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We regret to inform you that Officer Greil Svenson has gone missing. Soren tossed and turned on his cot, bad feelings eating away at him. Just like the night his parents died, he couldn't sleep and he didn't like these feelings.
Years of being shuffled from place to place and being treated worse than scum for who he was had built up layers in him. Stay cold. Never get close. Trusting anyone is useless. It was Ike's family who had taken him in and made him realize there could be exceptions to every rule. The Svensons had treated him like one of their own children; Elena helping him with his homework and bringing him soup when he was ill, Greil renting movies and letting him and Ike order pizza on weekends, Mist kissing his scraped knees and braiding his hair.
And of course, Ike. Always there, always loyal, protecting him from the bullies even when Soren didn't need protection, begging for help with every class except gym and thanking Soren every time he got a good grade. Sharing Ike's bed on cold and stormy nights. Patting Ike's shoulder and reassuring him when his relationships with girls didn't work, not letting on that he was secretly relieved not to have to share Ike with someone outside of the family anymore.
His gaze drifted to the Ike-shaped lump under the covers. He was trembling, and every now and then Soren would hear a choked sound. Without another moment's thought Soren got up and sat down beside his friend, gently laying a hand on his back. Ike looked up, and his red face and dull, lifeless eyes confirmed what he'd suspected.
The sight was a punch to the heart.
Soren eased his way under the blanket and wrapped his arms around his friend's shaking form, patting his messy hair. He felt Ike's fingers clutch at his pajama top, face buried against his shoulder, tears soaking the fabric. Ike never cried, and seeing it made Soren want to cry. Ike was the last person who deserved to have any reason to cry, it wasn't fair. He felt powerless...he wished he could do something, anything to make this not reality. Bring Greil back from wherever he was missing, heal his friend's pain.
Greil was alive, Soren reasoned, he had to be. Because Ike didn't deserve this. The family didn't deserve this and Soren wanted to say it, to scream it. But words were useless, wishing for something didn't make it happen and saying how you felt didn't change a thing.
So he just held Ike, saying nothing and letting him cry. Even when the tears stopped, he didn't let go. Ike snuggled closer, slipping his arms around Soren's back. The bad feelings from earlier melted into a warm sense of accomplishment.
Ike didn't thank him. There was no need.
Tomorrow wouldn't be any easier, and there would likely be more efforts to hold back tears. More bad feelings. More pain. But Soren vowed to stay by Ike's side through all of it, and when Greil finally did come home, to share the joy and relief.