Dear Tieria
Summary: Lockon wrote a letter to Tieria before his death. Companion piece to "Dear Lockon."
Pairings: Lockon/Tieria
Warnings: Slash, character death if you squint a little
Rating: T, to be safe
Tieria slowly made his way back to his room, flight suit still on. Lockon was gone. He didn't know how long he had sat in his cockpit, numb, before Ian Vashti had gently removed him, citing the need to repair his Gundam.
Lockon was dead. He would not be returning. And beneath the numbness of shock, Tieria felt like it was entirely his fault.
He opened the door and made his way to the bed. He laid down, not bothering to remove the flight suit. He knew he needed to file a report, that he should be getting ready for the next battle, that he should help with the repairs, but nothing mattered anymore, now that Lockon was gone. He had no reason to keep fighting. The light in the darkness was extinguished and all that was left was emptiness.
He heard something metallic bang against his door and it opened, allowing Lockon's orange Haro to enter. It was no longer saying, "Lockon! Lockon!" Now it said, "Sorry Tieria! Sorry Tieria!"
Emotionally exhausted, Tieria asked, "What do you want Haro?" All he wanted was to be alone, to be miserable in peace.
Haro flapped its "ears" open and extended one of its arms. In its hand was a letter, with his name written on it in Lockon's unmistakable scrawl.
He extended a shaky hand to collect the letter from the robot and hesitated. Lockon had written him a letter? Anger briefly flashed through him, because Lockon must have suspected that he wouldn't be coming back, but the emotion died as quickly as it had come. He reached out and took the letter, taking care not to damage it too much when he opened it.
Hands shaking again and tears threatening to fall, he began to read:
Dear Tieria,
I hope you never get this letter, but if you do, I want you to know that I'm sorry.
There's going to be a big battle soon – I can feel it. And I'm not sure I'll walk away from this one. I don't blame you for what happened to my eye, but it does make it harder to fight and Dynames isn't exactly in great shape. I try not to show it because I know you'll only worry and feel guilty. It's not your fault. I wanted to protect you. I would die to protect you, if need be. Please don't blame yourself for my death, because it's not your fault. I'm choosing to fight of my own free will.
I don't know if Ali al-Saachez will be there or not, but if he is, I must avenge my family. I know you don't understand things like revenge, but it's part of the reason I joined Celestial Being to begin with. Yes, I do want to protect people, like my brother Lyle, but I also want to get the bastard who killed my family ten years ago. That kind of motivation is hard to ignore. I hope you'll never have to understand that.
I want you to keep fighting and I don't want you to feel sorry for yourself. I knew what I was getting myself into when I became a Gundam meister. I knew the day might come when I would die fighting. And I'll gladly give my life if it means I can protect you and everyone else. After all, that's what being a Gundam meister is about. We fight to protect people, to create peace for everyone. We don't need Veda or anyone else to fight so long as we have our Gundams. Whatever you do, please don't forget that.
I'm going to miss you, but I know that I'll see you again, someday. I wish I could be there for you now, but unfortunately I can't. I love you so much, Tieria – don't forget that. I'll be waiting for you on the other side.
Love always,
Neil Dylandy, your Lockon Stratos
"You were such a fool, Lockon Stratos," Tieria whispered and let the darkness overtake him.