2010-07-13 - A Sweet Gift, A Thoughtful Gift

It's been a long, long day.

Rachel Miu Athha is usually found on the hangar deck on a day like today, working on machines and letting her work ethic make her one of Astonaige Mendoz's only favorite teenager on the rag-tag crew of the Argama. But today, after returning from a scant hop, skip, and a jump to and from the Ptolemaios II and going through her eight-or-so hours of hellish duty, the Second Princess of the Orb Union finds herself collapsing onto her bed with a muted, muffled noise made all the more muffled by the meager amounts of gravity provided to the AEUG flagship via the rotating blocks.

It doesn't look like she's slept much. Her room is clean, but just a little more messy than usual; the desk presented with a crew manifest of another ship, the manual for the Hyaku Shiki with more than a dozen color-coded note tabs sticking out between pages, and a copy of the manual for the Gundam Strike Rouge.

Burying her face into her pillow, the golden-eyed girl twists her head left and right, half-nuzzling herself into it as though it'd let her just bury herself into it, as though that exhaustion seeping through her bones wants her to just give in-- give in and go to sleep for a long, long time.

The problem is, she has a lot on her mind. The Psyco Gundam. Marie.

Leo Stenbuck.

B E F O R E

"... Hey... Leina."

"Ugghh. What now? I just made you lunch, I told all your snacks are making you fat--"

"I'M NOT FA-- arrgh no this isn't about food!"

"Then what?"

"... Whaddya... y'know, do... to make a girl cheer up when she's feelin' bad?"

Leina Ashta stares for a long, silent moment as her brother awkwardly rubs the back of his head.

"Judau Ashta, what did you do now? Did you harass Ms. O'Gasmeter again--"

"No, it's not that! Jeez, c'mon, I'm askin' for help here!" Judau barks out, throwing his arms up into the air. "God, I haven't messed with her in like... days! C'mon, just -- just help me out here!"

Leina squints. Then: "... Fine, fine!" she huffs. "Look, Judau, what you need to make /any/ woman happy is something sweet. You know -- like a gift! Something thoughtful!"

"Somethin'... sweet... and somethin'... thoughtful?"

"No, something sweet AND th--"

"GOT IT! Thanks, Leina!" And with that, Judau bursts out of his quarters. Leina furrows her brows.

"... I wonder if he's getting me a gift??"

. ..

"Hey, Iino, I'm glad ya came. I need you t'do me a big favor."

Iino and Judau stand just outside of the mobile suit bays of the Argama. Judau leans just by the door, using the frame to support the fact that he is carrying an extremely unhealthy amount of tools. Iino's expression grows considerably paler, the sort of expression one gets when they know something horrible is about to happen.

"Judau, the last time I did you a favor, Mr. Bright was /really/ mad. I had to--"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Judau mutters, straining a hand to lift it up and wave it about dismissively. "Listen, this is no big deal! Ya won't get in trouble! I just need ya to be a lookout for me!"

"... that's not even remotely encouraging..."

"Just, if Rach comes around, tell her that this areas closed down today, alright?? ... and y'know what, if Elle comes lookin' for me, tell her I'm in the bathroom." A pause. "... ... an' if Bright comes around lookin' for me, tell him I'm in the girl's bathroom."

Iino squints for roughly half a minute of perfect silence at Judau's 100% serious expression. He opens his mouth, as if to protest something clearly illogical in that statement... and then just heaves a defeated sigh.

"... /fine./"

"Alright! You're the best, Iino!" And, demonstrating an unusual amount of stamina and physical strength for someone carting around a tool shed's worth of equipment, Judau slaps Iino on the back and jumps off to the mobile suit bays. The door closes behind him. A few minutes later, the following sounds can be heard:

-=WHANG=- -=WHANG=- -=WHANG=- -=WHANG=- -=WHANG=- -=WHANG=- ...
 * WWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR--*

As Iino looks progressively more horrified about his predicament.

N O W

Rachel Miu Athha has been in her room for a long time. Largely unattended; most people know, for whatever reason, that she has to rest.


 * KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Yo!! RACH! Are you in there?!"

Fortunately, Judau Ashta is beyond reason. Or tact.

The knocks are actually reasonably soft and, despite Judau's general ability to PROJECT HIS VOICE MAGNIFICENTLY, he still sounds somewhat subdued, though this seems to be for reasons other than just consideration. A long, awkward pause follows, before he offers up:

"I brought some Rocky Road ice cream!" his voice halts here, as if considering, before he tacks on: "It's sweet!"

As if somehow this is some mystical panacea.

Or somehow not just completely self-explanatory.

In an ideal world, the exhausted pilot would be able to just drop right off to sleep. Sure, she needs to clean herself up a little bit, but the lack of color in her face is more telling to her condition than the remnants of machine work that not even space-pummice stone-filled soaps can get out on the first try. Blinking a few times, she thinks for a moment about the need to take off her shoes. Blinking again, she thinks for a momenta bout the need to call Cagalli and Tessa and so many other people.

Then... Judau's yelling.

Then... ice cream?

The door to Rachel Miu Athha's quarters blasts open with the touch of her finger on the button; sure, she could've told Judau to just come on inside, but this is something important. It was one of the "firsts" that she shared with Cagalli, and she did seem to enjoy it a whole lot.

Now if only she didn't look like hell.

And someone ran over her puppy.

And the souls of the screaming dead didn't haunt her in her dreams.

And if she could get a day off.

"R... Really?" she asks, sounding really, /really/ hopeful.

Rachel Miu Athha is met with a dumbfounded Judau Ashta the minute air gushes out her opening door and blasts the young man squarely in the face. One hand holds a quart of 'JEN & BERRY'S' (get it) Rocky Road Ice Cream, the lid open and two spoons buried into the dairy-based desert like little monuments. His other hand seems to be fiddling with something in his pocket, but - as soon as his mind registers the fact that Rachel is RIGHT THERE - he suddenly snaps his hand free from his pocket, nearly jumping back a foot.

"Whoa!" he yelps, before realizing who it is. "Uhhh... hahaha, h-heeey, Rachel!" Laughing awkwardly, he rubs the back of his head, lifting his gaze up to the ceiling. Though not nearly like Rachel, he looks tired too -- more of the kind of exhaustion one might find from someone who has spent most of the night and morning working on something.

Awkwardness quickly fades from Judau's expression as he finally gets a good look at Rachel's expression. Exhausted. Sad. No, more than sad -- tormented? He can feel it as much as he can see it, but it's hard to explain. Just an overwhelming feeling of... loss. But the serious touch on Judau's lips and eyes last barely a second before he grins like a buffoon, thrusting out the cool quart of ice cream clinging to his palm towards Rachel.

"Y-yeah!" he manages, eyes shutting with the berth of his grin. "It's Leina's favorite!" and he might have 'accidentally' 'borrowed' it from her-- "You've never had it?? Oh mannnn, you're missin' out! You totally need to! Right now! You're not livin' 'til you've had some of this, an' I can't finish it all on my own, so -- ya wanna share?"

It really is rare, even in this day and age where children can be found behind the control sticks of a Mobile Suit, to see someone with a look like the one in her eyes. Weary, worn out to an unbelievable extent... as though she really, really needs to find a way to recharge her batteries, or someone to remind her that the world really doesn't suck as much as it feels like it does every now and again.

Looking down at the ice cream, Rachel's expression does seem to shift a bit for the better. Ice cream is ... it's... "... Cagalli took me for it for the first time a couple of months ago, it was... it was good." Then she realizes that Judau has one container and two spoons. Be that as it may, the white-haired girl steps to the side to allow the pilot to enter-- and she seems to lighten up in the slightest of ways. "Y-- Yes."

Judau's infectious that way, whether or not he realizes it. While the mood around her is far from brightened up completely, while that cloud seems to yet still hang over her head, Rachel moves toward her bed and sits down, hands and rear end thumping into the softness and spring of her matress. "I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to check out the Double Zeta lately, I've just had a ..."

The last few days flash through her mind in a few seconds.

"... I've had a lot to do..."

"A couple months ago?" Judau asks, his head tilting to the head. "Wow, you never had any ice cream until now??" Relatively now, anyway. Judau still looks bewildered, scratching the back of his scalp. Fortunately though, that wonderment quickly fades, replaced by an enthusiastic thumbs up as the junker steps inside.

"Well, I guess that just means you're gonna hafta go all out to make up for all that lost time you could have used enjoyin' ice cream, right?? Ha ha ha!"

Remaining blissfully oblivious to his affect on just about anything, Judau plops himself down as ungracefully as a rock next to Rachel. Sitting down indian-style, he sets the ice cream container down between the two of them, tapping on the top of one of the spoons.

"Here, go an' try some. It's super delicious, it'll blow you away! Leina keeps sayin' I'm gettin' pudgy from eatin' too much, but I just don't see it." He looks down, as if scrutinizing his midsection. Ashta is about in mid-poke at his abdomen when he hears Rachel's quiet apology. Bright green eyes look up, focusing on the young girl. He stares silently for several seconds, before--

"Man, you idiot!" he chides, though there's hardly even so much a hint of harshness in his voice as he does so. "Ya don't hafta apologize to me about that! Astonaige's been forcin' Iino into manual labor an' stuff to contribute, he's gettin' pretty good at workin' on the suits. Even if he complains about it all the time." He pauses, his eyes looking down towards the ice cream, thick brows furrowing. "An'... y'know... I know." He knows. The Psyco Gundam. Rachel's reaction. Those overwhelming emotions were so similar to Puru's--

But it is about when Rachel is thinking back to those terrible things that Judau's hand swings about, to clap her reassuringly on the shoulder. "Besides, you're not -- like -- my gofer or somethin', you're my friend!"

Judau Ashta and Rachel Miu Athha sitting alone on the same bed.

Somewhere, Tanith is having kittens.

Reaching out to take one of the spoons, Rachel waits for a moment while she examines the container from afar, the churned frozen goodness and the flavors waiting inside. What exactly /makes/ it Rocky Road, anyway? What about it made someone stop and think, 'hey, I'm going to name this after something that should not ever be associated with food!'

She contemplates on that, but then Judau calls her an idiot.



Rachel flinches instinctively, even if he didn't mean it that way. At first, it hurts a little bit, and she clenches the spoon tighter with her thumbs pressed into the spooniest part... but then, like a pro, the young man bounces back into a recovery followed by a reassuring slap on the back. She jerks ahead a little bit, sure, but there's the faintest hints of a small smile on her face. It's the reassurance, even if it may only be there for a few moments.

Then she reaches down to the ice cream, hooking a bite out of it for herself and doing the bold thing: She just shoves the whole spoonful in her mouth without even thinking. The look on her face, lips wrapped around the spoon, is one of intensity. Then, surprise. Then, a little color actually enters her face, as the sweetness of it finally seems to register within her.

"I... It's good..."

The mystery of Rocky Road is one of the great mysteries of the cosmos.

Perhaps one of the mysteries that only the mighty Newtypes can solve.

Judau's expression grows a touch more awkward as he sees that wince. He'd try to apologize - though he's not quite sure what he did - but before he can, that smile touches on her lips. The young man's eyes soften, the corners of his own lips twitching upward.

He is, in fact, about to say something, before Rachel takes a healthy chunk of ice cream and summarily swings it forward to her waiting mouth. "W-wait, watch out for brain--" Gulp-- "...freeze." Judau winces as a kaleidoscope of expressions twist and tug at Rachel's lips and eyes. Another tragic victim of--

'I... It's good...'

"--Yeah, isn't it?! It's /awesome/! The oughta have named it like, Awesome Road, or somethin'! Or... Sweet... Street..." Judau scratches at the side of his head and, ultimately giving up on this current line of thought. Shoving his spoon into the container, he digs up a substantial chunk, shoveling the entire thing into his mouth in a mirror of Rachel, having apparently completely forgotten about his warning on brain--

"Tsssss-aaaaaaaahhhh!"

... freeze.

The next fifteen seconds are spent with Judau furiously rubbing his temples before he looks up, a faint flush forming across his lips as his spoon hangs precariously out of his mouth. "Uhhhhh..." he manages, gulping down the rest of his ice cream and yanking out that spoon. His brows knot together.

"S-so yeah, don't worry about that kinda stuff! The important thing is that ya get some rest. You've been runnin' yourself really hard lately, y'know that? No one's gonna be mad if ya need to take a break. 'Cause I -- err, we -- we, y'know," Judau searches to find the words, rubbing the back of his head. "We, like, we're here for you, an', you're like -- y'know--" His face gradually scrunches up, more and more and more and-- "Aaaah, I'm no good with this kinda stuff! Just -- just don't worry about it, alright?"

With all of the modifications and sciences and surgeries and tricks done to her head, is it even possible for her to suffer from the dreaded foe to all that eat ice cream, known as the dreaded BRAIN FREEZE? Maybe she's just an unusually strong-willed girl, or maybe there's enough on her mind and her memories of eating ice cream with Cagalli involved her "big sister" slaughtering it pretty fast with no apparent ill effects.

But Judau!! As he grabs his head, rubs his temples, and suffers, Rachel's attentions immediately turn toward him rather than the ice cream, leaning in a little closer with eyes wide open and concern written everywhere. "A-Are you okay?" Of course he is. He's the goddamn Judau Ashta.

"I know... I... I've had a lot of things happen to me, a-and there was a lot of..."

Leo's astonished expression flashes before her eyes.

"... I've had problems lately, but it's not like I can just... y-y'know, sit there and do nothing, even though I haven't been able to do much of anything, and then there was the Psyco Gundam and then the 1 Gundam last night, and I've just had way too much to deal with, and I don't know what I can do, and..."

Brrrrrrreathe. Tanith must be rubbing off on her.

"... I'm sorry," she says, frowning.

STAGE ONE: '''Success! ''' "Brain freeze is a biiiiiiiiitch!" '''With mild losses! '''

The aftermath, however, leaves Judau staring almost blankly at Rachel as she leans in. Green eyes wide, they slowly close in a blink, and then--

"Ahahahaha!" Judau suddenly bursts out laughing in false MACHISMO, rubbing the back of his head as he conveniently snaps his head up and away from Rachel's concerned stare. "Of course I'm okay! It'll take more'n ice cream to take me down! Ha ha ha... haaaaaa!"

Slowly, Judau's laughter dies. Especially when Rachel begins to speak. About her problems. About the Psyco Gundam. About the 1 Gundam (Judau briefly wonders what the hell a 1 Gundam is, is it 1 Gundam, or is it ironic because there's more than one, or--), about how sorry she is--

The hand that had clapped Rachel's shoulder now slings around them. It's good-natured -- the way someone might when a friend is overreacting. Or--

"C'mon, you don't hafta apologize t'me," Judau says, looking up at the ceiling. "I-- uh, I dunno what the whole deal is with you an' that Psyco Gundam thing. You have some kinda history with it, right?" He can tell. And he doesn't know why. He had actually wanted to ask her, but... "An' I dunno what a 1 Gundam is," he admits awkwardly. "But that doesn't matter. Well, it matters, but -- well, y'know. It's not somethin' just you hafta worry about. I dunno what happened t'you before or anythin'... but the Rachel I know is my friend. And I'm gonna help her whenever I can. 'Cause friends stick out for each other! An' they kick the crap outta whatever is buggin' them!" That isn't quite the right sentiment he wants to convey, but Judau is still grinning, his free hand pumping into his side like an enthusiastic rally.

"What I'm sayin' is... well, y'know, it ya don't gotta face this stuff alone," he manages, finally. "Me an' the others -- we'll always have your back. Even when that means makin' sure you rest an' stop tryin' to run yourself ragged. Got it?"

There's a certain reassurance in the way that Judau slings his arm around Rachel's shoulders that she can't explain, nor deny. The truth of the matter is, it feels good to be in this spot right now. It's also the second boy has ever been so physical with her. Does this mean that he "wants it," too, whatever that means?

All things being equal, she's not freaking out or pushing his arm away. Of course, with physical contact this close-- and the arm around her shoulders-- her arms feel pretty sturdy and well-toned. And the skin, well, burn scars have a fairly distinctive feel to them. Instead, she scoots just a little bit closer, eyes turned toward the floor.

'You have a history with it, right?' Her mouth opens.

'An' I dunno what a 1 Gundam is.' Her mouth closes.

It's hard for her to talk about it. Revealing herself-- who she really is-- to Leo is a massive breach of everything right now. Of her cover as an agent of Katharon, as a member of the AEUG, and all of the work that Tessa has managed to accomplish for her through the considerable means of the Mithril intelligence network.

"... yeah, I... I h-have a history with it..."

So, her eyes water up a little bit. The heel of her hand lifts up to her face, and rubs at them gingerly to clear it out, letting out a sniffle. The mission for the Super Soldier Institute comes to mind, but she pushes it to the side. She can worry about that, later. Right now, she's more reassured to have a friend in there with her.

"T-Thank you, Judau... I'm sorry I can't... that I'm not... normal..."

Rachel is strong. Judau can tell. But there are certain kinds of strength, and Judau isn't quite so dumb as to not know that, either. Rachel is a great pilot -- probably better than him, even. And he can tell just by this close contact that she's tough, that she's been through a lot.

But that has nothing to do with her spirit at all.

So, Judau just squeezes Rachel's arm, letting her stay closer. His eyes awkwardly glance to the side, toward the floor. He's not the best with this sort of thing. If he could just punch Rachel's problems away, or make scrap out of it and sell it at a good price to some chumps at Shangri-La, it'd be easy. But--

'T-thank you, Judau... I'm sorry I can't... that I'm not... normal...'

"..."

But this is something you can't just punch away.

Rachel is crying. He hates when girls cry. Judau gulps, mustering up his nerve. "H-hey, c'mon. What kinda talk is that? I dunno what your past is or whatever -- but I don't care!" This last part sounds far more resolved as Judau turns his head to look at Rachel, gaze fiery and determined. "You're you! An' the Rachel I know is a good person! She's kinda shy, an' she says weird things sometimes, an' she's a little slow about getting some stuff -- but she loves experiencin' new things, an' she's great with machines, an' she loves ice cream! An' she's got a good heart, that's all I need t'know. The Rachel I know isn't normal or abnormal anything like that -- she's awesome!"

A pause. Judau once again looks down, scratching the side of his head. There was something--

'... give her something sweet. You know -- like a gift! Something thoughtful!"

"OH YEAH!" Judau abruptly declares, a little loudly. "I got you somethin'!"

Looking at Judau, she's trying her best to crack a smile. Through the misty eyes and the scrunched eyebrows, it's pretty hard for her to make it look convincing-- but it's true. There's some small sliver deep inside of her that's trying to feel better in the overwhelming cloud of emotion, like a hand desperately reaching up from the darkness.

Tanith has told her things like that before, too. Even though-- at least to Rachel's mind-- Tanith may already know who she really is, the terrible things that she's done to Cagalli and over three hundred families in the past. When those feelings are overwhelming, it's hard for her to stay positive, but when you get people like this-- friends, like this-- it really /is/ like someone punching her worries in the face.

Her mouth opens. She almost, almost retorts that she's a horrible person. It doesn't come out, mostly due to the brutal honesty Judau uses with her... no, more like /exudes/, like the anti-sorrow to all those terribad feelings that rumble around inside her head and her chest.

Then, the younger Athha looks taken aback.

"F... For me...?"

When Judau Ashta can think even Puru Two is a good person, it's hard to say whether Rachel could ever convince him otherwise of his assessment of her.

He may, in fact, be insane. Or full retard.

Regardless, while he finds himself in an awkward situation, Judau still manages to smile. At least, until he's suddenly leaning to the side, squirming around a bit uncomfortably to try and shove his hand into the uncomfortably tight pocket of his unnecessarily tight pants. /Why are they so tight/? Possibly from all the Awesome Road ice cream--

"Ghh-- uhhhh -- where'd it go -- c'monnnn... THERE!"

Suddenly, Judau's hand yanks free, and the faint glimmer of light reflecting off metal can be seen. On closer inspection, something is dangling from Judau's hand -- a black leather cord, make into a faint loop that looks like it could be used as a necklace. And dangling from /that/, attached by a simple metal latch, is a star.

Well, it looks like a star. The piece of metal has been crudely hammered into a traditional, five-point star; from the make of the metal, and the fact that it is slightly melted at the edges here and there, it looks like it once belonged to something else. A piece of scrap -- mobile suit scrap.

"It's, y'know -- a good luck charm," Judau explains awkwardly. "So y'don't hafta feel alone or somethin'." A pause, as Judau coughs, looking vaguely uncomfortable. "I, uhhh... I kindaaaaa... took off a really, really small piece of the Gelgoog t'make it. Sorry, I wanted to tell you, but if I asked you it wouldn't be a surprise an', y'know--" It was something they discovered together. Rather than say anything more, Judau presents the necklace outward, his lips peeled into a tight, thin line.

"So, uh, surprise...?! Aa-- ha ha ha... haaaa!?" A pause.

"You're not pissed or anything, are you?"

Judau presents her with a necklace, and Rachel's face becomes something neutral, something really unreadable. As usual, it's impossible to really tell what the white-haired girl is /thinking/... but her emotions, on the other hand, read like an open pop-up book with thirty-point font and bright, colorful pictures.

She's crying again, but for an entirely different reason.

She's been "given" things before. Access to Mobile Suits, sure, things that she's never once really thought of as a gift. For all the things that she's seen and done for the last near-half year, she's hit yet another big first: The first time she's ever been given a gift. Which is a little strange, since she's usually introduced to people as the Second Princess of the Orb Union, and a life like that usually comes /with/ gifts, and... The tears in her eyes are happy ones, and she takes the necklace in one hand. The other arm-- it reaches out to circle around Judau and give him a hug.

"No, N-- No, I'm not, I've... this... this is..."

Rachel shakes her head. "N-Nevermind. No... thank you, Judau, really..."

Judau Ashta is confused. On the one hand, Rachel's expression is overwhelmingly neutral. On the other hand, something is telling him she's happy. Unbelievably happy. It's a nagging feeling that he just can't ignore, and when combined with that expression decorating her face, it's mildly disorienting. His mouth opens, as if to try and offer another apology for messing with the Gelgoog--

But he is abruptly cut off when the crying girl pulls him into a hug. He looks startled at first; Judau's unsure of what to do. A hand lifts, and then hesitates, as his cheeks color a faint shade of red.

"Aa-aaahhh maaannn, I'm just no good with cryin' girls!" he laments, his voice exhasperated as he finally relents and brings his arms around Rachel to return the hug. She's not mad. The tears aren't because she's mad, or sad.

"Y-yeah, no problem, Rach. Just don't forget, I got your back no matter what -- alright? I promise."

She's happy.

Stage Two: SUCCESS! "Uhhh, also -- if Bright comes around askin' where all his tools went, just play dumb, okay?" '''With mild potential disciplinary measures! '''