I actually wrote this a while ago, and had it on LJ, but decided that I might as well upload it here as well. It's short, cute and fluffy, with a Lyle/Tieria pairing. Nothing dirty in this one, so it's K+. It does contain spoilers for the first few episodes of season 2 though, so be warned.

Summary: Elaboration on what happened when Lyle was watching Tieria at his brother's grave, and the teasing that results. Contains fluff and Tieria acting like a blushy girl.

"…Lockon Stratos."

The sound of the name was nearly drowned out by the pounding drum of the rain against the pavement in the nearby parking-lot. Without even looking around, I could tell that I was alone in the cemetery. All of the other mourners had retreated from the sides of their buried loved-ones to take shelter from the sudden down-pour. No, even then… I know that I was alone from the start.

Even though those people had also experienced loss, it wasn't the same. It would never be the same; they would never be able to understand this kind of pain.

Standing alone, I could feel the fabric of my suit growing heavier, clinging to my body as it absorbed the moisture falling from the sky. My hair was soaked, and beads of water dripped down my face. Due to the condensation, I could no longer see through my glasses, but I didn't particularly mind. I hadn't really been looking at the gravestone in front of me anyways. Still, while I couldn't even see it anymore, I couldn't tear my eyes away. Despite the fact that I was grieving, I wasn't sure how to deal with it.

I wasn't made to handle grief or pain. The emotions, though I'm sure I felt them, wouldn't appear on my face. Even though I was miserable on the inside, and I'm sure that I was on some level, my body refused to recognize those feelings. Because of this, I neither cried nor crumbled. Instead of shouting out in anguish, I simply stood there in the rain, silent now that I had finished speaking to the man in the grave in front of me.

"Ah, such a sad day today. Even the sky is crying. I guess that makes it a good day to visit a grave, though."

Before the words even had a chance to register in my head, I realized that the water that had been pounding down on my body had stopped. Out of my peripheral vision, I caught the sight of the handle of an umbrella. The fingers that gripped it were pale and thin, yet strong and capable at the same time. They were very familiar fingers, and just the sight of them made me feel comfortable. The tension in my chest loosened slightly, my shoulders relaxing even though I had yet to realize who those fingers belonged to. My eyes were still focused on the grave-marker before me. I didn't respond to his comment.

"Are you ok? You're drenched." His voice was distorted by the rain smacking against the umbrella, which was why I hadn't recognized it right away. But now that he spoke again, leaning in to ask the question, I was finally able to place the warm familiarity that I felt with this man. Slowly, as if being careful not to break the illusion, I turned to face him.

"Hoh? I came over because I thought there was a girl over here crying, but now that I get a good look at you, you're really a guy, aren't you?" Lockon Stratos, the man whose grave I was visiting, chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head with his right hand, still holding the black umbrella with his left. I was shocked. Flabbergasted. Maybe even afraid. But more than anything…

Before I even realized what I was doing, I had thrown my arms around him, burying my face into his chest and crying as I squeezed him tightly. The hallucination, because I'm sure that's what it was, seemed very shocked by my sudden reaction, but I just squeezed him tightly, not wanting to let go. I don't understand why my grip was so iron, but apparently it was too rough, because the illusion began to squirm, grabbing my wrists as I sobbed his name into the fabric of his shirt.

"Hah? Hey, hang on a second… Gah! That hurts! Quit it!" He finally managed to free himself, panting slightly as he stepped back, wanting to keep some distance between us now. In hindsight, I don't blame him. I was clinging to him like a wet towel; he must have thought I was crazy.

"Lockon… You're still… Please, don't go!" I was hysterical as I tried to hug him again, but he grabbed my shoulders, straightening me out and looking me in the eye.

"I'm not Neil." He said sharply, which caused me to stiffen and get a hold of myself. Neil. That was Lockon's real name. I remembered coming across it in Veda, and suddenly things started to fit into place. The Lockon who wasn't really Lockon heaved a sigh.

"This… Lockon person… You're thinking of my brother, Neil Dyllandy, right?" He asked, hitting the nail right on the head, and he could tell immediately from my face. "I'm sorry, but I haven't seen him in years…" He began, his tone slightly annoyed, but he didn't seem to be too upset about the fact that he had no idea where his brother was. I realized that this was probably the fault of Celestial being. Because of his involvement with us, Lockon had distanced himself from the one family member that he had left.

"…way." My head snapped up and I was pulled out of my thoughts. This was rare. I almost never dozed off in a conversation. Feeling rather flustered, I looked back up at him.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" I immediately regretted asking the question, because his cheeks turned a very light shade of pink.

"Ah, well… I was just saying… I didn't know my brother was… that way." When I gave him a confused and unamused look, he elaborated, his tongue stumbling over the words as he tentatively rubbed the back of his neck. "You know… I didn't think he went for… For guys. I mean, you guys are lovers, right?"

Even though I normally don't show much emotion, and just as I was regaining my composure, I choked on air and stumbled back.

"E-excuse me?!" I could feel my face burning red, and I crossed my arms over my chest, as if the younger brother of Lockon were going to molest me. He quickly began to wave his hands around, obviously embarrassed by his mistake.

"Gyah! I'm sorry, it's just… You were hugging me like that, so I kinda assumed that you two were..."

"It wasn't like that." I interrupted him in a flat tone, averting my eyes. "Lockon… Had no such feelings. He was a good friend to everybody who knew him." I could feel my voice start to falter as I spoke, and I quickly looked away from the other to hide it. He saw through my attempts, however, and I felt his arms wrap around me from behind. I was too startled to struggle, and soon enough I felt myself melting into his arms. Even though I knew it wasn't really Lockon, my knees went weak and I leaned against him, my eyes sliding shut.

"But you liked him, right? The way you were just then… You looked like a princess waiting for the prince to save her." He whispered into my ear, and the feel of his hot breath on my skin caused me to shudder.

"…Lockon…" I mumbled, then slowly turned around and returned his embrace. "I know… That you're not really him. But please… Don't leave yet." Although my eyes were closed, I got the feeling that he was smiling down on me as he comfortingly rubbed my back, his fingers gently running through my hair. I didn't want to let go of him yet, even though I knew that he could never fill the void left by the real Lockon.

"…It's Lyle." I looked up, and saw the familiar smile that Lockon Stratos had given me so many times before… Including just before he had taken his last breaths. "I can't be my brother, so I'm just telling you. I'm Lyle Dyllandy, not… Lockon or Neil, or whoever you're thinking about, but… That guy. I get the feeling that he wouldn't have left you and went wherever he went if he had a choice, yanno?"

As I slowly tilted my head up towards Lyle, to see his face, I suddenly felt his cold, damp lips pressed up against mine. I had never felt anything like that before, and I wasn't quite sure how to respond… But he pulled away and flashed a stupid, silly grin.

"Since he's not here, you'll have to make do with that. But I want you to know, I get the feeling that he wouldn't have left you behind unless he absolutely had to. My brother was always putting other people first, so he probably felt that he needed to protect you by going. He didn't want you to get hurt, which is why he left. Ahaha, what the hell am I saying without even knowing the circumstances…" He chuckled, the shade of rose returning to his cheeks as he scratched the back of his neck. "I guess this is what they call that twins' intuition?"

I looked up at him for a long time, and I felt the tears welling up once more. This time, however, I didn't feel like I was morning. I didn't miss him quite so much anymore. Lyle seemed a little bit disturbed by my sudden change, but I quickly wiped the tears away as I shook my head. Crying out of joy… It was rather embarrassing for a man of my age to be doing such a thing.

"T-thank you… Lyle." He blinked, then smiled as he wrapped one arm around my shoulders, and I felt my worries and fears slowly being lifted and drained away. My eyes slid closed for a moment, but my face quickly soured when I realized what was going on. I straightened myself out and looked at him, my expression back to the icy mask of steel that it usually was.

"Don't misunderstand. It's not as if I would have fallen apart had you not comforted me." I felt the need to set the record straight right off the bat, and while he seemed confused and a little stunned at first, he soon started to laugh. A hint of red came to my cheeks as I glared at him, placing my hands on my hips. "What's so funny? I was only making sure that you didn't get the wrong idea!" I spoke in a cold tone, but I couldn't help but notice the flustered waver behind the words.

Lyle chuckled as he grabbed the handle of the umbrella that had fallen to the ground nearby, and he began to wipe off the streaks of mud and soil that had accumulated on the black material.

"Relax, relax, I get it. But I have to say, I can understand why my brother likes you. If you were a girl, you'd be pretty cute." His words that were so blunt and genuine caused my cheeks to puff out as I abruptly turned around, about to abandon this stupid man, but I stopped as he called out to me. Turning around, I was only barely in time to catch the folded-up umbrella that he had tossed in my direction.

"What the—" I was angry at first, but he cut me off.

"It's still raining! It'd be a shame if that suit got ruined. Don't worry about returning it or anything!" He flashed another smile before turning on his heel and heading off towards the gate of the cemetery. As I watched his form disappear into the grey mist of the stormy day, I found myself tightly clutching the umbrella that he had given to me. I didn't unfold it, just held tightly to the handle, my pale fingers running up and down the rubber grip over and over again.

"…Goodbye… Lockon." I mumbled, and I soon realized that my words were far more meaningful than even I first thought. The weight that had been tying me down was slowly coming undone and sliding off. Looking up towards the gate, I realized that Lyle was gone, and I was alone once more. This time, however, I was no longer as depressed.

"…I'll be sure to return it to you when I see you again, Lyle."

***

Feldt was crying as she pushed past me, and I immediately knew that Lockon was in the next room. He had done something stupid, I was sure of it. He seemed to have a knack for making an ass of himself lately. Adjusting my glasses, I paused for a moment to take a breath, then opened the door to the Hangar and slipped inside. Lyle looked up at me as I entered, caressing a sore cheek. Ah, so that's what that slapping sound was. Yep, he had definitely made an ass of himself.

"Lockon. I need to speak with you." I spoke sharply, my hand at my side as I tried to hide the small bulge in my pocket. He apparently missed it completely as he smiled weakly.

"If it's about the chick, I only gave her a little kiss. She's the one who slapped me." My eyes narrowed at the word 'kiss'. He was already trying to explain things, despite the fact that I hadn't even asked anything. Did I really look that angry and scary that he was scrambling to put up a defence before I even accused him of the crime? I found the corners of my mouth twitching downwards as I came to a halt in front of him.

"I have no interest in how your insensitive acts get you in trouble, although it's best if you keep from distracting and upsetting the other crewmembers." I spoke sharply, using my business tone that I had perfected over my years of working as a military-man. No, that's not right. My business-tone was the only one I had had to begin with, after all.

He tilted his head to the side, obviously confused. Before he even had the chance to ask what I wanted, I had dug my hand into my pocket and pulled out the umbrella. Four years. I had kept it with me for four years, and it had become one of my most precious, comforting possessions. But now… I had to give it back to the original owner. As I held it out to him, he only blinked.

"…What's that?" He asked, and I felt like he had just shoved an ice-pick through my chest. He didn't even remember it. He didn't remember comforting me, kissing me, reassuring me when I was grieving his brother… Apparently he would kiss just about anybody who seemed to be troubled. My back teeth began to grind together, and in a fit of anger that was quite unlike me, I slapped him hard across the face with my free hand, chucking the umbrella at him. He let out a yelp and was about to object, but I stomped down on his foot and turned around, which was quite a difficult feat in zero gravity. Without even waiting for a response, I had kicked away from him and headed out into the hallway to return to my room.

***

"Geez… Well, at least they match now." Lyle rubbed the new red mark on his cheek, clicking his tongue in displeasure as he did so. His eyes travelled down to the umbrella and his face soon softened into an expression of endearment and sadness.

"Idiot. I told you, you don't need to return it." He chuckled weakly under his breath, watching the doorway through which Tieria had just disappeared.

"Having such a reaction… You're gonna make me jealous again."