Arcana One Shots

Lᴀᴛᴇ Nɪɢʜᴛ Fᴜɴ [Portia X M.R]

Art: tumblr: jyuukichannart

I hear a knock on my door. It's incredibly late, but I can't sleep so I'm sitting on my bed flipping through a book. Who could it be? I grab my lit candle and sit at the edge of my bed. I had just started work at the palace, investigating the count's murder, so I'm temporarily living here. I get up slowly as I hear the person's persistent knocks yet again. I drowsily make my way over and open the door. A beaming Portia greets me on the other side. She seems wide awake despite the hour and I glance at her perplexed. Then, out of nowhere, a cat walks in right between my legs, purring as it rubs its head against my ankles. "Sorry if I woke you, but I was wide awake and just couldn't fall back asleep, so..." She starts rambling on about how and why and what she is doing here and it makes me chuckle. She always looked cute when she did that. The flow of her words stops and she stares at me in bewilderment. "What's so funny? " She asks me and I shrug. "First of all Its fine, I couldn't sleep either. And secondly, it's just amusing to see you this energetic at this hour. That's all." I say and she smiles at me. "Oh. Well, I'm still sorry to come by this late. I just can't stop thinking about the whole ordeal, you know?" She sighs and the cat meows making me look down. "That's Pepi. I believe you two haven't met yet." I smile at her and bow down to pet the cute little being. She purrs in approval. "She loooves people." "I can tell that much." I say, while grinning. Pepi circles my legs, being as cute as ever. "So.. Would you maybe by any chance want to take a little midnight stroll with me?" Portia asks me and fiddles with the rim of her shirt, while waiting for a response. I can see her cheeks slightly glowing in the dark. She's so cute when she looses her composure. I nod as my face lights up." of course! What better way to spend my time when I can't sleep." I exclaim and she chuckles. "Right!" She agrees and we exit my room, Pepi staying behind as she hops onto my bed, getting comfortable. The unfamiliar hallways of the palace are even stranger at night, but with Portia by my side everything seems way less uncomfortable to look at. The candles are all out and regret crawls up my mind as I remember my light. I left it in my room on my nightstand. Well at least Pepi had some light. The soft moonlight shines through the big glass windows and Portia sighs happily. "The moonlight seems to be enough to lead the way. Wouldn't want all the unwanted attention on us anyway, would we?" She humms as we walk out onto the veranda and I grab the railing. The maze and gardens look mesmerizing and mystical in the moonlight, the fountain glistening in the faint light provided. It looks beautiful. Portia sighs in content as she points out towards the fountain. "I remember the countess telling me about a story once. Though she doesn't quite remember much, it sounded fun." She sais and I glance at her with curiosity. "We'll go on, tell me. You got me hooked." I say and she smiles as she looks over at me briefly. "Her and two friends once bathed in the fountains at night. She said she remembers it faintly, like a dream, but she knows it's not. She said it was great to escape her duties for a split second and just dive into the fun the three of them had in the water. And how exciting it was to think that she was doing something she shouldn't be." She sais excitedly and I can't help but chuckle." That sounds like they had fun. I didn't know the countess was up to mischiev too sometimes. "I say jokingly and I ear a laugh from my friend. "I didn't know you two were so close though.." I say, with a somewhat misleading undertone. I cringe inwards. That sounded like I was jealous. "Oh, nono it's not like that. I respect her a lot as my countess and dear friend, but nothing more. I'm just a trusted friend in her eyes." She sais hecticly and I try to hide a smile. It was so easy to get her all worked up. It was adorable. "And in your eyes?" I couldn't help but ask. I didn't know why I was acting this way but... To be honest I kind of was jealous of the countess for a split second. After all they spend a lot of time together and know each other longer than me and Portia. "What? No, I told you! I only see her as a friend and countess." She sais, punching me into the shoulder playfully. I stumble back, having been lost on thoughts. "Fine! I get it, I get it." I exclaim trying to steady my balance. I look over at her, but her head is turned out towards the gardens and I can see a few stars reflected in her beautiful eyes. "Besides.. There's someone else that I.." She mumbles and I immediately perk up at that. I waltz back over to her and beam at her suspiciously. She catches my behavior and raises an eyebrow. "W-what is it?" She stutters and I stare at her for a moment. "You like someone? Tell me who it is!" I tell her and she blushes, her eyes a bit wider than before. She whips her head back and tries not to look at me. "I-it's nothing.." She sais, her voice almost inaudible. I sigh, crossing my arms on the railing before me. I don't want to push the topic too much, even though I would die to know. Even if it hurts.. My thoughts get interrupted as someone starts pulling on my arm, yanking me towards the stairs and I almost fall. I look up at Portia who pulls me after her onto the grass and starts walking towards the gardens. "Hey, where are you kidnapping me to?" I ask and she smiles. "Why don't we try out the fountain ourselves? I bet it's just as fun as Nadia said." She tells me and I'm helplessly being pulled after her until we reach the fountain. She stops and lets go of my arm. "Phew. You have a death grip there, you know that?" I say jokingly stroking my arm. She giggles and shrugs. "So, are you up for it?" She asks and I smile and nod. "Of course I am!" I say and we both throw out shoes off. We decide to leave our clothes on and Portia is the first to step into the water. "Hm.. Could be warmer..." She sais kind of disappointed about it and I think of an idea. "I can change that."I say and she raises an eyebrow as she steps back onto the grass. I lean forward, sitting down at the ledge and sinking my hand into the liquid blue. I close my eyes, concentrating for a bit before the water starts to heat up around my hand. It slowly spreads across the whole fountain until we can see fine steam raising into the air. "After you, milady~" I say after getting up and reach a hand out to the nice young lady beside me. She blushes a bit as her hand meets mine and I help her over the ledge. "Wow, Y/N! It's just like the baths inside the palace! It's soo nice." She sais happily and I enter after her. We slowly sink into the warmth of the water and I let out a sigh. "You have the best ideas, Portia." I say with closed eyes, enjoying the moment. "But this was all you!" She sais and I can feel her shift beside me nervously. I take a deep breath and think. Now or never. I open my eyes and smile at her fondly. "No, it's all you. You were the one who checked on me, you were the one who asked me to take a walk with you and you were the one who turned this boring plain night into a wonderful one. I'm glad you came to me tonight." I say and she averts my gaze shyly. "You don't have to praise me that much.." She sais and I don't waste a second catching her hand underwater. I hold onto it and look at her determined. "Portia, I..have been thinking about you for quite a while now. I can't get you out of my head. How strong you can be, determined, but also cute and sensitive. I've had a crush on you since we met at the market that one day. When-" "I dropped the fruits because we collided..". She finishes, staring back into my eyes. "You also stayed in my mind after that incident." She sais and I can't contain my smile. It seems to be contagious because soon after she does the same. "What I'm trying to say is... I really appreciate having you around.. I love you, Portia." I exclaim and she gasps. Suddenly I'm wrapped up in her arms and we fall back. I hold the both of us up by my elbows, trying to keep our heads over water. She doesn't let go but instead whispers something into me ear. "I love you too Y/N." I sit up so I can hug her back. I'm the happiest person in whole Vesuvia right now.