HOME | DD

Description

This is the last part for this fan fic. If you're a new reader, the links for the previous parts are in the description below

Cruella De Vil = Crue De Vil

other characters mentioned in this are all created by me except for reader-chan, of course c:

the dalmatians are out of the picture so please do not expect this to be from the movies I chose a different time for this story ^_^ Enjoy!

----

How fast time flew, you realized as you were already on your fifth month of working for Mr. De Vil. You thought everything would stay the way as they were but you were dreadfully wrong. Since your third month of work, Mr. De Vil had been acting strange towards you. You would never see him smirk nor hear him chuckle whenever you thought you amused him but then it came to you, was that not a great thing? Though something was bothering you so much as he also seemed to be ignoring you and you would merely get a nonchalant expression from him. ‘Was he sick all those months?’ you wondered. You shook your head. ‘No… am I sick? I should be happy I’m not his clown anymore!’

In the middle of the day, you were still busy helping your co-workers arrange the newly delivered products. Unexpectedly, you saw Mr. Jonathan and he was looking for you. You had never felt so happy to see Jonathan, sudden excitement filled your heart for he rarely came and you knew exactly the reason why he would come down to the basement. You trotted up to him and greeted him with much enthusiasm, “Good day, Mr. Jonathan!”

“Good day, Ms. (l/n),” he replied with a bow. “Mr. De Vil is looking for you.”

“Great!” you exclaimed joyfully without even thinking but immediately corrected yourself and said your usual reply in a more composed manner, “I mean, I’ll be right there.”

~~~~~~~~

Arriving to Mr De Vil’s office door, you knocked and then opened it, poking your head in. “May I come in, sir?” you politely asked.

Already recognizing your voice, he just gestured with his red gloved hand for you to come in without turning around, seated on his red office chair, facing the glass window that overlooked almost the whole city of London.

You immediately entered and gently closed the door upon seeing his gesture. You walked towards the desk, honestly not knowing whether you should be so ecstatic that you get to see him again, let alone the fact that he called for you, or nervous that the atmosphere was dead serious. You only saw the back of his office chair and his hand that held his red cigarette holder. Smoke seemed to come from his side, indicating that he just puffed them out before finally spinning the chair around so he was already facing you. The look on his face was stern and if his glare could only kill, you would have been lying on the floor dead by now.

“Ms. (f/n).” His sudden drawl caused you to flinch, startling you from your anxious thoughts.

“Yes, sir?” you answered with a bit of reluctance. He appeared different at that moment and you were panicking deep inside, regretting that you ever answered.

He stood up from his seat, landing his fingertips on a small piece of paper and slid it across the table until it was in the middle of his fingers then he strode to you, keeping his composed expression. He stopped right in front of you so you could smell the nauseating smoke from his cigarette.

You just stared at his icy blue eyes that seemed to grow darker as every second passed. The feeling of fright overcame you and thought if you were in trouble. You did not like it whenever he looked at you like that.

With a sudden flick of his index finger and middle finger, you jerked a bit, shutting your eyes in fright. When you slowly opened your eyes, you found yourself staring cross-eyed at the small paper that was now right in front of your face. “Take it.”

You looked back at Mr. De Vil as soon as he gave out his command then back at the paper, slowly taking it with your trembling hands. Once it was out of his fingers, he turned around and paced back to his chair. Your eyes widened at what was written on it, not mention what the paper actually was. It was a paycheck worth two years of work for you. You gasped and gave Mr. De Vil a bewildered look but he remained facing the glass window as if refusing to look at you. You nervously chuckled and thought maybe he was pulling a prank on you. “S-Sir... what is this?”

He inhaled a bit of smoke and then exhaled it after a few good seconds. “Your paycheck. What else do you think it is?” he answered nonchalantly.

“I-I don’t understand…” Your eyebrows furrowed in utter puzzlement. “This is too much.”

“Enough for you to start over.” He put his cigarette in his mouth once more.

“Start… over?”

He finally turned around to face you and let out smoke from his mouth before saying, “Leave.”

You dropped the paycheck, stupefied right on the spot, leaving your mouth slightly agape. “W-What…?” you said just above a whisper in disbelief.

He took a few long steps while he said, “Forget about your debt. Forget that you even worked here.” He strode towards you and leaned in, whispering in your ear, “You’re... fired.”

You moved away from him, anger and sadness stirring inside you as your eyes got watery and soon, tears would fall. You bent down and picked up the paycheck, ripping it apart in front of him. “I don’t need your money. You--!” You clenched your fists, wanting to land a few punches on his face. “You’re such a terrible--” you shouted at him, tears started to fall down your face, “person!!!” You could no longer stay in his presence so you ran out of the room, and it was not only the paycheck that was torn apart, but your heart.

“Sir.” Jonathan entered De Vil’s office as soon as you left. “Was that really necessary?” he asked with his usual calm demeanor.

As if holding back his own tears, Crue let out a shaky breath instead of letting them fall, his eyes still locked on the open door. “It is... for the best.”

His unfazed expression was still stuck in your head when you ripped the paycheck in front of him. It was as if he did not care even a bit what you did and his main concern was for you to get out of his life. But was that not what you wanted all along? You wanted so badly to be free of your debt and that was why you worked for him in the first place. Unexpectedly, you learned to like him and you wanted to stay by his side. But if that was what he wanted then you should just stay away no matter how difficult and painful it was for you. You tried hard to stop your tears from falling because you did not want anyone to see you so haggard as you packed your things. Your co-workers could not help but wonder why you were leaving all of a sudden. You just faked a smile and told them that opportunities awaited you elsewhere.

~~~~~~~~

As the cab arrived to your home, you ran to meet your father, who was just outside, sweeping the front yard, and pulled him into a hug, squeezing him so tight. You could no longer hold the tears back so you let them freely stream down your face. Your father rubbed your back gently and helped you with your things.

The tears would not stop falling down your cheeks and you found it useless to hold them back anyway. Your father gave you a very worried look as he had never seen you so heart broken before. “What is wrong, (f/n)?” he asked you. “Who dare made my daughter cry, hm?” He placed his palms on your cheeks, wiping your tears with his thumb.

“Father…” You spoke in the midst of your sobs, gasping from time to time. “I--What… What did I do wrong!?” You continued to cry, not ashamed to let your father see how agonized you were.

Your father drew you closer for an embrace and patted your back. “There, there….”

“H-He wanted me to l-leave…” you added.

“Who?” Your father pulled away to look at you in the eyes. “Mr. De Vil?”

Even the very mention of his name crumbled your world and thought how cruel life was to you. Tears just gushed down your face even more. Your father might have done foolish things in his life but he was definitely not brainless to not see that you had already had feelings for Mr. De Vil. Saying no more, he just brought you back into his arms and held you in a warm embrace. You sniffled and recalled Crue’s past attitude towards you. It came to your realization that you were really just being toyed. You never should have given him a space in your heart. That was it. You were determined to do what he said, forget about your debt, forget that you worked there and as an addition to that, forget him.

~~~~~~~~

You returned to your job at the bakery and good thing Mr. McClean welcomed you back with open arms. You did your best to move on and focus on baking like how your life used to be before Crue entered your life. A few months passed, you still hung out with Frank sometimes like you used to and he remained a very good friend to you. You two were so close that some of the people at your workplace even thought he was your boyfriend but you would always say he was not. Unbeknownst to you, Frank actually liked you and it hurt him that after months of trying to win your heart, he still stood no chance against Crue even though you would repeatedly claim that Crue was no one but a passing thought, a stranger who you just happened to bump into and nothing more. To be honest, every time a customer with a fur coat entered the shop, you would always feel your heart jump for a second and then shatter in disappointment that they were not who you expected. There was finally one time Frank asked you if you would ever change the way looked at him, you just apologized. When he asked why, you would only respond with silence. It was all he ever needed to know.

~~~~~~~~

“Yes, yes, yes, I KNOW!” Crue argued with an employee over the phone. “NO! I specifically told you to pick up the fur--” A knock interrupted their conversation. “WHAT!?” He blurted out in annoyance as he whipped his head to the door and saw Jonathan.

“Someone came to see you, sir,” Jonathan calmly said, unfazed by his boss’ loss of temper.

“Ugh!” Crue rolled his eyes. “Whoever it is, tell them I’m busy.” He waved airily at Jonathan before going back to his phone conversation, spinning his office chair around so he would not get any more distracted. “You, buffoon! Can’t you make anything right!?”

“I insist that we have a talk, Mr. De Vil,” someone else cut in.

“Oh, blast it!” Crue hung up and turned around to face the bothersome visitor. “What!?” His angered look melted into a surprised one, his eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, as soon as he saw who it was. “You….” He stood up from his seat, glaring at his visitor. “I don’t remember having any appointments with you, Mr. Daniels.” He mentioned his name with a piqued tone.

Frank maintained his composure and bowed as his greeting. “We won’t be needing any appointments to discuss this matter.”

Crue clicked his tongue and averted his gaze to his assistant. “Jonathan!” He snapped. “Get him out of my office at once! I specifically told you to never let anybody in without any appointments!”

“Please, Mr. De Vil,” Frank tried as hard as he could to remain calm. “We need to have a talk.”

“About what!?”

“More like who.”

“Drat! Stop playing games with me and just get straight to your--”

“(f/n).”

Crue stopped at the mention of your name, all of a sudden felt like dissolving into thin air that you were brought up again after months of not hearing nor seeing you. He slowly sunk back to his chair, clenching his jaw in thought whether he should give Frank a chance to talk. “Fine.” He said, “What is it? An invitation to your wedding? I don’t have all day so just give it to Jonathan and he’ll handle the rest.”

“Do you love her?” Frank asked straight away.

“Excuse me?” Crue knitted his brows, unsure if he heard him right.

“Do you--” Frank repeated with a more determined look on his face. “Love her?”

Crue simply scoffed, giving Frank a raise of his eyebrow. “What is it to you?”

“How much longer are you going to keep this up?” Frank asked with a pleading gesture of his hands. “Until--when--Mr. De Vil?”

“I’ve already told you, Mr. Daniels, that I do not have all day, let alone listen to all your nonsensical blabber,” he nonchalantly said.

Frank scoffed and turned to Jonathan. “Are you kidding me? Sir Jonathan, is your boss stupid or something!?”

Jonathan was surprised that he was asked on the spot but what was more surprising was his answer. “I do believe so… sir.” His tone had a hint of reluctance but he was definitely sure of his answer. Just not sure whether he should have said it.

“Excuse me!?” Crue stood up, giving Jonathan his deathly glares.

“I--I apologize, sir, but I must agree to what Mr. Daniels just said.”

“Oh, I see,” Crue drawled. He pressed his cigarette on the ashtray and put his cigarette holder on his desk as he stood up, lowly chuckling. He strode to Frank’s side. “How… interesting--” With a whisk of his fist, he grabbed Frank by the collar, roughly tugging it. “Nobody calls Crue De Vil stupid, you understand?” he said with gnashing teeth.

Frank only managed to chuckle in ridicule. “Fine. Does imbecile cover it?”

It only stirred up the anger inside Crue, balling his free hand into a fist as he got ready to land a hard punch on Frank’s face when he was grabbed by the wrist.

“Sir…” Jonathan stopped him. “Please….”

Crue looked at his solemn expression then back at Frank. Though he slowly put him down, the animosity in his eyes did not falter.

Frank straightened the creases on his suit and folded his collar nicely. “Prove it that you aren’t anything I mentioned.” Frank smirked as he looked down. He then shook his head, seemingly in disappointment. “I pity you for being blind not to see what you had. She loves you.” He returned his gaze at Crue with a wistful look in his eyes but later shifted to a glare. Bringing back his composure, he said, “Just letting you know in case you aren’t aware.”

Crue just gritted his teeth and pointed to the door. “Out.”

Frank did as what he was told and walked to the door but before leaving, he said, “You once said that she’s your darling. Make me believe it again… before I change my mind.” He left, shutting the door behind him.

Crue went around his desk and sat back on his chair. He sighed and ran his hand through his black and white hair, now clutching it, wanting to pull them all out in frustration. He let go with a grunt and slammed his hands on his desk. “She’s a fool not to forget me.”

“I guess that makes the two of you, sir,” Jonathan remarked.

“Since when did you learn to talk back to me, old man?” Crue narrowed his eyes at Jonathan who just smiled as if holding back his laughter.

“Sir, I think it’s time you give up this game.” Jonathan held his hands together behind him. “Besides, it’s not everyday that you meet a ‘Ms. (l/n)’.”

~~~~~~~~~

“Here you are, sir,” you happily served a regular customer his favorite order, a bread bowl with chicken and mushroom soup. You saw him smile widely and clap like a baby as soon as you put his plate on the table.

“As always, thank you, (f/n)!” he gladly exclaimed. After all the years you had been working at the bakery, most of the customers already knew your name. They just loved the good, enthusiastic you who served them with a warm smile. When you were gone to work for Mr. De Vil, they were even looking for you, missing the presence of a bright girl like you. Coming back to work at the shop brought utmost joy to the customers. They really missed you a lot.

“Oh, you are very welcome, sir! Enjoy!” You ran back to the kitchen afterwards to take care of other orders until your boss, Mr. McClean, frantically ran to you, shaking your shoulders like crazy.

“(F/N)!!! This is horrible!!! HORRIBLE!!!!!” He dramatically put his hand on his forehead, leaning back as if about to faint.

You merely chuckled at such exaggerated reactions from your boss. “What’s the matter this time, Mr. McClean?” you asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a smirk, knowing that whatever he was spazzing out about, it was nothing big.

He snapped back up and immediately replied, “We need…” With a gesture of his fingers, he added, “FLOUR!!! We’re running out again!”

You laughed and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, sir!” You saluted. “Right on it!” You were an all-around employee. Not only were you a waitress, but also a baker, a janitress, and an errand runner. Besides, there were not so many employees in the shop as you were only seven so all of you really had to do your best to run the whole place.

“Oh, (f/n), you are such a sweetheart!” he could not help but exclaim in bliss as he squished your cheeks with his big hands and later squeezed you in his buff arms. Your boss was a big guy and would appear intimidating if you did not know him at first but he was actually one of the sweetest people you met.

“AH--Oh--kay--sir!” You found it hard to breath and you felt like your bones could get crushed any minute now.

“Oh, oh, sorry, (f/n)!” He released you and chuckled nervously. “I got too carried away.”

“I can see that, sir.” You laughed.

“Boss, more of them comin’!” your co-worker called.

“Anyway, I’ll get going so we can make more bread. More bread, more customers!” you said as you ran out of the kitchen and to the back exit to ride your bicycle for your usual errands.

~~~~~~~~

You honked the bicycle horn as you rushed back to the bakery with the bags of flour in the basket. “Excuse me, comin’ through!” you would repeatedly cry out because it seemed like a speeding bike was not enough to make them stay out of the way.

Finally turning around the corner, you hit the brakes as soon as you arrived back to the exit, where you came from when you left the shop and got off your bike, hugging the bags of flour to your chest. You quickly turned the knob of the door and announced to the crew, “I’VE GOT THE-- flour….” Your enthusiasm diminished when you were met by an empty kitchen. “Hello?” you tried to call anyone but got no reply as you walked inside, shutting the door behind you. “Mr. McClean, I have the flour!” You left the bags of flour on the counter before going to the dining area only to see vacated seats. You scratched your head in wonder where the people had all gone to and that was when your eyes landed on the sign on the door. You trotted up to it and saw that the ‘CLOSED’ side was the one facing outside. You knitted your eyebrows, thinking whether you were in a dream or perhaps you entered the wrong shop. “Is it a holiday or something?” you asked yourself as you roamed around the bakery, trying to look for anyone as you were attempting to recall any special event, if there were any. “Am I missing something?” You raised a skeptical brow, rubbing your chin in thought. “I wasn’t aware that we’re only half day today.” You just shrugged smiled to yourself, thinking that the idea of having a serene environment was not really a bad thing. Instead of going home, you went back to the kitchen and set some of the tools down on the counter. You always wanted to try your new idea for an addition in the menu but you never had the time because working in the bakery always kept everyone busy, including you. “Surely, Mr.McClean won’t mind.” You folded the sleeves of your white pastry chef coat up to your elbows and began working. Midway, you tried to move a lock of your (h/c) hair to the side of your face with your arms because your hands were covered in flour. You succeeded in one try but another lock of your hair yet again fell to your face. You desperately blew it away in the hopes that it would get out of your eye view.

“Let me help you with that.” A hand tucked your hair behind your ear.

You sighed. “Oh, thank you so much for--” You gasped and turned, covering your mouth in shock to see the unexpected. You were too caught up in trying to bake that it was late when you came to the realization that someone else was there in the kitchen with you all of a sudden.

“Miss me, darling?” A man with black hair on one side and white on the other, wearing a white polo shirt under a black vest paired with a black tie that matched a familiar cream-colored fur coat had his usual smug expression, his arms wide open as if proudly presenting himself.

“Y-You--” you tried to speak but your tongue was yet again tied into a knot by his mere presence. You pointed a trembling finger at him, your mouth slightly agape in disbelief that he had finally shown himself to you after a very long time but then you shook your head. “Wow, am I that tired?” you muttered to yourself, looking down the floor and blinked your eyes a few times. You merely thought your eyes were seeing things and your brain was making up pictures so real that you could see them right in front of you. You heard his light footsteps and later, his black leather shoes came to your view that was now parallel to your (s/c) flat shoes. You slowly looked up from his black skinny pants to his black vest then to his tie but did not dare to avert your gaze to his face, looking away instead with resentment. The index finger and thumb of his red gloved hand gently held your chin as he slowly turned your face so you were now meeting his icy blue eyes, those same pair of precious gems that captivated you way back then that seemed to still have you enchanted. Your faces were just a few inches apart and you could feel his hot breath on your cheeks that appeared to had gotten against your will as they turned crimson.

“I’m back,” he said with his low voice, his smirk replaced with a warm smile. You still could not admit to yourself that who was right in front of you was none other… than Crue De Vil.

You pursed your lips, having conflicted feelings right at that moment. You wanted to slap him but then you also wanted to pull him into a tight hug. Not knowing which was more appropriate to do, you simply put your hand behind you and then swung your fist up, throwing some flour on Crue’s face.

He instinctively shut his eyes, keeping his mouth closed as the white powder got sprinkled to one side of his face. He leaned back and wiped them off his eyes then looked at you with a nonchalant expression. “Really, Ms. (f/n)?”

“What are you doing here,” you asked, still having a bitter look on your face, “sir?”

Sensing your acrimony, he decided to drop his usual cool guy facade and talk to you like a real man. He sighed. “Okay, look, I know you’re angry at me--”

“Angry!?” you repeated with your fists clenched to your side. “Oh, I’m not angry, alright.”

His face brightened. “You aren’t?”

You faked a sweet smile. “I am very... very ANGRY!” Your smile shifted into a scowl as you exclaimed the last word with much power and showered him with more flour so even his hair and shoulders were powdered.

He wiped flour off his eyes again and looked at you unamused. “Seriously? Can you please stop acting like a baby?” he told you, now with an irritated tone.

You scoffed. “Oh, me!? A baby!?” You put your hands on your chest with a faked shock look on your face. “Well, I wasn’t the one who pushed someone away like… like a--” You stopped once you could not find the right words. “Like how a baby would just throw away his old toys!” you finally blurted out with aggravated gestures of your hands and arms.

He rolled his eyes and then shook his head. “It wasn’t anything like that.”

You stopped yourself from throwing fits of anger at the moment and decided to hear him out but kept the stern look on your face.

“You were… uh…” Crue was not one to do such talk. Obviously. “You see--” He was struggling to let his words out of his mouth that it came to a point where he began rubbing his nape that made you tilt your head in wonder if you were seeing it right. He looked very embarrassed.

You bit your lips, choking back laughter. It was an absurd sight for you seeing Crue stutter, not to mention most areas of his face were covered in flour, making him look like he just slammed his face down a thick layer of foundation. You tried your best to maintain your serious expression. “What?” You demanded for him to continue as you put your hands on your waist, tapping your foot in feigned impatience.

He cleared his throat and then brought back his egotistical demeanor, looking away and putting his chest out with his chin up. “I just did what was right for you, Ms. (f/n). I rather know what is best for my employees.”

You raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. “You do?” You folded your arms, asking in a sarcastic manner, “Really?”

“Yes, Ms. (f/n),” he retorted and finally looked at you with a hand on his chest. “After all, I am Crue De Vil and I know what is best.” He then gave you that smug smile he always wore. It was like you were amusing him once more. But then again you could not really take him that seriously with all that flour covering most of his face. He looked like a clown with half-finished make-up.

A chuckle again attempted to escape from your lips but you immediately shut your mouth to retain the solemn atmosphere. “Er… so… why did you do that?” you finally asked with sincere curiosity and sadness altogether, furrowing your eyebrows as the horrible time you were so broken that he just wanted you to leave came rushing back in your mind.

Crue’s smug and proud look melted into sadness as well, remembering how you looked hurt all because of his own doing. How he wished he could bring back time to wipe those tears away from your eyes and just hug you tight. “You…” he spoke up. “Do not deserve to be with me. I just thought maybe by setting you free, you’ll be happy.”

You continued to look at him with sadness in your eyes as you listened to what now sounded like his sincerest words.

“I ruined your life. I made you… miserable and I just wanted you to start over and forget about everything that ever happened. I was being selfish I--” He stopped as soon as you took a step forward and smiled warmly at him, gently placing your palm on his cheek and grazed it with your thumb.

“I forgive you,” you said calmly. Even though he would never say it, knowing his personality and all, you already knew that that was his way of apologizing.

He returned your smile and held your hand that was on his cheek. “You do?” he asked in a low voice.

You nodded. “Yes,” you replied softly.

He leaned in, causing your cheeks to turn pinkish because of the closeness of your faces. That smirk of his that you had always secretly found charming did not help calming your palpitating heart either. But before you knew it, he smeared your face with flour, causing him to chuckle, seeing your face covered in it. Sweet revenge.

You scoffed. “Seriously, Mr. De Vil!?” You slapped your palms on the flour on the counter and threw powder at him.

His laughter was immediately halted when he coughed as he almost swallowed the flour you just threw at him. “You little--” He turned around and saw another bag of flour. He opened it and poured everything on you so you were not only the one blanketed in flour but the floor was already in a total mess as well.

Your mouth was agape in shock that he actually did that. “You’re wasting flour!” you exclaimed.

“You started it, missy.” There went his usual smirk again. He threw the empty flour bag behind him and put his hands on his waist as if challenging you to do a better job than he did.

“Alright, you asked for it, mister!” You chased each other around the kitchen, having your little flour war and laughed whenever anyone would get hit or even insult one another at how you looked nearly like walking snowmen.

You stopped when both of you ran out of ammo. Your bodies were already covered in flour. The kitchen did not look any better. Crue raised his arms in surrender. “Alright, I’m out. I’m out.” He patted the flour off his hair as he walked towards you.

You could not help but laugh. “You look terrible.”

“I see you are no different.”

What day is it? And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive

You pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped his face. He stopped and just looked into your (e/c) eyes that focused on dusting off his face. “Now, Mr. McClean won’t like it if he sees the kitchen like this,” you said while you cleaned his face. “I’ll have to clean up after you leave.” Getting no response from him but silence, you stopped and met his gaze that looked so sweet… it could have made you melt.

I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time

He gently placed his gloved hands on your cheeks. It was his turn to dust the powder off of you and as he did, his eyes would shift from each part of your face that his fingers patted. You just watched him and felt your cheeks get warm once more from his intimate gesture. His fingers then moved to your lips, removing the white powder. He felt their softness as he grazed his thumb, tracing your lips and his eyes remained pinned on them as they were the most alluring things he saw. He slowly leaned in and met your (e/c) eyes with his mesmerizing icy blue ones. He kept his hands cupped on your cheeks, lifting your face then finally tenderly pressed his lips on yours. You were surprised at first so your eyes remained wide open but not a moment later, your eyelids slowly closed, kissing him back with the same amount of tenderness. “Finally,” Crue said in the middle of his kisses. “I get to touch your lips.” He slid one hand down to the small of your back, pulling your body closer to his as you kissed, then put his other hand behind your head, entangling his fingers in your hair. You, in return, wrapped your arms around his neck.

'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you

Your cheeks burned in a fiery red blush as your kiss deepened. Your hearts raced, making it difficult for you to breathe and gasp for breaths but almost immediately go back to locking your lips. That was the moment both of you had been waiting for a long time… to have a lingering passionate kiss. No distractions, no crowds interrupting, no dogs barking, just you and the man you dearly loved. Finally, you had your decent kiss.

All of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right
I'm tripping on words
You got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here

Crue pulled away a bit but remained a close distance, looking straight into your eyes. “I know you promised something months ago. I want you to break it and say it to me one more time. I want to hear it from you again.”

You were confused at first at what he was referring to. Slowly putting your arms down, you asked, “What promise?”

He chuckled. “Seriously, (f/n)? Eight months just passed and you already forgot?” That was the first time he ever referred to you with your first name without adding the ‘miss’ which shocked you a bit but it sounded so sweet when he said it.

You thought hard about what he was talking about but nothing really came to you. “I really don’t know what you’re saying,” you replied and looked down with a slight pout, disappointed and embarrassed that you did not remember.

“Then let me remind you.” He moved closer to your ear and whispered, “I promise… I won’t tell….”

You gasped and leaned back a little, blushing even harder in embarrassment. “You--!!!” No, not that one. It was impossible for him to know about that.

“Yes, darling. I heard everything. Why do you think my head ended up on your shoulder that day, to hug a teddy bear?” He smirked teasingly. “Please, I don’t even keep one of those things.”

“So you weren’t drunk!?” You covered your mouth with your hand in utter surprise.

He looked away as if thinking about it. “I was,” he said and then looked back at you, “but not much.” He simpered, loving the embarrassed look on your face that he had always secretly found adorable.

“You…” You pointed a shaky finger at him, even more shocked to find out a possible truth. “Weren’t asleep!?”

“I was… but not entirely. You’ve got to admit I’m a very good actor, yes?” he said, wiggling his eyebrows teasingly. “Just say it. It’s not that hard, right? If you were able to do it when I was asleep, why not now when I’m awake?”

“Mmmmmm!!! I--!!!” You winced as you were very hesitant to say it again especially that you were so embarrassed you could just bury yourself, knowing that he had tricked you again even on that very night of your confession. “I--”

He traced the side of your face and held your chin with his thumb and index finger, lifting your face before leaning in to give your lips a soft peck. He pulled away and pressed his forehead on yours, smiling charmingly at you. “Perhaps that will refresh your memory.”

That was one short sweet kiss that left you hanging for a while before coming back to your senses to say, “Er… Mr. De Vil… I--”

“Please, stop being so formal now.”

“C-Crue--” you said with a bit of reluctance to call him by his first name but it was not like it was your first time to do that. It just seemed kind of awkward after getting used to ‘Mr. De Vil’ for quite a long time. “No, I can’t do this...” you trailed off.

He gave you another kiss that started as a peck but then his lips lingered on yours, turning it into another passionate kiss. He tilted his head the other way, savoring each moment of locking his lips on yours. He then pulled away again. “Just three words, (f/n). Not that hard, right?” He caressed your cheek with the back of his hand.

His touch sent chills down your spine and shivers all over your body. “Well…” you finally uttered and bit your lips for a moment. “If it’s not that hard… then why don’t you say it?” You smiled to yourself, knowing you just completely turned the tables.

His eyes widened, obviously surprised that you shot it back at him. “Well, I just--”

You raised a mocking eyebrow at him as you leaned in to tease him more that he was no different than you.

Letting out his breath that he had apparently been holding since you asked him, he waved it all off and said in a seemingly impatient manner, “Can we just kiss?” Before you even had the time to respond, he quickly cupped his hands on your cheeks and began trailing kisses, starting on your mouth then to your cheeks, nose and forehead, making sure no part of your face was left untouched by his lips, which made you giggle a bit as there were times when you felt ticklish.

“Wait, wait, wait,” you tried to let out the words as he kept on pressing his lips on yours. “Where… are the others?” You were quite sure he had something to do with your co-workers’ and customers’ sudden disappearance. Besides, that was not the first time something like that happened.

He pulled away a bit to answer your question. Right. How could he explain that again? He had an impish smile as he put his index finger on your mouth. “Hush, my beloved,” he said just above a whisper with his suave voice. “They just went out for lunch.”

'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you

Description

This is the last part for this fan fic. If you're a new reader, the links for the previous parts are in the description below

Cruella De Vil = Crue De Vil

other characters mentioned in this are all created by me except for reader-chan, of course c:

the dalmatians are out of the picture so please do not expect this to be from the movies I chose a different time for this story ^_^ Enjoy!

----

How fast time flew, you realized as you were already on your fifth month of working for Mr. De Vil. You thought everything would stay the way as they were but you were dreadfully wrong. Since your third month of work, Mr. De Vil had been acting strange towards you. You would never see him smirk nor hear him chuckle whenever you thought you amused him but then it came to you, was that not a great thing? Though something was bothering you so much as he also seemed to be ignoring you and you would merely get a nonchalant expression from him. ‘Was he sick all those months?’ you wondered. You shook your head. ‘No… am I sick? I should be happy I’m not his clown anymore!’

In the middle of the day, you were still busy helping your co-workers arrange the newly delivered products. Unexpectedly, you saw Mr. Jonathan and he was looking for you. You had never felt so happy to see Jonathan, sudden excitement filled your heart for he rarely came and you knew exactly the reason why he would come down to the basement. You trotted up to him and greeted him with much enthusiasm, “Good day, Mr. Jonathan!”

“Good day, Ms. (l/n),” he replied with a bow. “Mr. De Vil is looking for you.”

“Great!” you exclaimed joyfully without even thinking but immediately corrected yourself and said your usual reply in a more composed manner, “I mean, I’ll be right there.”

~~~~~~~~

Arriving to Mr De Vil’s office door, you knocked and then opened it, poking your head in. “May I come in, sir?” you politely asked.

Already recognizing your voice, he just gestured with his red gloved hand for you to come in without turning around, seated on his red office chair, facing the glass window that overlooked almost the whole city of London.

You immediately entered and gently closed the door upon seeing his gesture. You walked towards the desk, honestly not knowing whether you should be so ecstatic that you get to see him again, let alone the fact that he called for you, or nervous that the atmosphere was dead serious. You only saw the back of his office chair and his hand that held his red cigarette holder. Smoke seemed to come from his side, indicating that he just puffed them out before finally spinning the chair around so he was already facing you. The look on his face was stern and if his glare could only kill, you would have been lying on the floor dead by now.

“Ms. (f/n).” His sudden drawl caused you to flinch, startling you from your anxious thoughts.

“Yes, sir?” you answered with a bit of reluctance. He appeared different at that moment and you were panicking deep inside, regretting that you ever answered.

He stood up from his seat, landing his fingertips on a small piece of paper and slid it across the table until it was in the middle of his fingers then he strode to you, keeping his composed expression. He stopped right in front of you so you could smell the nauseating smoke from his cigarette.

You just stared at his icy blue eyes that seemed to grow darker as every second passed. The feeling of fright overcame you and thought if you were in trouble. You did not like it whenever he looked at you like that.

With a sudden flick of his index finger and middle finger, you jerked a bit, shutting your eyes in fright. When you slowly opened your eyes, you found yourself staring cross-eyed at the small paper that was now right in front of your face. “Take it.”

You looked back at Mr. De Vil as soon as he gave out his command then back at the paper, slowly taking it with your trembling hands. Once it was out of his fingers, he turned around and paced back to his chair. Your eyes widened at what was written on it, not mention what the paper actually was. It was a paycheck worth two years of work for you. You gasped and gave Mr. De Vil a bewildered look but he remained facing the glass window as if refusing to look at you. You nervously chuckled and thought maybe he was pulling a prank on you. “S-Sir... what is this?”

He inhaled a bit of smoke and then exhaled it after a few good seconds. “Your paycheck. What else do you think it is?” he answered nonchalantly.

“I-I don’t understand…” Your eyebrows furrowed in utter puzzlement. “This is too much.”

“Enough for you to start over.” He put his cigarette in his mouth once more.

“Start… over?”

He finally turned around to face you and let out smoke from his mouth before saying, “Leave.”

You dropped the paycheck, stupefied right on the spot, leaving your mouth slightly agape. “W-What…?” you said just above a whisper in disbelief.

He took a few long steps while he said, “Forget about your debt. Forget that you even worked here.” He strode towards you and leaned in, whispering in your ear, “You’re... fired.”

You moved away from him, anger and sadness stirring inside you as your eyes got watery and soon, tears would fall. You bent down and picked up the paycheck, ripping it apart in front of him. “I don’t need your money. You--!” You clenched your fists, wanting to land a few punches on his face. “You’re such a terrible--” you shouted at him, tears started to fall down your face, “person!!!” You could no longer stay in his presence so you ran out of the room, and it was not only the paycheck that was torn apart, but your heart.

“Sir.” Jonathan entered De Vil’s office as soon as you left. “Was that really necessary?” he asked with his usual calm demeanor.

As if holding back his own tears, Crue let out a shaky breath instead of letting them fall, his eyes still locked on the open door. “It is... for the best.”

His unfazed expression was still stuck in your head when you ripped the paycheck in front of him. It was as if he did not care even a bit what you did and his main concern was for you to get out of his life. But was that not what you wanted all along? You wanted so badly to be free of your debt and that was why you worked for him in the first place. Unexpectedly, you learned to like him and you wanted to stay by his side. But if that was what he wanted then you should just stay away no matter how difficult and painful it was for you. You tried hard to stop your tears from falling because you did not want anyone to see you so haggard as you packed your things. Your co-workers could not help but wonder why you were leaving all of a sudden. You just faked a smile and told them that opportunities awaited you elsewhere.

~~~~~~~~

As the cab arrived to your home, you ran to meet your father, who was just outside, sweeping the front yard, and pulled him into a hug, squeezing him so tight. You could no longer hold the tears back so you let them freely stream down your face. Your father rubbed your back gently and helped you with your things.

The tears would not stop falling down your cheeks and you found it useless to hold them back anyway. Your father gave you a very worried look as he had never seen you so heart broken before. “What is wrong, (f/n)?” he asked you. “Who dare made my daughter cry, hm?” He placed his palms on your cheeks, wiping your tears with his thumb.

“Father…” You spoke in the midst of your sobs, gasping from time to time. “I--What… What did I do wrong!?” You continued to cry, not ashamed to let your father see how agonized you were.

Your father drew you closer for an embrace and patted your back. “There, there….”

“H-He wanted me to l-leave…” you added.

“Who?” Your father pulled away to look at you in the eyes. “Mr. De Vil?”

Even the very mention of his name crumbled your world and thought how cruel life was to you. Tears just gushed down your face even more. Your father might have done foolish things in his life but he was definitely not brainless to not see that you had already had feelings for Mr. De Vil. Saying no more, he just brought you back into his arms and held you in a warm embrace. You sniffled and recalled Crue’s past attitude towards you. It came to your realization that you were really just being toyed. You never should have given him a space in your heart. That was it. You were determined to do what he said, forget about your debt, forget that you worked there and as an addition to that, forget him.

~~~~~~~~

You returned to your job at the bakery and good thing Mr. McClean welcomed you back with open arms. You did your best to move on and focus on baking like how your life used to be before Crue entered your life. A few months passed, you still hung out with Frank sometimes like you used to and he remained a very good friend to you. You two were so close that some of the people at your workplace even thought he was your boyfriend but you would always say he was not. Unbeknownst to you, Frank actually liked you and it hurt him that after months of trying to win your heart, he still stood no chance against Crue even though you would repeatedly claim that Crue was no one but a passing thought, a stranger who you just happened to bump into and nothing more. To be honest, every time a customer with a fur coat entered the shop, you would always feel your heart jump for a second and then shatter in disappointment that they were not who you expected. There was finally one time Frank asked you if you would ever change the way looked at him, you just apologized. When he asked why, you would only respond with silence. It was all he ever needed to know.

~~~~~~~~

“Yes, yes, yes, I KNOW!” Crue argued with an employee over the phone. “NO! I specifically told you to pick up the fur--” A knock interrupted their conversation. “WHAT!?” He blurted out in annoyance as he whipped his head to the door and saw Jonathan.

“Someone came to see you, sir,” Jonathan calmly said, unfazed by his boss’ loss of temper.

“Ugh!” Crue rolled his eyes. “Whoever it is, tell them I’m busy.” He waved airily at Jonathan before going back to his phone conversation, spinning his office chair around so he would not get any more distracted. “You, buffoon! Can’t you make anything right!?”

“I insist that we have a talk, Mr. De Vil,” someone else cut in.

“Oh, blast it!” Crue hung up and turned around to face the bothersome visitor. “What!?” His angered look melted into a surprised one, his eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, as soon as he saw who it was. “You….” He stood up from his seat, glaring at his visitor. “I don’t remember having any appointments with you, Mr. Daniels.” He mentioned his name with a piqued tone.

Frank maintained his composure and bowed as his greeting. “We won’t be needing any appointments to discuss this matter.”

Crue clicked his tongue and averted his gaze to his assistant. “Jonathan!” He snapped. “Get him out of my office at once! I specifically told you to never let anybody in without any appointments!”

“Please, Mr. De Vil,” Frank tried as hard as he could to remain calm. “We need to have a talk.”

“About what!?”

“More like who.”

“Drat! Stop playing games with me and just get straight to your--”

“(f/n).”

Crue stopped at the mention of your name, all of a sudden felt like dissolving into thin air that you were brought up again after months of not hearing nor seeing you. He slowly sunk back to his chair, clenching his jaw in thought whether he should give Frank a chance to talk. “Fine.” He said, “What is it? An invitation to your wedding? I don’t have all day so just give it to Jonathan and he’ll handle the rest.”

“Do you love her?” Frank asked straight away.

“Excuse me?” Crue knitted his brows, unsure if he heard him right.

“Do you--” Frank repeated with a more determined look on his face. “Love her?”

Crue simply scoffed, giving Frank a raise of his eyebrow. “What is it to you?”

“How much longer are you going to keep this up?” Frank asked with a pleading gesture of his hands. “Until--when--Mr. De Vil?”

“I’ve already told you, Mr. Daniels, that I do not have all day, let alone listen to all your nonsensical blabber,” he nonchalantly said.

Frank scoffed and turned to Jonathan. “Are you kidding me? Sir Jonathan, is your boss stupid or something!?”

Jonathan was surprised that he was asked on the spot but what was more surprising was his answer. “I do believe so… sir.” His tone had a hint of reluctance but he was definitely sure of his answer. Just not sure whether he should have said it.

“Excuse me!?” Crue stood up, giving Jonathan his deathly glares.

“I--I apologize, sir, but I must agree to what Mr. Daniels just said.”

“Oh, I see,” Crue drawled. He pressed his cigarette on the ashtray and put his cigarette holder on his desk as he stood up, lowly chuckling. He strode to Frank’s side. “How… interesting--” With a whisk of his fist, he grabbed Frank by the collar, roughly tugging it. “Nobody calls Crue De Vil stupid, you understand?” he said with gnashing teeth.

Frank only managed to chuckle in ridicule. “Fine. Does imbecile cover it?”

It only stirred up the anger inside Crue, balling his free hand into a fist as he got ready to land a hard punch on Frank’s face when he was grabbed by the wrist.

“Sir…” Jonathan stopped him. “Please….”

Crue looked at his solemn expression then back at Frank. Though he slowly put him down, the animosity in his eyes did not falter.

Frank straightened the creases on his suit and folded his collar nicely. “Prove it that you aren’t anything I mentioned.” Frank smirked as he looked down. He then shook his head, seemingly in disappointment. “I pity you for being blind not to see what you had. She loves you.” He returned his gaze at Crue with a wistful look in his eyes but later shifted to a glare. Bringing back his composure, he said, “Just letting you know in case you aren’t aware.”

Crue just gritted his teeth and pointed to the door. “Out.”

Frank did as what he was told and walked to the door but before leaving, he said, “You once said that she’s your darling. Make me believe it again… before I change my mind.” He left, shutting the door behind him.

Crue went around his desk and sat back on his chair. He sighed and ran his hand through his black and white hair, now clutching it, wanting to pull them all out in frustration. He let go with a grunt and slammed his hands on his desk. “She’s a fool not to forget me.”

“I guess that makes the two of you, sir,” Jonathan remarked.

“Since when did you learn to talk back to me, old man?” Crue narrowed his eyes at Jonathan who just smiled as if holding back his laughter.

“Sir, I think it’s time you give up this game.” Jonathan held his hands together behind him. “Besides, it’s not everyday that you meet a ‘Ms. (l/n)’.”

~~~~~~~~~

“Here you are, sir,” you happily served a regular customer his favorite order, a bread bowl with chicken and mushroom soup. You saw him smile widely and clap like a baby as soon as you put his plate on the table.

“As always, thank you, (f/n)!” he gladly exclaimed. After all the years you had been working at the bakery, most of the customers already knew your name. They just loved the good, enthusiastic you who served them with a warm smile. When you were gone to work for Mr. De Vil, they were even looking for you, missing the presence of a bright girl like you. Coming back to work at the shop brought utmost joy to the customers. They really missed you a lot.

“Oh, you are very welcome, sir! Enjoy!” You ran back to the kitchen afterwards to take care of other orders until your boss, Mr. McClean, frantically ran to you, shaking your shoulders like crazy.

“(F/N)!!! This is horrible!!! HORRIBLE!!!!!” He dramatically put his hand on his forehead, leaning back as if about to faint.

You merely chuckled at such exaggerated reactions from your boss. “What’s the matter this time, Mr. McClean?” you asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a smirk, knowing that whatever he was spazzing out about, it was nothing big.

He snapped back up and immediately replied, “We need…” With a gesture of his fingers, he added, “FLOUR!!! We’re running out again!”

You laughed and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, sir!” You saluted. “Right on it!” You were an all-around employee. Not only were you a waitress, but also a baker, a janitress, and an errand runner. Besides, there were not so many employees in the shop as you were only seven so all of you really had to do your best to run the whole place.

“Oh, (f/n), you are such a sweetheart!” he could not help but exclaim in bliss as he squished your cheeks with his big hands and later squeezed you in his buff arms. Your boss was a big guy and would appear intimidating if you did not know him at first but he was actually one of the sweetest people you met.

“AH--Oh--kay--sir!” You found it hard to breath and you felt like your bones could get crushed any minute now.

“Oh, oh, sorry, (f/n)!” He released you and chuckled nervously. “I got too carried away.”

“I can see that, sir.” You laughed.

“Boss, more of them comin’!” your co-worker called.

“Anyway, I’ll get going so we can make more bread. More bread, more customers!” you said as you ran out of the kitchen and to the back exit to ride your bicycle for your usual errands.

~~~~~~~~

You honked the bicycle horn as you rushed back to the bakery with the bags of flour in the basket. “Excuse me, comin’ through!” you would repeatedly cry out because it seemed like a speeding bike was not enough to make them stay out of the way.

Finally turning around the corner, you hit the brakes as soon as you arrived back to the exit, where you came from when you left the shop and got off your bike, hugging the bags of flour to your chest. You quickly turned the knob of the door and announced to the crew, “I’VE GOT THE-- flour….” Your enthusiasm diminished when you were met by an empty kitchen. “Hello?” you tried to call anyone but got no reply as you walked inside, shutting the door behind you. “Mr. McClean, I have the flour!” You left the bags of flour on the counter before going to the dining area only to see vacated seats. You scratched your head in wonder where the people had all gone to and that was when your eyes landed on the sign on the door. You trotted up to it and saw that the ‘CLOSED’ side was the one facing outside. You knitted your eyebrows, thinking whether you were in a dream or perhaps you entered the wrong shop. “Is it a holiday or something?” you asked yourself as you roamed around the bakery, trying to look for anyone as you were attempting to recall any special event, if there were any. “Am I missing something?” You raised a skeptical brow, rubbing your chin in thought. “I wasn’t aware that we’re only half day today.” You just shrugged smiled to yourself, thinking that the idea of having a serene environment was not really a bad thing. Instead of going home, you went back to the kitchen and set some of the tools down on the counter. You always wanted to try your new idea for an addition in the menu but you never had the time because working in the bakery always kept everyone busy, including you. “Surely, Mr.McClean won’t mind.” You folded the sleeves of your white pastry chef coat up to your elbows and began working. Midway, you tried to move a lock of your (h/c) hair to the side of your face with your arms because your hands were covered in flour. You succeeded in one try but another lock of your hair yet again fell to your face. You desperately blew it away in the hopes that it would get out of your eye view.

“Let me help you with that.” A hand tucked your hair behind your ear.

You sighed. “Oh, thank you so much for--” You gasped and turned, covering your mouth in shock to see the unexpected. You were too caught up in trying to bake that it was late when you came to the realization that someone else was there in the kitchen with you all of a sudden.

“Miss me, darling?” A man with black hair on one side and white on the other, wearing a white polo shirt under a black vest paired with a black tie that matched a familiar cream-colored fur coat had his usual smug expression, his arms wide open as if proudly presenting himself.

“Y-You--” you tried to speak but your tongue was yet again tied into a knot by his mere presence. You pointed a trembling finger at him, your mouth slightly agape in disbelief that he had finally shown himself to you after a very long time but then you shook your head. “Wow, am I that tired?” you muttered to yourself, looking down the floor and blinked your eyes a few times. You merely thought your eyes were seeing things and your brain was making up pictures so real that you could see them right in front of you. You heard his light footsteps and later, his black leather shoes came to your view that was now parallel to your (s/c) flat shoes. You slowly looked up from his black skinny pants to his black vest then to his tie but did not dare to avert your gaze to his face, looking away instead with resentment. The index finger and thumb of his red gloved hand gently held your chin as he slowly turned your face so you were now meeting his icy blue eyes, those same pair of precious gems that captivated you way back then that seemed to still have you enchanted. Your faces were just a few inches apart and you could feel his hot breath on your cheeks that appeared to had gotten against your will as they turned crimson.

“I’m back,” he said with his low voice, his smirk replaced with a warm smile. You still could not admit to yourself that who was right in front of you was none other… than Crue De Vil.

You pursed your lips, having conflicted feelings right at that moment. You wanted to slap him but then you also wanted to pull him into a tight hug. Not knowing which was more appropriate to do, you simply put your hand behind you and then swung your fist up, throwing some flour on Crue’s face.

He instinctively shut his eyes, keeping his mouth closed as the white powder got sprinkled to one side of his face. He leaned back and wiped them off his eyes then looked at you with a nonchalant expression. “Really, Ms. (f/n)?”

“What are you doing here,” you asked, still having a bitter look on your face, “sir?”

Sensing your acrimony, he decided to drop his usual cool guy facade and talk to you like a real man. He sighed. “Okay, look, I know you’re angry at me--”

“Angry!?” you repeated with your fists clenched to your side. “Oh, I’m not angry, alright.”

His face brightened. “You aren’t?”

You faked a sweet smile. “I am very... very ANGRY!” Your smile shifted into a scowl as you exclaimed the last word with much power and showered him with more flour so even his hair and shoulders were powdered.

He wiped flour off his eyes again and looked at you unamused. “Seriously? Can you please stop acting like a baby?” he told you, now with an irritated tone.

You scoffed. “Oh, me!? A baby!?” You put your hands on your chest with a faked shock look on your face. “Well, I wasn’t the one who pushed someone away like… like a--” You stopped once you could not find the right words. “Like how a baby would just throw away his old toys!” you finally blurted out with aggravated gestures of your hands and arms.

He rolled his eyes and then shook his head. “It wasn’t anything like that.”

You stopped yourself from throwing fits of anger at the moment and decided to hear him out but kept the stern look on your face.

“You were… uh…” Crue was not one to do such talk. Obviously. “You see--” He was struggling to let his words out of his mouth that it came to a point where he began rubbing his nape that made you tilt your head in wonder if you were seeing it right. He looked very embarrassed.

You bit your lips, choking back laughter. It was an absurd sight for you seeing Crue stutter, not to mention most areas of his face were covered in flour, making him look like he just slammed his face down a thick layer of foundation. You tried your best to maintain your serious expression. “What?” You demanded for him to continue as you put your hands on your waist, tapping your foot in feigned impatience.

He cleared his throat and then brought back his egotistical demeanor, looking away and putting his chest out with his chin up. “I just did what was right for you, Ms. (f/n). I rather know what is best for my employees.”

You raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. “You do?” You folded your arms, asking in a sarcastic manner, “Really?”

“Yes, Ms. (f/n),” he retorted and finally looked at you with a hand on his chest. “After all, I am Crue De Vil and I know what is best.” He then gave you that smug smile he always wore. It was like you were amusing him once more. But then again you could not really take him that seriously with all that flour covering most of his face. He looked like a clown with half-finished make-up.

A chuckle again attempted to escape from your lips but you immediately shut your mouth to retain the solemn atmosphere. “Er… so… why did you do that?” you finally asked with sincere curiosity and sadness altogether, furrowing your eyebrows as the horrible time you were so broken that he just wanted you to leave came rushing back in your mind.

Crue’s smug and proud look melted into sadness as well, remembering how you looked hurt all because of his own doing. How he wished he could bring back time to wipe those tears away from your eyes and just hug you tight. “You…” he spoke up. “Do not deserve to be with me. I just thought maybe by setting you free, you’ll be happy.”

You continued to look at him with sadness in your eyes as you listened to what now sounded like his sincerest words.

“I ruined your life. I made you… miserable and I just wanted you to start over and forget about everything that ever happened. I was being selfish I--” He stopped as soon as you took a step forward and smiled warmly at him, gently placing your palm on his cheek and grazed it with your thumb.

“I forgive you,” you said calmly. Even though he would never say it, knowing his personality and all, you already knew that that was his way of apologizing.

He returned your smile and held your hand that was on his cheek. “You do?” he asked in a low voice.

You nodded. “Yes,” you replied softly.

He leaned in, causing your cheeks to turn pinkish because of the closeness of your faces. That smirk of his that you had always secretly found charming did not help calming your palpitating heart either. But before you knew it, he smeared your face with flour, causing him to chuckle, seeing your face covered in it. Sweet revenge.

You scoffed. “Seriously, Mr. De Vil!?” You slapped your palms on the flour on the counter and threw powder at him.

His laughter was immediately halted when he coughed as he almost swallowed the flour you just threw at him. “You little--” He turned around and saw another bag of flour. He opened it and poured everything on you so you were not only the one blanketed in flour but the floor was already in a total mess as well.

Your mouth was agape in shock that he actually did that. “You’re wasting flour!” you exclaimed.

“You started it, missy.” There went his usual smirk again. He threw the empty flour bag behind him and put his hands on his waist as if challenging you to do a better job than he did.

“Alright, you asked for it, mister!” You chased each other around the kitchen, having your little flour war and laughed whenever anyone would get hit or even insult one another at how you looked nearly like walking snowmen.

You stopped when both of you ran out of ammo. Your bodies were already covered in flour. The kitchen did not look any better. Crue raised his arms in surrender. “Alright, I’m out. I’m out.” He patted the flour off his hair as he walked towards you.

You could not help but laugh. “You look terrible.”

“I see you are no different.”

What day is it? And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive

You pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped his face. He stopped and just looked into your (e/c) eyes that focused on dusting off his face. “Now, Mr. McClean won’t like it if he sees the kitchen like this,” you said while you cleaned his face. “I’ll have to clean up after you leave.” Getting no response from him but silence, you stopped and met his gaze that looked so sweet… it could have made you melt.

I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time

He gently placed his gloved hands on your cheeks. It was his turn to dust the powder off of you and as he did, his eyes would shift from each part of your face that his fingers patted. You just watched him and felt your cheeks get warm once more from his intimate gesture. His fingers then moved to your lips, removing the white powder. He felt their softness as he grazed his thumb, tracing your lips and his eyes remained pinned on them as they were the most alluring things he saw. He slowly leaned in and met your (e/c) eyes with his mesmerizing icy blue ones. He kept his hands cupped on your cheeks, lifting your face then finally tenderly pressed his lips on yours. You were surprised at first so your eyes remained wide open but not a moment later, your eyelids slowly closed, kissing him back with the same amount of tenderness. “Finally,” Crue said in the middle of his kisses. “I get to touch your lips.” He slid one hand down to the small of your back, pulling your body closer to his as you kissed, then put his other hand behind your head, entangling his fingers in your hair. You, in return, wrapped your arms around his neck.

'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you

Your cheeks burned in a fiery red blush as your kiss deepened. Your hearts raced, making it difficult for you to breathe and gasp for breaths but almost immediately go back to locking your lips. That was the moment both of you had been waiting for a long time… to have a lingering passionate kiss. No distractions, no crowds interrupting, no dogs barking, just you and the man you dearly loved. Finally, you had your decent kiss.

All of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right
I'm tripping on words
You got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here

Crue pulled away a bit but remained a close distance, looking straight into your eyes. “I know you promised something months ago. I want you to break it and say it to me one more time. I want to hear it from you again.”

You were confused at first at what he was referring to. Slowly putting your arms down, you asked, “What promise?”

He chuckled. “Seriously, (f/n)? Eight months just passed and you already forgot?” That was the first time he ever referred to you with your first name without adding the ‘miss’ which shocked you a bit but it sounded so sweet when he said it.

You thought hard about what he was talking about but nothing really came to you. “I really don’t know what you’re saying,” you replied and looked down with a slight pout, disappointed and embarrassed that you did not remember.

“Then let me remind you.” He moved closer to your ear and whispered, “I promise… I won’t tell….”

You gasped and leaned back a little, blushing even harder in embarrassment. “You--!!!” No, not that one. It was impossible for him to know about that.

“Yes, darling. I heard everything. Why do you think my head ended up on your shoulder that day, to hug a teddy bear?” He smirked teasingly. “Please, I don’t even keep one of those things.”

“So you weren’t drunk!?” You covered your mouth with your hand in utter surprise.

He looked away as if thinking about it. “I was,” he said and then looked back at you, “but not much.” He simpered, loving the embarrassed look on your face that he had always secretly found adorable.

“You…” You pointed a shaky finger at him, even more shocked to find out a possible truth. “Weren’t asleep!?”

“I was… but not entirely. You’ve got to admit I’m a very good actor, yes?” he said, wiggling his eyebrows teasingly. “Just say it. It’s not that hard, right? If you were able to do it when I was asleep, why not now when I’m awake?”

“Mmmmmm!!! I--!!!” You winced as you were very hesitant to say it again especially that you were so embarrassed you could just bury yourself, knowing that he had tricked you again even on that very night of your confession. “I--”

He traced the side of your face and held your chin with his thumb and index finger, lifting your face before leaning in to give your lips a soft peck. He pulled away and pressed his forehead on yours, smiling charmingly at you. “Perhaps that will refresh your memory.”

That was one short sweet kiss that left you hanging for a while before coming back to your senses to say, “Er… Mr. De Vil… I--”

“Please, stop being so formal now.”

“C-Crue--” you said with a bit of reluctance to call him by his first name but it was not like it was your first time to do that. It just seemed kind of awkward after getting used to ‘Mr. De Vil’ for quite a long time. “No, I can’t do this...” you trailed off.

He gave you another kiss that started as a peck but then his lips lingered on yours, turning it into another passionate kiss. He tilted his head the other way, savoring each moment of locking his lips on yours. He then pulled away again. “Just three words, (f/n). Not that hard, right?” He caressed your cheek with the back of his hand.

His touch sent chills down your spine and shivers all over your body. “Well…” you finally uttered and bit your lips for a moment. “If it’s not that hard… then why don’t you say it?” You smiled to yourself, knowing you just completely turned the tables.

His eyes widened, obviously surprised that you shot it back at him. “Well, I just--”

You raised a mocking eyebrow at him as you leaned in to tease him more that he was no different than you.

Letting out his breath that he had apparently been holding since you asked him, he waved it all off and said in a seemingly impatient manner, “Can we just kiss?” Before you even had the time to respond, he quickly cupped his hands on your cheeks and began trailing kisses, starting on your mouth then to your cheeks, nose and forehead, making sure no part of your face was left untouched by his lips, which made you giggle a bit as there were times when you felt ticklish.

“Wait, wait, wait,” you tried to let out the words as he kept on pressing his lips on yours. “Where… are the others?” You were quite sure he had something to do with your co-workers’ and customers’ sudden disappearance. Besides, that was not the first time something like that happened.

He pulled away a bit to answer your question. Right. How could he explain that again? He had an impish smile as he put his index finger on your mouth. “Hush, my beloved,” he said just above a whisper with his suave voice. “They just went out for lunch.”

'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you