Well, he wouldn't lie he did enjoy a long, hot bath....but taking one with someone else was so...intimate. Still, he couldn't keep putting intimate stuff like this off forever. He took a deep breath so he could think clear instead of blurting out something stupid like he usually did.
He woke with a start, he had one of those falling dreams, the kind you wake up forgetting where you were....of course he was at home, in his bed...but he felt something, or rather, someone pressed against his side, and a glance to his left gave him the intruder's identity. Looks like a certain vampire let herself in again...not that he minded too much.
He did, however, wish she wasn't using his arm as a pillow. Sure, she was cute, but there was nothing cute about waking up with your arm being dead asleep. Still, he'd deal. He leaned over to press a kiss to the girl's forehead before trying to get somewhat comfortable and fall back asleep.
Terumi tensed up as soon as her lips met his neck, well that was certainly one way to catch him off guard. "Damn, being rather forward today, aren't we?" He could never know how effective that really was. She must never know.
44. Our muses are destined for each other after one lends the other a red scarf for warmth.
Winter. Terumi had always hated winter, it was too damn cold, but that wasn’t important where was he and how did he get where he was? Which hierarchical city was he in? Ibukido? Kagutsuchi? Why couldn’t he remember? He looked around, trying to find something, anything that looked familiar, and that was when he heard it, a voice that made him cringe like someone was dragging their nails down a chalkboard and it was at that time he realized exactly where he’d ended up.
“My my, it would seem a snake has found it’s way in my garden, whatever will I do?" He shot around to face the vampire, that confirmed it, he was at her castle, but how had he gotten there? Had the shitty vampire brought him for whatever reason, or was it one of Phantom’s spells missing it’s mark? A hand moved to his head, it was pounding, he felt disorientated which must have shown on his face.
“If you’re going to be sick, please do so OFF my property, who knows what would happen to my garden if a diseased wretch like you happened to regurgitate anything into it." Terumi shot a glare at her, grimacing due to his headache "Shut up, you shitty vampire." He straightened his posture and kept his gaze trained on the small blond girl "What do you want, bloodsucker? As you know I’m very busy, and I don’t have time to play with you."
"My my, how rude, You’re the one intruding on my teatime." as if to prove the claim, the vampire brought the cup to her lips, sipping away at the tea as if the man before her wasn’t there at all. “Since you’re here, would you care to join me for a cup? I’m sure Valkenhayn can find a cup even for a foul serpent like you." Her usual attire was replaced with a more winter friendly variant, topped with a vibrant red scarf to pull it all together.
As if on cue, the old werewolf appeared and put another cup on a saucer and poured tea into it. “Looks like the old fart is still just a glorified trained mutt even after all this time, huh?” Rachel raised a hand before the older man could say a rebuttal, and took that as a signal to leave…damn, Terumi wanted to mess with him some more. His gaze fixed back to the girl sitting at the small table before him. “That aside, you really expect me to just sit here and sip your hot leaf juice and chat about the weather? What is it, poisoned? Do I look like an idiot?” She must have found that question amusing since it brought a smirk to her pale lips as she took another silent sip of tea. “On second thought, don’t even bother answering that.”
Rachel put the teacup she was sipping from down on it’s respected saucer, looking at Terumi with an expression he found hard to read “Your hostility isn’t needed, Terumi, though your skepticism is to be expected. I believe even hated enemies can take a few minutes to be civil over tea." He cocked an eyebrow at that, what? She wanted to have tea, legitimately wanted to have tea with someone who’s tried to kill her and vice-versa? No, there had to be some scheme to this. "Just sit down and afterwards I’ll send you to whatever deplorable place you were heading, besides you’re practically shaking. This tea will warm you up." What the hell was going on here? Terumi, for once in his life, was speechless. He didn’t have a witty comeback for this joke that must have been played on him, not clever rebuttal. Nothing. He cautiously sat across from the vampire, taking the cup in his hand just as cautiously "There, now was that so hard?”
Terumi slowly nursed the tea that was poured for him as an uneasy silence filled the garden, what was this leech planning anyways? “You’re being awfully quiet, Terumi, what’s the matter? As I told you, teatime is a time for civility, I wont harm you, as long as you do the same." The shitty vampire talking to him like that made his skin crawl, then again, it did beat having lightning thrown at him so he’d take whatever small blessing he could. "Not like I have much choice, do I? Seeing how Phantom’s teleportation spell threw me here, you’re the only other person I know who can get me out." He took a gulp of the tea, causing a look of disgust from his tea-mate. "How uncivilized." To that he sneered, who cared it was going in the same place anyways, and as if to spite her he gulped down the rest of the cup as well. "There, I drank your stupid tea, now will you get me the hell out of here?"
“No, not quite yet. You may have finished your tea, but I haven’t finished mine." Terumi glared at her, pointing at her as if he was going to say something before just letting out a disgruntled sigh and resting his chin on his hand. She was right, the tea did warm him for the moment, but the slight breeze of the winter wind chilled him again…since he was stuck here he might as well try to make small talk. "So what shitty scheme are you sticking your nose into this time, leech? Still stalking the mutt and shit?"
“My, Terumi, you wouldn’t happen to be cold, would you?" She completely ignored his questions, of course she would, why did he think she’d actually answer "You should invest into some winter wear, since it’s obvious you’re sensitive to the cold." He ran a hand over his face "What are you, my mother? Or is this some more of that stupid civility bullshit?" he was clearly getting aggrivated but the expression on Rachel’s face didn’t change. "What kind of host would I be if I didn’t worry about the well being of my guest?" with that she took another sip "I don’t know, what kind of host refuses to let his guest leave while using sucking down leaf juice as an excuse to keep them here?”
Terumi looked off to the side and crossed his arms defiantly, mostly to keep what little warm that clung onto his body THERE, but it made him look like a pouting child. He heard the vampire huff and get up from her chair, the soft crunching of the frozen earth beneath her feet as she walked over to him. Suddenly his hood was tossed back off his head and as he turned to give her a piece of his mind, a warm, perfume scented red fabric was wrapped around his neck and gently fixed to look perfect “Wha…” for the second time that day the snake was left speechless. “I hope you appreciate me sacrificing my favorite scarf to warm a worm like you, you can keep that, I have no need for something you’ve touched." He just stared at her, obviously confused. "And with that, teatime is over, good day to you." She raised her hand "Wait I didn’t tell you were I was go—" but it was two late, the familiar sensation of teleportation came over him.
He was spat out over what couldn’t have been a coincidence considering who had sent him. He fell about ten feet down into a pile of trash in a dump. He shook his head and left, going back towards his destination, though something within him changed. Something he himself hadn’t noticed. This chance encounter with someone he hated had planted a seed within him, and so time started to flow.
Of course they ran into each other, and with each encounter the seed started to grow, and on cold days he used that scarf…soon even he knew that something was amiss. Terumi would get fleeting thoughts of the vampire, usually when he was just relaxing, and other times when he’d run into her while she was with that mutt Ragna he’d feel a tightness in his chest and he’d get angrier than usual. He wasn’t stupid, he knew it’d started since she gave him her stupid scarf….her stupid scarf that still smelled faintly of her even after washing the dumb thing. She must have did something to it, some kind of enchantment, and he’d have to find her when she was alone to get her to spill what she did.
That was easier said than done, however, whenever he’d order Phantom to send him back to Rachel’s garden, or even to the castle itself he’d end up somewhere completely different, but one day, one fateful day he did end up back in her garden, however the vampire wasn’t who greeted him, no it was the guard dog. As soon as his feet hit the ground he was instantly sent flying by a strong kick from the old butler. He landed roughly on his back, hopping back up with little problem, the old fart wasn’t as young as he used to be and had gotten weaker. “What are you doing here, Terumi?" the man growled as he was dusting himself off "Relax, you geezer, I’m not here to fight, as surprising as that is. I know it surprised ME. I’m here to have a…chat…with your master.” The old werewolf crouched and it was clear he was ready to fight “Wait, Valkenhayn. Its rare for this snake to be in a more civil mood, besides, it’s teatime." at the appearance of his master Valkenhayn stood up and turned to her before bowing "Right away, Lady Rachel." He shot a glare at Terumi as he passed, who returned it before turning his attention to the reason he was here. Rachel sat at her little table in her garden, just like the last time he was here.
"I’m going to get straight to the chase." Terumi removed the scarf she had given him from a pocket in his coat and slammed it down the table in front of her. "What the hell did you do to me?" The vampire looked at the scarf, then back to him, then back to the scarf again. "I have no idea what you’re talking about….but this scarf has been well taken care of, a sentiment I never expected from you.” He clenched the fabric in his fist before slamming it against the table again “Don’t fuck with me, Rachel!” something about what he said must have been funny since it caused a chuckle to escape her lips “What’s so damn funny?”
A smirked remained on the girl’s lips as she looked up at him “My my, getting familiar aren’t we, Terumi? That’s the first time I’ve heard you call me anything but a “shitty vampire” but I still have no idea what you’re referring to." He was visibly shaking, ripples of anger running up and down his being "What did you do to me. I can’t stop thinking about you, you keep worming your way into my thoughts, and not in the usual ways. It’s not me wanting to kill you, it’s you doing that stupid smug little smirk—you’re doing it right now. What did you do to that scarf, what did you do to me!?” He continued on, pushing off the table and turning his back to her to pace around the garden. “When I see you with that mutt I get this sickening feeling, not the one I usually get when I see the both of you, and this tightness in my chest like I can barely breathe, what kind of curse did you put on me, you bitc—UGH I CAN’T EVEN CALL YOU THAT WITHOUT THE SAME FEELING HAPPENING, WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!?” Terumi’s face was distorted with desperation more that anger, he legitimately didn’t know what was happening to himself.
With that Rachel let out another chuckle, the same smirk left on her lips as she rested her chin on her hands “Well well, perhaps you do have a heart after all." He quirked an eyebrow at her "After all, I didn’t do anything to you. Your inflictions are ones you placed on yourself, or rather, what your heart placed on you.” Oh, he didn’t like where this conversation was headed. “After all, it would seem you’ve become infatuated with me.”
Terumi stared at her for a moment before moving to the seat across from her, placing his hands on the table before him. “You’ve got to be shitting me. Me, infatuated with you? Do you know how stupid that soun-HEY, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!?” Terumi jerked his hand back as soon as she can in contact with it, causing another smirk to reach her lips. “Just a little test, calm down." She reached for his hand again, only just like before, to have him jerk it away "Goddammit, stop doing that!" this just made her get out of her chair and advance towards him, of course he tried to stand his ground, but when she brought her face close to his he fell backwards out of his chair. "Hmm, it’s more serious than I thought." He hurried back to his feet, his face felt hot for some weird reason, what was this some kind of after affect of her curse "And you’re red as a tomato…who would have thought I would get to see Yuuki Terumi in such a state?" He could tell she was enjoying this, and she could tell just how much he wasn’t. “What’s the matter? You like messing with people, but you can’t take a little teasing yourself?" he glared down at the blond backing away slightly "Shut up you shitty..shitty vampire!"
“No running, Terumi. This is far to amusing to have it end here." Rachel latched onto his hand this time and it felt like all his strength was fading "How do I make it stop?" She stared up at him with the most amused expression he’d seen her make in his presence "Stop it? You can’t. Undoubtedly your heart belongs to me now, and it’s a curse of your own design, and I must say, this nervous side of you is almost adorable." Great, and now she was patronizing him. He’d probably just end up a source of her entertainment, so much for plans of destroying the world. "Perhaps I should humor you, though. I might be able to find it somewhere in the vast kindness of my heart to be able to do that much. You should thank me, Terumi.”
What. “There’s no way I’m going to thank you for taking advantage of this curse like I’m in love with you! There’s no way!” that seemed to pull a chuckled out of her “Yet all the while you haven’t once tried to jerk your hand away again, does the warmth of my hand comfort you that much?" He looked down at her hand still holding his, her dainty pale fingers firmly gripped around his hand, she was right…what if he WAS in love with her? It made him feel a sense of something…warm…and fuzzy deep within him, it felt gross…yet relaxing…what was this feeling? Was this…happiness? “Comforting enough for you squeeze my hand in return it seems." With that he was snapped back to reality, and on impulse pulled his hand away again "…..whatever." and that was all he could muster to say, no witty rubuttal, only a whatever. After what seemed like ages the old butler returned with a pot of tea. "Will our…guest…be staying as well, Lady Rachel?" The blond girl looked over at Terumi with a smirk on her lips as she returned to her seat. "I don’t know, will he?"
Terumi stared at her for a moment before clearing his throat “Yeah, alright I guess I can stay for a cup.” this time they both enjoyed their tea silently, and when they were done Terumi let out a soft sigh…he…didn’t hate this. Last time he had tea with Rachel he was in a hurry to go, but this time…he felt more inclined to stay. Placing her cup back on the saucer, Rachel looked at him with a small smirk on her lips. “Well, I say this time was much more enjoyable than the last….will you be joining me again?" Terumi gathered the scarf off the table, giving her a smirk of his own, not a sadistic or terrifying one he’d given many times before, but a coy, mischievous one. "Sure, maybe when I’m in the neighborhood, maybe next time tell your guard dog not to kick me across the garden next time." This drew a chuckle out of her "We’ll see. Goodbye, Terumi." He gave a quick and lazy wave "See you later, Rachel."
Of course, when they meet outside of her garden they have to be enemies, can’t lose appearances and such….but….even enemies can be civil during teatime.
Togami blinked down at the slight weight that had suddenly brushed up against his side, brow furrowing when he realized who it was. Apparently the girl had heard enough of his explanations on why he wanted to visit Lab 8, instead opting to pass out. Really, it was a wonder he managed to hold her attention for five seconds, given her attention span.
Leering down at her, though, Byakuya realized just how often he seemed to forget how young she was. Sort of.
She smelled like cheap cigars.
Looking around, the heir didn't notice any place that he could really dump the girl. For one there were flecks of people about, and abandoning a child would likely be severely frowned upon. Secondly, he didn't want to risk waking her and having her overreact to him trying to carry her somewhere.
...
He was stuck.
"You have got to be kidding me," he groaned to himself, running his fingers through his hair before shooting yet another vicious glance down at the girl. Maybe, just maybe, the sheer force of his contempt would be able to rouse her awake. Then he could try to kick her or something maybe, he honestly hadn't really thought it too far ahead.And, for a moment, it seemed to work! Peacock stirred in her sleep, ever so slightly... only to wrap her wiry arms around the heirs waste and letting out a loud obnoxious snore. The words 'close, but no cigar' came to mind, and he instantly hated himself for thinking them.
