toxic⚠️

Absolutely miserable, both young men held onto the remains of their precious vital instruments in pure agonizing defeat. The life has been completely drained out of them due to the damage of their most precious treasures but thankfully there’s a special giver in HQ that can fix their problems. Rudo’s depressed due to the large hole in his gloves, exposing his scarred hands to the rest of the team members. He tries his best to hide it opting to hold them behind his back until the gloves could be repaired. Zanka on the other hand is much more upset about the situation, to everyone’s shock he’s actually arguing with Enjin who’s refusing to take them to the person they need.

“She’s busy. You’ll just have to wait till Bossman shows up to personally take them to her himself.”, Enjin sighs hoping it’d be enough to deter Zanka from visiting anyways.

Riyo sighs and begins to fidget with the pivot screw on her scissors until half of it falls to the ground loudly. Everyone turns to her and Enjin growls quickly realizing what she’s done, “Whoopsie, looks like I also gotta pay a visit to the Den Mother.”, Riyo giggled mischievously.

“Riyo you did that on purpose!”, Enjin growled.

Rudo was curious about this “Den Mother” person, but he was more curious by Enjin’s sudden reaction.

“Who’s the Den Mother?”

The three cleaners all turned to Rudo with mixed expression, Enjin turned paway unable to face Rudo with his pained expression. Riyo and Zanka both shared a look before smiling and cheering, “The angel of the Cleaners.”

Despite his hesitancy Enjin succumbed to the peer pressure of the younger cleaners and quietly led them to a room on the upper floor of the HQ building. Most of them had never come up this far but Riyo and Zanka seemed more than excited to see the “Den Mother”.

“Be quick, she’s a busy woman. Last thing we need to do is bother her and take up too much of her time.”, Enjin warned in a cold tone.

Riyo scoffed already preparing to start small talk with one of her favorite people on base, “Just cuz you two aren’t on talking terms doesn’t mean we’re all punished. (Y/n) adores the rest of us and I bet the moment she lays her eyes a lil Rudo here she’ll be falling in love all over again.”

Rudo’s face flushed red at the mention of the word love, being loved was still such a foreign concept to him especially if it was love from a woman! Zanka smirked at Rudo’s flustered face and prepared to tease him until the loud noise of a sewing machine caught everyone’s attention.

“Seems she’s busy with something.”, Enjin sighed.

Riyo smiled and quickly kicked the door open to the room that the sound was coming from, “Heya (Y/n)! What’s up girl, it’s been a while.”

The sound of the sewing machine quickly stopped just as the rest of the group filed into the sewing room. Outfits and fabrics were neatly hung on racks or shelved for later use, the room looked chaotic but fun if they were being honest.

“Riyo! Zanka! My two favorite fledglings!”, a woman cheered lunging at the two cleaners with open arms.

Both teens happily embraced you, eventually you let go and checked over both of them. You knew they were fresh from a mission so it wouldn’t surprise you to find an injury or two on either of them. Rudo stayed back next to Enjin, his ruby eyes focused on the tight clench of Enjin’s jaw and the saddened look his eyes. Eventually you noticed the other two men in the room with you, your eyes focused in on Rudo but never once did you look up at Enjin.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing my favorite cleaners?”, you asked, finally pulling away to return to your chair. Zanka raised up his broken staff to you, and Riyo smiled while she showed off her scissor, you struggled to hold in your laugh a bit and turned away trying to be professional.

“Rudo and I got into a bit of trouble during the last mission, think you could fix these up for us?”, Zanka asked with a cheerful smile.

You nodded your head and gently began to pull the hairpin from bun which made your hair fall along your back, a (f/c) light enveloped the pin making it change into a long sewing needle.

“You first sweet boy, let’s fix up your staff.”, you hummed happily.

Zanka’s face reddened at the pet name , he tried to keep the goofy grin off his face but he couldn’t. He lifted the two pieces of his staff up to you, leaving just enough space for you to see the crack in wood. You whistled which made your sewing needle move on its own, a (f/c) thread began to sew the broken part of the staff. With a quick tug the break in the wood was sealed shut, “There we go. Quick and easy, just one last touch.”, you smiled tapping the staff with your needle which quickly encased it with your anima. Zanka waited for your signal, activating his powers over the staff until it transformed into its attack mode.

“It’s fixed! Oh (Y/n) you are a lifesaver!”, Zanka cheered lunging at you for another tight embrace.

You smiled again in his arms, happy to receive any form of physical affection you could get in this desolate wasteland you called home. Rudo was completely in awe of your power but still far too intimidated to ask for your help.

“You can walk up to her, she won’t bite.”, Enjin’s voice was so soft Rudo almost didn’t recognize it was him speaking.

Ruby eyes quickly focused on the saddened expression on Enjin’s face, “You two got some bad history or what man? I’ve never seen you so down in the dumps before.”, Rudo asked quietly.

Enjin sighed and pushed Rudo forward, “Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.”, was all Enjin could muster up as a response.

Your eyes finally focused on Rudo, you were curious about him but he seemed a bit overwhelmed by you. “And who might you be?”, you hummed playfully already knowing who he was.

“M-My na-name’s Rudo. Pl-pleasure…I mean please fix my gloves.”, Rudo stumbled terribly over his words, he was so embarrassed that he couldn’t speak to you properly.

“Gloves huh? Easy enough to fix the patch ripped open, can you take them off darling?”, you asked sweetly, your needle already in your hand to stitch up his gloves.

Rudo hesitated, a bit self conscious of the state of hands but a gentle nudge from Riyo was all he needed to cough up his gloves. He took both of them off slowly revealing his scars to you, your smile quickly disappeared, you took the gloves from him then gently placed your hands under his to examine them.

“Got a story for these? Seems painful.”, you whispered, rage boiling inside you.

Rudo looked away sheepishly, “Just shitty parents, sorry if they gross you out.”, he explains vaguely trying to take his hands back from you.

You nod accepting his answer, you patch up his gloves quickly pumping some of your anima energy into the inner lining of the gloves to offer him some sort of comfort. Rudo’s mesmerized by your focus, before he knows it you’re done, the stitches of your anima slowly disappeared into the glove until it’s back to its original state. You slowly slip them back onto his hands, giving them each a gentle squeeze before scooting back in your chair.

“Alright Rudo, I need you to activate your powers now. My abilities are a bit strange, to make my work permanent I need people to seal up the cracks in my anima with their own. So go ahead and show me whatcha got.”, you smiled sweetly.

Rudo stared at his gloves and frowned, without something to recycle he couldn’t activate his powers willingly. Naturally, you were unaware of this and assumed he hadn’t liked your work. “Riyo, give Rudo your scissors so he can start up his powers.”, Enjin’s voice broke the awkward silence in the room.

Riyo smirked and happily handed Rudo her broken scissors just so you could see his powers at work. With the scissors in hand a dark red energy began to glow from his gloves, the fine (f/c) stitches of your anima slowly sealed shut as his own encased the gloves and shaped the scissors into a pair of matching scissor blades.

“Oh that’s insane.”, you gawked in surprise.

“Yup, that’s good old Rudo for ya. He’s the newest Giver to my team, picked him fresh out the trash.”, Enjin grinned trying to start up a conversation with you.

Your eyes, those lovely passionate (e/c) eyes that once loved him, sharpened into a tight glare. Your smile dropped at the very sound of his voice, which made Enjin’s body twitch.

“H-Hey don’t be so cruel Mama, you’re embarrassing me here.”, he tried to joke, only for you to scoff at him.

“Trust me being desperate is the least of your problems. Rudo, baby boy, mind giving me back Riyo’s scissors so I can fix em?”, Rudo’s face flushed red but he handed you the scissors anyways, “Thanks lovely. Riyo give me back the screw for your scissors, don’t think I didn’t catch you playing with it while I was working.”

Riyo giggled mischievously at you, she happily handed you the pivot screw she’d been holding just as her scissors returned to normal in your hand. Enjin’s frown deepened seeing you so distant with him, he expected it sure but he didn’t think you’d be this cold towards him after all this time. Riyo seemed to notice his longing gaze and nudged him with her elbow just to get a rise out of him. While you worked your magic on Riyo’s vital instrument the others explored your workshop with curiosity. Rudo was mesmerized by the clothes you’d been working on, Zanka whistled at the amount of vital instruments you had to work on, and Enjin slowly walked along the walls looking at all the pictures you had hung up. A specific one caught his attention, a photo of you and him smiling together, his arms wrapped tightly around your waist while one of your hands lovingly cupped his cheek. It was a random photo he’d taken long ago when you two once loved each other. Young love, messy, unstable, passionate, beautiful, he wasn’t sure why he ended it but in the end this distance was made because he broke your heart. While hyper focused on the framed photo Enjin fails to notice someone walking up to him until a gentle hand flips the photo over so the back now faces him. His golden eyes turn sharply to meet (e/c) ones he once adored, “(Y/n) I-“

“Their business is done here, get out of my workshop.”, you mumbled pointing to the door, Enjin stuttered some more attempting to get a word in but even Zanka knew that this was a lost cause. With one quick swing of his staff he’d managed to knock Enjin back towards the door.

“Thanks again (N/n), we’ll see you in mess hall for dinner.”, Zanka smiled, waving goodbye as he dragged his idol out by his collar.

“Don’t be a stranger.”, Riyo hummed pulling Rudo along.

You smile and waved them goodbye, the door slowly creaking shut until you were finally left alone. In the hallway the others closely watched Enjin and his reactions, the blonde was upset. Rudo, being the poor innocent romantically clueless soul he was, unknowingly poked the bear when he asked, “Enjin ya good? You’re being weird, is this about (Y/n)?”

“What did I tell ya about sticking your nose in other people’s business Rudo? It ain’t got nothing to do with her so quit bugging!”, Enjin roared angrily.

Riyo chuckled at her mentor’s reaction, “Rudo, do you know what kinda woman Enjin prefers? I’ll remind you, he likes women brainer then him, curvy, a little naughty, and very forgiving. Do you think (Y/n) fits those qualities?”

Rudo nodded innocently, personally you seemed like a proper woman so he was confused by your sudden change of character around Enjin. Riyo continued, “(Y/n) a freaking genius compared to most of us, she’s brilliant in combat and in weapon restoration. She’s got a playful and mischievous nature and she used to be very forgiving but she wasn’t stupid. Enjin kept pushing her boundaries, kept pissing her off, kept breaking her heart until eventually she couldn’t do it anymore. She broke up with him and he didn’t seem to understand why until she’d left.”

“Riyo, I said to hush up. No use airing out old laundry.”, Enjin growled.

Zanka hummed in amusement deciding to join in on the fun, “He still loves her, confessed it once when he was drunk.”

“Zanka!”

The three teens quickly scattered and ran ahead of the fuming blonde before he could do anything. Now alone Enjin couldn’t help but sigh in defeat, it was true and deep down he regrets what he’d done to you every single day. Golden eyes quickly peer down the hallway again, the door to your workshop now open as you slowly emerge from it. There in that dimly lit hall you seem to shine brighter than the small glimpses of the sun that manage to warm the Ground. You don’t notice him, maybe you do but you choose to ignore him for your own sanity. You begin to leave and the faintest whisper of your name spills from his lips, you stop but don’t look back. It’d hurt to much to see him again. You continue disappearing down the hall in the opposite direction and leave him alone to wallow in his shame, eventually he’s forced to move on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“If your work wasn’t so lazy then maybe she’d still be alive! She’s dying because you were jealous!”

“My work wasn’t lazy! She was being irrational and refused to listen to my orders, I didn’t send her out there to die!”

“You’re such a liar! I can’t believe I trusted you with her jinki, if I’d known you’d do this I would’ve just asked August to fix it!”

“I’m capable of doing my job, why’re blaming me for her stupidity! She’s critical not dead! Her inability to follow orders isn’t my fault!”

“Tch-I never should’ve loved a heartless,boring, woman like you. You’ll get us all killed one day, you mediocre smithy.”

“Get the hell out…get out and don’t come back! If you think I’m so bad at my job then don’t bring your stuff to me! Don’t show your face to me again, don’t even think I’ll forgive you anymore after this I’m done!”

The memories of that day startled Enjin awake from his sleep, his hand outstretched like that day when you’d kicked him out of your workshop. He knew he’d overdone it but even so he wished he could’ve taken it all back. The woman you’d argued over did in fact survive the mission but the damage was already done. You couldn’t bare to be near him anymore and just like that you were gone. Enjin missed you dearly, he’d never admit it but he knows he messed up. Time and time again you accepted his shameless words, you tolerated his wandering hands and flirtatious gestures, you loved each other but Enjin crossed a line that he couldn’t come back from. He liked getting little rises out of you, he liked breaking the calm and collected aura you had around you and because of that he would constantly break your heart by causing little arguments about your work. You were the Cleaner’s personal weaponsmith, through your jinki you could repair any damaged or broken weapons or vital instruments with ease. Enjin would often poke fun at your work, claiming it tacky and half hearted even when truthfully your work was one of a kind. During a mission gone wrong things were said that caused irreparable damage, Enjin lost you and you kept him at a distance just to ease your broken heart.

“Fucking idiot.”, Enjin mumbled to himself aloud.

“Ya sure are, ya fool.”, Semiu responded coldly.

Enjin glanced up to look at her before returning to his slump on the couch close to her desk. “You thinkin’ bout her again huh, poor stupid Enjin. Didn’t know how good ya had till ya lost it.”, she smirked.

“Semiu, why is that I seem to be able to bring people together here as cleaners but I can’t seem to keep a good woman by my side?”, Enjin asked, hoping for a serious answer.

“Cause you’re a fool.”

He raised his head once more, a deep frown and angry glare pointed directly at her. It’s not like she was wrong, he couldn’t help but sigh in defeat. Just then Semiu got a call for a mission request close to Canvas Town. The Mayor also asked for a special request, he asked for (Y/n) to be sent on this mission to fix Remlin’s vital instrument which had been damaged during the sudden arrival of a trash beast.

“Ya got it Mayor, (Y/n) will be sent out with members of Team Akuta to the site.”, Semiu’s voice was cool and collected as usual, she hung up the phone before touching her blood choker and summoning the cleaners she needed, “Emergency message to all Team Akuta members, report to the front desk immediately. (Y/n), get your ass outta ya workshop you’re heading out too baby girl.”

Within minutes all the members of Team Akuta had arrived at Semiu’s desk for the mission details as well as (Y/n). Zanka and Riyo both silently cheered upon seeing her.

“At least I get to hang out with the fledglings.”, you groaned, glaring at Enjin before looking away.

He winced back in the sofa before standing up straight to explain the mission details, everyone understood and loaded up into the jeep to head out. Zanka chose to sit up front with Enjin much to the blonde’s annoyance, he was hoping to see if you’d join him instead.

“(Y/n) can I style your hair real quick? I know you keep your pin in your hair but I gotta tie this up for you before we reach our destination.”, Riyo begged sweetly.

“Do you sweet face.”, you hummed popping something into your mouth. Rudo quickly recognized what you had but was too shy to ask for some of it. Naturally observant you offered him a few pieces of your candy with a soft smile.

Rudo happily obliged gulping down the pieces you’d given him, “Got a sweet tooth?”, you teased already knowing the answer.

“Um yeah, never had them a whole bunch back home so I’m kinda-“

“He’s a shitty little gremlin for them.”, Zanka added smugly.

Rudo was already glaring daggers at Zanka from his seat but you quickly reprimanded Zanka for his language, “Z watch your mouth, I’ve told you to play nice with newbies in the past.”, you hissed.

“S-sorry (Y/n).”, he squeaked.

Gris smiled in the backseat, “Oh how I’ve missed your motherly scolding. Seriously the fact that you still don’t have kids of your own is truly a sad thing, you’d be a wonderful mother sweetness.”

Enjin silently glared at Gris from the rear view mirror before looking to see your flushed face, “Haven’t found the right guy Gris.”, you sighed.

“Cuz ya stay cooped up in your workshop all day, I know you’re helping August with uniforms but you should give yourself more breaks. Dress up, go take a meal, find a lucky fella at one of the bars.”, Gris explained with a confident smirk.

Your eyes turned to look at Gris just as Riyo finished with your hair, “Sounds like you’re offering.”, you hummed.

Before Gris could reply the car screeched to a stop, everyone lurched forward from the unexpected break. You caught Riyo just as she fell forward and held Rudo back with your other arm so he wouldn’t slam his head on the seat in front of him.

“Look alive ladies, seems our target found us.”, Enjin growled, his expression dark.

You all adjusted your masks and exited the car, sure enough a trash beast littered in paint emerged from the nearby sands. Some kind of snake variant, Tomme began jotting down notes while the Givers on the team activated their vital instruments.

“(Y/n) stay back, this could get messy.”, Rudo extended an arm hoping to keep you behind him, he mistook your activated vital instrument for a non combatant weapon.

You ruffled the hood of his cleaners suit and stepped forward anyways, the shape of your sewing needle changed again. This time wrapping around her arm into what looked like missile launcher.

“(Y/n)’s one of our strongest combatants, she’s a sorcerer much like Remlin so her vital instrument takes many shapes.”, Zanka explained, “Try not to insult her by suggesting she’s a maiden in distress.”

Enjin stepped forward, “(Y/n), pin it down for us.”, he ordered.

“With pleasure.”, there was a wickedness to your voice, one the older cleaners recognize well, “Suture barrage.”

A sudden click from your arm launched the huge missile from your arm straight at the beast, the missile itself broke up into hundreds of tiny sewing needles, lined with strings of your hyper compressed anima. The needles bore into the limbs of the creature, sewing it straight into the ground.

“Showtime.”, you cheered under your mask.

The rest of the Givers rushed towards the beat all of them jumping into the air to attack the pinned beast from above. Riyo hit first, driving her scissors right into the beast’s head. Zanka hit second impaling the beast’s lower region with his assistaff. Finally Rudo delivered the final blow, activating his anima over a broken bear trap that reignited it back to life. The size of the trap expanded taking up a good chunk of the beast’s upper half before slamming shut on it, impaling it with its jagged blades until its core was destroyed.

“Damn.”, you gawked under your mask.

“They fight like they hate each other sometimes but these kids are some of the greatest fighters we got.”, Enjin explained to you.

“Hm sounds like someone I know.”

You rolled your eyes at him and looked away unaware of a smaller trash beast nearby that was just about to attack you, Enjin rushed at you grabbing you by your hips as he threw himself to the side to avoid the beast’s attack. You both quickly stood up, glaring at the beast for attacking you. A sharp whistle returned the embedded needles back to your launcher, reforming the missile. Enjin said nothing and simply charged at the beast with his Umbreaker, he drove a powerful thrust right into the creature’s head forcing it to lurch back in pain.

“Frenzy.”, you whispered firing your missile again right into the center of the beast’s chest. Your missile hit its target and exploded into hundreds of needles inside the creature’s body making into writhe in excruciating pain until its core was pierced and destroyed from the inside out.

No other beasts emerged, so for now two were deemed the targets. You all powered down and returned to the jeep since Canvas Town was still a necessary stop. Tomme had a small cut on her cheek that she was silently cleaning on her own in the back seat, “Need a quick fix?”, you asked her.

“If you don’t mind, please.”, she asked softly.

You nodded activating your vital instrument one more time for her, you touched her cheek with your needle letting your anima seal the cut along her cheek. With a small swipe of your finger over the cut it was gone.

“That’s a new trick.”, Enjin mumbled.

“Been working on healing techniques with Eishia, wanted to be a little more useful around headquarters ya know?”

Enjin’s eyes looked back at you through the rear view mirror once more, this time your eyes met his gaze. You both stared at each other in silence for a bit before he refocused his attention to the road. Gris and Riyo both chuckled softly at the tension between you two, it was obvious you both still had feelings for each other, you both were just too prideful to admit it. The cleaners soon arrived in Canvas Town and were welcomed with open arms by the Mayor. He explained the attack to the city’s walls by the two trash beasts that the team had already defeated, Remlin’s pen was broken in the process. You stared at the wall already hoping to get your hands dirty and help with restoration but Enjin grabbed you by your collar and dragged you along.

“Y’know you get sleepy after overexerting your powers, you’ve gotta fix Rem’s pen first and if you feel up to it then you can help with fixing the wall.”, Enjin’s tone was cold but etched with concern.

Sadly it was true, using your powers to heal was still so new to you that it did in fact drain a lot of energy out of you.

You sighed and accepted it, soon you met the mischievous Remlin and squealed in excitement seeing a child so young. You hugged Remlin tight and spun them around in excitement, “You’re the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, I just wanna put you in my pocket.”, you cheered.

Remlin blushed bright red at your embrace, “C-Could’ya fix my pen please? Can’t exactly be the town protector without it.”, Remlin asked politely.

You froze quickly remembering why you were all here, you let go and coughed awkwardly trying to compose yourself despite several of your teammate’s snickering at you. You fixed up Remlin’s pen easily, with it being such a small item, Remlin activated their anima to seal your work and sure enough it was fixed.

“Awesome thanks miss. Now I gotta go fix the wall and place a new protection spell.”, Remlin smiled ready to work.

You nodded your head and tried to stand up, you’d already overexerted yourself and began to lose your footing. You swayed and Enjin was quickly there to catch you, “You’ve done enough today, you need rest.”, Enjin sighed.

“J-Just one more thing to fix. I’ll rest once I’ve got the wall patched.”, your voice was weak, your skin paling from exhaustion.

Enjin clicked his tongue in annoyance, “(Y/n) stop. You ain’t got nothing to prove here, you’ve done your job just rel-“

“I’m not some mediocre smithy.”, you replied coldly, you stood your ground and walked out before Enjin could stop you.

The words he used against you all that time ago now echoed in his head, he hadn’t realized how much he’d hurt you by saying it all that time ago. “Mayor, if you have it, I’ll need rooms to stay the night for my team and I. She’s gonna faint on us after she’s done helping with repairs. The rest of you are clocked out for the time being, I’m gonna go help (Y/n).”, Enjin’s charismatic smile broke just as he said your name.

The room was silent after he left but Rudo had to be the one to break it, “Oh he’s still so down bad for her.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nightfall fell over Canvas Town, everyone was peacefully asleep now but you were just waking up. You winced from the ache in your bones and slowly sat up, trying to figure out where you were. There was an unfamiliar weight in your right hand, a weight that felt familiar yet so strange. You looked down at your bedside to see Enjin fast asleep with his hand gently holding yours, he’d slept in a chair only allowing his head and hand to touch the bed you occupied.

A familiar warmth bloomed in your chest, it was a warmth you knew a long time ago. You sighed and slowly squeezed your hand trying to wake him, eventually he stirred awake and gazed up to see you conscious now.

“(Y/n)! How are you feeling?”, he asked, his cooler hands cupped your flushed cheeks checking for any signs of a fever.

“I’m fine Enjin, where are we?”, you asked, taking his hands off of you.

“Canvas Town, you fainted and I didn’t want to risk driving back to HQ with you unconscious and in the dark. The people of Canvas Town owe you a great debt for what you did for them today, you patched up the hole in the wall and fixed Remlin’s pen so they could recast the protective spell over the town.”, Enjin explained, he let out a defeated sigh, staring up at you with heartbroken eyes that only you would ever be allowed to see, “Sunshine, ya can’t keep working yourself to exhaustion like this. It’s not healthy and you need to be in top shape or I’ll be worrying about ya.”

Your face flushed red at his pet name, it was the one he called you all that time ago before the break up, “I’m not your Sunshine anymore. You don’t have to worry about me so much, I’ll be fine.”

“Do you think I stopped caring? Is that it? (Y/n) that day when we fought was the worst day of my life, I was out of line, you didn’t deserve any of that but that doesn’t change the fact that I fucking care. (Y/n) I can’t shut these feelings off, I still love you.”, Enjin confessed.

You shook your head, trying to ignore him as his cruel words from the past replayed in your mind. “No you don’t. You just feel guilty.”, you hissed, clutching at your bangs in distress.

Enjin took your hands in his, pressing them to his head instead, “If you’re gonna pull out your hair pull out mine instead, I’ve made ya suffer enough.”, he whispered to you, pressing his forehead to yours.

You avoided his gaze despite how close he was, “Why are you doing this now? It’s been almost a year since we broke up, I don’t want to play these games with you Enjin, I was never your type.”, you mumbled.

“Says who? I don’t think you’ve ever not been my ideal woman. It’s only ever been about you (Y/n), let me replace those mean words in your head with the words I should’ve said all that time ago.”, his husky voice echoed in your ears making your face flush red.

“Sh-shut up. No, absolutely not, you will not be-“, he pressed a nervous kiss to your lips, just to test the waters.

You were stunned into silence, your eyes blown open wide and your face as red as a tomato, “St-stop that. Th-that wa-wa-was uncalled f-for.”, you stuttered nervously trying to push his face away.

Enjin let out a soft laugh, “There’s my stuttering sunshine. God how I’ve missed ya.”, he confessed pressing a sweet kiss to your palm.

You pouted at him, ruffling his blonde locks to try and piss him off, it didn’t work though. Enjin leaned into your touch, letting you ruffle his hair just like old times until his hair hung low over his eyes.

“E-Enjin st-stop it.”

“I can’t get enough of ya, I’m sorry (Y/n). I’m sorry for making you think so low of yourself, I’m sorry for breaking your heart. I’m sorry for loving you so hard.”

A pathetic squeak fell from your lips as you attempted hide from him under the sheets. Enjin chuckled softly at your retreat and laid next to you on the bed, hugging your figure close to his body, “I forgot how cute you are. I forgot how perfect you are, my strong woman. Please forgive me, one last time baby. I’ll make things right, move ya right back into my quarters and let you decorate however you like.”, his praise stirred something inside of you.

“Stop it. I’m gonna go crazy.”, you whined.

“Yeah? Then go wild for me mama, I can take it, you know I can.”

You peeked at him from under the covers, a dark hunger glowed in your eyes, it was a look only he knew. A look he’d greedily hide away from the rest of the world, “Let’s make up baby. Forgive this old bastard one more time, and I promise I won’t let you down again~.”

“Phew, there we go,” you brushed a strand of your hair out of your face as you reassembled you phantom after taking it apart. “Stupid trigger kept getting jammed but I’m glad it’s fixed now,” you said to no one in particular. Your mind kept playing back what had happened earlier, the quick quips, the witty banter, his charming smile, all you could think about was Yoru and how you had managed to impress him earlier. You shook your head, mentally scolding yourself, “Snap out of it, it was just a passing compliment…yeah! That’s totally what it was,” you groaned, burying your face into your hands, “What the hell am I even doing…” “That’s right, what are you doing?” questioned Yoru, leaning against the wall. You jumped dropping the magazine, turning around to face him. “You really need to stop doing that,” you sighed, leaning over the pick it up. Yoru bent down, grabbing it before you could, handing it over to you. “Well, what did you need?” you ask, fitting the piece into place, crossing your arms over your chest, “Because I’m sure that you didn’t just come here for no reason. Yoru paused, a faint blush on his face as he tried to formulate words but lost himself as he stared at you. “Dammit,” he grumbled, “Look, I’m going to be honest. I like you alright?” Taken aback by his bluntness you frowned, “Uh…I like you too?” Yoru grimaced slightly, taking a step closer to you his expression surprisingly serious. Alarmed, you tried backing up but instead you felt your back hitting the desk, random pieces of paperwork scattering about. “Yoru…?” your voice was quiet as you shrunk under his imposing figure, his arms caging you in, hands pressed against the desk for support. “Yes?” he asked, his face rather close to yours. “You’re uh, a little close…” you squeaked out, refusing to look at him. “Sorry,” he reluctantly let you go, backing up after noting your reactions. “Letting out a breath of relief, you stood up brushing your shirt, smoothing it out. “Ahem…what you said just now, what do you mean by it?” you questioned your eyes narrowed slightly, an eyebrow quirked up. Yoru rubbed the back of his neck, his expression unreadable, “You heard me, I like you. And not just as one colleague to another, like…well like that, you know what I mean!” he huffed, looking away with a scowl. “Likeeee?” you pressed the back of your hand to your face, trying to hide your smile. It was only natural that you’d want to tease Yoru, especially with the way that he was acting. Impatient and annoyed by your teasing, Yoru cupped your face his eyebrows creased. “Idiot, I love you,” he murmured, his voice surprisingly gentle, “You’re so….” Yoru sighed, dropping his hands. You blinked, your words caught up in your throat as you reached out for him, your hands hovering hesitantly in the air. “Yoru wait—” you grabbed his hand, pulling his close to you, desperately searching his face for any hint of emotions, “Is what you said…is what you just told me all true? You’re not messing with me?” “Why would I mess with you,” he scoffed, looking away but not letting go of your hand. “Why would I lie about something like this?” You shrugged, “Well a lot of people have made the habit of lying to me, so it’s not a new feeling.” Yoru went silent, a hand guiding your face to look up at his. “You’re crying…” his eyes widened slightly. “I am?” you sniffed, rubbing your eyes, “Hah, I guess I look pretty pathetic right now. Sorry…my emotions got out of hand for a moment but I’m okay.” Yoru’s thumb ran itself across your face, wiping any tears that leaked out. “I should be apologizing to you, I never intended to cause you any sadness.” “It’s okay, but thank you. You’re surprisingly sweet for constantly claiming to be a lone wolf,” you hiccuped, giggling softly, “Seeing you act like this is so uncharacteristic of you and it’s honestly kind of freaking me out.” He smiled softly at you, pulling you in close, wrapping his arms around you. “So is this your way of telling me you’re not rejecting me?” he questioned, looking down at you. “Yes it is,” you sighed, “I like you too.”  Hesitantly, Yoru pressed a kiss to your forehead, his lips lingering there for a moment before he pulled away, “Thank you,” he whispered softly, continuing to hold you there longer.

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