More than Words Can Say
Chapter Four: To Sleep in Your Arms
Jr. sprinted with all of his speed down the corridors of the residential areas of the Durandal. He hurriedly approached the train that served as a means of transportation for those aboard the enormous ship, the long silver earring on his left ear dangling as he ran. He ran in place as the train came and the doors parted for him once he set his destination to the dock area where he told Captain Matthews he would be there in ten minutes. Jr. had kept the Elsa waiting for forty minutes.
"C'mon, c'mon, move faster..." He mumbled angrily to himself as the train zipped past the numerous vicinities of the Durandal. It was a few more minutes until the doors opened for Jr. again, and he stepped out onto the dock area, where the ship was waiting for him.
"Thank God, they waited!" Jr. dashed towards the Elsa and entered, careful not to harm the small package that he kept in one of the pockets of his black trench coat. "I hope she likes it."
* * * *
"Ah...ah...AHCHOO!!!" MOMO sneezed loudly after she accidentally inhaled some of the dust particles that were on Hammer's desktop. "Ugh, doesn't he ever dust his room?"
"Apparently not," answered chaos as he served as a spectator while sitting on Hammer's neatly made bed while MOMO cleaned. He would have been happy to lend her a hand, but the Realian politely denied it, stating that it was her chore and that chaos should not trouble himself. "Remember, he is the navigator of the Elsa. Plus, he's usually arguing with the Captain or Tony."
MOMO smiled as she threw all of the empty soda cans that were strewn against the desk into a large garbage bag. "They all fight so much, yet they all care about each other as a family unit. But then why does the Captain always kick the back of Hammer's chair, and Tony and Hammer yell at each other until they're both blue in the face?"
chaos shrugged. "The thing about them is that they are all stubborn. They are too embarrassed to say that they think of each other as kin so they show what they can't say truthfully in funny ways. Don't worry about them though: if either one was in trouble, the other two would do anything in their power to save him. Believe me, I know."
MOMO tied the bag together tightly so that the garbage that she collected from this room would not fall out. She counted all of the garbage bags that were full of discarded magazines, empty food and drink packages, torn up papers, and other inadequate paraphernalia. "I used up eighteen bags this time to pick up the junk from their rooms. That's five more than last time!"
"And of course, all three men also share the trait of being extremely messy," chaos remarked humorously.
MOMO was about to add to that comment, but then she had noticed that Jr. had just entered Hammer's room. He was clad in his usual long trench coat, the golden cross designs embroidered on his sleeves standing out against the mostly black cloth. He wore his neon green pants that were lined with orange stripes, and like always he left the right pant leg unzipped, revealing his bare knee, and covering the rest of his leg.
Jr. was about to greet MOMO, until he saw chaos sitting on Hammer's bed. His jealously returned shortly thereafter, and once again his face appeared irritable.
"Jr., you came!" MOMO chirped. She took off the bandana that she wore, exposing more of her light scarlet hair. She was untying her apron whilst chaos approached the ominous crimson-haired boy.
"Nice to see that you'll be joining us to Second Miltia, Jr."
Jr.'s hands placed themselves on his hips and he answered with a simple 'yeah'. His commonly warm sapphire eyes had now appeared dark and stormy.
"I better go tell the Captain to take off now that you're here. MOMO, take a break already. You've spent a good deal of time cleaning the ship."
MOMO had succeeded in getting her apron off and folded, so now her sailor dress was completely in view. "Don't worry about me, chaos. I'll rest as soon as I get this equipment back to the utility room." chaos left, and now only Jr. remained with MOMO.
"Let me give you a hand," Jr. suggested after seeing that MOMO was somewhat struggling with one of the bulging garbage bags. Before she could protest, he was already carrying two bags over his back. "We'll get the other ones later."
MOMO agreed and she followed Jr. to dispose the trash, dragging a large bag herself across the floor. With Jr.'s help, the trash was cleared in a matter of minutes as the two went back and forth to clear Hammer's room of any of the litter. After the two were done, they stopped by the utility closet to drop off MOMO's rubber gloves and bucket.
"Man, I'm beat," Jr. said. "How do you do it, MOMO? How can you possibly make those guys' room sparkling clean and live to tell about it?"
MOMO giggled as she placed her apron on a shelf for next week. "I'm used to it by now. Besides, it's the least I can do for all that they've done for Ziggy and me."
"I still say it's pretty exhausting work." Jr. suddenly remembered about the package he kept hidden in his pocket that he wanted to give to MOMO. "Hey, I'm pretty thirsty. Why don't we-"
The ground, without warning, shifted underneath their feet. The ship had finally taken off into the deep reaches of space toward the planet of Second Miltia. MOMO lost her balance and fell forward, but Jr.'s arms instinctively reached out to catch her. Her head lightly bumped against his chest, the steady sounds of his heart resonating in her ears. She felt his arms enveloped securely, but delicately around her, and she felt her own wrapping themselves around his stomach. He felt the blood rushing up to his face, but he held her regardless, as if he were dreaming and wanted to never part from that embrace. MOMO's eyes were closed, feeling the strong sense of comfort that Jr. could only provide her even though the ship was still going through a stage of turbulence as attempted to recover the shaky launch from the Durandal.
Jr. was so vulnerable at that moment. He wanted to tell her everything that he had never spoke openly about. He had been waiting so long now these past months and he strived to work up the courage to tell MOMO one day how he truly felt about her. Eventually, Jr. knew about the possibility that Ziggy and her were going to go their separate ways. More detailed instructions were due anytime for Ziggy from Juli Mizrahi, the director of the Subcommittee. There is a chance that the cyborg will have new orders to go somewhere else to hide MOMO away from the Federation Government and the U-TIC Organization. It was too quiet after what happened at Proto Merkabah and he knew that there were forces that were still in pursuit of the valuable Y-data that MOMO contained. How was keeping her on a civilian ship going to prevent her from being kidnapped once more? In any case, Jr. did not want to see her leave him. He had never had this kind of adoration for anyone else before, and he could not stand for her to desert him.
He must tell her. He had to convince her that no one would ever harm her again as long as she was on the Durandal. He would find some way to keep her out of the U-TIC Organization and the Federation's grasps, even if it came down to him having to fight them head on. He would protect her no matter what, just as long as she would stay with him...
"MOMO, I...need to tell you something," Jr. confessed.
She looked up at him, those lovely honey-colored eyes gazing innocently at him. "What is it?"
It was now or never. He took a deep breath and began to speak. "I-I wanted to tell you that-"
"HEY MOMO!!!" The gruff voice of Captain Matthews hollered over the intercom, startling the two 'children'. "chaos said that you did your chores. C'mon to the bridge to get your allowance!"
And then there was silence. MOMO was free of a frustrated Jr.'s hold as she prepared to head over toward the bridge. "I'm sorry, Jr. What is it that you wanted to say?"
Jr. only shook his head. "Nothing. It was nothing." He said dejectedly.
MOMO examined his gloomy disposition. "Are you sure? I can tell Captain Matthews that I'll pick up my allowance later."
"No, really! I don't wanna bother you." Jr.'s shoulders slumped as he turned to walk away. However, he felt a hand slip gently around his arm. He looked back to see the doll-like face of MOMO.
"Jr., you would never be a bother to me. Listen, you said something about being thirsty. I'll meet you in the diner after I get back from the bridge and put away my money. Then we can talk all we want until we get to Second Miltia."
Jr. studied her composure a bit, and he realized that she wanted to spend time with him as much as he wanted with her. He grinned enthusiastically and converted back to his old animated self. "Sure! Just don't keep me waiting long."
"I won't!" MOMO then ran in the direction to the bridge where she would get her weekly payment, not knowing that Jr. watched her until she was not in his sight any longer.
He walked to the diner, his boots thudding softly while tossing a few coins in the air out of boredom and whistling happily as he went on his way.
* * * *
"I'm here!" MOMO called out to the crew. Captain Matthews noticed her and his automated chair descended onto ground level. He walked over to the good-mannered Realian girl as she stood patiently near the entrance.
"Did you do EVERYTHING that you were supposed to do?"
"Yes. I cleaned the B2 lounge, helped Shion and Allen in the kitchen, and dusted and vacuumed all of the rooms. I categorized your Seraphim Sisters music collection by date, I cleaned out all the soda cans and candy wrappers in Hammer's room, and I organized all of Tony's magazines, even the ones that he put under his mattress!"
Hammer and Captain Matthews burst into laughter after MOMO's last statement while chaos shook his head from his place in front of his computer monitor. Tony's face turned red, but he could not say anything in his defense because he was in charge of piloting the ship.
"Captain!" chaos interrupted the laughing men and shot a look at them. "MOMO is still here."
Matthews wiped away the tears from his eyes. "Okay, okay. Here," he placed two coins worth twenty gold in her hands. "Good job."
"MOMO, catch!" Hammer informed her and into her opened hands landed another two coins. "Thanks for getting all that food out of my room!"
chaos walked over to MOMO and presented her with four coins. "This is what Tony and I owe you."
MOMO smiled in gratefulness. "Thank you all."
Matthews took a cigarette from his pocket and put it to his lips. "No problem, kid. Just move along now and find something to do. It's gonna be a while until we're in Second Miltia's atmosphere."
MOMO obeyed and left the bridge to deposit her money into the piggy bank she kept onboard her room on the Elsa, while Matthews and Hammer proceeded with their laughing and taunting of the humiliated Tony, who fought back by claiming that he was only a human man.
* * * *
"Hey, can I have a cup of black coffee here?" Jr. asked the maintenance robot that was in charge of taking care of the diner.
"I AM SORRY SIR, BUT WE ARE OUT OF THE BEVERAGE YOU HAVE REQUESTED. THE CREW HAD CONSUMED IT 24 HOURS AGO."
"Man, no coffee? Well, what about some root beer?"
"WE ARE OUT OF STOCK." The robotic voice responded.
"Orange soda?"
"OUT OF STOCK."
"Grape soda?"
"OUT OF STOCK."
"...any kind of soda?"
"OUT OF STOCK."
"Damn it!" Jr. slammed his fist down upon the table. "What the hell does Matthews use all those funds that Gaignun is always giving him? Do you have ANY caffeine left on this ship!?"
"Um, do you have any lemonade left?" A feminine voice requested.
"YES, I SHALL PREPARE TWO GLASSES RIGHT AWAY."
MOMO approached the booth Jr. was sitting in and she seated herself next to him. As stated, the robot wheeled itself to them and placed a tray, on which sat two tall glasses of ice and cool lemonade stood, onto the tabletop.
"IF YOU WILL BE NEEDING MY SERVICES, I WILL BE IN THE KITCHEN." With that, the robot scooted away, and once again MOMO and Jr. were alone.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" MOMO asked after taking a sip of her lemonade.
Jr. took out something from his trench coat and presented it to MOMO. It was a rectangle-shaped package covered in pink wrapping paper and tied with a red and gold bow. "Go on and open it."
MOMO took the gift in her hands and slowly untied the ribbon and tore through the wrapping paper. She discovered a thick book with a hardbound dark blue cover. Yellow lines traced the border of the book and around the small-printed title, "Fairy Tales for Children". She flipped through all the pages, the musky odor filling her nostrils, and she could make out small black and white pictures in certain sections of the book.
"This is a book that I had for a while now. A long time ago in a country called Germany, these guys named the Grimm brothers collected a whole bunch of stories and published them all together. These stories were really interesting stuff, but back then, they were about political and complicated moral matters and were full of graphic scenes. So as time went on, the stories were altered so that they would be suitable for children to read. A lot of kids loved these stories and passed it on to later generations. When Lost Jerusalem was gone, these 'fairy tales' as people knew them to be were almost forgotten."
"Jr., you shouldn't have given me something that's so valuable!" MOMO scolded lightly.
"It's all right. I've been through that book a hundred of times and I've read through all the stories. Whenever I read it I felt relaxed by them, so I want to give it to you so that you'd be able to sleep better at night."
MOMO's eyes appeared somewhat nervous. "W-where did you hear that I've had trouble sleeping?"
"Shion told me at breakfast today. She found you asleep near the window in your room and said that you didn't look like you were able to rest easily."
MOMO's was relieved, glad that chaos had kept his word to not tell anyone about her nightmare. "Oh, that...I'm sorry that I worried you."
"It's not a big deal," Jr. assured her. "I just thought that you would really like this book. I wanted you to have so that you'd be calmed by them before you went to bed when I'm not able to be there with you."
MOMO blushed slightly at Jr.'s last statement. "Thank you so much. I'll always treasure this book. But, can I ask you for a favor?"
"Shoot."
"Can...can you read one of the stories to me?"
Jr. smiled warmly. "Of course I can." He turned to the first page while MOMO moved closer beside him, their faces almost near to him. "This one is called 'Cinderella'." He began telling the story while MOMO listened with her full attention while resting against his shoulder. The ice cubes in their glasses were melting slowly and diluting the lemonade, but neither one of them seemed to care. MOMO's face changed expressions during specific parts of the story: she frowned when she heard how cruel the heroine's stepmother and stepsisters treated her, but she smiled when her fairy godmother came to her aid using her magic and when Cinderella had fallen in love with the handsome prince. The minutes flew by but MOMO and Jr. did not realize it: they only knew that the other one was there, and that was all that mattered to them.
"And then Cinderella and the prince married, and they lived happily ever after," Jr. concluded. "So what did you think, MOMO?"
The Realian girl did not answer, the reason being that she had fallen asleep. It did not come as a surprise for Jr.: she was worn out from cleaning the ship. He gingerly moved his shoulder so that her head fell softly upon his chest. He slipped off his trench coat and wrapped it around her lithe form as means to keep her warm while she slumbered. He touched her hand, and smiled upon seeing the charm bracelet she wore around her fragile wrist. He had given to her a while back: he melded an old bullet to a gold thin chain for her. The bullet gave off a faint copper glow and had the words 'Sayonara, baby!' engraved upon its scratched surface. It meant a lot to him that she still wore it. She was his purpose in life: she was the one that he held closest to his heart even if he was not able to tell her.
Jr. shut his eyes and lay against the wall with MOMO snuggling comfortably against his chest. He fell asleep, knowing that the person he loved was safe and sound in his own arms.
SPECIAL NOTE: There, a MOMO/Jr. scene! I hope you guys are happy, 'cause a lot more stuff is going to happen when the Elsa gets to Second Miltia. As for the last chapter, sorry for making it creepy but as I said, I want to give you guys a good story. Don't worry, there will be more interactions between MOMO and Jr. and, gasp, another appearance by the shadowy figure in Chapter 3! As always, thank you for all of your reviews! I'm happy that you're enjoying this story!
Chapter Four: To Sleep in Your Arms
Jr. sprinted with all of his speed down the corridors of the residential areas of the Durandal. He hurriedly approached the train that served as a means of transportation for those aboard the enormous ship, the long silver earring on his left ear dangling as he ran. He ran in place as the train came and the doors parted for him once he set his destination to the dock area where he told Captain Matthews he would be there in ten minutes. Jr. had kept the Elsa waiting for forty minutes.
"C'mon, c'mon, move faster..." He mumbled angrily to himself as the train zipped past the numerous vicinities of the Durandal. It was a few more minutes until the doors opened for Jr. again, and he stepped out onto the dock area, where the ship was waiting for him.
"Thank God, they waited!" Jr. dashed towards the Elsa and entered, careful not to harm the small package that he kept in one of the pockets of his black trench coat. "I hope she likes it."
* * * *
"Ah...ah...AHCHOO!!!" MOMO sneezed loudly after she accidentally inhaled some of the dust particles that were on Hammer's desktop. "Ugh, doesn't he ever dust his room?"
"Apparently not," answered chaos as he served as a spectator while sitting on Hammer's neatly made bed while MOMO cleaned. He would have been happy to lend her a hand, but the Realian politely denied it, stating that it was her chore and that chaos should not trouble himself. "Remember, he is the navigator of the Elsa. Plus, he's usually arguing with the Captain or Tony."
MOMO smiled as she threw all of the empty soda cans that were strewn against the desk into a large garbage bag. "They all fight so much, yet they all care about each other as a family unit. But then why does the Captain always kick the back of Hammer's chair, and Tony and Hammer yell at each other until they're both blue in the face?"
chaos shrugged. "The thing about them is that they are all stubborn. They are too embarrassed to say that they think of each other as kin so they show what they can't say truthfully in funny ways. Don't worry about them though: if either one was in trouble, the other two would do anything in their power to save him. Believe me, I know."
MOMO tied the bag together tightly so that the garbage that she collected from this room would not fall out. She counted all of the garbage bags that were full of discarded magazines, empty food and drink packages, torn up papers, and other inadequate paraphernalia. "I used up eighteen bags this time to pick up the junk from their rooms. That's five more than last time!"
"And of course, all three men also share the trait of being extremely messy," chaos remarked humorously.
MOMO was about to add to that comment, but then she had noticed that Jr. had just entered Hammer's room. He was clad in his usual long trench coat, the golden cross designs embroidered on his sleeves standing out against the mostly black cloth. He wore his neon green pants that were lined with orange stripes, and like always he left the right pant leg unzipped, revealing his bare knee, and covering the rest of his leg.
Jr. was about to greet MOMO, until he saw chaos sitting on Hammer's bed. His jealously returned shortly thereafter, and once again his face appeared irritable.
"Jr., you came!" MOMO chirped. She took off the bandana that she wore, exposing more of her light scarlet hair. She was untying her apron whilst chaos approached the ominous crimson-haired boy.
"Nice to see that you'll be joining us to Second Miltia, Jr."
Jr.'s hands placed themselves on his hips and he answered with a simple 'yeah'. His commonly warm sapphire eyes had now appeared dark and stormy.
"I better go tell the Captain to take off now that you're here. MOMO, take a break already. You've spent a good deal of time cleaning the ship."
MOMO had succeeded in getting her apron off and folded, so now her sailor dress was completely in view. "Don't worry about me, chaos. I'll rest as soon as I get this equipment back to the utility room." chaos left, and now only Jr. remained with MOMO.
"Let me give you a hand," Jr. suggested after seeing that MOMO was somewhat struggling with one of the bulging garbage bags. Before she could protest, he was already carrying two bags over his back. "We'll get the other ones later."
MOMO agreed and she followed Jr. to dispose the trash, dragging a large bag herself across the floor. With Jr.'s help, the trash was cleared in a matter of minutes as the two went back and forth to clear Hammer's room of any of the litter. After the two were done, they stopped by the utility closet to drop off MOMO's rubber gloves and bucket.
"Man, I'm beat," Jr. said. "How do you do it, MOMO? How can you possibly make those guys' room sparkling clean and live to tell about it?"
MOMO giggled as she placed her apron on a shelf for next week. "I'm used to it by now. Besides, it's the least I can do for all that they've done for Ziggy and me."
"I still say it's pretty exhausting work." Jr. suddenly remembered about the package he kept hidden in his pocket that he wanted to give to MOMO. "Hey, I'm pretty thirsty. Why don't we-"
The ground, without warning, shifted underneath their feet. The ship had finally taken off into the deep reaches of space toward the planet of Second Miltia. MOMO lost her balance and fell forward, but Jr.'s arms instinctively reached out to catch her. Her head lightly bumped against his chest, the steady sounds of his heart resonating in her ears. She felt his arms enveloped securely, but delicately around her, and she felt her own wrapping themselves around his stomach. He felt the blood rushing up to his face, but he held her regardless, as if he were dreaming and wanted to never part from that embrace. MOMO's eyes were closed, feeling the strong sense of comfort that Jr. could only provide her even though the ship was still going through a stage of turbulence as attempted to recover the shaky launch from the Durandal.
Jr. was so vulnerable at that moment. He wanted to tell her everything that he had never spoke openly about. He had been waiting so long now these past months and he strived to work up the courage to tell MOMO one day how he truly felt about her. Eventually, Jr. knew about the possibility that Ziggy and her were going to go their separate ways. More detailed instructions were due anytime for Ziggy from Juli Mizrahi, the director of the Subcommittee. There is a chance that the cyborg will have new orders to go somewhere else to hide MOMO away from the Federation Government and the U-TIC Organization. It was too quiet after what happened at Proto Merkabah and he knew that there were forces that were still in pursuit of the valuable Y-data that MOMO contained. How was keeping her on a civilian ship going to prevent her from being kidnapped once more? In any case, Jr. did not want to see her leave him. He had never had this kind of adoration for anyone else before, and he could not stand for her to desert him.
He must tell her. He had to convince her that no one would ever harm her again as long as she was on the Durandal. He would find some way to keep her out of the U-TIC Organization and the Federation's grasps, even if it came down to him having to fight them head on. He would protect her no matter what, just as long as she would stay with him...
"MOMO, I...need to tell you something," Jr. confessed.
She looked up at him, those lovely honey-colored eyes gazing innocently at him. "What is it?"
It was now or never. He took a deep breath and began to speak. "I-I wanted to tell you that-"
"HEY MOMO!!!" The gruff voice of Captain Matthews hollered over the intercom, startling the two 'children'. "chaos said that you did your chores. C'mon to the bridge to get your allowance!"
And then there was silence. MOMO was free of a frustrated Jr.'s hold as she prepared to head over toward the bridge. "I'm sorry, Jr. What is it that you wanted to say?"
Jr. only shook his head. "Nothing. It was nothing." He said dejectedly.
MOMO examined his gloomy disposition. "Are you sure? I can tell Captain Matthews that I'll pick up my allowance later."
"No, really! I don't wanna bother you." Jr.'s shoulders slumped as he turned to walk away. However, he felt a hand slip gently around his arm. He looked back to see the doll-like face of MOMO.
"Jr., you would never be a bother to me. Listen, you said something about being thirsty. I'll meet you in the diner after I get back from the bridge and put away my money. Then we can talk all we want until we get to Second Miltia."
Jr. studied her composure a bit, and he realized that she wanted to spend time with him as much as he wanted with her. He grinned enthusiastically and converted back to his old animated self. "Sure! Just don't keep me waiting long."
"I won't!" MOMO then ran in the direction to the bridge where she would get her weekly payment, not knowing that Jr. watched her until she was not in his sight any longer.
He walked to the diner, his boots thudding softly while tossing a few coins in the air out of boredom and whistling happily as he went on his way.
* * * *
"I'm here!" MOMO called out to the crew. Captain Matthews noticed her and his automated chair descended onto ground level. He walked over to the good-mannered Realian girl as she stood patiently near the entrance.
"Did you do EVERYTHING that you were supposed to do?"
"Yes. I cleaned the B2 lounge, helped Shion and Allen in the kitchen, and dusted and vacuumed all of the rooms. I categorized your Seraphim Sisters music collection by date, I cleaned out all the soda cans and candy wrappers in Hammer's room, and I organized all of Tony's magazines, even the ones that he put under his mattress!"
Hammer and Captain Matthews burst into laughter after MOMO's last statement while chaos shook his head from his place in front of his computer monitor. Tony's face turned red, but he could not say anything in his defense because he was in charge of piloting the ship.
"Captain!" chaos interrupted the laughing men and shot a look at them. "MOMO is still here."
Matthews wiped away the tears from his eyes. "Okay, okay. Here," he placed two coins worth twenty gold in her hands. "Good job."
"MOMO, catch!" Hammer informed her and into her opened hands landed another two coins. "Thanks for getting all that food out of my room!"
chaos walked over to MOMO and presented her with four coins. "This is what Tony and I owe you."
MOMO smiled in gratefulness. "Thank you all."
Matthews took a cigarette from his pocket and put it to his lips. "No problem, kid. Just move along now and find something to do. It's gonna be a while until we're in Second Miltia's atmosphere."
MOMO obeyed and left the bridge to deposit her money into the piggy bank she kept onboard her room on the Elsa, while Matthews and Hammer proceeded with their laughing and taunting of the humiliated Tony, who fought back by claiming that he was only a human man.
* * * *
"Hey, can I have a cup of black coffee here?" Jr. asked the maintenance robot that was in charge of taking care of the diner.
"I AM SORRY SIR, BUT WE ARE OUT OF THE BEVERAGE YOU HAVE REQUESTED. THE CREW HAD CONSUMED IT 24 HOURS AGO."
"Man, no coffee? Well, what about some root beer?"
"WE ARE OUT OF STOCK." The robotic voice responded.
"Orange soda?"
"OUT OF STOCK."
"Grape soda?"
"OUT OF STOCK."
"...any kind of soda?"
"OUT OF STOCK."
"Damn it!" Jr. slammed his fist down upon the table. "What the hell does Matthews use all those funds that Gaignun is always giving him? Do you have ANY caffeine left on this ship!?"
"Um, do you have any lemonade left?" A feminine voice requested.
"YES, I SHALL PREPARE TWO GLASSES RIGHT AWAY."
MOMO approached the booth Jr. was sitting in and she seated herself next to him. As stated, the robot wheeled itself to them and placed a tray, on which sat two tall glasses of ice and cool lemonade stood, onto the tabletop.
"IF YOU WILL BE NEEDING MY SERVICES, I WILL BE IN THE KITCHEN." With that, the robot scooted away, and once again MOMO and Jr. were alone.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" MOMO asked after taking a sip of her lemonade.
Jr. took out something from his trench coat and presented it to MOMO. It was a rectangle-shaped package covered in pink wrapping paper and tied with a red and gold bow. "Go on and open it."
MOMO took the gift in her hands and slowly untied the ribbon and tore through the wrapping paper. She discovered a thick book with a hardbound dark blue cover. Yellow lines traced the border of the book and around the small-printed title, "Fairy Tales for Children". She flipped through all the pages, the musky odor filling her nostrils, and she could make out small black and white pictures in certain sections of the book.
"This is a book that I had for a while now. A long time ago in a country called Germany, these guys named the Grimm brothers collected a whole bunch of stories and published them all together. These stories were really interesting stuff, but back then, they were about political and complicated moral matters and were full of graphic scenes. So as time went on, the stories were altered so that they would be suitable for children to read. A lot of kids loved these stories and passed it on to later generations. When Lost Jerusalem was gone, these 'fairy tales' as people knew them to be were almost forgotten."
"Jr., you shouldn't have given me something that's so valuable!" MOMO scolded lightly.
"It's all right. I've been through that book a hundred of times and I've read through all the stories. Whenever I read it I felt relaxed by them, so I want to give it to you so that you'd be able to sleep better at night."
MOMO's eyes appeared somewhat nervous. "W-where did you hear that I've had trouble sleeping?"
"Shion told me at breakfast today. She found you asleep near the window in your room and said that you didn't look like you were able to rest easily."
MOMO's was relieved, glad that chaos had kept his word to not tell anyone about her nightmare. "Oh, that...I'm sorry that I worried you."
"It's not a big deal," Jr. assured her. "I just thought that you would really like this book. I wanted you to have so that you'd be calmed by them before you went to bed when I'm not able to be there with you."
MOMO blushed slightly at Jr.'s last statement. "Thank you so much. I'll always treasure this book. But, can I ask you for a favor?"
"Shoot."
"Can...can you read one of the stories to me?"
Jr. smiled warmly. "Of course I can." He turned to the first page while MOMO moved closer beside him, their faces almost near to him. "This one is called 'Cinderella'." He began telling the story while MOMO listened with her full attention while resting against his shoulder. The ice cubes in their glasses were melting slowly and diluting the lemonade, but neither one of them seemed to care. MOMO's face changed expressions during specific parts of the story: she frowned when she heard how cruel the heroine's stepmother and stepsisters treated her, but she smiled when her fairy godmother came to her aid using her magic and when Cinderella had fallen in love with the handsome prince. The minutes flew by but MOMO and Jr. did not realize it: they only knew that the other one was there, and that was all that mattered to them.
"And then Cinderella and the prince married, and they lived happily ever after," Jr. concluded. "So what did you think, MOMO?"
The Realian girl did not answer, the reason being that she had fallen asleep. It did not come as a surprise for Jr.: she was worn out from cleaning the ship. He gingerly moved his shoulder so that her head fell softly upon his chest. He slipped off his trench coat and wrapped it around her lithe form as means to keep her warm while she slumbered. He touched her hand, and smiled upon seeing the charm bracelet she wore around her fragile wrist. He had given to her a while back: he melded an old bullet to a gold thin chain for her. The bullet gave off a faint copper glow and had the words 'Sayonara, baby!' engraved upon its scratched surface. It meant a lot to him that she still wore it. She was his purpose in life: she was the one that he held closest to his heart even if he was not able to tell her.
Jr. shut his eyes and lay against the wall with MOMO snuggling comfortably against his chest. He fell asleep, knowing that the person he loved was safe and sound in his own arms.
SPECIAL NOTE: There, a MOMO/Jr. scene! I hope you guys are happy, 'cause a lot more stuff is going to happen when the Elsa gets to Second Miltia. As for the last chapter, sorry for making it creepy but as I said, I want to give you guys a good story. Don't worry, there will be more interactions between MOMO and Jr. and, gasp, another appearance by the shadowy figure in Chapter 3! As always, thank you for all of your reviews! I'm happy that you're enjoying this story!
