Strife: A Red vs Blue Fan Fiction

Final Day Last Teammate

April, 07, 2546

New Phoenix, New Republic, Earth

10:00

~<><><>~

"Look, I'm in casual clothes. Not service dress. I do not need to look good in it. Now, please stop fiddling with my hair," I said, sighing. I mean, I'm glad she, of all people, is here, the only member of the old team remaining. But, she's been fiddling with my hair for nearly an hour, hardly saying a word as she did so.

I've let her do it, mostly because... well, she went through what I did. No, she didn't witness the deaths of two of the team. She was transferred out of the team right after graduation, working as a medic for some other squadron. When she recieved news that... I was the only one left, she took a flight straight down to New Phoenix, well... not the moment she heard.

It took her a few months.

But, at least she made it here, just to be with me.

She's only been here... maybe two days, really, living with me. She's already done so much in just the two days she's been here. She actually got me to smile, redid my apartment so it didn't look so trashy, and kept the alcohol away from me. Probably for the best.

"Hey, your about to be sent out to something new. I don't want you to appear all trashy, Cas," She replied after a moment of silence. I sighed, letting her do whatever she wanted to my hair. She wouldn't stop, even if I persisted with asking her.

She ran a brush through my hair for what felt like the hundreth time, finding no resistance from the tangles... considering she's already gotten rid of them -several times over. Without saying a word, she leaned my chair back, placing my hair under the faucet.

I felt the water hit my hair as she turned the water on. "This isn't necessary," I complained with a sigh, looking over at her. She didn't say anything, just smiled down at me as she rubbed the shampoo, or whatever she was using, into my hair, letting it set for a few moments before washing it away. Probably conditioner, or something of the sort.

Without missinga beat, she placed the chair back to its original postion, continuining to run a brush through my hair after blowing-drying it, and wrapping a towel over my shoulder. I heard her grab something off the nearby stand.

"What're you--"

She silenced me, beginning to trim my hair down, to a bit below my shoulder. I didn't argue with her, probably because I actually needed a haircut. But, what did she do before she started to trim it? The previous hour that we've been sitting here?

"Just sit like that. Promise me you won't look, alright?" She asked when she finished cutting the last section of hair, coming around the chair to look down directly at me, into my eyes. I sighed, nodding.

"Say it," She ordered.

"I won't look," She just looked at me, not moving in the slighest. I sighed, adding, "I promise," She smiled, turning on her heel, heading out of the room. I resisted the urge to look behind me, at the mirror on the wall. But, I promised not to look. So I won't break this simple promise.

She came back into the room a few minutes later, holding my charcoal colored jacket and white over-shirt in one hand, and a small, black, box, in the other. She was obviously curious about the small box, just studying the outside of it.

I looked at it, wondering what it was exactly. She set both down on the table before turning to me. "Stand up so I can make sure everything looks alright," She commanded me once again. I sighed, pushing myself off the chair, my knees popping in the process.

She smiled, circling me. She chuckled lightly, coming back around to face me, dusting a few fallen strands of hair off my shoulders and undershirt. "I have to admit, it turned out rather well, if I do say so myself," She said, handing me the shirt first.

I pulled the simple, white, T-shirt over my head, smoothing it down afterwards. She tossed me the jacket before snatching the box off the table, waiting for me to pull the jacket on. I sighed, pulling it on. I rolled my shoulders, stretching.

She opened the box, holding it away from me as she looked at what lied on the inside, a curious look on her face. She handed it to me, not saying a single word. I took it from her hands, turning it to face me. New dog tags laid on the soft padding beneath them.

But, it wasn't normal dog tags. One was the normal design, just plain metal, with my name, and all my information imprinted on it, along with the name of the Project I was heading to. 'Project Freelancer,'

But, the other one was... different. Instead of normal metal, it looked to be light blue material covering what I presumed to be metal, with a black lining around it. A symbol, which, I presumed, was the Project Freelancer insignia, lay in the center of it, a dark contrast to the rest of it.

"I'm guessing that's your new dog tags... huh...?" She asked quietly, looking down at them. She sounded... sad. I wish I could understand why, really. I mean... they're just dog tags, right? Nothing... entirely different, right?

"Yeah, I guess so," I simply replied, looking over at her. With a faint smile, she snatched the box from my hands, gently taking them out. She turned to me, and motioned for me to duck down. She always was the shorter one of the team.

I did as I was told, lowering my head so she could place the tags around my neck. They fell down around my neck, and I looked back up at Aimee, placing my hand on them. I guess they feel right.

"I better be able to see you again. They better not keep you at whatever base they send you to constantly. If they do, they'll be getting a very pissed off phone call from me. Anyways, I guess you can look in the mirror now," She said with a smile. What did she do...?

I slowly turned to face the mirror, my eyes widening when I saw my hair. "Aimee... why... did you..." I trailed off, still staring at my reflection. The tips of hair, all around, including my bangs, were dyed... blue. Not bright blue, but, at the same time, not all that dark.

"That's just my way of saying you need a bit of color in your life, Cas," She wrapped her arms around my neck, basically choking me in a hug. "I'll miss you,"

《♤》《♤》《♤》

A/n: Aha, sorry for ending it like that. Also, sorry for the boring chapter. I promise more will be coming soon, more action and more plot, but these little chapters like this help build a story up, you know?

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to see you in the next!

-Seekers