Revelation (Lal and Cookie)

Lalia sighed, she hated her job, she hated it so much, she didn't like taking peoples memories from them and she didn't like telling them their new life after it because she was lying to them and it was so sad to see their life down the drain.

Today she had to take the memory of someone called Ralph Firest he had witnessed an event he shouldn't and it was now Lalias job to take his memory from him.

Creeping up to him Lalia stayed behind a bush as she looked at him, Ralph seemed to know what was coming because he was crying, holding his book of memories close to him as if trying to make himself remember his part once she had done her work.

"Hurry up...just hurry up!"

He whimpered, Lalia felt tears spring to her eyes and she wished that he was able to run away and to escape her but she couldn't let him, she had to do this. Gripping her wand she waiting a few minutes longer.

Cobalt was good at his job.

Some would say he was the best.

He would never say that.

To him, if he accepted that he was the best then it was all down hill from there. If he accepted that he was the best then he would get sloppy. And in his line of work, sloppy meant dead. Without fail, every wetboy or assassin he'd ever even heard of had only died because one of two things happened. One was that they reached an age where their body failed them, just once, and it was enough to kill them. The second was when they got sloppy.

Right now he was hanging upside down from the high ceiling of a cave, facing the ground. It was nothing new to him but the position always made him feel a little bit of vertigo. But his target was staying at the mouth of the cave, pacing nervously. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the bushes moving a little bit too much. Perhaps no one else would notice it but he did. And to him it just meant another person to kill.

There could be no witnesses on this job.

His mark moved a bit further into the cave and Cobalt did a quick check to make sure his punch dagger was primed before he severed the magic holding him to the roof of the cave. Without a sound he pounced on his victim, stabbing his punch dagger through the man's temple and clean through to the other side. The man stopped struggling almost as soon as he'd begun and Cobalt quickly got off of the body. Flicking his wand at the body, fire sprang from his wandtip and the body began to burn away.

Blurring into motion, Cobalt charged the short distance between the cave entrance and the bush. Reaching in with his left hand he grabbed hold of the person and pinned them up against a nearby tree by the throat. Just as his right hand was coming with the punch dagger, Cobalt recognised who he was holding. His eyes, the only part of him visible, widdened and he immediately dropped her.

Lalia.

Lalia was a witness to one of his jobs.

Lalia gasped and tried to run away when she saw the man crumple to the floor and blood leak from his head, she didn't know what was going on bit she didn't want to be the next victim that it killed, whatever it was. Whatever it wanted.

Before she could have turned to run away she gelt her throat being contricted and she was pushed up against the tree, hard. Lalia gasped for breath and looked up into the eyes of the thing doing this to her and her heart jarred.

Cobalt?

No. It couldn't be. Cobalt wouldn't do anything like this! She knew it! He was a good man and to kill someone for something as silly as that man had done was...well it was heartless and cruel. That couldn't be him, could it?

But she wasn't mistaken, she knew those eyes better than most things, she knew they were the eyes of Cobalt and Lalia stayed pinned to the tree in shock and terror of what she had seen in front of her eyes.

"Cobalt...? I-is that you?" Lalia asked shakily

He saw it in her body language even as he took a few staggering steps backwards. He saw in her body that she knew, the shock was written in every shaky movement of her body. The denial. The anger. But above all, the utter confusion, mixed in with equal parts disappointment. Whatever it was, Cobalt didn't like the look at all. It was like a knife that bypassed all of his armour hidden beneath the stupid ninja outfit he'd been asked to wear.

Cobalt did not want to tell her.

To him their relationship could not flourish if she was afraid of him, afraid that he was capable of killing her and everyone she ever cared about. Because there was no doubt that he was capable of such a thing. He wouldn't blame her for thinking it but, god damn it, he liked Lalia a lot more than any other woman he'd ever met. He didn't want to show her because it would hurt her.

But at the same time he couldn't deny her.

Reaching up slowly, trying to change his mind, Cobalt pulled of the mask and drew back his black hood to reveal his face. He turned to Lalia so there could be no mistaking who he was,

"Lalia." he paused for a few seconds, his face struggling to remain blank, "What are you doing here Lalia?"

Lalia looked on as the figure moved to take off the mask that he wore, and she hoped beyond all hope that the person beneath it was someone different to who she knew it was. Lalia hoped thar it wasn't Cobalt. She didn't want it to be, she didn't need it to be, she hoped that he would be the first lovely man she had met...

Breath hitched in her throat as Lalia gazed constantly at the man, and, as he pulled off the mask Lalia sobbed softly...who the hell had she been kissing?! Who the hell had she been contemplating going out with?

"Cobalt..."

She whispered shakily, looking at him with eyes glistening with tears that have yet to be shed, but as she blinked they rolled down her cheeks and she stood there still for a moment but she choked back another sob, turned around and began to run swiftly away from the man she thought she had known.

"Oh god..." she whispered as she ran blindly through the forest branches whipping in her face as she ran

Cobalt saw her reaction even seconds before it played out on her face, her body language stopped telling him anything distinct which meant she was feeling so many emotions at once that he couldn't understand them all. He grimaced and for the first time in decades he felt ashamed of his chosen profession. After all, no one had forced him into this. Hell, no one had even suggested it. He swallowed thickly,

"Lalia." he said, unsure himself if it was a statement or a question. To be fair it was more like a cry for help if anything. A cry for her to understand, for her not to hate him. The tears were like tiny little daggers to him, each one of them that rolled down her cheeks causing him to flinch. When she turned and ran, Cobalt was surprised because he hadn't seen it in her body language. He belatedly realised that it was because he'd lost his focus. He sprinted after her, his 'partner' 'Alex', infusing magic with his muscles so that he was moving faster than Lalia by far. Cobalt grabbed hold of Lalia's hand and spun her around to face him, careful not to be too rough with her, "Lalia please... let me explain."

When Lalia felt Cobalts hand on her own she whimpered softly and jerked it away from him, stopping running so she could turn to see him once more and she could see that he was upset. But for now, she didn't really care.

"You. Lied. To. Me."

She spat out, glaring at Cobalt with the harshest look she could muster looking like she did, withering away she sniffled and turned away from Cobalt, Lalia tried not to cry, she tried to be brave but she couldn't. She just couldn't.

"Why did you do that? That man! Right there! Was harmless! He had a wife and three children Cobalt! How..."

Lalia sobbed softly, covering her face with her hands and she thought how best to tell her boss what had happened, if he would mind, and what she would have to do if he did to make it up to him.

"How could you?" she asked, emphasising the word 'could'

Cobalt flinched when she turned to look at him as it was clear to see that she was pissed. Of course she had some right to be, he hadn't exactly been forthright about this part of his life. He shook his head a little, feeling the shame rolling around in the pit of his stomach,

"I didn't lie to you." he replied quietly, "I never had to. You never asked about this part of my life so I decided that perhaps you were better off not knowing. It's not a side of myself I advertise after all."

He took her harshest look head on, without even blinking. Anger and hatred he was used to. The disappointment card was what really got to him, it always had. Even as a kid his parents learnt that smacking and shouting didn't work but playing the disappointment card did. The way she turned away and began to cry was a prime example of how it could work as even now he could feel his resolve slipping. He felt his eyes water a little,

"This is the hardest part..." he whispered, more to himself than to Lalia. He swallowed and looked her dead in the eyes, "I did it because I was paid to do it. I am a wetboy by trade and that means I get paid to kill people."

Cobalt swallowed hard as he saw her beginning to cry harder and harder. It was more painful to him than being stabbed in the chest and he'd been stabbed in the chest. Several times. Right now he'd gladly be stabbed in the chest rather than watch Lalia cry because of him. He blinked away a few tears as he glanced off to the side, unable to meet her gaze,

"I... I've been doing this awhile." he admitted, feeling more ashamed by the second, "Decades..."

Lalia looked at Cobalt with an expression of disbelief on her face, he, at this moment felt he was in the right situation to nitpick at what she said?! He had lied to her. She knew he had and she was going to pick him up on just how pathetic that she thought he was, trying to make her seem wrong.

"I asked you what your job was. You never told me this. You never mentioned this. How can I ever trust you Cobalt?"

Voice stained and near breaking Lalia hugged her arms around her body as she gave herself a hug, needing some form of comfort now but not knowing who to get it from but herself...that's all she ever had.

"Money..." Lalia looked up at Cobalt with disbelief again "You take peoples lives...for stupid money?"

Lalia shook her head not quite believing what she was hearing, she thought that it was impossible for Cobalt to be horrible but apparently not, he was worse than any of the other msn who broke her heart.

"You rip families apart...for money? I...I can't believe it. You'd kill me. Wouldn't you? If you paid high enough?! Or what about my dad or my mum would you kill them too?!"

The disbelief written all across her face made Cobalt flinch a little. This was a sign that it things were only going to get worse. And by the looks of her body language they were going to get a lot worse. He swallowed and prepared himself for the disappointment and anger. He was right, there was a lot of both,

"You did. I told you. I am the DADA professor. I just do this as well." he told her quietly, knowing she was going to blow up over the technicality. He flinched at the mention of trust, "You can trust me Lalia. You can trust me in that I would never do anything to hurt you. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry."

Once again, Cobalt flinched as she asked about the money. Or rather, she asked him about his motivation for doing what he did. Saying he did it was money was a lot easier than admitting why he actually did it. He didn't want anyone in the world to know that he'd chosen this career simply because he had been good at it,

"I am contracted to kill people and am paid for the service, yes." he admitted, "But I draw lines at some points. That man? Was not a nice man. Martial rape. Fruad. I was contracted by an auror."

He stood there, blinking away tears, but unable to find any real defence against her anger,

"I do." he answered simply before looking away, "I would never harm you or yours. Never."

Lalia snorted she had no idea why this man could be so picky when he knew he was in the wrong, he took peoples lives away for money, he did that, he was exactly like him, just as cold, just as calculating and she couldn't help but wonder if all men were this screwy.

"And you work with children. That's twisted. Are you raising any mini-killers? I hope to Merlin you aren't!"

If he was that was a new level of low life and she wasn't sure if she could deal with this, Lalia wasn't sure if she could deal with this full stop. Cobalt had been a man she trusted absolutely and now...that trust was gone.

"Worried? Are you sure thats the reason? Or are you just covering up for the fact you know I'd be devastated..." Lalia whispered in a broken voice

Lalia looked up at Cobalt and shook her head softly, letting the tears drip down her cheeks as she did so, she couldn't even bare to look at him in the eyes, he just wasn't her Cobie any more.

"There was a time...when I would have believed anything you told me Cobalt, anything in the world, but I don't...I can't believe you now. I loved you." she choked out, descending into a crying mess

He took her scorn and her anger without much difficulty, he'd had a lot of those emotions thrown his way over the years. Even the disappointment he could handle, albiet with a flinch, but the insinuation that he was corrupting the minds of children was a step too far in his book. His eyes narrowed a little,

"I would never do that to children." he told her forcefully, "Despite what I do for a living I have the same morals I discussed with you before. I am still a moral person."

Cobalt swallowed at the persistant lump in his throat, blinking away his growing tears as he did. The trust their relationship had been built on was dying because of this. But the way Cobalt saw it, this was a part of who he was. This part of him had saved him from suicide when he'd come across a mental barrier in his early years and saved him from the same fate again after his son was killed,

"I... I knew that... this..." he gestured at himself, "Wasn't what you wanted. I knew that you wanted the other side of me, the day side of me, and that you would never accept my night side. I can't be completely one of these halves, I've tried it before and it doesn't work. So I tried to keep the separate. So that you would never have to see the other half that you would hate."

Her tears rolling down her face, coupled with her declaration that she'd loved him, shook him to his core. He swallowed nervously. He'd wanted to avoid this topic for one very plain reason.

He loved her.

That wasn't a problem to most people, to most people it was in fact a good thing. It meant that they'd be able to live together in peace and harmony and all that lovey stuff. But to a wetboy like him... Love was a noose. Love was the worst form of getting sloppy, it gave you a clear weakness for others to exploit. And they would exploit it. But god damn it, he loved her,

"Lalia..." he began, pausing as his voice cracked with emotion, "Lalia... please. I... I'm asking you to open your heart. To open your big heart... and let me back inside. Please... please you have to accept this part of me because... because..."

He blinked a few tears away and whispered,

"Because I love you."

Lalia nodded her head, her anger slowly subsiding, true she was dissappointed that Cobalt hadn't told her what was what and that he was what he was but there could have been worse things for him to have told her...and if...if those people he killed were really horrible then...was it really so bad? Of course it was bad! It's the taking of Someones life! But they deserved it...

"At least that's one thing, I couldn't bear the thought of little apprentice wet boys, it would just be too horrible."

Looking at Cobalt Lalia couldn't help but want to hold him, her arms were itching to hold him closer to her to make sure that he was okay, but another part of her knew this would bs accepting him.

She wasn't sure if she would yet.

"You're wrong. You don't know anything about my work life or my family, how could you jabs known I would have turned you away. You don't. And true I might have been a little shocked, but...working where I do there's worse things to be."

Lalia blinked back her tears as Cobalt told her that she had to accept this side to him, that she had to because he loved her and didn't want to lose her, she couldn't stay mad at him for that. Wrapping her arms around his waist Lalia rested her head on his chest.

"I don't know about any of this Cobalt, I want to say yes but I don't know..."

Should she get her dad even more in trouble than he was by introducing a wet boy to the family

Cobalt could see her anger subsiding in her body language and was thankful for it. Her anger blinded her and made her lash out at him irrationally, branding him as 'evil' because it was easy. Well, that and he did kind of fit most definitions or evil. Remembering that he had sworn to teach both Charlotte and Karma, Cobalt shook his head a little,

"No apprentice wetboys." he frowned a little, "I am teaching two girls to defend themselves better but that's it. Both are victims of horrible crimes and I wanted to make sure they were strong enough to defend themselves."

He saw the conflict in her body language and closed his eyes to stop his mind from processing it so thoroughly. Sometimes having a mind that automatically analysed everything it could was just too much. Sometimes it hurt too much to see what people thought before they said a word to you. He stared at her for a few moments in complete silence,

"Really?" he asked, blankly, "Do you know what I've done in my life? No. No, no one would accept my night side if they still had a conscience. If they still had a soul. And you? You are pure person Lalia and it would have corrupted you."

Cobalt latched onto Lalia, crying quietly into her shoulder as he hugged her close to him,

"I know..." he muttered into her shoulder, "I know... but god... I can't be without you lalia..."

Lalia bit her lip as he told her that he was training some little girls to defend themselves, it wasn't something that she had an issue with as long as they were okay with it and she didn't see them on a wanted poster in Hogsmeade some day soon.

"Okay then Cobalt..." she said shakily, burying her head in her arms as she walked away from him

Finding a nearby convenient rock Lalia sat down on it and placed her head on her knees while she thought of what would be best to do about this whole situation, there was one clear thing going through her mind.

She loved Cobalt.

Lalia knew then that she would bend her life around for him no matter how painful it might get, sitting up straight she looked him in the eye and smiled wearily.

"I can't fight love Cobalt, of course I still love you, I want to be with you, but there has to be a new bond of trust made...so..."

Patting the log next to her Lalia smiled a little wider.

"Come here, and tell me everything I need to know. And I'll do the same."

He saw her biting her lip and had to shut down the part of his mind that wanted to read her body language to discover what she was thinking of. Cobalt swallowed a little and nodded a little bit at her casual acceptance, even if it was tentative at the moment.

Moving with her, Cobalt stood in front of the rock as she sat down, not wanting to crowd her while she thought what was quite possibly going to be the most important thoughts about their relationship. Or lack thereof if she decided one way. When she sat up straight, Cobalt was ready for the worst but the weary smile lift his heart,

"You do?" he asked, breathlessly, "Oh thank you Lalia... thank you... I love you Lalia..."

Cobalt sat down on the stone beside her and took a deep breath as he fought against his own creed to never speak the secrets he was about to reveal to Lalia. Throwing up dozens of privacy wards around them, he looked down at the ground in front of them,

"I guess I should start from the beginning and work my way through it all..." he sighed a little, "I was born Jack Masters, to Vicky and Paul Masters. I was born in Dublin, in the poor district. I changed my name to Cobalt Smith when I was 19, deciding to become a wetboy. Here's the bit you might have trouble believing... I was born in 1860."

The breathless way that Cobalt spoke to her made Lalia smile a little stronger, her happiness trying to fight through the fatigue that she was feeling from the emotional rollercoaster that she had just been on.

"No need to thank me Cobalt, it's going to take a while don't get me wrong but I'm sure that I will be able to get over it."

Lalia grinned softly and felt the beginning of the familiar waves of pain wash through her, this was not the time for this to rear it's head, taking a deep breath and hoping the blossoming flames around her head.

"Let's get this going then, the truth is coming out."

With that she looked at Cobalt with an expression of kindness, biting her lip Lalia looked at Cobalt, her mouth dropping open as she heard what he was saying to her, was he really that old?! That's a serious age difference.

"Wow...Cobie your ancient..." she said good heartedly

He could see that something he was doing was winning her over again, getting through how tired she was. There had been quite a number of shifts in their moods recently and it was emotionally draining,

"Well I'm willing to wait awhile for us to get back to normal." he told her with a soft smile, "It's worth the work I think."

Cobalt frowned a little as Lalia twitched in her body language, as if in some kind of pain. Pain that she was trying to ignore. He gave her a look as he frowned,

"The truth is coming out... and as long as it is..." his frown softened, "What's hurting you?"

When her jaw dropped at hearing how old he really was, Cobalt couldn't help but chuckle. It was worth telling her, just for that reaction. He shrugged a little,

"Actually I'm still only 34." he told her with a smile, which turned to a smirk, "With a lot of experience. You see, I stumbled across something that gave me eternal youth and quite a lot of other benefits and I took."

Lalia nodded softly and she bit her lip as he asked her what was wrong, as if it wasn't bad enough her condition was kicking off the punishment from her boss kicked in, a burst of pain through her chest which made her illness agitate even more so she crippled over the rock and promptly threw up.

Groaning weakly Lalia looked down at the glistening red blood and hoped that Cobalt wouldn't see it but obviously he would.

"Dont tell anyone, but I'm getting a little bit ill...I'll be okay though, I've got to keep working otherwise I wont be able to eat and neither will dad...so don't tell the Ministry or anything will you?"

She asked softly.

Lalias ears pricked up and she tilted her head to one side wiping at the corners of her mouth to get rid of the blood. What could he have found that would do that to him? Was it a philosophers stone?

"What is it? That you found?" she asked softly "Still much older than me though dear!"

Cobalt's eyes widened as he saw Lalia's body begin to convulse before she showed any more visible signs of throwing up. But unfortunately she actually threw up and he was unable to figure out why. His eyes narrowed as he saw the blood,

"You're only a little bit ill?" he frowned, "I don't know if anyone told you but blood is never a good sign. I won't tell the ministry but you have some explaining to do, just like I do."

Seeing her curiosity, Cobalt decided to continue rather than interrogate her over her illness,

"I'm afraid I can't tell you. You see, what I found was sentient." he rolled his eyes a little, "And he doesn't want to see you yet. He says he's in no shape to meet such a beautiful woman. As you can tell, he's a charmer. And I'm not that much older... and with age comes experience."

Lalia looked at Cobalt as if she was having an appointment with the headmaster, she knew she probably should have gotten help for this before she she didn't want to worry her dad or make her work life even more difficult than it is already.

"Okay then I know I should have gotten help sooner but I just didn't want to worry anybody, it's not worth fussing over it's just a little thing, I have bigger things to worry about you know..."

With that her breath caught in her throat as she fought off another wave of nausea as it tried to overcome her but she managed to stop it dead before she threw up again.

"Don't worry about it Cobalt, I understand. He sounds really lovely though and I won't bite so I'll meet him when he's good and ready."

Lalia smiled again and placed her head on her lap as another burst of fire flashed through her head making her groan softly.

"I have to get back to work."

The way Lalia looked at him made him think that he was being a big bad nasty man by asking questions about her illness when really he was just concerned. Shaking it off, he sighed a little,

"The little things add up a lot quicker than you'd think." he told her with another frown, "Why couldn't you get it looked at quickly? Focus more on the big problems once the little one is out of the way."

He leant down closer to her as she twitched a little bit more. Sighing, he gave her a hug,

"He's a pain in my ass." he muttered with a sigh, "If he didn't come with all of the advantages I'd kick him out just because he's annoying. Oh yeah yeah... he says his personality is based on mine. He says that's why he'd such a dick. I think he just likes to annoy me."

Cobalt frowned a little,

"Why do you have to get back to work?" he asked, "Why can't I just take you to the hospital?"

The way that Cobalt frowned at her made Lalia feel rather silly and she bit her lip, the truth was she just simply couldn't afford to get treaent for both her and her father and her father was the one who needed it the most...besides she was alright really...

"You should know Cobie that not everyone can afford everything, my dad is sicker than me and he needs me to pay for his treatment, so because I'm healthier I can't afford time off to get better, and I wouldn't be allowed it anyway."

Sighing softly Lalia laughed weakly as Cobalt joked about the person that he had found, it was nice that he had what sounded like a best friend, and it was nicer that this person had given him meaning once more.

"You're not a dick Cobie, you're a lovely guy, take it from me."

Lalia winced slightly as she stood up, taking a deep breath and coughing up another pocket of blood, attractive, she thought sarcastically. Biting her lip she smiled softly.

"I didn't do my job, so I have to go and see my boss so he'll stop my punishment, it always makes...make me feel worse."

She whispered as her face paled and she doubled over once more.

He tilted his head to the side a little bit. That didn't really make sense. Ministry salaries were quite generous nowadays. There must have been another, larger, drain on her income to make her own treatment low on her list. It clicked when she mentioned her father,

"So you have two lots of treatment to pay for but you can only pay for one." he paused for a second, "But treatment increases in price with the severity... maybe you can't afford even one of them fully."

Cobalt chuckled a little and shrugged a bit,

"Well my personality has changed a lot over the years." he told her with a small smile, "And at times I have been a bit of a dick. It's a lot of time to be a dick in after all."

Cobalt frowned and held her steady on her feet when she coughed up yet more blood. His eyes widened. Kneeling down to her eye level, Cobalt held her face gently in his hands,

"Look at me Lalia." he told her firmly, "Now tell me... who is your boss?"

Lalia smiled sadly, it seemed that Cobalt had figured it out, she couldn't keep it from him but then again she didn't want to advertise it either because then it could cause problems for her and her fathers medicine, which he needed so badly.

"Maybe...and I'm fine really I'm quite happy to wait until I can afford both, it's no big deal Cobalt don't worry about me."

With that comment Lalia chuckled a little but ended up weaving into Cobalts chest as she suddenly felt a little bit dizzy, clutching to his silky ninja outfit it just dawned on her just how silly Cobalt looked in it.

"You know something? You look really silly dressed like a ninja, why are you wearing that outfit?"

Trying to lighten the mood Lalias face drained and she shook her head, there was no way that she could tell Cobalt that, it would jeporsise her daddy's medicine.

"I can't tell you, I just can't, he pays for half my dads medicine I need him Cobie, I just need to get back to work."