1. Chapter 1 (1/2)
disclaimer & note: this shall be my last fic…for this year, at least.
if i'm lucky, i'll reach one hundred before the next year is out- fingers crossed.
i do not own white knight chronicles, just my avatar & the words below.
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there were a dozen other things she could be doing right now, like maybe picking out a nice dress and showing off her feminine side for once or even just trying to beat her high score on halo 4. instead, she was stuck doing a job for rapacci after being nominated by leonard, her best friend and former crush, on new year's eve of all times. leonard himself was not so happy about this either. the look on his face as he helped alastor unload the delivery van showed that he wanted to be anywhere but working one last delivery of the year for his adopted father.
as for alastor, it was actually harder to figure out whether if he was unhappy or not due to the permanent frown he wore. the only reason why the blue haired teen was with them was because rapacci needed someone to drive the van seeing as his usual driver, raus, had decide to cele
ate the new year early by going through an entire crate of the boss' finest wine and was now having his after drink snooze in a quiet corner of the warehouse.
he would not have even agreed to rapacci's request if yulie had not intervened. being the intimidating teen's soft spot, all she had to do was give alastor a pleading look and the normally stoic teen that normally remains indifferent regardless of whether he was being asked or threatened folded within seconds. of course, that meant that yulie was getting dark looks from alastor whenever he could spare a glance but the tomboy teen merely replied by smiling sweetly or sticking her tongue out at him.
right now however, both teens along with leonard were too busy focusing on unloading the van to continue their game whereas leonard found it easier to rant as he hoisted down crate after crate.
"can't believe rapacci's doing this to us. it's hogmanay, new year's eve, yet he's working us to the last minute of the old!" he muttered as he picked up another crate. "i could have asked cisna out or something"
"don't you mean try to ask her out?" yulie inquired before shoving another crate to the back of the van for alastor to catch and hoist up in one movement.
it was common knowledge to everyone that leonard and cisna fancied each other- minus yulie until one fateful night a while back when she caught them during a private moment. it was also common knowledge that cyrus, cisna's adoptive older
other, was adamant in that they could not get together and was deterring leonard from meeting up with his sister.
"oh, shut up, yulie" leonard mumbled in reply knowing just what his best friend was implying. "cyrus is just being protective. once he understands that we like each other, he'll lay off our backs and let us properly get together"
"you mean you two aren't already together? that's what you've been rambling about since god knows when, after all" alastor remarked as he returned for another crate.
"leonard likes to fantasize about things. right, leonard?" yulie teased causing her friend to go red with embarrassment.
leonard wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. having known yulie since he was five, the girl seemed to have a knack for finding out every embarrassing moment of his and using it to her advantage whenever she got the chance be it blackmail or in view of others depending on her mood at the time. he had no idea how relieved he would feel when alastor and his friends came into his life, particularly where yulie was involved.
he had not been around at the time, but had received a text from caesar telling him that yulie had ran into alastor who merely
ushed her off albeit roughly but called her a pipsqueak in the process. by the time leonard had caught up to them, alastor was just picking himself up after being knocked on his rear by yulie judging by the swollen cheek he was sporting. yet, despite that, he then dared yulie to try and hit him again.
while probably everyone watching was sure that first blow had loosened a screw or two upside his head, they were all left speechless, yulie included, when he caught yulie's incoming fist. to this day, leonard could not help but crack a grin as he remembered the stunned look on yulie's face. eyes wide and jaw slightly loose, it was a pity nobody was in the right state of mind to take a picture.
"wipe that smirk of your face before i do it for you"
"yes, ma'am" leonard replied picking up another crate and scampering off before yulie made good of her promise. too quick was he, in his haste to escape from his best friend's wrath did he nearly not notice someone coming towards him until he practically ran into him- or rather her.
"cisna?!" he exclaimed as he recognised the girl he nearly bowled over. "what are you doing here?"
"my father's the one who organized the party here and
ought me along" cisna explained the slight grimace on her face indicating that she would rather be elsewhere but lacked the courage to decline her father's invitation. "when i heard that the wine was from the place you work at, i came to see if you had come along to help with the delivery"
"even if rapacci were to actually let us off, i'm usually around in case he gets last minute orders like this" leonard shrugged nonchalantly the best he could while holding the wine crate. "he was threatening to actually boot me out when your dad called, actually"
passing the two on his way back to the van, alastor rolled his eyes at the one eighty leonard suddenly pulled now that his crush had entered the scene. when he entered the winery several hours ago after receiving a call from yulie for 'a matter of great importance' and all that tripe, he was just in time to see rapacci threaten his young charge with the boot but only in the direction of the van where he quickly learned of the true reason why he was needed.
"i was hoping that she wouldn't be here" yulie grumbled once the blue haired teen was in earshot.
"i thought you no longer held a candle for the lunkhead" alastor remarked as he reached the back of the van.
"don't worry, i don't. but seeing how he suddenly changes his tune in her presence yet remains the same around me just…just…oooh!" unable to come up with a suitable finish to her rant, yulie gave the crate an extra ounce of muscle so that it shot towards alastor quicker than he was expecting resulting in the teen folding as it collided square in the rib cage.
wincing at the howl of pain she had just put her friend through, yulie quickly scrambled to the back of the van in time to see alastor pull himself into a sitting position after shoving the cumbersome crate from his now
uised abdomen.