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"Why are you staring at my hair, Doctor? My hair… exploded? Don’t mind it, it’s not the first nor second time an experiment has failed."
You often wondered how nonchalant the operator from Iberia could be when faced with both medicinal practice and operator Elysium. Granted, you never even knew what customs were normal in Iberia. For all you know, having a beaker explode in front of Thorns' face was normal.
Operator Thorns was an enigma that you couldn't quite figure out, despite your status as the Doctor of Rhodes Island.
Though his history remains clouded in half-guesses, you place just as much trust in him as you give the rest of Rhodes Island. He was just as normal as any other person in the base. He was just as bemused when facing Elysium like anyone else, especially when it comes to chess.
Sadly, chess wasn't the only thing Thorns was good at.
You flinched when another explosion rang throughout one of the labs. You had allowed Thorns to have his own laboratory, as Iberian medicine was different from any other medicine that you and other medics were familiar with. Though… you wondered if it was a good idea to let Thorns have his work be undisturbed, save for interruptions from Aak.
Walking towards the door of his lab, you opened it only to inhale noxious fumes. You staggered back, the fumes making your throat scratch as you covered the lower part of your face with your coat. The sulfurous yellow clouds would've made you panic and hit the emergency button but the emergence of a familiar figure brought you at (somewhat) ease.
"Oh, Doctor." Thorns said plainly, wiping his dirtied cheek with his thumb. "What are you doing here?"
You wanted to speak but your throat was still scratchy, so all you could muster were a few coughs.
Thorns luckily caught on, quickly exiting his lab and shutting down the door so that the fumes wouldn't escape. With that reprieve, you could finally speak.
"Just wanted to see if you're well acclimated to Rhodes Island." You said, bringing your coat down so he could hear you properly. "I know that this place is different from Iberia, so I was worried you would feel out of place."
He blinked at you, eyes molten like gold as you suppressed a shiver down your spine. As much as you were a respected war tactician, there are still some Operators who intimidated you to no end.
"The lab is… sufficient, Doctor." He replied slowly, as if he wasn't so sure himself. "I will admit, it's… a fresh change from Iberia."
Your lips quirked upwards, relief apparent in your voice. "That's good."
He continued to stare at you, eyes like the color of his sword when he does Destreza, and you wonder if he knew that you caught him and the rest of the 'wild' Operators on making a liquid smash bomb that still has one of the training facilities unusable.
"Is that all, Doctor?"
You bit your lip, trying to come up with something until you saw his hair. It was akin to a sea urchin, a creature that you've red in one of the books in your office. It didn't help that it was caked in different powders that you wondered how Thorns wasn't dead from his experimentations.
"Your hair…" You started, pointing up at it. "it's a mess."
His hand, muddied with powder, lifted to fiddle with the ends of his hair. "I just combed this…"
You huffed amusedly, watching as he took a hair tie that was around his wrist (you noted how there's some lines running around his wrist that meant he carried a lot), and began to tie his hair.
It was awkward to stand there and watch when Thorns was clearly frustrated from how many ties he may have gone through. But there was something interesting on how, despite his hair being short, he was still able to tie it and made him look somewhat presentable compared to his spiky look before.
With his hair now tied, he looks at you with slight surprise. "Why are you still here?"
You blinked. "Uh…"
Then you remembered. "Ah! A lot of our Operators are going to Siesta for the Obsidian Festival since they've done such a great job during operations."
He tilted his head, not following.
"And… that includes you too."
This time, he was the one who looked surprised. "But… I'm relatively new here, Doctor. I shouldn't be on vacation."
"But you've done such a great job on missions, Thorns." You said. "Plus, I heard that you're familiar with the place too."
He hums, looking off to the side as he scratched the back of his neck. "I do… and you made a good choice on picking that as a vacation spot."
You tried not to show your grin but you were ecstatic that Thorns was listening. "It'd be a shame to not see you there. It could be better than last year's."
He took a moment before looking at you, eyes swirling with mirth and… something else. He sighed through his nose. "Alright… I'll go."
The tropical beach of Siesta was a wonderfully welcomed sight from all the gray and smoke that you’ve seen from Lungmen or Chernobog. The great blue sea that caressed the white sand, the sun shining down without a cloud in the sky, the salty sea breeze that was such a fresh change from the blood and metal that you smelled before. The entire sight is so rejuvenating that you let yourself smile in front of everyone to see.
“Gotta admit, Thorns.” You said to him, looking at him from the corner of your eye. The Iberian man ditched his large coat, opting to have his shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his biceps. He was clean from any other alchemical product as he regarded the sight with a soft look.
It suited him.
“The blue sea, the clean air, the summer sun…” He trailed off, hair brushing wildly from the wind. “It’s nostalgic.”
You continued to stare at him. The history of Iberia was a muddy one, even more so with how tight regulations are. You didn’t know what his history was in the country but you knew that he wasn’t the type to dwell in the past. Heck, even Elysium seemed to know him better than you and it was Elysium of all people.
His hand went to his hair, feeling his untameable locks through his fingers as he sighed. “Damn it, not again…”
You huffed amusedly, opening your tote bag to find the thing you were looking for. You cleared your throat, staring expectantly at him. The man looked at you before his eyes found the thing that was in your hand.
“I feel like your hair ties would just pop out sooner or later with how wild your hair is.” You said, wiggling the yellow hair accessory in your hand. “Hair clamps cling to your hair pretty snuggly without falling off. Besides, your hair is really thick.”
Thorns stared at you, then the clamp, then back at you. You wavered slightly, wondering if you were being too forward, but Thorns surprised you by turning around and presenting his hair to you.
“By all means, Doctor.”
You gasped softly. You didn’t even move for a moment until you realized Thorns was waiting for you. Walking closer, you grabbed his hair and smoothed it down. You were right; it was thick and way too wild for any comb to tame it. But you would be lying to yourself if you said you never thought about carding your fingers through Thorns hair… As much as how weird that sounded.
Having the ends of his hair situated at the back of his head, you opened the clamp and let it close on the clump of hair. The yellow colors were a beautiful contrast against his dark hair, almost like how his swords looked when he did his sword skills.
Thorns turned around to meet your eyes, a hand going to the clamp. His fingers moved it gently, and it didn’t threaten to fall. “You’re right… it’s more secure.”
You soon found your voice back. “Right? I love hair clamps since they’re so versatile.”
He hummed, lips softly turning upwards. “So it seems…”
You gulped softly, staring at Thorns’ eyes. The sound of the waves lapping against the sand, the other Operators having fun, and seagulls chirping fell silent to your ears. All you could see and hear was Thorns and you wondered if Kal’tsit was staring down at you in disappointment.
“W-Well!” You stammered, walking behind Thorns as you avoided his gaze. “I heard Ifrit is doing barbeque again. She tends to go overboard but I guarantee you the food is delicious!”
You didn’t bother waiting for a response as you brisk walked your way towards Ifrit’s BBQ place. Not even a few steps until you felt Thorns hand clasp your wrist.
You slowly turned to him, seeing his soft gaze. “Do not rush, Doctor. We have all the time we have to enjoy.”
He quickly joined your side, his thumb gliding across the skin of your wrist as you shivered. The bare skin against skin made you tingle. “At night, there is a dance that I used to do when I was in Iberia. It would be better… if I had a partner.”
You gaped up at him, wondering why Thorns was being so forward. If the heat from the sun wouldn’t burn you, then his utterly affectionate confession made your heart beat profusely.
But you had to answer. “... I can’t dance.”
He chuckled. “We’ll make do.”
Underneath the summer sun, you and Thorns’ hands were clasped together, even when joining Ifrit and steeling yourselves from the questioning gazes of the other Operators.