Shaky Foundations
(A/N) And thus we continue on to Part 3, which contains one of the worst pun titles ever made! D:
Just a note for anyone interested, this fic is my current focus whilst the sequel to Shattered Ties is being forged. (The plot for that is essentially complete; I'm just leaving it so I can have a break from the angst of Relius xD)
WARNING: A Tsundere Kokonoe, a sort of OOC Ragna, awkward sexual tension, inaccurate portrayals of make-up application and some naughty words courtesy of our favourite bitter cat and demon! :D
Chapter 3: Made it all up
"Just get out of my lab, you're stinking up the place!" Kokonoe growled, threatening Ragna with a rather vicious looking pair of forceps. The demon backed up a few steps, but continued his inquiry.
"I was just asking! Damn, is that what it takes to rustle your feathers, or... Fuzzle your fur...?" He mumbled, trying to think of a witty analogy. Kokonoe scoffed, wagging the forceps at him in a berating fashion.
"I'm not letting you use my bloody things! Last time I lent you a torch, you came back with a collection of plastic fragments!" She recalled, remembering the unreliable nature of the man in front of her.
"Jeez, didn't I lend you some money to buy yourself a big ass sweet a few weeks back?" Ragna retorted, one of his hands reaching for the back of his bare neck. Kokonoe grinned, calling his bluff.
"Correction: I intimidated you, I earned that money!" She shouted, mentally cheering for her victory. She remembered that day clearly, right down to the part where she slapped him over the head with a test-tube holder.
"It's not like you had to try that hard, an ugly bat like you eh?" Ragna chuckled, reaching for the door and admitting defeat but going for the last word.
Ugly?
Kokonoe didn't know why, but what he said really hit her hard. True, she certainly wasn't one of the best looking girls he knew. Hell, he knew all the good looking girls like the motherly Litchi and the hyperactive Taokaka, so she was probably one of the worst looking girls he knew.
She lacked what physical features those two had in common, certainly.
It never had before, but recently she'd started feeling rather bothered about her own image, especially in Ragna's eyes. Obviously, it was an effect of that childish and girly crush she had on him.
Hell, what was wrong with her?
Her productiveness at work had ground to a halt. She often found herself daydreaming about Ragna the Bloodedge when she should've been filling in papers, something that she admittedly enjoyed. The most recent dream involved Ragna keeping her company during a lonely night at the office.
Sitting with her, talking to her, holding her.
Kissing her.
Hold on, had Ragna already left?
She sighed: She needed to get a grip.
With a sudden burst of confidence evident in the fanged grin she flashed, Kokonoe dashed for her desk and reached for the phone. Quickly tapping in a numbered combination, the phone started to ring periodically until finally someone picked it up.
"Hello? Doctor Litchi speaking."
X
Kokonoe arrived at the clinic about an hour later, her exposed stomach chilled by the cool winds of the morning. Knocking on the door, she was met by her close friend Litchi, who let her in and sheltered her from the cold.
"Pleasure to see you as always, Kokonoe. What's the matter?" Litchi asked politely, evidently busy but willing to spare some of her time for her close friend. In the past hour Kokonoe's confidence had dwindled back, returning her to a nervous and gibbering wreck.
"Ummm, well..." Kokonoe began, doing her best to delay the revelation. Litchi grinned, knowing that Kokonoe only ever deviated from her usual sass when she was feeling for someone.
"Wait, don't tell me: Boy troubles?" Litchi giggled, reading her like an open book. Kokonoe flinched at her prowess, feeling exposed in the mature woman's eyes.
"... Y-Yes..." She admitted, suddenly finding her feet extremely interesting. Litchi folded her arms across her chest, he mouth curling into a motherly smile.
"Hmm? So, who's the lucky boy?" She asked in a sing-song voice, finding Kokonoe's embarrassment cute.
"I... I'd rather not..." She mumbled, not wanting to reveal to her closest friend that she had a crush on someone like Ragna.
She had always relied on Litchi's experience in the field of men. To be honest, she was in some ways her counsellor, giving her advice and tips in living a healthy life both physically and mentally.
She could never repay her for such kindness.
"No need to worry, Kokonoe. What do you need help with anyway?" She continued, rubbing her hands together and licking her lips. After a few seconds, Kokonoe raised a finger and pointed at the woman's red lips, prompting a raised eyebrow from the Doctor.
"... Lips?" Litchi inquired, reeling her head back ever so slightly. Kokonoe shook her head, and proceeded to gesture at the Doctor's painted nails.
"... Nails? What do you mean?" Litchi wondered, completely baffled by Kokonoe's sudden game of charades.
"Make-up!" She growled. "I-I want to wear make-up!"
Litchi barely stifled her chuckle, amused by the childish antics of her close friend.
"Make-up? Well, I could lend you some of my things. I have a couple of spares, so it won't hurt." She smiled, motioning her to follow as she walked into her office. Kokonoe hunched her body close, feeling judged by the half-unconscious patients that filled a few of the beds.
After raiding a few draws, Litchi haphazardly tossed a couple of beauty products into a bag and extended her arm to hand it over to the cat woman. Suddenly she pulled it back, startling the nervous girl.
"Just to clarify, why is it that you need make-up?" Litchi asked, genuinely confused as to her friends sudden interest.
"Well... I'm ugly, aren't I?" Kokonoe growled, her nerves suddenly shifting into annoyance.
"Oh, Kokonoe." Litchi sighed. "You're not ugly, that boy is very lucky to have someone as pretty as you liking him."
While she was sincere in her compliments, Kokonoe instantly concluded that she was just being polite. Of course she would, she's one of the pretty girls.
After a few moments, Litchi extended her arm once more and gave the bag to the bitter girl. It was surprisingly heavy, forcing her to use both hands to drag it about.
"I'd better get back to work, you do know how to put that stuff on don't you?" Litchi asked, grabbing Kokonoe by the shoulders and pushing her along.
"Yes, yes." She replied quickly, struggling to keep her balance on the thin carpet. Eventually Kokonoe exited the building, the Doctor waving from the doorway.
"I wish you luck Kokonoe! I bet you'll make a cute couple!" Litchi cheered, only closing the door after she lost sight of her.
As Kokonoe slowly hauled the bag of beauty products home, she came to a rather large issue.
She'd never actually worn make-up before.
That's terrific.
X
When she arrived back at the lab, she spotted Tager calmly working at his bench. Without thinking, she shot a question at him.
"Do you know how to put on make-up Tager?"
"... Not really, I don't think I've ever needed to wear any." He replied, barely reacting to the absurdity of the question. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason." She answered bluntly, slipping into another room and closing the door quickly. Tager answered his own question when he remembered her crush on Ragna.
How endearing she was.
Double checking the lock on the door, Kokonoe surveyed the room for a mirror. She spotted a small one on a mantle-piece, a small stool nearby to use as a seat. Quickly hopping forward, she grabbed a firm hold on the mirror and flopped onto the stool.
It was awkward, but she managed to balance the mirror on her legs to give herself a clear view of her face. She'd never really noticed how childish her features looked, her small button nose and tiny cat ears giving her a rather silly appearance. Fishing her hands into the bag, she pulled out a tool at random.
Eyeliner.
Surely it shouldn't be that hard? Every girl she knew wore eyeliner, even that silly and clumsy Noel. If she could precisely draw around her emerald eyes, shouldn't she?
Removing the lid from pen shaped container, she wielded it like a child would a crayon. She was unsure whether or not she should proceed, but a sudden flinch of her arm forced her to put it on.
Ever so slowly, and ever so wobbly, she drew an uneven line as close to the edged of her eyelids as possible, her eyes watering from the foreign proximity. Her arms were stiff, uncooperative and unresponsive to her commands. Eventually she reached the end, only to realise that she'd only done the bottom eyelid of her right eye.
One-fourth of the way there.
She moved on to the top eyelid, finding it even harder from the peculiar angle she was approaching from. He mouth quivered and she gasped slightly as she pressed a bit too hard, hurting her eye and causing it to water. A single tear sneaked out and made a break for it, snaking down her cheek and leaping from her chin mischievously. She glanced at the mirror and discovered a long black smudge travelling down her face.
Ignoring this, she moved on to the second eye and did the same thing, the lines not as wobbly as the previous times but still uneven and scruffy looking. When she finally finished, she had to admit she liked how it pronounced her eyes. She'd always hated make-up, but after wearing it she may have changed her mind.
Next up was a brush of mascara, something that absolutely baffled her. She often noticed that Litchi could apply it with ease, and it gave her eyes a strange piercing quality that seemed to get the boy's knees shaking. Snapping the lid off, she tried to think of how to put it on.
Eventually she gave up, entirely unsure about how to proceed with the alien device she had taken from the bag.
Digging into the plastic container, her hand eventually came up with a tube of lipstick, thankfully an unopened one. She didn't want to find herself indirectly kissing Litchi.
Her first was reserved for him after all.
Popping the lid off with a loud crack, she grinned smugly: This should be easy.
Recalling how they did it in the films, Kokonoe pursed her lips and began to apply it. She quickly spread it on her top lip and bottom lip, using no finesse and leaving a messy blend of the lipstick's red and her own lip's peach.
Her mind shifting to its childish persona, she awkwardly lowered her head to her hand and planted a soft kiss to it. It left a large, red, heart shaped mark, prompting a blush from her.
Something about the shape tugged at her, filling her with an unfamiliar happiness. It was almost as if the image of a kiss itself was enough to lift her spirits.
It'd probably be better with Ragna though.
She applied the lipstick again, a bit thicker this time. Looking at the mirror, she found that she did quite well compared to her previous attempt.
She paused for a moment, her eyes sneakily glancing at the kiss mark on her hand.
She couldn't help but kiss it again, leaving a second heart shaped mark.
With a joyful giggle, she applied it even thicker and did it again. It was quite addictive, the feeling of the stick on her lips being ticklish and pleasurable. It must've been the sixth time when suddenly the door opened.
"Hey Kokonoe, did you eve- What the hell am I looking at?" Ragna the Bloodedge yelled, having entered the room to speak to the tired looking cat girl only to find this monstrosity of paints before him.
How did he get through the door?
She blushed furiously at her blunder: Hadn't she locked it?
"I-I... Hello, Ragna..." She laughed nervously, still seated at the stool. Ragna was smiling, suppressing the urge to laugh at her.
To mock her.
"... What are you even doing, you look like a damn clown!" He shouted, releasing the laugh violently. Kokonoe turned to look at the mirror, noticing that the lipstick had smudged all over her mouth, and the eyeliner had left a long, dark line down her face.
She looked like a bloody loon.
It took Ragna a good few minutes to stop laughing uncontrollably and regain the ability to speak coherently. He was about to say something, only to break out in giggles and guffaws once more upon making eye contact with the heavily made-up girl.
Kokonoe growled at his display, embarrassed by her being caught. She didn't want to be seen by him like this, when she was weak, exposed and vulnerable.
Ragna ceased his spasm, and spoke clearly whilst clearing his tearful eyes.
"God, don't wear make-up Kokonoe, you look all right without it." He mumbled, still chuckling somewhat.
"... S-Sorry?" Kokonoe stuttered, trying to understand what he was telling her. Flinching, Ragna crossed his arms and looked at something behind him to avoid her stare.
"No point in wearing make-up. To be honest, I think you look quite cute normally."
Was that a blush?
"... But you said I was ugly..." She whispered, a bit embarrassed by his compliment.
"Uhh, hello? I was joking, I made it all up." He said bluntly, his usual disposition returning to him in a flash.
"... You made it all up." Kokonoe repeated, her fists clenching tightly.
"Yeah, pretty much." He replied, a mischievous grin filling his face.
He was enjoying this.
"... You're a bastard, you know that?" Kokonoe muttered.
"Yep, toodles." He smirked, leaving the room. Kokonoe looked at the mirror once more to see just how ridiculous she looked.
She needed to splash her face with some water.
For multiple reasons.
X
(A/N): SEE WHAT I DID THERE? :P
This came out as a bit too long and tedious if you ask me, sorry if I wasted your time D:
And don't worry!: The next chapter will actually have some cute scenes, and will be the start of an ongoing and continuous plot that will span until the last chapter! (Which this fic has lacked so far :P)