I proved just how heartless I am today by watching th ep "The Ancient Memory" and laughing my ass off at the end where Fiona disappears while screaming at the top of my voice "Lookit! Laugh at his pain! Do it!!" All while at the same time my shounen-ai mad mind went into overtime thinking of what possibilities Van had with Fiona out of the picture (sad, I know; I need to get my mind out of the proverbial gutter!). *sigh* Oh well... I know it's a little late, but there's a new piccy up on mah site (well, it's about 2 weeks old now).
Bah, people-who-fame-and-shame-me time:
To Maelgwyn: Yay! Papaya for me! But fear not; Thomas shall not die (I'm not that mean to lil' Thomy-kun; he's my comic relief!). To Ninetails: I'm sorry for making you cry so much that you had to let Fuuma take over! How about a lil Thomas/Raven to cheer you up? I've always wanted to do one of those! (It might actually turn out to be another good one!) To FM BuuSaix: Wa~ai! Thankies heaps!! To Me: More shall come!!!! To Aqua Rhapsody: *cringes from glare* My bad; I didn't mean to take so long! Ech, you have evil glare... To Flame Shadow: Well I want it to be sad so when the good stuff finally comes around it leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling (Raven: I think I'm gonna be sick... Chan: Shuddup). Thanks all who still love this fic and sorry again about the wait!!
Disclaimer: No Zoids for me...but I wanna own it and screw with the charas lives! Shounen-ai for all!!
Warnings: Blood and an iddy bit of angst (well, just a touch of blood...). This chapter is ta~ame...
Broken ~ Part fourteen
Quietly Standing In The Door
The bounty hunter felt his entire world crumbling down around him as he lay across the motionless form of Van Fleihight. He continued to sob loudly as the rain fell heavily around them, the sound failing to mask his cries of despair. His entire body was shaking from a mixture of cold and painful loss and pulled back to run a shaky hand through onyx hair as he stared at Van's soft features. Irvine sobbed again as he pulled the teen close and cradled his shoulders in his arms.
"God I'm sorry!" he cried, nearly choking on his breath as he clenched his eyes tight. "I should've come sooner!" Irvine hugged Van's lifeless body closer as tears streamed down his face. *I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…* His whole body froze and he snapped his eyes open, staring hard at Van's face. "Van…?" He could have sworn he heard-
There! Irvine's eyes flew wide open and he leant his head down, listening intently. "Van!" he cried as he pulled back again. The black haired youth suddenly coughed violently; Irvine quickly helped him into a sitting position as he gasped heavily, eyes wide. Irvine was caught between laughing and crying as he rubbed his back gently. "Van!" he said loudly and hugged the youth fiercely.
Van cried out and Irvine instantly pulled back, watching as Van pulled his knees up close to his chest and he hugged his mid-section tightly. Tears welled in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks as his entire body was wracked with wave after wave of pain. "Hurts…" he strained, voice barely above a whisper. "Ahh…stop…it…!" his face screwed up with pain. "Oh God it hurts!!" he screamed.
"Van, hold on!" Irvine cried and turned to the silver Organoid. "Zeek, I need you to look after Thomas, I have to-" Zeek gave a throaty cry and Irvine snapped his eyes back to Van. The teen was wavering in his place and finally, with a pain laced groan, slumped to the side where Irvine hastily caught him. "Shit!" he breathed, checking his pulse again. "He's passed out… Oh God this is all my fault!" he chided himself.
"Not a…chance…" a raspy voice breathed heavily from next to him and Irvine looked up to see Thomas standing there, albeit in obvious pain, with one had tightly clutching his ribs. "Raven's gone, right? That means…that you defeated the Geno-Breaker…single-handedly…" Thomas groaned as he wavered on the spot and held up a hand when Irvine started to say something. "Don't worry about me… I've taken worse… You just get Van back to the base and I'll stay here and wait for a recovery unit," the blonde pilot said with a smile.
"Thomas! You're injured! I can't just leave you like-" Thomas glared at him and released a soft growl. "Just go dammit!" he snapped, silencing Irvine. "The mission is complete so just get back there and save that idiot's life before I make you lose yours!" Irvine sighed and stood up, Van cradled in his arms as he turned to Zeek. "Stay with Thomas." A confused growl was his reply. "Just…stay here…"
Irvine turned and walked back to the Lightning Sykes, staring at Van's painful expression. The teen slept huddled in his arms, his head softly resting against Irvine's chest as he released a soft moan every now and again. The bounty hunter winced when he saw the blood seeping through the teen's shirt; it was getting pretty bad, even though the heavy rain was washing away some of it. Van shivered softly and Irvine clutched him tighter and tore his gaze away as he neared the Lightning Sykes, he needed to focus on getting Van back to safety.
Irvine sat down in the open cockpit of the Sykes as gently as he could with Van still in his arms. He swallowed hard as he sealed them in, staring intently at Van's face as the pounding rain lowered to a dull hum in the closed cockpit. *I understand I couldn't live a single day without you…* Irvine clenched his eyes tight as he fought back the tears that one line brought up. "God dammit…don't think about it Irvine… Van's not going to quit on you!" Irvine stared straight ahead as he opened his eyes and clutched the controls of the Lightning Sykes tightly, starting it up quickly.
The bounty hunter bit his bottom lip as tears still streamed down his face while the Sykes ran back to the base. He lifted a hand to wipe them away quickly. "Dammit, stop crying!" he sniffled loudly as he focused on the desert in front of him. "You're no good if you can't see what's in front of you!" he snapped at himself.
He was just about to wipe away some more fresh tears when a soft hand did it for him. Irvine locked startled mauve eyes onto half closed ebony ones and slowly brought the Sykes to a stop. "Van? You're awake?" he whispered. *Not good; he keeps slipping in and out of consciousness!* Van stared up at him and smiled weakly as he gently held Irvine's face. "We'll never be apart as long as I still breathe, remember…?"
Irvine lost it there and then; he gave a huff of a laugh as his tears fell harder than ever as he reached up and held Van's hand in place. He smiled at him through his tears. "Tease…" he managed to whisper out before sniffling again. Van grinned weakly at him as tears filled his eyes. "And…you're not…?" he breathed, voice strained. The bounty hunter lifted his hand from Van's, running it through his hair to the back of his head as he leant down and kissed him softly. Van's tears continued to flow as he laced his fingers through Irvine's hair and held him close.
When they finally parted, Van was breathing raggedly as tears blurred his vision. "Irvine…" he breathed softly as the bounty hunter clutched his hand tightly, tears running down his cheeks. "I'm here Van; don't worry…" the bounty hunter whispered softly as Van's eyes pleaded with him. "Irvine…!" he said more urgently. Irvine felt as Van's ragged breathing began to ease as he moaned softly as his eyelids grew heavy again. "Van, you have to stay awake! Van!!" Irvine cried hastily as he gripped the teen's hand tighter.
Van mumbled something incoherent as his body relaxed and his head fell to the side, eyes sliding shut again. "Van! Aw shit…" Irvine ground out and slammed the Lightning Sykes forward again, shooting across the desert as a bolt of lightning briefly illuminated his path. He blinked suddenly, raising a hand to touch his fingers to his lips. Irvine froze when he saw a large smear of blood across his fingers before he growled and balled his fist, slamming it back onto the controls. *Shit, shit, shit, shit…!! I never should have stopped!* Irvine narrowed his eyes and growled at the desert. "Come on Lightning Sykes! I know you can go faster; you have to for Van's sake!" he cried to the Zoid. The Sykes released a guttural sound and Irvine was pushed back in his seat as the Zoid turned it up a notch. "Alright! This is more like it!" he yelled loudly. "Just please hold on a little longer Van; we're almost there!"
***
Irvine sighed as he fell down onto a nearby seat, thoroughly exhausted. He leant his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, fighting back the tears he knew would come out later. The recovery team that had been sent out to find Thomas had done so almost two hours ago and were just making their way back to base now. Irvine was worried; the doctor at the infirmary took one look at Van and nearly fainted. Not a good sign. The bounty hunter sighed again as he raised a hand to cover his eyes; worried was an understatement.
"Irvine!" a high voice cried and he snapped his head around to stare at Moonbei and Fiona running up to him. He forced a weak smile as he stood up and greeted them. "Hey you two…" Moonbei stared at him wide-eyed, stopping suddenly. "Irvine, are you…?" she pointed to his overalls and he followed her gaze, noticing for the first time that they were completely covered in Van's blood.
He winced and stared back up at her. "It's all Van's," he breathed softly, voice catching in his throat. He snarled and balled his fists tight. "It's all my fault! If I hadn't of gone and followed Thomas then Van would still be okay dammit!" Irvine sighed heavily and closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down. "It's my entire fault…" he breathed. A hand fell to his arm and he opened his eyes to stare into Fiona's as the girl smiled up at him.
"It's not Irvine…" she said softly. "You don't know that it was your fault; you might have just saved Van from Raven!" she said with a hopeful smile. Irvine turned his gaze away from her and sighed. "I don't know that for sure though…" he whispered. *You won't be able to hug me and yell at me enough to get that out of my system,* he frowned to himself as Van's words sprang to mind. *I feel like such an ass…*
Irvine closed his eyes again and was about to sit down again when the doors to the infirmary opened and a nurse walked out, eyeing the three of them warily. "I have a message from the doctor," she said and cleared her throat nervously. "You can all go in and see Lieutenant Fleihight now if you want to."
Moonbei's eyes lit up and a broad smile covered her face. "You mean he's awake now?" she asked hopefully. The nurse lowered her gaze. "Not exactly. He's been sedated, as he kept drifting in and out of consciousness, so that should keep him asleep for the next day or two." Irvine fought not to release an exasperated sigh. "So where is he?" he snapped loudly, making the girl jump. "H-he's just in here; follow me please," she said weakly as she stared nervously at Irvine.
The nurse led them through the infirmary to a closed door, turning to them with a worried expression on her face. "Now please, don't be alarmed if he keeps waking up and drifting off again. He keeps trying to fight the sedative so if you do start talking to him, don't get all indignant if he falls asleep again," she smiled at them and turned on her heel, walking away quickly before Irvine had a chance to snap at her again. "Oh and one more thing," she stopped suddenly and turned around again. "I'll be back in another two hours to check on him if you need anything." She smiled once more and left.
Moonbei took in a deep breath, turning to the door and pressing her hand to it. "Well, here goes. Let's see if he managed to kill himself this time," she joked weakly and pushed it open, stepping inside. "Oh Van…" she whispered sadly as the others came in behind her. Fiona's hands went to her mouth as she gasped and ran to his side.
The young pilot lay asleep with his head to the side, a large bandage around his head and a few patches across his face. Another long bandage went all the way up his arm and another went around his middle; an obvious lump where the swabbing underneath was sitting. Fiona started to reach out to him but her hand caught half way as tears welled in her eyes. "Van…oh God, what happened to you…" she breathed, emotion tugging at her voice.
Irvine couldn't tear his eyes away as he swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. His legs were barely holding him up as he stared at Van's face, and he took in a shaky breath. Moonbei caught his look and placed a hand softly on his arm. Irvine turned to stare at her, as anguish became a palpable emotion on his face.
"Will you be okay?" she whispered softly to him, so as not to alert Fiona. He cast his eyes downwards and nodded quickly. "Yeah, I'll…I'll just stay here until he wakes up…" he replied quietly. Moonbei gave him a quick smile and ruffled his hair quickly. "Don't worry, he'll be back to annoy us before long." Irvine smiled sadly at her as he turned his eyes back to Van. "I know…"
"Hey, Fiona," Moonbei said to the blonde as she turned back to them. "Come on you, it's well past three in the morning and you haven't slept since two days ago," she reminded her with a raise of an eyebrow. Fiona hesitated, sighed, and then nodded quickly before smiling back at Moonbei. "You're right; I have been pushing myself pretty hard these past few days. I really need to unwind," she said with a sigh. "Too much stress…"
The female transporter grinned at her friend. "Come on then girl, I'll help you relax some!" Moonbei said as she strode over to Fiona and grabbed her hand, walking her to the door. "If you need us, we'll be in Fiona's room. Night Irvine!" she waved as she pulled the Zoidian through the door. "Goodnight Irvine, see you tomorrow!" Fiona called as she was dragged away. Irvine waved his goodbyes and shut the door behind them, his hand still resting on the handle as he turned to look at Van. He smiled sadly to himself and sighed lightly, pulling away as he walked over to the sleeping pilot and sat on the bed next to him.
Irvine reached out to softly run his hand through the teen's hair; the doctors had mussed it up more than usual. The bounty hunter found himself smiling as gently held his face and simply gazed at him. Even past all the bandages and the paleness of his skin, Irvine still thought he looked perfect. He leant down and closed his eyes as he softly kissed his forehead, staying there for a moment. "Get well soon Van…" he breathed as he pulled back slightly before clutching the teen's hand and lacing their fingers together. "Don't worry; I'll stay with you…" he smiled softly at him.
***
Barely twelve hours later Moonbei yawned as she walked into the infirmary. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she pushed open the door to Van's room, chuckled softly when she saw the other occupant. Irvine had pulled a chair up next to the bed and was lying on his folded arms next to Van's sleeping form. Moonbei smirked when she heard the bounty hunter snoring softly and walked up to him.
She grinned maliciously and reached out to pinch his nose shut, waiting for a few seconds. Irvine's eyes shot bolt open as he began to cough and gasp for air, stopping to glare at Moonbei. "Yeah; g'morning to you too…" he grumbled as his breathing returned. Moonbei giggled softly and smirked at him.
"Sorry, but it seemed too good to pass up," she grinned sheepishly at him as Irvine just frowned at her. The girl sighed and turned to stare at Van. "How's he doing?" Irvine followed her gaze to stare softly at Van's face and a sad smile touched his lips. "He's fine. He was saying a few things in his sleep a few times during the night but other than that, he's slept soundly," Irvine gave a soft huff of a laugh. "He's a fighter alright." Moonbei rested a hand softly on his shoulder and smiled at the young pilot.
"That's our Van, never gives up even if it means nearly killing himself to do so," Moonbei said softly and Irvine's gaze lowered. "He almost did this time Moonbei…" he breathed. "All I could do was watch as Raven pulled that trigger… I was powerless to stop him…" Moonbei sighed and shook her head. "Irvine, you nut, are you forgetting just who it was that ran out there to save him? If it weren't for you then Van would have died out there! From the look of Thomas' Zoid, I don't think he could've dragged Van all the way back here," she reasoned with him. "Irvine if you hadn't of gone then Van would have bled to death and then none of us would be seeing him again."
Irvine narrowed his gaze but nodded all the same. "I guess so," he breathed and turned to stare up at Moonbei. "Hey, how's Fiona? She seemed pretty upset last night," he asked. Moonbei sighed and turned away. "Well, she was pretty shaken up over this whole thing. I mean, it's not every day that one of your best friends is taken hostage by a complete psychopath and then comes back nearly dead and bleeding all over the place." Irvine chuckled at her graceful summation before stopping again, a frown crossing his features. "I've just got one question; how did Zeek get out there?"
Moonbei shrugged innocently. "After you took off like a bat out of hell, I saw Fiona say something to Zeek; I guess she was worried about you or something," she sighed softly. "Though why anyone would be worried about you is another thing altogether," she said and sneered at the bounty hunter as he just poked his tongue out at her. "You are such a pain in the ass sometimes, Moonbei…" he complained softly. Moonbei rolled her eyes. "And you're not? God, it's not like you're Mister Perfect!" He grinned broadly at her and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Well at least I'm trying, unlike some people who don't even put in the effort!" Moonbei punched his arm playfully. "You're mean!" she shot at him. "Just returning the favour Moonbei. You started it!" Irvine grinned at her.
"You're both too loud…" a strained voice said from next to them, making them nearly jump out of their skins. Two pairs of eyes locked onto ebony depths as Van smiled weakly back at them, eyes still half-closed. "Hey there…" he breathed barely above a whisper. "Van you great dolt! You scared us half to death!" Moonbei cried through her broad smile. Irvine laughed as his arms went around Van's neck and he hugged him close. "Pain…" he breathed in his ear. Van chuckled softly as his arms wrapped gently around Irvine's shoulders.
"Yeah and you're a meanie…" Van whispered softly before Irvine pulled back and Van met Moonbei's gaze. "Hey Moonbei… How you been?" She smiled at him and shrugged. "Oh same old; I'd ask you the same but I can already guess your smart-ass remark." Van grinned at her as his gaze rose to the ceiling. "Man I feel like I've been through the wringer…" he whispered almost to himself. "Hey Moonbei, do you mind if-"
The female transporter held up a hand to silence him. "Say no more my near dead friend; consider me gone. Just don't go dieing on us until I've had breakfast." Irvine raised an eyebrow at her as she clicked the door shut behind her. *But it's three in the afternoon… Weird Moonbei logic; only makes sense to her to have breakfast in the afternoon…* His thoughts were cut off as a warm hand reached up to gently hold his face and he turned to meet Van's ebony gaze, a strange fear shining behind their surface. The young pilot closed his eyes as he pulled Irvine down for a long kiss, needing it more than wanting it. His hand left Irvine's face and ran to the back of his neck, holding him there as the bounty hunter returned the intimate brush. Van felt the sting of tears in his eyes but he clenched his eyes tight, forcing them away.
*I won't start crying, dammit; I won't…* he told himself rhythmically as he slowly pulled back, staring into Irvine's eyes as his hand moved to hold his face gently again. "I had the worst thought run through my head when Raven had me…" he said softly as his eyes searched Irvine's; his other hand reaching up to hold his face gently. "What would have happened if I never saw you again?" he paused to swallow against the lump in his throat. "It was the most fear I've ever felt in my entire life… More so then when I nearly lost Zeek…"
Irvine reached up to pull Van's hands from his face, lacing their fingers together as he smiled sadly down at him. "Van… When Raven sent that message…" he shook his head sadly as he stared into Van's eyes. "I was so furious; all I could think of was getting to you and beating the living hell out of him for doing that to you." Van smiled up at him warmly and chuckled softly. "Well I would have done that myself but I was unconscious most of the time; believe me, I wanted to kick his ass too…" Irvine grinned at him.
"Always have to be the hero huh?" he said jokingly. Van smiled innocently up at him. "Of course! Can you imagine how much praise from General Harlan I'd get if I had of escaped from Raven with just my bare hands?" he grinned up at him. "I'd be a walking miracle in his eyes!" Irvine raised an eyebrow at him and smirked. "Well 'walking miracle', how about you actually recover first and then we can see about you strutting around the place."
Van chuckled and nodded at him, stifling a yawn. "Damn I'm tired…" he muttered, eyelids growing heavy all of a sudden as he felt a great weariness wash over him. Irvine blinked at him in surprise. "Van? Are you alright?" The young pilot nodded softly. "Yeah, just…really tired all of…a sudden…" his voice trailed off as he began to nod off. Irvine sighed softly. "It's just the sedative knocking you out again; you shouldn't have fought them off this long, you idiot." Van's eyes fluttered open briefly. "And you're still…a pain in the ass…" he smiled weakly before he closed his eyes and his body succumbed to sleep. Irvine rolled his eyes and shook his head. "There he goes; trying to prove himself again by staying awake…" he chuckled softly and gave his hands a gently squeeze. "You're only going to kill yourself faster you wacko…"
Irvine sighed as he released Van's hands and stood up silently, staring down at him with a smile. He ran his fingers through the black tresses softly before leaning down and kissing his forehead softly. "I'll be back soon; I need coffee to keep myself awake so I can actually watch over your helpless ass," Irvine remarked softly and walked over to the door. He opened it quickly and heard a soft yelp from the other side; looking around it with an eyebrow raised.
"Moonbei!? What the hell are you doing here?" he shot at her angrily. Moonbei faltered as she stepped back a few paces. "Well ah…I was…" she laughed quickly and grinned at him. "You two were kinda quiet in there so being the good person I was I hung around in case Van died or anything!" she laughed again as Irvine glared at her. "You know something Moonbei…" he said icily as he stepped over to her. She swallowed nervously. "Y-yeah…Irvine…?" Irvine sighed and shook his head, giving the girl a droll look. "You're a bigger pervert than I first thought…"
Moonbei breathed a sigh of relief on the inside and grinned up at him. "Someone has to fill in for Van!" Irvine shot her a questioning look and she rolled her eyes at him. "He's still unconscious, remember? Geez, and I thought my memory was bad…" she smirked at him. "At least I can remember past ten seconds where my other half is!" Irvine's eyes went wide. "You've got an other half? Moonbei has an other half? This is the same girl that flirts with every officer she sees, right?" Irvine blinked at her in shock.
Moonbei shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not…" she smiled at him. "Now, how about some breakfast? Man I could use a good dose of caffeine right about now!" she chuckled and started to walk off. Irvine caught up to her and stared at her, a puzzled look still on his face. "No, no, I'm serious! You're seeing someone?" Irvine pressed. "Who is it huh? Is it anyone I know?" Moonbei sighed and shook her head, smirking at him. "Well if you're absolutely dieing to know!" she began. "It is someone you know and I'm not going past that! Now come on; wake up juice awaits!" Moonbei hummed merrily to herself as she kept walking with Irvine in tow.
A few minutes later they reached the cafeteria and were thoroughly enjoying their caffeine fix. Moonbei sighed contentedly as she leant back in her chair and took a long draught form her cup. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back across the chair, staring skywards. A shadow fell across her and she opened her eyes, blinking at the sudden disturbance. She cried out and nearly fell back in her chair; her cup almost falling out of her hand as she did so.
"Thomas you jerk!!" she cried, sitting bolt upright and glaring at him. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You can't just run around and scare people like that!!" she snapped at him. He laughed weakly and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that…" he sat down next to the two of them, taking a sip from his own cup. "So how's Van been?" he asked softly. Moonbei sighed and shrugged at him. "Well apart from being unconscious most of the time, he's fine. Of course, if you call being shot twice, having a broken hand and losing most of your blood fine, then he's doing just great…"
Thomas groaned in response. "Man, Raven sure did a number on him… Van's definitely going to be out for his blood when he wakes up," Thomas took a long sip from his cup and sighed, turning away as he leant back in his chair. "Not to mention mine…" Irvine raised an eyebrow at him. "Come again? Why would he want to kill you?" he asked in surprise. Thomas turned to stare at him. "Because I failed! I was the one sent out there to rescue him and I failed miserably; you had to come out and save both our asses! Van's going to kick mine for sure!"
Moonbei chuckled and shook her head. "Thomas, you are so dense sometimes…" she remarked softly. He turned to glare wide-eyed at her. "What the hell are you talking about!?" he cried. Moonbei simply smiled at him. "Van's not going to hate you for not beating Raven; hell, anyone should be praising you for lasting that long against him single-handedly!" She sighed at his expression. "Thomas, relax; I don't think Van would even have the energy in him to even think about kicking your ass."
The blonde lieutenant held her gaze for a moment longer before he sighed and took another sip from his coffee. "I guess so… But I still feel like it's somewhat my fault for letting that happen to him…" Irvine laughed at him and dropped a hand to his shoulder. "Don't even start to think that Thomas! It'll get you nowhere fast!" he chuckled again and literally slammed back his coffee, placing the cup back on the table with an audible thunk before he stood up quickly. "I'm going to head back to the infirmary to keep watch on him again; scream loudly if you need me."
Moonbei and Thomas watched him leave the cafeteria, the former sighing heavily and shaking her head before taking a long draught from her cup. Thomas turned to raise an eyebrow at her. "What's the matter Moonbei?" he asked quietly. She stared sadly at the door where the bounty hunter had just left and sighed again, placing her cup on the table. "I'm worried about him…" Thomas nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he was injured pretty badly and-"
"No, I mean Irvine," Moonbei cut him off and Thomas' brow furrowed in confusion. "Irvine? Why are you worried about him?" Moonbei shrugged. "He's been pushing himself so hard lately. I mean, Van's like his only best friend and he's just taking this thing seriously to heart," Moonbei sighed softly as her gaze dropped to the floor. "I know it's just killing him to watch Van lying there and knowing that's all he can do. If I know Irvine, he's going to spend every second he can by Van's side in the hopes that it'll wake him sooner."
Thomas' expression softened and he stared back at Moonbei. "I guess so; he and Van are pretty good friends," he paused as something nagged at him from the corner of his mind. "But that would mean he's been awake for about thirty-six hours now, wouldn't it? If he's going to try and stay awake until Van recovers then he's going to end up collapsing from exhaustion!" Moonbei shook her head sadly. "Actually Thomas, he's been awake for about two and a half days straight now…" Thomas' eyes shot wide open and he stared at her in shock. Moonbei shrugged at his expression. "He's been worried out of sleep since Van was first taken by Raven and it's going to start wearing down on him soon… I'm really worried about him…"
The blonde lieutenant lowered his gaze and sighed. *Irvine won't let this get to him; Van won't let him,* he thought suddenly. *He and Van are going to be just fine…* Thomas smiled up at Moonbei, dropping a hand to her shoulder as she turned to stare at him in wonder. "Van's going to get better faster than ever and Irvine's going to be just fine. If anyone can pull through this, it's them; you'll see." Moonbei smiled warmly back at him and nodded. "Yeah, they're both strong enough to get through anything together… Even if it manages to damn near kill them in the process!" Moonbei and Thomas laughed it off, oblivious to a certain bounty hunter that stood just outside the door and heard every word with a warm smile on his face.
*Strong enough to get through anything together…* Irvine smiled to himself and close his eyes. *Thanks Moonbei…*
TBC
Chan: *looking around worriedly* Van, have you seen my new muse?
Van: You mean that wierd little white puffball thing that's wandering around and clutching it's head while screaming its lungs out like it's losing an arm or something?
Chan: Yeah that's the one. *teary eyed* Moomu-chan doko~o??
Van: *sweatdrop* Moomu-chan? Your muse's name is Moomu? *snickers*
Chan: *glares at Van who immediately shuts up* Better. Or do you want to stay dead!?
Van: I'll behave! I'll even find the puffball for you!
Chan: *glomps Van viciously* Thankies heaps Van-kun!!
Van: *pulling himself from death-grip* Sure, sure... *runs off* Moomu! Hey puffball!!
Random Moogle: Someone call?
Van: What the hell? You're Chan's muse?
Moomu: Yup, Mail Order Moogle Muse number 23 at yer service! *sweatdrops* Known to Chan as Moomu...
Van: *snickers* Um...she's looking for you, you know. She's starting to blame you for this chapter alone.
Moomu: Already!? Shight, I get delivered five days overdue and she's already crawling up my-
Chan: MOOMU!!! *runs at the Moogle and tackles it wildly*
*Moomu screams as he's violently glomped by Chan*
Chan: I was so~o worried about you Moomu-chan!!
Moomu: *strangling* Help...me...!!!