Chapter Text
They somehow landed safely in a meadow of flowers. Amuro was hurtled from space into what looked like a beautiful day, which made him wonder if he'd died. This seemed like one of the places you went if you died, assuming you were a good person. Amuro was sure he was not.
Nor was Char, whose escape capsule had been thrown within distant sight of him. His existence guaranteed this wasn't any sort of pleasant afterlife, since the man certainly didn't deserve one.
So they were alive, on earth, somewhere. And Char had been stopped. He was such a dumbass.
Amruo noticed he didn’t hate Char. He was angry at him. But he was also terribly fond of him. It was impossible to hate him.
His thoughts were drawn to Char's, as they always inevitably were.
You’re an idiot.
I wanted to die. Why didn’t I die?
I know you wanted to die. There were easier ways to accomplish that.
I needed it to be you.
...I know. I know.
Why did he understand Char Aznable? He didn’t want to understand Char Aznable. Was this because of their newtype bond, or because they were simply that similar? Amuro didn’t want to know the answer. So many things about this whole situation were just better left alone.
If they were strong enough to both communicate like this, Amuro realized, they would both make it out of this alive. He'd deal with what to do about that fact later. For now, he was weak and wounded - and he could tell Char was in a similar condition. He took stock of the situation as best as he could. He didn't know where they were, but it seemed to be somewhere remote. Amuro tested his limbs, and they all worked, albeit weakly.
He didn't think Char was doing as well. He could tell he wasn't in any immediate danger, but his thoughts were strained and distracted. He was probably pretty heavily injured. Amuro would have to be the one to take charge of things for now. He managed to drag himself a little way to a first aid kit. He produced some gauze, which he held up to his nose, because it had been bleeding heavily. He waited a few minutes to get that under control, then gingerly picked himself and the first aid kit up and began to trek across the sunny field towards Char.
It wasn't an easy walk. Gravity was suffocating. But Amuro managed it, and Char was, as he had expected, in worse shape than him. He was still conscious, and looked over as Amuro approached, but his legs were mangled and bloody. He smiled weakly at Amuro. "Amuro..."
"Idiot," said Amuro, as he knelt down by Char.
“It worked, though,” said Char wryly. It took him some effort to speak; Amuro could tell he was in pain.
Amuro took stock of the situation. Char was in rough shape; he wasn’t in any immediate danger, especially if Amuro could administer first aid, but he was going to need professional medical attention. “Do you know where we are?” he asked.
“I’m afraid not,” said Char. “I was supposed to die,” he added.
“Yeah, I know,” said Amuro. He opened the first aid kit and found a vial of painkillers.
“Why are we alive?” Char said, staring up at the bright blue sky.
Amuro had a suspicion that Lalah was somehow responsible, but he was too focused on preparing the vial and a syringe to reply. Char picked up on his thoughts anyway, and nodded. “I suppose she decided we have unfinished business.”
“I guess so,” said Amuro. He injected the mixture he’d made into Char’s shoulder, and Char winced; the needle was thick and Amuro, who was still mad at Char, was not particularly gentle. They were then quiet for a moment as Amuro dug around in the kit for bandages and then began working on Char’s legs. His aim was to stop the bleeding as best as he could for now and then decide what to do later.
“Why are you trying to save me?” Char asked him as he worked. “Shouldn’t you be trying to kill me?”
“You don’t deserve to have what you want,” Amuro replied matter-of-factly.
Char laughed; he was genuinely delighted by the response. “You’re not wrong,” he said. “A lot of people are going to want me dead, though.”
“Your life isn’t theirs to take,” said Amuro, before he really knew he was saying it.
“Mmm.” Char seemed to like that reply, and he smiled thinly.
Amuro responded by pulling the bandage extra tight, and he thought about their next moves. Char needed medical help, and Amuro assumed he himself did as well.
He still wasn't sure where they were, which wasn't great. If they were someplace where he and Char would be recognized, that could be an issue. He was glad that their respective machinery seemed to be mangled beyond easy recognition. They'd made an absolute mess of the field they were in and smoke was rising into the air, so he assumed locals would stumble across them soon. If they were lucky, they wouldn't be recognized, and the two of them could figure out what to do from there.
"You need to take care of yourself, too, Amuro," Char said suddenly.
"What?"
"You've got blood all over you."
"Yeah, but at least I can walk," said Amuro. He was well aware that a lot of his current abilities were likely being powered solely by adrenaline. But if that was all he had for now, well, that was all he had. "I'm sure some people will come along and find us soon," he added.
"Right," Char agreed.
It was odd, wasn't it? The two of them just chatting casually after everything that had just happened. But perhaps this wasn't actually odd, for them. They seemed to have a unique relationship that Amuro didn't quite understand.
It wasn't a bad thing to have a relationship like that, he thought.
As Amuro had expected, the locals found the two of them soon enough. They spoke a language that neither he nor Char understood, and several of them had guns, but for the most part they seemed ready to help, and they began the process of pulling Char from the wreckage that was crushing him. He was more of a priority, which made sense, but soon enough they set upon Amuro, too. They injected him with something before Amuro could object, and that was the last thing he remembered.
When Amuro woke later, he was in a hospital bed, hooked up to a variety of machines. His first and most panicked thought, perhaps infuriatingly, was Char. Where was Char? He reached out with his mind, and then almost immediately let out a ragged breath of relief. Char was nearby, probably in the same hospital. Amuro could tell that he was not currently conscious, so he couldn't communicate with him, but he was at least safe for the moment.
His fears assuaged for the time being, Amuro suddenly felt very tired, and his thoughts slipped back into darkness.
They found each other in their dreams, at some point. It took a bit, because they didn't dream when they were unconscious, but as the days passed they were less drugged up. Char's thoughts brushed up against Amuro's, like soft ribbons in a breeze. I'd come find you, but I can't walk, those thoughts said.
Do these people know who we are?
I don't think so.
And with that, for the first time, Amuro began to think that maybe they could get away with this. He had that thought before even knowing what, even, he thought they were getting away with. Then he realized what his subconscious had meant by that.
Existing.