Warning: Spoilers from Tear ahead.

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine and I'm not making any money out of it. Namco and Bandai ows it.

A/N: Thanks – again - to NamiLoveless for the wonderful and willingly beta reader work. Again she was amazing at giving feed-back. Thank you very much =)


A Simple Talk

Tear looked up at the sound of knocking on her door.

"Come in-oh, hello, Colonel." If there was anybody she didn't expect to see right now, it was him.

"Hello, Tear." He entered the room, but stood near the door. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"Fine? You just receive the news that you will probably die and you are fine?" And that's how you chose to talk to her?

"I…" She hated to be caught out of guard. "You don't need to be this harsh, Colonel." She lowered her head.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to harm you. I only meant to point out the fact that you were, obviously, lying."

"It never occurred to you that I'm lying because..."

"You do not want me to know the truth. Yes, of course it has. I just decide to give it a try. It's not easy to try to be strong all the time." And at your age, you shouldn't.

"I'm used to it by now."

"It's not a good habit to be used to, Tear. Not all the time, at least. And definitely not with everyone." You don't want to turn out like me.

"I don't have a choice."

"You do, now that you have friends. You can talk to any of us."

Her head snapped up at this point. She wasn't expecting him to count himself among her friends and she was sure she was slightly blushing.

"Oh... I… Thank you." she stumbled through the words.

"Your surprise would be somewhat offensive…"

She rushed to interrupt him: "No, I'm sorry, I…"

"…to others," he continued ignoring her. "I'm well aware oh my behavior towards others; it's only natural that you'd get to the conclusion you have. Don't be mistaken by it, though. I do care."…More than you will know.

She was honestly moved by his words and her eyes were filled with tears she wouldn't shed. "Thank you, Colonel. I'm glad to hear you say this…"

Her mouth was hanging open in the air and she had to make a decision. Of course she wanted to talk to someone, but she didn't want to be a burden. And yet, he had – in a unusual move of his – offered his friendship, so she ought to say something. Right?

"I just… don't want to be a burden. Everyone here has their own problems to cope with. They don't need me wining about mines."

"Yes, please don't. But I never said anything about winning. Talking, that was what I said. And I don't mean to force you to, it's just advice."

She smiled in return for his kindness. "I understand." She sighed and, calmly and steadily, continued, "I'm sad. Yes, of course I am. But... there's nothing any of us can do." She lifted her head and looked hesitantly at him.

"Unfortunately, I must agree," he said dejectedly. Even though she admitted it, there was still hope in her eyes. Maybe he had just crashed them all with his response.

"Ergo, accepting it is faster and easier. Besides, we have more urgent matters right now."

"Same may say you have suicidal tendencies by saying that," he said smirking.

She laughed slightly. "You know what I mean."

"Yes, I do. I'm glad that you seem to be handling this fine. Well, as fine as one can be. I just think that, like I said before, you should talk more. I'll go now and let you get same rest before we leave."

"Thank you, Colonel. I really appreciate your concern."

"You are welcome."

He turned to leave and grabbed the knob…

"Just know that… we all care about you too."

He stopped and turned to face her. He had a sincere smile on his lips - not exactly a sight anyone got to see. "Thank you, Tear."