Heat Lighting [Scaramouche | Reader]

5 - teasing

(Just can't stop my mind)
I'm drawing you
—Tattoo-Jung Jinwoo—1:15

-

A week had passed, and I presented the designs to Kokomi today. She loved them, saying they had a great feel to them and the colors went well together. On my way back to my work area, I bumped into General Gorou.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," I profusely apologized.

He shook his head and his tail went back and forth. I chuckled a bit, not going unnoticed by the man.

His cheeks dusted pink, "What's so funny?"

I smiled, my eyes closed, "Nothing, you just seem happy to see me."

Gorou froze for a second before coming to his senses, "N-no, well yes! But I was going to see Kokomi and then I bumped into you and I wasn't expecting it, plus I haven't seen you in a while and you have been busy and so have I so I thought— well more like felt— but that doesn't matter. What I meant to say was-"

He rambled and I chuckled a bit. He stopped and turned a bright shade of red, rubbing the back of his head. His toned arm was clad in armor, I noticed; seeing it up close made me curious. Without thinking, I grabbed his arm and brought my face close to it so I could see the details. It was straight and constructed the same way armor was in all of Inazuma, but it was personalized with some accessorizing done to the edges. I fumbled with the metal and lifted the man's arm to look at it from the side. It had his name scratched into the side, probably done with a weapon. I put my face closer to see the indents.

But even as I was immersed in the accessory, I felt Gorou's breath on my neck.

He was looking away from me at the wall, flustered and whispering, "[name]?"

I jolted upright, almost hitting my skull on his before he dodged with fast reflexes. We were standing so close together now I was flustered too. I was so enamored with the clothing item I forgot he was wearing it. My face bloomed the color of cherries, now matching his.

I stuttered, "S-sorry, I just saw your armor and an Idea popped into my head."

He coughed and I noticed his ears flattened, "It's fine."

An awkward atmosphere began to set it. We didn't say anything and after bit I shuffled my feet.

"Well... I'll be going now, I need to decide on times for fittings and fabrics," I croaked out.

The brown haired man nodded quickly and we both scurried our separate ways; him to Kokomi and I to my work station. The tension released when I sat down and banged my head on the table. A spool of thread fell off the edge of the table and started to roll away, but I hadn't noticed until a shrine maiden picked it up and brought it back to me. I worked in the main hall of the shrine so that people could find me easily which also meant that shrine maidens came through and watched me at times.

"Miss [name]? You dropped this," the girl said, outstretching her hand.

I lifted my head off the table to see who it was and quickly fixed myself up when this girl was in front of me.

"I am so sorry, I didn't notice you were there or that the thread fell," I said sorry many times to her, bowing my head.

She chuckled and put the spool in my palm, pushing my fingers so they encased around it, "It's fine, there's no reason to apologize."

Her eyes, a bright amber, found mine, "But, are you feeling unwell? You hit your head on the table and look very pale."

She put her hand on my forehead and frowned, "You have a fever, miss. You need to rest."