Title: Endless Night
Theme: #4 - Can't Sleep
Genres: Drama/General
Pairing: Ssigh Argyle x Fllay Allster
Word Count: 755
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam SEED.
Ssigh dug his knuckles into his creasing forehead as he sat, slouched and tense, with his elbows propped against the tabletop. The death of the Vice Foreign Minister was finally beginning to sink in around the Archangel; Fllay, especially, had shown a significant amount of change in the past few days, which worried him to no end. Since the death of her father, the tensity others felt in her presence was thick enough to challenge the Strike's beam saber; it was terrible.
He found himself questioning Kira's motives, after hearing that he was close friends with one of ZAFT's soldiers. It was a shocking revelation for some; people soon began to murmur about him all around; he couldn't escape it. Would he betray them? Was he a spy? What are his intensions and why is he on Earth's side? Not a single one spoke of Fllay.
Now with one elbow propped against the desk, Ssigh rubbed his eyes and stretched. He was bone tired, unmistakably. His eyes were heavy and half-closed; his body shivered, though the room wasn't exactly cold, and his head fogged over with boggling thoughts. It wasn't helping to be in this kind of state, but he needed to stick around and look after Fllay; he was the only one with the courage to do it.
All he felt he could do, though, was help her get to sleep at night, which was more important than it sounded, considering what she was now going through. He had difficultly getting her to sleep the first time, she was still in a storm of angry tears. She howled, she choked, she picked things up and threw them across the room, though the lack of gravity kept the items from smashing against the wall, or even the floor.
The second, she'd been bitter, cold, distant, and faced away from him without even stirring. He couldn't tell if she was asleep, but he stayed and looked after her anyway, just so she wouldn't be alone.
Right now was her third sleep, though she insisted on being alone, and who was he to deny a mourning girl's wishes?
Sleep wouldn't come to him, so he took a seat in the dining area. He had been lying in his bed for what seemed like hours, staring at the wall in a similar fashion she had. Figuring sleep would eventually claim him, and he got comfortable beneath the sheets, eagerly awaiting, eyes closed, though that myriad of troublesome thoughts never ceased.
He remembered hearing a small crash and jolting upward abruptly, only to realize it was probably just in his imagination. It sounded like glass breaking, and he thought of the time Fllay had accidentally dropped a glass of water on his hard living room floor back at Heliopolis. She'd been such a benevolent and affectionate young woman in those days, even if she did get a bit clumsy in new places. He didn't want her to lose that part of herself.
"S-Ssigh... " He immediately snapped out of his thoughts when he heard that small, bewildered voice croak from behind him, and spun around to face her, nearly knocking himself off the bench at the sight of her.
"Fllay... are you all right?" He originally wanted to ask how she found him, but that didn't quite matter at the moment.
"I... " About to crumble, her face looked as if were to well with tears once more, and he prepared himself for any emotional outburst that had been bubbling inside of her. As long as she was this way, he couldn't turn his back on her; he couldn't deny her anything.
The walls didn't come smashing down this time. With as collected a voice as she could muster, she whispered, "I don't want to be alone."
When no tears followed this small request for company, Ssigh allowed himself to relax and walked her back to her room without question. They said nothing; the small kiss she planted on his cheek spoke every word for them, and he could almost detect a faint smile somewhere in her eyes. She was thanking him; the light in her had yet to die. He cupped her hand and smiled as she slid her body under the covers, happy to see her recovering, even slightly. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep, and Ssigh followed her lead with his head bent black slightly against the back of his chair.
The creases on his forehead began to fade.
End