Just wanted to establish some relationships between the characters, how they feel about each other and whatever. If you can't guess already, this is for Dextera and Sinistra. Sorry I couldn't come up with a better title...
Disclaimer: I don't own Kiddy Grade and any of its characters. Don't sue me!
Red/Blue
Chapter 1
It's raining.
I glance out of the window distractedly, watching the play of raindrops on the streets. Watching the flow of life outside the little cafe I was currently seated in.
Here and there people pushed determinedly forward, clutching at their coats and umbrellas for some scant protection from the driving downpour.
They didn't seem particularly successful.
At least we were able to keep from getting wet, I mused. A nanomist barrier was much more practical -- and effective -- in keeping the rain off. Speaking of nanomist barriers...
I looked back into the cafe to see my partner coming to join me at our table. He looked...happy? No, that's not it. He wasn't happy-happy, more like in good humour.
But then again, Sinistra did always seem to be in good humour. It's not that he smiled a lot or anything, but his general expression was softer than mine, certainly.
Of course, to people who knew little about us, they would assume that both of us were equally cold and aloof. But for people with whom we were well aquainted with, they would certainly realise that Sinistra had a better sense of humour.
I was colder, and a bit harder perhaps. I have no idea why. Even if I do, I don't really want to talk about it. Let the past remain where it is.
"All quiet and frowny again? Can't I leave you for more than a minute without you starting to brood?" Sinistra teased gently.
"I don't think there's such a word as 'frowny', Sinistra," I answered matter-of-factly, even though my lips twitched slightly in amusement.
He didn't reply to that, but judging from the way his eyes twinkled, he knew that we both knew who had won that round.
I gave a little mental shrug. We've been playing our little game for decades or more already. Time was really very insignificant to us after all.
"Coffee?" He offered.
"We have better coffee back at HQ."
"Two black coffees please. One with only one packet of sugar plus a pinch of salt, the other with 3 packets of sugar," My blue-haired companion informed the waiter, who scurried off quickly.
My expression remained stoic, but I was privately amused by how I let him boss me around in certain things sometimes. I was also secretly pleased that he remembered the kind of coffee I liked.
But then again I shouldn't have been surprised. We have been working with each other for a while now. And both of us were equally observant about these little things.
"So much sugar?" It was a question I had repeated innumerable times during our very long working relationship. The answer was always the same. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to continue asking.
"Well, it's not like we can get diabetes or anything." Sinistra was smiling. His lips were curved slightly upward in an almost unnoticeable smile, but yet one would instantly know he was smiling. Or maybe it was just me. What was it that made him seem to almost glow with a 'smiling' expression?
The coffees came promptly, which surprised me. This didn't seem like the kind of establishment that would have prompt service. It did look decidedly seedy compared to the place we usually frequented. Sinistra had suggested it, and I had agreed without a second thought.
I have been agreeing with him with many things lately. Maybe it's because he scared me half to death during that battle with the Deucalion. I was so glad to see that my partner was safe with me that I just kept agreeing to everything he wanted.
I really ought to do something about that soon. It's becoming a bad habit.
Looking down at the glossy black surface of my steaming coffee, I was both grateful that I had a partner like Sinistra. He gave me my personal space as and when I needed it, and he knew when and how to cheer me up when I'm down. Besides, he's reliable. I could always count on him to be there for me. Or in his own words, "How could he(meaning me) take care of himself without me around?"
I took a small sip from my cup. The coffee was surprisingly good. Of course, what made it more enjoyable was the fact that I had a friend to savour it with.
Sinistra had leaned back after taking a large gulp of his overly-sweetened coffee. He always did that, regardless of the temperature of the liquid. And now he was just savouring the sweetness of his drink. It always took him at least half an hour to finish tasting his coffee. I only took around 10 to 15 minutes.
Setting the cup down, I looked my blue-haired minder over. He looked very serene, almost angelic, when he closed his eyes. The impression was doubly reinforced by his lustrous blue locks. For some reason I have yet to fathom, angels -- both male and female -- usually had long hair.
Don't ask me why, it's the general stereotype.
If he was an angel, what did that make me? A devil? And a red haired one too. How appropriate.
He had long eyelashes, I noted suddenly. I knew he had them of course, but it just never really occurred to me consciously. It had just always been there in my mental image of him.
Said lashes flickered lazily as he opened his eyes. They were a clear aqua, almost violet.
Beautiful eyes. Strange how I never noticed until now.
I looked down into my coffee again as I picked the cup up. Watched the little eddies and swirls as the liquid sloshed against the sides.
I felt...odd somehow. Sinistra had always been so much of a part of my life that I could not imagine it without him. It was unthinkable.
There have been several close calls in the numerous missions we have been on since joining the G.O.T.T. Some of them had involved risky, almost downright suicidal plans in which we implemented, but we had always come back safely. Sure, I worry about Sinistra's safety as much as he worries about mine when we go on such missions, but for a few minutes during the Deucalion battle, Sinistra had not responded when I called him.
For a long minutes, the thought that he may have died crossed my mind. Even though ES members don't actually stay dead, there is a certain risk that with each time we are brought back with new bodies, we might not survive the transition. Lumiere is a recent example. Although she did not perish, she came very close to it. And that thought terrified me.
The very idea of being without Sinistra is like a physical blow to me. Ask any of the other ES teams. They'll tell you how involved you can get with a person over the course of over a century or more. Normal people are able to build strong relationships with others over a few decades; what more of us, who last hundreds of years?
Dextera and Sinistra. Never one without the other. It's the same with all the rest. It's almost as if the ES members don't exist as singular entities anymore. We're always linked to our partner. One of a team. Two beings, united with one soul.
Losing Sinistra would be to lose a part of my own soul. Not that my soul is particularly new and valuable, considering how long it has been battered during my extraordinary life. But it meant very much to me indeed.
"Dextera? Dextera, are you alright?" I shook myself out of my preoccupied haze. Looking down, I realised how tightly I had been clutching my cup. Sinistra's eyes were clouded with worry.
"I'm fine," I lied quickly. Sinistra didn't seem convinced, but he let the matter drop.
I gulped down my now lukewarm coffee. It tasted vile.
How long more can this go on? This macabre dance of death? Never allowed to die, mere finger-puppets of some higher organisation.
I put down my cup with more force than I had intended. The sound of it was masked by the pattering of rain, but nevertheless, Sinistra had noticed.
He said nothing though, simply swallowed what remained of his coffee quickly. He tossed enough money on the table to cover our tab, then stood up and made for the door, pausing as he reached it.
I rose after him. In silence he flicked on the nanomist shield as we stepped out with perfect coordination into the rain again.
As we paced down the now deserted street, it suddenly clicked in my mind.
His eyes, he smiled with his eyes.
And then, I allowed myself to smile.
Ah yes, I will need to finish Sinistra's POV soon. Eventually. I'll get round to it...somehow. This won't be the last though. I intend to write about all the ES members. Watch out for them!
