title: losing function
author: kameko-lullaby
summary: a paper cut and wally. [ficlet]
pairings: wally/kuki – is really necessary for me to right that anymore?
words: 510
time: 10 minutes

She was babbling some sort of explanation, the words tumbling from her lips, flying away like countless butterflies. He had not been paying attention; his green optics were focused only on the warm scarlet trickling down her slender finger tips, dotting the floorboards of her room. She had a paper cut, a thin line oozing blood in the tender flesh of the fold of her index finger.

"A paper cut," he echoed, his thick accent dragging out each syllable.

"Hai," Kuki murmured back quietly, slipping into her mother tongue. "I didn't mean to yell. It just stung badly and I tripped over my stuffed animals because I didn't see them and -"

He could see her hopping around her colorful room, over exuberantly waving her injured hand in the air to ease the sting, not quite seeing the large cotton wildcat speared across her floor, "– screamed for me?" The Australian was eying her now from through his bangs, his own much larger fingers wrapped firmly around her palm – holding her there, gently.

The girl colored, blood rushing to her face at his question, ears not missing the something, something in his tone. A nervous giggle fell past her mouth, the melody much like the chime of bells in a breeze, "Force of habit?"

Lilac shifted uncomfortably in their sockets, resting on anything, anything but, his face. Wally let his fingers tighten on her hand, his other hand coiling around her delicate wrist. A sharp exhale of heated air passed through his teeth in a hiss. Something was settling in the deeper captivities of his chest; bubbling, burning, scorching.

Cruddy girl, he thought, scalding her internally before - with a jostling tug from their shared resting-on-their-knees position - he pulled Kuki towards him, her fragile form crashing into his solid one. With her good hand pressed against the broadness of his chest for balance, the Asiatic girl watched with wide-eyed innocence as the blonde teenager brought her injured digit towards his mouth.

It was the simplest of gestures but, there was something, something, and something so intimate about the way his lips closed around her fingers. The wet warmth, the heat, the tip of his tongue – her insides churned, shifted, melted. A sigh floated up her throat, escaping into the air in the form of his name – breathless, helpless.

With a moist pop they parted and stared at each other. Kuki watched him from under her thick lashes, a heavy dusting of scarlet across her delicate cheekbones. Wally's fingers were still wrapped around her petite appendage, her fingertips still grazing the line of his jaw, lips, and chin. Muscles and nerves twitched under the ghost of a touch.

"Kuki?" his voice was raspy, and deeper than usual as he croaked her name. Heat was beginning to crawl up the back of his neck along with a chill that prickled in the depths of his stomach – fear? dread?...- had he stepped out of line? She still was staring up at him blankly, dark hair spilling across her shoulders.

He tried again with a loud, awkward cough to clear his throat. "Where's your first aid kit?"

Dazed and cloudy lilac blinked, lashes fluttering against the soft swell of her cheeks. Wait...how do you breathe again?

A/N:

Please, don't tell me I'm the only one who's ever had the suck-on-the-cut-to-stop-the-pain-thingy happen to them. I mean, I know you've all had a paper cut before and plopped in your mouth to make the ouch go away but, have you ever had someone else do it too you? I know it sounds a bit, well, strange but, it's a moment to have.

Strange, odd moment that, if the right person does it, it can shut down all motor skills. A friendly/sweet gesture with friends/family but, mind-boggling when your crush does it. Ask Kuki – she knows.

Hormones, so fun.

I'm so sorry if I've offended anyone.

Oh, and, Sadie, if you end up reading this, this is for you. I hope a little Wally/Kuki fluff brightens up your difficult day.

-hugs-

- Kati.

Wally & Kuki © Mr. Warburton