Pre A/N: Apologies for the delay, and the short chapter. On Wednesday, I took a trip to New York. (Saw Hamilton. It's fantastic) And yesterday, we spent the whole day recovering

So much walking

So much pizza

Anyway, more meaty chapters are coming up. Love to all of you for your patience

Part 14: Caesar

"Oryou! Are you okay?"

Caesar stood in the doorway to Nogami's dark, but now mostly clean room. The girl had just screamed herself awake from yet another nightmare. She was sitting up on her bed, panting, her skin glistening with sweat.

"Yeah… I am now." She reached to the side and clicked on her bedside lamp, bathing herself in a warm yellow light. "Woah… that was intense. It was… so surreal. Sorry if I woke you up."

"It's okay." Caesar said. "I get them, too. Kinda similar to yours, actually. Well, as long as you're okay." Taka started to leave, but Oryou stopped her.

"Caesar, wait. Would you… mind staying? With me?"

Taken aback, Caesar nodded after a second. "Yeah. Yeah, okay." She stepped into the room as Oryou shuffled aside. Suzuki hesitantly lowered herself onto a bed only suitable for one, and was surprised further when her friend suddenly hugged her.

"Gods… it was so real, Ze yo." Oryou said with a shiver. "You were there. So was… Kawanishi, of all people."

"What happened?" Caesar asked, gradually returning her friend's embrace.

"We somehow ended up in Abashiri, for the invasion. We were in the helicopter Darjeeling-sama was in. We were both hurt in the crash, the same way we were at Saunders. But when the rescue team showed up, they got chased away after taking Darjeeling. Kawanishi promised to come back, but… then she got shot. She died, and we… we bled to death in each other's arms."

Caesar gently stroked Oryou's hair as she quietly cried.

"What are we going to do, Taka-chan?" She mumbled. Caesar was surprised to hear her typically kind heartedly used nickname, but tried her best to answer anyway.

"Well… we started doing it today." She said hopefully. "We started the rebound. You proved that you can still drive. You scared the shit out of us, and the team, but you still did it."

Oryou nuzzled into Caesar's shoulder.

"Nobody is expecting anybody to pull off some kind of miracle recovery." Taka continued. "Remember how long it took Yamagou? Or Isuzu? Remember how long it took me?"

Nogami nodded.

"You're going to be okay, Nogami-chan. Like Saemonza said, you have the entire team, including us, right behind you. Teammates support each other when things get tough. Never forget that, despite what your nightmares are telling you, you aren't going to be left behind. We're here. I'm here. For you."

Oryou's tears came to a stop and her breathing began to slow down. She sniffled one more time before speaking again.

"I love you, Caesar."

Taka rested her cheek on top of her friend's head.

"I love you too, Oryou."

After a few minutes of laying together in silence, Suzuki noticed that Oryou's breathing had leveled out, and her stillness revealed that she had fallen asleep. Caesar cautiously reached for the lamp and switched it off, smiling at her companion's peaceful form. Without much of a second thought, the Loader planted a small kiss on the Driver's head before closing her eyes.

"I love you, too."

A/N: So, everyone clearly needs time to recover. Oryou and Caesar are no exception

However, some haven't even begun the process yet

Next time, we'll be seeing a case of someone who easily had the worst time during the entire war

Until then, thanks for reading!