Black Rose

Surprise Attack

Yami wasn't prepared to face Charlotte yet. He came here to drink and forget, goddammit! Even Vanessa and Finral left him while he was... distracted. How the hell was he supposed to deal with this drunk of a woman?
He felt Charlotte's arms tighten around his waist from behind. He sucked in his breath inadvertently. He was so damned aware of her soft body pressed against his back. "Uh.. Lady Charlotte, could you please release me?" he asked nervously.
"Puli... where'd everyone go?"
"Huh?" Yami was so taken aback he inadvertently turned around to face her. She let him and loosened up her embrace but didn't let go. Didn't she realize it was him?
"Wa-wait.. Don't move too much, the world is spinning." Charlotte held him again as she tried to gain her balance, though to no avail. She was too drunk to even stand straight.
"I told you not to drink when you can't eve-" he stopped mid-sentence when he noticed her face. "Were you crying? Why?" He could feel the blood rushing to his head, he was raising his voice before he knew it.
He must have stepped on a landmine and she started sobbing again. "Sol, I know you don't like him but I... I love him.. I'm hopelessly in love with that man... Even if he doesn't like me... I like him... a lot."
Who the fuck - in his right mind - wouldn't like her? He'd really like to face that bastard right now.
He tried to calm himself down. He dried her tears with his hands - he's not the type to have any handkerchief on him of course. "You wouldn't want anyone to see you looking like that, right?" She's only telling him this now because she thought he was one of her squad members, come morning and she'd be wanting to slit his throat again.
Charlotte took his hand in her own and pressed his palm against her cheek. "Your hand is warm..." She looked comfortable, like she was about to fall asleep in any moment now.
"When you wake up tomorrow and remember what you are doing now, you'd surely flip." He told her without puling his hand away. He gazed down on her pretty face and without thinking, he rubbed his thumb against her cheek. He couldn't help but compare his hard calloused hand to the softness of her skin. Damn, she even smelled amazing. Everything about her was soft and delicate, they couldn't be more different from each other.
"C'mon, Charlotte, I'll take you home."
She didn't resist when he picked her up into his arms, in fact, she put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest. She let out a little sigh, closed her eyes and snuggled against him.
He tried to detach himself from what he was doing and just focused on getting this thing over and done with.
He met the pub owner outside the room. Him and Yami have known each other since the latter was just a boy. Master took one quick look at the sleeping woman and he smiled as if amused. Yami adjusted his Black Bull robe to cover Charlotte up. He trusted the master but the thought of other people seeing Charlotte in her vulnerable state just didn't sit well with him.
"The Blue Rose girls already settled the bill before they left. You can go through the back, it's less crowded there than the front," master said thoughtfully.
"Thank you, master."
He was on his way out when the older man remarked, "You're taking good care of her."
"What are you talking about?" Yami said, not looking back and just continued to walk away.

It was really inconvenient without Finral. Yami had no choice but to ride a broom and fly to the Blue Rose's headquarters.
A young Blue Rose lad welcomed them at their base. He wasn't even surprised to see his captain in the arms of male human being that it made wonder if the other Blue Rose knights told him they were coming. He seemed like a timid boy. There were a few male squad members in the women-dominated squad but they were usually treated as errand boys.
The boy led him inside the mansion. Just as he thought the last time he was here, the place spelled elegance as expected of the Blue Rose Magic Knights' HQ.
After showing him Charlotte's private quarters, the boy left them just like that.
"O-oi." Yami was dumbfounded. Weren't they being too careless? He's still a man, you know? But he couldn't (wouldn't) entrust her to that brat either.
Without much of a choice, he opened the door and went inside. Charlotte was still in dreamland, curled  up in his arms. The lights were out but the moon was out, giving him enough visibility to move about.
He walked towards the bed and gently laid Charlotte down. But he didn't let go of her immediately, he hovered above her, marveling at the vision of her. The pale moonlight casted an ethereal glow on her sleeping face, making him stop on his tracks. She was exquisitely beautiful.
Suddenly, her eyelashes fluttered. He was so startled, he stubbed his pinky toe against the bedside table's leg when he tried to step back. An expletive got caught in his throat. The pain made him double over, his face was just a few inches away from hers.
At that moment she opened her eyes.
Her eyes looked glazed as they focused on him. He expected some kind of hysterics from her but none came. Instead, Charlottle smiled at him so, so sweetly and unceremoniously pulled him by the neck.
Yami's eyes widened as he felt her soft lips against his. The kiss lasted for a few seconds and all he could do was stare at her. His brain malfunctioned, he couldn't even feel his toe hurting anymore. "Y-you.."
But she just smiled at him again so enchantingly. "I love you."
As soon as she said that, she kissed him again and then went back to sleep, smiling.