Here we go! It was hard to write this emotionally, but I hope it works out for the readers! Enjoy! (And maybe have a box of tissues nearby...)
Mira held onto Baxium as soon as he shut off his alarm. It was far too early for him to be waking up, but he hadn't packed his things the night before and it needed to be done early. "Five more minutes," Mira grumbled. He felt her squeezing him and could only smile as he wrapped his arms around her bare body.
"I think I can do five more minutes," he agreed as he kissed the top of her head. Neither could think too much about what would be happening in only a few hours time or they'd have a tear fest on their hands.
It wasn't long before his second alarm went off and urged him to leave the warm embrace of his lover. Her protests made it hard to get out of bed, but his duty could not wait. "I'm sorry, love, I gotta pack."
"I know," she sighed as she watched him leave the bed. She covered herself with the blanket and fought off the drowsiness from her very few hours of sleep. Neither one knew what to say in their short time left with one another, they simply just wanted to stay close together in the safety of his bed.
The base where most Triceratons were leaving from was packed with people who were saying goodbye to their friends and loved ones. Baxium found his brother and family waiting, and not far from them were Traximus and the turtles.
"Oh, I see you're still with your human girlfriend?" Baxium's father greeted. "How nice of you to see our son off."
"Khellar," Baxium's mother interrupted as she nudged him with her elbow. "Apologies, Mira, he's a bit grumpy today."
"Of course I am!" he responded. "Those Federation wannabes are trying to intimidate us! Triceratons! And we're sending our boys away to fight in a pointless battle over nothing. The least they could do is give us more warning."
Minjeck looked at his brother with a concerned expression. "Don't you think it's weird that they're trying to get us all up there so soon? I mean I'm not gonna go against orders or anything, but this is a good way to get us all in one place."
"And we're not the only ones who think so," Khellar added on. "There are plenty of others saying the same thing, and even more are saying that they won't go until there have been attacks. This all seems pointless right now."
"Well surely, they aren't calling for every Triceraton soldier on Earth," Baxium replied. "There are a lot of us stationed in the city, so I can see how it would seem like a lot of us being called back, but if it's only the New York factions then I'm not sure your concerns are necessary. Besides, our own commanding officers are not so foolish as to have us conveniently in one location without a plan or high security."
"You may be right, but something still feels off about the timing of all of this," Baxium's mother, Jinux added.
"Well, if Traximus hasn't said anything yet, I'm not going to be worried," Baxium said, nodding to the ambassador.
Mira wasn't so sure about the timing either, though she didn't feel confident enough to join in the conversation. She noticed Raph and Traximus talking in the distance and felt the urge to join them. Though she didn't want to leave Baxium until he was going off into space, she felt out of place with his family.
"Whatever is going on," Jinux said as she brought her hands up to the faces of her sons. "Stay safe, and come home soon."
Mira couldn't help but smile at her display of motherly affection. It wasn't something one witnessed very often, Triceratons being so affectionate. But then again, Baxium was just as affectionate with her.
"We will, mom," Minjeck said, smiling though he pushed her away. Baxium returned her affection with a one-armed hug.
"We will return before long," Baxium said. "I'm sure this will just be an excuse to get us to do more training anyway."
"I just worry about you boys, just like I worried about your father during his time serving," she continued as she returned to Khellar's side.
"They'll be fine, Jin, they'll come home before we know it and the Triceraton army will look like idiots to the rest of the universe."
Jinux hit his arm and they continued to argue about what was going on as Baxium turned to Mira.
"Sorry, you know how they can be by now," he said quietly as he pulled her into a hug with a big hand on her back.
Mira giggled as she felt his breath on her neck. "It's fine," she replied as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I feel the same way, though. You better come back safe and sound."
Baxium pulled away with a reassuring smile. "Of course, love. I'll be home in no time."
"Good. Cuz I'm gonna worry about you until I see you back on this planet in one piece," Mira said firmly.
Baxium smiled as an announcement played overhead, prompting the soldiers to make their way to their aircrafts.
"Well, off you go then," Khellar instructed, wrapping an arm around Minjeck as Baxium embraced Mira one last time.
"I love you," Baxium said softly in Mira's ear, nuzzling her one last time.
"I love you too," she replied, fighting back the tears in her eyes as she kissed him.
Baxium's family watched as they finished their strange display of affection and Baxium turned to embrace his parents.
"We'll be home soon, right Minjeck?"
"Right." Minjeck nodded with a smile and the brothers said their final goodbyes before heading to their stations.
As Mira was left alone with his family, she wiped her eyes before anyone could notice she was crying. She just watched Baxium leave with his brother.
"You do really love our son, don't you Mira?" Jinux asked with a small smile.
Mira blushed heavily as she glanced at her. She nodded in confirmation, but didn't feel like talking much.
"I have never seen him so happy with someone," she added. "I hope you are just as happy."
Khellar agreed with a firm nod. "Even though you're no Triceraton, I have never seen him as happy with anyone else. You had better be waiting for him with us when he returns," he added with another nod.
"Of course," Mira said. Baxium's parents nodded, satisfied with her response. They turned to watch as their sons stood waiting to board their designated aircrafts.
Mira jumped as a hand clamped onto her shoulder. When she turned to the source, she saw Raph standing next to her. "How ya doin?" he asked, glancing at her before turning back to where Traximus was boarding.
She sighed, shaking off his hand. "My boyfriend is going off to potentially fight in a war, and there's so much about this that's suspicious, so, you know. I'm okay all things considered." She wiped her eyes again as more tears threatened to fall.
Raph nodded as he put his hands into his jacket pockets. "Yeah, Traximus couldn't tell me much but it is a little weird everyone's being called off like this." He looked at her face, seeing the worry though she tried to hide it. "But don't worry. Everyone's on high alert and Traximus won't let anything happen to these guys."
"Yeah," Mira said absentmindedly as she watched Baxium disappear into the aircraft. Her heart ached as though there was a short string connecting them and the distance between them was growing too great to manage. She wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the door, hoping he would come back out.
"Mira," Baxium's mother said as a large, gentle hand was placed on her back. Mira turned to look at her, surprised. "We're going to meet up with friends, but don't hesitate to contact me if you need to." As Jinux handed her a paper, Mira looked at the phone number written down. Jinux was already heading to another place in the crowd with her husband when she looked back up.
"Nice folks, huh?" Raph asked. Mira looked back at the paper and put it in her pocket as she nodded.
Raph stood with her as the aircraft doors closed, and the engines turned on. Guards began pushing the civilians back as the aircrafts prepared to take off. Without Baxium's parents nearby, Mira welcomed Raph's comforting hand around her shoulders. She continued to fight back the tears that threatened to fall as the aircrafts began taking off, one by one.
Mira didn't expect to feel so much emotion as Baxium was pulled away from her, but as the string that connected them strained and stretched, the tears fell fast and quietly.
Raph pulled her into an embrace when he noticed her crying, though he knew she'd hate if he said anything about it. She continued to hide her face in his jacket as the sounds of aircrafts faded into the sky.
"C'mon," Raph said as the crowd began clearing out. "I'll take ya home."
While Raph and Mira cleared out of the crowd, Baxium sat across from his brother as they prepared to enter Homeworld for the first time in a while. "You gonna miss her?" Minjeck asked.
Baxium smiled. "Yeah," he said with a nod. "More than you know."
"I really didn't think you'd get so serious with this one," his brother continued. "What makes her so special?"
Baxium shrugged. "It's hard to explain... She understands me in more ways than anyone's ever tried to before, you know? The things about us that make us different don't feel like problems, or stuff to overcome. It feels like when you put a bunch of different ingredients into something and instead of being weird or inedible, its the most delicious thing you've ever eaten. ...Did that make sense?" he looked up at his brother, who was trying to process what he was just told.
"I think so... Why do you always have to explain things with food references?"
"I thought it was beautiful," the Triceraton sitting beside Baxium chimed in with a laugh. "Where'd you find that, the rejection pile of Hallmark Cards?"
Baxium and Minjeck made eye contact before Baxium rolled his eyes. "You got me."
As the others continued talking and joking, Baxium stared at his hands, recalling how only hours before Mira's hands were joined with them. He'd be home soon, he knew it. He just didn't want to wait.
Well! You're welcome!