Work Text:
LUST.
Despite the many insults that had targeted his intelligence over the years, Yami Sukehiro considered himself to be of at least average intellect. It therefore annoyed him that he couldn’t figure out what was bothering Charlotte. He had hoped that since their confession she would be more comfortable with him, but she was still quite shy. They had kissed, of course, but Charlotte was so easily flustered that he feared anything more would make her uncomfortable. He had clearly been so bad at reading her body language and Ki for over a decade that he didn’t really trust himself now. He was learning, but was happy to let her set the pace until she was more comfortable.
They were out for an evening stroll, walking side by side without touching. He wanted to close the distance between them—maybe place a hand on her lower back, or throw an arm across her shoulders—but he didn’t want to scare her away. They had talked about their most recent training with their squads and about small details of their day, but were now walking in silence.
The Black Bulls Captain didn’t usually feel a need to fill silence just for the sake of it. He was happy to enjoy the comforting intimacy of the moment with her—or at least he would have been if she didn’t keep opening her mouth and letting out a single syllable before closing it again.
Eventually he couldn’t take it anymore. “Alright, out with it.”
“Out with what?” She mumbled, feigning innocence.
“Come on, Prickly Queen,” he encouraged, “we talked about this. I can’t read yer mind and I think the last eleven years have established that I can’t take yer hints either. I feel like there’s something you want to say. ”
“You’re going to laugh.” She grumbled, unable to meet his gaze.
“Well, maybe.” He shrugged, honest to a fault as always.
“You fool! That’s not the reassurance I was looking for.”
He sighed deeply and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to turn her toward him, but she still refused to make eye contact. Yami hadn’t seen Charlotte blush like this in a while—it was the kind of blush that usually ended with her running away from him at top speeds. He was hoping to avoid that outcome tonight. “Honestly, it’s me yer talking to. I doubt anything you have to say could be more embarrassing than what I say most of the time.”
She mumbled incoherently again, and now Yami was getting frustrated. “Look here, lady, last time we weren’t honest about our feelings it took a decade of dancing around to figure it out. I’d rather just cut to the chase this time—whatever it is.”
The Blue Rose Captain took a deep breath. She had overcome her embarrassment with him before and she would do it again now. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right—there was no point trying to hide her feelings from him anymore—they had already wasted so much time. "I'm very attracted to you." There, that was a good and solid start.
Yami couldn't help but chuckle at her statement as he tilted her head so that her gaze met his. His eyes were soft and teasing. "That's all? Yer breaking my heart Prickly Queen, I know I may not be conventionally handsome, but you don't have to be embarrassed about thinking I'm good looking."
"That's not it, you oaf." Her blush had completely overtaken her face now, he could feel the heat radiating off her skin. "I'm very attracted to you, but also painfully awkward at expressing that...physically." Charlotte wondered if it was too much to hope for the ground to swallow her whole so that she could be saved from any further humiliation.
The tall man in front of her shrugged, "there's no rush for anything, I know yer shy which is why I let you set the pace."
"I really appreciate that in theory, but…"
"But...? Spit it out Charlotte."
"I just want you to throw me against a wall and take me!" She really hadn't meant to yell, but it was so hard to control her feelings around this man.
"Huh?" All the annoyance drained from his face and was replaced by a blank stare. She had never seen him look so confused, which was both endearing and frustrating.
"This is hard for me to admit, because my entire philosophy in life is that I don't need men for anything, and I've never wanted a man in any way before you. You are one of the few people—and surely the only man—that I feel like it's alright to rely on. I might be a control freak, but I want to lose control to you. I trust you." Charlotte could almost see the gears turning in head. He wore the same blank expression on his face as before, but he blinked slowly a few times while processing her words in silence for a moment.
"What?" Unbeknownst to Charlotte, the lack of response from Yami was entirely due to the lack of blood flow to his head at the moment. When she told him that she wanted him to take her all the blood that usually helped his brain function flooded to...other places. He was convinced that he’d misunderstood her, but couldn't help his natural reaction to the thought of taking the beautiful woman in front of him. He was a man, after all, and that single sentence brought forth a number of fantasies in his mind. He thought she was being awkward because she didn't want him to touch her, but once again, he had misread the entire situation.
"If you don't want that, then I understand—“ She was avoiding his gaze again, but her statement broke him out of his dumbfounded stupor.
"I'm gonna stop ya right there, what gave you that idea?”
"Well," she glanced up at him shyly, "since we talked about how we feel about each other we haven't been very physical.”
"Maybe I have a complex from the years when I thought you were disgusted by my touch." Yami's biting reply came out harsher than intended and took her by surprise. Her face fell and he instantly regretted his tone. "I know you're not disgusted anymore, but I just don't want to make you uncomfortable. I like you too much for that, Prickly Princess.”
"I'm sorry.” She was ashamed for the way she had treated him for all those years. He was always so stoic, so unbothered that she never assumed her behaviour affected him in any way. She should have known by now that this man was more layered than she gave him credit for. He may have been an emotionally stunted buffoon, but he was an emotionally stunted buffoon with feelings. “I need you to know that I have always been attracted to you, I just got so flustered when you were around me. It was the opposite of being disgusted by you."
"Hey, I've got a thick skin," he shrugged, "I wasn't actually that bothered by it.”
"Communication goes both ways, you can admit it to me if you were.”
"I didn't dwell on it." He stroked her cheek gently. "I just want to make sure that we're on the same page moving forward. Is this alright?" He leaned in and pecked her on the lips.
She smiled sweetly and blushed. "More than alright."
"What about this?" Another kiss, this time both his hands cupped her face and he slipped his tongue against hers. She moaned in response and her fingers fisted into his shirt to pull him closer. He had missed the taste of her, and now that he knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her, he would kiss her as much as he could. He was also very excited to explore this newfound intimacy that she was requesting. He tangled a hand in her beautiful blonde hair and kissed down her neck, savouring every gasp before making his way up to her ear and whispering, "still alright?”
As if he could possibly be any more turned on, she answered with a breathy moan. "More," she begged him. At this point he was amazed that his brain was processing any executive function at all, blinded by lust as he was. His large hands slipped down her body and grasped her toned rear, pulling her against him. She could surely feel just how aroused he was.
"Did ya mean it when you said you wanted me to take control?" She nodded frantically, eyes squeezed shut while his hand roamed over her body. "Say it. No more misunderstandings.”
"Please, Yami, I want you." She grabbed his messy hair and pulled him closer to whisper in his ear. Her nails gently scraping against his scalp was going to make him lose control. “I'm yours.”
"And you'll tell me if you want me to stop?”
"Yes, but that won't happen.”
"Well alright then." He surprised her by throwing her over his shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes. She squealed as he started running back the way they came, but truly appreciated the view of his butt from that angle.
"Where are we going?!”
"You think you're the only one who fantasized about this?" he scoffed. "No more holding back—you’re mine and I'm going to show you just what that entails." Her heart swelled with fondness, her body coursed with desire, and her love for Yami Sukehiro only grew in that moment.
That night they explored all the ways that they belong to each other.
__________
TEASE.
Currently in a Magic Knights meeting, Yami was incredibly bored. It was a good thing that Charlotte was in her regular seat adjacent to him, because she was the only point of interest for him at the moment.
She sat ramrod straight and shoulders squared, barely sparing him a glance while listening intently to Fuegoleon's proposal regarding new training initiatives. Yami needed to entertain himself a little, otherwise he was sure he would fall asleep in his chair.
The Captain of the Black Bulls had a number of pastimes—polishing off a few pints at the pub with Finral, sparring with Jack, gambling with Magna—none of which were feasible at the moment. However, his favourite pastime—teasing the Blue Rose Knights Captain—might be just the thing he needed to breathe some life into this meeting. Now that he knew that she reacted to him out of attraction rather than disgust, Yami had discovered that it was even more fun to get a rise out of her. In fact, he had made it his mission to do so as much as possible, in as many ways as possible, and Yami Sukehiro was nothing if not determined.
Very carefully, so as not to raise the suspicions of anyone else at the table, Yami placed his hand on Charlotte's knee. She froze, turned her head ever so slightly toward him, and blinked slowly once, keeping her composure. He had really been hoping for more of a reaction. He gently slipped his hand a little higher on her thigh. She refused to look at him, but a blush crept up her neck, and a sly smirk teased at the corner of his mouth. That was more like it.
"What do you think, Charlotte?" The Blue Rose Knights Captain cursed internally at Fuegoleon for asking her a question, now of all times, but reminded herself that he wasn't the problem right now. Yami was, as usual, the cause of her embarrassment.
"I'm in agreement, but I do think that—” the hand on her thigh squeezed ever so gently, and she stuttered. She felt the squeeze all the way to her core, simultaneously hoping his hand would keep moving up while also wanting to rip the hand from his body. Maybe that was too extreme, perhaps she could use her vines to tie up his wandering hands and then she could—no, this was certainly not the time or place to be having such thoughts. “I think that, um…” she glanced at Yami sternly out of the corner of her eye, trying to convey with her gaze that she had no qualms about seriously injuring him. He looked absolutely unfazed by her glare. If anything it looked like he was enjoying it, which only annoyed her more.
"What's wrong, Prickly Princess?" he interrupted, his budding smirk now a self-satisfied grin. "How many times do I have to yell ya, if you need to take a dump just say so." He was toying with her, and he knew exactly what would rile her up the most. It was an art at this point, and Yami truly considered himself to be an artist.
Keep your composure, Charlotte, don't react. Stay professional, she told herself sternly. "And how many times do I have to tell you that a gentleman would never say such a thing to a woman, you disgusting man."
"Good thing I never claimed to be a gentleman." His body shook with barely-contained laughter and his hand slid further up her thigh. She shifted nervously in her seat—it was getting unbearably warm in the room. All she could think about was his large, warm hand on her leg and all the other places she wanted it to be. No! She chided herself, banish the thought right now! You are working.
She placed her hands on the table in front of her, straightened her posture, and took a deep breath. "My apologies, I momentarily lost my train of thought. I am in agreement, Fuegoleon, let's move forward to organize the cross squad training, but we should make sure to pair squads with opposing strengths so that we can maximize the learning experience." Charlotte was proud of herself for managing a coherent sentence and refused to give him the satisfaction of further reactions.
His hand remained on her thigh for the rest of the meeting, and once she was used to its presence she actually found it incredibly comforting. It was mainly the shock of his initial action that had surprised her, but now the casual intimacy of his hand was a reminder of his steadfast presence at her side. Her blush had calmed, her heart rate steadied, and despite her attempts not to react she found herself holding back a small smile. She would still give him an earful later for his teasing, but secretly loved this new casual touch between them.
The meeting adjourned and the captains started to file out of the room. The Black Bulls and Blue Rose Captains were the first to leave, bickering the entire way out.
Jack turned to Dorothy, “Keke, do they think we don’t notice?”
“The flirting?” she replied without opening her eyes. “Oh yes, they probably assume we’re as dense as they’ve been for the last decade.”
"Those two will be married with three kids and still be wondering if they like each other, keke," which pulled a rare laugh from the witch.
"Oh, I'm sure they'll figure it out."
__________
CELEBRATE.
While the garden at her base had always been Charlotte’s favourite place, Yami had come to regard it with a certain fondness as well. It was the exact opposite of his hideout, which was constantly in a state of chaos with loud-mouthed brats causing a mess. He enjoyed sitting in the garden, reading his newspaper while his Prickly Queen tended to her flowers. Usually the only other place he could find this peace and quiet was when he was taking a dump, but this was far more pleasant, and smelled significantly better.
Later that evening they would be celebrating their birthdays with their squads, and as much as he was looking forward to a pint, there was really nowhere he would rather be. He had never put much stock into the fact that their birthdays were only a day apart—he was never a believer in fate or destiny—but it was nice that they could celebrate together, and he was glad to mark another year around the sun with this woman in his life.
“Do you think we’re old enough yet?”
“For what?” Charlotte didn’t look up from her flowers when she replied.
“To take care of each other.” He thought back to the moment, years ago, when they fought side-by-side in the cave against the Eye of the Midnight Sun and he had teased that they should get together if they were both single in their old age.
There was a pause before she replied. “Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?”
“Sure, but I mean…” he hesitated for a moment, “are you still married to the battlefield?”
“I suppose that I could be convinced to divorce the battlefield—for the right man, of course.” He could hear the smile in her voice.
“Hmm… that’s good to know. Let me know when you meet that guy.” He turned back to his newspaper, stifling a laugh. Would he ever tire of teasing her?
“Oh you brute,” was all he heard before he was tackled to the ground, newspaper and roses long forgotten.
__________
WORRY.
Yami Sukehiro was usually not the type of person to panic. In fact, he often found himself in a number of sticky situations and prided himself in his ability to stay calm and collected. Generally while the runts in his squad were ready to dive in without thinking he was the one making the plan and keeping everything together. It was even more unlikely for him to be actively worrying about something to the point where it was keeping him up at night.
He knew that he had no reason to worry and that his feelings were completely illogical. So what if Charlotte was late coming home from a potentially dangerous mission? He knew that she was strong enough to take care of herself. The knot that had settled in his gut must have been some other emotion—he just couldn't identify what that was at the moment—but it definitely wasn't worry, or fear, or dread. It couldn't be, because Charlotte would be home any minute.
Maybe the feeling was annoyance? He had skipped meeting the String Bean at the pub so that he could be home to greet her. Yes, that made sense. He could have been enjoying a pint right now but was instead pacing back and forth, sober as could be. Even a taking a dump hadn’t been enough to clear his mind.
Maybe he should go look for her? No, that was ridiculous. Not only would she be offended by his lack of trust in her abilities, but he wouldn’t even know where to start. He knew she had been headed to the Witches’ Forest, but didn’t have any more information at his disposal. He briefly considered waking Marx, since Mushroom Head would surely have all the mission details, but decided against it. He would just suck it up and wait for her. She would be home soon.
Yami couldn’t stand still. He paced the room, cleaned his katana, did some push-ups—pretty much anything to keep him moving and his mind off his absent woman. What else could he do? Attempting to sleep in an empty bed would be a fool’s errand at this point. He desperately wanted a cigarette, but he knew that if—when—she came home she would be annoyed at the smell.
He felt her arriving before he saw her. As soon as he sensed her mana and Ki he threw open the front door, nearly tearing it off its hinges. She touched down and dismounted from her broom, appearing tired, but otherwise unharmed. She didn’t even have chance to speak before he swept her up in a hug. She was surprised by his enthusiastic greeting, but allowed herself to melt into his embrace—it had been a long day.
“Did you miss me?”
“No,” he pouted.
“Were you worried?”
“Sure, worried about whoever you were fighting against. My Prickly Princess can handle herself.” He still hadn’t let her go, if anything he had tightened his arms around her. “You’re late,” he added softly, almost so quietly that she didn’t catch the words.
“I’m home now, my love.”
__________
TEARS.
Charlotte had just fought her greatest and longest battle. After over nine months of suffering and hours of labor she had brought a beautiful baby girl into the world. The Blue Rose Knights Captain was exhausted, emotional, and in pain, but she had never been happier.
Holding the little bundle in her arms, counting all her fingers and toes, and sensing her child's ebbing mana was a feeling she would never forget. Charlotte had been prepared for the overwhelming sense of love since she found that she was pregnant, but while stroking her daughter's jet black hair it all became real.
Yami was still in shock. Charlotte may or may not have lost control of her magic and trapped him to the wall with her briars when he told her to surpass her limits during a particularly strong contraction earlier. He hadn't know what to do with himself, how to help, or how to lend his strength, but apparently that was not what women wanted to hear while giving birth. Noted, he thought to himself.
All of that was forgotten when his gaze landed on the wiggling bundle in Charlotte's arms. Were babies always so small? He couldn't remember the last time he had seen one. If she looked this fragile in Charlotte's embrace, would she be crushed in his? Yami found himself unable to move or look away.
"Yami, here." Charlotte shifted the baby in her arms before holding her out to him.
He took a deep breath and collected his daughter. His daughter, would he ever get used to those words? The moment he looked at her everything in his being shifted—she was the centre of his universe and he was mesmerized. He hadn't been prepared for the overwhelming emotion of the moment. He had felt love before, for the beautiful woman in front of him, for his squad, for his friends, but he had never felt this. The feeling that every single thought moving forward would be consumed by this tiny bundle with hair the same colour as his. How was it possible to feel this much, to love this much?
Yami was so overwhelmed that he didn't even noticed the tears falling across his cheeks. As Charlotte gazed lovingly at the gigantic man that she loved cradling their tiny baby in his arms, she tried to remember any other time she had seen his tears. She couldn't recall any—it occurred to her that she had never seen this man cry. The new mother watched as Yami lifted their daughter, his gaze never leaving her scrunched up face, and kissed her forehead. She treasured seeing this rare and tender side of him, and she filed away the memory so that she would never forget it. Her heart swelled when he spoke, his voice thick with emotion. "Welcome home, little one."
Charlotte felt the tears prickle at her eyes as well, and she couldn't resist placing a hand on his arm. The touch seemed to surprise Yami, as if he had completely forgotten that she was there. His gaze met hers as he tried to convey everything he was feeling through his eyes alone.
"Thank you," he whispered reverently. “You know I'm not one for speeches, and I know that I don't tell ya enough, but I love you." She smiled at his words as her tears spilled over. "I love you and I love her, and I will protect this family with everything that I have, and everything that I am. Although, she'll probably be just as strong as you, so she'll be protecting me before long." They laughed softly through their happy tears.
"What should we name her?”
"Well, I did think of something earlier when you had me plastered to the wall with your briars."
Charlotte blushed and shook her head. "Sorry about that.”
"Nah, that's ok." He shrugged and smirked. "I wanted a strong woman so that's what I get, I guess."
“So, what name were you thinking of?"
“Bara."
Charlotte tested the name, repeating it back to him. "That's pretty, does it mean something?”
"In my home country it’s the word for rose.”
The exhausted new mother didn't think that she could get any more emotional than she already was, but that sentence pushed her over the edge. The tears flowed freely, her voice caught in her throat, and her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. It was the perfect name for their child—equal parts Yami and Charlotte. It was strong and unique, just like she knew Bara would be.
"Welcome home, Bara," Charlotte cooed, rubbing soothing circles on her little head. In that moment, Charlotte had everything she could ever need, and let herself be overwhelmed with love and contentment while basking in the glow of their little family.