This was it. Today was the worst day of his life. Not because his boyfriend was leaving him, but because he was leaving his boyfriend. Today was the day he was being called to war. Dirk never believed he would be accepted, never believed he would need to be shipped off to fight some God forsaken war that he didn't really believe in. Yet here he was, staring down at the damned letter telling him to pack his bags and leave first thing in the morning. Dirk glanced back at the curled up form on the bed, the form that remained silent besides the odd sniffle and breath of air. Jake had been like this ever since he got the letter. He refused to believe that this was actually happening. It couldn't happen to them, there were plenty of soldiers already fighting, and they didn't need another. They didn't need his boyfriend. Maybe it was the domestic life making them softer but to hell with it! Jake didn't want Dirk to leave and possibly get himself killed! Jake sucked up another breath before rolling over to face Dirk, who was still sitting on the edge of the bed clutching the papers in a near death grip. There was a moment of hesitation before Jake rested a hand on the small of Dirk's back.
"You're going, aren't you?" Jake was met with a silent, almost unnoticed nod. He sighed at that and pressed on, his voice going quiet as he tried to fight off the tears welling in his eyes. "And…you'll be safe, right?" Another small nod before Dirk decided to turn around, the smallest trace of a tear sliding down from beneath his shades. "Oh, Dirk." He pulls the blond down quickly and wraps him up in a hug, biting his lip to stop himself from crying even more.
They stay like that for a while, simply holding each other and crying, never knowing when they will see each other again. It isn't until the first light of dawn shines that they slowly untangle themselves, Jake rubbing his eyes and Dirk taking the slow breaths that he needs to face this calmly. Dirk slowly packs his bags, having to stop every few moments to compose himself. This was much harder than he ever thought it would be. Not even the Strider composure could handle this, no matter how much he thought it would. Theory was much more different than practice.
By the time he was packed and ready to go, a bus had pulled up and blared the horn. Dirk visibly tensed, frozen on the spot until a pair of arms wound themselves around his torso and a body pressed up against his back.
"Promise me you'll be back soon, alright?" The mumble made Dirk want to drop his bags and forget about the war altogether, but he gripped the handle tighter and turned around to face his love.
"Promise. Can't leave you here by your lonesome after all." There was a ghost of a smirk before Dirk captured Jake's lips with his own. The moment was only a few seconds but it would have to last the couple a long while until they could see each other again. Their last moments together were waving partial goodbyes as the bus drove off into the distance, both of them denying the tears that flowed freely from their eyes.