Johnny Cage x Reader

Ten

A soft breath escaped your lips.

You had missed his steps. Maybe he had followed you, maybe it was just coincidence that the two of you met. But he had been too quite for you to notice.

Impressive, you thought with a glance at him.

He was so tall, at least 6'1, and broad that he must have made some type of sound. It was physically impossible for a man like him to not be noticed.

But here he was now. Right behind you.

"Why are you always filming?", you asked as he brought his phone closer to you once again to get a full closeup of your torso and face.

A satisfied look was on his face, his lips curled into a thin smile. It felt odd that he seemed so fixated on your face and capturing your emotions in moments like these.

Yet again, it almost made you feel flattered since he seemed genuinely interested. Not just in the way you looked but also in your way of acting.

"Liu Kang said he'll change the arc of my life.", he said and let his tape replay to check if everything was to his expectations. "Gotta make sure I don't miss a single thing."

With a big yawn, he stretched his arms into the air. His head fell back, a few strands of his chestnut hair got lost in his face.

You could make out a few rough, dark stubbles that started to show on his chin.

Johnny took a seat next to you, legs dangling off the edge. He looked up to catch a glimpse of the sky full of stars.

"Nice...", he breathed, his hands rested in his lap. "Has been a while since I've seen a night like this."

A deep breath made your chest quiver. Your eyes lowered, allowing you to have a softer facial expression.

"You must have been to places.", you said with a thin smile and let your head fall back. "This can't be all that impressive."

Almost innocently, Johnny smiled.

"And you?", he asked with a tilt of his head towards your direction.

You sighed.

"Not at all. Grew up in a space of expectations and rules. I thought it would change now that I'm free but Liu Kang's temple is just like that. Space of expectations and rules. Same thing, different costume."

You let yourself fall back, rough stone tiles pressed into your spine. With your hands behind your head you followed lines of stars along the sky and took a deep breath.

It was clam.

Some kind of weight tugged on your feet. It made your toes tickle.

His eyes jumped over his shoulder. You could feel them wander up and down your body before they came to a rest on your face.

He really seemed to like your face a lot. For whatever reason.

"C'mon.", he rolled his eyes, a hint of amusement on his face. "Can't all be that bad."

You smiled.

"Nah. Not bad. Just plain boring.", you pointed with your foot up to the sky. "That's the samurai. Star image. For some reason the monks love astrology. You'll have to learn to sleep with your eyes open when they teach."

"Hm.", frowning, he glanced up and tried to see what you explained. "That's a bunch of stars."

His voice lacked euphoria in every aspect.

"Not quite.", in one swift, and maybe also kind of risky, movement you sat back up and hoovered closer to point up to a particular star. "Let me show you. That's the great wagon. Greek or Latin, I dunno. That's the wheel. The cart and the handle."

Your finger drew lines into the air but Johnny just frowned and glanced at you as if you were the weird one.

Your shoulders touched. He didn't move away and instead straightened his back. Now you felt like you could lean on him and did.

It was more of a reflex than an actual decision.

Johnny didn't seem to mind.

"I'm not into astrology and witches n' shit.", he said drily and groaned. "But I had something with a girl once who did. God... she was one of the good ones."

You couldn't swallow the snort that made your nose vibrate.

"You don't seem like the typa guy to have a taste for these women.", chuckling, you leaned back again.

The loss of his solid body next to yours made your skin tighten. Goosebumps crawled up your arms and the cold breeze of the night returned.

Playfully offended, Johnny let out a huff and looked at you with his head tilted.

"What do I look like I'm into?", he asked, a smirk visibly tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Wrinkles danced around his lips. They weren't caused by his age but by the fact that he expressed many of his emotions with the lower half of his face.

Curling your lips to force back another sarcastic huff, you shrugged and avoided his face.

"A thick southern accent?", you asked. "No judgment."

"Judgement?!", he frowned. "What does that even mean?"

"You the type of guy who says hunny."

His face froze. Lips curled. He thought for a moment.

"Fair.", he turned his head away again, some kind of shadow lingered in his eyes now. "Used to call my ex that. Bit uncreative, now that I think back."

"Don't bait me into asking about your ex.", you remarked sarcastically.

"I'm not. Buuuut now that you ask."

"Don't."

"If you insist."

"Seriously. I don't wanna know."

"It all started when we were young. I was handsome. Not as handsome as now and by far not as successful."

"Cage...", with a grin on your face, you squeezed your eyes shut in pain and shook your head.

"What?", he shrugged, his acting at its finest in this moment. "You asked."

"I didn't!", playfully, you nudged his shoulder with your fist.

"Fine.", he pushed your hand away playfully. "But let me tell you, it's still a better love story than Twilight."

"I have no doubt about that.", you assured him in a way that one would use in the company of very innocent old people who couldn't be burdened with the truth no more.

"That a lie I hear?"

"Oh, absolutely."

He huffed.