Disclaimer: No, it is not mine. If it was it wouldn't have been such a vague ending. Actually it would have been, but with just a little bit more info. Lol.

Note: Wow L-elf is so hard to write. Good gosh. I hope I didn't murder his character too much lol. Also I ship L-elf/Shouko to my grave and that unknown kid is their kid and I will believe that and only that. Haha. Well, enjoy!

A Semblance of Normalcy

"It's my job to take care of you." L-elf and Shouko after the end. L-elfShouko. Spoilers?

After the final battle, he is the one who delivers Tokushima Haruto's helmet to Sashinami Shouko. He watches as she breaks into tears, hears her soft sobs turn into full blown crying. Her childhood friend was gone and she was slowly breaking. Silently, L-elf watches on. He has been there. He had watched a loved one die without being able to do anything. He knew the only way was to accept it and move on. But no one ever does that first. No one could ever do that first. She is distraught and distracted, preferring to lock herself up in her room to drown herself in her sorrow and regret. On the 3rd day, he fears she will not be able to resume her position as prime minister. He cannot have that. Not at this crucial moment. As he passes her chamber door, he thinks.

To say he was surprised at her fast recovery was an understatement. No. In the first place she had always been someone who acted beyond his calculations. She was unpredictable. Four days later, he watches as she distributes juice packs to the others, a smile on her face. He frowns.

"Shouko-chan is so strong." L-elf hears a classmate comment and he looks at them from the corner of his eyes. "If I had lost someone close to me like that, I don't know what I would have done!" He closes his eyes. He remembers pink hair, a gentle smile and a soft voice. He remembers a small and dark room. He remembers furious scribbling and countless calculations and countless results and countless dead ends. After a beat, he opens them again and returns his gaze back to the brunette carefully handing out the rations. Pushing himself off the wall, he makes to exit the room.

No one is ever that strong.

Shouko had been sleeping badly lately or rather, she had not been sleeping at all. Sleep had become something of a fear of hers. On that first night after Haruto died, when she had settled into her bed and closed her eyes, her minds was flooded with visions of a boy with big blue eyes smiling back at her, calling out to her. She dreamt of lazy days spent in the classroom after school, silly fights and awkward moments. And then everything suddenly disappeared into pitch black and her eyes flew open. Her breath had become desperate heaves, her eyes wet with tears. It was from then on that she developed a habit of not sleeping, making do with broken naps in between responsibilities and meetings.

She glares at the documents in front of her, trying to make sense of the characters that are gradually morphing into nothing more than ink blobs on paper. It had been a series of meetings and press conferences ever since the defeat of Cain. What with the uprising of the Dorssian royalists and the start of the hunt for the Magius, treaties and strategies to discuss with ARUS… Shouko had been up to her ears with work. After the incident, she went back to being prime minister and focused on getting everything back on track. L-elf had also returned to being her advisor much to her surprise. It was not as if she did not want his help, she just assumed he would go back to Dorssia and help with the revolution. That he would resume his duties as her advisor had been the farthest thing from her mind. The thought had plagued her for days, until one night when she decided to question him over a pile of documents and two steaming mugs of coffee. "I'm doing this to repay a friend." He answered simply. And that had been that.

"What are you doing?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, her train of thoughts interrupted, she realizes her face had almost hit the cold surface of her desk. Rising slowly, Shouko looks up to L-elf standing before her, a cup of what seemed like tea on one hand and another folder of documents on the other. Shouko lets her forehead hit the surface of her desk and heaves a sigh. "Just leave it there for now. Thank you."

"Are you tired?" He asks her.

Shouko raises her hand and waves it dismissively. "I'm fine, just a little dizzy. It'll go away in a while."

"You need to rest." He says.

Shouko hears the rustle of paper and the clack of the mug meeting the desk's surface. Then, she feels a pull. Still on her desk, she turns her head and stares at L-elf's hand wrapped around her arm. "I don't need to sleep." She replies, tugging her arm free from his grip. She resumes her previous position and continues, "I don't want to sleep." She breathes. "Besides I still need to-"

She yelps as she is suddenly lifted and hoisted over his shoulders. "HEY!" She screams, suddenly awake. She frantically waves her arms and struggles to free herself. "What are you doing?! Let go!" He does not say anything. "Hey! L-elf! Put me down!" She shrieks, suddenly afraid. He ignores her once again and turns around, walking to the door. "Listen to me! I don't want to sleep! Please!" Shouko feels the sting of tears in her eyes and stops struggling. "I don't want to dream…" She mumbles tiredly, squeezing her eyes closed as her tears come. L-elf stops in his tracks and it is quiet for a moment. Shouko continues to sob.

"I know how you feel." His voice is soft.

"No, you don't." She answers him defiantly.

"I do." He says again.

And he tells her a story.

How stupid, he thinks. He stares at Shouko, her head inches from her desk's surface. It didn't take a genius to figure out she hadn't been sleeping. Over the past few days she had been too happy, too lively. Not to mention it was hard to miss the dark bags forming under her eyes or the fact that she would usually disappear for a few minutes after each meeting. L-elf rolls his eyes. He had an idea as to why she refused to sleep. No one would be able to get over such loss that fast after all. A vision of pink hair flits through his mind. L-elf shakes his head. How stupid. She needn't act so tough. So many people cared for her after all. She had many friends to turn to. He slowly walks over to her and stops just in front of her desk.

"What are you doing?" He says loudly, deliberately. She acts as he expected.

"Just leave it there for now. Thank you."

"Are you tired?" He asks.

"I'm fine, just a little dizzy. It'll go away in a while."

He sets the files and the mug on her desk. "You need to rest." He reaches for her arm.

"I don't need to sleep." She declares as she shakes herself free from his grip.

"I don't want to sleep." He narrows his eyes and reaches for her once more—"Besides, I still need to-"—and hoists her over his shoulders. She yelps, and despite her complaints and struggling, he turns and makes his way to the door. He stops in his tracks when she stops struggling and starts crying.

"I don't want to dream…" She mumbles, defeated.

"I know how you feel." His voice is soft.

"No, you don't."

"I do." He repeats.

And he tells her about Lisellote.

He deposits her into her bed and pulls up the blankets. Shouko watches him, silent. He notices her staring, and asks, "What?"

"Why?" Shouko answers, looking away. "Why are you doing this?"

"It's my job to take care of you." He answers simply.

There is a pause.

"Thank you." She says, a small smile on her face.

L-elf says nothing. With a tone that indicated finality, he says, "Just go to sleep."

Shouko relents and looks up at him with half-lidded eyes. "Hey…" She mumbles lazily. He looks down at her, eyes questioning. What is it now? She answers by grabbing him by his sleeve and he visibly flinches. She smiles slightly and her grip tightens, eyes closing. "Can you stay please?"

He does not answer and grunts indignantly. She pops one eye open cautiously to gauge his reaction and finds herself smiling again when the bed creaks slightly and she feels his warmth at her side. She falls asleep, her grip on his sleeve is strong.

It is four years later and they are standing side by side. It is Memorial Day and the people of New JIOR gathered to honour those who gave their lives for this future. L-elf stares ahead as he listens to Shouko give her speech. On the sides, Saki, Akira and the others stand tall, listening earnestly. It had been a long road, but they had finally reached here. They had suffered many great losses but finally peace was within their reach. As the people cheered and clapped, Shouko looks at him and smiles her bright smile. L-elf finds himself smiling back.

And when her hand moves to hold his, he lets her.