#IF YOU PAID ME TO STARE AT THIS ART I'D DO IT FOR FREE INSTEAD

[fishywaters]

OHHH THIS IS SICK

GRIEFER HAS ARRIVED AT THE CHAT

And some doodling

[m-jelly]

https://m-jelly.tumblr.com/post/680887304821358593/hi-jelly-what-about-shy-nerd-levi-he-in

@kenkopanda-art <3

You won my heart part 2

Pairing: Levi x Reader

Genre and tags: romance, modern AU, before going off to uni, summer fun, fluff, cute, both over the age of 18.

Concept: After what happened at prom, you and Levi are a couple and decided to go on a road trip to be together.

Part 1

You walked around the gas station with a basket in hand. You hummed a little in thought as you picked a few snacks for the road. You looked over at Levi to see he was gazing at you. You smiled a little making him blush. You waved him over, but he hurried off.

You moved through the shop and walked up behind him. You hugged him with one arm from behind. "You know you can stare at me and be with me as much as you like. We are a couple."

He placed his hand on yours. "I know, I just...I'm struggling to get used to it."

You kissed his shoulder. "Well, I will hold you and kiss you as much as possible so you do get used to it." You turned your head and whispered. "I love you."

He blushed more. "I love you too."

You pulled back. "Come on." You offered your hand to him. "We have to keep shopping for food."

He took your hand and walked with you shyly around the shop. "I really do love you."

You kissed the back of his hand. "I know." You offered him the basket. "Anything you want to add?"

He looked over the basket and hummed. "It's all good."

"Great!" You tugged him to the checkout and paid for it all. "My treat before you complain."

He sighed. "Alright."

You skipped over to his car and put everything in the back seat. You turned to him and smiled. "Wanna make out?"

He blushed. "C-could we find a nice quiet spot to do that?"

You nodded. "Yes. We can drive somewhere and be alone."

He gulped hard as different thoughts came to mind. "Yes."

You sat in the passenger seat and grabbed a drink. You smiled at Levi as he got in and started the journey to the little private spot with nice views. You looked out your open window and hummed in happiness. You felt so free and relaxed with Levi at your side. You knew you both needed this trip. You were going to the same university together, but you still needed this.

Levi pulled up and sighed. "We're here."

You gasped and jumped out of the car. "Holy crap, look at this view."

Levi walked over and felt nervous. "It's lovely."

You sat on the bonnet of the car and hummed. "This is nice."

Levi nibbled his bottom lip and nerves bubbled away inside him. He walked up to you and grabbed your hips. He crashed his lips against yours before you could say anything. He nipped your lip and pushed his tongue into your mouth. He moved with you and felt himself melting under your touch.

He pulled back and panted. "I'm glad we came here."

You giggled. "You can kiss me all you like here and it's just you and me."

He pushed his hands up your sides as he looked down at you. "I'm so glad we're together."

You smiled. "Me too."

He kissed you again and moaned in happiness. He cupped the side of your neck with one hand and massaged his fingers into your soft skin. He smiled when you gripped his shirt and mewled back at him in pleasure. He blushed a little when he felt something stir in him.

Levi pulled back and panted. "Umm, I'll get something for us to eat."

You smiled. "Sure." You hugged yourself as you felt a flutter inside you. You accepted food from Levi and sat side by side with him as you gazed out at the sun and rolling hills. "We should go to a hotel tonight instead of camping out." You blushed. "Share a bed maybe?"

Levi blushed. "Y-Yeah, I'd like that." He cleared his throat. "You looking forward to uni?"

You nodded. "I am. I'm also looking forward to being with you." You shuffled closer. "I'm mostly focusing on this trip though. So many frists. I'm excited. Are you?"

Levi locked eyes with you and nodded. "Yeah, yeah I am excited."

You kissed him and blushed. "We should spend tomorrow in the hotel room." You cleared your throat. "Just relaxing, then the day after we do the museum."

He nodded knowing what you were hinting. "Great."

"Only if you want to. I don't want to pressure you."

He kissed you and sighed. "I want to. I really, really want to."

You smiled. "Great."

[alleycat-arcade]

Game Start! The Seven Lords: Journey to Love Valley(Sampler Hcs, Part 1)

(This is the headcanons portion of my sample fics/hcs for this blog. This was requested by one of my IRL friends! They paid me $20 bucks lolol. sucker I woulda done it for free. I split it into two parts because it got kinda long lmao.)

There we are, I've got that machine that you asked for all fixed up.

The Obey Me! Brothers with an MC who's like Marius Von Hagen! (Headcanons), Part 1! The Older Brothers!

Content Warnings: Chapter 16 spoilers(For next part), Spoilers for Tears of Themis also!(Episode 4 - 15) and (Marius Personal Story, end of Episode 2)

⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝

You were just calmly winding down for the night when you had been summoned. Honestly, you had wanted to sink into your designer couch for the rest of the night, but not literally! You felt your back slam into the hard floor quiet harshly, earning a loud groan. As you cracked one eye open, you found yourself staring up at a gothic chandelier. Odd, I don't have a chandelier in my art room. I don't even think I own one that one looks like this... As you rose from your crumpled position on the floor, you brought a hand back to rub the sore spot on the back your head.

Where am I? Looks like a courtroom... Am I having a dream about Rosa's trial yesterday? "Welcome to the Devildom, Mc." You remained silent at the person who began speaking in front of you, merely raising an eyebrow. The taller person dressed in all red continued explaining your situation, as well as introducing himself as Diavolo. As you listened intently, you slowly regained your typical composure and rose from your seated position on the floor.

With a confident smirk now on your face, you strode up towards the male, ignoring the rest of the people in the room. You gently outstretched your hand to him, as if to as for a handshake. He complied with a confused expression, but instead giving his hand a firm shake you dropped to a kneeling position and pressed a chaste kiss to his knuckles. "While I'd love to participate in this exchange program of yours Sir, I do not believe I can do that for you. I still have quite a lot of Graduate studies to do, and being the heir to Pax Group is quite the handful of a job." "Not to worry (Mr./Mrs./Mx.) Von Hagen. I have already taken that into account for you. Everything will be as you left it once you are done here at RAD." A voice spoke from behind you, belonging to someone who quite reminded you of your personal assistant.

A few more back-and-forths occurred between the three of you as the rest of the room watched. Eventually, you were convinced enough and gave in, but still kept that smug look on your face. It had only faltered once during your conversation, at the mention of NXX, but otherwise you exuded confidence. "Alright, alright. If you want me to stay that bad, I guess I'll just have to comply."

(Note: I imagine you'd likely avoid telling anyone about NXX. Diavolo and Barbatos already know, but they're probably easy enough to convince to keep quiet about it. They also probably convinced you through the power of Barbatos time travel, aka "we'll just send you back in time to the human world from when we got you, no one will know you even left". Barbatos is my beloved Deus Ex Machina)

Lucifer:

You had just barely met and he already knew you were going to be a thorn in his side.

When you introduce yourself to everyone, he finds that you have a very naturally flirty personality. One that he would soon find himself driven up the wall by.

Avatar of Pride meet your near match in ego.

Initially he liked it when you addressed him as "Sir". Initially. It took him a few interactions to notice that you were just teasing him once again.

He finds you invading himself and others' personal spaces quite often. Kabedons anyone?

At first he doesn't like it, but once the two of you get closer and he develops a little bit of feelings for you, oh he likes it alright. Probably the type to try and reverse kabedon on you to make you as flustered as you momentarily made him.

It has become a completion to fluster the other the most, but only when you're in private.

If you kabedon him in public he's gonna brush you off. It was a sad day that day for "Kicked Puppy" Von Hagen.

Impressed that you are pretty close to the CEO of your family's company. You certainly don't seem like it, especially at your age.

Not the type to really ask for gifts just because you're quite well off. He's not going to stop you from getting him those rare vinyl's from the Human World he mentioned offhandedly a while back though.

If you want to sketch or paint him secretly, the best time to do it would be when he's working on some papers in an open space, like the living room. Don't let him catch you though, his ego might go through the damn roof if he finds a sketchbook full of well detailed sketches of himself made by his love interest.

He will practically read out your own notes next to your sketches to you. You begin to feel your soul leaving your body when he gets through all of your sweet comments and gets into the ones you wrote as a joke. ("Mc, what does DILF mean?" "..." "Mc?" "..." "Mc why are you running? WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?")

Might also try and convince you to paint a few portraits for him. Probably would be a few of him and perhaps a family portrait if you do accept the commission.

Very invested in your occasional fireside chat about Art History in the Human World, as well as what University is like there. Probably don't tell him about your legal shenanigan's though, unless you absolutely want him sticking his nose into your secret business. *cough* NXX *cough* It's not that he didn't know that you happened to be framed for murder once before you came to the Devildom, but telling him details the public doesn't know might not be a good idea.

Quite intrigued by these Human World paintings your friend "Z" sends you. He will sometimes patiently listen to you speak very highly of your painter friend and show off the merchandise you use to show your support. If you squint you might catch a bit of a jealous glint in his eyes in the reflection of your Z dog tag.

Subtly tries to give you necklaces to replace your dog tag "if you wish". He also tries to gift you different paintings from across the Devildom to replace Z's. You may want to tell him soon that you are actually Z before the man drowns you in paintings and fancy jewelry. (Or don't, your choice.)

Depending on when you catch him he may or may not be a good source of comfort about your missing brother. He did lose Lilith after all, so he understands your pain, he just might not really know how to properly comfort you if you catch him at a bad time.

Mammon:

At first, your charms and flirts don't really phase him. He's the Great Mammon, of course you'd want to praise him so much!

Would outright laugh at you if you insisted that you didn't need him to be your protector if he didn't want to hang around you. Probably makes a few sly comments about you being a weak or lowly human and you should be glad he's looking after you.

Post-pact Mammon, however, is quite different.

Man's gonna need to start getting some sort of concealer to cover that permanent blush he's got now. You fluster him nearly at the drop of a dime.

Still calls you a lowly human and stuff, but it lacks any rude or vicious intent behind it and you can tell by his tone.

Call him Sir or the Great Mammon and he is dead. You have killed him.

Oh? You're a CEO? Can you pay off his debts?

Sadly has to learn the hard way that your money from the human world cannot be converted to Grimm at the moment.

Though strange items from the Human World do seem to end up in front of his bedroom door a lot. Hmm, odd. Oh well, these would make some good cash. He's keeping that Crow plushie though and everything else too. He may be oblivious sometimes but it's pretty obvious who his 'secret admirer' is.

A bit more difficult to find holding still long enough to draw secretly. You might just have to settle for sneakily drawing him whenever he crashes on the couch or when he inevitably gets in trouble and Lucifer hangs him from the ceiling.

Recreating his picture on magazines just isn't the same as the real thing after all.

If he finds all of those sketches you made of him, Mammon.exe might permanently crash. If he manages to recover, he might find it in himself to push aside his whole tsundere thing and actually confess. Just don't draw his brother more than him okay?! He's your first so he should be your primary model after all!

He will die again if you've scribble out little comments beside the images of him. "My demon", "Treasurable second born", "I can't seem to capture his smile perfectly. It's worth far more than any gold or jewels.", etc.

May also make you tag along with him to some of his photoshoots so you can draw him more so he can show you how cool and amazing the Great Mammon is.

With his luck, which is actually pretty good, the photographer probably recognizes you and probably tries to get you to model with Mammon instead of watching. If you accept, you two likely have quite a good time posing together. Mammon.exe does crash if the photographer asks you to pose more provocatively or unbutton your shirt a little. ("Ah, okay. Like this? Or is this angle better?" "You're pretty good at this Mr./Ms./Mx. Von Hagen!" "Oh, I've done this a ton for magazines back in the Human World. This isn't even close to some of my photoshoots." "..." "Mams, you good? Need to take a break?" "N-no, I'm fine...")

Mammon suddenly bought like 30 things from the Human World off of Akuzon the next day. He's acts like Levi when the packages arrive, snatching them all up and hiding them in his room before any of his brothers could get up in the morning. RIP to Lucifer who has to give him the spending lecture again with a straight face. ("Why did you buy 30 magazines?" "Because I wanted to read about, uh, human businesses." "Then why do they all have suggestive images of Mc on them Mammon?" "...")

Probably doesn't get most of your college stuff, but will sometimes just ask you about it because he likes to hear you speak about something you're passionate about. You already have a nice voice, your excitement about certain topics just seems to add to it. He's not going to admit that though.

The second most obviously jealous about your friend Z. Might go out and buy a dog tag with his name on it instead and replace it secretly. Definitely didn't try doing it before and get caught in the middle of it. He would never do something like that for a simple, lowly human. It's up to you if you tell him or not, 'cause he can be pretty cute when he tries to secretly be better than Z. May even try to make his own paintings for you or steal them for you. Maybe you should tell him before he hangs from the chandelier for the next month.

#1 demon to go to if you're feeling blue about your brother's disappearance. He may be tsundere, but he knows what it feels like to lose someone so close to you. Plus I feel like he just naturally has a very comforting presence. Big brother energy. Might offer to hunt him down for you in the human world when your stay at RAD is over.

Leviathan:

Voted #1 most likely to die on the spot from interacting with you at all. Doesn't matter if you're close to him or not, he cannot handle being flirted with.

Sadly this also means he might become your favourite person in the HOL to tease, with Mammon as a close second.

Finds it weird when you address him as "Sir", it just reminds him of the Navy really. It's better if you just call him Levi, the Sir thing would just make it kinda awkward for the both of you.

Do be careful with flirting with him though. He is quite the self deprecating person so if you use the same flirtatious remarks towards others he might feel like they're not genuine when you use it on him. Maybe mix in some Gamer lingo or sea puns when you call him cute or adorable, and add some extra feeling to them so he knows your words aren't just empty compliments. He'll especially melt if you start using TSL terms and quotes in them. ("Hey, Levi. The way your eyes are gleaming in the light reminds me of The Lord of Shadows. Remember in Chapter 9, Book 12 where Henry sees him sitting on the throne reading and Ancient tome and compliments his eyes?" "KJDHDUA" "How did you make that noise with your mouth?"

Before you make a pact with him, he'll try and brush you off as much as possible. Go away, normie!!

But after the pact? He is all but begging for you to be close to him but also as far away as possible.

Joins Mammon in the "need blush covering concealer" club. Asmo please help them.

Doesn't really care too much about the whole CEO thing, might just ask you to buy him Human World video games or limited edition figures at most. That is, if you wanna give them to a yucky otaku like himself.

You buy him so many he's going to need a second room for all of them. Lucifer is pissed.

Assumes that you're a normie, until you sit down with him to play video games with him and watch anime. You're actually better at video games than you thought you would be! No where near his skill level, of course, but pretty decent for a human.

If you draw his favourite anime and video game characters he may consider asking for your hand in marriage now. Make him a fancy and heavily detailed painting of Ruri-chan and he probably will.

He'll probably ask if you can draw together sometime, and begins showing off his own drawings to you.

Probably one of the easiest to secretly draw. Just wait for him to get really focused on something and he's a perfect art model. Plus, since you can sit close to him without it being suspicious, you can probably get a hell of a lot of good angles on him. He will only be in pretty much one pose though, either sitting or standing with something in his hands that he's focused on.

He will melt into a bright red puddle if he find's your sketches of him. Especially if you write cute little notes next to pictures of his face like "Lovely otaku", "Cutest gamer in the devildom", "His eyes are like a sunset. I want him to look at me more.", etc. You have killed him, he is now dead forever. He is so mega dead, he can never respawn from this. What do you mean you want it back? You can take it from his cold, dead hands. Wait, he's supposed to be dead.

Good luck getting that book back, he's going to keep it. Probably considers pulling out the sketches you made of his brothers but stops after considering it might upset you. He does replace it though. You find a Ruri-chan themed sketchpad wrapped up neatly on your bed the next day, with a simple note on a Ruri-chan themed post-it note that said: "Soz｡ﾟ･（>﹏<）･ﾟ｡"

Seriously where does he get some of that stuff to be honest.

Overall the most blatantly obvious about being jealous about Z. Please tell him that you are Z before he tries to hunt him down in the Human World. He can and will kill some random innocent man, and not even Rosa and Artem could save him from the Stellis police. Or vice versa.

Not really the best at comforting you about your missing family, but he does his best. Probably tries copying what you do when you try and soothe him when he's upset, but he might be too nervous around you to do too much physical contact. Uses words of comfort and tries to take your mind off of it.

⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝

(Can you tell that I may have gotten carried away? 'Cause I defiantely did. I'll release the part for the younger brothers tomorrow, I promise! But I hope you enjoyed this part. :) I showed these to my friend who commissioned me early, so I may or may not come back and add a few things to each headcanon if they give me more ideas. If I also notice any spelling or character mistakes I'll be back and edit them later also lol.)

[memesiders]

Part 1

Death x OC Office AU

(I'm still obsessed with the Office AU created by @notesz-b so I started writing a little something. It's not the best but I'm proud of it so yeah... Any suggestions for a title or critiques are welcome. Just please be gentle lol)

My eyes flicked to the clock on the wall for what felt like the hundredth time in the past forty five minutes. How much longer would I have to wait? It wasn't like there were a bunch of people here; when I'd arrived there had only been three people in the waiting area. Now, only I remained. Well, me and the woman sitting behind her desk, tapping away at her keyboard. Amber, I think her name was. I flicked my eyes down to her, admiring her long platinum hair that was pulled into a tight ponytail.

Very Ariana Grande of her. Did she get migraines often from the strain on her scalp?

She looked up at me suddenly, cool eyes studying me while one of her perfect brows arched curiously. I smiled awkwardly, embarrassed by being caught for looking too long. She let out a long breath and picked up the phone on the desk, putting it to her ear and hitting a button. My smile dropped and I looked away quickly, nervously tugging at the few loose strands of hair that fell into my face.

"Hello, sir," Amber said, breaking the silence. "Yes, still here..." I cut my eyes back to her. "Yes... Okay. Do you want me to tell her to leave?" My heart dropped into my stomach. Oh no, I was not going to leave here without getting my interview. I shot up and adjusted my bag, walking over to her desk. She hung up as I reached it and turned to me. "I'm sorry, but we have to reschedule your interview. Something's come up and-"

"I need this interview," I cut in, feeling slight guilt at interrupting her. "Please, I really, really need this interview. I've been waiting for almost an hour and-"

"I apologize." Her voice was louder and less kind than it had been. "But the boss is not up to interviewing any potential-"

"Oh, fuck that," I muttered under my breath, walking to the two large office doors. Amber yelled at me to stop but I ignored her, grabbing one of the sleek handles and twisting it. Something hard hit my back and I fell forward, the door swinging open. All I could do was yelp before my face hit the ground and I was being subdued by Office Barbie. I grunted and struggled against her, kicking my legs and swinging back to try and hit her. She grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. I hissed at the action and tried to pull my arm free to no avail; how could someone so tiny be so strong?

"Amber, enough," a deep voice ordered. The weight on top of me disappeared seconds after the command and I pushed myself onto my knees, hugging my throbbing arm to my chest. I glared up at the woman who wasn't even looking at me.

"Should I remove her from the premises, sir?" she asked, the expression on her face clearly saying she wanted the speaker to say yes.

"That won't be necessary," the man sighed. He sounded tired, exhausted even. I turned my head to look at the speaker, my breath escaping me. There was something about him that was almost ethereal. I couldn't tell if it was the pale skin, the long raven hair, or the eyes that seemed to burn like hot embers. Maybe it was none of that and was, instead, the muscles that flexed under the dark suit he wore. One thing was for certain though; he wasn't human.

He wasn't an angel either, nor a demon, the lack of wings proved that. I could practically hear my older sister yelling at me what he was. I should've paid attention to what she told me. Something about ancient beings and being the last of their kind or something like that. Fuck, why hadn't I paid attention?

He cleared his throat and I jumped, shaking off the cloud that had formed around me. I shakily got to my feet and brushed off my skirt and tights, combing a quick hand through my hair. He lazily waved his hand and Amber moved from my side, leaving the room and closing the door behind her. Goosebumps rose on my arms as I realized I was now alone with him, and that my first impression was probably the worst that could've happened. "Well?" I jumped again, noting the irritation in his voice. I stared at him with wide eyes, afraid to move for some reason.

He rolled his eyes and sat up straight in his chair, clasping his hands together. "You barge into my office for an interview I canceled and now you have nothing to say?" I made a strangled sound and squeezed the strap of my bag tightly.

"I- I'm, uh, I'm sorry," I managed to choke out, wishing I'd just left instead of bulldozing my way forward. Death scoffed and rubbed his temples, a vein in his neck popping out as he clenched his jaw. I had to do this right before he changed his mind and had Amber throw me out on my ass. I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders, walking over to his desk with confidence I could only fake at the moment.

"My name is Aziza Banks," I said, offering him my hand. He stared at it for a good minute before finally taking it. We shook and I couldn't help but notice how large his hand was compared to mine, and how cold his skin felt against my palm. I nearly yanked my hand away from the icy touch. He gestured for me to take a seat and I nodded in appreciation, sitting down in one of the nice leather chairs and setting my bag in the other. I pulled out my resumé and placed it in the dark desk, sliding it across to him. "I'm here about the part time receptionist opening."

He nodded but made no move to pick up my resumé. I shifted nervously and took a deep breath, fighting the urge to bounce my leg. I did that whenever I was anxious, and it was taking everything in my to not give in. "What are your qualifications? Experience?"

"If you look inside you'll find-"

"I want to hear them from you." I bit my tongue, holding back the string of curses I wanted to throw his way. He had made me wait an hour, tried to cancel the interview, and now he wanted me to tell him what was so easily accessible to him? God, what a prick.

"It's in my resumé, which I thought you read," I said calmly, adding a bite to my words. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly and he grabbed the folder, flipping through it without looking at it. Instead, he stared at a small bird statue on his desk. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he looked through the file.

"Twenty Four, graduated with a bachelor's in art & design." He snorted quietly and continued down, one of his brows arching. "What is this?" He held up a photograph and I knew my face was redder than a tomato. It was a photo of my younger sister and I wearing fedoras and flipping off the camera. I had my tongue sticking out. Oh God.

"Goddammit, Neema," I muttered under my breath, covering my face with a hand. "I'm so sorry; I think my little sister slipped it in. She's always playing jokes and trying to embarrass me." I dropped my hand and sighed. "I am so, so sorry." He gave me what seemed like a sympathetic look and tucked the picture back into the folder.

"Siblings can be... irritating," he replied, squinting his eyes slightly as he continued to look through my file.

"That's putting it mildly." The corner of his mouth twitched slightly and I fought back a small smile of my own. Silence fell over us after that. I turned my attention to the room we were in, studying everything. There was a couch and a few chairs in one of the corners of the large office, a coffee table in the center of the circle of furniture. Two plants rested in different corners and two large ornate scythes were displayed on a wall, one crossing over the other. Shelves hung on a different wall with books stacked neatly on them and a picture frame with four people in it.

I couldn't make them all out from where I was sitting but I was almost certain the one on the inner left was Death. Underneath The shelves was a bar with a mini fridge and crystal glasses neatly displayed on the countertop. The office, for how large it was, was mostly bare; the man was definitely a minimalist.

I finished looking around and finally turned my attention back to Death, who had been watching me. For how long, I didn't know, but I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw those amber eyes staring at me. I straightened up and gave him a small smile, nodding at my resumé. "There anything else you'd like to know that isn't in there?" I asked politely. He closed the folder and slid it back to me, shaking his head.

"No, thank you." He cleared his throat and clasped his hands together. "I'm sorry, Miss Banks, but I don't think you'd be a right fit." My heart sank and I completely deflated, shoulders dropping.

"What? Why not?" I asked, sounding more pathetic than I'd meant to. Death shrugged.

"I don't see anything in your resumé that suggest that you'd be right for the job. Your degree is in arts & design, not business, communications, or anything that could be useful to my office." I opened my mouth to speak but he continued. "I'm interested in people who can contribute something valuable to me and the company; you have nothing to offer. I'm sorry for wasting your time, have a nice day." With that, he turned his attention to his computer screen. Something started to bubble inside of me, something hot and anxious. I was mad- no, pissed. How could I not be a good fit? How could I not have something valuable to contribute? I could definitely contribute patience; that was evident by the hour I waited outside his fucking office. I slammed my hands down on his desk and stood, scoffing loudly. He looked back at me.

"Are you serious right now?" I laughed, but it wasn't because I was amused. "I spent a chunk of my time in your waiting room while you were in here doing God knows what, only getting a meeting with you after running past and being taken down by your attack dog, only so you can turn me down because you think I can't contribute anything to the office? That I'm not a valuable asset or have something worthy for you?" The bubbling had turned into a fire in the pit of my stomach and I could feel tears pricking the corners of my eyes. Fuck, why did I always cry when I was pissed off? "That's absolute bullshit!" Death regarded me coolly and stood, now towering over me. He was well over 6'0, that was for sure, because I was about that height and I seemed tiny now in comparison. His height didn't discourage me though; I was too angry for that.

"Honestly, you're not making the situation any better for yourself," he replied calmly, as if we were both having a normal conversation. "Do you think you deserve a job here because I made you wait? Or maybe because you got past my 'attack dog'?" I blinked, taken aback.

"Wha- No, of course not!" He was really pissing me off now. He leaned down to me, his face nearly touching mine. I could smell a hint of alcohol on his breath, and something else I couldn't quite place.

"Then why?" Death asked, voice low. He was trying to intimidate me, I knew it. He wasn't going to get that satisfaction; no one ever had and no one ever would. I rocked forward onto my toes, pushing myself up so that our noses brushed. The loose strands of his hair brushed against my cheek, tickling my skin and catching my eyelashes.

"Because I'm qualified and I'm pretty sure I'm the only applicant who hasn't bailed on you because of how long you avoided them," I answered, my voice unable to stay calm. "I can take anything you throw at me and get it done perfectly. I busted my ass getting here and if you give me a chance, I'll show you that I deserve to be here. That I have something of value to bring to the table." Silence fell back over us, our eyes locked in a silent battle. I wasn't about to back down, and I knew he definitely wouldn't; he didn't seem like the type of man to back down from a fight.

I heard a light knock on the door, followed by the sound of it being opened, but my gaze never wavered. "Sir," I heard Amber say. "You brother is waiting for you." Death's eyes burned holes into me but I didn't dare look away. Angels and demons had had their fair share of trying to intimidate me and had failed, this guy wouldn't be the first to break me.

"Which one?" he growled, refusing to drop eye contact. There was a loud bang and I couldn't help but jump and subsequently look over my shoulder. Standing next to Amber was a man about the same height as Death, with dark skin and disheveled hair that fell back over his head and ended in little spikes. It reminded me of a character in some anime Neema tried getting me to watch.

"Brother," he exclaimed, a shit eating grin on his face. "Good to see you!" Death groaned and fell back into his seat.

"Strife," he muttered. Strife sauntered in, holding his arms out.

"I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by just to say hi, maybe catch up."

"You live on the other side of town!" I looked between them, suddenly feeling awkward. Death dragged a hand down his face and stared at his brother, the bags under his eyes seeming to deepen. "What do you really want?" Strife clutched his heart and frowned.

"Why, big brother, what do you mean? Can't I just be here for a nice visit with my sibling?"

"No," he replied before Strife could even finish.

"Should I remove him from the premises, sir?" Amber asked, cracking her knuckles. Death and Strife stared at each other, Strife's eyes hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses. The building tension in the room made me want to shiver, but instead I fell back into my seat just as Death answered,

"No, thank you, Amber. It'll be fine." She nodded and left, closing the door behind her, but not before casting me a curious glance. Strife continued over and pulled back a chair, sweeping my bag off of the seat without a care to ask me to move it. My purse hit the floor, contents spilling out all over. I sucked in a sharp breath and glared at the man as he plopped down, ignoring me completely.

"Nice manners, asshole," I muttered, scooting out of my seat to pick up my things. I grabbed the dumped items- gum, a pen, my wallet, and an empty candy bar wrapper- and tossed the items back into my bag. As I went to pick it up, a boot came down on the purse strap. I snapped my head up, scowling at him. He smirked and reached for his sunglasses, tipping them up slightly to reveal two intense yellow eyes. My breath hitched in my throat at the sight of them; absolutely beautiful.

"Do you know who I am, little girl?" he asked, his tone vaguely threatening. I frowned, yanking the purse strap out from under his boot.

"Yeah," I said, settling back into my seat. "You're the biggest asshole in the city; nice to finally meet you." He stared at me for a few seconds and I wondered if, perhaps, I should have kept my mouth shut. After all, this was the brother of the man I was trying to get to hire me, and he was pretty important himself. He let his glasses fall back over his eyes and, to my surprise, started to laugh. He tipped his head back as he snickered, his body shaking from the laughter. My frown deepened as I watched him; this was definitely not what I'd expected.

"Oh, Creator, that was good," he wheezed out after a few more moments of giggling. He looked to his brother. "Death, where did you find this one? Can I have her?"

"She's not mine," Death hissed, sitting back and rubbing his temples.

"Yes I am," I snapped. I wasn't about to leave here after waiting for an hour without a job.

"Really," Strife sang, turning his attention to me. He leaned on the arm of his chair, resting his chin on his fist as he regarded me. "So how long have you been banging my brother?" My eyes widened at his question. What? I wasn't- how did he think- "He never told me he had a lovely little human on his arm."

"Strife," Death growled, getting no reaction from his sibling other than a smirk.

"I'm not his like that!" I finally sputtered out. My face was warm and I could only imagine how red my cheeks were. "I just meant-"

"You're not mine in any way, shape, or form!" I shot a glare at Death, ready to enter another round of arguing with him, when Strife cut in.

"If he's not gonna give you a job, I'll happily take you in," he purred, a mischievous grin on his face. I rolled my eyes at his offer and sighed, shaking my head.

"You'll do no such thing," Death stated, narrowing his eyes at the other man. Strife's grin only grew and he turned to his brother.

"You're not the boss of either of us, big brother. I'd be more than welcome to take the little human in." The two stared at each other silently, the tension in the air only growing. I was sure one of them was going to throw the first punch at any minute. Suddenly, Death spoke.

"Amber!" In less than five seconds the blonde was at the door, her eyes trained on Strife like a guard dog waiting for her owner to give the command. "Please, escort Miss Banks out of my office. I need to speak to my brother, alone." I frowned, my hands curling into fists.

"What?" I spat, glaring at him. "No, we're not finished here!" He met my gaze and the air around me seemed to chill. I wanted to recoil, but I couldn't back down.

"Yes, I believe we are. I am sorry, Miss Banks, but you do not have the job." I stood quickly, nearly knocking back the chair, and slammed my hands down on the desk.

"No, I'm not leaving. You can't just-"

"Please come with me or else I'll have to use force," Amber said, appearing next to me. I disregarded her.

"I came here for a job and I'm not leaving until I get one, you pompous, stuck up ba-" Before I could finish tearing him a new one, Amber had my arm twisted behind my back and was pushing me to the exit, my bag in her hand. "Wait!"

"Have a nice day, Miss Banks," Death called as I was shoved out. I tossed a glance over my shoulder and I could've sworn I saw a smirk on his face. Son of a bitch. Amber didn't let go of me until I was in the elevator.

"I'm sorry the interview didn't go your way," she said, sounding and looking sincere. "Don't take what he said personally; he's is in a mood today. Something to do with his siblings, I'd assume." The anger seemes to drain out of me as she talked, not because I felt bad for the guy, but because the reality of what had just happened was settling in. I suddenly felt ashamed of myself; my actions weren't something I was entirely proud of. I'd never been so upset by an interview before. I'd had plenty of them, and had been turned down more times than I cared to admit, so why had I lost it at this one? Maybe it was the looming reminder of failure hanging over me. Whatever it was, it was inexcusable of me to behave like that. I almost felt like I owed Death an apology.

Almost.

"It's alright," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. I took my bag from her hand, my frown deepening. "I shouldn't have behaved like a crazy bitch. That probably didn't help my case." Amber cracked a small smile and nodded, stepping back. I hit the lobby button and leaned against the elevator wall. "It was nice meeting you, Amber."

"Same to you, Aziza," she replied as the elevator doors came to a close. I let my head fall back and sighed, closing my eyes as tears started to build.

What a fucking failure.