Title: Storm
Summary: Celestial Being is on vacation on earth but a storm strikes late into the night.
Characters: Tieria Mileina
Format/genre: Fanfiction
Fandom: Gundam 00
Full Story: .net/s/5621449/1/Tieria_Mileina_Drabbles
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam 00 or thunder storms. I swear! It's not my fault that storm knocked over the powerline that crushed your treehouse…or killed your dog…*shifty eyes*
Words: 2 150
Notes: Just came to me 30 seconds before the bell at school. LOL!
Chapter Fourteen. Storm.
The window rattles as another thunder clap rocks the house. The sounds of the storm are loud enough to shake the house-who knows what damage that storm can do?
Inside a dark bedroom a lump of blankets shivers. Mileina Vashti is under the covers with her eyes shut tight and hands and pillows covering her ears. Even with all of this blocking out the sounds of the storm come to her and make her more scared than ever.
Mileina Vashti is sixteen years old with the personality of a six year old. The other crew members always tease her about it but she has a secret that goes hand in hand with her personality.
Mileina is afraid of thunderstorms.
It might seem shocking-a girl involved in military war and Gundams has such an irrational fear.
The loud noises never fail to keep her up at night and quaking in fear. She hates thunderstorms because they are so loud. The lightning flashes and gives a split second silhouette of the stuff outside the window. Dead trees outside blow in the wind and seem to scratch at the window as though they are asking for entrance.
Tree branches turn into hands-hands that will grab the living the second the window gives and suck out their vitality.
Mileina knows this is an irrational fear, but she read a story about it when she was a child and has never been able to get over this fear. She knows those stories are all fake but a small part of her mind always thinks "What if it is true?"
Another boom sends Mileina deeper into her bed. She wishes she were on the Ptolemaios. There are no loud noises or dead tree limbs there. The only loud noises are when the ship is being shot at.
The door opens with a quiet whoosh that may as well be a creak. She doesn't look to see who has entered, thinking it is a dead tree come to suck out her life.
"Mileina?"
If she weren't so absorbed in fear she would have identified that voice.
"They are starting dinner now. I was asked to come fetch you."
Is that Tieria? She wants to take a peek but that small part of her mind tells her that it is a trick by the dead tree and that if she looks she will see something scary and die.
She shakes her head under the pillow, begging the apparition to go away.
"Mileina, are you joining us for dinner?"
She keeps shaking her head and muttering "go away…go away" but no one can hear her.
Tieria sighs and walks over to the bed. He sits on the edge of the bed beside the head of the bed. He can see a strand of butterscotch hair so he assumes Mileina's head is there.
"Mileina, you haven't eaten since yesterday on the Ptolemaios. Ever since we got here yesterday you have locked yourself in your room. You must eat."
Mileina continues to mutter to herself and hide. He puts a hand on the covers where he hopes her shoulder is and feels her shaking. He raises an eyebrow.
Mileina feels the touch and flinches. It is going to take her! She didn't look at it or let it in and it is going to take her!
"Mileina, is something wrong? You're shaking."
Without caring Mileina jumps from under the covers and wraps her arms around Tieria. She is afraid and there wasn't any air left under all those blankets.
She cries on him.
"Mileina?" He asks.
She mutters things as she cries but Tieria only understands one thing: 'scared'. He sighs and gently brings his arms around her to stroke her hair and rub her back.
"It-It's alright, Mileina. We are on earth now-we are safe. The A-LAWs can't get us here. We are safe." He whispers to her.
Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Tieria notes this from Mileina's grip tightening on the back of his uniform. He sighs and tries to think.
"All of us are here. We won't leave you to deal with it alone, whatever you are afraid of it is okay. We are all here to help you."
Tieria doesn't know why he is being so caring. He just…for some reason Mileina always has that effect on him. When he they are on the ship he has to act indifferent to everyone but inside he really wants to hold her. He let himself slip when he put a blanket over her after she did the upgrades on the Seravee but that was the one time. When they are on earth he really wants to be alone with her to have a chance to talk.
He holds her now and realizes he has gotten his wish but it is a little wrong. In his wish Mileina wasn't afraid and clinging to him. They were sitting in a library discussing book choices or walking silently along the streets of earth with groceries for dinner or something. He never imagined this.
"Make it go away…make it go away…" Mileina whispers.
Tieria still doesn't understand. He is about to ask what she wants him to get rid of but is cut off by a thunderclap from outside. Mileina's grip tightens and she lets out a squeak. Realization dawns on Tieria.
"You…don't tell me you are afraid of the storm?" Tieria exclaims.
Mileina makes a whinny noise in the back of her throat and her grip tightens.
Tieria tries to pry her arms from around him but she won't budge. She is stronger than she looks. Fear does that to people.
"Mileina, it's alright! The storm is outside and we are safe in here. You don't have anything to be afraid of."
She still won't let go.
Tieria sighs and wracks his brains for something to say.
"Come down to dinner with us. You'll forget all about the storm and we can all talk and have fun."
Her grip slackens just a little and he can move again. He can feel his arms again, the feeling was lost from how long and hard Mileina was clinging to him. When he realizes she won't move anymore he repositions her so that her legs are slung over his and then he picks her up, bridal style, and carries he down the stairs even though her arms are still around his neck and she is still shaking like a leaf.
"Hey, there they are! Tieria, what are you doing?" Sumeragi calls when she sees them.
"Ian, your daughter is afraid of the storm." Tieria mutters as he pulls out a chair with his foot and tries to set Mileina on it.
Her grip around his neck doesn't slacken and he is left bent over. Quite a few of the crew members are in the kitchen and come by to look at the spectacle. Tieria is being hugged by a girl. What's more, Tieria was just seen carrying her down the stairs! The purple-emo and winner of the 'Anti-social of the Year' award is engaging in human interaction!
Allelujah walks closer for a better view, but more because of his worry for Mileina. He has a full-length apron on and a soup ladle in one hand. Surprisingly, he is the only one on the ship that knows anything about cooking. Sumeragi is too drunk half the time and all the others couldn't tell the difference between a carrot and a wrench.
"Ian, can you get her off of me?" Tieria asks.
Ian walks over and easily pries Mileina's arms from around Tieria's neck. The meister stands back and goes to fetch something to drink while Ian holds his daughter's arms and looks her in the eye.
"Silly girl, there is nothing to be afraid of. It is just a storm. We hear louder noises when we are fixing the Gundams." He growls.
Tears are still in Mileina's eyes and she looks at her father without really seeing him. He sighs and walks off.
Tieria comes in with two cans of juice and a towel. He offers her the towel to dry her eyes but sighs and puts it down on the table in front of her along with a can of juice.
Mileina stares at it but is silent while Tieria opens his own can and takes a sip while sitting beside her.
"I have never been afraid of storms so I can't really understand what you are going through, but I'll tell you this: being out in the Gundams is scarier than any storm."
This perks her interest and she looks at him out of the corner of her eye.
"The clash of steel on steel is much louder and more painful than any of these storms. The thunder we hear in battle is far worse than earth storms. The impacts we have to go through are enough to deafen us if we don't wear the helmets and the impacts are enough to rattle your teeth. Until this storm starts making the house shake I think we are alright. There is nothing to be afraid of. You should know that. The fights are the ones that hurt us but a storm never will."
Mileina sits up straighter now and opens her drink. She takes a sip and looks at Tieria.
"Thank you, Erde-san." She whispers.
He nods before he drains his can and gets up to recycle it. Mileina is left to sit at the table, cradling her drink. She will remember the words Tieria has said to her today. Her wish came true through her fear. She wanted Tieria to talk to her and she achieved that with her fear. Storms will have a new meaning for her now, and it will not be one full of fear. Whenever she is in a storm from now on she will remember Tieria and the feel of his strong arms supporting her.
Xxx00xxx
They all have dinner and laugh as some people tell jokes. Sumeragi gets drunk and passes out on the table and a few of them go off to play Monopoly or some other games they found in the house. Mileina giggles as she watches Lyle lose the game to Setsuna who remains passive even as Lyle yells at him. Feldt is giggling at the sight and Allelujah is clearing up the empty cans and trash littering the floor.
She turns and sees the view out the window. It is a dark night and it is still raining but the lightning and thunder has stopped. Tieria was right, the storm did end.
Tieria sees her staring out the window and gets an idea. He goes and retrieves two jackets. He stands behind Mileina and slips the jacket over her. She looks up at him and he grabs her wrist and leads her out the back door.
"E-Erde-san, where are we going?" She cries.
She likes the feel of him holding her hand. His actions are something out of her deepest fantasies-but she wants to know why he is taking her outside.
"Come. The best way to overcome a fear is to face it."
They are walking outside on the wet grass now. The smell of rain is everywhere and it is comforting. When they are far away from the house Tieria finally stops and drops her arm. He looks at her and points to the night sky in front of them.
"Look."
She looks up and sees all of the bright stars above.
"After a large storm like the one we just had the sky is always clear. The storm cleanses the atmosphere and gets rid of all of the toxins clouding our view of the night sky. The stars are much brighter after a storm."
She doesn't speak. She is captivated by the view.
"Mileina."
She turns at the sound of her name and her lips are captured with a sweet kiss.
Inside the house Ian and Sumeragi look out the window.
"It really is a beautiful night."
"Yeah, you can say that because your daughter isn't he one being snogged outside." Ian growls.
"Come on, it's sweet. A kiss under the starry sky." Sumeragi chides.
"Hmph."
"Honey!"
Ian turns just in time to see Linda rush at him and kiss him on the lips. She smiles at him afterwards.
"Now you can't make fun of our daughter." She whispers.
"L-Linda!"
Storm. End.