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kalpasio · 2 months

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Batter Up

Home Run

A Kalpas x Reader Soulmate AU, Chapter 4, the last chapter, below!

psst. before you read this. It's like borderline crack and entirely optional! you don't have to read it, but it is my attempt at domestic Kalpas so read at your own risk (he's so ooc oh no)

“I don’t know, have you tried smiling?”

“Last time I smiled, it made Rin cry.”

“Well let’s not do that then.”

Kalpas sent a glare for your comment, but it vanished almost immediately after you pressed a kiss to his cheek. The two of you were sitting in your kitchen, slowly making your way through cooking a batch of waffles. You had made the batter, hoping to surprise your boyfriend, but you’d only finished cooking one set when he took over, sitting you on the counter nearby to ‘supervise.’ In the meantime, you were brainstorming.

Seele and Bronya were finally getting married. They had been matched for quite some time, but wanted to hold off on tying the knot. Why? No one knew. Bronya would give a different answer whenever someone asked and had the best poker face in the office. Kiana had even asked her three times in as many minutes and got a different response each time. Seele seemed like she would have been easier to crack but questioning her got you nowhere.

That’s not the point. The point is: Seele and Bronya are getting married, and they explicitly told you not to scare the guests.

After working with the two for years, it was no surprise that you were invited, and since you and Kalpas had spent well over a year together, he was expected to be your plus one. This was all fine and well, but the two girls had friends outside of your company who hadn’t met your partner and who probably wouldn’t react well to his clipped comments and brooding stare. Any other time, you know they wouldn’t have cared, and you wouldn’t have either, but this was the wedding they had waited so long for and everyone wanted it to be perfect, not just the girls.

“You could wear a mask,” you joked. Kalpas sent you a deadpan stare back and you immediately backpedaled. “Oh no. Nuh-uh. You are not wearing a mask to their wedding. That’s worse than just being grumpy the whole time.”

“I’m going to be grumpy anyway. The whole thing is a waste of time and—”

“I will give you so many kisses if you go with me.”

Kalpas was silent, staring at the waffle iron like it was the most important thing in the world.

“I already agreed to go.” You could practically hear him pouting.

“Oh so I don’t need to give you all those kisses then? That’s good to know.” You made a show of jumping off the counter and made it all of two steps away before Kalpas was spinning you around.

“No you still owe me those kisses. I don’t work for free.”

“Do I owe you for the waffles then too?”

Kalpas didn’t even bother responding, his lips meeting your own as you smiled into the kiss. He didn’t seem to be in any rush, but his hands were the only thing holding you up, the force behind every move he made nearly knocked you over.

“You’re going to burn the waffles,” you sighed, stealing another quick kiss. Kalpas probably rolled his eyes, but you couldn’t see because he threw you over his shoulder for the quick walk back to the counter. Once there, he planted you back in your spot and pressed another firm kiss on your lips as if to tell you not to move.

“I’m collecting my payment once these are finished,” he grumbled, sending a pointed look your way before going back to work.

Eventually, you gave up. The best you could do was promise Seele and Bronya that you or one of Kalpas’ friends (really just Sakura or Kallen) would try to clear up any misunderstandings and maybe leave the reception a little bit early. He complained about needing a chaperone, but was suspiciously silent about the leaving early part.

Before and during the ceremony, things went surprisingly well. Kalpas wasn’t thrilled to be wearing a suit, but he had gotten used to it from work, so you had no pushback there. You managed to avoid traffic and arrive on time, even chatting to Mei before taking your seats. Rin got a little excited and you worried she might distract from the vows, but no one even glanced your way. The biggest challenge was when she asked when you were getting married. Kalpas was no help at all, just shrugging and leaving you to scramble for an answer.

At the reception, you were seated at a table with Sakura and Kallen (shocker) and the food was amazing. Since Seele and Bronya were both originally from Russia, the main course was more traditional food, but the desserts were mostly Japanese, almost everything was from their time in college rooming with Mei and Kiana. They shared their first dance and opened the floor for others, though you opted to stay where you were.

Rin had gone to sit with Pardofelis at the marketing table, and Raven had gone with her, leaving just you and Kalpas in your designated seats. Which was fine, until someone joined you.

Misteln was a friend of Seele’s, you learned, and worked with a few others at your company that you weren’t as close with. She was beautiful and moved with an unnerving amount of elegance, but she also had a smile that was not quite a smirk and it left you uneasy. When she introduced herself, she stated that she noticed Kalpas staring and that’s what brought her over.

And it was true, he had been looking out over the room the whole time you had been talking. He wasn’t ignoring you, you knew he was just scanning the area as a force of habit, but it was easy to see how someone else might mistake that as staring. Despite her calling him out on it, however, Misteln didn’t seem bothered. It didn’t matter that Kalpas had been looking at her before, and it didn’t matter that he was looking past her now. She easily dropped the subject and moved on to the next topic.

“I’m glad to see the two of them finally together. They deserve a happy ending, don’t you think?” Misteln was looking at Seele and Bronya as they sat that the front table leaning towards one another and sharing a smile.

“They’ve been together a while now, but I get what you mean,” you nodded, trying to keep the conversation light. “I know they took a while to plan all this and I’m excited to see all their hard work coming together.”

“I agree. You can see how much effort they put into everything.” She looked back to you now and you turned to meet her. “I can’t help but wonder why they waited so long. You wouldn’t happen to have some insider secrets since you work with them, would you?”

“No,” you laughed, “I probably know as much as you do. After a while I gave up, it’s really none of my business, but I know some others kept pestering them. You might have better luck asking Kiana or Mei?”

“Wouldn’t it make sense to marry sooner?” Misteln completely ignored you and continued, “If you know that person is your soulmate, you know you’re going to be together forever. Why bother waiting?” This had you frowning a little bit, but you weren’t necessarily upset just yet.

“Some people want time to get to know their soulmate before they take that step. Just because you’re ‘cosmically bound’ or whatever, doesn’t mean the relationship is guaranteed to work out.”

“Isn’t that the definition of a soulmate?” It almost felt like you were being questioned in a courtroom now with the way her questions kept coming.

“Not all soulmates are romantic, sometimes—”

“But they knew, and they still waited. Wouldn’t you want to marry your soulmate as soon as possible?”

Kalpas chose that moment to step in, and you weren’t sure whether you should be thankful or go start apologizing to the brides now.

“When they decide to get married is hardly your problem. They’re together now, and they’re happy. Let them have their day.” He was practically leaning over you to get at Misteln at this point and trying to push him back into his seat wasn’t going very well. “Don’t go around harassing their guests talking shit and gossiping, and don’t you ever come near my partner again—”

“Kalpas!” You tried to keep your voice down but trying to make yourself heard over his rant made your whisper come out a lot louder than intended. He didn’t move back an inch, his hand still resting on the back of your chair and his posture looking like he was ready to pounce. You glanced at the front table and were relieved not to see anyone looking your way. Glancing at Misteln, however, she looked ready to speak again and you panicked.

“We really should head home. It’s been a lovely reception, but we both have work in the morning and don’t want to stay up too late.” As you spoke, you started standing, the hand you had on Kalpas’ chest to try and hold him back was now helping get him to move as well. Ignoring anything else that might have been said, you went to the front table, said your goodbyes, gave Rin a good night hug and left.

“I think that went well!”

Ignoring that horrible conversation and the guy who almost got his arm broken for standing too close to you, yeah. That went well. For a moment you wondered how the hell you were going to make it through your own wedding, but quickly decided to ignore that problem for now.

You had gone back to Kalpas’ apartment since it was closer, but he seemed to be following you around like it was your place and he’d never been there before. He wasn’t ignoring you, but he definitely wasn’t stomping around like he normally did. Once you had your jim jams on, he finally gave you a hint as to what was wrong.

“Do I get my kisses now, or do I have to fight you for them?”

“What!” You crossed your arms and pretended to be mad. “I gave you like twenty before we left!”

“Those don’t count.”

“Those don’t—are you kidding me? One of those kisses almost made us late!”

“Fighting it is.” Kalpas took one step towards you before you folded.

“Wait! No no no,” he took another step forward and your voice only got higher. “I’ll give you the kisses, no fighting required. If you tickle me again, I’m gonna end up breaking something!” Your threat was entirely valid. Last time he’d gotten you, the lamp on your nightstand hadn’t survived the attack. Kalpas took another step forward and you yelped as he reached for you, only to pick you up and drop you on the bed.

“I’ll let you go this time,” his voice made him seem annoyed, but his eyes were as close to a smile as he could get. “Tomorrow though…”

“Tomorrow what?” You watched as he pulled the covers up, almost rolling you over so he could get in before holding them up for you to join him.

“Tomorrow I’m kicking your ass in Tekken and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Mmm, I don’t know,” you grinned. “My soulmate’s gonna be there and get pretty good at fighting games when he’s around.”

“Yeah?” Kalpas turned out the light before rolling over to face you again. “My soulmate’s gonna be around too. And I don’t lose when they watch.” The confidence in his tone made you laugh.

“What about that time I beat you at every game in wii sports resort?”

“No I beat you at the sword one. The only reason you won the others was because you cheated.”

“I don’t think asking you how your day went counts as cheating, but I’ll be sure to keep that one I mind.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” he gave your ribs a light poke as a warning.

“Well if you think me kissing my boyfriend is too distracting then I guess I just won’t be able to kiss you tomorrow,” you shrugged. “A shame, but I wouldn’t want the fight to be unfair.” Another jab had you shout before failing to smother a laugh.

“If you won’t pay up tomorrow, I’ll take my kisses now.”

“Okay okay. I promise you’ll get your kisses tomorrow!” You held your hands up in surrender, but when Kalpas narrowed his eyes you added, “and I won’t use them to distract you. Deal?”

“Deal.”

The two of you fell into a relaxed silence and you had nearly fallen asleep when a thought came to you.

“Hey Kalpas?”

“We are not renegotiating.”

“No this is a different question.” He only gave you a grunt, but you took that as a sign to go ahead. “When we get married, can Rin be the flower girl?”

!!!return of the jim jams!!! I cannot be stopped. Thank you for reading this though, I sincerely hope you enjoyed the story! <3 <3 (also hope this made sense because I am physically incapable of proofreading rn) also I mentioned it on AO3 but a reader left a comment that may or may not have made it into this last part and I don't want to out them but credit where credit is due. I think it's an adorable idea and wanted to include it

#azaryawrites #kalpas x reader #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3 #hi3 x reader #x reader #i feel like i'm forgetting a tag? uh oh

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kalpasio · 2 months

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Batter Up

Third Base

A Kalpas x Reader Soulmate AU, Chapter 3 below!

“Dr. Mei better keep her promise and give us next week off. I’m wiped,” you stretched your arms above your head and yawned while your computer finished shutting down.

“I think we’ve all agreed not to come in anyway. She can’t really say much at this point, even Kevin is taking some time off.” Raven had already packed up for the day and was leaning on the wall to your cubicle waiting for you.

Technically, your team had finished the crunch on Tuesday, but you had spent the remainder of the week cleaning up. Today, you were all going to a bar to celebrate the end of the project. Sakura came over to your desk while you were grabbing the last of your things and the three of you headed for Raven’s. Bringing all your work material to a bar wasn’t the best idea, so you were dropping some things off at her apartment since it was on the way.

“I overheard Dr. Mei the other day,” Raven waited until you were outside the building to talk, not wanting anyone else to listen in. “She was trying to get us more time to work on the next project. Seems like it’ll have a huge paycheck at the end but they want three years’ worth of work done in one.”

“Ouch,” you winced. “I really hope she gets them to give us a bit more time than that, there’s no way we finish on time, even if we sprint the whole way.”

“Last time a project like this came up, we put it to a vote,” Sakura brought up the first job you had been on. Coming from being an overworked intern, you thought that every project would be that intense. It wasn’t until you got some more experience under your belt that you realized how hard you all had been pushed. That was also the last project that was taken on by Dr. Mei’s predecessor, so you had a feeling he was trying to go out with a bang.

“At least that one was somewhat reasonable,” Raven argued, “This one just isn’t happening unless we’re given more time.”

“They’ll probably reduce the pay if they agree to more time though.” You hated pointing out the obvious, but someone had to. “And if the pay is the only reason to take the job in the first place, why bother.”

“We don’t have any other work to do in the meantime. It could be a while before something else pops up and Dr. Mei isn’t known to sit back and wait.” Sakura stopped talking when her phone went off, pulling it out so she could read the message she’d gotten. “Kallen’s going to pick up Rin from daycare and wait for the babysitter. Says she’ll meet us at the bar in an hour.”

“Rin still needs a babysitter?” Raven looked over to your coworker who didn’t look at all bothered by the question.

“I doubt she’d get into any trouble, but better safe than sorry.” Her explanation made sense, but you knew it wasn’t the full picture. Kallen’s job was dangerous, and she’d made her fair share of enemies. The two were taking no chances when it came to Rin, and you could understand why.

Inside the bar, Rita waved your group over to the table she shared with Durandal. There was only space for five people in the booth, but there were a few chairs around the other side, and you could see that other tables nearby had been reserved for the rest of your coworkers.

After you all ordered some drinks, the conversation flowed easily. At first the topics mostly centered around work; what the next big project would be, how much sleep you all had lost from overtime, and when the next game would be. After some time though, the conversations split. You and Sakura started talking about how Rin was doing, but when she brought up the fact that she and her family had been thinking about getting a cat, Rita joined your group, giving some advice from her own experience.

It was nice to finally have some time to relax, even if drinking wasn’t your favorite pastime, these were some of your favorite people and being in their company was enough to make you smile. Your friend wasn’t so easily destressed, she kept checking her phone for updates from Kallen, though she tried to be subtle about it. It had only been thirty minutes, but she did eventually get a message and said that you should expect Kallen to be there within the next couple of minutes.

She did not tell you to expect to see Kalpas, but there he was, dutifully following behind Kallen like a guard dog. The drinks must have gotten to you more than you thought because the pout that you thought was hidden well was clearly caught by Kallen and she raised an eyebrow in response. With a huff, you turned back around and looked down into your cup. You weren’t mad at her, but the idea of Kalpas caring so much about someone else when he wouldn’t even give you the time of day hurt more than you wanted to admit.

Sakura slid over so that there was just enough space for her wife to sit on the edge of the booth with her. When they exchanged a short kiss, Raven pretended to gag making you laugh a little at her theatrics. She sent you a wink at the joke you’d shared but then her eyes flicked up to something behind you. A second later, a chair was dropped next to you with a rattle that made you worry it might break

Looking over your shoulder, you saw Kalpas taking the seat, already looking your way. Part of you wanted to keep staring and not let him intimidate you, but a louder part of you got nervous under his gaze and you turned away. Kira, who had been sitting at the advertising table with Kiana, gave you a smirk that meant nothing but trouble and you looked up at the ceiling, just wanting a moment of peace.

“Everything okay?” Kallen and Sakura both were looking at you now, though you couldn’t tell if their concern was teasing or genuine.

“Yeah,” you sighed. “Just been a long week. I’m happy to get some time to myself.”

“You know, with all that free time, you could probably find your soulmate.” Kallen’s teasing earned her a glare and you downed the last of your drink to hide your blush.

“I’m gonna go get a refill, do you want anything?” You stood, happy to have an excise to get away from the table, and more importantly Kalpas.

Kallen shook her head no; she planned on staying sober so she could make fun of Sakura (though you had never even seen your coworker buzzed, let alone drunk). Before you had even taken a step away from the table, however, Kalpas was standing from his chair, the motion placing him a little closer than you expected. Looking up at him, he just nodded towards the bar and raised an eyebrow when you didn’t move.

Why did the one person you wanted to avoid have to thwart your escape? Actually, Kallen following you probably would have been worse, you weren’t sure you could take much more of her taunting. The feeling of a hand pressing against your lower back had you taking a step forward to get away, but the pressure didn’t move. Glancing back, Kalpas kept looking straight ahead, almost herding you across the floor.

It was nerve wracking, having him right there, but at the same time you felt a sort of confidence from having him so close and held your head high across the bar. When you reached your destination, the bartender gave you a bit of a side-eye but took your order without any complaints.

“You don’t need to find your soulmate.” Kalpas was leaning against the bar while you waited, looking you dead in the eyes with his arms crossed over his chest. It almost felt like he was interrogating you, but you didn’t look away this time. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe you were just tired of avoiding him, but you kept your eyes locked on him while you spoke.

“I know. I’ve got a pretty good idea of who it is.” You paused, but when Kalpas didn’t say anything, you kept going. “Honestly, I’m more concerned that they aren’t interested.” His glare narrowed and your confidence wavered from the intensity of his stare.

“Why don’t you try asking then. This song and dance is getting old.”

“Nerves,” you answered without fully thinking it through. “It’d be pretty embarrassing if my soulmate rejected me, you know?” Unsurprisingly, the joke fell flat, and you finally looked away while giving a half-hearted chuckle. “You’re not exactly the most approachable. I thought you hated my guts when we first met.”

“I don’t.”

“Oh what a relief,” you looked back at him, your sarcasm giving you a bit of courage.

“If I hated your guts, you would know.” You sincerely doubted that you could tell the difference between angry Kalpas and regular Kalpas but it’s probably best not to say that to his face. “I’m not the kind of person to waste time on pointless things. If I didn’t want to see you, I wouldn’t have gone to the games and if it weren’t for Sakura, we would have had this conversation already.”

“What do you mean ‘if it weren’t for Sakura’?”

“She told me to wait.” He uncrossed his arms, and placed one hand on the bar beside you as he leaned in. “She told me to ‘let you process,’” Kalpas mocked your friend and it almost seemed like he was truly mad at her. “I’ve known that we’re soulmates for months and I’m sick and fucking tired of sitting around doing nothing.”

“Maybe if you were a little more obvious about not hating me—”

“How the hell am I supposed to do that when I’m not allowed anywhere near you?”

He makes a good point…

“Okay well. Now that you’re allowed near me could you be a little more obvious about not hating me?”

Kalpas didn’t waste a second before pressing his lips to yours. His arm wrapped around to keep you close and you had to hold onto his shoulders to keep your balance. Kissing your soulmate physically felt the same as kissing anyone else, but deep down, some part of you that had been tense for so long, finally relaxed. It was soothing in a way you didn’t know you needed, and you couldn’t imagine ever pulling away.

Unfortunately, the bartender didn’t seem to agree, and you were forced apart when he angrily cleared his throat and nearly spilled your drinks when he slammed them down. If you hadn’t looked so embarrassed, Kalpas likely would have ignored the silent reprimand, but you both settled with keeping your fingers locked together for the walk back to the table.

Before you even sat down, you just knew your friends had the smuggest look all ready for when you looked their way. Not wanting to give them the pleasure of saying ‘I told you so,’ you kept your eyes focused on your new boyfriend and Bronya, who was kind enough to spare your feelings. When you glanced at Raven, though, it was all over.

“Couldn’t find any desks to hide behind this time?” Immediately the floodgates opened, and everyone was asking questions or making a witty remark about your new relationship. Even Kira stopped by to visit, and she only left after saying that Kalpas would make a good model and you had to physically shoo her away (her sake as well as your own).

At the end of the night, he walked with you and your friends back to Raven’s and rode the subway back to your stop. On the way you talked about anything and everything. From work, to how you both had met Sakura, to that first baseball game and how annoying your coworkers could be. More importantly, you both decided to take advantage of your time off and planned to go on a proper date sooner rather than later. Sakura and Kallen threatened to crash it, but you weren’t worried. Whether or not they were there didn’t matter. So long as you got to spend time with your soulmate, you would be happy.

uh that whole part with the "oh what if we get another project" Yeah. that was me going off the rails and like almost making this a 20k word fic because I fully intended to have the team go through a whole project and have Kalpas just like pop up sometimes and then I went "Oh my gosh it's 11pm and I have to get up at 6" and proceeded to only write another 4k words the next day. Truly showing restraint

#azaryawrites #kalpas x reader #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3 #hi3 x reader #x reader

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kalpasio · 2 months

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Batter Up

Second Base

A Kalpas x Reader Soulmate AU, Chapter 2 below!

When Friday rolled around again, you weren’t nearly as excited as usual. Even before you thought you had found your soulmate, there was a bit of underlying anticipation. Now you just felt anxious. It didn’t seem likely that your match would come back to watch since they missed the last game.

Sakura seemed sympathetic when she spotted you dragging your feet to the field, but there wasn’t much she could do. Either your soulmate was there, or they weren’t. It was out of her control. She convinced Dr. Mei to at least put you both on the same team, but that was the best she could do.

As though your mood wasn’t ruined enough, halfway through the game, Rin showed up with tall, dark, and grumpy in tow. Of course you were happy to see her—it’s nearly impossible to not like Rin, she’s too nice—but the constant angry glare, you could do without. On top of that, you’d started making catches that you never would have made under normal circumstances. That could only mean your soulmate was back.

In between plays you would scan the crowd at the fence, but you knew almost all of them had already matched with your coworkers. The only one who stood out had left when you weren’t looking, and your point streak continued long after. So, either your soulmate was a ninja, or you were just having a really great night. In terms of the game that is. The rest of the night sucked.

“I just don’t know who it could be,” you groaned. Hua placed a comforting hand on your shoulder that almost made you feel worse. She and Kallen worked together as partners in the police department, so she regularly joined you Kallen and Sakura for a Sunday brunch (though it usually ended up just being lunch).

“I’m sure you’ll find them.” If you didn’t know her so well, Hua’s lack of enthusiasm would have made you think she was being sarcastic, but she genuinely meant well.

“Yeah, and you can always ask the city’s best to take on the case,” Kallen sent a wink that just made you roll your eyes.

“I’ve actually been thinking about it,” Sakura started as she finished taking a sip of her tea. “Out of everyone there watching, you spoke to all but two of them.” You nodded to show you were following along, even if you were a bit skeptical. “Those two haven’t been back since.”

“How can you remember that. It’s been over a month since that first game!”

Sakura shrugged. “Computer crashed in the middle of work one too many times.” Kallen laughed but you just sat there, stunned (and maybe a little jealous). “The one person who’s been there both times was actually Kalpas.”

“Oh you’ve got to be joking.”

There was no way. No way that Sakura and Kallen’s friend, the guy that showed no expression other than boredom or annoyance was your soulmate. You doubted he could even smile, let alone be interested in a romantic relationship.

“No, he’s really the only one.” Sakura was doing a good job of holding back her smile, but Kallen was nearly in tears from laughing so hard.

“This is the worst prank—”

“I’m being honest.”

“Well either you or the universe messed up because I cannot believe he…we’re—that,” you couldn’t even say the words out loud.

“Kalpas is your soulmate.”

Unfortunately, Sakura had no issue saying exactly what you didn’t want to hear. With a groan, your head hit the table, rattling the dishes. Once again, you felt a hand resting on your shoulder in an attempt to console you.

In the same voice she would use if a relative died, Hua said, “congratulations.”

Kallen absolutely lost it.

You weren’t completely sure how to feel about the new information. Some part of you had decided that Kalpas was your enemy because he kept giving you that stare, but rationally, you couldn’t think of any reason to hate him. He hadn’t done anything to slight you, but you couldn’t be sure if that was because he was a decent human being or if the fact that you two hadn’t spent more than a couple minutes near each other played a role.

Trying to sort though your thoughts, you made a list of pros and cons for having Kalpas as a partner. Immediately on the ‘pro’ side you put ‘hot.’ And…that was about it.

Moving to the ‘con’ side however. You almost ran out of paper. He’s part of the police force, and while you don’t know what exactly he does, you had seen how rough things could be for Sakura and Kallen. If there was a strong push for a case to be solved, the detective could disappear for weeks at a time, and that’s not even considering the constant risk of her getting hurt in the field.

Other than that, he was never happy (at least that you had seen) and it felt weird to be dating your best friend’s other best friend. Even if Sakura had seemed fine with it at the time and had been the one to bring the relationship to your attention, it felt like you were crossing some unwritten line. Kalpas had also managed to be intimidating all the way from the other side of the diamond that first night, though you guessed that could be a pro. You added it to both columns just to be safe.

He couldn’t be that bad if Sakura and Kallen trusted him to pick Rin up from school, but that didn’t bring you much comfort. You wanted to believe their judgement of Kalpas, but at the same time, you had seen the type of people your friends hung out with. The night of their bachelorette party, your group had been banned from nearly every bar downtown and at least one of them still had your picture up by the door.

In the end, you decided to wait until the next baseball night. Sakura had offered to try and set something up, but you declined, wanting more time to mull things over. It didn’t help that your team had reached crunch time, and you wanted every spare moment to catch up on sleep. Everyone on your team seemed to agree with that sentiment because the next game was cancelled.

As soon as you got the email (that you debated printing because Kevin signed it with a frowny face at the end) you thought that you would have the next month free of seeing Kalpas.

You thought wrong.

The first time he showed up, you had been on your way to brew another cup of coffee when you saw him standing by Sakura’s desk, a to-go bag in hand. Almost on instinct, you ducked down behind the cubicle you were passing. Even though his back was to you, it was a risk you didn’t want to take.

“I know you need that report. I’m almost finished, you didn’t have to come all the way over here to harass me.” Looking up, you saw that you had accidentally crouched down and were now eye level with Raven.

“No no no no,” you whispered. “I’m not here for that, I promise. I’m just hiding.”

“From what?” She narrowed her eyes at you and for a moment you thought she was about to give away your hiding spot. You wouldn’t put it past her to stand up in the middle of the office and loudly get Kalpas’ attention.

“There’s a guy—” her eyes sharpened and suddenly you were more worried about Raven stabbing Kalpas instead of just yelling at him. “He’s my soulmate! But uh we haven’t really spoken yet so…”

“Ah,” Raven nodded as though this was something that happened on a regular basis. “In that case, go away. I have a report that someone is on my back about.” With that, she turned her chair back towards her monitors and went back to typing.

Feeling somewhat betrayed, you peeked over the cubicle wall to check on your target only to find him looking straight back. The office was almost completely silent now that you think about it. Kalpas definitely heard your conversation. When Raven gave you a little jab to the side, you let out a nervous laugh and booked it to the restrooms.

Once inside, you gave a sigh of relief. Leaning on the counter, you looked yourself in the eyes in the mirror. That wasn’t so bad. You’re just being a big baby about this whole situation. Were you going to go back out there? Absolutely not. This bathroom was going to be your safe haven for at least the next thirty minutes but who’s counting?

Sakura laughed at you when you came out, and you’re sure she won’t ever let you live it down, but that encounter was nothing compared to the second one.

It was less than a week later, and you were sitting at Sakura’s desk with her, helping go through some code she’d just edited. You didn’t even notice when Kalpas showed up, all you saw was food being placed on the desk that Sakura was sliding over to you. Almost instantly you gasped and forgot what you’d been working on.

“Oh my gosh thank you so—” When you turned to look at your hero, that’s when you found out Kalpas was in the building. Fight or flight failed you, and you froze in place, neck straining to look up at your sudden visitor.

“Kallen made you rice balls again.”

He wasn’t even looking at you. Kalpas spoke directly to Sakura, and you weren’t sure if you should be glad to have his attention off of you, or hurt for that very same reason.

“Oh, where are they?” Sakura didn’t look too excited, but you could hear in her voice how much she looked forward to her wife’s cooking (even if she still struggled with the basics).

“She burnt them.”

You tried. You tried so hard not to laugh but the hand you held to cover your smile gave you away. Sakura just sighed.

“If anyone can figure out how to burn something you don’t even cook, it would be her.” There were equal amounts of defeat and affection in her tone, and you nodded sympathetically, still biting your lip to hold in the smile.

“You.” Kalpas suddenly turned to you and managed to make his scowl even more terrifying. In a second the smile was wiped from your face, and you were more than a little concerned. “I better not hear about you skipping meals again.” He narrowed his eyes, and you knew better than to test his threat.

“How did you hear about it in the first place?” You regretted asking as soon as the words came out of your mouth, but surprisingly, Kalpas responded.

“Kallen.”

“Oh really?” you turned to Sakura, now sending a scowl of your own. “And I wonder who she heard that from.”

“We really should get back to work,” your friend pulled the top off your share of the food and handed you some chopsticks that probably came from the food you ordered last week. “Thank you Kalpas!” You took the chopsticks but didn’t stop glaring.

“Thank you Kalpas.” When he didn’t move for a moment, you looked back at him and for a second you thought you saw that permanent frown soften just a little bit, making you send a smile of your own. With that, he turned and headed straight for the stairs.

As soon as he was out of eyesight, you were turning to Sakura and hissing “why was he here?”

“He’s in charge of the SWAT team so—”

“He’s what.”

“He’s on call a lot but most times he’s not doing much so Kallen will ask him to send some things over.”

“Why am I not surprised that your wife has made the scariest guy in the precinct her errand boy?”

“Because she’s my wife?” Sakura gave you a proud grin that made you roll your eyes.

“Of course, that explains everything.”

I just want you to know that I almost put reader on fourth base because I wanted a random number and I'm sorry for almost sending you into the void

#azaryawrites #tamalethebear #kalpas x reader #cross posted on ao3 #hi3 x reader #x reader #soulmate au

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kalpasio · 2 months

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Batter Up

First Base

A Kalpas x Reader Soulmate AU, Chapter 1 below!

You loved playing baseball with your coworkers, but making the teams could be such a pain in the ass. Because half of the office knew who their soulmate was, but it was never even. If it didn’t give you such an advantage, no one would care, but you all knew how much of an impact having your soulmate watch made. Professional sports teams wouldn’t even consider players who hadn’t met their partner. Sure, there were a few couples in the office that could just be put on opposite teams like Seele and Bronya, but not everyone was so lucky.

Some were like Sakura who had met her soulmate, but Kallen wasn’t always available to watch. Her job as a detective meant she had a sporadic schedule and missed games even if she originally said she could make it. The majority of the office, however, was in the same boat as you.

Your soulmate was still out there somewhere, and this was your chance to find them. All around the city, there were open areas that could be used to play different sports. Rather than fencing them off from the public, however, the space was easily visible, that way, passing pedestrians might catch a glimpse of a future partner.

Every other week, your office would reserve the field to play baseball (for ‘team building’) and every other week, you’d be out there hoping to suddenly start playing better. As much as you valued this opportunity, setting up with a n uneven number of soulmates really made you question if all this aggravation was worth it.

“Why can’t we just send one person with a match home?”

“We’d have an uneven number of players,” Dr. Mei closed her eyes and sighed. This wasn’t the first time she’d had to explain, and she doubted it would be the last.

“Look, each team has more than enough players, we can survive with one less,” you suggested. You just wanted to get this show on the road, even if it was an unfair contest.

“I can go,” Kiana raised her hand. “I need to buy some groceries for dinner anyway.”

“If you leave, we’ll just be back where we stared, you’d have to stay for Mei or we’re still not even on soulmates.” (Having two ‘Mei’s in the office was not at all confusing)

“I’ll go,” Durandal raised her hand this time. Normally Rita would be on the field as well, but she decided to sit out to finish up some work.

It had taken twenty minutes, but finally, you all got on your teams and sorted out everyone’s position. Since your team had the extra player, Sakura offered to bat, but not play in the field. She had hit more homeruns than anyone else in the office, but couldn’t throw to save her life, so there were no objections.

At first, the teams were even, though it was clear those with their partners watching were carrying most of the weight. Around the third inning, you saw Sakura jog over to the fence while you were getting set up at first base. Her sister, Rin, was there, fingers curling through the chain-links while she practically bounced up and down. Next to her was probably the most intimidating man you had ever seen.

His arms were crossed to show just how thrilled he was to be there. He wore black slacks and a blazer, similar to what you’d seen Kallen wear to work, but her muscles weren’t nearly as obvious through the fabric as this guys. It didn’t help that the net behind the batter was casting a shadow over his face to cover what you were certain was a permanent glare.

Raven, your pitcher, whistled sharply to get your attention and gave a smug grin when your head whipped back around. Giving a sheepish smile, you adjusted your glove and got ready for the next inning.

And that would have been that. Sakura talking to her weirdly creepy friend (or was he Rin’s friend?) at the baseball game between rounds. Except you started playing better. Like. Way better. Only an inning later your team had pulled ahead a noticeable amount, almost entirely because of you. At first, there was a bit of grumbling from the other side, but once it became clear what was happening, everyone just seemed excited to finish the game. Some because they were sore losers, but most of your coworkers wanted you to go find your soulmate.

As soon as the game was over, you ran to the fence to ask for your soulmate. Of the five or six people who had been watching, two had left before you even got over to them. The third told you she had been to a couple of your group’s games now. If she was your soulmate, you would have known by now. The rest were happy to give you their number, but it wasn’t apparent that one was your match. With a sigh, you walked back to the dugout to pack up before heading home. On the way out, you stopped to talk to Sakura for a minute.

“Any luck?” Your coworker turned to face you, still holding onto Rin’s hand.

“I got a few numbers but none of them really stand out you know?” you shrugged. “I’ll try talking to them and hopefully next time we play I’ll get a definite answer.”

“It wasn’t obvious for me and Kallen at first. Give it some time,” Sakura sent you a smile. “This is Kalpas, by the way,” she waved to the man who showed up with Rin. He still looked angry; the only difference was that you were up close now instead of far away. “He actually works with Kallen, but we were friends long before they met.”

With a polite smile you held out your hand in greeting. “It’s nice to meet you.” Kalpas grunted and looked down at your hand but made no move to return the gesture. After a few seconds of awkwardly standing there, you were about to pull your hand back when Rin reached up and took hold of it.

“You’re supposed to shake hands!” she said. “Like this!” The girl shook your hand harshly up and down way too many times, but you appreciated her enthusiasm. When she finally stopped, you gave a small laugh and pulled your hand back to rest on the strap between your shoulder and your bag.

“Well, I gotta get going,” you nodded your head in the direction of your car. “I’ll see you on Monday!” The three of you waved as you walked off and Kalpas remained still as a statue, brooding as always.

“I don’t think it’s me,” Derek shook his head. He had invited you over to play some video games on the weekend after the two of you had spent the week prior texting. It was meant to be a relaxed date, but you both knew you were testing your soulmate bond. The fact that you both were struggling with a game as simple as Mario made it apparent that the bond simply wasn’t there.

Turning to look at him, the grimace on Derek’s face matched yours. “That’s what I was afraid of.” You sighed. “I really have enjoyed talking with you though.”

“Oh same here!” he was quick to agree, bringing back a bit of your smile. “And you don’t have to go, we can keep hanging out. I just don’t want to act like there’s something going on between us when there’s not.”

“Right, no I get it. I actually have some errands to run so I’m gonna head out, but we should keep in touch!”

“Yeah of course!”

You stood from the couch with Derek following as you grabbed your things and stood by the door. Both of you were clearly uncomfortable and you couldn’t wait to get out of this apartment. The smile you gave as you left was forced, but so was his. You both knew there weren’t any errands, you just needed some space for now. Derek might make a good friend in a few weeks but the disappointment of not finding your soulmate was hard to ignore.

On the bright side, you only had the rest of this week before your next baseball game, and you’d already scheduled with Nick for him to be there. Given that Derek wasn’t your partner, and you only had two choices to begin with, it seemed likely Nick was your soulmate, but you wanted to be sure.

Over the past week you had felt like you got along better with Derek, but you may have just been too focused on one person; or maybe you and Nick just hadn’t found the right topic to talk about. Regardless, you were excited for this Friday.

“Your soulmate gonna be there tonight?”

“I hope so!” The workday seemed to drag on forever. It felt like your computer knew you wanted time to go faster, and it was intentionally freezing on every document you tried to open.

Even though you potentially had your soulmate waiting for you, the teams were balanced out like you still weren’t matched. That way, if Nick is your soulmate, you would be able to tell.

He was right on time, giving you a wave and a huge smile that you returned. As soon as the game started, your eyes were practically glued to the scoreboard, waiting for your team to pull ahead. But it never happened.

You ended up losing so badly that your team forfeited after the seventh inning.

“So…”

“Yeah.”

Your voice was quiet, the disappointment clear. Nick for his part at least seemed to be putting on a brave face.

“This isn’t my first rodeo,” he said. “I keep going to games and thinking I’ve found my soulmate only to come up with nothin.”

You winced, feeling bad for adding to his list of not-soulmates. “I hope you find them soon?”

“Same goes for you!”

The walk to the dugout was too long and you could feel the pitying eyes of your coworkers on you the whole way.

“No luck?” Kallen looked up from where she had squatted to fuss over Rin’s hair.

“Nope,” you popped the ‘p,’ frustration evident. “I wouldn’t be so bummed but that was my last lead. That means my soulmate walked off before I even saw them and who knows when I’ll see them again.”

“Want me to pull up the surveillance footage?” Kallen joked and almost fell over when Sakura nudged her.

You gave a nervous laugh, “while I’m sure you have cameras everywhere, I think I’m all set.” That would be a fun conversation to have. ‘Yeah, I think we might be soulmates so I had my coworker’s wife pull up some secret police cameras to find out who you are and where you live. Wanna get food this Saturday?’

I'm gonna be honest, I know very little about Kallen, I kinda just made her character up as I went oops?

#azaryawrites #kalpas x reader #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3 #hi3 x reader #x reader #soulmate AU

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kalpasio · 3 months

Note

THAT HoTS!READER DRAWING IS CUTE AND MADE ME REMEMBER AN OLD DRAWING I HAD

it actually has lyrics on the page but it got cropped out lol,, it was the lyrics to the song "o sol e a lua" which was popular on tiktok

On Kalpas' page it said "The sun proposed to the moon" and on HoTS!reader's page said "The moon said 'I don't know', give me some time" i could go on a whole tangent on how much this song fits them but i'll shut up (for now)

- your local HoTS!reader enthusiast with the same username, herrscher of the stars 🫶✨✨✨✨

YOU GUYS CANT SEND DRAWINGS BACK TO BACK IM GONNA CRY 😭🧡😭🧡 THESE ARE BOTH SO AMAZING????? LIKE WHAT THE HECK THANK YOU!!

I remembered getting a request for that song when them and went to check and it's LITERALLY over a year old I am SO sorry

trust me I'm gonna like go on a deep dive with the song and end up making myself cry lol

I'm just aaaaAAAAAAAA THESE ARE SO GOOD 😭😭😭😭😭

THE TIMING 👌👌

good luck with your class!!! it's like midnight for me so I just have to worry about trying to fall asleep when I have HotS on my mind lol

#herrscher of the stars!! 🧡🧡#these are so so pretty!!!#def wont catch me smiling like and idiot looking at these no sir #agh the requests are like always on my mind but i never get a chance to sit down and write #or i get another idea that's NOT a request and it just blocks everything else 💀#one day ill get through them lol #thank you so much for sending these tho im actually gonna go scream for like a solid hour 🧡🧡🧡🧡

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kalpasio · 3 months

Text

Beauty and Decimation

Everyone Has A Plan

A Kalpas x Reader fic loosely based on Beauty and the Beast, Chapter 6, the last chapter below!

Elysia is standing at the front gate when you get there. It only took you a few minutes to grab all your belongings and throw them in a bag; you had come here with nothing after all. She was looking out into the distance, and you saw a flash of lightning that seemed impossible given the lack of rainfall. Maybe an omen?

“Are you going out to the town?” You’d been so lost in thought, the girl’s voice made you jump and drop your bag. “Is Kalpas joining you, or do I get you to myself for once?”

“I figured since the curse was broken you’d all be leaving. I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

Elysia hummed and looped her arm through yours while picking up your bag. Slowly, she started the trek back to town while talking. “We may have been stuck here for some time, but this is still home for all of us. I’m sure we’ll all enjoy this new freedom for a week or so, and then be right back to our old habits. Besides,” she laughed a little, “could you imagine what would happen if Kalpas were to try living with other people?”

“I’d rather not,” you grimaced. “Why were you out here then?” The path was becoming steadily less overgrown the further you got from the castle gates, and it was starting to make you nervous. If Elysia noticed your tightening grip, she didn’t say anything.

“Just saying goodbye to Mei. It’ll be a few months before she visits again, so I want to spend as much time with her as I can.”

“I’m surprised she would leave,” you did your best to keep the bitterness from seeping into your tone. “Now that the curse is gone, I mean.”

Elysia gave an overdramatic sigh that was more of a whine and pouted. “I tried asking her to go to the village with me, but she said no! Can you believe her?! Our first date not trapped in that stupid palace and she says no!” You froze in the middle of the path to watch as she took her arm back only to wave it wildly in frustration. “I know two months isn’t that long when we’ve both waited thirty years but still!”

“Thirty years?”

“Thirty years! We’ve been together for thirty years and that grump Kalpas finally grows a heart and now she leaves!” Elysia crossed her arms and huffed. “So unfair. At least you’re here to keep me company.” She grabbed your hand and started walking again, but turned when you stayed rooted in place.

“But...I’m leaving?” You couldn’t have sounded more confused if you tried. Elysia gasped so loudly you almost crushed her hand in surprise.

“You can’t leave me too!” For a moment you thought this was going to be the fight with Mobius all over again, half expecting Kosma to appear out of nowhere. Then she gasped again, louder this time. “Ooh Kalpas is going to be so mad! Why are you leaving?!”

“I thought he—” you paused. “Didn’t Mei—” You thought the curse was broken. That he and Mei had come to care for each other through their constant violence, and that you were just in the way. But now you were being told Mei only came here for Elysia and was only coming back for Elysia and Kalpas didn’t even seem to know.

“The curse shouldn’t come back,” she said, just as lost in thought as you were. “But Aponia is smarter than that…”

“No,” an unnervingly calm voice caused you both to whip around to face the new speaker. “The curse won’t come back. I thought of this possibility, but it seemed unlikely.” This must be Aponia, given how intimately she knew the curse. From all the stories you’d been told, the image of her in your mind was much more hag-like than the woman before you now.

Her appearance was angelic, in direct conflict with the ‘fire and brimstone’ theme you’d come to associate with Kalpas. If Su gave off an air of tranquility, the sorceress gave an air of calm that had your hair standing on the back of your neck. It was almost like a false sense of security that you could see straight through.

“Kalpas isn’t one to feel emotions half-heartedly.” Aponia continued, and it was only now that you noticed how she hovered a bit off the ground, forcing you to crane your neck to look up at her as she got closer.

“It’s most noticeable with his more...violent urges, but the same holds true for other feelings. Kalpas clings to those he cares for just as tightly as he clings to grudges. If this hundred-year experiment does not make that clear, I do not know what will.”

“But Mei left?” Your question wasn’t aimed toward anyone specific, but Aponia picked up on your confusion first.

“Mei left,” she nodded. “One of the residents here was outside the castle when the curse took hold. She has gone to inform him of his new freedom.” Seeing that the furrow had yet to leave your brow, she continued. “You were the one to break the spell.”

Shock overtook your features upon hearing those words. Somewhere to your left, Elysia was doing a poor job concealing her giggles which Aponia politely ignored. “Please,” it almost sounded like she was begging, but you doubted whatever the request was, that you could refuse. “Do not abandon him. I am surprised he did not stop you from leaving thus far. Don’t break that trust and walk away. Broken hearts do not mend so nicely as broken bones.”

You were still stunned. Even now, more than a full day later, you had yet to process Aponia’s words.

Elysia had turned you around and steered you straight to Kalpas’ room but he wasn’t there. It was late enough that you figured he had gone out to slaughter any Honkai that unwittingly came near him. A nasty stab wound wasn’t going to stop him from fighting. All it did was force Sakura to trail behind him—at least according to Rin.

Breakfast had been Kalpas-free, as had lunch. At dinner, you were joined by Hua and Su (an odd pair but you enjoyed their company) who told you Kalpas was recovering from his wounds. He was clearly struggling with the transition to being moral again, more so than the others.

The sun had set and dawned a new day, presently at its highest point in the sky as you sat down for lunch. You had gone to the kitchen to help Sakura and promptly been shooed away. The poor woman looked more than a little fed up. She was the only one willing to put up with Kalpas’...well, being Kalpas, so you took a deep breath and offered to cover for her today. This would mean confronting the emotions you had spent the past day avoiding, but you doubted that Kalpas would leave any room for awkwardness. He simply couldn’t be bothered to care about that emotion, and so, for him, it wasn’t an issue. You, on the other hand, had a head full of worries and a heart full of fear.

Aponia couldn’t possibly know exactly what had been happening in the castle (though it felt like you were thinking that more than you actually believed it). What if she was wrong about you being the one to break the curse? What if Kalpas had changed since she knew him and now letting things go wasn’t so hard for him—what if he had feelings for you that only lasted a moment? What if the curse hadn’t been specific enough and Kalpas ‘caring’ for you only meant he wasn’t constantly thinking of setting you on fire?

What if you turned around right now and headed back to the kitchen? That sounded like the best plan.

The past few months (aside from Mei’s visit) had been too good to be true. This had to be the end. Maybe you could get someone to travel to the next town with you so you could start a new life? Many members of the castle had already left—Vill-V and Pardofelis booked it day one, Kosma and Griseo leaving soon after. Elysia had a date waiting for her and Sakura was loyal to a fault, so those two wouldn’t leave anytime soon. Su and Mobius hadn’t expressed any desire to leave (not that you would travel with the latter); but Eden and Hua had.

Lost in thought, planning your escape with one of the girls, you only noticed where you were after you’d doomed yourself by unconsciously knocking on the door you had been dreading this whole time. Kalpas isn’t one to say anything in acknowledgment, you had learned that a few months ago when you were sent on a wild goose chase because of his habit.

You spent an hour wandering the grounds, assuming he hadn’t answered because he was busy elsewhere. He argued that you just open the door anyway if he doesn’t answer and you know he’s in there, so why bother knocking in the first place?

Debating with the prince is like talking to a brick wall, so you let the subject be and a few seconds after knocking, you were pushing the door open, throat tight with anxiety and your grip on the handle even tighter. Inside, you found that Rin was the only thing stopping Kalpas from tearing his stitches open for what must have been the fifth time. It was easy to guess the topic of conversation—Rin’s plans now that she was free—and equally easy to tell that her audience was more invested than he appeared.

She sat at the foot of the bed, Kalpas propped up against the headboard with his head tilted back, almost looking asleep. Seeing you enter had the girl standing to drag you over in a heartbeat. For a ten-year old, she was surprisingly strong, and you nearly upset the plate of food that brought you here in the first place.

Rin led you to the side of the bed, using both hands to urge you to sit where she wanted you. Unfortunately, this spot meant you couldn’t see both of them at the same time without bringing your legs up on the bed and sitting crisscross-applesauce. Putting your back to Rin felt incredibly rude when she was the only one talking and your heart couldn’t bear the sad face she would undoubtedly make. Not that Kalpas was a better option. Turning your back on him felt like signing your own death certificate, and your goal here was food delivery, not funeral planning.

To your surprise—and horror—Rin made the decision for you, claiming she needed to help Sakura clean up the kitchen. Whether it was to take a break or because she truly had chores, you didn’t know. But you had been abandoned. With Kalpas. A man completely oblivious to the tension growing with each passing second spent in silence. Holding the plate with trembling fingers, you wracked your brain for any possible topic of conversation.

“I heard Rin talking about her plans.” You hesitated, wondering if your question was too personal. Wondering if Kalpas ever made plans. “Do you have any ideas for the future?”

When you first got here, his response—almost certainly—would be to tell you to buzz off. Now, however, his response was silence. Truly a demonstration of growth, you thought sarcastically.

“Where are you going?” His question caught you off guard, even if it was presently at the forefront of your mind.

“I’m not sure. I suppose that depends on whether I’m allowed to stay or not.”

Kalpas rolled his eyes, “Where would you go?” The accompanying scoff and condescending tone had you bristle, and you almost wanted to lie and name some random village out of spite.

“I’m not sure,” you repeated, eyes narrowed at him. “Maybe I can find a place a few towns over.”

“The horses could use a good run.” Kalpas took the plate from your hands and turned his attention towards the food, making it seem he was done with this conversation.

Was that it? Take a horse and get out?

Your eyes were wide with hurt, and you hesitated in making your hasty escape long enough that you heard the second half of his response.

“Su won’t let me leave for several more weeks. We can leave once he gets his head out of his ass.”

Irritated, you stood from the bed and pointed an accusatory finger. “Su does not have his—what do you mean ‘we?’”

“His head is so far up—”

“Stop being mean to Su!”

“Tell him to stop keeping me here so we can leave then.” Kalpas smirked at your frustration, and you knew he was only interested in seeing the rage grow in your eyes, but that knowledge didn’t make you immune to his jabs.

“He’s trying to stop you from dying! And since when are we travel buddies?” Completely ignoring your question, Kalpas continued to fan the flames.

In your defense, the back and forth between you both lasted long enough for him to finish eating before you boiled over. Even shouting in his face couldn’t get rid of his grin, and when you finally caught on to how close you two were, it was too late. Kalpas had a not-so-gentle hand behind your neck pulling you down to his lips.

The sudden movement forced you to plant a hand on his chest to avoid completely falling over, and while normally you would be elated to kiss the prince, you were far too angry and concerned with the blood already soaking the bandages. Leaning back, you hardly had a chance to breathe before his lips caught yours again. It took very little convincing for you to resign yourself to spending the rest of your day right here and it wasn’t long before you settled into Kalpas’ lap to ease the angle of your neck. His other hand burned with a gentle yet persistent warmth on your thigh, and he still hadn’t lost that infuriating grin.

No longer propping yourself up, you could run a hand through the singed ends of his hair; and, more importantly, you could grip the white strands to stop his lips from chasing yours when you needed air. This brief pause gave you a chance to notice the blood now staining your own clothes as well as the sheets and that put an end to the moment, despite Kalpas’ protests. For his sake (and Su’s—the poor man did not need any more grief from his patient) you stayed in the room, only changing the bedding after the wounds had been redressed.

Unsure how to start a conversation after all that happened, you stood by the bed awkwardly fiddling with the blanket, pretending to smooth out the already perfect edges. Kalpas staring at you wasn’t helping, but at least he was merciful enough to speak first this time.

“What town are we traveling to first?”

“I don’t have anything in mind, really,” you answered truthfully. It clearly wasn’t the answer he wanted, however, because he smacked your hands away from the bed and matched your glare with one of his own. “I haven’t ever left my hometown to be honest. Never had a reason to.”

“We should go there then.” Kalpas didn’t hesitate with his response and he didn’t waver when you shook your head ‘no.’

“That’s not really traveling, is it?” you gave a nervous laugh. Exploring could be exciting, but you’d rather spend the rest of your life cooped up in this castle than face the men who had driven you here in the first place. “Besides,” you reasoned, “everyone there thinks I’m dead.”

“All the more reason to go,” Kalpas leaned back and closed his eyes, decided in his answer.

“I left to get away from those people.”

“All the more reason to go,” his voice dripped venom, his wild grin was back, and you were certain that if he looked at you, there would be fire in his eyes.

“We are not going to my home and killing people!” In response to your shouting, Kalpas pulled you to his chest over the covers and hummed.

“You should get some rest. Su says it’s good for you.”

“No, it’s good for you because you’re injured. I’m not changing my mind. You can’t just show up with a ghost—a hundred years after disappearing no less—and then go around killing people.” He grunted this time, but you were not at all convinced he was giving up. “Kalpas—”

“Go to sleep.”

You grumbled but otherwise did not argue. If you were being honest, it was only through frustration you had stayed awake this long. The warmth at your back and the plush mattress below had your eyes drifting shut despite your best efforts. With a bit of shuffling, you slipped under the blankets and sighed.

“We’ll find somewhere else to go tomorrow.”

“If you say so.”

“Good night Kalpas.” He said nothing, but a squeeze from the strong arms around you, had you falling asleep with a smile.

don't worry about the fact that kevin is never mentioned, it's fine. he's fine. Also thank you for reading this story! <3 I know I'm a lil rusty after waiting so long but I'm hoping to at least sorta get back in the groove of things. I'm already working on the next fic and potentially half way through writing it? So it won't be weekly updates like I used to do but I'm aiming for 2 weeks or monthly? just not vanishing again I guess

#kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3 #x reader

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kalpasio · 3 months

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Beauty and Decimation

The Lightning and The Visitor

A Kalpas x Reader fic loosely based on Beauty and the Beast, Chapter 5 below!

Explaining your fear of being sacrificed to end the curse went about as well as you might expect. That is to say, Kalpas called you an idiot—or some variation thereof—at least four times and if he wasn’t both un-killable and capable of tearing you limb from limb, you would be doing a lot more than just glaring. As things stand now, however, he meets both qualifications, so you hold back from arguing too much.

With a scoff and an eyeroll from the beast, you were sent on your way to the library, having been told that if Mobius so much as breathes in your direction, Kalpas would deal with her. That didn’t seem to extend to the rest of the household, however. Elysia had been trying her best to get you to spend more time with the prince—for completely innocent reasons, for sure—and even Sakura seemed to be roped into her plan. And in a way, it worked.

You grew so fed up with their blatant attempts to set you up with Kalpas that you ended up hanging around him because that was the only time the harassment stopped. Without realizing it, you had inserted yourself into his daily routine and pulled him into yours as well. Mornings were now spent gardening outside while he trained nearby, and evenings were spent in the library reading or simply chatting.

Nights were possibly your favorite, though. Kalpas still continued to go out and fight Honkai in the woods, and it seemed the only reason he’d stop his crusade was to come back to you so he could brag about the battle. Often, his return would be closer to the sun’s rising than its setting and you found yourself falling asleep during the middle of his retellings multiple times.

At first, Kalpas had been furious at your apparent lack of interest, but you were so used to him being mad at this point, you were more concerned about the scorch marks left on the walls than of his flames ever causing you harm. You also had gotten quite adept at bartering with him; telling the prince you’d hear the rest of his story during breakfast, so long as he promised not to set things on fire right then.

You both had fallen into this schedule so easily, you were spending nearly every night together, whether you passed out on the couch, your bed, or even got dragged to Kalpas’ room. Mornings that had once been too cold were perfectly cozy in his arms or half-lying across his chest. The biggest issue was getting up afterwards. If Kalpas wasn’t dead set on keeping you in place, then you were being greeted by Hua’s averted eyes and Eden’s knowing smile. Even with all the teasing, given how well you’d rested, and how much you enjoyed spending time with him, it was worth it.

It felt odd saying it out loud, now that you think about it. Undeniably, you enjoyed being around Kalpas. Even if neither of you was talking, or if he was on a rant, the man had grown on you. Personality aside, he could easily classify as ‘good looking’ and you’d spent your fair share of time staring while he’d trained.

And now was certainly no exception. Choosing to sit on the bench behind him had not been an accident and you were going to milk the view for all it was worth. Or at least that had been the plan before Kalpas practically disappeared.

It took your eyes a moment to catch up, but you found him on the edge of the training grounds, flames surrounding him. A few feet away stood a woman who looked so threatening, even Mobius would be jealous. Her sword was held straight out, pointed towards Kalpas and you knew that whatever came next would not be pretty.

The clash of fire and blades had you holding your breath in fear. Each one of their movements was too quick to catch and neither seemed to hold a clear advantage over the other. Though Kalpas couldn’t die, the lightning flashing from the girl’s sword would undoubtedly hurt.

“I suppose I should have warned him I had a friend coming over,” Elysia sighed from beside you, startling you for a moment.

“Friend?” you asked, somewhat exasperated.

“Yeah, my best friend, Mei!” She clapped her hands together with a smile. “She’ll be spending a few nights here. I was really hoping she’d avoid a fight, but I suppose that with Kalpas this was inevitable.”

“Aren’t you going to stop him?”

“Oh no!” Elysia looked scandalized. “Mei’s fine! Besides, Kalpas isn’t the best at listening, and if we interrupt now, he’ll just start up again later.”

You looked at the girl next to you like she had three heads, but she was too focused on cheering for her friend to notice.

“If you say so…”

You were beginning to question whether Mei and Elysia were actually friends.

For one, Elysia was a bit too friendly. Then again, this is Elysia we’re talking about, so knowing whether her flirting was genuine or not is a bit of a crapshoot. Mei on the other hand, seemed completely uninterested and unenthused with the whole situation. Clearly, she had come to the castle of her own volition, yet she always looked ready to turn right around and leave. Personally, you hadn’t gotten very close to the girl but you...wouldn’t necessarily mind if she left a little early.

So long as she fought with him, Kalpas didn’t care if Mei stayed. This meant fewer mornings waking up to a tight hug and more startling away to the sound of crazed laughing.

But that’s fine.

It wouldn’t be forever, and Kalpas really seemed to be enjoying himself. Living so closely together, you had almost forgotten what it was like when you first came here, wandering the library on your own. Having this newfound freedom was a welcome change to being with. Walks through the garden weren’t interrupted by yelling and you had time to spend chatting with Su or listening to Eden perform.

But you couldn’t stop yourself from missing those interruptions. And maybe you were a little jealous that Mei was taking all his time, or that you couldn’t possibly get to their level of skill when it came to fighting. It was clear now that your inability to fight bothered Kalpas more than he let on.

Elysia had explained your situation to Mei early on, but aside from a nod your way, the girl seemed uninterested with your story. Most of your interactions with her had been either through Kalpas, or about Kalpas. Take, for example, today. He had finally taken a break (and a sorely needed bath) and was sitting with you in the library. Your back was against the arm of the couch, legs laid across his lap while he—very loudly—told you how he won his latest duel.

Upon hearing the library door open, Kalpas paused and listened, wondering if the visitor could be a potential opponent. Mei’s voice rang clear, and it was apparent Elysia was pushing her buttons again as the two walked deeper into the room. He would have gone to push your legs if you hadn’t already pulled them back and were standing off the couch.

“Enjoy your fight,” you waved over your shoulder as you left. Elysia gave you a confused look—that was likely fake—while Mei didn’t even glance in your direction. All four of you knew how this was going to play out, no need for you to stick around and confirm the theory.

That night, Kalpas came to dinner late, but you supposed you should be grateful he showed up at all. His clothes were still covered with burned patches and blood—from himself or his opponent, you couldn’t tell. The sight alone was enough to make you lose your appetite, so you kept your eyes focused on the meal in front of you. Feeling eyes boring into the top of your head only caused you to redouble your efforts in pretending the prince wasn’t there.

Throughout the meal, you both were silent. Sakura came in to ask a brief question that was answered with a nod, followed by a second question which Kalpas instead shook his head ‘no’ to. Having finished your food, you looked up to observe this interaction and your eyes followed Sakura as she left. Her ears brushed the top of the doorway, and you realized you have never seen them stand straight up like that before. Then you looked at Kalpas and realized he has never fixed you with a glare like this before either.

“Mei won,” he said. Your eyes widened in surprise and you were unsure what to say. The two seemed evenly matched, but this was the first time you’d seen Kalpas being so bitter over losing a fight. He seemed to revel in the challenge, and it seemed impossible for him to lose in the first place.

Then you noticed the bandages peeking out over the torn neckline of his shirt. Blood had clearly soaked through them, a feat you knew to be impossible. Kalpas—like Mobius and everyone else for that matter—should bleed when the wound is opened but heal shortly after. There’s no clear explanation as to why he would remain injured after the battle is over.

“What happened?” you asked, curiosity getting the best of you. The prince would surely go on one of his very long and very loud tangents about the exact gruesome details of the fight, but as long as you got answers, that was fine.

“She stabbed me,” he started, taking a bite of food. You waited as he chewed, and it wasn’t until he speared another potato that you realized he had finished his story and had no plans to continue.

“That’s it?” You winced, repeating the words in your head for a moment. Most people who got stabbed don’t calmly sit down and have dinner an hour later. Maybe your expectations had become a little unrealistic after spending so much time here.

“She stabbed me,” he repeated, “and I didn’t heal.”

Now that was cause for concern.

“What do you mean you didn’t heal?” The panic slipped into your voice before you could stop it. Kalpas calmly bit down on his fork to keep it in his mouth and used both hands to lift his badly damaged shirt. You would have taken that moment to appreciate his chest, but there was very little of it that was not covered by blood-speckled bandaging.

Satisfied with the shocked look on your face, he dropped the shirt and pulled the fork from his teeth to continue eating. Because bleeding out at the dinner table is a very normal thing to do.

“I still don’t understand why you aren’t recovering,” you spoke more to yourself than the man across from you. Then, with more urgency you said, “Shouldn’t you see Su?”

You were halfway out of your seat when Kalpas grumbled, “I did.”

“Then why aren’t you—”

“The curse broke.”

You fell into silence. The crackling of the fireplace alone was too loud.

Dropping back into your chair, you stared ahead, blinking but seeing nothing.

Was this it?

He’d fallen for Mei and now you were going to be kicked out? Sent back to the village that thought you dead; the townspeople who left you for dead? You’d had your fun pretending you belonged in this castle and now it was time for you to leave.

What did you expect?

Living the rest of your life with a dozen immortal beings could hardly be considered living. You’d run out of books, and they’d run out of patience and you’d be thrown to the wolves again. Did you really think they’d let you stay?

You knew this would happen. You saw how Kalpas and Mei enjoyed their fights. Shouldn’t you be happy that the curse had been lifted? Happy your friends were now free?

Are they your friends? Or did they just put up with you for the same reason Mobius did—in the hopes you would solve their problem. Either way, that didn’t matter now. They didn’t need you. You should have left when Mei arrived. It was foolish for you to have stayed, just like it’s foolish for you to continue sitting at this table waiting for Kalpas to say something else.

You know what he’s going to say.

He’s going to kick you out. So you save him the trouble.

You stand from the table, mumble a ‘good night,’ and you leave.

I had been reading a lot of angst when I wrote this, so I'm sorry if the story is super bland. I just want reader to be happy sometimes (even though that means nothing ever happens). Also it's not abundantly clear but sacrificing reader won't fix the curse, Mobius just wants you to suffer. That's why Kalpas just brushes off your concern. Man it sure would be good if I added that to the story. you know. like. wrote it in some way? idk sounds kinda wild

#azaryawrites #kalpas x reader #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3 #HI3 x reader #x reader

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kalpasio · 3 months

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Beauty and Decimation

Those Who Cannot Die

A Kalpas x Reader fic loosely based on Beauty and the Beast, chapter 4 below!

Eden’s gentle humming was what woke you, but it was so peaceful you nearly fell back asleep. She sang a lullaby—more to herself than you—that your grandmother had whispered the verses to for as long as she could. Over time, your grandmother’s voice had grown worn, but Eden’s remained strong, showcasing the song in an entirely different way.

She must have known you were awake, the humming died down and you were greeted with a smile when you opened your eyes. Her fingers stopped their gentle movement through your hair only to give your hand a brief squeeze before pushing off from the bed.

Rin could be heard in the hall, loudly asking if you were alright while the rattling of teacups told you Sakura was carefully attempting to juggle the porcelain and her sister’s enthusiasm. Eden opening the door interrupted the sisters, and soon enough all three girls were huddled around your bed. A cup of warm tea was pressed into your palms and Rin was instantly asking questions.

“How do you feel?” You shrugged.

“What happened?” You shrugged.

“Are you leaving?” Sakura placed a gentle hand atop Rin’s head as a sign for her to breathe.

“Su didn’t find any injuries, but you should still get some rest,” Eden spoke while adjusting the blanket to lay across your lap better, giving a little pat to your leg when she was done.

“Su is a doctor?” you asked, the tea having made talking a hundred times easier. Though you had just as many questions as Rin, this seemed like a good enough starting place.

“No,” Sakura shook her head, “but when you have a few decades to kill and a prince who likes to come back injured, you learn a few things.” Her ears twitched, but you pretended not to notice. “We should let you sleep a little more before dinner. Let’s go Rin.” A glance at Eden had her nodding and following the sisters out the door.

Not even five minutes after they came in, everyone was filing out and you were left to your own devices. Temporarily, at least. The door was flung open with a flourish, and a woman you had yet to meet stepped through, looking as though she expected you to start cheering for her.

“Nothing like a grand entrance to capture the audience’s attention,” her grin never wavered under your shocked expression.

“What? Did you think my shows were free?”

“Shows?” you echoed back, thoroughly confused.

“Oh. You must not remember,” she smiled while stepping over to the armchair across from the bed. Normally, people would use armchairs for sitting, but she instead stepped up onto it, one leg bent to plant her foot on the arm, the other foot set firmly in the cushion.

“It is truly a heroic tale! One of your applause, so please dear audience, give me your attention as I tell this most fascinating story!” It wasn’t like you could protest at this point, so you meekly watched as the magician carried on.

“In the heart of night, I felt a disturbance. Pulled from my slumber, I was instantly on my feet, for there was surely a reason I was needed.” Some of the overdramatic motions nearly had the girl falling from the seat, but it was still quite entertaining. “On the other side of the castle I heard your shouts and quickly came to your aid. Of course—like any magician worth their salt—I was perfectly on time. In a matter of seconds, you were safely out of the inferno and resting peacefully in your bed with nary a scratch. And it’s a good thing I showed up when I did! That room would have roasted you alive before you could say ‘fiddlesticks!’”

Apparently done with her speech, there was another expectant look throw your way.

“Thanks. But who are you?”

Vill-V, the Great Magician, looked as though your question had been a knife to the heart. Clearly wounded, she finally took a seat and gave an explanation that for once didn’t leave you more lost than you were to begin with.

First off, she gave her name and that she spent most of her time in the rooms as far from you as possible, hence why you hadn’t met before. Kalpas had indeed gotten the throne room hot enough to burn most everything inside. Luckily, you had been pulled out before suffering any more than a small bit of overheating. Mobius had not gotten out, but the Magician laughed when you asked if she was ok; so, presumably everyone made it out alive.

As spontaneously as she had arrived, Vill-V was up and out of her seat with a grin, proclaiming she had ‘matters to attend to.’ Feeling much better after getting the ash and dust from the fire out of your system, you began pacing the length of the room, just to stretch your legs. Dinner wouldn’t be ready for a little while longer, based on what Sakura said, though you didn’t have much of an appetite at the moment.

Mobius’ words from yesterday were still bouncing around your head. Obviously, escaping hadn’t gone too well, and running away from troubles was what put you here in the first place. If what you overheard in the library was true, the curse would be permanent in a year. Surviving a year trapped in this place with both a mad scientist and prince simply was not going to happen. There was no doubt in your mind that there were at least three people with a key to this room and no matter how kind they may be to you now, people change when their lives are put on the line.

Elysia, for one, seemed determined to make you comfortable again; but all the coaxing in the world couldn’t make you shake the feeling she was just leading you on. Most days were spent with your nose in a book in an attempt to ignore the chaos that had overcome your life in the past few months. This reliance on books meant you had to make quick trips to the library, however, and you dreaded every one. A certain maid would not-so-subtly urge the others to stay out of the halls when you were going down them, as though the sight of one of them would have you running in terror. It might...but that wasn’t the point.

After a week without seeing another human being—cursed or otherwise—you felt like you were going insane. That didn’t mean you were quite ready to see Mobius, however. Being unconscious for part of your previous encounter with her didn’t cancel out the terrifying moments before you lost consciousness. Today, she managed to slip past Elysia and was wandering the castle in the hopes of finding you on your short little journey. You heard her before you saw her, the calls sending a chill up your spine. Mobius’ taunts on her search for her ‘little guest,’ forced you to make a quick detour into the first room you found, closing the door quietly so she wouldn’t notice.

When the latch clicked into place, you let out a sigh of relief, silently thanking the hinges for not squeaking. Unfortunately, this didn’t seem to be the end of your troubles. Kalpas stood behind you—looking angry as ever but with the added bonus of his right hand resting on his knife.

Suddenly, being caught by Mobius didn’t seem so bad.

Fumbling with the door handle, you were about to bolt out of the room when her voice came through the door. “I know you’re in there little guest. Why not come out now? We wouldn’t want to anger the prince, would we?” The coaxing tone she used was doing no favors for your heart rate and the expression ‘caught between a rock and a hard place’ never felt more applicable. Should you open the door? Leave with Mobius and hope that however she chose to kill you would be less painful than Kalpas’ methods? Or do you stay in the room and take your chances?

Ultimately, the decision was made for you.

In your panic, you had frozen. Only now did you recognize the lack of action, while Kalpas was swatting your hand out of the way to open the door himself. This forced you to take a step back and duck under the arm that continued to hold the door in place, effectively caging you in.

“You seem to have something I want,” Mobius spoke in such a tone sweet as syrup.

“Oh?” Kalpas hummed as if playing along. “The only thing I have is this knife,” he held the blade flat to examine it reflecting the light and you blanched. “The last time I offered to drive it through your skull, you refused.”

Mobius gave a smile and said, “I appreciate your offer, but that’s not what I’m after.” Her snake-like eyes shifted to you and if it weren’t for the arm hovering just above your head, you would have taken another step back. In this position, however, you were certain that arm would come crashing down to keep you in place if you moved even an inch.

“That’s all you’re going to get.” Kalpas dropped the niceties and pointed the knife straight at her neck, though Mobius still didn’t flinch. A beat passed with neither of them moving and your heartbeat the only sound to be heard. You could practically feel the moment the prince lost his patience. A grin spread across his face and in less than a second, he was on the other side of the hall, knife speared straight through Mobius’ throat.

She couldn’t speak, but you could see the pain in her eyes and the blood soaking into the carpet. Her hands held on tightly to his arm, fingernails digging into his skin and tearing streaks into his flesh. With each passing second, you expected her to grow weaker; for her expression to shift from pain to fear, but nothing changed. What felt like hours passed with the two locked in place, Kalpas sneering at the woman but neither of them budging an inch. You stared on, fearful that the moment you looked away you would be the one clawing for your life.

Yet it never happened. Kalpas dug his knife in deeper with a snarl and the claws moved from his arm to swipe at his face now that he was in range. Instead of crying out in pain, he gave a laugh that sent a chill through you, reminding you just how fitting the title of ‘beast’ was. Then, just like that, he backed off. Mobius fell forward, choking on her own blood and you thought this might be the moment she started to fade, yet she remained as strong as ever, though each breath she drew was a horrible wheeze.

Kalpas, meanwhile, wiped the flat of the blade across his thigh, leaving blood stains on his pants. Once satisfied that the knife was clean, he raised the bottom of his shirt to remove any blood from his face, leaving a stain there as well. While he was doing this, however, you noticed his arms—which had been shredded only moments ago—looked perfectly healed. When he lowered his shirt there was no sign of the gouges that had once marred his cheeks. Looking over, Mobius was much the same. Her hacking coughs had ceased, and she was now only rubbing her throat over the wound as if checking to see that everything was in its right place.

Apart from the blood covering the hallway and all three of you, there was no evidence of the fight that had just taken place. Neither of them were wounded, and the realization had you feeling faint. They couldn’t die. The curse was clearly keeping them alive over the years, but you hadn’t realized the full extent of it.

Mobus was the first to speak, her words pulling you out of your thoughts. “Fine,” she spat, “keep your pet. Enjoy these last days knowing the reason we all died was because of you.”

“I don’t think you realize how badly I want to see you dead,” Kalpas spoke with a grin and for a moment you feared he would attack again, but he remained standing in the middle of the hall, carnage surrounding him like a halo. Mobius let out a scoff, but she knew an opportunity when she saw one and left down the corridor with enough confidence that you’d think she had been the one to win that encounter.

And then Kalpas rounded on you and asked,

“Why the hell are you here?”

I wrote like the entire chapter and then some before going "oh shit I should probably let people know there's violence" and just turned back like 3 pages and wrote BLOOD TW at the top of one randomly. It's not even a page that's part of the scene so when I was reading through again I was so confused.

#i am eepy #x reader #kalpas x reader #HI3 x reader #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3

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kalpasio · 3 months

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Beauty and Decimation

Things Go Well Until They Don't

A Kalpas x Reader fic loosely based on Beauty and the Beast, Chapter 3 below!

Honkai never had a particularly strong presence in your village. The reason as to why seems clear now. Nearly every night, Kalpas goes out. At first you thought he enjoyed walks, or perhaps the curse drew Honkai beasts to his home; but as Su put it, the prince still clung to his destructive ways. Even if that was what got them in this mess in the first place. Any fight was started by him. Not the creatures outside.

Occasionally, Sakura or Elysia (and sometimes even Mobius) would join him on the outing, but it was more to keep Kalpas from destroying the forest rather than to keep him safe. In the month that you had stayed here, you had only seen him return injured once. That was also the first time he voluntarily spoke to you.

It was to tell you to get out of his way, but that still counted, right?

Eden would clean up his wounds, while Hua (who you still haven’t met) would clean the blood from the halls.

Even though you shared all your meals together, it wasn’t until the second month a proper conversation was struck up. To your surprise, Kalpas asked if the castle was to your liking. Shock kept you silent until you heard an unhappy grumble come from the other end of the table.

“Truly, you have a lovely home!” The halls could be crawling with spiders, and you would have declared this the most wonderful place in the world. Anything to keep from angering your host.

“You haven’t left your room,” he pointed out the one fact that you’d hoped he wouldn’t notice.

Leaving the room felt like a gamble. You could win the bet, run into Eden or Sakura and enjoy a lovely conversation. Or you could lose and run into Mobius or the beast. It hardly seemed worth it at this point, though you were well aware the number of books in your room that had yet to be read was dwindling.

More than once, you had thought of sneaking to the kitchen for a snack or tea, but every time, Kalpas’ mask would appear in your mind like an omen of what would happen, should you stray too far.

“Your servants take such good care of me, I have little reason to,” you gave a polite smile, hoping your excuse would be accepted.

“Elysia may dote on you, but that is hardly enough to distinguish you from a prisoner.” The prince—you had learned—hardly ever spoke in a tone that could not be considered a growl. Knowing this still didn’t make you feel any better.

“I greatly appreciate your hospitality; I do not wish to presume you are willing to offer more.” You were spouting nonsense at this point, though the sentiment held true. The time you spent in the castle was remarkable, even if you rarely strayed from your room.

All of your clothes must have come from the wardrobes of nobles, each piece fit as though custom made for you, and there was no shortage to choose from. After a week of not understanding the complexities of the bathroom, you had given up and decided to simply enjoy the inexplicable features to their fullest. You had been spoiled and returning home at this point seemed impossible. Not only would it mean a drastic change in lifestyle, but you were positive the town thought you dead you’re your neighbors didn’t take kindly to ghosts.

“The world never asks before it takes; why should you?” Kalpas was being oddly philosophical, but you understood the point he was trying to make. Not that you necessarily agreed with it. “If you do not leave your room by choice, I will drag you out of it.” That was a threat you fully believed he intended to follow through on.

Unfortunately, you did not realize quite how short the window for you to leave by choice would be.

Not even forty-eight hours later, he was throwing you over his shoulder and marching down the halls. When you were returned to your feet, you found yourself in the middle of a courtyard. Sakura and Rin were pouring tea and setting little cakes on a tray underneath the shade of a gazebo. The whole scene screamed ‘Elysia’ but she had yet to make an appearance.

Kalpas refused to take his mask off to enjoy the treats with you, but he remained seated across from you (looking annoyed, like he’d been placed in time out) until the tea had gone cold and Elysia announced that lunch was ready inside.

Chats with the prince usually consisted of him recounting a battle—whether it be from the night before or decades ago—while you chimed in about life in your village. He never failed to make a disgusted face you could sense even through the mask. Hearing how mundane your existence had been appeared to only inspire him to change your habits.

Where you used to take short walks around the castle’s gardens, Kalpas would insist upon horseback rides that lasted hours across the entire property. After his late-night fights, you were now expected to stay awake until his return so he could regale you with all the details. The only moment of peace he allowed you to retain was the hours spent in the library.

After the courtyard, this was the second part of the castle you visited. It had taken Kalpas a few weeks to figure out where you had disappeared to (no thanks to Elysia). He burst through the doors so loudly the first time, you nearly threw your book in the air and fell off the couch. Now, when he joins you, he’s much more subtle, though you could hardly say he’s quiet. The two of you will share a couch and simply enjoy the time spent together.

Sometimes the prince will read his own book, surprising you with how careful he is to not singe or tear any of the pages. Other days, he will bring his whetstone and you find yourself transfixed by how diligently he sharpens his knives until they can cut through beasts as easily as they do through air.

One day, after a couple of hours reading in the library, you had fallen asleep. This wasn’t uncommon; on multiple occasions, Sakura or Eden would cover you with a blanket or you’d awake to find another resident of the castle (usually Kalpas or Rin) waiting next to you. The prince was surprisingly good—by his standards—at keeping quiet while you were trying to focus or rest. It still didn’t take much to rile him up, however, and that was what happened today.

Apparently, Kalpas had entered the library shortly after sleep overcame you. His natural body heat only lulled you into a deeper sleep, meaning you didn’t even notice when Mobius joined the two of you. What roused you was her furious shushing after Kalpas grew too loud. To no one’s surprise, it had no effect, and the yelling continued. You managed to fake your continued rest and overhear the rather noisy conversation.

“We only have one year Kalpas,” Mobius’ voice had lost all hint of teasing, the harshness of it sending shivers down your spine. “How you’ve gone this long without warming up to any of us, I’ll never understand--”

“You make it too easy to hate you,” he growled back, the rumble in his chest vibrating through the couch you laid on.

“Well, now there’s someone new. We’ve spent too much time together to ever get along, and you’ve wasted too much time to be picky about who you use to break the curse.”

Your heart froze for a moment. What did she mean by use? Were you about to become some unwitting sacrifice?

“This is none of your business.”

“Oh?” Mobius sneered, “Really? You think you’re the only one suffering?” Kalpas remained silent but you could feel him getting hotter next to you. “Doing this your way has gotten us exactly nowhere. Your options are to give in to Aponia or do it my way.”

The sound of heels on carpet marked her exit, but the bitterness Mobius brought still lingered in the air. Before you had a chance to say anything, Kalpas was up and had left the room as well. That left just you and your thoughts in the overwhelming silence of the library.

Su had said Kalpas needed to find someone he truly cares about in order to break the curse. That may be true, but Mobius seemed to have a different theory, and you didn’t think getting involved in any of her plans would end well. ‘Giving in to Aponia’ likely meant accepting the curse permanently, never leaving the castle, and never being able to move on from this exact moment in time. It was certainly a horrible fate, but you weren’t willing to die to remedy the situation.

As open as everyone had become with you, there was no doubt in your mind that they still held several secrets close to their chests. Trusting them so blindly had been a mistake. It was clear now that the only reason they were so kind to you was because you were a means to an end. You needed to get out of this place before that wasn’t an option.

Escaping had not gone well.

Kosma supposedly guarded the castle—though you doubted Kalpas left him many enemies to guard against. Your first time meeting him was when he pushed your face into the ground with his knee pressing into your back. By the distant light cast from the castle’s windows, you could see the horns curling out from his head and you knew you’d been caught.

Now you sat in front of Kalpas.

Leaning back into his throne, legs spread and mask firmly in place, he truly fit the role of crown prince. His elbow rested on the right arm of the throne so his head could lean upon his fist. Sakura stood at attention to his right, prepared to strike, though the relaxed position of her ears said otherwise. Perched on the other arm of the throne, Elysia had one foot on the ground for balance, the other lazily swinging back and forth. Mobius seemed to be the only one interested in confronting you.

“Was our generosity not enough for you?” she asked, circling you like a snake around its prey. At the shake of your head, you could feel the coils tighten around you. “Then you must have grown tired of this place, surely?”

You could practically feel the scales pressing into your skin as she continued to pace in circles. “If not that, what could have possibly driven you to leave in such a hurry, little guest?” Mobius finally stopped in front of you, the look in her eyes all but spelling out ‘danger.’

“I don’t want to die,” you whispered, unsure of what more to say.

“Oh?” She feigned ignorance, clearly not understanding the meaning behind your words.

“I heard you in the library.” It sounded as though you were being choked, and very nearly felt like it too. Mobius’ glare pierced through you as she stopped in front of you, but you refused to meet her—or anyone else’s—eyes.

“Then you know how important it is that you play your part--”

“I won’t!” You shook your head twice before the feeling of nails digging into your cheek made you freeze.

“It’s not your choice little guest.” The harsh whisper and heartless eyes nearly brought you to tears.

“Mobius.” As cruel as her tone had been, this one word alone was worse.

Sakura now stood completely alert and Elysia’s carefree air had disappeared. Embers flared and rose from the throne behind Kalpas while the entire throne room grew hotter. For a brief second, the claws dug deeper into your cheeks, nearly drawing blood before releasing you so Mobius could turn to face her so-called master.

“Yes, my prince?” her voice was sickeningly sweet. Suddenly, it became clear that Elysia and Sakura were not there to protect Kalpas from you, but the other way around. Or so it would seem in Mobius’ case. He lunged at her with such speed you were shocked the two girls saw him move, let alone reacted quick enough to stop him. Between the both of them, they managed to wrestle him back while he struggled like a caged animal.

Mobius must not have realized the severity of her situation, because in the next breath, she was taunting him again. With the blazing flames surrounding the room, you couldn’t hear her. Seconds later, however, the flames grew hotter, to the point you could hardly breathe. Just before you passed out, you heard Kalpas shout, saw him break free, and all you could do was hope you wouldn’t be part of the casualty count.

Why do I always have Kalpas kidnap reader :( also KALPAS CAN'T READ. KALPAS CANNOT READ. HE JUST WANTS TO SIT NEXT TO READER AND KNOWS BETTER THAN TO JUST SIT THERE AND STARE INTO SPACE SO HE PRETENDS TO READ. Reader does not know this shhhh

#kalpas x reader #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #HI3 x reader #x reader #cross posted on ao3

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