Pebbles along the way
I realized I don't have a drabble dump in the english section of the fandom. So I'll correct that mistake right now! Expect general X-Law shenanigans, HaoXJeanne, MarcoxMeene, that kind of stuff.
Chapter 1: To catch a little bird
Author: Rain
Rating: K+
Characters/Pairing: Jeanne & Meene
To my sweet Lugia2PK, sorry for the long wait, I had lost these somewhere in my computer and it took some time to recover them.
The shooting range on the ship is a strange place. It is small and dark, the noise echoes terribly loud. That is why many safety instructions are in place; if anyone has to go beyond the stands, a siren goes off and neon warnings shoot up to warn everyone; no one is allowed inside without safety goggles and earplugs.
But on that particular day, Jeanne disregarded those instructions. Probably because she had never learned them.
Meene and John were both inside at the time. Actually, they were challenging each other. Both tried to get all of their bullets in the very same space at the center of the target. The one who ended up with the biggest amount of holes lost.
There had been a pause, and Meene was just putting her earplugs back in when she noticed Jeanne.
Pause. She immediately pushed the alarm button.
Jeanne fled. Her face had flushed red when Meene had seen her, but the loud sound and flashing lights had scared her, as she was young yet, and didn't know much about that part of being an X-Law.
However, she didn't run very fast. So Meene easily reached her. In her panic, the albino raised her arms over her head. Confusion.
Marco appeared out of nowhere, and took Jeanne back to her room.
Meene was scolded for 'startling' the 'meditating' maiden. She was scolded privately by Marco, and most importantly was told to forget everything. But she didn't. How could she? It was a Jeanne she had never seen - a Jeanne who seemed curious and shy, and who at the first sign of danger seemed unable to keep up a straight face. It was... worrying.
She waited for two months. Asked the Iron Maiden for a private audience behind Marco's back.
Got it.
Jeanne was not 'at ease', that was obvious. She was eight at the time, barely reached Meene's tight when standing up. Sitting on her bed with her hands neatly folded in her lap, she looked like a little doll waiting for someone to pick her up.
Jeanne apologized. She knew she wasn't supposed to go to the training rounds. She knew she was not supposed to run around in the hallways. And she knew Marco had been "rough," that's the word she used, with her.
Meene smiled.
"It's okay," she said, and Jeanne blinked. It was heart wrenching to see her face light up suddenly, blood returning to her face, lips turning into a smile, her eyes widening. Meene smiled back.
"You can come to the range if you want to, when Marco's not around if it makes you feel safer. I'll find goggles and earplugs in your size so you're safe."
Meene discovered that she loved, really loved, watching as the sun dawned on Jeanne's delicate features.