Chapter Text
The sunset was quietly making its entrance in the large, cloudy skies as the burgundy sand dared to interrupt the peaceful quiet that Lighter so desperately needed. It was agonizing, stressful, and most of all? Annoying. She.. scratched his brain wrong. Lace, even a stupid name.
He could remember it clear as day. That day, the one thats bothered every single one after it since. The one where she arrived, everyone loved her. Caesar taking her in and caring for her like a mother, Burnice teaching her the ways around the bar on the nights she needed extra help.. and she was a beneficiary because she looked - attractive.. not to him, no, never. But to other men, men who can't actually speak to women without rolling over and dying.
"I can't stand her." is what he wishes he was thinking when he sees her, but really he's thinking, "Her hair looks more pink in the sun this morning." or it's "She hasn't come out to say good morning... maybe she's sleeping in, I shouldn't wait up on her." Which, he hates.
"Good morning, Lighter!" Lace says, in that overly cheery tone considering it's 9 am.
"Morning.." Quiet, reserved, direct.
"Somebody's grumpy.. what did you sleep on? A baking tray?" Filled with the usual sarcasm.
He drags his eyes away, although with reluctance, scoffing at her without a further response. Which.. implies he isn't ready to talk to her even further. Otherwise he's gonna say something he doesn't totally need her knowing.
"Morning Lace-y!" Said Caesar, always loudest in the room with confidence.
He watches as they hug, Caesar is.. quite a bit taller than Lace, so naturally she only drowns in her chest.
He can tell Lace is thinking no one will notice the sudden flush on her face after the hug.
He does.
He always notices the stupidly small things with her.
╰(*´︶`*)╯♡
The outer ring was hot, always. Which gets tiring fast for someone like Lace. It makes handling her attitude problem harder. Not really.. but sometimes she can't help it.
Which is exactly why Lighter has a bloody nose.
Caused by her.
"What is your deal!" He yells at her, groaning in .. ever so slight pain.
He isn't mad he got punched, just that he can certainly feel the effects........ of being punched by someone nearly half his size.
"Shit!! Sorry Lighter!" She crawls up next to him, a sad and apologetic look painted on her face.
Which only makes the heart pounding in his chest, louder.
"No.. it's fine, no- cmon I-" He makes a weak attempt at fighting to get her off him, considering she was now wiping his nose with the same shirt she was JUST boxing in, and that wonderfully meant she was in a bra, which straps showed, a tank top and the most absurdly short-shorts he has ever seen. It's angering, somehow, he's sure it shouldn't be.
Yet it is.
"Lace. Seriously.." His nose was off its radar. Her rubbing the tank top all in his face, covered in her... sweat and . Oh good fucking lord he was gonna die.
"What?" She says offended, which was definitely not his goal..
"Nothing.. just, some space?" He mutters, like it's not what he wanted to say, or how he wanted to say it.
"Ugh.. Fine." She accepts it, reluctantly. Walking off with that gentle sway of hips, he groans in a combination of.. absolute fucking pain, and love.
Left alone with a tank top that belongs to a woman he claims to hate, and a nose thats forming a gross crust of dry blood.. he just lays on the couch. Smart enough to put distance between himself and that.. tank top of hers. Then, he's lost in thought. Then.. a soup of guilt forms itself in his stomach.
"Fuck.." He groans out, somehow his emotions are more hurtful than the punch she so .. gently delivered to his face. The punch wasn't for any specific reason, it was their usual training that he agreed to give her when they took her in. He agreed that.. for a few days a week he would train her to fight, use her skills and fast reflexes like he's learned to.
Truthfully, it's the only moments he can get with her alone that aren't filled with mutual.. fake.. hatred for each other? They've had their most . important.. moments through these training sessions. It was the first time they had a real talk, the first time he saw her cry. She's never cried in front of the others, at least.. not that he's ever seen it happen. And besides that, she hasn't opened herself to him again. But.. maybe being half naked in front of him today was a way.
╰(*´︶`*)╯♡
It's weird. The way emotions work. She hates it, truly. Something about that stupid.. emerald eyed man pissed her off to no extent.
Some days she wanted to choke him to death.
Others, she wanted to kiss him until he choked from a lack of air.
But that's not something you think about or say.. to someone you've known only 7-ish months. So she acts as if she can't stand him, even if she accidentally lets him in the most compared to the other girls.
If you asked her, she would swear up and down that she didn't care for him, or didn't know him that well.
But if you knew her like Burnice or Caesar, she would say she can't stand the way he looks at her, or how he softens his gaze when she walks into a room.
So now shes soaked to the bone, steam rolling out into the hall from the bathroom after the lovely shower she just took. She smelled clean, like the cheap clean laundry scent.. mixed with something unique. Throwing on a random shirt with a cute apple design on it, and her favorite pair of sweats.. she could finally relax.
Not really.
Not when she punched the man of her dreams in the nose hard enough to make it bleed just an hour ago.
"Fuck!" She screamed into her silk-sheeted pillow filled with absolute rage. Shes never needed him more in her fucking life.
God he never looked fucking better. And she HATED it.
Hated the .. stupid way his hair was messed up and tousled after every fight. But.. but this was different. He was bloodied up, face just a slight bit messier than it usually was. Disgusting. Or at least thats what you should think. But she couldn't find it in her to think about anything besides how he could look in other scenarios.
Lace felt like a woman possessed around Lighter.
She just hoped it didn't show obvious enough for him to see that. But... at the same time maybe.. him knowing wasn't so bad...
Picking up her heavy head filled with one too many thoughts, from the pillow, she opens her phone to check their last messages. It was a.. simple conversation between them last, via text at least. Something about her asking him to buy her a lychee drink she reallllyyy liked at the convenience store when they stayed in the city for a bit since Caesar needed to see the proxies. It was a fun trip.. pictures she took..
Looking at them now, she realizes.. one is missing. So she checks her recently deleted.. sure enough it's the singular one she snuck with Lighter. Ok.. she didn't sneak the photo, he was . mostly willing. But she knew keeping it was dangerous, considering she stared at it like a husband reminiscing his wife while at war.
╰(*´︶`*)╯♡
It was a week since the whole... bleeding.. incident. And the pink bunny had still not gotten her tank top back. She didn't mind it, at first.
But now?
Now it was just irritating.
"What do you mean you lost it?!" She barks. Face overheated in anger.
"It means I dunno what happened to it, maybe the washer.. ate it?" He sounds genuine, but his face is.. off. Like he knows the words coming out of his mouth aren't the truth, or at least not the full truth.
"I can't believe you! That was my nicest one too!!!" She groans, pouting like a child who lost its favorite toy.
"Listen.. ill.. Take ya to the city, and buy you a new one. Or, I'll do ya one better and just.." He pauses, a small choke in his voice. "I will.. Just take ya shopping, kay?" He sighs like he's mad, but she knows he's not.
"Seriously?" She perks up, her eyes are as bright as a burning flame.
"Yes.."
"Oh thank you!"
She nearly lunges at him and knocks him over with the way she hugs him, and he can't help but reciprocate.
"I'll go tell Caesar and-"
"Wait!" He stops her, pulling at her arm ever so gently. Just enough force to make her stop in her tracks. "I.. mean, just you and me, bun." The nickname isn't new, but yet she still stiffens like she was stoned by medusa herself.
"Oh.. Okay.. Yeah that's fine!" She says that as casual as she fucking can, which feels nearly impossible with how fast her heart is beating at this current moment. "I'll just start packing!" He didn't even say when they were leaving, but she had to get out of there, quickly.