(C) Shedding Light (Monica/Zrion BC)

[lawna]

Monica followed Zrion's example and placed her now empty cup beside his in the sink, and followed him down the hallway.

He opened one of the doors on the right side and flipped a light switch on. She peered past him and noticed the dark blue walls, identical to the ones in the hallway. Then she saw the big bed standing in the room and nothing else mattered. The last bed she had slept in was the one her father had jerked her out of the night of the raid.

She slipped her shoes off and removed the bag she had kept Lucky in off her shoulder. She then placed her bear on the soft pillows and looked back at Zrion.

"Thank you. I'm sorry, I'll probably make the sheets all dirty." She said, noticing with regret the white sheets and dark bedspread on top of the bed. She then noticed there weren't any windows with a smile. Nothing to make shadows, nothing to make noise, just her and a big soft bed to sleep in.

"I really like it," she said in a bashful, quiet voice. She couldn't use words to describe how happy and content she was.

[Darkjak87]

When Zrion saw her smile, he couldn't help but to return it. Nothing made him content like the feeling of helping another, and this was the best he had done in a long time. He felt accomplished, like all the pain he had suffered that day was now worth it, and much more.

"I'm glad you like it, and don't worry about the sheets. If they get dirty, we can wash them tomorrow." He then gave her an embarrassed smile, and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll probably have to wash mine anyway. I haven't showered since last night, and I managed to get pretty dirty today."

Though, in fairness, at least she doesn't have Metal Head blood on her.

"If you need anything, you can wake me up. I'm in the room across the hall. And don't worry about Zephan, he won't bother you."

Not tonight anyway.

Though Zrion had no idea where Zephan had run off too, he knew the Ottsel wasn't likely to start anything. That wasn't his way. Zephan was content to keep to himself most of the time. He had probably found himself a book to read in a secluded area of the house. Zrion would likely get an earful at some point, but it would be a while.

"I think I'll go to bed too. Call me if you need anything, and good night."

With that, Zrion left the bedroom, gently shutting the door behind him. He waited a moment, listening, before he walked across the hall to his own room. He went inside, and reached for his door, but paused. Usually he slept with the door closed and locked. He didn't really feel comfortable if the door was left open. He might have been paranoid, but in fairness his name was probably on more than a few hit lists.

He sighed, but left the door cracked. At least this way, he could hear if Monica called for him. Besides, he was tired enough that it probably wouldn't matter how comfortable he was.

Without further ado, he proceeded to his bed. He spent a few seconds working the sheets out, untwisting them and sandwiching them so that they were even. Despite always leaving his bed unmade, it always bothered him to sleep in it without the sheets being straight.

After he was satisfied, he slipped underneath the covers, groaning as his sore body pressed into the mattress.

I'm going to hurt in the morning. He had fallen asleep before he had even finished that thought.

[lawna]

When Monica awoke, she had trouble remembering where she was at first. She felt the soft bedding, her stuffed bear still in her arms, and the light she had kept on throughout the night made her eyelids a pink color.

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and the night before came to her, lapping like ocean waves at the back of her mind. She was in Zrion's house, and she jumped out of bed, all weariness gone.

She opened her door and didn't hear much noise in the house, but light was shining through the windows, and she guessed it was late morning. She had slept in, something that was very uncharacteristic of her.

She remembered Zrion said his room was across from her's and the door was cracked. She knocked, and when she didn't receive an answer, she opened the door and peeked in.

The room was darker than her's and was decorated with artwork. She didn't want to snoop around, but she did look at the pictures with curiosity. There were so many, and none of them seemed to have a similar theme. Monica wondered what kind of stories Zrion had behind these pictures.

She turned, taking in Zrion's unmade bed and the side table.

She paused, noticing the picture that sat on it. She rounded the bed to look at it. An older man, with his arm around a woman with silver-blond hair, hair just like Zrion's, only there wasn't a trace of red, in either of the people.

She ogled at it, realizing that these might be Zrion's parents. She had a round, heart-shaped face. He was tall and strong, like his son.

She heard foot steps coming down the hallway. She knew she wasn't doing anything wrong, but she bolted toward the door, slipping out.

[Darkjak87]

Zrion awoke from a dreamless sleep, and immediately groaned. True to his prediction the night before, his entire body ached, and quite frankly he didn't want to move at all. He started to shift around, trying to work the knots out of his muscles, when the previous day started coming back to him. His mission, the raid, and Monica.

God, what have I done? I'm going to be spending all day cleaning my armor!

Needless to say, that did not motivate him. So he laid there for a while, doing little more than trying (and failing) to go back to sleep. When that didn't work, he just laid on his side, staring at his clock. Eventually, nature called, and he dragged himself out of bed. He stretched, but this time he immediately regretted it, as all the bruises and soreness competed for his attention.

I...need a shower.

And indeed he did. As he looked down on himself, he noted that his (relatively) clean clothes did little to conceal the dirt and blood from the night before. He reeked too, as KG armor wasn't known for breathing.

Sighing, he gathered up his clothes for the day, a simple pair of blue jeans and a long white T-shirt. He then opened his door, glancing at Monica's door as he went.

Not awake yet. He mused. It's not often I find someone who can sleep later than me.

Indeed, if there was one thing about his training that had never stuck, it was getting up early. He considered getting up at 11 AM to be 'lucky', in the sense that it wasn't so late that he wouldn't have enough time to do all his chores for the day. But getting up at 9 AM, like he did this morning?

He felt like he still should be in bed.

But duty called, and he instead walked down the hallway, to a rather nice bathroom. The basics were there, such as a sink, toilet, cabinet, and even a small closet where he kept towels and rags. He closed and locked the door behind him, and turned on the shower, letting the water warm up while he stripped. He tossed his clothes into the hamper in the room, noting with a grimace that it was getting quite full.

When the water was hot, he adjusted it to his liking and stepped in. He washed quickly, using the shower head's needle setting to remove the dirt and blood faster. He shaved while he was in there, as he did every morning.

He stepped out and dried himself off, before dressing in the clothes he had picked out. He felt a lot better now, as the hot water had helped to sooth his muscles, and feeling clean certainly helped. Showers were one of the many things that only a soldier in the field could envy. He checked himself in the mirror, ensuring he hadn't missed any spots while shaving, and running a comb through his hair a couple times. He noted that the uppermost portion of his Special Operations torso tattoos could be seen around his collar. It was one reason why he liked to wear such over-large T-shirts, since he found it comforting to see it in a mirror.

He left the bathroom, putting off the necessary laundry as he had been for several days already. He walked to the kitchen and put on some coffee, sitting down to wait. When it was ready, he poured himself his first mug of the morning, filling the cup about two-thirds of the way, and filled it the rest of the way with cream and sugar.

Funny, people always expect me to take my coffee black.

After finishing his mug, Zrion made himself a second cup. He was functioning somewhat better now, since he had gotten some caffeine in him, and decided to check on Monica. He took his coffee with him, sipping it as he went, as he walked down the hall. As he approached, he saw Monica leave his room rather quickly. He gave her an inquisitive look. "Good morning, Monica. Did you need something?"

[lawna]

She grinned timidly, glad it was Zrion and not Zephan. If the ottsel had found her snooping around... She didn't want to think about it.

"Nope, I was just looking for you, and I saw all the pictures. I stopped to look at them." She said, ruffling her short, dirty hair in embarrassment.

Then she noticed how clean the Krimzon Guardsmen was. He had clean clothes, the dirt and whatever had coated his body the night before was gone, and Monica could smell the coffee he had in his hand.

Her stomach rolled with jealousy. 'I want a bath," she whined to herself, but was too embarrassed to actually ask for one.

"And I saw the one on the bedside table. Were those your parents?"

She really shouldn't have asked that, and she wished she could with drawl the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. It was too blunt, probably rude, and it could have hurt his feelings, which was the last thing she wanted to do.

"I'm sorry Zrion, it's really none of my business." She looked at the floor and then up at him through her eyelashes. If he wasn't mad before he probably was now.

[Darkjak87]

Zrion expected the typical emotional pang that came with thoughts of his parents, but to his surprise, he felt no such thing. However, he hadn't even processed this thought before he gave an automatic response.

"It's quite alright Monica, you're free to ask me questions. Yes, those were my parents."

He surveyed her closely, noting how dirty she was.

I wonder when she last had a shower. I need to get her some clothes too...Damn, when am I going to clean my armor?

"Monica, I was thinking that we could go out and get you some new clothes today. You can use my shower before we go, and in the meantime I'll do something about breakfast, and try and get some cleaning done."

[lawna]

The little girl was relieved by Zrion's easy going reply. She grinned, congratulating herself on guessing right.

Then the man was talking about things like showers and breakfast and new clothes. Monica's heart flipped in her chest.

She didn't know what possessed her to perform her next action, but she was so giddy she didn't think about consequences.

She lurched from the spot she stood and roughly encircled Zrion's waist with her arms. She hadn't really noticed before how tall he was, until her head only laid beneath his chest. Things returned to her, like how she would hug her father and he would swing her up into the air, or how when she cried, her mother would hold Monica close to her chest. Zrion did neither, but instead of feeling sad, she laughed and let go.

Sure, Zrion smelled good, but she couldn't cling to him like moss to a rock all day. They had things to do.

"Sure, I'll take a shower. I wouldn't want to be seen walking around with me either." She said, showing teeth with her grin. "And you should make a big, big breakfast, because I'm hungry and don't usually have fresh stuff. You know, I could scrub these clothes while I'm at it, but they would take a while to dry, and I have to put them back on. Are you sure you should be spending all that money on me, considering we aren't really... well I don't know what we are, but still you don't have too."

She took a big breath, forgetting to do so as she talked. Her mother usually yelled at her for talking without breathing, and without her mother, Monica had forgot.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't talk so much without breathing. It's just that I haven't really had a conversation with people, not a real one that means anything. Sometimes if I would feel really happy and I would say hello to people and they would say something back, but sometimes they wouldn't because they were busy, or they looked grumpy, but my dad used to say a smile can change someones day, so I tried to be friendly."

She stopped a second time to take a breath. "Oh, I'm sorry again. OK, you should show me where your bathroom is, and you will probably have to show me how it works. Bath tubs are kind of hard to figure out."

[Darkjak87]

He was shocked, to say the least, when Monica dashed forward to embrace him. He tensed up, unprepared for the sudden contact, and quickly began to consider a response. He didn't react much at all, however, before she released him and backed up, allowing him a moment to come to his senses. He was even more surprised when she laughed. However, when she did, he felt a joy like no other. He had made her laugh! She was happy! Is this what it's like to be a parent? he wondered.

Then she started talking.

Zrion didn't mind, really. In fact, he was happy about it, since it certainly wasn't a bad thing that she was opening up.

But she talked fast. Very fast. And it was almost too much for him to keep up with. He found himself barely processing what she was saying, only catching every other word. But fortunately, she stopped before he got completely lost, giving him a chance to formulate a response.

"Well, for your clothes, we can toss them in the washing machine. It won't take long, it'd take about an hour to dry though. I could lend you some clothes in the meantime. They wouldn't fit you very well, but it'd preserve your modesty while we waited.

"As for money, don't worry about that. I make a good wage, and I practically live off my hazard pay anyway. My father always said that money doesn't do any good collecting dust. Well, in hindsight that wasn't the best thing to tell a teenager, though there is one particular casino that would disagree...," he trailed off, remembering another time.

He realized his derailment of the topic however, and returned to it. "Now, follow me and I'll show you how to turn on the shower. I'll handle breakfast in the meantime, and once your clothes are clean we can head to the Bazaar to get you some new ones." He gestured for her to follow him, and walked back to the bathroom, showing her where all the towels and wash rags were, and how to operate the knobs and the water temperature. That done, he left her to it, shutting the door behind himself and making his way to the kitchen.

Hmm, maybe I should have mentioned that I only have frozen food.

[lawna]

Monica watched carefully as Zrion explained the knobs, but it was still hard to get a good temperature behind the shut door. She finally decided it was ok if the water was a little chilly.

Once in the shower, she took her time. One, because she was so filthy she actually had to scrub her skin and two, she tried to enjoy her first shower in years. When she emerged, she grabbed a towel to wipe off, and was shocked to see herself in the mirror.

Her hair was dark, because it was wet, but it was ragged and choppy at the ends. Her skin was pink and freckled, and her shoulders had bumpy blisters on them from the sun. Her arms were red, and hurt when Monica ran the towel over them.

She took her time drying off, and her hair began to lighten to a lighter brown than it had been the night before. Zrion wouldn't even recognize her.

She wrapped herself up into the towel and cracked the door open. This time she could here noise in the kitchen, metal being set on metal, and tentively called, "Hey Zrion, I'm done."

[Darkjak87]

Zrion wasn't much of a cook. Barring the use of a microwave or frozen items, he was pretty much completely in the dark. Zephan usually handled the cooking, surprisingly enough, but Zrion hadn't seen the Ottsel since the night before, and he wasn't about to go hunting for him just to ask for breakfast. And it wasn't because of his pride, but for Monica's sake. Right.

Anyway, he started off pretty basic, placing a pan on the stove and switching on the burner. He opened the refrigerator next, and learned that, despite his expectations, there was a carton of eggs in there. He retrieved several eggs from the box, and cracked them over the pan, setting the goop to simmering as he waited patiently for it to solidify.

Hmm, do eggs spoil? I can't remember...Oh well, time to live dangerous.

While the eggs were cooking, he checked the freezer, and found some frozen sausage patties. They were old, but he found a few that weren't freezer burnt, so he cleared a space on the pan for them and set them to cooking. He was considering whether or not to make toast when he heard Monica's announcement.

He frowned for a moment, before remembering that he'd promised her clothes.

Damn, should've done that before.

"Just a minute!" He called. He jogged past the bathroom door to his room, retrieving a pair of gray sweatpants and a T-shirt. Most of Zrion's shirts were overlarge on even him, so on Monica it'd probably look like a dress, but it would only be for a few hours.

He brought the clothes and placed them on the floor outside the bathroom, rather than doing the stupid thing and barging in. He knocked twice on the door, and informed her that the clothes were there.

He then remembered their breakfast, and found himself swearing under his breath as he ran back to the kitchen, certain that it must be burned by now. Fortunately, the food was alright. He mixed the eggs up thoroughly with a spatula, and flipped the sausage patties. He found some jelly in the refrigerator, so he put some bread in the oven to make toast. He added some salt and pepper to the scrambled eggs, gave it another minute to cook, and took them off the burner, shoveling it onto a plate. He waited for the sausage to finish, and did the same. The toast wasn't quite done though, so he took the time to finish his second cup of coffee and poured himself a third.

Thinking of Monica, Zrion checked the tea kettle from the night before. It was about half full, so Zrion just turned its burner on to reheat the water. It had been covered so it should be fine, given enough heat.

The kitchen smelled strongly of the sausage by the time the toast was done, but it was a pleasant smell, and added quite a bit to Zrion's appetite. He divided the food, leaving a small portion aside in case Zephan showed up, but with plenty left for himself and Monica. He wasn't sure if it would be rude to start eating without Monica, so he decided to just wait on her.

He looked over his efforts with a small measure of pride.

Not bad for having no idea what I'm doing.