A/N: Happy thanks giving!!!!! Here you are folks chapter 10, I'd like to thank my awesome betas Sieg and Phaenilix for their amazing creative additions, this chapter would not be what it is without you guys.
Also thanks to Zammy and Princesa de la Luna for being my longest running fans, you guys rock and keep me on the ball.
Gundam 00 Chapter 10: Celestial Being
Sumeragi sat at her desk, weighing her reasons to go into battle. The ideal of ending conflicts as quickly as possible was no longer her top priority. It would take a lot more than a few quick battles to win over and protect this world.
Beside her lay pictures of her old crew. She watched their smiling faces and realized that now, she fought to protect them, and avenge the ones they'd lost. Sumeragi traced the faces of Chris and Lichty as Allelujah's words from a few days ago rang through her mind: you can protect what you have if you defend it well. She was not giving up on her crew, her new family, especially not since they've been reunited. With renewed resolve she got up and headed for the door, having finally decided to return to Celestial Being.
Her resolve nearly disappeared when she opened her door to find Feldt standing on the other side, about to knock. Sumeragi had purposely avoided everyone after her talk with Allelujah, needing time to find the right words to say to her subordinates, especially Feldt, as she did not want to disappoint her protégé with meaningless excuses.
"Feldt...I wasn't expecting you..." Sumeragi trailed off as she invited the girl in.
"I just wanted to drop these off for you; for when you're ready to put them on." The mission tech was carrying a neatly folded pink uniform, as well as a black and green one underneath it. She placed the uniforms on the table top.
Feldt looked exhausted, no doubt from taking on her extra duties. Feeling bad about the situation, Sumeragi decided to surprise her with her decision, "I've made up my mind. I'm coming back to Celestial Being."
Feldt could not withhold her enthusiasm as she broke out a huge grin and embraced her mentor. Surprised, Sumeragi welcomed the friendly gesture and returned the hug. She thought it would take a lot more convincing to get Feldt to believe her, but that seemed not to be the case.
Feldt, with her eyes shiny with unshed tears, turned to look at her mentor once more. "Thank you Sumeragi-san! Thank you so much! We will all be able to do our best now!"
"No Feldt, thank you. Thank you for always believing in me." Sumeragi smiled.
When they stepped apart, Sumeragi walked over to inspect the uniforms. "So the pink one's mine but who does this one belong to?" She looked back to Feldt while holding up the black, grey and green uniform.
"That one's for Lockon, I'll leave it with you for now." A small, secretive smile spread across her face.
"Oh. Why with me?" Sumeragi asked cautiously. They've just gotten here. How could she know about them?
"I've seen the way he looks at you Sumeragi-san" she answered as a slight blush crept up her features. "I admit that I had a crush on him for years, but we all know he only has eyes for you. I'll always look up to him as an older brother though."
"Feldt..." Was all Sumeragi could manage. She was at a loss for words. Her protégé had sure grown bold over the years, and she regarded this in a proud light. Still, if Feldt could see it so easily then she had to wonder who else had caught on.
"Don't worry Sumeragi-san, I won't tell anyone." Feldt giggled as she continued, "Although I'm sure no one will respect you any less if you went public with it."
"Look it's not like that…It's complicated." In truth she was a bit afraid of this new relationship. It would not be the first time she put the man she loved in the line of fire. The consequences of such an action still weighed heavily in her mind.
"Most things are," Feldt replied, deciding to let her mentor figure out her inner conflicts in peace. She turned to walk away, "We'll see you on the bridge."
Sumeragi shuffled over to her bed, thoughts of her relationship with Neil over the past couple of years flooded her mind. It was true that they were just two good friends in the past, but even then she realized they were anything but secretive in their affections.
[Ptolemy I Cafeteria-late night]
The tactical forecaster and her right hand Meister sat in the cafeteria. Neither could get any sleep and decided to drink the night away instead, hoping the alcohol would dull the resulting pain from punching the wall after Nadleeh was revealed.
"...that day we came to work hung over. It was crazy, we could barely do a simple oil change, so after that I stopped going to drinking parties."
She laughed as she pictured a drunken Lockon as a mechanic. Leave it to him to make her smile aboard the ship.
This was the third night in a row they met in the cafeteria and she was getting quite used to the idea. His great sense of humour and warm company made her look forward to their insomniac nights together. She studied her new friend, the man who only months ago, was the first recruit on board. They've come so far since then, not only was a friendship blossoming, but the thought of being something more hung between them, unspoken.
She held his intense gaze as his warm eyes said more than words ever could.
"Lockon?" She was the first to shake the cozy feeling.
"Hmm...Sorry, what's up?" He asked, the intense loving gaze once again masked by friendship.
"Thank you, for the whole Tieria thing yesterday, for defending me."
He chuckled at that "Hey don't worry about it, he had no right to lay the blame on you. Besides that's what friends do." Smiling, he reached forward to take her hand in his own. "How is the hand doing?"
"Much better, thank you." She fought to keep the intense satisfaction of that little gesture from showing on her face.
"I've been meaning to ask you, why do you drink this stuff?" He asked, lightly caressing her hand while being mindful of the bandages.
"When you got a wound, you wash it" She recited the same statement she gave Allelujah while almost regretfully drawing away from his gentle grip.
"But once you wash it you've gotta let it heal," he gently took her hand in his again "and it won't heal unless you let it."
She focused on their entwined hands, as a small smile graced her lips.
"Thank you Lockon"
He only smiled back "And friends call each other by their real names. Please, call me Neil."
"Alright, I can try that…Neil." She said for the first time. In her mind she hoped he understood, that their roles prohibited what was starting to blossom between them.
End flashback
That same smile now graced her features as she thought of him, wishing he was out of that pod now.
CBCBCBCBCBCBCBCBCBCB
Lockon opened his eyes to be greeted by a white blinding light. The hiss of a glass cover sliding down met his ears just as his eyes adjusted to the stark white medical room which contained him. Anxious to get out, he sat up fast, cursing as he felt the air leave his lungs and blood rush to his head. Reeling from the pain, he took in the deserted room around him; the observation deck above was unoccupied and nobody was with him save for the lines of pods. The room was cold, and Lockon, being shirtless noticed very quickly its sterile breeze. Regaining his coordination he leapt from the pod and headed for the exit, holding his arms close in an attempt to regain some warmth.
The halls of Ptolemy were deserted - that was a first. The temperature was also much higher than it had been in the med room. The contrast was painful for a second, but soon Lockon dropped his arms, welcoming the warmth as he stood alone trying to decide which way to go.
The schematics of the old ship were engraved into his mind, but they proved useless aboard the new ship. He continuously found washrooms and work closets instead of old destinations. Frustrated, he now stood with two more doors on opposite sides of him. To make things worse, his neck started to ache where the dart had hit. He made a mental note to shoot Lasse when he got the chance.
The first room was dark and only the low hum of a computer screen illuminated none other than Sumeragi sleeping peacefully atop her bed. All his frustration melted as he watched her sleeping figure, more than ecstatic to finally see her again. Crossing the room as quietly as possible Lockon took a seat in her chair, willing to spend the night just watching her sleep. She looked so peaceful. He wished he could see her like this more often. The red curls of her hair loosely framing her beautiful face were just urging him to push them back but he held off on his desire to do so as a pink uniform caught his eye. He smiled, it was one step closer for her return to Celestial Being. Beside it lay a black and green uniform, but before he could inspect it Sumeragi's phone rang. Lockon made a grab to silence it, but it was too late. Sumeragi woke up and nearly jumped back, startled by the mere inches separating him from her.
"Sumeragi-san is everything alright?" The concerned image of asked, noting her surprise.
At first she thought she was dreaming, an overtired mind playing tricks on her, but Moreno's voice broke the spell. Her eyes adjusted and she saw him clearly, her sniper was standing before her in the flesh and shirtless. Giving a breath of relief, she reached out a hand to stop an apologetic Lockon from drawing back before turning to , "I'm fine, the phone just startled me out of my sleep."
"Oh, I'm sorry" he apologized, "But this is important, I can't find Lockon. I left him in the medical bay and now he's gone! His final stats show that he's alright, but I would like to one last check up."
Sumeragi caught the pleading look in Lockon's eyes and understood it well; he hated being in the pods. Memories of his vivid account of that day four years ago made her less than eager to put him back in one.
"I actually bumped into him earlier," she spoke while running a reassuring hand down Lockon's arm. "He was a little lost, but he's sleeping in his room now."
Relief showed on the doctor's face, "Well as long as he's resting, I can wait till the morning. He needs as much sleep as possible, the drug we used kept him semi-conscious all this time."
"Thank you doctor, goodnight." She quickly flipped the screen shut, not wanting to hear that they drugged him. Turning to her sniper she began her attack, smacking him lightly with a pillow "Geez, you scared me back there, stranger."
He caught it, as well as the joking tone in her voice while he tried and failed to stifle the wide grin which was coming over him, more than happy to see her again. "I'm sorry, I should probably leave now before your boyfriend comes to knock me out." He feigned to leave, but she pulled him back playfully.
"No, a handsome man like you will do." Leaning forward she lightly put her arms around his neck before whispering in his ear, "Just don't tell him I said that"
Lockon laughed and drew her closer, allowing the sweet scent of her perfume to meet his senses as he relaxed into her embrace. "An affair, I like that."
She laughed before drawing back a bit to examine him, "How do you feel?" running a soft hand over the newly healed muscles, not a trace of blue present on them.
"I'm fine." He tried to put on a strong front but the amazingly soft feeling of her hand did incredible things to him.
Sumeragi knew better than to believe that, so she led him to sit down before putting a hand to his forehead, being careful to monitor him closely. He smiled and took her hand in his, while subconsciously running his other to the back of his neck. "Damn, Lasse has good aim."
She squeezed his hand and closed her eyes, "I asked them not to use darts unless you resisted, I'm sorry."
"Don't be." He placed a light kiss to her hand, "I probably would have. After the firstPtolemy I don't want to spend another minute in a pod."
"Did you wake up alone?" she asked apologetically.
Lockon only smiled, "Yes, but I'm not alone now, am I?" She smiled back and shook her head, definitely not. But for a brief second she noticed his eyes fighting to stay open. Worried, she ran a warm hand to his cheek.
"Let me take you to the med bay. Maybe a quick check up would be a good thing after all, and you can rest there properly."
"No, I'm just tired. Besides, I'd rather stay with you." Sumeragi could not find the urge to argue with him tonight. He had been stuck in the pod for the better part of a week, and she couldn't bear to put him through that again. Sliding over, she guided him to lie beside her before drawing a warm blanket over them both. Snuggling down into the blanket, Lockon slid an arm around her waist, continuing his slowly losing battle with sleep as he gazed into her gently glinting eyes.
She smiled at his vigorous effort to stay awake, watching as his eyelids fluttered, closing a little longer with each interval. She tried to hold off for his sake, at the end of the day they had a lot to talk about but her will won over as she leaned in and caught his lips in a soft kiss. It was amazing, so much power and want washed over her as they melted together. She knew it was not fair, he was exhausted and she was taking advantage of that but little did she know he didn't mind at all. The feel of her soft lips on his was exhilarating yet at the same time he felt his strength being sucked away, the harder he fought the darkness of sleep the faster it seemed to creep up on him. It was only when he heard her gentle voice urging him to rest and promising to be there in the morning did he start to relax and let the dark dreamless sleep embrace him.
Sumeragi was content to just lay in Lockon's warm embrace and trace the profile of his jaw line as she watched him sleep. He looked so peaceful that she couldn't help but smile and thank God for letting him recover. She was not an overly religious person, but she knew miracles when she saw them, and the big guy upstairs seemed to be working overtime these past few weeks.
A/N:You know what to do!!!!!!!!!!! Review time!!!!!!!!!!!
PS: If you have any suggestions as to how to fix the formatting errors, I'm all ears. The site wont let me preview and save the changes to my documents.