In the Moonlit Mind

It was 2:00 a.m. outside. The Sun had long set, and everyone was fast asleep save for one person: Lance.

In spite of the darkness that was pervasive and in spite of the fact that Ilana and Newton were fast asleep, sleep did not enter into Lance's mind.

Instead, Lance sat on a chair in his bedroom's table. There, he stared at the small frame on the table which contained an image of his father, whom he adored, yet who seemingly disappeared during Lance's childhood.

Lance stared at the image longingly. He never really got to know his father before he disappeared, and yet, some memories from his childhood did return, and the affection he had for him was such that even at this juncture, after the passing of a great deal of time, he still missed him.

As his long hair passed slightly over his face, only for him to push it back, Lance thought of the missions he’d gone on. He thought of the time he’d spent with Ilana and Octus, and even though he had been initially tasked with protecting her, he did feel a certain affection for the princess, in spite of the fact that he knew well that their relationship had to remain purely platonic. They were supposed to act as brother and sister, after all, and even though that might not have been the case, he was still bound to protect her.

Therefore, he felt within him a certain conflict. He loved Ilana, and would give his life to ensure her survival, but he knew well that he needed to find a relationship with someone else.

Lance had a particular interest for Kristin, a girl who was in many ways similar to him. He liked the fact that she didn't treat him differently just because of his popularity, and that she didn't hang around him like the other girls.

However, that was also something that he found weird about her. His brooding, devil-may-care attitude and handsome good looks made him very popular with Sherman High's female students, and yet, he shunned their attention, viewing it as a heavy burden to carry as opposed to a beneficial activity from them.

On the other hand, when Lance approached Kristin, she didn't accept his initial offer. That was the predicament Lance faced: the girls who wanted to date him where the ones whom Lance did not want to date, but the girl whom he wanted to date did not want to date him.

Lance resolved to ask Kristin once more in the hope that she would agree to go with him.

Until then, however, there were still several hours left in the night. Thoughts entered his mind, and behind the facade of impregnability which he had constructed, a conflicted mind and soul meant that those moments of internal peace would prove to be fleetingly brief.

He glanced outside the window. It was dark out, and at that moment, his heart was also in a sort of darkness. He needed someone who would bring light to it, but that person seemingly did not come.

The clock ticked by. Hours and hours passed, and Lance was nowhere close to falling asleep. Too many memories still lingered within him.

He put on this front of this dark, brooding loaner who didn't let anything get in his way. While it's true that he tended towards pessimism, he wasn't nearly as impregnable as others would think.

To try and make himself feel better, Lance spoke to himself.

“It's another evening here where I'm standing, and the battlefield of death is at my side. Life and death battle within me, and I die but a thousand times each day so long as my home is not free.”

At that moment, however, a nightmare entered Lance of the battle between the kingdom he was part of and the Mutradi forces.

He tried to keep himself quiet, but could hold himself no longer, and released a loud yell in the air.

“AHHHHH!"

The noise was loud enough that both Iliana and Octus were awoken, but Ilana managed to convince Octus to stay.

Iliana slowly walked to Lance's room. When she entered, she saw a rather uncommon sight: Lance was crying.

Iliana sat on the bed next to Lance and glanced at him.

“You probably heard me, didn't you?” Lance stated, whimpering as the tears fell from his eyes. “I feel awful that you have to see me this way, but I can't do anything else.”

Iliana grabbed Lance and began to hug him. At first, Lance was resistant, but he eventually gave in and fell under her embrace.

Some time passed and Lance began to feel better. He approached Iliana and asked her “I know that you're the princess and I'm your bodyguard, but could you sleep with me tonight? You've helped me feel better, but I want to have you by my side, at least for now.”

Ilana looked at Lance and said “Of course I'll sleep with you. We're supposed to be siblings now, and I want to make you feel better.”

Lance was shocked “You'd do that for me?”

Ilana smiled and said “Of course I would, silly. I love you.”

Lance was profoundly happy, and said “Thanks Ilana. This is really nice of you.”

“No problem,” replied Ilana. “Now, move a bit so I can have some space to sleep.”

Lance moved and held Ilana tightly. She fell under his embrace, and as she looked at his body, gleaming in the moonlight, she thought of how Lance had risked himself countless times for her. At that moment, though, Lance was breathing. He was calm, and in a state of total bliss from the events outside.

Ilana fell under his arms, and both fell deeply asleep.

In the morning, Lance woke up on the bed. He saw that the other side was empty, and as he stretches, he thought to himself and said “That was the best sleep I've ever had.”

For the first time in a long time since he had ended his vigilantism, he was truly happy, and as he walked into the kitchen, ready to eat breakfast, he thought long and hard about the day ahead.

Octus was making pancakes, and Lance sat down next to Ilana. As Octus served the pancakes to Lance, Lance began to eat and thought of how lucky he was to be a part of Sym-Bionic Titan.