our very own love language
Note: This is the last of my fics for now. I'll try (keyword: try) to upload new ones here at the same time as on AO3. The only thing left is my ongoing, multi-chapter Joseph fic, which I will transfer after it's completed. Lastly, a masterlist is coming soon!
Tags: Fluff, Cuddling & Snuggling, Banter, Not Beta Read, Ficlet, POV Second Person
Summary: “...Are you still upset with me?” you asked, shifting in your seat.
Luchino tensed, his shoulders growing visibly taut, then drooping when he sighed. “Upset? With you? Of course not. Why would I be upset?”
“Luchino?” you called into the dimly lit study, its musky scent hitting you even through the small crack in the door. The only source of light was a quaint oil lamp at the other end of the room, resting upon the table where your lover sat; he was writing, slow and lazy, into his latest journal, not even bothering to raise his head when you spoke. His only response was a vague motion with his hand, which you took as your cue to enter.
As you approached him, you gave quick glances to the various enclosures lining the tables, each housing a different species of reptile; most slept, but the nocturnal few among them stared back at you, their beady little eyes unblinking. The sight had you quickening your pace.
“I brought you food,” you said, placing the plate you’d been carrying beside him. “I was worried when I didn’t see you at dinner, so I thought I would save something for you.”
“I don’t need it,” he replied, his tone curt, then reeled himself in, “...but thank you.”
You smiled, weary, and took a seat nearby, watching his tense expression slowly ease as silence settled between the two of you. After a moment, he plucked a large, juicy apple from the plate and bit into it, swallowing the uncomfortably large piece whole before putting the rest back. You could see the apple’s core now.
“...Are you still upset with me?” you asked, shifting in your seat.
Luchino tensed, his shoulders growing visibly taut, then drooping when he sighed. “Upset? With you? Of course not. Why would I be upset?”
“Because I-” You paused, coughing into your fist in the hopes of alleviating some of the tension. It didn’t work. “-looped you around the same window… for ten minutes… during yesterday’s match.”
Luchino finally turned to face you. The moment your eyes met, he did that slow, strange, sideways blink that had come about as a result of his reptilian transformation, solely because he knew it freaked you out. When you gave a slight jump, he smirked.
“Hmph. Your kiting has improved recently,” he mused. “I don’t know whether I should be happy or infuriated.”
“...Depends on the faction?” you suggested, shrugging, and that tore a laugh from Luchino’s throat. “Though, I don’t think I’ve gotten better at kiting so much as you’ve grown more stubborn and impatient.”
Huffing, he made a sudden grab for you, pulling you from your chair with a strength no man of his size or build should have. “Can you blame me? I didn’t get to see you at all yesterday until that match, and you greeted me by humiliating me.” Despite the harsh word choice, his nasally tone was light and his smile easy, especially as he guided you to sit on his lap. His clawed hands found their way around your hips.
“To be fair,” you scoffed, adjusting your position, “you greeted me by slamming down on me full-force while I was decoding.”
“I was excited to see you.”
You reached out and pinched his nose between your index and middle knuckles, tugging on it lightly in admonishment. Luchino gave the courtesy of pretending it hurt, even reaching up to rub at his nose once you’d pulled your hand away.
He hummed, his expression unbearably smug as he conceded, “Perhaps I was. Especially when I dragged you down-”
Your face flushed. “Don’t-”
“-to the basement to ravish you.”
You groaned, allowing your head to drop onto his shoulder. With the curve of his neck now mere inches from your face, you could see precisely where human flesh met reptilian scales; you reached up to stroke the skin carefully, and Luchino let out a contented noise in return.
“I hate you,” you grumbled, tracing his collarbone. “I couldn’t walk afterward, and my team kept giving me looks when you finally let me return to the Manor!”
“Mmm… an eye for an eye, then,” he replied, beginning to rub slow, soothing circles into your back in kind. “Or perhaps… our very own love language.”
You pulled back just enough to be able to glare at him, but the heat within your eyes died quickly when he stared back, utterly adoring. It left you curling up against him subconsciously, hands bunching into his shirt in a bid for warmth.
“...Chino?” you called for him softly after a quiet moment.
“Yes?” he replied, his tone matching yours.
“I don’t really hate you.”
He laughed, his lips moving to your neck. For once, what followed was not the painful bite from a predator’s jagged fangs, but a quick nip from soft, human teeth.