A/N
Originally was a Valentines' Day Special, but procrastinated too much so I didn't finish and upload in time. Decided to do a pairing I thought lacked stories, and welp, I decided on Add x Ara. It's kind of rushed but… enjoy! Rated T mainly for Add's potty mouth. Just warning my fellow readers.
"To hell with this mushy-gushy shit." A male with silver hair and a purple line across his left eye ripped out flowers from a rose bush, tearing the bloomed decorations into shreds from stem to petal as he tossed it onto the pavement with no hint of remorse. Couples who varied from holding hands to hugging each other all turned to him, and sneered in disgust at his impudent actions. Amethyst eyes just rolled around without a care in the world, and he left the trail of petals in his wake as people dared to utter their thoughts about him to their beloved. After all, today was Valentine's Day, or as the man liked to call it…
The shittiest day of the year.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, he coolly continued the treacherous walk outside with everyone hugging and kissing each other as if there were no tomorrow. He growled at all the lovers who spared a single glance at him, which caused them to take a few steps back or flee altogether. February 14th was the worst day of the year. The male was beyond pissed every year on this day. Or rather, that's what he wanted to believe.
For deep, deep inside… he was truly lonely.
No friends.
No family.
No lover.
No one to spend time with.
He was like flea repellent, shooing away any insects that got in his way as if there were a crackling electromagnetic field surrounding him. Sighing, the tall man just grumpily walked away, slowly yet surely being torn apart by sorrow and jealousy at the fact that everybody had somebody.
However, soon that will change.
A girl with ebony hair sighed as she rolled around on her bed, with a plain white mattress and an orange bed sheet with a white stripe going along the top. She was on a phone of similar colors to the bed sheet, typing with a bored expression on her face.
[3:25 PM] Hey Aisha, you free today?
She stared at the screen, expectant for a response. A cute beeping sound emitted from the phone only seconds later.
[3:25 PM] Sorry Ara, going out with Elsword for Valentine's date. Going away from phone soon.
A sigh escaped her mouth as her amber eyes drooped slightly in disappointment.
[3:26 PM] Oh, okay. Don't worry, go have fun with your boyfriend.
Beep.
[3:26 PM] Please don't be mad at me. It's Valentine's Day so I want to do something special with him.
[3:26 PM] No, it's okay!
Ara added a smiley face emoticon after that message to sustain the façade of her fake happiness.
[3:26 PM] Kay, I'm going now. I promise we'll do something together later!
[Aisha has logged off.]
She sighed. The spear-wielder now had nothing to do on Valentines, no friends who were available. All of her friends were out with their lovers. Lovers…
Tears brimmed at the edges of her eyes.
When would she ever get the one for her? Nineteen years of age, and still no record of having any boyfriend. Ever. It made her feel depressed, especially when her friends would bluntly state they're out with their respective boyfriends. Each time she was let down by being told they were on a date was like a stab to her chest. It hurt. The stinging sensation of being hopelessly alone stirred in her stomach, causing her to stuff her face in her pillow and let out a couple of tear drops which were ready to fall from her eyes.
It was going to be another lonely Valentine's Day for Ara Haan.
But then… she heard someone.
"To hell with this mushy-gushy shit."
Ara let out a humorless laugh into the pillow, amused that someone else was going through the same thoughts as her though expressed in a more garish way. She removed her slightly-wet face from the pillow and looked out the window. Ara saw a man with white hair and a purple long-sleeved shirt with a vest of obsidian color on top of the clothing, tearing out a rose from a bush in her front garden. Her eyes widened, and fury clouded her mind as the thought of loneliness was shoved out of her mind. She immediately stormed out of the house and darted after him in a rage.
"Hey!" She yelled indignantly at him. He continued to shuffle away. Ara pouted, obviously dissatisfied, and leapt towards him, tackling the male like a football player. They fell towards the pavement, landing with a resounding thud. The man twitched under her, and looked up with a glare. There was a purple line across his eye.
"What the hell is your problem?!" He snapped caustically. Ara retained her pout and straddled him.
"You tore out the roses in my rosebush!" She complained angrily, clenching her fists next to her. He blinked, and stared at her. She actually looked kind of… cute. Before he knew it, words which felt foreign to his mouth came tumbling out.
"I-I'm sorry."
He blinked in surprise at what he said, and so did Ara. His mouth opened and closed like a fish, trying to take a hold on what he just said. Then, she just smiled gently at him, causing a weird feeling in his chest as she got up from their current position and offered a hand.
"That's all I wanted to hear." She spoke in a softer, friendlier tone. He stared at the hand, unsure of what to do with it. No one had ever done something like this to him before. No one had ever been so… open with him. So accepting. Ara tilted her head in confusion.
"Something wrong?" The ebonette questioned. His amethyst eyes were still focused on her hand. Noticing this, Ara just giggled and grabbed his left hand which was on the pavement and hauled him up with surprising celerity and strength. The male stuttered and began to speak incomprehensible words, shocked by her behavior.
"You look all big and buff but you're really a quiet guy aren't you?" She cheerfully began. He opened his mouth to protest but she continued on like a bulldozer that wouldn't stop, spinning around him like a hyperactive little girl.
"Well that won't really matter I mean I thought you were really mean because you were shouting some really colorful words outside my house earlier but that's irrelevant now because I think you are really nice just maybe a bit socially impaired! My name's Ara! Ara Haan, just in case you wanted a last name! What's your name?" She bombarded his ears with a flurry of words, spinning around and ending in front of him as she leaned a bit in front of his face with a perfectly content smile. He choked on his spit, coughing a bit before shooting her an offended look.
"SOCIALLY IMPAIRED?! I CAN BE SOCIAL!" He yelled in an obvious show of offense. Ara laughed with amusement and joy.
"Alright, Socially Impaired! That's good if you're social!" The mistaken male's cheeks flushed the slightest hint of red in embarrassment.
"THAT'S NOT MY NAME DAMN IT!" Ara closed her ears and giggled from his retaliation.
"Then what is your name?"
He blushed a bit more and turned his head away.
"…Add. Add Kim." He murmured. She smiled brightly.
"Add… Addition! Do you have a brother named Subtract?"
"…" He deadpanned at her as she burst into laughs at her own joke. Eventually she calmed down when couples started giving the two weird stares, their eyes asking what Ara thought was so funny. She then placed her arms behind her back.
"So do you have anything to do today?" Ara hoped to spend the day with Add in order to quell her longing for someone on the day made for lovers. Add glanced at her curiously, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"No. Why?"
"Want to hang out?" She jumped straight to the point in her question. He scratched his head, unsure of what to do, and then just shrugged.
"Sure, why not."
Cue Ara cheering and causing more ruckus in the middle of Hamel around a flinching Add.
"What the hell is that?!"
Add recoiled as he pointed towards a gigantic wheel with little boxes that had doors on it, rotating at a relaxing pace while people cheered from the inside. Ara blinked as she licked her vanilla ice cream. The Sakra Devanam had dragged the Lunatic Pysker to an ice cream stand to buy ice cream, complaining that the dessert was all the more fun to eat in February. She followed the trail his finger was pointing at, and noticed the familiar park.
"The Hamel Amusement Park!" She perked up in admiration at the sight. Add took a peek behind the entrance gate and saw a bunch of couples holding hands and laughing with each other. He made a loud groan of annoyance.
"Oh fuck no—"
"Let's go!"
"SON OF A—"
Now cue Add releasing a string of curses whilst being dragged into happy Hamel Amusement Park by the super-strong Ara Haan.
The pair walked around as Ara's eyes sparkled at the park. Her eyes darted towards a concession stand where a male with black hair won a cute big brown teddy bear plushie for an elven lady with spring-green hair tied into a ponytail by black gauze. Ara waved madly at the two.
"Hi Raven! Hi Rena!" She merrily called out. The pair turned towards them and waved back, the elf woman nudging the man and pointing at Add. She winked at Ara, who pouted and shook her head with a blush as if they were talking telepathically. Add groaned again and looked away.
"Why does this feel like some overly cliché romantic moment right now…" He dared to mutter. Ara swiftly turned to him on a dime.
"Pardon, Add?" She faked a smile at him. He turned around to prevent direct eye contact and started to whistle innocently. Ara's friends just laughed together and they exchanged goodbyes before going separate ways. Add was forced on multiple rides and amusements by Ara as he was led along by the cheerful ebonette.
"This feels so generic right now, just saying Ara."
"Oh shush you pessimist! Let's go on that roller coaster!"
"R-Roller coaster? What's a—"
"TO RAN'S RAVING RAVELS!"
"AND WHAT KIND OF NAME IS THAT?!"
Before he could say anything calm and collected they were plopped onto the ride and sent off with other couples who were chattering with excitement as the ride escalated upwards. Add crossed his arms, clearly bored. Ara jumped a little in her seat, doing a little happy dance as they neared the top.
"This is… kind of boring." He began. Ara grinned and stared downwards.
"It's about to get interesting, Add! So hang on tiiiiiiight!" The obsidian cart jerked down, racing at high speeds down the track as it did a double corkscrew with a loop followed right after. Everyone screamed in ecstasy while Add remained silent but wide-eyed with an expression that said 'get me off of here'. Ara grabbed his arm and raised it up with hers, the wind hitting their figures as the male just sighed, letting her do whatever she wanted. Eventually the ride finally came to a close and everyone got up, talking about how amazing the ride was. Add on the other hand…
"Their structure is just terribly weak. I could hit one support pillar with an axe and the whole ride would come falling off. The drop down isn't sudden enough, it doesn't bring enough excitement so I would shorten the angle by about ten degrees. What you called a loop needs to be smaller, it's not as swift and exciting. Shorten the circle's area about a foot I'd say. Corkscrews felt wobbly, both need stronger reinforcing on the twist. Maybe some smoother material like King Nasod's metal." He counted the things off his list with a dissatisfied expression. Ara hit him over the head in slight annoyance but mainly playfulness.
"I don't understand a word you're saying, and at least appreciate the ride for being there!" She lightly scolded. Add rolled his eyes.
"Being surrounded by engineering books for most of your childhood has its effects." He stated. He began to walk off until he was shoved by a tall male decked in ornamented jewelry and silky blonde hair.
"Hey, hey… you shouldn't verbally attack such a fine lady like that." The man sighed, twirling a strand of hair. Add glared at him ominously, one of his eyes pulsing dangerously with crackling energy.
"Haah?" He glared right at the man's eyes with a hazardously calm demeanor.
"The name's… Rod Ross. And I believe you were being a smarty-pants towards this fine woman." Rod Ross walked over and wrapped an arm around Ara, who flinched. Her amber eyes met Add's amethyst ones, pleading for him to back down.
"C-Calm down Add…" Add turned his head to follow his trail and raised an eyebrow.
"And the fuck are you trying to get at here? Or her?" He snarled. The rich man just sighed, and snapped his fingers. A bulky man roughly grabbed Add by the shoulders as the Lunatic Psyker gasped in surprise. Rod Ross merely turned Ara around and began guiding her the other way.
"Now, let's go. You don't need to waste your time on such an uncaring boy."
Thump. Thump.
Add's eye pulsated with energy from a slowly building fury. Ara's eyes widened at the sight. It reminded her of when she was upset and would let out the Gumiho hidden inside her hairpin on accident. It reminded her of when Raven's Nasod arm took over three years ago. She shook her head furiously at him.
"No, no it's okay Add… I'm used to this." She confessed in an attempt to stop him from unleashing his rage. Unknowingly, the very man who was taking her away started to reach for her bountiful chest. Add's eyes widened, and suddenly he punched the bulky man who was pushing him away from her as he let out a deafening battle cry.
"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!" He screamed, and he tackled Rod Ross like a football player as they were sent into the grass. A crowd started to gather as Ara put her hands over her mouth in shock. The Lunatic Psyker began to punch the rich man repetitively, his eye flaring brightly with his feelings of rage. The elven woman with spring-green hair, Rena, raced towards Ara and grasped her shoulders tightly as if she were her mother.
"Oh my El, Ara are you okay? I was so scared, I thought you were about to get molested… and… and…" The elf just hugged her and Ara's mouth parted in surprise. She… what? Ara had never noticed the sneaky motion that was being made while she was worrying over Add. Speaking of Add, Ara turned and knew she had to stop him before he was pressed with charges of murder at the rate he was going.
"Add, stop right now!" Ara yelled defiantly, storming up to him and crossing her arms. Nine tails sprouted from her back and her hair blossomed into a white color, the tails flicking about angrily. Her eyes turned red and blood red marks appeared on each side of her cheeks. The enraged male stopped his fist an inch away from dealing a sickening blow to the already bloodied Rod Ross, who was struggling to breathe. He turned and saw the Sakra Devanam in her Gumiho form, who was looking at him with disappointment. The effulgence in his eye flickered, and then dimmed away until there was no more glow.
"…Ara…" He started. He sighed, and stood up. There goes his first friend, right on the first day.
Good job, good job Add. Add told himself. He began to walk away, until he heard a sound and saw a bright light from the corner of his eyes. Ebony locks flowed from a beautiful person with amber eyes as she hugged him from behind.
"Add… we only met today, but please don't show that part of you ever again…" She whispered quietly. Add remained still as a statue.
"You've obviously dealt with this for a long time, and you have to keep that at a minimum… you can hurt someone in the end." She buried her head into his shoulder. After being mute for a minute, he finally answered.
"But how?" Ara looked up at him, her eyes full of determination.
"I'll help you. I'll stay with you and keep it in check. Eventually, you'll definitely be able to keep it in yourself. I know it. It was a similar situation with my friend, Raven." She let go of him and grabbed his hand, taking their leave from the amusement park. Add willingly followed as paramedics flooded the bruised rich man, keeping themselves discreet from the situation.
They walked until they reached a bridge, and the sun just began to set. The sky was still blue, but it started to turn into that wondrous sunset red. Add stared at Ara and absorbed her features, taking in just how beautiful she was all of a sudden. Her ebony hair flowed in the wind, as if the wind was just there specifically to make her look more dazzling. Her amber eyes sparkled in the setting sun, and her porcelain skin was smooth and fragile like glass. She stopped at the middle of the wooden bridge, so he stopped too. Staring out at the sky, Ara spoke.
"You know Add, because of you I've had the most fun and interesting Valentines' Day ever." She admitted serenely. Add kept silent again, unsure of what to say due to his little incident.
"All of my friends are dating someone so I've always been lonely every Valentines' Day. You kind of changed that for me. It would be nice if we could maybe… be friends." A sound was emitted from his mouth, and Ara stared incredulously. Add laughed genuinely at her.
"That's funny. I kind of felt like we were already friends. I've never had people to hang out with, so… you know." He let her connect the pieces. Because he would rather die than do a lot of this sentimental speech stuff. Yet he had always wanted one thing…
"Hey, Ara. I want to ask you something." Add said into the quiet air. Ara turned to him, obediently waiting for his question and ready to answer anything. His face grew a bit hot from the way she looked at him with that accepting smile.
"This might seem a bit late because hell, it's five PM but…" Add looked away, just like how they met earlier in the day. Ara leaned on the railing, trying to look at his face and saw his ears were red. She smiled at him. He suddenly turned and looked at her straight in the eyes, freely revealing his red face.
"Do you want to be my really late Valentine?" Add asked, slightly rushing his words. Ara giggled a bit.
"But we only met today. You sure dating right now is the best thing to do?" She tilted her head, and Add stuttered a bit.
"WHAT?! NO! I meant that like… agh…" He groaned and put his head down on the deep red railing. The male obviously didn't expect the question to be so difficult. The ebonette turned back towards the sky with a widening grin as she gladly accepted her reddening face. After all, she had never been asked something like this before. It was exciting.
"You and me… a… pair… that kind of stuff… for only today and… just the two of us… you know… hang out a bit longer or something for Valentines considering that…" Add started to carefully choose his words, trying not to give any misunderstandings. The Sakra Devanam just burst into a fit of giggles, wiping a tear from her eye and looking at him with one eye closed from laughter.
"You act so cute and babyish when you do that, Add." The Lunatic Psyker slowly peeked at her with his left eye, the other part of his face still hiding behind his arms and resting on the rail. Ara poked his forehead with a radiant smile.
"Of course." She swiftly latched her hand into his and pried him off the railing, causing him to let out a yelp of surprise as she started to drag him away.
"So since we're going to hang out for the whole day what do you want to do? Movies? Food? Video games? I'm a mean Yama Raja on the game Els Online though! Or maybe you just want to sit at the park or something? Draw? Oh yeah, my friends Elsword and Aisha are on a date at the moment so maybe we could pull a prank on them like act like really creepy stalkers! Sound good? Come on, Add, give me an answer or I'm gonna choose for you~!" She babbled on like rapid fire again, except with a serene smile filled with happiness. Finally, she could spend Valentines' Day with someone. Even if they weren't quite at the dating stage yet. Ara turned to peek at Add and saw him gape at her with his mouth slightly parted, before it became a small yet handsome smile. A romantic-related thought passed her mind before she ran off to wherever the heck she ran, with a dragged Add in tow.
But maybe one day we can become possible…
And one more thought passed through both of their minds as they ran.
I guess even the loneliest people can find themselves amongst the hearts and flowers on Valentines' Day.
A/N
HUEHUEHUE.
Fun fact: Add has cursed in this story approximately nine times in this story (might be inaccurate or off by a bit). Add you foul-mouthed Lunatic Psyker.
Thanks for reading!