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“Is that a knife in your armor? Or are you just happy to see me?”
Magna looked up from where he was crouched beside his dear Crazy Cyclone, and in horror, he stopped cleaning the broom to see Finral’s flirty expression covering his features. Had he been flirting with anyone else, Magna wouldn’t have batted an eye. But it wasn’t just anyone Finral was looking at.
A bit to his right, Magna met the horrified gaze of Vanessa, who’s expression surely must’ve matched his own. Wordlessly, they both asked what in hell’s name they were witnessing, and turned their heads back simultaneously to see the horror play out.
In front of Finral, Yami turned around painfully slowly to face him. His standard unamused expression was completely unfaltered , yet he clenched his jaw enough to break the cigarette hanging between his lips.
All four sets of eyes followed the broken cigarette as it fell to the ground. Then everyone looked back at Finral, who, to his credit, only cringed slightly below the frightening frame of their captain.
After an eternity of silence, Yami finally answered.
“It’s a knife. Now go buy me new cigarettes, you fool.” He turned back to continue packing for their trip, and Finral slouched his shoulders slightly in defeat.
“Yessir, I gotcha.” He grinned to himself as he opened a portal, and disappeared, most likely to get new cigarettes before Yami started yelling at him to hurry up.
Never before had Magna seen Vanessa run as quickly as she did towards him, only for her to crash into him and was this close to falling onto Crazy Cyclone.
“Hey, watch your step!” He complained, but the now very fierce woman paid him no mind.
“Did I drink too much wine or did Finral just flirt with Yami?”
“You always drink way too much wine”, Magna answered, slightly taken aback at the intensity of her gaze. Then again, they had been the only witnesses to something impossible taking place. “But, yes, Finral did actually flirt with-”
“I can’t believe it!” Vanessa’s serious demeanor changed in the bat of an eye, because suddenly she laughed heartily and slapped Magna hard in the shoulder. “Who knew that little fucker had balls enough to do that?”
Magna ignored the pain in his shoulder, and laughed alongside her.
“But really”, she said after their laughs had dissipated into giggles and grins. “Did you dare him to do it? Surely someone must’ve set him up.”
“I wish”, Magna replied. “Did you?”
Vanessa shook her head, brows furrowing slightly.
“Hm.” Magna stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Although that seems like the only logical explanation… why would he do it when only we were here and not whoever dared him to?”
After a few heartbeats, they both looked at each other with wide eyes.
“He wouldn’t!” They both gasped.
“This means-”
“That he really-”
“Oh boy.”
“Poor soul.”
Magna didn’t know if this meant that Finral, who had always been treated as Yami’s personal manservant and was more or less known for thinking Yami was nothing but an arrogant ass, suddenly liked their captain enough to try his luck in winning him over, or if it was some sort of trap he had conducted as revenge for always being slaved around.
In any case, he couldn’t help but grin like a fool, because this was bound to get interesting.
Charmy was absolutely certain she had developed a new ability when she felt the air become thicker around her, while her senses told her that something was off.
At first, she was irritated that this ability would show itself in the middle of her third dinner, yet she still decided to give in to the sensation and look up. Then, she realised that every other head in the squad was already turned towards the culprit, which meant that her sense of discomfort was weaker than everyone else’s. Maybe she had to work with that, she thought, before quietly laughing it off. As if training was more important than yummy food and sustenance.
The culprit, as it turned out, was in the form of Finral just having sat down on the table in front of Yami, who in turn was slouched beside Vanessa on the couch.
“I may not be a priest, but I assure you that if you follow me to my chambers I can make you see heaven.” Then, after that attempt at flirting which was equally as bold as it was foolish, Finral winked.
Few times before had something been shocking enough that Charmy paused her eating, but this event was surely warranted to go down in their squad’s history books - if they actually had ones apart from Gordon’s memoirs, that is.
Still, Charmy watched as Yami raised a singular thick eyebrow at Finral and leaned in closer. Finral played at being unbothered, but even from her seat at the dinner table Charmy could see the drop of sweat forming at his temple.
Remembering her food, she took a bite without looking away from the two men as they had some kind of staring contest for a few moments. Then, Yami leaned back again and put his dirty feet on top of Finral’s hand that he was leaning on on top of the table. Disgusted, he flew up from his spot in front of their captain, and all but snickered as he left the room.
Charmy raised her brow for a moment, before continuing munching down her delicious food. Whereas she quickly forgot about the encounter, Magna soon slid down in the seat beside hers and reminded her of it.
“How much do you bet that Finral never succeeds in wooing our captain?”
“Hmmhmamahs”, Charmy answered, and while she thought her answer was clear as day even though her mouth was stuffed with food, Magna didn’t seem to have understood her.
“I don’t necessarily think he’s doomed to fail”, she repeated, and Magna’s smile widened.
“Great! Then how much do you bet on Finral successfully wooing our captain?”
Charmy contemplated it. On the one hand, Finral was never passionate about anything as much as he was about flirting, but on the other hand he had an almost impressive habit of easily giving up on a task if it was proven to be hard.
“Five chocolate cakes”, she decided.
Magna blinked at her, before shaking his head.
“Why did I even bother asking you to join the betting pool”, he wondered.
Charmy puffed out her cheeks in indignation and crossed her arms, not in the way a stubborn child would, but as an adult woman who had just been affronted, she assured herself.
“Fine. Then I’ll only bet four cakes.”
When she returned to eating, she couldn’t help but notice that Yami hid his lower face in his hand, as if concealing a smile. Or, Charmy thought, maybe he was just checking whether or not his breath was disgusting. When it concerned their captain, either of the two was equally possible.
“The word of the day is legs. So what do you say, should we go to my chambers and spread the word?”
“I am very much interested in this sudden change of demeanor that my dear friend Finral shows toward our great captain Yami, and I cannot help but feel joy for him having figured out his feelings, even though he shows them in a most bewildering way.” Gordon said this to Gauche, although he had been taught by now that he spoke quietly enough that no one could understand him. Still, he took his friend’s silence as an acknowledgement that he agreed.
They watched from the corner of the room as Yami responded to Finral’s flirting by grabbing hold of the shorter man’s head with one hand, and all but threw him to the side before walking out of the room with an unimpressed expression.
Finral brushed it off as if nothing had happened, by snickering and winking to Vanessa, before starting to talk about something completely unrelated to his failed attempt at flirting.
“I truly admire his ability to accept the terms of the circumstances revolving his desire to gauge a positive reaction, and although it is saddening to see him get turned down like this every so often, it pleases me to notice that his normal reaction to hardships is bettering since he still hasn’t given up on trying to overcome our captain.”
By now, Gauche had even left his place on the opposite side of the table, without showing any signs of ever having listened to Gordon. It made him sad, but when he remembered Finral’s improvements to his standard easily-giving-up persona, he became motivated to better himself, too.
“I believe in you, Finral my friend. Let us see the day we can both stand beside each other hand in hand and remember the hardships we endured to get to that place of-”
“Gordon!”
Gordon was very surprised when Magna slid down in the seat beside him, and was flustered enough that he wasn’t able to continue his monologue.
“Whatcha sayin’?” Magna all but slammed a piece of parchment down in front of him, making him jump in his seat slightly.
“Betting pool of Finral’s ability to woo our captain? This is quite the job you have put into this, writing down everyone’s names and the amount they’re betting in two lines depending on if they are supportive or not of his chances to succeed. But I can’t help but feel this is quite unethical, because he is our friend and so of course we should help him achieve his goal and-”
“Just”, Magna sighed and waved dismissively at the parchment as he rose to his feet, “put that on my desk when you’ve written down what you bet, alright? G’night, Gordon!”
“Right”, Gordon said, feeling melancholic. “They still can’t hear what I’m saying.” He followed Magna’s lead and sighed, too. “Well then, to keep up with the squad spirit I suppose I will have to get involved too, lest they might exclude me from future shenanigans. But on the other hand this is going behind the backs of both our friends Finral and Yami. But on yet another hand-”
It took five hours for Gordon to finally reach a conclusion, and yet, he finally decided to write down his name.
“If I were a horse, I'd rather you mounted me without the saddle.”
Noelle couldn’t be less bothered by Finral’s antics. After all, she had a lot of training to do if she wanted to prove herself stronger than her siblings, and so every distraction was bad for her composure.
Thus, she definitely did not look up when she heard Finral say something so horrible while Yami was tending to a horse he had received as a gift from the Magic Emperor a while back.
“Don’t worry, I can ride for hours without getting tired.”
And now, she absolutely did not gasp at Finral’s words, and when she realised it was their large and stoic captain he was addressing, she totally did not let her eyes grow as large as the saucers in her childhood home.
No, she couldn’t be less bothered by Finral and his awful pick-up-lines. She was, in fact, so unbothered that she most definitely did not watch with caution as Yami froze in his position by the horse, and there was no way she sucked in a breath as he turned to face Finral who was grinning from ear to ear.
During the eternity of silence that followed, Noelle absolutely remembered to breathe until Yami finally responded.
“What are you just standing around for? You have a million tasks to complete.”
“Actually I’m free now since-”
“Great. That means you can run into town and do me some errands, then.”
“Oh! I actually just remembered that, I - uh, I have a million, no, billion tasks to complete, you’re right. I’ll just, ah-”
Finral disappeared quicker than the light as he jumped into a portal before Yami could force him to do anything.
Noelle scoffed at the two men. Really, how could their interaction ever get to her, when she had much more pressing tasks at hand, like training to become the greatest magician the clover kingdoms had ever seen.
Therefore, her complete lack of interest meant that she was totally too busy to eagerly watch as Yami stayed put for quite some time after Finral had left, his brows furrowed as if he were very deep in thought and his cheeks the tiniest of tiny bits flushed.
And later, when Magna slung an arm over her shoulder and whispered that she had to be a part of some game they were playing about the interaction between Finral and Yami, she couldn’t even be bothered to write her name on the piece of parchment he gave her.
Really, she was most definitely too noble to care for any of these antics.
“Are you an iron rod? Because I could hammer you on my concrete slab any day.”
Asta looked at Finral quizzically. The last couple of days, he had been acting strangely, and said things to Yami that made everyone else within earshot sputter and gasp. He, on the other hand, didn’t quite understand their enthusiasm.
“Woah, Fin!” Asta said, and all present sets of eyes turned to him. “I didn’t know you had an interest in blacksmithing!”
Everyone, even Yami, looked at him with weird expressions, and Asta felt a bit left out. Did everyone else know of this interest except Asta? Did that mean he was a bad friend?
He set his jaw, and decided he would do all in his power to be a better friend from now on.
Finral’s smile became slightly crooked as he looked at Asta and shook his head endearingly.
“Oh boy”, he said. “You really are fifteen.”
“Hey!” Noelle interjected. “Don’t insult all teenagers just because Asta is an idiot.”
Asta didn’t know what they were getting at - he understood blacksmithing just as well as anyone. He was sure it was nothing to worry about, and grinned widely at his friends, because a smile never hurt anyone.
Except, perhaps, Yami. After Finral’s comment on hammering iron rods he had become strangely quiet, even for his standards. While he usually was quiet because he was too tired to keep up with them, he now seemed lost in thought in a way that was almost out of character. Come to think of it, they all were, as they looked at Finral with equal parts impressiveness and horror.
When Magna showed up later that evening with a parchment in hand, Asta figured he wanted exercise advice, and began pointing out how he could improve and effectivise his training.
“Asta”, he interrupted after a while. “Thanks for the advice, even though it hurts to think I’m not as good as you, but-”
“Of course you’re not as good as me.” Asta grinned at him. “I’m going to become the next Magic Emperor!” He threw a fist in the air to accompany his words, and Magna looked at him with an unimpressed expression.
“Sure you will. Anyway, this is a betting pool of whether or not you think Finral has a chance to woo our captain.”
Asta blinked at him.
“Huh?”
Magna blinked back.
“What do you mean ‘huh’? Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed Finral’s futile attempts at flirting with Yami?”
Asta thought about it. It was true Finral had been more chipper than usual around their captain, and that Yami had been kinder to him lately in terms of not making him drown in chores quite as much as usual. Yet, that wasn’t enough to be called flirting, now was it?
Magna must’ve seen his confused expression, because he drew a hand through his short hair and sighed.
“Lately, Finral’s been hitting on Yami every day, using pick-up-lines bad enough that I want to strangle the person who taught him them. Like earlier today, when he asked if Yami was an iron rod because he could hammer him on his concrete slab!” Magna cringed as he said it, yet Asta was still confused.
“Yeah, about that. How come everyone knew Finral had an interest in blacksmithing except me? Does he not trust me?”
Magna stared at him for a very long time. Then he put his face in his hands.
“Oh, Asta”, he said. “Don’t tell me I’m the one who needs to have the talk with you.”
Twenty minutes and a completely crimson face of Magna later, Asta finally understood what all the fuss was about, and jotted down his name on the piece of parchment.
“Hey, darling, wanna come to my chambers and chain my mail?”
Vanessa loved Finral almost as much as she loved to see Yami flustered. Yet, she couldn’t help but break into laughter at Finral’s awful flirt. The two men glared at her, which only made her laugh more and wave her arms in forgiveness.
“Sorry!” She laughed, not really sorry at all. “Continue. Just pretend I’m not here.”
Ever since this whole Finral-tries-to-hook-up-with-the-captain endeavor had begun, Vanessa had kept a close eye on the two men. She was aware she was probably the closest friend both of them had in the squad, which both meant she was very supportive of them, but also that she would take great pleasure in seeing them embarrassed.
Therefore, she hadn’t yet written her name on the betting pool, because frankly she didn’t know what would please her more; to see Final try to brush it off as if being rejected was his grand plan all along, or to see Yami finally tear down the thick walls covering his heart.
She shivered as she imagined what a lovey-dovey Yami would even look like. It was not an attractive sight in the least.
Yami grumbled something incoherent, and Vanessa was absolutely certain the traces of a small blush were creeping its way onto his cheeks. She had to take a huge swig of wine to stop herself from squealing outright.
“Ah, don’t be like that, Yam-yam - I don’t even have lice anymore!”
At that nickname, Vanessa couldn’t hold it in any longer. The mouthful of wine she was about to swallow poured out of her mouth and trickled down her bra-clad chest and down inside her panties, but she couldn’t be less bothered at the moment.
“Yam-yam!” She all but shrieked, and she could practically hear the proud snicker Finral wore.
To her surprise, Yami didn’t get quite as furious as she would’ve thought. She was certain Finral would have to switch squads, or at least get a million awful tasks at once, but that was not the case. Instead, Yami covered his face with one hand, and sighed loudly. When he brought his hand down again, his cheeks and neck were pink as the dawning sky.
“Why are you keeping up with this?” His voice was quiet, and almost private, as he spoke to Finral.
Had Vanessa been a better person she would’ve understood she was trespassing her welcome, and had disappeared as quiet as she could. But, as it were, she wasn’t that good of a person, so she stayed and held her breath.
Finral fidgeted slightly in his place on the table in front of Yami, and suddenly looked very shy.
“Yami, I…” He drew in a breath. “I like you. I think. I always hit on girls to distract myself, but the truth is I’ve been caught up with you ever since you picked me to join the team.”
Yami and Vanessa both looked at him incredulously.
“But”, Yami raised a brow, “I’m always so mean to you. What could you possibly see in me?”
Vanessa had to agree. The only solution must be that Finral was a grand masochist who didn’t think he deserved anything but pain. She was glad to be proven wrong.
“It’s true that you pull me by the tail way more than any other member, and I was mad at you for that for so long. But I think you do that because you want me to stay close, and… I like being close to you too.”
Yami blinked. Vanessa blinked. Time stood still.
Then, finally, Yami nodded.
“You may have a point.” And the look he gave Finral held so much emotion that Vanessa wondered if it were even Yami who sat there, or if he had been exchanged with an impostor. “I… always send you away on errands because I can’t stand to look at you knowing you dislike me. I never would’ve thought you actually…”
“I don’t hate you.” Finral inched closer to Yami so that he was perched on the far end of the table, and steadied himself by grabbing hold of Yami’s knees. They looked into each other’s eyes so endearingly Vanessa almost got sick.
“Yeah, I can see that now”, Yami retorted, and although it was his usual monotone voice, none of the malicious undertones were left.
Then, Finral cupped Yami’s cheek and opened his mouth, and Yami drew in a breath that was probably as close to a gasp he would ever come. And then…
“Holy fucking crap!”
Magna came stumbling into the room, and Finral drew away from Yami as quick as lightning. Magna’s eyes met Vanessa’s, and their grins turned wide enough to cover their entire faces. Then, Magna’s grin dropped completely and he looked at her in horror.
“Wait, holy shit, Vanessa, are you bleeding?”
Right. Vanessa looked down at herself. She had forgotten about the wine she’d spewed all over herself.
“Nah, it’s wine. I think I need to take a bath.” She turned to Yami and Finral who tried their hardest not to look suspicious. “I would’ve asked you boys to join me, but I think you’ll be occupied with business very much not woman-related.”
“I can join y-”
“Don’t push your luck, Magna.”
Betting pool of Finral’s ability to woo our captain ♡
I think he will succeed I think he will fail
Charmy, 4 chocolate cakes Magna, 10.000 yuls
Gordon, 2.000 yuls Noelle, 5.000 yuls
Grey, 8.000 yuls Gauche, a used napkin
Asta, 5.000 tatoes Luck, a fight against me
Vanessa, 5 bottles of red wine Finral, my dignity
Yami, that you all do your bloody tasks you lazy assholes
Results
Victory for Finral and Yami ♡
All's well that ends well.
“I can't believe you didn’t have any faith in me!” Finral accused Magna when he finally showed the results to the squad.
No one knew where Finral and Yami had gone, but they had been adjacent the entirety of last night after he had burst in in the middle of their confession, and had acted very suspiciously this morning when asked where they had been. Magna wasn’t too sure he wanted to know the details.
“Don’t get mad at me, you didn’t even believe in yourself!” Magna defended.
Finral had just dotted down his name on the parchment, and everyone wondered why he had written it in the ‘failure’ column, when the entire matter was concluded as ‘successful’. “It’s because I didn’t think I would ever actually have a chance with this asshole”, he had answered and pointed at Yami, who had rolled his eyes and shoved Finral’s shoulder.
“Awesome!” Luck jumped onto his seat with a joyous laugh. “That means I lost, right? Who wants to fight me?”
Everyone ignored him in favour of watching Magna and Noelle complain about their lost money that was evenly distributed among the others.
“Woah, does this mean I get to fight everyone who won?”
Gordon’s mouth moved for a very long time, and although none of them knew what the hell he was talking about, he received a grateful clap on the shoulder from a smiling Finral. Never before had Magna seen the guy’s frightening expression turn so soft; it even almost reached his eyes this time.
“Here you are.” Gauche threw the used napkin onto the table, and all stared at it with disgust.
“Anyway”, Vanessa took the word. “We’re all very happy for you, guys.”
“Watch it”, Yami replied. “You make it sound as if we’re getting married.”
“We’re not?” Finral pretended to get hurt. “Then what am I supposed to do with the dress?”
Everyone laughed, except Yami, who suddenly looked uncharacteristically smug.
“I’m certain that dress of yours would look great on my chamber floor.”
Never before had Finral’s face become so flushed in such a short time, and when it was apparent he was flustered enough to become unable to retort, everyone knew he and Yami would be just fine.
“Don’t worry”, Yami added. “I threw away the knife from my armor.”
Finral’s head just about exploded, then.