Title: Love a Phantom
Author: WallofIllusion
Fandom: Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom (100% anime-based)
Warnings: haha a laundry list. Spoilers for up to episode 22-ish. Set in the two-year time skip, probably late in it. Language and sexual references.
Disclaimer: Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom belongs to Nitro+ and Bee Train.
To find Cal Devens sitting at her table when she returned home from errands was not the last thing Lizzie expected. To find her sitting at her table with an empty glass and a half-empty bottle of Lizzie's whiskey next to her, though, quite possibly was.
"Cal…?" Lizzie put her bag of groceries down. The young assassin was hunched over, leaning heavily on one arm. Her watch was open and playing its song, and when Lizzie peeked over her shoulder, she saw that Cal was staring at it like a lifeline. She probably hadn't even heard Lizzie speak. Recognizing the attitude of a person lost in memory, Lizzie let her be and tended to her groceries. She had just put a half-dozen package of eggs away when the music of Cal's watch ground to a halt and the click of her gun's hammer echoed in the resulting silence.
"I want you to answer a few questions for me, Lizzie."
Instantly alert but not yet afraid, Lizzie turned towards Cal. The assassin was indeed pointing her gun at Lizzie, darkness and apathy in her eyes. "Gladly," Lizzie said coldly. "The gun is quite unnecessary."
"You don't know my questions yet. It might become necessary." Her voice, which usually danced from high to low in sensual amusement, fluctuated with less control now. Her legs, too, were unsteady as she stood.
"You were Reiji's partner once, weren't you?"
"You already know that."
"Ever sleep with him?"
The question was clipped, almost casual, but for a moment the careful apathy in Cal's eyes gave way to rage and hatred, fueled by jealousy. Lizzie suppressed a shiver and was quite glad to honestly answer, "No."
"Not even once?"
Resting near the trigger, Cal's finger twitched. Lizzie couldn't tell whether the motion was involuntary or not. Certainly, Cal was not fully under her own control; Lizzie didn't think she'd ever seen Cal drink before, and she knew that bottle had been full when she left home. Anyone would be feeling its effects by now. Lizzie kept her voice calm and authoritative. "Not once."
Cal laughed. "Missed your chance, did you? Too bad."
"Zwei and I never had that kind of relationship."
"Is that so? Well, fine then." Cal shrugged. The action threw her off-balance, though, and she stumbled slightly. She caught at the back of the chair and laughed quietly at herself as she straightened. Then she looked back at Lizzie. "What about that friend of yours?"
Oh, hell.
"You know who I'm talking about, right? That Inferno lady whose boobs barely fit in those dress suits she always wore. You know, the one you shot?"
Lizzie wondered if she'd be safe telling the truth or if it was better to lie. Would Cal know? Would she shoot Lizzie for Claudia's lust?
"Answer me," Cal murmured, her grip on her gun shifting.
"I'm trying to remember," Lizzie lied sharply. "You want the truth, don't you? Well, I don't know."
"She never said anything to you? Anything like, 'Reiji laid me across his desk and did so-and-so to me last night,' or 'My, the Phantom has a nice cock'?"
"No." That much was true. Claudia hadn't, wouldn't say anything like that to Lizzie. But Lizzie knew her, knew that sex was the strongest of the webs she wove around those she wanted to use. Why shouldn't I have a little fun in winning them over? she'd said once. And Lizzie had seen the lust in Zwei's eyes. He'd wanted Claudia, so there was no doubt in Lizzie's mind that Claudia had given herself to him, readily and often. She could only hope that Cal wouldn't guess that.
She didn't get to hope for long. "I don't think you're telling the truth. See," the assassin said with a little giggle, her voice taking on an almost cute petulance, "this is why the gun is necessary." And she pulled the trigger.
Lizzie jumped to the side, adrenaline pulsing through her now, but the first shot missed her and no second shot came. Cal was staring at the hole in Lizzie's cupboard, about a foot where Lizzie had been standing. "Damn," she muttered in puzzlement. "I missed." But before she could re-aim, Lizzie had her own gun cocked.
"Don't try it," she advised. "You're drunk, so my reaction time is faster."
Cal looked at her in dark resentment. For a moment it seemed she wanted to test Lizzie's claim, but she didn't move.
"Put your gun down," Lizzie said. "As soon as you do, I'll lower mine. I have no interest in shooting you."
"I can't say I return the sentiment," Cal said with a bitter laugh.
"You're drunk," Lizzie said again. "So you're miserable. That's no reason to take it out on me."
Cal narrowed her eyes—but her expression looked closer to grief, or maybe confusion. "That bitch…"
"Clo was insatiable and not commendable for it. But shooting me is not going to change the fact that she probably had Zwei more times than you can count."
"You did lie," Cal accused, but she wavered. This time, when she grabbed for the chair, she sat back down in it. Suddenly Lizzie realized why Cal's eyes were narrowed: she was squinting, unable to see straight. "Is there an earthquake?" Cal mumbled.
"No, there isn't. You're drunk," Lizzie said one last time.
"I feel like shit."
"Yes."
"I don't think I like this stuff." Cal waved at the whiskey bottle and almost knocked it over. Lizzie caught it before it fell, and then gently removed the gun from Cal's other hand. The danger had passed for now.
Lizzie sighed. "Don't drink half a bottle of it if you don't like it. This is expensive booze."
"It wasn't so bad for a little while. But I don't like this."
"This" was undoubtedly her sudden, shocking helplessness. Lizzie didn't blame her; it didn't suit her.
"You can sleep here tonight," she said. "Let's get you to bed."
Cal refused to drape an arm over Lizzie's shoulder, so Lizzie only monitored her unsure progress down the hallway. Once she'd gotten settled, Lizzie resigned herself to a night on the couch. She heard the song of Cal's watch playing again from the bedroom. For a few minutes, she thought that Cal was playing it as a lullaby, but when the song ended, she heard Cal whisper, "Bang." She must have wound the watch, because in a moment, the song started again.