JP - Tzeitel does not see it
Colt was busy in the backyard away from everyone, training with his sword and looking as if he was pushing himself too hard. When he messed up for what felt like the hundredth time, he tossed his sword at the ground in anger. “Fuck!” He roared.
Tzeitel found Colt by his roaring curse. “Swear jar.” She said, looking at him worriedly. “You’re pushing yourself too hard.”
Colt was crouching by the time she found him and looked at her. “Says the one who does that all the time. Brat…” There was a lightness to his tone when he spoke to her.
“And I get yelled at for it all the time… and I didn’t overdo it last night. Instead I just pissed off Klaire and pushed her away.” Tzeitel sighed. “How’d you do in the breakout?”
Picking up his sword, Colt sheathed it. "Everyone we planned to get out was there, except Evie, so I guess we failed in one way, succeeded in others." He explained and rubbed at the back of his neck. "What's wrong? I get the feeling this is about more than just passing off Klaire or overdoing it." Walking over to her, he met Tzeitel's eyes, trying to see how she was really feeling.
"We killed him twice… I'm tired of being scared." Tzeitel said softly.
Colt stared at Tzeitel for a long moment before pulling her into a gentle hug. “I’ll always keep you safe. I promised, remember?” He whispered. “I don’t intend to ever break that promise.”
Tzeitel hugged Colt back, he was good at helping her feel safe- after she learned that he was not just some stalker who got obsessed with her after reading her file. “I remember… You just shouldn’t have to, not from him. He should have stayed dead.”
“I know,” Colt pulled back, gently gripping her shoulders as he looked at her with that silly grin of his. “But no matter how many times they bring that ugly fucker back, I’ll help kill him and protect you no matter what.”
Tzeitel looked at Colt worriedly. The first time she killed Canestone it had only been after Canestone managed to capture and torture Colt. She did not want any of her friends getting hurt by him, or worse.
“What?” Colt asked, tilting his head to the side slightly, cat ears twitching just like the rest of the Westerly family.
“I don’t want anyone getting hurt by the bastard, especially not you getting hurt again.” Tzeitel said.
“I’m not as weak as I was back then, Tzeitel.” Colt chuckled softly. “I’ll be fine. I just want to keep you safe.”
Tzeitel blinked back tears and hugged Colt fiercely. “Be careful. And don’t pull any stupid stunts like trying to take him on by yourself this time.” She snarled into Colt’s chest.
"I promise I won't," He replied and gently hugged her back, a smile on his face. It didn't quite reach his eyes and he was thankful for her not seeing his face at the moment.
“Good.” Tzeitel said firmly, feeling comfortable. “Did those vials come in useful?”
“If you mean Piritta hoarding the calming pheromones, yeah, they did.” Colt said with a chuckle. “I did shove one bottle of vomit inducing pheromones into one guy’s nose, though…didn’t stick around to see what happened.”
“You gotta keep those away from her.” Tzeitel chuckled. “She’d live off of River’s painkiller berries if they let her.”
Colt chuckled again. “Yeah, but she still kicks ass, so I don’t worry too much.” He admitted.
“Yeah, Piritta could probably take on MegaCorp alone.” Tzeitel thought Colt and Piritta would make a good couple, too bad Piritta had a boyfriend already. “So… what do you think about me getting a tattoo?”
“A tattoo?” Colt raised an eyebrow. “Hmm…you’d probably look more badass.” He finally answered after some thought. “Though, you already are badass.” His eyes glanced over her again, lingering on her lips for a moment before he looked away and settled his hand on his sword.
“Klaire thinks I should get one to cover that damned brand.” Tzeitel said, oblivious to Colt’s look. “I guess there’s a meta in the Underground whose power is tattoos.”
“It might help you move further forward from all that’s happened to you,” Colt answered as he gently touched her arm where it was. “You’re far stronger than you think, Tzeitel.”
“I’ve gotten used to the other scars, even the words that the bastard carved into my legs… But I can’t stand the brand. He put it on me to claim me.” Tzeitel’s shoulders tightened. “I don’t know what to put on it… I just don’t want to see it.”
“It can be anything you want,” Colt told her, gently bumping his forehead against hers. “You could choose your favorite flower. Put your own words over it with a cool design…probably be smarter to ask James about tattoos, honestly.” He blushed slightly and had to pull away before he did something stupid.
“I don’t have a favorite flower.” Tzeitel frowned. “I know he didn’t really do all those terrible things in this timeline, but I’m still not comfortable with James.”
“Well, he and Klaire are together, so we’re going to have to get used to it.” Colt sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck. “I get it, you have a hard time with it because of different timelines and that whole time displacement thing, but he’s a good guy…he helped us escape the village and has been helping for the past five years. He’s always careful about your boundaries and doesn’t even make snide comments anymore. You have to admit, he has come a long way in the past five years. If Klaire loves and trusts him, I’ll trust him…mostly.”