Posted on FF.net and will post to my ao3 once I've fine tuned it a bit.
Basically a college soulmate au featuring Percy and Jason.
It is a universal fact that everyone had a soul mate. Not everyone was lucky enough to find them. Even with the help of a small tattoo that appeared on your body the day of your sixteenth birthday. The chances of finding your partner at that age was rare but not unheard of. Some were fortunate to already know their partner. Others believed that fate would lead them together and all they had to do was wait. And then there were the ones that weren't spoken of in polite circles. The ones who didn't want to ever meet their partners. Or worse, the one's who's mark never appears, or turns gray, a sign their partner has passed.
Like any other teen, Percy had discovered his the morning of his sixteenth birthday. After weeks of anticipation and wondering just what it was that would appear. Jumping out of bed, he hoped towards the mirror, stripping as he went. It was bigger than he expected. A large bird on his thigh - an eagle he later discovered- wings spread out behind it and clawed feet stretching down as though it were about to land or catch a prey. In it’s mouth was a small trident, like Aquaman’s weapon. He had proudly shown it to his mother, a smile on his face that slipped away as Gabe spewed insults from behind her.
From then on he had always made sure to keep it covered, refusing to show it to anyone. Easy to do when it was conveniently located high up on his thigh. When he was older, the addition of several tattoos kept even the nosiest of his friends confused. Even his closest friends Grover and Annabeth had never figured it out. No one but Nico Diangelo and Percy had himself to blame.
There had been large amounts of alcohol involved. It was a new school year and the stoll brothers had decided it was the perfect time to throw a party, inviting what seemed to be half their college. Connor and Travis had a large house close to campus and their dad was always away on business for his shipping company, meaning they often had the opportunity to throw large parties. Parties that despite how out of hand they got, were never shut down by the police.
Holding his red cup loosely in one hand, Percy flicked the small ball across the table, watching with a smirk as it landed in his opponents cup. Groaning Nico picked up the drink, his nose wrinkling in disgust as he took the ball out and chugged it down. Tossing the cup aside, he focused on his turn, letting the ball fly and frowning when it missed.
“If I didn’t know any better, I would assume you’re cheating.” He grumbled, waiting for Percy to take his turn.
To anyone else it would appear that Nico wasn’t enjoying the party. Even Percy was surprised the younger boy had so far kept his complaints to a minimum. Not only had he only threatened the lives of 2 people, he had managed to hold a conversation with several others. Normally by this point Nico would have started at least one argument or wandered off to a dark corner.
Sinking the ball into the last cup Percy waited until Nico finished his drink before offering a shrug. “What can I say, Beer pong just happens to be one of many things I’m gifted at.”
They shouldered their way through the crowd. Annabeth and Piper were seated on the opposite side of the pool. Beside them, Piper’s friends were deep in discussion. Leo's arms were waving in the air, sending his drink spilling over the cup he was holding. John, no Jason he remembered, was nodding in agreement from where he sat. Percy had only met them a few times when Annabeth dragged him to hang out. From what he could remember the two guys seemed pretty chill. Leo could be a bit energetic at times but he was a nice guy. Jason was still a bit of a mystery to him. It wasn't that Jason was quiet. But he also wasn't as loud as the rest of their friends.
Lost in thought and more than a little intoxicated he didn’t see the guy stumbling towards him until it was too late. as a body shoved into him, he flailed. Reaching onto air as he lost his balance and went falling right into the pool with a large splash. Surfacing a moment later, hair plastered against his face, he paddled towards the side, where Nico waited to help him out. Their friends came rushing forwards, grins on their faces. At least they had thought to bring him a towel.
“Thanks Nico.” Turning, the grin fell off his face as he noticed where Nico was staring. At some point between falling in the water and climbing out, Percy’s shorts had shifted up his leg, and ended up stuck halfway up his thigh. Just far enough to show off the bottom half of his mark. Grimacing he tugged the material down until it was covered. Meeting Nico’s eye the two had a staring contest before Percy gave up with a sigh and a small nod of his head. They would talk about it later. Right now he needed to dry off.
“I’ll go see if Connor has anything to borrow.” Nico said. Nodding, Percy headed towards the house intent on finding a room to dry off, change and freak out. Not necessarily in that order.
Finding the first available room, he closed the door behind him and stripped off his shirt. The material stuck unpleasantly and was cold despite the warm temperature. Letting out a frustrated sigh Percy tried to wring out as much liquid possible before tossing it over a chair. There might still be a hoodie or shirt in the back of Nico’s car if he was lucky.
His pants, he was screwed. There was no way he could wear them and unless one of the Stoll’s lent him something, he would have no choice but to go home.
“Fuck,” Slipping out of his wet shorts and boxers he wrapped the towel around his waist. Back to the door, he didn't hear it open.
“Hey Percy? Nico asked me to give you-” Jason was standing partway in the door. His broad form blocked out the hall and anyone who might peeked in. Jason' face was pink as he took in Percy’s state of undress and any words he might have said were long gone now. Stepping into the room he stared directly at Percy’s face as he walked over and pass the clothes in his grip. Stumbling over something on the floor, Percy reached out to try and stop Jason from falling.
For the second time in the past hour, Percy felt himself falling. But instead of hitting water, he fell on the carpeted floor, soon followed by Jason’s weight on top of him.
“Fuck.” Letting out a small groan he raised himself up onto his elbows and stared down. Jason was sprawled across his lap, face bright red as he took in how close they were and how little Percy was wearing.
“Shit. I am so sorry.” Lifting his weight off Percy, Jason rose onto his hands and knees.
His body was still caging Percy’s as he tried to find somewhere to look. His eyes danced between the tattoos running down his arm, across the lean chest and muscles. He tried and failed to avoid looking lower at the faint trail of hair that disappeared under the towel. During the fall it had gotten loose, only barely covering Percy’s junk and revealing his thigh. Jason saw the edge of another tattoo on the side of his thigh. The picture not visible at this angle except for a couple golden feathers.
Time slowed down as he glanced at Percy to see if this was okay before turning his attention back to his thigh. His fingers trailed across the feathers as he pressed against Percy’s thigh, pushing it to get a better look. the feathers were a pair of wings, followed by the rest of a bird and finally the trident gripped in it's mouth. Letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding Jason didn’t dare look back at Percy.
“I-” lost for words he cleared his throat before trying again. “I didn’t expect to see it so soon.”
“Huh?”
Jason raised himself up to grip the edge of his shirt, pulling it off in one quick move and tossing it the side. Grabbing Percy’s hand he placed the other boys palm flat against his chest. Right over an identical eagle.
“Oh.” What was one suppose to say to their soulmate in a situation like this? Other than his name and the fact they shared the same friend group he really didn’t know Jason at all. “Hi.”
“Hello.” Still holding his hand in place Jason started laughing and Percy joined him. “Is it okay if I kiss you?”
Nodding Percy stretched up to meet him, pulling Jason down until their lips met. He would deny it later when asked but in that moment he swore he could feel fireworks going off in his body. Jason’s lips were warm and gentle, brushing slowly against his own.
Is this our composition - fragments of too many things, scattered like constellations? Pages torn from books, lines engraved on your mind, words that explain things when you can’t. That thing a character said in a movie, the way he stood and felt infinite; jokes that made you laugh; whispers overheard; soft words and soft hands in dark room. The person you love, they way their skin feels against yours. Things people say when they’re caught off guard; the way eyes smile when they can’t stop; the endorphins you feel when you run away; that terror and excitement from brutal barefoot carelessness; that apathy, pain or ambivalence; that fear whose origin you can’t figure out; that sinking feeling when you think you’re falling; that shrinking feeling when you’ve lost something you’ll never find. That person you miss; that person you’re afraid of; that mark on your skin; that quote you remember but you don’t know why; that discomfort of uncertainty that feels too safe and familiar - Is this our composition?
Because I was in the mood for assholes in love ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ inspired by this
this story got away from me sO QUICKLY OH MY GOD 3K+ WORDS OF UTTER PTA MEETING SEBACIEL RIDICULOUSNESS I’M SORRY
ciel and sebastian are older (however old is up to you) and ciel is kind of an asshole and so is sebastian but i mean like, this is ciel’s debut
Warnings: ciel curses quite a bit in this fic and also PTA meetings bc that in itself should be a warning
This was a bad idea, Sebastian thought to himself as he watched the scene play out in front of him; it was like watching a car crash—too horrible to watch but too interesting to look away from. This was a very, very bad idea.
This morning started out fine, very fine. Sebastian had woken up to Ciel’s warm body pressed against his, the younger man drooling on Sebastian’s bare chest while his arms and legs were wrapped around the older man’s body in a vague interpretation of an octopus. They had a nice breakfast—Sebastian had steeped some of Ciel’s favorite tea to accompany their breakfast, which consisted of toast with jam, a poached egg, and baked beans. They cleaned up the kitchen together and had shared a few kisses along the way, which eventually lead to them acting out a certain activity on against the dining table. A very fine morning indeed.
Lizzie had called Ciel around noon to ask a favor of him, apologizing profusely over the phone for calling on such short notice and on Ciel’s day off, which Ciel waved off immediately.
Ciel loved his cousin, Lizzy; Ciel is an only child so growing up, he and Lizzy were practically inseparable, always doing everything together, sharing the same experiences with each other. Ciel didn’t consider Lizzy as his cousin, always stating that she felt more like a sister than a cousin to him and so he referred to her as such, just as he referred to Lizzy’s daughter, Sully, as his niece.
Lizzie had called Ciel almost on the brink of hysteria, asking if he would be able to attend a PTA meeting as a stand-in for her; something had come up at work and she could not get out of it. Ciel agreed immediately, giving Sebastian a wide grin and wiggling his eyebrows. And that, Sebastian frowned, is where it all went to hell.
It started out great, a little boring and monotonous, but great nonetheless. And then Ciel opened his mouth.
Thinking about it, the meeting had started out smoothly at first: Ciel had asked an innocent question—‘Why is only one person in charge of bringing snacks to the meeting?’—and an older, middle-aged woman, Helen, had innocently replied—‘Oh, it’s always been that way, sweetheart. I’ve put four kids through this school and I’ve been ‘The Treat Mom’ ever since then.’ She put on a fake laugh but knowing his boyfriend, and boy did Sebastian know him, he knew that Ciel would not be thrown off so easily. ‘Well,’ Ciel had started out slowly, ‘wouldn’t it be better if everyone brought a few treats every week? Kind of live up to the ‘committee’ part of ‘PTA committee’?’, to which Helen replied, a little tightly, ‘I don’t think so; baking is a very hard thing to do, very time consuming and I wouldn’t want to impose such a task on others. Besides, it’s my job.’ The smile Ciel had on his face had started to crack a little: ‘I’m sure everyone appreciates the work that you do, Helen, but all I’m saying is—’, and then Helen had done a very stupid thing, in Sebastian’s opinion, by cut off Ciel and saying, in a very condescending tone, ‘Well, it doesn’t really matter what you think here, Mr. Phantomhive, because you are just a guest at this meeting and we only take in the suggestions of actual parents, not stand-ins.’Everything went downhill from there.
Miss Janis, the PTA committee’s secretary, peered nervously at the faces of the parents before her, her eyes jumping over Ciel and Helen. Sebastian could cut the tension in the room with a knife and not have left a dent—it was that thick. “If nobody else would like to say some—”
“I would like to say something!” Ciel raised his hand immediately, almost falling out of the plastic chair.
Sebastian groaned quietly beside him, already sensing the ass kicking that was about to happen. “Of course you do.”
Miss Janis looked over the rim of her glasses—such a sweet soul, Sebastian mused—before regarding Ciel with an amused expression. “Mr. Phantomhive, we’ve already explained to you that you don’t have to rai—”
“Sorry, sorry, it’s a habit.” Ciel flapped his hand to dismiss the comment, vicious blue eyes immediately cutting towards the middle aged woman from before, Helen. He jabbed a finger in her direction. “I don’t believe this woman should be in charge of the PTA treats anymore; my niece almost had to have her stomach pumped because those rocks she calls brownies blocked her intestines!”
Okay, it wasn’t that bad, Sebastian thought in amusement. Just a small stomachache from eating too many sweets…sweets that a certain someone gave to her when they weren’t supposed to.
Helen immediately stood up, stooping over Ciel’s smaller stature. “That is a complete lie! Lizzy never said—”
“What was she supposed to say?” Ciel yelled back, fists at his sides as he stood on his toes. “‘Thanks for the brownies, Helen, by the way, here’s my daughter’s hospital bill’?!”
Helen opened her mouth to retort but shut it quickly, the clicking of her teeth audible throughout the entire cafeteria, which had gone eerily silent. Sebastian glanced around and saw that everyone was staring at the duo, all eyes wide and weirdly unblinking.
Helen turned towards Miss Janis, pointing a finger over her shoulder at Ciel. “Why is he still here? He isn’t even part of the PTA committee, so he should have no say in what we do or how the PTA meetings are run! He is just here to cause trouble!”
“‘Cause trouble?’ What am I, a third grader being written up by a teacher?” Ciel laughed, throwing his head back. “You and your baking skills are a joke, Helen.”
Helen immediately rounded on Ciel. Sebastian sprung out of his seat in a heartbeat and blocked her way towards his boyfriend. Helen was fuming, pressing against Sebastian’s hands to glare at Ciel over his shoulder. “Listen here, you bastard, I—”
“Mrs. Shepherd!” Miss Janis’s shocked voice rang out loudly throughout the cafeteria, all eyes shifting towards her. The old woman was bracing herself against the table, glaring daggers at Helen through her thick-rimmed glasses. Her face was flushed and her hair looked disheveled, as if she had been nervously running her hands through it multiple times. Probably trying to find away to break this mess up, Sebastian mused. “We do not tolerate that kind of behavior here; as a long term member of this committee, I would have thought you to know this by heart but as I can see, you’re just as impolite and childish as our younger students! At least they have the excuse of being young and naive, but you, Mrs. Shepherd, you should know better and be setting a better example for not only your children, but for your fellow peers here.”
Helen whipped around, face flushed and body trembling. “But he—”
Miss Janis quieted her down with a glare. “Unlike you, Mr. Phantomhive was of no disturbance to us; he was quite helpful in today’s meetings by sharing his opinions with us on how we can better this school and in turn, help our children and students succeed. Just because you do not agree with his ideas does not mean you can spew filth towards him or any of our future guests, for that matter. Your uncivilized behavior will not be overlooked, Mrs. Shepherd.”
Sebastian could practically feel Ciel’s smug smirk burning against his back as Helen was called towards the center desk, no doubt probably being stripped of whatever rights she had. Sebastian turned around and picked up Ciel’s bag, slinging it over his shoulder. Better make an exit while Miss Janis thinks we’re civilized adults.
Both Sebastian and Ciel excused themselves before making their way towards the door, Sebastian a little more urgently than Ciel.
They were so close, so close to walking out with their heads held high; they would be acting like civilized adults for once in their lives. But of course, God hates them, and he purposely placed a plate of Helen’s brownies on the table near the door. Sebastian isn’t old by any means, but he is no spring chicken either—his reflexes aren’t what they used to be—so when Ciel reached a hand out and smacked the plate of brownies into the trashcan, Sebastian was already mentally half way through planning an escape route.
Everyone immediately turned to look at them, thinking they had left already, only to see Sebastian lunge forward and wrap his arms around Ciel’s waist when the younger man started to head back towards the group of bewildered adults.
Ciel jabbed a finger at the trashcan. “Where they belong!”
Ciel then kicked out a leg—for what purpose, Sebastian had no clue.
Sebastian clamped his hand over Ciel’s mouth and pressed him close to his chest, already starting to walk them backwards.
“You’re going to have to excuse my boyfriend here, he can get a little…colorful at times. Hope you guys solve this treat problem.” Sebastian placated, tightening his arms when Ciel started to wiggle against him, his angry curses muffled by Sebastian’s hand. He started throwing charming smiles at all the parents, especially at sweet Miss Janis because she didn’t deserve this, until they were outside. Ciel tore himself from Sebastian’s grasp and marched towards the parking lot.
“We’re going to adopt a kid!” Ciel called over his shoulder at Sebastian, hands in tight fists at his sides.
Sebastian’s paused for a few seconds, looking questioningly at Ciel’s retreating back before he started walking again. “Are we now?”
“Yes!” Ciel jabbed a finger in the air. “We’re going to adopt some kid that’s old enough to be enrolled here and I’m going to march inside that stupid cafeteria, right up to Helen’s stupid face and—”
Sebastian quickly caught up to Ciel and pulled his fuming boyfriend to his side. “You want to adopt a kid just to piss off Helen?”
“I’d do many things to piss off Helen,” Ciel leered, leaning into Sebastian’s side.
“You’re crazy.” Sebastian laughed, leading them towards their parked car. Ciel got in without a word, closing the door harshly and wrestling the seatbelt on. Sebastian smiled fondly and walked around the car to do the same. Well, in a more civilized manner.
He started the car and was pulling out of the parking lot when Ciel’s cellphone rang. Ciel held it out towards him without a word, still pouting. Sebastian sighed and answered without glancing at the caller ID, pressing the phone against his ear. “Hello?”
“Uh oh, if you’re answering Ciel’s phone, something must have happened.” A sweet voice on the other end mused.
“Hello, Lizzy.” Sebastian gave a genuine smile, as if the young woman were right there. He glanced over at Ciel, who was pointedly looking out the window. “I guess you can say that.”
Lizzy laughed on the other end. “How did it go?”
Sebastian glanced again at the still-fuming Ciel in the passenger seat before turning on his blinker and switching lanes. “Better than expected, actually; Ciel only said half of his more colorful vocabulary today.”
“What?” Lizzy actually sounded surprised. “I was almost completely sure Ciel would have burned the school to the ground by now.”
“Oh, trust me, he was working up to that.” Sebastian sighed over the phone, glancing up at the rearview mirror, going over the meeting and trying to summarize it. “There were some…complications…with a mother. Her and Ciel got into an argument about the food served at the meeting; Ciel offered to have different parents bring in treats—kind of have them rotate every week—and that’s where everything went to hell.”
The line was quiet for a few seconds, which had Sebastian call the young woman’s name a few times to make sure the call hadn’t ended by accident. “It was that bitch Helen, wasn’t it?”
Sebastian pulled the phone away from his ear; he had never heard Lizzie sounds so venomous. It was hard to imagine the sweet little thing talk in anything but an equally sweet tone. “How did you know it was Helen?”
Ciel snatched the phone from Sebastian before the older man could even blink. “Yes, it was fucking Helen!”
Sebastian heard Lizzie’s muffled voice over the phone, talking in an equally loud tone as Ciel. He was still a bit surprised at the blonde’s angry tone; he’s known Lizzy for many years and he had never once heard her speak that way, nor was he aware that she even could speak that way. This family just never stops being interesting, Sebastian smirked.
“I didn’t even go in looking for a fight, it’s a freaking PTA meeting held in an elementary school’s cafeteria for Christ’s sake,” Ciel groaned, reclining in his seat and pinching the bridge of his small nose. Lizzie spoke over the phone for a few minutes before Ciel shot up in his seat, startling Sebastian. “That’s what started this! Seba—Sebastian!” He flapped his hand at the older man until dark wine-colored eyes slid over to him. “Lizzy said she does this at every meeting, picking fights with the other parents who bring up the treat topic! She’s a repeat offender!”
Sebastian made a noise to show he had listened to Ciel, his eyes focusing back onto the road ahead of him. Ciel clicked his tongue at him. The call continued for a few more minutes—Ciel asked Lizzy how she was doing, how Sully, his little sweet pea, was doing and if she had any trouble with her homework, to call him ASAP—before Ciel promised Lizzy he would call her tomorrow and tell her everything about the disaster that had happened. He ended the call and threw his phone back in his bag.
“You never stop surprising me, baby,” Sebastian smiled, his tone teasing. “Just when I think you’ve done it all—yelled at your teachers, yelled at people on the sidewalk, yelled at wildlife animals—you go and surprise me with this: yelled at a mom during a PTA meeting.”
“You knew what you were getting into when you started harassing me in school,” Ciel grumbled, surveying the trees passing by through his window. “You know I won’t and don’t take anything lying down.”
Sebastian smirked, glancing at Ciel through the corner of his eye before focusing back on the road. There were some things Ciel did do and take laying down. This morning, for example; it was a very, very fine morning. “Well—”
“Don’t even start, Michaelis.” Ciel huffed, focusing on Sebastian’s reflection in the window and glaring at it; he knew where Sebastian’s train of thought was headed. “This isn’t the first altercation I’ve had and it certainly won’t be the last; there’s too many stupid assholes in the world for that to be possible.”
“Oh, I know. I know that very well,” Sebastian smirked, his mind immediately replaying his courting days with Ciel. “I distinctly remember what you said to me on our first date, when you ended up getting into a fight with the bouncer at the club we went to when he thought you were underage.”
“How the fuck did he think I was twelve years old; he literally saw me driving the car to and from the club.” Ciel grumbled. He shook his head slightly and glanced at Sebastian, memories of their first date clear as day in his mind. He gave a tiny smile. “What did I say?”
Sebastian sighed dramatically. “Well, you said a lot that day, but after we had gotten back inside the car, you looked at me—you were still so angry, I swear you had steam coming out of your ears—and said, ‘what you see is what you get; take it or leave it,’ and I knew in that moment that I had to take it, take you and keep you forever.”
Ciel tried to keep the stupid smile off his face, and failed miserably. He reached over and pried one of the hands Sebastian had on the steering wheel, and laced it with his own; he tucked them inside his jacket, keeping them warm. “You’re such a sap sometimes, it’s ridiculous, Michaelis.”
Sebastian smiled and squeezed Ciel’s hand. The rest of the car ride had a comfortable silence between them, Ciel idly stroking his thumb against Sebastian’s as Sebastian took the long way home. After a few moments, Ciel shifted in his seat, turning to face Sebastian with wide blue eyes.
Sebastian sighed, knowing this look far too well. “What do you want now?”
Ciel smirked, his lips curling at the edges in a way that made Sebastian feel a little anxious. Nothing good ever came from that look. Nothing. “Do you think your friend Grell would let me adopt her kid, just for a few days? Or a month or two, depending on how things go?”
Immediately suspicious, Sebastian furrowed his eyebrows. “Ronald? Why would you…Ciel, no.”
Ciel huffed. “You don’t even know what I was going to say!”
“You want to get back at Helen; why else would you want to adopt, who I am very sure, is Satan’s spawn?” Sebastian asked, glancing over at Ciel.Utterly ridiculous. “I have yet to figure out how he managed to scratch the side of my car without leaving the house that one time. No fuckin’ way is that kid coming into our house; it’s either me or Satan’s offspring, and he doesn’t pay rent so it’s me.”
“But Sebastian!” Ciel whined, throwing himself back in his seat. “He’s perfect for what I have planned! Grell wouldn’t mind; she loves us!”
“Yeah, I know she wouldn’t mind, that’s why I’m saying no—because I mind!” Sebastian turned into their neighborhood and pulled into the driveway. He got out of the car and went to open Ciel’s door, helping him get out. “Let it go, Ciel; it’s over, the favor is done. You won’t have to see her anymore after this.”
“I’ll still see her every time I go and pick up Sully from school!” Ciel whined as he let Sebastian lead him towards the front door. “I’ll have to watch her pick up her kids, knowing she’s got her nasty Betty Crocker pans in the backseat of her equally nasty Volkswagon Beetle, waiting to clog up the poor intestines of sweet, old Miss Janis. She doesn’t deserve to go like that, nobody does, which is why I have to stop her!”
Sebastian dug out his key ring and opened the front door, leading Ciel inside their warm home and toeing off his shoes. “Even if you did manage to nab Ronald for a few days, what make you think putting him within the same vicinity of a PTA meeting is going to do you any good? He might accomplish whatever little plan you have hidden up your sleeve but what about afterwards? That child lives off of human fear and destruction; he’d have the entire school in flames the minute you turn your back.”
Ciel pouted and shrugged off his coat, hanging it alongside Sebastian’s. “He’s not that evil, he’s a sweetheart to me.”
“Evil people are nice to evil people.” Sebastian muttered, catching the elbow Ciel jabbed into his ribs and pulling him to his chest. He kissed Ciel gently, wrapping his arms around the smaller’s lithe waist. “Kidding. But I still think you should let this go.”
“I will never let this go,” Ciel mumbled against Sebastian’s lips, eyes drooping slightly. “But I will make the exception of toning it down, just for you.”
“I feel honored,” Sebastian smiled, giving Ciel a few more kisses before pulling away and swatting Ciel’s behind gently. He jerked his head upstairs. “Go on, I’ll be up there in a few.”
Ciel nodded and made his way up the stairs, taking two at a time, yawning. Once he was out of sight, Sebastian reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cellphone. He waited until he heard the bathroom door close and the shower running before he quickly dialed a familiar number. The line rang for a few seconds before a familiar voice greeted him excitedly.
“Hello? You there?” Sebastian sighed softly, glancing at the staircase before heading towards the kitchen. “I need to ask you for a favor, Grell.”
Light is sick and L nurtures him back to health with porridge and death glares.
“Stop ducking from me,” Light snapped and reached out, wrapping a hand around L’s neck. He tried to tug him closer. “Come here.”
“Light-kun is sick.” L reminded the younger man, grasping Light’s wrist and holding it firmly, Light's fingertips digging into the side of his neck. “I do not wish to get sick now nor any time in the near future, thank you, so I will try to avoid coming as close to Light-kun’s face and bodily fluids as possible. That includes not giving nor receiving kisses for as long as Light-kun is sick.”
Light frowned. “But—”
Light hissed as L rubbed his thumb firmly against a sensitive point on the inside of his wrist, effectively making Light release his tight hold around his neck. Light cradled his hand against his chest, glaring daggers at L. “You’re such an ass sometimes.”
L shrugged, brushing off the comment as he stood up, his shoulders immediately hunching forwards slightly as his thumb came up towards his parted lips. He looked over at Light lying feebly in his nest of blankets and pillows before nodding slightly to himself and promptly shuffling out of their bedroom. Light looked at L's retreating back until L turned a corner at the end of the hallway, disappearing from Light's view. Where is he going? Light wrestled with his cocoon of blankets, lying back against his pillows and panting slightly when he managed to free a leg. He sighed and dug his foot back into the blanket cocoon when the chilled air brushed against his bare foot. Better luck next time, Yagami.
“Robot.” Light called out, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes until multiple streams of colors danced across his eyelids. When he didn’t hear the familiar shuffling of bare feet against the carpet, he sighed loudly, throwing his an arm over his eyes. “Robot!”
Once again, he was ignored. Light could faintly hear L puttering around in their small kitchen: the refrigerator door opening and closing, pots sliding against the stovetop burners, cupboard doors opening and closing, flames clicking to life on the stove. Light huffed. He really didn’t want to do this, but drastic times call for drastic measures.
Light waited a few more minutes before opening his mouth, calling out the one thing he knew would have L barging into the room in record time. “Baby!”
Immediately, L’s head popped up from the doorway, gray eyes glaring at Light’s soul from under dark, disheveled bangs. He straightened up, bringing his whole body into view and Light’s stomach grumbled quietly when he saw the tray of food L carried across his forearms. Always a man with a plan.
He shuffled over to Light's side of the bed carefully, all the while still glaring at Light. “Don’t call me that. You know how much I hate that nickname.”
“Well, I like it so I’ll keep calling you that if I feel like it.” Light sat up against the headboard with some trouble, kneading the pillows against his lower back until they accommodated his new position comfortably. “You didn’t like it when I first started calling you ‘robot’ but look at you now; it’s practically your middle name.”
L ignored Light in favor of setting the tray of food gently over Light’s legs, being careful not to jostle the tray and accidentally dump the porridge onto Light’s crotch, even if he did deserve it at the moment.
Light inspected the tray of food curiously; one item in particular seemed unfamiliar to him.
“What is this?” Light held the strange bottle in his hand, twisting it around to inspect the entirety of the object. It was a bottle that was packaged in a bright orange label, a picture of an orange slice depicted at the bottom. Light shook the bottle cautiously.
“It’s called Lucozade; it’s an energy drink meant to replenish your body with the electrolytes it loses when dehydrated,” L explained quietly, shifting the tray slightly as he crawled onto the bed, hunching at Light's side. “Such as when you become sick.”
“Mmm,” Light mused, his glassy eyes taking in the small bowl of porridge that was giving off a delicious smell. “And this?”
“Just something I was given to when I was sick,” L watched as Light picked up the spoon with a slightly shaky hand and slowly stir the porridge around. “It's just a simple porridge meant to give your body the nutrients it needs as well as fill your stomach for a few hours. I added a few pieces of fruit and a little milk to it as well, to give it both a nice taste as well as give you your protein intake of the day.”
Light glanced up at L, smiling at the curious gaze his lover regarded him with from underneath his bangs, thumb being nibbled on almost nervously. "It all looks very delicious and I am starving. Thank you, robot."
Light dug into his meal almost immediately afterwards; after days of eating small quantities of food, only to throw them up hours later, he was extremely happy to have his stomach settle down and allow him to dig into his meal without the fear of gagging. Under different circumstances, Light would have been mortified at the way he had cast his eating manners aside, but his stomach over-ruled his brain at the moment, choosing to take quick, messy bites at the toast and long swigs of his drink over calculated small bites and paused sips. L watched the scene before him with wide eyes; he had never seen his lover eat so ravenously and look so happy while doing so. His cooking skills weren't up to par with Light's (the burn marks on their kitchen ceiling were a testament to that), so surely his small bowl of porridge with a side of toasted bread and energy drink weren't the cause of this, yet he couldn't help but smile when Light tipped his head back and scraped the last bits of porridge into his mouth. Still, L watched cautiously by Light's side to make sure Light didn't swallow the spoon by accident.
Stomach now full and his mood now lifted, Light quickly patted the corners of his mouth with his napkin before L took the tray of dirty dishes and set it aside. Light caught L's hand and tugged him towards his chest, L squirming to make sure he didn't hit Light with his bony limbs. He wiggled until he was comfortable, his hands resting on Light's chest.
L's head was tilted up gently and a tender kiss was pressed against his lips. “Thank you, baby.” Light kissed L’s soft lips again. “It was very delicious.” He nipped at L’s bottom lip. “I love you.” Another kiss. “A lot.” Another three kisses, just for good measure.
L made a face as he pulled away from Light’s affections, his lips smacking softly. “That’s foul.” He made a noise in the back of his throat as his hand came up to wipe at his lips.
“What?” Light frowned. Did his breath smell horrid? Did he smell horrid? “What’s wrong? What’s foul?”
L shuddered dramatically. “Just as I suspected. That nickname doesn’t just sound horrible, it tastes horrible as well.”
Light rolled his eyes and flicked L's ear, who looked up at him and scowled. They stayed quiet for a few moments, content in being in each others arms after a week of L sleeping on the couch to avoid being coughed on or punched in the gut by a heavy, sweaty limb. Light smirked as he went over his actions in the last few minutes.
“You know,” Light murmured against L’s lips, nipping gently at his bottom lip. He pulled L closer towards his chest, one arm wrapping itself against L’s shoulders while the other stroked L’s protruding hipbone. “There’s a good chance you’re going to end up being sick now. As sweet as my kisses are, at times like these, they are quite poisonous as well.”
L laughed against Light’s collarbone, vibrations pressing against Light’s neck. “Oh, I know. I plan on you being at my beck and call for as long as I am ill. I’ve written you a list of all the treats I would like to be fed, as well as a couple of books from the library I’ve been wanting to read; I made this note while I waited for your porridge to heat up and tacked it up on the refrigerator door.”
“Ah,” Light mused, scanning his blanket cocoon quickly for any loose bread crumbs before tugging it over and around their sleepy bodies. He pressed a kiss against L’s temple before setting his head against the pillows, finally allowing his eyelids to slip shut. “I see this was a ploy of yours all along. Always a man with a plan, aren’t you?”
He felt L’s hand press blindly against his abdomen until he found Light’s limp hand resting against his stomach; L laced their fingers together and brought their hands to his chest.
Feeling Light’s breathing even out, no longer hearing the raspy breaths he had heard continuously for the past few days but instead hearing, full, deep uninterrupted breaths being inhaled and exhaled, L finally allowed his body to drain of tension and give in to the temptation of sleep.
