Traveling was fucking exhausting.

They'd had to change planes twice - first in New York, then in Frankfurt, and when they finally reached Rome, they'd been traveling more than 24 hours.

Hawk hadn't slept in all that time if you didn't count short, restless naps in the last flight. He had been too fucking nervous to fall asleep, even if Mom was peacefully snoring by his side all the 6 hours it took to cross the Atlantic Ocean. It wasn't just the fact that it had been years since he had last been on a plane - it was the prospect of meeting Sky again, all the anticipation and anxiousness that came with it.

He had missed her like crazy. But now that he was actually going to see her again, the lie he had told her was weighing on his heart more than he liked to admit. It wasn't that he felt guilty about stealing the Medal of Honor or trashing Miyagi-Do - he didn't. But he did regret having to lie about it.

The airport of Rome was an absolute chaos - and being tired and jet-lagged as fuck didn't make it any easier. By the time they had found their luggage and the exit, Hawk was dizzy and nauseous, irritated, and overall feeling like shit. He was sweating through his clothes, and his hair that was not on Mohawk (it would have been might impractical on the plane) was gross and greasy, sticking to his scalp.

This was not the way he wanted Sky to see him, but there was little to do about it, so he simply washed his face in the bathroom and hid his hair under a baseball cap he wore backwards, before walking to the arrivals hall.

He saw her before she noticed him, and for a heartbeat, he froze, just looked at her, emotion clenching his chest into a tight knot.

She was standing in the crowd with her dad, nervously clutching her hands together, wearing a short skirt that hugged the curves of her hips and a tiny little top that revealed the skin of her shoulders and the phoenix tattoo. She looked small, thinner than Hawk had remembered, and like she hadn't slept in a week.

His heart twisted painfully in his chest because he knew it was his fault she looked like that. It was his fault she had suffered.

But that was over now, that was all gone, and he was going to make it all up to her. By the end of this vacation, she'd be happier than she had ever been in her life.

"Sky–!" Hawk called her name, his voice coming out a bit raspy and broken.

When her eyes found him, It was like she'd seen the sun - her face was illuminated, her smile lit up not only Hawk's heart but the whole fucking world. And then she was running, not caring about the crowd, barely noticing his mom or her dad, she threw herself into his arms in a strawberry-scented swirl of hair, sun-kissed skin, and feminine curves.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and as he lifted her up, her legs went around his waist so that she was clinging to him like a koala. He buried his face into her hair and gripped her hard as if he could mold their bodies together, make them one.

"I love you," he breathed, his voice almost breaking. "I fucking love you, Sky."

"I love you too." Her face was buried in his neck, her hot breathing falling onto his skin, and she didn't seem to care a bit about his sweaty clothes or the fact that he probably smelled like the sewer.

"Oh God, I missed you." Hawk groaned. "I never wanna be away from you again."

She didn't say anything, but her desperate grip around his neck told him enough. It was like she never wanted to let go like she was going to cling to him like this till the end of time.

But they were still standing in the middle of the arrivals hall, and Hawk began to realize their position was a bit compromising. Her short skirt, her legs wrapped around his waist, his hands gripping her ass - it was beginning to give him all kinds of ideas he sure didn't want to have in front of their parents. The last thing he needed was a raging boner in a place like this.

His cheeks heating, he gently placed her down on her feet but kept her close. His hands found her waist, her back, and even in her high heels she was shorter than he was, she had to tilt up her face to be able to meet his eyes.

"Welcome to Italy," she said with the cutest smile, and then her hands were on his neck and their lips crashed together.

He had dreamed about this moment since Sky had flown to Europe two weeks ago - and their week-long breakup had only intensified those dreams. Fearing that he would never again get to hold her like this, that he would never again taste her strawberry lip gloss, never again feel her lips opening for him in need and despair - it had become the only thing he could think about.

"I love you," he groaned breaking the kiss just long enough to get those words out of his mouth. But her hands on his neck were gripping him tight and pulling him into another kiss that melted him into a pool of sticky goo. Her mouth was so incredibly slick and hot, his tongue met hers and he couldn't help a soft moan, couldn't help the need that awakened in his gut.

"Now, now young Mr. Moskowitz," came a voice that cut through his fogged senses. "I'm quite sure we've seen enough of that."

He broke the kiss with a gasp and his cheeks heated. Yeah - they still had company. Sky's Dad was eyeing him in a rather judgemental way, and Mom didn't look like she was too happy either - probably she was already regretting her desicion to come to Italy with them.

Hawk gathered himself and cleared his throat. Whatever heated fantasies that kiss had caused, they would have to wait.

"I'm sorry–"

"Dad," Sky interrupted, and rolled her eyes at her dad. "Don't embarrass him."

"Oh, I think Eli manages that just fine without my help." Nicholas noted.

"Sorry, Mr. O'Brian," Hawk said, his eyes darting from Sky to the wall behind her Dad's back. "I—"

"It's fine, it's fine," Nicholas replied with a wave of his hand. "And you can still call me Nicholas, you know." Then he turned his attention to Hawk's Mom and gave her a gracious smile and a small bow. "Beth, Benvenuto in Italia! I Trust the trip went fine?"

"Oh it went well, thank you. But it is a long way from home."

"It is, it is," Nicholas replied, taking Mom's suitcase as they started walking towards the exit. "I must admit it was more burdensome than before, when we lived on the East Coast. California adds another 6 hours to the trip. You must be exhausted."

Mom made a small laugh and ran her fingers through her dark hair. She looked the same as always, you couldn't have told she had just crossed half the globe.

"I managed to get a couple of hours of sleep. But I don't think poor Eli slept at all."

Nicholas turned his observant, green eyes to Eli and arched a brow. "That so? What kept you up?"

The fear that Sky finds out I lied to her and dumps me here and everything goes straight to Hell?

He shrugged and avoided Nicholas' eyes. "Some turbulence I guess. I'm not really used to flying."

Sky took his hand, their fingers entwined and Hawk's heartbeat reacted instantly. Her hand in his was Heaven on Earth, having her walk by his side was all he needed in this lifetime or in any other.

"Oh poor baby," Sky said with a smirk. "No wonder you look rotten."

"Hey—!"

"Just kidding," she laughed and leaned in so that their parents who were walking in front of them couldn't hear what she said next. "You look hot as fuck, as always. I'm really digging that baseball cap style."

Hawk swallowed hard. No matter how fucking jet-lagged he was, her words sent a jolt of raw need through his system. It had been two fucking weeks since he'd had her, and it was two fucking weeks too much.

He cleared his throat that was suddenly thick. "That right?"

"Oh yes, handsome." She flashed him a wicked grin.

"You don't look that bad yourself," he pulled her closer and threw an arm over her shoulders. "That skirt's giving me all kinds of ideas."

"That's why I picked it. But I'm afraid those ideas are gonna have to wait."

Hawk leaned in to place a kiss on top of her head, to breathe in the scent of her strawberry shampoo, of sun and salt and girl. The need in his veins was making things a bit difficult for him, and he was greatful for the rather loose T-Shirt and sweats he was wearing, that would conceal at least some of the effect her closeness was having on him.

"Why do they have to wait?" he breathed close to her ear. "I fucking wanna rip that skirt off you as soon as we get to the hotel."

Sky purred and snuggled closer to his side, her body fitting perfectly against him.

"Because - I have a joint room with my dad in this Hotel." she said. "And I'm pretty sure he wouldn't approve of that idea."

Hawk glanced at Sky's dad who was walking in front of them, chatting happily with his mom while pulling her huge suitcase.

"I have a feeling you're right."

"I usually am. But hey, don't worry," Sky replied. "We're going to have lots of opportunities. If not before, then at least when we go to Florence. That villa is so fucking awesome, so many empty rooms we can sneak into."

Just the thought of that made Hawk's pulse quicken. Five days. They would spend five days in Rome and then another 5 in Florence after Sky's Dad had finished his work here.

Hawk had waited for two weeks to have Sky in his arms again, so he was pretty sure he could wait another five days... but glancing at her on his side, the gleam of her eyes, the perfect bow shape of her upper lip, the tiny little top that barely covered anything and clearly revealed the shape of her soft, small breasts, he knew it was going to be one long five days.

"Besides," Sky said, her eyes suddenly turning serious. "I think that... after what happened... it might be a good thing, that we have to wait a bit."

Hawk's chest went tight with sudden worry.

She hadn't found out about him stealing the Medal, had she? He had wanted to bring the thing with him because wearing it in a chain around his neck always made him re-live the rush of euphoria he had felt when smashing the case and taking the medal from it. But it would have been too risky. He couldn't take the chance of Sky finding out, not now, not ever, so he had left the Medal in a drawer where he kept his clothes, safely hidden under a pile of T-shirts.

Just in case.

"What... what do you mean?" he asked. "I thought everything was okay now?"

"I mean that we almost broke up." She said, turning her eyes away. "And we haven't even really talked about it. So maybe it's a good thing to take things slow for a while."

His throat bobbed. The last thing he wanted was to take things slow - but Hell, he was prepared to do whatever she asked of him to get things back the way they had been. Being on a break had really scared him, had made him realize what life would be like if he ever lost her. He sure as Hell didn't want to do anything to fuck things up again.

"Okay," he said softly, holding her a bit tighter. "We'll take it as slow as you want to."

She glanced at him and her eyes softened, a small blush appeared on her cheeks. "Eli, I–"

"Children," said Nicholas, turning to look at them over his shoulder. "Try to keep up, I don't want to lose you in this chaos."

Whatever Sky had been about to say, was forgotten, her glance turned from Hawk to their parents.

"Sure, Dad," she said and released herself from under Hawk's arm. She started walking briskly to catch up with their parents, and Hawk was momentarily left behind. The way Sky's hips were swinging as she walked in her high heels and short skirt, made something tighten and swell in Hawk's chest and it was fucking impossible to draw his eyes off her perfect ass.

He let out a silent groan, as he started walking after her.

Forget eating and sleeping. No matter how fucking jet-lagged Hawk was, he knew what was the first fucking thing he'd have to do when getting into his room.

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