#aciesvirtus

[zecretsanta]

Fic: Lavender for Loneliness

To: @aciesvirtus

From: @lightphieric

AO3

Happy holidays! As an avid tea drinker and a huge fan of Kyle’s, I loved your prompt about Kyle having a tea party. Enjoy these three scenes from various moments in the best boy’s life! Since you also had a prompt about Carlos and Maria, they have a cameo in the final scene, too. (I have this headcanon about Kyle going to Earth with the other participants after the true ending to live in a settlement led by Carlos, so that’s where that scene takes place if you were lost.)

Age 10 – Rhizome 9

When a child in a cartoon held a mock tea party, it was to indicate that they were very imaginative or very lonely. Kyle was both of those things, granted. But he never picked up on that nuance. To him, a tea party, just like every foreign image he saw on his tablet, was something that normal children did. And he wanted so badly to be normal.

His guests were Lagomorph, a rabbit with stuffing coming out of his long, floppy ears; Panthera, a lion with mismatched buttons for eyes; and Tina, a bear wearing a nurse’s hat, whose matted fur may have been white many, many years ago. They had all been Kyle’s companions for as long as he could remember. He was pleased now to realize just how many friends he had, enough to fill a four-sided table, if he’d had one. As it was now, Tina and Lagomorph had to sit side by side on the long end of Kyle’s pullout bed.

He arranged his tea set carefully: in the center of the bed, his globe sitting on top of his tablet, and four building blocks set in front of himself and his guests. The globe spun in place as he tilted it towards Panthera’s building block. “Earl Grey for the cat?” None of Kyle’s toys even remotely resembled a teapot. He wondered why Father would neglect to give him a plaything that seemed so essential; the fact that it was only little girls hosting tea parties in the cartoons did not register with him.

“Here’s your oolog,” said Kyle to Lagomorph, his mispronunciations warped into incomprehensibility by his voice modulator. “And for me, some cabameel.” He took his block in his hand and pressed it against his faceplate. It hadn’t occurred to him that he should remove his mask for this. He didn’t really know what tea was, that it was something to be drunk. This was just the way normal children moved when they hosted a tea party. They lifted their pinkies. They wrapped their bedsheets around their shoulders just so. They exchanged words like “Marvelous!” and “Indeed!” with their guests. Kyle didn’t know why any of it was done, but he played along anyway. An imitation of an imitation.

As Kyle scolded Tina for spilling, a self-consciousness washed over him. There were eyes on him always, the cameras hidden in his home’s every nook. Kyle was accustomed to and unbothered by the fact that Father or his artificial intelligences could be watching him at any moment. It was only when he saw his armor reflected in Panthera’s button eyes that he realized how foolish he looked, playing at being an average child.

Clumsily and hastily, Kyle swept his table settings away without so much as a gracious goodbye to his guests. He felt his tears condensate on the interior of his mask, but no one else saw him cry. No one ever did.

—

Age 18 – Rhizome 9

Kyle’s first gulp was far too big. He gagged and the tea poured indelicately over his chin; it burned, and the bitter taste lingered on his tongue.

“Oh dear,” said Akane, pressing her fingertips against her chin like she did when she was trying to stifle a laugh. With her other hand, she handed him her cloth napkin.

“I don’t like that,” said Kyle as he dabbed his chin. Some of the tea had gone down the front of his suit, soaking his chest. He could sit with the discomfort until it was time to bathe; he was used to it. “You said there were flowers in it.” Perhaps he had been a fool for assuming roses would taste as sweet as they smelled.

“Black tea can be an acquired taste, I admit – Kyle, the table, as well,” Akane said, tapping the metal surface just at the edge of his spill. Sheepishly, Kyle wiped the table clean, something he’d gotten used to Luna taking care of for him. “I’ve grown to like it this way, but I used to prefer it with milk. That would cut the bitterness. My colleague Maria even liked to mix her tea with honey, before our supply of it ran out.”

“Honey? What bees make?”

“We used it as a sweetener before,” said Akane. She smiled. “If only you could have tasted it, Kyle. It could make just about anything delicious.”

Akane talked a lot about “before.” Kyle had come to realize that everything he’d once assumed was “normal” was really just the world of “before,” a world that was now gone. But Akane always spoke of it with a wistful hopefulness, as if she thought it would come back some day. It made Kyle hope, too, as he was still unaware of what her plans were to bring “before” back. One day, he would live a normal life. Have a normal family. Be a normal person.

First, though, Akane would have to teach him how to act like he belonged.

“Why don’t you try the tea again? You might like it better now that it’s cooled.” She pulled Kyle’s attention back to the beverage he’d blissfully forgotten about over several minutes of her correcting his posture and instructing him to maintain eye contact as they spoke. It was all unintuitive for a man who had lived his entire life encased in metal, but he had been the one to ask her for lessons in etiquette. And apparently, normal people practiced etiquette over tea.

Kyle looked down at the murky black liquid sitting before him in Father’s favorite mug. It was no longer spewing tendrils of steam, and it smelled just as sweet as ever (although Kyle now knew how misleading a scent could be). He lifted the cup in his gauntlet – Akane held hers by lacing her slender fingers through the handle, but Kyle’s hands were too large even when bare – and he drank.

“Small sips, Kyle,” Akane scolded. “It’s rude to gulp.”

Kyle swallowed. “I apologize,” he said with a cough, reaching out to grab the napkin again. “I like it better now,” he admitted as he wiped the tea from his lips. He could at least taste the delicate sweetness of the rose petals now that it was cool.

“I’m glad I could share it with you, then,” cooed Akane. “I wasn’t able to bring many of Maria’s leaves from Earth, but I would happily let you have the lion’s share if that’s what you would like.”

Kyle cringed, remembering Panthera’s judgmental stare. “Oh… no, that’s all right.” He didn’t think he disliked tea. But it was underwhelming. His tastebuds were attuned to artificial and heavily preserved dehydrated foods calibrated precisely to his necessary nutritional intake; the idea of consuming something just because it tasted nice remained foreign. And besides, even if he had loved it, the idea of growing so attached to such a finite resource seemed… foolish. He felt himself shrink into his suit in shame. How had he been so stupid as to let himself indulge?

Akane extended her hand to comfort him. Kyle watched as it landed on his upper arm, but he couldn’t feel her touch through the metal. She promptly realized her mistake and touched his cheek instead, brushing away a stray droplet of tea with her thumb. “I wasn’t too hard on you, was I?”

“Not at all.” Having a mother, someone to teach him things and be stern, was one of the parts of normal life Kyle had always wanted. But now that he had that, he was faced with a new problem. He knew how to behave himself at a tea table. But when would he ever have a use for that knowledge?

—

Age 24 - Earth

Maria stuck her pinky out as she sipped her tea. Akane had claimed that was improper, but Maria held her teacup with two fingers and a thumb and laughed as she extended her pinky, as if it were the most joyous feeling in the world.

Kyle imitated her as he lifted his own cup. It was so much easier to extend a single finger without his suit restricting his flexibility. His cup wobbled in his grip and some tea dribbled onto his shirt, but he held in his embarrassment and met Maria’s gaze with a smile. The corners of her eyes wrinkled as she laughed.

“God, Kyle, you’re such a dork.” Phi couldn’t restrain her own smile despite her teasing.

Alice rolled her eyes. “Oh, go easy on him, Phi.” She was also grinning. “That’s a hell of a throwback. I used to lift my pinky when I was a kid throwing tea parties for my stuffed animals.” She nudged Kyle with her elbow and mirrored him herself.

Carlos called over from his spot by the counter. He didn’t drink tea like his sister did, but Kyle had still wanted him there – he was the one who had given them all this home on Earth, after all – so he kept the fire stoked so the kettle didn’t go cold. “I wish I still had my camera,” he said warmly.

“What would you take a picture of?” Kyle asked, tilting his head.

“You party animals, of course!”

Maria sighed and leaned towards Kyle conspiratorially, her free hand clutching the head of her cane to keep her balance. “He would always take pictures of birthday parties and give them as gifts after the fact. You know. Before.”

She brushed the word off her shoulder. She and everyone else sitting around the table knew that “before” was gone for good, despite what Akane and Sigma had accomplished. This birthday party would only ever be a facsimile of “normal,” for the two women who had been ripped from the time they called home, for the two siblings who had watched the world they loved be destroyed, for him, the birthday boy whose “birth” had only ever amounted to being extracted from a growth chamber.

But Kyle was okay with that. Because for all the normalcy that would forever be out of his grasp, he had the thing he’d always wanted the most: companionship. He had more friends now than he’d been able to even visualize with his stuffed animals. He had too many friends to fit at one table – there might have been room here for Clover and Dio, too, but Clover had just received a memory of Kyle’s unsportsmanlike behavior in another timeline and needed space, and Dio had shared his birthday wishes privately that morning. Just the love of Maria, Carlos, Phi, and Alice was overwhelming, in a wonderful way.

Not to mention that Maria’s herbal blend of mint leaves and chamomile was delicious.

[spiritiual-camp]

Introductory post !

♤ Hi! I'm Cheryl (or Valentine), I'm 17 and I have been into Ouran since like 5 years now and wanted a dedicate a blog to it so I can somewhat intreact with the fandom (or what's left of it)

♤ I write mostly. Hopefully. I promise I do

♤ My favorite ohshc character is mostly Nekozawa and Reiko, though my favorite host is Kyoya

♤ I base my fics and stuff around the manga spesifically

♤ :3

(ps: this is a side blog, my main blog is @aciesvirtus )

[zecretsanta]

To: @lesbidiot

From: @aciesvirtus

I tried my best, this was very fun to write and I'm sorry if I couldn't quite fit the prompt but I hope you like it as much as I did !! And have a happy new year's !! :3

Promise

The strong sandy wind of the desert, the smell of blood and the pure panic of the nonary and the decision game still remained on Junpei's mind, 2 months have passed and he's still there.The voice of Zero echoing in his mind, all variations of him. As soon as he closed his eyes, he was there in the lounge, in the deck and so on. 

He turned around, the bed making a creaking sound. The clock hit 6 AM on the dot, with barely any sleep he decided to get up. 

After a trip to the bathroom and a quick session of putting his clothes on, he found himself in the relatively cramped kitchen. 

The whole place was a mess, he has never cleaned it up ever since he got the place. With the coffee brewing he tapped on the countertop, staring outside from the window in front of him. 

Could the religious freak be really real, he thought to himself. Was it a ploy to get Carlos to set Delta free? His detective gut said otherwise, he firmly believed the existence of this person. 

His train of thought was disturbed by the doorbell. Considering that it was barely 7 AM at this point, he was hesitant to pick up the door. Who would even visit at this hour? 

Junpei rapidly moved himself to the door, clasping the door knob firmly, readying himself to any type of horror that might come his way. 

Soon he opened the door to find Akane, smiling wide. She held up a small brown paper bag, "Good Morning!" she said chipper. 

"Oh, Akane.." Junpei took a breath as he stepped away to let Akane in as she welcomed herself in. 

"What are you doing here at this hour? How did you even know I would be awake?" A small smile curled up on Junpei's lips as he crossed his arms. 

"A little birdie told me" She smiled as she walked over to put the small bag and takeout a bagel from it "C'mon, I got these for you!" 

Junpei took a bagel from the bag and took a bite of the bagel he held. 

Akane frowned "Jumpy, have you gotten any sleep?" 

"No, how could I?" Junpei chewed the bite. 

Akane didn't respond. 

Momentarily there was silence, Akane's expression turned idle "I've been trying to track down the fanatic but no luck so far." 

"I..." Junpei got off track as he frowned, gathering his thoughts. "I haven't been digging myself yet, I need to call up the guys for that. I should get to that soon." 

Akane nodded "Don't push yourself, you need a break" there was a concerned look on her eyes, Junpei could tell with the way her eyes moistened. 

Junpei pulled Akane to a hug, "It's okay, don't worry about me." he whispered. 

Akane blushed, "Can't help it." she giggled. 

"In the meantime, maybe you and I can spend this day by ourselves?" Junpei said, life came back to his face as he smiled. "An actual date?" 

Akane grinned "I wouldn't say no to that." 

With that, Akane pulled away from the hug and made her way to the pile of stuff scattered around the sofa a step away. 

"I meant like going to a movie or something, not rummaging through my dirty laundry!" Junpei said as he watched in awe as his fiancé started to  hastily sort through the spread out items. 

"Jumpy, c'mon! This could be fun! We can cook afterwards too!" Akane said chipperly again "Besides, I want to know all the secrets lying around here." 

Junpei sighed "Well, you won't find much." He chuckled as he moved closer to the mess to help her.

They started to sort the trash, before moving onto the clothing. Two piles of trash bags stood by the door as they started to go through the clothing. 

Suddenly, Akane pulled a pink Calvin Klein boxer that was stuck under a coffee table. She blushed as she tried to figure out the words to comment on this. 

"Jumpy... I bet you look good in this." she said, all giggly. 

Junpei blushed as he grabbed it from her as fast as he could. "T-Thank you?" 

There was that awkward silence as they stared at each other for a few more seconds. 

"Well, I say we did a good job." Akane grinned as she looked around the cleaner living room which was the size of an average bathroom in a 2 bedroom apartment.

Junpei smiled, but was interrupted by his own stomach gurgling. He realized he had only eaten a bagel and a cup of coffee this entire day. 

Akane tilted her head slightly as she turned to Junpei, "Are you hungry?" she asked. 

"Yeah." Junpei replied as he made his way to the fridge to see it completely empty. 

"It's okay, Jumpy! Let's go grocery shopping!" Akane held Junpei's hand as she dragged him outside. 

They went to the nearest market and Junpei filled the cart with things Akane told him to get, and it didn't take them long to pay and get back home. 

Akane seemed to be in a rush of excitement as she started cooking rather quickly. 

Junpei was still restocking the fridge when he asked. "So, what are we cooking?" 

"It's a secret Kurashiki recipe." Akane beamed but halted and the smile disappeared "Aoi used to cook this so well, he taught it to me" 

"He must be a great cook, huh?"  Junpei asked with an idle expression. 

"Yeah, he is." Akane sighed as the water boiled in the pan. 

"Are you guys not on good terms?" Junpei hesitantly questioned since he remembered the time he last asked about Aoi and got no response. 

"No, we are." Akane grinned, "I was just reminiscing." 

Junpei smiled back. "Alright, I'm done with the fridge stuff. What else can I do?" 

"Can you slice these for me?" She pointed to the light bag of vegetables. 

Junpei grabbed the bag and washed the vegetables, there was a moment of silence again as he started to slice them in silence. In the meanwhile, he was trying to find something to say. 

All he could do was stare at Akane, his Kanny as she cooked. 

Everything felt so normal, even if it's for a moment. The tragedies of the past, all the timelines he abandoned almost disappeared. Like this was how everything should've been, or has been. 

But it wasn't, and the tragedies won't go away. The religious fanatic won't go away in this simple moment. 

He sighed, trying to savor the moment. He feared that this wouldn't last long. 

"Hey, Jumpy are you okay? You're going to cut yourself"  Akane intervened, disturbing Junpei's spiral. "Here, let me help you." She said as she grabbed another knife and started to slice another vegetable on the crowded cutting board. "You don't have to take it too hard, you're allowed to take a break, y'know? You've been through hell" 

"As if you haven't?" Junpei responded cynically. 

"This isn't about me." Akane frowned. "I dragged you in this" 

"No, not really. I'd choose this in any timeline." Junpei looked down on the cutting board and back up at Akane, "I'd put everything on the line for you at every timeline." 

Akane blushed. "I know that but I worry about you." 

"You don't have to, I promise." Junpei said. 

Akane dropped the knife lightly and wrapped her arms around Junpei. 

"Jumpy..." Akane buried her face on Junpei's shoulder, Junpei could feel her warm cheeks. "I love you." 

Junpei smiled, "I love you too, Kanny." 

They stood in the same spot for a while as Akane held Junpei. Then they went back to cooking, the air got more lighthearted as they goofed around and laughed while they finished up the Kurashiki secret recipe.

Junpei set up the table, which was pretty modest since there wasn't much to set up. He pulled back one of the chairs, "Here you go, m'lady." 

Akane giggled, "Oh, I can get used to this." 

Junpei chuckled as a response while he did a little sprint to his own chair. 

They were silent for the majority of the meal, it was the most peaceful silence for the longest time ever. Junpei realised how good of a cook Akane was, which made him wonder about all the sorrow and difficulties she must've faced along with her brother after losing their parents at a young age. 

Of course, Akane never mentioned it in primary school but he couldn't help but wonder. 

Soon they had already washed the dishes and were lounging on the sofa, arguing on what to watch. 

Akane wavered the copy of Titanic, the 1997 version directed by James Cameron in her hands as she pouted "Come on, it's very good!" 

"Don't get me wrong but I'd rather not watch anything with ships or Titanic for a very long while." Junpei crossed his arms. 

"Okay, what do you want to watch then?" 

"I don't know, something lighthearted? A comedy maybe?" Junpei suggested. 

"Hmmm…" Akane put her pointer finger on her chin. "I don't know if I know any, though I wouldn't mind it." 

Junpei tried to think of something as well but he was also behind the movie scene as he wasn't much of a movie person recently because of how busy he has been. 

"Y'know what? Trashy reality TV is always good." Akane grabbed the remote and started to browse the channels. 

Junpei shrugged as he put an arm around Akane as they landed on some stupid show about construction. 

A few hours passed after they had lazily browsed through one show to another, Junpei laid down on Akane's lap, almost asleep. 

Akane brushed through Junpei's hair gently when she suddenly said "I want to buy a European Castle. I heard they're relatively cheap, maybe I can swing one." she stopped as Junpei opened his eyes 

"Why? Where did that come from?" Junpei grinned tiredly. 

Akane shrugged. "Wouldn't it be fun? We can play king and queen." 

Junpei chuckled "It would, you'd rock as a queen." 

Akane blushed then let out a heartfelt laugh. Her hands went back to brushing Junpei's hair. 

Junpei closed his eyes as he stretched his legs. "I'm so tired." 

"Go ahead and sleep, I'll be here. I promise" Akane said softly as Junpei surrendered himself to sleep, the most peaceful one he had in a long while.