#sunyu edits

[sailorjisunq]

유주 + 선뉴

[ikeromantic]

Sweet Reward

First: Mitsuhide and the Maiden

Previous: Love and Lessons

Ikesen fanfic, Mitsuhide Akechi’s route, around 500 words

Image is a stock photo with additional crop/filter/edits. Credit for the original to Sunyu Kim. To see the beautiful original go here

Mitsuhide watched his little mouse eat her peaches and sip at her tea. He wasn’t sure when she’d become his little mouse, but he had claimed her. He wanted - Mitsuhide swallowed a sip of tea, refusing to finish the thought. What he wanted was just to see her smile.

Her happiness was necessary, because she - because she - was easier to work with when she wasn’t moody. That was all, of course. Right now, he wanted to relax, drink his tea, and watch her enjoy everything her dessert. She had earned it with her boldness. 

Though he was beginning to wonder if she was insane. His little mouse was full of surprises. She cowered in battle, screamed from horseback, shied away from shooting, and claimed to be afraid of a fight. But she’d come to town alone, investigated him on her own, and then defended his honor to a group of hotheaded soldiers. Faced them down even when violence was imminent. 

She baffled him. A rare occurrence in a world of few real surprises. The time they’d spent together touched only the barest depths of his little mouse. Mitsuhide felt his need to know more about her like a deep thirst. One he could not quench. No, one he would not quench. The chatelaine was precious, soft hearted, and kind. He could not bear the thought of tarnishing her with his own viper’s reputation. His needs mattered little in the end.

It was hard to resist her though. She sat so close, lips glistening with sweet, sticky juice, eyes aglow with pleasure. Her immersion in the moment was complete. It made him want to lean forward and press his lips to her. To taste the fruit she’d urged on him, knowing it could not compete with the sweetness of her. No fruit could, no matter how fresh or ripe. 

“Keep staring and I’ll think you’re expecting a show . . .” She arched an eyebrow at him, trying to look severe. It only made her more adorable.

“You’re a sight enough just as you are.” A truth was sometimes best hidden in the open. 

The chatelaine wrinkled her nose, perplexed. She looked at her plate. “There’s still more peaches if you want to join the eating fun.”

“There’s no need for that.” He motioned for her to continue. “I’m having a pleasurable enough time watching you enjoy yourself.”

Her cheeks turned bright pink. For a heartbeat, she met his gaze and he saw in her a flare of desire that matched his own. It surprised him to silence. He might have reached out to her in that moment of shared vulnerability, but his little mouse turned her eyes away, looking down again to hide her blush.

And just like that, the boundaries between them returned. Mitsuhide thought he must have mistaken the emotion in her expression. There was nothing between them but this awkward apprenticeship. And one day soon, not even that.

When she looked up again and caught his sad smile, he thought perhaps she saw through him. But no, he’d masked himself with his teasing too well to be caught. Her lips curved up in a grin as she continued their banter, unaware of his turmoil.

He’d called this desire for her a thirst, but in truth, hunger was more appropo. He felt like a wolf today, not a kitsune. A wolf ready to gobble up this precious little mouse. 

Next: Sparks and Flame