Disclaimer: I do not own Elsword or the characters in the game.
A/N: This was written for the current writing prompt due October 16th: Fluff, so expect... fluff! Romantic fluff. *gasp* No. No sad feelings or whatever here, just good old fashioned warm fuzzies. I hope you enjoy.
Also, giving a little shout out: if any readers/writers/elsword fans would like, I'm part of a discord group called the Elsword Fanfiction Brigade. There you can meet, hangout, or swap story ideas with a bunch of other writers such as Zacaro (author of The Demonic Duo), LegenDarius116 (author of Lone Wolf), and fairy-circle (author of Repaint Tomorrow). If you're interested just send me a PM and I'll link you to the group! If you join you can do awesome fun prompts with us!
Classes (even though it doesn't really matter):
Chung: DC
Eve: CN
Blanket, check.
Popcorn, check.
A bag of his favorite malted milk balls, check.
With a surround sound system that threatened to wake the neighbors and a giant screen that took up the entire wall, Chung felt that he had everything he needed to enjoy an entire night of binge watching the latest season of his favorite telenovela: Pasión de Glaive.
After a long week of dealing with news reporters who swamped him with questions regarding his father's business direction and meetings with their many business rivals, Chung just needed a break. Dressed in one of his stay-at-home-all-day outfits: a baby blue bunny one piece, the young man was ready to just completely remove himself from society for the weekend. He just wanted complete detachment from all forms of social interaction; a way to just indulge in his guilty pleasure of Glaive and his romantic exploits across time and space.
The Prince of Hamel Industries settled into his theater chair, hitting the light switch on his all-in-one remote, turning on the giant screen, and starting the El-Ray player before wrapping himself tightly in his blanket.
Popcorn.
Realizing the popcorn was still in the microwave he unwrapped himself, hitting the pause and turning on the lights as he walked out of his personal theater to the kitchen just down the hall. It was empty. He had dismissed the cooks for the night, claiming he would just eat the leftovers or make himself something if the need arose. Amidst the enormous tiled cooking area-complete with two islands, a fridge and its own clay oven built into the wall-a tiny microwave sat on a counter between the kitchen sink and the second baking oven. "Food ready!" flashed on its display and he popped it open, cradling the warm popcorn bag with him back to his personal theater.
Once again Chung settled into his seat. He shut off the lights, pressed the play button, and wrapped himself tightly in his blanket with his snack in hand.
As he munched on the salty, buttery goodness in the safety of his cocoon as the opening credits for season 59 began. A musical score played in the background and he popped kernel after kernel into his mouth, all the while growing acutely aware of how dry his throat was getting.
A drink!
Chung looked around, still sitting within his wraps. He forgot his drink! With a sigh he slipped out of his blankets, pausing the beginning of the episode, turning on the lights, and making his way out to the kitchen once more. He popped open his fridge, looking past the collection of fruity chasers and chocolate liquor for his stash of Hamelian Red Leaf tea in a jug. The refreshing hint of cinnamon and herb had always been a childhood favorite of his. He took the whole thing, opting to omit the use of a cup as he carried the entire gallon with him to back to his personal theater.
Chung set the jug on the floor next to him before settling in his seat once more. He shut off the lights, pressed the play button, and wrapped himself tightly in his blanket with popcorn in hand. The recap began:
"Last time, in Pasión de Glaive:" the narrator trailed off as a scene of Glaive locked in a passionate embrace with his current love interest faded into view.
"I have always loved you… Harnier," Glaive whispered.
"I… had always loved you, too, Glaive…" Harnier whispered back.
"Had…?"
"There's… someone else."
A doorbell sounded and both characters turned their attention off-camera.
"Solace! What are you doing here?" Glaive asked, setting himself between his love and the man he deemed his rival.
Solace stood there, grinning widely, "I'm here," dramatic pause, "to pick up my fiancee."
The theme song cued in and the prince shoveled handful after handful of popcorn in his mouth before gulping down nearly half the jug of iced tea. This was going to be good.
Doorbell again. But… it wasn't from his telenovela? He turned down the sound and sure enough another ring could faintly be heard through his almost soundproof walls. Were his neighbors complaining already?
Sighing, he unwrapped himself, hitting the pause button yet again and turning on the lights as he walked out of his personal theater. Who of all people-he wondered while opening the door-would rather be filing a noise complaint on a Friday night rather than going out to party?
As if to answer his question, he found himself staring face to face with just the person who fit that description.
"Eve?" he was practically bracing himself for having to speak to the authorities again but having her visit him personally was a bit more nerve wracking.
The daughter of the CEO who owned Altera Tech.-Hamel's business rival-stood at his doorway with a hand on her hip and holding what looked like a DVD case. Dressed in black shorts and a white cotton shirt, she pulled at her hair tie that held her hair in a loose ponytail. She looked as if she had just gotten off work, changed, and hurried over to complain that he was being too loud. At least that's what he assumed she would be here for. They did share the enormous duplex after all.
Her choice of clothing was surprisingly casual, however. Now that he thought about it, he had only really ever seen her in a dress suit. Of course, the only times he would see her would be during business meetings, obligatory dinners, sometimes to or from work, or, of course, when she filed noise complaints.
"You seem a bit under dressed for a business meeting," Chung joked nervously.
The woman gave him a quick once over with her golden eyes, pulling her lip to one side as she silently judged him. "You're one to talk."
The door slammed shut as the blue bunny banged his head against the wall, face red with embarrassment as he was caught at his most vulnerable.
Again the doorbell rang.
"Sorry, I'll turn down the volume," Chung shouted through the door.
The bell rang again and the prince let out an exasperated groan. He unlocked the door, letting only his head peek through the crack.
"What. Do. You. Want?" Chung asked, clearly not in the mood for whatever she had to say.
To his relief, Eve wasn't laughing. Actually, now that he thought about it, the woman hardly ever laughed.
"I have a request," Eve said, waving the DVD case around, "You have a home theater. May I use it?"
"What's wrong with the player at your place?"
"It's not as elaborate as yours."
Chung scratched his head in mild annoyance, "Is it really necessary that you watch it at my place?"
"My friend highly recommended I view this movie in surround sound."
"Ugh… I'm sorry, Eve. But now's not a good time. Come by tomorrow or something and I'll let you use it." He slowly shut the door, bowing his head in apology.
"If you say so," the woman muttered, "Bunny boy."
Slowly the door swung open, as the blue bunny begrudgingly ushered her in.
"You were watching something, too?" Eve asked as she made her way down the hall.
Chung slowly shuffled along behind her. "Yeah," he grumbled, "How'd you know?"
"I can smell popcorn. What were you watching?"
"None of your business."
"Pasión de Glaive," Eve mumbled as she stood at the theater entrance reading the giant title card on the paused screen.
"Ah!" Chung screamed. He ran into the theater, quickly flipping the display off and ejecting his prized DVD from the player.
"Isn't that a romance series?"
"No..." the bunny cried, face as red as ever.
"I never took you for a romance enthusiast. I always thought you more as a superhero fan. Interesting. I find it oddly adorable."
"I do like superhero movies! I have a whole collection of them!" he said motioning at the wall opposite the giant screen. "I just… happened to be borrowing this from a friend. She said it was really good so I decided to give it a try."
"Is that so…" Eve muttered, picking out the collector's edition for season 20 of Pasión de Glaive among a row of the other 59 seasons. "We should watch some together, then."
Chung blinked. "With me?"
"There's no one else here, is there?"
"Why?"
She continued scanning over his collection of movies. Yes, there were movies based on superheroes and the like but they were easily hidden among a plethora of romance comedies and dramas.
"I feel movies are more enjoyable with a friend."
"A business rival," Chung corrected, though he rescinded that statement when she glanced at him over her shoulder. She looked hurt by that. "Or a friend," he muttered.
"In truth I've been looking to find a reason to spend some non-work-related time with my neighbor," Eve said with a tone of disappointment, "If you feel as if this is not beneficial to you, then I understand. We are, after all, business rivals. If you'd like to keep things strictly professional then I'll just take my movie and be on my way."
Now Chung felt like a jerk. But then again, this was exactly why so many shareholders chose her company over his. She just knew how to push people's buttons.
"No… no. You can stay," he grumbled, "You just caught me at a rather shameful moment unbecoming of the Prince of Hamel Industries. You… won't tell anyone will you?"
"I won't. You have my word," Eve said with a nod.
Chung let out a sigh of relief.
"If you lend me one of your bunny pajamas to wear as well," Eve added.
"Why do you have a pink one?" Eve asked as she bemusedly whipped her head side to side causing the soft fluffy ears of the bunny hood to lightly slap Chung in the face as he settled down next to her.
"I don't know, okay?" was his answer as she continued to bat around with the ears. "Cut it out! I'm letting you wear them, not beat me to death with them."
"These are surprisingly comfy," she commented as she admired the one piece's texture.
"Yeah… well… that's why I wear them. It helps me unwind."
"Does watching sappy telenovelas help you unwind as well?"
Chung didn't answer. She was making fun of him at this point. He pressed the button to shut off the lights then hit the play before wrapping the thick blanket around him and his bag of popcorn.
Dark, foreboding music filled the room as blood red credits faded into the backdrop of a quiet little neighborhood. Chung could already feel himself sinking into his cocoon. It was a horror movie. Of course it would be. The only thing he couldn't handle outside of Velder Marketing proposals were horror movies.
Eve cleared her throat and he turned to her as the camera began a slow sweep through the rooms of a particularly old-fashioned house found at the edge of a fog covered steeple.
"Y-yes?" Chung stuttered, as his cyan eyes met with her golden orbs.
"I want in, too."
"Huh?" he asked just as lightning reverberated through his sound system.
She tugged on his blanket. "I want in, too," she repeated.
"O-oh. Okay." It never occurred to the young man how big his blanket was until Eve easily wrapped it around her body with plenty of blanket left to wrap around the other. Now, with the blue and pink bunny pair wrapped snugly around a thick blanket, there was nothing to distract Chung from the movie. Fantastic, the young man thought sarcastically to himself.
Though he hated to admit it, the company was nice. Barring the fact that the reason he would want company in the first place is because he was watching a horror flick, he felt like Eve's presence was… nice. Different, but nice.
He felt the warmth of her body pressing against his. It was a light brush of shoulder against shoulder at first but they both grew rather comfortable as the movie's opening scene progressed. He noted the way her hands slowly searched for the bag of popcorn, how close they were in proximity that he could hear her munching away, how her hands ever so gently brushed against his own- Oh my god it's right behind him!
Chung jumped grabbing and pulled the soft cotton ears of his hood over his face as the ghastly white head of a ghost with black, bleeding eyes quietly hovered behind the unaware first victim. The shrill violin cued in as lightning continued to rumble in the background. Sounds of doors slamming; indecipherable whispers echoing, growing louder in intensity. The music picked up. This was it. He couldn't watch. He wasn't watching. All he did was listen and the only comfort he could find was in the warmth of the young woman quietly eating next to him.
A scream. It was agonizing to listen to as it slowly faded. He saw the rest of the room brighten as the title card came into view. He peeked. The title of the movie read "Oath of Ruin".
All the while, Eve continued munching away at the popcorn that had spilled on her lap after Chung's little jump scare.
"You're not scared by this?" The blue one's voice shook as he asked.
The pink one shrugged, "I am a little. But the premise seems fascinating. I wouldn't want to miss out while hiding behind my bunny ears."
"Are you making fun of me?"
Eve looked at him and was taken aback by how utterly frightened her blanket buddy looked. He looked like a scared puppy. A scared puppy dressed in a baby blue bunny outfit. What was she supposed to do? It almost made her want to stop the movie entirely. Almost. She liked where the movie was going. She couldn't look at him. Not long anyways. She felt if she did, she'd give in.
Eve sighed, "If it makes you feel better, you can just listen. I want to watch it to the end."
"Okay," the prince nodded, turning to face the screen again as the movie introduced the leading actor and actress. They were in the process of moving into their new house they bought at an amazingly cheap price.
"Oh… this is bad news already," Chung trembled, pulling the hood over his eyes once more. He hid himself in the cocoon, leaning against Eve as he focused more on the sound of her munching on popcorn than the movie itself.
"I'm thirsty," Eve said, grabbing his attention.
"There's a jug of Red Leaf at your feet."
He felt the pink one shuffle around. "Do you have any cups?"
"I… just drank straight from the jug."
"...Oh."
"Ah, sorry. Gross, I know. I'll just-" He got up to grab another drink in the kitchen but stopped when he saw her drink directly from the jug as well. At least she didn't seem too bothered by it. She glanced at him curiously, noting he was staring at her, before offering him the jug.
He took it, staring at the lip of the container. He noticed that a light hue of pink from Eve's lipstick had rubbed off on the bottom. For as long as he'd been a part of this marketing business, he'd never imagine sharing a drink with Eve out of the same container. Much less be in the same room dressed as bunnies while watching a movie and cuddling under the blanket. Was it cuddling? It had to be, right?
He took a swig. Nothing but the hint of cinnamon and herbs. It felt almost… disappointing. He almost spat the drink out, however, as the female protagonist failed to notice a shadowy figure that suddenly appeared at the doorway of her bedroom. With a quick pan of the camera, she went about unpacking her things and the figure was nowhere to be seen. He quickly screwed the cap back on and resumed hiding behind his ears.
For the first half of the movie, the blue bunny gradually retreated more and more into his cocoon. When he was as deep as he could be within the confines of his safety blanket he began leaning more and more towards Eve, eventually tucking his head behind hers while she tried to focus on the movie.
Around the halfway way point, the blue one heard the distinct sounds of a bag being torn open. Glancing out from the safety behind Eve's head, he saw the young woman pop one of his favorite malted milk treats into her mouth.
"Hey," he said, "That's mine!"
She looked back at him just as the familiar disembodied head with black, bleeding eyes appeared on screen. Accompanied with the sudden shrill of the violin score, Chung dove back into the confines between the theater chair and her head, listening as she popped another malt into her mouth.
"I want some, too," the prince whined, as he heard her munching on a third one.
"You want one? Come get it, then," Eve said.
Refusing to look out from his hiding place, he felt around for the malts, grabbing the empty popcorn bag, her leg, her arm, her- she leaned to the side giving him a light slap on the face as she pulled away from him, arms covering her chest.
"Sorry!" he shouted, trying to defend his dignity, "I just couldn't see, so I…" he trailed off as he saw her holding the bag away from him with one hand and a malt resting in between her lips. When he tried to reach for the bag, she only pulled it further away as she pointed at the one in her mouth.
Confused he reached for it and she lightly batted his hand away, waving a finger at him. She took the malt in, chewing it with a sigh.
"What…? I don't understand."
She retook her position next to Chung, holding the bag away from him as she turned to face him. "You want one?" she repeated, placing another malt between her lips, "Come get it, then."
It couldn't be more obvious what she meant but, by the look of the young man's face, it didn't click. Not that it mattered at that point, anyways as he was, once again, hiding his eyes behind his ears as the foreboding music began to play.
He heard his blanket buddy sigh and felt her shuffle around next to him. Warm breath caressed his cheek as he felt a malt treat slowly, carefully press against his lips.
The blue one's ears sprang upward as his body locked up just in time to see Eve pull away from him as she casually popped another malt ball into her mouth to chew on. He sat there, petrified as his mind tried to process what was happening.
The pink one tilted her head curiously before placing another malt on her lips once more. All doubt disappeared as he watched the girl lean in, feeding him another with her lips even though the first was still in his mouth.
She leaned back, golden eyes watching him before she brought a petite hand to his chin and carefully moved his jaw up and down to chew. It wasn't a direct kiss. In fact the contact was so light he wouldn't notice it if he hadn't felt her warm breath against him in the first place.
He played along, this time. Chewing his food as confusion slowly faded and reality began to set in. Chung had always known Eve to be a woman who pursued her company's interests but to see her forwardness reflected in such a casual setting…
The pink one placed another malt and leaned in once more. This was insane. She was his business rival. If his father and her father found out about this they'd-
A jump scare. Mirroring the reaction of the male lead, the blue one nearly lept out of his seat, involuntarily planting the his lips against Eve's. They stared at each other in surprise before Chung broke the kiss, back pedaling to the opposite end of the theater seats as his face turned bright red as the moment sank in.
He looked at the pink one. Eve sat there on her knees, golden eyes wide in shock as she carefully traced a finger over her lips. It hurt having to suddenly jump and bump his lips against hers as hard as they did. He ran his tongue over his own and tasted the slight hint of blood.
"Uh… Sorry, I just… got a little scared from the, uh… movie," Chung stuttered. She didn't look angry or upset. Nor did she look happy for that matter. This woman was incredibly hard to read.
"You're bleeding," she said to him, crawling over to the blue one and running a finger over his lips. She showed him a speck of blood on her finger.
"Ah… don't worry about that. I'm fine. I'll just-"
"I can fix it." She pressed her lips firmly against his.
Cinnamon and chocolate filled his senses within the warmth of her kiss and the young man returned it. He could feel her body rest on his as they held it for moments longer. It felt like an eternity as they were locked in the moment yet eternity didn't seem long enough when they finally separated. She lightly brushed her bangs away from her eyes, sitting back as a very rare and nervous smile came across the young woman's lips. She looked beautiful when she smiled.
"Thanks for letting me use your theater," she said to him, pulling off the hood to fix her hair.
"H-huh?" Chung mumbled still in a daze. She crawled over him and she pecked him on the lips again while she grabbed the remote just past his head. She hit the stop button as the movie's end credits rolled by and the lights of his personal theater flicked on.
"S-so what are you doing next Friday?" Chung asked, still holding the folded pink bunny suit in front of him as Eve showed herself the door.
She turned to him, face as serious as ever as she tapped her chin in thought. "I'm actually flying out to Elysion this weekend. I'll be gone for the whole week since I'm hosting a tech convention over there. I won't be back until Friday, either so I'd probably be really exhausted by then."
"Ah… I see," Chung mumbled. His ears seemed to droop a little from that.
Eve stepped closer to him tilting her head at the young man curiously. "Why do you ask?"
He shuffled his feet nervously at the question. She was forcing it out of him.
"You could… come use my theater again... if you'd like."
A faint grin crossed the woman's lips. "I'll let you choose the movie next time. Make sure it's a long one, okay?" she whispered, tracing a finger over his furry white chest before turning on her heel and making her way back to her duplex.