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Atlantis stared at the woman smoking and was tempted to ask for a smoke when she remembered Rayleigh was standing right next to her and would definitely kill her if he knew she liked to smoke. They still hadn't properly spoken to each other yet, so she turned to him only to cover her mouth and tilt her head up as her shoulders shook.
Rayleigh squinted his eyes in confusion only to realise she was attempting to seem like she wasn't laughing. He placed a hand on his hip and Shakky left to re-stock on some veggies in the storage room. "What's so funny?"
She shook her head but he only urged her to spit it out. Lowering her hand she took three steps back and felt safe enough to say why she was laughing by pointing her finger at him with a snicker. "You're graying!"
Even with how strong she'd gotten over the years, Atlantis could never predict the kick aimed for her stomach that had her groaning in pain while kneeled on the ground. Rayleigh picked her up by the scruff of her shirt and plopped her on one of the stools before sitting in the one next to her. She placed her head on the table and groaned and he scoffed. "You have no place to talk, you got white hair when you were eleven."
"Well, at least it's not gray hair."
His lips quirked up and his hand reached up to ruffle her hair. Atlantis lifted her head and stared at him for a few seconds before her own lips quirked up as well, surprising the man to the point that his eyes widened and he couldn't believe this used to be that little girl who didn't even know her name and never knew how to smile. The fact that she could smile so easily now made him feel so sappy so easily it was pathetic.
"How have you been, Atlantis?"
Her smile widened and she turned to face him after denying a drink Shakky offered her. "Well... If I'm honest, it's been kind of hard without Roger and Rouge..."
She noticed his gaze soften instantly and hoped he wasn't pitying her. Rayleigh doesn't pity people, after all. "But I met some great people, and I got to see Shanks again too, so I'm okay."
