Number One (a UA fanfic)

VI

"Hey, Lu!"

It's been a week since Luther's escapade and damn is Eden a great friend. Eden gave him an entirely new nickname, Lu. He gave them a nickname too, E. Luther steps out of the bathroom, fully clothed in a casual red cotton t-shirt.

"Hey, E," Luther greeted back. "What are we having?"

"Sausages and pancakes, wait a second." Eden turned their back onto the stove and Luther sits on the chair after grabbing himself a nice cup of coffee with a dash of milk and sugar. It's a Sunday which means work is off today. Luther stares out the window and sighed, looking at the bright light outside. At days like this would he actually enjoy training. He doesn't hate training all the time if he was to be honest.

"What a great day outside, don't you think?" Luther asked, staring at the window. Eden nods, putting the plate in front of Luther before taking their usual seat across him.

"Yeah, it's a nice day." Eden shrugs as they shove a portion of the pancake in their mouth after pouring some maple syrup on it. "You should eat."

"Oh, yeah." Eden handed him the bottle of maple syrup. "Thanks."

"What's on your mind, Lu?" Eden asked. "You don't regret leaving the Academy, do you?"

"Oh, I don't." Luther denied. "But usually, on sunny days like this, I enjoy training. Just sometimes, though."

"Well, the nearest gym is quite far-" Eden shrugged. "But the park is only two blocks away."

"What do you say if I teach you how to fight for yourself?" Luther asked. "In case you need it."

"I'm not the fittest-"

"I'll teach the very basic ones first." Luther persuades. "What if someone's robbing the store or something?"

"This isn't the 14th century, Luther," Eden fought back. "People don't rob stores with sticks anymore, they use guns."

"But there's always a possibility!" Luther insisted. "Trust me, I fought a lot of them."

"Then I don't need to worry." Eden shook their head. "I'll have you to defend me."

"But I'm not going to always be available to fight for you, though I'd love to," Luther reasoned. "Just very basic, trust me."

"I have pepper spray and we have 911 for a reason!"

"Pepper spray won't do you good against a gun!" Luther shook his head.

"Neither does one-on-one combat!"

"You need these. Trust me." Luther persuades. Eden huffed but softly nodded.

"Fine."

"Great! First, you need to change your clothes." Luther notes. Eden looked down at their attire.

"What's wrong with my jeans and t-shirt?"

"At least your trousers," Luther reasoned. "Jeans are not exactly fighting attire."

"Fine." Eden groaned but leaves the table to their room. Luther chuckled in amusement as he stood up and washed his and Eden's dirty plates. Usually, Grace would do this, she's both the Academy's 'mum' and their maid.

Luther sighed, how can a person be way colder than a robot? Shouldn't it be the way around- because humans can feel when robots can't? Why is the case switched here?

"I'm ready," Eden declared as they went back to the dining table, wearing green cotton trousers. "Let's go."

"Trust me! I promise I'll be gentle!"

Eden and Luther walked out of the house, Eden leading the way to the park they mentioned and soon they arrived.

"Luther, I think this is one most stupid," Eden laughed, their colourful cornrows flowing before resting on their back. "Can't we just enjoy the beautiful morning and sit around, maybe play with the swings?"

Luther chuckled. "You need these. Trust me." Eden moved their head to the sides, rolling their eyes.

"Fine."

"So first, your standing stance should be firm and strong. Where's your strong leg?" Luther starts. Eden groaned.

"What the hell is a strong leg?" Eden asked. Luther changed his facial expressions to a serious one and took a step closer to Eden, forcing Eden to take a step back with their right leg.

"Your left leg is the strong leg," Luther determined. Then he took Eden's left arm and made it to serve a shield, using his own balled-up arm as to put pressure on their 'shield'. "Use your strong leg to stabilise yourself. The arm should be strong."

"Is this not?"

"Anyone can push you to the ground so easily, no offence." Eden raised a brow. "Strengthen your stance and firm your arm. Put more power into it."

"I haven't even started lifting weights!"

"You don't need to be a bodybuilder to have at least that one better," Luther fought. "Come on. You might get hurt somewhere in the future and I need you to know this so at least you won't be so much of a lost cause and able to defend yourself."

"Alright." Eden pouted and Luther resisted the urge to laugh. Eden looks so cute with their newly-pierced lip out like that, the rays of sunlight kissing their caramel skin. Eden stood up straight and placed more power on their stance and their 'shield'. Luther used his arm to 'attack' the 'shield', a.k.a. placing more power on the arm.

Eden can resist Luther when he used the same amount of power he used earlier, but the minute Luther used more power than what he used before, Eden stumbles backwards already.

"You're smaller than me so it'll put you in an advantage if you wait for me to attack," Luther continued. "But you're not the smallest one out there. Look at your opponent. If you're smaller, it'll be better for you if you're the 'defender'. If you're bigger, it'll be better for you if you're the 'attacker'."

"Maybe consider the fact that you have super strength?" Eden asked. "Just a thought."

"I'm not immortal-" Luther shook his head. "There are times where even with my super strength, I'm in danger of being killed too, though probably not as great as you."

"Sorry." Eden bit their bottom lip and redid their stance. "Again?"