The call came on Blaine's phone at 6am on a Thursday morning, waking both him and Kurt from their sleep. They both looked at each other with defeat in their eyes, they knew who was calling before Blaine even looked at the screen. Sighing, Blaine reached over to his bedside table and answered.

"Hello?" he asked, sounding official once more, "Yes sir. Yes I understand sir. Ok, thank you sir,"

"When?" Kurt asked.

"Wednesday," Blaine said quietly as he put his phone back on the table and rolled back over to curl into Kurt's side, "I thought that the last one was the last one," he whispered into Kurt's chest.

"I know sweetie, I know," Kurt spoke softly into Blaine's hair and he wrapped his arms tightly around his husband.

It would be the fifth time since they started dating when they were sixteen, that Kurt would have to farewell Blaine at the airport as he was deployed to another war ridden country in the Middle East; the longest tour lasting eighteen months, and the shortest only eight months.

Blaine always knew that he wanted to join the army. He never told Kurt until after they had both graduated high school, but Kurt had always known. He knew that Blaine dreamed of something bigger than college, something where he felt useful and like he was making a difference. Kurt knew that it was in Blaine's nature to help people, so he wasn't going to be the person that held Blaine back when he confessed that he was going to enlist. Kurt had been supportive and so proud of Blaine.

He had cried when Blaine first left for basic training, and cried again when he returned home, happy to have Blaine back in his grasp, if only for a little while. It was a week later when Blaine got the call saying he would be deployed to the Middle East the following week, for at least twelve months. Both boys held each other that night, trying to get as much physical contact with each other before Blaine would have to leave.

He cried again when Blaine came back from base after picking up his gear, his hair gone and his uniform and military issued bag over his shoulder. Kurt spent the night with Blaine wrapped in his arms while his fingers ran over Blaine's bare scalp, only a few short bristles remaining on top.

Now at 27, and having already completed four previous tours, Kurt still found it hard to process the news.

-

Their week played out like any other week before Blaine had to fly out. A lot more kisses and ‘I love yous' were shared; trying to fit a year's worth of love into one week. The phone would never stop ringing, people calling to wish Blaine luck and say goodbye. Their friends and family knew now to call instead of stop in; they knew that this week was for Kurt and Blaine to spend time with each other, rather than trying to entertain various guests.

However, there was always one day which remained the same, a tradition if you will, before Blaine flew out.

It was Monday, two days before Blaine flew out. Kurt woke before Blaine, taking the time to lay there and watch his husband sleep, knowing that he wouldn't be able to that for at least the next twelve months. It was nearing eight it the morning and Kurt knew that he had to wake Blaine soon, Blaine preferred to get today over and done with, so it didn't give him time to think about it.

He moved quietly towards Blaine and planted a soft kiss against his forehead.

"Wake up sweetheart," he whispered softly; Blaine's eyes beginning to move behind his eyelids, "It's time to wake up," Kurt smiled softly down at Blaine as he opened his eyes. Blaine pushed himself up on his elbows to press his lips against Kurt's, letting out an annoyed whimper when Kurt pulled away and moved off of the bed.

 "Come on," Kurt said to Blaine as he held his hand out for Blaine to take, leading them both into their master bathroom. Kurt switched on the shower and they began to undress each other slowly, drinking each other in as another pyjama item was removed. Kurt pulled Blaine under the spray of the shower and planted a soft kiss on his forehead before moving to grab the shampoo bottle. Blaine let out a low hum in response to Kurt pushing his fingers through his hair for the last time. He would miss this, and he knew that Kurt would miss it too. He would miss the way Kurt's fingers pushed his hair aside as he moved the shampoo around, he would miss Kurt tugging on his curls, knowing his sweet spots, he would just miss the feeling of Kurt's fingers getting lost in his hair, ultimately he knew he would just miss Kurt.

All too soon the water was shut off and Kurt was handing Blaine a towel, drying them both off before retreating back into their bedroom to get changed. Blaine tugged on a pair of jeans and a navy shirt that read ARMY across the front. Kurt's gave him a sad smile as he pressed a kiss against Blaine's cheek and grabbed the car keys, leading the way out to the garage. Blaine got in the passenger seat as Kurt switched the car on, pulling out of their drive and making the all too familiar trip into town. Not ten minutes later they were pulling into the parking lot. Kurt shut the car off and turned to face Blaine, reaching over the centre console to cup Blaine's cheek with his palm.

"I love you," he whispered and he leant forwards and placed a kiss on Blaine's lips. It was simple but sweet.

"I love you," Blaine replied just as quietly when Kurt pulled away.

They both got out of the car, took each other's hands and Blaine held the door open for Kurt as he stepped into the shop. Thankfully Monday morning's were always quiet and the shop was empty, save for the man standing behind the counter. He, Steven, looked up at the sound of the door opening and recognition filled his eyes.

"Not again?" he asked, sadness straining his voice. Kurt and Blaine both nodded as they moved to the two chairs sitting side by side; Blaine facing forwards in his and Kurt pulling his closer and turning to face Blaine, taking hold of his hand resting on the arm rest.

Steven wheeled his trolley over and placed it behind Blaine, before reaching into the bottom drawer and pulling out the usual black nylon cape, throwing it over Blaine, covering his and Kurt's entwined hands and fastening it behind his neck.

He then bent down again to pull out his clippers, only needing one attachment. Kurt felt Blaine's hand tighten around his own briefly when Steven leant forward to plug them in. All Kurt could do was squeeze his hand back. He hated that there was nothing he could do for Blaine in this moment, he hated seeing his husband suffer, but both he and Blaine knew that this was just part of the job.

Kurt saw Blaine's eyes twitch when the low humming filled the room; it was a sign of fright that only Kurt knew how to spot. Blaine had learned to keep a neutral expression when he came face to face with danger overseas, only Kurt knew that it was always his eyes that gave him away, no matter how brave he seemed to be, one small twitch was all Kurt needed to see to know that his husband was facing an internal struggle.

Kurt saw the second twitch when Steven began to move the clippers closer to Blaine's hairline, all Kurt could do now was rub his thumb across Blaine's knuckles as his curls began to fall, hitting his shoulders and cascading down to land soundlessly on the floor.

Blaine remained staring straight ahead, unable to move his eyes away from his reflection. Kurt's eyes, however, remained on Blaine's eye. Never looking away, still watching for that twitch which would tell Kurt to squeeze his hand again, a silent message to Blaine that everything was going to be ok. Because this wasn't just about cutting Blaine's hair down to his regulation military cut, this was the start of what was going to be a very long separation. This haircut meant the end of what was comfortable and the start of many sleepless and lonely nights, days watching the news, hoping to never hear Blaine's name in the list of those unfortunate soldiers who had lost their lives. The beginning of a new wave of sympathetic stares that Kurt would receive when out grocery shopping, everyone knowing that his husband was risking his life for the safety of others. It was the beginning of Kurt having to adjust to living without Blaine again, and even though he didn't like to say it out loud, it could be the beginning of Kurt being alone forever.

Kurt reached forward to brush a stray curl from Blaine's ear that had gotten caught after falling from the top of his head. He watched it fall before it landed on the floor with the others. There was a moment of silence as Steven switched off the clippers and removed the attachment, before turning them on again and beginning from the base of Blaine's neck, moving upward to peel away the small amount of hair remaining there, leaving him with the standard army crew-cut.

Steven finished by taking out his straight razor, moving Blaine's head so it was bowed and his chin was resting on his chest, before he smoothed a small amount of shaving foam along the lower half of the back of Blaine's head before slowly stroking upwards with the razor, removing every tiny hair in its path.

The shorter Blaine went now, the longer he would be able to go without having to worry about another haircut. He hated having to cut his hair himself when he was deployed. Having nothing but a small electric razor and a piece of mirror, having to shave it all to the same length; He couldn't even have Kurt do it for him, and there was no way he was letting his squad do it, he valued his scalp too much.

In the beginning Kurt had offered to do it for him, to cut his hair short before he was deployed. Kurt had even gone out and bought a new set of clippers for it, but when push came to shove he just couldn't bring himself to rid Blaine of his hair. He knew it had to be done, but shaving Blaine's hair meant that him leaving was final and Kurt wasn't ready to subject himself to that reality just yet, so they found Steven's shop.

They never went to Steven when they needed a regular haircut; they just came here for this one purpose. Steven never asked questions, he never spoke unless Kurt or Blaine wanted to; he just did what he knew he had to do and let the two men in front of him cope in whichever way they needed to.

Steven reached for a clean towel and wiped away the remaining shaving foam from Blaine's head, before undoing the cape and shaking the last of Blaine's hair to the floor.

Both Kurt and Blaine stood from their chairs, hands still tightly clasped together, as they moved back to the front of the shop. As usual Blaine went to pull his wallet from his back pocket but Steven would always refuse his money, saying what he did for their country was payment enough. Blaine and Kurt would smile weakly at him in thanks before they would silently leave and walk back out to their car.

Not a word would be spoken by either man until they were back in their own home, and back under the stream of water in the shower, rinsing away any remaining hairs that may have fallen down Blaine's shirt.

"I love you," Kurt whispered between wet kisses, the water pouring down hard on top of both of them, his arm reaching up to rest across Blaine's shoulders, as he ran his hand across Blaine's freshly shorn scalp.

"I love you," Blaine replied, bringing his own hand up to run from up Kurt's forehead, and slowly push back through Kurt's wet hair, engraining the feeling into his mind to help get through the next twelve months, "I spoke to my commanding officer yesterday," Blaine whispered as he placed a kiss below Kurt's ear, "This is my last tour. After this, I'm done,"

"For good?" Kurt asked, he eye shining as they met Blaine's.

"For good," Blaine nodded in confirmation, "When I get back, we can finally start our family," Kurt let out a laugh choked with tears.

"Yes, we can," he replied with a smile as the first tear rolled down his cheek, getting lost in the spray from the shower.

"We're gonna have three kids and a dog and a big backyard and it'll be perfect and you can run your fingers through my hair anytime you like, knowing that they'll be there to stay," Blaine smiled as Kurt laughed again.

"I love you," Kurt said as he moved his head to meet Blaine's lips which were currently working away at his jaw.

"I love you too Kurt and I promise I'll be home soon, safe and sound," Blaine finished as he met Kurt's lips with a smile.