's happened. If I have free time...I think about it. I replay everything in my mind and I hate it. I hate what we have to do sometimes..."

Kaddar tightened his arms around her, pressing his forehead against hers. "What you have to learn about holidays..." he murmured softly, "Is that on holidays, no work exists. All you do is lazy around, swim, wind surf, shop, sleep in...and no thinking." he kissed her cheek softly and hugged her gently. "It's hard Kel, but...I'll distract you, okay?" at least he made her smile with his words, yet she still looked troubled about something.

"Isn't this hard for you too?" she asked. "Why am I the only one who seems to be...unhappy?"

Kaddar shrugged. "I don't let things bother me as much. I do as I'm told, and I follow. You're a leader Kel...you make decisions. I'm happy to let those decisions be made for me because I know between you and Dad, every right path is followed. I have it easy, so...while you spend your time worrying, I'll worry and look after you."

"Promise?" Keladryie asked quietly, silently accepting everything he had just said.

"Promise." Kaddar hugged her tight, and then pulled her up to her feet. "We'd better unpack and see what Will wants..."

Kaddar had thought his job was done, Keladryie was now happier but no sooner had they walked outside Dorian had pounced his older sister and picked a fight, leaving Keladryie in a foul mood already once more, making Kaddar sigh in frustration as he picked up his girlfriends younger brother and sated his attention seeking mood.

Once everyone had gathered in the living room, Fureya and Willard stood in front of them, Jadette and Liam's knowing smiles peeking every ones curiosity.

"Fureya and I have something to..." Willard paused as he thought for the right word to use, causing Keladryie to roll her eyes.

"Announce." Fureya supplied for him.

"To announce." Willard smiled at her.

"So, spit it out then." Seth demanded, getting a half hearted glare from Liam and a jab in the ribs from Mikola.

"A week ago...as soon as the last bullet fell...I asked Fureya to marry me." Willard explained, not seeming to have heard Seth's voice. "And she said yes."

"And we're getting married here, on this holiday." Fureya added, a blush on her cheeks as she grinned happily at every ones expressions as Willard hugged her close.

"Which is the whole reason for the holiday." Liam put in. "No daughter of mine is getting married in an area of blood shed." It was all clear now, why they had taken off pretty much straight away. Usually, since they were the top ranked mercenaries, they were requires to stick around and smooth things over, but instead this time they had disappeared as soon as literally possible, Liam ordering them all on the damn holiday which had sprung up out of the blue.

"That's fantastic!" Kaddar swooped on his little sister and swung her up into his arms, hugging her happily as Devon and Sasuke slapped Willard on the back with a few manly expressions of bachelorhood, as was the done way.

"Kella?" Fureya asked after her brother had released her. The youngest female hadn't moved, and she was in deep thought. Although her views wouldn't change the situation, Fureya would be close to tears if she knew Keladryie wasn't in the affirmative for the idea.

Keladryie looked at Fureya for a moment before walking straight past her and up to Willard, where she slapped him, hard.

"If you put a single toe out of line..." Keladryie informed him in an icy growl before he had the chance to say anything. He looked down at her, holding his now bruised cheek. "If you hurt her in any way at all...if you don't pull your weight and make her the happiest she ever could be...I'll make your life a living hell..."

There was a short silence after that, which Kaddar broke easily. "...Isn't that what I'm supposed to say?" he asked with a grin, wrapping his arms around Keladryie for a moment affectionately before she broke free to hug Fureya, offering her congratulations at last.

"Like she already doesn't do that..." Willard grumbled quietly, but knew that this was just Keladryie's way of accepting him at all. After all, they were now practically family.

"See." Kaddar nudged Keladryie once she'd released his little sister finally. Keladryie looked up at him, perplexed. "This, is what a holiday is like."

---

This is a challenge for FictionNET ( http / sycotic . org / fnet ) If you're looking for a nifty (mostly based on Harry Potter) writing forum, join Fnet and say that Keladryie sent you. It's seriously worth it.

This is written for the challenge: Normal Challenge 09 - A Well Needed Holiday

Under these guidelines:

Write a piece that is of original work, so not any Fandom of any kind, and show your characters taking a holiday after a stressful time. Why are they on the holiday? Where are they going? Are you a bitch and is their holiday going to be even more stressful than what they left before that?

Really, this is open to interpretation, so discuss below so I can be more clear :p

All entries must be longer than 1000 words.