=Normal POV=
(Saturday, July 18, 2020-12 pm)
[Raseri House]
Troy was glad that Hayden decided to drop the grudge and forgive his friends and parents; it was good to see Hayden smiling so much again. Of course, Troy knew that what happened in 2018 would likely always bother his boyfriend, and make him hesitant. Troy was also sure that Hayden didn't fully trust any of them just yet, but was seeing how things went now that he'd said he would let things go. Troy was skeptical as well; the Haddock parents, twice before now had hurt Hayden after saying they wanted to make it up to their son. Either way, Troy supported Hayden's decisions entirely and would be there for him no matter what. Right now, everyone was in the living room while waiting for lunch to arrive. It got decided to just order pizza and everyone chip in a little towards it.
"How much longer is the tour, Hayden?" Tyler asked.
"We should be back sometime in February," Hayden replied.
"Right around the time you turn twenty-one! Won't that be awesome? We can go out and celebrate," Drew laughed.
"Yeah, only you. The others won't be of age yet, well, Troy could. His birthday is twenty days before mine," Hayden chuckled.
"All of us will be twenty-one by August," Avery stated. "Ry and Ty are last on the list," she smiled.
"Well, then after August 4th next year, we'll all go for drinks or something," Hayden responded.
"Sounds good to me," Troy gave Hayden a hug since Hayden was still in his lap.
"So it's been a while since we've all been in the same place on good terms…How are everyone's lives going?" Hayden question to his friends.
"I work for your mom and the shelter," Fisher smiled. "Hailey and I are dating, have been since Valentines Day 2019," he beamed as Hailey leaned her head on his shoulder.
"And if Fisher hurts my baby sister, I'll make his death look like an accident," Drew remarked.
Troy laughed. "Drew, might not be a wise idea to state you're going to commit a murder with not one, but two law enforcement officers present,"
"It would be pre-meditated murder, and land you in prison," Hayden and Troy said together. Then blinked while looking at one another. "How'd you know that?" once more, again they stated it at the same time. "Son of a cop," they replied in unison. Finally, the two laughed at what they did, then shared a kiss.
"You know what I mean; I'll kick his butt," Drew informed.
"That's assault," Hayden added. "How about you leave Fisher alone, and put your efforts into assisting Hailey in recovering from heartbreak,"
"I won't hurt her, so how about we stop worrying about it," Fisher mumbled.
"And back to the cop thing; it would be three officers because I'm one too," Avery pointed out.
"Good for you, Avery," Hayden smiled.
"Tyler and I took over managing Thorston Design Depot," Rylee enlightened.
"You always said you would. Parents retired?" Hayden asked.
"Yep!" Tyler nodded.
"Drew and I own Heavenly Day Spa. I do Cosmetology, Drew does Yoga and Massage," Hailey giggled.
"That's great," Hayden said.
"Oh, and I met someone. Her name is Miya Winger," Drew stated.
"I'm happy for you. How long you been together or not there yet?" Hayden inquired.
"We started dating in June, the first day of Summer on the 20th," Drew responded.
"Good for you man," Hayden looked at Shane. "You still working with your parents at Jorgenson Fitness as a trainer?"
"You know it!" Shane gave a thumbs up.
"Your father and I are still working," Vivian informed.
"Do you two do anything but?" Hayden chuckled.
"Good point," Spencer laughed a little. "So since we missed all of it; how was Marine Training?"
"You mean BC and ITB?" Troy asked.
"Um?" the group drew out.
"Boot Camp and Infantry Training Battalion. It was alright; long, hard, and tiring," Hayden stated calmly.
"And how did you make Staff Sergeant? That's a bit of a jump from Private," Shane mentioned.
"It was because I saved Troy's life during the training exercise in June 2019. Apparently, the Commander thought it deserved the promotion," Hayden shrugged.
"Oh, stop. You got that rank because you earned it, Hayden. Remember what I told you when we were all pinned down? You were given this position because of your ability to lead, protect, and make split-second decisions in a life or death situation. Even Bludvist told you that sometimes you gotta screw it and go with what feels right. The grenade line was brilliant, babe," Troy kissed his cheek.
"What? The flash, blast, and run idea? I was winging it! So many things could have-," Hayden started, but Troy stopped him.
"But they didn't. Hayden; you single-handedly saved thirty-two people. Do you understand that? We were pinned, comrades were hurt, our Lieutenant was out cold and needed a hospital. We had enemies closing in from in front and behind, plus high shooters from the rooftops. Your non-protocol, last resort idea saved the entire platoon and two other teams. Throwing a line of flash bombs, followed by grenades, then running through the smoke to reach the extraction point was genius. The point, Love, is that trusting your gut has never let you down, and gotten us out of a lot of tight places on the battlefield," Troy poked his stomach.
"Still don't feel like I should be the rank I am just because I ignore protocols," Hayden mumbled.
"It wasn't because of that, Hayden," Troy set Hayden next to him then went downstairs. Minutes later, Troy returned with a DVD; he put it in the player and switched the channel to AV. Troy pressed play and stepped back as the video started. It showed Hayden and Troy on the mountainside, talking about how Hayden's gut was telling him it didn't feel safe, then Troy falling to the smaller ledge. Everyone got to see when the ledge started breaking apart, and Hayden went down himself and grabbed Troy; securing him to the rig right before it gave away. The video cut as Hayden and Troy reached the rest of the group. "It's because of your ability to feel when something isn't right and take whatever action you have to use to save someone or many,"
Hayden looked at his boyfriend now as Troy pulled Hayden to his feet, and smiled. "You broke protocol to get me yourself because it was all you could do to save my life. You did the right thing, the right way, for the right reason. And that, Love, is what we Marines live by," Troy drew Hayden against his figure and kissed him passionately. Afterward, when Hayden's face was totally flushed from the action, Troy chuckled. "You have this rank because you earned it and fulfill the duties it calls for perfectly,"
"Fine, I believe you. And where did you get that clip?" Hayden asked.
"Forest cams were going while all of us were on the exercise. Bludvist gave me a copy when I asked for it because I wanted the memory of the day you saved my life," Troy kissed Hayden's lips once more, then again and again in smaller ones. Someone's phone started ringing as everyone started checking, and it ended up being Hayden's.
"It's Commander Bludvist," Hayden stated, a little surprised.
"We're on leave, ignore him," Troy stated while kissing Hayden's neck in the spot that made his knees buckle.
"N-Not there! You know what it does!" Hayden screeched trying to push Troy away while the man was laughing a bit. "You know I can't-," Troy kissed his lips again. "Would you stop?" Hayden giggled a little. "Troy, I have to answer him," Reluctantly, Troy stopped and just held his boyfriend. Hayden accepted the call and put it to his ear. "Haddock here," he greeted with a smile. "Commander Bludvist, how are-," Hayden stopped as his smile slowly faded away to seriousness.
"What's wrong?" Troy asked. Hayden put his hand up so he could listen. Finally, Hayden's eyes closed slowly, and he sighed.
"You should already know who, Commander. I'll be ready by the time it arrives," Hayden replied as he pulled the phone down and ended the call.
"Lad, what's happening?" Gabriel stood up now.
"I have to go back now," Hayden said quietly. Troy's eyes widened.
"We have leave for another week; he can't just call us-," Troy began.
"Not us, Troy. Just me," Hayden pulled away from him. "I have to pack," he quickly walked away leaving Troy in shock, not understanding what was going on. Nobody knew what to say or do; it was a surprise to everyone how fast things changed. Hayden got back upstairs after ten minutes; fully dressed in his ACU with the two bags.
"Bludvist can't just call you back a week early," Troy stated after he recovered.
"Emergency situation," Hayden sighed.
"What situa-," Troy started. "This is the only leave we get until the end of the tour. There couldn't be possibly be something bad enou-," he tried. "He can't do this; fight it,"
"Troy!" Hayden said to get him to stop talking. "It's not Bludvist doing it!...I'm being ordered back by Archipelago Islands Military Headquarters. Commander Bludvist was just relaying the information, but I have no choice," Hayden lowered his head a bit, eyes closed. "It's my job to lead Inferno Platoon,"
"No, it's Kristopher's. You're only his second in command, but he's-." Troy began.
"Dead, Troy," Hayden said in a grim tone as Troy's eyes widened.
"W-What?" Troy asked.
"Lieutenant Kristopher Hunters was killed in action after an RPG strike during a routine patrol. So were Privates Tucker Wayver and Sydney Ostberg. Hunters' body couldn't be recovered, but the other two were found. Sydney was already gone, Tucker died at the Combat Hospital in surgery an hour later," Hayden kept his head down. "And I'm being called back to take over Inferno as the Platoon Leader at the rank of Second Lieutenant,"
Troy's eyes widened in shock, so did a lot of others. "Th-They promoted you right to 2nd LT?"
Hayden nodded. "And you just took my place as Staff Sergeant. You're still on leave until the 26th, but I have to go back now to take over for Inferno. There's a chopper on its way to take me right to Fort Archian to ship out with another small deployment batch; a group put together to start filling in spots of companies who are below the minimum allowance," he informed.
"When did…Hunters pass?" Troy asked.
"Friday at 0300 hours…I told you at 1520 that Thursday right before we started making out that I felt like something was wrong. I said something had happened or was going to happen. And I was right…" Hayden looked at Troy as there were tears threatening to fall from his eyes. Was Hayden about to cry? "I-I shouldn't have ignored it; I should have checked in…Warned them I felt like something would happen…" Troy pulled Hector into a tight embrace.
"You couldn't have-," Troy tried.
"But I did! I felt like something wasn't right and left it alone. I-I didn't trust my gut, and now Kris, Syd, and Tuck are dead," Hayden held into the front of Troy's shirt.
"Hayden," Troy pushed Hayden back a little and stared into his eyes. "It is not your fault. Do you understand me? Not. Your. Fault. Okay? Yes, you got a feeling something was off but even warning them about that would not have changed the outcome. An RPG still would have hit, and we'd still be right where we are now. You get feelings, but you can't see the future. You couldn't have known what would happen yesterday," Troy leaned in and kissed Hayden gently then used his thumb to wipe away a falling tear. Hayden nodded, blinking away the remaining tears. "When is the chopper coming?"
"Ten or so minutes," Hayden replied.
"Then I've got time," Troy said.
"Time? F-For what?" Hayden asked.
"To pack and go with you," Troy informed as Hayden's eyes widened in shock.
"What? Troy, no. You still have a week left, and you weren't ordered back. It's a different-," Hayden began.
"Hayden, shut up. There is no different situation here, alright? Hunters is gone, and you're moving up into his position because you were his second, right? Well, I'm your best friend, boyfriend, and now, I'm your second in command. I promised you that no matter what; you would not be alone and I will always have your back. So if you have to go back and face this, then I will too," Troy said leaving Hayden wholly taken back and moved by Troy's words.
"That's our boy," Dustin and Rachel smiled. It was clear to the others that while this wasn't an ideal situation, and Troy was giving up an extra week with his family to stay by Hayden's side; Cole, Dustin, and Rachel were supporting Troy's decision entirely.
"Let's go raise some Hell and show those enemies that they shouldn't have fucked with Marines of the Archipelago Islands," Troy brought his hand up. Hayden grinned and connected his to Troy's as they hugged one another, then shared a kiss. After that, Hayden went with Troy downstairs while he packed up to leave.
. . .
Nobody could say anything, and at the same time; they were proud to say they knew two Marines who literally stayed together through anything and everything. Fifteen minutes after all that happened, a helicopter hovered over the front yard of the Raseri Household. Hayden and Troy said goodbye to everyone and made their way outside as the rest followed.
"We'll call when we land and get resettled!" Hayden and Troy yelled over the noise. Someone slid the chopper door open, then dropped a rope ladder down. Troy started up it first and climbed in, quickly taking off his bags and going to the edge to help Hayden. Less than five minutes later; the helicopter took off towards Archia Isle.