â Iâve Acquired Quite a Taste (for a Well-made Mistake) â
đ¤ Hurt/Comfort. Light angst. Fluff.
đ¤ Introduction/Rules Post
đ¤ Summary: Makima is devastated to learn that her heart beats wildly and out of her control each time she is around you. Instead of running from the pleasure she has been chasing all her life, she decides that for once in her life, she must settle down and look herself in the eye.
đ¤ A/N: Rather than putting a tag for a potentially OOC Makima, I want to address that this is my own personal interpretation of her character. As the control devil, she has never been able to form equal relationshipsârather, because of her upbringing. As opposed to Nayuta, who lived comfortably and happily with Denji, Makima was raised in a brutal environment at the hands of the government. I wanted to explore her finding love and learning to set aside what she believes makes her unable to form those equal relationships, e.g. her being the control devil as well as her upbringing. I believe that in the right circumstances, Makima has the same potential as Nayuta. Also, happy new year.
There is a lasting beliefâor, rather, factâwithin Makima that she will not find love. She will not find friendship. She will never know the intimacy that two humans possess late at night as they hold one another and whisper their deepest shared desires with their hearts beating in tandem. As the control devil, there is simply no way for her to be on par with a single living being, devil or not, on earth. She cannot outrun her destiny, her birthright. Sheâsâ
âMakima, are you listening to me?â
âWhat?â Sheâs broken out of her thoughts, finally, by the sound of another voice, much sweeter than her own. It echoes in her ears, briefly leaving her breathless.
âI was asking if you wanted me to wash your hair for you,â you murmur.
âOh⌠yes. I would like that,â she practically whispers. Her gaze flickers to your face and its unyielding concentration on lathering your shampoo that sheâs always borrowing nowadays into her hair, in what seems to be disbelief.
Makima feels undeserving. Her body is like a clenched fist whenever sheâs around you. To her, the two of you are living on borrowed time, just like she has been since she was brought into existence. The beginnings of tears poke behind her eyes as they beg to be released, but Makima is no fool. She knows not to cry when there are things to be thankful for, nor does she want to show even more weakness, all for one person. Sheâs already bare naked for you and pliant like a lamb with its fur freshly shaved.
While she has never had tastes for well-made mistakes, Makimaâs heart aches as she considers that this may be one. Your fingers in her hair are sinfully gentle, all while sheâs battling worms in her brain that tell her to walk out. She doesnât want to. Thatâs the whole goddamn problem. She loves you. Sheâs killed for you, and now she wants to live for you.
Youâre no fool, either. It doesnât take a genius to figure out whatâs swirling behind Makimaâs yellow eyes. The ever present worried expression on her face that she wears around you is hard to conceal for someone who has been, literally, in control since the dawn of time. Makima is so unused to her feathers being ruffled that she fails to notice when the wind starts to blow through them. You, the wind, and she, the feathers, should not be together. When you recall this as you rinse off her newly washed hair, your hand almost slips to your heart. It stutters with the force of a restless, active volcano. You do your best to stifle its wounds with Makima. Sheâs the active shooter and the bandaids, tied into a neat package.
You donât say anything as she steps out of the tub, but your eyes linger on each crease and mark of her nearly perfect body. The water drains. The room is quiet, sans for the dripping from the faucet. You should really get that fixed. Makima knows you wonât, and at this point, she would prefer it to continuously drip. Once an annoyance, now a comfortâreminder of the safety in which she is shrouded.
She dares to break the silence first. âDo you mind pouring me a glass of water? Baths always make me terribly thirsty.â There is an uncanny shyness in her voice that seldom makes a public appearance. Still, you smile and nod.
âYeah, I will.â And you leave.
Makima is stuck with a less comfortable silence now, one that she has created instead of dealing with the aching in her own heart. She wants to deal with it by hiding away in your arms, where she knows she is safe. Makima is always safe, of course. Nothing nor anyone can touch her, but the warmth you exude always seeps into her bones better than cheap liquor from some dingy bar in downtown Tokyo. This time, she doesnât even have to swallow her pride and pick up the phone. Youâre readily available as she wishes you could always be.
The thought of living with you is fleeting, but it burns into her brain. She grimaces and glances up at her expression in the mirror. Stupid. She isnât one to usually demean herself, but when it comes to matters of the heart, the latter has already put her down so far that she cannot crawl back up without your helping hand.
Once sheâs dressed, she exits the bathroom and finds you almost immediately in the kitchen on her right. Youâre nursing the glass of water that youâd poured for her. Quietly, Makima stands stock-still, hands interlocked behind her back, and observes you. Youâre pretty, as always. The dim light reflects in your eyes as you stare down at some stray magazine. Itâs unimportant, but the way your fingers delicately flip through the pages stirs something in her stomach. Everything you touch seems to be made of glass.
âItâs rude to stare, no?â you murmur, closing the magazine. You set it aside and finally look up. Makima bristles, and her gaze flicks to the side.
âThere isnât a single human around to judge.â Her yellow eyes snap to yours as she approaches. âUnless youâve suddenly decided youâre too good for copulation with a devil.â
âCopulation? I might decide that now.â
Once Makimaâs close enough to touch, you lean slightly down and press your lips to the corner of her mouth. She stiffens but doesnât say anything this time around. Her arm wraps around your waist and yours around hers in return. Itâs exactly what sheâs been wanting all day. With the moonlight penetrating the ozone and filtering into the main room, and the heater sizzling comfortably warm, Makima dares to say the moment is perfect.
You bring the glass up to her lips, and she obediently takes a few sips. An innocent sort of warmth trails down her spine as she looks up at you, poking at each vertebrae. She hums with thanks and settles against your chest. She buries her face into its side, undoubtedly leaving wet stains against your shirt from her not yet dry hair. Itâs hard to have any complaints when the culprit is the woman you love, though.
âYou know what happens when you donât dry your hair soon enough?â you ask, raising your eyebrows somewhat goadingly. âYour bangs stick up, and you look like a fool for the next twenty-four hours. Quick, ask me how I know.â
Makima rolls her eyes. So what? she thinks. Itâs Saturday, and she has Sundays off. âQuiet, please.â Tears poke at her eyes again. What are these emotions to which her body is suddenly succumbing? Itâs getting harder to fight them off, and you might notice them soon. That would be humiliating. To be pitied is to be waterboarded. It fucking hurts.
Your hand rubs up and down her back. You feel her trembling, but youâd be an idiot to call it out.
âYou will leave me, wonât you?â she asks with a breath. Itâs so uncharacteristic of her that it makes you freeze like a statue. âYouâll try, at the very least.â
âI will make love to you is what I will do.â You scoff. âLeave you? Please, donât make me laugh. Self-pity is not a good look on you, Makima.â
A stray tear falls from Makimaâs eye that she quickly wipes away. She doubts youâre the type of person to think less of her for expressing something human, of all things, but it tears at her heart that sheâs letting it happen. Damn you and your humanity; itâs made her softhearted. She supposes that this is what love is supposed to includeâthe very thing she has been chasing after all her life. Itâs right here. She has it, and sheâd be damned if she let it slip away. But it makes her so vulnerable. Before you, the only thing that would make her cry were movies.
You gently push her back to look at her face. You have to cup it; thereâs no other way to have this conversation. You must hold her with every ounce of love your body has ever possessedâthat it ever will possess.
âLove doesnât come easy to humans, either. It never has,â you whisper. âEach time that I hear your heartbeat, itâs like God himself is whispering to me. Heâs telling me, âI have given you the most precious of gifts.ââ Thereâs a pause where you make sure sheâs looking into your eyes and seeing the desperation behind their irises. âI havenât re-gifted once in my life. Why should I start now? Your love is the most precious thing I could ever hope to have. You control my heart. Each beat is underneath your thumb.
And when we make love, each gasp, each hitch of breathâwhat is that if not divine perfection? You may be a devil, but you are seraphic. Understand?â
Briefly stunned, Makima can only nod dumbly. The silence stretches between the two of you, only broken by the soft rustling of clothing as she leans back into your embrace.
âThat was stupid. Iâm sorry,â she whispers. Her voice cracks mid-sentence. Even with the multitude of unusual emotions flowing through her body, Makima still finds it in herself to be impudent. âEven if you were planning on it, I would just brainwash you to stay.â
You canât help but gently smack her upside the head. âI should banish you to bed for saying that.â Makimaâs tears get stuck in her throat as she laughs.
Thereâs still a myriad of things about which she hasnât told you. Sheâs terrified to open Pandoraâs box, even if, at the end of the day, she can prevent practically anything from spiraling out of control. But is it so terrible that she finally wants something like this to come naturally?
Her head aches with the pressure of having to stop herself from unintentionally manipulating you each second you are togetherâwhen there are choices to be made. She hadnât ever tried to do such a thingâdidnât even know it was possibleâbefore you. Makima has to stand before a line-up again, imaginary this time, as she perfects her abilities, but there is no government to discipline her this time. She has only you, and sheâs found that youâre enough.
There is one outstanding difference between then and nowâyou have the gall to forgive her when she makes a mistake. You donât punish her.
And, as the two of you stand embracing one another, the warmth from your heart seeps into her own as they finally beat in tandem.