Shades

Black Lagoon and its characters © Rei Hiroe

It was a feeling he was trying to shake for many days now. He had tried to ignore it at first, but the source was relentless. She had done nothing but stare at him intently for past week or two, dark sapphire eyes focused to point he thought she was trying to look into his soul. He was not discomforted, but rather vexed. What did she want?

No longer wishing to keep himself in the dark about her behavior, Rotton finally asked the question.

"What is it, Sawyer?"

"Hmm?"

"You have been staring at me for the past two weeks. What it is that captures your attention?"

"Oh, Shenhua... was right. You have noticed..." Sawyer said. With a small, curious tilt of her head, she leaned forward.

"Your sunglasses..." She pointed to the accessory.

"Yes?"

"Why do you... wear them?" Rotton thought nothing of the question. That could be answered simply enough.

"For the same reason you prefer to wear your gothic attire." The petite woman shook her head.

"No, that's... not it," Sawyer stated. Rotton lifted an eyebrow in question.

"Oh?"

"I like my clothes... but I change out of them. You... never take off your sunglasses. I always... see you wearing them... In the morning... In the afternoon... At night... Even when you go to bed..." Rotton exhaled calmly.

"I just like them," said Rotton in his usual cool tone, pressing on the center of his shades and pushing them slightly up the bridge of his nose.

"Because they... make you look cool?"

"That's part of it, yes."

"What are... the other reasons?" Sawyer asked, her curiosity swelling.

"I'd rather not say." Oh, that answer wasn't very amusing...

"We're... the only ones here," the cleaner said suddenly. Rotton didn't quite understand what she meant by that statement.

"Pardon?"

"Take them off... I want to see your eyes." Rotton just stared at her calmly.

"No."

"Why?"

"You don't need to concern yourself. Forget about it."

That was where the conversation ended.

Or so Rotton thought.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

"Hello, Rotton..."

"Sawyer!" Quickly covering his lower half with a towel, he pushed Sawyer out of the bathroom and shut the door, locking it. Sawyer shifted her shoulders a bit, feeling the wet hand mark Rotton had left on the back of her shirt. Shenhua did not look up from the magazine she was reading on the couch.

"Why you walk in on Rotton while he taking shower?" Shenhua asked casually, flipping a page.

"I wanted... to see his eyes..." Sawyer admitted. Shenhua understood immediately.

"Oh, I see. When he shower is the only time he not wear his sunglasses. Smart girl," Shenhua commented, not at all phased at her friend's apparent violation of Rotton's privacy.

"So, what color are they?" Shenhua asked. There was a long pause and the Taiwanese woman finally looked up from her magazine, wondering why Sawyer hadn't responded. The gothic woman's eyes were looking off to the side, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Sawyer?"

"I... didn't look at his eyes..."

THE END

A/N: I demand a sitcom.

I know, I know. It's not an accurate or scrupulous character study. But you know what? This wasn't meant to be serious to begin with. Just a cute, laughable, and very short read.

Yes, Sawyer is capable of blushing. Go back to her introduction in Greenback Jane where everyone is looking at her with shocked expressions when they find out she's "The Cleaner." She's blushing a little bit.

It's a stretch to speculate that Rotton wears his sunglasses to bed, along with other things in this ficlet, but I ran along with it anyway.

Cheers.