"It’s not fair," you sniffled, trying to stay composed but failing at it miserably.

"Don’t say that, babe." He your messy hair. You clung onto him tighter as he snuggled closer into your shoulder and sighed deeply. The both of you were still lightheaded from the night.

You couldn’t help but let a tear out though. “Why do you have to leave so soon?" It hurt a lot more now than it did when you got the news that your husband was going to be deployed. You had seen it coming and had taken it like a true soldier until now. Now you wanted to cry and hold onto him forever and never let him go.

He gave a light laugh as his hands grazed up your sides. “You would say that even if I leave ten years from now."

You clutched to the planes of his and whimpered, “I know…"

Finally, he rose up and kissed your cheeks before wiping away the tears with his thumb. “Two years, babe. Two years and I’ll never leave ever again."

You nodded merely because it hurt too much to speak. You could barely handle being away from your husband for a week, how were you supposed to bear two years without him?

"Go to sleep," he said with a kiss on your forehead. He heaved a sigh and rolled to the side. His arm came out and pulled you flush against him. “I’m going to miss this," he added softly.

You couldn’t fall asleep anymore, no matter how exhausted you were. You wanted to stay awake and spend every waking second with him. You wanted to study the way his lips moved as he murmured in his sleep. You wanted to remember how his chest would rise quickly before every sleepy sigh.

But his low snoring soon lulled you to a slumber. You pressed even closer to him, if that was possible, and let sleep take over.

-

There were a lot of tears here. You looked around and saw some resilient fathers who refused to cry. You remembered you had told yourself to be like them. You wanted to be strong for your husband but it was hard seeing him in his uniform, ready to leave.

You looked to the sky and took a deep breath just as your daughter pulled on the collar of your blouse. She was only a year and a half old and probably didn’t understand this moment.

Then again, maybe she did. She looked fearful, as if she knew something was going to happen.

"Don’t worry, baby. Two years and then your daddy will never leave us, all right?" Your voice cracked at the end and you realized that tears pricked at your eyes even as you repeated your husband’s words. You bit your quivering lip and stared absently at your daughter’s hand, trying to pull yourself together.

The soldiers were getting talks from their superiors and you took that time to walk away from the crowd. Even though lots of family members were crying hard, you didn’t feel comfortable crying with them.

You wished this would end already so you could go home and cry your eyes out on the bed.

Your child’s laughter from your shoulder made you snap out of your sadness just as arms s around your waist. You tried to turn around to find out who it was but your husband held you close against his chest and rested his chin on your other shoulder.

"She ruined the surprise," he joked, pulling you close. “Why are you all the way here?"

You swallowed the lump in your throat and pried one hand free to wipe your eyes. “I’m having mother-daughter bonding time."

You could feel the laugh he made as the three of you swayed gently from side to side. “You’ll have lots of time for that when I’m gone."

"Babe…" you rubbed his hand as you tried to pull away. “I’m going to miss you."

"I know. I’ll miss you, too." He turned you around and gave you a little kiss. “But once I come back, we’re going to spend every minute with each other, okay?"

Your daughter tried to grab your husband’s nose as he leaned in for another kiss. A giggle bubbled out when he gave her a dry expression.

"And, if I’m right in guessing how much we’ll miss each other, we’re probably going to make a lot of siblings for her, aren’t we?"

You rested your head against his shoulder and sighed as his kisses fell to your neck. “I’ll look forward to it."

He lifted a finger and pulled back the collar of your shirt until your collarbone was exposed. He probably would’ve kept going if your daughter didn’t hit him on the head.

Your husband came up with a confused look and furrowed eyebrows. “She doesn’t seem to want those siblings just yet."

"She knows we’re in public, Mr. Manners," you scolded, bringing your shirt collar back where it belonged.

He stopped your hand and forced you to bend your head to the side. You were fortunate that everybody else was busy with their own families because you couldn’t hide the moan that came out as his lips led your skin.

He harder and harder until you knew he was marking you.

"Babe," you whispered when he finally calmed and was only trailing butterfly kisses along your jaw. “You’ll remember to call every week, right?"

He stood up straight and leaned his forehead against yours as he broke into a smile. “Way to kill the mood," he murmured after giving a sure nod.

"You didn’t have to do that, you know." You covered the would-be hickeys as best you could when you pulled your collar back up.

"My men are congratulating me on the woman I managed to marry. I don’t want to lose you."

"You won’t." You stood on your tippy toes and gave him a soft and lingering kiss. “Two years, remember?"

He sighed heavily and closed his eyes. “Two years too long," he muttered before pulling away and turning to your daughter who was intrigued by your husband’s badges. “She’ll probably forget who I am."

"She won’t, I’ll make sure of it."

A sad smile appeared on his face and he kissed his daughter on the nose. “Don’t forget me, honey, and make sure your mommy doesn’t forget I love the both of you."

He pulled the two of you in a hug just as one of his men called him over. “I’ll see you later, babe," you said in a muffled voice.

He bowed after pulling away. “I’ll see you soon, babe."

Unable to play with his badges, your daughter began crying when your husband disappeared into the crowd. You held her tight in an attempt to control your own emotions.

Two years.

—-

sorry if i don’t have the military facts right (do you get to see the men once in a while??) and umm idkkkkkkk how do you guys feel about leaving your loved ones for two years? like i’d be devastated omfg. my dad had to leave for a week-long work trip aND I WAS SOBBING MY EYES OUT HOLY ;A;