The Clock Chimes at Midnight
Rating. PG-15
Warnings. Genderbender with fem!Mephisto, implied sexual activites, unbeta'd as always.
Pairings. Fujimoto Shiroxfem!Mephisto
Disclaimer. AnE belongs to Kazue Kato.
A/N. yes, it's been some time, but my anime/manga muse has reappeared, giving me ideas for stories in other fandoms, which reminded me of my unfinished stuff that could now, potentially, be finished. this will be one-shot four of five, so we're almost at the end of fem!Mephisto's & Shiro's life together.
A/N 2. as usual, quick reminder that fem!Mephisto's name is Lilith. now that Mephisto's name has been revealed to be Samnael, i kinda wish i had named her Carmilla or something instead, and thus revealed that her name is actually Lilith. maybe in the future i'll change it, but for now, it's staying as is.
A/N 3. this is also the longest one-shot in the series so far, since i'm exploring both of them simultaneously because they're both finally actually doing something about their feelings. also, it works as an apology.
Fujimoto Shiro returned to True Cross Academy when he was thirty-one, expecting it to be the same as every other visit. That is to say, he would be avoiding Lilith as much as possible while performing his duties, which had increased this year due to his new rank as Paladin.
He was quite proud of his accomplishment, of course, but he was not into the fanfare and paper work the Order was enforcing on him as a direct result of it. He was especially displeased with the demonstration that the insisted he attend since it was in his honour upon his arrival to the Academy, because it would mean directly interacting with Lilith, something which he had avoided successfully for the past several years in an attempt to either squash his own feelings or bring out her own.
Needless to say, he seemed to have failed on both counts.
His boyhood crush had only increased with the passing of time and her absence in his life. He had thought that distancing himself and even interacting with other women would put an end to a feeling that rather embarrassed him. He did indeed begin to see through her so-called wisdom and small lies which he had fully believed when younger. However, it only seemed to make her more charming and interesting in his eyes. He had also yet to meet a woman who could hold his attention as long as she has, although he supposed that no human woman would hold a candle to a demon whose name was associated with seduction.
Perhaps most frustrating of all was the fact that his crush had neither diminished nor stayed the same, in fact it had grown into full-on affection and, dare he say it, was well on its way to becoming an infatuation and, possibly, love, the strongest of all human emotions. And he, the True Cross Order's Paladin, felt it for a demon, nay, for one of Satan's daughters.
Cupid must have felt especially vindictive the day he hit him with one of his arrows.
With a sigh, Shiro glanced up, waiting for the signal that would indicate that he was to enter the large underground hall for the ceremony that had been put together in his honour. Honestly, at the moment, he wished he was just another rank-and-file Exorcist that could go on unnoticed by everyone, in particular one blue haired demoness who was probably somewhat outraged at his ignorance of her for the past several years.
-o-
After the ceremony, Lilith was exhausted. She'd been forced to plan the whole event and actually actively participate for once, partly because her secretary had been recalled to the Order for other business (probably reporting on whether or not she was still trustworthy) and partly because she actually wanted things to go well for once. It was in Shiro's honour, after all, and it'd be the first time they actually saw each other since he had left the Academy so long ago.
However, even she as a centuries-old demon had a breaking point, and after the initial welcoming, she sneaked out for a quick nap. She had every intention of being present at the banquet and cornering Shiro, and thus she needed her energy.
She didn't expect to find him on her way to her nap.
"Yo," she called out.
He was visibly startled, having been gazing out one of the large Academy windows. Both of them were surprised at his inattentiveness, and she was about to call him out on it, when he smiled and anything she was going to say was unable to come out because her breath suddenly left her.
"Yo, Lilith, it's been a while, huh?"
Been a while? Been a while? It's been years you thrice-damned, good-for-nothing Exorcist –
"That's one way to put it, you ungrateful kid, how come you left and then completely ignored the person that raised you?" Lilith cut off her own internal monologue before her emotions got the best of her.
"Sorry, sorry…I guess I've been really busy," he offered lamely.
"Busy, you say? Too busy to come say hi to me, but not too busy to say hi to all the other Exorcists, or to offer them tips, or to flirt with all the female students every year," as her tirade continued, Lilith began to gesticulate with more force and advance on her former charge.
"Um…Lilith, are you-"
"I mean, it's not like it's even that hard to walk all the way to my room and say hi, but you've got no trouble walking around the school, offering advice or-"
"Could you possibly be-"
"-shamelessly flirting with innocent schoolgirls-"
"Lilith, are you jealous?'
"-who are too…hah?" his words finally stopped her.
She stopped, finally realizing their position: she had backed him up against the wall and her face was almost level with his, expect he'd grown considerably taller since the last time she'd been this close to him.
"Who am I jealous of? Your little fan club? Please, I've got better things to do with my time! Say, how much have you grown since the last time I saw you, you used to be so small?" uncharacteristically, the sudden change in subject was accompanied by a small dash of pink on her otherwise white cheeks.
Lilith wondered what in the seven hells she was doing. She had wanted to talk to Shiro, about feelings that she recognized, if she didn't exactly like. She thought she made peace with them. But as soon as she ran into him, she began to act like a scorned girlfriend and then treated him like when he was younger again.
To be fair, she hadn't really talked to him so long, and the only she knew how to was the one she was employing now. But she knew, she knew and she hoped he knew that she knew and acknowledged the fact that he was not a kid anymore but a grown man. A good-looking man whose appearance did things to her, her concentration, mind and apparently ability to hold a conversation with him.
As she fretted over her own problems, caught unawares both in her surprised and exhausted state, she failed to notice Shiro's reaction.
-o-
Shiro was over the moon. While Lilith began to stumble her way through different topics, the dusting of pink on her cheeks did not lessen in the least. She was, in a word, adorable.
But don't tell her he said that, or she'd kick his ass six ways to Sunday.
He couldn't quite hold back a smile and a chuckle, though; as he realized what an idiot he had been for avoiding her for so long. He had thought she was uninterested and, after setting out to win her over with negative results when he was younger, he had decided to grow out of it only for it to backfire immensely. He had never once in his years apart from her bothered to gauge her own reaction to his absence.
He did now, though, and he recognized the signs he had been too blind to see before. So concentrated on hiding and giving up his own emotions, he had failed to notice that hers were growing parallel to his. He suspected she was not quite pleased by this, but the way she was stuttering through her explanations for her obvious jealousy and avoiding the subject suggested the emotions were there and she was quite aware of them.
He chuckled again, which but an end to her tirade and made her look at him.
-o-
"What's so funny?" Lilith was fuming. First she ran into him when she was unprepared and tired, then he accused her (her) of being jealous of high school girls, then she was unable to string coherent sentences together and now he was laughing at her.
Could this get any worse?
"I never really noticed Lilith, but behind the seductress act, you're actually quite cute!" he smiled innocently at her.
"Wha-" how dare this human call her cute of all things and call her seduction an act, she was well-known for-
And her inner monologue would have continued, had it not been for the fact that Shiro had taken advantage of her speechless state to pull her to him and plant a kiss on her lips that took her breath away.
She was surprised, of course, but not against it. This was, after all, what she had been attempting to achieve tonight. And this, this sinful need of the flesh, she was no stranger to.
Shiro soon found himself being embraced back by a demon whose appearance was now just slightly shorter in stature than his own (perfect for kissing and for holding her in his arms), and the kiss, which he had deliberately kept rather chaste, was soon deepened. The two remain embraced for a couple minutes longer; he was still held quite firmly against the wall by her smaller, but stronger, frame.
Eventually they separated, and gazed at each other in silence before they both cracked into grins and small giggles. They had both been so stupid. They should have done this from the very beginning instead of dancing around each other and their emotions for so many years. With a sigh and a contented smile, Lilith drew herself closer to him, lightly pressing her forehead to his chin. Shiro wrapped his arms around her and hummed, happy with the current peacefulness around them.
That night he slept in her bed, yet they only held each other, marvelling at the contact and the freedom to express emotions they had held in for so long. They were well aware that things needed to be discussed, but for now they were content to just lie together, ignorant of the world surrounding them for as long as possible.
-o-
The next morning, Shiro woke up determined to figure out their new relationship. Lilith was not as keen.
"Shirooo, can't it wait?"
"No Lilith, we should discuss…this," he gestured between them.
"But Shirooo…you know how much I hate talking and thinking too hard about things like…feelings," she visibly shuddered, her nature as a demon disgusted at the very idea.
"Well, you're involved with a human who has a lot of feelings now, Lilith, so you're gonna have to- oomph!" his thought-out speech in favour of having this conversation was interrupted as he found himself beneath a half-naked, grinning Lilith.
(One thing they had been quite happy to do was divest each other of most of their clothing, leaving them both in their underwear, despite the fact that they had not done anything but sleep.)
"C'mon Shiro, I bet there's something you'd rather be doing than talking,"
"W-what, Lilith you-" again he was interrupted, this time by an aggressive kiss from his newfound lover.
As they separated, he could not help the slightly dazed look in his eyes. Her grin widened, becoming quite positively devious, as she got closet once more. He closed his eyes, awaiting another kiss, only to feel her soft breath on his ear instead.
"I'm a demon Shiro, and I've got needs…physical needs, you understand?"
"Physical…needs?"
"Mmhm, positively sinful needs…and who knows, stick around long enough, satisfy me…and maybe I'll even let you play with my tail,"
Shiro's blush was only contested by the amount of blood that had pooled at his groin. His seductress nipped playfully at his ear, giggling, before shrieking in delight as he finally made a decision and switched them around.
They didn't lave her bed until early evening, and even then it was only for food.
that's it for now then. i might still go back and edit. yaaay, they're finally together, and now Shiro is going to have to work hard to keep her –ahem- satisfied.
sadly, this happiness is soon coming to an end, as the next one-shot is the final one in this series.
until then, my lovely readers, remember comments are always a delight! (especially in regards to characterization given that it's been a while)