#cifera x reader

[moonsglare]

cipher contemplates jumping when she hears you walking over.

the fall isn’t terrible—she’d survive it with or without the coin of whimsy. dolosians always land on their feet, as the saying goes. plus, she’s not about to let you of all people see something as embarrassing as her corpse on some poor citizen’s roof, golden blood smeared over red terracotta like some half-baked work of art even she wouldn’t bother stealing. master thieves have standards, after all.

you’re blissfully oblivious to her inner turmoil, though—as you usually are. you approach the balcony with offerings of fresh fishcakes in hand, like she’s some sort of mercurial god or a flighty cat. still, the promise of fish appeals to her dolosian sensibilities, and cipher acknowledges your presence with a swish of her tail and a drawn-out sigh.

“don’t you have better things to do than to be out here looking for strays? that puppy of yours might start missing you.”

“phainon will be fine without me.” your answer is simple enough to almost be annoying as you delicately set the plate down on the balcony’s balustrade. “and i’m more of a cat person, really.”

cipher snorts. “since when?”

“since i met you,” is your reply, infuriatingly honest as ever, and she can already feel the hairs on her tail standing up. she swipes a fishcake from your plate of offerings and bites into it like a half-formed god greedy for more. she takes and you watch as she takes, and cipher feels something ugly nestle under her breastbone. it is always like this. all she knows to do is take, and all you know to do is give.

but that snow-haired pup would deliver you the world if he could. the fishcake tastes like ash in her mouth.

“stay,” you say softly, “just for tonight.”

okay. of course. please, she thinks.

“i can’t,” she lies. “and you’re better off with that pup. knights in shining armor are better than thieves in tattered cloaks, right?”

you persist. “i want you, cifera. i have always wanted you.”

the best lies are the ones that contain truths. so her lie to you goes like this:

“i don’t need you.”

with enough believers, zagreus giggles in her mind, lies become reality.

she doesn’t need you. cifera doesn’t need anyone but herself. it was she who survived when dolos burned, she who survived when the golden purge swept through amphoreus.

but it was never about needs, was it?

the truth is this: if she had to choose a heart to steal, it would be yours—but you deserve better than to have it taken from you like that. and all cipher knows how to do is take.

she slips off the balustrade before she can see any more of your honesty in your heartbreak. trickery laughs in her ears all the way down.

[bitterbutblue]

iron sulphide (fool's gold) ☆ cipher x fem!reader

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ginger cat x black cat relationship

i kind of imagined the way cipher would move around is similar to spider-man's where she's lowk just leaping from place to place and she is kind of spider-man in this (jumping around foolishly)

TO 🐣 ANON IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK ALMOST A WJOLE YEAR💔💔

You've been hosting parties in my mind I'm working overtime to have you in my world Oh, what a curse it is to be a lover girl

sotd: Lover Girl - Laufey

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────

She was always at least one step ahead. With the flip of a coin she will find herself across Amphoreus itself. With a slip of the tongue, she has the ability to fool even the most grounded man in Amphoreus. She was always one step ahead, and she prided herself on that.

So why the hell was she unable to be one step ahead around you!?

It annoyed her to no end. Every time she tries to pull a practical prank, you don't give her the reaction she's used to (which is usually an annoyed groan that makes her feel quite proud of herself). You laugh and tell her that she got you good. At this point, she'd rather you throw a brick at her out of frustration! She tried to steal a pen of yours that you always had on you, but instead of doing the frantic searching-one's-pockets, you simply shrugged and asked to borrow Castorice's. Oh come on! She remembers cursing to herself, crossing her arms in frustration. It was getting sad, at this point. Aglaea complained that she was pulling more pranks and practical jokes on the Chrysos Heirs than normal- it's because she's trying to make up for the fact that the demigod of Trickery was able to trick everyone but one. And it seriously pissed her off.

"Cifera!" Aglaea barks into the empty room "I know you can hear me! That's enough!"

Cipher lets out a huff, swinging down from the ceiling light she had been hiding behind as Aglaea tosses the half-eaten raw fish from her chair onto the ground, where Cipher just manages to catch it right before it hits the gross floor.

"Come on, goldweaver." Cipher pouts, taking a bite of her unfinished lunch "Is that how you treat a perfectly good meal?"

"It stopped being a meal when you decided to leave it on my seat." Aglaea huffs "You've been escalating with your practical jokes. Is something on your mind?"

Cipher hates how easily the goldweaver can read her mind.

"No. Don't be stupid."

"What is it?"

"I said there's nothing!" Cipher scowls, spitting a fish bone at Aglaea's general direction. Aglaea just lets out a soft sigh.

"Did you get in a fight?"

"No!"

"Did you steal something?"

"I always steal, that's no different."

"Did someone steal from you?"

"If that happened, I would've jumped off a cliff."

Aglaea stays silent for a moment before simply letting out a 'hm'. And that somehow pissed Cipher off more than you ever did.

"Oh come on! You don't need to figure everything out!" Cipher snarls, leaping up onto the joist on the ceiling.

"Perhaps I don't." Aglaea muses, but the tone in her voice tells Cipher that stupidly, somehow, Aglaea is now one step ahead. And Cipher just can't have that can she?

"Aglaea?"

Cipher's ears perk up at the sound of the voice.

You enter the room in all your glory, your stupid gentle smile and your stupid kind eyes and your stupid dress and your stupid shoes and god those stupid eyes that made you look so stupidly-

"Hello, did you and Phainon manage what I asked?"

"Of course." You say lightly, and Cipher feels every hair on her body stand when you suddenly look up and make direct eye contact with her. "Hello, Cipher."

She growls, crossing her arms like a defeated child.

"...Hello."

"We're still in the midst of aquiring it all, so I've brought you what we've picked up so far." You put the notes on her desk "I'll be out with him to gather the rest of the information with the Okhema citizens. I should have it all with you in a few day's time?"

"Thank you." Aglaea nods, and you bow down ever so slightly, your hair cascading like a gentle waterfall and it frames your face so beautifully Cipher feels like she may-

"You're welcome, see you tomorrow." You nod at Aglaea, before shooting another smile at Cipher.

Ah, shoot.

Cipher's ear twitches ever so slightly at your smile and she just looks away with a huff. When the door closes, she hears the sound of Aglaea pushing her chair back, footsteps, and then when she looks down she sees Aglaea standing right beneath where she's perched.

"So you found someone you can't fool."

And Cipher takes that as her excuse to leave, leaping out from joist to joist before practically scampering out the balcony. Faintly, she can hear Aglaea's little amused chuckle in the background and she swishes her tail in annoyance. That goldweaver. She thinks she knows everything, huh? Cipher will show her, Cipher is always one step ahead, she always is! She will prove the goldweaver wrong, nobody can out-trick the trickster. She will get you, she will definitely get you.

The next morning, you find all your belongings missing. With a sigh, you knock on Castorice's door and borrow some of hers.

The same afternoon, you find your belongings returned, but your money stolen. With another sigh, you leave out a plate of fish.

Later that evening, you find your money returned and an angry scrawl on your desk in ink. You let out a small chuckle and pick up a damp cloth and begin to wipe it down.

Cipher lets out a comically frustrated groan, steam practically flowing out her ears as she observes from the tree outside your balcony.

The next morning, you find a raw fish outside your door. You move it on a plate and do nothing else about it.

The day after that, all your cutlery appears to go missing. Including your plates. With another sigh, you open balcony door to see Cipher perched on the tree, her ear comically pressed against the window with the curtains closed.

"Cipher."

With a yowl, she leaps back. She leaps up to the branch above, ears and tail straight up as her pupils dilated.

"You!"

"Hi." You lean on the balcony rail to look up at her with a soft smile "You okay?"

"Yeah! You- Well. I wanted to see your reaction!"

"So it was you?" You raise an eyebrow with an amused chuckle, and Cipher bares her teeth.

"None of that was supposed to be funny to you! You are supposed to huff in defeat and groan and complain and bow down to the demigod of trickery-"

"Cipher." You deadpan, and she groans

"You're boring!"

"How much time have you spent on me?"

Cipher looks away, scratching the back of her neck awkawrdly.

"I dunno."

"You seem awfully obsessed with me for someone who supposedly wants to see me suffer."

She hates how smug you look in that moment, the corner of your lips barely turned up in that amused smile when you think she's being charming and that slight raise of an eyebrow when you act like you're one step ahead. She hates it. She should wipe that stupid look off your stupid face.

"I don't- what? I'm not obsessed. I'm not!"

"Sure."

She hates the all-knowing smile on your face, the twinkle in your eyes as you look her up and down. She hates it. She hates it.

With enough believers, lies become reality.

But this isn't a lie, surely this is not a lie. Why would she lie to herself of all people? She's supposed to be the lie spreader! Not the believer! But then you wink at her and close the door to balcony and she finds herself practically scampering away like a mouse whose been spotted by a cat. Ironic, isn't it?

In the evening, Cipher finds you on the streets with the last of the reports gathered from Okhema citizens. Perched on the window sill of some stranger's room, she watches as you walk across the streets with all that stupid elegance and grace. Your stupid chest held up high and your stupid back straight. Stupid, stupid stupid stupid.

"Cipher, I can feel your gaze on me."

Cipher lets out another groan when you turn around, your eyes somehow magically finding hers immediately. She leaps down from where she was perched, moving to sit on the top of one of the stall on the streets of Okhema. This still gives her an advantage, she's still looking down at you. There's no way you will flip the cards on her now.

"Honestly, Cipher." You sigh, tilting your head up to match her gaze with a slight tilt to the side. "You can just talk to me normally if you want my attention."

"I don't want your attention." She seethes, and she doesn't like the way she feels a little flip in her chest.

"Sure."

The same one-word response from yesterday, acting as if you are one step ahead again. God! It pisses her off.

"You-" She points a finger at you, but the words seem to die on her throat when you give her with that look as if questioning 'yes? what are you going to say?' "Ugh." With the roll of her eyes, she leaps off into the heart of the city.

Like a moth to a flame, she finds her thoughts wandering back to you. She wants for once to see your put together facade fall apart, she wants to see a look of shock your normally composed face and she wants to really rub it in. It's starting to seriously bother her. It's sucking the joy out of everything! Even her usual lies and trickery aren't able to make her feel the same spark of joy as it used to. She finds herself perched on the tree outside the room you stay in. She finds herself planning her next move, what could she possibly do to surprise you more than anything? Perhaps she should get Phainon in on it, you would never suspect your favourite knight in shining armour.

The idea of Phainon brings a bitter taste to her mouth, she hates the idea of you trusting him enough that you would never see a prank from Cipher coming from him. Wait, no. Why would that bother her? She really wants to see you be surprised and shocked and flabbergasted by her genius that you would never see coming ever.

"Cipher."

FUCK!

She throws her head back in defeat when the window opens. She doesn't even jump in surprise anymore, just sagging her shoulders in the face of defeat.

"Goddammit."

"Seriously, what is it?" You lean out the window to look at her, and she moves to sit on the branch of the tree with a defeated and petulant look on her face. You reach out, gesturing for her to move closer. She shoots you a glare.

"Cipher, come here."

Reluctantly, Cipher inches closer ever so slightly.

"Closer."

Cipher groans.

"Stop bossing me around!"

But she still inches closer.

Close enough for you to reach up and place a hand on her cheek.

And she yelps, pupils dilating as she leaps back again.

You let out a sigh, hand still in the air where her face was.

"Come on, Cipher." You whisper into the dark, and you see her glowing eyes squinting ever so slightly.

"Why?"

"Because I want to kiss you, you absolute buffoon." You scoff.

You always get the last laugh, and it clearly shows because Cipher's jaw has dropped and she stares at you with the widest eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"You really think Aglaea wouldn't tell me?"

She hates your smile. She hates the way you make her feel. If she keeps lying to herself, maybe it'll become reality.

A lie stops being a lie when you admit that it is one.

"That stupid goldweaver!"

"Cipher."

She shuts her mouth when she hears the sound of your voice, so soft and enticing. A siren's call, a sweet melody. She inches closer to you once more, and you keep reaching out until the tips of your fingers graze her cheek again.

"Closer, please?"

Your voice is barely above the sound of a whisper, and her ears flicker ever so slightly because everything feels so loud now. The sound of her own heartbeat, the chatter in the other houses in Okhema, the cicadas that sing. And maybe if she listens close enough, she can also hear the sound of your heartbeat. Pounding, loud, fast.

When she leans her face into your touch, she sees the way you falter for just a second, as if you didn't expect her to do so. And just like that, the slightest flicker of trickery comes back into her eyes. Maybe she can still flip this around, maybe, just maybe-

She sees that look in your eyes, the way your eyes dart down to her lips for just a moment before going back to her eyes. The way your face is ever so slightly pink and your breathing is heavy.

Oh, she can flip this around.

Inching closer once more, she leans down until your lips are centimetres away from hers. She notices the way you seem to lose all your bravado when she's so close, the way your hand is trembling ever so slightly.

"You lose."

The deal is closed with a kiss, and it is finally settled.

She wins.

[ruruumin]

cosmic.

₊˚ෆ mobile-suit pilot!cipher x engineer!fem!reader.

⤷ inspired by mobile-suit gundam // same universe as this phainon fic.

˚₊‧꒰ა thief star; cifera. 

⤷ while some people knew khaslana as somewhat of a troublemaker, cifera was one of the worse. oftentimes coming back with a few more than just scratches. parts of her armor would be caked in mud—almost as if she had been rolling in it. and perhaps to some extent she was, only because her pilot wanted to see her favorite engineer turned janitor. 

⤷ you were unfortunately assigned to being cipher’s handler and engineer for OX-945 cifera. you were someone that she could rely on if her mobile suit failed or needed repairs. anything that she wanted done, you had to do. although you were able to pull her away from some ideas (like installing a snack bar inside her own cockpit), most of the changes were inevitably implemented. 

⤷ as a supporter of the flame chase, your job as engineer meant more than you liked. there was a lot of pressure keeping these walking (and flying) nuclear bombs safe. more so when your pilot, cipher, liked to run across the fields, using her suit for more than just fighting. you find her sitting on top of her mech, admiring the cool breeze on her face as she bathed beneath the sun—just waiting for your scolding. 

⤷ aglaea found your bickerings to be quite entertaining. she once told you offhandedly that your partnership with cipher was a big deal, and that no one else could do the job you did. you didn’t know the meaning of her words until much later, when war carved itself into your soldiers, weakening them to their knees. it was you and cipher bringing life into the halls. laughing and chasing after each other over petty bread.

⤷ everyone saw her as a confident pilot. a mischievous girl who liked to steal jello cups from the cafeteria. a person who would oftentimes sit alone despite claiming to have many friends. you found her sitting in her cockpit once, wiping away at her eyes before she turned to face you. you think that underneath this confident guise, she was a little more fragile. 

⤷ while fixing her mobile suit, cipher suggested a short test flight. just to check if the engines were working. making sure everything ran smoothly for their next fight. what you didn’t expect was for the young girl to practically kidnap you–shoving you into the cockpit as she starts up her mech. beneath your protests were signs of laughter and joy, as she rockets through the sky, shooting past the atmosphere and into the stars. 

⤷ despite traveling to space a few times, the sight of the dazzling stars never failed to amaze you. when cipher turned in your direction, seeing the bright expression on your face, she is reminded of the childish whimsy that every soldier forgets in war. despite not wanting to be a chrysos heir at first, her time at amphoreus corporation has changed her. she thinks: this is her reason to fight. a reason to keep going. 

⤷ for cipher: you were her reason to living.

“you should turn that frown upside down,” cipher coos, looking up at you with a catty expression. the two of you were sitting in the mess hall, chewing on one of the many tasteless grub that the company offers. you were currently on lunch break. after a restless day of combing through data and welding new iron plates for cifera, you were dying for some food. 

“you better be careful (name). if you keep scowling like that, you might get permanent wrinkles on your pretty face.”

“wrinkles are already permanent.”

your words do very little to phase her. if anything, it only eggs cipher–begging her to continue her strange remarks. without saying anything, she reaches over to brush a finger over your top lip, picking up a small flicker of sauce. her tongue pokes out to lick the remainder off of her finger. 

“leave it to anaxa to make food taste like nothing.” she flops down onto her chair, groaning as she flattens her body. leaning her head against the metallic table, you hear her kicking her feet. “i thought this was supposed to be pumpkin pie. why don’t we have anything else to eat?”

“well, considering the influx of pumpkins… thats all we’re going to be eating for the next two weeks.” alongside the renowned professor anaxagoras, your fellow bio-researcher, hyacine, created a farm that was able to rapidly produce fresh food for your journey in space. the only drawback was that with every subsequent creation, the taste becomes less pronounced. 

the only way you could stomach pumpkin now if it was blended into a puree or hidden between some pie crust. even then, you had to find some form of strength to swallow it. 

suddenly, you feel a foot tickle the side of your ankle. it drags up and down, rubbing against you like a clever cat. a sigh escapes your lips, and you decide to lean back into your seat, entertaining the girl in front of you. you raise your leg, pushing it back into her own corner. cipher’s eyes shine with a glimmer of mischief, and she does the same—forcing you into a game of footsies. 

“you know you can’t win against me.”

“really? lets try it then.”

it is no surprise that when aglaea enters the mess hall, trying to look for cipher, she sees the two of you engaged in an intense game of footsies—with neither of you coming out as the clear winner. she shakes her head before turning away, knowing very well that when the two of you were together, there was no stopping your foolish games.