The Commander's Sister // Reg Slivko

Waffles

A/N: i'm obsessed with picrew right now so enjoy this picrew of irene + slivko ♥️

The flight to Omaha, Nebraska took eleven hours without connecting flights. I now understood why Reles and Mills had kissed the ground. I tried to sleep, curling up against James and shutting my eyes, but it evaded me.

I felt sick to my stomach. Was I really about to see Stephen, after five years? Silvie, Cole's widow, had said that Stephen still talked about me. The thought made me even more anxious. What if I was nothing like he remembered?

James and I were now in a taxicab, only ten minutes from our motel. The rest of the group would meet us there in two days. I was excited to see them again. I looked over at James, who had bags under his eyes. The jet lag was catching up to him, and I would surely be next.

"Hey." James tugged on my shoulder, and I looked up. "Let's go."

I shuffled out of the car, helping James by grabbing my own bag from the trunk. He circled back around to the driver and paid him. I followed his lead as he walked into the motel, checking us in. He took the keys and gave me a soft smile, holding a hand out for me to grab.

We settled into our room in silence. It was decorated brightly, two beds, and a sunshine yellow on every surface I could see. I sat on the bed further away from the door and sighed. James looked my way.

"What's wrong, Bitsy?"

"I'm nervous."

"To see Stephen?"

I nodded. "So much has changed in the last five years. What if he doesn't even recognize me?"

James chuckled. "Your face hasn't changed that much."

I sighed again. "That's true."

"It'll be okay. I'll be around. If anything goes wrong, I'll come get you." He shrugged.

"You think something's gonna go wrong?"

He sat next to me on the bed and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "No, Ire. Absolutely not, no. But I know that you like to think about worst case scenarios. So, if anything does happen to go wrong, I'll just get you out."

"Okay, but what about Cole's funeral?"

"We won't go."

I snorted. "Like hell I'm gonna let Reg, or any of the boys for that matter, sit through that funeral alone."

James grinned. "They won't be alone, they've got each other."

I deadpanned, and his teasing grin eased into a reassuring smile. "I promise things will go okay."

"You're making a lot of promises, Jay."

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, moment's over. Go get changed, we're leaving in ten minutes."

I gigged as he began to rummage through his own bag. I followed suit, and we kept our backs to each other as we changed.

"Don't get me wrong, as excited as I am at the prospect of having Stephen back in my life, I sure as hell miss the others."

James huffed. "I know. If I can be honest with you, I miss Mason."

"Ohh, Jay has a crush!"

"Shove it!" He tossed a pillow toward my head.

***

I rang the doorbell, feeling like I was going to faint. Inside, I heard the bark of what was most likely a big dog. A small smile broke onto my face. Stephen had wanted a dog for as long as I could remember.