it's weird that you don't call out to jun when he comes into your apartment. jun knows that you know he was coming over at some point to spend time with you, and usually you greet him in some way when you hear the apartment door unlock. he's a little earlier than he planned, but you told him to 'come over whenever' and now he's a little worried that you didn't mean it. he quietly slips into the pair of slippers that stays here at your place, and makes his way further into your apartment to set down the bag of groceries he brought on your kitchen counter. your bedroom door is open, but the tiny room you use as a home office is open just a sliver.
he makes his way over, leaning in to listen for a moment... only to hear your voice. there's a little strain to it as you struggle through a sentence, and it clicks all at once: you're speaking chinese. albeit not very well (it's clear to jun that this is one-hundred percent new to you), but you're still trying. your pronunciation is a bit clumsy, but he can hear the way you try to use the right tone with what you're saying...
when did you start learning this much? jun had taught you little things in the past--the absolute basics, really, plus a few other little phrases that veer into his own cheesy need to hear you say sweet things--but this...? he steps back from the door. why hadn't you told him? you could have told him and he'd happily help you learn. but he trusts you: you must have your reasons to keep this a secret, so he won't push. he steps away, deciding to busy himself with getting ingredients put away--or set up for the two of you to cook together, in case you're hungry now.
then he knocks a cup into the sink, and immediately he hears you coming out of your office. relief crosses your face when you see it's just jun, and you lean against the open doorway.
"i didn't know you were here." you pause, and then he sees you get hit with realization. "... how long were you here?"
"i just got here," he says. it's technically the truth, isn't it? he's only been here for a few minutes. "were you working?"
you nod. "yeah. just had to answer a phone call," you lie to him, but he just nods and acts like he doesn't know that. you come up to his side, wrapping an arm around him. "is this for lunch?"
he leans over to you and presses a kiss against your cheek. "are you hungry?"
"mhm," you just snuggle in for a moment, enjoying his presence. "you should teach me more recipes you learned from your mom sometime."
jun finds himself smiling already. was that what this all was...? an attempt for you to understand him better? to show that you care for him so much that you want to know his culture, too? "i'd love to," he says softly, and wraps an arm around you to tug you closer to his side. "only if you teach me things you learned from your family, too."
then he'll make more efforts to understand you and your background, too. just to show you that he loves you as much as you love him.
351 notes
·
View notes
you have learned that the palace nymphs call you alice, a woman bound by something unknown, she who is from nowhere yet is the center of attention, the universe. king gojo's universe.
the king takes a particular liking towards you. he's much more taller than you in the space of the library. wearing distinguishable clothes that alert you that you're not talking to just anyone. the way he moves tells you everything you need to know. he's the king.
"your majesty," with embarrassment, you bow your head down, but the king makes it evident that no such attitudes like that are required with him. alone, at least.
he has been kind, too kind to let you live in the palace, granting you a room that could place marie antoniette's to shame. even the maids have noticed. they sneer behind your back, how a foreigner could ever make the king do what would only be done for a queen. but if they ever send a direct dirty look your way or do anything against you, fae king gojo has already taken care of it.
the elaborate dinners, sweet cream pastries with berries are rich. rich in care, in quality, as if you've dreamt the finest of dreams, this place is a heaven. and you see it.
king satoru treats you like no man ever has. holds your hand with the upmost respect, as if you were made of porcelain, his eyes feels like the gentle rays of light from your morning window, or the cool breeze of the night. never too much.
"stay with me," he asks of you one night, outside his balcony. your white shimmery gossamer dress, made with the most precision and care reflects among the moonlight, reminding you of the life you could live if you stay with him. the elaborate dinners, finest of goods, and the romantic attention you've always dreamed of cause you to hold your breath.
and then you wake up.
121 notes
·
View notes
“C’mon, kid.” Sonic sighed heavily from his spot below the tree branch, paws on his hips with his foot tapping impatiently as he craned his neck up in search for his newly acquired little brother. “What do I gotta say to get you to c’mere?”
The kid in question hummed in thought at that, taking this opportunity very seriously. He didn't stay up late on purpose, he didn't even really enjoy doing it, but it had its perks.
“Can we go get candy tomorrow?” The fox asked, peeking his head over the thick tree branch just enough to look down at the hedgehog.
“Seriously, keed?” Sonic frowned up at him, which meant Tails had no other choice. He had to play the card.
Taking a breath to prepare himself, the cub made his eyes as big and as wet as he possibly could. His ears flattened against his head as his twin tails fell limp. He made his bottom lip tremble for safe measure, shrinking into himself as much as he could.
He wasn't sure what the science behind doing this specific tactic was, but it always seemed to work out for him. He'd first learned it by watching the kids in his old village.
He only tried it a handful of times while on Westside, but the grown ups seemed to at least pity him when he did pull this expression.
Tails had suspected The Look™ wouldn't work on the teen, but it seems even the Blue Blur himself wasn't immune. It was interesting.
Sonic groaned when he realized what the kid was doing, quickly looking away. “Don't do that to me, buddy.” Tails thinks he's gotten pretty good at telling the hedgehog’s tone of voice. It was a strange learning process, but now that he knew what it was, he found sarcasm funny.
He did his best to suppress his giggle, deciding to turn it into a pitiful whine instead. His ears flicked at the sound of a defeated sigh, causing him to perk up slightly.
“Fine.” The twin tails began twirling at the answer, pleased that the sad expression worked once again. Sonic rolled his eyes fondly, gesturing for the kid to come down from his perch. “Now c’mere. Bedtime.”
“Okay!” Much more willing to listen to his brother now, Tails spun his namesakes just fast enough so he could lift into the air. As he lowered to the ground, Sonic sat down with his back resting against the tree.
Tails couldn't understand why Sonic liked leaning against things so much. It had to hurt his back quills or be uncomfortable at the very least.
The hedgehog smiled at the younger, gently patting his thigh to call the fox over.
Tails listened to the call, satisfied enough with the promise of candy. He crawled onto the older’s lap, snuggling against his chest as he settled down for the night.
Sonic grunted quietly when the kit’s elbow jabbed into his side accidentally, but he quickly scratched Tails’ ear to keep him from apologizing for it.
“You're a little menace, you know that?” The teen mumbled quietly as the fox finally stopped moving. The younger hummed in response, nestling his head underneath the hedgehog’s chin. “What's your deal with staying up, anyways?”
Tails shrugged, unsure of how to answer. He really didn't know why, but he felt like he needed to give Sonic some sort of answer. “I’unno. Maybe I wanna make sure you stay?”
“Make sure I stay, huh?” The hedgehog huffed, relaxing into the tree trunk. “You think I'm gonna run off on ya?” He asked, a trace of teasing humor lingering in his tired voice.
Tails shrugged again. The answer was no, he knew Sonic wouldn't leave him all alone. But this was the explanation he gave, so he's sticking with it.
“Well, I'm not. So you can go to bed without worrying now.” Sonic informed, carefully adjusting his position. The fox in his lap shifted with him, not wanting to be an uncomfortable weight in the older.
“But–” Tails tried, but his brother quickly shushed him.
“Go to bed, kid.” He mumbled, noticeably much more tired than earlier, “I'll be right here when you wake up, promise.” Tails decided against responding verbally this time, noticing that the teen was teetering on the edge of falling asleep.
He instead snuggled further into his chest, wrapping his two tails around them to fight off the nightly chills.
—
He was so cold.
It wasn't entirely unusual for Sonic to be cold while he slept. If Tails kept ignoring the rest of the world for another five minutes, he could convince himself that the hedgehog was simply hibernating.
Just a quick winter-long nap and then they'd be back to exploring the world again. Right at each other's side, where they belonged.
Back to being the best duo to ever touch Mobius. Defeating Dr. Eggman as he failed to gloat about his latest ‘master plan.’ Celebrating afterwards by sitting together on the wing of the Tornado under a sky full of stars, hot chili dogs in the paws.
But it was nothing more than a desperate fantasy. Tails knew that.
Another tear rolled down his cheeks as his eyes opened halfway. He was so tired, but he needed to find Knuckles. He promised.
Nuzzling the cold, dead corpse one last time, Tails crawled out of his brother's lap. He tried to ignore the way his mind hyper-focused on it being the last time he'd ever hug his big brother.
Wiping away his tears, Tails glanced down at his communicator. Knuckles wasn't far, but he had to figure out how to get out of town.
He'd need to make another stop before meeting Knuckles, too. Sonic wasn't the only one the fox needed to lay to rest.
Tails shook away the memory of Vector’s stumbling corpse. He'd see it again soon enough, he didn't need his mind to remind him of all the gory details right now.
He purposefully ignored the gun discarded on the ground. He hadn't looked at it since throwing it away, unable to hold it after having used it on his own brother. His own family.
Tails paused as his paw wrapped around the handle of the back door, hesitating to open it. He took a deep breath and looked back over to Sonic's body, trying his best to not crumble in tears again.
“I love you too, big bro.” He whispered. He looked away almost immediately, the sight too overwhelming for him to bear any longer.
With another deep breath, he pushed the door open as quietly as he could. His ears perked up as much as they could, swiveling all sorts of ways as he checked the alleyway for any walkers.
Noticing the area was clear, he stepped out fully to look above him. He'd be able to fly out of this mess.
He turned back to the door, turning the locks on it before letting it close. He didn't think there'd be anyone coming through this city anytime soon, but he wanted to be sure nobody would disturb his brother's rest.
His paw lingered on the doorknob for a few long seconds before he managed to convince himself to let it go with a silent goodbye. He spun his tails and flew above the buildings, wanting to get away from the building before he could convince himself to fall asleep in his brother's cold arms for the rest of his life.
117 notes
·
View notes