"What an easy mark. What'd we get?" There were three of them surrounding Vay and she merely stood by, corralled against a chilled brick wall, as one of them held her at gunpoint and the second went through her flimsy purse

"Some loose cash, a couple academy cards. The phone'll probably sell for something," he replied, pulling out said phone. It was the most valuable thing Vay kept on her person and it was only because of her old lady that she was able to afford it at all. The risk of it breaking, or either of them breaking it, in a scuffle was not one she was willing to take, so she kept idle. The third one, however, didn't seem as interested in her valuables than in her. Her narrowed eyes cut to him as he stepped closer with a grin.

"An academy girl, huh?" She tilted her head away from the hand he reached toward her hair and had to force her fingers still when he captured a dark lock. "How about I be your professor? I'll work you over real good for an A."

"Oh?" She questioned her resting grin sharpening at the edges. "You and what dick?" The sudden back hand across her face left her stumbling with ringing ears. A round of laughs erupted through the group and her recently emptied purse was thrown at her.

"Never any good when they don't fight back."

"Why don't I help with that?" A voice laced with an inextinguishable ferocity carried past the three figures, who turned towards it, only for the third member to turn right into a fist. It was a solid one-hit K-O. Vay gathered herself quickly in time to see Peirce shake off the ache rising in his knuckle. Flexing his fingers, a burst of flame ignited in his palm like a lit match before being snuffed out by the closing of his fist. It was seeing literal fire coming out of his hand that gave the second man pause and allowed Pierce to duck forward and uppercut him.

The gunman took aim, so focused on his target and his current scuffle he missed Vay gliding up to him. First she grabbed the gun by the muzzle and in one fluid movement, turned out of range of fire, grabbed his wrist, and pushed. He got one shot off to the side. She pulled the arm towards her body and grabbed the slide of the gun. With her in control of it, Pierce took the opening to rush him, tackling him to the ground and grabbing him by his throat. The gun clattered to the ground.

Vay turned away from the sound of a nose being cracked open under the firebrand's assault and decided that was the perfect time to reclaim her belongings. The third guy Pierce first punched was out cold but the second guy was recovering with a groan. A kick to the face fixed that problem and left his pockets vulnerable. When she turned back to Pierce, he stood over the gunman and held him up by the blood soaked collar of his shirt. The way his head hung back made it pretty clear Pierce had beat him into a good daze... or unconscious.

The firebrand's shoulders were tense and moved with every breath he took. The hand holding the collar was still smoking. "...perhaps we should call an ambulance," Vay said, her voice sounding loud in the quiet even with her usual, low, even tone. The gunman's collar was released and his upper body fell onto the pavement with a solid thunk. Pierce was uncharacteristically silent, staring out of the alleyway where the world seemed like a different place. This was a different flavor of anger and one she wasn't well acquainted with. "Pierce?"

He spun on her, dark green eyes lit up as he stalked towards her. "What would you have done if I wasn't passing by just now, dumbass?!" He barked. "Are you-" a different type of emotion twisted his expression when he reached out a hand toward her face where the skin still stung and her breath caught in her throat. But in the end, his hand was still smoking so he dropped it. "Are you stupid?" She wanted to take it into her own hands and hold it, but she didn't know how well Peirce would react.

Instead she offered verbal assurance, "I may not be able to harness my anomaly as effortlessly as you but I can assure you I am still very much capable of it." She would be lying if she said she wasn't jealous of the way the firebrand incorporated his anomaly into something as simple as a brawl, whereas hers took a lot of thought. It took patience. It was a last resort. She looked down at her phone and ran a thumb over the screen where there was dirt but no damage. "The outcome would have been the same either way, especially if my old lady called while they had it."

Pierced scoffed and shoved passed her. "Do what you want," he sneered, leaving the alleyway from where he came. Another groan sounded from the third felled man and deciding at least one of them coming-to was good enough, she turned and took her leave.

"Want to stop somewhere for some food?" Vay asked, holding up a leather wallet way out of budget of the man she stole it from. "Their treat~"

Pierce buried his scarred hands into the pockets of his hoodie with his usual scrawl on his face. "Fuck off! I'm heading straight back to the academy and you and I are going to spar! As if I want anything to do with whatever money you took from those assholes."

She hummed and made a mental note to turn in the wallet to the local authorities. She instead pulled out what cash she had on her. "I have enough for some noodles?"

"Are you a dumbass and deaf? I said-"

"I'm hungry," she reaffirmed. "And don't you deserve something for all the trouble I gave you?" A whole menagerie of expressions and glares crossed the firebrand's face, twisting and scrunching his nose and lips this way and that, and it was fascinating to watch. She never mentioned why it was important for her to eat when she was hungry and more than likely never will (just as Pierce would never likely mention why it was important for him to become something of a monster). But it was important for her to and this was very much a I'm stopping for food whether you are with me or not situation.

To some degree, Pierce understood and relented. "Fine! But you're buying!" His forest greens met her even grays but whatever fire had been lit behind them was easing down into a warm smolder. "And we're sparring later." After their stomachs digested, she hoped.

"Deal."

•●•

Vay knew of a restaurant that was more reliant on technology than human staff and had an emphasis on privacy. She figured it was the perfect place for the pair to unwind after the attempted mugging that nearly turned into attempted murder. Upon entering Pierce made his way straight to the men's bathroom while Vay picked out an enclosed booth. He later rejoined her with cleaner hands and knuckles now wrapped in a makeshift bandage. He sat back with his arms crossed and knees spread out under the table, glaring down at it as if practicing setting harmless furniture on fire with his mind.

The day he mastered that skill was the day he would have to wear special glasses and become a cyclops.

Vay sat in a more conservative way with her elbow on the table and the other arm relaxed across it doing her best not to look too much at Pierce, which only left her staring at the wall where a serving window was cut out. He made it difficult, however, with how his knee bounced in a way she could feel. He was still bothered. Her eyes slid from the cream wall to her redheaded companion and the leg stopped, his own eyes meeting her from under furrowed eyebrows.

"What?" He growled.

She faced him and chose her words carefully. "Is there something on your mind?"

He sneered as if that really was a "dumbass question" to ask. He opened his mouth to snap something aggressive no doubt, but the serving window slid open and two bowls of noodles and broth with some toppings on the side were served to them. "Just eat," he growled, pulling his own bowl towards him to redirect his aggression to that one simple act.

Vay immediately perked up and dug in. It was only after the immediacy of her hunger was abated did she pull out her phone to look through it. Should she message her old lady? This was about the time of day her old, wrinkled self would be seated at her small dining table with only room for her and one more, sipping tea and judging the ongoings of the outside world. She wondered if her tea would even taste the same now that Vay wasn't making it.

"Would you stop acting like nothing happened!" The sudden outburst from the firebrand was accompanied by the table being punched and it had Vay sitting straight up at attention. She met forest green eyes that were in the midst of a wildfire. Pierce leaned over his bowl, scarred fists clenched on each side, baring sharp canines.

Her eyes narrowed and her resting smile sharpened into her usual "fox eyed" expression. "Oh? You want a reaction? For what, if I'm not too much of a dumbass for asking?"

That left Pierce opening and closing his mouth. Having the opportunity to call her a "dumbass" taken away from him seemed to have left him no crutch to stand. "You know what? Forget it." He stood up to leave and Vay wanted to reach out to him but touch never gave her a good reaction.

So, she started speaking, "I was hired to deal with those types of guys by Ms. Rose." Pierce hesitated, hovering over his seat and looking torn between being done with this or continuing whatever "this" was. The fact he wasn't taking this decision lightly didn't go unappreciated by Vay. This wasn't critical information, but not even Pierce could entirely ignore that staying to listen would mean something. This was a bonding moment and the firebrand might as well have an allergy that made him hyper aware of that fact - in case he had a sudden break out of feelings. No, wouldn't want him to confront the idea of him not being a mindless brawler too early on now, would we?

Ultimately, Pierce chose to stay despite the ever looming idea that they were bonding, and Vay's sharp smile eased into something more friendly. "It wouldn't be the first time I was in that kind of situation, and it wouldn't have been the last time I managed to escape unharmed. Yes it was frustrating, infuriating, but Pierce, I'm fine." The backhand did hurt, her face still stung a bit, but it wasn't a situation to linger on.

Something in Pierce was, dare she say, reassured, but the firebrand was still very much a firebrand and was absolutely affronted by the idea that he needed to be assured of her wellbeing. "You really are a dumbass," he grumbled, settling down and even ordering more noodles for his leftover broth. Vay was delighted by this and went back to eating, vaguely self aware enough to know something had settled down in her as well. Of course, he still felt the need to point his utensils at her and snap, "We're still sparring later!"

Vay hummed around the mouthful of noodles she slurped. Perhaps he wasn't completely reassured but Pierce was always going to choose action over words. Though, he was also smart enough to know every noodle she ate only set their spar back further.

He stayed anyway.

•●•

It had gotten colder and it took leaving a cozy restaurant with full stomachs to realize this, which was the most unpleasant way to make this discovery. Vay rubbed her bare arms and snuck a look at Pierce all wrapped up warm in his hoodie. All it took was him meeting her eyes to get absolutely offended. "No! You're the one who decided to be a dumbass and not prepare!" He stepped out from the stoop of the restaurant and hurried ahead.

"Perhaps we could come to a compromise," Vay called after him, following not too far behind. She saw his ears turn red out from under his hair and wasn't that fun to witness.

"Keep saying dumbass things and I'll leave you here!"

"So no spar later?"

Peirce pulled his hood up and pretended she didn't exist. Vay cackled to herself. Perhaps she had a little too much fun flustering him.