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The color red always looked wrong on Asa. Not the glittering ruby red of her eyes. Or the bright fire truck red Asa wore when she would steal Gabby's coat. No, those were fine. But the ugly, rust colored blood red that soaked into clothes and stained the skin. That was the kind that was never meant to touch the pure and good. That was the red that Gabby went out of her way to make sure Asa never had to spill.
Which is why Gabby had always done it. Her skin was already stained, her clothes were already soaked. Once something was red, it was always going to be red. She didn't care if that made her a monster. Not if it meant keeping that kind of red away from Asa.
The first time Gabby had ever killed for Asa, she hadn’t even known the girl yet. According to Jin, she was still too young to be sent out on real missions. Something Gabby protested daily. Her bond with Gabriel was one of the strongest daemon bonds the clan had ever seen. With how often people praised her ability to keep control over a formerly dangerous daemon pair, she would have expected they would have taken her more seriously by now.
So when Jin announced that she was going with them to pick up some people, Gabby had been ecstatic. Finally she would get to show everyone she wasn’t just a little girl who couldn’t handle herself.
And show them she did. The rest stop they had planned as a meeting place was already overwhelmed with assassins by the time they got there. Other Kagamori clan members were fighting against unnamed individuals, and Gabby didn’t hesitate to swoop in, Gabriel in tow.
One moral Gabby always stuck by no matter how hungry for blood she was: she does not kill children.
That moral would end up being a blessing in disguise. Because between blood and teeth Gabby had been the one to come across the small child dressed in pink.
She looked so tiny. Long black hair practically down to her hips. Shrouded in old school looking robes that dwarfed her thin frame. She couldn’t have been any older than Gabby, but when Gabriel decapitated the man coming at her with a knife, the girl just stared in awe. She expected the girl to scream or cry. Her family was being attacked and all of a sudden a giant multi eyed monster was floating out of nowhere and chomping off the head of another human. It would be enough to scare anyone, much less another little girl. But to Gabby’s surprise, she reached out, wiping a splash of blood off Gabriel’s front tooth with her sleeve. It didn’t do much, just swirled the blood around more. But Gabriel’s eyes crinkled in a smile and they nudged her in thanks.
Then the girl turned to Gabby, giving a wide, gap toothed grin.
“All better.” The girl whispered shyly, giggling when Gabriel nudged her again. She pet their front teeth, as if they were a fluffy little shibu and not a thousand eyed monster that had just eaten someone right in front of her.
Looking back, that was probably the moment Gabby fell in love. She was used to people thinking she was a monster. Or a weapon. A low life street rat with a ledger and a monster as a side kick. But this little girl had treated Gabriel with the respect they had been longing for. They weren’t even her daemons, and she has only ever seen them spilling blood. But she didn’t seem to care.
Gabby would later learn the girl's name. Would introduce her to Gabriel properly. Would lend her her clothes (since at the time they were about the same size).
Asa would ask to stay in Gabby's room the night her parents left to go visit her mothers family. And she would return to said room to cry her eyes out once word got back that her parents had disappeared.
And now, almost ten years since that day, Asa is in her room once more.
Only this time Gabby can't look at her. Can’t even speak to her. She’s not worthy. She pulls the covers over her head, hoping Asa will just go away and realize she doesn’t need someone so worthless and-
“You can’t keep hiding from me you know?”
Gabby grit her teeth. God damn it. Why did she have to fall for the most stubborn girl on the planet?
“Sakurazawa says you barely left the infirmary while I was sleeping. But the second I’m all better, you avoid me?”
Gabby huffs, sitting up in her bed and throwing the blankets back. To her dismay, Gabriel is bobbing up and down next to Asa's shoulder, wearing the same glare as the dark haired girl.
“Traitor.” Gabby grumbles, crossing her arms. “I’m not avoiding you.” She says a little louder, but she still can’t meet the girl's gaze. Her eyes were always so pretty to Gabby. Like sparkling rubies in the sunlight. But now, all Gabby could see was a single red pool of blood. Just like the kind that Asa had been forced to spill, all because Gabby had been too slow and too useless to do it for her.
“Don’t argue with me. You know I know you too well.”
Damn stubborn idiot.
“Shouldn’t you be training?” Gabby asks, picking at a thread on her blanket. “You’ve got a fancy new power now. What do you need me for?”
The deflection hurt, but it was for the best. Asa didn’t need someone like Gabby. Someone who couldn’t even do the one job she was made for. Right now, Asa was blinded by their relationship. But in order to survive she needed to learn to cut off those who failed her.
“Please don’t pretend like jealousy is the problem. We both know that’s not why you're avoiding me.” Asa's footsteps echo soft across the wood as she approaches Gabby's bed. And Gabby couldn’t help but tense when the mattress dips to accommodate Asa's weight.
“You know you didn’t fail, right?”
Ok fuck this girl. Fuck her and her stupid morals and her empathy. Fuck her kindness, and love, and ability to see through all of Gabbys walls like they were made of glass instead of the thick stone Gabby had painstakingly built up.
Asa's hands are soft when they reach out, gripping Gabby's. Devoid of weapon calluses, and scars. And most importantly, perfectly pale and flawless, not a single red spot in sight.
They look so beautiful next to Gabby's blood stained ones.
How could she even bring herself to touch someone like Gabby? Street rats like her had no place next to angels. And Asa was the prettiest angel of all. The most perfect being in existence. Gabby might as well burn to a crisp in her presence, from how much filth covered her ledger.
“Can you look at me? Please Gabs?”
Gabby swallows, her eyes burning. She squeezes them shut, refusing to let the tears fall. She couldn’t cry. Not in front of Asa. She should be on her knees, begging for forgiveness for her failure. But instead here Asa was comforting her. God Gabby really was pathetic.
“You should go, Asa. I don’t want to hurt you more than I already have.”
Gabby knew the declaration wouldn't deter the dark haired girl. But she hadn’t been expecting Asa to let out a soft giggle. Gabby finally looks up, glaring at her. But it immediately melts when she sees the look of pure adoration on Asa's face. Her right eye is still bandaged over, but the left one portrays her familiar mischievous gleam just fine.
“Yeah that’s not gonna happen. We’re a package deal, remember? So please stop overthinking things.” She moves her hands up, cupping Gabby's cheeks and leaning in until their foreheads press together. “Thank you for coming to save me. You always do. I know you would this time too.”
Gabby couldn’t stop the tears this time. Spilling over her waterline despite her best efforts. Why was she doing this? Why was Asa thanking her for failing? Gabby's only job was to keep her from having to get her hands dirty. And yet, the scene Gabby had walked in on when she finally found Asa was nothing more than a gorefest. Whatever had happened, Asa had been the one to end things. And Gabby hadn’t gotten there in time.
And yet, she still smiles at her. She still had the audacity to cradle Gabby's face like she is worth something. And when Gabby finally raises her eyes, meeting Asa's now single red iris, all she sees is the same smiling girl she had saved all those years ago.
“You really still want me?” Gabby asks, hating how her voice comes out broken and pathetic. Just like her. She reaches up with one hand, twining her fingers with Asa's against her cheek.
Asa's smile turns warmer, and she leans closer, their lips brushing as she whispers, “Always.”
Gabby knows she should resist. She should protest. Should insist Asa find someone better. Someone who will protect her in the way Gabby couldn’t. But she is only human. And she was weak.
Asa's lips tasted like the strawberry chapstick she wears every day. Soft and perfect just like her hands. She kisses as if Gabby deserves the gentleness. And Gabby can't help but fall deeper for the girl she loves.
Asa doesn't leave her room that night. Or the night after. And Gabby eventually gives up on trying to get her to see reason. Deep down, feelings of guilt still boil endlessly. But Asa refuses to hear anything at all about Gabby's apologies. So instead, Gabby lets Asa curl up under her covers, holding each other close until they fall asleep.
If Asa insists on keeping Gabby around, Gabby would just have to become the person Asa needs. No more screw ups. No more mistakes. Asa's hands would never turn red like hers. Gabby would make sure of it.