Everything felt like a blur for Naruto as the Honor Guard placed Buck's casket into a truck. The blonde and the rest of his team lowered their salutes and Marcus turned to his team.
"I know emotions are really high right now but we need to be strong. For Bucks family. That being said, I wouldn't be a good team leader if I didn't tell you that the Navy has services for us to talk to in situations like this and if you need to take time away from the team I won't hold it against you."
No one said anything and Marcus nodded. "Well everyone drop your gear off, go home kiss your families and we'll meet at Bucks house. Me and Caulder will handle the debrief."
Naruto nodded as he walked off the C-17 and checked his phone. Hinata sent him a photo of a suit she picked out for him to wear for dinner with her parents tonight. He chose not to reply as he walked towards to team storage room, passing Jones in the hallway.
"How's it going blondie."
The SEAL ignored her and kept walking turning to Buddha.
"What's crawled up his butt?"
Buddha sighed and placed a hand on Jones shoulder. Jones was close with all of the team members including Buck, who she looked up to like an older brother, breaking the news to her wasn't gonna be easy. Naruto heard her sobs from his cage as he gathered his things. He looked over to the adjacent cage to Bucks Texas flag. Anger boiled in his chest and he walked out of the team room.
The drive to his parent's house was short and when he got there he wasn't surprised to find his father waiting for him on the porch.
"Marcus told you?"
"Your commander called. Wanted to make sure I kept your head on straight…How do you feel?"
Naruto felt tears fall down his face. "Buck was the most annoying person I ever met! He never helped with any of my training! He always had some smartass comment! He always had to tell a joke, didn't matter if it was sexist or racist."
"And?"
"And…he had my back. He pushed me harder than they pushed me in BUD/S. He used humor to make sure that the lessons that were being taught to me stuck…He was my teammate…and I let him down pop. I let him down."
Minato pulled his son into a hug.
"It's not your fault son, it's not your fault."
Naruto could only nod as a car pulled into the driveway and Hinata got out with Kushina. Both of their eyes lit up when they saw Naruto but Minato shook his head.
After everyone was settled Naruto broke the news to his family.
"Oh my god, Tammi just called me last night to see how I was doing."
Naruto ran a hand through his hair. "Marcus wants the team over there as soon as possible. Gonna have to move dinner with your family.
"I'm not worried about that right now. Tammi has been a friend since we got here and now she's gonna need people to be there for her.
Kushina nodded. "Hinata's right. Now sadly I've been through this a few times so I'll start whipping up some quick food to take over there. I'll also give you the rundown on what to expect moving forward."
Hinata got up and followed Kushina into the kitchen.
"Naruto you need to go over there, now."
"I don't know what to say."
"Listen, son, you're a kind caring person. You get over there and you be yourself."
Naruto nodded. "I need to shower first."
The next few days were a blur for Naruto. Everyone rallied around Bucks family and offered whatever support. But while the team was coping with their loss the Navy wanted answers on the actions leading up to Buckley's death. So, one by one each team member was brought in and asked a series of questions. Soon Naruto found himself in front of his commander.
"Seaman Uzumaki how you doing."
"As good as I can be considering the circumstances."
"That's good to hear. This is Captain Pearson he just wants to ask you a few questions about the op in Nigeria."
"Talk us through the decision making up to Buckley's death."
Naruto took a deep breath. "Well, sir it was only my second time in the field so I wasn't really involved. I was given orders and I executed those orders."
"Well give me your take on it anyways."
The blonde nodded. "Well, we received word on a group of vehicles heading towards the target. We lost sight of them in the trees but proceeded to the target. While approaching the target we encountered resistance from an unknown force and that's when Buckley was wounded."
"Do you think at any time your troop commander could have aborted the mission?"
Naruto thought for a second. "I'm not sure sir. Senior Chief McCall has the experience to make those calls while I don't."
"Well given all of the factors do you think Senior Chief McCall was too aggressive in his actions?"
"No sir, I do not?"
"Why is that?"
"Lives were at stake, sir. We knew ahead of time that we could not rely on ISR in those dense trees so we couldn't let that change our approach. Not with the possibility of those little girls being hurt."
Captain Pearson nodded and finished scribbling on his pad.
"Ok, that will be all, your dismissed Seaman."
Naruto nodded and ran a hand through his hair and left the office. Due to the circumstances the team was off and only had to report to work for things pertaining to the investigation so Naruto was able to leave once he was done with his questioning. When he got back to the house he saw Hinata in the kitchen doing the dishes.
With everything going on around him he never got the chance to actually sit back and look at how much his beautiful girlfriend had changed since they arrived in Virginia. It was also dawning on him that she was now approaching three months and they had yet to inform her parents.
The blonde approached his dark haired girlfriend and wrapped his arms around her, placing a small kiss on her neck.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
She turned her head to look into his eyes and he just sighed. "I've made these last couple of months all about me and I've made you put everything on hold. Buying a house…telling your parents about the baby."
Hinata placed the dishes back in the sink and turned to face him. "I planned on talking to you about it when you got back from this mission but then Buck happened and I didn't want to add more to your plate."
Naruto smirked. "You know Marcus gave me some advice awhile back. He told me that no matter how hard we try to separate our two worlds they will eventually collide. So we have to make sure things are good on both fronts to minimize collateral damage. I have been failing at that and I promise to get better."
"Nar-"
"I'm going to call the realtor and tell her to start the process, my bonus for completing SEAL training should hit soon. I also want you to reschedule dinner with your parents for this weekend."
Hinata looked at Naruto and smiled as she raised her hand to cup his chin, feeling the stubble that was beginning to grow.
"Your mother told me one of her favorite things about your father being in the teams was his beard. She said it made him look rough and gritty. I never understood what she meant by that until now."
The blonde laughed and his girlfriend placed a small kiss on his cheek. "I'll schedule dinner for next weekend, there's just too much going on right now it wouldn't feel right.
The SEAL nodded but Hinata gripped his chin harder. "But I'm telling them regardless if your there or not."
"I'll be there."
She nodded and the two shared a passionate kiss.
A few Days Later
Naruto had a somber look on his face as he sat next to Hinata at Buck's funeral. Originally he was originally going to wear their dress blues but apparently, Buck put in his will that he didn't want them to do that, something about wanting his boys to keep their gorgeous beards.
The blonde watched as his team leader gave a great eulogy on his fallen brother. Buck had been on the team for just over two years, one year under Rip and the last year under Marcus. This would be the first team member that Marcus lost while he was in command so he was taking it hard and everyone could tell that he was putting on a brave face for their sake.
Once everyone was done talking it was time for a SEAL tradition that Naruto wished he didn't have to partake in so soon. As the most decorated SEAL in attendance Minato was the first to step up. He removed a Special Warfare pin from his pocket, placed it on the casket, and slammed his hand down pinning the trident to the casket. One by one each SEAL in attendance walked up and repeated the process.
Buddha sighed as he tacked on his pin. "Vaya con Dios, amigo."
Fish kneeled before the casket and said a quick prayer in Arabic. "Indeed we belong to God, and to Him we shall return. I'll miss you, brother."
Caulder had a somber look as he put his pin down. "Till Valhalla."
Naruto gave a small smirk as he thought back to the short time that he spent with Buck and simply slammed his trident down.
Lastly, Marcus approached and let out a deep sigh before he repeated the process.
After the service, Minato and Kushina left and Hinata went to sit with Tammi while Naruto and his team stood outside in silence as their commander approached them.
"I got the rest of Bucks will here, and I'm, uh, gonna read it to you, and you can decide what to do with it."
He unfolded a piece of paper and began to read. "I, Beauregard Jefferson Davis Buckley, being of sound mind and…superlative body, in the event of getting killed, likely in heroic fashion…task my SEAL brothers with one final mission. They must shoot my bodily remains from a cannon at Malvern Hills Civil War battlefield. And make sure my daddy comes too, that son of a bitch."
Everyone laughed as only Buck would send them on a mission like this after his death.
Caulder smirked. "Well, we're gonna need a map."
Buddha laughed. "And a cannon, and tactical gear and NVG's."
Naruto shook his head. "They have a cannon. They shoot one off every year."
Marcus nodded as he pulled up the website on his phone. "Alright, boys let's do it."
Everyone nodded and split up as they all made their way to Marcus's house, who was holding the reception. When he got there he met Dharma, Caulder's daughter who was putting together a small tribute video for the fallen SEAL. For a few hours, everyone laughed and told stories recapping their favorite memories. Soon it was Naruto's turn to stand in front of everyone and say a few words.
"One thing I didn't know about Buckley was that he had this special affinity for something called NASCAR. And that his hair always had to be perfect. What I did know is that he is my brother."
The blonde turned to Buck's parents. "Sir, ma'am I am truly sorry for your loss."
After Naruto spoke Tammi tried to say a few words but broke down instead so they quickly played the video which ended with all of them singing country music and laughing.
As people began filtering out the team and Bucks father went to a bar not too far from the house and began prepping for their mission.
"Found it! Here it is. The cannon is near the hills. Big boom."
Naruto nodded and laughed a little as he finished another beer. "So why Melvin Hills?"
Buck's father looked up from his drink. "His great great grandaddy died there."
"Right the General. He told me about him."
Everyone nodded but the old man laughed. "Cullen? He was a Buck Private."
Everyone laughed harder and Tammi strolled into the bar, clearly just as drunk as them, holding a plastic bag.
"Having fun boys?"
She patted a random man on the back and he eyed her open and down as she turned back to the SEALs.
"Gentlemen, I have something for you."
She held up the bag and everyone instantly knew what it was. "It's my husband, good old Buck. Well some of him anyway. Fresh baked. Straight out of the oven."
Marcus took the bag from Tammi and gave her a sad smile. "We'll take care of him, Tammi. I promise."
Tears began to fall down Tammi's face. "Like you did over there? Huh, Marcus?"
The smile fell from Marcus's face and Fish tried to lead Tammi out of the bar.
"Hey come on lets get some fresh air."
The widow snatched her arm away. "Don't touch me. I have every right to be shit faced, same as all of you."
Tammi walked away and the man sitting next to them stood up.
"Hey. This lady can do whatever she wants."
Caulder got in the man's face. "Hey, this isn't any of your business, man."
The man looked as he was basically surrounded by the five SEALs but he refused to back down as he flashed the gun on his hip.
"This makes it my business."
This only made Caulder smirk. "A Glock? Really? Hey, Buddha how many people did you kill the other day?"
"Two."
"Fish, how about you?"
"One, from about two hundred meters away."
"Hell of a shot. Me, I killed three, for what, Uzumaki, twenty bucks an hour?"
"Well, given the travel time, we're looking at eighteen."
"See, we don't do it for the money. Neither did our buddy. See, he didn't die for money or you or whatever it is you wannabe GI Joes do for a living or the flag or the stock market. He died for us, and we'd die for him. We'd kill for him too."
The threat hung in the air and Buddha slapped some cash on the table.
"Don't worry about the beers, I got 'em."
The man his buddies glared at them but decided not to press their luck and left. Marcus placed a hand on Caulder's shoulder and the two simply nodded.
After leaving the bar it didn't take long for the team to find the cannon where they said one last farewell to their fallen brother.
Next Day
Naruto stumbled into his parent's house in the early hours of the morning where he found Hinata in the kitchen. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek.
"I love you."
"I love you too. Always."
The couple shared a kiss before Naruto went to the fridge and pulled out some frozen waffles.
"I'll tell you what. How about me and you cuddle up on the couch all day today and watch A Goofy Movie on repeat."
Hinata's eyes lit up at the mention of their shared favorite movie. "That sounds great babe but first you need a shower, you smell terrible."
The blonde could only smirk as he popped the waffles in the toaster and headed upstairs.
After his shower, Naruto stayed true to his word as he and Hinata laid on the couch watching the film. About halfway through the second time, Hinata began to doze off and Naruto would have as well had his father not barged in the room.
"Naruto, have you seen it?"
"Seen what?"
Minato grabbed the TV remote and put on the news. The blonde instantly recognized Taggart's face as the man stood in front of the Jihadi flag.
"My name is Richard Taggart and I am the face of America. Everything that I am about to tell you comes from my heart. For seventeen years I operated as a member of the Navy SEALS, the most elite special operations team in the world. On September 3rd, in Kunar Afghanistan, 2014, I murdered an unarmed American who had surrendered peacefully. I know now…excuse me this is very hard for me to admit. I know now that I was nothing more than a hired assassin who committed war crimes. To the rest of the world, rise up and fight America's war against innocent Muslims. To America, take back your own soul, your dream of justice and freedom. To my SEAL brothers look inside your hearts. Let your better nature, let the truth…let it shine through. It's not too late. I am proof of that."
And Done!