Back to posting after a hiatus I didn't even mean to take. I'm working on writing Reunion, and finishing it up finally. Until the next chapter for it comes out, here's another one I've been working on for about a year. Happy super-belated birthday to Makoto. Beta-read by Wild Blue Sonder.
The New Beastkin in Town
By KindredWriter
Makoto felt weird.
Her knuckles refused to fall upon the wooden door. She checked the slip of paper with Ragna's address to confirm she was at the right place. She couldn't believe the guy she had played sports, cut class, and played in mud with lived in such an opulent complex. She flinched at the creaking door and glared at her hand like a prosecutor did a suspect. Makoto regained her composure to greet the owner, positive it belonged to a friend or associate of Ragna's. A silver-haired man stepped into the hallway, shorts hanging dangerously low from his navel and his toned torso claiming her undivided attention.
"About time you showed up."
Makoto looked between the man and her piece of paper several times, then they shared the same quizzical look. "Uh, is this where Ragna lives?"
"Uh, yeah, I'm Ragna." The man who claimed to be Ragna rolled his eyes and put a hand on his hip. "City air already gotten to you?"
"No, it's nothing." She hadn't expected some brawnilicious hunk to greet her. Ragna didn't pack a xylophone in his abdomen last she knew, but anyone would change over ten years. It wasn't like she hadn't undergone a few changes herself.
"Alright." Ragna's biceps neared and obscured her view. Makoto cringed in the intimacy of his tight and comforting embrace. He dragged her suitcase into his home and looked back at her when she didn't budge. "Just gonna stand there or come in?"
Lecherous eyes prayed for his pants to fall a little more from his slim waist. Makoto snapped out of her perverse trance and stepped into the impressive abode, flummoxed at its extravagance. She felt gauche and pulled at her jacket. The lavish, ritzy flat elicited a few questions about her old friend's personal life. She plopped down on his sofa and lurched when he sat beside her, way too close, twining a lock of her brown hair through his fingers.
"Decided not to grow it out?" Ragna questioned. Makoto shook her head, and her stiff posture and drumming fingers prompted concern. "You doing alright?"
"Sorry about this– barging in on you, I mean." Her request to crash was an abrupt one. She asked her friend, Noel, if she knew anyone with spare space. What Makoto didn't expect was for Noel to patch her over to her brother. Her folded arms tightened against her chest. "I'll be out of your hair soon. Just a few weeks."
Ragna frowned. "Did you manage to find a job and a cheap place in six hours?"
"No—"
"Then shut up. And it's not just 'cause Noel asked that I'm letting you stay." Ragna heard the gist of her predicament from his sister. He had enough room, and it'd been years since they last spoke. He thought it was the perfect opportunity to catch up. "Coffee?" Makoto grumbled, eyes averted. "I just bought sugar," he added for incentive and smirked at how her flattened ears perked up and large bushy tail swayed in glee.
"Fine, you win."
Ragna simply laughed and got up to prepare her coffee. Makoto settled deeper into the couch, recalling the chain of events that brought her here. Waking up to find her boyfriend gone, a note on her side table inscribing his resignation of their relationship. That didn't bother her much, but the missing funds in their shared account –three years of prudent saving gone– had a profound effect on her psyche. With bills coming up and no way to pay for them, on her ass she went.
The strong scent of coffee opened Makoto's eyes to a proffered mug. Neat squares of muscle were quick to recapture her attention, and of course, her prolonged stares didn't escape notice. "Want me to grab a shirt?" Ragna asked incredulously.
"...That'd be nice, thanks." Makoto took the cup, a bit breathless as she watched him disappear around the corner like she forgot the lifelong skill of proper breathing. She took one sip of the warm nervous system stimulant and somehow felt more exhausted. In a few weeks she lost her job, her house, savings, everything. Now here she was leeching off someone she hadn't spoken to in over eight years. Yeah, leeching was a good word.
"What d'you want for dinner?" Makoto was grateful that Ragna had put on pants and a shirt when he returned to the living room, although she could still make out faint indents of muscle. Somehow, that made him more arousing because all she wanted was to rip his clothes off. "I forgot to go shopping, so we can order pizza or some shit."
"Anything." He spoke like no time had passed, casual and carefree. Makoto tried but couldn't do more than curt, stiff responses.
"Makoto." She looked up into his understanding eyes and watched him sit beside her. "Until you've got all your shit figured out, this is your place. Once you find a job, we'll think about you leaving. Besides, the new year is pretty nice here."
Makoto said nothing. She felt emotion swell inside her; she wanted to scream, cry, and punch something, namely her worthless ex. Ragna's hand on her back soothed her anger. She slowly relaxed and nestled into his embrace, all the crap that had happened that month just a nightmare as exhaustion clawed at her body. "Damn, I'm tired… Do you mind?"
"Nah." Ragna scooped her into his arms and carried her to her room. He sat Makoto on the bed and fetched a set of blankets from the hallway closet. Ragna shook out the large purple comforter as she fell back on the pillow. Fresh detergent wafted into her nostrils as the toasty blanket descended. Ragna leaned over and her body tensed, breath hitching as he tucked her in. Ragna chuckled at her awkwardness before laying his head on her shoulder. "Makoto, it's me. Chill."
She blushed. "I know that!" Makoto tentatively placed her hands on his back after a beat. She smiled into the curve of Ragna's shoulders and remembered to breathe again. The perverted thoughts gradually subsided and she held him tighter. Now she felt a little foolish for being so stiff around him. "Thanks. I appreciate this so much, you won't believe it." Her voice cracked a little as tears swelled.
Ragna smiled stiffly and sat up. "I'll call the pizza parlor. They should be here in about an hour or two, so get some good sleep." Makoto wearily nodded. She couldn't keep her eyelids open a second longer and passed into snoring sleep. "She still snores huh? Heh, that's cute."
Makoto woke to the creak of her room door. Through blurry vision she discerned Ragna leaning against the frame. Blinking the dew away Makoto stretched her limbs. "Awake?" he asked.
"I'm feeling much better than before that power nap," Makoto yawned.
"Good 'cause the pizza's here. You like anchovies, right?"
Makoto chuckled and rubbed her temples, soothing a small headache. "I can't believe you actually remembered that."
"It was the only thing you ever ordered. I got a box for myself because I hate anchovies, and I'm sure you're starving," Ragna said.
Makoto fought her limbs begging for a few more minutes of rest. She threw her legs off the bed and her eyes met Ragna's naked torso. Definitely not the worst sight first thing after a power nap, but not good for her psyche. "What happened to your shirt, dude?"
Ragna looked down at himself. "I spilled coffee on it, so I tossed it in the laundry basket. Spilled some on my shorts too, so they went off."
That realization slapped Makoto like a ton of bricks, immediately rousing her entire body. Her eyes slowly scrolled down and her heart would have burst out her chest had the hem of his shorts not come into view earlier. She scowled up at him. "Not, cool."
Ragna flashed all his pearly whites. "Woke you up, didn't it." Makoto didn't dignify that with an answer. He snickered, turning to leave. "Alright, wash your face and I'll see you in the kitchen," he called out as he headed down the hall.
Makoto huffed and wobbled into the bathroom, splashing ice cold water on her face. She tried to meditate on her current circumstances, formulate a decent plan to move forward and get out of Ragna's hair. Though he said she could stay as long as she needed, the last thing Makoto wanted to be was a burden. Unfortunately the mental image of Ragna's bare abs appeared in her mind's eye more clearly than anything else. She was confident that some horny demon had possessed her by the way she fixated on Ragna's nakedness. Not even two weeks had passed since her ex parted ways with her– Makoto knew she possessed better control over herself than this!
She splashed her face again and attempted to rationalize. It was just shock; she hadn't seen him in years and the last thing Makoto expected was for her old crush to become some muscled hunk. Yeah, that's it.
Makoto followed her nose into the kitchen where the steaming slices of cheese and anchovies were. She grabbed her box and joined Ragna in the living room, where he sat watching a reality show and thankfully wearing a shirt. "Got some heavy bags under your eyes," he pointed out.
"I know… After I finish this I'm heading back to sleep." Makoto opened her box and sighed at the delicious smell of her preferred pizza. She tore a piece and took a big bite. "Can we go job-hunting tomorrow or something?"
"Already?"
"What do you mean?"
"I expected you to whine about wanting to take a load off for a few days before looking for work," Ragna said.
Makoto took offense to that. "It's been years since we've seen each other. Besides, I'm not that much of a slouch!"
"Not that much, huh?"
Makoto rolled her eyes. "Isn't that why I'm here, to get a job?"
"Yeah, but you should take a few days to collect yourself. You're beat. Get a job now and you're doomed to fail."
"Speaking of jobs, what the hell do you work as to afford a place like this?" Makoto wanted to know.
"It's not really my job. Remember Kagura?" Makoto nodded, another name that brought back memories. "He pointed me to some profitable stocks, we invested, and it paid off. He went to live in Kazumotsu and I stayed here 'cause it's cheaper. As expensive as this place looks, it's pretty reasonable– costs about a hundred more than a typical apartment. I just had it re-done, that's all."
"So, what do you work as?"
"I'm an electrician," he answered.
"An electrician? Didn't you used to say you wanted to be a doctor?"
"You still remember that?" Ragna sighed. "That was way back when I watched too much television and thought doctors were cool, but the field definitely wasn't for me. I didn't know what I wanted to do for a while and I just defaulted to a trade. Electrical work isn't bad. It's better than nothing."
She glared. "Listen, you…"
"I wasn't taking a jab at you," he chuckled. Makoto's scowl remained, not believing a word, so Ragna shifted goalposts. "The new year is coming around and there are plenty of places looking for replacements for all the people taking off. For now, get your bearings. I think you need it." Ragna tossed her the remote.
"My credentials aren't all that, you know." Ragna's eyes narrowed and she looked down. "The job I had before was thanks to my ex pulling a few strings, and I don't have any recommendation letters."
"Don't worry about all that. You'll find work, no sweat," Ragna assured.
Now Makoto was curious. "How do you know that'll happen?"
"I'll make it happen."
Makoto almost busted out laughing. "How're you gonna pull that off? Do you plan to be my big bad bodyguard and scare them into hiring me?" she joked.
"Hm. I'll think about," he smirked.
"You're an idiot." Makoto twirled the remote control in her hand. "Say, you have Netflix?" Ragna nodded and she immediately went to the streaming service. She scrolled through the plethora of shows until she came to the anime section. He just smirked.
"Still love that kind of crap?"
"Still a hater?" Makoto sneered. "Just shut up and watch, I control the TV. Who knows, you might like it."
"Fine." Ragna leaned back as Seven Deadly Sins began. And there they sat, eating pizza and watching anime. Ragna had never really gotten into it, and while the series Makoto watched when they hung out followed similar beats, he didn't hate them. This one didn't feel too different from the shows she introduced him to years before, but he was liking this Meliodas guy.
Time passed and her real life problems began to fade away. That was why she loved anime so much. It provided an escape for Makoto and got her to stop thinking about all the complicated crap in her life. Even the arm that flooded her mind with unholy thoughts earlier felt like the same one she cuddled in back in high school. She surrendered to his gentle gestures and nuzzled closer, no longer the awkward, stiff woman she was before. "Ragna?"
"What's up?"
"If I manage to get a job," she blushed a little, "is it okay if I stay here a bit longer?"
"Sure. It's been a while since we've been able to chill like this, and I've missed you."
Makoto's heart jumped, and she felt all warm inside. She knew he didn't mean it like that but her mind went there anyway. At least one of them wasn't a complete pervert. "I missed you too."