Warning: This is directly taken out of the first two chapters of my new story A Rose's Thorns. So, it will provide very small spoilers toward the actual story.

~ Roll The Preview! ~

By the time she had gotten to her son's school, Rosa Thorn put on a pair of under-rimmed glasses and she took off her black leather jacket before folding it and holding it against her body while she crossed her arms. The small change made her look less like a mercenary, or dominatrix as she has heard, but instead, she looked like a college student from thirty years ago and she thought it suited her more.

As for her son, Blake Justice, he didn't like the look one bit. Especially when he saw his mother waiting just outside of his middle school waiting for him.

"Blake, is that your mom? She looks like a nerd!" Ben, one of his classmates, taunted as Rosa waved at Blake and walked toward him.

"Maybe without the glasses and with that jacket on, she'd look pretty decent." Another student named Alain commented as Blake begrudgingly walked over to his mom.

With his head lowered, Blake stood in front of his adopted mother as she kneeled down in front of him. "Blake, don't listen to them. I bet their parents aren't any better." She said, trying to cheer him up.

"Mom, can't you just... be cool for once?" He asked in a low whisper, causing Rosa to smile at his question.

"I could, but what would be the point? You should be cool for what you can do, not what I can do." She spoke as she stood up again. "Come on, I just got paid and I ordered a pizza before I came here. If we hurry, it'll still be fresh."

~ End Preview ~

A/N: That was a small (edited) portion of chapter one. And now, here's a small portion of chapter 2!

~ Start the Preview! ~

"Nick, give me a cosmo," Rosa told the bartender who immediately grabbed an unopened bottle of vodka so he could start mixing the redhead's drink.

Once Nick had given Rosa a cosmopolitan cocktail, he leaned forward on the counter, watching all the shady characters in his bar relax and get wasted. "What brings you here, Thorn?"

"Meeting with someone to talk out a deal. Mind if we use one of your backrooms later?" She asked in return, sipping her cocktail.

"Go ahead." He replied as he turned around to start cleaning glasses. As he did so, he glanced at the Dead Pool, a betting board for mercenaries to bet on who would die first. "But, you still have no bets on you. You're losing your reputation by taking all those small jobs."

Sipping her drink once again, Rosa didn't even frown at the mention of her reputation. "Small jobs put money on the table and have fewer risks. I don't need to take on missions more than that."

"I knew it. That kid of yours is making you soft." With his last statement, Rosa looked Nick in the eyes and thought of dozens of retorts to silence him.

"What about you? You're almost forty and no one in their right mind would even date you. I mean, you look like you slept in a dumpster last night." She said, noting the scruffy look that Nick had and the lack of hygiene maintenance.

Opening his mouth, Nick was about to talk back but instantly lost confidence in his response. Going back to cleaning glasses in silence, he just listened for any rumor or news that the mercenaries in his bar would say. Rosa did the same, but looking at the walls, she didn't even have a bounty over her head anymore while some of her colleagues had thousands of units over their heads.

Not letting it bother her, she pulled out her holo-deck and read a few texts she had received throughout the day.

Meanwhile, one of the less experienced mercenaries walked up to the bar and was surprisingly sober. But once he sat down next to Rosa, he put an arm around her shoulder, catching her full attention.

"Hey, hot stuff, I haven't seen you around here before." He said, trying to be smooth in his flirting.

'I shouldn't make a scene, my contact should be here soon.' She thought to herself before pushing her drink away and putting her holo-deck away. Getting up, Rosa walked over so she was right in front of the man before leaning forward, making them closer. "Name's Rosa Thorn. Try not to get pricked." She teased before walking away and picking up her drink.

"Looks like Rosa's back!" One of the mercenaries bellowed, leaving the one who just hit on her completely confused.

Seeing this, one of the older mercenaries walked over to the flirt and cleared up his confusion. "That's Rosa Thorn, she's a born killer but lost the bounty on her head after she kept taking small jobs." The man said politely, careful with the phrasing of his words since Rosa was still in earshot. "She's infamous for being able to seduce nearly any man and even some woman. Trying to flirt with her would be like trying to freeze over hell."

Nodding, the flirty merc looked for another woman to try and get into bed with while the other mercs went back to drinking or some other activity.

~ That's All The Previews! ~

A/N: Okay, neither clips share context, but I hope you enjoyed the little sneak peek. For now, A Rose's Thorns will be put up on Fridays starting Febuary 8th. See you next time, lovelies!