The Commander always wakes up at exactly seven fifteen in the morning. He gets up without any difficulty at all (stiffly rising like a zombie from it's grave), going from the bed to wait obediently in the kitchen until everyone else in the house awoke. The first time he'd done that, Lucas had been totally caught off guard. He'd nearly slipped on their tiled floor when he caught sight of the cyborg standing like a statue in the dimly lit room.

It was fairly easy to grow accustomed to (that was a lie, Lucas never got used to it). His heart would still leap a little whenever the Commander's glowing eyes traced Lucas's steps all the way into the kitchen.

"They're implanted with LED," the Commander explained to him. He points to his good eye. "They did it so I would be able to see better in the dark."

"Oh," Lucas had replied. That made sense, he thought at first. Then he tried to not think about how many modifications Claus really had received while in the Lab.

It was a bad thought, he admitted, because he lost quite a lot of sleep over it.

After a week, the Commander had started to awake a little later than normal. It was only by a few seconds (Lucas counted) and Lucas might have been making a fuss out of nothing, but perhaps it meant the Commander was slowly changing.

On the sixth day the Commander had awoken a full minute after he was supposed to, and Lucas mentally cheered inside his head. It felt a little pathetic, if such victories like this were meaningful, but it was a sign that something was slowly changing (perhaps he was too hopeful to start labelling these things as changes, but he had to hold onto anything he could.)

On the eighth day the Commander had awoken five minutes after seven fifteen. Although Lucas doubted his concept of time was too strict, he still confronted him about it.

"You woke later than usual." Lucas says when they're sitting together at the kitchen table.

The Commander eyes the bowl of oatmeal that Lucas is eating. Flint left to buy more gorceries, so the two of them were left alone at home (just like the old days.) He'd specifically asked to not eat at all, as it wasn't good fot his stomach.

"It feels nice on the mattress," the Commander admits.

"Do you like sleeping?" Lucas asks tersely.

Claus liked sleeping.

The Commander shakes his head. "Not especially. I don't really need sleep either, although it does feel good on occasion."

"On occasion?"

"Yes. Sometimes it's peaceful. But sometimes I get horrible images in my head," the Commander replies. Lucas freezes, his spoon clattering uselessly onto the table beside his bowl.

"...You get nightmares?" Lucas asks hesitantly.

"Is that what you call them?" the Commander's brows furrow. "It's almost like a slideshow I am unable to escape."

Robots don't have nightmares (Robots don't dream at all.)

"Do you mind telling me what they're about?" Lucas inquires. He doesn't want to push too far, making the Commander uncomfortable was the very last thing he wanted to do.

"The Lab." the Commander begins to tap his fingers against the wooden table rythmically.

It was a strange gesture, truthfully. But maybe it was just a nervous habit, or a tactic that helped him concentrate. Or possibly Lucas was just too paranoid at things like these (he dismissed it as the third option.)

His pace was languid, and he closed his good eye. "The Lab... Doctor Andonuts... and... there was a knife. There was a machine, leather bounds-" the rythm increased in pace. "My wrists were held, my ankles chained... Bright white light overhead." the tapping grew louder, almost violent. By now, Lucas was very thoroughly uneasy. He thought he ought to stop the Commander in case he did something reckless too suddenly, but found himself not able to approach.

"Cold, cold metal... and the sounds of alarms... I felt... numb... I felt... hollow... I felt- I felt-"

Lucas stares at the Commander in pure worry. He'd stopped talking, the pace of his unrelentless tapping turned into a haywire metronome, and his eyes were squeezed shut, as if being slowly taken apart from the inside.

Unsure if he should help the cyborg, Lucas reaches out shakily to try and grasp the latter's shoulder in comfort.

Then the Commander snaps his head up, eyes wide and unfocused. He stares straight into the wall and opens his mouth.

"I felt scared."

There's a thousand emotions rushing out from behind his tongue. He looked frightened, petrified beyond belief. For a split second, he looked human. Like a lost little boy, terrified for his life, his future, what was to happen to him. Like the boy he was when he was taken away from all sense of familiarity and safety.

(Like the boy that somebody knew, for he was, after all, just a boy.)

"Commander..." Lucas starts.

"Apologies." The Commander turns to Lucas, all previous expression gone from his face. "I got carried away. There might have been something corrupting my memory, I apologize if my outburst upset you."

"Oh Claus," Lucas whispers just loud enough for the Commander to hear. "Oh Claus, what have you gone through? Just what have they done to you...? Oh Claus..."

My brother.

X

Lucas catches the Commander before bedtime today. He never changes out of his uniform, but Lucas presents him with a matching pair of pyjamas that he'd asked Flint to pick up while he was out.

"Here, they're for you," Lucas explains.

"Another gift? You shouldn't have," the Commander says. "How do I use it?"

"They're sleeping clothes. You put them on when you sleep," Lucas tells him. As if to demonstrate, he strips off his own shirt and pulls his own striped pyjamas over his head.

"See? Just put them on."

The Commander stares briefly at the pile of clothes in his hands. Then he carefully removes his jacket and shirt (Lucas tries to avoid the mass of scars scattered across his chest and torso. He also tries to ignore how his heart suddenly hurts.) and puts them to the side. The Commander carefully mimics Lucas's action, putting the pyjama top on with minimal effort.

"Yes, just like that." Lucas smiles.

"It does feel better to sleep in than the jacket," the Commander remarks. "Although I don't know why you insist on me sleeping as well. I really don't need sleep to function."

"It would make me happy if you would," Lucas says quietly.

"... Then I will," the cyborg decides.

Lucas beams, trying to hide how delighted the simple phrase made him feel (then he was reminded of the time that he had asked Claus to hold his hand because he kept getting night terrors. Claus did, of course, and told him that he'd do anything to make Lucas feel happy.)

"I have a solution for your nightmares, too." Lucas continues. The Commander tilts his head, like a curious puppy.

"I'll sing to you," Lucas tells him. "That way, when you fall asleep, if the nightmare ever get to you again you can sing this song. And then you'll remember that it's the song you listened to when you fell asleep, and realize that it's just a dream and not real."

Lucas looks down, not yet ready to gauge the Commander's reaction.

"...And you'll remember that you're here with me, and that you're safe here." Lucas swallows the lump in his throat. He waits for the response (not really sure what kind of response he's really waiting for.)

"I've never listened to a song," the Commander says finally. His voice is barely audible.

Yes you have. Lucas wants to say. Mom sang to us all the time.

"Maybe you'll like it," Lucas replies nervously.

"I'm willing to give it a try." The Commander nods.

Lucas lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. "Great."

He climbs onto his mattress, the Commander following in suit. Lucas shuffles around a bit until he's comfortably nestled in the blanket. He turns his head to check on the Commander, whose lying on his back and staring at the ceiling as if waiting. His slesping posture is unbelievably stiff, but he looks satisfied enough at least.

Lucas shuts off the lamp on their bedside, lies back down and closes his eyes. The lyrics of the old melody float back into his mind, and he opens his mouth and begins to sing a soft, familiar tune.

"All of the treasures

In all of the worlds,

It could not compare to you,

My darling sons.

And if I fade away,

I'll look towards the stars,

Sparkling in the darkest nights,

Remind me of your eyes."

It was a gentle melody, one that Lucas had listened to his mother sing to them for the most of his life. It was calming, it was soothing, it enveloped him with a sense of security and happiness. It was warm, it was safe, it was like a mother's hug (and he wanted to share it with the Commander.) His throat ached a little when he let the last notes drift off, and he blinked away the misty eyes as he looked in the darkness of their room.

The Commander was snoring softly, already asleep. His expression was placid, peaceful.

Lucas reached out slowly and took hold of the Commander's hand. His fingers laced together, as they had done thousands and thousands of times before.

Lucas lets out a shallow breath in their silent room. He closes his eyes, envisions Hinawa in a field of flowers, the melody of her song drifting back into his head. He envisions Hinawa, and this time, Claus standing beside her. He waves to him, the bellows with laughter and gestures for Lucas to come forward.

Although, it doesn't feel quite right yet. Lucas opens his eyes again. He blinks several times, before closing his eyes and envisioning Claus, standing in the uniform of the Pigmask Army Commander, in all his glory and pride.

Then he runs towards his brother, into his arms. He doesn't care that it was the ruthless Commander, he doesn't care this time that he had no memory of who Lucas was and why he was here. He hugs him tight, because the Commander was his brother. He's lulled to sleep by the warm embrace.