A/N: HELLO EVERYBOH-DAY! The long wait is OH-VUR! (…as if) After so many agonizing months, I can finally, f-i-n-a-l-l-y update this story o' mine! Why? Because it's SUMMMEEEERRR~! And my dad has a laptop I can borrow. That means no more back aches, no more suffering and no more unsaved files! I can just focus on typing the story! BOOYAKA! I'm so very sorry for the late update… School's been a biatch so, haven't got much time to focus on any of my stories… You probably want to listen to my ramblings some more (not) buuut, I'll continue this LATER. asdfghjkl
Anyway, enjoy~!
*Note: Laharl's… a little OOC here, and so is Flonne. But don't mind that. He's a tsundere chara anyway. But as for Flonne… Yeaaah… :D
This chapter is more on the fluff side but still, enjoy~! xD
Warning: Cheesiness may cause readers to barf. Please proceed with caution (0_0)
CHAPTER V: Daydreaming
It was a good one hour away from sunrise when a certain blonde by the name of Flonne woke up, courtesy of her alarm clock. Switching the contraption off rather harshly, the ex-angel groggily got up from her warm, comfy bed and stepped into the cold air authentic Netherworld mornings offered. Flonne made her way to her closet with her eyes half-lidded and quickly changed from her pajamas to her everyday attire, ribbons and all. She did it as fast as she could because she did not want the exposure of the chilly weather to her bare skin cause her to catch a—
Ha-a-atchoo!
...too late.
With a bit of snot dripping down her nose, the bubbly demon took her robe and wore it, wrapping it around her petite body. She was feeling especially cold that morning. She then exited the premises of her room and headed for the castle's kitchen. And why, might you ask, was she heading towards Laharl's favorite room of the castle? No, it wasn't for her usual fat-inducing pig out sessions but rather,
"MIDNIGHT SNACKS!" Flonne viciously whispered to no one in particular…
Anyway…
But rather, it was for her childhood friend, Stan, and his sister, Alexandra. Before Stan even came to this dimension, he had already contacted Flonne about a special favor. This special favor needed a lot of energy. It was time-consuming. It was her responsibility and hers ONLY. The favor?
Whip up a picnic basket.
This picnic basket was mainly for a party of three, mainly; himself, Alex and Flonne. Flonne however decided to make food fit for several people just in case unwanted members decide join in. Hopefully this time Mid-Boss won't be able to lay a single hair on it. Unfortunately, Jennifer was too busy spending 'quality time' with her Gordy (if you get what I mean) to help Flonne with preparing but it was fine for good-hearted Flonne. She understood. Besides, she's on vacation so why pester her with petty chores? She's not Gordon.
So, there she was… cooking by herself… alone. A few helpful Prinnies were lending her a hand here and there. The capacity of Etna's Prinnies to withstand sleep surpasses that of an overlord. Probably because Etna said she'd, "skewer them with her sharpest spear and then roast them over the Sea of Gehanna", if she ever caught one of them sleeping in on their jobs.
It was then that Flonne stretched her mouth wide and let out a tired yawn. She rubbed her sleepy eyes trying to wake herself up. She groaned. Last night, she didn't get that much sleep, particularly because two people were keeping her up. Or rather two voices…
FLASHBACK! xD
After finally getting Alex to sleep (she was just a BIG bundle of energy once they got to the room), Flonne made her way into her room, changed into her jammies and plopped down on her bed. Since she was supposed to wake up early tomorrow for a special task, she desperately tried to get some shut-eye. Pulling her pillow over head, Flonne tried to block out any noise she heard and forced herself to enter dreamland but before she could enter its gates, she was pulled out by two distinct voices.
At first, Flonne tried ignoring it but she realized that the voices sounded familiar. Out of pure curiosity and thirst for some fresh gossip, Flonne tried listening to the voices. By the way they spoke, it seemed like this conversation was sworn to secrecy. Also, judging by how far their voices sounded, they sounded like they came from the Dining Hall.
'Who could be awake at this hour?' Flonne thought.
Still in her bed, Flonne moved closer to what she determined to be closer to the voices. She tried identifying them.
'Hmm, this first voice… I've definitely heard this voice before…'
This first voice sounded louder than the other. The tone was rude, obnoxious and… and…
Pre-pubescent.
'Definitely Laharl…' Flonne thought. She smiled at how she was able to distinguish his voice. But then she noticed something strange. While she did not doubt that this was indeed Laharl's voice, she found it a bit sullen for Laharl. Sullenness was not a trait Laharl showed openly. Flonne, slowly losing consciousness, grew a more curious of the other voice.
What or who could have made the Overlord of the Netherworld feel so bummed?
She focused on the other voice. This time this voice was the exact opposite of Laharl's; deep but soft-spoken, well-mannered in tone and gentlemanly. Flonne didn't know any demon who was well-mannered or gentlemanly. So she supposed that it must be…
'Stan-kun?' Flonne wondered.
At this point she was confuzzled. What business did those two have? They only met a few hours ago… Flonne cringed. Something didn't feel right about any of this. Worry tugged at her heart, fearing some sort foreboding of some sort. But sleep dawned upon her and all that fear and foreboding just dissipated from her mind.
But just before Flonne drifted off, another thing irked her. Yes, she thought, just like Laharl's, that this was definitely Stan's voice. It was soft, polite and in all aspects, gentlemanly. But there was something else…
It was menacing.
~End of Flashback~
Flonne let out another small yawn as finally the sun shone some of its rays into the room. Even though she was wide awake now, she still felt cold and tired. Flonne wondered if she really had caught a cold earlier. Anyway, she just shrugged off the feeling.
'Still, I wonder what those two were talking about…' Flonne thought as she chopped carrots.
Since Flonne is, and always will be the simplistic idiot she is, she completely forgot about last night's details. By details I mean Laharl acting weird and Stan acting weirder. All that was registered in her mind was that the two of them stayed up all night chatting with each other. Like good pals.
How wrong was she!
Instead, she giggled innocently. She at first thought that those two were acting a bit hostile to one another. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. She smiled because in the end, they weren't so bad to one another after all.
'They must really like each other!' Flonne concluded.
… cue forehead slap.
And so the morning thus rolled on with Flonne's fantasies running through her mind as she prepared the rest of the picnic basket's contents. Most of her fantasies were of Laharl, finally accepting love into his heart fully starting with this beautiful, manly friendship with Stan. She imagines the two of them acting like the best of friends, getting into friendly clashes, competing in manly contests or… uhh, sharing manly puns?
And maybe even… competing for her hand in marriage…?
Flonne mentally slapped herself. What was she thinking? Her hand in marriage? Puh-lease! As if… That would never ever happen!
…
'But… it would be interesting if that happened. Not that I want it to happen or anything… just… nah! I couldn't! I can't! They're friends! I just can't rip their friendship apart…I can't! Absolutely not!
Nuh-uh…'
A few minutes later…
*clears throat*
After having won their last tickle fight, Space Detective Flonne was currently running away from the Prince Laharl's vengeful fingers. The Prince chased Flonne onto a bright field of floral ornaments. Meanwhile, Duke Stan was right behind with his army of demons, demanding Laharl to give back his fiancé to him. The lovey-dovey couple ignored him as they continued to scurry about the field…
"Come back here, you!" Laharl said all giggly.
"Gotta catch me first~!" Flonne replied just as giggly.
Of course it wasn't long until clumsy Flonne tripped on a pebble, falling to the ground. Laharl soon followed after, tripping over her.
When my eyes fluttered open, I immediately saw Laharl's intense gaze over mine. I could feel my face heat up as the blood rushed to my face.
"Laharl…" I say.
"Flonne…" he says.
I felt his calloused fingers brush my lips. We both blushed at the sensation. (A/N: *barfs*)
Laharl's face inched his face closer to mine. Closer… closer… closer and…!
"MOTHERF-!"
Flonne bit her tongue before she could finish that statement. She didn't want the whole castle to hear her curse. She wouldn't hear the end of it. She dropped the knife she was previously using; traces of her blood stained its sharp edges. She covered her mouth with her other hand to prevent her from screaming bloody murder and waking up the rest of the castle's residents.
A shallow yet long gash ran across her palm. Shallow but painful. It stung and blood was gushing out slowly. At the sight of so much fluid flowing out of her, Flonne became a bit nauseous and stumbled backwards causing some pots to clash with one another.
"Oi…"
"Eh…"
Flonne turned around to an all-too-familiar voice. She immediately turned red at his presence.
"L-Laharl!"
Laharl was there, leaning heavily against the entrance to the kitchen. He looked about as tired as hell but he still looked as if he could destroy an entire dimension. But the way he leaned on the wall wasn't so he'd look like a bad-ass. It was because it was the only thing keeping him upright.
For a while Flonne forgot about her wound and asked Laharl,
"L-Laharl? A-A-Are you okay?"
Laharl didn't speak immediately. He just stood there looking at Flonne. He grumbled in response.
"I-I see…" Flonne said. She was completely frozen and red all over in embarrassment, considering her previous thoughts on Laharl.
'What should I do? How embarrassing!' Flonne thought, not even realizing that with every passing moment, she was slowly losing blood.
Laharl raised a brow, finding this particular behavior to be weird. Flonne couldn't directly look him in the eye. Whenever their eyes made contact, hers would go flying another direction. Flonne wasn't like that. Laharl knew her as a headstrong girl… She doesn't look the other direction, especially not from him. Laharl tried to find any unFlonne-like behavior. He noticed the robe she wore.
"Why the robe?" he asked, sounding uninterested.
"E-Eh? O-Oh, I just, uhh, felt like wearing it… Ahaha…" Flonne said, but she was looking at her feet and still not at him.
Laharl didn't exactly buy that excuse either. But he found other things disturbing about Flonne that morning, particularly, her hand. His mouth slightly went agape.
"What the f*** happened to your hand?" is what Laharl wanted to say but instead, he made his way quietly over to Flonne.
"Umm, that is, is there anything—" Flonne was cut-off.
"Shut up and give me your hand." Laharl said sharply.
Flonne was startled, wondering why Laharl needed her hand. Then she remembered her hand. She stood there blankly staring at Laharl. Laharl sighed in annoyance. He snatched Flonne's hand by force and placed it on top of his. Flonne gave out a small cry of pain but at the same time, her heart soared.
Laharl examined her wound, shifting the hand from left to right. Flonne on the other hand still avoided eye-contact. After he was done examining it, Laharl sighed. He closed his eyes and placed his other hand on top of Flonne's, earning a sharp gasp from Flonne. Flonne wanted to ask what Laharl was planning but their hands started glowing a warm green light. She felt her cut tingling. She also felt refresfed herself. When the light dispersed, Laharl's hand slid off of Flonne's. (secretly, much to her dismay) Flonne's wound was completely closed up.
"Waah…" Flonne said in amazement. She has got to admit that for someone like Laharl whose skills are only meant for offense is using something like Heal is pretty impressive.
Flonne wiped the blood off her hand using a washcloth; she could see her cut completely closed up.
"Wow Laharl! I didn't know you could use Heal!"
Laharl shot her an annoyed look but it was easily replaced by a smug expression. He crossed his arms and spread his legs, doing his signature pose.
"Hah! I'd be a disgrace of an overlord if I can't do something as simple as Heal!" Laharl said with his nose held high.
Flonne chuckled and agreed with him. Laharl continued basking in all his glory when Flonne cringed at the sudden pain coming from her wound.
"Ah, it still stings a bit." Flonne said.
Laharl turned to Flonne, his smug expression was wiped off his face. He narrowed his eyes and 'tch-ed'. Flonne anticipated the worst when Laharl wordlessly came up to her, AGAIN, while holding up his scarf. He suddenly bit the scarf and using his teeth, tore a long piece of it.
"L-Laharl?" Flonne said completely confused.
"Hand. Now." he ordered.
Flonne looked from the scarf to her hand to Laharl. Understanding what Laharl planned to do, Flonne's eyes widened and she immediately shook her head.
"I-It's fine Laharl! You don't need to—" but Flonne was cut again when Laharl took her hand, this time gently, and started bandaging the cut.
"B-B-But Laharl! Your scarf…" Flonne said .Guilt was eminent from her voice.
"Stop your stuttering woman and let me work in peace, dammit!" Laharl snapped as he tried to make a neat bandage.
"But - ! But - ! BUT - !"
Laharl shot her that 'I'm-only-doing-this-one-so-shut-your-piehole' glare to completely shut Flonne up. Laharl was obviously no genius in treating wounded patients. He inexpertly bandaged the wound to the best of his ability. Flonne had to admit that this was cute of Laharl… She held back a chuckle.
"THERE!" Laharl said when he was done.
"Uhh, Thanks…?" Flonne said looking at the poorly made bandage. She made a mental note of redoing it when Laharl's asleep.
Laharl cheeks turned pink.
"Don't, EVER, mention it. Especially not to you-know-who…" Laharl said in a threatening voice but Flonne just happily nodded. Laharl was also happy to note that Flonne was looking him in the eye now.
"Hmph… Good." Laharl said.
"Um, Laharl…?"
"What?" Laharl said.
"Can you let go now?" Flonne sheepishly said.
Laharl deadpanned at first. He was 'Like whuut?' then he realized that he was still holding her hand. Blood rushed to Laharl's face as his eyes widened. He threw his hands up in the air and yelled,
"I-IDIOT!"
Flonne blankly stared at him.
"A-Ah… uh…"
Flonne blinked twice. Laharl's eye twitched. He then sharply turned the other way and left without saying a word. And Flonne was like 'Wtf?'
But then Laharl popped his head back into the room, startling Flonne.
"O-Oi, L-Love freak!"
Flonne looked at Laharl who was ironically not looking her in the eye. Who's acting weird now?
"Whatever you're c-cooking…"
"…"
"… make sure it's delicious!"
With that, Laharl's head disappeared leaving Flonne dumbfounded. She found herself involuntarily smiling. But she slapped herself.
'W-Why am I smiling?' Flonne thought.
She shook her head but the smile still found its way to her lips. The goofy smile just kept coming back. Her heart felt like bursting too.
'WHAT'S HAPPENING?'
Unknown to the both of them a pair of crimson eyes was watching just beyond the cupboard, enjoying every moment. Lips curved into an amused smirk, apparently finding this situation entertaining. Those very eyes watched Flonne panic about the kitchen earning sweatdrops from passing Prinnies. Barely contained laughter escaped the lips…
'Poor Flonne…'
End of Chapter 5~
A/N: Told ya they were OOC! Lool… anyway, on with my ramblings. The OOC-ness has an excuse. I haven't played in MONTHS! I sacrificed my DS for good grades… *sniif* and now, my game pak is missing… WAAHHH! X((
Anyway, thanks y'all for reading! And please do leave a review for me. I know it sucked. Just tell it to me straight, okay? JUST JOKING. But I know it sucks… AGAIN, , THANK YOU! …for reading and putting up with my laziness… I mean, misfortunes… :D oh and I'll update soon. :DD
Oh and before the traditional farewell, I'd just like to say, ARE YOU GUYS NUTS? I ask you for at least like 25 reviews and you give me, what, 32? JEEZ!
I LOVE YOU ALL! xD
'til the next! :3
(*pssst* leave a review *pssst*)