Chapter 13: Afraid of Thunder?
A/N: What better way to start off a new chapter after that previous one then to give you a flashback chapter? Poor Izzy, having a weird dream about blooood. Same rules as the previous flashback chapter: it won't be italicized. **IMPORTANT** However, this will actually be a full chapter from Lightning's POV. Mostly because I want to branch of from Izzy only, be also take it as a precursor to see if I like writing directly for Lightning for my prequel idea. It's gonna be another short one. On the bright side, you get three chapters today, so technically I wrote more today then I usually do? :D
It was a special occasion, one that called for massive celebration amongst all the squads. They were getting the weekend off. Even the staff at central control had gotten tired of the rigorous work schedule, so the government issued a necessary relaxation time for all in the program; no obstacle courses or beating the shit out of each other for two whole days! It was basically heaven, especially to Lightning. Being a squad leader was draining; she was in charge of the entire training regime and welfare of all the cadets under her. She could scarce imagine how Ritcher or Cyrus managed to get by; she was mentally exhausted from one day of leading a squad!
She was happy with mostly just laying back on her bed, soaking in the silence that blanketed the squad leaders' dorm. Arc and Cyrus were out, probably whacking each other with sticks. Despite the fact they called it "training", she didn't really understand what enjoyment they got out of it.
She debated whether or not to go outside, when she heard the first drops of rain cascade against the metal roof of the building.
"Damn place is always raining…" she mumbled to herself. Deciding to catch up on some much needed sleep, she closed her eyes and began to drift off.
A knock on the door roused her from her slumber. Yawning and rubbing her eyes, she stood up and performed basic stretches before answering the door. It could always be a surprise course run, she didn't put it past them to try.
Opening the door, she was pleasantly surprised to see Izzy standing there. It was obvious he had made his journey during the storm; he was soaked through and through and his hair clung to his head and covered his eyes in matted lumps.
"Izzy? What are you doing here? It's not that you aren't welcome but…" She trailed off.
"Oh, um central sent down some 'repair men' to service our dorm. Conveniently, it happened to be MY part of it only. Do you ehhh… mind if I stay here until the storm blows over at least?" She had a sneaking suspicion that his squad-mates had something to do with this, but probably not Izzy himself. He absolutely hated getting wet.
"Sure." She said, shifting out of the way so he could come in. After he did so, she slammed the door to make sure it stuck, before flopping back down on her bed.
Izzy was standing awkwardly in the corner shifting his feet. He coughed into his hand, before giving out a "Hey Lightning?"
"Mmm?" She asked, more content with his presence than anything else.
"Not to be rude, but did I catch you in the middle of changing or…?" He said, he face turning a light shade of red.
Looking down, she realized she was only wearing a white undershirt. She had taken her jacket off for the sake of comfort when she slept, and forgot to put it back on when she woke up. Turning her own shade of red, she also gave a nervous cough before replying. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was taking a short nap before you got here."
Once the tension had dissolved back into a comfortable silence, Lightning decided to ask a question. "Why don't you take a seat? You seem like you're good friends with Arc, I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
Izzy looked surprised. "It's just… weird being in here. I know it is pretty much the same as a standard dorm but smaller, but it wouldn't really feel right touching anything else."
She sighed to herself. He really needed to grow a backbone, there was a difference between insubordination and camaraderie. "Suit yourself." She said evenly. "Did your ASL develop any further yet?"
Izzy shook his head before looking down. "No, and they are probably going to boot me from the program soon if I don't figure it out. I try so hard… but no matter what I do I just can't get it to work."
"There you go again with selling yourself short, Izzy." Izzy looked up.
"Lightning, I just-." he began.
"Not hearing it." She declared triumphantly, before scooching over and patting the spot next to her. "Sit down this time, and THAT is an order." She said playfully.
Izzy sighed, but couldn't hid a small smile as he sat next to her. "You abuse your power, you know that?"
"Of course, but it is for the greater good!" She proclaimed, before taking on a more serious tone. "Izzy, I know you may feel different from us because you don't have full ASL yet. The truth is, you don't need it. You have accomplished things without it that we can only dream of, you're strong Izzy, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise." She finished her speech with a smirk, and Izzy was doing his best not to give way into a full smile.
A thunderous *BOOM* could be heard, and lightning yelped before falling into Izzy's lap. He quirked his eyebrow and proceeded to burst into laughter. "You're afraid of thunder… and your name is Lightning?"
"Sh- shut up!" Lightning half-squealed, her face half red from the predicament. She lingered on his lap a little longer than she had to, savoring the warmth and sighing inwardly. "He's never going to do it is he? He probably doesn't like me the way I like him… maybe-"
"You know, this is pretty nice." Izzy said quietly. Lightning resisted the urge to squeal and instead kept a calm composure.
"Oh? And what would command say if they saw this?" She said jokingly. "But yes, it is quite nice."
Even after the storm was over, Lightning was fast asleep on Izzy's lap, and he was quite content with staying for a while.