It was a week before the day of Sebastian's and Hunter's wedding and Sebastian was putting the finishing touches to anything that needed to be done. Planning a marriage completely on his own had been a nightmare to Sebastian, having to face the stress of making sure all guest were happy, picking out the venue he knew would please Hunter, finding a suit that would fit Hunter going from the last time he could remember his body being like. Blaine had constantly been telling him how he should have waited until Hunter returned from tour, but Sebastian couldn't wait. He didn't want Hunter's break to be full of stress to plan a wedding and then just to go back into the army again. No, Sebastian wanted them to spend as much time as they could together as a married couple. If he had to do this all on his own than what was what he would do.
It was a week before the day of Sebastian's and Hunter's wedding when everything went wrong. Hunter's platoon had received the wrong information and had forced them further into enemy territory than what they wanted. Their backup was too far away to help and the sergeant was going to risk losing another troop. No, Hunter and his troop would have to face it alone.
The scene around them was too quiet and too open for Hunter's liking, his senses were on constant alert and ready to fire at the slightest sound. Nothing happened until there was a loud explosion to his right. One of his men had accidentally set off an IED. That was when all hell broke loose. Screams, streams of bullets and explosions erupted all around them and Hunter was struggling to keep his cool while ordering his men to run backwards.
Then his vision blurred, his breathing got shallow and more irregular and he felt himself fall to his knees. Then all that rushed past his mind was images of Dalton, singing with the Warblers, the first time he had ever seen Sebastian, the first time they kissed, their first fight, their first time, moving off to college together, living together, his proposal, the look on Sebastian's face when he said yes and their final kiss before Hunter left for duty. He never believed that your life really did flash before his eyes, but the last thing he saw was Sebastian and his bright green eyes before the world faded away completely.
The news of the loss of Lieutenant Clarington didn't reach Sebastian until the day before his wedding. The cake had just arrived and Sebastian was walking circles around it, checking for any signs that it wasn't up to scratch when he saw the military dressed man that wasn't his fiance walk into the room. He ducked his hat and fixed a sombre gaze on Sebastian and the young man felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. He began to shake, not wanting to believe what he was going to hear. Seeing the man in front of him meant one thing, "I'm sorry but Hunter Clarington has been killed in the line of duty."
Sebastian's knees gave out and he fell down to the floor, curling himself up into any position he could that could provide him with comfort. This couldn't be happening, not just when their wedding was around the corner. He had begged, pleaded to Hunter not to go back for another tour but Hunter had been adamant about it. Now he was gone. The man he loved more than anyone else, the only man he ever settled down for, the man that made him interested in marriage and a family.
He was gone. There would be no more laughter, no more tears, no warm body to hold onto and strong arms to wrap around him in the cold nights. His comfort, his support, his light was gone and now he was left alone. Completely alone with the should-have-been-wedding mocking him in the face.
It wasn't what he had expected, it wasn't something that should have happened. It never should have been as he stood and watched the coffin of his almost husband be carried off the plane with the flag of the country he died for draped over the front of it. Sebastian leaned into the comfort of his oldest friend and held onto his hand. He wasn't ashamed to cry, not for the one he loved more than anyone else.
He closed his eyes and pictured Hunter there smiling proudly while they took their places at the alter. He imaged Hunter reaching down and taking his hand in his, reciting the vows Hunter refused to let him see before he shipped off. He wanted to keep it a surprise, be the one gift he could give the man he loved. Whatever Hunter would have said would have been better than what Sebastian could possibly ever think of and a small, sad smile wormed his way across his lips as he opened his eyes and looked back at the coffin.
"I do."