Sweet Like Chocolate

Alita x Male Reader

One Shot

Weaving your way through the mid-afternoon crowds of Iron City is practically second nature to you, you flow and weave through the people with ease most days; a talent you have developed having lived here all your life. But today you find yourself nearly bumping into people more often than usual and apologizing in a brief and earnest way on the rare occasions you do. The reason for your rather uncharacteristic clumsiness is twofold: you are both excited and running late to see someone special to you. You smile as you round a familiar corner, knowing that there are only a few dozen more steps to go until you're with her again.

Arriving on the street to Doctor Ido's Clinic you breath a small sigh of relief and find your pace quickens ever so slightly more. A small feeling similar to butterflies in your stomach builds within you, intensifying as your eyes meet the clinic's sign and before long you're stood just outside the door and catching your breath. You take a brief moment to straighten yourself out, making sure you don't look dishevelled or messy while also making sure your trusty knapsack hasn't been skilfully snatched on the way here. Thankfully it hasn't.

With a brief sigh you tap your knuckles against the clinic door and hear it echo in the familiar open space beyond, your anticipation rises slightly. The door opens and you expect to be met with Doctor Ido himself but are instead met with Nurse Gerhard, you both share a smile and a friendly greeting as she ushers you inside.

"No Ido?" You ask as you look around half expecting him to walk out of one of the rooms to greet you.

"He's out at the moment, he should be back soon though."

You nod in acknowledgement as you finish looking around and turn to face Ido's assistant. "And Alita?"

Nurse Gerhard's gaze looks just the slightest bit away from you, her attention drawn to the stairs leading to the upper floors of the building for a brief moment. Her smile grows ever so slightly as she looks back to you. "I went to check on her earlier and she was gone, I think she went out to pick up something."

Your shoulders drop as you look to the nearby clock to decipher the time, failing to notice the subtle sound of mechanical muscles sneaking up on you.

"I hope I didn't keep her waiting-"

Without any warning you feel a pair of smooth, purple, metallic arms wrap around your midsection as you find yourself in a loving embrace, one you've been looking forward to for what seems like forever. You jump ever so slightly but relax almost instantaneously as you know these arms well.

Alita's soothing voice meets your ears and you smile.

"Hey."

You turn around in her arms to face her and find yourself lost in those wonderful eyes of hers as you wrap your arms around her, she is wearing a light blue tank top, and purple shorts. A quick peck of the lips is shared before you speak. "Hey, Sweetheart. I'm sorry I'm late."

"It's okay, you're not that late."

"I didn't worry you, did I?"

She snuggles into the fabric of your shirt and closes her eyes as she finds bliss within your embrace, her answer a muffled "...A little." As she does you rest your chin on the top of her head and you breathe in her faint, flowery scent.

You can't help but find this endearing and adorable; the affection, the gentleness, the fact that she was worried about you – all of it. It's that very side of Alita that made you fall for her in the first place. The two of you have been together for a while now but moments like these are more precious than diamond, in moments like these you fall in love with her all over again. Moments like these are treasured, and you wish they would last forever; as all good things should.

You find yourself remembering the reason for the lateness of your visit, the contents of your knapsack. "Oh, I almost forgot your surprise!" Reluctantly you pull from her embrace just enough to bring your knapsack into her view, in the brief moment where you pull back from her she pouts subtly but a bright smile replaces it as your words leave you.

"What is it?"

Taking your cue she looks around you and to Nurse Gerhard, "When Ido gets back, tell him I'll be in my room, okay?"

"Okay."

Turning her attention back to you Alita's smile hasn't left her beautiful features as she takes your hand and leads you up the stairs. "Come on." Without thought or hesitation you follow her up the staircase, leaving Nurse Gerhard with a smile as she gets back to what she was doing before.

It doesn't take long before you arrive at Alita's bedroom door, she opens it with her free hand and guides you to the bed as she ushers you to sit. You do so and as she turns to close her bedroom door your grip lingers on your hand ever so slightly, upon closing her door she briskly walks back to you, her excitement is evident and infectious. The mid-afternoon sun's rays cascade through the window behind you, bathing the room in a pleasant and warming atmosphere

She seats herself an arm's length across from you on the bed, legs crossed as she asks, "Okay. What's this surprise?"

"Well, if I told you that," You tease with a smirk as you mimic her sitting posture and face her, "it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"

Alita giggles lightly as she leans forward and playfully gives your shoulder a very gentle shove. "You... Come on, no more teasing. Show me."

"Alright, alright."

You unhook your knapsack from around your shoulder and place it on your lap, unzipping it you reach inside and pull out a series of objects wrapped somewhat hastily in tin foil; seven to be exact. You count them under your breath and lay them out in between the two of you in a somewhat neat little line. Her curiosity piques when a look of annoyance comes to your features as you mutter the words, "Ah, I forgot to label them... Wait."

She watches as you pick up one of the objects at random and place it under your nose, your brow furrowed and eyes closed as you take in the scent. As much as Alita loves your smile and to hear you laugh, she's always been fond of the face you make when you're concentrating or focusing.

"Hmm... no." You say as you open your eyes and put the object back in line before grabbing another one, you repeat the process. "...No, not that one either. Sorry about this, Alita."

"Don't worry about it." The cyber girl says with a soft tone and a smile to reassure you. "What are-"

"Aha! Found it." You proclaim as you hold it up up for her to see, "This one, I'll save for last. I'm curious to see what you think of it."

Alita watches with a raised eyebrow as you put the wrapped item behind you, she asks, "Okay. What are these, anyway?"

"One of your two favourite things."

Her eyes widen in realization as she looks down at the items lined up between the two of you before looking back up to you, "You mean you bought me chocolate?" She asks with clear giddiness and a smile as bright as the sun.

"Better."

With glee and excitement her hand lingers over the wrapped chocolate, not sure which one to go for. She picks one at random and unwraps it to reveal a perfect cuboid of chocolate, very similar to the kind she buys regularly; despite Ido's protests. She wastes no time in taking a tentative bite out of it just as you finish your answer.

"I made it myself."

Her eyes meet yours as your words hit her, she starts to tell you that you didn't have to go through all this trouble for her but her words escape. The added ingredient to the chocolate hits her taste-buds, not expecting the extra element at all, her eyebrows knit together as she tries to place the exact ingredient.

"Hmm..."

"Do you like it?" You ask tentatively, not sure whether the look on her face means she likes it or not.

With a smile she looks at you with raised eyebrows, trying to reassure you as she continues to chew. "Yeah, I like it. I just can't place what's in the chocolate. It tastes... kinda spicy."

"That'll be the chilli flavoured chocolate."

As Alita swallows the chocolate you take the opportunity to explain that you've been wanting to try a new hobby of late, baking was considered at first but you decided on making chocolate instead, mostly because you wanted to see the look on her face when you revealed said hobby to her; and so far it was worth the wait. You've been saving up to get the trays, flavourings and a book about the subject just to make sure you got things right.

You even go on to explain that each small bar is a different flavour or kind of chocolate you were thinking of making. And of course there was only one person you could think of to taste-test them. Visibly touched, Alita's smile only grows as she speaks.

"So this is why you were late today?"

"Yeah, I got an idea for new recipe I thought you'd like and I had to wait for it to set and harden. Plus I didn't want to spoil your dinner."

"I already had my dinner." She says with a shrug, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me just yet. You've still got six more bars to try."

As time passes Alita tries a bite of each of your home-made chocolate, even insisting that you try some yourself. You do so and find that you share her thoughts on each one. The plain old milk chocolate is similar to the kind that she buys at the market, but she persists that it's much better because you made it. Dark chocolate comes afterwards and she likes it but not as much as the plain or chilli, then afterwards comes it's opposite: white. She says it's... okay, not really good but not bad either; in fact she had no idea that chocolate could be that colour.

After that she unwraps the second to last bar and by now you're pretty sure you know which one it's likely to be, regardless you await her reaction and opinion and she bites off a small piece and begins to chew. Her face displays a mood of concentration and deep thought, as if recalling something. It must taste familiar, perhaps she's had this kind of chocolate before. Once Alita's done chewing she swallows the confection and sees the look of anticipation you're giving her.

"...And that one?" You ask.

Alita sighs through her nose and her gaze looks to the ground, immediately you worry that it's disappointing. She then looks to you sheepishly ands speaks up, "...Can I be honest with you?" She asks.

"Of course. You can tell me anything."

"...It tastes like toothpaste."

"..."

It takes you less a moment to realize what she said, when you do you burst out laughing. Of all the things you expected her to say about that particular chocolate, you did not, in your wildest dreams, expect her to say that. Your beloved cyborg is confused at first but can't help the small smile on her face at the sight of your elation, without realising it you lean backwards; forgetting about the chocolate you stashed behind you.

The chocolate gives way and snaps audibly, making both yourself and Alita look behind you to the broken tin foil shape. Both you and her lock eyes before sharing a small laugh as you sit back up again and regain your composure.

"Wh-What was so funny?" She asks as she hands you the chocolate that incited your laughter.

"You said it tastes like toothpaste." You explain as you sniff the chocolate, "That's because it's made from mint."

"Oh... Well, that explains it, I guess."

"I just didn't think you'd put it that way. As if my day wasn't made enough." And with that you take a small bite of the mint chocolate. The taste is strong and lingers ever so slightly on your tongue. "Yeah, you're right. It does taste like toothpaste. Dial down the mint next time."

Alita giggles as she reaches for the penultimate tin foil wrapped chocolate on the line between you and her, her mind lingering ever so slightly on the one bar of chocolate you singled out earlier. She wonders what you have waiting for her. Unwrapping the chocolate bar she takes a look at it and finds that it doesn't look that different to any other, then her gaze lands on you as you put the mint-flavoured confection back on the bed after wrapping it back up, an idea springs to her mind.

You see Alita's lips pull into an impish and yet adorable grin as she looks to you, then the chocolate and then back again. "Why don't we try something different?" She suggests.

"I'm listening."

"Up until now I've tried the chocolate first, then you've tried it after me. Why don't we each get a piece and try it at the same time?"

You raise an eyebrow and smile, "You mean feed each other a piece?"

"Yeah! I saw it in a movie once and... I want to try it. With you." She smiles at you with that incredible sparkle you love so much, then Alita somewhat awkwardly tucks a few strands of her hair behind her ear; obviously feeling a little bashful. "But only if it's okay with you. I mean..."

You feel your heart lift within your chest at the marvel that is this loveable cyborg sat before you. The smile pulling at the corners of your lips grows, your eyes look deep into hers as you lean forward your hand meets hers; specifically the one holding the chocolate bar. The contact draws her eyes directly to yours, a small flush of colour comes to her cheeks.

Your fingers gently wrap around around the back of her hand, your thumb lightly and affectionately brushing her knuckles; every intricate detail of her berserker body's hand traced into your mind. You know she can feel every minute detail in what she comes into contact with, she feels you just as much; if not more than you ever could. The raw emotion, the deep well it springs from is what you convey through not only your touch but your words, too.

"Alita, I'd love that."

She smiles at you as you reach over with your other hand and snap off a piece of the chocolate, the sound breaking the tiny but lovely intimate silence between you. Alita, still smiling warmly at you, snaps off a piece of the chocolate herself and you both raise your pieces at head height to each other. Anticipating what comes next. Already you can feel the chocolate in your hand beginning to melt just a tiny bit, but you pay it no mind as you are lost in the eyes of your angel. And she finds herself lost in yours.

"Ready?" She asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

You nod and in almost perfect synchronization, you place the chocolate within her waiting mouth, her warm breath tickling the very tip of your finger and thumb, she does the same for you. You can both feel the confection of your making begin to melt and dance along your tongues with very little effort required to chew, at once you both let loose a hum of satisfaction and approval.

"Best one yet..." Alita states, clearly overcome with the taste. "What's this flavour called?"

"Belgian." Is all you can mutter as a subtle feeling of bliss comes over you, you aren't sure if it's because of the chocolate itself, the intimate way in which you partook of it, or both. Probably both. You take this moment to lick your thumb clean of melted chocolate.

"Definitely keep that recipe."

"I will." You say as you see something that catches your eye, an amused smile pulls at your lips. The corner of her mouth is slightly smeared with melted chocolate. "You've uh, got some chocolate right here." A tapping of the corner of your own mouth shows her where. But then an idea comes to mind. An opportunity to tease her.

"Oh." She replies with slight embarrassment as she reaches up to take care of it, "Sorry."

"Don't be. In fact, allow me~"

You smirk and lean forward again as you lightly lick your thumb and reach forward, Alita catches onto your intention and leans forward to assist you. A shy smile playing upon her smiling lips. Your thumb dabs and wipes away the small stain from her face as gently as you can, you also cheekily take the opportunity to brush one finger along her cheek as light as a feather. Her cheeks warm up at your contact and she leans ever so slightly into your touch.

"Oh, wait, you said no teasing. My bad~" You say with sarcasm and withdraw your hand.

However, your dear cyborg reaches forward and takes your hand in both of hers, holding it gently as she gives an impishly mischievous smile. Her eyes don't leave yours until she bring your hand to her lips, and then they close as she uses her lips to remove what little chocolates there is left on your thumb. The combined sensation of her smooth hands and supple lips makes your hairs stand on end, in a good way.

As soon as she starts, she stops and releases your hand from hers with a triumphant smirk and eyes sparkling with a sense of victory. "Gotcha." She says with a provocative tone.

For a moment you find yourself lost for words before you manage to scramble some together and mutter them under your breath.

"Well played."

Alita has a small laugh as she watches you retrieve the chocolate you hid earlier with great anticipation. You present the tin foil wrapped chocolate proudly, you both watch it go limp at one end and share a small chuckle. Unwrapping it you begin to explain.

"I really wanted to get this one right. Hopefully I've saved the best for last, but I make no promises and apologize in advance if it isn't good."

"I'm sure it'll be the best you've made."

Your apprehension has continuously been built up in your mind ever since the idea for this recipe came to you. Of all the things you've done, made or worked on this is the one you wanted to get right. Her words relieve much of the tension and worry within you as you snap the bar into two small pieces, you hand one to her open palm.

"Again?"

Alita nods excitedly as she raises her piece of chocolate, you mimic her and feed each other the awaited confection. Both of you close your eyes to better experience the taste, as you chew the flavour makes itself known and you hear a sigh of bliss escape the cyber girl's nose. You open one eye tentatively and see her features awash with pure delight, she murmurs your name so sweetly it causes you to open both eyes.

She murmurs your name again and opens her eyes to meet yours, "Is this what I think it is?" Her voice muffled ever so slightly, but in a way you can't help but find cute.

"Chocolate... mixed with orange. You like it?"

"I love it."

She beams at you as she swallows the chocolate and you feel pride build within you having successfully combined the two foods Alita loves. You swallow your own chunk of chocolate and deem it a success.

"Will you make me some more sometime?"

"Of course. Anything for you."

Unable to contain herself Alita leans forward and captures your lips in a kiss so sweet that it easily surpasses the chocolates, one of her hands rests on your cheek while the other is placed upon your knee. In return you place your own hand on her cheek, your other one rests gently upon her shoulder. As the kiss deepens you both taste the lingering chocolate and orange upon your lips and find yourselves lost in one another.

Eventually you become aware of the lateness of the day, and despite how much you don't want to, you must head home. Alita wants to protest and ask you to stay just a little bit longer, but knows that you need to get home before it gets too dark. You tell her that the chocolates you brought are all hers, you advise her to take it slow and not wolf down the whole lot in one night. She laughs it off and promises she won't; although you're not sure the orange-chocolate will see the light of day.

Both yourself and Alita slowly make your way down the clinic's staircase hand-in-hand as you adjust the strap of your knapsack. "Are you thinking of opening a small shop for your chocolates?" She asks as you reach the bottom of the staircase.

"I haven't really thought about that. Like I said; it was meant to be a hobby at first." You look down and to your side to see Alita's hopeful gaze, "But I guess I can keep at it."

Your beloved cyborg gives your hand a tight but affectionate squeeze as you head for the front door, earning a pleasant wave from Nurse Gerhard as she prepares to leave, "Thank you."

As you get halfway across the room the door to the clinic opens and in walks Doctor Dyson Ido himself clad in a trench coat and hat, by the look of him he's been rummaging through the scrapyard again. He also looks rather tired and in the mood for an early night, he sighs loudly as he closes the door behind him.

"Ido!" Alita releases her loving hold on you and runs over to her adopted father to envelope him in a tight embrace just as he turns to face the two of you. The air in his lungs leaves him but is replaced with a smile as he realizes who is hugging him, he returns the gesture and pats her on the back affectionately. "Hey, Alita." He says just above a whisper, a father's love conveyed.

You smile at the sight before you, and are reminded of the bond between you and your own father. As Alita releases the good doctor his voice brings you out of your nostalgia, specifically him addressing you in his usual polite manner. After greeting him back you both shake hands, there exists between you a strong understanding and mutual respect; the kind to be expected between a father and someone dating his daughter. Not to mention he's patched you up whenever you've urgently needed medical attention.

"Why were you late?" Ido asks curiously as he takes off his hat, all the while a certain cyborg makes her way back over to you and holds your hand.

"My new hobby took up more time than I thought." You answer as you look to Alita and smile, "But it was worth it." She smiles back at you with a giggle and gives your hand a loving squeeze.

"New hobby? What is it?"

Alita goes on to explain that you've taking up chocolate making and wanted her opinion on what you'd made so far, the exact reason for your lateness being her two favourite foods combined. Ido asks if you're considering opening up a stall in the market, to which you reply that you might once you've got the recipes perfected. And you already have an idea who your number one customer will be.

After your brief but friendly conversation with Ido you bid him and Nurse Gerhard farewell as Alita leads you to the front door. She opens it and you stand in the doorway before turning back to her, realizing you're still holding hands. "Can I come see you tomorrow?" She asks.

"Of course. You're always welcome, anytime."

"I know... I just like to hear you say it."

"Then I'll say it as many times as I can."

"Good." She mutters as she closes the gap between you, kissing you goodbye even though you'll be seeing each other again soon; in both her mind and yours any time apart is too long.

"I'll see you tomorrow." You whisper, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Looking forward to it."

And with that you reluctantly let go of her hand and turn away as you head off into the streets of Iron City, the sun has almost completely disappeared over the horizon and bathes the sky in atmospheric colours. The crowd have thinned, as they always do at this time of the day. You look behind you and see Alita waving you farewell, you wave back before turning down an alley, smiling like a fool.

The End.

I haven't seen many Alita x Reader fics outside of Archive of our Own so I thought I'd change that, in fact I'd love to write more in this same continuity; provided of course people express the desire for more.

Also this is the very first time I've actually managed to not use things like "(y/n)", I intend to implement this in my fics going forward. You could think of it as another step in my writing's evolution.

Any and all feedback is welcome and appreciated, did I get the characters right? What was your favourite moment? Or by all means share your favourite chocolate.

Take care now, see you soon. :)