Chapter Text
Reborn and Fon gave a dubious look towards the Restaurant they pulled up to. It was an old building with peeling paint and a sign that was missing letters. The only thing that made them move towards the place instead of away was the challenge Skull had set for them. He had chosen three restaurants at random, and the groups were broken down into sets. Fon and Reborn would be going to Ignis. Colonnello and Lal would be going to Chez. Verde and Viper were to go to Le Vin. Skull had laughed himself silly when he had handed everyone their dining places.
“Next month is my turn.” Reborn grunted with amusement. He wasn’t as put out as most would think. In their line of work, they had all eaten at some weird places. Skull’s idea of a challenge was usually food centric and always turned out to have some reasonably good food. Not that Reborn would be telling that, to the Lackey.
“I look forward to it.” Fon said with a thin smile painted on his lips, and he really did. Monthly challenges had started about a decade after they had been cursed. Nobody could say for certain whose idea it was, but they did look forward to them. Sometimes it would land them into trouble, but it had turned out to be a bit of fun. It had brought them together like nothing else ever had.
Most might think it was odd that Yuni was not part of the group but as Skull had once told Tsuna, Yuni isn’t an Arcobaleno. She had held the pacifier for a short time. They, on the other hand, had been cursed for literal decades. They felt for her. Really, they did, but she wasn’t one of them. She didn’t have to bare the small child form. She didn’t have a parasite draining her Flames every moment of the day for forty years. She was a kid who bore the curse for a few years before it was broken. They were adults, decades her senior.
“Shall we?” Reborn asked with a grin painted on his lips and Fon smiled at his Sun as he got out of the vehicle and entered the building. A sign in the front had a Please seat yourself written on it and the two shrugged as they walked passed the couple of people eating and talking.
It wasn’t but a few moments after they sat down that a small little woman stepped from the back room. She stood at maybe five feet, but that might have been stretching it. She wore a clean but old blue dress with a black apron tied around her trim waist. Dainty feet were clad in a pair of old and worn sneakers. Green piercing eyes seemed to dance merrily in a face that looked almost timeless, but it was her hair that was truly stunning. It was a fiery red with hints of orange that made it seem like it was an actual fire.
Reborn and Fon both inhaled sharply at the pure Sky Flames they felt coming from the little woman. Never, in all of their years, had they felt Sky Flames this powerful and it seemed like they had a mind of their own. They spilled from the woman in quiet waves that filled the room. The Flames seemed content to dance in the air but were not pushing at their Flames or demanding a bond like most Skies did.
“What would you like to drink?” The woman’s voice was musical in nature.
“An espresso.” Reborn said after a pause as he pretended to look down at his menu.
“Hot tea, please.” Fon said with a smile painted on his lips but a look in his eyes that said she had his full attention.
“A man after my own heart.” The woman let out a tinkering laugh before looking at Reborn. “And a Heathen.” She gave a dramatic sigh and shook her hair in a way that made it seem like the fire of her hair was dancing. “I’ll have your drinks out in a moment.” She grinned at them as she walked away from their table.
Both men found themselves watching the Sky as she worked. Her flaming hair and green sparkling eyes seemed to call them. Neither man could say what they had for dinner. Their attention fully on the woman who put even the likes of Luce to shame with the power of her Sky. She flitted about, making small talk, and laughing with the patrons. Bringing out food and drinks and not seeming to notice that people were looking at her as if she were a Goddess among mortals.
It was about halfway through their desert that the calm of the place was interrupted by a tall male with platinum blond hair and blue eyes. “Illya. Still slaving away at your little restaurant, I see. You know you need a real man to show you your proper place.” The man said with a sneer as he looked around the place. “I am growing tired of your games. You should marry me. It’s a good match for you and you know it.” The blond said as he turned back towards the waitress.
Reborn and Fon prepared themselves to move if the idiot decided to try and force the small Sky into anything. They watched as her fingers flexed and she moved towards him. Her hips swaying temptingly before she upturned the pitcher of water over the man’s head.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m just so clumsy.” The waitress gushed as if they hadn’t all seen her purposely grab the pitcher and dump it. “Here! Let me help you!” She said as she kicked his legs out from under him with one tiny foot. “Oh! Shoot! I did it again!” She called as the man let out a groan of pain from the floor. They watched amusedly as she made a spectacle of the man. Once she had the man outside of the restaurant she turned and grinned at her audience.
“Well! That gets funnier every time, doesn’t it?” She called out as she dusted her hands and walked back towards her guests. All of the patrons seemed to congratulate her for her performance.
“What has you two heathens having such a look on your faces?” She inquired once she made her way back towards them.
“Does he come in here often to bother you?” Fon inquired with a tilt of his head.
“That clown?” She asked with a tilt to her head and Fon inclined his head getting a small laugh from the woman. “Once every couple of weeks or so he comes in here. Spews his sentiments and gets shown the door. You shouldn’t worry about people like him. I might not look like much, but I am perfectly capable of handling myself. I’ve been doing it for a long time.” She said with a grin on her lips.
“He is rather determined then?” Fon inquired, ignoring her words not to worry. It was obvious to them that the Sky was completely unbonded and in need of protection.
“Don’t go getting ideas in your head.” The Sky chided with her hands on her hips. “I don’t want some white knight coming to my rescue. I can deal with asshats.”
“White knights?” Reborn laughed darkly as he eyed the small woman. “You don’t dream of a Prince charming coming in and sweeping you off your feet?” He challenged and the woman let out a burst of amused laughter.
“Not particularly.” She said as she leaned one hip against the table. “I never saw the appeal of a woman who cries at the first sign of danger. A girl should be able to save herself at some point in time. Relying on some fairy tale guy to swoop in and save the day is asking for trouble.”
“Oh?” Reborn inquired as he focused on her.
The petite Sky let out hum as she looked at them. “Take your classic Cinderella for example. She wasted her day, dreaming of being saved and fell in love in one night. All she knew was he was a Prince. He said they would merry, and she fell into his arms.” She fake swooned. “If you wait for a Prince charming to come along and save you then you place yourself at his mercy. She traded one master that she may have been able to escape in time for another who she was married off to because he decreed it.”
“I thought it worked out for her in the end.” Fon interjected, fascinated by how the Sky’s mind worked.
“Did it?” She questioned. “Going from servant to Princess seems like leaving one Master for many. I intend to be my own Knight and therefore my own Master. One day my dear Heathen’s the fair maiden is going to have to learn to save herself and her story is going to be a far more interesting story. Complete with riding her own horse into the sunset. No Prince required.”
“Then you’re in need of a Villain.” Fon said with a satisfied look on his lips.
“What makes you say that?” She inquired with a tilt of her head that told him she was enjoying their conversation and was interested in his reasoning.
“A Villain is not necessarily the one who keeps the Princess captive. They could be the one who hunts from the shadows to insure the Princess can enjoy her life. The ones who will kill the Prince if necessary.”
“A villain.” She laughed with that lively sparkle. “Is the one I would badger to teach me to ride my horse.” She grinned at him, and Fon felt his heart stop in his chest. “Why do I need a Villain when I could very well become one?” She inquired with a devious grin as she turned around to tend to the other patrons.
“Fuck me.” Reborn groaned as he softly hit his head against the table.
“What an endearing Sky.” Fon said with an amused laugh.
“I’m going to murder the Lackey.” Reborn groaned as the Storm chuckled in amusement.