"Here you go!"
Flaky had just returned with a can of soda for the gasping thief, who cracked it open and drank deeply to soothe his injured throat. Flippy was just beaming with smug happiness at seeing Lifty take a gasping breath after drinking, still coughing slightly. He caught the other man's eye and shot him a glare.
"You're. . .a fuckin' dick."
"And you're a thief with a bad mouth. Want me to fix that?" Flippy shot him his own glare before smiling evilly, "I'm sure I still got a cattle prod in my truck somewhere."
Flippy watched with glee as Lifty turned a bit pale at that suggestion, emerald eyes still burning with hatred as he shook his head.
"You stay the hell away from me."
Flippy snorted in contempt, "Gladly. Like I wanna be anywhere near you, thief," Flippy had another grin on his face, "Sorry, maybe I should be calling Flaky here that nickname since she's a better pickpocket than you ever were. Think you might be getting a bit rusty, eh?"
Flaky turned pink at the mention of her previous misdeeds and muttered she was just playing. Then before Lifty could open his mouth to argue, Flippy told Flaky he had to get going, since it was getting dark and he needed to get home. So they hugged, a bit too long if Lifty said so, and the war vet was gone, leaving the two alone again.
Flaky sat next to the twin and the two didn't say a word to each other after he left, just sat in silence and continued watching the remaining part of the movie they started a while ago. A bit of time had passed and it was starting to get late, Flaky could hardly stay awake as the movie continued, which was barely half over by now. Without even giving it a second thought, she moved a bit to lay her head on Lifty's lap, stretching her legs over the couch's cushions. A few minutes went by and then suddenly Lifty felt pressure around his thighs and saw Flaky had wrapped one of her arms under his legs like they were a pillow.
The thief started to have trouble staying awake soon after the movie ended, but didn't have the heart to wake up his hostess so he could lie down and sleep. So he shut the television off, throwing the room in darkness as he relaxed to try and fall asleep in his sitting position. It took a few tries, but Lifty finally got comfortable enough to shut his eyes for more than five seconds. The last thing he saw before he drifted off was the sleeping serene face of the redhead snoozing away on his lap.
X X X
Flaky woke up, slightly confused as she saw her bedroom was pitch black, save for a few rays of early morning sunlight seeping through the curtains of her window. That was weird, considering she usually left her lamp on the lowest setting for a little light so she could see if she needed to get up in the middle of the night. She also was confused at why her pillow was so much more warmer than usual, even after sleeping on it all night. She turned her head a bit and her eyes went wide, her cheeks heating up as she blushed harder than ever.
She was not in her room.
And she was not laying on her pillow.
She was sleeping on Lifty's lap in her living room as the thief softly snored away as he continued to sleep. She moved to get up, only for Lifty to wake up mid-snore and look down at her with sleepy eyes. He was quicker to realize what was going on, his own cheeks grew red as he too saw the situation they were.
"Morning, Red."
"M-Morning, Lifty."
Flaky got up and muttered she was going to go take a shower. Still red in the face, the girl shuffled down one of the hallways and into the bathroom, leaving Lifty still sitting on the couch. The green-haired male rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and then smacked his lips, feeling a sour taste in his mouth. He grimaced and got up from the couch, heading towards the kitchen to fix his morning breath. He walked to the fridge and pulled the door open, rummaging around until he found a jug of milk in the back. Looking around as though he was expecting to see Flaky next to him, but saw no one. So he shrugged to himself and twisted the cap off it the jug, bringing it to his lips as he drank.
He put the cap back on, setting the milk on the counter, and left the kitchen. Sitting back down in his spot on the couch, Lifty moved his head side to side, feeling a satisfying crack through his neck as he twisted his head around. He sighed as he stared at the magazines on Flaky's coffee table, thoughts of Flippy's remarks last night still fresh in his head.
"Think you might be getting a bit rusty, eh?"
"Better pickpocket that you ever were. . ."
Lifty shook his head as he tried to rid his mind of those offending thoughts. Why were the soldier's snide remarks to his thieving skills making him feel bad? Usually, when someone judged him, he was able to just brush it off with an insult back or a snicker, pleased that he was that much of bothering to someone that he needed to know about it. So why was this time different? The man's frown faded, replaced by a stern look as he knew what he had to do.
Time to show how rusty he is. . .
X X X
Freshly clean and clothed, Flaky wrapped a towel around her wet curls as she walked out of the bathroom. She made her way to head back the living room and turned the corner towards the room. Only to stop and walk backward back to a room she passed. Her room to be more specific. The door was open and it wasn't like that when she passed it earlier to go take her shower.
Something wasn't right. The redhead entered the room and noticed right away that something was missing in here. Well, a lot of things were missing actually. Where was her wallet? Or her car keys? Then it clicked. She frowned, eyes to the ground as she muttered to herself.
"L-Lifty. . .Lifty!"
The next time she said his name, she yelled it out hoping that he'd hear her and come. A few tedious seconds passed and then Lifty appeared in the doorway, a small grin on his face that made it clear he knew why she was yelling for him.
"You called?"
"I did," Flaky huffed, gesturing to her dresser and then turning to him, "Where's m-my stuff?"
"Hmm, that's a good question," Lifty's grin grew a little as he suppressed a chuckle, "I don't know. Maybe you just misplaced your junk?"
"I did n-not! You took them and hid it!"
Of course, he did, but he could lie and say he didn't. Unfortunately for his timid friend, when Lifty decided to practice and freshen up his stealing skills, the only person he could steal from was the only other person he's been around since he was kicked out: Flaky. So he took her crap and hid it, because he was bored and because he could.
"And so what if I did? What are you gonna do?"
"I. . .I," Flaky frowned, nibbling her lip as she tried to think of something to get him to cooperate, then smiled as she said confidently, "I'll stop making you dinner. A-And you'll have to fend for yourself."
Lifty gave her a look, one that said he knew she was full of crap.
"No, you won't."
"Yes, I will."
"Nope."
"Yes!"
"Nada."
"Lifty!"
"Flaky?"
Flaky let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Lifty, just, please. G-Give me my stuff. Or I'll call Flippy a-and make him make you."
Fearing if she was serious about sending soldier boy after him, Lifty frowned and shook his head, "Fine, fine! No need to make threats," then he pulled her wallet and keys from his back pocket and handed them to the redhead, who gratefully accepted the stolen items back with a small smile.
"Thanks."
Lifty gave her a small grin and tapped her forehead with his finger as he leaned in closer, "You don't thank someone for stealing your junk," his gaze landed on something he hadn't noticed her wearing before: a silver chain around her neck.
"Well, I-What a-are you doing?" Flaky's reply was cut off as Lifty wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled her into an unsuspecting hug. He had his face in her neck as he muttered, "Shh, I just wanna hug."
Flaky hugged him back, a bit confused by the man's sudden affection. Then he let go abruptly and she saw something gleam in his hand as he pulled away. Realizing what it was, she frowned and pointed to it.
"Hey! Give me b-back my necklace!"
"Knock it off, Flaky. I just want to look at it," Lifty held it away from her outstretched arm as he examined it, only for his playful smile to vanish as he saw a dog tag on the necklace. A name engraved on it was as clear as day: Flippy.
"Lifty, give-"
"Why do you got a necklace with soldier boy's name on it?"
"W-What" Flaky frowned, "He gave it to me as a b-birthday present."
Lifty frowned, wondering why he was getting so worked up over a stupid gift the soldier gave Flaky. But for some reason, he felt a sting of jealousy at him for having his name around the redhead's neck. I mean, It wasn't like Flaky was his or anything. So why did he feel so angry about this?
"Why are you always thinking about him?"
Flaky blinked a few times before answering, feeling her cheeks heat up, "I don't a-always think about him."
Lifty shook his head, chuckling dryly, "But you do. You always do,"
Then before either could react to what he was doing, Lifty pulled her back into a hug and pressed his lips against her ear as he whispered, "I don't why you'd think about him, when you got me right here. Right now."
Lifty trailed his lips down and were just inches away from her own lips, about to close the gap between them when he came to his senses, wondering just what the hell he was doing. He pulled away, staring at the blushing girl with wide green eyes. He ran a hand through his hair to slick it back and let out a shaky breath before speaking, "I'm gonna. . .gonna go take a shower," handing the girl back her necklace and then leaving Flaky, red-faced and flustered. She blinked and then adjusted the towel on head, which had gotten messed up during the two's. . .actions. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she felt short of breath as Flaky tried to piece together what just happened. Lifty stole from her. Lifty gave her stuff back. Lifty hugged her. Lifty stole again. Lifty tried to kiss her.
Just. . .
What the fuck.
