Identity V x Reader

Mike x Reader

Mike Morton. One of the shining stars of the Hullabaloo circus. A man with humour, looks and wits. Popular and loved by everyone. Yet here you were. Uncomfortable by his presence.

Being one of the introverted kind, you sat on your spot of the long dinning table., fidgeting with your fingers as you waited for the food to be served. Lately you have been getting more attention from the acrobat as you'd enjoy. Him being today's 'servant' didn't make it any better as he kept on squirming around you. Asking if 'm'homie' needed more water or a softer chair. You barely spoke to him yet he acted so overly friendly, trying to stir up at least a decent conversation with you. It was admirable of him as he always managed to dig up a new small talk topic once your voice quiet down. But it still raised confusion and suspicion up.

You didn't belong into the 'manors favourites' as one would call the characters which received the most attention from the owner of the manor. They'd be giften skins and accessoires more frequently or be asked to join matches more often than the rest.

By all honesty ? You didn't mind that at all. Being in the spotlight made you feel nauseous, so you rather stay undercover and hang out with the less 'popular' members of the patch up family. It made you feel at ease to have just a tiny group of people whose company you enjoy. With them, you open up your small petals and go into full bloom, just like a flower which receives the right amount of sunshine.

Yet you were here, cowering away in your parka. Pulling up your petals closer to your core in hopes to hide. Nodding politely and thanking the blonde for every little thing.

The man himself just smiled in return, yet his smile always looked about to flatter away with every new word of gratitude from your lips. Something was not satisfying him and you could feel it by the shiver which went down your neck as he left back to the kitchen.

A few minutes later the door busted open with Mike juggling some fruits, accompanied by a chuckling José who was on butler duty as well, along with Fiona who just enjoyed the view while they placed down the silver tablets full of delicacies onto the coated wooden surface.

Once everything found their right spot, the acrobat once again stood next to the kitchen door, announcing the chefs of tonight's feast.

„A round of applause for our amazing kitchen fairies, William and Helena~"

With that, clapping and whistling from Kevin, painted the air once more in a positive colorful atmosphere.

You were about to grab a bit of salad and the dish which caught your attention from the very first moment on, when you felt a hand on your shoulder along with a warm breath tickling your ear, followed by the gentle voice of the acrobat.

„If you need anything, please don't feel shy to ask your personal butler, Hamfrey~"

Motioning to himself, Mike gave you a quick wink and seated himself to the other side of the table. You really started to sweat a bit as you weren't used to such close contact with anyone besides some of your closest friends which were far away from here, waiting for your return.

Through half of the dinner, you had some small and energetic discussions with Lucky who sat next to you. Emma soon joined you as well as you discussed the very painful after-match marks you would get from getting the spiked wire wrapped around your body. Laughs and groans were streaming from your small circle which swirled in with the other heated discussions.

On the other side of the table, a pair of sparkly gold blue eyes watched. A pout visibly formed on his lips. Eyebrows furrowed. What is it that makes you feel so open with the others, yet the goldy-lock himself, couldn't give you ? For a while now, Mike has felt a bit bothered by your refusal to open up to him. You peaked his interest when you arrived at the manor. He can't put a finger on it though, why exactly you have been the center of his attention. He just knew that he wanted to see more than the reserved team member who shyed away from him all the time.

Dinner was filling and delicious. You thanked everyone for the meal and were about to bring your dishes away as well as the ones from your seat neighbours as you had cleaning duty today. Since your other partners had a match to prepare for and the other survivors refused to do duty outside their assigned dates, you just ended up by yourself in the kitchen.

Very soon the laughter and noises died out so you assumed it would be the best time to wipe the table clean. As you walked out with a napkin in your hand, you were surprised to see Mike himself, still sitting on his chair. Balancing his head on his palm, he gazed outside of the window which was drowned by black, by the night's darkness.

„Mr Morton, you are still here ?"

Mike's gaze turned lazily to the source of the words. You were expecting some kind of tantrum for you using his last name again to address him as he would usually do, yet he kept quiet and hummed.

„Would you...be so kind to raise your elbows for a bit ? I just need a quick swipe-„

Without jokes or further questioning, Mike obliged to the request and leaned back on his chair for you. Seeing him so silent was surprising, if not a bit frightening. You could sense something felt off and that he might need a bit of cheering up time himself. So once you were done gathering crumbs, you turned your attention back to him.

„C-could you...lend me a hand in the kitchen ? Washing the piles of dishes by myself will take a bit long and I could really need a helping hand. If you don't mind..."

The blondes eyebrows arched up at your request, not used of you asking him for his help. He just trailed behind you like a puppy into the four walls of the kitchen. Grabbing a sponge, he started to wipe the plates squeaky clean while you dried them off with a cotton fabric, sorting them into their shelves afterwards.

Silence once again fell upon the both of you, so you tried to start a conversation with him as he used to do with you. It caught him off guard but he was not unhappy about the change of events. The topics went from how to make the rocket chair land without hurting the survivors to Jack wearing a tiny top hat which earned some laughs from the pure image of it.

„(Y/N)...why do you keep avoiding me ? Do you hate me ? Is it because of my image ?"

You didn't know what to say for a second. The atmosphere drastically changed from happy to serious which you didn't expect. Mike's eyes drilled holes into you, waiting for an answer.

Scratching your neck you looked to the side.

„Mike...I like you. But I don't like how you always force yourself to smile. It's okay to show your true feelings as well..."

The blonde continued to starre down at you. Yet disbelief clouded his face. He always made sure to keep his act up. To stay the sunshine he was. Smiling, funny, entertaining. The perfect show cast. Yet here you were, looking past all of it. No one dared to say anything or to ask him if he was doing well. Because they saw the smile he presented.

Yet he remembered again why exactly he was so focused on your from the very beginning on.

As you were the only and first one to tell him that it was alright to vent or be sad for a bit after they had a terrible loss against the Geisha. He was clearly not happy with the results and focused the blame on himself.

But you were next to him, rubbing his back when he was not in the mood to smile. Giving him the impression that he was not only an actor but also a human who has other sides to him than the positive ones. That he was allowed to feel frustrated or sad. How could he forget that someone was actually caring for him once.

„Besides. I love your genuine smile the most. It outshines Apollo himself by far."

And by flashing him that big warm smile of yours which only the luckiest ones got to see, his face flushed up. Since he remembered the second reason why he was so concentrated to see you happy.

Blooming inside of him that night, was a flower of affection and care for someone, which he never expected to experience before. And it soon would be the reason why he could smile with his full heart behind it.