TWs: Lieutenant General is a prick, and Clay has issues with thunder/lightning (so did Tord).
"You guys need a distraction?" Clay asked as he glanced between the three soldiers.
"Yep, someone to distract anyone that gets near the plane hangar. It should be easy for you, since how could anyone resist such an adorable face?" Tord explained.
"I'm not adorable! I'm cool." Clay corrected.
Tord smiled, "Whatever you say, lillebror."
Clay thought momentarily, "What am I getting out of this?"
The leader looked to Pau, who nodded as he moved to get something. The taller heaved a plastic bag over to the others. It was filled with Clay's favorite snack.
Clay gasped as he grinned, "Lollies!?"
The boy tried to grab it, but Tord stopped him with a swift hand on his shoulder, "Ah, ah, ah, Clay. First, we need you as a distraction. You'll get the lollies after."
The younger one huffed as he crossed his arms, "Fine..."
"Great! Here's what you'll do..."
"Is this everything?" Tord asked Pat as he and Pau placed the boxes next to the plane.
"Should be." Pat nodded.
"Okay, here goes." The leader gave Clay a thumbs up, indicating they were ready for the kid to be the lookout and distraction.
Clay grinned as he got in position outside the plane hangar, guarding the entrance with his arms crossed and a scowl. He was prepared.
Tord began working quickly on the plane, using his left hand to hold tools and giving Pau and Pat instructions on where things went.
'So far, so good...' Tord thought as he finished with the new propellers.
Outside the hangar, Clay was starting to get tired of being lookout. There was nothing to look out for.
"Oi, what's with all the noise in there?" A soldier walked up to Clay, startling him out of his thoughts. Clay realized this guy was one of the higher-ranking soldiers.
"L-Lieutenant General!" Clay stuttered, wide-eyed, "What are you doing out here...?"
The Lieutenant glared at him, "What I always do, runt. Make sure no one is doing anything they're not supposed to."
Clay held his tongue at the phrasing of his sentence. He was being mocked. He hated being ridiculed. He wasn't a kid, and he was planning on showing everyone there how mistaken they were.
"Now, can I get a clear answer?" He asked.
Clay glanced around for a second before coming up with an excuse, "Some guys are doing renovations!"
"Oh, really?" The Lieutenant didn't seem to believe Clay.
"Yep, y'know... fixing lightbulbs, making sure the planes are in proper conditions to fly. Wouldn't want any pilots to crash land, am I right?"
The broad-shouldered man was silent for a bit, making Clay worry.
Then he spoke, "Just who signed off on these so-called 'renovations' exactly?"
Clay froze, his mouth opening and closing, "U-Uhm..."
"Red Leader did." A voice spoke behind Clay. They both turned toward the voice, seeing Pau with a cigarette in his mouth.
"Lieutenant Colonel Oostveen." The Lieutenant nodded towards him.
"Lieutenant General Kirillovich," Pau spoke.
"I thought Red Leader was going 'out of commission' for a while." The Lieutenant frowned.
"That doesn't mean he can't use his other hand to write." Pau glared.
"I suppose..." Kirillovich's eyes bored into Pau's own as if testing him, "If you're sure everything is fine here, I'll get going."
Kirillovich stood a few seconds more before eventually stalking away from the hangar.
Clay sighed in relief, looking up at Pau with watery eyes, "Thank you so much, Pau! Who knows what he would've done to me!"
Pau nodded, "No problem, kid. Just, uh, be careful, I guess."
After a few moments, Clay decided to play with Pau a bit, "So... about those lollies-"
"You're not getting one." Pau cut him off.
"Wha-? Why not!?" Clay huffed.
"Your job isn't finished."
"Aw, come on, Pau!" Clay pulled on his arm a bit.
"Nope." He still didn't budge.
"Please!?" The kid begged.
"Nah."
'I honestly don't want to dropkick a child today, but if I have to...' Pau glanced down at the kid.
"Pau, hurry up and finish your cigarette. We have something that weighs a ton!" Tord yelled from inside.
"He's exaggerating!" Pat added.
"Am not!" Tord argued.
Pau sighed as he quickly threw his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it, "Sorry, kid, have to help them before they scold me even more."
Clay whined, "Just one would've been nice..."
The taller looked at him for a moment. Then he sighed, 'Just this once...', as he pulled something out of his pocket, "Here."
The younger gasped, "A lolly!"
Clay nabbed it as he quickly hugged Pau, who only patted his head awkwardly.
"Thank you, Pau!" Clay grinned.
"Uh... you're welcome," Pau muttered.
The ruffled brunette quickly joined the other two inside the hangar. He noticed Tord was trying to lift an engine by himself.
"Why aren't you helping?" Pau asked his companion.
"Taking a break," Pat answered.
"Already?" Pau raised an eyebrow.
"That shit is heavy," Pat muttered, glancing away.
"Hah, weak," Pau smirked.
"Shut up, bastard. Why don't you help him instead of slacking off?" Pat crossed his arms.
"Well, alright, asshole." Pau rolled his eyes, striding over to Tord to help out.
Tord looked ready to pass out, his black hoodie around his waist due to the exertion.
"Need help?" Pau asked.
"N-Nope... I got it!" He huffed, out of breath.
Pau watched him for a moment as Tord was finally able to move it an inch or two before he eventually gave up and fell on the ground, exhausted.
His chest heaved, and he was breathing hard; Pau worried his heart might give out on him; before he finally spoke, "M-Maybe a little help... could be nice."
Pau didn't hesitate as he lifted the engine effortlessly. It was a small engine, so it wasn't impossible that a person could lift it.
However, Tord and Pat wondered where Pau got the extra muscle from. Most pilots in the Red Army don't have that kind of strength.
Pat walked over to Tord with a water bottle, "I'll get a rag."
Tord was confused about the rag part until he noticed how much dirt and grime had gotten on him. Then he felt defeated as he realized he had to open the water bottle.
He used his left hand to clasp the robot arm's fingers around the bottle, the hand gripping the bottle slowly, and Tord used the opportunity to open the bottle with little struggle.
"Ah, I just realized I didn't open your-" Pat stopped as he looked at the open bottle in Tord's lap, "Oh, never mind, you got it."
"No thanks to you." Tord glared.
"You got it open." Pat cocked his eyebrow.
"It was hard," Tord whined.
Pat sighed, "Stop being so dramatic."
The brunette sat down next to Tord, patting his head with a rag he managed to find.
Tord shivered under the cold touch, leaning away from Pat, "Faen, det er kaldt!"
Pat deadpanned, "You live in Norway, yet you complain that a rag is cold?"
Tord looked away, flushing in embarrassment, "Shut up."
"Uh, is this the right spot, Tord?" Pau called from where he was holding the engine against the plane's rear.
"Yeah, gimme a sec!" Tord replied.
Pat watched as Tord nearly drank all of the water in one go. He placed the nearly-empty water bottle next to Pat as he got up, rushing over to Pau to figure out which tool he needed first.
Pat quietly observed them, opting to take it easy.
Tord bolted the last of the engine, glancing at Pau, "You can let go now."
He mentally crossed his fingers as Pau slowly let go of the engine that was now bolted to the plane.
After a few moments of staring at it, Tord sighed in relief as it stayed in place.
"Finally, I'm done." Tord dramatically dropped to the floor, "I'm so tired..."
After picking up his tools and placing them in the box, the three soldiers headed out of the hangar to greet Clay.
The boy was still there, keeping watch and drawing in the mud with a stick.
"Hey, Clay." Tord grinned.
Clay glared, "Finally, you're done! I thought I was gonna have to sleep out here."
"It wasn't that long." Tord chuckled.
The boy in the white cap raised an eyebrow, "Really? Cause while you were gone, I managed to recreate your giant robot in the mud."
Tord looked at Clay's illustration, seeing that the kid drew a shoddy re-creation of his robot.
It was almost cute; Tord tilted his head with a small smile as a feeling of vicariously welled up inside him.
Until he realized something, making his smile falter. How did Clay know what his robot looked like?
The blueprints were probably destroyed or lost somewhere, and he didn't give anyone besides Pau or Pat a clue what it looked like.
"Clay, how do you know what the robot looked like?" Tord asked.
"Hm? I saw blueprints for it at the base." He said.
'The base? The robot blueprints were never at the base...' Tord frowned deeply.
"We should go inside before it starts to rain." Pau cut off Tord's line of thinking.
Tord looked up at the sky, realizing how dark it had gotten from the clouds. There was a rumble of thunder in the distance, causing Clay to grab onto Tord's arm.
"Yeah." Tord nodded as they quickly made their way to the main building.
Once they got to Tord's room, the lighter brunette placed his toolbox on his nightstand.
Clay hopped up on Tord's bed, prompting Tord to quickly frown, "Hey, at least wash your hands before crashing in here!"
The boy huffed before making his way to the connecting bathroom to wash his hands.
Pat waited for Clay to move over before he kneeled to get the first aid kit out from the cabinet. He walked over to Tord and gestured to his eye, "Let's change the bandages before you go to bed."
Tord whined, "How long do I have to wear these bandages?"
"As long as it takes to heal fully," Pat said.
"I don't want to wear these stupid bandages..."
"What about an eyepatch?" Clay piped up.
"An eyepatch?" Tord raised an eyebrow as Pat looked at the boy incredulously.
"Yeah! It's so much cooler than stupid bandages." Clay nodded.
"Huh..." Tord thought for a moment, then looked at Pat, "Can I-"
"No." Pat cut him off.
"Wha- Why!?" Tord yelled.
"Because you need your eye to heal properly. Maybe then you can have an eyepatch." Pat explained.
Tord put his left hand in his pocket. He knew Pat was right, as always.
"Alright, fine." Tord sighed.
"Great, now remove the bandages," Pat requested as he clicked open the first aid kit.
The leader sat on his bed as he removed them slowly.
Pau, who's been silent the whole time, finally spoke, "Do you need help getting to the barracks, Clay?"
Clay looked at him, "Nope, I was hoping I could stay with Tord for the night."
Tord faltered in his movements, blinking at Clay, "Is there a reason?"
The boy glanced around as he flushed, "U-Uh... nope! No reason!"
Then there was a roar of thunder, and the lights flickered momentarily. Next thing Tord knew, Clay was clinging onto his torso like a baby koala.
Tord huffed as he shifted to get used to the weight that was practically on top of him. He slowly moved his right arm around Clay, hoping it wouldn't slip, and used his left hand to finally untangle what was left of the bandages around his eye.
He placed the old bandages aside, allowing Pat to throw them away. He then looked down at the boy in his lap.
He was inadequate at reassuring others, especially kids.
"Uh... you know we have backup generators, right?" Tord tried, "Lots of 'em, even."
"I know, but it still scares me..." Clay whimpered.
Tord contemplated for a moment. The kid seemed genuinely frightened of thunder. He loved the sound and smell of rain, but when it came to thunder and lightning, he couldn't take it; until his father said to 'get over it,' so he learned to.
Tord sighed, "Alright, you can stay."
Clay piped his head up, looking at Tord with his big brownish-grey eyes, "Really?"
Tord nodded, "Of course, lillebror."
The boy with a white cap grinned as he hugged Tord, "Thank you, Tord!"
"Ow, careful! Some of the scars still hurt." Tord winced.
"Sorry..." Clay frowned as he got off of Tord and sat on the bed.
"Guess I'll get a sleeping bag for him," Pau mumbled as he stepped out of the room.
Eventually, Tord got fresh bandages over his eye, and Pau set down a sleeping bag for Clay. The two soldiers said goodnight before leaving the room.
Tord yawned a bit as he finished taking off the robot arm. The doctors insisted he never sleep with it on lest he wanted to cause his arm more pain and distress.
Clay's sleeping bag was at the end of Tord's bed. Not that he minded, except he still felt uneasy, as if the distance from his big brother was too much.
"Tord?" The kid spoke softly, making Tord turn to him worriedly.
"What is it?" Tord crossed his legs as he sat on his bed.
"Can I move my sleeping bag?"
Tord nearly laughed at the question until he saw Clay's face, anxiety clouding every aspect of his eyes. Instead, Tord gave a quick nod, "Of course."
Clay hurriedly moved his sleeping bag to the floor next to Tord's side of the bed. He then removed his white cap, putting it on Tord's nightstand next to the robot arm. The kid was moving cautiously as if planning what to do next.
The leader said nothing, opting to dim the lights instead of cutting them off completely. He then ruffled Clay's hair, "Get some sleep, lille en."
Clay huffed as he got into his sleeping bag. Tord settled down as well, pulling the covers over himself.
"Goodnight, storebror..." Clay mumbled.
That caught Tord off guard as he didn't know Clay knew some Norwegian. He shrugged it off, choosing to question him about it in the morning.
"Godnatt, lillebror." Tord replied as he was slowly sucked into another series of old times.
✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧Translations✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
Norwegian =
Lillebror - Little brother
Faen, det er kaldt - Fuck, that's cold/Damn, it's cold
Lille en - Little one
Storebror - Big brother
Godnatt - Goodnight
(Translations brought to you by Google Translate)