couples therapy: a chilumi fanfiction

chapter five: spar with me

Ajax turned out to be great at choosing locations for dates.

The restaurant he took them to for lunch was a rather large one, but Ajax being 'made of money' (in Lumine's words), he managed to get them a private room in Liuli Pavillion. Lumine was glad that he told her of the location in advance, because her original plan was to wear sweats. Instead, she had chosen a casual dress that she had bought a few weeks before with Mona.

She sat opposite Ajax, who had just finished ordering and was looking at her expectantly.

"Let's play a game." He grinned.

"A game? Here?"

"What better way to pass the time? Two truths and a lie. It'll be a fun way for us to learn more about each other."

"Alright," she leaned back, brushing some strands of her blonde hair behind her ears. "You go first."

He thought for a second, before clearing his throat and beginning. "Ok so. #1: I have five siblings. #2: I wear eyeliner. #3: I am allergic to seafood."

Lumine considered her options before deciding. "You definitely aren't allergic to seafood. You lived in Snezhnaya which is practically seafood central."

"Ding ding ding!" He smiled. "You're right, I love seafood. My father and I used to go ice fishing together in the early mornings." He smiled fondly, but there was a hint of sadness there too. Lumine decided not to press it, and instead switched the subject to one of his truths.

"I knew you wear eyeliner, obviously, but I didn't know that you have a big family." She rested her elbows on the table, leaning closer.

"Yep! Besides my parents, I have five siblings. There's my older sister, Alisa, she's 30 and just got married two summers ago. Then there's Nikolai who's 28... he's working for my father's company in Snezhnaya. As for my younger siblings, there's Tonia, who is 13 and my little princess, then Anton who is 10 and Teucer who's 8. My family is one of the most important things to me."

"What are the others?"

"You'll find out eventually. Your turn." He gestured at her.

"Hmm..." She could feel his intense gaze on her as she thought. "#1: I am a black belt in Jiu Jitsu. #2: I am amazing at sports that involve balls. #3: I can do the splits."

"#1?" He guessed. She shook her head.

"I am terrible at all sports involving balls. I'm great at more individual sports though, like martial arts. That's why I'm trying to become a physiotherapist."

He nodded. "That's cool. Shame you aren't good at things involving balls though." With that last comment, he smirked at her suggestively.

"Are you forgetting that I'm a black belt in Jiu Jitsu? I could throw you over my shoulder and onto your ass right now." Lumine deadpanned, taking a sip of her drink.

"Spar with me."

"I'm sorry?" She sputtered on her water.

"One day, I want to spar with you." Before he could elaborate further, the wait staff brought them their food: Some Sweet Madame for Lumine, and a dish with tentacles in it called 'The Catch' for Ajax.

"Is that octopus?" She asked him in between bites.

He shrugged. "Not entirely sure. It's delicious though, so much so that they named the dish after me. Since I'm, you know, a catch." Again with the smirks. His smirks made Lumine feel so weak, and made her want to blush like a schoolgirl.

"Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes, but he could tell she was fighting back a smile.

Although the topic wasn't brought up again, his comment lingered on Lumine's mind. Why would someone like him want to spar with her?

---

Ajax was on cloud-nine as he walked down the familiar stairs. His date with Lumine had gone exceptionally well, and they were now good-as-new. (Not that he knew why he cared so much about that). And he had aced a physics test in his last class. All that was left to do that night was make his Tsaritsa proud, and then grab some pizza and go to sleep.

Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he brought out his key, and unlocked the door to his warm up room. All of the Tsaritsa's 'harbingers' were entitled to one. Ajax closed the door behind him before hitting the lights. His room was simple compared to some of the other harbingers'; Signora's cost at least $10,000 to furnish. He had a fridge with some snacks and energy drinks, a punching bag, some weights, some shelves with some clothes, and a picture of his family, as a reminder.

"Alright," he muttered to himself, checking his phone. "20 minutes until show time."

He threw on a black tank top and some shorts, and placed his purple hand guards on his wrists. Downing some Gatorade, he began his warm up regimen, the familiar beat on the punching bag getting him into the right mindset.

A knock at his door interrupted his flow. It was one of the Tsaritsa's many attendants. "2 minutes, Lord Tartaglia. Are you ready?"

He nodded. "I'll be out in a second." Taking one last swig of his drink, he placed the familiar crimson mask on his face, the one that turned him from college student Ajax Ivanov to ruthless battle machine Tartaglia.

Taking a deep breath, he left his changing room and made his way down the stairs to the centre ring. He could hear the announcer call out his name in the background; 'And now, his competitor: the 11th Harbinger of Her Boss, Tartaglia!'. He blocked it out. It was no use to him anyways.

His eyes honed in on his competitor. He was tall, and strong, but this meant his agility would be hindered. Ajax, no, Tartaglia had fought someone just like him back then. He knew how he could take the man down.

"3.... 2... 1!" Tartaglia smirked under his mask, before rushing straight at the man.

Three short minutes later, the man was on the floor unconscious. Tartaglia stood, victoriously, looking out to the crowd who was cheering him on. There was no remorse in his mind - only euphoria.

Oh Lumine... if only you could see me now. Then you would see how fucked up I really am.