Requested whotao_ta0.
...
"Kalpas, this is (Y/N) (L/N)." The pink-haired elf kindly introduced. "She just joined MOTH so be nice to her okay?"
The silver-haired male said nothing as he stared at you. He continues to drill holes into your head causing you to shift uncomfortably.
Elysia chastised him for staring at such a young and beautiful girl (though she said that it was alright as you were pretty though it was still rude) but he ignored her ceaselessly lecture.
"You."
You weren't prepared to get singled out.
"Yes?!" You realized the volume of your voice and was unable to prevent your face from flushing. You cleared your throat as Elysia laughs earning herself a glare. You then look at the taller male apologetically and with a lower volume apologize, "Excuse me for my loudness. Can I help you?"
He stares at you and you wonder if he had heard you.
"Have we met?"
You blinked, not expecting that query. You recover from your shock and address the man.
You nodded. "I didn't expect you to remember." You admit before faintly smiling. "You saved me from the Honkai beasts in my city. I wanted to thank you."
You curtsied to him then look for his reaction.
"..."
"Kalpas?" Elysia waved a hand in front of his face.
The man responds by turning his back to them and storming off.
Your smile was replaced with a crestfallen face.
You looked at your companion. "Have I done something wrong?"
Elysia brushed off your worries. "Don't take it too heart. Kalpas is a nice person once you get to know him. I apologize for his behavior. Usually, he leaves a snarky remark, but he seemed unusually quiet..."
You felt a pang of guilt and immediately mutter an apology. The pink-haired girl gives a comforting smile.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. Ignore him, he'll come around." Elysia then takes your hand. "Now we still have the rest of the base to tour! There are also 12 other people I want you to meet. You'll like Eden. She's not as scary as Kalpas, but she'll spoil you!"
The fact that she thought Kalpas' scary nature was a good thing made you respect the women. You felt your sullen mood lighten as you allow the cheery elf to drag you away to meet her fellow friends.
...
You were appointed to be under the command of Kevin Kaslana but you asked Elysia if you could switch to another unit. She wasn't surprised and offer to put in a few words to the higher-ups about your decision.
"Why are you here?" A rumbling low voice asked with unusual gentleness.
"I was sent here." You stated, trying to reveal as much as you could but as little as you can. You don't want him to know that you chose to be here in case he wanted you off the team. He didn't respond to your explanation and you began to feel anxious. You tried not to sound hurt as you propose, "Would you like for me to switch to another unit?"
"Whatever..." He grumbles and stalks away, getting ready to be deployed. He stops a few feet away. "Hurry up. I don't need some frail girl dragging me down."
You didn't hear his insult.
You beamed and bowed. "Thank you for allowing me the chance to fight by your side."
He scoffs yet said nothing. He resumed his pace and you hurried to follow.
"Your orders..?"
"Just stay out of my way."
"Yes sir."
"..."
"Don't call me sir."
"Eh?"
"Kalpas is fine."
"Ah, of course."
The two of you walked in silence. For good measure, you stayed behind him. He sighs making you internally panic. Have you done something wrong?
"Don't stand behind me." He said.
"Ah, I apologize." You hurry to stand beside him. "Won't I get in the way?"
"Are you like those annoying pests?"
You didn't know who he was talking about but you wanted to get along with him so you shook your head and utter a low 'no'.
"Then it's fine. Don't steal my kills. Don't get in my way."
"Right. I won't."
...
That's what you said, but you ended up weighing down Kalpas when you stepped in to lend some assistance. You should have guessed that he could have dealt with an emperor-class beast on his own, but when you saw the beast attempt to attack the man while he was preoccupied with another beast, your body moved before your mind could process it.
Su notified you that your injuries were minor although you wouldn't be leaving the medical bay anytime soon seeing as you also sprained your ankle.
"Is Kalpas okay?" You asked the green-haired doctor after he finished with his report.
"Kalpas received a large injury on the back." Your blood turned cold. "Ordinary humans would have died from such injury but rest assured, he'll be fine."
Dread fills in your stomach. You force yourself to swallow the lump in your throat. The feeling of dread lingers even on your tongue. You thought about how lucky your captain was that he was a MANTIS.
"I see. Thank you, Dr. Su." You said.
"Su is fine."
"Okay, Su."
You and the psychic rarely interacted since the two of you were in different branches, but as you recover from the medical wing, you began to learn more and more about him.
He and the strongest warrior, Kevin Kaslana, had been friends since high school. Su had laughed at your shocked expression. You did not take lightly to his amusement.
You also learned some meditation tips to undo the stress within your body. On one occasion, you tripped when you tried to help him organize his cabinet causing the two of you to end up in a predicament. The two of you couldn't look at each other straight after that.
You hadn't been looking forward to your recovery as you believe it would be a long and tedious task, but Su made the recovery less boring and more bearable.
You were rather sad when he informed you of your full recovery but your will to get back to work obscured that disappointment.
You were just happy to go back to Kalpas.
...
You found Kalpas in the training room, destroying a bunch of training dummies, courtesy of MOTH.
"What do you want?" You were taken aback by his sharp tone.
While the combatant never held a pristine reputation, he was anything but what rumors assume. So color you surprise when he addresses you with such hatred. You had thought you two had gotten closer. Was he mad at you for breaking your promise?
"I just came to inform you of my discharge." You said slowly as if one word from you would unhinge the man in front of you.
Whatever you did earn itself a medal for angering Kalpas.
"And here I thought you would prefer working as that blind's assistant."
Your defense came out in an instant.
"Su isn't blind."
"Defending your boyfriend now? How unsightly."
Before you could say to him that Su wasn't your boyfriend, Kalpas shoves you aside and takes his leave, leaving you to ask yourself what you did wrong.
...
"Why are you putting in a request to transfer? Didn't you want to work under his branch?"
The nosy elf somehow found about about your request to the higher-ups about going back to your initial branch.
"How did you find out?"
"You're ignoring the question, (Y/N). Lying won't lead you anywhere."
You wish it did.
You sigh. "Kalpas is mad at me."
"He's always mad," Elysia said, not at all helping the situation.
"But this time he's really angry." You insist. "I don't know what I did wrong."
"Let's not ponder over such mundane matters, but congratulations!"
You blinked, confounded by what she meant by 'congratulations'.
"Thank you?"
She tilts her head at your confused response.
"Don't you know? You and Su are dating!"
You chocked. "What?!"
"Of course, that's not true." Elysia sighs, shaking her head as if she's disappointed. "Someone saw you and Su on the floor in quite an intimate position, speculating that you and Su were dating thus explaining your predicament."
"I just tripped!" You exclaimed.
"But Kalpas doesn't know that."
You stop.
"What does Kalpas have to do with me and Su?"
"Kalpas likes you."
"That's impossible." Your refusal came in a heartbeat.
"Why?"
"Because..." You didn't have an actual answer to Elysia's question so you avert your gaze to the ground.
"You want to hear a secret?" She wasn't asking for your permission as she enters your personal space and whisper in your ears. "Kalpas could have rejected your transfer."
What? You stared at her, astonished by what she had revealed to you.
"Don't tell me you didn't know. Why do you think there's no one in Kalpas' squad? It's because he rejects them or forced them to leave."
"That doesn't mean..."
"Or why all of us make you deliver our documents to him?"
"That's—"
"If you don't believe me then why not ask Kalpas then?"
You paused. That would be the most sensible thing to do. However...
"He's mad at me."
"I wouldn't worry about that. If anything, you should worry your pretty little head about confessing to Kalpas and clear up all misunderstandings between you and him. I don't think any of us can afford a MANTIS down..."
The fact that she can talk so calmly about Su's death or even Kalpas' was scary.
"I'm sure Kalpas would be delighted to see you."
You doubted that the man missed you, but you heed her following advice.
...
Of course, Kalpas was sparing in the training room. It looked like he burned out all his fuel and the room's supply of dummies.
"Kalpas, I need to talk to you."
He didn't turn to you. You twitched, annoyed with his behavior.
"Kalpas." You called for him yet he still chose to ignore you. You walked up to him and grab his shoulder, trying to get him to face you when he slaps your hand away. You ignored the burning pain. "I won't bother you but please— I need to say something."
He didn't say anything.
"You have one minute."
What?! "Fine. I just want to say that I was trying to help Su when I shouldn't which resulted in that predicament you saw so we're not dating! Su and I are just friends! Besides, he isn't even the one I like." It's now or never. You never felt your heart pound so hard before, not like it was now. "The one I like most is you, Kalpas!" There you said it!
He stiffen almost immediately as if you had just touched him. You were trying to catch your breath from running your mouth for so long as well as trying to cool down your temperature. You had just confessed your undying feeling for the man. You could just feel the tension oozing, suffocating you like Mobius' toxic chemicals in her lab. Your legs trembled almost giving out but you force yourself to stand tall. You stood there, waiting for the silver-haired male's response, but the unbearable silence was too much.
"Kalpas—"
"Is that true?"
You straighten. "Huh?"
"That you like me. Hey." He grab you by the shoulders when you tried to look away. "Say it again."
Which part? "The one I like most... is Kalpas?" You repeated, hoping that you weren't making a fool of yourself.
His grip loosens, but his hands remain on your shoulders. "Again." He demands, quietly.
"The one I like most is Kalpas." You said, more confidently than before.
"Again."
"The one I like most is Kalpas."
His head sinks into the crane of your neck.
"I thought I'd have to kill that blind ass."
"Kalpas?!" You yelled.
He clicked his tongue at your volume causing you to clamp a hand over your mouth.
"I won't." He assured and lifts his head to you. "Only if you don't see, touch, or speak to him again."
Possessive much? "I agree to touch but I need to see and speak to Su at some point."
"Don't mention his name."
"..."
Dating Kalpas might be the hardest thing you've ever done.
...
From outside the training room...
"It seems like your plan worked." The red-haired singer notes as she swishes the red wine in her goblet.
"Of course!" The pink elf chirped. "Nothing wrong with a little rumor to get two people closer together! Now, what ship name would be good for (Y/N) and Kalpas? (Ship/Name)? No. (Another/Ship/Name)? Or maybe—"
Eden laughs musically at her friend's excitement.
You found out about what the pink elf did and while you were upset about her underhanded tactic, she at least canceled your transfer.
You and Kalpas usually rest after a long mission. He always had your small frame on the top of his lap, his muscular arms around your slim waist, and his head against the crook of your neck much to your embarrassment. Whenever Su came by, he would loudly express to him your predicament much to your horror.
Despite Su's assurance that you have nothing to be sorry about, you couldn't face him even when he had his eyes closed.
Kalpas took this as a great step towards a healthy relationship.
A/N: Not sure if this was the 'soft' you were looking for, but I tried.