Amelia grunted and stumbled as Keigo bumped into her. She whirled around, prepared to hit the man, but stopped, recognizing him just as he recognized her.
“Keigo?”she asked the same time he did.
She then watched as he ran off, stunned.
Keigo finally caught the man, passerby's running up to watch the scene unfold. He was sitting on the man's back, pinning his arm in a position that if the man struggled too hard it would break his arm. “where the items you stole!” Keigo said in a bone-chilling tone. There was no remorse or warmth in his voice like when he talked to Amelia.
Amelia walked after him. She stood behind the crowd, but she still heard his tone. The sweet man had a dark side apparently. Amelia fought hard to conceal her grin.
She watched and waited, curious what would happen.
The man eventually broke, telling Keigo where the stolen goods were. He got up and walked back to where he could have sworn he'd seen a familiar face. “ where is she..” he mumbled to himself
Amelia chuckled as she watched, then slipped into the crowd, avoiding Keigo momentarily. Should she approach him? Or should she leave?
The memories of her many crying fits convinced her, and she emerged from the crowd, approaching him. She put up a stoic expression, but her eyes showed her troubled emotions despite all her efforts to hide it.
“Keigo?”she called quietly to get his attention.
Keigo turned around, the same light blush flooding his cheeks “ Emma!” he said Relieved she was okay. He hadn't heard from her in so long. Though he never thought of himself to be affectionate, he huged Amelia. “ God I thought you were hurt or worse!”
Amelia smiled in amusement at his blush. Though, when he hugged her, she froze, stunned by his actions. She then snorted and wrapped her arms around him, glad that he seemed to feel the same as her.
“I went into hiding, and it was a good thing I did. I… I’m sorry I didn’t contact you. I… don’t know why,”she said, her voice becoming shaky despite her efforts to remain calm.
Keigo sighed “you're fine Emma, just had me worried was all” he mumbled
Amelia snorted, fighting back tears.
“You’re the first person who’s worried about me in a long while. I don’t know what to say,”she said, chuckling helplessly.
“ thank you?” he said with a snicker. “ and your the first person whos came back to me.” he said with a thankful huff.
“Damn it, don’t make me cry. I’ve cried enough already,”Amelia said, snickering, more amused than upset even though tears started dripping from her eyes.
Keigo pulled back from his hug and wiped her tears. “you're even pretty when your upset.” he said softly. His voice and smile were back to having their warmth, he couldn't help but smile around Emma.
Amelia snickered, gently pushing his hands away in half-hearted protest. His words made her blush slightly and she couldn’t help but smile back.
“You’re too nice to me,”she said, chuckling.
“ it's hard not to be nice to you,” he said with a chuckle. He moved his hands at the touch of hers
Amelia snorted,”I don’t see how. First, I trick you with an act, though it didn’t last. And then, I disappeared for months and didn’t even call.”
She repeatedly wiped the tears off her face, but still managed a small smile.
“ you did it to feel safe. As you said, you had the heat on your back and didn't want to be caught. “ he said with a warm smile, Keigo had only just noticed that the glass containment l temperature was different from the last, though running to catch a criminal didn't help.
She snorted again.
“Safe doesn’t mean happy. In fact, it’s miserable,”she groaned, slowly calming down.
She shook her head and sighed, looking away.
Keigo sighed, he leaned in a little closer unknowingly. “ ya know, should have said something sooner. We've got room on board. “
Amelia noticed his lean, but didn’t say anything about it. She chuckled at his words, a slight blush appearing as she turned back to him.
“I don’t work well with others. For one, I’ve got an attitude, and for two, it’s been a few years since I was last in a crew of any kind. And there’s a good reason for that,”Amelia said, unconsciously rubbing the long scar rubbing down her neck.
Keigo noticed her rubbing the scar, putting his hand on hers. “ you can stay in your own ship if you like, I'll connect a tow to our ship. Plus my crew stay to themselves. “ he was really trying to convince her.
Amelia froze when Keigo put his hands on hers. She didn’t know how to react. Should she be angry, or melt in his arms right there?
“That’s something I never thought of. Being towed without needing repairs,”she mused, chuckling.
Amelia did take notice of how hard he was trying. How long had it been since someone had tried so hard for her? Had anyone ever been that way to her? It was hard to remember, but she doubted it.
She slowly relaxed, discovering that she liked having his hand on hers. She blushed a bit, then smiled.
“Alright. It’s worth a try. And it’s something new for me, so, that should be fun.”
Keigo smiled brightly “ then it's a deal! “ he said happily. His eyes flickered to his watch when it flashed green. “ just make me a promise, don't freak out or get too over-worried if and when I seize “ he said softly
Amelia laughed at his enthusiasm. She then noticed his watch as well and shrugged.
“I’ll try, but I honestly don’t know how I’ll react. I’ve never seen someone have a seizure. But, considering you’re the captain, I’m sure you’ve got everything and everyone situated to accommodate, yes?”she said.
“ yes, my watch ping my medic once it flashes yellow. I'm sure that if you're on the dock at any point the crew will lead you out,” he said calmly. Keigo yawned softly, unable to show that he'd had a little more than a few sleepless nights. “ wanna go set up the tow now?”
Amelia nodded, satisfied with his reply. She then giggled at his yawn, inwardly relieved that she wasn’t the only one.
“Sure… after I sell a few things,”she said, a sly grin appearing on her face.