=Troy's POV=
(Wednesday, July 31, 2019)
I could honestly say that I loved being in a relationship dating wise with Hayden. Of course, we weren't at a love stage between us, but we definitely enjoyed being a couple. It's been two weeks as of yesterday that I asked Hayden out, and I had no doubts he would say yes. I knew Hayden wanted us to be together, and things were going so well on the dates, and still being the best of friends regardless of the like feelings for one another; I decided to just make it official. There was literally no reason that we shouldn't. Hayden and I started off as friends, but when weren't we together? For Odin's sake, Hayden has been living with me since last October, and we share a bedroom. At training; Hayden and I stayed next to one another in the barrack. Our friendship is what made dating so great because we had the time in to learn about another. Hayden and I had no secrets, so nothing has changed except that we're dating where we hold hands, hug a little more often, and share short kisses. Other than that, no difference in what we do. Hayden and I still game, watch movies, or TV. We continue to eat dinner with my family, share the bedroom, and hang out; only it's just us going on dates once or twice a week. And even though we're a couple, we're still best friends who have each other's backs. I was actually pretty confident that this could work out fine for us, but hey, it's only been two weeks, so we'll see where it goes. I know that I'm happy where I'm at right now, and Hayden is too because that smile on his face is genuine.
After Hayden and I got together at the park; we walked around and talked for a bit before returning to my house. My parents seeing Hayden and I sitting together on the couch with our hands linked got them all excited, so we told them the truth that Hayden and I were dating. Not long after, Gabriel had been informed too because Hayden messaged him. Needless to say; the adults made a vast deal and ordered pizza for dinner so we could celebrate. It was odd, but it was a fun party nevertheless. Thankfully, Gabriel and my parents didn't find ways to embarrass us or make it awkward. Our relationship wasn't exactly typical because most couples would date while living apart, but Hayden resided in the Raseri Home, but that is fine because we had time to see how it was living together as friends. Once more, dating didn't change this. Hayden and I won't do anything significant like make out or have sex until we see where this goes, and we both discussed that later on after the party ended. For now, we're just taking it slow and seeing where things headed on their own as time passed. At the moment, we're still waiting to find out what's going on with our job since we still haven't been stationed; truthfully, it was a bit concerning that here we were a month later, and haven't been informed of anything as of yet.
"Do you think it's odd that we haven't been stationed yet?" Hayden asked out of the blue while we were watching a movie on the PS4(PlayStation 4).
"I was just thinking about that myself," I replied nodding.
"And here they said a few weeks," Hayden chuckled.
"Well, it's fine with me because they're basically paying us twice a month to do nothing," I reminded with a smile.
"Won't complain about that," Hayden agreed. "Did they ever say how we would get notified?"
"I assume a phone call because they wouldn't send that type of information out in an e-mail," I shrugged.
"Definitely not. What do you think the hold up was?" Hayden wondered curiously.
"Hard to say. Hunters said it was some discrepancy in orders that they had to sort out and would let us know soon. I wonder if they were just looking for a place to put us. I mean; we're trained for combat situations, so I guess we don't do much except train and prepare for possible deployment," I informed calmly.
"Hypothetically speaking; how would that go for us?" Hayden looked at me now.
"What? If we got deployed?" I arched a brow.
Hayden nodded to him. "I know we go and do our jobs, but we're more than comrades; we're best friends and lovers. How does that work while overseas?"
"If I had to take a guess; I don't think the Marines mind us dating as long as we're not neglecting our duties. And we probably can't go crazy with public displays of affection," I mentioned as a mere assumption, but I did wonder the same thing. In things I've seen; men and women can be dating, engaged, or married while serving in the same branch or separate ones. I don't imagine it would be any different for Hayden and me. Suddenly, both of our cell phones sounded at the same time. Hayden and I sat up, blinking, but reached for our phones to see them both coming up with a call from; Restricted.
"What are the chances that this is Commander Bludvist?" Hayden asked. A second later, Hayden slid his icon to green to accept the call as I did the same thing.
"Hello?" Hayden and I said at the same time.
. . .
[Fort Archian]
=Normal POV=
(Friday, August 2, 2019-7 am)
The Alpha Company was lined in their proper formation as soon as everyone had arrived. Currently, roll call was being done to make sure there weren't any late arrivals. The phone call Troy and Hayden both got on the 31st of July had been an automated message from Commander Donovan Bludvist for just the Alpha Company to come to Fort Archian this morning and everyone was to arrive no later than 0700 hours. As such; they all did precisely as ordered.
"All present and accounted for?" Donovan inquired to his six Platoon Leaders.
"Yes, Commander Bludvist!" the six replied firmly while standing slightly off to the side of their Platoon.
"First off; I'd like to thank you all for coming on such short notice. Secondly, I apologize for how long this has taken. Lastly; I do have your stationing orders. Before I give them; I'd like for you to know that the next two weeks are going to be hectic, and you get one day at home to grab your things, then one more to say goodbye to your families," at this information, the Warriors were getting a bit nervous. "The Alpha Company is being deployed." It was what everyone had feared when the group call went out to one hundred and forty-eight people at the same time only two days ago. "Your Platoon Leaders will finish relaying the details and you can direct all your questions to them,"
"Commander, would you like us to send the twelve you requested?" Kristopher asked.
"Yes. I want them in my office within fifteen minutes," Donovan nodded.
"Understood, sir," the Platoon Lieutenants saluted, then Donovan walked away to his quarters.
"Inferno Platoon, into A1 Barrack!" Kristopher ordered.
"Even the girls?" Madison questioned quickly.
"Yes," Kristopher stated. Without an argument, the twenty-four Warriors of Inferno Platoon made their way into the A1 Barrack.
. . .
[A1 Barrack]
"Here's the deal, Marines; we're deploying to Syria," Kristopher informed as the Marines tried to remain calm, and let the information sit for a few moments.
"When do we leave?" asked Tucker.
"Two weeks on August 16th," Kristopher stated. "You will get to leave here at 1300 hours to go home and collect your ACU's, and some personals. Tablets, chargers, laptops, pictures, etc. This will be your time to inform your loved ones about the deployment, but you are expected back here the following morning for 0600 hours,"
"How long is the deployment?" Eira inquired.
"Eighteen months," Kristopher responded.
"Where are we departing from?" Kody wondered.
"Right here at Fort Archian; using our airfield for transport to Aleppo, Syria. And we won't be there the entire time; nine months in, we'll be moving to the capital, Damascus for the remainder of the tour," Kristopher stated.
"What time do we need to be here?" Stacy questioned next.
"You need to be here the night before. We'll give you the 14th at home; you can leave here at 1800 hours that day, but you return to Fort Archian for 1600 hours on the 15th. You will be here overnight, and at 0500 hours on the 16th, we're going from the Archipelago to Syria," Kristopher enlightened.
"What do we have to do for preparations?" Seymour asked.
"You will help to prepare anything we're transporting, receiving your field gear, packing up, some training, and examinations; both mental and physical to make sure you're ready for war," Kristopher said.
"Are we staying in our assigned Platoons?" Grant pondered.
"Yes. The entire Alpha Company is going, and everyone a part of it. However, there will be a few changes, and on that note; Wilde and Haddock," Kristopher called as Seymour and Hayden stepped forward and saluted. "You two are requested in Commander Donovan's office, on the double,"
"Sir, yes sir!" Hayden and Seymour replied with another salute, then they hurried out to reach their destination.
. . .
(August 2, 2019-12:40 pm)
Troy didn't understand why Hayden and Seymour had to see the commander, but it had to be a serious matter. Hours had passed while the Inferno Platoon were just sitting around in the A1 Barrack, trying to settle with the new that in two weeks, they would be on their way to Syria for an eighteen-month deployment. The girls were still in there too, but they had just returned from lunch. Finally, the door opened as Seymour and Hayden walked inside.
"Talk about information overload," Seymour sighed.
"You're telling me," Hayden muttered with his eyes closed. Not more than a moment later before anyone could ask what it was all about, Kristopher came in.
"I trust you two have been well informed and understand the situation?" Kristopher asked them.
"Yes, Lieutenant Hunters," Hayden and Seymour saluted.
"Good. And with that taken care of; you are all dismissed. Report back at 0600 tomorrow," Kristopher commanded.
"Sir, yes sir!" the Warriors replied firmly with a group salute. Kristopher nodded, and left the barrack as everyone began to pack up and go quickly as they did not have a lot of time to inform families and friends before needed to return tomorrow morning. Nobody even questioned why Hayden and Seymour had been gone for almost six hours. Troy, though, wanted to know because the look on his boyfriend's face didn't look promising. Troy made his way over to Hayden.
"What happened in Commander Bludvist's office, Hayden?" Troy asked.
"Can we…Not talk about it right now? I-I will tell you; I just…Need a little time to process it all, if that's okay?" Hayden requested.
"Of course," Troy nodded. Troy knew Hayden pretty well, and if Hayden was saying he needed some time; the whatever happened was big and impacted Hayden directly. "Come on, let's get home and let everyone know the news," Hayden only nodded in response as he and Troy left the barrack to get to the bus. It would take them from Fort Archian to the transportation center so they could return to Berk and tell the Raseri's and Gabriel that in two weeks; they were going to be deploying to Syria.
. . .
[Berk; Raseri Home]
(6:30 pm)
After getting back to Berk, Hayden still didn't talk about what took place at Fort Archian. Hayden went right to the bathroom for a hot shower while Troy wondered what could have happened to make him like this. As the hours passed, Hayden ended up falling asleep once laying on his bed and he remained knocked out until 5:45 pm when Troy woke up him for dinner, though, he admitted to not having much of an appetite. However, Hayden still came upstairs to join the family. Dustin and Rachel knew right away that something was wrong.
"Hayden? You've barely touched your spaghetti and meatballs. Are you not feeling well?" Rachel asked.
"Hm? No, I'm okay, Mrs. Raseri. I just got a lot on my mind," Hayden informed.
"Does it have to do with why you two were called to Fort Archian two days ago?" Dustin questioned.
"Yes," Hayden nodded. "You want to tell them, Troy? I have to call Gabriel,"
"I'll tell them; you call your uncle," Troy replied.
"Thanks," Hayden excused himself from the table and went downstairs.
. . .
[Haddock Household]
Gabriel decided to visit his friends. Regardless of how they hurt Hayden, Gobber wouldn't just end the friendships with two people he'd known since Middle School.
"Have you…Heard from Hayden at all?" Vivian decided to ask after a few minutes of silence.
"Actually, I haven't heard from the lad in a few days. I assume he's bu-," Gabriel started and then his phone started ringing. Gabriel pulled it out and looked at the caller. Hayden, and he wanted to video chat too. "Oh, there he is,"
"We'll be quiet, but see if maybe he'll speak with us?" Spencer questioned. Gabriel nodded as he started the call and smiled when he saw Hayden's face come up.
"Hey, kiddo. Been a couple of days. Is everything okay?" Gabriel inquired. Hayden didn't say anything at first; it appeared he was looking at something.
{Let me guess; you're at my parent's house, aren't you?}
Gabriel laughed nervously. "What makes you-," he started.
{Uncle Gabe, literally in no mood tonight. Are you there or not?}
Gabriel sighed. "Yes, I am," This time, Hayden sighed with his eyes closed. "Lad, what's wrong?"
{Got my orders. I'm deploying to Syria for eighteen months. You can tell them, and to avoid the inevitable fight I sense coming; I'm gonna go. I'll give you the details later. Love you, Uncle Gabriel.} Seconds later before Spencer or Vivian could say a word about the information revealed; Hayden ended the call. Spencer and Vivian's eyes widened as they looked at Gabriel in shock, and maybe fear. Gabriel closed his eyes.
"I guess he doesn't care if you know or not anymore, but now you do. Hayden is an Archipelago Islands Marine," Gabriel informed.