Cronus X Reader - Late Night Visit

...Cronus.  You grinned, trying to hide any of your previous apprehension at visiting your secret crush's hive.

"Hi Cronus," you say raising a hand and giving a tiny wave.  "Can I come in?"

The sea-dweller grinned when he saw who it was at his door.  He opened it wider, placing one of his hands on his hip.

"Hey there, kitten, I vwas vwondering vwhen you were going to showv up," he said, speaking around the unlit cigarette that he always had hanging out of his mouth.   You tried to suppress a shiver as he called you by one of your favorite nicknames.  Sure, he called a lot of the other girls the same thing (when he wasn't calling them "huge glubbing bitches"), but you liked to think that the way he said it to you was different.  He didn't say it with a smirk or a glare, he just smiled and gazed at you softly.

"So, did you bring your suit, or are vwe going skinny dipping?" he teased.  Happy shiver gone.  You rolled your eyes and pulled off your drawstring backpack, holding it up for him to see.

"It's in here, you dip," you retorted.  He half-grinned, his purple eyes gleaming.

"Vwhat?  Didn't put it on yet?  Gonna let me vwatch?"  Okay, now he was being a full on pervert.  Even though had one of the hugest crushes on him, even you got pissed off when he acted like this around you.

"Cronus Ampora, get out of the way so I can change in your bathroom," you demanded, your (e/c) eyes glinting.  He just raised his brows a bit and backed up, allowing you entrance.  You huffed and padded off down the hall toward his bathroom, leaving him to stare after you, baffled.

Vwas it something I said?

~~~

You exited the back of Cronus' hive and stepped out onto his darkened patio wearing your favorite (f/c) two-piece swimming suit.  Your bare feet slapped against the light gray stones that led up to and wrapped around a huge, deep pool that he'd had constructed after he decided to build a second hive on the land where he could see all the other trolls with more ease.

You liked the way the light of the moons and the poolside lamps reflected off of the vast expanse of water, and you took a moment to admire the scenery of the carefully manicured backyard decorated with various statues and tropical plants before you walked over to a purple and white lounge chair, dropping your bag and your towel on the long seat.

You placed your hands on your hips, wondering where Cronus had gotten to.  You were about to head back into his hive when you heard the splashing of the water hitting the patio.  You turned in surprise to see Cronus heave himself up and out of the water so that he was sitting on the edge of the pool.

You swallowed and bit your lip when you saw him.  His hair was slicked down and shining wetly.  His eyes shone in the dim lighting.  His muscled gray body was illuminated by the moons and the torch light, making his wet skin shimmer.  His usually present cigarette was gone, and his perfect lips were pulled into a half-smile.  But what really caught your attention was that he was wearing a small, purple pair of trunks.  You quickly averted your gaze back up to his face as you approached him, fighting back the blush that dared to consume your face like a wildfire.

He smiled up at you, his gills perking up.  "There you are, kitten.  Vwas vwondering vwhere you vwent.  Come on in," he gestured to the pool.  "The vwater's fine."  You nodded quietly, forcing a tiny smile and you slid into the water, tensing as you felt chills course through your body.  Good bloody fuck it was freezing!

You heard more splashing behind you and turned to see that Cronus had slipped in behind you and was swimming towards you.  You suddenly felt very nervous at being so near him while wearing so little.  You blushed and quickly turned, strongly swimming out into the pool.

You hadn't gotten far when something lifted you up, out of the water.  You gasped and swayed until you'd caught your balance.  Looking down, you saw that Cronus had swam under you and lifted you out of the water on his shoulders.

"Vwhere you going, doll?" he says, his half-lidded eyes looking up into your own.  You blush heavily and do your best to glare down at him.

"P-put me down, Cronus!"

He merely laughs, making you bounce awkwardly on his shoulders.  "Vwhat's the matter?  Scared of heights?"  You really do glare at him this time and you cross your arms.

"No I am not.  But you better put me back in the water before I hurt YOU," you yell, as he lets you fall back into the watr.  You splash and sink a foot or two before you open your eyes.  You see him floating in the water, just above you and for a second you forget all of your previous anger.  His gaze was soft and his hair floated around his head, pushed by the tiny waves you had created when you fell in.

Suddenly your lungs were screaming for air and you pushed up and around him toward the surface.  Your head broke free and you coughed a little, rubbing your eyes.  Cronus popped his head out of the water a little ways from yours.  He looked a little guilty.

"Sorry, _____.  I vwasn't trying to drowvn you," he apologized, sympathy in his bright purple eyes.  You sighed through your nose but eventually gave him a small smile.

"Alright, it's okay.  Just don't do it again," you snapped, pointing at him threateningly.  He laughed again the floated off on his back.  You watched him float away for a moment before you decided to catch up to him.  After all, this night wouldn't be any fun if you spent all your time avoiding him, now would it?

You held your breath and ducked down under the water, swimming strongly toward him until you were directly underneath him.  You grinned mischievously as you quickly shot up, grabbing him and pulling him under the surface of the water.  He gasped and thrashed for a second before you let him go.  He turned to look at you--his expression more shocked than angry.  You flashed him a wide grin as you quickly paddled the other way.

"So that's how you wanna do things, huh?" he grinned and followed you, slipping under the water.  You were still kicking out, shooting through the water when you felt something tug your ankle.  You flipped around, expecting to see Cronus, but were instead met with empty water.  You quirked a brow and slowly turned back around, wondering where he was and what prank he'd pull to get you back.

You ran right smack into the troll.  He'd come up out of the water behind you and grinned down at you. . . well it was more of a smirk.  He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into his wet chest.  "Vwell now, doll, vwhat hawve vwe, here?  Can't get enough of me can you?"

Your face flushed a deep shade of red, catching the Aquarius off guard.  He blinked at you, his smile disappearing.  "I vwas just joking, ______. . ." he tried to explain, but you just pushed him away.

~~~

He looked after you, confused.  You had began to make your way back to the edge of the pool and were pulling yourself out of the water.  I don't get that glubbing girl.  One moment, she's all playful, but the next she's pushing me avway.  He stayed out in the middle of the pool for another moment before swimming up toward where you'd gotten out.

He pushed his upper body out of the water and watched you, his gaze intense as you sat down on the lounge chair, drying yourself off with your towel.  Your (h/l) (h/c) hair was slicked down, shining and swinging as you moved about.  Your (s/t) skin glimmered and reflected the rippling light of the pool.  The one thing that stood out to him the most, however, was the way your swim suit stuck to your body.

He blushed, biting his lip, before he climbed out of the pool.  You were lying back on the chair, wrapped up in your towel as he approached you.  You avoided looking at him even when he cleared his throat.  You were deliberately ignoring him, he knew it.

He hesitated for a moment before he sat at the edge of the lounge chair.  For a moment he said nothing.  When he was finally about to speak, he looked over at you to find that your gaze was lowered to your lap, your dark eyelashes fluttering on your cheek.  His brows creased.

"Alright, ______, vwhat's up vwith you?  You'wve been sending me vweird signals all night.  Did I do something vwrong or-" he broke off when you started slowly shaking your head.

~~~

"N-no," you choked out.  You immediately were aware that he could hear your voice shaking but you kept on talking anyway.  "I-I just. . . God, Cronus!" you suddenly shouted, making him jump.  "You don't get it, do you!?  Cronus, whenever I'm around you I can't breathe or think straight and maybe it's because, I don't know," you faltered slightly, "because maybe I like you?"

You stopped, swallowing your rising emotions as Cronus stared back at you, wide-eyed.  You just sighed in exasperation and went on.  "I just thought that maybe you kind of liked me back, but every time I hope that you do, you do something weird and intimate and I really do like it, but you treat it like a goddamn joke!  You have no idea how much it hurts when you flirt with me or hug me or something and then you just smirk and make me feel like I'm nothing to you!  So maybe, yeah--it is your fault!" you finally stopped, taking in deep breaths as he continued to stare at you.

He paused for a moment before turning to look down at the stone patio between his feet, looking downcast and ashamed.  You wanted to take back everything you'd just said.  You felt awful for snapping at him like that, it wasn't like you to loose your temper so easily; then again, you'd had conflicting emotions building up inside of you for weeks now.

You stood up.  "Look, I'll just go-"

"No," he murmured, still looking down.  You turned to look at him, almost afraid of what he was going to say.  "Sit."  You gulped and sat down next to him, pulling your towel tightly around you.

The silence continued for a moment and you were wondering if you should just get up and leave anyway, when Cronus turned his dark, troubled gaze on you.  "I'm sorry.  I-I didn't know."  He swallowed.  "I'vwe just been doing those things, 'cause, well, I kind of vwanted you to like me.  I vwasn't sure if you did or didn't, so I just kinda tried different things on you to see howv you'd react or to see if you ewven did like me."  He ducked his head, uncharacteristically embarrassed.

"I should havwe known better than to evwen try to get you."

"What?" you whispered.  You were dumbfounded.  Cronus liked you?  And he thought he wasn't good enough to get you?  Was he insane?  "Cronus, what do you mean, 'should have known better'?"

He looked up at you, defeated.  "I mean, I don't knowv vwhy I hoped that a girl as great as you vwould go for a guy like me.  You deservwe vway better then me.  I should'vwe abandoned this flush crush ages ago."  He hung his head again, his cheeks burning a slight purple.  You continued to stare at him, your mouth hanging open.  Flush crush?  Holy God, he did love you!

You suddenly realized how cold he must be after swimming, so you quickly lifted an arm and took Cronus under your towel, pressing close to him.  This took him off guard and he whipped around to face you, eyes wide and his blush growing.

"Cro. . ." you murmured.  "Don't say those kind of things--I really, really like you. . . I-I love you."  Your (e/c) eyes were shining as you looked at him.  Emotions began swimming through his eyes as Cronus held you back, wrapping his arms around you and putting his hands on your lower back.  He lingered for a moment about an inch away from your lips before breathing, "I lowve you, too," and planting a kiss on your lips.

You felt your heart beating hard in your chest, threatening to blow, before you eased into the kiss, forcing it to stay calm.  You brought your arms up to rub your hands up and down his bare back.  He pressed his mouth even more firmly against yours until his tongue finally slipped out and brushed over your bottom lip, asking for entrance.  You granted him his wish and his purple tongue swirled about, investigating every part of his new territory.  You sighed into the kiss as Cronus sat up a little taller and laid you back on the lounge chair.

You stayed intertwined with him for what felt like an eternity before you two finally broke apart, panting and looking each other in the eyes.  His lips were bruised and, running your tongue over own, you discovered that yours were too.  He grinned down at you sincerely, gently running a clawed, gray hand through your wet hair.

"Vwill. . . vwill you be my matesprit?" he asked, his voice barely audible above the lapping of the water at the edges of the pool and the wind in the foliage surrounding the large backyard.  You brought your hands up to rest them on the back of his neck.

"Yes," you whispered back.  Cronus beamed down at you, lifting you up and repositioning you so that you were lying on top of him, your back resting on his chest, as he covered the two of you with the towel and ran his fingers through your hair, gently combing it.  You both stayed that way until you eventually fell asleep.