Mobile Suit Gundam 00 © Sunrise
... ... ...
Lockon Stratos woke with a dull throbbing in his head. It's way too early to be up, he groaned to himself. I hate these automatic lights. Shifting slightly to hide his sleep-sensitive eyes from the sudden brightness, Lockon contemplated staying in bed all day, ignoring the rest of the world as he got some more shut-eye. Unfortunately, he knew that if he chose to stay in his room, Tieria Erde would bother him incessantly until he got up and did some work.
With a sigh, Lockon rolled over, intending to drag his tired body out of bed. In mid-roll, however, he suddenly found himself buried face-first in a head of soft hair. Attempting not to sneeze as the hair tickled his nose, Lockon drew back slightly to get a better glimpse of his unexpected visitor.
This is where having two eyes would come in handy, he thought.
But, as it was, Lockon only had one, and couldn't quite see what was blocking him from getting out of bed. With a slight effort from his tired body, he managed to hoist himself up on one elbow to get a better look, careful to keep his own brown locks from obscuring his good eye while he did so.
A mop of scruffy hair made scruffier by sleep framed a round, cherubic face at the same time it was busily suffocating an entire pillow. It was better than the reverse, Lockon supposed, as pillows could easily be replaced and Meisters could not. Shifting slightly to more comfortably balance upon his elbow, Lockon sighed and nudged his sleeping visitor.
"Oi."
He received a slight snore in response.
"Oh, is that how it is?" Lockon smiled to himself before lightly punching the still-sleeping boy in the shoulder until he woke.
"What's your problem?" Setsuna mumbled as he sleepily rubbed his half-lidded eyes.
"Just getting you up," Lockon replied with a chuckle. "Thought you could use some breakfast."
Setsuna just looked at him groggily before once more falling back to let his mop of hair take over his side of the bed. Lockon briefly wondered if the kid had been dreaming of Gundams.
... ... ...
"So what," Lockon asked over a slice of buttered and lightly jammed toast, "were you doing in my room?"
"I had a bad dream."
"Oh?"
Setsuna kept silent as he worked his way through his cinnamon bagel.
"Care to tell me about it?"
"Sure."
"Well?"
"You…died," Setsuna mumbled quietly.
Lockon looked at Setsuna as he sighed. Death was an inevitable part of Celestial Being; sacrifices had to be made, and accidents happened when you were trying to reform the world. But, looking at such a miserable face, Lockon couldn't bring himself to tell Setsuna the straight-out facts. He really was a softie.
"Hey, look, Setsuna. I don't think you'll ever have to worry about me dying on you. Someone's got to keep all of you together and out of trouble, right? That may as well be my job," Lockon offered instead.
Setsuna looked unconvinced.
"Really," Lockon continued with a soft smile, "It'll never happen."
Assured by the older Meister's confidence and warm smile, Setsuna nodded. He finished eating his bagel and crossed the kitchen, placing a small hand on Lockon's shoulder.
"Right," he replied as he held on to Lockon, smiling when the other ruffled his hair.
... ... ...
Floating in a dark and debris-strewn corridor of one of Ptolemaios' battle-beaten wings, Setsuna tightly held on to his friend's lifeless, blood-spattered body, trying not to weep as he remembered those simple words of long ago.
Really, it'll never happen.
"Right," Setsuna whispered, shuddering as he finally let the tears flow.