Room for Three
Pairings: Hinted SomaxShio and slight/one-sided (Or is it?) SomaxOC
I had so much trouble thinking up a title for this, so I gave up. I haven't played God Eater in a while since I lent it to my friend. Please excuse if Soma is a little OOC. This takes place about a year after the events of GE:Burst. And I purposefully left out the name of the leader…mainly because I still can't think up a name for this story. In my game, I called her Lanne since her hair is red like Lanne's in Teach me how to See. All hail my lack of creativity! I made this pretty fast so there might be typos and places where it looks like I just kept writing without plotting (Which was the entire thing, actually, give or take the quotes I had to double check)
Also, I have no idea what genre to put this, too… So I settle for hurt/comfort and humor (Since it does have some humor…)
Quite honestly, I wanted to do a complete MshexSoma… But Soma and Shio are too cute together…
"You're a stubborn prick, y'know that?"
The assault lieutenant of the 1st Unit sat next to the half Aragami buster blader on the bed. He merely grunted and remained in his position: arms crossed over his chest and a leg crossed over the other. The only different thing about him now was that his trademark jacket was strewn carelessly on the floor and his tie was absent. She wasn't too surprised considering that the air conditioning at the Den had been going over some maintenance. In fact, she cursed the fact that her black ribbon had gone missing during their last mission. Now her red hair fell across her mid back and did nothing to help cool her down.
"Why are you in here?" he finally asked her and she offered him a smile that he wouldn't see.
"Aw, c'mon! Can't I visit you every now and then outside missions?" she laughed, although it left her with a twinge of pain in her chest. She shuffled in her bag and pulled out some rationed beer. "Do y'want?" When she saw his wary look she added cheerfully, "It's not that 'love juice' this time!" The buster blader stared at the can in her hand for a few seconds before taking it and muttering a quiet "thanks". They opened their cans at the same time and drew a quick gulp. A companionable silence settled—something Soma was somewhat thankful for. Although their leader could be as equally mischievous as Kota, at least she had a mind to understand what situations called for silence.
"Was that all?" Soma asked again and he caught glimpse of a mildly surprised expression from her. She quickly recovered and took another swig of beer.
"Can't I spend some time not watching Bugarally?" The New-Type joked and he chuckled. She put the can down and shifted so that she was sitting cross-legged on the bed now.
"Hey, I didn't say you could get comfortable!" he complained but his leader simply smiled a cat-like grin.
"Oh cool it, Soma. I'm not gonna jump you in your own room. If I was, I would have fed you one of Doctor Sakaki's wonderful concoctions." She dared to openly giggle at his expression of mixed shock and disbelief. Even better, a pink tint spilled on his tanned cheeks upon realizing his mistake of letting his emotions be led by her words. When the laughter died down she exhaled loudly and turned so that her back faced him. "…I bet Shio would have liked it—the juice, I mean." This time her face grew warm at the implication.
He grunted a reply that she couldn't tell whether or not it was a confirmation or an argument. Either way, she was glad that he wasn't throwing her out now. The first time she stumbled into his room, he had thrown harsh words around that stung her pride deeply. The two were now on good terms (Not that he would admit it) and held a respect for one another's skills.
"Soma?"
"What."
The 1st Unit leader sucked in a deep breath. "A little more than a year for me and a lifetime for you… Do you think we'll ever stop being God Eaters?" His silence was heavy but she smiled forcefully. "Do you think we can walk outside in the sun without fear? I've seen simulations, but I've always wanted to know what fresh grass felt like." She closed her eyes in hopes to recreate a field of flowers and green grass. "How about you, Soma?"
"…"
"Can't answer, huh? You're so stubborn." she leaned back and let their backs touch. She could feel his warmth through their clothes and the life that continued to flow. A love between a human and an Aragami was impossible—that is what his father told him. But Soma holds both worlds within him. He understood Shio and she understood him. Surely…there wouldn't be any room for her, too. The words the director told Soma probably hit her harder than his son. "Back on Aegis… Was it hard? The thing she asked you to do?"
"Please…please eat it!"
Soma scoffed. "What does it matter? You even gave me the go-ahead." The bitterness rolled of his tongue. She winced. He must have felt her reaction because he sighed soon after. "But it was the right decision. It's what Shio wanted, so whatever happens on my end—" Suddenly she pushed back hard against his back, causing him to let out a surprised shout as he fell off the bed. "What the hell was that for?"
"Don't you dare finish that. Don't you dare say it doesn't matter." His leader turned to him and he noticed her glistening brown irises.
"Are you…?"
Her body stiffened and she quickly turned back around to hide her face. "Jeez. How many times do I have to say this? You're important, Soma! Your feelings matter, just like anyone else!"
"Would you be able to kill that Aragami…?"
Her eyes were downcast and aimed at her lap. Ren had told her that before when they learned that Lindow might still be alive. The mere thought of killing him with his own God Arc was… In the end, she was just a hypocrite to her own orders.
Soma suddenly stroked (More like pat, actually) her head with surprising tenderness, shocking her into looking up at him with watery eyes from her thoughts. With practiced ease, he hid his discomfort at the sight of her tears and gave her a smug smile. "Hey leader, you aren't supposed to cry when attempting to cheer someone up."
"I am not crying!" she retorted but paused. "Wait…you knew?"
He raised a skeptic brow. "Seriously? You come to my room, talk to me about Shio, and if I'm okay now without thinking I know about it? I may be a stubborn prick, but I'm not slow." It had been a year since Shio's departure and although she knew it had a huge impact on the buster blader, she didn't expect him to remember the exact date—let alone purposefully allow her to 'cheer him up' as he admitted.
Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment and she tried slapping his hand away. In response, he only chuckled more and began messing her hair up. "Damn you! It's not funny! And stop ruining my hair!"
Soma finally stopped and began walking to the door. At first, she thought he was kicking her out, but he sent her an impatient stare and motioned for her to come over. "It's time to eat. Unless you're not gonna. If so, then I'm eating your share."
The New-type paled considerably. The thought of going hungry on a hot day like today would be worse than facing a Vajra all by herself! "Noooooo! Outta the way!" she quickly jumped off the bed and ran out, leaving a comical trail of dust in her wake. Soma followed after her while shaking his head. It looked like only he noticed Sakuya staring at them like they grew five heads. As the God Eaters went down the lift, Sakuya was still staring at the doorway to Soma's room…where the two of them left at the same time looking absolutely disheveled. Soma was missing his trademark jacket and tie while their leader had her hair down and somewhat messy.
"Sakuya? What's up?" Lindow poked his head out from their room to see his wife staring blankly at one spot. "You alright?"
"Lindow… Are Soma and leader…?"
The previous 1st Unit leader whistled and grinned. "Ah, they grow up so fast! Should I prepare the rice?"
"As much as I hate to say this, but Soma will probably kill you if you did…"
Review please! It makes me happy and eager to work on my other works such as Teach me how to See and the ever popular Y O R O K O B I!