It was amazing how quickly Diego came around.

The six had spent the day inside as the snow continued to come down in wet clumps. Other than chilly runs to the outhouse, there was nothing to do but sit and talk and eat and play cards. Miller and Kim-Ly had gone to nap while Hitch and Kieu-Linh cleaned up after lunch. Catalina had gotten cold and Diego snuggled with her on the rug under the blankets.

A soft sigh turned both Hitch and Kieu-Linh to look to where the young couple was completely covered on the floor. They couldn't make out exactly what they were doing, but Catalina's sweet, light sounds made it clear she was receiving pleasure. Kieu-Linh smiled at Hitch and stood in front of him as he leaned back on the counter. He started to caress her tits as she rubbed her butt against his groin.

Catalina grew a bit louder, obviously trying not to make any noise but failing as her body moved in longer motions. The covers ruffled around them, and when she let out a sharp cry, followed by a pleasant, “mmmmmmm... mmmmm... mmmm...” Hitch knew she was cumming.

Kieu-Linh peeled down her pants and bent forward, smiling back at Hitch. He pulled out his cock and ran it up and down her slit. Kieu-Linh was already wet.

She slid back onto his penis and moaned as he rooted inside her vagina. Kieu-Linh rocked forwards and back, her hand down between her legs. Hitch saw movement under the blankets, and it was clear that Diego was rising over Catalina. A light grunt came from the girl's throat, and Diego began to grunt in rhythm.

Kieu-Linh's channel flooded as she started to orgasm, riding Hitch's dick, covering his shaft in creamy cum. Her cries grew louder, “uh... uh... oh... mmmm... mmm... mmmmmm...” Hitch held her waist and humped against her as the teen's body shuddered, her vagina spasming randomly.

He heard Diego groan, then grow silent, the motions becoming slow under the blanket. Hitch felt his load burning up from his groin. He slid his hands down Kieu-Linh's sides and under her to her tits, caressing them, feeling her hard young nipples and moving faster in and out of her cunt.

The blanket flew back, revealing Diego over Catalina, gasping, trying to catch his breath. Catalina had her arms over him, holding him tight against her.

Hitch started to cum, the copulating couple turning back to look at where Hitch yanked his spurting penis from Kieu-Linh's body, the first shot hitting her ass, the next flying up to splash in the middle of her back. Cum ran down her crack and over the sixteen-year old's anus. He grunted as he emptied the rest of her load over her thighs and waist.

He looked down to see pools of sticky cum shuddering on Kieu-Linh's skin as she trembled and panted. Catalina and Diego continued to watch from the rug.

Hitch pulled Kieu-Linh up and turned her, his semen sliding down her legs and onto her bundled jeans. He kissed her deeply, holding her tight against him. They were both sweaty and he smelled strongly her warm skin and wonderful natural aroma against her neck.

Slowly, he grabbed a clean rag and ran it over her back and legs, wiping mostly of his cum from her flesh, then helped pull up her pants while she gently tucked his half-hard cock back into his own.

There was a small smile from Catalina, and when she looked at Diego, he smiled, too. They started laughing, and Kieu-Linh joined them. Hitch just smiled and buzzed from his orgasm. The couple on the rug settled back onto the rug and held each other while Kieu-Linh stepped to the window and peered outside.

“Back in a few, I need to pee,” the teen said, dancing in place suddenly. She opened the door and had to climb a small mound of snow which had accumulated on the porch from where it blew in all night and morning. Hitch watched her trudge along a moment, then turned back to the couple on the floor.

“I just want you to know,” he said, gently as Diego and Catalina looked back at him, “that sharing that with us was no small thing. You have courage, and love for each other. I know this isn't what you might have thought of as normal, especially given what you've been taught, but you should know that no one here is judging you. Just the opposite, really. It is... with sincerity that I thank you for sharing, and hope you'll find it easier to be at peace here, with us, and with each other. Don't feel shame for showing your love for each other... or for wanting and experiencing pleasure...”

Diego smiled again.

“Well said, Hitch,” Kim-Ly's voice called from the edge of the bedroom as she slowly came in to the main room from her nap. “What you share is your business, but we don't have room here to feel that you must instead hide yourselves and go without, simply because others can hear or see you.”

Hitch smiled at the woman and she sauntered up to him with a warm expression, kissing his cheek and hugging him with unexpected vigor.

“What's that for?” he asked quietly.

She shrugged, “just felt like hugging you. I saw you with my daughter just now... the look on her face, Hitch... seeing her so happy... seeing her experience pleasure like that... it just made me grow happy, too... and I wanted you to know how it made me feel.”

“Not weirded out that... I'm having sex with your daughter? And... you're watching us?” He asked, smiling.

She shrugged once more, “I'm no stranger to...” Kim-Ly trailed off, shaking her head without explaining further. “Anyway,” she said, looking out the window, “not much else to do right now, I guess. I'll make some warm rolls. Could you grab the butter? My husband will be around shortly. I gave him a... special treat... a bit ago, he needed a moment to... recover.”

Hitch grinned and went into the cellar.

- - -

Kieu-Linh and Hitch made love again that night, this time just inches from where Catalina and Diego did the same. The newcomers again covered themselves completely, but Hitch could tell that Catalina was doing less to quiet her cries when she came, and Diego's grunts had given way to more vocal signs of his pleasure.

The next morning found the sun shining, but the day very cold, over a foot of snow on the ground. Hitch put on his boots and clothing and kissed Kieu-Linh on the porch as she headed to the outhouse. He stepped out into the snow and debated gathering his hunting gear.

It made him do a quick mental calculation of his remaining ammo stock. He still had over a thousand rounds for his main rifle. Hitch knew that he'd have to find more over the next year in order to keep a healthy supply on hand. While he usually hit and killed whenever he expended a round, he was still planning to teach Diego, and eventually Catalina, and they would be less efficient with their shots while they learned.

Ammo count was one of many numbers which Hitch refigured daily, if not more often. He'd been drilled in it over and over in his training, and he'd found it vital once his training was put into actual combat. Not knowing how many rounds were left for the SAW, or how many grenades 1st Platoon had remaining, was to hamstring tactical options. He'd become practiced at estimating how much ammunition and other supplies were being expended during battle, supplementing that educated guesswork with inventory sweeps whenever anyone could perform one without being shot. Of course, in the chaos of war, estimates and even visual counting were prone to significant error and had to be double- and triple-checked whenever possible.

Hitch heard Kim-Ly come out onto the porch and he turned back towards the cabin. “Snow's stopped, at least,” he called.

“I see. Thinking of heading south?” she asked, pulling her scarf tighter around her neck.

“Not yet, no. A couple of passes will be dangerous in this. But I think I would like to see what's moving around, see if I can bring in a deer or two.”

Kim-Ly nodded. “I'd like to go with you.”

Hitch had never hunted with Kim-Ly before, though he knew, from conversations with Miller, that she was experienced and could handle herself in the bush with a rifle in her hands. “I'd like that. I was going to suggest Diego stay behind anyway. I noticed his feet had some nasty blisters that need a few days to heal. And Kieu-Linh needs to keep close to the outhouse today, she's got a bit of intestinal distress this morning.”

Kim-Ly responded, “I'll go check on her. Ready in a few minutes?”

Hitch confirmed that he would be and headed back inside. Kim-Ly put on warmer clothing and thick boots, then headed to see after her daughter. Hitch got his gear packed and strapped his M9 to his hip, throwing his field jacket over his shoulders and fastening it all the way to his neck.

Kim-Ly met him at the steps. “She's fine, feeling better already, but she is staying here today.”

“Great,” Hitch said, staring a moment at the outhouse. “I hate seeing her uncomfortable.”

“She's a woman, Hitch. She can take it.”

“Trust me, I've come to understand that well this past year.”

Kim-Ly smiled and followed Hitch as he led them past the spring and into the woods.

- - -

They had picked up an impressive trail of deer tracks to the northeast of the cabin. The tracks led down in the direction of a small stream which broke away from the larger creek running along the western ridge. Kim-Ly crept a few feet behind Hitch as they slowly got closer to where the deer could be heard snorting past a large gendarme overlooking a deep gully cut by a shallow creek which was completely frozen over.

Hitch drew up next to the boulders and peered down the gentle slope. A large buck stood still a hundred meters downhill, and Hitch felt certain there were at least two or three does nearby. Hitch waved Kim-Ly to the nearby line of thick pines across the small game trail from where he crouched. He pointed at his eyes, then to the deer below, and signaled her to wait a moment.

The buck looked a bit lethargic, but still alert, head turning to listen to the muffled sounds around him. A doe crept into view and Hitch made hand motions to say he was targeting the doe, and the she should aim for the buck which, from her position, should be a clearer shot.

Moments later, they approached the site of two fallen deer and shared a satisfied smile as they each worked on dressing their kills, which took more effort in the inches of snow, but also cooled the carcasses quickly, which helped preserve the meat and, especially for the old buck, ensure it had a rich and satisfying flavor.

“I love being out here, Hitch.” Kim-Ly said as her knife slid easily through the buck. “And I'm glad to be able to come out on a hunt with you. I've hunted with Jefferson and my daughter many times, and I can see that you know what you're doing.”

Hitch removed entrails from the doe and replied, “lots of experience.”

“So much better than shooting at people...” she said, more quietly.

“I couldn't agree more.”

“Do you ever think about going back, Hitch? To rejoin the fight?”

His automatic response was the same he'd give to Miller and others, that he had no desire to fight again. Instead, he gave her a more honest and nuanced explanation. “There are times I miss it... That... thrill of kill-or-be-killed... it never really left me. I hated combat, but... I loved it, too. It is the ultimate challenge, every decision life-or-death, and I can't help wondering what it might be like to take what good years I have left and see if I can make a difference... and feel that rush one more time...”

Kim-Ly didn't respond immediately, focused on her work with the knife. Then she said, “Jefferson and I fought together. It was... surreal, sometimes. I thought about him whenever it got hot, but... I was so scared that it was often all I could do to remember to change out my mag, or check to see if he was still alive nearby. But... I know what you mean... I got... I don't think 'used to it' is the right phrase, but... it became... normal, I guess. I was still scared, but... I managed it. And I understand what you mean about the thrill. It's horrible to see your friends killed beside you, but I can't deny the intense rush I got in a firefight. It took a while to find things that thrilled me again, once we left The War.”

“Maybe your husband had the same thoughts... maybe that was part of what made him unable to be with you as you wanted. I can certainly understand how combat can fuck with your mind, make you question your sanity, and really screw with what you value, what you need to experience, and how you respond to things which... before all that... would have been thrilling and exciting.”

“Perhaps. I don't really know,” Kim-Ly said, finishing up her dressing, wiping her knife on the snow. “The viagra helped. Maybe he just needed to get some confidence back.”

“Confidence, or maybe it just took time after the fighting. I'll be honest, before you and I shared those moments in the spring, I'd not had sex in thirteen years, not since my wife. I lost all my desire for pleasure. My senses were dulled, I think, my drive to seek rewards beyond mere survival crushed by what I'd experienced, by those memories I couldn't let go, by the weight of what I'd seen happen. It made it difficult to find even temporary pleasure in release. It no longer gave me a sense of pleasure, only loss.” Hitch looked at her evenly, “and I can't thank you enough for reminding me what I had given up. I'll always remember those moments.”

Kim-Ly smiled at him and replied, “believe me, Hitch, it was my pleasure, as well. The moment I saw you I felt compelled to be with you. I know it was selfish and that I all but forced myself on you, but I needed you in those days, and I can't really explain why I needed, so strongly, to be filled again. It is me who should be thanking you.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “And I mean no offense, but now that Jefferson is able to be with me like that again, I'm happy to let what we shared be our past.”

“Me, as well. I'll always be fond of you, Kim-Ly, and at first, when Kieu-Linh came to stay with me, I struggled a bit trying to sort out my feelings for you, and it was not easy to let your daughter into my life as I came to understand that emotions I thought had been lost were still there, just buried and broken. You started me down the path to recover them, and... your daughter has shown me that I need them to truly be alive. I hope you know that I love her deeply and that I would do anything, anything, to repay her the kindness she showed me last Winter, and still shows me every day.”

Kim-Ly kissed his cheek again, and asked, “would you like to marry her, Hitch? I don't need to tell you that you'd have our blessing. Jefferson can perform a nice ceremony, you know, if you feel the need to make it official.”

Hitch considered that a moment, not a thought which had crossed his mind. Since Julia's death, he'd resigned himself to never being so closely bonded to anyone again, the pain to fresh and deep to allow that sort of threat to his emotions. But Kieu-Linh had reopened those old wounds and instead of finding it painful, he'd watched as she gently repaired his shattered emotions and made them grow strong again. “I'd like that.” He smiled at Kim-Ly. “I think I'll ask her tonight, in fact, if she's feeling better.”

“Great. I'll talk to Jefferson. I know he'll be thrilled.”

“I don't have a ring to give her... I... I sold my ring last year in Mountain City or I would have pounded it down to fit her finger.”

“I have one you can give to her,” Kim-Ly said. “I'll show you once we return. It was my mother's.”

- - -

Kieu-Linh was feeling fine when they returned. Hitch kissed her as he shivered a bit from the long, cold hump back to the cabin. “I'll warm you up,” she said brightly, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tight. “Mmm... and I think you want to warm up in some other way...” she noted, his penis pressing against her stomach through their clothing.

He smiled, “I certainly do. Let's get this butchered and get inside. Glad you're feeling better. Also... I have something I want to ask you later, when we have a moment alone.”

She narrowed her eyes, curious, “Okay...” but didn't probe him for more.

Kim-Ly and Hitch rushed through the process of slicing up the deer meat and cleaned up, using stored jugs of water from inside instead of the pump which had frozen and wasn't flowing. They ate a meal together in the late afternoon, and Kim-Ly took Hitch back to the bedroom while the others talked around the table.

“Here it is,” she said, pulling from a box holding a few pieces of old jewelry a thin gold band topped by a small diamond which sparkled brightly in the candlelight. “I think it will fit my daughter.”

“It's perfect,” Hitch said, turning it over in his palm, “she'll love it.”

“She loves you,” Kim-Ly replied, “ring or no ring, that won't change.”

“I guess I'm a bit of a traditionalist, in some ways. Thanks for this, Kim... it means a lot to me.”

The woman smiled. “Of course. You're a kind man, Hitch, and I couldn't think of anyone I'd want to see my daughter with than you. I'm glad I can give you something, even this small thing, to show you how much I care, and which lets you show Kieu-Linh how much you adore her.”

Hitch nodded. “Tell me about your parents. Linh said they died, that she'd never met them, but that they had come from Vietnam.”

Kim-Ly sat on the bed and grew quiet a moment, looking somewhat troubled. “I... Another time, Hitch. I'm not really ready to talk about that. It's a... difficult story to tell someone...”

Hitch took her hand and held it, then said gently, “I didn't mean to pry.”

“No, it's okay. It's normal to ask. There are just... some things... that I don't know that I want to discuss... right now, at least. Maybe... another time...”

“Of course,” Hitch replied.

She smiled tightly at him and kissed his lips lightly. “Thanks for understanding... Now,” she said, more confidently and standing again, “if you'd like to do so, I think now might be a good time to talk to Kieu-Linh. Jefferson is having a hard time holding back as it is, he's like a damned schoolboy he's so excited.”

Hitch laughed, “I have a hard time imagining Miller as a boy. He seems like the kind of man who's always been big and burly.”

“Oh, he's a softy underneath. But he is a Marine, you know. That's as much core to him now as anything in his past.”

“That,” Hitch replied, “I fully understand.”

- - -

Kieu-Linh was seated on the edge of the bed, looking at Hitch curiously. “What is it?” she asked after he had her sit while he stood in front of her.

He took in the moment, unable to stop reflecting on how he'd asked Julia to marry him so long ago. That time, he'd worn a suit and tie, and she'd known something was up when he'd insisted they take a drive but wouldn't tell her where. He'd ushered her to a beach where he'd had a fellow officer set up a tent covering a table and chairs, a bottle of wine chilling, a catered meal of duck and asparagus on its way. Hitch had knelt in front of her as the sun drew closer to the horizon, and spoke the words which melted her heart. When she'd said yes, his had melted, as well.

This time, he stared into Kieu-Linh's eyes and found that same excitement, that unique rush that said he was risking something important, something core, and butterflies tingled in his stomach as he dropped to one knee.

Kieu-Linh eyed him, and Hitch wasn't sure she knew what he was doing until he reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring, showing it to her a moment before reaching for her left hand. “Kieu-Linh... I love you so much, I need you in my life, and I can't be without you again. Will you marry me?”

The sixteen-year old stared a moment as Hitch held the ring poised to slip onto her finger. She looked back at his face, touched his cheek with her other hand, and started to smile. “Of course! Yes! Oh, James!” The ring slid on perfectly and she threw herself into his arms. “Yes, yes, yes! Oh, James!”

There were a few tears which fell, and not solely from Kieu-Linh's eyes. Hitch let the moment envelop him and he found strength in it which he had long-doubted he still held.

The young woman whispered, “make love to me, James... make love to me...”

She pulled him down over her on the bed and he kissed her again, hands fumbling to shift shirts and pants from tingling flesh. Hitch pulled off her jeans and sank between her legs, lapping slowly along her thin, wet slit. Kieu-Linh shuddered and writhed as her legs cocked and rested over his shoulders.

She came moments later, then again as he circled her clit with his tongue and fingered her, rubbing her g-spot and feeling her channel flush and tighten. Kieu-Linh dragged him over her and his penis slid into her tight, moist entrance. The girl let out a long sigh and held on to Hitch's shoulders as he started to fuck her steadily.

“Stay inside me, James... please... just this once...”

He felt his load starting to boil. Thoughts of the risk of pregnancy tried to slice his mind, but he gave in to the moment and let go, holding firmly against Kieu-Linh as he ejaculated against her cervix. She kissed his neck as he came, sperm filling her quickly and sliding out around his penetration. He breathed heavily, buzzing, pulsing with life and purpose as he brought his lips to hers, the teen's tight vagina milking the last of his seed into her body.

“I love you so much, Linh, thank you for helping me find joy in life again... I hope I always deserve you...”

“Oh, James,” she whispered, “I only ever wanted you to be happy... and I love you so much” He felt her pussy spasming and squeezing, sticky cum squishing out where her body met his. “You make me so happy... so happy...”

- - -

They announce the news a while later and Miller couldn't restrain his joy and laughter. He talked more that night than Hitch had seen in days. The man's eyes sparkled and he suggested there was no reason to wait, and it was agreed they would be married the following day.

Diego and Catalina congratulated them with warm smiles. Diego told Hitch quietly later that, “though I'm no longer sure that... sex before marriage is wrong... I cannot help feeling that this makes things better.”

“What about you and Catalina? Thinking you might do the same?”

“Yes. But we will wait, I think, so that you may enjoy your moment.”

Hitch nodded, “I appreciate that, but really, we're just happy we have each other. This is as much for her parents as for us.” That might not have been wholly true, but marrying Kieu-Linh was not going to change the way Hitch and his fiance cared for each other. “Talk to Kim, when you a moment, perhaps she has a ring you might be able to give Catalina.”

“I will. Thank you.”

Miller broke out the 'shitty whiskey' which was little more than two or three shots at the bottom of a dusty bottle, everyone but Catalina enjoying a taste along with warmed hard cider. That night, when Hitch laid down next to Kieu-Linh and wrapped his arm across her breasts, he slipped his pants down to his thighs and rested his penis against her pajama bottoms. She purred and reached back to stroke his cheek.

Diego and Catalina were snoring lightly a few feet away when, moments later, Hitch slid his cock into Kieu-Linh's wet pussy. They rutted gently, no rush for completion, lost in the sensation of mating and growing even closer. By the time Hitch felt his pending release, he had already probed the girl's asshole enough to slip from her vagina and into her butt.

“Easy...” she cautioned quietly, “I'm a bit sore there...”

Hitch made small movements, just shifting the skin on his cock back and forth through her anus, careful not to hurt her. Kieu-Linh moaned softly as he filled her bowels with cum.

He reached over her to touch her sensitive pussy and she stopped his fingers. “Sore there, too...”

“Sorry...”

“No, don't be sorry... I just... had such a powerful one with you... earlier...”

“Mmm...”

Hitch withdrew from the teen's tight, slippery anus and helped her pull her pajama bottoms back over her genitals. “I love you, Linh...”

“I love you, James.”

James "Hitch" Hitchens, Male, 50

	- US Marine Corps and Turtletown Patriot officer, veteran of The War

	- 6'0, 180lbs, tanned beige skin, cropped brown hair

Kieu-Linh Miller, Female, 16

	- Daughter of Miller and Kim-Ly

	- 5'10, 145lbs, cinnamon skin, shoulder-length silky black hair

Jefferson Miller, Male, early-60s

	- US Marine Corp Sergeant, veteran of The War, Father of Kieu-Linh, husband of Kim-Ly

	- 6'2, 195lbs, tanned pale skin, white unkempt hair

Kim-Ly Miller, Female, mid-30s

	- Mother of Kieu-Linh, wife of Miller, veteran of The War

	- 5'9, 150lbs, cinnamon skin, shoulder-length black hair

Diego, Male, 14

	- Boyfriend of Catalina

	- 5'8, 130lbs, rich brown skin, unkempt dark-brown hair with bangs

Catalina, Female, 14

	- Girlfriend of Diego, 4 months pregnant

	- 5'7, 125lbs, mocha-brown skin, long straight dark-brown hair