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[color=teal]Location:[/color] Boca Catalina, Aruba
[color=teal]Interactions:[/color] Viktor [@FunnyGuy]
[color=teal]Mentions:[/color]
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Erin grinned as Viktor swore her and Vincent to secrecy. “You got it,” she said. “My lips are sealed, as are Vincent’s. Now, then, speaking of which…” She looped her arm through Vincent’s and added, “I’m gonna borrow the chef for a little while. It’s our first vacation together and I’m gonna get some one-on-one time with him or die trying. We’ll be back in time for dinner!” With that, Erin led Vincent by the arm away from the grills and toward the water line, barely giving him time to realize what was going on.

The couple, hand in hand, wandered down the beach, away from the rest of the group, though they didn’t stray far before settling down in the sand just at the edge of the water. Now that they didn’t have the chaos of cooking to distract them, Erin had noticed just how many scars Vincent had. They riddled his arms and torso in varying sizes and shapes. Some were large and deep, others small shallow. She wasn’t put off by them by any means, but she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for her boyfriend. He was only a couple months younger than she was, yet his scars made her think he had already lived a lifetime. “How’d you get this one?” she asked, pointing to a long, thin scar along Vincent’s left forearm.

He glanced down at it and said, [color=teal]“That one? That fight was from…a year ago, I think? Guy wasn’t anything special, just some punk with a knife. He got a lucky shot and ended up with a broken jaw for his trouble.”[/color]

“Why didn’t you use your power? You can make yourself bulletproof, right? And why would they let someone bring a weapon into the ring?”

[color=teal]“I wasn’t supposed to use my powers during fights unless I absolutely had to,”[/color] Vincent explained. [color=teal]“Old Man’s words. He was concerned I might go up against someone who could shut down my power or something like that, so he didn’t want me to rely on them too much. That’s why I’ve built my body into the finely tuned weapon you see before you.”[/color] He flexed, earning a chuckle from Erin. [color=teal]“As for why they let him bring a knife in, there weren’t many rules, aside from not killing your opponents. They didn’t wanna draw too much attention and dead bodies popping up around town would do just that.”[/color]

He leaned back on his hands and added, [color=teal]“Knives and other weapons were easy to deal with, though. It’s the other guys with powers that were the problem.”[/color] He started counting on his fingers as he said, [color=teal]“I’ve fought guys who could shoot fire, ice, one dude spat acid, another used his bones as bullets. That one still kinda grosses me out.”[/color]

When he turned back to Erin, he saw a thoughtful expression on her face. [color=teal]“What’re you thinking about?”[/color] he asked.

Shaking her head, she said, “Nothing, it’s just…While I was living my life, going to school, dealing with my parents, catching my ex cheating on me…you were fighting for [i]your[/i] life. We’re the same age, but you’ve been through things I never could’ve imagined.”

Vincent slowly nodded and replied, [color=teal]“I gotcha. It’s not like I lived a normal life.”[/color] He grinned and added, [color=teal]“But, it’s not all bad. Losing my parents still hurts, of course. And I would’ve preferred having a roof over my head. But, I wouldn’t have met the Old Man or Roscoe if that hadn’t happened. I wouldn’t have found out how much I like to fight or cook. I wouldn’t have met the team. I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am if it weren’t for all the shit in my life. And I like who I am and where I am. More than that, though…”[/color]

He reached out, wrapped an arm around Erin’s waist, and pulled her close as he added with a grin, [color=teal]“Even without all that, meeting you was worth everything I’ve been through.”[/color]

At that, Erin snorted as she leaned against Vincent, watching the waves. “Didn’t think my bonehead of a boyfriend was such a smooth talker,” she teased.

[color=teal]“I’ve got my moments,”[/color] Vincent replied with a shrug and a smile.