Love, by nature, is a hard thing in itself. During war, it is doomed to be a nightmare. So, it does is understandable that falling in love in the middle of a 15-year-long war for the very survival of the human race against a never-before-heard-of rave is not a thing to be wished for. But the heart, even surrounded by violence, tightened by fear and bathed in blood, never gives up on its work. It still feels the need to torment the brain by melting at the most inappropriate of moments.
Such a curse had befallen upon the COG Gear named Corporal Damon S. Baird. And, as if a nightmare was not enough of a problem, another obstacle blocked the Corporal's path to reducing his apprehension level to an acceptable one: this love he had, he had it for a man. Most probably, as Baird, knew it, that point had very little chance to REALLY be problematic; he knew comprehension was part of his beloved's personality. But one never was too careful.
Also, there was yet a third worsener to the situation (yes Baird was pretty unlucky of a guy – which explained partly his cynicism): the man he loved was already married.
In his mind, it had made it impossible for him to achieve full and splendid happiness with this man ever. Not that the Corporal truly believed such a thing existed; he was way too cynical for that. But Dominic had been a special case, even for Baird, which was all but "normal".
Dominic Santiago… a pretty name, if there was to be one, had the Gear always thought. It somehow fitted him well, it was almost scary. Exotic, yet straight and easy to trust was the impression it gave of its wielder. It had proven right many times since the blond had heard if the man for the first time. Only one example of this would be his devotion for his wife. Before she disappeared, he had always been there for her, even when he was away from home. He would write her letter every day when on the field, had Baird heard. And when she had disappeared, he never, ever, stopped looking for her. For years on he had asked each and every person he met, even the Stranded, over and over again, if they had seen her.
When he had finally found somebody who had told him about Maria, all it did was give him renewed hopes of seeing her again, forgetful of the fact that she had been taken as a slave of the Locust, reducing her chances of still being alive to near zero. No matter what, now that he knew where to find her, he was going in, should it matter that he had to get through an army of Brumaks. But again, nothing seems impossible, once you decide such. It was even more true to Dom and Marcus… When he had found her, well… he never had talked much about these events. Baird had had to ask Marcus about them and…. Baird had to admit that having to shoot the person you love the most in the world in the head had to be quite traumatizing.
After that, he had never forgotten her. It was, in the Corporal's opinion, one of the reasons he had had given his life away. "He was saving a person he loved by rejoining another one he loved even more.", would the blond Gear think repeatedly with irony, and a bit of pain. He knew the person Dominic had been trying to save were not Anya, Dizzy and company. They had at best been valuable bonuses. No: the one Santiago had been trying to save at all costs had been Marcus. They were Brothers. They had always been. No matter the circumstances, they had been Brothers to the end. And that, in Baird's opinion, was the worst of all. The one he had loved from the bottom of his heart had sacrificed his life for someone that was not him. He viscerally knew he should not have been thinking that way, but he just couldn't help it.
And now… Now they had a future, at long last. Now, after fifteen years of endless fighting, Queen Myrrah was dead, along with the race she had been ruling. After many hardships, the Lambent were defeated. But, what use was there to a future, what place was there left for hope, when all you had ever cherished was forever gone?