YBC Challenge: The Sixth Day -- Violet

They all had their own personal vices.

Kenichi’s was work. The young Japanese couldn’t get away from it; after being repeatedly told to focus on getting to the top as a child, the businessman was now unstoppable. Taking over the business his father had left wasn’t exactly hard, and now he was close to the very top.

Matt’s had been smoking, previously. He had been a heavy smoker in his teenage years and only resolved to stop upon finding out about A’s own unease around fire and/or smoke. Smoking helped calm his nerves; it was a nasty habit he started right before he left the Wammy Orphanage. Matt smoked before an exam, before departing the institution, before lifting his gun and sniping. He smoked after an exam, after departing Wammy’s, after seeing the body of his target slump to the ground. He smoked as a form of celebration and as a form of relieving stress.

It was an excessively unhealthy vice, he knew. So he prepared for the comments from future flings, shrugging them off with relative ease.

What he didn’t expect was for his current girlfriend to have an unhealthy vice as well.

Matt sent smoke washing through his lungs.

A drank herself to oblivion.

Almost.

He had first noticed on the fourth date. Matt’s old girlfriend usually ordered simple drinks or fancy cocktails when they went out, but A ordered shots and downed them one after another. She had realized that he was watching the third shot down, and she gave an embarrassed smile with her cheeks a little pinker than usual.

“I-I’m sorry. Rough day,” she apologized. Matt nodded quietly and kept watching her, stopping the half-German at her fifth. At that point, her face was a glowing shade of pink and she was more receptive to his actions, flashing him smiles and flirty half-smirks. A was on the way.

What shocked him was that she didn’t seem to have an intention to stop.

YBC Challenge: The Fifth Day -- Blue

His flaming red hair stood out in the middle of the sea waves.

“Don’t you want to swim, baby?” Matt called. He had resurfaced with his hair slicked back, a grin on his face as he took in A’s figure on the beach. The Englishman’s blue eyes ran over his lover’s figure, hastily looking at her face when she stirred on the blanket. “The water’s really cool. You should swim,” he insisted. A took off her sunglasses and squinted, her own green eyes meeting his. “Get yourself under the sun a bit more. Maybe even end up tanning,” he teased, and she rolled her eyes.

“I’m not letting myself out there when the lotion hasn’t dried,” she defended. Matt shook his head.

“You’ve been waiting it out for the past twenty minutes. I think you’re good,” he declared, moving towards her and A paling considerably.

“No. I’m okay, I swear,” she tried and Matt shook his head, lifting her into his arms while the woman let off a shriek. “Matt you better not do what I think you’ll do,” she started, but her threat fell on deaf ears as her boyfriend whooped and leaped into the water with her. A screamed, scrambling to get out of his arms but failing – Matt still held her tightly, laughing as they resurfaced.

A’s hair stuck to her face; the woman huffed in slight irritation and raked it back, green eyes intent on glaring at her English lover.

“You prat–”

“It was the only way for you to cool down,” Matt insisted, starting to laugh yet again as she splashed him and (playfully) smacked his chest. “Jesus Christ baby, don’t get all rough on me–”

“If I tan, you’re going to pay,” she threatened. A glared up at the sun and sighed, a visible grimace settling on her fair face. “I was planning to read,” the woman began to whine, but Matt shook his head in disbelief and swept her into his arms again. She let off a surprised squeak.

“I take you to the beach and all you’re going to do is read?” he quipped. She glowered. “Don’t take it the wrong way, sweetheart. But we’re here to relax.”

“I am relaxing,” she told him, poking his nose lightly. “I was going to relax with my book and then take pictures around the place after resting on the blanket and staying out of the sun.”

Strokes of Color: A YBC Graphic

"You waltzed into my life with a paintbrush

and everything suddenly turned a little more colorful."

YBC Challenge: The Fourth Day -- Green

He never stuck to a schedule. On most days, Matt just rolled out of bed, had a quick shower and changed into whatever he pulled out of his closet. Afterwards, he would race out of his room, video game stuffed in his pocket, and raced down the stairs, rushing to the doors that would lead outside.

Upon stepping outside, Matt would eagerly scan the area, running behind a tree, eyes searching the gardens for the large oak tree that was right in the middle of the outdoors. And when he found it, his gaze would travel down the leaves and down the trunk, to the grass where a small girl would sit would a book in her hands.

At that moment, he’d blush a heavy red and would rake his fingers through his messy hair, watching silently and hiding from another tree meters away from where she was. The girl would normally be facing elsewhere, and he would do his best to catch a glimpse of her face. This was always part of his mornings. Wake up, dress, run and watch quietly until he had to go. In truth, Matt had always wanted to talk to her. She was the girl in the white dress, the girl with long hair and bangs, the girl who always carried something in her hands.

The girl was an enigma to him. He knew her name, which classes she went to – but he wanted to know more. He wanted to know her name even though they weren’t supposed to share their true name, he wanted to accompany her to the music room just so he had an excuse to watch her play the piano. Matt wanted to be with her, simply to find out more and dwell deeper.

But he couldn’t. He was a boy with freckles on his face and wild, unruly ginger hair. The scabs on his knees wouldn’t go away unless he picked at them, and he sure as hell guessed that a geeky boy who spent all day playing video games wasn’t her type. Maybe she’d smile, but eventually, she would drift away from him.

With that, he concluded that she was out of his league.

Mutual Efforts: A YBC Graphic

"Love them at their worst,

Love them at their best.

Love them at their sweetest,

Love them at their saltiest.

Love them with all that you have,

And I swear they'll love you the same way."

YBC Challenge: The Third Day -- Yellow

The roads were too congested for any of them to come to work, Touta told her over the phone. Even he – Touta – was pushed to stay home for the day. The rains going on outside were incredibly outrageous. People were advised to stay home, classes were suspended and even Kenichi had told Matt that work would be put aside.

“You want something to eat, lovely?” Matt called from the kitchen. He poked his head out and A could smell the faintest scent of instant ramen. She held back a snort.

“You’re a right hypocrite, do you know that?” the ginger gave her a stare, “Telling me to not stuff myself with instant ramen, but here you are cooking some up,” she teased. Matt rolled his eyes affectionately and stuck his tongue out at her.

“If you don’t want some, you could have just rejected me kindly–”

“Who said I was rejecting you?” she interrupted. “You know I want some.” His eyes gave a twinkle and he popped back into the kitchen, A watching fondly before turning her attention back at the TV screen. She heard him hum to a rock song as he prepared their meals and A shifted on the couch, eyes scanning over the screen for news (even though Touta told her to use the day to relax), waiting for any news of crime.

The lights gave a flicker. She anxiously glanced to the light bulbs and shrugged it off, gluing her eyes back to the screen as continuous weather updates filled the news segment.

“Bloody lights,” she mumbled. The scent of the ramen got stronger; A wished Matt could hurry up and bring the bowls to the kitchen –

And with an alarming noise, the electricity shut down.

YBC Challenge: The Second Day -- Orange

A loved and hated the cold.

For one, it gave her the liberty to wear the extensive amount of winter wear she had in her closet; long coats and boots were usually worn when chilly Decembers came. Cold weather meant warm coffee and hot chocolate; December weather meant Christmas sales and clothes for half the price. Cold weather gave her an excuse to cuddle up to her lover when the nights got extra frosty, an excuse to drink some alcohol to send warmth throughout her system. Christmas season showcased her generous side once Christmas shopping rolled in.

On another hand, the cold was a bitch.

Fog would be so intense that she couldn’t risk driving while cold winds would sneak into the three to four layers of clothing she wore on a particularly freezing day. Cold weather meant nearly getting frostbite and/or hypothermia while she was out on a case; it meant having Matt out more often since the fog would be an excellent advantage (or so Kenichi said). Cold weather meant lazy mornings and still-dark sunrises. Christmas season brought on the inner road devil in her when everyone was speeding and honking while in traffic.

And then there was the worst part of it.

Cold weather meant having to act like a freezer.

A was cold – literally cold. Passing of files and objects was usually met with the person’s hand jerking back due to shock. Your fingers are freezing, they told her, eyes laced with disbelief. The woman would merely shrug it off. How can you survive the cold like this? She wasn’t exactly quite sure how she was able to manage either – A always felt warm until someone else commented on the fact that their co-worker was a freezer.

In fact, she was the only one in Squad A who had such quirk. Thomas maintained his regular body heat while Peters and Touta radiated. Peters gave off an energizing aura to him while Touta oozed with warmth and charisma. A always noticed that the two men in particular were very warm and hardly had problem with the cold.

Peters explained that living in New Jersey toughened him up; Touta merely remarked that he was used to Japan’s climate. So A frequently made excuses to go near either of them just to warm up when the weather was getting to her. Frustratingly enough, coffee didn’t seem to do the trick.

But Matt did.