A/N: Hi, I wrote this at 3am after listening to Message To Bears for like,,, 2 hours. Also I didn't proofread, so like, it's shit.
Y/N sat on her bed in the nearly barren room, her eyes glued to the picture frame held in her trembling hands.
She remembered the exact day the photo was taken. Back when things were easier, as she often thought to herself. She and Chuck had just graduated from the PPDC Academy, and they posed with their father in front of their newly-christened Jaeger. The twins wore wide smiles on their faces, their arms wrapped around the shoulders of the patriarch.
It was rare for Chuck to smile, this Y/N knew. But that day, she was entirely convinced that his smile could outshine the brightest sun. Chuck was proud, and not just of himself. No, Chuck was just as proud of his baby sister.
But things were different now, Y/N told herself every day. Her heart ached with unimaginable sorrow, the likes of which no one could take away; not even Raleigh, who did his best to be there for her and comfort her every day.
Straightening herself up from her slouched position, Y/N forced herself to stand, wiping away the few stray tears that trickled slowly down her flushed cheeks with the back of her hand. Now was no time to mourn. The Breach might have been successfully closed, but there was still far too much to do to sit around and reminisce. Gently, she set the frame down on the worn dresser, not sparing it a second glance before she began to make her way out of the room. As she walked by the dirty mirror by her desk, she stopped. With a deep frown, Y/N studied her reflection, her hand unconsciously creeping toward the gleaming, silver dog tags hanging from her neck.
Chuck's tags. He had given them to her before the mission that cost him his life. The mission he knew would be his last.
"Hold these for me, and hold them tight, little ankle biter. I'll be back for them before you know it, alright?"
The young woman did her best to keep her emotions from spilling over, but memories flooding her head, it proved difficult to do so. She held her quivering bottom lip between her teeth, closing her eyes as they filled with bitter tears.
She could see it all over again. She could feel everything as vividly as she had on the day he left.
She could feel her brother's arms wrapped tight around her as he hugged her, and his warm lips against her forehead, kissing her goodbye. She could hear his voice as if he were whispering in her ear. Words broken, but reassuring.
"Come, now. Don't cry over me. I love you, and I will always love you. Take care of Max and the old man for me, will you?"
Just as she could hear her brother's voice, Y/N could hear Tendo's words bouncing inside her head. Words she would never forget, a sentence she dreaded hearing from the moment she stepped foot into the Shatterdome. A statement that other people found a victory, yet she found to be nothing but a grave loss she wouldn't wish on her greatest enemy. A sense of loss she shared with Mako Mori when Striker Eureka detonated the payload to close the Breach.
When Raleigh entered the room, his habitually heavy footfalls were barely audible against the concrete. Y/N didn't have to tell him what was wrong, and he didn't need to ask. Raleigh knew immediately what was going through Y/N's head the second his eyes caught her thumb gently rubbing over the engraved name on the dog tags. He gently set his hand on Y/N's waist, pulling her to him as carefully as he could. Within seconds of being in his embrace, the young woman's knees buckled under the weight of her pain. The blonde was able to keep her steady, holding her trembling form against his own as she wracked with heavy sobs.
"I know, I know. I'm here." He would whisper, his lips brushing against the top of her head. "I love you." He would say, pressing soft kisses to her forehead.
And in that moment, Y/N was no longer in Raleigh's arms in the Shatterdome. No, she was back home, letting her brother shield her from the thunderstorm raging outside their window, innocent and unaware.
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