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"Come on, just CLOSE ALREADY!" You yelled against the blizzard as you tried with all your strength to push against the door of the lab.
A loud "bang" resonated through the hallways and you finally let out a sight of relief, scrolling off the snow on your shoulders. You opened your backpack, but you didn't find anything missing or damaged.
With a bright smile, you picked it up once again and strolled through the cold hallways of the lab, humming an unknown tune and skipping steps as you made your way to Caesar's lab.
"Caesar! I'm back!" You yelled, poking your head inside the room.
His shoulders jumped lightly at the sound of your voice, almost dropping the becker he was holding. "How many times have I told you not to interrupt me when I'm concentrating?!"
You entered into the room, a sheepish smile growing on your face, "Sorry, just wanted to let you know I'm still alive!"
He turned around, fully facing you with an unamused expression, "Where the fuck have you been anyway? You went out this morning without saying anything!"
"Actually, I told you. You can ask Monet since she was there too. You were so focused you didn't even hear me" You said smugly, leaning over his taller form with your hands on your hips.
He rolled his eyes, the gas around him moving faster in annoyance, "Anyway, what's inside that backpack?"
"Unfortunately nothing interesting, I explored almost every part of this side of the island but didn't find anything worth researching"
His eyebrow rose in confusion, "If you don't have anything to show me, why did you come here? And... why are you smiling like that?"
"Can't your precious assistant just be happy to see her master?~"
His cheeks turned pink, eyes widening at the sound of his title. With a low grumble, he floated towards another table full of chemicals, avoiding eye contact with you, "Shut up and go back to your work!"
"I already did everything I was assigned today, so I'll just go take a looong warm bath and relax" you slowly made your way out the door. Without turning back, a smirk grew on your face, "Unless you want to join me~"
"Ack- JUST FUCK OFF!"
Snickering, you closed the door, walking off with a smile.
'Good, he doesn't suspect anything'
*************
Your eyes travelled from side to side, keeping in check every chemical that was on your table, writing down every change of the components and their reactions.
"Oi Y/n"
You didn't even look back at him, "Caesar I'm trying not to make the lab explode, what do you want?"
"Have you seen the chemical R802X? It's in a small flask, I swear it was right next to me" you heard him flowing around, moving things on his table.
You suppressed a smile, "Why are you asking me? It should be on your side"
"It was on my side, I swear it was here, but I can't find it anywhere!"
You tilted your head to look at him, your hand moving a little flask closer to your body. You chuckled, "It's not my fault if you can't keep concentration for more than 5 minutes. Or maybe you are getting too old and your brain can't keep up!"
He suddenly stopped, his hands firm on the metal table, "Ah ah ah, since you want to be such a smart ass I'll give you the privilege to walk to the other side of the lab and get me a new one!"
He turned to look at you, brows furrowed. You could tell he was annoyed by your comment, but you also noticed a faint brush of pink dusted on his pale face. Was he... embarrassed?
'Let's see if I can spread that pink a bit more'
You turned around fully facing him, the flask conveniently hidden behind you. With a beaming smile, you put a hand on your heart.
"And you think that is a punishment? I'll gladly do anything for my favorite scientist~"
There were a few moments of silence.
You grinned as you saw his cheeks flare up. You could almost feel the steam emitting from his face.
"I- you... did you just... SHUT UP!"
Caesar quickly averted his gaze, turning back toward his table while grumbling nonsense under his breath.
You snorted, looking away with a hand on your mouth to suppress the laughter, your muscles contracting from the attempt to not fully burst out laughing.
"I can hear you dumbass! Go fetch that chemical or I'll make sure to throw you out in the snow myself!"
You took a few deep breaths, regaining control of yourself.
With a swift movement you picked up the little flask near you, keeping it hidden from Caesar, "Okay, no need to be so fed up!"
As you made your way to the door, your heart sank when you saw it open before your eyes.
"Caesar, I've got the results of the last exp-..." Monet looked up from her documents, straight at you, with a puzzled expression.
The color drained from your face as you saw her glancing at the flask in your hand.
With your eyes widening, you quickly put a finger over your lips, your eyes darting between her and Caesar, which was still leaning over the table.
After a few moments, she brought her wing over her mouth, clearing her throat, "Excuse me, I must have gotten a sore throat because of the wind. As I was saying, I have the results of the last experiment"
"Bring the papers here, I'll check on them when I finish this" you saw Caesar waving his hand over his head.
You beamed at Monet, letting out a sigh of relief. She made her way toward you, slowing down as she passed next to you, "You owe me a drink"
"I owe you my life, not just a drink"
She giggled as she moved on, her claws tapping ritmically on the metal floor.
With your hope in humanity restored, you walked out of the room, making your way toward the storage of the lab.... but not before a brief stop to your bedroom to deliver a new piece for the success of your plan.
*************
A chill ran up your spine when a cold breeze hit you on the neck, your whole body shivering as you made your way through the poorly lit hallway.
Rubbing your eyes with your free hand, you tried to collect the last energies that you had to stay awake and to be as quiet as possible.
'Fuck, why is it always so cold in here?'
A dim light caught your attention. Looking up ahead, you saw the light inside Caesar's lab still on.
Slowing your pace, you leaned closer to the wall, trying to blend into the shadows. You quietly made your way to the door and stopped a few meters away, listening closely to any sound inside the room.
Only silence met your ears. Curiosity had the best of you, peering inside the room everything was where it should have been, the only thing missing was Caesar himself.
You sighed in relief, 'He must be in the back, better go before he comes back'
You sprinted through the hallway on your tiptoes, making sure to move fast but to make less sound as possible.
When you turned a corner, your face hit hard against a wall. Letting out a strangled sound, you stumbled backwards, losing your balance and falling to the floor.
Just before hitting the ground, a hand grabbed your arm, stalling your fall.
There were a few moments of silence, your head spinning from the fast motions you were put through.
"What the fuck are you doing running around like that at this hour?!"
Moving away the locks of hair that obscured your sight, you saw Caesar with a very annoyed expression.
Well, you were screwed.
As he pulled you up, you smiled nervously at him, "Caesar! It's so nice to see you!"
"Oh please spare me that bullshit Y/n" he rubbed his temple with a gloved hand, the gas around him flowing slower than usual, "Why the fuck are you still awake? And... is that a loaf of bread?"
You tensed as you looked at your feet, the object of your night outing in plain view. You laughed nervously, leaning down to pick up the bread, "Ehm... yeah? You know, I was a little hungry and I was really craving for a slice of bread"
He raised an eyebrow, emotionless, "...at two and a half in the morning?"
You rubbed the back of your neck sheepishly, avoiding the question. Looking up at him, a thought suddenly urged in your head, "Wait... why are you still awake?"
You leaned closer, looking at his features. His hair were all messy, deep dark circles furrowed his pale face, and his eyes looked exhausted, his eyelids fighting against gravity to stay open.
He pinched between his eyes, "I was checking the new chemical components, there is some data that doesn't add up and I need to fix it as soon as possible"
His eyes shot open when he felt the warmth of your hand on his cheek. You leaned up, your face a mix of worry and resignation, "I know that you won't listen to me but, please, leave it for tomorrow. You can't go on like this. You need to sleep and let your brain rest or else you will not be able to resolve anything."
His eyes locked on yours, mouth slightly open. You could feel his skin heating up, bringing a smile to your face, "If you won't do it for yourself, will you at least do it for me?"
You tilted your head slightly, your thumb rubbing against his cheek.
Gulping down a lump in his throat, Caesar looked aside,
"I..."
A sigh escaped his lips, his blush spreading as he leaned against your hand, "...I'll think about it"
With a bright smile, you leaned up to rub your hand in his hair, giggling lightly, "That's the answer I was looking for!"
He grumbled under his breath, avoiding eye contact, "Don't make me change my mind, Y/n"
You quickly moved away, smiling again at his taller form, "I'll go to enjoy my little snack now! Have a good night Caesar" you moved around him, his eyes following you as you moved away.
As heard him call back with a "'night", you looked back at him, "Don't be such a brick wall!"
He threw back a middle finger over his shoulder. With a chuckle, you sprinted away into the dimly lit hallways.
*************
Time stood still for the longest moment. The tension in the room weighed like a boulder on your shoulders. The decisive moment had arrived.
With a deep breath, your hand begins to tilt, the dense liquid inside the vial flows slowly along the glass walls.
You hold your breath, biting your lower lip. Eyes fixated on the almost final result of your last week of hard work and loss of sleep. A small drop of solution formed on the tip, barely holding itself up against gravity.
As soon as it made contact with the content inside the flask, a purple gas erupted from its thin neck, making you gasp and take a few steps back with a hand over your mouth and the other keeping your goggles firm against your head.
Soon enough, the cloud dissipated into the air. You took a step closer, hand still on your mouth. Leaning over, you inspected the content of the flask. And it dawned on you.
"....it worked"
You leaned closer, your eyes widening in disbelieve.
"It worked"
You couldn't help the smile on your face.
"IT WORKED!"
You picked up the flask, admiring the fruit of your work. You held it up in the hair, laughing incredulously, "I DID IT! I ACTUALLY DID IT!"
Spinning on yourself, you held it up into the air, as if to show the world your creation.
"I'M A FUCKING GENIUS!!"
"....What are you talking about?"
You froze on the spot, feet suddenly as heavy as marble. Your head slowly turned to look behind you, eyes locking with the almighty scientist of this lab.
You quickly ducked your hands away from his vision, fully turning towards him with a shit eating grin, "Caesar! I didn't think I'd found you here! What do you need?"
"What are you hiding there?" He raised an eyebrow, a finger pointing at your smaller form.
"Where?" You were so screwed, but you wouldn't die without a fight.
"Behind your back"
You took a step away from him, "My hands?"
Matching your movements, the muscles on his face tensed up with an unpleased frown, "Show them to me!"
"They are comfortable where they are" you continued to retreat, avoiding his glare.
The gas around his form started moving faster, the air in the room getting heavy by the second, "Do you think I'm stupid?!", he moved closer, his fists clenching, "You've been acting like this for a whole week Y/n"
You continued to withdraw from him, unable to counter his words.
"You've been evasive, secretive and acting strange for the entire time, avoiding me whenever you had the chance. I pretend an explanation. And I want it now!" his eyebrows furrowed in frustration, still moving closer.
A small gasp escaped your lips as your back touched the cold walls, your hands still hidden in the corner behind you.
You tilted your head up, your eyes finding his amber ones. They were a mix of anger, frustration and confusion. You felt guilt pulling its strings into your heart. Almost hating yourself for making him feel that way, your hands clenched firmly against the glass of the flask. You didn't come this far to ruin everything.
Your expression softened, "Caesar, I swear that whatever you are thinking of is far from the truth. I assure you that this is nothing you have to worry about and before you even notice it, everything will be clear to you, okay?"
He stood still for a moment, absorbing your words. You thought that you might have convinced him.
Suddenly, he closed the gap between you two, towering over your smaller form and trapping you with his body.
A gasp of surprise left your lips as your cheeks blushed from the closeness, "C-Caesar? What are you doing?"
His frown slowly morphed into a smirk. With a low chuckle, he leaned down, "Shulololo~ I don’t think you realize the situation you’re in…"
The gas started to envelop your body, grazing lightly against your skin. Your eyes flashed between him and the gas, confusion clouding your mind, 'What does he think he's doing? I can easily escape by the gap under his arms.....unless-'
Your eyes widened as realization finally hit you. You gulped down the knot in your throat.
"......you wouldn't dare"
He stared back at you with a smug grin when he saw the expression of distress on your face. He leaned down, his nose almost touching yours.
"I think I have to remind you who the real master is~"
His hands darted forward, targeting your sides with fast but light movements.
You hardly suppressed the fit of giggles that tried to escape by biting your lower lip. The muscles on your belly tensed up as his slender fingers tried their best to get a reaction out of you.
"S-stop.... th-that"
"Not until you tell me your secret"
You started squirming under his hands, trying to lean away from him as far as you could. His fingers started digging into your sides, searching for any sensible spot to aim at.
"Y-You are... the whohorst"
With your hands behind your back, you tried to lean over to block his arms from reaching you. You knew you wouldn't be able to resist much longer.
"Shulololo~ Already starting to lose focus? I knew you were ticklish, but I didn't think it was this bad!"
You dashed forward, trying to escape, but in your current state your attempt was quickly stopped by his arm blocking your way.
"You want to leave already? Shulololo~" he leaned closer, his breath tickling your ear, "Let's see how long will you be able to resist now~"
The gas became thicker, reaching under your shirt and brushing against your weak points.
You couldn't take it anymore. You shrieked with laughter, your body shaking to try and make the gas go away, but it was all useless.
Caesar laughed with you, pleased by your sudden reaction, "Shulolo! That's what I was looking for!"
With the gas tickling you mercilessly, you continued to laugh and wiggle to make the sensation go away, only to feel it come back 10 times worse.
"Cae-Caesar! PL- HEHEASE STAHP IT"
You knew that he was enjoying your despair, his sadistic side surfacing as his fingers tickled you more vigorously, "You know what you have to do. Are you going to spit it out?"
With the blush spreading all over your face, you looked up at him through your half closed eyes.
"I.... cahahan't thell-"
He smiled viciously, leaning down next to your ear, his breath tickling your sensitive skin.
"Wrong answer~"
His fingers darted over your neck, followed by the gas, in a cycle of tickles, brushes and grazes. You screamed in laughter, trying to find shelter into your shoulders, but everytime you blocked an attack, the gas would find its way and destroy any attempt.
You could feel the tears forming in the corner of your eyes, your legs weak under the intensity of the stimulation.
The grip of your fingers on the flask weakening.
You looked up at him, unable to form any coherent phrase. At least he was having fun too. He noticed your gaze, a sly smirk forming on his lips, "You are more stubborn than I thought, I give you that. But I know that this is not your weakest point~"
Your eyes widened in fear as you felt the gas brush against your ankles, "N-Nohot there! Plehehease not thehere!"
He leaned over, his nose brushing against yours, his long hair tickling your shoulders and neck, "Shulololo~ You know what you have to do, you have three second to decide your fate"
"Three"
"Two"
"One~...."
"OKAY! OKAHAHAY STAHP! I'LL TELL YOU! I'LL THEHELL YOU! HAVE MEHEHERCY!"
You could feel the gas withdraw, returning into his gaseous form. You started to slid against the wall, your legs too weak to keep your body up. Caesar quickly put his hands under your armpits, sustaining your smaller form while you still twitched and shook for the phantom brushes that he left behind
He chuckled, eyes examining your flushed cheeks, "That was quite the reaction, I will have to experiment on it more in the future, shulolololo~"
Your eyes met his, slowly taking deep breaths, "Ehehe.... you ahare.... an asshole..."
The two of you stood there for a few minutes, giving you the time to regain your energy and to steady your breathing.
Once you felt strength return to your legs, you detached from the wall. Caesar stepped back, leaving you enough space to move, but still keeping close enough to stop you if you tried to escape again.
He crossed his arms, "Come on now, let me see what you've been hiding"
You looked up at him, a smirk on your face, "Before I tell you, let me ask you a question Caesar.... what day is today?"
His eyebrows rose in confusion, "......Friday? What does it matter?"
"Come on, stop joking and answer me!" You giggled lightly, waiting for his real answer. But as time passed, you noticed that he became more and more confused buy your question. Your eyes slightly widened, almost at a loss for words.
"Holy shit..... you actually don't know...?"
He seemed even more confused by your reaction, "....should I?"
You recovered from your initial shock, clearing your voice, "Well, this was unexpected, but I guess it can't be helped"
You slowly moved your hands from behind your back, making sure not to drop the glass. He slowly leaned down, examining the content of the flask and preparing himself to use his powers if needed.
Inside there was...... a liquid? No, it seemed more like a fluid. A purple fluid that rested on the bottom of the bottle.
"Y/n... what am I looking at?"
The expression on his face made you almost snort. "Look closer at it and trust me!"
He did as you told him, leaning even closer to inspect the substance. You lightly tapped the glass with your finger, a small chuckle leaving your lips as you lowered your voice, "Come on, little one, don't be afraid! He doesn't bite"
Caesar shot a glance at you, puzzled by your words.
Until he saw the fluid moving.
He almost lost his balance as he saw a small, yellow eye pop out from the goo, followed soon after by another.
"What the fuck is this?!"
You chuckled at him, his expression almost comical, "Cup your hands and you'll find out!"
Freeing one of your hands, you held his in place as you tilted the small glass bottle. The slimy substance morphing to make its way through the thin neck of the flask.
The thing slowly started moving under Caesar's astonished gaze. First came the legs, then a long curled tail, a set of gills sprouted from the side of its head. Lastly, the slime on its face split to form a big, happy smile.
Caesar stood there, motionless, his eyes almost falling out of his skull.
"......is.......is this.....?" he looked back at you, hoping that you would confirm his suspicion.
"You guessed it, it's Smiley! Or, well, a small, less lethal version of Smiley" you chuckled, scrubbing the head of the small axolotl, which replied with a happy gurgle, leaning into your touch.
"I went to the other side of the island to get a piece of the real Smiley, and bit by bit I eliminated all the toxins. This little guy almost ate all my pencils as I was testing my progression. Now he can only dissolve food, even if he still likes to nibble on things" you giggle as you felt a slimy sensation on your finger.
You took the slime in your hand, bringing it closer to Caesar's face. He was looking at you, completely shocked and unable to speak.
"This is the reason I was avoiding you. I'm sorry if I made you worry, but I knew it would have been worth it, so..."
"Happy birthday, Caesar!"
He stood there, his eyes moving between you and the axolotl. His mouth wide open, no sound coming out of it.
"You..."
The surrounding gas became heavier. His eyebrows furrowed, knuckles almost white as he clenched his fists. You quickly moved Smiley away, keeping him closer to you as your happy face morphed into one of concern.
"Caesar...? What's wrong?"
You had already considered the possible reactions he might have had after your reveal. You expected happiness, confusion, even fear or disgust.
The last thing you expected were the tears forming into his eyes.
Your lip trembled as you looked back at him with dread in your eyes.
"Oh my god, Caesar I-... I knew this was a bad idea" looking to the side, your hand gripped on your hair, "I shouldn't have...I didn't imagine you would feel this way! I'm so sorry I made you upse-"
The air in your lungs quickly left your body as you felt his arms embrace you with unexpected intensity. You felt Caesar bury his face into your shoulder, followed by a fit of sniffles.
"Caesar...?"
His voice was low, barely a whisper.
"Y-you.... remembered..."
You tried to look at him, but he kept you firmly against his chest, his shoulders trembling.
"It's ju-st...... nobody ever...... you are the only one who....."
As the initial shock drove off, you felt tears of relief on the corners of your eyes. With a heavy sigh, you returned the hug, petting his head as you let him vent, "Of course I remember, you gas cloud"
You felt Smiley morph between your bodies, traveling up to safely rest on your shoulder. His eyes moved between the two of you, head tilted in confusion.
"This is the best gift I've ever received... thank you so much, Y/n"
Your heart melted at those words. You knew that it took him a lot of strength to say it. Keeping your arms tight around him, you stood there, burying your cheek into his hair and bringing him even closer.
After a few minutes, you heard him slowly calm down. He loosened his hug, but still kept them around your smaller form.
You wiped away a stray tear from his cheek, squeezing your hand slightly, "I'm really sorry for keeping this a secret, Caesar... I would have never kept it hidden if I had known how you felt. I just wanted it to be special."
Caesar looked down at you, confused by your choice of words, "...special?"
With a warm smile, you leaned up on your tiptoes, placing a firm, but sweet kiss on his lips. He tensed up, but you didn't mind. The only thing that mattered to you was for your feelings to reach him. Pulling back, you locked your eyes with him, "You are the most important person in my life, of course this gift is special!"
Amusement rushed over your body as you watched his blush spread from his cheeks to his entire face, ears and neck. You couldn't help the laugh that escaped from you, "This is the payback for before"
Crossing his arms, he looked to the side, avoiding your smug grin with a frown on his face, "Shut up"
"C'mon, you know you liked it, there's no need to hide it. It's just the two of us here... and Smiley, but he doesn't count" you chuckled when you felt the axolotl moving closer to your face at the call of his name.
Caesar looked back at the two of you with the corner of his eye, almost lost in his thoughts for a few seconds. He let out a long sigh from his nose, "Screw it"
Before you could register his words, you felt two gloved hands on your cheeks, followed by his lips connecting with yours.
This time it was your turn to gasp, effectively surprised by his bold move. This was not the first time he has done something like this, but he has never done it outside the privacy of his room or yours. You happily returned the kiss, your hands buried into his hair. His lips were soft, even if his movements were still a bit clumsy due to the embarrassment. But that made it even more special to you.
After a minute, you pulled back, breathing slowly to catch your breath, your faces still close.
Suddenly, a thought crossed your mind, making a giggle escape from your lips. Caesar looked at you, "Why are you laughing now?"
"N-Nothing, I just thought that it would be easy to guess what we were doing if someone saw your face"
You pointed a finger toward your lips, answering to his confusion. His blush spreading again as he saw the bits of purple lipstick on your lips, "W-Well it can't be helped then"
You let out a yelp when your body was lifted from the ground, followed by a high-pitched one when you felt Smiley fall into your lap.
"C-Caesar?"
Clenching onto his lab coat, you felt a deep blush spread all over your face as he quickly floated across the room and onto the hallway. He smirked as he saw your expression, "Shulololo~ who is the flustered one now?"
"That's not the point! Where are we going?!"
"Into a more private place where you can tell me more about how you were able to create this Smiley", his hands held you closer to his chest.
With a quick look at your surroundings, a smirk spread over your lips as you recognized the hallway leading to his private room, "Caesar, if you wanted to kiss me more you could have told me before!"
His fingers dug deeper into your arm, "Don't you dare start with this shit or I swear I'll drop you"
You giggled, looking up to his taller form. With a smile on your face you leaned up, placing a kiss on his cheek, "Happy birthday Caesar, I'm really grateful to be spending this special day with you"
You leaned your head over his chest, a blissful sigh leaving your lips as you let your eyes close, your body finally relaxing after so many days of constant work.
His arms brought you even closer, keeping you safe in his embrace.
For a moment, you could have sworn you felt something brush against your hair.
"...Me too"