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werewolfdays · 4 years

Note

1 from the prompts?

1. Someone stole the blankets.

Being a light sleeper means that I usually wake up whenever Nadya gets out of bed. I always keep myself awake until she comes back in case something’s wrong. Also, I soon found that it was almost impossible for me to sleep anyway when she wasn’t beside me. She didn’t get up in the middle of the night too often, so I never really minded the slight disturbance whenever it happens.

There was something different about her tonight though. All day yesterday, Nadya was sniffling quietly or trying to stifle a cough. And tonight she was stealing all the blankets, which wasn’t that unusual, but she was also tossing and turning quite a bit. I sensed something must have been off, but I figured it was just allergies or whatever. At least that’s what I’ve heard humans complain about in the past, but now I could hear her start to retch inside the bathroom after she stumbled out of bed. I quickly got to my feet and rushed to the door.

My knuckles tapped the bathroom door, “Nadya, what’s wrong? You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, I’m just a little—” Nadya’s hoarse voice was cut off by a violent cough, followed by more retching.

“I’m coming in.” I announced, not waiting for any protest before opening the door.

Poor Nadya was sitting on the floor, basically hugging the toilet and sniffling miserably. She brushed her hair back, which was sticking to her forehead by a thin layer of sweat. Nadya’s skin was always the shade of a darker tan, but the ashen tone it had adopted tonight was the palest I’ve ever seen her. Her head slowly raised up to look at me like it weighed a hundred pounds and she shivered even though she was wearing a long sleeved shirt. The sight was more than a little heartbreaking.

“Oh, love...” I kneeled beside her, rubbing her back soothingly, “What’s wrong?”

“The flu, I think.” she mumbled, sounding like her whole head was stuffed with cotton.

The back of my hand went to her forehead and I could immediately tell she was running a fever. “Jesus, babe. You’re almost as hot as I get when I shift.”

“Yeah, downside of being a human. We get the flu.” She stated dejectedly.

I managed to give her a crooked grin to lighten the mood, “You sure you aren’t pregnant?”

Even with her stuffy nose, Nadya managed to snort at me like that was the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever said, which it was. Then her snort turned into a weak laugh and I was glad to see some brightness in her weary brown eyes, “You’re funny.”

“Well, we do have sex a lot.” My shoulders lifted cheekily.

Nadya shook her head, still laughing at me, which made me feel a little better about the state she was in, “Shut up.” She scolded in amusement. Then her eyes suddenly went wide and she turned her head down to the toilet to puke again.

I clenched my jaw and brushed her hair over her shoulder to hold it out of her face while I continued to rub her back until she was finished. For once, I was going to have to be the one to nurse her back to health. Only, I wasn’t entirely sure how considering I’ve never been sick like this. I was worried about somehow making it worse.

Nadya spit any remnants into the toilet and I left only to quickly fetch some water and a box of tissues. When I came back to sit beside her, she accepted a tissue I offered and said, “I’m sorry if I woke you up.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.” I told her while I urged her to drink some water. “In sickness and in health, remember?”

She rinsed her mouth out and chuckled, “I didn’t know we were married yet.”

An amused grin parted my lips, “Only if you want to be.”

“Sure, let’s say our vows right here in front of our toilet.” Nadya replied sarcastically.

“Maybe a romantic ceremony is overrated.”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “This coming from you?”

I rolled my eyes and brushed her ashen cheek with the back of my finger, “Drink your water and tell me how to keep you from dying.”

Another coughing fit shook her shoulders, but it thankfully didn’t make her vomit again. After a few exhausted sighs, Nadya told me, “Fluids. Rest. You’ll have to go into town tomorrow and get me some flu medication.”

I was relieved that I got the water right so far, even if that did set the bar pretty low. “Okay, I think I can manage that.”

Her eyes twinkled at me knowingly, “Don’t worry, you’ll do fine. I’m not as breakable as you think.”

“I don’t think you’re that breakable.” I said honestly, “If anything, I’m more breakable than you are.”

She gave me a genuine smile that was obviously an agreement with that statement, “Well, there you go. I have total faith in you.”

“You done?” I asked, nodding at the toilet.

She nodded in confirmation, “Think so. For now.”

“Okay, let’s get you back to bed.” I stood up and flushed it for her, then offered my hand.

Nadya accepted my outstretched hand and I carefully pulled her to her feet. My arm went around her waist as I led her to the bed, carefully laying her down. Before tucking her into the blankets, I went to the closet and pulled out the flannel that she liked to steal from me the most. She smiled excitedly when I helped her into it and sank back in the blankets with a happy wiggle that made me laugh a little.

“Where are you going?” Nadya asked when I went to the front door.

“I’m gonna go get you some tea, I’ll be right back.”

For the rest of the night, Nadya was in and out of consciousness. Waking up to sniffle, sneeze, and cough for hours was taking its toll on her. I heard it in every frustrated huff she made after she regained breath. The only bright side was that she didn’t have to get up to go puke any more. If all the stores in town didn’t close so damn early, I would’ve gone to get her medicine immediately, but she had to endure this night. I stayed awake, sitting up in bed and doing my best to make her as comfortable as I could. She seemed content enough with having her head in my lap and being as close to me as possible.

Nadya gave up on trying to get a good night’s rest just before seven in the morning. I looked down at her while my fingers combed through her hair to see her eyes, though half-lidded, were open and staring at the wall. Hoping that she might drift off anyway, I didn’t say anything until her stomach growled loudly.

“Hungry?” I asked softly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Mhm.” she simply hummed and nodded.

My thumb caressed her shoulder, “How about I make you something to eat and go get your medicine?”

“Can you have Toby or Skye go and get it?” Nadya rubbed her eyes sleepily, “I don’t want you to be gone too long.”

I smiled to myself, “I’m sure they won’t mind.” I bent down to place a kiss to her temple, feeling the abnormal heat of her fevered skin against my lips, and then I carefully slipped out of bed, “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Keep trying to get some sleep, okay?”

“I’ll try.” She promised.

The first place I stopped by was Skye’s room. I knocked on the door a little louder than necessary since it was early in the morning and she was likely still asleep. A few seconds passed without a single sound on the other side of the door, so I tried knocking again with more force and called her name.

“Skye, come on, wake up. I need a favor.”

There was a loud muffled groan, followed by some shuffling and then stomping feet as they trudged towards the door. When the door opened, I was greeted by a messy haired, tired looking Skye as she blinked at me in irritation, “What do you want?”

I got to the point, “Nadya’s sick, I need you to go into town and get her some flu medicine.”

Skye scowled, “Why can’t you do it?”

“Because I need to make her something to eat.”

She just stared at me like I hadn’t spoken English, “You know it’s like seven in the morning, right?”

I rolled my eyes, “Just go get the damn medicine. She barely got any sleep last night.”

“Ask Toby.”

“Toby’s working.”

“Fine.” She relented with a long sigh, “Let me get dressed.”

“Thank you.” I told her gratefully, then I reached out to stop the door as she was closing it, “Wait, it’s chicken noodle soup, right?”

“Huh?” Skye asked in slight exasperation.

“What humans eat when they’re sick.”

She actually thought about it for a moment and shrugged, “Well, if modern cinema has taught us anything.”

“Right.” I mumbled more to myself than Skye because she didn’t wait for me to reply before closing her door.

It was simple enough to find a recipe, even more simple was the recipe itself. Just some noodles, chicken, and vegetables with broth. For being so easy, it looked and smelled pretty appetizing and I hoped that Nadya would be able to keep it down. I had it poured into a bowl and set on a tray with some crackers and freshly squeezed orange juice by the time Skye returned.

“Here’s the medicine.” Skye announced as she entered the Den’s kitchen, plopping a grocery bag on the counter next to the tray I had set up.

“Thanks.” I said as I started rummaging through the bag. There were several boxes and bottles that made me think she had bought every single type of flu medicine that exists. “Um—”

Skye answered my question before I got the chance to ask it, “I didn’t know which one to get.”

“I guess I did forget to ask Nadya about that…” Buried in the pile of medicine were a couple of packages of marshmallow pumpkins absolutely covered in orange sugar with faces piped on them. I raised my eyebrow at Skye.

“Figured that would make her feel better more than your stupid soup will.” My sister teased.

I chuckled and nodded, placing them back in the bag, “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

She looked too proud of herself, “Now, go take care of your sick human. I’m gonna go take a nap because someone, who shall remain nameless, pounded on my door at seven in the goddamn morning to make me go get her fiance some flu medicine.”

I smirked at her, “Get out of here.”

Once I got back to my room, Nadya perked her head up from a massive ball of bunched up blankets at my arrival. Even being as sick as she was, she still looked adorable. Though my heart still seized when I heard her sniffle and cough.

“Hey, I got some stuff for you here.” I motioned at the tray and plastic bag in my hands. “How are you feeling?”

“I threw up again.” Nadya said, sounding far less than pleased about it.

My chest pinched in sympathy, “Then it’s a good thing Skye bought out the entire pharmacy.” I set her soup down on the nightstand beside her and set the bag on her lap.

Nadya went for the medicine first, “Sheesh, you weren’t exaggerating all that much.” She noted as she sifted through the bag. Then she noticed the marshmallow pumpkins and lit up faster than a Christmas tree.

I plucked the package out of her hands before she got the chance to tear it open, “Medicine and food first. Then you can eat the sugary garbage.”

She pouted at me for a second before realizing I was right and then settled on some liquid flu syrup. That wouldn’t have been my choice, it reeked of medicinal and chemical awfulness, but Nadya downed a dose of the stuff with nothing more than a grimace. I tried to hide how impressed that made me. After that was over, she eyed the bowl of soup on the nightstand and gave me a sweet smile.

“Did you make this?”

“Of course,” I returned her smile and got back into bed, “Like I’d ever let you eat something out of a can.”

“You don’t always have to spoil me.” She said, placing the tray in her lap with an excited grin on her face, “Canned things do the trick sometimes too, you know.”

“In the apocalypse, sure.”

She shook her head and laughed at me through a cough before bringing a spoonful of soup up to her lips. Her smile only grew at the taste, “Okay maybe you can keep spoiling me a little bit… just a little bit though.”

I grinned and kissed her cheek, “I can work with that.”

“You sure you can’t get sick?” Nadya asked warily.

“Positive. Why?”

Her lips pursed like she didn’t believe me, “I was gonna say that you probably shouldn’t be kissing me right now, just in case.”

“Don’t you worry, I have the super werewolf immune system.” I reminded her, leaning back in, “Which means I get to kiss you as much as I want.”

She chuckled softly as I planted light pecks all over her face, “You must really love me if you think any part of my face is kissable right now.”

“Mhm, that’s why I gave you this.” My hand went to her left hand where my fingers started to twist her ring around.

“I guess that is good proof.” Nadya remarked and continued to eat her soup.

She took her time with it. I wasn’t sure if that was intentional or if it was hard for her to put anything down. Either way, I was pleased to see that she was able to eat the majority of it, as well as the crackers and juice. After she put the tray aside, I noticed that she had gotten sluggish and hoped that the sleepless night was finally catching up with her.

“That medicine helping at all?” I asked after I had put the excess boxes and bottles into the bathroom.

Nadya nodded at me from her blanket nest, but still shivered, “Yeah, just a bit. You don’t have to stay with me all day, the stuff I took should knock me out any minute.”

The tired pace of her sentences confirmed that, but I still frowned at her. All the blankets on the bed were pulled over to her side, even more than she usually hogs them, and she was wearing two layers of long sleeves, yet I saw her shiver again.

“You look cold.” I noted in concern.

“It’s normal and shouldn’t last too long,” she said through chattering teeth, “Just sucks that I can’t get warm enough right now.”

I gnawed on my bottom lip while I tried to think of a solution. Then an idea popped into my head, “I think I know what might help.”

Nadya tilted her head at me curiously when I pulled my shirt over my head, “What are you doing?”

“I’m gonna shift.” I answered while I continued to undress.

She opened her mouth to respond, but then shut it and I noted an amused twinkle in her eyes. Since she didn’t object, I smirked and summoned my wolf to start my transformation. My eyes ignited with gold, then my bones started to shift and pop back into place, white fur sprouting out of my skin until I felt the familiar moment of vertigo. Once I was a wolf, I shook my ruff and stretched my limbs to work through any remaining discomfort, then I hopped up on the bed.

“There’s a joke here about how you shouldn’t be allowed on the bed like this,” Nadya quipped, “But I’m too tired to make it.”

I gave her an annoyed grumble, which only made her snicker, and curled my large wolf body around her. The added heat of this form with my fur should offer all the warmth Nadya would ever need. Nadya wrapped her arms around me, pulling herself as close to me as possible, and buried half of her face in my fur, sighing in relief at the comfort it gave her. I felt more content too and nuzzled her head lovingly with my snout.

“Thanks, Jay.” Her mumble was slightly muffled and she snuggled against me before finally settling in the perfect position to drift off.

#asks #anon #ocs #my ocs #My writing #sorry this took forever for me to get to!#also this may or may not be something that I had started back in december when I was really sick #and I was going through my docs and thought it would be cute to finish cause it fits in this prompt #Jayde #Nadya #Jayde pov

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galvanizedfriend · 5 years

Text

This is something that I was once upon a time planning on turning into a multichapter but that I don’t think will ever happen anymore, so here’s my two cents to the Klaroline Rewind event! Caroline had a night to forget with the douchebag of the century and, a year later, she meets him again at the airport for the wedding of the best friend they unfortunately share. AU/AH, romcom-ish type of thing. Just cause I had to unwind after writing 8k words of angst.

-----------------

Caroline met The Worst Guy Ever about a year ago.

No, really. The Worst.

Men are, as a general rule, pigs. If women were to make in-depth pros-versus-cons evaluations of every guy they meet before deciding on whether to hook up with them or not, well. Let's just say the perpetuation of the human species would be seriously endangered. There's only but a handful of guys out there who are really worth any woman's time, and Caroline hasn't had the pleasure of meeting many representatives of that rare, dying breed. They're like real life unicorns. And it doesn't help that Caroline is a walking magnet for dudebros.

She doesn't know what is it about her that gets them to crawl out of sewers and holes in hell to greet her with their Hey there, gorgeous’ or Have I died and gone to heavens whenever she walks into a bar. It's probably the blonde hair. She's considered going darker a few times, but she's a natural blond, her highlights are incredible and her hair is way too pretty for her to dye it just because guys can't even bother to work on their lame pick-up lines and still expect her to have sex with them. And the sad truth is, if she's really desperate, she will.

It's exhausting to be a twenty-something single woman in the XXI century. There's the pressure of making it in this godforsaken world as an adult, there's the pressure from society's understanding that a woman of her age should be looking for serious commitment with marriage in sight, and then there's also the pressure that comes from the needs of her very horny human body. It's just too much. She really hopes to come back as a lesbian in her next life. Bisexual at the very least. Everything would be so much easier if she just didn't need men at all, not even for their parts.

But anyway. The Worst Guy. Yes, Caroline's met her fair share of jerks and idiots, so it takes something really special to leave her aghast. This guy is a king among douchebags. And that's not just her personal opinion; she's shared the story with all her friends and the friends of her friends, and all the women at her work, and even some random people at bars or parties. The collective response to her tale is always a disgusted ugh! followed by What an ass! or Please, tell me you punched that son of a bitch?. If you discount abusive, aggressive and violent men, who are criminals and not in the same category as everyday lame-ass men, he really is The Worst.

Caroline doesn't like to say she's not over it yet because it implies bestowing a level of importance to the fact that is not merited. The guy was a friend of a friend - her best friend, yes, but still only a notch above a complete stranger. She knew him for three days when the story went down and, technically, they did no more than make out for a little bit, so it's not like they had any kind of relationship going on. He's not important, just a guy who did something astoundingly douchebaggy.

The whole thing was bound to go down as a funny anecdote to be shared between girls, a Oh, you think you've had the worst hook-up ever? Hold my beer kind of story. Provided, of course, that she never had to see the guy again and could just wipe him out of her memory for good. Considering they live in different time zones, it shouldn't be too difficult.

Which is exactly why Caroline is livid to come out of the arrivals area at the Richmond airport to find him there, wearing sunglasses indoors, like the proper ass that he is and holding up a sign that says Clarisse and giving her that smug, dimpled smile that got her wanting to suck face with him the first time but now just makes her blood boil.

She is going to murder Tyler on his wedding week.

Caroline inhales deeply through her nose, plasters the most sardonic, Miss-Mystic-Falls saccharine smile she can muster on her face and braces herself for confrontation. If she puffs out her chest, throws her hair back to show a little more cleavage and has a bit of Naomi on her gait as she walks over to him, well. Who can blame her, right?

"Hello, love," he greets her in that insufferable Royal Asshole accent of his. It wouldn't surprise her at all to find out he's not even really British, that the accent is just another item on his long list of douchebaggy features. "Such a pleasure to see you again."

"That's so sweet of you, Nicholas. Too bad I can't say the same."

He laughs, the idiot. "I trust you had a pleasant flight."

"Lovely! Everything was perfect until the moment I walked out and saw you," she says, punctuating her sentence with a grin. "Please tell me Tyler is dead, because that really is the only acceptable excuse for sending you to pick me up."

"Tyler had some urgent matters that required his attention and apparently thinks I've got nothing more important to do than serve as chauffeur to his ex-girlfriends."

"And you couldn't be your disappointment-of-a-friend usual self and send someone else instead? An Uber driver would've sufficed."

"And miss the chance of surprising my lovely old friend Clarisse? Nonsense!" he says, smirking. "Tyler also reminded me that I have certain responsibilities as his best man. I was entirely unaware, but it seems being his personal slave is one of those, who would've known?"

Tyler is so dead.

"Aren't you a dear?" Caroline asks around a sigh.

"I know. Now, have you got everything you need?"

"If I'll be spending an hour in a car with you, I might need a weapon. Do you think I could buy a gun here somewhere?"

Klaus chuckles, taking her luggage as he starts walking towards the parking lot. If she didn't know any better, she'd almost believe his gentlemanly act. "I've missed you, Caroline."

"So you do know my name."

"It comes and goes," he says flippantly. "How's New York this time of the year?"

"Humid. How's hell?"

"Not the same since you left." She can't help the laughter that escapes her. His sense of humor is on point, she'll give him that. "You are sorely missed in New Orleans," he continues.

"I hardly remember New Orleans." Lie.

"I'd be more than happy to escort you down memory lane, perhaps tend to certain unfinished business," he offers in a very casual manner, but the wolfish smile on his lips leaves no doubt over his intentions.

"I believe we made a non-breakable deal about never discussing New Orleans again," Caroline reminds him as they stop by a huge black SUV. "Wow, that's a very big car. Are you trying to compensate for something?"

His smile widens, showing teeth and those damn dimples again. There should be a law against douchebags coming in such alluring packages. "Would you like to find out?"

"Sorry, I'm not that desperate yet. I'll let you know if every other human being on the planet dies, though. Then you'll be first and last on my list. Until then, we don't talk about it. In fact - here's a great idea. How about we just don't talk at all?"

"We made a deal about never telling other people. I don't see what the problem of discussing it is if it's just us girls," he says, loading her luggage into the back of the car.

"The only thing I can recall from that night is that everything was very basic, very below par, and there was not a lot to be missed there, so I really don't see the point."

"You wound me, love," he says, a frown showing behind his sunglasses.

Caroline smiles again. "Not nearly as much as I'd like to."

#klaroline #klarolinerewind #klaroline fanfiction #klaroline fic #kcfic #kc fanfiction #klarolinefic #kc fandom #klaus x caroline #TVD fanfiction

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ythmir-writes · 5 years

Note

Are you still looking for prompts for 182? Ikémen sengoku Hideyoshi + box please~~~~ OMG are you gonna leave us after 182? 😭😭😭

hello hello dear anon! Welp at the time you sent this, I was still looking for prompts but for now it’s closed until I wrap up part 1 (〃￣ω￣〃ゞ

and as to your other question, well I can’t say what will happen in the future but for now, rest assured I’m not going anywhere! I love writing too much to stop after 182 and I have too many WIPS and OCs and AUs and a whole bunch of stuff I haven’t done yet (ฅΦωΦ)ฅ

erratic posting schedule aside, i’m here to stay for a looooong time

so here you go! i hope you enjoy this. it’s super casual and fun!

BOX

fandom: Ikemen Sengokucharacter: Hideyoshi Toyotomi

“Hideyoshi, just please.” Ieyasu groaned. “For the love of everything that you consider holy, stop pacing.”

Hideyoshi waved a hand. “I can’t.”

“Can’t?” Ieyasu grumbled behind his coffee mug. “Or won’t?”

“Both.” Hideyoshi ran a hand nervously through his hair. “The post office told me it’ll be here by six a.m. And it’s -” Hideyoshi shot a glance at the clock “ - been ten minutes since.”

Ieyasu sighed loudly. Or groaned again. He was not sure. Mornings without having two black coffees first were blurry at best; he was only halfway through his first. That Hideyoshi had been pacing like a panicking chicken around the kitchen island made this morning just a little bit more surreal. Then again, Hideyoshi pacing should not have been a new thing.

“It’ll get here.” Mitsunari said brightly as he slathered what looked like his third slab of peanut butter onto the toast in his hand. Ieyasu shuddered, taking away the peanut butter from him.

“You’ll make yourself sick.”

“What?” Hideyoshi and Mitsunari both asked, turning to him.

Ieyasu grumbled, reflexively shrinking back into his hoodie, unable to take both their attention at the same time. “Ugh. Stop. Please let me have my second coffee before you shine on me.” Mitsunari offered to get him a second cup (Ieyasu declined). Hideyoshi muttered something about heart palpitations before resuming his pacing (Ieyasu ignored).

“Well, isn’t this a chaotic sight.” Mitsuhide appeared by the kitchen door, already looking fresh and prepped for the day, his white hair slicked back to dry.

Ieyasu gestured at Hideyoshi who was peeking at the living room window again. “Package day.”

Mitsuhide raised his brows in understanding. “Well. This country’s postal system has never failed us before.”

“That’s right.” Mitsunari added. “Lord Nobunaga’s packages always reach us.”

“I know. I know.” Hideyoshi stopped in front of them, pointing a finger on his own watch. “But the question is when, when, when.”

“Sooner than you think.” Masamune piped, moving away from the stove and placing the scrambled eggs on the last empty plate. “Now settle down like good children and have breakfast. We can’t keep vigil on Nobunaga’s package on empty stomachs.”

Everyone agreed, save for Hideyoshi who scratched his head; anxious and ready to explode.

As much as Ieyasu wanted to ignore Hideyoshi, their kitchen-island/dining area could fit only six people, and there was no way he could miss Hideyoshi managing to do two more laps around the island before settling down on his usual seat.

“I can’t take this anymore.” He declared.

Ieyasu was about to open his mouth to say that Hideyoshi was not the only one, when all of a sudden the doorbell rang. Hideyoshi shot out of his seat and managed to get to the door in two steps. Not that it was impossible given how tiny their apartment was but the speed still managed to rock Hideyoshi’s chair back. Masamune only barely saved it from hitting the floor.

Mitsuhide chuckled, bringing his mug to his lips. “I just love the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the taste of panic in the morning.”

“Don’t be mean.” Masamune said but there was no reprimand in his voice. “Hideyoshi hasn’t been sleeping well since Nobunaga took that vacation.”

“It was his idea.” Ieyasu said, watching Hideyoshi at the corner of his eye. Hideyoshi peeped through the window, said something incoherent about punctuality and how young ones just cannot be expected to keep time anymore, before yanking open the door.

“Yeah.” Masamune answered. “But Hideyoshi thought he was going to go with him.”

Ieyasu could still remember how Hideyoshi had been on the verge of a breakdown as Nobunaga waved at them before passing through the luggage check-in at the airport. He could also distinctly remember Hideyoshi making Nobunaga promise to send him proof he arrived at his hotel safely.

Nobunaga had agreed. Hideyoshi had looked hopeful. Ieyasu had chosen to ignore the look Nobunaga had given Hideyoshi. He had also chosen to stop himself from asking if Hideyoshi, in his grief, caught that mischievous twinkle in Nobunaga’s eyes.

Twenty four hours into his absence, Nobunaga’s package had arrived: five beautifully crafted store-bought hotel mugs, one for each of them, with their initials stylishly handpainted at the bottom.

Hideyoshi had been beside himself with joy and relief, happily admiring his white mug with a bold green HT, and saying something about Nobunaga’s excellent taste -

Until he opened the envelope that came with the mugs. It contained pictures, mostly selfies. The top of the pile showed that Nobunaga did arrive at his hotel in Germany as he promised. The succeeding pictures also showed that he had begun a spontaneous cross-trekking trip from Europe to Asia using only a popular ride-sharing app.

The last picture was Nobunaga on the side of a road in the middle of what looked like a dense forest. He was smiling his usual gallant smile and he was holding a piece of paper where he wrote the words, “EVERYTHING IS FINE”. A car was behind him, smoking as cars usually did when they hit trees at very high speeds.

How Nobunaga managed to take them all and print them all and then send them to the apartment within twenty-four hours would remain mystery until he arrived.

How they had managed to stop Hideyoshi from going hysterical and following Nobunaga was all thanks to a second package that arrived twenty minutes from the first. It had another picture and a letter specifically telling Hideyoshi not to follow Nobunaga and to wait for him to come back. It also contained a promise that Nobunaga would be sending packages periodically over time. So there should be nothing for them to worry about.

Ieyasu had welcomed the idea of an extended break from their work. Masamune and Mitsuhide had agreed with him. Mitsunari had wondered out loud if they could ask Nobunaga for specific souvenirs. Only Hideyoshi seemed to foam at the mouth. Everyone that was not Mitsuhide tried to console him. And at that time, Ieyasu had somehow felt sorry for him and almost regretted not mentioning that he had a hunch Nobunaga was up to something.

Until Hideyoshi began his ritual pacing whenever it was time for Nobunaga’s package to arrive. Now, Ieyasu was past caring. Nobunaga needed to come back asap to get him sorted out.

“What is it, Hideyoshi?” Mitsuhide asked as Hideyoshi closed the door “What did our lord and master send over this time?”

Ieyasu set down his mug and watched as Hideyoshi carried the box into their kitchen area. It was a bit large, almost three feet tall and five feet across. It had red FRAGILE stickers all over, and somehow Ieyasu had the distinct impression Nobunaga had been given free reign of how much tape went on the box.

“That screams Nobunaga all over, doesn’t it?” Masamune commented, pushing back from the table to stand beside Hideyoshi.

“Did the postman say what’s inside?” Mitsunari asked, wiping excess rice from his chin.

“He didn’t.” Hideyoshi crouched down and placed a hand on top of the box.

“Well? Go on.” Mitsuhide said from where he sat. “Open it.”

HIdeyoshi sighed, shoulders slumping. “It’s like, I want to. But I’m afraid of what I’m going to find inside.”

Mitsuhide snorted. Masamune laughed.

“The live seafood was a shocker.” Masamune managed to wheeze. “Even if we did have to move half the living room to fit the aquariums. Tasted good tho.”

“Get it over with.” Ieyasu grumbled even as he got down from his own chair. “Here.” He handed Hideyoshi a pair of scissors. “The sooner you know the sooner we can all calm down.”

Hideyoshi wiped his hand on his nape. “All right.”

It took three whole minutes for Hideyoshi to cut through the packaging tape. He hesitated just short of cutting the box but then sighed and drove the scissors through. He pried it open the rest of the way and revealed a stack of items each wrapped in multi-colored cellophane wrapped around bubble wrap which in turn was wrapped around something. Ieyasu couldn’t see.

“So it wasn’t overkill then.” Masamune kneeled beside Hideyoshi. “These do look breakable.”

“Mason jars.” Mitsunari said from the far end of the table.

Hideyoshi made a noise as he picked up one of the jars and held it to the light. “I can’t see through all the wrapping.”

Never trust Nobunaga with tape. Or any packaging adhesive for that matter. Everything was fragile in his standards.

“Have you tried shaking it?” Mitsuhide asked.

Hideyoshi cast him a suspicious look. “You shake it.”

“Cowards.” Ieyasu sighed, picking one, testing its weight before placing it on the table. “What did the note say?”

“The card that came with said it was for health.”

“Great.” Ieyasu muttered. With the way things are looking, he needed something for all the stress. He began to pick at the wrapping. The cellophane was easy but it only revealed that the bubblewrap was secured by duct tape. Ieyasu sighed, cut through the damn thing, and peeled back Nobunaga’s obvious obsessiveness with packing materials.

The jar contained little multi-colored shapes, no bigger than a dime. Ieyasu turned it over and realized the they formed a rainbow. He quickly turned around to announce this, only to see that Masamune, Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi had all taken their jars and stepped back. And they were beckoning for a clueless Mitsunari to join them. “Seriously?!”

“You have to be honest, Nobunaga’s ideas get wilder each time.” Mitsuhide said in what seemed like everyone’s defense.

Ieyasu opened his mouth and then closed it. He really needed two coffees to be fully functional. “Mason jars could have seriously hurt us if Nobunaga made them burst in our face. They’re not made of tempered glass.”

“He would have bought something safe.” Hideyoshi said in automatic defense.

Mitsuhide raised a brow. “So you’re not against the idea of Nobunaga actually sending us a prank.”

Hideyoshi stiffened.

“Well?” Ieyasu waived an impatient hand. “I got meringue.”

“You what?!”

Masamune barked a laugh, tore at the wrappers, opened the jar, and took a sniff. “They’re technically healthy all right.” He scooped out something small and dark in his hands. “Chocolate balls.”

“Jawbreakers.” Mitsuhide announced.

“Sour tapes.” Mitsunari said.

Hideyoshi clutched his chest. “These aren’t healthy at all!”

“Oh!” Mitsunari clapped his hands. “But these are great when you feel a bit nauseous. It helps keep you levelled. And sugar helps keep you going if you have no food and are really hungry.”

“I have just maybe a very vague idea of what yours could be, Hideyoshi.” Mitsuhide grinned, popping a jawbreaker into his mouth. “Take a guess?”

Hideyoshi swallowed. “It’s that damned thing, isn’t it?”

“Your favorite.” Mitsuhide snickered.

Hideyoshi groaned, asked the heavens why did Nobunaga keep on torturing him, and proceeded to open his jar. The act seemed to take him forever and when he finally cracked open the jar, he let out the longest sigh Ieyasu had heard him have. “Konpeito.” Hideyoshi said in defeat.

“It’s all konpeito.” Mitsunari said as he went through the rest of the mason jars in the box.

Ieyasu was not sure whether he should pat Hideyoshi on the back or join in the laughter. He did not have a taste for sweets either. The meringue almost felt like punishment too.

But first before any consoling can be done, Ieyasu needed second cup of coffee.

23/182

#ikemen sengoku #ikesen hideyoshi #well this was super casual super chatty and just plain all around fun for the boys #ythmir writes #ythmir fanfics #182 #23/182

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myaekingheart · 6 years

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12. Butterflies at the Mailbox

read the scarecrow and the bell on ao3

index | from the beginning | < previous | next >

What have I gotten into this time around I know that I had sworn I'd never trust anyone again but I didn't have to You had me at hello -You Had Me @ Hello, A Day to Remember

The afternoon sunlight shone through the curtains and bathed Rei’s apartment in an ethereal glow. She could see the dust particles dancing in the rays, her fingers mingling with them in boredom and childish fascination. She wanted to think that she was just being uncharacteristically poetic but at the end of the day, she knew she was just procrastinating. It had been almost a month since that adventure in the Forest of Death, and two weeks since she woke up in Kakashi’s apartment. Kakashi, who lived right down the hall. Who gave her anxiety every fucking time she stepped out of her house.

Had she been five years old again, being neighbors with Kakashi would not have been a problem. She grew up right next door, and yet somehow now this same circumstance was a death sentence. She was awkward, nervous, unsure of herself and her biggest fear was that everyone could see it. She had made a handful of friends in her time here so far, and a handful of unsavory acquaintances, one of which included Miss Flirty from Ishoku, whose name she discovered was Tenshi. Tenshi lived a few doors down, right between Rei and Kakashi, which unsettled the redhead. She’d catch the bouncing brunette shoving her breasts in Kakashi’s face almost every day at the mailbox, trying to drum up a conversation. Give it a rest, he’s not interested. At this rate he ought to get a restraining order against you, Rei thought to herself but knew better than to open her mouth. She hated how furious she felt whenever that bimbo would try to reel Kakashi in. It wasn’t like it was Rei’s job to hover over him or something. Except that it was.

As she sat in her lonely little apartment, she thought back to what the hokage had told her in the hospital. His explanation as to why he assigned her to the black ops. He folded his hands in front of him as he explained, “There have been some concerns as of late for the wellbeing of one of my shinobi. I’m not going to beat around the bush about who. It’s Kakashi Hatake.” The minute the words spilled from his mouth, Rei’s heart leapt into her throat and she sat up a little straighter, clearly intrigued. The hokage continued. “I was approached by a close friend of his, Might Guy, who plead to be let into the ANBU to keep an eye on him. He was concerned that Kakashi’s mental state is rather…dare I say fragile at the moment. He has apparently grown rather cold and heartless, much to the dismay of his friends. I could not with an ounce of sanity accept Guy’s pleas for reasons I’m sure you are well aware of, but felt as if his concerns should not go untreated. And so I previewed my files and I was rather impressed with your reports from the past couple of years and decided perhaps you were the right woman for the job. After all, I am aware that you and Kakashi have a bit of a history, yes?” Here, he gave her a knowing smile as if he had tapped into her psyche and vacuumed out all of her childhood memories. “The minute you two were put in the same room together, I knew I had made a smart decision. I saw something immediately change within Kakashi, and for the better. I think being around you will have a very good effect on him. He needs a little light in his life, and I think you are just the thing to do it.”

Despite Rei’s protests, the hokage wouldn’t hear of it. There was no way out. She was stuck watching over Kakashi, like some sort of twisted guardian, as if he was at risk of killing himself or something equally ridiculous. There was no way in hell Kakashi could be suicidal. She knew him long enough to know he wasn’t the type to consider killing himself. After all, he always said he refused to become his father and he never did like breaking promises. Or at least the Kakashi she knew didn’t. She didn’t know a damn thing about this new Kakashi. Truthfully, he scared her. It was like someone had eaten her childhood best friend and inhabited the corpse, traipsing around pretending to be someone they were not. Either way, the hokage seemed to have faith in her and there was no room to argue. She was now tasked with protecting the boy who had once promised to protect her. What a sick, demented turn of events.

As Rei gazed out to the world below, she wished she had someone to talk to about all of this. Of all the new friends she had made, though, none of them were trustworthy enough to know about this. There was only one person she could ever open up to with things like this, and that was Grandma Teiko. Rei wondered what she was doing, if she was alright. She hadn’t seen or heard from her since the morning she left. It broke her heart to think they had been separated for so long, but Grandma Teiko understood Rei was doing what she needed to do and the redhead felt better knowing she had the old woman’s support. Her eyes drifted to the little parcel on the desk nearby. She still had yet to open it. She knew Grandma Teiko would surely whack her upside the head with her cane if she found out, but there was something mysterious and significant about it that made Rei hesitate. She was waiting for the perfect moment, but how was she to know when that was? All she knew was that she didn’t want to mess this up, that she wanted to honor whatever present Grandma Teiko gave her in the way that it deserved. As she stared at the little package, however, something inside her began to take root. A curiosity, a hunger. Perhaps now, in the sunlight with the dancing dust and the overall aesthetic quality of the moment, was the perfect time.

Before she had a chance to second guess herself, Rei lunged forward and pulled the little package into her lap. She turned it over once, twice, three times before slowly unwrapping it. She wanted to be cautious, especially if whatever was inside was breakable (if she hadn’t broken it already—she wasn’t exactly the most trustworthy with delicate things). And then it was there, right in front of her, the thing she had been anticipating all this time. She lifted it up gently, turned it over in her hands and inspected it. Before her was a beautiful kanzashi, six inches long with a small string of beads and yellow clay peony dangling from the end. Nothing too overwhelming, it had a quiet, sophisticated sense of beauty, unsuspecting. Rei lightly tapped her fingertip to the hair pin’s end, drawing a tiny bit of blood. Perfectly sharp. There was a note folded up along with it, as well. Rei gingerly sat the present down beside her before unfolding the paper and reading the brief message. This has been sitting around in my boxes for ages, but I decided you could probably get more use out of it than I ever will. Wear it well, and use it even better.

Rei had barely noticed until then that she had started to cry. She wiped away the tears so as not to smudge the letter, folding it back up and placing it someplace safe. Then she cradled the kanzashi in her hand again before leaning toward a tiny mirror on her desk and strategically placing at the base of her ponytail. It complimented her hair rather nicely, she thought. The pale yellow against the fiery tint of her hair, and in this light, reminded her of the licking flames: strong, unrelenting, powerful. A true embodiment of the will of fire. Something in her chest shifted and she found herself feeling a strange sense of deep-rooted confidence, the promise of an entrusted legacy. She would think of Grandma Teiko whenever she wore it.

“Guy, I told you already, there isn’t anything to tell” Kakashi said, walking through Konoha alongside his rival. It was the perfect afternoon, made perhaps a little less perfect by Guy’s consistent interrogations. “If there was something going on, don’t you think I would—” he started, but then froze mid-sentence at the sight of a familiar face exiting the apartment complex. When Guy turned back around, Kakashi was nowhere to be found.

Rei stared down at the stack of books in hand, set on returning them to the library, when she nearly smacked right into none other than Might Guy. He flashed a winning smile, waving at her. “Hello, Rei! Wonderful weather we’re having, huh?”

“Uh…yeah, Guy. It’s great…” Rei replied awkwardly. He was looking at her strangely and she didn’t like it. Something was going on here. From what she had gathered, wherever Guy was, Kakashi was bound to be nearby not because Kakashi liked spending time with him so much as the other way around. “So…what are you up to today?”

“Just basking in this sunlight! Nothing like a little fresh air to really tap into the power of youth” he announced proudly. “By the way, you haven’t happened to notice anything strange going on around here, have you?”

Rei blinked a few times. “Uh, strange?” she asked. The only strange thing around here is you, she thought to herself. “What do you mean?”

“Well, the past couple weeks Kakashi has been acting pretty weird and I plan to find out what exactly is going on. Seems he keeps disappearing out of nowhere. You haven’t happened to see anything suspicious, have you?” he asked, leaning in close as if this was confidential and peeking around at the passerby like a lunatic. The minute he mentioned Kakashi’s name, Rei’s back straightened and her stomach flipped.

“Ha! Well you, sir, are asking the wrong girl! I don’t have a single clue what Kakashi is up to. I mean, do I look like I hang out with Kakashi? Pfft, no, I barely even know the guy! Nope, nothing strange going on here that I know of. Not a single thing. Now, if you’d excuse me, I’ve got a thing to do at a place and, oh, look at the time! I’m running late. So, uh, I better go but it was nice talking with you, Guy, and uh, I’ll see you later!” she rambled, rushing off. Anything to get out of that conversation.

Guy furrowed his brows as he watched her scurry off, calling after her, “If you do see anything suspicious, let me know! I’m determined to get to the bottom of this.” Rei turned around and bid him a quick salute before turning the corner and bolting. Guy chuckled and crossed his arms, thinking to himself how she had scarcely changed over the years. Still just as awkward and dare he say gangly as when she was a kid. Once she disappeared, Guy surveyed his surroundings before beginning to explore the village, thinking to himself about how now he really needed to devote his time to finding out what exactly was causing Kakashi to act so goddamn weird.

The minute she was out of sight, Rei crumbled against a shop wall and sighed in relief. Hopefully that would be the last time today she would have a run-in like that. Even five minutes of Guy’s enthusiasm, with or without the threat of Kakashi, was enough to do her in for the rest of the day. Once she had regrouped, she straightened her back and turned to resume her journey…only to find herself face to face with the Copy Ninja himself. Shit.

He stared back at her with wide eyes, blinking a few times, both of them completely frozen. What now? Did they just keep on walking like they didn’t know one another? Did they confront the situation and say hello? It wasn’t like there were books giving detailed instructions about this sort of thing. Before anything could be said, however, Rei’s fight-or-flight instinct kicked in—unfortunately, her body involuntarily opted for fight. Without even thinking, she pulled the kanzashi from her hair and launched it toward Kakashi. He was taken aback, not expecting an attack, but caught the hair pin in mid-air before it could strike. Suddenly realizing what she had done, Rei’s mouth gaped and she stared at her opponent for a brief moment before diving into an alleyway and disappearing.

Kakashi paused a moment, staring at the cloud of dust left behind in her wake. He could’ve been surprised, but this was really nothing new. This had been the way in which they had been interacting for the past few weeks, struggling to avoid each other in the most outlandish fashions. The only difference now is that he would have to confront her eventually. He stared down at the kanzashi in his hand and cursed under his breath. He would have to return it to her somehow.

The entire walk back to the apartment complex, Kakashi schemed ways to get the little hair pin back to Rei without actually having to confront her. He was hyper aware of its presence in his kunai holster, terrified of breaking it and making the process that much worse. Once he entered the building, however, he got a brilliant idea. He wouldn’t have to speak to her if he could just stick the hair pin in her mailbox. He glanced around to ensure no one else was watching and then slipped the kanzashi out of the holster, carefully attempting to slide it into the mailbox. The only issue was that it wouldn’t fit. The peony charm on the end was too fat to fit through the narrow envelope slot. The only way this could possibly work would be if he broke into the mailbox himself.

Kakashi was not one to enjoy breaking the law. He knew busting into someone else’s mailbox was an invasion of privacy, and that he would have to pay for the damages himself, so instead he stood there staring at the dial for a moment before attempting to decode the lock. There was an infinite number of combinations, but only a few of them were likely candidates based on what he knew about Rei. Or at least what he thought he knew. It had been so long since he had spent any quality time with her, he began to wonder if everything he knew still applied. Either way, there was one thing that definitely remained the same: she had a quick temper, which meant he would have to work fast in order to avoid her catching him.

He worked diligently until he felt a pair of eyes boring holes into his back, the chakra of someone behind him. His body tensed, fearing it was Rei, and then was startled by a booming, bouncing voice. “Hi, Kakashi!” Tenshi greeted flirtatiously. His back shot ramrod straight as she skipped around to face him, accentuating her breasts in the usual fashion. Kakashi’s face turned bright red, his eyes darting straight to her chest. He knew she was doing this on purpose.

“Uh, hello, Tenshi” he greeted awkwardly. Her eyes immediately darted to the kanzashi in his hand, her face lighting up.

“Oh, wow, Kakashi, that’s beautiful!” she gushed, snatching it away from him to inspect it herself. “Yellow isn’t really my color but that’s alright. It’s the thought that counts, isn’t it?” she giggled. Kakashi blinked. It took him a minute to understand where she was going with this but once he did, his heart leapt into his throat.

“Uh, Tenshi…I hate to break it to you, but that’s not for you” he replied, extending a hand to invite her to give it back. She looked at him despondently, not quite understanding what he meant. How could something so beautiful not be a gift to her? She couldn’t wrap her brain around it. And then a malicious smirk touched her lips as she noticed the number of the mailbox he was in front of, one that was not his own.

“You know, I bet the hokage would love to hear about how one of his best men was caught trying to steal someone else’s mail” she threatened.

“Tenshi, this is not what it looks like” Kakashi replied back, trying keep his cool. God, she was frustrating.

“I’m not saying I’m going to tell on you. I’m also not saying that I believe this isn’t mine” Tenshi said, toying with the kanzashi in her hands. She tapped the tip to test its sharpness, grinning in satisfaction. It would make such a nice weapon.

Kakashi crossed his arms and stared down at her. “I’m not going to play these games.”

“What games?” Tenshi feigned ignorance, squeezing her breasts together to exaggerate their size. Kakashi refused to let his eyes wander.

“You know exactly what you’re doing” he said. “I’m not going to fall for it. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.”

“Well, isn’t everything better hard?” she asked, cocking her head to the side and smirking. Oh, boy.

“Uh…” Kakashi chuckled nervously. “That’s not exactly what I meant.”

“Oh?” Tenshi asked. “Then what did you mean?”

“I hope something along the lines of bashing skulls into concrete” a voice then called from the doorway. Kakashi and Tenshi turned to find Rei standing before them, two large bags stuffed to the brim with groceries. Her fists clenched the straps tightly. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Her eyes darted from Tenshi to Kakashi and back, though she refused to look the Copy Ninja in the eyes.

“You, uh, you left this behind. I was just trying to return it to you” Kakashi replied, snatching the kanzashi from Tenshi’s hand while she had her guard down and handing it back to Rei. The redhead stole it away quickly, setting her bags down and sticking it back into the base of her ponytail.

“You’re giving that to her of all people?” Tenshi complained.

“It was mine to begin with, idiot” Rei seethed. Then, turning back to Kakashi, she asked, “And you were trying to break into my mailbox why?”

“Uh, well, I thought maybe it would be easier to just put the kanzashi in there. After all, I didn’t know when you’d be back and I thought this way might just be more convenient” Kakashi explained. Rei eyed him suspiciously, nodding slowly before motioning for him to politely step out of the way so she could check her mail. She wasn’t sure which was worse: Kakashi trying to break into her mailbox or the confrontation. Either way, she got the kanzashi back and that was all that mattered. All that was left to do was just get her mail and then rush back to her apartment to hide and pretend like none of this ever happened.

Tenshi watched the redhead with a sharp gaze, judging her every move. After a few seconds, however, she got bored and resolved to be on her way but not before first grazing Kakashi’s arm and whispering some sort of seductive invitation along the lines of “Let’s have dinner sometime.” Kakashi’s face turned bright red in response as he watched her walk out the door. Rei glared at him for a split second, shaking her head. Unbelievable. She really wished she had taken that opportunity to bash Tenshi’s head in.

Once Kakashi finally regrouped, he turned to find Rei trying to jam the envelopes into one of her grocery bags. He felt strange watching her struggle and not doing anything about it, so rubbing the back of his neck, he awkwardly asked, “Do you need help with those?”

“It’s fine, I’ve got it” Rei replied, refusing to look him in the eye. She didn’t want to make the situation any worse than it needed to be. However, fate had a way of ruining things all on it’s own. The moment she lifted her grocery bags, the bottoms exploded and all of her purchases scattered across the floor. Rei’s face went deadpan, muttering curse words under her breath.

“Are you sure you don’t need help?” Kakashi asked again. Rei rolled her eyes as she knelt down and began gathering up her things. Before she could protest, Kakashi leaned down to help. They sat there in silence for a few long moments, trying to gather as many cups of instant ramen as they could carry, before finally the Copy Ninja broke the silence. “It looks like you have a stowaway” he replied, pointing to one of the cups on the ground. Confused, Rei turned to find a fat, black caterpillar with lots of tiny red horns scooting around the rim.

Rei blinked a few times, unsure of what to make of this. Her mind warped back to childhood, sitting in the front yard next to a young Kakashi as she tried to catch all the bugs and worms she could find. She’d name all of them and show them off to her best friend, who would chuckle at her like she was ridiculous. But then again, she was ridiculous. She was stupid and innocent back then. Nowadays, there was no room for such things. Huffing her bangs out of her face, she placed her index finger in front of the creature, an invitation for a ride, and transported him to the leaf of a potted plant in the corner of the room. She knew sticking him back outside would’ve been ideal, but this was the best she could manage right now in her panicked, preoccupied state. It would just have to suffice.

Kakashi helped her carry her things to her apartment, watching her fumble with the key before finally unlocking the door and kicking it open. She trudged inside, dropping everything onto the unmade bed. He blinked a few times as he took a quick survey of her place. The entire room was a complete mess, and yet somehow none of it was at all surprising. He remembered her bedroom as a child with half-read books lying about everywhere and toys scattered across the floor. It was nice to see that this was one other aspect of her that never changed. He tiptoed around the clutter and laid down his pile beside hers on the bed, and then the two of them stood there awkwardly for a moment or two. “Well, I guess I better be going” he finally said, walking back towards the door. Rei nodded once, following close behind as if she was trying to push him out of her apartment without touching him.

“Uh, thanks for the help. And for returning my kanzashi” she replied, again not looking in his eyes. He nodded a quick “You’re welcome” before stepping out into the hallway and making his way to his own apartment. Before he left completely, however, Rei sucked in a deep breath and called after him, “B-by the way, Guy was looking for you earlier. Said something about you acting strange or something, I don’t know.”

Kakashi paused, looking back at her. “Really?” he asked. Rei nodded. “Hmm” he thought for a minute, then asked, “Do you think I’ve been acting strange?” Rei shook her head vigorously. “I didn’t think I was acting strange either.”

“Uh, well good. Then we’re on the same page” Rei said. Then, after a few moments of awkward silence between them, she then asked, “Do you think I’ve been acting strange?”

“You?” Kakashi repeated. “No, not at all. Perfectly normal. If anything, a little boring, even.”

“Good” Rei nodded. “That’s…that’s good.” Another few long moments of awkward silence before Rei sucked in a deep breath and Kakashi nodded, hands in his pockets.

“Well, I better get going. I have something to take care of but it was good talking with you” he said, inching his way back to his apartment.

“I agree” Rei replied. “I suppose I’ll see you around.” Kakashi nodded once, then unlocked his apartment door and slipped inside. The moment he was out of sight, Rei slammed her door shut and pressed her back against it, burying her face in her hands. She could feel all the blood rush to her cheeks. She groaned and slid onto the floor in defeat. It was official. She was in hell.

The clock read 7:02am. Kakashi groaned and rolled over as a knock sounded at his door. Pulling his mask up over his face, he trudged over to find Guy standing there jogging in place, fully energized. “Alright, Kakashi, you have put this off for far too long! Today is the day I finally beat you!” he announced. Kakashi stared at the man, deadpan, for a few seconds. He should’ve known this was coming. Guy had been begging for him to do this for weeks, he couldn’t procrastinate for much longer. But then again, Kakashi was willing to try his luck.

“I’m not really feeling it this morning, Guy” he said tiredly. Guy blinked at him, then furrowed his bushy brows in suspicion.

“This is the fourth time this week you’ve rejected my invitation” he said. Kakashi trudged back into his apartment and sat on the edge of his bed, leaving his door open as a silent signal that Guy was welcome to step foot inside if he so desired. The enthusiastic jonin took the offer and leaned against Kakashi’s desk. “You’ve been disappearing all over town, you’ve been cold and distant. What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing” Kakashi replied, trying to convince Guy he was telling the truth. “Everything is perfectly fine, Guy. Don’t you worry.”

Cocking a brow, Guy stared back at his friend harder. “How do I know you’re telling the truth? You’ve been acting pretty weird lately. And, you know, come to think of it, Rei has been acting kind of strange, too.” The minute he said her name, Kakashi’s back straightened.

“W-what do you mean?” he asked.

“Well, I ran into her the other day after you disappeared and she seemed pretty flustered, if you ask me. Like she was in quite a hurry to get someplace” Guy explained. “I told her to keep an eye out and let me know if she saw anything weird going on.”

“How do you know she was acting any differently than normal? Maybe she really did just have someplace to get to” Kakashi pondered. Guy thought on this for a moment, shaking his head.

“I don’t know, but something is going on and I’m determined to figure out what it is” Guy replied. “It would be a whole lot easier if you just told me.”

Sighing, Kakashi rubbed his forehead and replied, “Guy, I already told you, there’s nothing going on. If you want to try to read into things, then fine, but there is nothing to tell.” Eventually, Guy had no choice but to give in and accept that Kakashi was telling the truth. He escorted Guy to the door, continuing to elaborate about how everything was fine, until he noticed Rei heading down the hallway. Kakashi’s eyes went wide, pulling Guy back inside his apartment and slamming the door shut. He pressed his face to the peephole, waiting for her to disappear.

Guy watched with wide eyes, pointing at his best friend. “Kakashi, this is exactly what I was talking about!” Kakashi waved his hand, begging him to shut up lest Rei overhear them from inside. Guy watched, unamused, as Kakashi stood there with bated breath for a moment longer. Then, once Rei was out of sight, he sighed in relief and all the tension dispersed from his muscles. He turned to find Guy staring at him with big eyes and a pointed finger. “This is exactly what I was talking about!” he repeated. “Don’t you tell me that there’s nothing going on because that was definitely not normal.”

Kakashi stared back at him, frozen in his place. Then, rubbing the back of his neck, he smiled innocently and replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Shit, Naru, this is bad” Rei groaned, burying her face in her hands. “He’s absolutely unavoidable.” The blonde sat across from her inspecting her nails in boredom, awaiting the dango she had ordered.

“I know” she said, not even looking up from her preoccupations. “And so does the whole village.”

“Whoa, w-wait a second, what do you mean the whole village?” Rei asked, instantly picking her head up. Naru flipped her long, blonde bangs out of her face before placing her palms firmly on the table as if she was prepared to propose a serious deal.

“You know what I mean, Rei” she said darkly. “It’s no secret that you and Kakashi have been playing this twisted little game the past few weeks. Everyone sees you do it. They cringe every time they catch either of you bolting around the corner trying to get away from one another.”

“Is it really that bad?” the redhead asked. She glanced around to the few others in the dango shop, praying they didn’t recognize her as the girl who was always making a run for it. It wasn’t a reputation she felt she wore very well. It certainly wasn’t becoming, especially for a ninja of her distinction. Naru eyed her best friend sharply and nodded.

“You have to stop this madness!” Naru insisted. “You’re going to drive yourself insane. The hell do you care what Kakashi thinks anyway?”

“Hey, it’s not just me whose at fault here. He’s doing it, too!” Rei fired back defensively.

Naru shook her head. “Yeah, I know he is but one of you has to be the bigger shinobi here. Step up, take administrative action. You are a member of the ANBU black ops for heaven’s sake, you cannot be running around playing these childish games.”

“You sound like my mother” Rei mumbled, resting her head on the table again. She looked out to the village, to the passerby happily walking along. She wondered what it was like to be happy like that. She saw a couple holding hands and smiling. The corner of her lip tugged upward.

Naru glanced to the pair, then back to her friend, picking her head up and forcing Rei to look at her. “Listen to me, Rei, you have to make a decision here. Either pursue Kakashi or let it go. I can’t handle you acting all wishy-washy like this anymore.”

“I’m not wishy-washy…” Rei mumbled, crossing her arms. Naru glared at her, testing that statement. “Okay, fine!” the redhead finally admitted, throwing her hands up in defeat. “It’s not my fault, though. Something happened that got everything even more screwed up.” The blonde cocked an eyebrow, begging her friend to elaborate. For the next fifteen minutes, Rei unenthusiastically recounted every minute detail of the final exam of Ishoku. Her face burned bright red when she began to talk about how Kakashi had saved her, that moment together in the brush. “It felt just like we were kids again, Naru. Like nothing was in the way. The past wasn’t a problem anymore.”

Resting her chin in her hands, Naru listened intently, a small smile teasing on her lips. “You’ve got it bad” she commented once Rei’s story was over. “You know what this means, don’t you?”

“What…?” Rei asked. She was almost too afraid to hear the answer.

By the time she returned to her apartment complex, the sun was just beginning to set and Rei was completely drained. As much as she loved Naru, sometimes her tough love and mild egotism was exhausting. After so many years of friendship, she thought she’d be used to it by now. Apparently not.

The minute she stepped inside, she was met with Kakashi standing at the mailbox. Her heart leapt into her chest, contemplating turning around and maybe just breaking into her apartment through the window. Anything to avoid the confrontation. But then she thought of everything Naru had said to her that afternoon. Pursue Kakashi or let it go. Either way, she would have to learn to deal with him somehow. Sucking in a deep breath, she stalked forward and began quickly turning the dial on her own mailbox.

It took Kakashi all of two seconds to realize she was there, during which he had grown rather tense. He hated being this close to her. He hated feeling her chakra, smelling the faint scent from her shampoo. Rei could feel his eyes on her, nerve-wracking and uncomfortable. She prayed he would turn away, to go about his daily life, to not pay any mind to her. Instead, he cleared his throat to get her attention.

“Uh, hi…” she said, voice quiet. She turned to look at him, but refused to meet his eyes.

“Hello” he replied back. Now what? What do you say to a girl you’re terrified of? To a girl who you have such a long and complicated past with? To a girl who is now merely a stranger? “Uh, anything interesting?” he finally asked, nodding to the stack of envelopes in her hand. She sifted through them quickly, then shook her head.

“Not really. You?” she asked. He shook his head as well. This was going great.

The two of them stood there in an awkward silence for what felt like ages, until suddenly a crackling noise captured their attention. On the defense, Rei dropped her mail and whipped out her kunai, searching for the source of the sound. Kakashi stood by, far less hasty than her but still prepared to attack should the sound be from an intruder. Finally, however, he noticed something moving within the potted plant in the corner. “Look. There” he said, pointing in the direction. The two of them crept forward slowly. The nearer they got, the clearer they were able to make out a chrysalis dangling from deep within the leaves.

“The caterpillar…” Rei whispered, suddenly counting on her fingers how many days had passed. As far as she could tell, it had been twelve days, which would’ve meant the little guy was right on schedule. Rei and Kakashi knelt before the plant in complete silence as they watched the butterfly work at its transparent prison, slowly emerging as a new being.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before” Kakashi whispered, entranced. Rei shook her head.

“It’s amazing” she whispered back. As they stood there, it was as if time stood completely still. All that mattered was her and him and their little friend. A grin spread wide across Rei’s face as the butterfly finally broke entirely free, slowly flapping its wet wings. Rei observed its markings and coloring, its form. She hadn’t read much about butterflies, but from what she could remember, they were looking at a Common Rose. “He’s beautiful” Rei whispered, tilting her head to get a better view.

In those moments, Kakashi felt something strange deep inside of him. He was no longer looking at the butterfly but at her. There was an unnerving tingling in the pit of his stomach, and his palms were beginning to sweat. His chest ached with the nostalgia of their youth, as if they were small children in her backyard once again. No fears, no responsibilities, no tragedy. Just the two of them and a world of promise. A soft smile touched his lips. The butterfly fluttered his wings once more, then alighted and flitted around the lobby. Rei laughed and suddenly everything was different.

#kakashi hatake #rei natsuki #the scarecrow and the bell #naruto #naruto oc #fanfiction #ramblings

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