Chapter Text
“I have to leave. Laurel, you said you know this man?” The afterschool worker asked, harried and gathering her things.
“Yeah,” the girl a couple years older than Belle said.
“What? Wait—”
“So sorry but I really need to run!”
Then the afterschool worker was gone, and Wise was left with two children, only one of which was actually under his care.
His sister was chatting away, and the other girl was just nodding along. She didn’t look amused by any measure, but she was listening intently, so it was… Fine?
“So… Your name is Laurel?”
“Yeah Laurel Bla— Laurel Lorenz.”
“O—oh?”
“Wise!” Belle slammed her weight into Wise’s side. “Can you do her pigtails?”
“Ow! Belle!” He said, but the girl was laughing at his pained groans and just clung harder.
“They fell out so I tried to fix them,” she said, “but I told Laurel ‘Wise is the best at hair’! So…”
Wise glanced at Laurel’s hair. She had pigtails but they were dropping sadly.
Wise sighed.
“Belle, you can’t just promise things like that. What if I can’t do it? Did you even ask if Laurel wants her hair done?”
He watched Belle frown. Then her face twisted up.
Oh, here we go again…
“Yes…” That caught both of their attention, “please tie my hair up. If you wouldn’t mind.”
Wise sighed.
“… Okay.”
“Shit!”
Lighter’s head was spinning. The hit he took at practice from that son of a bitch of a practice partner had knocked him flat on his ass. Sure, he’d gotten him back tenfold but having to wait and get checked by the clinic's doctor or risk getting pulled from his next match?
He was over an hour late from picking up Laurel. And his phone was dead…
Finally, finally, finally, her daycare came into view. His heart damn almost jumped out his throat seeing the place closed.
“Oh, there he is.”
He turned to see Laurel sitting on one of a pair of swings. Next to her, was another girl, and standing near both was some guy.
“Laurel!”
He saw red.
“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing with her?!”
“I— what? I’m not—”
“Lighter.”
Lighter stopped.
“This is Belle’s big brother,” she said, gesturing to her friend, “Belle told Ms. Grace that you two knew each other and that they would wait.”
“Belle…” the guy said, his eyes narrowing at the girl in question.
“Ahahaha… Laurel! You weren’t supposed to tell!” the other girl whined, squirming.
Lighter paused to take it in. Then he slumped in relief.
“I— I’m sorry Laurel.”
“You’re an hour late… Did you get hurt?”
“What? Ha! Me? Of course not, I just—”
And Lighter winced, the sun hitting his eyes as his sunglasses slipped. The hit from the back of his ached.
“You did. You promised.”
“I kiddo—” but before he could grovel at her feet, the world started to tilt.
“Oh, hey!”
Lighter came to— or rather became more aware that the world wasn’t awful— lying in the shade of a tree.
“Hey, you with us?” A gentle voice called out.
He blinked, his sunglasses thankfully in place and the shade of the tree doing wonders for his photosensitivity, to find one man and two children leaning over him. He licked his lips, which felt dry, and blinked a couple more times for good measure.
“Lighter?”
Laurel sounding the way she did when she was trying to suppress fear had him trying to sit up.
“Whoa, take it easy,” that was the man and for a moment, Lighter got ready to try and puff up, and ask who the hell this guy thought he was.
Then Lighter remembered the other little girl with a tight grip on the guy’s sleeve. Her eyes, big and blue with a dash of orange at the bottom, matched the guy’s.
Lighter groaned… Right… He’d been an hour late from picking her up and the other little girl, a troublemaker for sure, had lied. It pained Lighter how relieved he was at the outcome. It would really suck if he had to find another afterschool place for her because he was late to pick her up… again.
It also stung because this guy, probably just some college kid picking his sister up for their parents, looked at him with a gentle understanding.
Lighter sighed.
“I’m good, Laurel.”
“No…” that caught his attention, “you’re not!”
“Laurel—,”
“NO! I don’t want to hear it!”
“Wait— ugh…”
She turned and ran off and when Lighter tried to get up, the world spun. After a moment, his vision was righted. He immediately looked to find her, worried she’d be gone, but she was in the same spot as before and was staring at him.
When their eyes met, she held his gaze and then turned, stomping to the swings to plant herself on one. She kept her head down, and weakly kicked her foot into the sand, kicking up dust and lightly pushing herself.
Lighter sighed.
“… Uh, hey… If you need anything…”
Lighter looked back at the other man.
“No.” Lighter winced internally. “Sorry I mean we’re good.”
“Okay,” the man gave him a genial smile, then looked down and to the side, expression thoughtful.
“Wise!” the girl whined, shaking him, “ask him!”
“Oh, alright. Jeez,” the guy sighed and turned to him, “listen. I really didn’t mind today, I like to let Belle play outside before we go home anyway… So, if you want to officially let the afterschool care place know I wouldn’t mind watching her if you’re late.”
Lighter scowled.
“I don’t need your pity,” he spat.
“Pity?” the guy said, flinching back and looking confused. “Why would I pity you?”
“Because—” Lighter cut himself off, “listen, I don’t need anyone’s help taking care of her.”
The guy blinked at him, then sighed.
“Give me your phone.”
“I— what?”
“I said, give me your phone.”
“… It’s dead.”
The guy rolled his eyes and then pulled out his phone. He handed Lighter the phone, which he took.
“Just put your number in.”
Lighter scowled.
“I told you I—”
“Just put your number in. I’ll message you and if you need help, you have the option there.”
Lighter glared and the guy just raised a brow, looking unimpressed.
Lighter opened his mouth to argue but… Just ended up laughing.
“I don’t know when the last time someone looked at me like that,” Lighter tapped away at the phone to put in his information, “name’s Lighter.”
When he handed the phone back, he saw the guy looking surprised.
“… Okay. My name is Wise, by the way.”
“Wise…” Lighter mulled the word over in his brain, “I’ll… try to remember that.”
Wise snorted.
“But I won’t be needing your help,” Lighter told him, “it might just be me and her but we’re doing fine.”
Wise gave a little tilt of his head and a little smile.
“I understand… It’s only me and Belle, too.”
Oh.
Lighter felt his face heat up.
“Oh, uh.”
“Lighter…” Lighter looked over to see Laurel had wandered back over. “I’m hungry.”
Lighter pulled out his phone— which was dead.
“It’s getting close to seven,” Wise’s gentle voice said.
“That late?” Lighter shifted, “Well, uh, was nice meetin’ ya but…”
“Yeah, we better get going too, c’mon Belle.”
“Okay! Bye, Laurel!”
“Bye, Belle…”
Lighter and Laurel stood watching as the two walked away and disappeared around the corner hand in hand.
“So…” Lighter broached.
“… Can you make the spicy pasta, tonight?”
Lighter snorted.
“Sure kid. But how spicy? Mild or—”
“— emergency room level,” she finished for him.
“Wow, you must be really mad at me,” Lighter laughed.
When Laurel didn’t respond with any of her own, he sighed and glanced at her. She was staring at the ground.
“Hey, kid… I’m real sorry. Some guy got a lucky hit in, had to stay in med for a bit. That’s all.”
“… Okay. Did you get back at him?”
“Who do you think I am? I’m The Undefeated Champion, of course I got back at him!”