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She is laying in bed, back turned to him. Her eyes fight her to sleep but her heart aches. The moon stares at her through the window on her side of the building. The Corpse God was awfully generous to give them a room here after the battle. Civil and her shared a room while Lulu slept in her own room right next to theirs.
She lifts her head off the pillow, now fully staring down the moon with a head of disheveled white hair. She slowly lowers her eyes and looks at her forearm. On one hand, she was rather proud of her abilities. She certainly didn't mind the power of that tiger coursing through her. On the other, when she looks at herself she reflects on the scars.
Marks and cuts running around her body. She remembers some extremely well while the others just blended into the memory. Just drops of water in puddles of pain and tears. Screaming for her father in that cold laboratory. While she didn't deliver the full punishment she wanted on him, those few minutes of beating him senseless were satisfying.
She scowls.
She isn't normal. She's a labrat.
Slowly, the figure besides her moves. “Can't sleep?” He asks softly. Feeling Soara shift in bed must have woken him up. He is wiping the blur from his eyes as she glanced at him. “Sorry boss. Did I wake you?” “Yes, but forget that for a second.” He sits up a bit, orange hair in a complete mess “What's wrong?”
She looks back out the window. “Nothing.” Except it's not nothing, and he knows that. He knows her like the fingers on his hand. So he leans his back against the bed rest and relaxes his elbow on his knee. “We've known each other for a long time now. I'm certain I can tell when you're troubled, just as I'm certain you can tell me.”
Normally, anyone else trying to persist would have gotten barked at and told to drop it. She could never react in such a way to him. He is genuine, and she knows she can trust him. “Boss… Give it to me straight, do I look weird?” She asks, focusing on her arm again, knowing her whole body was a cascade of marks that could be studied for all the past cuts left. Civil half smiles. “You don't have to call me that in our bedroom.” Soara does not respond.
He sighs, and rests a hand on her back. Soara flinches but eventually eases into his hand that runs across his spine. “I think you look beautiful as you are.” She blushes, but the sweet and sugary response isn't the kind of thing she was looking for, so she just sighs. Picking up on this, Civil continues. “I don't believe you look weird at all. In fact I think unique is a far better way to describe it.”
He leans off the bed rest and comes up behind Soara on his knees, hugging her firm torso. His chin buried into her broad shoulder as orange locks tickle the skin of her neck. Soara wasn't usually the type to feel insecure. As stated, she found as much good in what came of those experiments as one could in her situation. She's strong enough to protect Civil. Protect Lulu. The issue was how it was forced on her. How her bastard father gave her away like some trading token. They took the ability away from her to be a normal girl.
“It's not your fault either way.” He muffles into her shoulder. She closes her eyes, stopping herself from making any noise such as a gasp. He had a weird way of understanding her. Knowing what she may be thinking. She can't always say the same about him. “You seem rather hung up on if you're weird when you're talking to someone effectively grown in a test tube. I'm hardly normal myself. Maybe that's why we get along so well don't you think?” He smiles enthusiastically, placing his chin on her shoulder to gaze at the moon.
She wants to sigh again, but not out of frustration or annoyance. She feels herself smiling. Her hand reached up to feel the side of his head. His hair was messy but soft, and flowed through her fingers. “We're both a bit unnatural aren't we?” He asked, slowly guiding her back into bed. He hooks his arm around her bigger body, bringing her closer into him and she's a bit hesitant. Almost embarrassed about being this vulnerable.
She wants him to comfort her though. He pushes his face into the back of her neck. “I guess. Yeah.” Soara finally says in response to him, finally feeling the freedom to shut her eyes. “But we're unnatural together, so put all that doubt aside.” He playfully chastises, to which she snorts. “Yeah, alright.” She lets her back press into him and he gently pulls the blanket back over them. He is kind. Attentive to her.
There is a quiet as they try to sleep before Civil whispers solemnly t o her. “Love you.” She feels her defenses break a bit. Almost waking up entirely just hearing him say that. “Y-yeah, you too, Boss.” She still gets incredibly squirmy when he says it, even when it's not the first time. She gets flustered around his words, and gets paralyzed by his touches. She feels giddy when he highly acknowledges her ability. Like she's won something.
In a way, she was far more like a normal girl than she suspected.