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Gran's personality changes slightly whenever he donned a new combat outfit.
It wasn't outright multiple personalities, like many amusing members on the Grandcypher. If his dear Captain really had a hidden side lurking in his heart, Lobelia would know immediately. He wouldn't miss the wonderful sound of that possibility for the world.
But no, it was simply a change of demeanor, a nature versus nurture, if you would. People are complex creatures with many faces, all worn for different times with different people. Didn't necessary mean they were conceit, only that they adapted their view of the world accordingly to how it threw its weight at them.
And Lobelia enjoyed seeing those different sides of his dear Captain. That was why he always paid attention when the boy changed his forms, and why his eyes glued to those movements amidst the battlefield. Otherwise, he would miss the wonderful sounds Gran made. As painful as it was, Gran held quite a stable attitude around him; he wouldn't have much chance otherwise.
1.
To the average people, Gran was a bright, cheerful, and too compassionate for his own good. Put in a right angle, and you could call him a saint. Amongst the various rumors surrounding the Grandcypher, Lobelia was quite pleasantly surprised that no one had dared try to call the crew a cult. He himself had no interest in one - putting your happiness on the hand of an invisible figure was not his raison d'etre - but you would think someone might think so, considering how adored the Captain was. Whoever was working on the crew's public relations, Lobelia wished them good luck.
But the battlefield was a different realm, and the average skyfarer always sang a different tune when they were confronted with danger. The crew was no exception, and their Captain even more so.
"Focus all your attack after the Princess's next moves. Force her to bring out all the force field."
Amidst the deafening expanse, Gran's voice rang loud and clear like the church bell on a quiet field. Lobelia's whole being zoned in on that voice, so much deeper and calmer than the boy normally exuded. The combat-attentive attire of Relic Buster helped somewhat with that impression. The sound of destruction when Captain fired his rounds into the gigantic horde was metallic, jarring, unforgiving, like a walking machine of war ravaging everything on his way.
He truly was Lobelia's dear accomplice.
Mesmerized by that scene, Lobelia felt his hands twitched. He would love nothing more than joined in the opposite side, to have his own body under that blade and torn to pieces. The sound of his own flesh gurgled, blended with that metallic swing of the sword, would make a fine contribute to his collection. But Gran would get mad at him for slowing the team down that way. Non, the Captain had to wait for his turn. His guard dog was already staring at Lobelia with heightened hostility.
He let Tower clear the hordes in front of him and took out a conch. Before Lobelia could mutter Registre, a gun was already cocked beside his head.
"Eyes on the enemies." Eustace growled at him. "If you don't want to die."
"My, my. No need to be so violent." Lobelia raised both his hands in the air in all his faux politeness. "Am I not doing my best? Don't lose your élégance here." He grinned.
Eustace's stormy eyes narrowed, his fingers hovered dangerously close to the trigger. He didn't have a chance to make his move, not when they were interrupted with the Princess's blinding pillars of swords. They simultaneously shifted their stance, but someone was faster. Gran was already in front of them, raising his sword and conjuring up a barrier gigantic enough to absorb the blow.
"Focus, you two." Gran turned back to look at both his party members with a frown. "We entered the break phase. It's now or never."
"Captain." Eustace exasperatedly said, eyes darting to the irritating figure on his side.
"Eustace." Gran only shook his head. The silence stretched on, but Lobelia could tell a conversation was already occurring between the two of them. Eustace didn't rank quite high on his personal list. The thunderous sound from that weapon was nothing less than fascinant, but he dreaded the silence whenever the Erune was with Gran. The Captain and Eustace shared a tacit understanding, too tight-knitted for conversations needed. They would have conversations through just eye-contact, one Lobelia could not decipher nor make sense of. His happiness was stripped away whenever the Erune was nearby.
The fact that Eustace always wanted to murder him was secondary, really.
"...Fine." Finally, Eustace relented. He cocked the barrel on Flamek and entered his stance. The other members backed away, knowing how devastating the blow would be. A Contractor's weapon knew neither friend or foe, even if Eustace was perfectly capable of controlling it. Gran pulled Lobelia back a good distance, waiting for the thunder to crack and the sky to split open.
"Don't even think about it." Gran finally spoke, eyes honing on Lobelia's right hand, where a conch was ready and waiting.
"Trésor, it has been our 1986th times fighting the same enemy. Don't I deserve some reward?" Lobelia grinned.
"No one asked for one." Gran sighed. "And I doubt many are happy with you recording them and put in the same categories as horrific screams."
"Is that your concern? Worry not, Captain, I wish to record your voice and yours only." He moved closer, hands covering Gran's ears as the sound of thunder grew louder. "Surely that suffices?"
Gran groaned, but he neither batted away the hands nor made any disapproval. Lobelia took that for an agreement.
"Listen to that." He loosened the hands a little, allowing Captain to hear the disastrous sound without strains. "I must admit, the sound of the Princess now grows dull for me. Her swords of light piercing the ribs, her pillars of energy choking the air, everything grew stagnant once you destroyed enough. But - "
He let out a cackle as Eustace's shot rained down on the Princess, making her scream.
"That sound is always a delight." He moaned. "Don't you think?"
Gran didn't answer him, and he need not to. Lobelia could hear it. He could hear the heartbeat inside that ribcage quickened as the primal beast pulverized in the thunder, hear the shift in his feet when another enemy was felled under their hands.
"Hah."
Did you hear that? That small laughter at seeing the destruction of a being.
They really were the same.
Lobelia whispered the spell under his breath. That laughter alone would make a pretty sight on his shelf.
2.
"What in the world are you doing here?"
It was not often that you see Gran in his Doctor outfit.
Contrary to popular belief, they had an abundant of healers on their journey. The genius Funf, Holy Maiden Sophia, actual Doctor with a certificate Tikoh, and many others. They weren't called to the battlefield as much these days, so usually there was no shortage of medical assistant on the Grandcypher.
But disaster loved to strike at the most surprising of time.
It all started with a moment of weakness. In the middle of preparing dinner for the crew, the Lowain boys had found themselves too engrossed in their discussion for the new carte, they had let in the most dangerous presence a cook could never forgive: Katalina.
Bless her heart, she was pulled away by a gracious Vira before the condemned members of the crew could appear before her, hands clutched on their stomach and mouths groaned in agony. The healers were at their wit's end trying to treat a huge amount of people at once, so disastrous was the incident that even their dear Captain had to turn down the requests and assumed his Doctor role.
After a hectic day of walking around the ship making sure there were no fatalities, Lobelia visited Gran's makeshift office with a more than eager expression, one that seriously unnerved the Captain.
"Why, I'm here because I am ill, Captain."
"Sure. Good joke right there." Gran replied. His dry tone and less than amused voice made him sound much older than normal, though the fatigue contributed somewhat. He was less a seasoned veteran and more an overworked young man.
"Don't let frowns ruin that pretty face, Captain. I do bring you something good." Lobelia opened his arms wide, showing the hands devoid of bad intentions. "Every crew members afflicted by the Katalina disease had received their treatment. I will be your last patient."
"Sweet. That means I'm done for the day." Gran stretched his arms and laid on his desk, ignoring the towering man in the room.
"Hah. I do love how cold you are towards me, but Captain, be a dear, will you?" Lobelia approached the desk and poked at Gran's cheek. "I am in urgent need of treatment."
"What kind of injuries can even bother a masochist like you?" Gran slapped the hands away, his breath hissed with annoyance.
"The heart, perhaps?"
"Get out."
"So cranky. I'm glad to see you still have energy left." Lobelia took his seat opposite of the Captain and waited. Eventually, he would get what he want. Gran was not in the habit of ignoring his comrades, even one as shady and treacherous as the Evoker.
"...What kind?" Gran finally sat up straight on his chair with a displeased glare.
"This." Lobelia was elated as those eyes finally looked at him. He stripped the front of his robe down, showing the bare chest.
The Tower's hand ripped through the ribcage and showered him in blood. The audiomancy rippled through the air, suspending droplets of blood from reaching the Captain. Soon, the Arcanum's magic worked its way into the flesh, and Lobelia's wound mended until he plunged his own hand inside, effectively delaying the effects. The results was a nasty bruise where his heart should be, and probably a few bones not yet in their right place.
To Lobelia's glee, his Captain didn't faze in the slightest.
"...See? You don't even need me treating you."
"But I desperately do. You know what will give me happiness." Lobelia pointed at his chest. "The sound of destruction made by you, the sound of my own destruction. The harmonie will be parfait! I can already pictured it in my frontal lobe." He moaned, wrapping his arms around his body to contain the tremble the single thought gave him.
Gran punched him right where the bruise hurt.
"Yeah, that's a bruise alright."
"Ugh...Hah, Captain, you really know where to strike." Lobelia choked out the painful words. But this wasn't enough, not for him. Nowhere in Lobelia's request was conceit; he truly desired to be broken and battered under Gran's hand. The feeling of the Captain's sword through his stomach would strike the finest chord he ever owned, but a promise was a promise, and Gran wouldn't let him have a chance to be an enemy. Besides, Lobelia did love his Captain too much to be apart.
"Trésor, I'm giving you an outlet here." Lobelia stood up and leaned over where Gran was sitting. With his height, the Evoker completely towered over the boy, shielding him away from sight. He intertwined his fingers with Gran; the Captain didn't reciprocate, but it was fine. He was used to their relationship being one-sided.
"I know you are itching to destroy something, Captain. The stress of being a healer - of having lives weighed on you - must be suffocating. Don't you want to let loose? To let your desire runs its course?" He guided their joined hands to his chest, letting Gran's knuckles tipped over the purple and blue skin.
"Destroy me, then nurture me back. Do your worst you could never show anyone else in the crew, Captain. I'm here to serve." He whispered in Gran's ears, the next devil to spout temptation after a certain fallen angel. But unlike that disgrace, Lobelia was an ally, and nothing weakened Gran's will more than the idea of companion.
The Captain looked away, eyes unwilling to match his, but Lobelia didn't need sight to tell. He could hear it, from the shortness of breath, to how the heartbeat paused a few milliseconds upon his proposal. He knew Gran was wavering, he could hear the urge to simply destroy, knowing this person could never die. And he knew, unlike him, Gran wouldn't be bored easily.
Someone was about to knock at the door, but the Pandemonium might as well revived before he let this moment be ruined. Magic slashed the air and silenced the world. Neither could the people outside hear their heated exchange, nor could the Captain hear the disturbance.
"Hey Captain? You're in? We made food in the kitchen if you want to grab a bite, no poison included this time, promise!" Vane's cheerful voice rang out, but only Lobelia could hear the noises.
"I hear nothing. Maybe he's out for a walk? It was chaotic today." Narmaya said. "I ought to make something good for him when he gets back."
"Good idea, actually. I'll pitch in, so lead the way, Narmaya!"
Slowly, their footsteps disappeared into the renewed hustle and bustle of the Grandcypher. But inside this room, it was just Lobelia and his dear Captain, and the heated air that threatened to infect the hearts.
Gran finally intertwined his hands with Lobelia. The sound he was about to witness would be marvelous.
3.
"...What is this?"
Ask Lobelia his opinion of animals, and he could only tell you that they were okay. Not counting the more unconventional, immortal sorts of beasts, the sound animals made barely registered in his ears. There was nothing novel in the broken form of mindless beings, and if they accidentally recorded any during his and Tower's journey before joining the Grandcypher, Lobelia had no recount.
Now, if it was an animal combined with his favorite person? It resulted in a tongue-tied Evoker.
"Oh, no, he's doing it again." Charlotta stepped down from her boxes, what she used to look over the horizon. They just finished fending off some aerial nests of monsters attacking the ship when Captain decided to change into one class he had never seen before. Now Gran, in an attire not dissimilar to a whimsical fairy tale wizard fallen into a vault with a monster cat, lounged on the deck and played with his own broom staff. It would have been cute had it not been so bizarre.
"Nekomancer is a strong support class, but its side effects are quite...severe as well." Charlotta informed him as she also watched over the Captain, who got bored of the staff and was on the prowl for anything that moved. "There's a reason he rarely used it, except for long battles."
Suddenly - or not, Lobelia could hear the sniff and the glint from miles away - the Captain switched his target to the Harvin beside him and pinpointed her crown as his next plaything. He pounced on Charlotta and attempted to pulled her crown down, eliciting a yelp and considerable resistance from the Harvin.
"Sir, no. Not my lifeline!" The two small beings wrestled on deck, a battle of cuteness aggression. Lobelia was too stunned to intervene. After an intermediate amount of time, Charlotta and her lofty crown emerged the victor, and the Captain was pushed into Lobelia's hands, writhing and whimpering indignantly from a lack of toys.
"Sir Lobelia, please contain him for me! I shall return with sir Dante's, or other feline expert, help!" Charlotta made a beeline down the hull of the ship, hands dead set on balancing her precious oversized accessory.
Left alone on the deck, Lobelia watched the cat curled up in his lap with confusion.
"Tower, Frère, do you know anything about handling a cat?"
"You choose the wrong creature to ask." The card answered him.
Gran wasn't content with staying immobile for long. He wriggled out of Lobelia's grip and started firing bursts of lights everywhere, drenching the deck in a shower of whimsical, child-like chord. His magic wasn't as exploding as Lobelia had seen in Manadiver or Onmyouji, but more...well, he was never good at explaining. A much more loose, chaotic, but also harmless melody, like fireworks on the summer night sky. Charlotta had a point: the cat in front of him leaned more on support. Even as he blasted the hull with waves after waves of energy, the ship remained whole. The flag was a little tattered here and there, but a cat couldn't be expected to not be mischievous.
It was quite refreshing to see Gran let loose around him. Genocidal maniac aside, Lobelia's overall attitude earned him a constant distrust and fervent monitoring. Gran was always watching him, as if expecting Lobelia to up and blow an innocent bystander if he lost sight of the Evoker for just a second. This relaxed, nonchalant demeanor, so carefree and peaceful.
Oh how Lobelia hated it so.
He wanted the attention, the constant security of doubt. He didn't like that Gran was ignoring his presence for some imaginary illusions in the air. He didn't want to be forgotten in those eyes.
Lobelia would have voiced those thoughts had Gran not abruptly slumped down.
"Captain?" Lobelia strode towards the fallen cat. Magic dissipated from his hands as Gran let out a huge yawn. All that displays of light and showmanship had drained him of mana, apparently, and now the Captain was close to dream land than ever. He grasped the first thing he could - which was Lobelia's robe - and dragged it down with his paws. Gran once again made himself comfortable in Lobelia's lap, snoring without a care.
Lobelia blinked. Twice. He had to take a quick pulse check to make sure this was still Gran and not some imposter, because surely the Captain would not let his guard down around him. But he failed to find any deception. The Nekomancer looked up at him and poked his face with the gigantic paw. Gran giggled at Lobelia's rare dumbfounded face and snuggled himself even more into the robe.
What a weird sensation. Normally it was Lobelia who was in a leash, who was supervised and reined in, not the opposite. Now, having a docile Captain under his arms, Lobelia felt almost lost.
"Pfft."
"Tower, was that a sneer I caught?"
"Must be the wind."
Lobelia sighed and turned his eyes back towards the sleepy Gran. He patted the messy hair and hugged the bundle of warmth close, something Lobelia would never normally be granted.
Until Dante and Sen came to the rescue, Lobelia thought that he could get used to this alien melody.
4.
"Quite rare to see you so nervous, Captain."
Lobelia took delight in how the Captain almost jumped out of the window upon his disturbance. Gran, pale and panicky, spun around to met his gaze. He let out a huge gulf of air when he realized it was only the Evoker. There wasn't as much hostility or suspicion in those eyes, something Lobelia attributed to the Elysian outfit. The elegant class seemed to calm the nerves considerably, rendering Gran in a gentle, serene air.
"Don't sneak up on me." The Captain turned his eyes back to the lyre, tuning the strings to his ears. "It's a big performance, alright."
"How big are we talking about?"
"Massive." Gran said, dead serious. "The size of two countries combined. It *is* Romeo and Juliet's official wedding day."
Lobelia couldn't say he was familiar with those names - they seemed to be monarchs who was held up by duties too much to be on the Grandcypher frequently - but he could say how important the occasion was, if it managed to put his Captain in such a state.
"I wouldn't worry about your performance, Captain. Your music is always magnifique."
"Flattering, but taking musical advice from you is like trusting Belial as a love advisor." Gran smirked. "Besides, you think every sound I make are nice."
"Touché." Lobelia smiled in return. "If you will have me, I'm more than glad to be your audience. I won't even hold back my opinion."
Lobelia made himself comfortable on one of the seats inside the large warehouse-turned-auditorium. Gran spent some minutes contemplating with himself, and eventually, he agreed to the offer.
"Well, if I am going to practice, better you be my unfortunate victim."
"If you wish to hurt me, Trésor, there are better things we can try. You can run your blade through me - "
"Do not make me throw you out." Gran rolled his eyes.
The Captain settled down on his seat and set his fingers on the strings. Music enveloped the room, and soon Lobelia was plunged into a warm pocket of magic, one that relaxed the soul and offered comfort to the needed.
His Captain fret too much, especially concerning his friends. A performance like this could find itself in any large Opera House, but Gran would not be Gran if he didn't push himself to the edge for a single wedding song. He could hear in the notes how many times those hands had go over the song, see in the knitted brows how focused the boy was in delivering the melody. Gran closed his eyes and lost himself in the flow; Lobelia almost felt hurt at being ignored.
Luckily, he was not the only one.
Lured in by the pleasant sound, another member found themself captured in the alluring music and entered the room. The petite Harvin had an enamored smile on her face, but upon seeing Lobelia - or in this case, hearing the discord in his heart might be more precise - her face fell spectacularly.
The Eternal was never fond of him. Not in the slightest. No doubt Nio could hear his audiomancy and Tower's destructive power just by the beating of his heart, and the first time their eyes matched, she had declared him her nemesis, never to be around for more than a minute.
Nio didn't bother to be civil around him. She glared vehemently at Lobelia, her instrument poised ready to fight. She didn't say anything, but Lobelia didn't need words to convey the tantamount emotions in the air. He may not possess the unique talent the Eternal had, but Lobelia was still a genius. Just from how shallow her breath was and he could tell how she was fighting to tolerate his presence. He felt the corner of his mouth raised a little, amusement in the face of peril. Lobelia pointed at the Captain, still immersing in the song, and winked. The implication was obvious, "You don't want to disturb him, do you?"
Nio lowered her weapon with a severe frown rivaling that on the Captain's face. She pointedly looked away from him, opting to focus all her attention on Captain's song instead. He could hear her muscle tense under the strain of having to hear his chaotic melody, but the Eternal persisted nonetheless. Her love for the Captain must have outweighed her hatred for Lobelia, something that was almost the norm on this ship; only the first part, of course, since Lobelia considered himself quite civil around here.
Her happiness lay where the Captain's melody reach, and he ought to respect that. But he wasn't in the position to entertain her wish, either. Only his, Tower's and Gran's happiness mattered in the end, and Nio was intruding on his.
"Soften that frown, Captain." He whispered directly through Gran's mind. "Your song is nothing less than amazing."
Whether Gran recognized his voice or not, an encouragement worked wonder in the face of self-inflicted stress. The Captain's eyebrows stopped knitting together, his lips forming a small smile, finally embracing the song rather than commanding it.
Nio was back to frowning furiously at him. No doubt she sensed his interference, yet she had no clue what their shared whisper was. Lobelia simply held his silence and listened until the song ended, until the Captain opened his eyes and landed his gaze on Lobelia first before anything else. He wasn't going to let this happiness fallen into anyone else's hand.
5.
The conches were everywhere on the Grandcypher for a good reason.
The ship itself was massive, a heavenly den for rodent to sneak in. It wasn't the first time unwanted parasite infiltrated the ship, and ever since the incident with guests outside of this world, even more conches were wedges between the gaps where no security measure was placed. If the primal beast in charge of this ship thought him meddling, then he certainly should have intervened faster.
One of the conches were in Gran's pocket as well. With permission, of course.
Lobelia was done with the mission entrusted to him. Clearing out dens of monsters were a walk in the park, except it wasn't remotely fun, not when he had neither the companion nor the good music to accompany him. An utterly boring task; he suspected that Gran pushed this on him because the Captain was sick of punching the same monsters over and over. He absentmindedly played with his collection of conches when one of them bristled with energy, then came out the voice he was yearning for.
"I told you, no need to worry about him."
Gran's voice resounded in the empty forest. This authoritative tone sounded like one when he donned the outfit of the Eternal, ignoring the real Leader currently moping somewhere below the deck. Message was wonderfully convenient.
"I'm not doubting you or anything, Captain, but still, it's Lobelia we're talking about." The other voice was someone he actually knew. Lobelia had met Cain a few times when they were grouped together for Guild War before. Strategic, loyal, with a deeply buried fire inside his heart whenever the Captain's name was mentioned. Lobelia quite enjoyed Cain's presence, if he were to be honest.
"We have had worse." Gran commented.
"I don't think that version of Sandalphon counts, Captain." Cain laughed, but his voice soon turned serious. "Gran, I have been on the same team with him. He has the moral and capability of a serial killer, no more and no less. Isn't it too dangerous to let him have his freedom?"
"It will be alright, Cain. He had sworn his loyalty to the crew." What a sweet, little lie. Lobelia only swore to Gran and no one else, but the crew was the extension of the Captain, so maybe it wasn't a complete lie. His career of a murderer was indefinitely halted, and Lobelia made sure he got along well with the other members. There would always be bright needles in the hay, it seemed.
"That's not what I'm worry about." He could hear the disapproval dripped from the tone. "A murderer could be stopped. A traitor, not as easy."
"He won't betray me."
"How can you be so sure?"
"He won't." Lobelia smiled widely. He was sure Gran was doing the same. "We're the same kind."
Finale
"Good, good day to you."
As the light of dusk dyed the Grandcypher in red, a lone shadow approached the Evoker. Orologia, in his male - unlike that of a mad scientist - form, waved at him. He exuded a nonchalant attitude, but those eyes looked as sharp as the scythe they wielded.
"Bonne soirée, Papa. To what pleasure do I own you?" Lobelia smiled cordially.
"Hmm, I don't know how to feel when you call me so." Orologia scratched their head. Lobelia had heard stories about what the Wedge was up to, and while Gran may not share the memories, Orologia certainly regarded the Captain as their own child. There was no title more worthy to uphold, though the Wedge seemed to think otherwise. "Just call me Logia, alright?"
"As you wish, monsieur." Lobelia hummed. "Do you need anything from me?"
"Not quite, not really. I guess I just have concerns." Orologia exhaled. They never bother to hide any emotions around Lobelia, but as the controller of possibilities, they must also knew Lobelia even better than himself. "What do you think of Gran?"
"A darling, and my benefactor." Lobelia replied without hesitation. "I would gladly sacrifice this body for him, but of course, I dare not die."
"Uh huh." Orologia nodded. "You, ah, you really are a pickle, Lobelia."
Lobelia didn't reply; he opted to wait for Orologia's assessment instead. Getting approval from a parent was serious business, after all.
"I know your possibilities, and boy, I did try and see what would happen if you and Gran never meet. The results, oh dear, more devastating than I have thought." Orologia shuddered. "You sticking with the crew was the best outcome, surprisingly enough."
"I wouldn't call it a surprise." Lobelia shook his head. "Gran is special. He made me realize my true call."
"Special, huh? He really is a special child." Orologia's face brightened considerably when Gran was mentioned, but soon, their face fell back to contemplation. "But it seemed you are special too."
"Oh?"
"He's a kind boy pushed to the edge by the cruel fate of the world. But around you, he became something...different." Orologia muttered. "Something more violent, more...honest. I don't know how to describe it. People wore different possibilities according to what the world threw at them, and you - " The Wedge frowned, what people did a lot in Lobelia's presence. "The face Gran wore when he's with you, it's not one I'm familiar with."
Their discussion hung un the void, lost within the sky without any answers. Orologia was only giving a warning, one Lobelia had less than a mind to adhere to.
When Gran was with him, the Captain wore a completely foreign side to the other members. One much more visceral, much more in tune with his inner desire. One that only Lobelia was permitted to see. It might frighten a worried parent, but if even Orologia could not deny that side of Gran, who was Lobelia to stop him? He was the beast loosely reined, and the leash to his neck could snap at any moment. As long as that leash was intact, Gran would nurture that well-hidden, violent side; the side that belonged to Lobelia.
The world itself had ruled him a timeline that they could be together, and Lobelia had no intention to let it go.
"Dinner's ready, monsieur." The rare sarcastic tone from the Captain penetrated his skull. Gran stood by the entrance to the lower deck, leaning on the door with a wide grin. "Better hurry or you'll miss out on your sweets."
One day, all these sweet memories, all these endearing touches, Lobelia would crush it all in his hand, until he reveled in bliss as Gran's broken sound filled his heart.
But until then, his happiness lay in fulfilling his newfound greed.
He walked towards the Captain, defenseless and naive, then pulled him up for a kiss. Gran barely reacted, his eyes wide with shock. The euphoria of breath mingling and suppressed moan almost made Lobelia shouted in delight, but he wouldn't want this moment interrupted.
Long, far longer than it should, Gran finally resisted the kiss. The Captain pulled away, not before his face was dyed the same shade as the falling sun.
"What was that for?!"
"You're too trusting, Trésor." Lobelia smiled happily. "Do be more careful. You wouldn't want me act out of line again, would you?"