Bitter wind licked up against the backs of your legs as you fumbled with the store key. Already, you had been entrusted with opening and closing the store for Ojiro, and while you appreciated the honour, tonight you would have much preferred to let him do it himself. It had been a frustrating day as it was, and now the teeth of the key weren't lining up in the lock properly. All in all, your irritation grew by the second, and with an aggravated snarl, you once again had failed to lock the store up safely for the night. You were starting to feel a little too cold out in the open as well; an unnatural chill settling over Gourmet Town for the night. Home was only a short walk for you, only fifteen minutes, but even that felt too long.
You let out an exasperated grunt and finally the key cooperated with you; the lock leaving a satisfying click. You rattled the door to check the security before tucking the keys into the small pocket on your shirt. You patted down the skirt of your maid uniform and hoisted a small bag on your shoulder before trundling towards home. Boy, you were ready to call it a night with some greasy take out and some sort of unhealthy beverage.
At least, that's what you had planned.
Your short heels clicked with every step under the glow of the street lights, tunnel vision clouding your thoughts. You just wanted to get home, so you weren't paying much attention to the two men that were sharing the footpath ahead of you. Sub consciously, you gripped the strap of your bag tightly but continued to make your way up the street. The two men were laughing between each other, and one of them locked eyes with you before flashing a light grin coupled with a simple hello. You returned a sweet smile and responded in kind, but as you were passing through, you felt a calloused hand whip up your skirt and squeeze your rear. Hard.
Before thinking, you whirled around and berated the two of them.
"Are you kidding me?!" You snarled at them both, who stopped in their tracks and turned about to face you again.
"What's the problem?" The blonde questioned, glaring at you mockingly.
"What's the problem? You just groped me! Of course I have a problem with it!"
"Seems to me, sweet cheeks, that if you didn't want to be touched, you shouldn't wear that out in public." The redhead stated, raising his eyebrow at you.
"That literally has nothing to do with it. It doesn't give you any right to touch me!"
The two men spared a glance to each other before inching closer to you. Fear started to eat at your stomach as you felt it drop. You wished you never said anything now. If it was just one, you might have spared a chance, but two on one was a fight you could never win. Your feet started to back up but you refused to turn your back on them.
"Frankly, we don't really give a shit what you think." The blonde said, encroaching on your space now and grinning with malice.
"If I want something, I generally like to take it."
His friend doubled in on his side, blocking you up against the wall of a building. Your eyes starting to pinwheel around looking for an escape route, while a set of hands gripped your wrists and pushed them against the concrete behind you. You felt a thick finger trace over your arms, sending rivers of cold blood through your system. The finger traced over your body with cruel intentions and for once, you finally felt helpless.
You should have just kept quiet...
You almost didn't see it.
A single feather, so dark it was near invisible in the night, drifted down behind the heads of both of your assailants. Something stirred inside of your heart and you wished with all of your might that you were correct. You clamped your eyes shut and tried with all of your might to push back against the hands that held you captive. You writhed and twisted your body in protest at the invasive digit tracing lines over your body, desperate to break free from your situation.
"I think you need to let her go."
A cool voice cut through your cries of protest, enough to break the attention of the two men briefly as they turned their heads in the direction of the voice.
"Eh? What's with you?" The blonde growled, still toying his finger across your body, digging it into one of your soft breasts now.
"Beat it. This has nothing to do with you." He concluded, twisting his finger deeper into your mound, the pressure beginning to hurt now.
You peeked your eyes open and your heart twisted. By some miracle, the shape of Coco cast a shadow over the two men, and despite his cool façade, his eyes were tinted with rage.
"It wasn't a question. Let her go." Coco said simply, placing a hand on a shoulder each and pulling them off of you with surprising ease. They protested and tried to twist around and land a hit on Coco, but he kept them out at arm's length without breaking a sweat.
"What the fuck man? We weren't doing anything!" The blonde yelled.
"What's with the manhandling? We know her! We're messing around!" The redhead protested, before his eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped over onto the pavement in a heap.
"What did you do?!" The blonde crowed, suddenly concerned for the safety of his friend more than his own.
Coco simply stared him down with a steely gaze; enough to make him begin to quake at his knees and sweat begin to bead on his brow.
"I highly doubt you know her. Should I perhaps ask her if she does?"
"I... no. I'll just go."
Coco flashed his signature sweet smile with upturned eyes. His voice, however, dripped with such malice that it almost made the outdoor chill lower into an arctic winter. He didn't shout, just spoke in a low voice that made your blood run colder.
"If I ever see you near her again, I will personally make sure you will regret it. Is that clear?"
The blonde shook on jelly legs and gulped, nodding at the Heavenly King. Coco gripped his shoulder tighter and dug his nails into his skin. The other man cried out in pain before slumping to the ground like his friend. You saw his nails change from a deep purple back to their coral pink hue, before he dragged them into a nearby alley out of view. Your own knees were shaking, but relief was slowly inching its way through your system.
"...hey, Coco." You said meekly, sinking to your knees. Coco rushed over to you and helped you stand up, supporting your weight easily with his arms.
"(Y/n), are you alright?!" He said, sweet concern replacing the anger he once had.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I've just... had a really bad day."
"Did they hurt you?"
"Just my pride, honestly. Nothing else-"
Coco pulled you into a tight embrace, and you could hear his heart beating a hard drumming against his chest. It wasn't racing, but it was pumping hard. You looped your arms around him and returned his hug, before pulling away gently.
"Coco, I'm okay." You said softly, taking his hand and giving it a light squeeze.
"Really. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't arrived though." Coco averted his eyes from you at your comment.
"It was nothing..." he said, only just above a whisper.
"I have to ask-" You began, slipping your hand out of his and looking up into the sky.
"-are you following me?"
The Heavenly King returned his gaze to yours, and a light trace of fear laced his eyes.
"No, no. No of course not!" He stammered, seemingly tripping over his words.
"I was actually on my way to dinner. Honestly... coming across you was a complete coincidence."
He finally took a proper look at you, letting his eyes travel over your figure and the short little maid uniform nestled over your body. His eyes lingered a little too long on your thighs, where tantalising ruffles swished over your legs with every subtle movement. He pulled his gaze up to break his stare, but they found their rest on the curves of your breasts filling out the crisp white shirt in generous volume. Every inch of you was starting to get a little too overwhelming for him, and he struggled to look you in the eye now. He just wanted a place to look at that would stop his monster of arousal flaring up more than it already was.
"...I'm happy I did come by though... you could have been...hurt."
You let out a sigh and started walking off towards home. The cold was starting to settle on your skin and you were beginning to break out in shivers.
"I really just want to get home." You said, taking small steps away from the Heavenly King and pulling your bag close to you again. Coco started following you and walked beside you.
"I was going to ask if you wanted to come out with me." He said, pulling his cloak off and draping it over your shoulders. You felt the full weight of its fabric now, and it was heavy. You questioned how he wore it every day, but it kept the cold away almost instantaneously. It also smelled of his sweet cologne, and you enjoyed being shrouded in his scent.
"If you're not up to it, I understand."
You pinched the bridge of your nose and thought. You weren't feeling up to a big night, but you didn't want to turn down the opportunity to spend time with Coco.
"Can I get changed first and see how I feel?" You asked, a little embarrassed at your indecisiveness.
"Of course. Dinner isn't far from your home anyway."
"Where were you going?"
"Hotel Gourmet. I like to go in occasionally to have some of Komatsu's food."
"So Komatsu is a chef?"
"Yes, and quite a skilled one too. It's no wonder Toriko decided to partner with him."
"Is he really that good then? Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to eat out tonight."
"You're not going to force yourself just because of me, are you?"
"No...don't take this the wrong way, but I've just had the most stressful day with work and then that happened, I really just want to have some hot food and a hard drink of some kind."
Coco raised an eyebrow in your direction.
"I didn't know you drink." He said.
"I don't. Well, very rarely. Just to take the edge off sometimes, you know? I barely do, so I often forget to even bring it up most of the time. I just really need one tonight."
You concluded your last sentence with an airy laugh, and Coco gave the tiniest hint of a smile in your direction. You reached the outer door of your apartment building and pulled out your keys.
"Did you want to come up?" You asked, opening this door much easier than the store front for work.
"If that's okay. I don't want to go up uninvited." You let out a dry laugh.
"Coco, aren't we long past the point of this? You could rock up in the middle of the night for whatever reason and I would still let you in."
"Do you trust me that much?"
"Do I have a reason not to?"
Your quip left the Heavenly King speechless. He had had his doubts about whether or not being around him was a good idea for you. He worried about your safety around him, but it was dawning on him that regardless of his presence, danger was at every step of life. Had he not been around tonight to intervene, he dreaded to think what could have happened to you. It sent a shiver down his spine in disgust.
"No." He replied simply, taking his cloak off of you to take the extra weight off of your shoulders. You appreciated the freedom, but were hit with a wall of cold drenching your body.
Mercifully, the trek up to your home wasn't long and you breathed a sigh of relief when you breezed through the doorway. Coco followed in behind quietly, securing the locks as you traipsed into your bedroom to change. He then busied himself with looking around your apartment again, drinking in the smaller details until he heard a large thud come from your bedroom preceded by a small "ouch."
"Are you okay?" He called out.
"Uhh...Yeah! I'm just...really clumsy!"
Something about your tone was very off, and he inched closer to your bedroom. He knocked on the door and asked to come in.
"I uhh...no, I've got this!...hang...on..."
Laboured breathing floated out from behind. It sounded like you were struggling to move something.
"...I need help." You admitted lamely.
"I'm coming in." Coco said, dropping his cloak onto a small side table by the front door and pushing the bedroom door open slowly.
Your bedroom was quite large, playing host to a queen-sized bed in the middle of its walls. The bed was dressed with a cream ensemble, while ivory curtains were drawn to block in the privacy on a large window to the right. Coco found you struggling to lift a heavy looking walnut dresser that had managed to tip over and spill some of its contents onto the floor. It was mostly clothes, but he couldn't help but spy multiples of your intimate lingerie. A green and black piece caught his eye and he found himself staring at it, unable to look away.
"Can you pick this up for me?" You said meekly, face red with embarrassment.
"Huh? I mean, excuse me?" Coco shook his head out of reverie.
"Umm, could you please lift the dresser back up for me?" You said again, pointing over to it.
"Sure, of course." He said, stepping around the different articles of clothing carefully.
"What happened?" He said, hoisting the dresser back into place easily.
"The drawer sometimes falls off its rail and I pulled it out too far." You said embarrassed, stuffing your arms with as much clothing as you could and throwing them into the bottom of your robe. "It gets top heavy and tips over if that's the case."
"Have you looked into fixing it?"
"I probably should." You admitted, kicking and tossing anything and everything you could see into your robe, stuffing them all ungracefully. "I forget about it honestly."
You turned to snatch up the last pieces of underwear, plucking the green and black bra up and noticing the way Coco's gaze never broke away despite you moving it. You felt a sly voice inside telling you to wear it in front of him, before you shook your head yourself and dampened that idea. Why should you wear it? It's not like he would see it on you at all.
Still, the thought was tempting, and you could always deal with your urges later when you were alone.
It wouldn't be the first time you thought about him during...
"Umm, I kinda need to...get changed." You said softly, hugging the bra close to your chest subconsciously.
Even with the alcohol flush over your cheeks, you felt like you were on cloud nine. Something in the fruit liqueur Komatsu served you lingered subtly for a while and suddenly you were nine glasses deep into whatever it was he was serving you. Much to your detriment, it had a belated effect on your system and you kept helping yourself to another glass just to try and feel the buzz. Unfortunately, your multiple helpings hit you like a wave, and you had effectively drunk yourself into a delirious stupor; something you had wanted to avoid.
Because of your drunken state, you weren't exactly refraining from being openly affectionate on your dinner date, who was practically carrying you back up to your apartment. You, however, were enjoying how close you two were, and you looped an arm around his waist and squeezed tightly.
"Coco, you look so good, you know?" You said with a light slur, batting your eyes up at him in an attempt to look sweet.
"Thank you." Coco said simply, giving you a small smile, not entirely sure on how he should react to your brazen compliment.
"No, really. You are so attractive. It's not fair."
"(Y/n), could I have your keys quickly?"
"Oh, umm... lemme grab them."
You clumsily patted yourself down, before thinking of searching in the small bag you decided to take with you. You rummaged in its content, fingers finally plucking the elusive silver from deep within before dropping them into Coco's outstretched hand. He gave you both entry into your home before tucking his arm around your waist again and bringing you inside. Exhaustion rolled over you at the sight of your bed and you flopped down onto it on your back.
"I'll get you a glass of water while you get yourself settled." Coco said, chuckling slightly at the completely uninhibited show you were giving him. He thought it was oddly cute, and appreciated how relaxed you were. He retreated to the kitchen while you lazily attempted to get into comfier clothes.
The room swayed and wobbled lightly and you fell back on to your bed to gather yourself for a moment, leaving you in a state of undress. You kicked your clothes to the side of the room while you sat in your black and green ensemble and took deep breaths to steady yourself.
Coco walked back in, glass in hand, and stopped abruptly. He balked, but couldn't pry his eyes off of you, and the way that the lavish green hugged your curves so effortlessly, and so flatteringly. His hazel eyes drank in the image of you sitting there, half naked, before his instincts finally kicked in for him to turn away; his face crimson as the image of you burned into his eyes.
"What's wrong?" You asked, standing up finally.
"I'm sorry, I walked in on you!" Coco managed to squeeze out, gripping the glass in his hand a little too tightly now.
"Huh? Oh, it's fine." You said, looking down at yourself before waving dismissively.
"Do you not like it?" You asked, your normal filter no longer connecting between your brain and your mouth at this stage.
"I-I'm going to leave this here for you," Coco stuttered, placing the glass of water on your bedside table, still averting his gaze. He could feel his arousal begin to stir and he knew that he wouldn't be able to hide it at all from you if he let it go any further.
"- and I better go. It's late and I-"
"Nooo, don't leave!" You protested, catching his arm and clinging to it. His arm fit snugly in your cleavage, only furthering his embarrassment. You squeezed with all of your drunken might.
"Don't go just yet. I was having fun..." You purred.
"(Y/n), I-I don't think this is the b-best time..." He stammered, looking down at you, and receiving an eyeful of your breasts practically bulging out around his arm. He was flexing his hands in a vain attempt to calm himself down.
It wasn't working.
"Coco, please..." You trawled, tugging him back to try and coax him to sit next to you at the foot of your bed.
"Please don't go. Not yet...let's talk?"
By sheer luck, your pleading coerced his feet to move on their own and he folded himself to sit next to you; his gait rigid and tense and he wasn't entirely sure where to look any more. His hands were balled into fists on his knees and he was staring a hole into the wall.
You saw this as an opportunity to try and calm him down, as you wrapped your fingers over his shoulders; pressing your thumbs and fingers into his muscles and trying to massage out the tension. You crawled up closer to him, your breath ghosting over his skin around his neck; sending a ripple down his back and making his groin twitch with want.
"You're so tight, Coco." You said, really working into his muscles. Your naivety made you oblivious to what you were actually doing to the King, and he started to sweat.
"A-Am I?" He stuttered. Your fingers felt nice, and he was getting urges he had never felt before. An overwhelming sense to take you and hold you and, perhaps, even have his way with you.
"Mm hmm! It must be all of those hunts you go on. Do you ever get tired of them?"
"S-S-Sometimes? But m-my want of good food helps m-m-motivate me."
"There's lots of good things in this world that aren't food, you know."
You planted a small kiss on his neck as you said this. Under normal circumstances, you wouldn't dare to get this close, or even entertain the thought of kissing someone of his calibre, but you weren't thinking; just acting on impulse. You couldn't deny your own arousal beginning to brew, or maybe it was the need to vomit. Either way, it gave you an interesting feeling.
"Like what?"
Coco was gripping his knees and digging his nails into his skin, as much as he could between the flexible fibres of his body suit. He was practically swallowing down all the air in the room, and he swiped his turban off and twisted it in his hands. The cool air in his hair gave an iota of relief, before he felt how much he was sweating at the scalp. You took the opportunity to run your fingers through his tresses, unfazed by the dewy feeling and massaged his scalp. Coco emitted a tiny groan at the sensation.
"Theme parks are good." You listed nonchalantly, before stopping your massaging and throwing your arms around to hug his torso. "So are hugs. And smiles. And kisses!"
You planted a big peck on his cheek before crawling around and throwing a leg over his lap to straddle him. You beamed a smile at his shaking form, oblivious to how wide his eyes were as they locked onto (e/c) eyes.
"Sex is good too. Well, not always, but for the most part it is!"
Coco's eyes pinned around the room and back to your face. Your brash movement caught him in a compromising position, and the longer you sat on his lap, the higher the chance you would feel his erection, which was now at full attention. As much as he would like to act on his wants, he wouldn't be able to. His poison would hurt you in more ways to count, and he wouldn't risk getting that close.
But he did want you. Oh god, he wanted every part of you.
With trembling hands, he picked you up off of him and you giggled, thinking he was starting some fun kind of game.
"(Y/n), I can't..." He said softly, carrying you to the side of your bed and pulling the covers back. He placed you, bridal style, into the sheets before tucking the covers over your form. You pouted at him and tried to grasp at him lamely.
"...can we just cuddle?" You pleaded with little effort. The soft warmth surrounding you was starting to make you drowsy and your eyes were drooping with every passing second.
"I can't do that." He said, softer again, brushing his fingers in your hair with such light tenderness you fell asleep almost instantly. He waited until he could hear your quiet breathing slow into a deep lull before making his way to the doorway. You stirred in your sleep and pulled a spare pillow towards you, wrapping your body around it. He passed a sad smile in your direction and as he pulled the door shut, he heard you mumble quietly in your sleep to the ether:
"I think I love you, Coco."