Feitan x Reader; Tangled in a Web of Spiders

Spiders in Meteor City part 3

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'You can put yourself on autopilot? Really? That's so weird,' you said as you scanned Shalnark's body one last time, but it seemed that except for the cracked ribs you'd just healed and some minor nicks and cuts, he was fine. You let your aura and vision go back to normal and looked up into his smiling face.

'Yeah, but I don't like using it. I never remember what happens and I'm always sore for days after. So thanks for taking care of these,' he tapped his chest, then stood up and put his sleeveless shirt back on.

'You're welcome,' you smiled, 'I wish I could have seen your fight as well. You do tell a good story.'

'Well, there might still be some stragglers left that we need to take care of. We can go out and have a look around if you want to. The next airship back isn't until tomorrow, so we have plenty of time.'

'I'd like that,' you said, 'but I'd prefer to check on Fei first... what is taking them so long?'

You frowned and glared at the door through which Feitan and Phinks had gone off with some members from the Assembly before you'd had a chance to neither heal nor talk to him.

'You really care for him, don't you?'

'Yeah, I do,' you answered, giving him a suspicious look, but it seemed to be a genuine question, no hint of mockery in his face, 'I never thought I would, but I do. Very much.'

'Good. I mean, it's kinda obvious, but I'd hate to see him get hurt. We teased him a bit at first, you know, what with all the training and sneaking into your room at night,' he confessed, 'but the truth is I've never seen him like this with anyone before.'

'Really?' you could not hide neither your blush nor the emotions in your voice. 'You've known him for a long time?'

'Just since we were tiny kids running around, searching for treasures in the piles of garbage surrounding us. We were quite a gang back then.' He laughed softly, 'Those were some good times. Horrible but still good.'

'Well, you're quite a gang now as well,' you pointed out. 'Fei mentioned growing up with Chrollo and Phinks, so I take it you were too?'

'Yeah, it was the four of us, and also Franklin, Nobunaga, Machi, Uvo, and Paku,' he ticked the names off on his fingers, 'And a few others as well. There were a lot of us kids running around back then.'

'Uvo and Paku?'

He was quiet for a while, the smile sitting frozen on his face before he said,

'Uvogin and Pakunoda. The chain-user killed them.'

Unbidden tears filled your eyes as you sensed some of the pain he did everything he could to hide. No, not just hide. It was like he tried to deny its very existence.

'I'm so sorry,' you said, knowing how inadequate the words were, and you placed a hand on his in an attempt to offer at least some comfort.

'Yeah,' he said, forcing his smile wider before turning away, 'let's go and find Phinks and Feitan, shall we? Then join the others hunting down any remaining ants.'

'Sure,' you agreed, and to give him a moment to gather himself you went over to your bags, located Feitan's, and took out a clean t-shirt as well as his spare coat and bandana, idly wondering how many of those he owned, and where he got them.

Phinks and Feitan were in a smaller room at the end of a long hallway, and the three Assembly members that were with them excused themselves and left when you and Shalnark entered. You homed in on Fei, determined not to let him out of your sight before he'd let you heal him.

'The others are out hunting for stray ants,' Shalnark said, 'and Shizuku wanted to go and visit some old friends as well.'

'Ok, we'll join them soon,' Phinks said with a wicked smile. 'If any ants are still alive, they will be very dead before we leave.'

'We have tickets for the airship late tomorrow morning,' Shalnark informed them as you dragged Fei to a small sofa and sat down next to him.

'Great, that should give us plenty of time,' Phinks said, 'They've agreed to arrange dinner and somewhere for us to sleep here, so we can just focus on the hunt.'

All three men grinned viciously, and you couldn't help but roll your eyes at them.

You were halfway through healing Fei's broken ribs and the damage was just as bad as you had guessed. At least this time his lungs had not been injured.

'You were very impressive in there,' you told him, getting only a small huff in response. 'Looked very sexy too...' you added quietly when you finished with his chest, letting your hands linger on his skin a bit longer than necessary. This earned you a quick grin and you winked, resisting the urge to kiss him. He was obviously not comfortable showing affection in front of others.

'Just like old times,' you mumbled as you placed your fingers on his left arm, at least this time it was a fairly clean cut and it took but a minute to heal.

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