A Piece of Cake
Chapter Four
'Heart-shaped strawberries'
Kissing somebody across a table was not, as Battler soon learnt, all that comfortable. Ronove had lent back in his seat in some vain attempt to escape- and it was only Battler's fingers cupping Ronove's face, and tangling in his hair, that kept him in place. The edge of the table was already digging into Battler's stomach. If Ronove had pulled away with any more force, Battler would have been dragged across the table if an attempt to maintain contact- and Battler worried, if he leant forwards any further, his torso would become separated from his lower body.
That wasn't a very sexy mental image.
Not really.
Maybe Beato- the freak that she was- would've found slicing Battler in two enchanting, but Battler quite liked all his internal organs where they were- i.e. inside his body. Kissing Ronove wasn't really worth the pain that came with it.
"B-battler..."
Even though the soft, confused, completely un-Ronove-like moan that forced itself from Ronove's lips when Battler pulled away was incredibly rewarding.
"A-ah... h-ha…"
Ronove's breathing was erratic, uneven; completely disordered, jumbled- and Battler had caused that. He'd… made that happen…
Actually, that was (even though Battler hastened to admit it) actually… kind of hot…
B-but wait; w-was he really getting turned on by that?
Battler decided to experiment; biting down on Ronove's lower lip with enough force to actually hurt. Ronove gave another gasp of combined pain and surprise and-
Y-yeah, that was pretty sexy.
Okay, maybe sounds like that were completely worth having his internal organs compressed by the edge of the table; just so Battler could bask in the novelty of hearing Ronove whimper in that helpless manner.
Battler had control over somebody.
For too long he'd been pushed down, pushed around, by Beato, or her stakes; but it was different now. Battler had- with a single kiss- managed to win this twisted power play; and he wanted to savor his victory.
It was Beato's furniture Battler had his lips pressed against; it was Beato's furniture Battler was turning into a light-headed, stammering mess under his fingertips; it was Beato's furniture Battler was… almost devouring, like eating a cake.
Maybe there was some kind of poetic justice in that.
Maybe that was why it felt so incredibly satisfying.
Or maybe Battler was just a sadist, and he hadn't realized.
When Battler drew away once more, a string of saliva- trembling, tenuous- connected their open mouths together; and Battler had to wonder if that was cake-flavored, too.
"Battler..."
Ronove looked at Battler in shock; blatant shock. His composed expression had been shattered completely, reduced to shards, and Ronove couldn't pick them up and piece them back together quickly enough to maintain his unaffected air. Ronove's eyes were just a little wider than usual- and, as he blinked in confusion, his trembling fingertips pressed against his own lips.
Battler wondered, briefly, what he had tasted of.
Cake, most probably.
Well, there were worse things he could've eaten before pressing their lips together. Ronove should have been thankful. No, more like, Ronove should have been thankful somebody as amazing as Ushiromiya Battler had kissed him at all to begin with.
Battler couldn't help but smile, just a little, at that thought.
Was he really that arrogant?
He hoped he wasn't turning into another Beato. A male one, with a distinctly better dress sense, yes- but Battler didn't really want to be that cruel all the time. Besides, breaking out into spontaneous, undignified choruses of 'gyahahaha' every ten seconds sounded like it'd be murder on his vocal chords.
"Battler," Ronove repeated for the third time. Now, however, Ronove managed to finish his sentence. His mind had managed to register something more than Battler's name and the lingering taste of cake still on his tongue. "May I ask... w-what that was for?"
"Ihihi~" Battler laughed rather cruelly in reply; a 70% water version of Beato's favored 'gyahaha etc'. Battler's fingers pressed, lightly, against Ronove's cheek again, his thumb moving under his chin. "Flustered?"
"Among other things," said Ronove, blinking up at Battler with those piercing blue eyes. "I-I realize I said something along the lines of 'creating the right atmosphere' once-"
"-and using sweet words, and communicating with body language," Battler finished, that dangerous smirk still twisting his lips. "Sooo? What's your point?"
"Y-you remember it word for word? I'm... impressed. Should I be flattered?"
"You were practically on top of me when you said it." Battler rolled his eyes. "It'd be weirder if I couldn't remember. It was traumatic."
"Don't humans try to block traumatic events from their minds? And yet, instead, you held onto every detail..."
"I have to hold onto the tiny details, even if I'd rather forget them. If I didn't, I'd never be able to win against Beato."
"Mn... True."
Battler laughed again. It was slightly more eerie than usual; lower- with a promised threat behind it... And, if the slight tremor that ran through Ronove's body was any indication, that laugh did it its job.
"So why're you bringing it up?~" asked Battler, his voice infused with malicious humor. "Is this what you had in mind when you were talking about 'body language'?"
"To be perfectly honest-"
"That's a new one for you. This promises to be amusing."
Ronove smiled at Battler's sarcasm; a more sincere smile than usual, without that enigmatic edge. Even though the effects of Battler's surprise kiss were beginning to wear off, Ronove was still shaken; that much was obvious, by the subtle shift in his facial expressions.
"I suppose it is. However... I never truly believed you'd take me seriously." Ronove laced his gloved fingers between Battler's own. "Am I believe you've succumbed to my charms?~"
"Ha. Not likely. I'm not 'succumbing' to anyone."
"Then... Hmn... Was it a spur of the moment decision?"
"I put a lot of thought into it, actualllly~" said Battler, drawing out his words as Beatrice was so wont to doing.
Ronove raised a brow. "Oh really...?"
"Mmm~ It wasn't spur of the moment at alllll. I'll do it again if you like~"
"I-I… B-battler-"
"Shut up. I'm giving you some proof."
Then- with another broken glass smile, sharp enough to cut- Battler leant forwards and, very deliberately, pressed another kiss against the side of Ronove's mouth. The small, surprised gasp this procured from Ronove was almost worth the pain kissing at such an awkward position brought about; the side of the table was still digging into Battler's stomach.
Battler drew away slowly, hesitantly. His fingers were still linked with Ronove's; blue eyes staring into blue.
"Aha... B-battler..."
Ronove paused; searching for the right words. It wasn't often Battler had seen Ronove in such a flustered state (in fact, this was probably the second time...) Battler drank in the look on Ronove's face greedily, as he would've let a piece of cake linger in his mouth.
Control.
Battler liked being in control. It was a nice change from being abused incessantly by Beato.
"I admit, I'm a little... confused... by your sudden affections," said Ronove, looking down at their intertwined fingers. "And I'm flattered, of course-"
"Of course. That's why you're blushing."
"A-ah...?"
Battler smirked, pressing the palms of both hands against Ronove's cheeks. Their heads were so close their noses were almost bumping; and that, of course, only made the flush on Ronove's face more prominent.
"You're blushing~" Battler repeated, his voice light and sing-song, teasing. "Ihihi~ You act so nonchalant when you invade my personal space, but when it's the other way around you get all flustered all of sudden...?~ That's kind of funny. I didn't realize you were such a prude."
"That's not true," said Ronove- trying to keep his voice smooth, level, but Battler noted a slight stutter in there. "I'm merely trying to comprehend your motives for doing this."
"Who said I had any motives?~"
"I can tell by the expression on your face. That, and the fact you frequently rebuff all of my advances- which is quite depressing, considering how attractive you are. Pu ku ku~"
"You think I'm attractive?"
"I do," said Ronove, smiling. "Although Milady is right; your hair is quite ridiculous~"
Battler pouted, digging his thumb into the side of Ronove's cheek in some childish form of revenge. Battler didn't understand why everybody held such a grudge against his hair; every strand was styled to perfection.
"Sorry, sorry," Ronove apologized, not sounding sorry at all; smiling his usual smile once more. "But to return to my previous point… You've never made any show that you desire my affections; in fact, it's quite the opposite. The probability of you, Ushiromiya Battler, suddenly falling in love with me is quite low. Thus, I can't help but suspect you have some kind of ulterior motive in mind."
"Tch." Battler made a small noise of irritation. "Good reasoning."
"Thank you. So~" Ronove's blue eyes stared into Battler's- so bright, so piercing, Battler felt himself freeze. "Why are you doing this, Battler?~ Are you trying to upset Mila-mphhh..."
Ronove had been dangerously close to the truth there, and Battler had to act decisively. Battler wasn't in the mood to talk- not anymore; and Ronove always spoke far, far too much. Battler had only sought out Ronove's company so he could avoid Beato- and whilst Battler's clumsy attempts at 'seduction' were, in part, a method to irritate Beato, that didn't mean Battler wanted to talk about her. Thinking about Beato, with her pretty face and unfitting ugly insides, made Battler's head hurt.
Physical contact was easier to understand.
At least, it would've been, if Ronove wasn't... Ronove- but nothing in the meta world was simple, so Battler had to take everything with a grain of salt.
Or a piece of cake.
Battler plucked the strawberry (whole, heart-shaped, and devoid of its inedible stem at the top) off his slice of cheesecake. Some rather unpleasant looking cake-like gunge was encrusted to one side of the strawberry, marring it- and it got Battler's fingers sticky; but he didn't really care.
Battler took the heart-shaped strawberry and popped it in Ronove's mouth.
It was a waste of a perfectly good strawberry (the best bit of the cake! the child in Battler's mind wailed), but Battler could always reclaim it later...
Battler kicked his chair aside with more force than necessary (the clatter made when the chair hit the floor was incredibly satisfying), and walked towards Ronove; skirting round the stupid table that had caused Battler's innards so much unnecessary pain. Finally, that stupidly solid table wasn't an obstacle anymore; Battler could finally press himself against Ronove without any immediate danger to his vital organs.
Stupid fucking table, trying to hinder his attempts at breaking Beato's furniture.
Damn it to hell.
...W-wait...
...That was pretty violent, wasn't it?
Battler's fingers curled round Ronove's shoulders, pulling him into a standing position; again, with more force than Battler knew he even possessed.
So Battler liked manipulating people, he was (apparently) a horrible sadist, he had an unjustifiable hatred for inanimate objects, and he was stronger than he thought…?
Wow.
Battler really was learning all sorts of information about his character from this 'experiment'.
"I don't want to talk about Beato," said Battler, his voice commanding, eyes hard. "Not now."
Ronove didn't respond. That strawberry was still held between his teeth; a few small spots of cake against his lips. A faint pink flush was spread across Ronove's cheeks, like icing on a cake, and his eyes were wide.
Battler liked that Ronove a lot more than the enigmatically smiling, constantly teasing one.
"So you can pull other expressions other than those creepy smiles after all~" Battler mused aloud, grinning. "Let's see how many other interesting faces I can get you to make~ It'll be a game. Sounds pretty fun, huh? Ihihi~"
With that, Battler pushed Ronove back against the table (it was probably uncomfortable, but Battler didn't care; Ronove deserved a little bit of discomfort for being so insufferable 99% of the time).
And then Battler began the arduous task of reclaiming his strawberry.
It was the best part of the cake, after all- and he wasn't going to waste it on Ronove.
a/n: Battler's a total control freak XD~ The game master tip ~totally~ shows that XDDD;
You know, a load of the fanart featuring this pairing includes cake XD; It's just, like, their ~thing~
This 'story' (which was pretty plotless anyway. A flimsy excuse to write more of this pairing XDD) is nearly over, yo. When I've finished this I'll work on some equally short ficlety BeatoBattler stuff that a wider section of the fan base actually like XDD~
~renahhchen xoxo