Work Text:
After a long day of arduous missions that involved dealing with an army of corrupted, you were extremely beat. After bidding farewell to the squad for the day, you were on your way back to the Gray Raven’s Commandant lounge for the night.
It was relatively quiet, as you did not bump into anyone on the way back.
The false Babylonian skies were slowly dimming as the day came to an end. You slowed down to watch the sky as you crossed the windowed walkway. Even if the skies were fake, the way the evening light had lit the City Scape in warm golden light had always left an impression on you.
But alas you have reached the end of the corridor, and it was time to stop admiring. After casting one last glance outside the window, you eventually moved on.
A small sigh escaped you as you bathed in the solace. It was rare for you to wander alone within these walls and the experience felt like it should be cherished.
The constructs that you have come to befriend would often cling to you, talking to you about anything under the sun or simply spending time being in your company.
You truly enjoy their company, but sometimes extroverted ones like Kamui and Nanami, or the overprotective nature of the Gray Ravens would quickly become overwhelming if you have had enough for a day.
And right now, you were not in the mood to have more chaos in your life. But still, the thought of chatting with someone would be nice. You just wanted to be able to rest and wind down for the day.
Well…
There was one particular construct you were thinking of.
With your decision made, you made a quick left turn away from your usual route, and that was enough to bring you towards the designated room of the Strike Hawks.
You seem to recall that the hawks were not on a mission at the moment, and had remembered both Wanshi and Kamui mentioning that their Captain was in their shared dorm room.
Thus, without bothering to drop a message, you went up to the door and knocked.
A quick series of double taps, four at most.
It was a secret code that both you and Chrome always use to identify the other — mostly because of the insatiable late night chess urges that fanatics, like the two of you, needed to resolve.
You waited for a short moment, before the door slid open, and you came face to face with the warmth of ocean blue.
Though that had not been your centre of focus at the moment. Strangely enough, this was the first time you’ve seen him with his hair undone, falling along and framing the side of his face. It did not take you long to also notice that the outer coat of the Glory frame was missing, leaving only his white undershirt and exposing more of his frame characteristics. A quick glance had revealed it to be draped on a clothes hanger on the cupboard door, along with his gloves.
“Commandant.” The Captain greeted you politely, blinking out the surprise in his eyes, “What brings you here today?”
“Oh, nothing particularly important.” You shrugged and answered truthfully, “Just wanted to see how you were doing.”
“I see.” Chrome mused before he stepped away from the door while gesturing, “Would you like to come in?”
“With pleasure!” You beamed and moved past him, immediately walking towards the Strike Hawk lounge sofa that you always occupy whenever you were here.
Upon falling into the soft cushion seat, you let out a weary sigh as you sinked into it. You let out a breath, then another before looking up once more, though you straightened up in surprise as the other occupant of the room leaned unto your line of sight, wearing a concerned frown and his eyebrows furrowed with worry.
“You’ve been exhausting yourself more often than not lately, Commandant…” Chrome shook his head in dismay as he quickly moved away, shuffling through his belongings around your periphery.
“Chrome… I swear it’s not as bad as you make it out to be— it’s just that there’s been a few more missions than lately…!” You protested, though the Captain of Strike Hawk only lifted an eyebrow, completely unconvinced.
“And how many times do I have to remind you to take better care of yourself despite your schedule?” The construct chided you softly, while suddenly reappearing in your line of vision with warm tea, blankets and a nice book from his antique literature collection.
He had once mentioned that despite online information being the predominant trend of disseminating information, he still preferred the feel of paperback beneath his fingers, and hence why he hoarded books in a way that was almost unhealthy if he was still human.
“Yes mama.”
“Don’t call me— ugh…” Chrome allowed his face to fall into his palm, “I swear, I’ll need to… what is Kamui teaching you these days…?”
“A few things.” You did not elaborate.
Between you and Kamui, there was never a moment where the Strike Hawk Captain could catch a break. But despite how done he was at the moment, you knew that Chrome enjoyed the company regardless.
With a resigned sigh, the golden-haired construct took a seat beside you, and you immediately allowed yourself to lean against his sturdier frame. You could feel Chrome tense in surprise, yet quickly relax as he settled into a more comfortable position for you.
There was a pleasant humming coming from the body beside you, a vibration of mechanisms running that was predominant in all constructs. While many other Commandants found it unnatural and weird, you have always enjoyed that aspect of constructs, so much so that you always engage in frequent hugs with many of them to feel it.
You hummed in content as you picked up the tea that he had prepared for you, taking a sip and enjoying the scent of fresh chamomile and lavender, a perfect blend for the weary soul.
“Thanks…” You muttered, and the construct returned a tiny smile in response.
And that was how the two of you spent the rest of the day, with you reading through the book that was left for you and Chrome looking through his agenda for the rest of the week.
You kept your eyes on the book, until a bright flash of colour from the hologram screen caught your eye. You looked, and…
“What the hell?” Immediately, you shot up from beside him and turned to face him with an annoyed frown while pointing at the virtual card that was extremely well put together from the rest of Strike Hawk, “Today is your Activation Day? Why didn’t you tell me?!”
“I… uh…” The golden-haired construct was flabbergasted, and he nervously reached up to his left ear, only to realise that he had no communicator in his current frame, “I just… didn’t think that it was important…”
Ah right.
The Strike Hawk Captain’s selflessness was almost a trademark at this point, and you had almost forgotten just how this man could never ever place himself above others, not even on his own special day.
“Oh, my Juliet…”
It was a nickname that you took to after that particular play that involved the both of you, one that you recalled having enjoyed a lot, especially after discovering that the construct before you had a love for literature just like yourself.
You went down before him on a knee and took his hand within yours. You gazed earnestly into his eyes and watched them soften as he looked back at you expectantly.
Bringing his hand up towards your mouth as you whispered, “That’s a load of bullshit.”
Chrome did everything in his power to resist reprimanding you for your language, however he pulled his hand away and folded his arms at the realisation that he had once again fallen for your shenanigans, thinking that it had been a serious moment.
“Commandant—” He began exasperatedly.
“No no, shush.” You interrupted before he could continue and pointed towards the door, “You and me. Out. Now.”
The construct frowned.
“But—”
“No buts, Chrome. Either you come with me right now, or I’ll get Kamui in to drag you out.” You could see a brief flash of dread pass through those bright blue eyes, and then the construct let out another resigned sigh, “Alright alright, but at least let me make myself more presentable…”
Ah yes.
Always the perfectionist.
But that was what you liked about him.
“Of course.” You answered with a soft wink before quickly shooing him towards the clothing cabinet. Although you do feel bad for dragging him out after he had already dressed down for the day, you were not going to allow him to rest that easily, not when he withheld such valuable information from you.
You watched, as Chrome quickly brushed his hair out of his eyes before turning back to you with a nod, in full Glory regalia — a signal that he was ready.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“Where are we going?”
“Eh, you’ll know when we reach.” You answered, “In fact, we’re almost there. Come on, chop chop.”
Without waiting, you sprinted forward and left him behind you. But given that he was a construct, he had soon caught up to you almost effortlessly. But where was the fun if there was no competition?
The two of you jogged all the way, until you reached the top of the artificial hill that overlooked the city.
Once there, you felt yourself breathing heavily from the workout. In hindsight, running was not a good idea as you were already tired enough from the mission that you were involved in during the day.
“Commandant…”
You could feel Chrome hovering around you in concern, armed with the need to chide you for unnecessarily exerting yourself. But you quickly waved him off and laughed as you righted yourself once more.
“Anyway, tada!” You gestured around you, “I wanted to show you this place. It’s where I go whenever I’m feeling down or I need to clear my head.”
Well that was before you had met the Strike Hawk Captain. Because afterwards, you found yourself visiting their lounge more often than not when you needed some time for yourself.
Light blue eyes sparkled like the shimmering ocean as they glanced towards the sight of Babylonia at night, with the city’s dazzling lights like a lit flame in the distance. A soft artificial breeze blew, and you watched the loose strands of hair atop his head ruffle gently.
“It’s peaceful, up here.” Chrome commented softly as he turned towards you, “I’ve come across this place often and yet never realised this.”
“Tsk tsk, you nerd.” At that, you wagged your finger and clicked your tongue in mock dismay, “Instead of just wanting to stay indoors with your books all day, maybe you should get out more often and walk around more.
The construct’s brows furrowed.
“I don’t—”
“And how many times have you reread ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’?”
“I—” Chrome looked away in embarrassment before muttering, “…lost count…”
And that had been just one of the many books that the golden-haired construct had reread constantly. You would think that he had already ransacked an entire library a few years before.
“Exactly. You need to touch some grass when you aren’t on missions.” You shrugged as you walked away from the ledge that you have both been leaning on, and plopped down on the bench right by the nearest lamppost, “I mean, this area is rather quiet at this time of day, the wind is great and there’s enough light. You can pick up some books and come here whenever you want some time to yourself.”
“I suppose…” Chrome carefully answered as he quietly took in the view of the city in the distance, before making his way over to you, “Thank you for showing me a place so wonderful, Commandant.
Oh.
Oh no.
It was that smile, that damn smile that would never fail to send butterflies fluttering within your stomach. You were not even sure if the construct was aware that he could smile so beautifully, like a million stars in the sky had shone upon—
You coughed awkwardly, and prayed that your voice did not crack at that moment as you nonchalantly turned back towards him.
It did, as you replied, “Well, it’s the least that I could do for you since I learnt this all so last minute.”
And you regretted your words because at that instant, the smile faded as Chrome frowned guiltily, “I apologise for that Commandant, I just didn’t want to burden you with more information since you’re obviously exhausted enough. But I didn’t expect the withholding of such information to upset you this much...”
Selflessness, along with having a heart that cared too much for the wellbeing of others. Many times like now, you wonder what you had done to deserve such a priceless companion.
You sighed as you leaned towards him before capturing him in a warm embrace, and felt his inner mechanisms stutter at the sudden action.
“Always the worrywart…” You whispered in his ear, carefully angling your breath away from it because you knew exactly how sensitive they were, “I’m not angry or disappointed. I’m just glad that at least I got to celebrate it with you before the day is over.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, you felt firm arms wrap themselves gingerly around you in response. You took that as a sign to tighten your hold against him while your fingers traced along the fins of his frame that were hovering lightly above the interface on his back, offering a reassuring touch.
“Happy Activation Day, Chrome.”
“Thank you, Commandant.”