Starlight Residue

He wakes up surrounded by unfamiliar walls. It feels sterile, but the curtains block his view of the rest of the room. The lights are bright. They're white, and he has trouble adjusting to seeing real light that isn't the sun or the tinted shade of blue from underground. He's also seen the bright colored screens from inside the Gurren, but that's different. He sits up quickly, intending to push the curtains aside. The splitting pain in his side makes him groan loudly and collapse back onto the bed.

Well, it's surprisingly comfortable, at any rate.

He hears a strange sliding noise, somehow similar to air-pressure, then footsteps. Before he even has time to jump to conclusions, Yoko throws the curtains to the side, Simon standing slightly behind her. They both look relieved; he can't tell which of them seems closer to tears, despite the wide smiles.

"I knew you'd make it through, Bro!" Simon says, and sounds proud.

Yoko's look of relief is quickly replaced with a glare. She crosses her arms over her chest, huffing loudly. "An idiot like him wouldn't die so easily," she says, turning away. But after a short pause, she gives him a sidelong glance. "That might be admirable, though."

He can't keep his confusion off his face, and cocks an eyebrow, frowning. Still, he manages to say "Who the hell do you think I am?" It's much calmer than usual, and hardly a question. The red-head just nods and sighs.

"Kamina the idiot," she tells him. He's surprised when she turns and begins to leave, tossing a quick "Get some rest, idiot hero," over her shoulder.

The door's close behind her.

Simon sits by his side, and stares at his shoes. Kamina had nearly forgotten he was there, just for a moment, and berates himself. But he grins.

"Keep your head high," he commands. The younger boy looks up obediently, but his hands remain stuffed awkwardly in his pockets.

He knows that Kamina won't be angry with him. But he still thinks You almost died, this is my fault. But over that guilt, over that feeling of helplessness and self-blaming, Simon thinks Almost dying isn't bravery, it's stupidity. He hates that he isn't more sympathetic for the injuries. Hates that he's betraying Kamina by disagreeing with him.

"We have t'keep fighting," Kamina says slowly, and pushes himself up against the headboard of the bed with a minimal wince. He looks at his bandages, and adds "Don't have time t'be layin' around doing nothing."

He still looks so strong. His body is still so big; still so tough. Simon stares at the bandages instead of his face. "Rossiu and Yoko have been trading off piloting Gurren. You've been out for two days. This is the Dai-Ganzen, which… Well, luckily it has a lot of first aid supplies, so Leeron was able to patch you up."

After grimacing at the thought of Leeron touching him, the older boy sighs. "I can take it easy for a while, at least." He doesn't look at all glad. "Tch. Missing out on the fun."

"You'll fight better scarred up than you will bleeding everywhere," Simon says, and manages a small laugh. Kamina laughs back, louder, more enthusiastically. Simon is still so small. He still looks so insignificant.

"So you're doing just fine without me," he hears himself say.

Simon almost looks offended. "We're having a really tough time without you there! We're doing our best, but only just getting by. Yoko and Rossiu aren't as good with Gurren."

"Heh." Kamina can't stop his mood from lightening, and grins. "Of course! Only the leader of the Great Gurren Brigade can properly control Gurren itself!"

Simon nods, smiling contentedly. After a moment of hesitation, he opens his mouth to speak. A loud siren cuts him off.

"You rest up," Simon says hurriedly, and nearly dashes out the door. Kamina is left staring at the empty space, with many things to think about.

So Kamina rests. He lies in a bed, and hobbles around the ship when he feels like it. The other men were quick to accept renaming it the Dai-Gurren. They joke around with him the same as always; it's hard to feel weak, despite needing the crutches at first.

But he sees Simon coming back from battles, exhausted and bruised, and curses his slow healing. The boy waves, and let's out a long breath that is not quite a sigh. He smiles. Battered and tired, he is proud, and still bursting with... Something. Kamina can't say that it's energy, when all the boy seems able to say to him is "I'm going to rest," each day. Some nights the boy returns, exuberant with tales of the fight and how Lagann is starting to get easier to control.

He says he misses fighting with his Bro, though he appreciates that Rossiu and Yoko are doing their best. He tells Kamina about the moves he did, or the attacks he decided to use. About the feel of the core drill in his hand and around his neck, even when it's plugged into the Lagann, and not actually touching him at all. He talks about the spiral on the dashboard, and how it's spinning, spinning, spinning is all he can see - how sometimes it's all he can think about.

But the visits are brief, and Simon tells him, "Rest up and get better soon! I know you can recover faster than anyone, Bro!"

Yoko visits him, and sits on the side of his bed. She says "Simon is really picking up. It's like he's been doing this way longer than the rest of us."

"Of course! Who the hell do you think he is?" Kamina grins.

The girl smiles, but doesn't have comment. Instead she says "Ron says you can probably start training tomorrow. You said you're feeling a lot better right?" She pauses, and he nods. "Maybe tonight you and Simon could go out and practice together."

He nods, enthusiastic at the prospect of being out of the Dai-Gurren and into his own mech. He hasn't needed the crutches for almost three days, and has been able to walk and rough-house with the others with only the slightest nausea.

Yoko manages to smile until she's out the door. She knows that Simon needs him more than she does, but can't help herself from feeling jealous. She thinks If I could be honest, I'd ask him to come to my room, instead.

They haven't discussed the kiss. They haven't said anything. He hasn't done anything. She isn't sure if she's relieved or disappointed. Tomorrow, she thinks. Tomorrow.

Kamina visits Simon's room in the night. He raps on the wall beside the door, but it slides open automatically. The lights are on, but dimmed, as Simon stands on his knees on the bed, looking out the window at the rainy night sky.

"Been rainin' a lot lately," Kamina says. Simon nods cheerfully without turning away. Boota turns around on the younger boy's head to see Kamina, and makes a motion that might be waving. Kamina lets the mole-pig climb onto his hand when he approaches Simon, ruffling the boy's hair.

Simon looks up at him while he fixes his hair and goggles. "What's up?" He asks, apparently pleased with his entirely still-messy hair.

"Was thinking' we could go train or something'." The older boy says. "Been cooped up too long. Gotta get out."

"Is it okay for you to be doing that?" Simon asks.

Kamina just shrugs. "It ain't like it's a real fight. Yoko said 's fine."

Simon nods, then looks hesitant, and turns back to the window. He eyes Kamina's ghostly reflection in the glass. It's easy to focus on the rain, and blur him out completely, Simon thinks. The dark, cloudy sky outside continues to pour down. "A-about Yoko," he manages awkwardly, but trails off, not sure what he wants to say or how to say it.

Kamina raises an eyebrow, and puts his hands on his hips. "What about her?"

"Nothing," he says, and shakes his head. "Let's go train. Maybe piloting will help you heal."

Kamina easily forgets the previous subject, and agrees readily. He asks "Why would it?"

Simon shrugs, pulling on his jacket and slipping into his shoes. "You're just that kind of person."

It's nice to see him so confident. It's nice to see him with the bounce in his step he had as a young child. Back when it was just the two of them in Jiiha. The younger boy is proud of his fighting, and Kamina thinks, although he wanted to be helping him fight, perhaps not having him for almost a week has helped his self-esteem.

Simon walks happily towards the loading bay, half-bobbing his head. He says "The rain isn't so bad."

lol to be continued