"Matt! I told you not to touch that!" Luciana yelled. Her shoulder-length, light blue hair was slipping out of the braid and into her bright golden eyes.
"Sorry, Lucy!" The sixteen-year-old boy didn't look apologetic in the least. His messy black hair and dancing blue-gray eyes screamed of happy mischief.
"Ugh! Now it needs to be cleaned again!" Her little brother had been touching the tv screen with messy hands, trying to irritate his sister. Sometimes, he was really like a young child instead of a teenager.
"Calm down, Luciana," Mishi chuckled. The woman glared at the hero. His blue-gray eyes were warm behind his shaggy black hair.
"Easy for you to say," she huffed. "You don't live with him."
"No, I just teach him. Well, I try to." The man was pouting. "He's so advanced. I go to teach a new move, and he's already got it down and helping the other kids."
"You're welcome," she told him proudly, wiping the screen clean again.
"Don't be upset, Mishi," Pake interjected. "She's been training him for years. He's advanced in everything."
"I smart," Matt agreed and continued to build his tower. It was extremely complex and steady already.
"Arg!" Luciana growled, redoing her hair again. "I need to get it cut!"
"Why?" Matt asked.
"It's hot, keeps getting in my eyes, and it's too much work! It gets in the way at work too much!" She roughly finished the braid and put the elastic back in. "Plus, I can't have people grabbing it while I'm trying to work."
"True…" The black-haired hero agreed reluctantly.
"But, you could just use this." The red-headed hero, who happened to have long hair, offered a small stick. "I use it to tie my hair into a bun all the time. When it's not in a 'man bun'." He used Luciana's term for his favored hairstyle sarcastically.
"Fine, when my hair comes undone, teach me how to use it. I've got…" she glared at the clock. "Ten minutes to wait… too long."
The three males laughed at her. Standing behind Matt, she flipped them off, ensuring her brother wouldn't see. The two heroes continued to laugh, the black-haired one's wings began unfurling.
She shook her head and continued to clean the apartment thoroughly. A few minutes later, her angry yell echoed.
"Come here! I'll fix your hair for you!" Pake yelled at her.
"Fine," she growled, padding over to the man silently. "This had better help."
"It will," he told her, "just kneel with your back to me, ok?" She shot him a look as she did as he instructed.
"This might pull and be uncomfortable at first. Just warning you." He told her before pulling her hair into a bun, explaining the process in detail.
When he was done, she hissed, "You like wearing this? It pulls my scalp."
"As I said, it might be uncomfortable. It'll take time and training."
"Fuck," she swore quietly as she adjusted the bun. "I hate this thing." She stalked off to see what it looked like.
"Lucy looks pretty. Beau-ti-ful!" Matt declared proudly.
"Thanks, buddy!" Luciana still hadn't returned. The two men continued to banter as Matt built. His tower was architecturally sound and brilliant to look at. The colors didn't even clash.
Luciana came back and glared at the winged man in her living room."Mishi! I swear, I will kill you if you don't clean up the mess you made right now!" The winged hero had spread his wings and left a large mess of feathers and dander.
"Ah…" he sheepishly closed his wings and began to pick up the feathers.
"Get the vacuum too!" She commanded irately.
The other hero was laughing his head off as his companion vacuumed the mess.
The woman turned on the laughing man. "You should have reminded him not to open his wings inside." She smacked him upside the head. He abruptly stopped and apologized.
"Now get out. Ten minutes are up." She shooed them away. "And remind me we need to train with each other." Moments later, she was back to cleaning the apartment. When she was done, she sat on the couch and stared at her brother's building. It seemed too complex to be built out of simple blocks, but it was.
"Matt's too smart." It was already almost fall. Several months had passed since Matt had become a second-year at UA. He had come closer than anyone else to reveal her secret identity. If he did, he could do anything with the information. What he did would be up to him, no doubt the right thing in his mind.
A knock on the door broke her from her musings. "Coming." She knew who it was, but it never hurt to be safe. She peeked through the hole quickly. The man on the other side was tall, with red hair and fierce blue eyes. She opened the door and leaped into his arms.
"Oof." He teased. He was expecting it and strong enough to stand his ground.
"Shut up!" She hugged her boyfriend gladly. "Come on." She pulled him inside without releasing her grip.
"You're weird." He kissed her forehead.
"You like it." She let him go long enough for them to sit down. "Besides, we haven't had a chance to spend time with each other in over a month! Can you blame me?" She relaxed against him.
"I can't," he chuckled.
"Anyway! I got a nice movie for us to watch." She hopped up and put a movie on before hurrying into the kitchen. "I've also got popcorn." She came back with a big bucket. She settled by Enji, leaning into him.
"Thanks." He mumbled softly. She hummed in reply as she let her hair down.
The movie was over and Luciana was asleep, lying on top of Enji. Enji stared at the blank screen. He had turned the tv off using the remote after it finished.
"Don't leave me…" Luciana mumbled sleepily. In response, her boyfriend began running a hand through her hair, soothing her.
"I won't," he replied.
She sighed, before speaking again "'M sorry."
"Sorry for what?" He asked softly.
"Can't tell you…" she grumbled and stretched. "Wanna tell you, though."
"Tell me what?"
"Tell… tell you what I am."
"What are you?"
"Horrid. But Matt needs me…"
Enji cursed softly. She was good at dodging his questions even when she was almost asleep.
"No cursing around Matt. I'm sorry I can't tell you." Her voice was softer. "I wish…"
"You wish?" He prompted.
"You weren't…" she trailed off as she snuggled into his chest. Enji held her comfortingly. "You keep my nightmares away."
He smiled and kissed the top of her head, content. Silence reigned for the next several minutes.
Enji let out a soft snore, waking Luciana some. His hand was still in her hair and one of his arms was wrapped around her waist, trapping her.
"I love you." She whispered, settling against his warm chest to watch over him.
"Hmm…" Luciana woke, pleasantly warm. She had fallen asleep again. She felt her 'pillow' move, signaling Enji was still here. Keeping her eyes closed, she shifted around an uncomfortable hard spot.
Enji moaned. Startled, she tensed, moving more. He moaned again. She froze, her face puzzled and pink. Slowly, her tired brain comprehended what was going on. Her boyfriend had morning wood.
"You know," Enji said, his voice husky. "That is certainly a nice way to wake up. Good morning, beautiful."
"Shut up." Her face was thankfully turned away from him. Since it was red from his compliment. The embarrassed woman moved again.
"Shit," he moaned. "You need to stop." The warm hand resting on her back, under her shirt, moved up to her bra strap.
"Why should I?" She moved to face him, purposely teasing him.
"Because I had a very nice dream that I would love to act out." He pulled on her bra slightly. "And I don't know if I can stop myself if you keep that up." His voice dropped to a husky growl. He stared into her eyes, his pupils dilated.
"Well, maybe I'd like that." She smirked and ground against him. His hand wandered down to rest on her ass.
"I don't think other people would, sexy," he whispered into her ear. Her face turned red again.
"This is fun and all…" She slipped off his chest. "But I'm hungry." His stomach rumbled. "And so are you."
"Yeah…" he grumbled. "But, maybe I'll go take a cold shower first." The bulge in his pants had only grown larger. He adjusted himself as she stalked away.
"Go ahead. I'm going to make breakfast," Luciana called from the kitchen. "Why not use our shower? It's faster."
"I'll… be right back then. I hope you have a good breakfast prepared to make up for your teasing," he told her as he stood.
"Keep that attitude up and you'll get no breakfast from me," she threatened seriously.
Enji smiled at her. "That's what I like to see." He sauntered toward the bathroom. Luciana smiled as she watched him leave. Happily, she started breakfast.
A knock sounded at the door. She peered through the hole to see a brunette, gray-skinned man. She opened the door.
"Hi," the strange man greeted. He was about Luciana's height, his brown eyes slightly below hers. "Is Enji here?"
"No. You are?" she asked, blunt as ever. She wasn't going to let anyone mess up her morning, and this man was not important.
"Sakai Izo, Enji's best friend." He held his hand out.
"Ah, I'm his neighbor." She shook his cold hand.
"And his girlfriend." He smiled. It didn't reach his cold eyes.
"Yeah. If that's all, I have food cooking. Good day." She smiled back, equally cold as his. Ignoring the man, she shut the door.
"Have a good day!" He yelled to her as she returned to the kitchen. Distrustfully, she eyed the door as she finished cooking. She did not like that man in the least.
"Matt! I told you not to touch that!" Luciana yelled. Her shoulder-length, light blue hair was slipping out of the braid and into her bright golden eyes.
"Sorry, Lucy!" The sixteen-year-old boy didn't look apologetic in the least. His messy black hair and dancing blue-gray eyes screamed of happy mischief.
"Ugh! Now it needs to be cleaned again!" Her little brother had been touching the tv screen with messy hands, trying to irritate his sister. Sometimes, he was really like a young child instead of a teenager.
"Calm down, Luciana," Mishi chuckled. The woman glared at the hero. His blue-gray eyes were warm behind his shaggy black hair.
"Easy for you to say," she huffed. "You don't live with him."
"No, I just teach him. Well, I try to." The man was pouting. "He's so advanced. I go to teach a new move, and he's already got it down and helping the other kids."
"You're welcome," she told him proudly, wiping the screen clean again.
"Don't be upset, Mishi," Pake interjected. "She's been training him for years. He's advanced in everything."
"I smart," Matt agreed and continued to build his tower. It was extremely complex and steady already.
"Arg!" Luciana growled, redoing her hair again. "I need to get it cut!"
"Why?" Matt asked.
"It's hot, keeps getting in my eyes, and it's too much work! It gets in the way at work too much!" She roughly finished the braid and put the elastic back in. "Plus, I can't have people grabbing it while I'm trying to work."
"True…" The black-haired hero agreed reluctantly.
"But, you could just use this." The red-headed hero, who happened to have long hair, offered a small stick. "I use it to tie my hair into a bun all the time. When it's not in a 'man bun'." He used Luciana's term for his favored hairstyle sarcastically.
"Fine, when my hair comes undone, teach me how to use it. I've got…" she glared at the clock. "Ten minutes to wait… too long."
The three males laughed at her. Standing behind Matt, she flipped them off, ensuring her brother wouldn't see. The two heroes continued to laugh, the black-haired one's wings began unfurling.
She shook her head and continued to clean the apartment thoroughly. A few minutes later, her angry yell echoed.
"Come here! I'll fix your hair for you!" Pake yelled at her.
"Fine," she growled, padding over to the man silently. "This had better help."
"It will," he told her, "just kneel with your back to me, ok?" She shot him a look as she did as he instructed.
"This might pull and be uncomfortable at first. Just warning you." He told her before pulling her hair into a bun, explaining the process in detail.
When he was done, she hissed, "You like wearing this? It pulls my scalp."
"As I said, it might be uncomfortable. It'll take time and training."
"Fuck," she swore quietly as she adjusted the bun. "I hate this thing." She stalked off to see what it looked like.
"Lucy looks pretty. Beau-ti-ful!" Matt declared proudly.
"Thanks, buddy!" Luciana still hadn't returned. The two men continued to banter as Matt built. His tower was architecturally sound and brilliant to look at. The colors didn't even clash.
Luciana came back and glared at the winged man in her living room."Mishi! I swear, I will kill you if you don't clean up the mess you made right now!" The winged hero had spread his wings and left a large mess of feathers and dander.
"Ah…" he sheepishly closed his wings and began to pick up the feathers.
"Get the vacuum too!" She commanded irately.
The other hero was laughing his head off as his companion vacuumed the mess.
The woman turned on the laughing man. "You should have reminded him not to open his wings inside." She smacked him upside the head. He abruptly stopped and apologized.
"Now get out. Ten minutes are up." She shooed them away. "And remind me we need to train with each other." Moments later, she was back to cleaning the apartment. When she was done, she sat on the couch and stared at her brother's building. It seemed too complex to be built out of simple blocks, but it was.
"Matt's too smart." It was already almost fall. Several months had passed since Matt had become a second-year at UA. He had come closer than anyone else to reveal her secret identity. If he did, he could do anything with the information. What he did would be up to him, no doubt the right thing in his mind.
A knock on the door broke her from her musings. "Coming." She knew who it was, but it never hurt to be safe. She peeked through the hole quickly. The man on the other side was tall, with red hair and fierce blue eyes. She opened the door and leaped into his arms.
"Oof." He teased. He was expecting it and strong enough to stand his ground.
"Shut up!" She hugged her boyfriend gladly. "Come on." She pulled him inside without releasing her grip.
"You're weird." He kissed her forehead.
"You like it." She let him go long enough for them to sit down. "Besides, we haven't had a chance to spend time with each other in over a month! Can you blame me?" She relaxed against him.
"I can't," he chuckled.
"Anyway! I got a nice movie for us to watch." She hopped up and put a movie on before hurrying into the kitchen. "I've also got popcorn." She came back with a big bucket. She settled by Enji, leaning into him.
"Thanks." He mumbled softly. She hummed in reply as she let her hair down.
The movie was over and Luciana was asleep, lying on top of Enji. Enji stared at the blank screen. He had turned the tv off using the remote after it finished.
"Don't leave me…" Luciana mumbled sleepily. In response, her boyfriend began running a hand through her hair, soothing her.
"I won't," he replied.
She sighed, before speaking again "'M sorry."
"Sorry for what?" He asked softly.
"Can't tell you…" she grumbled and stretched. "Wanna tell you, though."
"Tell me what?"
"Tell… tell you what I am."
"What are you?"
"Horrid. But Matt needs me…"
Enji cursed softly. She was good at dodging his questions even when she was almost asleep.
"No cursing around Matt. I'm sorry I can't tell you." Her voice was softer. "I wish…"
"You wish?" He prompted.
"You weren't…" she trailed off as she snuggled into his chest. Enji held her comfortingly. "You keep my nightmares away."
He smiled and kissed the top of her head, content. Silence reigned for the next several minutes.
Enji let out a soft snore, waking Luciana some. His hand was still in her hair and one of his arms was wrapped around her waist, trapping her.
"I love you." She whispered, settling against his warm chest to watch over him.
"Hmm…" Luciana woke, pleasantly warm. She had fallen asleep again. She felt her 'pillow' move, signaling Enji was still here. Keeping her eyes closed, she shifted around an uncomfortable hard spot.
Enji moaned. Startled, she tensed, moving more. He moaned again. She froze, her face puzzled and pink. Slowly, her tired brain comprehended what was going on. Her boyfriend had morning wood.
"You know," Enji said, his voice husky. "That is certainly a nice way to wake up. Good morning, beautiful."
"Shut up." Her face was thankfully turned away from him. Since it was red from his compliment. The embarrassed woman moved again.
"Shit," he moaned. "You need to stop." The warm hand resting on her back, under her shirt, moved up to her bra strap.
"Why should I?" She moved to face him, purposely teasing him.
"Because I had a very nice dream that I would love to act out." He pulled on her bra slightly. "And I don't know if I can stop myself if you keep that up." His voice dropped to a husky growl. He stared into her eyes, his pupils dilated.
"Well, maybe I'd like that." She smirked and ground against him. His hand wandered down to rest on her ass.
"I don't think other people would, sexy," he whispered into her ear. Her face turned red again.
"This is fun and all…" She slipped off his chest. "But I'm hungry." His stomach rumbled. "And so are you."
"Yeah…" he grumbled. "But, maybe I'll go take a cold shower first." The bulge in his pants had only grown larger. He adjusted himself as she stalked away.
"Go ahead. I'm going to make breakfast," Luciana called from the kitchen. "Why not use our shower? It's faster."
"I'll… be right back then. I hope you have a good breakfast prepared to make up for your teasing," he told her as he stood.
"Keep that attitude up and you'll get no breakfast from me," she threatened seriously.
Enji smiled at her. "That's what I like to see." He sauntered toward the bathroom. Luciana smiled as she watched him leave. Happily, she started breakfast.
A knock sounded at the door. She peered through the hole to see a brunette, gray-skinned man. She opened the door.
"Hi," the strange man greeted. He was about Luciana's height, his brown eyes slightly below hers. "Is Enji here?"
"No. You are?" she asked, blunt as ever. She wasn't going to let anyone mess up her morning, and this man was not important.
"Sakai Izo, Enji's best friend." He held his hand out.
"Ah, I'm his neighbor." She shook his cold hand.
"And his girlfriend." He smiled. It didn't reach his cold eyes.
"Yeah. If that's all, I have food cooking. Good day." She smiled back, equally cold as his. Ignoring the man, she shut the door.
"Have a good day!" He yelled to her as she returned to the kitchen. Distrustfully, she eyed the door as she finished cooking. She did not like that man in the least.
A/N: I promise I'm alive. I meant to update, but I got busy. Finals are done now! I'll try to update more regularly.
