awonderfulliar

[awonderfulliar]

Tangerine flavored

As if you didn't have enough problems already... You sighed as the man behind you pushed his gun in your rib to make you move faster. Your hands were up in the air and you were breathing slowly, focused on the sounds around you. Why did so many people want you dead again? You chuckled a bit, remembering all of the stupid decisions that brought you here. You kept smiling. Quite funny how most of your survival instinct can shut down when you've been sleep deprived and stressed long enough. The big bad man standing in front of you must not have liked that as he ordered his men to knock you unconscious.

When you woke up, your hands were tied to a rusty radiator with dried bloodstains. You weren't quite smiling anymore. Especially when you saw the instruments in a metal bowl lying on the ground not far from you. The room was dark and only a ray of light slipped through a metal door on the opposite wall. You blinked as someone opened the door, letting all of the brightness from outside reach your tired eyes.

-Sleep well darling? did a male voice say in a mocking tone

-Where were you all night? Off to another girl's bed I take it.

The man grinned a bit and you knew your sarcasm would sooner be beaten out of you then you could get a laugh out of this tall caricature of a gangster's handyman.

-A lot of money has been paid for your pretty head, you know.

-Always knew I could be a face model.

-I don't think that's so true anymore, bloody mary.

You wipped your cheek and looked at your hand. Dried blood and dirt covered your fingers.

-Anyway, sweetheart, my boss wants to know how you were able to piss off all of these people.

-Can't he ask me himself?

-You're not that important.

-Well it seems I am actually. And you guys are the only ones unaware of why apparently.

A voice coming from outside shouted "We have a fresh one!". The man in front of you harshly took your hands to tie them. Then he turned around calmly and left the room with the door still open. You tried to get up, but were too slow as he quickly came back with two other men. One was almost unconscious, beaten up, and bloody all other. His messy brown curls hid most of his face and a golden chain hang around his neck as his head was tilted towards the floor. The two men handling him threw him on the ground next to you and his already torn blue suit soiled with the grey dust of the room.

-Alright, we'll let you two rest for now, but don't worry, darling, I'll be back soon enough. And you better have an answer for me by then.

The two men left the room and you stared at your new now completely unconscious companion.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-Where the fuck am I?

He said in a raspy voice, waking you up from your very light sleep. You didn't answer and looked his way for the second time today. He was quite handsome, actually, with piercing blue eyes, a sharp jawline, and a nice British mustache. You stared more than you were meant to because that's how he took notice of you. As the weird girl staring at him.

-They locked me up with the crazys?? What the fuck is wrong with these people?! I'm a respectable sane man, I am. Fucking pricks.

You chukled, your eyes still lingering on his figure. You liked his accent too. You turned your head to the door, finally leaving the man some privacy as you closed your eyes. You heard him standing up with difficulty and reaching the other side of the room probably while leaning on the wall. He was grunting in pain. You opened your eyes.

-Yeah, they probably forgot to lock the door. Or maybe they left us the key. Oh, wait, what if this is just an elaborated escape room, uh?

-Your hands are tied, mines aren't. So maybe try that again in a nicer tone, uh love?

-Kinky...

He threw you a mean glance from across the room. That smug smile that earned you all those problems was still on your lips.

He slid on the wall and fell back in a sitting position. He looked exhausted. As you were trying to think of what to say, the door opened.

-So, are you ready to talk? Or do I need to deal with you in a less calm manner?

That man from earlier was back, smiling and clearly on a power trip.

-I don't know what you want me to tell you.

He walked across the room, past the handsom exhausted man, and stood straight like a stick in front of you.

-Maybe start by what you did to deserve one of the highest price I've ever seen on someone's head.

The british looking man, who was starting to fall asleep, began to pay attention at those words. His blue eyes were on you except you doubted it was to take in the sight of your face. Too bad...

-Would you believe me if I said I didn't do anything?

The handyman squat down, looked at you, and slapped you in the face harshly. Even the other guy flinched.

-Start speaking now or...

-Or what?! You'll kill me?? You're going to do that either way! So what's the point of figuring out why others wanted to do it themselves?! You'll collect the prize with or without knowing why it was put on my head in the first place. You don't need the info. You just need an excuse to keep me alive until the client comes in and sees me alive. I know they want proof. Live proof. They want to see you guys kill me. You're not doing me a favor by letting me live, you're just doing it to get the bigger bag.

The man stood up, hummered something that sounded like "smart cookie", chuckled, and left.

-Jeez... what did you do? *did british hottie say*

This time it was your turn to throw a mean look his way.

-You really think I'm gonna tell you.

-I can untie your hands for starters. And I can help you get out of there. However I like to know who I'm doing business with, so if you wouldn't mind disclosing the information that guy was looking for...

-Get me out of there and I might.

-Doesn't work like that love.

-Then leave me here. I never asked you to help me, did I?

-Obviously, it's going to be harder to escape alone.

-So untie me and I'll help you.

-What if you're actually crazy and will turn on me the first chance you'll get.

You chuckled. Smiled a bit, a sad look on your face.

-A big tough buy.. scared of me... scared I'll be the one to hurt him. It's crazy how life turns out, uh? One minute you're scared to walk home alone after the sun goes down. The other, the guy you would have been scared of on those streets at night turns out to be the one distrusting you.

His eyes were locked on you. Watching you as if you were some lab rat. An eyebrow raised in interest. A serious look that meant he wasn't taking this scientific anaylisis lightly. He rose back up, slowly walked up to you with the difficulty of a hurt man, and lowered to your level when he came close enough.

-What's your name?

-Is it important?

-It is to me. You thought of pointing out the implications of that answer, but were scared of where that would lead the two of you.

-Y/n.

-I'm Tangerine.

-That's a fruit.

-Good observation skills. A real detective.

-I'm just saying.

As you were talking, he came even closer and untied your hands. His fingers were grazing your skin. You smiled again, this time without the sad look on your face but a more embarassed one. Like a young girl with a crush in 6th grade recess. It wasn't that he was touching you (not entirely at least). It was that he was helping you.

He stood back up, straightened his back, and extended his arm towards you, opening his hand. You were looking elsewhere as he gestured to you.

-It is a fruit's name though... you're named after a fucking fruit... and I'm the crazy one...

You take his hand, get off the floor, and smile big this time, confidently, and with a mysteriously cocky look in your eyes.

-Alright, time to get out of here.

-Look love, I appreciate the confidence and all, but let me take the lead on this. You're obviously a bit slowed down by all the beating and like you said, I'm the big tough guy here.

-I'm not slowed down! *You said while starting to walk towards the door, damn your leg hurt...*

-You're limping...

You smiled a bit awkardly. "Nothing serious... just haven't stretched out yet is all". Tangerine smirked and walked (shall I mention a lot faster than you as he wasn't limping) towards the side of the door.

-Could you get your friend back in the room please? Just him though.

-HEY ASSHOLE!! COME BACK HERE I'M READY TO TALK!

And just like that, you heard footsteps advancing. The door opened 40 seconds later, and you locked eyes with the bitch slapping dumb looking goon. In shock of seeing you standing up, free of your ties, he took a milisecond to stare you down during which Tangerine grabbed his head in his hands, quickly broke his neck, and picked up the riffle.

-Could you pass me his handgun?

-You're not gonna kill me are you love?

-I don't eat tangerines... always preferred oranges.

-You do realize that there are other ways to interpete this right?

You laughed silently, murmuring "Yeah well I don't mean it like that obviously...". To your surprise he heard.

-Obviously?... *He smirked at you with a very cocky look on his face which made you blush a tiniest bit, but under the dirt and blood, you were almost sure he couldn't see it. He handed you the deceased goon's gun*.

But, time for banter quickly came to an end as your british eye candy advanced in the dark and gloomy hallway, on his gard. You followed after him. Quick story short: he shot most of the gards himself, and you had to fire the gun maybe 5 times total, surely hitting your target, but not contributing much to the team's effort as there was a little bit more than only 5 gards between you and the exit. To be completely fair though, you guys managed to not alert every guard there thanks to you, as you killed quickly the ones running for help.

All of this came to an end in a backalley of a London restaurant where the fire escape you took led. You were free. Somehow. Still limping and in a quite awful condition. But free.

-Well this is where we say goodbye Y/N. I don't know what you did to get that prize on your head, but surely you must be a terrible person. Get yourself out of trouble though, love, this isn't a life for a sarcastic humorist tangerine hater such as yourself.

-So no one believed me when I said I didn't do anything wrong?

He looked at you, a bit surprised, but you didn't look back. You just started walking (in that case limping) towards the Main Street. It must have been quite a pathetic show as he walked up to you and put his arm under yours to help you. You didn't say anything. Didn't look at him. Just starred at the ground before you, wincing quietly at each step.

-Where shall I drop you off love?

You stopped moving. Chuckled. Looked the other way. And with a sad but desperately trying to be funny tone, said:

-I'm not sure to be quite honest...

He didn't respond. Took a deep breath for a minute. Then put his arm back in place and you both walked towards a phone booth. There he let go again and went in. Made a phone call, went out, starred at you, you starred back.

-Hungry?

You nodded your head to say yes and, wonderful timing as it was, your stomach started growling just then. You put your hand on your stomach as to silence it and Tangerine chuckled which showed off his extraordinary jaw definition.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You both sat on the same side of the table, apparently waiting for someone. As your british knight in a shining armor looked around the diner, you ordered fish and chips, chocolate milkshake, and a banana split. Once you were finished talking to the waiter (who was very disturbed by your bloody appearance by the way), Tangerine looked at you.

-That is the weirdest order I've seen placed in a while.

-Well what did you want me to order?

-Lemon! *Did he exclaim*

-Lemon for dinner? I don't think so, that would be terrible...

Tangerine stood up and hugged the man that came in. Both took a minute to catch up as you continued to mutter on how dumb ordering lemon would be for diner...

They both sat down, and Lemon starred at you.

-Who's that? A bit roughed up are you? Do you need a tissue or something? To wipe all that off...

You looked up from the menu.

-Ah, I look fine, haven't slept in a bit is all.

-Who is she Tangerine?

-That's Y/N, she needs a place to crash and we have a couch, so I thought...

-When did you meet?

-At least 24 hours ago. *You said in all honesty*

-Tangerine are you fucking mental?? Do you know how many people want us dead for what happened last year? We're not inviting a bloody stranger to the hotel. Hell no...

-Lemon... She seems to be on her own and it's not like she couldn't have killed me earlier had she wanted to... Jim's men wanted to sell her off to some kind of client, she's a bit lost is all*He said whispering*

-No! What are we?! A fucking adoption shelter taking in strays like that? She's a liability is all she is... You can't help a girl just cause she's pretty and seems harmless. She could be a hired assassin for all we know.

-I should probably go... I'll just wait for the food though, if it's okay with everyone. *You said looking down and with a low voice.*

You all sat in silence for a minute.

-Why did they want you dead so badly? Jim's clients? *asked Tangerine*

You didn't respond, just looked down. The food came. You ate the fish and chips quite quickly, then the banana split. All in silence. As you sipped on the milkshake, you noticed they were both still starring at you, waiting for you to answer probably.

-Well I meant it... I didn't do anything wrong.

-No one ever does... *sighed Lemon, visibly distrusting of you*

-I'm not an assassin okay? I don't kill people for a living... I find things, things people want. Like antics, or old military files.

-But you're a good shot, and quite calm for a civilian. *Raised Tangerine*

-When I started the job, I was just an academic looking for pretty random stuff, but the work wasn't just adventures and detective work, sometimes criminal organizations looked to acquire the same objects as I was. So I got help from hired gunsmen and sometimes even official special forces. They didn't want me to be helpless without them so they trained me a bit. Once I got a few skills added to my resume, my clients started asking me for more valuable objects, that more and more people wanted. So of course my skillset kind of diverged to dealing with the competition. But it wasn't on the job description when I applied.

-Jim specializes in assassination though? Why would he want you? *Asked Lemon*

-Because there's a bid on my head...

-And why is there a bid on your head?

-Because they think I stole something...

-What did you steal?

You finished the milkshake. You were about to stand up but Tangerine was looking at you a bit too concerned.

-Look Love, if you tell us what happened, and you didn't actually do anything wrong, then we might agree to help you. We're not complete assholes...

-Aren't we?! Now why would we help?

-Because Jim is a prick and anything to piss him off is worth the effort.

-Fair point... Alright Y/N, tell us, what happened?

-They think I stole the key to the MI6 database.

-Wait... don't tell me they have one key that can access...

-All datas on past, present, and future missions, on British government security, on british criminal organizations, on undercover agents, what they have on the CIA, on the FBI, on every other country's secret services, on the nuclear codes... Yeah all of that. Yes it exists.

-And they think you have it...

-No, they think I stole it.

-But then why would they want you dead?

-Because they also think I destroyed it after looking at it.

-And no one wants their secrets spilled out by you...

-Yep.

-But you didn't steal it?

-Not exactly...

-What did you do?

-My client wanted me to recover a file of the MI6. It was practially undoable. So I digged and I digged until I found this hardrive in an old vacant MI6 hideout. It was weird because it looked top secret but didn't have anyone around it to gard it, it was like it was handed to me. I looked at it, didn't have that much protection, just enough for me to think it was valuable, but easy enough to crack down. Then when I accessed it, it was a whole database of incredibly sensible documents. Yeah I looked at it, but not for long, got the file I needed, but before I could send it to my client, someone knocked me unconscious and I woke up without the hard drive but with a billion dollar target on my back. Somehow the information got out that I stole the hard drive from the MI6 super super secret base, which I never even set foot int.

-So someone set you up?

-Yes.

You stopped talking. Looked at them. Lemon looked sorry for you, Tangerine looked concerned, and you... chuckled.

-The bill's on you, right? *You asked in all seriousness.*

Tangerine smiled, and lemon was about to refuse, but his brother replied first.

-Yeah, the bill's on us love, but maybe let me eat first, okay?

-Are you gonna eat a fruit?

-You know I've already ordered right, and this joke's old already.

You waited for the two brothers' food to arrive while Lemon changed the subject to whatever happened to Tangerine. Apparently Jim and his men had some beef with the fruit brothers, and those nice lads had a plan to take down Jim's goons except it all went wrong when Lemon made one too many references to Thomas the train... ah no, it went wrong when Tangerine took too long in the bathroom to check his hair, well something went wrong, and, ah the food arrived!

-Where's your family Y/N? *Lemon asked*

-Countryside.

-So you have one. Do you want us to drop you off with them?

You didn't reply right away. They were almost fininshed with their food. You waited until the plates were clean to say:

-Look, if you want to drop me off somewhere and forget I ever existed, take me to the airport, I can look after myself, but don't think my story is gonna have some fairytale ending. Obviously I'm gonna get killed at some point or another, I'm just trying to enjoy my time until then.

-It's not like we can make the entire criminal world stop looking for you. I would help you, you see, but I don't know how. Honestly, you're kinda fucked...

-Don't listen to him -*Tangerine jumped in*- You're not fucked, you just have to diverge the attention to whoever has the key. Once people start looking for them, they'll forget about you.

-The problem is, I don't know who has the key. If I did, not only would I be off the hook, I'd be damn rich.

-Hold on... *Lemon stared at you for a moment* How much money is in the game?

-More than a billion that's for sure...

The two brothers starred at each other not sure what to say for a minute. Tangerine turns back to you and is about to speak when Lemon says:

-Let's make a deal, we help you find whoever got the key, it gets the target off your back, and we get 2/3rds of the money. You get the rest.

-I'll make you one better. *You smile fully, showing your teeth and visibly amused* You get all the money, as long as I'm still alive.

-Deal! *Lemon extands the palm of his hand which you clap right away*

As the three of you head to whichever hotel the brothers booked in a cab, Tangerine whispers to you:

-For the record, I was ready to help you regardless of the money.

-That's stupid. You shouldn't do that.

-What's stupid is being a big though guy and not helping people who so clearly need it.

You looked at him for bit. The same look you gave him in that cell when you first saw him. "Fuck you're actually so beautiful" you thought.

-Thanks. Not the reply I would have expected, but thanks.

Sleep deprivation clearly made you a tad bit lunatic, saying stuff you weren't supposed to. You looked away immediately and rested your head against the window. Closing your eyes felt like heaven.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The hotel was old and cheap, the late 80s style still intact. You liked it. Starred at the curtains of the room as the sound of the shower filled the silence. You closed your eyes.

-The shower is free. May I suggest you take one before going to bed love?

You woke up with a dizzy head, you really wanted to go back to your nap, but the guy standing in front of you wasn't budging.

-Are you saying I smell bad?

-Yeah, I am. Get up now.

You did, he held up a hand for you to take it which you did as you were more than tired. He didn't let go when you were up though and led you to the bathroom. You weren't sure where Lemon had gone to. He turned the shower on, pointed to the soap, and said:

-I reckon you know how to shower. Won't need my help for the next part then.

You grinned a bit and looked at him, he smiled. After he left, (and only after), you started undressing and finally took the shower. Once you turned the water off, he knocked on the door.

-Are you decent?

You grabbed a towel and answered positively. He came in, took a glance at you, closed the door, and stood in front of you for a second. His eyes went from your wet hair whose natural color was finally visible, your face which was now recognizable, your clean skin, your bruises, and then back to your face. He had some medical products in his hand and gestured to the bathtub. You took a seat on the edge of it. He dabbed a cotton in disinfectant, and slowly went over every single one of your cuts. They were quite a lot of them.

-Jesus, how many days did you stay in that place?

-Just a couple hours before you came in.

-Where are all these marks from then?

-Other people.

The last injury was your cut lip. He went over it delicately and you just starred at him for the third time this week.

-You're quite sweet for an assassin.

-Are you gonna make another fruit joke?

-Saw right through me... No but really, why the kindness?

-Just because you do some bad stuff for money doesn't mean you have to be an asshole for free too now does it?

-Thank you.

-You're not saved yet, thank me when you are.

-I will.

You both smiled, this time he was looking right back at you. Nice blue eyes like antartic ice. Really, really nice eyes.

-I'm back. *Lemon shouted from the room. He then entered the bathroom looking for his brother and his gaze settled on you.* You look quite nice without all the blood and dirt on you. Oh, wait, guys... Did I walk in on something?

Tangerine scoffs, gets up, and pushes Lemon out the bathroom. You hear them banter for a second before Tangerine comes back with a bag that he hands you. He politely smiles at you and exits the room, closing the door behind him. You go through the bag to realize your old clothes are no longer in condition to be worn and two men who were complete strangers a week ago just had to guess the size of your bras and panties. What was even more awkward is that the ones they bought fit quite well. The rest of the bag was some blue jeans, a black halter top, and a loose shoulder black sweater which you liked. You didn't put it on though, opened the door without getting out and asked for a t shirt. No way you were sleeping in jeans for 12 hours straight. A t shirt flew right to your face a second after. Probably Tangerine's guessing by the smell. He smelled nice. But not the point. You put it on and finally got to fully crash out on the couch. You couldn't move anymore, too tired, too comfy, you were just there. Before falling asleep, you saw the handsome brit throw a blanket on you trying not to look at your figure.

You woke up a bit lost, not sure where you were or how long you had slept for. A few seconds brought your memory back and your eyes adjusted to the light. Tangerine was there. Sitting at the desk typing away on a computer, his back turned to you. You got up and walked towards him. You were standing just a few centimeters away as you leaned over his shoulder and stared at the screen.

-What's that? *You asked*

-Holy... fuck, have you heard of heart attacks??

-You're that old? Don't look a day over 50. Are you trying to hack into the MI6?

-Well obviously yes.

-From a cheap retro looking computer?

-Do you have a better idea?

He then realized you weren't wearing pants. To which he gave you a disapproving look over his mustache and continued:

-Maybe start by wearing some pants before attacking the cheapness of my computer.

-Pants are overrated.

-I'm sure they are. *He turned back to the screen. You sat on the desk, facing him.*

-If my legs disturb you so much, stop looking at them.

-Get off the desk. You know for someone getting threats from half the criminal population, you're surely quite calm.

You hummed, got off the desk as prompted, and went to get the jeans from yesterday. However, he stood up and grabbed your hand before you could get fully away.

-Alright maybe you don't need to put pants on right away. *You turned your face to him, starring into his eyes* I was right though, when we met. You are really crazy.

-For not wearing jeans to sleep?

-For flirting in the middle of a life or death situation. *He pulled you in closer.*

-Who said I was flirting? *You closed the last gap between you two*

-Me. *He leaned in to kiss your lips*

[awonderfulliar]

We match. Part 2

Banda Sunato x reader

here's part 1: https://at.tumblr.com/awonderfulliar/we-match/mc444pdw7f6k

It had been a few hours since you and Banda had began walking. He was still holding your hand. That was quite strange actually. Why the hell was he holding it? Why aren't you doing anything about it? Safe to say, your cheeks were getting warmer each time he caressed your skin with his thumb. Silence could have seemed weird to anyone else, anywhere else. But here, in the Borderlands, with you two: it didn't feel that strange. Quite natural actually. Very natural even. You thought he was very attractive (even if a bit psychotic, you'll admit) and he seemed to have taken enough interest in you to keep you alive in the jack of hearts game. You owed him your life even if you didn't want to accept it. Or maybe you already accepted it. Maybe you wanted to owe him something. It was easier this way: you could pretend to have a valid reason to be this enticed by his person.

What even where you doing? Why did you ask him to come with you? And why did he, a serial killer, accept? Banda wasn't quite sure if he understood his previous choices or what the best course of actions was. He was just a tiny bit lost right now. It was pleasant, sure, but almost scary for him. Almost. He liked the way your skin felt against his. He wanted to explore this feeling, he wanted his skin to know yours better. It wasn't sexual (or not entirely at least); it just felt like a normal craving, like thirst and hunger.

However, real hunger pointed its nose as it you two hadn't eaten in now quite a while. You let go of his hand to hold your stomach as a growl as starting to escape out of it. It wasn't loud but he heard it.

-Hungry?

-What do you think? You ironically answered with a very small smile.

Banda turned around and started walking away from you as you stopped to watch him.

-You're not gonna find food back there... we would've seen it otherwise.

He didn't respond and started wandering off the path. You just stood there watching him getting further and further away.

-C'mon Banda, you're gonna get lost.

You didn't know what to do. You didn't want to stay there like that. But if you left he wouldn't find you again. So you went against your better judgement and waited. That gave you a chance to think. What were you doing with that guy? What were you thinking taking his hand like he was some kind a romantic interest in this awful, terrifying world? This wasn't the time to feel this way for anyone... especially not for a sociopath like him. You should leave. You should run off. Right now. Why aren't you leaving right now?

-Still hungry?

You emerged out of your sea of thoughts to find Banda in front of you with a dead rabbit in his hand and a soft smile on his lips. It was so weird to see him smile in broad daylight. You somewhat wanted to see more of it. You forgot to show the disgust you had for the killed animal he held. You just smiled in return.

-So?

-Yeah, my hunger didn't disappear in five minutes. Of course I'm still hungry.

You two stopped, started a fire, and Banda prepared the rabbit. The sun started to set and the light of the flames shun or Banda's forearms. You eyed his movements, wondering how a man trapped in such a horrible landscape could be so calm, precise, collected, and... sweet. You pinched yourself at that thought. He wasn't sweet. He didn't blink at all those dead people at the game. He didn't care.

-It's ready.

"Thanks" did you say as he handed you a leg of the rabbit. You both ate in silence. He watched you with his usual calm look. You, on the other hand, weren't calm. The stress, fatigue, or something else made you bite your tong harshly at the last bite of your food. You hissed in pain and closed your eye by reflex. When you opened them, Banda was standing near you. His hand was levitating over your thigh, not touching it yet.

-Are you okay? He said in a funny tone, amused at the situation.

-Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing.

As you spoke, he noticed your teeth were stained with blood, not from diner, but your own.

-Open your mouth.

-Damn... buy a girl dinner first, alright?

-I did.

You laughed slightly as your lips spread in smile bigger than it should have been. He smiled too, yet again calm, resting his hand on your thigh. You opened your mouth.

-It's not deep, but still... what if it gets infected?

-It's in my mouth... it's not going to get infected. Nothing's getting in there.

He smiled again. You wanted to laugh and kid around again with him but as you were going to say something, noises came from your left.

A group of people were coming your way. Banda grabbed your hand hastily and rushed away from the noises. Next thing you know you were running. Your hand in his. A branch scratched your face, leaving a fine cut on your cheek. The freezing air made it impossible for you to notice; you couldn't feel your face. Actually, you couldn't feel anything beside Banda's hand holding yours. You could hear the sound of your feet running on the ground. You could hear him breathing heavily next to you, not yet out of breath like you were.

You stopped. You had no more breath, or energy in you. Banda looked at you. Your hands had separated when you ceased running. Your chest was going up and down, trying to find what you needed to keep running. He watched your chest heave with panic at each trembling breath. He held out his hand towards you, trying to get you to grab it. You looked at him straight in his eyes. You gathered all of the breath you had gotten back to say:

-Why did we run? We don't know who those people were. They could have been friendly.

-Have you ever met someone friendly in these lands?

You stared at him straight in the eyes with a look in your eyes that was meant to say "are you not supposed to be friendly? Am I not, myself, friendly?". His eyes slowly lowered to the ground.

-It's not supposed to be like this you know. His voice was calm, low, hardly hearable. He raised his hand to swipe the drop of blood from the cut on your cheek. We're not supposed to be friendly, you and I. You took his hand and lowered it, leaving his hand in yours. We're supposed to betray each other at some point, to let the other die, or worst, kill them.

-The world is not supposed to be like this. And as the words continue flowing, you let his hand go. He doesn't move. We shouldn't be playing these games. They're the ones that are wrong. They're the ones that should be fixed, not us, not our behavior to one another. I won't betray you. I'm tired of betraying people. It's not right. It shouldn't be.

-It's the way it is, I'm afraid.

-Will you betray me? You looked at Banda with an impassive look in your eyes. You didn't want him to see his answer would affect you more than it should.

He didn't answer. Just starred at you with, for the first time, a worried look on his face. He wasn't worried about you betraying him. He wasn't worried about him betraying you. He was worried about him not betraying you. He was worried about his implacable sense of survival, his careless intelligence being affected by you. By a person he just met a few days ago. He was worried about what you would... or what you could do to him.

But you didn't see that. You saw a young man you thought you could trust incapable of confirming he wouldn't betray you. And in these trying times, you couldn't risk it.

-Then... Banda... I guess this is goodbye.

You turned around, and walked. Away. Away from him. Away from the uncertainty that came with feelings. It was okay, you guessed, to leave someone you weren't sure would stand by you no matter what. It was okay, you thought, to leave.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a few days since you left Banda in the woods. Right now, you needed to "renew your visa". In other words, you needed to participate in a game. So you picked a "hide and seek" you found in the streets and decided, once again, to risk your life for the pleasure of uncertainty of death.

The game began. You started running around, avoiding the men in horses' masks and climbing different walls to stay hidden. At some point, you were cornered by a seeker with an assault riffle and a guy you had met in a previous game who wanted you dead. He remembered, for you survived in that game by betraying his fiancee. She died because of you. He wasn't letting you pass him, leaving you helpless to face a tall man with a gun and a mask. As you were realizing that you were quite in a pickle, a shadow passed the guy blocking your way and a knife quickly made its way to your opposant's back. You weren't looking his way though, more focused on the horse head guy that had just noticed your presence. As his finger pulled the trigger, a hand grabbed your shoulder, pulling you toward the escape. You had no time to assess the situation, as the same hand that saved you, was grabbing yours and making you run away from the man with the riffle. As you found yourself in a safe looking corned, you saw your last minute savior. Banda. You wanted to say something but something was making you dizzy. So dizzy that you fell unconscious the next minute.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When you woke up, Banda was sitting near you. You could only see his back. You didn't make a sound. You looked down to see a bandage covering your whole stomach, a red stain on your left side. Your shirt was lying next to a metal plate with what looked like the pieces of a small bullet. A dirty cup of water and a weird soup were disposed not far from Banda's calm body. You grabbed the water in silence and brought it to your lips. As you drank, some water spilled on your chest, making you shiver. A bra and a pair of pants weren't enough to keep you warm. Banda turned around as he heard you put the cup down.

-You're awake. Good. How do you feel?

-Why did you save me?

-How do you feel?

You didn't answer him in an immature attempt to regain control of a situation long gone out of your area of comfort.

-I followed you. Wasn't hard to. I saw you were in difficulty. I intervened.

-Why?

-I thought your little speech about not betraying people and helping one another was quite inspiring.

-I never said we should help each other.

-It was implicit.

You looked away for a second. The sun was rising. It was a nice view.

-Thank you. Did you say, your head turned away from him.

-Again. How do you feel? Did he say, his gaze still locked on you.

You touched a bit of the blood that was dripping from the bandage, and touched the left side of his stomach with the tip of your fingers.

-Look! We match.

You smiled in an idiotic childlike manner, forgetting it was blood and not paint you had on your hand.

-We do.

He smiled back in that enigmatic way that drew you in the first time you two met. You leaned a bit closer, the pain in your stomach not being able to convince your body to stay away from Banda's. He leaned in too, his eyes sparking with a tiny bit of curiosity. You laughed at the strangeness of the situation and your lips touched on his. You finally kissed him, with the fervor of people who had waited enough to do as they like. He kissed you back, putting his right hand on your back to support your body's weight. His calm attitude got overtaken by what seemed to you like excitation and you felt the laid back demeanor switch to a more passionate encounter. You smiled against his lips only for him to say:

-No, I won't betray you.

[awonderfulliar]

We match.

banda sunato x reader

honestly I don't know what I'm doing. He's just hot. Reader is gn btw. Hope you like it.

You had just entered the teio prison after almost five full days without doing any games. Needless to say you weren't excited about the prospect of risking your life in these sadistic games again, but for once you were happy to be fully rested and healthy (or at least as healthy as one can be in the borderlands). You put one of the last two dark collars on and went up the stairs to find a group of people. Amongst them, a red haired woman in a blue dress and a blond man in a white sweater stood out to you. But they didn't strike you as much as the last participant did. He arrived a minute or two after you and his piercing blue eyes was starting to analyze everyone in the room. Until they landed on you. He stopped his gaze on you for a few seconds and titled his head to get a full look of you. You starred right back, unsure of what you or him were doing.

He was quite attractive with his blue shirt matching his eyes and had an intelligent look that drew you in. You broke the eye contact to stare at your shoes. They were muddy and your white tank still had blood on it as you didn't find clean clothes to wear. Your cargo pants did fit you quite nicely but your messy hair and overall look made you reconsider your situation. You weren't there to flirt, you were there to win.

As people started forming groups you stood on the side. You understood the rules and therefore knew that you couldn't truly rely on anyone. You came up to the guy in the yellow stripped shirt standing next to the blond.

"Could you please tell me my suite?" Did you ask with a small reassuring smile before turning around. "It's diamond" did the blue shirt guy announce while standing almost 6 meters away from you. "Yes, it's diamond" the yellow shirt man shyly confirmed. You starred at the blue eyed one with a surprised but daring look like you knew what he was doing even though you weren't. "Thanks a lot, yours is club." did you say while turning to look at the man you asked your suit to. "Oh that's really nice of you. My name's Ippei! what's yours?" did he reply with an innocent and childlike tone. "Y/N" did you wink at him. The blond who starred quietly at you since the beginning smiled "maybe he's the jack of hearts, so why ask him and not me?". You didn't answer to the question but looked attentively at the man. The silence settled in until the speaker announced that it was time to enter the cells.

Before you entered the cell, the blue shirt man gave you a smirk. Once you got out, you saw him leaning on the wall right outside your cell with his usual half cocky half psychopathic look. "Are you waiting for someone?" did you slowly say without looking at him.

-Yes, you Y/N.

-Really, and why is that?

-You owe me: I told you your suit so you should tell me mine now.

-First, what's your name?- you finally turned your body to face him

-Banda. Why does it matter?

-Well, Banda... I don't owe you anything because I didn't ask anything of you. However I'm feeling nice, so turn around.

He smirked again, but this time he realized you weren't as easily manipulated as he thought. After her turned around, you grazed his cold skin with your finger to grab the collar just a bit. You didn't need to do this to see the suit, but you wanted to touch him. And he took notice of that. "Heart". He turned to face you and stepped a bit closer to you. "Thank you. Your turn now. After all it's me that owes you now." You got taken aback as you didn't expect him to return the favor. You turned around, stressed and anxious as he scared you just a little bit. He gently pulled your hair on the side, and you shivered when you felt the coldness of his fingers. "Oh, look at that. It's heart too. We match...". You held back a little laugh. What the fuck is he doing? He still had his hand on your hair and put the locks back in their place before retrieving his hand but not without what felt like a caress on your neck. Your breathing became irregular as you weren't sure what he was trying to do. You could feel his closeness, his presence right behind you. Right there, towering over you like a dark cloud. And you were sure he could feel your shortness of breath too. Yet he wasn't saying anything.

The emo boy that was usually standing next to Banda walked in this delicate situation. You turned your body towards the newcomer and noticed Banda's annoyance at this interruption.

-Banda? What are you doing?

-Just making friends.

He said that while looking at you with an innocent and naive look like what just happened was perfectly normal. And in retrospect, it wasn't that weird. But why would he ask you out of everyone there, and why touch you like that, and the "we match"... was it really that normal?

You tried not to think too much about it and went into the snack room. You grabbed a biscuit box and went to sit with Ippei and the blonde. "Oh hi! I'm glad you're here, Chishiya is too I'm sure." did the innocent boy say while giving a quick glance to his new friend to make him notice your presence. Chishiya had noticed you since you walked into the room, he just chose not to say anything about it because there was nothing to be said... He had a hard time analyzing you and wasn't sure where to stand with you. You ate your biscuits, talked with Ippei and exchanged infos on your respective suits. Banda didn't lie: you were heart this round.

As you walked back in the common room which was what seemed to be the control room of the prison, you caught Banda glancing at you swiftly. Just long enough for him to really look at you but not long enough for everyone to notice. Even you, if you weren't that attentive to him in particular, wouldn't have noticed.

A tall man in a black shirt threw a tiny guy in front of Banda. "Tell me what my suit is!!!" did he yell angrily at the poor player. Banda then came right behind the harassed young man, and told him in a low voice so that no one heard him to tell him his suit was club. He then walked back to his original place and threw you a glance; you acted as you didn't hear a thing. When the bully walked past you, you confirmed what you already suspected: his suit wasn't club. His suit was diamond. Banda noticed your glare followed by a concerned posture: he knew you knew and took note of that.

----------------------------------------------------------

You had managed to stay alive for a few rounds and to avoid Banda. But Ippei was dead and you now had no one you trusted. The only ones left were a couple in formal suits that seemed to trust each other enough to not need a third, Chishiya that still had a hard time believing you were a trustable person, the emo guy you couldn't bring yourself to even remotely trust, and... Banda.

He knew you were now alone, noticed it as soon as Ippei's door stayed close. The moment you realized he wasn't alive anymore, Chishiya and Banda were looking at you. You didn't seem that sad, a bit disappointed, sure, but nowhere as wrecked as any young person should be after the loss of a friend. Truth was you were sad, but the borderlands taught you to never look desperate, even when you were. Both men thought of the two possibilities: or you were keeping a poker face and were actually sensible or normal, or you were an emotionless sociopath like them.

You wondered around the prison, thinking of some kind of plan that could save your ass from this mess. But nothing came to mind.

-You know you could just ask, right? a low voice behind you said

-I know.

-Then why don't you?

-Because it's not like I can trust you. Banda.

-Why can't you trust me?

-Because, maybe you're the jack of hearts, or maybe you're a sociopath that will kill me the minute it's useful to you.

Nothing. Silence. You were right. You knew you were right. And he knew too. He killed people before. People like you, beautiful ones and full of life and hope... Except you weren't full of those things anymore. Instead you were bitter and somewhat broken. Just like him he thought. That's why he liked you. You were once everything he hated: life, laughter, happiness, and love. But you were now everything he is: death, deceit, coldness, and disappointment. At least that's how he viewed you.

-You can trust me. I promise you won't regret it.

His voice somehow felt warmer and a little bit more sympathetic. You turned around to look at him. You didn't understand what made him promise anything to you, but you felt like playing with fire today.

-Can you tell me what my suit is then, please?

He approached you; you stepped back. He looked at you surprised. "Sorry" did you mutter, standing still as he took a few steps closer. You turned your back to him. He pushed strands of your hair on the side, his cold finger grazing your skin oh so slowly. You let out a short breath. "It's heart... again." You shifted your torso to dive into his eyes. "Thanks." He smiled and turned around. "It's heart too. We match. Again.". Silence settled after this sentence. He didn't turn around. You wondered why. For 10 seconds you were starring at the back of his head. Then you turned to leave but felt a hand on your wrist as you were about to step in the direction of the door. "Wait. Don't leave yet. Please.". He pulled your wrist closer to him so you were forced backwards so your back met his torso. He tilted his head for it stand next to yours. His lips almost touching your ear. "You really can trust me. I mean it. I won't hurt you.". You weren't shaking or trembling this time. Your breath was a bit shaky but you stood your ground. You turned back to face him but realized you were really close to him.

-I don't know you, how can I trust you?

-Get to know me... he responded with a small smile

-Is it true you only have a theoretical understanding of people's feelings?

You blurred that out mindlessly and hated yourself for the way it sounded. But you heard the man in the suit say it to his girlfriend. You wanted to know. He, on the other hand, was just as surprised as you: taken aback by the honesty and audacity of your tone. Why did you want to know? Why did you even care? His smile disappeared and he looked annoyed. Like you just asked a too personal question that wasn't your business. He sighed

-I... Yes. I guess it's true.

-Is it true you take pleasure in killing people?

He didn't respond. You knew you were pushing your luck. But hey, at least you asked. His face got even darker than before. He turned around and left without responding. But as he reached the doorknob and opened it, he shifted his gaze to you.

-Do you?

-What?

-Tell me. How many persons had to die for you to stay alive? How many did you push to their deaths in order to survive? Did you feel pleasure then?

-No. I didn't. I never will.

-Well you don't know what you're missing out on.

You didn't see his face as he exited the room but could swear he wasn't as cocky as before. Was it regret? Or was it something else? Whatever it was, you needed to get your head back in the game.

--------------------------------------------------

The Jack of hearts was an emo kid with weird bangs? Whatever, the game was won, and you could go back to wondering in the borderlands alone and unbothered.

-Leaving so soon?

You jolted of surprise. Didn't expect Banda to follow you outside the gates with... blood on his shirt?

-Did you... ?

-Kill him? It's against the rules so no.

-Yeah but... You...

-Where are you going?

-Don't know. Far away from psychopaths and sociopaths until the next game I guess.

He laughed a bit. Another thing you didn't expect was for him to laugh. Because you were so pleasantly surprised, you weren't thinking when you said:

-You should come.

He looked at you in genuine shock.

-Why do you want me to come with you? I thought you didn't trust me?

-Would you come with me? If I asked you?

You didn't know why you wanted him to come. You just did.

-Yes. I would. Of course, I would. But you didn't answer my questions.

-Well then I'm asking you. Will you come with me?

-I will.

He looked at you in childlike curiosity. What were you thinking? And what was he thinking? Why did he accept?

-Good then. Let's go.

You started walking and he followed in your steps. Catching up to you he stared at you while keeping up the pace. In an instant of boldness and loneliness, you grabbed his hand. He smiled.

Here's part 2: https://www.tumblr.com/awonderfulliar/739438308308975616/we-match-part-2?source=share