Chapter Text
It was a standard non-combat mission. No risk, no reward. Just a job well done at the end of the day. Well that and now hordes of Legion to fight. So, in a roundabout way, totally stock standard non-combat mission for the Spearhead Strike package. That wasn't doing a lot of striking.
At least, that’s what Raiden thought at first. Sure they were still getting used to Theo not being able to come along with them after the Mirage Spire operation, but they were getting there.
Only real problem…
Was dealing with Shiden. Girl had ISSUES because her love for Lena was more one sided than Kurena and Shin. (AN: Fuck you if you ship that btw) And boy did she love taking it out on Shin. Did she forget how badly he beat her ass when they first met? Raiden was mad at himself for not placing the largest bet he could on Shin. Shiden had it coming the moment she opened her mouth.
But hey.
They were alive. No matter how badly Raiden NEEDED to slap Shiden. How did she not get fragged by the other girls back in the 86th sector?
And…
“Alright jackholes, it’s gonna be the next left. Should open up from there. Command just wants to know if any of the equipment can be salvaged. No dragging your feet... I know just how much we all love cold and damp mineshaft air”
Theo was still kind of with them on this mission.
Command deemed it too low risk to have Lena behind the PARA-RAID, and Theo had too much time on his hands. Or rather, hand. He had time. On his hand...
Theo spent too damn long dishing it out with that sarcasm of his, Raiden felt it was justified to make puns in his head. It was too fucking easy! Theo sometimes wore a hook over the fucking thing! What else was Raiden meant to do? Suffer in mental silence?
“Roger, approaching the opening now”
Shin however?
Business as usual. He had now silver bell voice to gawk at, so he was EXTRA business as usual.
“Missing your Queen L’il Reaper~?”
“Zip it”
Ahhhh.
The banter. Hell of a lot better than the half suicidal mess Shin was when they first got to the Federacy. Annoyed banter was a hell of a lot better than having Shin bolt off trying to “die usefully” whenever the chance arose. Being annoyed means that he wanted to stay alive. Probably just to make Shiden eat her words later on, but that still counted as living! Well that and the other thing. What with Shin being puppy dog in love with Lena to a sickening degree. Raiden could swear that he hear Shin GROAN into his PILLOW after a week without seeing her... Like a fucking teenager. A teenager that wanted to live.
Christ he did sound like a mom.
“Come in command? We got some mining supplies here. Some of them rusted… but can be restored with a little effort”
“Jeez Shin… you know it’s just me right? You don’t have to be so formal!”
“I would… but I know Grethe doesn’t trust you enough to leave you alone with us. The paperwork you’d cause alone with the PARA-RAID report would make her head spin”
“Am I that obvious?”
A warm, almost maternal voice joined the call. Giggling sweetly as she had been “caught”
“Either way kids, get a closer look. And make sure no Legion have dug any tunnels connecting here”
Back to business.
Everyone fanned out, checking then tunnels one by one as Shiden got a closer look at the machines. Seemed like this mine was for more than just stock standard metal. Lotta shiny rocks mixed in with the raw ores. In peacetime? This place probably made some bank. Probably still would actually, Raiden remembered those ads on the Holy Birth, guys buying shiny shit for their girls. Thank God Raiden planned on waiting for this fucking war to end before stepping into THAT MESS. Shin on the other hand? Lovesick. Could not wait.
Raiden shook his head, time to get back to work. Scanning tunnels, making note of machines within them. Kurena stood guard, Anju basically mirrored his own movements, and Shiden got a look at the bigger machines. One big well oiled machine of inspections.
Shin on the other hand…?
Something must of caught his eye. His Juggernaut stopped at one of the walls, seemingly staring at something. Or maybe he was listening for any Legion on stand-by mode. Raiden could feel it through the PARA-RAID, his eyes were focused on something. Odd. Usually he closed his eyes before scouting Legion.
“See something? Or should I say… Hear something?”
“No… Legion are pretty quiet around here. Best guess is that the closest active Legion troops are further to the north… can tell some are closer, likely on stand-by or totally turned off but… Just cover me for a second here. Need to check something out”
Shin opened his cockpit, jumping out and approaching the wall. What, did he find some secret treasure trove he wanted to keep for himself? That wasn’t exactly his style. But Raiden decided to keep his role as Shin's best friend and follow orders.
Then Raiden heard it. The standard chipping sound he only heard back in the 86th Sector. The sound of a knife slamming against something. Normally against the metal of a dead Juggernaut, followed by the sound of a name being cut into it. But this? It was knife against dirt. Knife against rock.
“What is it?”
“Don’t worry about it… It’s personal. I'll be quick, and I'll jump back into Undertaker if any Legion suddenly appear”
That was odd. Up until he started dating Lena, the only thing “personal” to Shin was killing his brother. Or rather, his Legion “ghost”. What could possibly be personal? A gift for Lena? At a stretch maybe something for Fido. Only Shin could understand him, so who knew, maybe that oversized robot dog had a hunger for shiny rocks. It would not shock Raiden in the least.
He couldn’t help himself, and by the sounds of it, Shiden couldn’t either. They tried, and failed, to maneuver themselves to peek over Shin’s shoulder. But in their Reginleif's. It looked about as dumb as it sounded. Cyclops bumped into Wehrwolf, causing Shin to let out a long sigh.
He didn’t seem to notice fully, or didn't seem to care. Whatever it was, he pulled it from the wall… Then started again. Pulling a second something out from the mineshaft wall and hoping back into Undertaker. Two lumps were in his pocket now. The gossip fuel was getting filled up now, Raiden could smell it. For what seemed to be a boring mission, things just got good.
Raiden (and Shiden) only caught a glimpse. Two shiny rocks. One blood red, with a hint of black. One pure white, that seemingly glowed a brilliant blue. Odd color's, but Raiden had to admit they sure as hell looked pretty darn good. But Shin? He wasn't the decoration type. His room was a damn graveyard, only books serving as decor. Well that, and the fucking coffee maker.
“Rocks? Really L’il Reaper? Shiny rocks?”
Her words, not Raiden’s. But he couldn’t help but chuckle. What, did Shin pick up a geology book and take it to heart? Unlikely, but it was a fun idea for the moment.
“Mind your business, let’s keep it at that Cyclops”
The rest of the mission went smooth. No Legion tunnels. No Legion on standby. And all of the machines seemed to be in good enough working order for the Federacy. In short? The best news they could provide in this low risk mission.
“So! Shin you gonna tell us about those rocks you found?”
“Really? You had to let Theo know? It’s just a personal matter. Nothing to get worked up over”
“Shin. Buddy. In all our years together, the only time I’ve seen you leave your Juggernaut in the field? Was to get a marker, or send someone on to the other side. This is new ground we’re breaking!”
Even Raiden couldn’t help it. It was new ground! A fresh start when it came to teasing! Shin had it coming too. Years and years of being a reckless bastard meant that he earned all of this and more.
“If you’re making a pet rock… Fido will be jealous~”
Looks like word made it to Anju. Shin should’ve just told them. Because now the teasing would begin. Seemed like Anju had her angle, it was unique, Raiden had to give her that. Out of all the jokes and teases she came up with in this past? This was new ground. Then again, Shin never jumped out of his Juggernaut to grab some rocks before.
“I-It’s fine! Just let Shin do what he wants!”
And Kurena too. Always defending him. She may have gotten over her crush, but old habits died really hard. Maybe she's trying to win a kiss out of this... Nah. He could only manage to tease Shin today. He'd save those jokes for later. This was already too good.
“Oh I’m not judging! I’m just giving him a warning! Don’t wanna let Fido think he’s gonna get replaced!”
“Alright, wrap it up, and shut it. Theo, Grethe, we’re RTB at this time”
In all likelihood? Shin thought that would be the end of the matter. But at base? The teasing would be more intense. Poor bastard, didn't even know the pandora's box he just opened. He would've had more luck just lying about the how and why of the matter.
~~~
And intense it was.
Shiden was all over Shin, trying to peek at the rare treasure that Shin deemed it mission critical to grab. Anju seemed to play on the angle that Shin had two pet rocks now, and Kurena, like always, took Shin’s side. Even if she had no clue what the hell Shin did to cause this mess.
Raiden just sat back, and enjoyed the show. The perks of being vice-captain. Or rather, one who did not wanna piss Shin off and be reminded just how much Shin's kicks hurt.
Shin was… oddly defensive. Hiding the stones from view as soon as he got out of Undertaker. It was so strange. He didn’t even act like that whenever he found an undamaged book back in the 86th sector. It was like a holy relic. He even slapped Shiden when she tried to open up his palms. That got one hell of a chuckle from Anju, seeing it as confirmation that these were "pets". To Raiden? That just told him how important those "rocks" were to Shin. Shin had a plan for them, that much was certain, even if he did not know what that plan was.
Oddly enough…
Once Theo and Grethe got to the hangar?
Shin actually showed Grethe. The latter smiling and nodding as Shin whispered to her, a very rare blush crawling its way onto the boys face. She even gave a faux scoff and patted Shin on the shoulder. What the hell was the meaning behind those rocks?
. . .
He wasn’t sure. But Raiden could swear that he heard Grethe say she was proud of Shin.
Just what the hell was he doing with those rocks? He got another peek and well…
They weren’t exactly rocks.
He wasn’t that dense. He knew that gemstones and rocks were different. But… no way... no fucking way...
He checked the room, and the people standing inside it. By the looks of things he was the only one to realize it.
Theo and Anju were teasing and joking with Shiden behind Shin’s back, Kurena doing her best to defend his honour. But… they didn’t get it. Or rather, they did not get the full picture. Raiden was alone in that matter
Those gemstones. Those two shining gemstones.
Grethe being proud of Shin.
One red and black. White and blue.
Shin and Lena.
Gemstones. Diamonds.
Wedding Rings.
Holy shit. Shin wanted to propose to Lena. And those perfectly fitting gemstones just fell into his fucking lap. What kind of hilarious twist of fate was that?
Knowing Shin? He wasn’t sure probably running around in his own head about it. Then BOOM. He sees those gems. No wonder he was stuck staring at them for so long. It was like a firm slap from fate itself. Telling him to get the fuck off his ass and do it.
Raiden had to try not to bust out laughing. He could manage with a smile chuckle as he watched the others make jokes.
They were in for a shock of a lifetime.
Shit... Even he had to agree with Grethe. He was proud of Shin. From someone who only wanted to die.. To this? Who wouldn't be proud? His brother in all but blood wanted to get married!
~~~
Weeks passed.
Shin had been slipping out of base from time to time. It was the talk of the base, Shin may have been silent, but boy was he not as sneaky as he thought he was.
Theo made jokes about how he was sneaking off to see his second girlfriend, Anju (still on about that pet rock thing) said he was worried that he couldn’t find any pet rock food, and Shiden… just parroted whatever they said at the time.
Kurena finally realized this was a losing battle and just let it slide. Grumbling from time to time...
Raiden took a step back from all of that. It was interesting, but his best guess was that Shin just tucked them away for later. Maybe do something sappy like proposing once the war was over. Right now he just needed to chat with Shin about a report. So, after a quick knock, he entered his room.
. . .
Only to be immediately greeted by the sound of a desk drawer slamming shut. Hard and fast.
For a split second. Raiden saw it. A little black box. Shin had it open, staring at what was inside with a longing look in his eyes. A single ring. Lena's ring.
Ah. So that’s why he’s been sneaking off. Already got the gems cut and set into rings. He was impressed, Shin was moving fast on that front.
“Ahem… Raiden... What do you need?”
That was new. Shin trying to play it cool. It was cute. He never had anything to hide in the past, so he never had any practice with lying.
Honesty? At this point? Raiden completely forgot about the report. He needed to get this one out,
“So. . . When’s the wedding?”
Oh…
The look on Shin’s face was priceless.
~~~