154 Going Back

It was Ace, sitting on the thick edge of the railing on the staircases. She was looking down at Vixen who stood in front of her leaning against the wall. The stairs had been too dirty for him to sit on top of. 

It was almost the end of lunch for Vixen's round and they were hidden in the staircase, waiting out the minutes. 

"Did you apologize to him?" Ace asked, taking a swing of the swirling brown drink in front of her. They were barely through the entire day but she was just getting through her 3rd beer. 

Vixen glanced at the beer in her hand, annoyance clearly being shown on his face. "Are you really going to be drinking that when you still have work to do later?" he asked, less concern shown in his voice but rather, disgust. He would never present himself before anyone while being intoxicated.

Ace raised the beer can in her hand and chuckled. "This? This is what you're worried about?" Ace chuckled, swinging the beer can from side to side. "This is nothing, lightweight. I need this after running into your mother this morning. I didn't even talk to her but damn... the woman is terrifying."

She looked up at him, eyes glowing in curiosity. "Can you believe that such an evil… menacing being can have that face that she does? God, she's hot… I can see where your genes come from now," Ace sighed, "last time I checked, your dad was fine too… this world is so unfair you know? Not letting people share their genes is a crime."

Vixen let out a deep sigh as his hand ran through his hair. He turned around and gazed out the window behind him for a moment before turning back to Ace and leaning against the window frame. "I should not have picked you to talk to… especially not at this time of the day."

Ace chuckled and stared up at Vixen, her eyes shining in awe. "Hey Vixen…" Ace asked, jumping off her seat on the railing and placed her drink on the stairs. She walked towards Vixen and pinned him against the wall, her face leaning into his. "You don't mind sharing those genes right?" she asked, her eyes staring up into his. "One child… one child is all I ask."

Vixen's face scrunched up into total disgust and he immediately pushed her off, pulling out some tissues from his pockets and wiping their point of contact off right after. "Go ask your girlfriend dumbass," he replied, "because the next time you ask me that, I'm cutting your salary. Office harassment is not the way to go." His violet eyes gleamed as he peered down at Ace. "Especially when you're still sober. 

Ace grinned, raising her hand up. "You caught meee," She giggled, "damn… it seems that I need to work on my drunk acting and seducing a bit more…"

Vixen shuddered. "Don't, because you're never getting through to me. I would never waste my time on fleeting relationships, like you."

Vixen looked away from Ace guiltily and turned around, peering out the window. His hand running through his hair again. "Right... My apologies. I guess I'm still a little bit on edge…"

Ace let out a little sigh and picked up her beer from the stairs. She walked towards Vixen and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry son, I get it."

Vixen turned around and squatted her hand away immediately, his eyes glowing in annoyance. "Don't lay your hands on me," He ordered, his eyes locking with Ace's and glaring at her. He watched as she trembled and slowly stepped away from him, her eyes looking away from his as she retreated to the stairs. 

Ace never got used to it. In fact, she didn't think it was possible to even get used to it. His stare that was. She knew he was not the same as his mother, especially on days like these when he loosens up a bit and opens up just a little bit before shutting like a clam again. But there was just something about his eyes… it wasn't about whether or not he acted the same but she could never get her out of her mind when she looked at Vixen. 

Especially when Vixen glared at her, it was like she just looked into Mrs. Clouds eyes, she felt inferior once again. 

She had been trying not to see them in the same light as she knew for a fact that he was not the same as his mother. He wasn't that emotionless to ruin people around him without a thought but whenever he looked into his eyes, she grew scared. Scared of the moment that he would snap, the moment when all humanity would leave his mind and he would walk alongside his mother, on the path he was supposed to be.

"S-sorry about that…'' Ace muttered, mentally scolding herself. She couldn't stop the trembling in her voice.

Vixen looked away from her. "Right. Please refrain from physical contact. You know I hate it."

Ace looked away, a nervous chuckle slipping out her lips as she leaned against the railing. "Right…" She muttered as she took another swing of her beer, her eyes pinned on Vixen's back. She let out a sigh, shaking off her nervousness, and smiled. "So what are you going to do? I don't think there's any room for mistakes this time. One wrong move and well... You're out."

Vixen's eyes narrowed as he peered out the window and he turned around to face Ace, making eye contact with her. He saw her flinch momentarily but didn't move his eye contact. It was a way of reassurance, reminding her that he was him. 

"I feel like she did it on purpose…" Vixen muttered, "almost like she was stockpiling events just for this attack at me. Like she was planning to use her biggest attacks on me and catch me off-guard."

Ace's eyebrow relaxed when she noticed the hint of worry in his eyes. 

"I just… feel like she had her chances," Vixen muttered, his eyes reducing to the floor. "There were events before these… multiple that she could have talked to me about… why is she choosing now to do that?"

Ace stared at him, her heart growing softer by the moment. 

Vixen's eyes shot up the ground and locked with hers. She immediately flinched. "I hope you're not over there pitying me, right?" he asked, violet eyes staring straight into hers with such superiority that she trembled. 

Ace blushed, looking away. "Yes, yes, not doing any of that," she muttered. Her eyes turned back to him when he looked away. "I swear you say you don't want any unwanted emotions but then you give me a stare like that… you're cruel you know?"

Vixen chuckled lightly, his lips barely spreading into a smile. "I'll be even crueler when I tell Adri what you said just now."

Ace pouted, rolling her eyes, "Beast."

Vixen grinned, taking no offense to her words. "I know I am," he replied proudly. "But are you really going to sit here and not help me the one time I reach out to you? Then you wonder why I don't like having conversations with you."

Ace shrugged. "It's not my fault that your life is riddled with issues. It makes it hard to talk to you because of them. Every time we talk, you already found a new load to put on your shoulders and then I have to sit here and receive it," Ace smiled, "maybe that's the reason why you don't talk to me often, is it because you're giving my time in between our talks to heal?"

Vixen stared straight into her eyes and replied, "Think what you want," to which Ace smiled. 

They sat in silence for a moment, both having things on their minds. Ace was the first to break the silence. "I think you know what to do," she remarked, taking a gulp of her beer. She was down to a quarter of her beer left. 

Vixen locked eyes with her. "Yeah… I'm going back to serving," Vixen sighed, pushing himself off the wall, "this all started with that afterall. Going back to work should put an end to it."

Ace grinned, her eyes closing happy as she stretched. "I thought so," she nodded, shooting Vixen a mischievous smile, "I never knew you as one to want to escape their work."

"Be glad you knew me at all," Vixen shrugged. "It's not like I'm the only one who wants to run away too," he muttered, his eyes gleaming when they locked eyes with her once again. "I know you do too."

Ace flinched, her hands lowering. A slight smile passed on her face. It was a sad one. "So you knew?" she asked

"You're not that good at hiding your emotions," Vixen replied blankly. 

Ace chuckled, sipping whatever was left of her beer. "Never been good at it."

Vixen's lips barely stretched into a smile as he stared at Ace. His eyes looked away from her and dropped to the ground, his eyes dimming. "Are you going to run away with Adri?" he asked, "tell the system you quit and take whatever is left with you when you leave?"