Flashes. Bits of sound that rake across my brain, flickers of color that gouge at my eyes, sensation that tears my skin.

"FOUR!"

Tears fall down my cheeks as I am thrown into a car. The air burns, even though there is no fire. The pungent odor of rust and copper stings my nose, curling its way into my lungs and squeezing them tight.

"FIVE!"

It's too loud and not loud enough, the ringing in my ears not quite able to block out the screams. Pulled into an embrace, stared down at by the face that smiles and promises that we are going to be okay.

"SIX!"

I gasp awake, the screams of terror replaced by cheers of excitement and adrenaline. Everything comes into focus all at once, my eyes burning as sweat drips into them. The canvas is cool on my cheek, and for a treacherous moment I'm tempted to stay down.

"SEVEN!"

I look past the ropes and see Zoil's eyes, staring straight into mine as he shouts, screams at me to get up.

"EIGHT!"

I take a deep breath, grit my teeth, and push my hands underneath me. It feels so slow, my arms trembling, but in that one second that seems to last an eternity, I'm back on my feet. I can't hear the ref as he waves his hand in front of my face, but I nod anyways, looking straight past him at the mother fucker on the opposite end of the ring. He has his back on the ropes, arms loose at his sides, and he's fucking smirking at me.

Whatever sympathy I’d had left from our… mental connection, or whatever, died at that moment. I grin right back at him and mouth one word. Boom.

I feel a pat on my shoulder, and the ref shuffles to the middle of the ring.

"BOX!"

I take a deep breath, squeezing my right eye shut as it stings from sweat. There's not enough air in my lungs, but that's okay. My arms are tired, but it's fine. The entire world has gone silent, but that doesn't matter.

He's bouncing on his feet, with that fucking smirk still plastered on his face, and his arms still lowered as I raise my guard. I stalk forward and he leans in, grinning as he taps his chin. So I oblige. I send out a jab, loose and fast, watch him lean backwards before I skip into his guard and throw a hook at his temple.

Sometimes there's a moment when your glove connects with flesh. A moment where your entire body seems to hum, and you can just tell that it was a good hit. He'd tried to slip under, like he'd done the last four times I'd used this combination. Always the exact same way, except now I’m fast enough to catch him. My eye is the laser, my arm the launching system, and my fist the missile as it crashes into his temple.

Boom.

"DOWN!"

Noise explodes into my world once more as the crowd goes fucking ballistic. I stare down at Selilo, heaving in air as he crashes to the canvas face first, the ref rushing forwards to push me away and start his count. I look around, watching people punch the air and shoot to their feet. I look over to Zoil, and he grins at me, giving me a thumbs up, and I grin back.

I saunter over to the ropes and lean over them, working my gum guard loose with my tongue and spitting it out of the ring.

"Little early for that, don't you think?" Zoil asks loudly, though I can barely hear him over the roar of the crowd. I laugh and shake my head, glancing over my shoulder just in time to see the ref waving his hands in the air. Selilo was now flipped over onto his back, eyes open but staring at nothing but stars.

"I'd say I did it just in time!" I shout, Zoil rolling his eyes and bending down to pick up the guard before climbing under the ropes to stand in the ring with me. He claps me on the back and wraps an arm around my shoulders, steering me back to our corner of the ring. The crowd is deafening, and as I raise a glove the noise almost doubles, rolling over me like a shockwave of sound.

"Get used to this feeling!" My friend and coach shouts in my ear, laughing and kissing the side of my head. "You'll be hearing this a lot!" He pulls off the towel from his shoulder, dabbing the sweat from my head and neck.

There's a small cut on my cheek that's already mostly healed, and I look past Zoil to see Selilo finally sitting up in a daze. His own team helps him rise to his feet, patting his cheek and cradling his head in their hands. His brows are furrowed in confusion.

"You're not going to be able to just leave like you did in your underground and amateur matches." Zoil says, forcing me to turn my attention back to him. "Real fights like this, you're going to be invited to a panel afterwards to give your thoughts on your debut match. Do me a favor and don't be a dickhead, yeah?"

I chuckle, flashing him a smile as he wipes the last of the sweat from my face and neck. "I'll be on my best behavior." I promise with a wink, and he mock grimaces.

"That's what I'm worried about."

I scan the crowd, eyeing two front row seats in particular that are conspicuously empty. For a brief moment the thrill and exhilaration drain away. "Chloe and my mom never showed up?" I ask, and Zoil pauses, his expression turning apologetic.

"I'm sorry Eli. I buzzed them over their links, but… You know Chloe hates seeing you fight. And your mom…" He trails off, slinging his towel over his shoulder. I shake my head, forcing the smile back on.

"Ah it's fine. We'll have enough time to stop by Chloe's bar after?" I ask, and he smiles sympathetically.

"Yeah, I think we can swing that."

We wait for the judges to finish up, while a swarm of reporters, camera crews, and arena staff climb into the ring and set up. Through the throng of bodies I can see Selilo has finally recovered, his team solemn as they take off his gloves and wraps. Before he tugs his shirt on he notices me staring at him, and for a moment I'm worried that he might be bitter about losing to the rookie. Especially from the flashes of emotion I’d felt from him during the match But then he smiles, and I know he'll at least be cordial about it.

I wring out my hands as Zoil takes my own gloves and wraps off, clenching and unclenching my fist to work out some of the stiffness that had started to set in. I can feel the regular itchiness in my knuckles that signals my nanos getting to work to repair the cartilage damage.

After a few minutes I can see the MC make his way to the middle of the crowd on stage, and Zoil pats my shoulder. "Time to roll, Eli." He says, and I nod, standing up and pulling my shirt on as we both walk to him. I smile at the cameras as they film both me and Selilo, waving to them before standing side by side with my opponent. Out of the corner of my eye I see him raise his fist a bit, and I bump it with my own.

"You've got a nasty right hook!" He shouts in my ear, grinning.

"So do you!" I laugh, and we both separate while the MC makes the announcement.

"AND THE WINNER BY KNOCKOUT AT TWO MINUTES AND NINETEEN SECONDS IN THE SECOND…" As he talks I zone out for a few moments, lost in the atmosphere. I breathe in deep, then raise my hand as he announces my victory, the crowd's cheers once again washing over me in a tsunami of sound. But despite the noise of the crowd and the adrenaline spike of officially winning my debut match, my eyes linger on the two empty chairs in the front row of the stadium.

-

I climb out of the car, the rumble of the engine bouncing between the low rise buildings around us as I step onto smooth pavement. Crisp, cool autumn air brushes past my face, and I inhale it to cleanse the post-interview stuffiness from my mind.

"That'll be twenty dollars." Zoil says from behind me and I roll my eyes, turning around to lean back into the car and look at his grinning face.

"It’ll be twenty dollars to kiss my ass." I say, and he laughs as he pulls down the visor to look in the mirror. "You coming in for a drink?"

He inspects himself in the mirror, fixing some of the locks of his hair. "Nope! I've got another ass to kiss. Nora's." He murmurs, still fixing his dreads, and I raise my eyebrows as I check my watch.

"At twelve at night?"

He shrugs. "Someone's gotta keep the night alive, and I know you won't." He says, finally done messing with his hair and snapping up the visor. Then he turns to me. "Now hurry up and get your beat face out of my car. You've got some passing out to do, and I've got a date with destiny."

I lean back and grin. "I thought you had a date with Nora?"

He rolls his eyes and flips me off, his door closing shut automatically. "Smartass. No training tomorrow, by the way. I mean it, take the day to rest up." He calls and I nod, turning around and walking into Chloe's bar as his car rumbles away behind me. The lights are on, and I can hear faint music slipping out from the doorway as I take another breath of crisp air.

I pull open the door, warmth and cigar smoke enveloping me in its embrace as old timey jazz-wave music washes over me. Eve Clinton, I recognize after a few moments. Chloe's favorite.

The bar's mostly empty, though there's still a few regulars I recognize talking loudly and nursing beers in a booth, and a few more slouched over at the counter. Chloe is restocking some alcohol with her back turned to me, and the holo-v above the counter is playing gravball on mute.

I smile a bit to myself and saunter over to the counter, taking a stool a bit aways from the other two people there.

"Excuse me miss, I hate to be that guy but… what time do you get off? I was thinking of taking you out on a date." I say loudly over the music, and Chloe jumps a bit, brows furrowed until she turns around and sees me. I can't help but love the way her face softens, or the tiny little adjustment she makes to tug at her shirt. The other two people at the counter turn to look at me too, but I don't pay them any attention. I'm too focused on Chloe's coy smile as she walks over to me, putting both palms on the counter and leaning forward slightly.

"I get off in about half an hour, but I'll have to pass on the date." She says, the slight giggle in her voice tugging the corners of her mouth upwards adorably. "I've already got one planned."

I frown in mock hurt. "Oh don't break my heart. Who's the lucky guy?" I sulk, resting my elbows on the counter and leaning forwards just a bit, our lips only a breath away as I stare into her crystal green eyes.

"You wouldn't know him. Wouldn't want to compete with him anyways. He's a pro boxer now." She whispers, her breath tickling my cheek before she pecks me on the lips. I force the smile to stay in its frown, my brows still creased.

"I don't know about that. I heard he lost the match." I grumble, and she frowns too.

"What? No you didn't, you won by knocko-"

"So you did watch it!" I accuse, grinning as her eyes widen in realization, then roll upwards.

"Ugh, I can't with you." She huffs, though another peck on the lips by me causes her lips to turn upwards the slightest bit, her eyes softening. I love when they do that.

"If you were gonna watch it anyway, you could have done it from the seat I got for you." I say, still smiling as she turns to the two people at the counter who've waived her down. "Expensive seats, I might add."

"I didn't watch the fight." She admits, before smiling at the other customers and walking over to tap her circlet to theirs. They stand, sending a few glances my way as they pull on the jackets they had draped over their chairs. They whisper something to each other, and Chloe comes back to stand across from me. "I just caught the announcement from Zoil."

I roll my eyes. "So instead of watching the fight from the, again, expensive seats I got, you work and listen to cheesy jazz?" I tease, and she cocks a hand on her hip in indignation.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Excuse you, Eve Clinton was a gift to the Union's jazz-wave scene. I will not stand you slandering her name in my bar." She retorts, and I cock an eyebrow, looking her up and down.

"But you're standing right now. And I'm still going to suggest that maybe jazz-wave should ask if the galaxy takes returns on gifts?"

She scoffs, leaning across the table. "You're lucky you're cute." She grumbles, and I laugh.

"You're lucky I'm cute. But I guess that just means we're a good looking couple of cuties." I whisper, grinning, and she groans, putting her hand on my face and pushing me away.

"And you call Eve cheesy."

"Excuse me, are you Elias Vicha?" One of the duo asks, having apparently worked up the courage to approach us. His slicked back hair is slightly askew, and he has a drunken flush to his cheeks. I nod, turning to rest my weight on one elbow as I widen my smile.

"See? I told you!" The one who hadn't spoken exclaims, roughly tapping on his friend's shoulder, and they both look at me. "We're big fans man, been following you since your underground matches in the Curtainfall rings."

"Yeah! You're awesome, dude." The other hurriedly chimes in, stumbling forwards a bit before he catches himself. "You mind if we get pictures really quick? We got another buddy who is not going to believe we met you."

I glance at Chloe, who nods and steps back a bit, before grinning at the duo. "Sure thing. Just promise you won't leak the bar's name. It's my secret place." I agree with a wink, and they hurriedly nod as they stand behind me and raise their circlets, a screen popping into existence above them. "Alright, everyone say 'suck it Selilo'!"

They echo my phrase with a chuckle, and with a blink of blue light their circlet snaps the pic. "Congrats on your fight dude! Knew you'd win, even if you did get knocked out first!" They laugh, and I wince as I send a hurried glance over to Chloe. I see her fingers tighten slightly against the alcohol shelf she's leaning against.

Damn.

With one last round of compliments they finally leave, inspecting the pic they'd just taken before the door finally closes shut behind them. I turn back to Chloe, but before I can say anything she walks away, heading over to the booth of regulars that has only gotten louder as time has gone on.

"Alright boys, five minutes and then I'm closing up. Last call." She says, and even from here I can hear the clip in her tone, making me wince again. The table goes noticeably quiet, and no one orders anything, glancing between her and me. She spins around and they hurriedly stand, putting cash on the table. One of them, Warren, has his eyebrows raised as he puts on his jacket.

What'd you do? He mouths, and I just shake my head, as does he. In the time it takes her to get back to the bar they've hurried out of the door, and I catch a mouthed good luck with that before it closes behind them. I turn to Chloe, though she's still not looking at me, instead putting liquor in their places and tossing glasses into the sink.

"Chloe." I call, but she ignores me, pulling out a rag and wiping down the counter. "Chloe." I try again, but still silence as she walks over to the booth and grabs empty glasses. I stand and walk over, reaching out to help her clean up, and she finally looks at me.

"Don't-" she snaps, then pauses, taking a deep breath. "Don't." Is the one word warning she gives, walking back over to the sink with her mugs. I look between her, and the dishes still left at the table, and gather them up anyways despite her warning.

"Are you mad?" I ask quietly as I walk up to the sink and stand behind her.

"No." She says just as quietly, still not looking at me.

"If you're mad please tel-"

"I'm not mad!" She snaps, resting her hands on the edge of the sink. "I'm not." She insists in the silence I leave between us. "Just..."

She turns on the water, but doesn't touch the dishes. She just stares at the water swirling down the drain, even as I set the dishes down in the sink. I brush her red hair from her collar and press my lips against the nape of her neck, resting my hands on her hips.

"Chloe." I murmur gently against her skin, and she shivers slightly, before turning around to face me, leaning her back against the counter. She looks up at me, and I see a small tear teetering at the corner of her eye, threatening to spill over.

"You said you'd stop doing that shit, Eli." She whispers fiercely, the tear finally spilling down, and I nod as I cup my hand to her cheek, brushing it away.

"I know." I murmur.

"You said you'd stop with the theatrics and shit."

"I know I did."

"Then why did he say you got knocked out?" She hisses, clenching her jaw.

"I'm sorry."

She slaps my hand away, biting her lower lip and straightening from her leaning position. "Yes, Eli, you're sorry. Every time, you're sorry. But it wasn't a rhetorical question. Why?" She demands.

I stare down at her, and she glares up at me. Stubbornness was one of my favorite qualities about her. Also her refusal to take bullshit answers. So I wouldn't give her one.

But I can't think of the right way to put it. So I say nothing, as does she, and instead we stay like this for a few moments longer. Until finally she sighs.

"Sit down. Maybe a couple of beers will make this conversation easier." She says and I nod, walking around the bar to sit at a stool. She dips down below the counter, and with the rattle of clinking glass stands back up, holding two cases of beer and setting them down with a solid thunk in front of me. I take two bottles and pop the caps off with my teeth, setting one down on a coaster beside me and sliding another coaster to my front.

Chloe takes her seat next to mine, grabbing her beer and taking a swig as I do the same. "I wish you wouldn't do that." She grumbles, taking another sip. "It's bad for your teeth."

I smile despite myself. Even when she was mad, she still couldn't help but care. I bump her shoulder lightly with my own, glancing at her from the corner of my eye. "You sure you won't get in trouble? You're providing alcohol to a minor you know. I'm still twenty."

"Shut up and enjoy your beer." She huffs, and I chuckle, taking another sip. After a few moments, her own lips curl upwards in a small smile of her own as she returns the shoulder bump. "And selling alcohol to a minor is illegal. Giving you a beer? My bar, my rules."

"Yes ma'am, you're the boss lady." I say, and she snorts a laugh. We stay like this for a while, side by side and watching gravball on the holo-v in comfortable silence while drinking beer. When we finish the first round of beers, I grab the next two and this time pop them open with my thumb. When we finish those, she pops the third round open on the counter top.

As she hands me this one, I feel her fingers lightly brush along the back of my hand, and she rests her head on my shoulder. "I love you, you know? I just worry." She whispers, and I nod, kissing the top of her head.

"I know." I murmur, wrapping an arm around her waist and stroking her side with my thumb.

We take a simultaneous sip of beer, and she pats my leg with her open hand. "I'm glad you're not hurt. Not enough to stay away from my bar, at least."

I nod, taking a large swig and setting the bottle down on the coaster as I grin. "What? And miss the cheezy jazz?" I say teasingly, and she breathes another laugh, lightly slapping my side.

"What did I say about slandering Eve Clinton?" She says, turning her head to look at me, and I smile down at her.

"That you wouldn't stand it. But you're sitting right now." I hum, and she rolls her eyes..

"God, you're so corny." She groans, but her slight smile can't fool me. I peck another kiss to her lips, and she giggles softly.

"How was the bar tonight? You know, because you didn't sit in the expensive seat I got you." I ask, and she leans away from me with yet another groan.

"You're not going to let that go, are you?" She grumbles, and I only smile as I pick up my beer and take another swig, draining it. "It was good. There was some drunk asshole that was a little too insistent on getting my link, but the boys took care of it."

I nod, reaching for another beer. Could always trust them to have her back when I wasn't around, at least. One of the good thing about being part of a gym was that everyone was family. As I'm about to pop it open, I pause, something about what she said reminding me of what we had argued about, and she looks up at me questioningly.

"It happened again. That's why I got knocked out." I say quietly, and her expression changes slightly. From casual questioning to alert inquisitiveness.

"It…?" She asks, and I shrug.

"You know, the…" I struggle to put it into words, so I tap my temple, and then hers. "Link." I finally find the term that feels right.

She nods slowly, her gaze softening. "What was it like?"

I take a few moments to think about it, idly popping open my beer and taking a long drink. She waits patiently, god I love this woman, as I try to figure it out.

"I don't know how to describe it." I say honestly, turning away from her and staring at the liquid in the bottle, swirling it around in small circles. "It was like… feeling double of everything. The crowd, the fatigue, the sweat, the noise and the lights and…" I sigh, taking another sip. "But more than that, I could feel what he was feeling."

I turn back to her, staring into her eyes, and brush a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She kisses the palm of my hand, before taking it into her own and lowering it into her lap. "What was he feeling?" She asks gently, and I bite my lip.

"He wanted to win." I murmur. "He wanted to beat me… no, I don't think that's right. He just wanted to win. So fucking badly, Chloe. More than I've ever wanted anything." I pause, feigning a grin. "Besides you, of course."

She doesn't dignify the half-assed joke with a reaction, only gently strokes my palm in her hands. "And?"

I shake my head, a sudden bitterness coating my mouth. "And he was frustrated. Frustrated that he was older, and that he'd been put into a debut match. And he wanted to win. To prove that he wasn't past his prime, that he was still…" I stop, biting my lip again, harder this time. "He wanted to win, way more than I did. And it shook me. So I thought that maybe I'd let him. So I hesitated, and then he knocked me out."

The bitterness is replaced with a faint flash of anger, and I chug the rest of my beer to try to placate it. "But then, as I was knocked out, I… I had those nightmares again." As I say that, her gentle gaze turns to one of concern, but I press on. "And when I got back up, he was fucking smirking at me, and I… I don't know."

It was frustrating to not know how to explain what I felt, so I popped open another beer and took another swig. I was feeling a faint buzz now, but I didn't know if that helped or not. Chloe didn't touch hers, only continued to stroke my palm. I focused on it, on her slight breaths, on Eve Clinton who she liked so much. And the stuffiness in my chest started to go away.

Damn. I was head over heels, huh?

The anger and frustration receded, replaced by the comfort of her gently tracing the lines of my palm, and I looked down at her. She was only looking at me, and I felt my heart flutter. Drawn into her green eyes. The only eyes that mattered really, now that I thought about it.

"Do you feel bad about winning?" She asks softly, and I shake my head.

"No." I murmur. "I really wanted to tell you and my mom that I won."

She laughs quietly, and a smile surfaces on my face. "You're kind of cute sometimes, you know that?" She hums, and this time it's my turn to laugh.

"Even if I think Eve Clinton is cheesy?" I say, and she snorts - god I loved that snort-, finally reaching for her beer.

"Even then." She admits, looking up at me. "Congratulations, by the way. I don't know why it took me so long to say that."

She raises her bottle and I clink it with my own, and we both start drinking, staring into each other's eyes. I don't know how it started, but neither of us were willing to be the first one to stop, so we kept going, staring at each other the whole time. Until finally she ran out of air, breaking away from the bottle with a gasp, and I made a what I hope was triumphant noise as I gulped down the rest of what was in the bottle. When I finally set it down, I was a little light headed, and she hiccuped, which caused me to laugh.

"How are you going to be a lightweight, and own a bar? The irony in that." I tease, then laughed harder when she hiccuped again.

"Shaddup!" She complains, slapping my chest, and hiccups again. Which causes her face to flush, which makes me laugh again, which makes her blush even more. "Shadduuuup!" She repeats, slapping my chest again.

I grin, leaning in close so that our foreheads rest against each other's. "You're pretty cute, you know that?" I repeat her question back at her, and she giggles, pecking my lips.

"I know. You're lucky you are too."

I feel a bit coy, so with my grin widening even further, I decide to tease her a bit. "You know, sometimes I form a link with you." I say, tapping my temple and then tapping hers. She looks at me questioningly, then blushes a tiny bit more.

She clears her throat subtly, pulling away and reaching for another bottle, popping it open on the counter. "Is that so?" She asks casually, taking a sip. "When exactly, if you had to give an example?"

I hum, tilting my head this way and that, enjoying the way she tried to feign casualness. "Oh you know… sometimes in quiet moments like this, when the bar's closed and it's just us drinking together. Sometimes when you're singing to yourself in the morning as you get ready." I take pleasure in the way she subtly squirms in her seat, her ears slowly turning more and more red if that was even possible. "Sometimes at night, when you're dreami-"

"I KNEW IT!" She shrieks, slapping my shoulders with her small hands as I cackle away. "I KNEW THERE WAS A REASON YOU ALWAYS KNEW WHAT I WANTED AFTER-"

She freezes, and I don't let the moment sit. "After?" I question, smirking, and she huffs, taking another large gulp of her drink.

"You know what after." She grumbles, refusing to meet my eyes, and I only smile. I bring my hand to her cheek, subtly guiding her head to face mine, and she finally meets my gaze with a shy bite of her lower lip. I lean down until my lips are resting just above hers, tantalizingly close.

"You know what I'm craving right now?" I breathe.

"What?" She whispers, and I lick my lips.

"You."

-

Our breaths' are deep and even as Chloe lays on top of me, eyes closed while I gently trace the line of her back. I look up at the ceiling of her room, the neon pink light from the sign of the building next door creating patterns that have become familiar in the year and some change that I've spent my nights here. When I glance back down, Chloe's red hair is spilled out over my chest, her emerald green eyes almost glowing in the low light of our room as she looks at me.

Our room. The thought was almost funny, once I noticed I'd internalized it that way.

"You doing okay?" She asks, her voice sweet in the way it it only was after I'd exhausted her.

For a moment, just a moment, vulnerability creeps in, and I feel my bottom lip tremble slightly. I quickly wrestled it away, instead smiling and kissing the top of her head, her eyes closing momentarily before opening again. There must have been something she saw though, as she gently scratched my chest.

"Hey, it's okay." She coos, resting her chin on my chest to look at me. "What is it? What's wrong?"

I think about brushing it off. But Chloe doesn't take bullshit answers, so I'm only left with the honest one.

"I really wish you'd been there at my fight." I whisper, hating the slight tremor that had crept into my voice but unable to stop it. Her mouth parts, and I gently shake my head. "I know. I know why you weren't. Your dad, right?"

She hesitates, before nodding slightly. "My dad." She confirms, her voice just as whispery as mine, but still with that note of sweetness to it.

I bring a hand up to scratch the top of her head, and she leans into it. "Which is why I'll never force the issue. I just…" I sigh, feeling selfish, and she kisses my chest.

"Hey." She murmurs, her hands gently cupping my face. "I'm… I know it must have been important to you. We can talk about why in the morning. Is that why you kept joking about the expensive seats?"

I nod, and she pulls herself up to kiss the corner of my mouth. "If it means that much to you, then it's important to me, you know? I'll be there at your next fight." She says quietly, looking down at me while stroking the side of my face, and I feel a sting at the corner of my eyes and a burn in my throat.

"You'll be there?" I ask, this time letting the tremble into my voice.

"I'll be there."

"You promise?"

She smiles down at me, kissing my forehead. "I promise."