It was my biggest mistake, not telling her that night. The shining stars over the forest, the moonlight bathing her auburn hair, her joyful smile. She looked just like an angel who had fell from heaven. She could talk about anything, honestly, I wouldn't even hear and only reply with a smile, and that stupid gaze of a fool in love. Her laughter was the sweetest to my ears, the old tales of sirens in the seas of Annibal II felt less like the ramblings of old men and more like the sentiment of passionate sailors. The crew was asleep, we had stayed behind for a chat, being the two youngest meant we always got the first shifts. She sat by my side, her natural fruity perfume infatuated me as it always did. A single hand wipes away locks from her eyes, she's super excited, telling me about the ins-and-outs of her favorite artists, vintage songs of an age long gone, according to her they were the best because they still had soul.
To me? While I couldn't feel this so-called soul, it had her pearly smile. And that was more than enough.
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"Shit..." The muffled voice might as well have never escaped his mouth, the multiple warning lights flashing on the console and main screen already rustled enough to drive a man insane. His eyes were already dry, probably for the rest of his life, the watery streaks coursing through his cheeks the only clean spots on his visage. Midnight Fenrir was gone, their squad shot down violently on a tremendous miscalculation of Melrian intelligence. How many comrades laid their bodies before the two of them so they could fulfill this hellish mission? How many more lives would higher ups use as stepping stones for their faulty choices?
"How's your AMP holding up, Gi?" Her tired voice came in-between statics. The panting was evident, even if both attempted to maintain their cool, there was nothing but emotionally charged statements and jaded ramblings.
"I can't see or move anything. Give me a second, will you, Sam? I'll get it working in no time!" He lied, desperately sliding his fingers through multiple panels, only to be greeted by red flashing symbols. Not enough energy for this, not enough fuel for that, system x offline, system y malfunctioning. Was this really the end of the Sting? If he could only... Fix the mech's sights and fingers, then he could shoot enemies away.
"No worries, sweetie, we have all afternoon!" Her chuckles turned into hiccups, the shakiness on her voice almost palpable. Gido was never one for religion, he always believed if there was such an all-powerful being, then he was a sadistic asshole getting off on the suffering of all his creations. There was no way something would created such wicked universe. Even then, he closed both his eyes and, for the first time, prayed. For anything that could hear him out there, anything that would mind, and he pleaded. Pleaded for her life. Pleaded for their lives. If only he could move, he would never doubt God's existence again, he would never push people away again, he would never carelessly waste away lives again.
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Without even realizing, I was completely enthralled for an hour or two, even if it felt like seconds. That weird tingling on the stomach you usually get when you hit maximum velocity with your racing pod, it apparently wasn't exclusive to piloting. In my mind, she was way too much for me, the whole squad was, this was, perhaps, the first time I had ever felt I belonged. And, in that dreamy state, Samantha belonged to me. Not that I would have ever told her, relationships with superiors are tricky as they are, and emotions aren't truly part of the battlefield. I just wished that moment would last forever, the calm before the hailing storm of bullets and fire. I could tell she wished for the same, closed eyes, taking in the music, body delicately moving to the beat, joining the army was worth for that moment alone.
Then it happened.
No previous warning, no word spoken, her head just tilted down, her body following suit. She just slowly, carefully rested her head against my shoulder, and the beating drums within my chest sounded like a carnival. One would say it was impossible to reach the clouds without wings or equipment, that single moment disputed that fact. We quietly remained there, my arm naturally wrapping around her shoulder, pulling her closer, letting her know I would always be there, I would always protect her. Just listening to the music, letting it speak for us.
In the Still of the Night. Our song.
Her eyes lit up, a smile pursing on her lips, mischievous and carefree, prettier than any star. "Do you know how to dance, cowboy?"
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The enemies were restless, they came in waves, their cover inside the research facility slowly being surrounded by piles over piles of metallic humanoid weapons wishing nothing but to send them to the otherside, where all their friends were waiting. The roaring machine guns cried that fateful evening, Gido's ears pulsated in pain at every passing second, clueless to the outside world, mumbling words not even he comprehended while trying to fix whatever he could. He was hit too much, and an EMP pulse fried whatever was left of the systems, clearly requiring a manual reboot, and one that should be done in record time.
His prayers were sent, most likely to deaf ears, so all he could trust was Samantha's superior shooting abilities and his miraculous skill of messing with an AMP's systems.
Gido could hear the curses on his partner's cockpit, until she ultimately chuckled, one would believe she snapped, but Rankenn knew his girl more than anyone else. That sarcastic smile most likely plastered on her face at that exact moment was enough to tell him she had a plan.
"What's the catch, Sam?" He replied, smiling a bit himself, maybe there was a light at the end of this tunnel after all. She didn't respond, he could only hear the scratching concrete under his mech's feet as Sam dragged him away, returning fire.
"Sam?" He called out, a hint of worry in his voice.
"Do you know how to dance, cowboy?"
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I shook my head. I never had to before, but now? If she asked me to jump off a cliff with her, I probably wouldn't have thought twice. She leapt to her feet, chuckling. Her hands grasped mine, and before I could even think about it, she had pulled me up from the grass. Her face was so close to mine, her smile mirrored on mine, her arms wrapped around my hips. Her moves were so gracious, even just stepping had such finesse, while I was adamant like a stone. She pulled me closer, her head now resting on my shoulder again, the soothing whispers on a direct channel to my ears. "First, you step like this."
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Gido's cameras snapped back to life, witnessing the hellscape beyond, they outnumbered the duo in ways that it would be impossible to survive, but he didn't care. His surprised expression turned into a completely defeated gaze as his lover's face appeared on his screen. She was smiling, but her eyes were not. The tears rolled down her bloodied cheeks, even then she tried her damned best to be the unbeatable ace she always had been. By their side, a rocket used to send AMPs to the outer atmosphere, and on Gido's AMP's paralyzed hand, the blueprints they had acquired.
"No, Sammy. Don't tell me..." She smiled, holding in her sadness. Her AMP attached Gido's feet's to the device.
"First, you step like this."
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Her hands slid up, caressing my arms before she moved them around her waist, quietly leading the slowest dance in the world. A moment that even if lasting an eternity, would still be too little. I could feel her chest pressing against mine, the beating of our hearts timed to the rhythm, the answer to my feelings easing my mind. I would be lying if I said I hadn't wanted this from the very beginning, but I was too much of a coward to chase it. Once again, Sammy proved to be better than me in something. "Then you place your hands here."
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"Don't do this to me, girl." Gido said, his voice no longer holding together, his tears rolling down hundredfold, his heart accelerating, his hands desperately seizing any levers, any buttons,
anything that could move, that could reach over to her, that could save her.
"Sammy, please, baby. Please don't do this to me. Pleasepleasepleaseplease." He slammed his fists against the armrests. Her machine now proceeded to quickly lock both arms around the rocket.
"Then you place your hands here."
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One, two. One, two. After a while, you get used to it, you stop squeezing your partner's hips, you stop stomping on their feet, and your mind goes completely blank. You simply are there, two souls entwined into one being. Her scent filling your nostrils, her beautiful green eyes filling your sight, her existence filling your heart. Songs come and go, the noise of nature vanishes, time flies, but you just can't let go. You want to hold on forever, because at that very moment, you are the most complete being in the entire universe. It was then that I knew, my life had been meaningless up until then, for never knowing something so pure and delightful, for not being brave enough to chase my emotions, for not surprising her every day as she surprised me.
In a mere second, I leaned forward, carefully holding her in my arms, her feet barely touching the ground as our eyes met under that beautiful sky. I could see it in her eyes, what I had been missing all along. She smiled, her rose-tinted cheeks making their first appearance after all this time. We moved closer. In but a mere moment, the earth was gone from under my feet, the noise gone from the world, all there was... Was her. Samantha Mass, I truly loved her, with all my heart.
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Sammy pulled his cockpit close to hers, bumping both together for what felt like an eternity, but couldn't be further from the truth. Gido's words had been lost to a simply devastated demeanor, gibberish sown between tears. He could barely look at the cameras, his eyes bloodshot, his sight fuzzy.
"I love you." She whispered, setting the countdown off as Rankenn could do nothing but watch as his love, his reason to survive, his all... Leapt into the maws of danger, head-on towards an inummerable multitude of foes. His systems came back online much too late, the world quiescent as he squeezed the trigger desperately to cover her, help her in any way he could, as the rocket soared skywards.
Her AMP sparkled brightly, Samantha had supercharged her main generators, tossing herself onto the enemies before a humongous bubble erupted from the base, encompassing all, scrap flying everywhere, lacerating through Gido's cockpit, blood splattering everywhere as the sizzling warmth of the debris smashed the entirety of the left side of his torso, but the pain never got to him, the deafening sounds never reached his ears, because even moreso than the explosions, moreso than the shriek of flesh vaporizing, the cockpit was filled with Gido Rankenn's screams.
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In the still of the night
I held you, held you tight
'Cause I love, love you so
Promise I'll never let you go
In the still of the night
I remember that night in May
The stars were bright above
I'll hope and I'll pray
To keep your precious love
Well before the light
Hold me again with all of your might
In the still of the night
So before the light, hold me again
With all of your might
In the still of the night
In the still of the night
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