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rainisawriter · 6 months

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A Helping Hand – Cobra (PSF #11)

PSF Ficography | H&F Flash Ficography

Genre: Fluff, slice of life, romance

Prompt: Sweet Tooth (@flufftober) / Would you rather… pumpkin spice or cinnamon? (@slumberpartybingo Fall Flash)

Word Count: 2,729

Pairing: Reader x Cobra

World: High&Low

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You entered the diner, enjoying the warmth it offered against the cold wind outside. The usual suspects were chilling at the table in the center of the room, eating the omelet that Naomi had made them while they argued about some TV show the three of them were watching.

You approached the booth in the corner where Cobra sat, flipping through a wrestling magazine. He sent you that soft smile that was reserved only for you as you sat down across from him.

“You’re late,” he spoke softly, eyes falling to the ring on your finger. He had given it to you for your birthday as a promise that he would always love you. Though you had sworn to never take it off, he still felt surprised and happy every time he saw it on you.

“Sorry. You know how Hyuga is,” you shook your head, tugging off your jacket. “A lot of people are gambling around this time of year, trying to win big before December finally gets here. It’s only going to get busier and he’s only going to get more demanding.”

Cobra did not like the fact that you worked for Daruma’s gambling hall, but you had known Hyuga long before you ever crossed paths with Sannoh. He had considered, on more than one occasion, asking you to quit working for him but he knew that you were, above all else, loyal.

“You don’t need to apologize.” He held his hand out and you smiled, setting yours against his own. “Just promise me you won’t gamble again.”

Your smile turned sheepish, a laugh passing your lips. You had only gambled once in your life after you had gone drinking with the Daruma babies one weekend. You were on a hot streak, actually, but you refused to quit while you were ahead and ended up losing everything.

You had started out with twenty bucks, turned it into ten thousand only to lose it all and walk away with just twenty cents to your name. The Four boys hadn’t done much better, either, and Hyuga was pissed when he found out. You were pretty sure he was just upset that you hadn’t blown it all at his gambling hall instead, honestly.

“I learned my lesson, I swear. I’ll never gamble again.”

He chuckled, nodding his head. “Good.”

It was pretty late by this point, so the boys slowly filed out of the diner until it was just you, Cobra and Naomi left. It was strange when the diner was quiet, but you didn’t hate it. Everyone needed a break from the rowdy Sannoh boys every now and again.

“Are you kidding me?” cried Naomi, sounding distressed.

You glanced over at her, seeing her begin to pace back and forth as she talked to someone on the phone.

“There must be some way… can’t you reschedule? Ah, no, I… yes, I understand… I’m sorry about that, but…” She pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly frustrated but trying to remain polite. “Yes… yes, I understand, Nakamoto-san. Good night.”

You exchanged a concerned look with your boyfriend before addressing her. “Everything alright, Nao?”

“No, not at all.” She ran a hand through her hair, continuing to pace.

Cobra leaned forward, brow furrowed in concern. “What is it?”

“You remember how I was asked to help provide snacks for the elementary school’s autumn festival, right?”

He nodded.

“The job was supposed to be split between me and Nakamoto-san, the head of the PTA but she just told me that something came up and she can’t help. There’s no way I can do it by myself! What am I going to do?”

You frowned, standing up to comfort her. “It’s alright, Nao. I’ll help.”

“You will?” She looked at you hopefully. “Are you sure? I know you’re really busy with Daruma…”

“Don’t worry, Hyuga owes me some vacation time anyway,” you grinned.

“Are you sure he’ll give it to you?”

“Nothing is ever a sure thing with him, but I’ll find a way to get out of work.” You gave her a reassuring look. “I’m not very experienced with baking, but I know how to follow a recipe. If you write down everything I need and how to make them, I’ll happily help.”

“Thank you so much!” She threw her arms around you, hugging you tightly which you returned without hesitation.

Cobra felt butterflies in his stomach as he watched you. You were willing to blow off your responsibilities with Hyuga to help Naomi, to help a member of his family. The amount of happiness that brought him was, quite frankly, embarrassing.

“I’ll help, too.”

Naomi looked between the two of you with glassy eyes. “Thank you both so much! I’ll get to work on the lists and recipes.” And then she disappeared into the back.

Cobra approached you with a warm smile, wrapping his arms around you. “Thank you for helping her. Let me know if Hyuga gives you a hard time.”

“I’m always happy to help your family, Jun.”

He hummed, brushing his lips against your own. “They’ll be your family, too, one day.”

You chuckled, looping your arms around his neck, fingers playing with the hair at his nape. “I don’t think so. I’ll always be Daruma and, well… we caused you guys a lot of trouble at one point. They may be willing to put up with me because of you, but I doubt they’ll ever view me as part of the family.”

His brow furrowed in concern. Had one of the Sannoh boys said something to you? Thinking about it, he hadn’t really discussed it with the others. You just started dating one day and he started to bring you around without asking how everyone felt about it. He knew Yamato didn’t trust you at first, but did he still feel that way?

You poked the spot between his brows. “If you keep frowning like that, you’re gonna get premature wrinkles.”

His lips formed your name but you cut him off, knowing what he was going to say.

“It’s really not a big deal, baby. I went into this relationship knowing that they most likely wouldn’t accept me and I honestly don’t blame them for it. As long as I get to be with you, that’s enough.” You tugged him closer until your lips met.

He didn’t hesitate to kiss you back, but his mind was partly elsewhere. It was enough for you, perhaps, but not for him. He wanted them to accept you, to love you like he did. He didn’t just want to be your boyfriend, he wanted to be your everything like you were to him.

Having his family accept you and love you was important to him.

“Okay, this should be everything.” Naomi returned with a small stack of papers, pausing when she saw how close the two of you were. “Am I… interrupting something?” The sly smile on her lips said that she already had her answer.

You laughed, pulling away from him. “We were just keeping each other company until you returned.”

“Sure,” she chuckled, handing you the stack. “I printed out the recipes for you. Each one has a full list of everything you’ll need to make them and if you have any questions, I’m just a phone call away.”

“Nice. When do they need to be made?”

“The festival is tomorrow afternoon,” she winced, running a hand through her hair. “We need to start working on them tonight if we want to make it in time… I’m sorry, I should have told you that first… it’s probably too short notice, right?”

“I’ll make it work and yes, I’m sure.”

“Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome,” you replied, turning to look at Cobra and holding out your hand. “Up for some late-night shopping?”

“Sounds fun.” He slid his hand into your own, fingers lacing together.

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As soon as you returned home, you started to look over the recipes while Cobra put away anything perishable. None of them seemed too complicated so you felt confident that you could make them with little to no problem, especially with Cobra at your side.

“What are we making first?” He leaned on the counter beside you, peering at the recipes.

“What do you think?”

“We should probably choose whatever takes the longest to make so we can get it out of the way.” His eyes scanned through pages before tapping the one for the Sakura Mochi. “This is the longest, so let’s start with it.”

“Okay, let’s see. We’re supposed to soak the sweet rice for at least an hour and soak the sakura leaves for fifteen minutes.”

“Easy,” he grinned, grabbing two bowls and filling them with water. “We have to wait for them to soak, so which recipe is next?”

“Purin! We have to combine the sugar and water into a saucepan. Medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.”

Cobra did as you ordered without question, enjoying how domestic this all felt. He could definitely get used to this and was already making up excuses in his mind to get the two of you cooking together again.

For the rest of the night, the two of you worked together to bake the various treats requested by Naomi and you felt as if you were making pretty good time, all things considered. You did end up getting into a flour fight with Cobra because he kept trying to steal some of the finished treats, unable to fight his sweet tooth.

You were proud to say you had won that fight, though the messy kitchen was a reminder that you both had lost the war.

You yawned as you looked at the final two recipes, trying to decide which one you wanted to make. You had messaged Naomi about your progress and she told you that there were plenty of treats between the three of you. You should have gone to bed since it was nearly five in the morning, but you wanted to make one last thing first.

You hummed, thoughtfully. “Hey, Jun?”

“Yes, love?” He glanced over at you from where he sat on the couch, looking half-asleep.

You leaned on the counter, smiling at how cute he looked, even with bits of flour stuck to his blonde locks. “Would you rather have pumpkin spice cookies or cinnamon cookies?”

He thought about it for a moment, shifting to a more comfortable position. “I’ve never had pumpkin spice cookies before but I know you like them. I choose those.”

“What if you don’t like them?”

He hummed, closing his eyes. “I’ll like anything you make.”

“Such a hopeless romantic,” you teased softly, walking over to cover him with the blanket. You brushed the hair away from his face, fingers lingering on his cheek longer than necessary.

It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep, though you really couldn’t blame him. All you wanted to do was sleep, as well, but you decided that making these cookies was more important. He had worked hard and, though he did attempt to swipe a few treats, he had mostly behaved.

Cobra was a man who loved sweets. More than anything, he wanted the sweets that you had made with your own hands because, to him, they tasted all the sweeter. You had honestly always wanted to bake for him, but you had just never gotten around to it for two reasons.

The first was because Hyuga kept you so busy that you rarely had the time or energy. The second, which was probably more important, was because you were afraid. Afraid that they would come out terrible and he would hate them, yet he would still force himself to eat them because he loved you.

You slapped both of your cheeks at the same time, shaking your head to wake yourself up. You were going to make these cookies for him and he was going to love them, not just because you made them yourself, but because they tasted amazing.

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Cobra woke up several hours later, the apartment still smelling like sugar, pumpkin and various other sweet flavors that made his mouth water. He expected you to be asleep in the bedroom but you weren’t. You had fallen asleep at the island, the other half of your body draped over the countertop, arms acting as a pillow.

All of the treats had been wrapped up or placed in containers, ready to be picked up by Naomi. He glanced at the clock. There were still a few hours left before she was due to arrive so he had time to clean up. Before doing that, however, he wanted to take you to the bedroom. That couldn’t be a comfortable position to sleep in, after all.

He brought you carefully into his arms and you shifted closer to his warmth, mumbling incoherently in your sleep about pumpkin sugar cubes and honey tea. With a chuckle, he placed you gently in bed, bringing the covers over you so you wouldn’t catch a cold.

“Sleep well, love,” he whispered, pressing a lingering kiss to your forehead. It took a while for him to get the mess cleaned up and he was sure he had missed some flour somewhere, but that was a problem for the future.

There was a knock on the door and he headed over to open it, drying his hands with a dish towel.

“Good morning,” greeted Naomi, looking tired but pleased.

“Morning.” He stepped aside to let her in. “We got everything done and ready to go.”

“Thank you so much for the help. You two really saved me.”

“Don’t mention it. We were happy to help. Do you want some coffee?”

“I wish I could stay for one, but I have to get these to the school.”

“Do you need help?”

“No, I’ve got it,” she smiled gratefully, packing away the containers into the reusable bag she had brought with her. When she picked up the final container, she paused, a smile coming to her lips. “Pretty sure this one is for you.”

His brow furrowed as he took the plastic container from her. An orange sticky note sat on the lid with his name written on it next to a cute little heart. When had you made these? He realized it must have been after he fell asleep and he couldn’t help but smile, warmth filling his chest.

“I’ll see you later,” said Naomi as she headed for the door. “Thank you again!”

“Be safe, Naomi.”

Once she was gone, he grabbed one of the cookies from its container, taking a small bite. It was his first time trying a pumpkin spice cookie so he was a bit weary at first, but the flavor exploded on his tongue. Maybe he was crazy, but he felt as if he could feel every ounce of love you had poured into them.

With a smile, he returned to the bedroom, sliding under the covers and pulling you into his arms. You didn’t hesitate to snuggle further into his chest, adoring the way he smelled and how warm his body was.

“What time is it?” you mumbled.

He glanced at the clock on the bedside table, brushing his fingers through your hair. “It’s almost nine.”

“Shit, Naomi will be here soon.” You tried to sit up but he tightened his grip, keeping you in place.

“I already passed them along to her. Go back to sleep.”

“You didn’t give her the cookies in the plastic container with the blue lid, did you?”

“No, love,” he answered softly, unable to hold back his smile. “You didn’t have to make them for me.”

“I wanted to. I hope they came out tasting good,” you muttered, looking up at him tiredly.

“They taste amazing.”

“Do you mean that or are you just saying that because I made them?”

“I mean it.” He cupped your cheek, leaning down to rub his nose against yours. The gesture was cute and sweet, but it left you feeling embarrassed. “Thank you for making them.”

“If you want… I can bake for you more often?”

“Please,” he replied quickly before clearing his throat, color rising to his cheeks. “I’d really like that.”

“Consider it done, then,” you laughed, snuggling closer to him and closing your eyes.

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-> High&Low/Rampage Taglist: @kiraaaeon, @simpforchuchu, @star2fishmeg, @thatpoindexterpixy @manhwabtch

-> General Taglist: @asterhaze, @mrskenpachizaraki

#flufftober2023 #day 11 #high&low #cobra #high&low cobra #hino junpei #slumberpartybingo #fallflashspb #RFO - PSF #RFO - PSF23 #fanfiction #fanfics #reader insert #sannoh rengokai #rains ficography #RFO - SPB

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