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After the events on Dragonspine, Jean had made Amber take a week off to fully rest and make sure she was better. Amber had protested, she hadn’t hurt her head that badly and had even visited sister Barbara. It didn’t even hurt anymore! But Jean didn’t listen to her, insisting that she go back home to her apartment.
That was where Amber was now, trying to enjoy the time off. But every time she tried to put her mind off work, those unfinished reports Sir Kaeya had given her resurfaced and made her anxiety grow. Amber absolutely hated unfinished work. Even when she was a child, she would make sure everything was done before she let herself have fun.
Surely if Jean wanted Amber to relax, she would have let her take home her paperwork.
Amber grumbled and flopped against her plush couch cushions. There was no way she would be able to get them, Jean had made sure that any work Amber was currently working on was locked away with Lisa in the library. But Lisa wouldn’t be there all the time, if Amber had just five minutes, she could break into Lisa’s desk and grab it without her knowing. She could probably even do it when Lisa was there, the Librarian was known for sleeping at her desk after all.
As Amber’s plan hatched in her mind, a small smile grew on her lips. The rest of the day was spent preparing for her plan. She had acquired a bundle of rope, a backpack, and a special barron bunny.
As the sun fell and light posts lit up in Mond, Amber left her home and began her stealthy walk over to the Knights of Favonius headquarters. The guards were alert as ever, quietly talking about some mundane thing Amber would have to discuss with them another time. She waited patiently in the bushes, her crouched form obscured by the bright hydrangea flowers. Soon, Lisa’s hat poked out from the large double doors to the headquarters, the woman arm and arm with the acting grand-master.
Their conversation faded into the night as Amber pulled out the barron bunny, its sewn-on button eyes glistening under the streaks of moonlight. Quickly, Amber threw the barron bunny several feet away from the guards, their bored faces perking up at the plushy lying in front of the steps. Amber counted the seconds as the guards approached cautiously.
Three...Two...One...BOOM!
The Barron Bunny exploded into a cloud of glitter, raining down on the guards and their shell-shocked expressions. Amber slipped in through the doors easily under the cloud of confusion. The headquarters hallways were empty, the lights dim against the walls.
Usually at this time the only people here would be Grand-Master Jean and Albedo, but Lisa had apparently convinced Jean to take some time off and Albedo was up on Dragonspine again. Slipping into the library, Amber walked casually up to Lisa's desk. The bobby-pin in her hand twirled around her nimble fingers, the cool metal piece ready to break in.
While the task appeared easy enough, nerves crept up Amber’s spine as she began messing with Lisa’s drawers. The woman was very particular about her things, and if she were to discover Amber had broken into her things, there would be no doubt Amber would be in a lot of trouble.
But as much as Lisa scared Amber, the boredom she faced was much worse.
The signature click of the bobby pin twisting just right in the lock signaled that Ambers job was almost done. Then, all she had to do was put the paperwork in her bag and then scale down the side wall from a window. Easy-peasy.
“Amber? What are you doing here so late?” A familiar voice echoed behind her.
Amber froze, fear spiking in her chest. She whipped her head around to face Eula, who had a stern expression on her face.
“Oh hey Eula! I was just grabbing something for Miss Lisa–”
“I have known you long enough to know when you are lying Amber.” Eula stepped forward, her eyes narrowed and arms crossed. Her smirk sent shivers down her spine as Amber backed up against the drawer, it shutting with a bang that echoed around the library. Amber gulped down her excuse and let out a defeated sigh, her shoulders sagging into her body.
“Fine, fine. I was really bored so I decided to grab some paperwork I hadn’t finished yet. Please don’t tell Jean!”
Eula shook her head and sighed.
“You still aren’t taking that head injury seriously? Honestly Amber, you need to take this seriously or you could hurt yourself even more,” Eula lectured sternly.
Amber could see past her friends' annoyed look, those icy blue eyes laced with concern as she gazed down at her.
“I know,” Amber sighed, “But I am feeling better. I promise.”
A scowl painted across Eula's face but she receded from saying anything else. Once Amber set her mind on something, there would be no convincing her otherwise. It was one of the traits that Eula greatly admired the brunette for, besides her gentleness and ability to get along with everyone she encountered.
“Will you at least let me walk you home?”
“I can make it home just fine, there's no need to worry.”
“Please, it would make me feel better,” Eula asked, her voice small.
Amber froze again, the softening of Eula’s face and her openness catching the smaller woman off-guard. This was the most Eula had ever expressed to Amber, perhaps anyone. A small pang in her heart strummed around the room as she looked back up at Eula.
“Ok,” Amber responded softly. She laced her hand with Eulas and smiled at her. Eula turned her face away from Amber, though she could see a hint of crimson washing over the girl's round cheeks.
The two strode out from the Knights Headquarters, the walk back to Amber's apartment comfortably quiet. Every once and a while, Amber would look up at Eula to see her own brown eyes catching Eulas. Amber would send a small smile her way with a squeeze of her hand, and then would look down at the cobblestone road. Eula would squeeze lightly back, but did nothing more.
The walk ended too quickly in Amber’s opinion. She unlocked the door and looked back at Eula.
“Would you like to come in?”
The sound of the city seemed to be sucked in a vacuum, the only visible sound the small gasp Eula let out.
“I-I don’t want to intrude, I have meddled enough for tonight and I am sure you are quite tired,” the woman protested, her words scrambled for the first time as she tried to avoid Amber's kind and persuasive eyes.
“Please?”
“Ok.”
The two walked in, Amber walking over to her small kitchen and setting the kettle to boil. She then returned to the couch, one she and Eula had sat on many times before discussing their activities of the day with hesitant smiles.
Once they had settled down with tea, Eula found herself unable to look at Amber, the much smaller girl somehow intimidating one of the most intimidating woman in all of Mond.
“Eula, ?” she asked, setting her gloved leather hand on Eula’s exposed thigh. She flinched at the sudden contact, but placed her own hand back on Ambers, her hands curling over into her palm.
She let out a trembling sigh as she looked at Amber, the amount of compassion in those hazel eyes warming the girl's heart.
“On Dragonspine…” Eula started, her words escaping her as she tried to say what she wanted, “I–I should have known, I should have been quicker...”
Tears soundlessly traced down her cheeks.
“If I had been smarter, I could have avoided all of this.”
Amber clutched Eula’s face with both of her hands and made her stare deeply into her eyes.
“Eula Lawrence, you stop that right now! You are not at fault for any of this!”
“But you were hurt–”
Amber let out an annoyed huff, the sight of her furrowed up face perking up the corners of Eula’s lips.
“I am fine! It all turned out okay, right?”
Eula tentatively nodded in Amber's hands. She pulled the girl closer into a hug tightly, her hands clutching Amber’s sides gently. She responded immediately, Amber’s hands wrapping around the base of her head and under her arm. Eula smelled like fresh snow and slightly sweet perfume, the smell wafting from her neck right into Amber’s senses.
They pulled away slowly, their eyelashes so close to batting against each other. Amber’s eyes were closed, a small smile ghosting her lips as she rested her head against Eula’s.
“Amber, may I...”
Eula wasn’t given a chance to finish her sentence as Amber gripped Eula’s shirt and pulled her onto her lips. They both let out a low hum as they wrapped even closer together, their lips moving slowly against the other.
Eventually their lips separated, but the warmth that had spread through their bodies had not. They slumped down against the couch, Amber burrowing her head in the base of Eula’s neck. She was about to protest, but the smaller girl had already fallen asleep. Eula pulled her closer, a small smile across her lips as she closed her eyes.