Colonello looked at the piece of paper with some confusion.

"I'm confused. Is this a promotion or something else?"

Greg snorted.

"The higher ups noticed that since Lal took you on, her episodes are either decreasing or at least starting to calm down a little. Enough that her Cloud flames aren't reacting so violently when she has one."

Colonello blinked. All he did was hold her when he realized she had woken up from one of her bad memories, and carefully let his flames wrap around her.

She seemed to be acclimating herself to them, at least to the point she didn't freak out when he used them.

"So from this point on you're assigned as her permanent partner, at least until whatever it is you're doing no longer works! After all, we can't lose the best trainer on the base!" said Greg proudly.

And even her fellow trainers acknowledged her as the best. Her students never died doing something monumentally stupid, and they got the job done come hell or high water!

"Where is the Captain anyway?"

"It's her day off, so she's probably there," said Greg.

"There?"

Greg wrote down an address.

"This is a popular children's park. I heard there was a demon that lives in the trees there that keeps anything worse than a minor pickpocket from entering, or else they're devoured," deadpanned Colonello.

Greg smirked.

"Who did you think the demon was? Lal always goes there on her days off to relax. Hell if I know why. But if you don't believe me, go see for yourself. The kids love her...even if she does have a weird habit of sleeping in trees."

Colonello stared. Then a slow grin came on his face.

"Now this I have to see! The Captain with kids or sleeping in a tree like a cat!" he said laughing. He grabbed his jacket and headed for one of the nearby bikes.

Being assigned as Lal's minder wasn't too bad. Even if he had no idea what it entailed.


When he reached the park, he had to admit it was beyond peaceful. There wasn't any way one of her panic attacks would be triggered in a place like this. Still, he remembered the odd advice Greg gave him and kept his eyes upward, once he dismissed her being near the kids.

After about ten minutes, he found her.

How in the hell did she get that high up? There weren't any branches close and he didn't see a ladder or signs of a grappling hook on the branch!

Still... she looked really peaceful up there. And he could tell she was sleeping for real, not the light meditation that she used to fake it.

He could either go up there and disturb her... or he could wait down below and enjoy the afternoon.

Screw it, he intended to take a nap, and anyone stupid enough to try and steal his bike was clearly asking for it. Besides, no one was going to be able to disable all the trackers those stupid things had on them. So like a rather lazy cat, Colonello stretched out below the tree, and leaned against the trunk.

He woke up to find someone's boots on his stomach and a bruise already forming.

"What the hell are you doing here?" growled Lal.

"I was napping," he grumbled.

She glared at him, but there was no time for her to berate her idiot student because the children on the playground honed in on her like sharks to blood.

"Big sister!"

Colonello grinned as he saw the small children swarm Lal, and her just taking it without yelling.

He noticed the mothers and the odd father watching with equal amusement, and found it odd that none of them were wary of their kids being so close to a stranger. At least until one of the more wary mothers approached him.

"Are you a friend of Lal?"

Colonello blinked.

"She's my teacher. Didn't know she was so popular with kids."

The mother smiled. It was as if his answer put any fear she had at ease.

"Lal Mirch is the reason we can bring our children to this park without fear. The last time a predator tried to watch our little ones, she went and had a 'talk' and he was never heard from again. And she protects even protects some of our more...damaged... friends if their spouses happen to try and stir up trouble."

Colonello could read between the lines of that.

Lal had clearly disposed of the pervert and acted as the defender of the abused women or the odd husband. No wonder they felt so relaxed around her.

"What about the tree thing though?"

Because wasn't that inspiring dangerous behavior?

"Everyone has their quirks," shrugged the mother, returning to her friends. Probably to tell them who he was.

Something in the group relaxed. Clearly he had passed some sort of unofficial test.

So he decided to nurse his bruise and pulled out one of his water bottles to watch Lal being swarmed by kids.

It was ridiculously entertaining, and she was rather good with them. She was clearly relaxed and somewhat enjoying herself.

Alas, like all good things it had to end. Namely when the kids started to get hungry around dinner time.

Which was when Lal turned to her errant student with a cross expression on her face.

"Why are you here?"

"I got a new assignment," said Colonello.

Lal tensed. It was clear on her face that she was afraid he was being reassigned to someone else. Though she would never admit it, she was fond of the annoying blond.

Colonello calmly removed the paper he had been given and handed it to her. Her face went through a myriad of emotions, but the one that stood out the most was shocked fury.

"A minder?!" she nearly shrieked.

What in god's name were her superiors thinking, assigning this idiot as her minder? He was her student, for magic's sake!

Colonello looked sheepish, but fortunately they were in public so Lal wouldn't hit him.

But she was clearly pissed off about this news.

She took a deep calming breath, before dragging him out of the park. Her face was positively furious.

When they were relatively alone and far from any prying civilian or mafioso hearing them, she rounded on him.

"Explain!" she barked. He straightened out of habit.

"The higher ups noticed that since you took me on your PTSD hasn't been as active as before. So they decided that because I seem to have a calming effect on whatever caused your trauma, that I'm your new partner. At least until whatever it is I'm doing no longer works."

Lal narrowed her eyes at him.

"'Whatever it is you've been doing'?" she repeated dangerously.

Colonello winced.

"You know all those time I was dragged along with you and the other trainers into the mountains for a week? The one where they were really relieved to have me share a tent with you?" he asked slowly.

"Rookie..." she growled.

"It not what you think!" he said quickly. "All I ever do is wake up when you're having a flashback, and make sure you don't take me as a threat! I hold you until you fall back asleep!"

Her face twitched.

"YOU WHAT?!" she nearly shrieked.

Colonello only barely fended off her slaps. She still held back a lot, but it was clear she was absolutely pissed off.

Finally he did what he always did when he saw her having a panic attack. He wrapped his arms around her like steel bands until she calmed down.

Lal struggled, but at the same time she felt safe. Secure. Like she knew she could trust the blond idiot not to hurt her.

It took some fast talking, but eventually she calmed down enough not to try and strangle him.

Of course she had to resist the same urge not more than a few hours later when she found the idiot in her room. He looked just as confused as she was, and her entire face was twitching with barely restrained fury.

"Rookie, what are you doing in here?" she growled.

Seeing him flinch, he decided he might as well get the pain over with.

"I was redirected from my barracks in here by the commander in charge of trainees. He said my room assignment had been changed. I didn't know it was your room!" he replied.

Lal was beyond pissed.

"Stay. Touch anything and you will die in the most painful manner I can possibly devise while lacking sleep and coffee," she growled.

Colonello sat down on the chair and did not move. Because Lal forgot to close the door, he could clearly hear the screams of pain, agony and cries for mercy.

There was none, and Lal came back looking frustrated but thankfully without the hint of bloodlust she had whenever she was really, really pissed off. He wisely averted his eyes from the blood on her fists and shirt.

"It seems the higher ups were dead serious about you being my permanent partner," she said with a growl. He was very, very glad he wasn't the subject of her rage. "So much so that they've reassigned you to share my personal room. I will only warn you once... if you push me too far I will end you."

"Yes ma'am!" he said quickly. Even he wasn't stupid enough to piss her off right now.

Regardless of how angry she was over the new arrangement, nothing really changed outside of her being forced to interact with her idiot student in a more...personal...setting than she was happy with.


Colonello, for the most part, picked up on the unspoken rules pretty fast... if only to avoid having his head bitten off by an irate Lal Mirch.

A week after the room change and his new assignment, he woke up to find Lal having one of her panic attacks. He didn't think twice... he went to her side of the room and hugged her close.

What he didn't realize was that this wasn't like her usual attacks... this time she was actually aware of her surroundings.

"Colonello..."

The blond blinked. She never really said much, let alone made any noises that he could understand when she got like this.

"What in god's name are you doing?" she hissed.

She was tense, like an arrow at the edge of being fired from a bow and ready to rip him a new one if he didn't explain himself.

He didn't really think about why he did it. He just let his iron control over his Flames go and wrap themselves around her.

"Shh... go back to sleep captain," he said gently, holding her tighter.

Lal tensed for a few seconds, before slowly relaxing. It had nothing to do with the Rain flames wrapping around her like a blanket, and everything to do with the way she could feel her annoying student acting like an anchor for her memories.

Right here, right now, there was something real she could focus on instead of her ever present nightmares of her failure. Of the memories of all those she had lost, because she hadn't been strong enough to save those she treasured.

She fought the urge to cry. She had lost any tears for the past a long time ago, and she wouldn't show weakness in front of her student.

Feeling his arms around her helped to ease the guilt and pain she had carried with her since that thrice-damned war ended.

She never regretted leaving, not once.

Lal didn't even realize when she fell asleep. Just that for the first time in a long time she didn't fear the nightmares that haunted her.

Waking up with Colonello's face so close to hers, sleeping peacefully and still wrapped firmly around her, she resisted the urge to blush.

He was handsome, even she wouldn't deny that. But she'd be damned if she let her idiot student think this meant she would date him. She had her professional pride!

Seeing his blue eyes open with a smile, Lal growled.

Colonello laughed the entire time she kicked him out of the bed, throwing her pillows at him while yelling profanities.

She couldn't let anyone get too close. The hurt from that war was still so fresh and vivid in her mind... as was the fact that the one who lost the most from it was her.

Her parents.

Her childhood.

Her school years.

Her godfather.

Her favorite uncle and her cousin, his wife.

Her friendship with the two that had carried her so far, only to fall apart when she needed them the most.

Her surrogate family, almost broken at the seams because they were hers.

Her life.

She never forgot the pain of dying, even if she was brought back. She had never been whole to begin with, and she couldn't bear the thought of bringing someone who shined so brightly into her screwed up excuse for a life.

She could never forgive herself if, by letting him inside her heart, she ended up losing him like she lost so many.

She couldn't bear the thought of it.

Good thing the showers were free... no one would see her crying, trying to hide her pain.

When she stepped out, her wall of thorns was firmly in place and the demon trainer was ready to tackle another day.