[Chrono Crusade, Chrono/Shader] Growing Up
Title: Growing Up
Fandom: Chrono Crusade
Pairing: Chrono x Shader
Theme set: Epsilon
Rating: PG-13
Warning[s]: Brief sexual references, some violence, awkward punctuation usage. Contains major spoilers for the manga.
AN: Written for 1sentence. I really like the hints of Chrono and Shader’s friendship in the manga and I wondered how they’d gotten to know each other and just how close their relationship had been, so I decided to use this challenge to explore the possibilities. This ended up waaaay larger in scope than I originally expected, but hopefully it still works. I took the themes out of their original order so that the sentences could be read chronologically.
Also, this is my first Chrono Crusade fanfic! Yay!
Child
As Aion chased off the bullies, Chrono bent down to look at the girl with odd ears and asked “Are you okay?”
Shadow
When Shader noticed as a child that Chrono followed Aion like he was his shadow, she decided it was a game and pretended to be Chrono’s shadow so she could play, too.
Wall
Shader enjoyed puzzles, so to her finding a way through the wall Chrono put up around people was just another problem to solve.
Attention
“Hey Chrono, hey-lookit what I made!” Shader said happily as she held her new creation towards Chrono and watched his lips expectantly for a smile.
Time
Shader wrapped her arms around the older boy’s neck and jumped onto his back, cheerfully saying “Show me your powers again!” as she threw a ball up in the air for him to stop.
Motion
Chrono tried to count how many times Shader’s tail would wave back and forth before it came to a stop, but he lost count after she looked over her shoulder and asked how long he’d been staring at her butt.
One
Shader wasn’t sure when she stopped following him as a game and started to follow him because she wanted to stay near him-it was gradual, her feelings for him growing and growing, until one day she realized that he’d surpassed everyone in importance, even Aion.
Blur
It happened so suddenly that to Chrono it felt like his own time had been stopped-Shader was no longer a child, and she was telling him everything she felt about him so honestly and openly that he caught himself admiring her, and maybe even attracted to her.
Hold
Chrono’s eyes widened when Shader tugged him closer and laid her head on his chest with a cattish grin.
Gentle
No matter how much she poked and teased him, Chrono was always gentle; he was almost too gentle, to the point where Shader wondered if he was afraid he would break her.
Safe
“Don’t worry,” he whispered to her after he gave her a kiss, “I’ll always protect you.”
Learn
“This really is your first time, isn’t it?” she asked teasingly, giggling when Chrono's cheeks answered for him by turning a bright red.
Naked
Shader was always so comfortable in her own skin, even when she wasn’t wearing anything-Chrono envied her, no matter how alone they were he always felt exposed and vulnerable.
Last
“I knew it wouldn’t last,” Aion said with a satisfied smirk when Chrono slunk into their room to sulk after his fight with Shader.
Mad
Shader very, very rarely saw how bad Chrono’s temper could get, but when she saw his eyes narrow and darken she knew it was time to shut up.
Young
“I know you’ll be an adult soon,” she said the night before the Day of Tuning, “but don’t forget about us young’uns, okay?”
Hide
Chrono found her under the computer console as chaos erupted in Pandaemonium, and without a word he grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the battle.
Never
“I never thought we’d have to leave this way,” Shader said to Chrono as Eden fled from Pandaemonium’s forces.
Power
Shader wondered which Chrono was the real Chrono-the demon with blood dripping down his claws and bodies at his feet, or the awkward lover that had given her gentle kisses and sappy promises?
Thousand
Shader tried to calm him down, telling him that if he hadn’t killed those one thousand demons they never would have made it safely, but Chrono’s only response was to mumble “I didn’t kill a thousand…it was only a hundred.”
Wrong
She told herself that they could move on, that the battle had been a victory-but when she saw Chrono wandering through the empty halls of Eden late at night with dark circles under his eyes, she realized she was wrong and none of the remaining Sinners would ever be the same.
Book
The first thing they did when they arrived in the city was go to the library; Chrono found a large, dusty book all about human myths and legends, and Shader claimed a huge stack of books about their technology.
Bother
Shader’s tail wagged slowly behind her as she stalked towards her prey, his head bent over a book and unaware of the predator lurking in the shadows until she launched towards him and tugged on his purple hair with a victorious cheer of “caught you!”
Sing
Sometimes, when Chrono thought no one was around, he would sing to himself-and Shader smiled at every off-key note he sang.
Change
He smiled so easily for Mary, and Shader was happy for him, but at the same time she was jealous that the holy woman made it look almost effortless when Shader had to work so hard to get the same response.
Sudden
It felt like Chrono had only been out of her sight for a moment before Aion stumbled into the dining room, coughing up blood and growling the word “traitor.”
King
Aion was their leader, and Shader never wanted to outright defy him-but without his horns, Chrono would die, unless…
Goodbye
Chrono stared up at Shader as she slipped the cold chain around his neck, the sound of the watch’s ticking seeming so loud that he could barely hear her whispered “goodbye.”
Torn
She yowled and dug her fingers into her hair as Aion grasped her horns and pulled, pain burning through her body-was this how Chrono had felt?
Ghost
She almost didn’t recognize him when she saw Chrono with the nun-it was the ghost of the boy she knew as a child, and not the soldier that left her behind.
Stop
Shader wanted to beg them to stop, but her mouth refused to open as Chrono bared his fangs and started to charge toward his brother.
Eye
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” she said as cheerfully as possible when he opened his eye, “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”
Fool
Shader desperately tried to push him back into the healing tank, shouting “Rosette won’t be happy if you kill yourself trying to see her, idiot!”
Vision
“It’s okay,” he said softly as Shader bit her lip and wrapped bandages over his eye, “I knew this might happen.”
Wait
Shader was sure he’d hate her for making him wait so long, but when Chrono came back from the church he gave her a pained smile and said “Thank you for letting me see her.”
God
“Sometimes, I think I want to believe all the things the Order said about Him,” he confided in her as he laid flowers on Rosette’s grave.
Believe
“Shader, I want to believe that I can protect this world, that we’ll never have a battle like that again, but…I can’t do it alone, please help me.”
Need
When he was younger, Chrono thought he didn’t need anyone, but after meeting Mary and Rosette he realized he was lying to himself-he couldn’t stand on his own, he needed someone there to smile with him when he was happy and to tell him it was okay when he wasn’t; and maybe his feelings for Shader were different than how he felt about those two women, but she was a partner and a friend, and he couldn’t be more grateful for her.
Now
“We have to keep moving forward; we can’t live in the past,” Chrono said, speaking to himself as much as he was to Shader.
Wash
It was awkward for Chrono to relearn how to do everything with only one hand, but he insisted on being allowed to help Shader with the chores.
Drive
“Okay, I’ll admit it-you’re a much better driver than Rosette ever was.”
Hunger
“Did you always eat this much?” Chrono said, raising an eyebrow over his good eye as she stuffed another cookie into her mouth.
History
They watched together as time marched on and the Apostles grew old, taking small comfort from the thought that they’d always have one familiar face that would remain the same.
Cool
“It’s slang!” she said when he gave her a skeptical look, “You know, like darb, or nifty, or groovy…you really need to watch more TV, Chrono.”
Harm
“Chrono,” she said with a deep breath, the computer’s wildly flickering screen reflected in her glasses, “we’re going to go over this slowly and calmly--what buttons did you press?”
Fortune
Shader whined and begged and pleaded and poked until Chrono finally relented and handed over his fortune cookie.
Soul
“Chrono, do you think…if there’s a chance we really do have souls, then someday we’ll see them all again…right?”
Picture
When Chrono discovered that the wallpaper on their computer had been replaced by a picture of him slumped over on the couch with drool trickling down his cheek, he started to plot how he could “accidentally” lose Shader’s new digital camera.
Command
“Don’t try to be so serious and bossy, Chrono,” Shader said with a sigh before they snuck into the Heindric Foundation, “It doesn’t work with such a cute face.”
Precious
They’d grown together and changed and seen the end of their people, and after coming through all the battles and hardships they realized how important to each other they really were.
Fandom: Chrono Crusade
Pairing: Chrono x Shader
Theme set: Epsilon
Rating: PG-13
Warning[s]: Brief sexual references, some violence, awkward punctuation usage. Contains major spoilers for the manga.
AN: Written for 1sentence. I really like the hints of Chrono and Shader’s friendship in the manga and I wondered how they’d gotten to know each other and just how close their relationship had been, so I decided to use this challenge to explore the possibilities. This ended up waaaay larger in scope than I originally expected, but hopefully it still works. I took the themes out of their original order so that the sentences could be read chronologically.
Also, this is my first Chrono Crusade fanfic! Yay!
Child
As Aion chased off the bullies, Chrono bent down to look at the girl with odd ears and asked “Are you okay?”
Shadow
When Shader noticed as a child that Chrono followed Aion like he was his shadow, she decided it was a game and pretended to be Chrono’s shadow so she could play, too.
Wall
Shader enjoyed puzzles, so to her finding a way through the wall Chrono put up around people was just another problem to solve.
Attention
“Hey Chrono, hey-lookit what I made!” Shader said happily as she held her new creation towards Chrono and watched his lips expectantly for a smile.
Time
Shader wrapped her arms around the older boy’s neck and jumped onto his back, cheerfully saying “Show me your powers again!” as she threw a ball up in the air for him to stop.
Motion
Chrono tried to count how many times Shader’s tail would wave back and forth before it came to a stop, but he lost count after she looked over her shoulder and asked how long he’d been staring at her butt.
One
Shader wasn’t sure when she stopped following him as a game and started to follow him because she wanted to stay near him-it was gradual, her feelings for him growing and growing, until one day she realized that he’d surpassed everyone in importance, even Aion.
Blur
It happened so suddenly that to Chrono it felt like his own time had been stopped-Shader was no longer a child, and she was telling him everything she felt about him so honestly and openly that he caught himself admiring her, and maybe even attracted to her.
Hold
Chrono’s eyes widened when Shader tugged him closer and laid her head on his chest with a cattish grin.
Gentle
No matter how much she poked and teased him, Chrono was always gentle; he was almost too gentle, to the point where Shader wondered if he was afraid he would break her.
Safe
“Don’t worry,” he whispered to her after he gave her a kiss, “I’ll always protect you.”
Learn
“This really is your first time, isn’t it?” she asked teasingly, giggling when Chrono's cheeks answered for him by turning a bright red.
Naked
Shader was always so comfortable in her own skin, even when she wasn’t wearing anything-Chrono envied her, no matter how alone they were he always felt exposed and vulnerable.
Last
“I knew it wouldn’t last,” Aion said with a satisfied smirk when Chrono slunk into their room to sulk after his fight with Shader.
Mad
Shader very, very rarely saw how bad Chrono’s temper could get, but when she saw his eyes narrow and darken she knew it was time to shut up.
Young
“I know you’ll be an adult soon,” she said the night before the Day of Tuning, “but don’t forget about us young’uns, okay?”
Hide
Chrono found her under the computer console as chaos erupted in Pandaemonium, and without a word he grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the battle.
Never
“I never thought we’d have to leave this way,” Shader said to Chrono as Eden fled from Pandaemonium’s forces.
Power
Shader wondered which Chrono was the real Chrono-the demon with blood dripping down his claws and bodies at his feet, or the awkward lover that had given her gentle kisses and sappy promises?
Thousand
Shader tried to calm him down, telling him that if he hadn’t killed those one thousand demons they never would have made it safely, but Chrono’s only response was to mumble “I didn’t kill a thousand…it was only a hundred.”
Wrong
She told herself that they could move on, that the battle had been a victory-but when she saw Chrono wandering through the empty halls of Eden late at night with dark circles under his eyes, she realized she was wrong and none of the remaining Sinners would ever be the same.
Book
The first thing they did when they arrived in the city was go to the library; Chrono found a large, dusty book all about human myths and legends, and Shader claimed a huge stack of books about their technology.
Bother
Shader’s tail wagged slowly behind her as she stalked towards her prey, his head bent over a book and unaware of the predator lurking in the shadows until she launched towards him and tugged on his purple hair with a victorious cheer of “caught you!”
Sing
Sometimes, when Chrono thought no one was around, he would sing to himself-and Shader smiled at every off-key note he sang.
Change
He smiled so easily for Mary, and Shader was happy for him, but at the same time she was jealous that the holy woman made it look almost effortless when Shader had to work so hard to get the same response.
Sudden
It felt like Chrono had only been out of her sight for a moment before Aion stumbled into the dining room, coughing up blood and growling the word “traitor.”
King
Aion was their leader, and Shader never wanted to outright defy him-but without his horns, Chrono would die, unless…
Goodbye
Chrono stared up at Shader as she slipped the cold chain around his neck, the sound of the watch’s ticking seeming so loud that he could barely hear her whispered “goodbye.”
Torn
She yowled and dug her fingers into her hair as Aion grasped her horns and pulled, pain burning through her body-was this how Chrono had felt?
Ghost
She almost didn’t recognize him when she saw Chrono with the nun-it was the ghost of the boy she knew as a child, and not the soldier that left her behind.
Stop
Shader wanted to beg them to stop, but her mouth refused to open as Chrono bared his fangs and started to charge toward his brother.
Eye
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” she said as cheerfully as possible when he opened his eye, “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”
Fool
Shader desperately tried to push him back into the healing tank, shouting “Rosette won’t be happy if you kill yourself trying to see her, idiot!”
Vision
“It’s okay,” he said softly as Shader bit her lip and wrapped bandages over his eye, “I knew this might happen.”
Wait
Shader was sure he’d hate her for making him wait so long, but when Chrono came back from the church he gave her a pained smile and said “Thank you for letting me see her.”
God
“Sometimes, I think I want to believe all the things the Order said about Him,” he confided in her as he laid flowers on Rosette’s grave.
Believe
“Shader, I want to believe that I can protect this world, that we’ll never have a battle like that again, but…I can’t do it alone, please help me.”
Need
When he was younger, Chrono thought he didn’t need anyone, but after meeting Mary and Rosette he realized he was lying to himself-he couldn’t stand on his own, he needed someone there to smile with him when he was happy and to tell him it was okay when he wasn’t; and maybe his feelings for Shader were different than how he felt about those two women, but she was a partner and a friend, and he couldn’t be more grateful for her.
Now
“We have to keep moving forward; we can’t live in the past,” Chrono said, speaking to himself as much as he was to Shader.
Wash
It was awkward for Chrono to relearn how to do everything with only one hand, but he insisted on being allowed to help Shader with the chores.
Drive
“Okay, I’ll admit it-you’re a much better driver than Rosette ever was.”
Hunger
“Did you always eat this much?” Chrono said, raising an eyebrow over his good eye as she stuffed another cookie into her mouth.
History
They watched together as time marched on and the Apostles grew old, taking small comfort from the thought that they’d always have one familiar face that would remain the same.
Cool
“It’s slang!” she said when he gave her a skeptical look, “You know, like darb, or nifty, or groovy…you really need to watch more TV, Chrono.”
Harm
“Chrono,” she said with a deep breath, the computer’s wildly flickering screen reflected in her glasses, “we’re going to go over this slowly and calmly--what buttons did you press?”
Fortune
Shader whined and begged and pleaded and poked until Chrono finally relented and handed over his fortune cookie.
Soul
“Chrono, do you think…if there’s a chance we really do have souls, then someday we’ll see them all again…right?”
Picture
When Chrono discovered that the wallpaper on their computer had been replaced by a picture of him slumped over on the couch with drool trickling down his cheek, he started to plot how he could “accidentally” lose Shader’s new digital camera.
Command
“Don’t try to be so serious and bossy, Chrono,” Shader said with a sigh before they snuck into the Heindric Foundation, “It doesn’t work with such a cute face.”
Precious
They’d grown together and changed and seen the end of their people, and after coming through all the battles and hardships they realized how important to each other they really were.