It was rather odd, but while Luce was their Sky she rarely acted like it. In fact if Reborn had to say who acted like their proper Sky, he would automatically state it was Viper of all people. The Mist was as prickly as a porcupine and didn't like people getting information that could be used against them and was always charging them money for help outside of what was necessary to do the jobs.

But... whenever Skull would start bawling because Reborn or Colonello picked on him for being a coward, or if they were having a really shitty day where having support, even just having someone to listen to them like Fon when his old master died, Viper was always the first one there.

They bandaged up Skull and would murmur it was alright for him to be a coward, because at least he was honest about it and not trying to hide behind a brave face. More than once Reborn saw the Cloud hugging Viper so tightly you couldn't really see his face while they patted his head and let him. All without charging anything.

Hell, they held Fon when his master died and let him hide his crying from the world and never said a word. Luce, for all her powerful Sky attributes hadn't picked up once on his suffering.

However there was one cardinal rule Viper upheld, and that was that they never try to take the hood off. They were very, very paranoid about their real identity, to the point they got rather defensive about it.

Reborn quickly realized why the day it was accidentally blown off while Fon was fighting off some of Verde's new machines...one of which had a gust generator strong enough to produce hurricane winds.

Viper was walking past them, ignoring the two playing when Fon accidentally kicked the gust robot in their direction. Viper threw up their hands to protect their face from the winds and the debris...and failed to keep the hood up over their face.

Reborn stared, he couldn't help it. The girl he had been trying for years to let him in was right in front of him.

"Mystique?"

"Dammit you idiots, what the hell were you thinking playing with winds like that in an enclosed area?!" she yelled at Fon and Verde, who were too busy staring.

"Viper, your hood..." said Fon finally.

She reached up and found her hood missing, and cursed again. Her glare upped in intensity.

"I'm charging you both for this," she growled, before flipping it back over her face...until she realized that the winds had ripped it apart. Her annoyance and displeasure was pretty strong now.

Reborn however, was more interested in the fact he had apparently been chasing Viper of all people for three years.

They weren't the only ones to give a doubletake when they realized her hood had been shredded. Skull blinked before hugging her.

"Why were you hiding your eyes? They're so pretty!"

"Mostly to hide from that ass Reborn," she said bluntly.

"I take offense to that," said Reborn.

"The first time I went to a bar and forgot my hood, you made a beeline for me and started chatting me up like I was another one of your conquests. I'm not stupid and I refuse to be just another notch on your belt," she growled. "And like I told you, Fuck Off."

Luce blinked, as if she was seeing Viper for the first time.

It would be a rough few months while they adjusted to Viper letting her hood down occasionally around them.

However that wasn't the only surprise she had in store for them. It was close to April when Viper suddenly starts asking odd questions about their missions. Namely how long they would take and immediately vetoing any that take longer than a week at most. Well, it's less vetoing and more she refuses to go with them, stating she has an unavoidable appointment that she will not cancel or reschedule.

"Honestly Viper, what the hell is so important you'd bail on a mission?" demanded Lal.

Viper glared at them, and since her hood was down you could feel the full force of it.

Sensing the curiosity of some very persistent Flames, she sighed.

"It's my son's birthday."

Stone silence.

"You have a son?" said Fon quietly.

"Theo. And that's all you're getting. He's a teenager, but he still loves his mother and he would come looking for me if I missed even a single birthday."

"Civilian?" asked Reborn.

Viper nodded.

"I've managed to keep him far away from our world, and I refuse to let him get caught up in it if possible."

"When's his birthday?" asked Luce, eyes wide with curiosity.

"April 17th. He'll be fourteen this year."

"I guess meeting the kid is out of the question," said Reborn, eyeing Viper.

Viper scoffed at the mere idea.

"Reborn is a damn chaos magnet and you always carry guns. Lal is way too uptight and wouldn't fit in a teenager's birthday party. Verde would be too risky the second Theo does anything remotely interesting or unusual. Luce would ask too many questions I am not answering. Fon and Skull... you two might be safe enough to bring."

Fon perked up at that, and Skull blinked.

"Why us?" asked Skull.

"You're a former civilian, and you have an 'interesting' job that any boy would love to hear more about. Fon at least understands the concept of privacy and knowing when to drop the subject."

Fon looked rather pleased at that assessment.

"If we let you go to see your son, will you agree to come back to the mission after?" asked Lal seriously.

"So long as you all drop it, yes."

"Very well, Skull and I will escort you to see your son."

"What?!"

"Well it would look bad on us if we allowed our Mist to be harmed while visiting her son, wouldn't it?" said Fon, smiling at her.

Viper stared at him and Skull both.

"What."

"Either deal with an escort, or deal with all of us going," said Lal.

"Fine. But only them."

"Mama!"

The fourteen year old with vivid purple hair tackled Viper who had an honest to god smile on her face.

"Did you really think I would miss your big day, little wolf?"

Theo looked around her to see the two men.

"Who are they?" he asked suspiciously.

"These are...friends... of mine. Theo, meet Fon and Skull. Fon is a very talented martial artist and Skull is a stuntman."

"What kind of stunts?" asked Theo.

"The kind uncle Padfoot would have crowed about and demanded lessons for," deadpanned Viper.

"Oh. You mean like the ring of death sort of thing were they drive around in that ball?" asked Theo.

Skull grinned.

"Yup."

Theo grinned at his mother. Viper didn't need to look to know what Theo was thinking.

"Wait until presents, little wolf. Then you can bug him."

Skull was pretty pleased having intelligent questions being asked by Theo. Ever since he found out Sirius had a motorcycle he had been begging for one.

Viper had caved only after she made damn sure the one she bought for him was loaded with so many spells and runes that it was a damn tank and she knew for a fact he could survive it even without a helmet on.

She had done far crazier things than drive a motorcycle, even one as small as the one she got Theo, at his age. Outflying a mother dragon came to mind.

"You seem relaxed."

"Well, not having to hide helps greatly. Theo might not be my son by blood, but he is in every way that matters."

"Where are his parents?"

"Dead. There was a minor war in England and he was born near the end of it. His parents died for the side that won, but I wasn't about to trust the same idiots who caused the mess in the first place because of some ridiculous prejudice they had against his father. So I took him and raised him far, far from England where I knew he would be safe and happy."

Viper was definitely more relaxed. She normally wouldn't offer this sort of information without a very large price tag and no small amount of blackmail.

Fon had to admit, Viper was very beautiful...and it was even more obvious when she wasn't trying to hide from the world. He didn't know why she lost her trust in others, but he was glad she trusted him, however slight.

Seeing her around her son made him think of possibilities, if he was willing to work for them.

Reborn was a fool, thinking Viper cared enough about his open overtures to romance. She saw through his little games and wanted nothing to do with him.

Then again, he was shallow enough not to notice that Viper had been hurt before and likely had no idea what romance was. Someone had broken her trust often enough that most of Reborn's attempts would simply fall flat.

If he wanted to try and court Viper...he would have to be subtle and slow about it.

Well, he didn't mind a challenge.

Theo was over the moon when he saw the bike, and so was Skull. Especially when the kid practically begged him for lessons on how to ride it. He knew how to maintain one (part of the agreement was that he would learn how to do maintenance if she did get a bike for him), but riding it was vastly different from a broom or a pegasus.

Of course then Theo displayed that he was a Marauder's son through and through.

"So is this the same Skull you told me about before? The one with the unresolved sexual tension with Reborn?"

Fon would openly admit to choking on his drink.

Viper, however, cackled.

"Oh dear Merlin, it explains so much!" she said howling with laughter.

Fon was too busy trying to clear his lungs...but when he did, he set the tone for what they were going to do once they got back.

"I wonder if Reborn even realizes it yet."

"The endless string of women, the fact he keeps picking on Skull whenever he's irritated..." said Viper, cracking up.

"We are so bringing it up when we get back," said Fon, hiding his laughter.

Seeing the two of them laughing, Theo had an even bigger smile on his face. It had been far too long since he saw his mother this happy. But it looked like she hadn't figured it out for herself yet, and he knew how stubborn she could be. Instead of bringing it up, Theo handed Fon a number.

"What's this?"

"It's so you know what to do and what to avoid if you try to date her. Mama's really stubborn and she's never really connected to anyone on a personal level in a very long time. If I tried to point it out she'll only get defensive about it and take forever to admit it to herself. It doesn't help she had very little idea of what love is, outside of the kind you get from family."

Fon blinked, before a sly smirk came onto his face. One that Theo shared.

"I think we're going to get along very well, little wolf."

"And I think you'll be good for my mother. Be sure to send pictures of how your friends react when you mention what I said about Skull and Reborn."

"You are indeed your mother's son," snickered Fon.

Back at base...

Fon was holding a camera as Viper dropped the little "revelation" Theo had given them. She waited for Reborn to start in on Skull because he wouldn't stop crowing about Theo and his natural skill at driving a bike.

"For the love of money, will you two get a room? The unresolved sexual tension between you two is really getting annoying!" said Viper loudly.

Dead silence.

Reborn stared at her openly horrified. Skull who had been warned beforehand that they were doing this to get Reborn to stop going after him, looked only a little disgusted.

Lal was the first to speak, but you could openly hear her trying desperately trying not to laugh her ass off. Fon was still taking multiple pictures.

"She has a point you know. You do tend to pick on Skull a lot, and you pay far too much attention to him," said Lal.

Luce giggled.

"Is there something you want to tell us, Reborn? Skull?"

Verde was grinning evilly now.

"That does explain the long string of women you like to talk about. It's almost like you're in denial or still in the closet..."

Reborn was pissed, but Skull had an odd look on his face. He noticed the mischievous gleam in Viper's eyes and hid a grin.

"What's the matter Reborn-sempai, afraid to bat for the other team?" he purred.

That was enough for Reborn. He got away from Skull and looked openly horrified at the idea. Viper was cackling her ass off.

But now Skull had ammunition to keep Reborn far away from him. Besides, it was about damn time he had something to hold over that asshole Sun!

Viper helped him up, and Skull hid a grin. That was hilarious.

Reborn was being extra annoying in trying to get into her pants. She wasn't oblivious to the fact that whenever he failed, he often found a new woman to walk home with... that rarely left before morning at least.

If he couldn't hold himself back to court her properly, then she had zero interest in him at all.

However while she was unfamiliar with the idea of love outside of the familial sense, she had the distinct impression one of the others was trying to court her.

Which was ridiculous, because who in the name of magic would want to try and court her outside of idiots like Reborn?

Except... every week she found flowers of all sorts on her pillow, sometimes entire branches of them. More than that, there was small gifts of her favorite foods like treacle tart, or strawberries. It was baffling, and she was afraid to find out who her secret admirer was.

Because if she discovered their identity, it would mean acknowledging the fact she was being courted at all. The very idea of love was terrifying.

She could handle the love she received from Theo, and those she left behind in the magical world when the war ended. But romantic love?

She had never come close to being that important to anyone, and she was always on guard for those who would use it against her. Better to be alone than to be betrayed in a way that could break her.

Viper never paid any notice to the eyes that watched her. Nor did she care about the annoyed looked Reborn was giving Fon for quite some time.