She's beautiful, but she doesn't know it

She's amazing, but she doesn't know it

Ain't nobody by her side

She's always on her own

I want to be by her side

I just want to call her my own

She's like an angel fallen to earth

She's so everything I want and can't have

Ain't nobody telling her her worth

She be used like she means nothing

She means something to someone

She means something to me

She doesn't know it, she can't see it

She's always put down, ain't nobody lovin' her

I'm lovin' her, but she just don't know it

I'm wantin' her, but she just don't get it

She doesn't see me for how I see her

I need her to see me and know my worth

I want her bad, but she doesn't get it

I want her now, but she can't see it

She's beautiful, but she doesn't know it

She's amazing, but she doesn't know it

I just want her to know it

But I don't know how to show it

Lambo winds her wayward sable hair into one straggly braid that points uneasily to her left shoulder. She throws on her cow print vest, her white knee-length slacks, and her black jacket over her lacy braw and underwear before slipping into white flip flops.

Her emerald eyes are at half mast and underlined by dark bags, her tea rose, full lips were nibbled raw until now they resemble a bruised shade of coral.

There are bruises around her wrists that she has to cover up aside from the bruises on her hips and inside her thighs which are easily hidden by her clothes; they are purple and blue against her light pearl skin. They're also on her generous breasts, but she mustn't think of it.

She decides to wear cow print sweat bands on each wrist; no one will ask about them.

She limps out of her apartment and then forces herself to stride normally as she hits the street. She has to meet with Fuuta and I-Pin for brunch – it wasn't so often that I-Pin came all the way from Hong Kong to meet with them, so she has to be happy. She practices a smile while she stares at the ground, but it even feels strained, so it must look fake.

She makes it halfway to the diner they're meeting at when she sees a form of black and yellow out of the corner of her eye. She tilts her head up and back to see if she knows the figure… and then quickly looks down and away.

She knows the figure; it's not hard to with the black fedora with the yellow ribbon, the one button Armani suit with the yellow vest and Italian loafers… and the model 92 Beretta, but that's not visible to the untrained (or trained) eye. She knows his obsidian eyes and his raven wing black hair; she knows his ivory pale skin and tall, built form. She knows his personality and his skills and his mocking smile.

She walks on; hoping to ignore the man as the man completely ignores her. She fails – she can't stop herself from looking back and hoping that he'll meet her gaze for once. She isn't surprised, but she is sad, when he doesn't. In his world, she's useless and weak and ugly.

Who could blame him? The most beautiful, wealthy, and elegant women throw themselves at his feet; even Bianchi continues to occasionally despite that Reborn has brought her to the understanding that they're over with. If he wanted the strongest woman on earth to fight with him in bed, he would have her; if he wanted the strongest man on earth to fight with, he would have him. The most beautiful, the smartest, the most graceful – all of them – down at Reborn's feet, waiting without end for his attention.

Of course Reborn would never look at her. To him, she would always just be Lambo, the snotty, whiny, wailing tomboy that just so happened to have grown a few feet and a pair of boobs.

Her mind wanders… Would Reborn be a gentle lover? She knows that no one thinks so – after all, he's so selfish and cruel – but what if he isn't? What if he's different with those he beds than from those he trains? What he takes his partners into consideration, teases them until they're mad with lust, begging for him to finish them off, willing to do anything – Yare, yare, she has a problem now.

Her cheeks are flushed a bright copper red and she can feel the dampness of her underwear; she had been trying to visualize other woman in the bed of Reborn, but all she could see was herself, and that's a frightening, heart breaking thought because she will never ever be the lover of Reborn, the renown, infamous, most terrifying hitman in the world.

Instead, she has…

Her hand brushes over one cow print sweat band and she feels the faint throbbing of the bruises on her thighs, breasts, and hips. She hurts everywhere.

Nobody will ever love her like she wishes he would, but she has someone at least, and he's a descent man in the light of day… he's just a… voracious lover. 'greedy, abusive; he's using your body, but even he doesn't care about you' , but she never speaks her thoughts aloud.

"BeeeEEEEEEPP!" "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" Her head jerks up a little too late; she only has enough time to watch the truck try to skid to unsuccessful halt before her. She can see the horrified look on the face of the driver, but she doesn't have the strength or speed to get out of the way fast enough.

She had, apparently, been standing in one lane of the road… Yare, yare… She really was dumb, wasn't she?

Amazingly, she's not afraid; and her whole life doesn't flash before her eyes. But… she does wish that… just once, before she would die that…

That she could know how it was to be loved.

"Oof!" Her weight is pulled abruptly back against wall of flesh, suddenly just barely out of the way as the truck manages to stop over where she had stood less than even a second before.

"You dumb cow, what were you thinking?" Growls a deep, unkind voice into her ear. "Were you hoping to be killed?" His arm is wrapped around her waist; he's warm and solid against her.

It's pretty hard to focus on anything else including her near death experience, as strange as that may seem; it just doesn't feel so important anymore.

Her silence is answered with silence; he releases her waist and grabs her wrist instead (she can't help but wince at the pain) and drags her away before the driver even has time to exit his car and ask if she's okay.

She doesn't know where he's taking her, but he's still touching her, so she doesn't mind. He pulls her into an alley, makes a turn, and then they're out of society's ignorant but still watchful eye.

He slams her against the brick wall and glares coolly down at her. "What were you doing?"

She stares up at him with wide eyes. "I was… going to meet Fuuta and I-Pin…"

"They're not dead." He drawls mockingly. "So why stand in the middle of a road?"

She flushes again. She can't quite admit that she started having dirty thoughts or fell into depression. She hadn't meant to just stand there; she hadn't even known that she was in the street! She doesn't have an answer, so she tries to look away, which is amazingly hard to do when Reborn's dark, piercing glare holds her captive.

He grabs her wrists. "Tell me, you dumb cow - …" He cocks his head at Lambo's flinch. He looks from her to her hands and then to the sweat bands.

He looks slowly back up to her eyes, but she has sealed them tightly shut. 'Yare, yare… he knows now…' She doesn't have the courage to meet his gaze.

He grabs each band and pulls them off; he lifts both wrists and inspects the bruises, laying his fingers over where the bruises depict another hand had grabbed. He can tell by how they are shaped that her arms had been held above her head.

… His glare penetrates through even her eyelids. "A lover you've never spoken of?" He speaks softly, but she can hear the cruelty behind his words. "You would think he would be more kind to you."

Her eyes shoot open as her cow print vest is ripped open. "What are you doing!" His eyes are roaming over the swell of her breasts, her flat belly, and her slim hips.

"What a generous partner." His thumb whispers over the painful bruises that are just visible over the cups of her bra.

She sucks in a deep breath; the bruises hurt, but he's the one touching them. The blush returns full force and her hands begin to shake.

He pauses, staring at the bruises; he lifts his eyes slowly up to her needy ones. "Not a satisfying one, is he?" He brushes his fingers over the concealed nipple.

"Ah!" Lambo jerks into his hand, rubbing against it.

She doesn't know when he moves, but his thigh is between her legs, grinding against her. He puts one hand by her head and the other he slips into her bra to pinch the hardened bud.

"Ah- aaaaahhhh…" She drops onto his knee for support when she can't hold herself up any longer.

"Why aren't you fighting me?" He whispers into her ear, taunting her. "Don't you have a lover to be loyal to?"

Of course he would say that; it makes her want to feel shame, but she doesn't. She wraps her arms around his shoulders and holds on while her body quakes. "He won't care." He wouldn't, either. Her lover… he hardly even comes around anymore; all he ever wants is sex.

She can't see it, but she feels his smirk against her throat. "Is that so? Why be with a man that doesn't care?"

Her lips tremble and she closes her eyes, tears trickling down her cheeks. They drip off of her jaw and lands on his ear, making him pull back with a frown.

"He said… that I was beautiful." Throughout the two months of their relationship, he never failed to say sweet things to her, even when he hurt her.

He stops altogether and looks down at her. "You don't think that you're beautiful?"

She smiles, even though it's a sad tilt of bruised lips. "I know I'm not." She drops her arms to her side. "Yare, yare… this must be a pity fuck for you." She realizes sullenly.

Reborn cocks his head. "A pity fuck?" She nods, not looking up at him. He grabs her jaw and forces her to meet his glare; her eyes are dull yet shiny with tears. "When have I ever taken pity?"

He has a point there, she admits to herself. "… So you're still mocking me?" She ventures softly. Of course he was; why else would Reborn do such a thing?

"… mocking…" His lips turn up cruelly. "Yes, I'm mocking you." So she was right. "I mock your low self-regard; it's pathetic." And then he steals her lips in such a fiery kiss, her breath is stolen and her heart catches somewhere in her throat.

She grabs his shoulders and holds on. He grabs her hips and she lifts her legs to wrap around his waist. For a small moment, he releases her lips to trail small kisses down her jaw, over her collarbone, and then nuzzles aside her bra to lick one taut nipple.

"AH!" She aches sharply into his mouth. "R-Reborn!" He kisses her again, their tongues dueling.

She feels her shirt rasp against her belly and pulls away (reluctantly) curiously to see why this is. She's confused to see that he's buttoning it back up.

He looks like the cat that ate the canary, complete with feathers sticking out of his mouth (metaphorically, of course… though he is holding the bow that had been a part of her bra between his teeth; she doesn't know when he did that). "Call your incompetent lover and tell him you're not available any longer." He leans forward and his tongue flicks over her ear, making her shiver. "If he comes back, I will de-man him." He lowers her to her feet.

She's so dazed – all she can do is stare dully up at him. He cups her one cheek and kisses her softly. She kisses back just as softly, her hands clenching into his jacket.

"Now…" He begins airily. The bow disappears from his lips; she doesn't know where. "I'm going to say this once and you're going to listen." She nods, unable to tear her eyes away from his.

He whispers into her ear something that makes her face flush red and her eyes widen. She bites her bottom lip and smiles, tears trickling down her cheeks. She rests her hands on his cheeks and turns his face, smashing their lips together. He chuckles against her lips, tilting her jaw and then biting her bottom lip, showing her how a real kiss is.

"Meet your 'mama' and I-Pin." He rights his fedora and steps away, leaving the thoroughly (happily) molested Lambo to herself.

Her smile is real and her cheeks seem to radiate red. She nods and then pauses as she moves to walk (stagger – her legs feel boneless) away. She looks at Reborn. "Do I get the bow back?"

Reborn plays with the tiny bit of lace a few times on his tongue and then smirks. He says nothing as he swaggers pass and continues back to the café he had previously been drinking an espresso at. Lambo follows up until the street and pauses. Would it be pushing her luck for one more kiss?

No, she learns quickly as Reborn turns around and presses their lips together quickly. It didn't seem to push her luck at all, so she kisses back hard and then walks away with a healthy glow on her face and ears.

She carries his words with her throughout the day.

"You are the most gorgeous girl in the world to me.'