Headed by a Snake

Reality washed over Coraline as she gazed into Lone's eyes.

She... made a mistake.

She actually had fun... on her date.

She'd said that it would never happen.

She even promised herself...

She utilized the power of DETERMINATION to make it so!

But... in sharing Lone's company... in dealing with his honesty and protectiveness and... his cute metal wolf... she let her guard down.

And now... everything had come to an end. She was going to board that airship... and go home.

"Hey, uh..." Lone idly scratched at his cheek. "I want you to have this."

Coraline's eyes lit up, staring at the dull metal circle in Lone's offered hand.

He. was giving her. a ring.

"H'yah!!" Coraline launched a palm-heel strike at Lone's face-- which he unfairly dodged.

She quickly followed up with a dozen normal-consecutive-punches. He couldn't dodge those!

"Wh-wh-wh-wwhaaat is thisSSssSs?!?" Coraline roared.

"It's! Ow! Ow!" Lone defended himself with one arm-- and poorly, "It's-- it's something to remember me by!?! Come on! Stop!"

Coraline snatched the ring out of the boy's still open palm. It was cheap, but something like that came to no surprise. It was Lone she was dealing with, after all.

"You can't take it back!" She growled angrily, "This is mine now! PRECIOUS!!"

Lone rubbed the side of his reddening face, "Th-that's fine."

...Coraline's hand hurt from punching and slapping him. But more than that... her chest felt warm... and it felt like tiny confused fish were swimming around in her stomach. This person... this boy... he actually cared about her enough to give her... to give her a...

Bleighhhhh.

"So this... this is... a promise ring, right?" She asked nervously, "That we'll meet again? Right?"

"Um. Sure?"

She smacked him again, "Could you THINK about what this MEANS?! Just for a moment?!"

"I did! It is!" Lone insisted, "So, could you stop hitting me? Please?"

Coraline held the ring possessively against her chest... "You're... you're my boyfriend now. You can't fool around with anyone else..."

"Oh," Lone's eyes widened.

"What's with that RESPONSE??! Aren't you HAPPY?!?"

The beating resumed.

"I'm happy! Thank you! I'm sorry?! Please stop!" Lone pleaded.

Coraline took a deep breath and wiped a bead of perspiration off of her forehead... (Also, she canceled her activation of ⌈Force Punch⌋...)

This... this boy really made her mad... but...

He...

He made her happy.

"H...hey," She muttered...

"...Hey," Lone grinned.

That kind of response made her want to hit him again...

"Ahem..." She coughed into her closed fist and straightened her back, "Mister Lone! Can I... can I ask you a question?"

"Huh?" The boy raised his eyebrows, "You uh... never asked for permission before?"

"It's important," Coraline glared. "Just say yes."

"Y...yes."

Biting her lip, she performed the gestures in her memory... Everything was just as she practiced... everything felt right... The mana flowed through her circuits, her hands flowed with the gentle movements, and she formed a diamond-shape with her fingers.

"⌈Swords of Truth...⌋"

She felt tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She... she didn't want to use her magic. But... it was part of her nature. She was hurt too many times before to trust blindly.

She wanted to believe him so badly. Everything in her heart was telling her that it was okay... that he was too stupid to betray her trust.

But still... she doubted. That was the way she lived her life... by doubting everything... by asking questions.

So... Coraline took the easy way out... with a truth spell.

It wasn't healthy for a relationship.

It was insulting, really.

But... she really wanted to know the truth. She needed it.

Could she trust this boy-- trust in the ring he gave her? Or was it another meaningless lie?

Even faced with her oppressive and rude magic spell...

Lone smiled... "Ask away."

Coraline felt her lips tremble...

She hated that smile.

She... fell in love with that smile.

It was a dangerous smile... belonging to an infuriating individual... a fool who sought to protect her, no matter what.

...The dummy even thought he was immortal.

She looked up to meet his gaze... "Lone... where were you when you first started liking me?"

Lone sighed... "Seeing you yell at my boss on the docks at Rixus? No..."

"Try again," Coraline grimaced. She did *not* yell, back then. She wanted to, but she didn't!

"Sitting across from you at the table in the Golden Eagle's dining hall?"

"No way!!!" Coraline fumed. All Lone did at that table was stare at her judgmentally-- like she was a clown!

"Oh, I remember," Lone smirked. "⋖ I liked you from the first moment I saw you. ⋗"

Coraline felt her cheeks burn red hot as if Beatrice just punched her in the face.

"Y-y-y-y-you IDIOT!!!"

"Hey! Ow! Stop hitting me! Please?!" Lone cried.

"STUPID! STUPID BOYFRIEND!!!" Coraline shouted, "How DARE you be SWEET to me just as I'm LEAVINNNNGGGG!!!!!"

Her ears twitched.

There was a sound in the air... so very faint. She'd heard it before-- but couldn't remember why it was important.

It was a finger-snap... and it resounded through the air.

What did it mean?

Before she knew it, Lone had taken hold of her hand... and his lips were pressed against hers.

...In a panic, Coraline closed her eyes.

She had to. Kisses were weird if you didn't close your eyes.

Her strength left her. Her anger left her. Embarrassment-- that was gone, too.

--No, nevermind. That was still there. But it wasn't so bad.

She pushed up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and kissed him back.

It made her want to cry.

It also made her want to throw him off of the docks, (but only a little.)

She sighed and planted her feet back down on the floor... "That... that wasn't fair, you know."

Lone... he smiled. That was it. That was fine.

...That was aggravating.

If he didn't say anything back, it was harder for her to yell at him.

She reached up to plant a last kiss on her boyfriend's cheek... "I'll see you."

"Yeah," Lone nodded. "See you."