A Lieutenant's Love

Chapter 2: Dead Memories

Chapter 2: Dead Memories
A/N: Trigger warnings for PTSD and abuse/violence ahead, reader discretion is advised. Also be warned for the use of puns if you find them annoying.

THWACK!

A young Fenir fell to the floor, battered and bruised. Tears streamed down his face as a cry of pain escaped his throat. Standing no less than a few feet from him was his father, Jinn. He was in the middle of one of his strict and brutal training regiments.

"Nakanaide! Namida wa jakusha to ko byōsha no tame no monodesu! Kazoku no isan o dono yō ni keishō suru koto o kitai shite imasu ka?!" Jinn yelled angrily.

(Translation: "Stop your crying, boy! Tears are for the weak and cowardly! How do you ever expect to ever carry on the family legacy?!")

Jinn went to strike Fenir with his belt again and suddenly everything went black. Fenir awakens in a panicked state, sitting up straight in bed. Heavy gasps of air filled his lungs. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and his body temperature was unusually high. Before he entered SAO, these nightmares were part of every sleepless night. The reason why he stays up most of the time and works in his lab. But this time he was unable to do that. The base was pretty locked down and he feared going out and either getting heckled or mistaken for a trespasser and shot. So there he sat, shaking like a leaf with his knees curled up to his chest.

Fenir looked over to the empty side of the bed, sighing heavily. It looked blurry; everything did, in fact. He reached over to his dresser on his side of the bed and felt for his glasses. He put them on once finding them and looked around the room. It was mostly dark, but at least he could see the room more clearly. He assumed she must already be up attending to her duties. It was better that way, he didn't want her to see himself like this.

"Please don't hurt me, father..." he said looking down at the sheets of the bed. Relapsing from the trauma of his childhood was the worst part of this for Fenir.

"I-I promise I'll try harder..." said Fenir as tears streamed down his face, unable to contain them.

After the role calls were done, Alexis walked back to the bedroom and saw Fenir in very bad shape, reminiscent of her after a PTSD relapse, so she immediately went to his side, gently mind you, but right by him so he had someone there for him. "Hon, it's me... It's okay..." She softly spoke and assured him with her loving arms around him. "I'll be by your side, no matter what happens."

Fenir looked at Alexis as he felt her loving embrace. No matter how sad or angry he felt, when she held him like this, all of his worries seemed to disappear.
"I'm sorry you had to see me like this... I'm just... haunted by old memories." Fenir said as he relaxed, resting his head on her chest and wrapping his arms around her.
"I've never told you this but... my worst fear is being burned alive. That day when my cousins left me for dead changed my life forever." said Fenir.

"You've seen me through my own in SAO, and we both are going to stay together, no matter what." Alexis lovingly said to him and kissed his forehead as a sign of loyalty, protection and love. "We both have our haunting memories, scars, and hells we went through, but what makes us who we are is how we fight through them. That, my dear is what defines us as people." She was honestly wise and it would be clear now in regards as to how soldiers around her looked up to her like they do, mainly her own unit.

Fenir was listening to her calming voice, that soothing southern drawl. Finally understanding why her soldiers held her in such high regard. This moment real, no pixels to blur the human texture. After hearing what Alexis had to say, he looked up at her and sighed.