Valentineās in the Workshop ā MOTM
Summary: On Valentineās Day, Yakko skips his usual dramatic entrance ā and thatās how you know somethingās wrong. Instead of city lights, you spend the evening in his workshop, where quiet concern turns into soft confessions, a handmade gift, and the reminder that even someone who turns everything into a weapon chooses to lower his guard with you.
Pairing: Myth Yakko x Reader
Genre: Romance, Fluff, Light Action and Character-Driven
Tropes: Soft Protector, āI Can Fix Anything (Except My Feelings)ā, Maker/Inventor Love Interest, Quiet Confession, Valentineās Day Domestic Moment, Touch-Starved but Hides It, Handmade Gift Symbolism and Chaos Boy and Gentle With You
Myth! Yakko Warner belongs to: shishiminty !!
The first thing you learned about Yakko Warner was that he never walked into a room normally.
Doors were suggestions. Windows were invitations. Gravity was more of a polite guideline than a rule. If there was a dramatic way to enter, Yakko would find it, improve it, and add commentary like a live directorās cut.
ā him swing through a doorway on a hanging cable, boots first, yelling āTactical entrance!ā
ā him slide across a table on his knees because āmomentum equals authorityā
ā him roll under a half-lowered garage door with a wrench between his teeth, which he later claimed was āpure cinemaā
Once, heād come through the ceiling tile, landed in a crouch, looked around the room, and said, āGood news: I found the attic. Bad news: I may have made an attic.ā
So when the workshop door simply creaked open tonightā
On Valentineās Day, of all nightsā
You knew something was wrong.
You didnāt look up right away.
The desk lamp beside you cast a warm, golden pool over the floor. Metal glinted. Bolts, screws, bent nails, washers, springs, strips of wire ā all sorted into messy little constellations only you and Yakko could navigate. The concrete was cool under your legs. The air smelled like oil, dust, steel, and that faint trace of soap that clung to him like a secret reminder he existed outside of grease and trouble.
There was a small paper bag sitting on the workbench above you ā slightly crumpled, with a red ribbon clumsily tied around the handle. You hadnāt opened it yet. Heād shoved it at you earlier that afternoon with a casual, āDonāt read into it,ā and immediately refused to elaborate.
You were cross-legged with your back against the workbench, organizing scrap into vague categories youād learned by watching him think.
Boots scuffed softly behind you.
āFront door,ā you said casually. āNo explosion. No sliding entrance. No dramatic Valentineās serenade. Should I be concerned?ā
Yakkoās voice came, lighter than the footsteps. āPlease. I only skip theatrics when Iām being extremely serious. Or when I already did the theatrics earlier and you werenāt looking.ā
You glanced up. āYou didnāt.ā
āI absolutely did. There were finger guns.ā
āYouāre impossible.ā
āIncorrect. Iām romantic and efficient.ā
He dropped down beside you, folding himself to the floor with that loose, springy ease of someone who had fallen from worse heights and gotten back up. Hoodie sleeves shoved to his elbows. Bandages wrapped his forearms in uneven layers. A faint smear of grease on his cheekbone.
You handed him a bent gear without looking. āHere. Future world-saving device. Valentineās edition.ā
He turned it in his fingers slowly. āAh yes. Nothing says romance like mild mechanical disappointment.ā
You huffed a laugh ā but when you glanced at him, you saw it.
That delay before he smiled.
āā¦Okay,ā you said gently. āWhat happened?ā
He leaned back on his hands, eyes drifting to the ceiling like he was reading invisible subtitles. His tail lay quiet beside him.
āYou ever notice,ā he said, āhow grown adults get real twitchy when youāre good at things?ā
āThatās⦠extremely specific.ā
āHad a run-in earlier. Some guys who didnāt appreciate my creative interpretation of ādonāt touch that.āā
āYou mean you disarmed them using a stop sign and a loose chain.ā
He pointed at you. āYou make it sound criminal. I prefer āurban problem-solving.āā
āYou stole a stop sign. On Valentineās Day.ā
āI borrowed it. Temporarily. Romance requires sacrifice.ā
Despite yourself, you smiled.
Your hand found his sleeve, thumb brushing near his wrist. āDid they hurt you?ā
His eyes flicked to yours. The grin faded ā just for a second.
āNah. Iām hard to hit. I zig. I zag. I monologue. Very distracting.ā
āYouāre deflecting.ā
āOf course I am. Itās a holiday. I have standards.ā
That did it. His shoulders lowered a notch.
āThey didnāt get me,ā he admitted. āBut they were asking about Wakko and Dot. The kind of questions I donāt like people asking.ā
Your chest tightened. āTheyāre okay?ā
āYeah. I got there first.ā His smile came back, sharper. Protective. āLetās just say they wonāt be asking follow-up questions without a chiropractor.ā
You believed him. Youād seen how he moved in a fight ā fast, clever, using space and objects and momentum. He ended things quickly.
āYou donāt have to do everything alone,ā you said quietly. āEspecially not today.ā
He glanced at you. āItās just a day.ā
That caught him off guard.
āā¦Youāre sentimental,ā he accused softly.
He huffed a laugh, leaning his shoulder against yours. āI had a plan, you know.ā
āDinner. Something mildly illegal but charming. Then maybe rooftop stargazing. I was gonna pretend I know constellations.ā
āI know three. I reuse them confidently.ā
You smiled. āWe can still do that.ā
āNah,ā he said, glancing around the workshop. āThis is fine.ā
The lamp hummed. Metal gleamed. The red ribbon on the paper bag caught the light.
āYouād rather be here?ā you asked.
He looked at you fully now.
The answer was simple. Honest.
āYou know,ā he said, lifting the bent gear again, āin the right hands, this could be a weapon.ā
You groaned. āEverything is a weapon to you.ā
āIncorrect. Everything is a potential. I just help it achieve its dreams.ā
You laughed, and this time his smile reached his eyes.
Then he leaned closer, voice dipping. āYouāre my favorite, though.ā
āFavorite potential. You could destroy someone emotionally with eye contact alone. Very Valentineās-coded.ā
āIāve seen it. Terrifying. Elegant. Inspiring.ā
You shoved him lightly, but he caught your hand. His fingers curled around yours, warm and steady.
His thumb brushed your knuckles. āYou werenāt scared, were you? When we first met?ā
āYou swung from a chain and knocked someone out with a frying pan.ā
āVintage cookware is underutilized.ā
āI figured if you wanted to hurt people who didnāt deserve it,ā you said, āyou wouldnāt joke while doing it.ā
āā¦Thatās how you decided I was safe?ā
A slow smile spread across his face. Soft. Almost shy.
āYou are either very smart or wildly reckless.ā
He laughed ā bright, real ā and leaned forward until his forehead bumped yours.
His ears brushed your hair. His breath was warm.
āI build a lot of things,ā he murmured. āTraps. Tools. Gadgets. Backup plans for my backup plans.ā
āBut you?ā His eyes met yours, unguarded. āYouāre the only thing I donāt try to engineer.ā
āI donāt calculate with you,ā he said. āI donāt plan exits. I donāt look for angles. I just⦠show up.ā
Your hand curled in his hoodie. āGood. Because if you tried to strategize feelings on Valentineās Day, Iād dump loose screws in your bed.ā
He gasped. āHoliday cruelty.ā
He grinned, nose brushing yours. āYou make me less sharp.ā
āNo,ā he agreed quietly. āItās not.ā
Soft. Familiar. A little clumsy when his nose bumped wrong and he laughed against your mouth.
He kissed like he did everything ā fully. One hand at your waist. The other still holding the bent gear.
You pulled back. āAre you seriously still holding that?ā
He looked at it. Looked at you.
āā¦I could drop it.ā
āPlease. Itās Valentineās Day.ā
He tossed it behind him. Something clattered loudly.
āProbably important,ā you said.
āEverythingās replaceable,ā he murmured, leaning in again. āExcept you. Youāre custom.ā
āItās a themed line. I had to.ā
You kissed him again, longer this time.
When you finally leaned back, you reached up and grabbed the small paper bag from the workbench.
āYou going to explain this?ā you asked.
He immediately looked defensive. āItās not a big deal.ā
Inside was something small ā handmade. A thin chain bracelet, simple but sturdy, with a tiny polished gear attached in the center. Smoothed edges. Carefully filed. Clean.
āI had extra scrap,ā he muttered. āAnd itās⦠you know. Symbolic. Or whatever.ā
āYeah. Youāre the piece that keeps things turning. Mechanically speaking.ā
āWell I wasnāt going to buy something. That lacks narrative weight.ā
You slipped it onto your wrist. It fit perfectly.
He stared at it like heād just completed a very delicate engineering test.
āItās perfect,ā you said softly.
He leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to your temple like he didnāt trust himself to say anything bigger.
āHappy Valentineās Day,ā he murmured.
You wrapped your arms around him, pulling him into a proper hug this time. Tight. Warm.
āHappy Valentineās Day, Yakko.ā
His tail curled securely around your leg again.
After a moment, he shifted and scanned the workshop.
āYou know,ā he said, voice lighter now, āif weāre in my natural habitat on the most romantic day of the year, we should at least build something.ā
āYou just got back from a fight.ā
āExactly. Prime crafting mindset.ā
He grabbed wire, a broken hinge, and ā somehow ā a spoon.
āYou are not weaponizing cutlery on Valentineās Day.ā
āDonāt limit the spoon.ā
You watched his hands move ā quick, precise, creative.
āWhat is it?ā you asked.
āEmergency distraction device.ā
He finished, holding up a tiny spring-loaded contraption with the spoon attached at an angle.
āYou throw it,ā he explained, āit clatters, spins, reflects light, confuses everyone for three seconds.ā
āThatās all you need.ā
You shook your head, smiling.
He handed it to you carefully, like it mattered.
And in the warm light, on Valentineās Day, surrounded by scraps and sparks and the boy who could turn anything into a weapon but chose, with you, to sit stillā
Yakko Warner didnāt stop being sharp.
He just chose not to point that edge at the people he loved.
And tonight, he chose you.
Author's note: I wanted to write this little gift for my dear friend who loves Yakko so much.
I hope you guys enjoyed it <3