The rain had started pouring the moment you stepped out from your workplace. You curse under your breath as you started sprinting for the Limbus co. kyun kyun maid cafe, the weather forecast was dead wrong. In the morning, the weatherperson had said it would be hot and clear well into the night?! When you are near and finally see the characteristic warm lighting, you also see Hong Lu standing at the front of the shop, bringing in the menu board from outside while holding onto a black umbrella. As if having some kind of radar for you, he turns back and immediately goes to shelter to from the rain.

Hong Lu leads you inside and the staffs are quick to surround you with towels and hand warmers. It is warm inside the small cafe with the faint scent of roasted coffee filling the air. Don Quixote offers you her Fixer towels and pajamas while Sinclair tries to give you his handkerchief. Hong Lu himself is fast to give you his jacket and offers to help wipe down your hair. You nod, mainly focusing on drying off the rest of your body. Thankfully you moved fast so most of you is still dry. Once you are nice and cozy, with a warm drink in your hands, you look at the grandfather clock on the wall. It seems you still have enough time for a session with one of the staffs.

You look at Hong Lu who is busy with cleaning up the wet tracks you left and considers your options briefly. "Manager, can I have Hong Lu serve me today, if we still have time of course." They nod after looking at the maid in question for his opinion. He, though surprised, is quick to consent and hands off his work to Ryoshu who is standing nearby. Hong Lu leads you to your usual seat and sets up the table.

You pick out a few dishes, now hungry from both the cold and the lack of anything in your stomach since lunch. Vergilius knows your orders by heart at this point so he had started cooking from the moment you ask for Hong Lu. With that, the maid manages to bring the dishes over to you at lightning speed. He seems content with watching you filling yourself up from the opposite seat, with his cute little smile on his face. By the time you are done, he is still quite entertained just sitting there, making your face warm. You cough into your fist, a poor attempt at distracting yourself from your current situation. "So, how has your day been?" Hong Lu reaches over to wipe at the corner of your mouth with a small handkerchief, "it has been quite peaceful…" he pauses, "but a very good day with you here." You feel your face burn under his gaze. He must be teasing you again. Despite how docile he acts around others, you know he secretly loves to tease others (it's actually mainly you).

Before you explode from embarrassment, he finally decide to spare you by continuing with your question. "Rodya managed to rope Sinclair, Don Quixote and a few others into playing cards with her and got scolded by Outis, you see," you hold back a giggle. Of course it was Rodya who tried to play around on the job. "How about you? Did you join?" Hong Lu hums as he leans against his propped up arm, "I wonder~"

You and Hong Lu keep up your back and forth up until Dante knocks on the door of your booth, signalling the end of your session. You sigh and stand up, the rain outside has not let up but you also cannot stay back forever. You pay at the counter before turning to leave. While hyping yourself up for the trip home, you hear Hong Lu asking something with the manager and then footsteps approaching you. You look back to see Hong Lu holding onto an umbrella with a bright smile on his face, "Might I walk you back? I can leave once we are close to your place." Your mind stalls as the maid looks at you with such bright eyes. You feel the corners of your lips rise and you decide to give him a respond, not wanting him to wait for too long.

→ masterlist || back to the introduction?

a/n: sorry for being so slow chat i was playing don't starve together w my sib for the majority of my free time... mind you i ended up writing like 3 versions for this bc i just don't like the ideas i came up w for this. art under the cut as usual!

THANKK YOU !! <3

You toss and turn in your bed. It has been weirdly difficult for you to fall asleep lately. Nothing much has changed around you, nothing that distressing in the grand scheme of things to the point of losing sleep. Maybe it is because, as each golden bough is collected, your turn to have your past exposed creeps up on you, or maybe it is simply your body acting up. You shut your eyes closed again. Stupid body won't let you rest properly. Counting sheeps did not work (nor did counting Ezras jumping over the fence, mind you), thinking of the most boring things and subjects did not work, not even music or some soothing background noise managed to lull you to the sweet sweet land of dreams!

You sit up abruptly. Maybe a cup of warm milk and cookies will work! Rodya has said that it is her foolproof method when you asked her about it. You shuffle out of bed and onto the bitterly cold floor. The kitchen, or the equivalent of it, should be empty right now with how late it is. Your gaze moves up to the clock on the wall, confirming the time. Your door creaks open and you move down the hallway for the familiar door. The lights are on and you can hear someone turning on the stove. Who could be in there at this godforsaken time? After briefly considering just going back to your room, you push the door open regardless. Surprisingly, it is Hong Lu who is sitting at the small table in the middle with a mug in hand.

He turns to you and his eyes widen for a second before restoring their usual calm. You sit down beside him and he offers you the drink he has been drinking, "It is herbal tea for sleep, I bought some while we were still in Hongyuan. Would you like some? There should still be enough for another cup." You consider your options, yes you came here for milk, but you can also just drink what is already available and go back sooner. Eventually, you nod and get yourself a cup from the cupboard. The drink is surprisingly soothing, warming up your whole body after a few sips. Hong Lu finishes his cup before you but instead of leaving, he stays with you and talks about mundane topics, as long as they pop up in his mind. His voice is softer than his usual, perhaps due to the time you note.

You find yourself finally drifting off to dreamland little by little, your head nodding and your eyelids heavy. It is a mystery whether it is Hong Lu's voice or his tea that is doing wonders for you. He also notices your state, if his short pause is anything to go by, but he continues. His warm hand presses your head against his shoulder and you can feel the vibrations of his voice spreading to you. Before you know it, you are fast asleep while leaning against Hong Lu. The last thing you notice is the feeling of weightlessness and the sound of the chairs being tucked against the table.

Bonus: you wake up the next day in Hong Lu's bed and him still asleep and your limbs tangled together. You cannot help but raise your hand up to brush a hairstrand from his face. With the sunlight filtering through the window lighting up the room, and by extension, Hong Lu, he looks almost angelic, to the point you can almost see angel wings behind him. How does he look this good without needing any sort of preparation? He soon wakes up, looking at you with achingly gentle eyes. "Good morning," he starts, "Did you sleep well?" You nod, trying to ignore your pounding heart, "Good morning to you too." He smiles and sits up to kiss you on the forehead. What a great start to the day ahead♡

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You slot yourself against Faust's body. It is way late at night and you are trying your best to hear out your dear girlfriend's scathing review of the horrible romance series you two just watched, you really are, but sleep is getting to you and her cheeks are looking so so soft in the dim light of the TV. A light bulb pops up above your head. You have an idea most ingenious!

"Faust thinks the female lead should have left with the money instead of-" a kiss is pressed against her cheek. She looks over at you with doubtful eyes but you motion at her to continue. Her calm facial expression is betrayed by her reddening cheeks. Your sleepiness fades away a little at her cuteness and you wonder how much you can get away with your kisses.

"As Faust was saying, sensibly, the female lead, with her background, should have accepted the money from the mother-in-law-" another kiss lands squarely at the corner of her lips. You can practically feel the heat radiating from her cheeks as she attempts to glare at you. Holding back your laughter and fully wide awake at this point, you once again motion for her to continue. For a moment, Faust seems to consider her options before continuing, this time about the economy of the in-story world.

"As seen through the shots of the female lead's home and her neighborhood, Faust can extrapolate that the world is very similar to our world, likely based in H corp. Therefore-" You decide to let her speak for longer this time, watching her eyes flit over to you leaning against her side before starting another sentence. That is when you decide to strike, catching her off guard and successfully landing another kiss on her soft cheek.

Faust suddenly pushes you down against the couch with a 'thump'. Her face now rivals a ripened tomato, a very very ticked off one it seems. "Faust does not like that you have been avoiding her lips." Your eyes widen. You have been expecting her to be mad at you for distracting her from her review, not.. this! Heat rushes to your face as your brain loads the information and your dear girlfriend pouts above you. "Faust will now deliver your punishments for that offense."

If anyone sees you covered in the shiny marks of Faust's lip balm and the sinner's very smug face as the two of you leave the break room after, it is none of their problems.

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Captain Ishmael has a secret. But what might it be? None on her crewmates know, only that she would aften stare at a small locket before snapping it shut. She never looks affected in particular, but both Heathcliff and Yi Sang can tell that she is rather distracted afterwards. Not only that, some days she would disappear into her room for hours on end and later emerges with small fresh wounds. However hard they tried to prod, it only makes her close herself off even more if not directly telling them to get back to their work on deck.

Ishmael retreats to her private quarters after a long day at sail. She knows her 'mermaid' is waiting for her. With a 'clink', she opens the secret door. The captain sinks into the darkness with familiarity, going into a small room furbished with only a small flickering lantern and a chair. Hidden in the corners where the light doesn't reach is you.

Your familiar form is still visible to her, with how long she has kept you in the room, Ishmael has learned your position down to a T. Your beautiful face has been even further obscured by the white membrane. You don't respond to her very well anymore, only reacting aggression and violence. However, you are still you, her one and only, no matter how often she thinks about your previous much more alive self.

Suddenly, you twitch at the direction that the ship is sailing towards. You start moving, small groans coming from your torn throat. Then, you lurch forward, yanking at the chains around your wrists. Groans turn into haunting screams and Ishmael lets out a sound akin to laughter before taking your leash off the wall and allow you to pull her forward, out of the room.

It's time to go whale hunting!

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Limbus company modern maid cafe AU - introduction

You open the door to the small cafe near your work, weary from the long day. Your boss had been an absolute nightmare, constantly giving you flack simply for taking a short break. Almost every day now, after work, you have been visiting the establishment for their comforting atmosphere, fair, or even cheap, foods and drinks despite their high quality, and last but not least, their twelve main wait staffs.

This small cafe, 'Limbus co. kyun kyun maid cafe' opened mysteriously one day with no fan fare, no big opening celebration and only a few staffs waiting near the door who seem rather welcoming. The storefront is rather industrial, namely the train(?) theming despite the rather vintage looking interior decor, alongside with the eccentric name, might be the reason why the place is always so empty when you arrive. Mind you, the only reason why you even decided to give the place a try was due to the unique staff uniforms in the first place, considering maid cafes and such are a dime in a dozen.

The butlers — six beautiful women in simple yet elegant suits and the maids — six dashing young men in maid dresses, similarly styled as the butlers', along with their manager, stand around leisurely, awaiting for that familiar bell chime at the door and your tired frame lit up by the warm lighting inside.

Who will you choose to serve you today, master?

→ Rodya

→ Sinclair

→ Hong Lu

Additional art: hong lu, sinclair and rodya

→ masterlist

You love cuddling with Ishmael, you truly do and you're sure she feels the same. But her hair is a different story. At any other time, you love how soft and fluffy her hair is, always willing to help her try out different hair styles… except for first thing in the morning. You swear her hair is sentient and hates you at this point.

The moment you wake up, you are greeted with the soft scent of her shampoo and her fluffy ginger monster choking you out slowly. You don't even dare to open your mouth nor your eyes anymore in fear of it. On good days, she wakes up before you and slowly extract your poor body from her hair, on bad days, Ishmael doesn't even wake up when you shake her. Of course, you are proud that your cuddling skill is so good but the stars above do you also need to live. When you complain about it to the other sinners, they always tell you to just not cuddle with your girlfriend??? Horrible advice that they are trying to give, really, since you would trade anything just to be able to cuddle with your sailor.

Though after another morning of her hair trying to kill you, on the second thought, maybe you should tell Ishmael to put her hair in a braid before going to sleep. Ishy would surely understand your struggles, right?

→ masterlist

may I please request reader playing with the hands on Dante’s clock and accidentally messing up their clock (head) and their sense of time

oopsie ๑⁰̷̴͈⌔⁰̷̴͈๑

You sit on Dante's lap, face to face (face to clock?), with your hands on their head. You have been so curious about their whole… thing with their head and only now do you have the modicum of peace to try. The fire on Dante's head seem much brighter than usual, perhaps due to the embarrassing pose you two are holding. Luckily, you are in their office so there is no one else to comment on your positions, or else your poor partner might actually catch on fire.

Your touches are hesitant at first, only emboldened by your dear partner's reassurances. You poke at the hands while looking at them from different angles. They tremble a little but do not seem to be too affected by your actions. Dante, as far as you know, does not mind this either. When asked how it feels, they answer with a quaint "It is kind of weird but not in a bad way."

You nod, glad to know that poking is fine. A little bit more confidently, you nudge at the minute hand. It does not budge. You look back at Dante. They nod, giving you their go-ahead. You nudge it again, now weirdly invested. The stubborn thing does not move. That petty and childish feeling of competitiveness rises in your heart again, tempting you to bat at the minute hand. Faust must have said something about your actions since you hear Dante address her. You do not bother to move from your compromising position as your partner has made no move to stop you at all. Soon, she leaves with the door closing with a quiet 'click' behind her.

"Is anything the matter?" You ask. Dante often have their consultations with the others sinners but there should be no one around during this time. They had cleared up the schedule for your passing whim, making you swoon at the time. They shook their head, "She said something about not messing around too much with my head," you freeze mid-action, "but I think this should be fine! It is not like you are messing with the self-destruction button behind my head." Your brain loads for a moment, trying to process the information.

Meanwhile, your hands refuse to stay put but instead continue to push and tug at the clock hands on their face until- The minute hand moves.

Suddenly, an awful ringing sound rips through your eardrums. The two clock hands spin so fast they are nothing but a blur on Dante's face. Any computation you have been doing is violently put into a pause. Your hands clutch at your ears but the sound does not stop, seemingly coming directly from inside you. You feel like your head might just burst open if the sound continues on any longer. The sound soon fades out, thankfully, and with it the headache. Then, soon after, the fire on your partner's head dims before igniting brighter than ever, even brighter and hotter than the first time they had a meltdown back when you first encountered Bamboo-hatted Kim. You jerk backwards at the heat and almost fall over, only saved by the wooden desk behind you. Dante's fire did not burn you but the heat is awfully real against your skin.

Their clock hands spin wildly for another moment that drags on for an eternity when it all stops. Dante, after all that, limply falls forward, their head resting against your shoulder. The heat has dissipated. The minute hand has yet to return to its original position, and instead is stuck where number nine on a normal clock would be. You warily poke at their limp body a few times before they sit up again just as abruptly as this whole incident started. They gasp a few times as they tug your body towards them. Your partner clutches at you like a lifeline, mumbling something akin to a prayer.

Slowly, they can sit back up again, their breathing (?) slows back to their usual. "How long has it been?," Dante asks. You look between the ordinary clock on the wall and their head a few times, then you finally reply to them, "Not that long, really. Less than half an hour." Your partner nods, mildly contemplative. They hum quietly while their fingers, still on your back, fiddle with your uniform. As if sensed your oncoming question, Dante starts, "Something is off. My sense of time is all weird.." You freeze for the gazillionth time today. Guilt creeps up behind you. What started as a simple curiosity has thrown your partner into a strange state without any answer to whether this can be undone. You apologize profusely while Dante simply forgives you with impressive calmness. Your apologies are interrupted by the sounds at the door.

Someone knocks on the door a few times with such force you are halfway sure they would simply break their way into the office if they could. Dante tells them to enter while you shuffle off their lap, stumbling a little in the process. The door opens behind you with a sense of urgency radiating off of the person. You turn back and, of course, who else can this be but Faust.

Her already pale complexion somehow manages to turn even more pale, turning almost faint. You smooth out nonexistent wrinkles on your clothes while looking like you would prefer if the floor just opens up and swallow you whole. Dante coughs, or at least makes a sound akin to the action, into their fist. The genius for once looks so lost at the situation, Dante notes to themself, not even the time on the Warp Train managed to make her like this.

She walks to their table, her eyes fixed on the minute hand. "Faust has warned you of this." You two at least have the conscience to look (somewhat) sorry for the situation, making her sigh. The genius sits down on one of the spare chairs, a hand on her forehead and starts interrogating you. What did you do for the clock hand to move? How did it feel like before it all happen? Time pass by in a blur with the only thing of note being your partner sometimes talk too fast and then too slow and their hand gestures are the same. It must be the problem they mentioned earlier.

The issue drags on into the following day. Dante looks horribly sluggish despite their attempt at seeming a-okay. They are forced to have a proper watch on hand at all time for better battlefield management. The manager could do without the device before but with the consequences of your actions… The sinners are quick to tease Dante, with not many noticing the change on their head and even fewer with the desire to say anything about it. Vergilius only sighs and settles down in his seat. You pray that after this all tides over, he will not immediately go for your head.

"Aye, did ya and the loser 'ave a baby last night or sum'?," Heathcliff leans over the back of your seat, "Why's there a mini Dante?" You shove your face in between your hands, weakly responding to the man, "I was messing around and now Dante lost their sense of time…" Everyone pause, other than Vergilius who has been debriefed on the matter after Faust has come to an appropriate course of action. A strange silence hangs in the air for a moment before Rodya and Heathcliff almost fall over themselves laughing and you can hear Ryoshu's amused 'heh', at least the others are nice enough to look concerned or a little baffled by this entire mess. Your face heats up even more while Dante seem to have given up entirely on defending themself at this point.

The bus continues to move forward, even with the shocking event, once Faust confirms Dante can still revive and function just as usual. Your partner's head fixes itself eventually after several days. The white haired genius, however, does not let the two of you have any semblance of privacy for a while, lest something even worse might happen behind closed doors. Safe to say, you steer clear of messing about with Dante's head from then on.

→ masterlist

The staffs quickly go into formation, forming two neat lines on the two sides of the entrance when you turn the corner. With some pushing and bantering, they prepare themselves for your entry. The moment you open the door, they bow rather elegantly, most of them at least, while greeting you. At first you were quite awkward but now, having had visited them so often recently, you simply nodded with a small smile on your face. Dante offer you the usual 'menu' with all the butlers and maids listed for your picking.

"I would like Miss Rodya to serve me today, is it alright?"

Rodya beams when she hears you say her name and nods, turning to look at manager Dante for their permission. They nod and the tall woman immediately takes your hand in hers. She whisks you away to a more private corner, very smugly of course, under the others' envious gaze.

She places the real proper menu down in front of you before sitting down opposite to you, leaning against her propped up arm. She flashes you that handsome smile that makes your heart flip. "Is work exhausting today too?" Rodya almost always manages to make you swoon with that proud grin of hers. Before you can answer, she reaches over to you and pats your head lightly, "Thank you for your hard work~ You did good today too, master. Just let me take care of you tonight, yes? I already memorized your order~" You nod, once again going with your usual order, though you can't help but feel a little embarassed at how predictable you are.

Rodya leaves to hand over your order to the chef and soon returns with a polaroid camera and a cup of iced water. She laughs at the quizzical expression on your face while placing the glass cup in front of you but soon she settles down. You were fully prepared to see her usual card deck, by some point you wonder if it had been confiscated by head butler outis or else she would have taken the chance to get you to gamble play with her. She waves the red camera around, "as a reward for winning against me in our cassino match last time, I'm giving you a free polaroid selfie with me~ Or…" she drawls, "you can save up your wins to trade for a bigger reward!"

A deck of cards is pulled out from Rodya's seemingly bottomless pocket and is quickly shuffled a few times. At this point you wonder if she just wants to have a playmate to play around on the job. While you contemplate your choices between quick momentary joy, the selfie with the tall woman, and long term profits, a few more matches with her, she had left to receive your order from the kitchen. Your brainstorming is interrupted by the sound of the tray touching the table and the cutlery clinking at the slight tremor.

She grins at you, making warmth rush to your face. In your state of embarassment, you point at the deck. Rodya nods sagely and continues shuffling it. She shares you all the silly stories of her with the other staff members while you get to enjoy the chef's incredible food and drink, before round it all out with a few rounds of card games. Time almost seems to fly by when you are having so much fun with Rodya.

Your session ends with Dante's polite knock on the booth's wall. You two stand up and you are escorted to the checkout counter. You pay and leave your little comfort spot with a lighter mood, ready to deal with your boss again the next morning.

→ masterlist || back to the introduction?

a/n: i did not think that this would be this long (~600 words) ik it's not that much but it's plenty good by my standards lol. my art/illustration for this under the cut since i'm not very confident about this.. sinclair is next maybe !!