Cops and Robbers
ONESHOT
...
REMINDER: THESE ONESHOTS ARE NOT CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER IN ANY WAY, NOR DO THEY FOLLOW ANY PARTICULAR ORDER (I literally stole this reminder from Power of Vongola Decimo.)
SUMMARY: I don't have summaries for these...they're so short that you'll probably finish reading the story before the summary's meaning settles in. So instead, I'll go by prompts...
PROMPT: Statue
CHARACTERS: Colonnello, Lal Mirch
"This is taking too long!"
Eight year old Lal Mirch looked at the boy sitting beneath her statue by the harbour's park. She didn't care much for him, except that the boy was disturbing her time with the statue. The statue was of a woman sitting on her horse, with both horse and woman looking forward at their unseen target. Lal herself was perched on the horse in front of its rider. She gave the horse a small pat as she looked at the boy from her position.
Lal couldn't see much of him, only his blond hair and crossed arms and legs. He was looking toward the harbour and letting out small grunts of impatience every so often.
It got to a point where it was starting to annoy her, so she called down to him, "Shut up already!"
...
Colonnello sprang to his feet and narrowed his eyes to look at the unfamiliar girl who had shouted.
She looked around his age but he couldn't be sure. There was something about her that made him think that she was older than she looked. Maybe her scowl also had something to do with it. Being on the streets all day looking for money and for food, Colonnello was used to seeing adults glaring at him, but her glare was sharper than all others. Even so, he wasn't about to let on that he was intimidated. Colonnello's first rule of the streets: Never show fear unless it's shown on purpose.
He pointed a finger at her. "Ah! You just said a bad word!"
...
Lal smirked at the boy when he stopped talking to himself. Guess that new word really does work! "It stopped you from talking, didn't it?"
The boy crossed his arms again and said, "It's still a bad word. You're not supposed to use them."
Lal rolled her eyes.
"Who are you, anyway?" the boy asked.
Lal slid off the horse and landed on her hands and feet. "I'm Lal Mirch."
"Colonnello," the boy said.
They fell into silence with both of them sitting at the base of the statue. "What are you waiting for?" Colonnello asked.
Lal smirked. "Who said I was waiting for something?"
"Why else were you sitting up there?" Colonnello demanded.
Lal shrugged. "It's a good spot. A good...vantage point!"
"Vantage point," Colonnello repeated with a sceptical look. The girl was probably trying to be all high and mighty. As if a child would need a good vantage point. For what?
"And you?" Lal asked when his stare started to bother her. "Clearly you're upset."
"I'm waiting for friends! They're supposed to be here by now." Rather than annoyed, Colonnello was starting to look anxious and even a bit worried.
Lal patted his head. "Whatever. They're just late," she said.
Colonnello's hand flew to his head. "W-What was that about?"
Lal sputtered. "It's a sign of comfort, idiot! Don't you know anything? See if I do it again!"
He'd only met her for a few minutes but he already got the feeling that she usually didn't show affection of any kind to anyone. He laughed. Oh well. Might as well take it. Colonnello leaned over and ruffled her own short locks of hair until it was as untidy as his own.
"Stop that!"
Colonnello continued to smile. "Do you want to play cops and robbers?"
Lal leaned forward slightly and then frowned. "It's not fun when there are only two people," she said.
"You're just scared that I'll catch you," Colonnello taunted.
Lal's eyes widened. "Oh, you are so in trouble. Cop! Called it! You've been found stealing jewellery from the museum!"
Colonnello leaped to his feet the same instant Lal did. "Yeah? Well I have one of those retractable rope-things and I'm flying through the glass roof! I get a fifteen-second head start!" With that, he was off.
They ran through the harbour, slipping past adults and sailors alike, dodging and leaping over luggage and around the vendors. They played so many scenarios that sometimes they merged and left the children confused. Finally, they returned to the statue just as Colonnello spotted a boat coming into the harbour. "Hey! My friends are here!"
Lal's eyes followed his pointing finger and scowled at the boat. "They look shifty."
"Well, yeah," Colonnello said as though it was obvious. "They're a gang. We deliver stuff. It keeps us from going hungry. That's all that matters," he added in case she started to think less of him, like how other people did when they figured out he was part of a gang.
Lal had a thoughtful expression on her face.
He crossed his arms. "What? You've got something to say?"
"No," Lal said. "I've never met someone who's part of a gang."
Colonnello gaped at her. "Really?" It didn't seem possible. He grew up with them his whole life! How could anyone not know someone who was in a gang?"
"Obviously, I know they exist."
"But you've never met a gang before!?"
"Didn't I say that already? You're annoying!"
Colonnello smiled. "Hey, you met me!" He spread his arms with a laugh. "Hello! I'm Colonnello, and I'm the first gang member you met. Not bad, right?"
Lal rolled her eyes and smiled. "You don't make a bad robber."
"But I get to be the cop next time! Promise?"
"Promise."
They shook pinkies and Lal glanced at the clock tower. "I should go home now."
"Are you coming tomorrow?" Colonnello asked.
Lal shrugged. "I guess. I've got nothing better to do. Ciao."
Colonnello waved until Lal was out of sight, and then he ran to greet his family.
THE END
A/N: LOL So this did end up being a series. Which means all you guys who followed this when I labelled it as a oneshot are time-travellers. Good on you. Where'd you get the TARDIS?
This series isn't only about Lal and Colonello. They just happened to be in chapter 2 as well.
-LLM
Published 2016-11-15th