if you would be ok with me writing your ideas for Kalpas, I'm open to asks!
update: I'm still fine with taking asks! but!! at this point I have a couple and it will take me more than a month to get to any new ones so please just be aware it'll take me some time!
I will always take asks about your headcannons or my own, but any longer works are written on a whim. I do not control the writing, I merely write until my wrist falls off and hope that the words make a complete sentence.
Genuinely my interests in a character will change overnight, you would not believe the wip pile I have because my brain suddenly decides it hates the character it was obsessed with 2 hours ago
A lot of my works are just a bunch of small hcs or scenarios I have thought of or seen smashed together so if you send me hcs or I post some in response to an ask I will always try to link those to the work. I want to make sure people get credit for their ideas, even if they're on anon.
Feel free to call me Zaria or Zari (or Tamale if you're coming from ao3)
Or whatever really, so long as I can tell you're referring to me
she/her/they doesn't bother me either way
I'm a college student who enjoys writing in my free time (I know this is like code for "I'm a bad writer with 2 stories and then I drop off the grid" but I promise I genuinely write for stress relief, and I am very stressed at school so we'll be good!)
I mostly write fluff and angst x reader
As of now, I don't think I'll be writing nsfw mostly because my ace ass hasn't even been in a relationship and I want to become more comfortable with writing in general first.
That being said! I'm 100% here for short nsfw headcannons or asks so please minors DNI. If I do end up writing any smut it'll probably end up on ao3, though I will post a link here.
Speaking of asks
Asks/not-requests
If you just wanna post something, that's chill
If you want my thoughts on something, that's chill
If you wanna ask questions or talk about something I've written, that's chill
I'm not comfortable writing for or talking about minors, though there are a few characters I am ok with writing for if they're aged up (Damian Wayne or certain Persona characters off the top of my head)
Non-con is a hard no. Yandere is almost always a no. Dub-con is on thin fucking ice and usually depends on a whole lot of things.
Sometimes Tumblr eats asks!! If you think you sent something that was totally reasonable and I don't respond to it in like a couple weeks, try sending it again!
(at the end of the day, if you send something I'm not comfortable with, I'll let you know, or in extreme cases I just won't respond, so don't stress about it too much!)
Honestly I'm going to be writing either way, and I really just want to get my stories out on the odd chance someone has the same interest. Some of these stories are kinda niche or the reader has traits that I personally have or want for them. If someone enjoys them, great! If it's not your cup of tea, that's fine too! They'll be here until Tumblr gets sold off for the 57th time and loses so much money the shoestring holding it together falls apart.
Sorry for the super long post, List of games I've played below, it's even longer don't even look at it.
Fire Emblem:
Sacred Stones (ask me about Boston Grandma)
Awakening (If Camilla is dragon mommy, Cherche is dragon mom and I love her more)
Fates (Oh please don't start a fight)
Three Houses (oh please don't start a fight)
Like half of Radiant Dawn (Thank you Vimm's lair)
Heroes (You can always tell when Cuboon draws the art)
Overwatch (I have yet to play 2 and I'm not sure I want to)
Honkai Impact (HoS has modified my mind and now she and the flame chasers own me)
I am also fine with writing for APHO! I actually have a story in the works for the MC (man's got like 20 names)
Genshin Impact (Ohhh I could make a bonfire from this wip pile)
Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild (I have like four other loz games and just haven't played them. Thank you Vimm's lair)
Kid Icarus (I used to have the biggest crush on Dark Pit when I was younger hhhh)
Borderlands 3 (2 makes me so motion sick)
Persona 4 Golden (now with graphics!)
Persona 5 (Not Royal, I'll play it when it comes to pc)
Hollow Knight (I'm not sure how comfortable I am writing this, but I love the game to bits)
Tekken 7 (I have-no joke-17 hours on this game but I am more than willing to read the wiki for some of these characters)
Valkyria Chronicles 4 (I might have to replay it)
Transistor (bought it for the ost, stayed for the gameplay)
Bastion (bought it because of Transistor, stayed for the gameplay and ost)
I love supergiant Darren Korb, I own Hades but have not played it because I know I'll be obsessed for like a month
Devil May Cry 5 (I haven't played the previous games, do with that what you will)
Anime:
In advance, I watched these like almost a decade ago so I might be a bit rusty. Most of them I really care for though, and I'll take recommendations!
Ouran High School Host Club (I'm so sorry)
Soul Eater (I can't remember if I ever finished this...uhhhh)
Fruits Basket (the like 90's version, not the more recent one. Hatsuharu ruined my life tho)
Sailor Moon (Sailor Jupiter my beloved)
Fullmetal Alchemist (Fu Hua killed Meas Hughes)
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (I get these two mixed up, I should rewatch them both, right?)
One Piece (I don't think I got past episode 200, I will be so inaccurate)
RWBY (If you count this, I think I'm behind by a season)
I am so terribly sorry if you read through all of that. If I have something that's not listed, feel free to ask anyway! I really like making horrible guesses about characters and then actually seeing them in their game or show and finding out how inaccurate I was (half the time my guess is just "oough ladie")
I miss this blog and writing and all the incredibly kind people sending in asks and just talking about HI3 in general. Just sitting at work, I'm constantly itching to start writing but I don't know what to write about and truthfully don't remember enough about the lore to make anything meaningful lol.
I have like 3 drafts that I really really want to sit down and finish but the past few months have been insane and I haven't had time to sit down, let alone use my brain 💀 I want to come back and write, I miss it more than I can put into words (I'm really out of practice) and I hope you guys can forgive me for the like 20 requests that I haven't acknowledged.
I'm sending you all hugs and hoping this year brings good luck, more Kalpas, and all your blorbos come home 🧡🧡🧡🫶🫶🫶
we finally got the hsr equivalent of kalpas (and the flamechasers by extension)
and first scene alone, he is literally kalpas except you can see his face (im so happy we get a somewhat playable version of him 🥹) (and finally an english voice for him LMAO)
My friend got me to start playing hsr like a month ago because kalpas might be there and I am Not Alright 💀💀💀💀💀
Anyways, I personally think that with Kalpas, it's either extremely painfully slow burn stranger to lovers or super speedrunning burn strangers to lovers through everything (because why would he waste his time when he knows what he wants!)
WEREWOLF KALPAS ANON!!!! 🧡🧡🧡 HIIII
it's been way too long 😭 I'm so glad you survived work I don't know how you do it but I'm always happy to see you in my inbox!!
oh absolutely kalpas is stubborn and either knows what he wants immediately or it'll take forever to convince him to change his mind lol
but that's also why he's so loyal to his friends and reader cough cough like when he immediately yelled at Mei when she even hinted at Sakura having done anything wrong
I don't think I could write a breakup scenario with kalpas because I would just cry so much the ink smears BUT I think he would either refuse to acknowledge it which like in my head is super sweet but in real life that's a little toxic so... or just go "okay 🫥" and reader would feel awkward but kalpas just Would Not Get It. absolutely oblivious to the tension and the other flame chasers definitely are either laughing or making bets on them getting back together
i only got to open tumblr again today and read batter up and all i could say is that i shed a tear every time kalpas and reader are being domestic 😭
short and sweet, thank you for saving us from the aggressive slow burn these two usually have (altho i would be ecstatic beyond comprehension if you suddenly dropped like,, a 100k worded slowburn fic of them)
- herrscher anon 🫶😔 the way i clutched my pearls and gasped when kalpas kissed reader the first time tho
HI HERRSCHER ANON 😭😭🧡🧡
domestic 👏 kalpas 👏 is 👏 best 👏 kalpas👏 ok there might be better kalpas but domestic kalpas is pretty high up there
the slow burn is not intentional I promise I just like putting kalpas and reader in Situations (TM) and it turns out like that every time 💀
I WISH I had a 100k fic, I don't know if I'm strong enough to do that lol I think the current one will be around 20k? like despite not having it fully written out I have the outline and the current pacing seems like 20k but if it ends up longer that's not my fault
me?? allowing kalpas and reader to kiss AND be happy??? sounds made up, I would never
First off I want to say good luck to anyone taking finals/graduating in the coming weeks!!! You got this in the bag!🧡 Sending good vibes so those tests and projects are easy and go well ✨🧡✨
Secondly, I hope you enjoy the summer! Even if you don't get much of a break, make sure you take care of yourself and if you're off from school I hope you get to relax and destress!
This is just a quick update (trust me, I see "author notes" and skip the chapter too I just don't want you to think I've died). The next two weeks or so I have to move and prepare for an internship that I'm excited for but also I might not be able to check my inbox for a minute so if I don't respond that's why.
I would like to finish the story I've been working on, especially since I won't have access to my PC for a while I should be able to finish that up and finally get to some editing I've been meaning to do. I don't want to keep throwing around empty promises of saying I'll write and then not posting for 2 months so I'm gonna say this one story for sure should be up by the end of May unless something goes horribly wrong.
More importantly, I hope you guys are doing ok and have an amazing summer 🧡🧡🧡
haaaii... its pianist anon, i'm getting ready for college and your kalpas fics bring so much memories & comfort for meee :3 i just want to say thaankk you for bringing me through my last few years of high school!
HI PIANIST ANON!!!! 🧡🧡
first of all GOOD LUCK WITH COLLEGE!!! I hope you have tons of fun and learn even more while you're there!
second of all!!! I'm so glad you liked my kalpas fics and thank you for all the lovely messages you've sent about them! they always mean so much and motivate me to keep writing 🧡
people's interests change a lot in college and I'm sure it'll keep you busy but if you check back sometimes, I'll do my best to have new kalpas food lol
HELLOOO!! I just wanted to say i loveeeeeeeeee i mean LOVE your kalpas writes all of them are just so delicious!!
But i was wondering did you take down your mafia au? I remember it being posted but i can't seem to find it now?
(it's in ur masterlist but for me the link isn't workin and i can't find it on ao3 sooooo)
BUT I LOVE UR QRITING HOPE UR HAVING A GREAT DAY!‼️
From anon (derogatory)
hi anon (derogatory) 🧡🧡🧡
thank you so so much!!! it really really means a lot to hear that 🧡
as far as the Mafia au goes I didn't take it down I'm just unorganized 💀 I'm guessing when I went to split the master list up it got deleted and I just never put it on the new list? and my sorry ass never posted it on AO3 💀💀 like I actually wrote "now taking bets for how long it'll take me to post this" and uh. forgot that I need to post it...
so yes! it's still up, you just have to scroll for ages but I'll try and add it to the masterlist in the morning (it's like 1am for me rn) and post it on AO3 either in the morning or afternoon tomorrow as well!
thank you for letting me know and sorry for not catching that!!! 🧡🧡
Yk I was re-reading Heart of a previous era and I made a realization that if we died first and got reincarnated already and Kalpas hasn't gotten reincarnated yet then that means that when we eventually die again, after probably a few centuries or so, then Kalpas would probably be reincarnated while we're not and this cycle would keep repeating and repeating. (Not really sure if I got this right but just imagine)
sorry I took so long to respond!!
I definitely need to reread that story lol but I think I was just focusing on reader being reincarnated? like kalpas probably would have been reincarnated as that point but reader and him hadn't met in real life (and previous era kalpas does not give a fuck about current era kalpas and sharing)
or because kalpas had his memory preserves (and I can't come up with a way for all the flame chasers to be reincarnated) he doesn't go through cycles like reader does?
but I think it would be really good angst heartbreaking if reader and kalpas kept getting reincarnated and missing each other but in every life they find the Elysian realm and that kalpas tells them what they missed? like he uses his memories in the ER to store memories of his time with reader? I'm gonna go cry now hold on-
*sobbing* i just read the new fics and im screamingggg!!! a bit late but hellooo! its been a while but im glad youre doing okay :3 as always the kalpas fics were amazing. thank you for feeding us ueueue. also, the return of jim jams adn crisscross applesauce asjdkhfkj - the other herrscher anon
HIIIIIIII!!! you're not late 😭 thank you for stopping by 🧡 I'm not failing classes and that's what counts lol
I am happy to provide kalpas food, thank you for being patient lol 🙏
Jim jams and crisscross applesauce shall never die
i honestly didnt realize kevin was missing until you mentioned it at the end of the last chapter 😭😭 OOPSIES😭😭
also idk what was reader on when they thought kalpas liked mei, like,, maam,, sir,, that is a whole ass lesbian youre talking about 😭 honestly that kissing scene made me realize, other than silent sniper (which has more kissing than any other fic combined), kalpas and reader dont have a lot of kissing scenes,,
anyways i mayhaps need more disney princess stories with reader and kalpas but considering the amount of requests you have,, uhh,, yeah maybe in the future lol 💀
love reading smth abt kalpas and reader after a whole ass year(?) i missed them so much 💥💥💥💥🫶🫶🫶🥹🥹🥹 and i missed your writing too ofc 😔🫶
-herrscher anon (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤
IM SO SORRY I THOUGHT I RESPONDED TO THIS AND THEN IT WAS JUST IN NY DRAFTS FOR LIKE A MONTH 😭😭😭😭
Kevin doesn't exist I have never heard of him ☺️ one day I'll stop hating him but it's not today
listen I don't want to start a fight with who Mei or Elysia's ideal partner is but they are GAY and that is fact. there is absolutely NO WAY EITHER of them are straight, reader is just mad that they don't have a personal heater anymore which is fair
I went "man reader really just starts dating kalpas and that's it, I should probably do more" and then chickened out 😭😭😭 do you know how powerful Mulan with kalpas would be???? or Brave??????? I need to write so I can have more requests 💀
I should just drop out of school I think, that would solve so many problems 😭
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
A Kalpas x Reader Soulmate AU, Chapter 4, the last chapter, below!
psst. before you read this. It's like borderline crack and entirely optional! you don't have to read it, but it is my attempt at domestic Kalpas so read at your own risk (he's so ooc oh no)
“I don’t know, have you tried smiling?”
“Last time I smiled, it made Rin cry.”
“Well let’s not do that then.”
Kalpas sent a glare for your comment, but it vanished almost immediately after you pressed a kiss to his cheek. The two of you were sitting in your kitchen, slowly making your way through cooking a batch of waffles. You had made the batter, hoping to surprise your boyfriend, but you’d only finished cooking one set when he took over, sitting you on the counter nearby to ‘supervise.’ In the meantime, you were brainstorming.
Seele and Bronya were finally getting married. They had been matched for quite some time, but wanted to hold off on tying the knot. Why? No one knew. Bronya would give a different answer whenever someone asked and had the best poker face in the office. Kiana had even asked her three times in as many minutes and got a different response each time. Seele seemed like she would have been easier to crack but questioning her got you nowhere.
That’s not the point. The point is: Seele and Bronya are getting married, and they explicitly told you not to scare the guests.
After working with the two for years, it was no surprise that you were invited, and since you and Kalpas had spent well over a year together, he was expected to be your plus one. This was all fine and well, but the two girls had friends outside of your company who hadn’t met your partner and who probably wouldn’t react well to his clipped comments and brooding stare. Any other time, you know they wouldn’t have cared, and you wouldn’t have either, but this was the wedding they had waited so long for and everyone wanted it to be perfect, not just the girls.
“You could wear a mask,” you joked. Kalpas sent you a deadpan stare back and you immediately backpedaled. “Oh no. Nuh-uh. You are not wearing a mask to their wedding. That’s worse than just being grumpy the whole time.”
“I’m going to be grumpy anyway. The whole thing is a waste of time and—”
“I will give you so many kisses if you go with me.”
Kalpas was silent, staring at the waffle iron like it was the most important thing in the world.
“I already agreed to go.” You could practically hear him pouting.
“Oh so I don’t need to give you all those kisses then? That’s good to know.” You made a show of jumping off the counter and made it all of two steps away before Kalpas was spinning you around.
“No you still owe me those kisses. I don’t work for free.”
“Do I owe you for the waffles then too?”
Kalpas didn’t even bother responding, his lips meeting your own as you smiled into the kiss. He didn’t seem to be in any rush, but his hands were the only thing holding you up, the force behind every move he made nearly knocked you over.
“You’re going to burn the waffles,” you sighed, stealing another quick kiss. Kalpas probably rolled his eyes, but you couldn’t see because he threw you over his shoulder for the quick walk back to the counter. Once there, he planted you back in your spot and pressed another firm kiss on your lips as if to tell you not to move.
“I’m collecting my payment once these are finished,” he grumbled, sending a pointed look your way before going back to work.
Eventually, you gave up. The best you could do was promise Seele and Bronya that you or one of Kalpas’ friends (really just Sakura or Kallen) would try to clear up any misunderstandings and maybe leave the reception a little bit early. He complained about needing a chaperone, but was suspiciously silent about the leaving early part.
Before and during the ceremony, things went surprisingly well. Kalpas wasn’t thrilled to be wearing a suit, but he had gotten used to it from work, so you had no pushback there. You managed to avoid traffic and arrive on time, even chatting to Mei before taking your seats. Rin got a little excited and you worried she might distract from the vows, but no one even glanced your way. The biggest challenge was when she asked when you were getting married. Kalpas was no help at all, just shrugging and leaving you to scramble for an answer.
At the reception, you were seated at a table with Sakura and Kallen (shocker) and the food was amazing. Since Seele and Bronya were both originally from Russia, the main course was more traditional food, but the desserts were mostly Japanese, almost everything was from their time in college rooming with Mei and Kiana. They shared their first dance and opened the floor for others, though you opted to stay where you were.
Rin had gone to sit with Pardofelis at the marketing table, and Raven had gone with her, leaving just you and Kalpas in your designated seats. Which was fine, until someone joined you.
Misteln was a friend of Seele’s, you learned, and worked with a few others at your company that you weren’t as close with. She was beautiful and moved with an unnerving amount of elegance, but she also had a smile that was not quite a smirk and it left you uneasy. When she introduced herself, she stated that she noticed Kalpas staring and that’s what brought her over.
And it was true, he had been looking out over the room the whole time you had been talking. He wasn’t ignoring you, you knew he was just scanning the area as a force of habit, but it was easy to see how someone else might mistake that as staring. Despite her calling him out on it, however, Misteln didn’t seem bothered. It didn’t matter that Kalpas had been looking at her before, and it didn’t matter that he was looking past her now. She easily dropped the subject and moved on to the next topic.
“I’m glad to see the two of them finally together. They deserve a happy ending, don’t you think?” Misteln was looking at Seele and Bronya as they sat that the front table leaning towards one another and sharing a smile.
“They’ve been together a while now, but I get what you mean,” you nodded, trying to keep the conversation light. “I know they took a while to plan all this and I’m excited to see all their hard work coming together.”
“I agree. You can see how much effort they put into everything.” She looked back to you now and you turned to meet her. “I can’t help but wonder why they waited so long. You wouldn’t happen to have some insider secrets since you work with them, would you?”
“No,” you laughed, “I probably know as much as you do. After a while I gave up, it’s really none of my business, but I know some others kept pestering them. You might have better luck asking Kiana or Mei?”
“Wouldn’t it make sense to marry sooner?” Misteln completely ignored you and continued, “If you know that person is your soulmate, you know you’re going to be together forever. Why bother waiting?” This had you frowning a little bit, but you weren’t necessarily upset just yet.
“Some people want time to get to know their soulmate before they take that step. Just because you’re ‘cosmically bound’ or whatever, doesn’t mean the relationship is guaranteed to work out.”
“Isn’t that the definition of a soulmate?” It almost felt like you were being questioned in a courtroom now with the way her questions kept coming.
“Not all soulmates are romantic, sometimes—”
“But they knew, and they still waited. Wouldn’t you want to marry your soulmate as soon as possible?”
Kalpas chose that moment to step in, and you weren’t sure whether you should be thankful or go start apologizing to the brides now.
“When they decide to get married is hardly your problem. They’re together now, and they’re happy. Let them have their day.” He was practically leaning over you to get at Misteln at this point and trying to push him back into his seat wasn’t going very well. “Don’t go around harassing their guests talking shit and gossiping, and don’t you ever come near my partner again—”
“Kalpas!” You tried to keep your voice down but trying to make yourself heard over his rant made your whisper come out a lot louder than intended. He didn’t move back an inch, his hand still resting on the back of your chair and his posture looking like he was ready to pounce. You glanced at the front table and were relieved not to see anyone looking your way. Glancing at Misteln, however, she looked ready to speak again and you panicked.
“We really should head home. It’s been a lovely reception, but we both have work in the morning and don’t want to stay up too late.” As you spoke, you started standing, the hand you had on Kalpas’ chest to try and hold him back was now helping get him to move as well. Ignoring anything else that might have been said, you went to the front table, said your goodbyes, gave Rin a good night hug and left.
“I think that went well!”
Ignoring that horrible conversation and the guy who almost got his arm broken for standing too close to you, yeah. That went well. For a moment you wondered how the hell you were going to make it through your own wedding, but quickly decided to ignore that problem for now.
You had gone back to Kalpas’ apartment since it was closer, but he seemed to be following you around like it was your place and he’d never been there before. He wasn’t ignoring you, but he definitely wasn’t stomping around like he normally did. Once you had your jim jams on, he finally gave you a hint as to what was wrong.
“Do I get my kisses now, or do I have to fight you for them?”
“What!” You crossed your arms and pretended to be mad. “I gave you like twenty before we left!”
“Those don’t count.”
“Those don’t—are you kidding me? One of those kisses almost made us late!”
“Fighting it is.” Kalpas took one step towards you before you folded.
“Wait! No no no,” he took another step forward and your voice only got higher. “I’ll give you the kisses, no fighting required. If you tickle me again, I’m gonna end up breaking something!” Your threat was entirely valid. Last time he’d gotten you, the lamp on your nightstand hadn’t survived the attack. Kalpas took another step forward and you yelped as he reached for you, only to pick you up and drop you on the bed.
“I’ll let you go this time,” his voice made him seem annoyed, but his eyes were as close to a smile as he could get. “Tomorrow though…”
“Tomorrow what?” You watched as he pulled the covers up, almost rolling you over so he could get in before holding them up for you to join him.
“Tomorrow I’m kicking your ass in Tekken and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“Mmm, I don’t know,” you grinned. “My soulmate’s gonna be there and get pretty good at fighting games when he’s around.”
“Yeah?” Kalpas turned out the light before rolling over to face you again. “My soulmate’s gonna be around too. And I don’t lose when they watch.” The confidence in his tone made you laugh.
“What about that time I beat you at every game in wii sports resort?”
“No I beat you at the sword one. The only reason you won the others was because you cheated.”
“I don’t think asking you how your day went counts as cheating, but I’ll be sure to keep that one I mind.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” he gave your ribs a light poke as a warning.
“Well if you think me kissing my boyfriend is too distracting then I guess I just won’t be able to kiss you tomorrow,” you shrugged. “A shame, but I wouldn’t want the fight to be unfair.” Another jab had you shout before failing to smother a laugh.
“If you won’t pay up tomorrow, I’ll take my kisses now.”
“Okay okay. I promise you’ll get your kisses tomorrow!” You held your hands up in surrender, but when Kalpas narrowed his eyes you added, “and I won’t use them to distract you. Deal?”
“Deal.”
The two of you fell into a relaxed silence and you had nearly fallen asleep when a thought came to you.
“Hey Kalpas?”
“We are not renegotiating.”
“No this is a different question.” He only gave you a grunt, but you took that as a sign to go ahead. “When we get married, can Rin be the flower girl?”
!!!return of the jim jams!!! I cannot be stopped. Thank you for reading this though, I sincerely hope you enjoyed the story! <3 <3 (also hope this made sense because I am physically incapable of proofreading rn) also I mentioned it on AO3 but a reader left a comment that may or may not have made it into this last part and I don't want to out them but credit where credit is due. I think it's an adorable idea and wanted to include it
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
A Kalpas x Reader Soulmate AU, Chapter 3 below!
“Dr. Mei better keep her promise and give us next week off. I’m wiped,” you stretched your arms above your head and yawned while your computer finished shutting down.
“I think we’ve all agreed not to come in anyway. She can’t really say much at this point, even Kevin is taking some time off.” Raven had already packed up for the day and was leaning on the wall to your cubicle waiting for you.
Technically, your team had finished the crunch on Tuesday, but you had spent the remainder of the week cleaning up. Today, you were all going to a bar to celebrate the end of the project. Sakura came over to your desk while you were grabbing the last of your things and the three of you headed for Raven’s. Bringing all your work material to a bar wasn’t the best idea, so you were dropping some things off at her apartment since it was on the way.
“I overheard Dr. Mei the other day,” Raven waited until you were outside the building to talk, not wanting anyone else to listen in. “She was trying to get us more time to work on the next project. Seems like it’ll have a huge paycheck at the end but they want three years’ worth of work done in one.”
“Ouch,” you winced. “I really hope she gets them to give us a bit more time than that, there’s no way we finish on time, even if we sprint the whole way.”
“Last time a project like this came up, we put it to a vote,” Sakura brought up the first job you had been on. Coming from being an overworked intern, you thought that every project would be that intense. It wasn’t until you got some more experience under your belt that you realized how hard you all had been pushed. That was also the last project that was taken on by Dr. Mei’s predecessor, so you had a feeling he was trying to go out with a bang.
“At least that one was somewhat reasonable,” Raven argued, “This one just isn’t happening unless we’re given more time.”
“They’ll probably reduce the pay if they agree to more time though.” You hated pointing out the obvious, but someone had to. “And if the pay is the only reason to take the job in the first place, why bother.”
“We don’t have any other work to do in the meantime. It could be a while before something else pops up and Dr. Mei isn’t known to sit back and wait.” Sakura stopped talking when her phone went off, pulling it out so she could read the message she’d gotten. “Kallen’s going to pick up Rin from daycare and wait for the babysitter. Says she’ll meet us at the bar in an hour.”
“Rin still needs a babysitter?” Raven looked over to your coworker who didn’t look at all bothered by the question.
“I doubt she’d get into any trouble, but better safe than sorry.” Her explanation made sense, but you knew it wasn’t the full picture. Kallen’s job was dangerous, and she’d made her fair share of enemies. The two were taking no chances when it came to Rin, and you could understand why.
Inside the bar, Rita waved your group over to the table she shared with Durandal. There was only space for five people in the booth, but there were a few chairs around the other side, and you could see that other tables nearby had been reserved for the rest of your coworkers.
After you all ordered some drinks, the conversation flowed easily. At first the topics mostly centered around work; what the next big project would be, how much sleep you all had lost from overtime, and when the next game would be. After some time though, the conversations split. You and Sakura started talking about how Rin was doing, but when she brought up the fact that she and her family had been thinking about getting a cat, Rita joined your group, giving some advice from her own experience.
It was nice to finally have some time to relax, even if drinking wasn’t your favorite pastime, these were some of your favorite people and being in their company was enough to make you smile. Your friend wasn’t so easily destressed, she kept checking her phone for updates from Kallen, though she tried to be subtle about it. It had only been thirty minutes, but she did eventually get a message and said that you should expect Kallen to be there within the next couple of minutes.
She did not tell you to expect to see Kalpas, but there he was, dutifully following behind Kallen like a guard dog. The drinks must have gotten to you more than you thought because the pout that you thought was hidden well was clearly caught by Kallen and she raised an eyebrow in response. With a huff, you turned back around and looked down into your cup. You weren’t mad at her, but the idea of Kalpas caring so much about someone else when he wouldn’t even give you the time of day hurt more than you wanted to admit.
Sakura slid over so that there was just enough space for her wife to sit on the edge of the booth with her. When they exchanged a short kiss, Raven pretended to gag making you laugh a little at her theatrics. She sent you a wink at the joke you’d shared but then her eyes flicked up to something behind you. A second later, a chair was dropped next to you with a rattle that made you worry it might break
Looking over your shoulder, you saw Kalpas taking the seat, already looking your way. Part of you wanted to keep staring and not let him intimidate you, but a louder part of you got nervous under his gaze and you turned away. Kira, who had been sitting at the advertising table with Kiana, gave you a smirk that meant nothing but trouble and you looked up at the ceiling, just wanting a moment of peace.
“Everything okay?” Kallen and Sakura both were looking at you now, though you couldn’t tell if their concern was teasing or genuine.
“Yeah,” you sighed. “Just been a long week. I’m happy to get some time to myself.”
“You know, with all that free time, you could probably find your soulmate.” Kallen’s teasing earned her a glare and you downed the last of your drink to hide your blush.
“I’m gonna go get a refill, do you want anything?” You stood, happy to have an excise to get away from the table, and more importantly Kalpas.
Kallen shook her head no; she planned on staying sober so she could make fun of Sakura (though you had never even seen your coworker buzzed, let alone drunk). Before you had even taken a step away from the table, however, Kalpas was standing from his chair, the motion placing him a little closer than you expected. Looking up at him, he just nodded towards the bar and raised an eyebrow when you didn’t move.
Why did the one person you wanted to avoid have to thwart your escape? Actually, Kallen following you probably would have been worse, you weren’t sure you could take much more of her taunting. The feeling of a hand pressing against your lower back had you taking a step forward to get away, but the pressure didn’t move. Glancing back, Kalpas kept looking straight ahead, almost herding you across the floor.
It was nerve wracking, having him right there, but at the same time you felt a sort of confidence from having him so close and held your head high across the bar. When you reached your destination, the bartender gave you a bit of a side-eye but took your order without any complaints.
“You don’t need to find your soulmate.” Kalpas was leaning against the bar while you waited, looking you dead in the eyes with his arms crossed over his chest. It almost felt like he was interrogating you, but you didn’t look away this time. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe you were just tired of avoiding him, but you kept your eyes locked on him while you spoke.
“I know. I’ve got a pretty good idea of who it is.” You paused, but when Kalpas didn’t say anything, you kept going. “Honestly, I’m more concerned that they aren’t interested.” His glare narrowed and your confidence wavered from the intensity of his stare.
“Why don’t you try asking then. This song and dance is getting old.”
“Nerves,” you answered without fully thinking it through. “It’d be pretty embarrassing if my soulmate rejected me, you know?” Unsurprisingly, the joke fell flat, and you finally looked away while giving a half-hearted chuckle. “You’re not exactly the most approachable. I thought you hated my guts when we first met.”
“I don’t.”
“Oh what a relief,” you looked back at him, your sarcasm giving you a bit of courage.
“If I hated your guts, you would know.” You sincerely doubted that you could tell the difference between angry Kalpas and regular Kalpas but it’s probably best not to say that to his face. “I’m not the kind of person to waste time on pointless things. If I didn’t want to see you, I wouldn’t have gone to the games and if it weren’t for Sakura, we would have had this conversation already.”
“What do you mean ‘if it weren’t for Sakura’?”
“She told me to wait.” He uncrossed his arms, and placed one hand on the bar beside you as he leaned in. “She told me to ‘let you process,’” Kalpas mocked your friend and it almost seemed like he was truly mad at her. “I’ve known that we’re soulmates for months and I’m sick and fucking tired of sitting around doing nothing.”
“Maybe if you were a little more obvious about not hating me—”
“How the hell am I supposed to do that when I’m not allowed anywhere near you?”
He makes a good point…
“Okay well. Now that you’re allowed near me could you be a little more obvious about not hating me?”
Kalpas didn’t waste a second before pressing his lips to yours. His arm wrapped around to keep you close and you had to hold onto his shoulders to keep your balance. Kissing your soulmate physically felt the same as kissing anyone else, but deep down, some part of you that had been tense for so long, finally relaxed. It was soothing in a way you didn’t know you needed, and you couldn’t imagine ever pulling away.
Unfortunately, the bartender didn’t seem to agree, and you were forced apart when he angrily cleared his throat and nearly spilled your drinks when he slammed them down. If you hadn’t looked so embarrassed, Kalpas likely would have ignored the silent reprimand, but you both settled with keeping your fingers locked together for the walk back to the table.
Before you even sat down, you just knew your friends had the smuggest look all ready for when you looked their way. Not wanting to give them the pleasure of saying ‘I told you so,’ you kept your eyes focused on your new boyfriend and Bronya, who was kind enough to spare your feelings. When you glanced at Raven, though, it was all over.
“Couldn’t find any desks to hide behind this time?” Immediately the floodgates opened, and everyone was asking questions or making a witty remark about your new relationship. Even Kira stopped by to visit, and she only left after saying that Kalpas would make a good model and you had to physically shoo her away (her sake as well as your own).
At the end of the night, he walked with you and your friends back to Raven’s and rode the subway back to your stop. On the way you talked about anything and everything. From work, to how you both had met Sakura, to that first baseball game and how annoying your coworkers could be. More importantly, you both decided to take advantage of your time off and planned to go on a proper date sooner rather than later. Sakura and Kallen threatened to crash it, but you weren’t worried. Whether or not they were there didn’t matter. So long as you got to spend time with your soulmate, you would be happy.
uh that whole part with the "oh what if we get another project" Yeah. that was me going off the rails and like almost making this a 20k word fic because I fully intended to have the team go through a whole project and have Kalpas just like pop up sometimes and then I went "Oh my gosh it's 11pm and I have to get up at 6" and proceeded to only write another 4k words the next day. Truly showing restraint
