A/N: @lovelynim I wish you a wonderful happy birthday~ How quickly did another year pass. I hope, that the new year will only have nice and exciting moments for you. It's my first time writing for these two, so I hope they're not too OOC. Have a great day and enjoy it to your fullest.
Summary: Surprise
Words: 1,689 words under the cut
The first sign that something was wrong was that Qifrey wasn't humming. Olruggio noticed it while sitting at the atelier's kitchen table, a steaming mug of herbal tea resting between his hands as he watched the other moving around.
Normally, Qifrey filled every room he entered with some sort of noise. Humming while organizing books, chatting with the girls or muttering to himself while drawing glyphs - even his footsteps somehow carried an energetic rhythm with them. Today, however, the atelier felt oddly quiet.
Not silent - Tetia had certainly made enough noise before the girls left for somewhere, but quiet enough that Olruggio found himself paying attention. He glanced toward the workshop. Qifrey had passed by the doorway three times in the last ten minutes. Each time carrying something different. First a stack of books, then a basket, then a bundle of cloth.
Every single time, he had spotted Olruggio watching and immediately turned around, avoiding his watchful eyes. It was suspicious. Olruggio took another sip of tea and waited. Sure enough, less than a minute later Qifrey appeared again. This time carrying absolutely nothing. The moment their eyes met, Qifrey smiled. "G-Good afternoon, Olruggio."
Olruggio raised an eyebrow. "...We've already spoken three times today." "Have we?" "Yes." "Oh." Qifrey laughed - it sounded forced, not as he remembered his friend laughing. The ravenhead narrowed his eyes. There it was again- that tiny hesitation, the almost imperceptible stiffness in Qifrey's shoulders. Most people wouldn't have noticed it.
Olruggio had known him for years. He noticed. Qifrey started backing away. "Well then, I should get back to-" "Qifrey." The witch froze. "Yes?" "What are you hiding?" Immediately, the white-haired smiled wider. "I'm not hiding anything." The answer came far too quickly.
"Mm." "Really." "Mm." A brief silence settled between them, then Qifrey pointed vaguely toward the workshop. "I- I have work to do." "You've been walking in circles for the last ten minutes, surely you can answer my question first." Qifrey blinked. "...Did I?" "Yes." "Oh."
Olruggio sighed. It was almost impressive. For someone so clever, Qifrey could be remarkably transparent whenever he became excited about something. The realization seemed to dawn on Qifrey as well. A faint blush crept across his cheeks. "Perhaps I am a little… distracted."
"That's one way to put it." Qifrey coughed. "Anyway." He turned, wanting to escape that situation as soon as possible, Olruggio wouldn’t let him though. The sound of a chair being pushed back could be heard- the sound made Qifrey stop. Slowly, he looked back over his shoulder. Olruggio was already walking towards him, stopping directly beside him.
"Tell me what you're hiding." "No." "Why not?" "Because it's a secret- aHh!" Qifrey immediately slapped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late. Olruggio's grin widened. "A secret, hm?" "..." "A secret from me." "It isn't like that." Qifrey looked away, the blush on his face deepened. That only made Olruggio more curious.
Whatever this was, it clearly mattered enough that Qifrey was willing to suffer through embarrassment to keep it hidden, which meant Olruggio absolutely needed to know. "For someone who claims to be mysterious," Olruggio said, "you're terrible at this." "I’m not." "You are." "Then why are you blushing?" "I am not blushing," Qifrey groaned.
Before he could retreat, Olruggio stepped behind him, cutting off his escape route. Years of friendship had taught him exactly how Qifrey reacted when cornered. Predictably, Qifrey immediately tried to sidestep and Olruggio caught him around the waist. "Olruggio!" The ravenhead rested his chin on Qifrey's shoulder. "Last chance, tell me what you’re hiding."
"No." "Tell me!" "NoOHoho." The answer dissolved into startled laughter as Olruggio's fingers found his sides, pressing softly into them. Qifrey jerked so hard he nearly knocked them both off balance. "Ah!" His hands immediately grabbed Olruggio's wrists, but that didn’t stop the other from his friendly interrogation.
Soft, helpless laughter spilled out of his lips before he could stop it. "Olruhuggiohoho! D-Dohohon't!" "Then talk." Qifrey squirmed in his grasp. The movement only made things worse. He had always been sensitive, unable to control his reactions when being touched.
Luckily, Olruggio was the only person who knew about it and made use of it whenever he felt like it or just wanted to mess with him. Years of friendship had told him that, and the other hadn't lost his skill, although it has been months since the last time he had suffered this treatment. He became painfully aware of this, when the other moved his fingers to his ribs.
Qifrey was laughing so hard he could barely stand anymore. "Ohohoho noHoho! NoOHhoot thehEhre!" "That's not an answer." "It means nohoHoho!" Olruggio couldn't help laughing himself. The sound of Qifrey's laughter was so infectious - bright and warm- completely different from the composed image he showed the rest of the world.
For a moment, Olruggio almost forgot he was interrogating him. "What are you hiding? Come on, you can tell me~" he asked again in a teasing voice, fingers wiggling to his stomach and around his navel. "Nahahaha! I cahahan't tell you!" "Why?" "Because then it wohohon't be a surprise!" The moment the words escaped him, Qifrey froze. Olruggio froze too.
Using the other’s distraction, Qifrey managed to wriggle free at last and stumbled forward triumphantly. "Forget I said that!" His victory lasted exactly two seconds. A stack of books lying on the floor caught his foot. Qifrey stumbled, tried to windmill with his arms to regain his footing, but fell with a thumb to the ground in the end. "WAHH!"
Both men were staring at each other, before laughing. Olruggio was the first to find his voice again. "Are you alright?" he asked, offering him a hand. Qifrey wiped a tear of mirth from his eye and accepted it, pulling himself up. "Yeah, thank you." "You're welcome." The moment he stood again, Olruggio noticed a quill resting on a nearby worktable and he smiled.
He still had something to do. Qifrey saw the look on his face but before he could even try to start another attempt to run away, Olruggio had cornered him against a wall, looming over him like a predator, the quill having disappeared from the table.
"You still haven't answered my question yet." "Don't-" Qifrey panted. Olruggio gently brushed the feather beneath Qifrey's chin, making the white-haired squeaked. "HIYAH!" The sound startled both of them. Olruggio immediately lost all self-control and laughed while Qifrey covered his face. "Ihit tiHickles!" "I hope it does, old friend~"
The feather danced lightly across the side of Qifrey's neck, sliding along his ear. The reaction didn't take long to come. "AHAHHAH! IHIHIHI!" Qifrey jumped nearly a foot into the air. "Oh, that's even worse than when I tickled your sides." "O-OHohHlru- ehHEHEHeh!"
The feather returned to tease the soft skin under his chin and Qifrey bend his head to his side in a fruitless try to escape its touch, dissolving into helpless giggles. "Hihihihi!" "There?" "N-Nohoho!" "How about here~" The feather brushed his neck again, leaving a trace of goosebumps. Qifrey let out another high-pitched squeal and slapped a hand over his mouth.
Unfortunately, that happened at the exact moment the front door opened. The workshop fell silent. Both men froze. Coco, Agott, Tetia, and Richeh stood in the doorway. "..." "..." "..." Tetia blinked. "Um." Qifrey's face turned scarlet. Olruggio lowered the quill behind his back, taking a step back from his friend, who still was corned to the wall.
Coco looked between them, both clearly trying not to look at her. An awkward silence followed. Thankfully, Tetia burst forward before anyone could ask questions. "Master Qifrey! We finished everything!" Qifrey immediately seized the opportunity. "Excellent!" he clapped his hands together - his voice cracked halfway through the word though.
Olruggio coughed into his hand. Agott narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What exactly were you two doing?" "Nothing." The answer came simultaneously from both men. That only made it look worse. Richeh tilted her head. "Why are you both red?" "No reason." "Absolutely no reason." Another suspicious silence followed. Then Coco smiled.
"We actually came back because we wanted to surprise Master Olruggio." Olruggio blinked. "What?" "We planned a picnic." "A picnic?" Tetia nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, we prepared everything this morning." "We wanted it to be a surprise," Richeh added. Coco grinned. "You always help everyone, so we thought it'd be nice to do something for you."
For a moment, Olruggio simply stared at them, processing what they had said. Then his ears turned red - very red - and he immediately looked away. "...You didn't have to do that," he mumbled. "We wanted to." The girls smiled. Olruggio rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable with being the center of attention. Qifrey noticed it instantly.
The teasing smile that appeared on his face was one Olruggio knew very well. "Olruggio is touched." "I'm not." "He definitely is, good job everyone." Olruggio shot him a glare and Qifrey's grin only widened. That’s for earlier. Thankfully, he redirected the girls before they could focus on Olruggio's embarrassment any further.
"Well then, let's go everyone." The girls immediately began talking excitedly about everything they had prepared as they made their way out. As they headed outside, Coco glanced back at the two adults walking behind them and smiled to herself.
Master Qifrey and Master Olruggio really were good friends - though she could've sworn she'd heard a lot more laughing than usual before they opened the door. She shook her head. Surely, she had only imagined it, she thought before joining Tetia and the others.
Behind them, Qifrey and Olruggio followed at a more relaxed pace. For a moment, neither said anything, then Qifrey leaned slightly closer. "They almost caught us, be more careful next time!" Olruggio snorted. "So, you want me to tickle you again?"
Qifrey looked horrified at the other's teasing grin, then both men laughed with Olruggio patting his back in a friendly manner. The argument settled, they continued after the girls, side-eying one another with matching smirks as the afternoon sun warmed the path ahead.
hai haaaaaai!!!! maya you the goat your art is so peakistan could thou pleasings draw WHA tk art…… i’d love love love either ler Qifrey with his daughters (they’re litcherally his kids) or maybe lee Qifrey 👀👀👀👀👀 howevers the choice be yours
MY SMELLYS... thank u!!! YOU are the goat too!!!!!!! stay tuned for more wha content. ..eventually
So I finished watch Code Geass and I can say for sure Lelouch is smarter than Light (from Death Note) because he got a better performatic, homoerotic ending
I started watching it without any true expectation, just because I needed something to kill time while I'm traveling to another city to study. Honestly, it's a good show, would give it a 7 or 8/10 (no one asked)
The beginning is far more solid than the second season, but the whole thing gets wrapped up nicely. I also have to say the excess of "fanservice" in season 2 bothered me and if that showed up earlier, I would drop the show lol.
There are some aspects of the plot that feel like an absurd pull, but that's a part of good stories anyway. I may be getting too old for a few things, because a whole organization built off a single high schooler??? Sure, lmao.
To wrap this post up, I will say the characters are great in their own way and C.C. and Cornellia are my faves. Cornellia deserved more screen time just for making men bend over like that, QUEEN BEHAVIOR
Would recommend, good show, amazing if you are an edgy teen with greatness complex!
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