SNAKESKIN (Tangerine) ✓

七

The Cobra

I stood in the gangway as Ladybug and Tangerine rummaged through the luggage rack for a case that somewhat resembled the one they were supposed to have. Ladybug stood up with a case, smiling triumphantly as he held it up for Tangerine to inspect. "This good enough?"

Tangerine just shrugged, glancing at his watch as the train slowed down, entering a dark tunnel, which meant it was about to enter the station. "Well, it'll have to fuckin' do, won't it?" He snapped, glaring at the man in the bucket hat. "The train's about to bloody stop, innit?"

"Guys," I interjected warningly. They both turned to face me and I gestured to the window, where the moving platform had come to a complete stop. "Time to get moving."

"Right," Ladybug responded, rolling his shoulders back in preparation. Tangerine just looked at me with an unreadable expression, which I returned impassively. "Let's go, Orange."

I relished in the look of annoyance on Tangerine's face at the name Ladybug used. "It's actually Tangerine," I corrected, my gaze still locked with the man in question."It's more sophisticated than an orange."

Ladybug just laughed as the corners of my mouth curled upwards in a mocking smirk. Tangerine just rolled his eyes, turning around to face the door, muttering under his breath. "It's more sophisticated than Cobra."

"What's that?" I asked, not quite having heard what he had said. It was the first time I had spoken directly to him without having a knife held to his throat. "I didn't quite hear that."

"I said it's a better name than Cobra!"

"Hmm." I wasn't expecting that. I had to agree that Cobra wasn't a very sophisticated name, but faced with two assassins named Cobra and Tangerine, any rational person would probably laugh at the latter. It was cute, not intimidating. I watched him curiously as the warning sounded over the loudspeaker. "No one is scared of citrus fruits, darling."

I bit my tongue, immediately regretting the words that came out of my mouth. You idiot! I scolded myself angrily. This man betrayed you. He doesn't deserve your banter anymore.

"Darling?" He smirked slightly, looking at me with a gleam in his eyes. "Haven't heard that in a while."

"And you won't again." I gritted my teeth in frustration. He was mocking me. He knew I had mistakenly called him darling, but he still knew how to get under my skin. It annoyed me deeply that his teasing still ignited a warm feeling in my stomach, even though it hadn't happened in years. It was like I completely forgot that I hated him. Almost.

The door hissed open and Tangerine shot me a brief nod, before heading out onto the platform. Ladybug followed him, shooting me a bright smile as he saw my face, red with anger and embarrassment. "See you on the other side."

"Bye."

I poked my head out of the door just enough to see the two assassins and the gang of rough-looking guys that walked up to meet them. The platform was pretty empty except for them, so it was easy to hear what they were saying.

"Wow," the man at the head of the group said, pointing between Tangerine and Ladybug. "You two do look like twins." I already knew that Tangerine would be annoyed by the comment and it made me smile. That man was very easily annoyed.

Tangerine looked at the man with indignation for a moment before responding. "Yeah, okay," he stated impatiently. "We've got the case. Now what?"

"You still take the train to Kyoto Station," the man replied as if it were obvious.

"Mhm hmm, yep." Tangerine replied quickly. "Okay, we can do that. Wonderful." He started to walk back to the train but the gang leader wasn't done.

"Hey," he called out, causing Tangerine to stop and turn back around. "Have you opened the case?"

"Nah, of course not," Tangerine replied, sounding quite annoyed. "Do you know what? I never asked for the combination. Easier to keep it safe that way.

"Yeah," Ladybug said in an accent that made me snicker in amusement. He held up the case to his shoulder height. "So no one gets greedy." He flipped the numbers on the combination lock for emphasis, but to my horror, it clicked unlocked and a bunch of stuff fell out onto the platform floor. I covered my mouth in horror as the very personal items landed around his feet.

All the people on the platform just stared at the spilled contents of the case, as the warning sound went off in the train. Looking quickly at each other, Ladybug dropped the case and him and Tangerine both ran back onto the train, diving into the gangway just as the door closed. I jumped out of the way at the last possible second, watching in amusement as the gang leader pounded on the window.

The train started to speed up and before long it was out of the station and Ladybug and Tangerine were on the ground, panting like they had just run a marathon.

"What the hell was that?" I asked as the two men stood up, Tangerine glaring daggers at Ladybug. "Why did you open the case.?"

"I know, I know," Ladybug muttered in embarrassment. "I'm sorry." He turned to me. "You know I have this bad luck thing-"

"Oh, is that what you call it?" Tangerine snarked. "So, what was that? Why did you even bother trying-?"

"I was trying to sell it." Ladybug interrupted him.

Tangerine just looked incredulous. "Well, I don't think they were in the market for fuckin' dildos and pantyhose, were they?"

"Ahh, but they were buying it." Ladybug looked at me as if asking me to agree. Tangerine did the same and I just laughed.

"They might've taken all the stuff you dropped," I said chuckling. "They looked like they would be into it."

"Told you," Ladybug said, patting Tangerine on the shoulder, the same way had to done to me earlier. "I'm always right." He turned away and began to head down the train, chuckling to himself as he entered the next car.

Tangerine glanced over at me. The air had suddenly become thick. We hadn't been in a room together in years, let alone just the two of us. It made me feel self-conscious that he was watching me, so I leaned against the wall, checking my phone for any missed calls.

"So," Tangerine said, in what seemed like a futile attempt to break the awkward silence. "How have you been?"

I looked up from my phone, eyebrows raised in exasperation. He looked like he regretted speaking as soon as he did. He clasped his hands together and looked away.

"You're really going to ask me that?" I said quietly. I didn't think we would ever cross paths again, but I had thought that if we did the first thing he would say would be some sort of apology, or perhaps an explanation. "What about 'sorry I fucked off and left you to finish the job on my own."

My snappy comment seemed to offend Tangerine because he lowered his, gaze, his eyebrows knitting together and his shoulders hunching forward. He didn't speak straight away and I was done talking. So, it was silent.

"I'm sorry."

A/N: Should Bronte forgive him? Would you if he wasn't Tangerine / Aaron Taylor-Johnson?