usefulfinish421
Making the rounds.
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Reze can't stop looking at the ring on her finger under the rays of the morning sun. Most girls usually dream of the type of ring that they'll get when they get engaged - the type of cut or style of ring that they saw during a shopping trip and subconsciously spoke to them. At one point, Reze probably thought of it too, but any hope of her even thinking of something like this was quickly corrected by the Hybrid Division - all the trainers and hybrids made sure to scour away any expectation of an outside life.
All of them except Soldat, but he doesn't count.
The daylight hits the diamond just right, sparkling into her eyes - almost taunting the Division's years of training and manipulation, all insisting that a life like this couldn't exist.
-I win, assholes.-
She shifts on the bed, rolling over to a soundly sleeping Jin as his snores echo into the apartment. Even though it's akin to a wildebeest's mating call traveling across the savannah, it's a comforting - yet terribly annoying - sound. Reze shifts up and stretches, letting her hair fall over her face. Her legs kick out from the blankets as she heads out of the bedroom into the living area. Instantly, she grabs the remote on the futon's armrest and hits the power button. The TV flashes on, broadcasting a reality show into the quiet room.
In the kitchen, the espresso machine hisses to life while she scoops some beans into the grinder. The device clicks on, slicing through the coffee beans as a smile forms on Reze's face. She runs her fingers across the cold granite countertop, watching the digital lights from the grinder refract through her diamond, glittering in vivid colors.
"Fiancée…" She lets the word flutter in the air - a soft kiss that lingers on her lips. The apartment somehow feels lighter, and even the weeping from an apparent breakup on TV is nearly drowned out by the swirling morning bliss. She shakes her head, with a bright blush forming around her beaming face. After she inspects the gemstone once more, the device behind her shrilly beeps. She slides the compartment out, taps the finely crushed beans into the portafilter, and presses the grounds down.
In the bedroom, a pained, rested moan drags out of Jin's body. Reze locks the portafilter into the espresso machine, taps a couple of buttons, and bounces over to the doorway. Leaning against the wooden threshold, she watches him slowly sit up.
"Hey. Coffee's on for ya."
Jin rubs his eyes and flashes her a smile. "You're like, the best girlfriend ever."
A laugh escapes her as she turns her back to him. "I thought I got upgraded? Might as well call the wedding off…" She saunters back to the espresso machine just as the rest of the liquid pours into the giant mug. Once the machine stops dripping, she yanks the handle out, tapping the spent grinds into the open trash can before tossing the holder into the sink. As the coffee slowly cools, Reze spins over to the fridge to pull out the hazelnut creamer. The lid loudly pops open as she mixes the coffee, placing the mug onto the table just when Jin stumbles out. The bruises from Paris a few weeks ago are still faintly visible on his shirtless torso where the light catches him. The worst one, where the sound wave hit, has already started healing; like the others, it won't take much longer to fade.
She's confident about that.
The shoulder wound from the alleyway, however, has festered. The rest of the shots from that night have almost fully healed over, the scars serving as a reminder of an otherwise perfect date. But his shoulder remains a dark, bruised black, the skin around it twisting and curling under layers of scabs.
Like it's refusing to heal.
"Feeling alright? Your shoulder's looking worse." She takes a sip from the mug. It's been a while since Reze has made her own special, and it tastes just like that first time.
"I mean I'll live..." He leans over to the cup and takes a big gulp of the burning liquid, coughing as Reze instantly yanks it away from him.
"At this point, a strong breeze is gonna kill ya." She scoots closer to Jin. "Not letting that happen, though. We got a lot to plan."
He laughs, staring quizzically at the espresso machine. "Yeah, like planning how the hell I use that thing." Jin stands up and walks over to the machine, running his fingers over the hot metal display. Ever since they bought it, he hasn't dared to touch it - an order from Reze the moment it entered the kitchen. Between the endless knobs and digital displays, it entirely overloaded him, which is why he gladly let her handle it. Right up until now.
*My fiancée.*
He can't stop saying or thinking that word either. It's been stapled in his mind ever since they climbed down the Eiffel Tower and weaved through the coming-to crowd. Ironically, Fred - who crawled out from behind the stage - was the first they told. All things considered, he was excited for them, he was just scared that he didn't remember the last twenty minutes of his life. And just like Fred, Jin's expecting to wake up at any moment, with each passing second serving as proof that this is real. Before, every time he would steal a look at her, the warm feeling always had a bitter hint of cold that he'd wake up in this apartment alone.
Now, it genuinely feels warm. It could be from acceptance, or from the steam that hisses out of the machine when he accidentally presses a blinking button. He jumps back in shock, nearly crashing into the fridge. Reze slaps a hand over her mouth, giggles slipping out between her fingers.
"How the hell did you manage to do that?" Suppressing her laughter, she sprints to the device and hits the same button to kill the steam. "If you break this, I'll literally kill you."
"Oh COME ON!" He walks back over to the table and reaches for the mug. It's swiped away right as his fingers brush the porcelain, Reze teasingly taking another sip. "What if I wanna surprise ya one day??"
"With what? Third degree burns?" She wiggles the mug in front of Jin. "I might have to teach ya how that thing works, but I dunno. Ya might break it."
"I - I -" He stammers, but the TV volume suddenly spikes as a commercial cuts into the ambience of the apartment.
'Tokyo Sea Life Park welcomes a new rescue, Mochi!'
They both glance at the screen to watch a massive manatee float aimlessly in a giant tank while children shriek in delight. Behind Jin, a sharp squeal erupts, causing him to whip around and find Reze's eyes sparkling.
"JIN!"
Then, the screen shifts to a line of marching penguins. The shriek that leaves Reze rattles the window glass and nearly fractures the TV screen.
"JIN!!!!!!"
"That bad?" He points at the TV, which flashes stock footage of dolphins breaching out of the ocean, before freezing into a cartoon logo of the aquarium. It triggers another happy shriek. "You wanna go that bad??"
"MHMMM!"
When he turns back, Reze is visibly shaking as her fingers tap furiously against her phone. The screen's blue light flickers across her face as her irises dilate. Jin cautiously creeps over to the table and reaches for the mug, finally able to wrap his fingers around the warm porcelain.
"WE'RE LEAVING!" Reze grabs Jin's arm and tugs him away. Coffee sloshes inside the mug, barely staying contained as Jin wildly slides it across the table, nearly sending it over the edge while pointing frantically toward the bedroom.
"W - REZ! CLOTHES!" He tries to resist her momentum, barely managing to steer her toward the bedroom doorway. "KIDS! THERE'S GONNA BE KIDS!!"
"I DON'T - FINE! CLOTHES, THEN PENGUINS!!"
As he's now dragged down the hallway, with Reze already planning out what exhibits they're hitting the moment they enter the aquarium, a single thought hits Jin:
*Yeah, I could do this every day.*
_____________
A clownfish peeks out from its anemone. Its black eyes survey the still water, watching schools of different fish swim past the living home. It takes another second and ensures it's safe before it swims out to look for some food, the phytoplankton drifting unaware of its presence. It pushes the water around it and shoots forward and secures a few scraps of its meal in its mouth.
When it turns around to swim back to its anemone, the still current shifts ever so slightly - a predator. Catching movement to its side, it bolts back toward the anemone. From the dark depths of the massive tank, a barracuda lunges, missing a killing bite by a fraction of an inch. The water pressure from the strike brushes the clownfish's back fins as it buries itself deep within the stinging tentacles, its eyes barely peeking through. Above, the barracuda glides silently, keeping a watchful eye on its potential meal cowering below.
THUNK THUNK THUNK
A group of kids hammer against the glass, cooing and laughing at the clownfish's near demise. The rhythmic vibrations ripple through the water, startling the barracuda and sending it back into the deep dark of the tank. Relieved, the clownfish settles comfortably into its home, disappearing behind the tentacles as the children groan in disappointment.
"You know, kids can be brutal." Jin takes a bite out of his fish-shaped pretzel, holding it out for Reze, who takes a bite as they sit side by side on a small metal bench. The field trip rushes past them, following another predator fish hunting for its next meal.
"You think ours are gonna be?" Reze rubs Jin's leg, half cheering with the kids as the fish snags its prey in its sharp jaws. "I feel like I'm gonna imprint my personality on the lil' devil."
"...You know what you just said, right?" He playfully shoves her, chuckling to himself as another pack of kids sprint towards the underwater carnage.
"Maybeee." She winks, sticking her tongue out at him. Her face is illuminated blue in the undersea experience, the reflection of the water sparkling in her eyes. "And they're gonna be just like me, so good luck."
"Too bad I'm gonna be the favorite." Jin shrugs, shoving the rest of the pretzel into his mouth. He brushes the excess salt off of his dark jeans and leans back against the metal rest.
"Oh, HELL no. You know damn well I'm gonna be the favorite." Reze scoots closer, bumping her hip against his.
"'DAD! Mom blew up the kitchen because the toaster wasn't working!'" Jin raises his voice a few octaves in a terrible child impersonation. "'And now Mom said you didn't do my laundry so she's gonna make you go boom boom!'"
Reze quickly pushes Jin away with an offended gasp. "MAYBE DON'T FORGET TO DO HER LAUNDRY THEN!"
"'DAD! Mommy's using her scary voice again and it-'" Jin breaks into laughter, bending over to catch his breath. "Wait. HER?"
"YES! HER!" Reze crosses her arms and huffs away from him. "We're having a girl first - NO QUESTIONS."
"…Doesn't it depend on me? Like you got the egg that got the one thing and then, like, aren't my swimmers the one that matters? They're gonna be a mix of boys and girls, and they gotta race, right? Ya know I really can't cont-"
"Jin."
"...Am I doing the thing?"
"You're doing the thing."
"Right..." He shifts his body back and watches a dark blue fish dart by the glass. It catches a smaller white fish in its mouth, shaking its head violently before vanishing into the swaying algae below. "Sorry."
"I swear your mind's like an engine." Reze's hand rests over his as she sits up straight. "Besides, we got time before being parents. Like we can't be that yet. Way too much to do." Her fingers lace through his, squeezing tight as a small family walks by, with a small girl holding onto both of her parents' hands while babbling incoherently.
Jin sighs, letting the fleeting daydream slip away. "Still nice to think about, though."
"Not saying it isn't." Her lips press a quick kiss to his cheek. "We'll get there. But right now, we both gotta live first." Reze stands up and peels Jin off the bench. "Come on. Penguins."
The two make their way out of the room, weaving through parents and other couples ogling at the collection of sea life. The next display they enter changes from the light blues and greens of the oceans into dim pinks and purples. Above them, a sign reads 'The Deep'. The displays are smaller, but filled with bioluminescent fish and other strange, almost alien looking creatures.
"Whoa…" Reze pushes her face against the glass of the first tank, watching a crown jellyfish float in the dark abyss. "You see this thing?"
"…Mhmm." Jin nods quickly, his hand turning clammy as he slips out of her grip to stare elsewhere.
"The colors are so cool… Like, how the hell does something living kilometers under the ocean just light up like that? You think fish just swim right into it because they're confused?" She swings her head around to meet the back of Jin's head. "Like 'oh shoot that looks sick AAAA IT GOT ME!" Reze fakes getting strangled by an imaginary tentacle and giggles to herself.
"…Yup..." He anxiously taps his foot and continues to fixate on an angler fish currently drifting through the darkness of its tank.
"What's… up?" She steps directly in front of his line of sight. "You good? You're acting like you're gonna propose to me again."
Jin groans and shakes his head. "N - No, I, uh… I don't… I don't like…those things."
For a moment, Reze blinks at him slowly, studying his deep, genuine embarrassment before tilting her head. "…Huh?"
"I don't like -" He gestures wildly behind him towards the tank. "- Jellyfish."
"…So -" Reze slides her hands up his sides, wrapping her arms around his neck as she presses flush against him. "Devils don't scare you. Being under fire doesn't scare you. Actual fire does - which is fair. I don't scare you. But THAT -" She points over his shoulder just as the jellyfish mindlessly taps into the glass. "- DOES?"
"No, kinda, VERY FAIR, and SHUT UP!" He tries to shove Reze off him and move to another display. However, Reze's strength keeps him anchored in place as she fights off laughter.
"A jellyfish. You're scared of jellyfish." She glances down at her ring. "We're definitely calling off the wedding."
"Alright."
"WAIT - we can have the wedding decor be ocean themed!" Reze gasps loudly with her eyes widening in excitement. "AND THE CHANDELIER CAN BE A GIANT JELLYFISH!"
"ALRIGHT!"
Reze digs her face into Jin's chest, letting out a loud snort as she loses composure. Jin continues to stare forward rigidly as Reze's laughing vibrates through his core. She peeks up, letting the small tears on the sides of her eyes stay. "You know I gotta ask why."
"YEP." He grumbles and slightly turns his head towards the unexplainable floating gelatin. "We had a school trip here when I was like… what? Six? And we were following our teacher, and this older classmate yelled for us to come over. No one else heard him, but I did, and I was trying to make friends at the time because, you know -" He gestures his hands down at himself. "- Anyway, being friends with an older kid was, like, how you got popular. I wanted to be the one to tell everyone that me and - god I forget the guy's name - that we're best friends! So I run over, and it's this HUGE jellyfish and in, like the top jelly thing was this bloody, messed up fish head. And it was blinking at me."
"Bullshit."
"Rez." His eyes widen, with the childhood PTSD rushing back to him. "It was still alive. And then he said I was next! And I thought about being trapped in that thing, slowly getting digested while something bigger was watching me d -"
"Jin."
"Y-Yeah. So, I might have screamed - loud enough for everyone to hear. And I was bullied forever." He sighs, shuddering as he glances at the jellyfish. "…I see those eyes in my nightmares."
Reze stares at him, drawing on every ounce of her assassin training to keep from laughing out loud. She takes a slow, deep breath. "…Are you serious?"
"YES!" Jin waves his hands around and huffs away. He rubs at his hair and eyes aggressively, mindlessly turning down one of the corners. In his panic, he completely misses the neon sign above the hallway that blinks: The Strange World of Jellyfish!, complete with a cartoon invertebrate pointing a glowing tentacle down the hall. Reze watches it all unfold, patiently tapping her foot as she waits for the inevitable.
A shrill, high pitched scream echoes from around the corner.
The frantic stumbling of Jin's sneakers ricochets off the glass displays, sending the collection of fish darting to their hiding places. Jin slides around the corner and sprints back to Reze's side, doubling over and trying to catch his terrified breath.
For a split second, she contemplates comforting him, playing the knight in shining armor protecting him from deep-sea horrors.
-Nah.-
"You know what a devil is, right?"
Jin looks up, breathless and confused. "Just… remind me…"
"It's something born from fear. Like, bombs." She taps her chest right over where her heart beats. "So, because people are so scared of bombs, it amalgamated into a being that was bombs. And, I don't know how, but it's my heart now."
"Yeah, I get that. Where's this going?"
"THINK ABOUT IT!" She hoists Jin up. "If you're scared of jellyfish, and there's gotta be other people like you out there…"
Jin's pupils dilate as he looks into a glass display of the jellyfish drifting harmlessly in the artificial wake. "Y-y-ou-you're tell-telling me th-that the-"
"There's probably a Jellyfish Devil." Her voice drips in false concern, but quickly shifts into a laughing fit as she grabs his hand. "AND IT KNOWS WHEHEHEHEHERE WE'RE AT!!" Reze can barely get the words out as she leads them out of the room.
"DO YOU WANT TO BE ON DISPLAY WHILE SOMETHING EATS YOU???" Jin shouts back, startling a passing tour group of school kids in matching yellow shirts. Reze's laughter peaks while the students all giggle at 'the loud, sweaty, screaming man'. She takes a deep breath and turns back as the students round the corner.
"Ya scared the kids. Now you made the Jellyfish Devil stronger."
"OH FUCK YOU!"
Blue, shimmering light spills out from the hallway ahead as Reze drags him forward. They step into a massive glass tunnel, thousands of gallons of water curving overhead. Sharks and other sleek predators circle lazily through the blue expanse while smaller fish dart around them, hoping to avoid becoming lunch. Jin's panic immediately subsides into pure awe.
"...Now THIS? I can do this." He presses his hands onto the curved glass, watching one of the carnivorous hunters glide past his face. A warm arm wraps around his waist as Reze steps next to him.
"So… sharks don't scare you?" She tilts her head.
"Jellyfish are weird. Sharks are cool." Jin pouts, watching a school of fish dissipate as one of the sharks swims directly between them. "Like all my classmates loved this part of the tour. We were picking out our favorites, betting on what fish it was gonna eat…" He sighs. "Right before I ruined my popularity status for the rest of my life."
Reze chuckles quietly and lightly kisses Jin's cheek. "I would've loved to see kid you get excited over that…" Her mind drifts as a large shadow passes overhead.
"Wait, you think there's a Shark Devil?" Jin asks excitedly, watching a shark break for an unaware fish.
She's about to respond, but a sudden piercing migraine takes over her. She squeezes her eyes shut and places her clammy hand onto her forehead. Flashes of a strange memory break through - chasing after someone riding a shark in the streets of Tokyo. Every explosion she triggers burns her legs and feet, but she doesn't stop. For whatever reason, she has to get that person, has to stop him, has to rip his heart out of his chest. And, deep down, her own heart aches for whoever she's chasing - the same intense, deep affection she only has for Jin.
At least, she thought it was only for him.
The deafening white noise slowly fades away as she snaps back to this reality. Jin is cluelessly staring at a passing shark while his irises sparkle in pure wonder. Reze fights through the residual pounding and forces a smile at him.
Anything to bring her back to this moment.
"You're such a child."
He quickly spins to her with a wide grin. "Yeah. And yet -" He grabs Reze's moist hand and taps the diamond glittering on her finger. "- I win!"
In a twist, he yanks her down the enclosure to track a new shark. Its dorsal fin is slightly bent as it slowly stalks its hunting ground, keeping its eye out for its next meal. Suddenly, it stops. A small green fish blindly crosses its path, unaware of the current danger. The shark tracks it, letting it ditz about, before striking once it tries to swim away. In an instant, the fish is captured inside the shark's jaws, only thrashing for a moment before parts of its body are gulped down into the maw. Blood and scales spill into the tank and stain the water, attracting other hungry bottom feeders.
"So… that didn't scare you. At all." Reze glances over to Jin as a piece of the fish's head thunks onto the glass. "…And a fucking jellyfish is gonna give you nightmares."
"Rez, I can go on and on about how cool sharks can be, and how absolutely horrific those alien things are - but I'm gonna spare ya the trouble." He points at the shark, which swims away back into the gloom. "Ya know, you're really like a shark."
She blinks, caught off guard, but a playful grin tugs at her lips. "Why am I like a shark?"
"I'm so glad you asked." His fingers lace around hers once more, taking her down the glass hallway. "First, sharks? Badass - like you. Second, how they attack is so calculated and, and - explosive! Third…" He squeezes her hand and turns around as his brain visibly stalls when he meets her eyes. "… You know what? I can't come up with a third."
"Wow." She shakes her head with a deadpan delivery that echoes off the glass. "I feel like such a shark. How didn't I know that Jin? Thank you so much."
"I… tried… right? Forgive me?" He takes a step closer to her. "Sharks are cool, but you-"
"- 'Re cooler." Reze finishes in unison while rolling her eyes. "You're so easy to read, ya know that?"
"I - yeah. You got me there."
"You know what you are?" She grabs his arm and leans on him, pointing down to the bottom near an artificial reef. A small mollusk travels slowly across the plastic pebbles, retreating into its shell each time larger sea life unknowingly passes by it. "A snail."
"I-"
"I'M NOT SLOW!" They both yell simultaneously, startling an elderly couple passing by. Jin and Reze stare at each other - one mortified and defensive, the other in faux disgust - before they erupt in laughter as they fall into each other.
"Leave me alone!" Jin says between a fit of giggles. "I'm WAY cooler than a snail!"
"No you're NOT." She lets go, happily skipping ahead as she peeks over her shoulder. "Race ya to the penguins, slowpoke."
The moment the words leave her lips, Reze takes off at a breakneck speed. Jin blinks, then sprints down the shark display. He catches sight of her exiting the glass hallway and already rounding the corner, where a cartoon penguin points its flipper towards a set of doors. A family suddenly appears from the blind spot, forcing Jin to swerve out of the way. He trips over his own feet, sending himself calf first into a trashcan. A jolt of pain radiates from his leg, but he grits his teeth and continues onward, ignoring the snickers of onlookers.
The doors outside burst open as Jin tumbles forward, rolling onto the concrete plaza and catching himself back onto his feet. It's packed outside, with parents and children all milling around to watch the collection of penguins, and head over to the tank to see the new 'crown jewel' of the aquarium, Mochi. As Jin scans around for a flash of dark purple hair, an excited squeal breaks through the ambient sound of the park. He rolls his eyes and pushes through, finally able to see where the sound came from.
In front of him, Reze's hands are wrapped around the small metal grate separating the penguins from the general public. Her face is nearly shoved through the opening as a small penguin waddles up to her.
"Hi lil' guy!!" She beams, waving at it frantically. The penguin cocks its head to the side, flapping both its wings back while squawking. Reze giggles uncontrollably just as a familiar set of hands wraps around the bars next to hers. "I made a friend!!" She points to the tiny bird, which turns around and happily waddles away back to its family. Jin chuckles and rubs her back gently, which is followed by Reze leaning onto his left shoulder.
"Maybe you're a penguin." Jin kisses the top of her head. Taller penguins emerge from the small pool, waddling past them. "...Nah."
"I wish I was a penguin. They get to relax all day, get fed for free, and one day they get a pebble as a proposal." She shifts her head, with Jin's lips resting on her forehead. "Wish I got a pebble…"
"I'd get ya a boulder if I could." He kisses her again and turns to the enclosure. Next to him, a soft giggle escapes Reze as she clutches onto his body.
"Now that's what I want." She smiles, watching her new penguin friend trip on a slick patch of concrete. "I could marry a snail…"
"… I fucking hope you could." Jin whispers to her, doing everything he can to forget about the now splitting agony that's throbbing in his leg. "I know I'd marry a penguin, or a shark, or whatever you think you are."
Reze squeezes onto him, eyeing a small child sprint towards the penguins. "...I always thought I was a mouse."
"…A mouse?"
"Yep. One of the few good memories I have from childhood was this story, about a country and city mouse. Ya ever hear it?"
"Don't… think so?"
"Alright, let me see if I remember it…" Her voice trails off. She mumbles under her breath as Jin watches her eyes drift into her memories.
"So - " Her irises suddenly sparkle again. "There's two mice that are friends - a country mouse and a city mouse. One day, the city mouse went to visit the country mouse, but thought everything - the food, the lifestyle - is way too simple. So he invites the country mouse back to the city for a massive feast. And, sure, they ate good, but the city mouse conveniently left out the part that they were gonna be chased by guard dogs and cats constantly. It made the country mouse realize that its simple, quiet life with its plain food and its normal life is way better than the yummy food in exchange for being targeted constantly."
Jin nods and stares ahead, processing the short story before offering a small chuckle. "We're totally city mice, huh?"
"Right now? Yeah. But I wanna be country mice." She turns to face him, with that sparkle in her eye growing. "Like the food might suck, but… a place where nothing chases us? Who wouldn't want that?" She gives him a half smirk as she turns away from the enclosure. "Hope you wanna be that with me, too."
A hand grabs her arm, anchoring her in place. "Rez." Jin spins her around to meet her gaze. "I'll be a country mouse, a space mouse, whatever version of that animal you wanna be. And we can scurry anywhere together." He beams. "Just say where and when and I'm there. Shitty food and all."
Reze stares back at him with a quivering lip. She threads her fingers through his, squeezing tightly and nodding as she fights to regain control of her emotions. "…Thank you." Her thumb softly rubs on the back of his hand. She sniffles, but quickly looks away when a cheer comes from a nearby tour group. Both turn to see Mochi the manatee gliding lazily past a massive viewing window.
"We could be manatees, they seem chill." Jin murmurs.
She chuckles and spins back to him. "Country manatee's got a nice ring to it." She takes her left hand and wiggles her fingers. "Like this one."
Jin shakes his head, walking with Reze over to the star of the aquarium. Just as they pass a service corridor, a piece of colorful cardboard tucked behind a slightly ajar door catches Reze's eye. She tugs his sleeve and points at the gap.
"Someone didn't do their job… be a shame if we got to be the first to get a sneak peek of whatever that is…"
Jin's eyebrows raise as he cautiously looks around. "There's literally three thousand people here. No way we're gonna get in without someone calling security."
"Let's see 'em try."
Before Jin can react, he's tugged through the families and children towards the door. This time, he doesn't fight it, rather matching her pace. Once they reach the door, they casually lean onto the adjacent wall and wait. Reze hums to herself as Jin taps his fingers on his crossed arms - both occasionally glancing at each other with soft smiles before returning to their overwatch. In Mochi's display, a worker with a headset appears from a hatch, drawing a massive roar from the crowd. Whatever announcement about Mochi is ignored as the two quickly slip in the opening and close the door with a soft click. They turn to each other, high five, and look at their prize.
Right in front of them sits a brand new cardboard photo cutout depicting a rugged sea captain and a mermaid standing over an animated, smiling Mochi. Two empty faceholes stare back at them.
"We gotta christen this thing first." She declares and walks around the display. "What do ya think?"
"I mean…" Jin looks at the cutout, locking eyes with the captain's facehole. "Someone's gotta QA/QC it. Just one thing."
"Hm?" Reze looks through the captain's opening.
"Who's gonna take the picture?"
The playful sparkle in her eyes fades as she crinkles her nose. She stands straight up and leans over the cutout, letting her hair flop down. "Yeah… that's a prob-" Reze suddenly cuts herself off as that sparkle comes back in her irises. "Stand right there and hold your hands out."
"What?"
"Just do it."
"O-ok?" Jin reaches out and cups his hands forward. When his hands are out, she reaches for her trigger, making Jin's eyes widen. "Wait, what are you about to -"
Reze pulls her pin.
POP
A small, suppressed blast launches a cloud of smoke - along with her entire head - to the ceiling. Her headless body instantly collapses limp to the floor. The ceiling tiles rattle, and Reze's severed head drops neatly right into Jin's outstretched hands. If his heart - which pounds against his ribcage hard enough to nearly crack the bone - wasn't going to kill him, it was his bulging eyes that nearly burst out of their sockets, serving as the only barrier from keeping his liquefied brain in his skull as he stares at Reze's lifeless face. Her eyes, just a moment ago filled with life and love, now stare back glassy, with a slow stream of blood trickling from her nose. His jaw trembles, trying to push out words he doesn't know how to say.
Then, her emerald irises reignite.
"BOO!"
Jin topples sideways and crashes onto the ground. He fights off the urge to faint on the spot, accidentally dropping her detached head that rolls away, landing right next to her body. The torso suddenly twitches, sits upright and wobbles up to its feet. Then, it bends over to pick up her head with an uncanny precision.
"...Yeah, I probably should've warned you. You good?" She says, the words lost in Jin's frying brain. He scrambles backwards, staring at Reze's body casually holding her head at her stomach.
"Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-" He points a shaky finger towards her.
"It's, uh, part of my Devil powers." Her headless body shrugs. "We needed someone to take the picture, so I thought I could do it." Suddenly, her head is tossed towards Jin. It catches him off guard, accidentally juggling her skull in his hands before finally steadying it in his grip.
"Wh - WHY IS THIS A THING???"
"You know, like, every part of me can explode, right? So, sometimes I'd just throw my head into a room, and boom, problem solved." She winks at him, just as blood drips from her neck and onto the ground. "Only when I'm feeling lazy, though."
"...Lazy?" A firm tug from Reze's body pulls him to his feet. It guides him to the cutout, forcing him behind the mermaid opening. "You do this when you feel lazy??"
"Yeah? Am I not allowed to be lazy?" She tilts her head towards the captain's facehole. "Can ya hold me up?"
"Shouldn't I be the ca-"
"Look at me." She commands.
"What? Are you the captain now?"
"…Huh?"
"You don't kn - nevermind, you wouldn't get it." Jin lifts her head into the frame of the facehole as he begrudgingly leans down into the mermaid one.
"Is it a movie?" Her body reaches into her pockets and slides out her phone.
"Yup."
Reze's body gestures to Jin to slide his face over an inch. As he scoots over, a smile grows on his face. Her body gives a thumbs up and turns on the phone's camera setting.
"We're watching it later. Ready?"
"Deal."
"Ok 3…"
*Is this what life is gonna be like?*
"2…"
-I can't wait to start our own life.-
"1!"
*-Nothing's stopping us.-*
CLICK
All of them except Soldat, but he doesn't count.
The daylight hits the diamond just right, sparkling into her eyes - almost taunting the Division's years of training and manipulation, all insisting that a life like this couldn't exist.
-I win, assholes.-
She shifts on the bed, rolling over to a soundly sleeping Jin as his snores echo into the apartment. Even though it's akin to a wildebeest's mating call traveling across the savannah, it's a comforting - yet terribly annoying - sound. Reze shifts up and stretches, letting her hair fall over her face. Her legs kick out from the blankets as she heads out of the bedroom into the living area. Instantly, she grabs the remote on the futon's armrest and hits the power button. The TV flashes on, broadcasting a reality show into the quiet room.
In the kitchen, the espresso machine hisses to life while she scoops some beans into the grinder. The device clicks on, slicing through the coffee beans as a smile forms on Reze's face. She runs her fingers across the cold granite countertop, watching the digital lights from the grinder refract through her diamond, glittering in vivid colors.
"Fiancée…" She lets the word flutter in the air - a soft kiss that lingers on her lips. The apartment somehow feels lighter, and even the weeping from an apparent breakup on TV is nearly drowned out by the swirling morning bliss. She shakes her head, with a bright blush forming around her beaming face. After she inspects the gemstone once more, the device behind her shrilly beeps. She slides the compartment out, taps the finely crushed beans into the portafilter, and presses the grounds down.
In the bedroom, a pained, rested moan drags out of Jin's body. Reze locks the portafilter into the espresso machine, taps a couple of buttons, and bounces over to the doorway. Leaning against the wooden threshold, she watches him slowly sit up.
"Hey. Coffee's on for ya."
Jin rubs his eyes and flashes her a smile. "You're like, the best girlfriend ever."
A laugh escapes her as she turns her back to him. "I thought I got upgraded? Might as well call the wedding off…" She saunters back to the espresso machine just as the rest of the liquid pours into the giant mug. Once the machine stops dripping, she yanks the handle out, tapping the spent grinds into the open trash can before tossing the holder into the sink. As the coffee slowly cools, Reze spins over to the fridge to pull out the hazelnut creamer. The lid loudly pops open as she mixes the coffee, placing the mug onto the table just when Jin stumbles out. The bruises from Paris a few weeks ago are still faintly visible on his shirtless torso where the light catches him. The worst one, where the sound wave hit, has already started healing; like the others, it won't take much longer to fade.
She's confident about that.
The shoulder wound from the alleyway, however, has festered. The rest of the shots from that night have almost fully healed over, the scars serving as a reminder of an otherwise perfect date. But his shoulder remains a dark, bruised black, the skin around it twisting and curling under layers of scabs.
Like it's refusing to heal.
"Feeling alright? Your shoulder's looking worse." She takes a sip from the mug. It's been a while since Reze has made her own special, and it tastes just like that first time.
"I mean I'll live..." He leans over to the cup and takes a big gulp of the burning liquid, coughing as Reze instantly yanks it away from him.
"At this point, a strong breeze is gonna kill ya." She scoots closer to Jin. "Not letting that happen, though. We got a lot to plan."
He laughs, staring quizzically at the espresso machine. "Yeah, like planning how the hell I use that thing." Jin stands up and walks over to the machine, running his fingers over the hot metal display. Ever since they bought it, he hasn't dared to touch it - an order from Reze the moment it entered the kitchen. Between the endless knobs and digital displays, it entirely overloaded him, which is why he gladly let her handle it. Right up until now.
*My fiancée.*
He can't stop saying or thinking that word either. It's been stapled in his mind ever since they climbed down the Eiffel Tower and weaved through the coming-to crowd. Ironically, Fred - who crawled out from behind the stage - was the first they told. All things considered, he was excited for them, he was just scared that he didn't remember the last twenty minutes of his life. And just like Fred, Jin's expecting to wake up at any moment, with each passing second serving as proof that this is real. Before, every time he would steal a look at her, the warm feeling always had a bitter hint of cold that he'd wake up in this apartment alone.
Now, it genuinely feels warm. It could be from acceptance, or from the steam that hisses out of the machine when he accidentally presses a blinking button. He jumps back in shock, nearly crashing into the fridge. Reze slaps a hand over her mouth, giggles slipping out between her fingers.
"How the hell did you manage to do that?" Suppressing her laughter, she sprints to the device and hits the same button to kill the steam. "If you break this, I'll literally kill you."
"Oh COME ON!" He walks back over to the table and reaches for the mug. It's swiped away right as his fingers brush the porcelain, Reze teasingly taking another sip. "What if I wanna surprise ya one day??"
"With what? Third degree burns?" She wiggles the mug in front of Jin. "I might have to teach ya how that thing works, but I dunno. Ya might break it."
"I - I -" He stammers, but the TV volume suddenly spikes as a commercial cuts into the ambience of the apartment.
'Tokyo Sea Life Park welcomes a new rescue, Mochi!'
They both glance at the screen to watch a massive manatee float aimlessly in a giant tank while children shriek in delight. Behind Jin, a sharp squeal erupts, causing him to whip around and find Reze's eyes sparkling.
"JIN!"
Then, the screen shifts to a line of marching penguins. The shriek that leaves Reze rattles the window glass and nearly fractures the TV screen.
"JIN!!!!!!"
"That bad?" He points at the TV, which flashes stock footage of dolphins breaching out of the ocean, before freezing into a cartoon logo of the aquarium. It triggers another happy shriek. "You wanna go that bad??"
"MHMMM!"
When he turns back, Reze is visibly shaking as her fingers tap furiously against her phone. The screen's blue light flickers across her face as her irises dilate. Jin cautiously creeps over to the table and reaches for the mug, finally able to wrap his fingers around the warm porcelain.
"WE'RE LEAVING!" Reze grabs Jin's arm and tugs him away. Coffee sloshes inside the mug, barely staying contained as Jin wildly slides it across the table, nearly sending it over the edge while pointing frantically toward the bedroom.
"W - REZ! CLOTHES!" He tries to resist her momentum, barely managing to steer her toward the bedroom doorway. "KIDS! THERE'S GONNA BE KIDS!!"
"I DON'T - FINE! CLOTHES, THEN PENGUINS!!"
As he's now dragged down the hallway, with Reze already planning out what exhibits they're hitting the moment they enter the aquarium, a single thought hits Jin:
*Yeah, I could do this every day.*
_____________
A clownfish peeks out from its anemone. Its black eyes survey the still water, watching schools of different fish swim past the living home. It takes another second and ensures it's safe before it swims out to look for some food, the phytoplankton drifting unaware of its presence. It pushes the water around it and shoots forward and secures a few scraps of its meal in its mouth.
When it turns around to swim back to its anemone, the still current shifts ever so slightly - a predator. Catching movement to its side, it bolts back toward the anemone. From the dark depths of the massive tank, a barracuda lunges, missing a killing bite by a fraction of an inch. The water pressure from the strike brushes the clownfish's back fins as it buries itself deep within the stinging tentacles, its eyes barely peeking through. Above, the barracuda glides silently, keeping a watchful eye on its potential meal cowering below.
THUNK THUNK THUNK
A group of kids hammer against the glass, cooing and laughing at the clownfish's near demise. The rhythmic vibrations ripple through the water, startling the barracuda and sending it back into the deep dark of the tank. Relieved, the clownfish settles comfortably into its home, disappearing behind the tentacles as the children groan in disappointment.
"You know, kids can be brutal." Jin takes a bite out of his fish-shaped pretzel, holding it out for Reze, who takes a bite as they sit side by side on a small metal bench. The field trip rushes past them, following another predator fish hunting for its next meal.
"You think ours are gonna be?" Reze rubs Jin's leg, half cheering with the kids as the fish snags its prey in its sharp jaws. "I feel like I'm gonna imprint my personality on the lil' devil."
"...You know what you just said, right?" He playfully shoves her, chuckling to himself as another pack of kids sprint towards the underwater carnage.
"Maybeee." She winks, sticking her tongue out at him. Her face is illuminated blue in the undersea experience, the reflection of the water sparkling in her eyes. "And they're gonna be just like me, so good luck."
"Too bad I'm gonna be the favorite." Jin shrugs, shoving the rest of the pretzel into his mouth. He brushes the excess salt off of his dark jeans and leans back against the metal rest.
"Oh, HELL no. You know damn well I'm gonna be the favorite." Reze scoots closer, bumping her hip against his.
"'DAD! Mom blew up the kitchen because the toaster wasn't working!'" Jin raises his voice a few octaves in a terrible child impersonation. "'And now Mom said you didn't do my laundry so she's gonna make you go boom boom!'"
Reze quickly pushes Jin away with an offended gasp. "MAYBE DON'T FORGET TO DO HER LAUNDRY THEN!"
"'DAD! Mommy's using her scary voice again and it-'" Jin breaks into laughter, bending over to catch his breath. "Wait. HER?"
"YES! HER!" Reze crosses her arms and huffs away from him. "We're having a girl first - NO QUESTIONS."
"…Doesn't it depend on me? Like you got the egg that got the one thing and then, like, aren't my swimmers the one that matters? They're gonna be a mix of boys and girls, and they gotta race, right? Ya know I really can't cont-"
"Jin."
"...Am I doing the thing?"
"You're doing the thing."
"Right..." He shifts his body back and watches a dark blue fish dart by the glass. It catches a smaller white fish in its mouth, shaking its head violently before vanishing into the swaying algae below. "Sorry."
"I swear your mind's like an engine." Reze's hand rests over his as she sits up straight. "Besides, we got time before being parents. Like we can't be that yet. Way too much to do." Her fingers lace through his, squeezing tight as a small family walks by, with a small girl holding onto both of her parents' hands while babbling incoherently.
Jin sighs, letting the fleeting daydream slip away. "Still nice to think about, though."
"Not saying it isn't." Her lips press a quick kiss to his cheek. "We'll get there. But right now, we both gotta live first." Reze stands up and peels Jin off the bench. "Come on. Penguins."
The two make their way out of the room, weaving through parents and other couples ogling at the collection of sea life. The next display they enter changes from the light blues and greens of the oceans into dim pinks and purples. Above them, a sign reads 'The Deep'. The displays are smaller, but filled with bioluminescent fish and other strange, almost alien looking creatures.
"Whoa…" Reze pushes her face against the glass of the first tank, watching a crown jellyfish float in the dark abyss. "You see this thing?"
"…Mhmm." Jin nods quickly, his hand turning clammy as he slips out of her grip to stare elsewhere.
"The colors are so cool… Like, how the hell does something living kilometers under the ocean just light up like that? You think fish just swim right into it because they're confused?" She swings her head around to meet the back of Jin's head. "Like 'oh shoot that looks sick AAAA IT GOT ME!" Reze fakes getting strangled by an imaginary tentacle and giggles to herself.
"…Yup..." He anxiously taps his foot and continues to fixate on an angler fish currently drifting through the darkness of its tank.
"What's… up?" She steps directly in front of his line of sight. "You good? You're acting like you're gonna propose to me again."
Jin groans and shakes his head. "N - No, I, uh… I don't… I don't like…those things."
For a moment, Reze blinks at him slowly, studying his deep, genuine embarrassment before tilting her head. "…Huh?"
"I don't like -" He gestures wildly behind him towards the tank. "- Jellyfish."
"…So -" Reze slides her hands up his sides, wrapping her arms around his neck as she presses flush against him. "Devils don't scare you. Being under fire doesn't scare you. Actual fire does - which is fair. I don't scare you. But THAT -" She points over his shoulder just as the jellyfish mindlessly taps into the glass. "- DOES?"
"No, kinda, VERY FAIR, and SHUT UP!" He tries to shove Reze off him and move to another display. However, Reze's strength keeps him anchored in place as she fights off laughter.
"A jellyfish. You're scared of jellyfish." She glances down at her ring. "We're definitely calling off the wedding."
"Alright."
"WAIT - we can have the wedding decor be ocean themed!" Reze gasps loudly with her eyes widening in excitement. "AND THE CHANDELIER CAN BE A GIANT JELLYFISH!"
"ALRIGHT!"
Reze digs her face into Jin's chest, letting out a loud snort as she loses composure. Jin continues to stare forward rigidly as Reze's laughing vibrates through his core. She peeks up, letting the small tears on the sides of her eyes stay. "You know I gotta ask why."
"YEP." He grumbles and slightly turns his head towards the unexplainable floating gelatin. "We had a school trip here when I was like… what? Six? And we were following our teacher, and this older classmate yelled for us to come over. No one else heard him, but I did, and I was trying to make friends at the time because, you know -" He gestures his hands down at himself. "- Anyway, being friends with an older kid was, like, how you got popular. I wanted to be the one to tell everyone that me and - god I forget the guy's name - that we're best friends! So I run over, and it's this HUGE jellyfish and in, like the top jelly thing was this bloody, messed up fish head. And it was blinking at me."
"Bullshit."
"Rez." His eyes widen, with the childhood PTSD rushing back to him. "It was still alive. And then he said I was next! And I thought about being trapped in that thing, slowly getting digested while something bigger was watching me d -"
"Jin."
"Y-Yeah. So, I might have screamed - loud enough for everyone to hear. And I was bullied forever." He sighs, shuddering as he glances at the jellyfish. "…I see those eyes in my nightmares."
Reze stares at him, drawing on every ounce of her assassin training to keep from laughing out loud. She takes a slow, deep breath. "…Are you serious?"
"YES!" Jin waves his hands around and huffs away. He rubs at his hair and eyes aggressively, mindlessly turning down one of the corners. In his panic, he completely misses the neon sign above the hallway that blinks: The Strange World of Jellyfish!, complete with a cartoon invertebrate pointing a glowing tentacle down the hall. Reze watches it all unfold, patiently tapping her foot as she waits for the inevitable.
A shrill, high pitched scream echoes from around the corner.
The frantic stumbling of Jin's sneakers ricochets off the glass displays, sending the collection of fish darting to their hiding places. Jin slides around the corner and sprints back to Reze's side, doubling over and trying to catch his terrified breath.
For a split second, she contemplates comforting him, playing the knight in shining armor protecting him from deep-sea horrors.
-Nah.-
"You know what a devil is, right?"
Jin looks up, breathless and confused. "Just… remind me…"
"It's something born from fear. Like, bombs." She taps her chest right over where her heart beats. "So, because people are so scared of bombs, it amalgamated into a being that was bombs. And, I don't know how, but it's my heart now."
"Yeah, I get that. Where's this going?"
"THINK ABOUT IT!" She hoists Jin up. "If you're scared of jellyfish, and there's gotta be other people like you out there…"
Jin's pupils dilate as he looks into a glass display of the jellyfish drifting harmlessly in the artificial wake. "Y-y-ou-you're tell-telling me th-that the-"
"There's probably a Jellyfish Devil." Her voice drips in false concern, but quickly shifts into a laughing fit as she grabs his hand. "AND IT KNOWS WHEHEHEHEHERE WE'RE AT!!" Reze can barely get the words out as she leads them out of the room.
"DO YOU WANT TO BE ON DISPLAY WHILE SOMETHING EATS YOU???" Jin shouts back, startling a passing tour group of school kids in matching yellow shirts. Reze's laughter peaks while the students all giggle at 'the loud, sweaty, screaming man'. She takes a deep breath and turns back as the students round the corner.
"Ya scared the kids. Now you made the Jellyfish Devil stronger."
"OH FUCK YOU!"
Blue, shimmering light spills out from the hallway ahead as Reze drags him forward. They step into a massive glass tunnel, thousands of gallons of water curving overhead. Sharks and other sleek predators circle lazily through the blue expanse while smaller fish dart around them, hoping to avoid becoming lunch. Jin's panic immediately subsides into pure awe.
"...Now THIS? I can do this." He presses his hands onto the curved glass, watching one of the carnivorous hunters glide past his face. A warm arm wraps around his waist as Reze steps next to him.
"So… sharks don't scare you?" She tilts her head.
"Jellyfish are weird. Sharks are cool." Jin pouts, watching a school of fish dissipate as one of the sharks swims directly between them. "Like all my classmates loved this part of the tour. We were picking out our favorites, betting on what fish it was gonna eat…" He sighs. "Right before I ruined my popularity status for the rest of my life."
Reze chuckles quietly and lightly kisses Jin's cheek. "I would've loved to see kid you get excited over that…" Her mind drifts as a large shadow passes overhead.
"Wait, you think there's a Shark Devil?" Jin asks excitedly, watching a shark break for an unaware fish.
She's about to respond, but a sudden piercing migraine takes over her. She squeezes her eyes shut and places her clammy hand onto her forehead. Flashes of a strange memory break through - chasing after someone riding a shark in the streets of Tokyo. Every explosion she triggers burns her legs and feet, but she doesn't stop. For whatever reason, she has to get that person, has to stop him, has to rip his heart out of his chest. And, deep down, her own heart aches for whoever she's chasing - the same intense, deep affection she only has for Jin.
At least, she thought it was only for him.
The deafening white noise slowly fades away as she snaps back to this reality. Jin is cluelessly staring at a passing shark while his irises sparkle in pure wonder. Reze fights through the residual pounding and forces a smile at him.
Anything to bring her back to this moment.
"You're such a child."
He quickly spins to her with a wide grin. "Yeah. And yet -" He grabs Reze's moist hand and taps the diamond glittering on her finger. "- I win!"
In a twist, he yanks her down the enclosure to track a new shark. Its dorsal fin is slightly bent as it slowly stalks its hunting ground, keeping its eye out for its next meal. Suddenly, it stops. A small green fish blindly crosses its path, unaware of the current danger. The shark tracks it, letting it ditz about, before striking once it tries to swim away. In an instant, the fish is captured inside the shark's jaws, only thrashing for a moment before parts of its body are gulped down into the maw. Blood and scales spill into the tank and stain the water, attracting other hungry bottom feeders.
"So… that didn't scare you. At all." Reze glances over to Jin as a piece of the fish's head thunks onto the glass. "…And a fucking jellyfish is gonna give you nightmares."
"Rez, I can go on and on about how cool sharks can be, and how absolutely horrific those alien things are - but I'm gonna spare ya the trouble." He points at the shark, which swims away back into the gloom. "Ya know, you're really like a shark."
She blinks, caught off guard, but a playful grin tugs at her lips. "Why am I like a shark?"
"I'm so glad you asked." His fingers lace around hers once more, taking her down the glass hallway. "First, sharks? Badass - like you. Second, how they attack is so calculated and, and - explosive! Third…" He squeezes her hand and turns around as his brain visibly stalls when he meets her eyes. "… You know what? I can't come up with a third."
"Wow." She shakes her head with a deadpan delivery that echoes off the glass. "I feel like such a shark. How didn't I know that Jin? Thank you so much."
"I… tried… right? Forgive me?" He takes a step closer to her. "Sharks are cool, but you-"
"- 'Re cooler." Reze finishes in unison while rolling her eyes. "You're so easy to read, ya know that?"
"I - yeah. You got me there."
"You know what you are?" She grabs his arm and leans on him, pointing down to the bottom near an artificial reef. A small mollusk travels slowly across the plastic pebbles, retreating into its shell each time larger sea life unknowingly passes by it. "A snail."
"I-"
"I'M NOT SLOW!" They both yell simultaneously, startling an elderly couple passing by. Jin and Reze stare at each other - one mortified and defensive, the other in faux disgust - before they erupt in laughter as they fall into each other.
"Leave me alone!" Jin says between a fit of giggles. "I'm WAY cooler than a snail!"
"No you're NOT." She lets go, happily skipping ahead as she peeks over her shoulder. "Race ya to the penguins, slowpoke."
The moment the words leave her lips, Reze takes off at a breakneck speed. Jin blinks, then sprints down the shark display. He catches sight of her exiting the glass hallway and already rounding the corner, where a cartoon penguin points its flipper towards a set of doors. A family suddenly appears from the blind spot, forcing Jin to swerve out of the way. He trips over his own feet, sending himself calf first into a trashcan. A jolt of pain radiates from his leg, but he grits his teeth and continues onward, ignoring the snickers of onlookers.
The doors outside burst open as Jin tumbles forward, rolling onto the concrete plaza and catching himself back onto his feet. It's packed outside, with parents and children all milling around to watch the collection of penguins, and head over to the tank to see the new 'crown jewel' of the aquarium, Mochi. As Jin scans around for a flash of dark purple hair, an excited squeal breaks through the ambient sound of the park. He rolls his eyes and pushes through, finally able to see where the sound came from.
In front of him, Reze's hands are wrapped around the small metal grate separating the penguins from the general public. Her face is nearly shoved through the opening as a small penguin waddles up to her.
"Hi lil' guy!!" She beams, waving at it frantically. The penguin cocks its head to the side, flapping both its wings back while squawking. Reze giggles uncontrollably just as a familiar set of hands wraps around the bars next to hers. "I made a friend!!" She points to the tiny bird, which turns around and happily waddles away back to its family. Jin chuckles and rubs her back gently, which is followed by Reze leaning onto his left shoulder.
"Maybe you're a penguin." Jin kisses the top of her head. Taller penguins emerge from the small pool, waddling past them. "...Nah."
"I wish I was a penguin. They get to relax all day, get fed for free, and one day they get a pebble as a proposal." She shifts her head, with Jin's lips resting on her forehead. "Wish I got a pebble…"
"I'd get ya a boulder if I could." He kisses her again and turns to the enclosure. Next to him, a soft giggle escapes Reze as she clutches onto his body.
"Now that's what I want." She smiles, watching her new penguin friend trip on a slick patch of concrete. "I could marry a snail…"
"… I fucking hope you could." Jin whispers to her, doing everything he can to forget about the now splitting agony that's throbbing in his leg. "I know I'd marry a penguin, or a shark, or whatever you think you are."
Reze squeezes onto him, eyeing a small child sprint towards the penguins. "...I always thought I was a mouse."
"…A mouse?"
"Yep. One of the few good memories I have from childhood was this story, about a country and city mouse. Ya ever hear it?"
"Don't… think so?"
"Alright, let me see if I remember it…" Her voice trails off. She mumbles under her breath as Jin watches her eyes drift into her memories.
"So - " Her irises suddenly sparkle again. "There's two mice that are friends - a country mouse and a city mouse. One day, the city mouse went to visit the country mouse, but thought everything - the food, the lifestyle - is way too simple. So he invites the country mouse back to the city for a massive feast. And, sure, they ate good, but the city mouse conveniently left out the part that they were gonna be chased by guard dogs and cats constantly. It made the country mouse realize that its simple, quiet life with its plain food and its normal life is way better than the yummy food in exchange for being targeted constantly."
Jin nods and stares ahead, processing the short story before offering a small chuckle. "We're totally city mice, huh?"
"Right now? Yeah. But I wanna be country mice." She turns to face him, with that sparkle in her eye growing. "Like the food might suck, but… a place where nothing chases us? Who wouldn't want that?" She gives him a half smirk as she turns away from the enclosure. "Hope you wanna be that with me, too."
A hand grabs her arm, anchoring her in place. "Rez." Jin spins her around to meet her gaze. "I'll be a country mouse, a space mouse, whatever version of that animal you wanna be. And we can scurry anywhere together." He beams. "Just say where and when and I'm there. Shitty food and all."
Reze stares back at him with a quivering lip. She threads her fingers through his, squeezing tightly and nodding as she fights to regain control of her emotions. "…Thank you." Her thumb softly rubs on the back of his hand. She sniffles, but quickly looks away when a cheer comes from a nearby tour group. Both turn to see Mochi the manatee gliding lazily past a massive viewing window.
"We could be manatees, they seem chill." Jin murmurs.
She chuckles and spins back to him. "Country manatee's got a nice ring to it." She takes her left hand and wiggles her fingers. "Like this one."
Jin shakes his head, walking with Reze over to the star of the aquarium. Just as they pass a service corridor, a piece of colorful cardboard tucked behind a slightly ajar door catches Reze's eye. She tugs his sleeve and points at the gap.
"Someone didn't do their job… be a shame if we got to be the first to get a sneak peek of whatever that is…"
Jin's eyebrows raise as he cautiously looks around. "There's literally three thousand people here. No way we're gonna get in without someone calling security."
"Let's see 'em try."
Before Jin can react, he's tugged through the families and children towards the door. This time, he doesn't fight it, rather matching her pace. Once they reach the door, they casually lean onto the adjacent wall and wait. Reze hums to herself as Jin taps his fingers on his crossed arms - both occasionally glancing at each other with soft smiles before returning to their overwatch. In Mochi's display, a worker with a headset appears from a hatch, drawing a massive roar from the crowd. Whatever announcement about Mochi is ignored as the two quickly slip in the opening and close the door with a soft click. They turn to each other, high five, and look at their prize.
Right in front of them sits a brand new cardboard photo cutout depicting a rugged sea captain and a mermaid standing over an animated, smiling Mochi. Two empty faceholes stare back at them.
"We gotta christen this thing first." She declares and walks around the display. "What do ya think?"
"I mean…" Jin looks at the cutout, locking eyes with the captain's facehole. "Someone's gotta QA/QC it. Just one thing."
"Hm?" Reze looks through the captain's opening.
"Who's gonna take the picture?"
The playful sparkle in her eyes fades as she crinkles her nose. She stands straight up and leans over the cutout, letting her hair flop down. "Yeah… that's a prob-" Reze suddenly cuts herself off as that sparkle comes back in her irises. "Stand right there and hold your hands out."
"What?"
"Just do it."
"O-ok?" Jin reaches out and cups his hands forward. When his hands are out, she reaches for her trigger, making Jin's eyes widen. "Wait, what are you about to -"
Reze pulls her pin.
POP
A small, suppressed blast launches a cloud of smoke - along with her entire head - to the ceiling. Her headless body instantly collapses limp to the floor. The ceiling tiles rattle, and Reze's severed head drops neatly right into Jin's outstretched hands. If his heart - which pounds against his ribcage hard enough to nearly crack the bone - wasn't going to kill him, it was his bulging eyes that nearly burst out of their sockets, serving as the only barrier from keeping his liquefied brain in his skull as he stares at Reze's lifeless face. Her eyes, just a moment ago filled with life and love, now stare back glassy, with a slow stream of blood trickling from her nose. His jaw trembles, trying to push out words he doesn't know how to say.
Then, her emerald irises reignite.
"BOO!"
Jin topples sideways and crashes onto the ground. He fights off the urge to faint on the spot, accidentally dropping her detached head that rolls away, landing right next to her body. The torso suddenly twitches, sits upright and wobbles up to its feet. Then, it bends over to pick up her head with an uncanny precision.
"...Yeah, I probably should've warned you. You good?" She says, the words lost in Jin's frying brain. He scrambles backwards, staring at Reze's body casually holding her head at her stomach.
"Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-" He points a shaky finger towards her.
"It's, uh, part of my Devil powers." Her headless body shrugs. "We needed someone to take the picture, so I thought I could do it." Suddenly, her head is tossed towards Jin. It catches him off guard, accidentally juggling her skull in his hands before finally steadying it in his grip.
"Wh - WHY IS THIS A THING???"
"You know, like, every part of me can explode, right? So, sometimes I'd just throw my head into a room, and boom, problem solved." She winks at him, just as blood drips from her neck and onto the ground. "Only when I'm feeling lazy, though."
"...Lazy?" A firm tug from Reze's body pulls him to his feet. It guides him to the cutout, forcing him behind the mermaid opening. "You do this when you feel lazy??"
"Yeah? Am I not allowed to be lazy?" She tilts her head towards the captain's facehole. "Can ya hold me up?"
"Shouldn't I be the ca-"
"Look at me." She commands.
"What? Are you the captain now?"
"…Huh?"
"You don't kn - nevermind, you wouldn't get it." Jin lifts her head into the frame of the facehole as he begrudgingly leans down into the mermaid one.
"Is it a movie?" Her body reaches into her pockets and slides out her phone.
"Yup."
Reze's body gestures to Jin to slide his face over an inch. As he scoots over, a smile grows on his face. Her body gives a thumbs up and turns on the phone's camera setting.
"We're watching it later. Ready?"
"Deal."
"Ok 3…"
*Is this what life is gonna be like?*
"2…"
-I can't wait to start our own life.-
"1!"
*-Nothing's stopping us.-*
CLICK
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