Shaky Foundations
(A/N) Well then, time for things to get a bit more interesting!... I think so at least, you'll probably think otherwise :O
WARNING: A Tsundere Kokonoe, a sort of OOC Ragna, very awkward sexual tension, and some naughty words courtesy of our favourite bitter cat and demon! :D
Chapter 5: That escalated quickly
A stiff legged walk soon became a panicked jog, as the dark and dreary grey clouds let loose heavy torrents of rain. With an irritated grumble, Kokonoe tugged at the coat she had on her back to cover her head. Despite the near blinding downpour, Ragna couldn't help but chuckle as her cute little ears wiggled to cast off stray droplets of water.
"Wanna race, or is it too slippery for that?" He asked, his once spiky hair having lost most of its strength and flattened in the shower. With a smile, Kokonoe reached out and shifted his drenched hair, which had managed to completely cover his eyes.
"I don't feel like kicking your ass today, but it makes sense to run." She said. Nodding, Ragna grabbed her hand and lead the way once more.
Kokonoe had to admit, she had no idea why she was so calm with Ragna all of a sudden. The whole day had been spent with her nervously gibbering and stuttering, yet now she could speak to him as an equal. She didn't fear speaking to him at all.
In fact, she felt comforted talking with him.
He really is the perfect boy.
Ragna looked back at her to see that she was in deep thought over some sort of topic, her focus shifted downwards and her eyelids low. He wondered what she was thinking of, and slowed down a bit to compensate for her lagging speed.
Her eyes shot to him, realising that she was being watched. With a nervous gulp, Ragna turned away and continued moving, Kokonoe's grip tightening around his bare hand. Despite the chill of the bitter night, there was a pleasant warmth spawning from where the two touched, a strange sensation considering how cold the rest of their bodies were.
"Almost there." Ragna grinned, his breath quickening as he sped up. The rain would simply not let up, and seemed to be getting even heavier. The smell of petrichor mixed with the aroma that emanated from Ragna's coat, something that came as slightly disappointing to Kokonoe. She had adjusted to the delightful scent that tickled her nose, but the rain had now drowned it out for the most part.
Soon enough they reached the lab, the small overhang of the porch providing some shelter from the relentless downpour. Reluctantly letting go of the heat of Ragna's hand, Kokonoe whipped out her small keychain and awkwardly sifted through the many keys.
Shed, storage, garden gate, back door.
The jingles of metal echoed in the porch, being the only sound save for the heavy breaths of the two. Kokonoe had no idea what Ragna was doing behind her, but a strange feeling in the back of her mind told her he was doing something. Stealthily sneaking a glance back, she realised that he was staring intently at something.
At her.
"H-Hey, what are you looking at?" She stuttered, her mind instantly leaping to something perverse. Ragna flinched, his wide eyes instantly locking to hers.
"Gah! S-Sorry, you scared me." He chuckled, dodging the question with expert skill. Not pressing the issue, she turned back to her keyring with a nervous pout.
She hoped he wasn't doing anything perverted behind her, and continued her search.
Tager's diary, the gas meter...
Front door!
With a sigh of relief, Kokonoe whipped the key out and began the arduous process of unlocking the door. She'd always had trouble with the lock, a trait she didn't seem to share with anyone else much to her chagrin.
It took her three hard pushes to finally shift the stiff lump of oak, the two quickly running in to the moderately warmer corridors of the laboratory. Ragna made sure to close the door firmly and securely, locking the bolt out of habit.
The sound of the rusty lock echoed throughout the building.
No one else was there.
It was just he and her.
As always, a chilling wind filled the frozen corridors of the lab. Kokonoe wished she had access to the Air Conditioning controls, but the higher ups explicitly ordered that every room be kept at a constant temperature. Apparently it was to keep experiments in a stable condition, but in her opinion they were just thinking of an alternative way to keep their highly unmotivated scientists awake.
"Jeez, never noticed how cold it was in here." Ragna growled, tensing his body up for warmth. Kokonoe had already done the same, the dampness of her clothing contributing to her shivers greatly.
"Wuss." Kokonoe tutted, motioning him to follow her to the small "Kitchen" of the lab. Said Kitchen was more of a small cutaway, consisting of a miniscule cupboard of sweets and a coffee machine. With a grin and a slow shake of the head, Ragna pursued her calmly. While he was certainly chilly, he could tell from the stiffness of her movements and the redness of her knuckles that she was bitterly cold.
In an almost autonomous motion, Kokonoe whipped out a pair of plain mugs and checked the machine. A decent amount of steaming coffee still sat motionless in the glass jug, the dark brown liquid welcoming her golden eyes.
Thanks as usual, Tager She thought to herself.
Strangely enough she remembered what Ragna had in his coffee: One spoon of sugar, small drop of milk - A great contrast to her usual concoction, which consisted of an entire carton of skimmed milk and not a single grain of sugar.
"Here, drink up." She mumbled, quickly swivelling around and passing a mug to the longshanked-man with her. "It's hot by the way."
She was of course too late with this warning, and he took the full brunt of the assault to his senses. His legs quick to respond, he flopped towards the messy coffee table's sofa and slammed the drink onto the desk.
"Shiiii...!" He squealed, shaking his burnt hands. "That warmed me up all right, god..."
With a mocking grin, Kokonoe joined him at the sofa, cradling the mug close to warm her numb body. Chuckling at his foolish display, Ragna carefully picked his drink up with quick fingers and rested it on his lap.
Neither took sips from their mugs of liquid energy, the scorching rims of the cheap plastic being far too dangerous for their sensitive lips to touch. Despite all of this, Kokonoe couldn't help but shiver.
She was still cold.
Her knees tapped together silently, and her jaw twitched spastically to no particular beat. Ragna shot a glance at her, eyebrows raised curiously.
"You still cold?"
"Yeah, i-it's freezing..." She stuttered, more from the chill than nerves. She was truly enjoying this new feeling of confidence she had around him, it made her feel a lot more secure and proud of her own abilities.
And she hadn't felt proud of herself for years.
"Grab your mug, it'll warm you up." He said convincingly, gesturing to the steaming hot container resting on her slender legs. She almost reached for it out of habit, but halted herself quickly.
"Probably would, but I don't feel like treating more burns." She smirked, motioning to the redness of Ragna's fingers. Even as her teeth glistened in a smile, she still shivered erratically and pathetically. Ragna shook his head, sighing deeply.
"Meh, guess we could huddle up or something..." He grumbled, staring into the still surface of his beverage absentmindedly. Kokonoe didn't know if he was joking or not, but at the spur-of-the-moment she awkwardly scooted closer to him.
She leant against him with the lightest of smiles on her face, enjoying the aura of warmth that his masculine body gave out. Ragna's face seemed to be glowing a soft shade of red, be it from embarrassment at her gesture or the heat of the coffee getting to him.
Kokonoe closed her eyes peacefully and exhaled, the atmosphere of the room feeling romantic and soothing for her. She was happy that she could spend some time with the man she loved in silence, the hectic day they had already experienced having taken its toll on her energy. She wanted more time like this.
She wanted more.
She let her eyes open by just a fraction, her expression serene as she glanced at Ragna stealthily.
He was looking at her again.
"S-Stop staring..." She whispered, embarrassed by the deepness of his stare. He perked up, his eyes wide open once more as he rushed to defend himself.
"I-I'm not staring!" He stuttered, lacking the finesse of his usual replies. Kokonoe pouted, pressing her weight against him ever so slightly in a way she thought was playful.
"Damn pervert..."
"God, I was only joking about doing this." Ragna chuckled, not realising Kokonoe's hand temptingly reaching for his. "Hell, at this rate we could practically take our clothes off: They're wet after all."
Kokonoe didn't hear a single bit of the sarcasm dripping off his words.
"T-Take our clothes...?" She blushed furiously, convinced that he meant it but too shy to take that step. "What!? That's stupid! W-What do you think I am, an exhibitionist?!"
"Joke! J-Joke!" Ragna gasped, swinging his head dramatically to try and stress the message.
"Oh! Okay..." She replied quickly, almost sounding disappointed. Following this, Kokonoe just stared at her coffee in silence, as did he in due time.
This was so embarrassing.
Tick...Tock
Tick... Tock
Ragna grunted uncomfortably, fidgeting in his seat. Sneaking another glance at him, she noticed that he had placed his drink on the table and sat at attention, his back straight and his hands clenched together. His dashing jaw was shut firmly, and his shoulders were tensed as if expecting a charge from an unruly foe.
She began to notice the dampness of his clothing, his shirt having tightened onto his muscular chest from the pouring rain. She almost felt the urge to touch him, her tongue licking her soft, petite lips.
He looked so handsome.
He turned to look at her shyly, only for his red and green mirrors to notice her inquisitive stare. Instantly he swung back, nerves striking him hard. Kokonoe held her smile back, finding this sensitive side of his cute.
"Kokonoe." He said firmly, slicing through the silent air like a broadsword through warm butter. She flinched from the strength of his voice, instantly shifting her glance from his body shape to his eyes.
She had intended that at least, before he suddenly lunged at her.
She fell across the sofa hastily, yet his hands shot out to protect her as she landed on her back. Before she could even register what was going on he was looming over her, his hands splayed at the sides of her head decisively.
"Ruh... R-Ragna?" She whispered, nervous at this turn of events. His face was as red as hers, his expression tight as he looked into her eyes. With a deep breath, he slowly began to lean towards her.
Surely he wasn't...?
His jaw began to tremble, his breathing gaining a panicked roughness as he drew nearer and nearer.
Closer and closer.
She felt excited.
She was amazed that Ragna was about to do this, feeling that it was entirely unprovoked yet romantic all the same. Absentmindedly her tongue ran itself across her sensitive lips stealthily before she pursed them gently, ready to receive him. Her eyes slowly fluttered closed, the last image she saw being him doing the same as he descended towards her.
Her first kiss.
She was so happy.
But the moment never came.
It felt like eternity as she lay motionless, her gentle breaths inaudible even in the dead silence of the lab. She didn't risk opening her eyes, and simply wiggled her toes in anticipation.
Come on, kiss me!
As if to reply to this thought, she heard a shuffle and a shift of weight on the sofa. Cautiously letting one of her eyes open, she noticed that he'd gotten off her, and now sat in a reserved fashion on the far end of the settee.
He looked revolted.
"... W-What's wrong?... Ragna?" She shuddered, a tad bit uneasy after his sudden retreat. Ragna didn't perk up, or even register what she had said. Concerned, Kokonoe tried to rise from her supine position only for him to get up with a grunt.
Before she could even call out for him once more, he was storming out with gritted teeth. Crashing through the backdoors to the artificial gardens, he left a feeling of anger in his wake.
Kokonoe pursued him.
X
(A/N): Ugh, that was harder to write than it should've been :/
Irritating, considering it didn't turn out as dramatic as I planned xD
We're getting there! Just two more chapters to go! :O