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100prompts2019-01-05 09:20 pm
samuraiter) wrote in 100prompts2019-01-05 09:20 pm
Entry tags:
[Prompt # 011] Novitiate [Danmachi]
Title: Novitiate
Fandom: Danmachi
Prompt: Prompt # 011 – Candlelight
Character / Pairing: Raul Nord / Anakitty "Aki" Autumn
Rating: Mature
Word Count: 1,320
Summary: As the Loki Familia prepares to breach a new floor in the Dungeon, Raul admits to Aki that he is ready to be more than friends.
Note(s): Post-canon by about four years. The reference to Finn / Riveria as a pairing is a reference to a different story I have posted.
* * * *
"All checks are done, Captain," Raul said, handing the scroll listing all of those checks to Finn. "We'll be ready to head downwards in the morning." He sighed. "I-I know we've been down this far below before, and I know this is supposed to be one of the safe spots, but I can't help being nervous."
"I understand," Finn said, his face calm and neutral as he tucked the scroll into its case at his belt, "but that's something you're going to learn to overcome before you succeed me as Captain of the Familia. All right?"
Raul swallowed hard. "All right. Let's get some rest while we can, then." But Finn did not leave immediately. "Did ... I forget something, Captain?"
Finn seemed to be looking through Raul, possibly at a point behind him, rather than directly at him. "No, but we're getting close to the 100th Floor, and that's a place we've never been before, so –" He adjusted his collar. "– take this as a little advice from me as Finn, not as your Captain. If there's anything you really want to say to anyone here, you should probably do it while we're safe here on the 58th Floor. Down below, it'll be too dangerous, and I don't want you to have any regrets." He shifted his gaze, his blue eyes becoming focused and intense. "Do you understand, Raul? No regrets tonight."
"Y-Yes. I'm sorry." Raul then bowed and excused himself to head back to his tent, thinking, Is it because Riveria's not here? Is that why he's – ?
"No, it's not because of Riveria," a familiar voice said as he lifted the flap, seeing Aki unfurling his bedroll, her black tail twitching as she sighted him. "The Captain's world doesn't revolve around her, you know. They're just such good friends that they're basically husband and wife without making it formal. She trusts him to keep going while she's away, and he trusts her to be there when he gets back." She laughed, shaking her head. "It's sweet, but he's actually worried you, not her. Don't be a dummy."
"I'd've gotten that," Raul mumbled, looking down at the bedroll. "What are you doing here, anyway? Don't you still have your own tent to set up?"
"I ... didn't bring it, this time," Aki replied, turning her face from him as she paused to light a candle. "I left it up on the 18th Floor with our casualties. Have to travel light when we're this far down, right?" But when she turned to look at him again, she had a hint of hurt in her dark eyes.
"Don't look at me like that, Aki," Raul sighed. "Just tell me what's wrong, and we'll save the trouble of me flailing around and trying to guess."
She sat down upon a small barrel that held enough hardtack and jerkey to feed a whole party as she said, her feline ears twitching, "Put two and two together. First, what did Finn tell you? Second, why did I really leave my tent behind forty floops up?" Hints of her fangs showed. "I know you can be a little dense, Raul, but ... come on, surely you can't miss hints like those."
Raul stood there looking at Aki like she had two heads.
"All right, then." Aki rose to her feet, her tail standing straight up to express her annoyance. "I was hoping to make this a little more romantic, but I guess the only thing you're going to understand is a blunt instrument." She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, opened them again, and started talking quickly, no humor in her face: "Remember that conversation you and I had after we figured out that Finn and Riveria got together? When you told me how jealous you were, how you wished you had something like what they had?" He barely had time to nod before she added, "Well, what if you did, Raul?"
The single candle in the tent provided the only light, and it made her eyes seem larger and darker than Raul remembered them being. It also made the feelings in them stand out – longing, hurt that he had not seen that longing, fear that he might not return it. It had been a long time since he had seen Aki open herself up to him in such a way, and it knocked his common sense back into motion. He blinked, opened his mouth to apologize, closed it again, and took a moment to collect his thoughts and put them into good order.
"You're afraid, too, then," he finally said, trying not to look down at the floor with the shame he felt. "None of us know what's waiting at the bottom of the Dungeon, and it's gotten so difficult to traverse that our confidence is bound to be a little shaken by now." A wan half-smile. "You're like me. You're afraid that this is where our luck's going to run out. It hasn't happened yet, but –" Several familiar faces flashed across his memory. "– you're thinking of everybody we've lost along the way. Twelve years. You and I have made it, but not all of our friends have. 'When's it our turn?' I think the same thing."
"That's all well and good, Raul," she replied, standing so close to him that he could almost see the individual bristles of the fur that lined her ears, but for the candlelight, "but that's not what I'm waiting for you to say."
"Anakitty –" He never used the full version of her name. "– you're right. I've been thinking about it since the day I learned about Finn and Riveria, but I ... wanted to be sure. I didn't want to just think, 'Well, why not Aki?' You're not a just-in-case. I don't take you for granted. You're ... my best friend. You've been there since the beginning. We've helped each other through all kinds of things." He sighed. "I didn't want to ruin what we had, so I've been sitting on it since that day, and I just ... haven't acted on it." He gripped her shoulders. "But Finn's right: This is the last chance I'll have to tell you, s-so, even if it's not perfect, I'm going ... to say it. I am."
"I'll save you the trouble, Raul," she whispered before leaning forward and catching him off-guard by kissing him, feeling him stiffen for a second before wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly, his lips locked to hers, their two silhouettes becoming one in the flickering candlelight.
When they separated, he answered, his face burning, "I-I was going to say it, you just ... didn't give me the chance." He smiled in spite of himself. "I'm hopeless, aren't I? And you've got the patience of a saint."
"Don't wallow in it," she said, her voice heated. "The night's only so long, after all." She blushed, her eyes half-open as she added, still holding him close, "I'll tell you ahead of time: You're not going to ruin it. Not tonight. You're you, even if you're awkward and dense and just oblivious sometimes." She took a deep breath before she whispered, "Just ... take me to bed tonight, Raul. No one's going to interrupt. You don't have to hold anything back." To emphasize her point, she ran the tip of her rough tongue along the rim of his ear, making him shiver in her arms. "Please, Raul."
"Y-Yes," he answered, his voice husky. "We'll deal with the fallout when we get back." His determination crystallized. "When, Aki. Not if."
She smiled. "That's better, Raul. Now –"
He used his share of the proceeds from the expedition to the 100th Floor to buy her a ring from the Hephaestus Familia after they returned to Orario.
On the same day, Finn asked both of them to succeed him as Co-Captains.
END.
Fandom: Danmachi
Prompt: Prompt # 011 – Candlelight
Character / Pairing: Raul Nord / Anakitty "Aki" Autumn
Rating: Mature
Word Count: 1,320
Summary: As the Loki Familia prepares to breach a new floor in the Dungeon, Raul admits to Aki that he is ready to be more than friends.
Note(s): Post-canon by about four years. The reference to Finn / Riveria as a pairing is a reference to a different story I have posted.
* * * *
"All checks are done, Captain," Raul said, handing the scroll listing all of those checks to Finn. "We'll be ready to head downwards in the morning." He sighed. "I-I know we've been down this far below before, and I know this is supposed to be one of the safe spots, but I can't help being nervous."
"I understand," Finn said, his face calm and neutral as he tucked the scroll into its case at his belt, "but that's something you're going to learn to overcome before you succeed me as Captain of the Familia. All right?"
Raul swallowed hard. "All right. Let's get some rest while we can, then." But Finn did not leave immediately. "Did ... I forget something, Captain?"
Finn seemed to be looking through Raul, possibly at a point behind him, rather than directly at him. "No, but we're getting close to the 100th Floor, and that's a place we've never been before, so –" He adjusted his collar. "– take this as a little advice from me as Finn, not as your Captain. If there's anything you really want to say to anyone here, you should probably do it while we're safe here on the 58th Floor. Down below, it'll be too dangerous, and I don't want you to have any regrets." He shifted his gaze, his blue eyes becoming focused and intense. "Do you understand, Raul? No regrets tonight."
"Y-Yes. I'm sorry." Raul then bowed and excused himself to head back to his tent, thinking, Is it because Riveria's not here? Is that why he's – ?
"No, it's not because of Riveria," a familiar voice said as he lifted the flap, seeing Aki unfurling his bedroll, her black tail twitching as she sighted him. "The Captain's world doesn't revolve around her, you know. They're just such good friends that they're basically husband and wife without making it formal. She trusts him to keep going while she's away, and he trusts her to be there when he gets back." She laughed, shaking her head. "It's sweet, but he's actually worried you, not her. Don't be a dummy."
"I'd've gotten that," Raul mumbled, looking down at the bedroll. "What are you doing here, anyway? Don't you still have your own tent to set up?"
"I ... didn't bring it, this time," Aki replied, turning her face from him as she paused to light a candle. "I left it up on the 18th Floor with our casualties. Have to travel light when we're this far down, right?" But when she turned to look at him again, she had a hint of hurt in her dark eyes.
"Don't look at me like that, Aki," Raul sighed. "Just tell me what's wrong, and we'll save the trouble of me flailing around and trying to guess."
She sat down upon a small barrel that held enough hardtack and jerkey to feed a whole party as she said, her feline ears twitching, "Put two and two together. First, what did Finn tell you? Second, why did I really leave my tent behind forty floops up?" Hints of her fangs showed. "I know you can be a little dense, Raul, but ... come on, surely you can't miss hints like those."
Raul stood there looking at Aki like she had two heads.
"All right, then." Aki rose to her feet, her tail standing straight up to express her annoyance. "I was hoping to make this a little more romantic, but I guess the only thing you're going to understand is a blunt instrument." She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, opened them again, and started talking quickly, no humor in her face: "Remember that conversation you and I had after we figured out that Finn and Riveria got together? When you told me how jealous you were, how you wished you had something like what they had?" He barely had time to nod before she added, "Well, what if you did, Raul?"
The single candle in the tent provided the only light, and it made her eyes seem larger and darker than Raul remembered them being. It also made the feelings in them stand out – longing, hurt that he had not seen that longing, fear that he might not return it. It had been a long time since he had seen Aki open herself up to him in such a way, and it knocked his common sense back into motion. He blinked, opened his mouth to apologize, closed it again, and took a moment to collect his thoughts and put them into good order.
"You're afraid, too, then," he finally said, trying not to look down at the floor with the shame he felt. "None of us know what's waiting at the bottom of the Dungeon, and it's gotten so difficult to traverse that our confidence is bound to be a little shaken by now." A wan half-smile. "You're like me. You're afraid that this is where our luck's going to run out. It hasn't happened yet, but –" Several familiar faces flashed across his memory. "– you're thinking of everybody we've lost along the way. Twelve years. You and I have made it, but not all of our friends have. 'When's it our turn?' I think the same thing."
"That's all well and good, Raul," she replied, standing so close to him that he could almost see the individual bristles of the fur that lined her ears, but for the candlelight, "but that's not what I'm waiting for you to say."
"Anakitty –" He never used the full version of her name. "– you're right. I've been thinking about it since the day I learned about Finn and Riveria, but I ... wanted to be sure. I didn't want to just think, 'Well, why not Aki?' You're not a just-in-case. I don't take you for granted. You're ... my best friend. You've been there since the beginning. We've helped each other through all kinds of things." He sighed. "I didn't want to ruin what we had, so I've been sitting on it since that day, and I just ... haven't acted on it." He gripped her shoulders. "But Finn's right: This is the last chance I'll have to tell you, s-so, even if it's not perfect, I'm going ... to say it. I am."
"I'll save you the trouble, Raul," she whispered before leaning forward and catching him off-guard by kissing him, feeling him stiffen for a second before wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly, his lips locked to hers, their two silhouettes becoming one in the flickering candlelight.
When they separated, he answered, his face burning, "I-I was going to say it, you just ... didn't give me the chance." He smiled in spite of himself. "I'm hopeless, aren't I? And you've got the patience of a saint."
"Don't wallow in it," she said, her voice heated. "The night's only so long, after all." She blushed, her eyes half-open as she added, still holding him close, "I'll tell you ahead of time: You're not going to ruin it. Not tonight. You're you, even if you're awkward and dense and just oblivious sometimes." She took a deep breath before she whispered, "Just ... take me to bed tonight, Raul. No one's going to interrupt. You don't have to hold anything back." To emphasize her point, she ran the tip of her rough tongue along the rim of his ear, making him shiver in her arms. "Please, Raul."
"Y-Yes," he answered, his voice husky. "We'll deal with the fallout when we get back." His determination crystallized. "When, Aki. Not if."
She smiled. "That's better, Raul. Now –"
He used his share of the proceeds from the expedition to the 100th Floor to buy her a ring from the Hephaestus Familia after they returned to Orario.
On the same day, Finn asked both of them to succeed him as Co-Captains.
END.