#Night never noticed the little hobbies of his pawns initially and only started to see them when he wanted to care for them more thoroughly

[spotaus]

Hmm. Tauverse concept post? Perhaps?

So, like, I don't remember if I talked a ton about Dream or the Stars in the original post for this, but Dream is my Special little guy that I project onto. Uh. Often. So here's a quick look at how he feels about his situation with Nightmare!

Dream, like in the og, was turned to stone when he absorbed the final golden apple. He was not conscious for ANYTHING after that point. Complete deep sleep style out of it.

So, when he wakes up finally? It's when Ink and Error are fighting in Dreamtale. (<- Error was planning on destroying a stagnant universe/piece of code, aka Dreamtale, while Ink was trying to keep that from happening because. Well. It's a story yet to be finished!) So when he wakes up and breaks out of the stone, these two adults who look like him (loosely) are fighting eachother. The universe is falling apart. Nim is dead and there's no sign of Nightmare anywhere. He's confused, and scared, and rushes back to Nim's stump best he can. And he watches, as Ink and Error fight it out. The villagers hurt his brother, hurt him, he doesn't want to get involved in this fight.

It's only as Ink realizes he's fighting a losing battle that he seems to field a retreat. Just. Uh. During the fight, Dream picked up on how Ink was trying to keep this place alive and decided he must be the one to trust. So when he goes to leave? Dream rushes to grip his scarf and gets pulled out of his universe, into the doodlesphere.

Ink was surprised to find Dream there when they landed, and normally he'd go back and drop Dream off at his universe again, but. Error got to it already. So, next best thing was to drop Dream through another portal into the omega timeline. (<- Ink was not exactly soft or kind with this 6 y/o, kinda just went ??? I didn't mean to take you with??? And then ditched him in an unfamiliar place.) Luckily in the omega timeline there were plenty of 0eople willing to help him. He was wary at first of how welcoming they were (he's actually extremely close with a Fell!Paps because he told little Dream to stay away and Dream did not listen a bit, because he preferred someone being openly mean to him over fake nice) but eventually he grew used to the community. There were a lot of monsters and humans willing to help him learn his magic and place in the multiverse.

As he grew up, he was under the impression that Nightmare was dead. That thing that tried to attack him *wasn't* Nightmare. That his twin had been destroyed along with his universe. And, he's right. The thing that carries Nightmare's name isn't his twin, or brother, or family. It's a different being entirely, not quite a monster. But, he didn't know it had escaped the universe. Not until he was older.

He had taken up helping Core Frisk manage new monsters (this is also how he met Color, Lust, and Outer) and get them used to the omegaverse. Some monsters who came through spoke of a monster, and several others, who were tormenting their universe before Error came through and destroyed it for good. It took quite a few different stories for the descriptions to strike a chord in Dream's gut. What they were talking about sounded Just Like that thing from his au.

His suspicions were proven true when he encountered it once. In a peaceful au he'd been visiting, Nightmare had appeared with his first Killer and Dust in tow. The three of them had caused havoc, and the aura alone sent Dream into fight or flight. Nightmare didn't pay him any mind, until he shot an arrow. This drew his attention. And Nightmare called him by name. Surprised he'd grown up. Surprised he escaped the universe. Surprised he had the gall to fight *now*. Taunting him. And Dream had to flee.

After that encounter, feeling the pain from the Killer and Dust, hating the new Nightmare? He swore he'd work to stop them. Restore balance.

He gathered some friends and created the star sans' with the intention of putting an end to this, capturing Nightmare, freeing his pawns.

Of course, Dream started off very zealous. He asked Ink, and his good friends Blue, Color, and Bird to join. They all agreed, and after several successful rescue missions, Dream brought on Lust and Outer from his old group to help as well.

It only started to go downhill when Dream and the others noticed Nightmare was killing his pawns. He'd added a horror, who was the first to fall and inevitably be replaced. Then the Killer went. Then the Dust. They cycled, and everyone involved felt desperate. They hadn't helped any of them. Hadn't been able to. Then the 2nd Killer, Color managed to get through to him over the course of a year. Slowly but surely talking to him in battles as the others ran interference. Proof that the monsters under Nightmare still had a chance! They could survive! But. Well. Nightmare slipped away from Dream once. He'd noticed the change long ago, buy waited for just the right moment. Just when they were going to escape. He killed Killer and Color, one easy swoop while they were distracted. He reiterated very clearly that his pawns were replaceable. Clearly, Dream must feel the same to bring in so many pieces for him to break.

They had to retreat, and everyone was impacted. Dream was nearly inconsolable, but even worse off was Bird. He and Color had been close, and seeing him dusted like that? He couldn't take it, instead of depression, he was filled with rage. The next time they went our, which wasn't long at all, because if they didn't go now then Color died in vain, Bird was reckless. He fought as though it was the battle in the Judgement Hall, taking on the new Killer which had been so quickly instated, and lost his life to a sneak-attack from the 2nd Horror. With one less body, it left them open to attack from behind.

Again, they retreated. After that, it was hard for Dream to get back on his feet. He refused to take any more recruits, offered the remaining the chance to leave. None of them took it, but it was there. And that leaves the stars at the 3 in the story. They still want to save Nightmare's pawns, but not at the cost of their own.

(Cross is a special case. Ink brings him in and while Dream doesn't want to make him a Star, he asks he stays with Lust and Outer, and doesn't let him out of his sight. At this point he'd still have Chara, and he'd be looking for a way to get rid of them, so he needs the help.)

I think Dream has trinkets a lot like Night does. He sees the items as marks of his failure to protect people who looked up to him. Nightmare, Color, Bird. For a while there Cross too, but Cross was 100% alive lmao. I just think he mourns stupid-style and needs the objects as reminders to like. Channel his guilt? If that makes sense? Sadness doesn't come naturally to him, like Happiness didn't come naturally to Night, so when he experiences it, it must be intense and burning. His downturns sockets are part of his character because! Well! He's making himself a friend to misery. Just like Nightmare is making himself a friend to kindness.

[cypher-of-the-night]

Biography: Asher

“Fufufu~ Now then... Shall we dance~?”

~

Full name: Asher 

Hiragana:  あしぇる

Meaning: Asher - "Fortunate, blessed, happy one"

Nickname(s):

Old Friend (by Karlheinz)

My Beloved (by Ying-Yue)

Master Ash (by Andrew)

Papa (by Naoki)

Age: 20 (Physically)

Birthday: December 20th

Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius

Ethnicity: Demon

Status: Alive (Deceased in Lost Eden)

Race: First Blood

Gender: Male

Height: 180 cm (5’11")

Weight: 68 kg (150 Ib)

Hair color: Blue

Eye color: Golden

Blood Type: O

Occupation: Protector of Naoki Enjo

Relatives: 

Ying-Yue Jiang (lover, deceased)

Naoki Enjo (hostess, adoptive daughter)

Yuuichi Kuroi (adoptive son)

Place: Naoki’s body

Favorite Food: Pineapples

Hobbies: Teasing

Seiyuu: As Himself: Subaru Kimura (Ichiro Yamada from Hypnosis Mic) (Talking / Singing)

As Naoki: Asami Tano ( Saki Nikaido from Zombieland Saga ) (Talking / Singing)

English Voice: As Himself: Austin Tindle (Kaneki Ken from Tokyo Ghoul) (Talking, 1/2) /

As Naoki: Amber Lee Connors (Android 18 from Dragonball Z Abridged) (Talking, 1/2)

Significant Other/Keeper: Ying-Yue Jiang (Deceased, Formerly)

~

Personality:

Due to being alive for more than several several millenniums, Asher is rather a cocky and egotistical trickster. While he always takes order from his hostess, it does not stop Asher from being playfully devious and rebellious. He gets easily bored and often takes up challenges he finds fun. Mischievous and a bit immature, The first blood’s arrogance has always been a coping mechanism to mask the pain of betrayal from Karlheinz whom he once respected as a father-figure. Being a Do-S, Asher has said to have always thirst for chaos and destruction in battle and would sometimes go to the human world to witness it. He would even get himself involved just to shed blood for fun on every eclipses when he is at his strongest; Because of this, he is often viewed as the true monster he is for his blood thirst and sadism. This trait still exist even within the body of Naoki as he would laugh maniacally over the idea of a heated war happening in the Demon world, and be heavily upset about is unable to join in the fray.

However, while the sadism is still there, Asher admitted to have toned down his lust to torture and to kill over the years, only spiking up as it was when given the thought of going against Karlheinz. This is due to the several thousand year influence of his beloved lover and hostess. While he does not acknowledge growing soft, Asher shows hold a soft spot for Enjo Naoki, his new hostess, and began to see her as a daughter-figure due to her uncanny resemblance to his past beloved and having to watch her grow up as her protector. He shows to be overly-protective of Naoki as he has saved her in situations where she was almost killed by even Subaru, who Asher would be capable of killing had it not been for Naoki’s influence chaining him down with taking action to do so. It is revealed that Asher’s overprotectiveness of Naoki is resulted from his beloved’s last wish to keep her safe from harm; Thus, protecting Naoki as the last order from his beloved gave him a reason to live without his love by his side and to cope from the immense loss.

While he is very laid-back and playful, Asher holds resentment towards Karlheinz, the man he himself once admired many years ago. This hatred lived on for a millennium and even lived on even when in the body of Naoki. While Naoki idolized him, Asher agrees with Subaru’s hatred of Karlheinz and finds it justifying. His resentment for him is one of the times when Asher does become serious and prompt Naoki to not try and challenge him on that fact as even that scares her.

Asher is also known for being rather promiscuous, as in-between the Haunted Dark Bridal saga and the MORE BLOOD saga, He is known to flirt with men and women in Naoki’s body; While he claim to joke when he says he states he doesn’t mind sleeping around using Naoki’s body, it is possible that Asher was not joking and was actually serious but only claimed to be joking to prevent Naoki to feel wary of him and forbid him from resurfacing again.

~

Strengths: Cunning, sometimes obedient, fast-learner, observant, highly intelligent, experienced, fatherly when it counts, athletic, fun-loving, persepctive, open-minded, high stamina, analytical, protective, goal-oriented, assertive, adventurous, playful, a realist, perseverant, spontaneous, versatile, serious when needed, decisive, charming, considerate (exclusively to Ying-Yue and sometimes Naoki), and expressive.

Flaws: Extremely sadistic, persistent, cocky, egotistical, rude, perverted, disrespectful (to an extend), devious, rebellious (to an extent), sometimes immature, arrogant, easily bored, thirsts for destruction and bloodshed from conflict, mischievous, impulsive, exasperating at times, selfish, reckless, deceitful, glutton for all the wrong things, and manipulative.

Skills: Teasing, a master of setting traps, playing the piano, dancing, rapping (due to Naoki’s influence), is able to speak different languages (Such as German, English, Japanese, and (due to Ying-Yue’s influence) Chinese), his intelligence, possesses a medium-high level of magic, high stamina, the ability to turn into animals of the four sub-clans (a wolf, snake, bat, and eagle), highly enhanced abilities such as strength and speed, can summon and control familiars, has regenerative abilities, reading people and their emotions, hunting, singing (only does it for Naoki and Ying-Yue), has archery skills, a high-tolerance for alcohol, negotiation skills, quick thinker, surprisingly a strategist when it counts, and swordsmanship.

~

History:

Many millenniums ago, Asher was a First-Blood that was taken under the care of Karlheinz, the Vampire King, after Asher’s parents were killed from the Endzeit illness. He developed a strong friendship with his butler, Andrew, a turned-vampire adopted by Karlheinz. He grew up admiring the Vampire King for his vast knowledge and potential as a ruler. He even wished he could’ve been Karlheinz’s real son, and is often overjoyed when treated as if he was his son. His hobby was to tease a young Richter, even giving him the nickname “Little Ricky”/“Rick-tan”. He was also well-acquainted with Carla Tsukinami, the first prince of Giesbach, as they would see each other often in the kings’ respective castles.

One night, he decided to explore the human world to cause mischief and witness wars and chaos to get over his boredom in the castle. There, he goes to China after receiving word from one of his familiars that two clans are at a heated war with each other. As it was the night of the Eclipse, he decided to take part in it using magic to disguise his appearance as one of the enemy clan members; However, as he was about to join, Asher gets cornered by clan members that believes him to be their enemy. While he was able to slaughter them, the first-blood faints from using too much of his own energy. Waking up, Asher finds himself in a different area of the forest bandaged up. Sensing a human presence, He meets a young girl by the name of “Jiang Ying-Yue”, who found him unconscious near the battlefield with the corpses of the men he killed and bandaged his wounds for him. Sensing she is lowering her guard, Asher initially thought about drinking her blood to quench his thirst before he goes back to the Demon World; However, before he could, Asher notices something off about the girl as her chest pains and started to have difficulties to breathe. When she was calm, He demanded answers from the girl, especially why she would save a stranger such as himself. But before she could answer, the Chinese girl noticed it was time for her to return and promised to meet him again the next night before bidding farewell. After she left, Asher decides to transform into an bat to follow the mysterious girl. He comes to find out that Ying-Yue was the daughter of a member from one of the clans in war, the same clan that he killed other members of, and has been taking care of him in secret the entire time despite of that. While he initially thought about leaving to go back to the Demon World as he has already regenerated, Asher decides not to leave yet. He became curious about the unknown girl who didn’t seem to hesitate helping someone that clearly killed clan members from her own clan, that could likely be a foe that could kill her, and concludes that she did not do it out of the goodness of her heart; Rather, she chose to heal him with an ulterior motive. Because of this, he decided to wait upon her return, and thought about killing her by drinking her blood dry once she gives him answers, reasoning to himself that he would’ve been fine without her help due to being a first-blood and can only die from decapitation.

The next night, Ying-Yue returns with fruits she has taken from the clan for Asher to eat, this includes slices of Pineapples. While he was wary of the human girl, he tries it only to savor the taste. While Ying-Yue was happy he liked it, Asher goes straight to the point and asked her why she helped him, despite knowing he was the one that killed members of her clan.

And the answer was simple to Ying-Yue: She wanted him to kill her next.

Taken aback as he has never been asked by someone (let alone a human) to kill them before, Asher asks why. Ying-Yue reveals that she was actually born with a weak-heart, and brought him to a safe area as she realized he wasn’t from either clans. Despite her condition, She explains that the only value she ever had was by being chosen to be married away by her father to the son of the clan leader; Due to this, she never knew what it was like to be free to make choices for herself or to live her life to the fullest, often used as a pawn for power. With her weak heart, she wished she could live healthier, but understands it would not change how things were. Thus, when she saw that someone from a third-party came to join in the war for the sake of killing, Ying-Yue knew she found the right person that would do the job. A stranger with no strings attached that was capable of taking lives with no remorse. Now understanding why, Asher takes everything into consideration. If he kills her, he will highly likely cause an uproar that will start an all-out war between clans that could cause so much devastation and bloodshed to both sides. A war that could potentially continue for many years to come. As much as he enjoyed the thought, The First-Blood decided to accept the request and drink Ying-Yue’s blood, who was taken aback from this action but started to give in despite the pain. As he drinks her blood, Asher starts to become fond of her blood and stops before he could really succeed in killing her. When questioned why he chose to stop as Ying-Yue was prepared to give into death, Asher took a moment to recollect his thoughts as of why. While he didn’t understand himself, he only knew he wanted to drink more of Ying-Yue’s blood, yet not so much where she could really die. Noticing that it was becoming late, Ying-Yue was about to leave until she nearly faints from having the blood drunk. While reluctant, Asher decides to help her by transforming into a wolf to help her to the site of the clan and healing the bite mark before leaving back to the hidden area.

The meetings at night start to become frequent. Whenever Ying-Yue was in danger by rival clan members, Asher would protect her by either transforming into a Wolf or a snake, or by using a familiar to kill them. In the daytime, He would transform as an eagle to watch over her while he transform into a bat to watch over her at night. They started to form a bond that turned into friendship, where Asher confesses being a First-Blood and talks to her about the Demon world, which helped her understand when he drank her blood for the first time; Meanwhile, Ying-Yue talks about the clan and about the good and bad humans that also resides in the human world, which makes Asher begin to understand about the fascination Karlheinz has for humans in the first place. Asher has even transforms into a Wolf for Ying-Yue and takes her on his back to places she has never gotten the chance to go to. Eventually, as they began to show each other sights they’ve never seen before, they start to form a romance as they began to fall in love; He falls in love with her solidifying fearlessness, as she falls in love with his mischievous rebelliousness.

But after realizing he has already taken too much time away from the Demon world, Asher eventually has to bid farewell to his beloved, who kisses him and makes him promise to return for her. While he was hesitant to come back, He decides he will start to become true to her and swore to keep the promise.

However, everything changed when the Millennial war started to take place. After overhearing about a war coming to place, Asher was initially excited to see bloodshed and wanted to join in ‘the fun’. But once he heard about it being against the clans and about how Karlheinz does not plan to help save all of the First-Bloods from the disease that killed his parents, Asher felt betrayed that his idol would rather use this opportunity for his own personal plans.

Upon finding out that he and Burai, the Demon Lord, would seal the Antenate Castle with the rest of the remaining first-bloods, Asher realizes that he is no longer safe as he concluded that Karlheinz will use the trust Asher had for him to join the rest of the first-bloods and possibly die from Endzeit. Before that happens, Andrew chooses to assist his master in escaping that fate, as he has overheard the instructions Karlheinz gave Menae, the sister of the Founder king’s wife, on how to slip through the barrier that surrounds the castle. Asher decides to make that attempt to escape with Andrew before he could be caught by Karlheinz to be joined among the other First-Blood’s. While they barely escaped, Asher returns to China with Andrew, where he finds Ying-Yue whose heart begins to fail. Not wanting to be part from his beloved in this way, Asher decided to give his heart to her to save her, and orders Andrew to perform the transplant. While Ying-Yue does not know how it can be possible, Andrew only makes her unconscious to have one more moment with his master about how this woman has changed him, only for Asher to respond that if anyone was changing, it was going to be her. With that said, Andrew places Asher to sleep after a farewell to perform the procedure. Once the procedure was a success, Andrew decapitates Asher’s head to fake his own death with no chances of his body surviving.

After that, Ying-Yue and Asher became one in her body, having to become more healthy from the first-blood’s heart. But this does not change Ying-Yue’s fate to marry the son of the clan leader and become a subservient wife of the clan’s leader, bearing a son in the process. During these times, Asher would sometimes take over for her to help release the stress, and start to understand the hardships of a woman during these ancient times. Once he was given word by Andrew about Karlheinz’s plan called the “Adam and Eve” project and about how only the aunt of Carla, Mene, was the only First-Blood that was left alive outside the of the castle, Asher remembers that the Vampire King has wanted to take advantage of his dying race. When he was told that Menae was sent to Burai after she escaped the barrier and is bearing a daughter despite also being infected by Endzeit, Asher realizes that the reason Karlheinz didn’t save the first-blood race, was so that he could create a new race using a woman with first-blood blood for his own plans regarding Endzeit.

Finding out that Karlheinz might’ve sent a familiar to search for him after his escape, Asher tells Ying-Yue that she is no longer safe. The reason for this is because, despite faking his own death, it is still possible for someone like Karlheinz to see that his heart could still live on within her body, and might plan to use her for that plan. When asked if he was sure, Asher explains that the only reason he can be sure about it was because he has been under the Vampire King’s care, surrounded by his researches and Asher knew better than anyone about Karlheinz’s fascination with the human race; Even Andrew himself attest to it. He knows that even if the heart originally belonged to a male first-blood, Ying-Yue was still a female human that could still be a victim to Karlheinz and his experiments. And if she doesn’t comply, Karlheinz will either force her to comply or take the heart for himself to place in another female’s body.

While Asher initially suggested running away into hiding, Ying-Yue, not wanting to leave her baby behind or take any risks of being found, suggests to burn down the village. While she understands this to be cruel to the other villagers, Ying-Yue believes that it is the only way to save herself and her child, and even begs Andrew to turn her into a vampire to lessen her value as a human. If she simply ran away into hiding, then the Vampire King will still find her regardless; Thus, she suggests burning the village down is the only option in order to fake her own death to prevent being found, and allow herself to go into hiding with her son, even takes advantage of being a vampire to protect her son and herself. She would rather take that risk for her freedom than to be forced to a fate against her will again, and wants her son to be given the freedom to choose for himself instead of being forced to go through life with high expectations for the sake of the clan. No matter the cost may be, as a lot of things were taken from her.

Understanding her reasons, and seeing that Ying-Yue has embraced his destructive traits as expected, Asher (with Andrew’s help) arranged the destruction of the village and their escape before Karlheinz’s familiars could travel to look for them. When the day came, the village burned as planned. Despite the death of her husband and other clan members, Ying-Yue successfully managed to escape with her son by the time Karlheinz’s familiars arrived to search for them; This earned Ying-Yue the nickname of Adam’s first wife: Lilith. However, once she managed to escape, Andrew, under hers and Asher’s orders, turns her into a vampire; Unfortunately, He could not afford to stay with them, in fear that his association with them would lead to them being discovered alive; Ying-Yue tried to get him to stay, but Asher stops her and bids his friend farewell, making him promise that they will meet again soon so he may repay him for everything he has done to help his new family. And thus, they parted ways and it was the last time they saw one another.

After that, Ying-Yue starts to adjust her new life as a vampire while experiencing the freedom she dreamed of with her new family, as Asher experiences compassion and love from taking care of the human baby whom he viewed as his own son. Noticing that the son was developing differently from normal humans due to Asher’s blood, Ying-Yue has begun living her life as a Vampire watching as her descendants grow and decided to take the opportunity to save their family secret behind their enhanced abilities by establishing a new clan filled with vampire hunters, which became well-known for their professionalism in their work. Despite having to be stay into hiding for protection, Ying-Yue was very happy with the freedom to live her life as her own, to cherish living a long life after fearing her life would be cut short, and to be free to love Asher, even if they must share her body.

However, the happy days came to an end when one of the descendants was captured by a Vampire and their family secret was leaked to the world. While the original plan was to place Asher’s heart in a male vessel to protect him and to keep it from Karlheinz’s reach, Ying-Yue finds out there was an female infant, an orphan born with the same weak heart she once had as a human. Not wanting the child to die, Ying-Yue decided to pass on Asher’s heart to the child. While Asher tried to convince her otherwise as history might repeat, he gave in after hearing Ying-Yue’s solidified resolve of wanting to save the baby. Her last wish was for him to protect the baby with his life, to give him reason not to give up and to keep moving forward, a reason to keep living without her; The same way he protected her during her times of distress. Seeing what she was trying to do, he decides to honor her last request. They both proclaim their love one last time before they part, transferring Asher’s heart from his beloved to the baby.

That baby was born with the name “Jiang Xiu-Lan”, who would eventually go by a new name: “Enjo Naoki”.

While pained to leave his beloved after thousands of years being together, Asher pushes those emotions aside and end up falling asleep until he woke up within Naoki’s dreams when she was 5. This would be their first real meeting. He is awoken from Naoki’s crying and comforts her, enraged when he finds out she was suffering a fate similar to his beloved’s where she is used as a pawn and restricted from having freedom. He comes to realize she has been adopted by a selfish man that does not allow Naoki to act her age. Because of this, Asher takes it upon himself to become a father-figure to her and play with her in her dreams, where she would refer to him as “Papa” as she is permitted to call whom she believes to be her father “Father”. These blissful dreams came to an end as Naoki started to get older, as Naoki would start to remember it as having an imaginary friend, turning the dreams to bittersweet. Asher is placed to sleep again until she awakens him; However, as he has began to see Naoki’s sanity slip due to the abusive environment she grows up in, Asher decides to take it upon himself to chain himself up from within Naoki to keep her at bay, making her unwittingly and emotionally dependent on his presence. For when the time comes for her to break those chains that bind her once and for all when she needs him the most, He will free and be there to protect her.

Which does upon when Naoki starts to live in the Sakamaki mansion and meet the daughter of Burai and Mēne, Cordelia (in Komori Yui’s body), and an adult Richter. In which, Asher greets after years of slumber.

~

Trivia:

• It is heavily implied that Asher was one of the main reasons why Richter developed an inferiority complex towards Karlheinz, as he has taunted him about being a brat that will never being able to surpass the Vampire King nor Asher himself, even after he has resided to Naoki’s body ever since Richter was young.

• Asher admits, after many millenniums later, he reached a conclusion with his sexuality being pansexual; This is due to experimenting about himself while residing within Ying-Yue’s body, where even found himself comfortable in a female body despite identifying himself as male.

He even admits that, had he have experimented and known about his sexuality sooner, and if it had not been for his love for and influences from Ying-Yue, Asher would’ve taken advantage of her body to flirt with others and have fun without her consent; Although, this May or may not mean the same in Naoki’s case as Asher has made clear.

• It is revealed that after the MORE BLOOD saga, once Naoki and Subaru do become a couple, Asher began to sleep with Subaru using Naoki’s body and admits to enjoy it as Subaru is, what Asher calls, “A beast in the sheets”.

• Asher was the first, in the MORE BLOOD saga, to suspect that Yuuichi Kuroi was another surviving member of the Jiang Clan, mainly due to his scent.

• In the DARK FATE saga, it is revealed that Asher did know Christa and has known her when she was a child, to a point when Naoki finally does meet her, Christa only saw her as Asher due to having his heart; This prompt Asher to take over and comfort Christa, assuring her that he’s not dead as rumored and that he’s really there with her.

• In the Brute Ending in the DARK FATE saga, Asher decides to properly take over Naoki’s body as a vessel, killing her from the inside, in order to follow through Carla’s offer to save the First-Blood race from going extinct once Karlheinz is killed; As a result of such, Asher reigns as the new Vampire ruler, turning Naoki’s body to a turned-Vampire and awakening the full-potential of his powers, while claiming Subaru as his pet, breaking him down and manipulating him by pretending to be Naoki to keep him at bay.

• While Asher appears at the near end of the Haunted Dark Bridal saga, He plays a very prominent, important role in Naoki’s story as her anchor; As he may be crazy, Asher himself is heavily secretive and knows a lot of answers to the questions the Sakamaki’s have.

• While roaming around in Naoki’s body once he has been reawaken, It is implied that Asher is technology-challenged and just as outdated with Modern times as Carla; This is to be expected due to being only conscious in Naoki’s dreams growing up, and has not gained control over her body to roam in the surface until the near end of the Haunted Dark Bridal saga.

• He has to be taught by Naoki over time between the Haunted Dark Bridal saga and the MORE BLOOD saga to learn how to figure it out.

• While Asher can still die, he reveals killing him from within Naoki’s body will cause her will experience imbalance from within psychologically, causing a severe loss of identity/an unstable sense of self as he was the one to keep Naoki has not gone mentally insane from her childhood; Making his existence within her is essential to keep her at bay as she has been unwittingly dependent of him emotionally. This becomes heavily apparent in Naoki’s brutal ending in the Haunted Dark Bridal Saga.

However, in the DARK FATE saga, Asher states that it is possible for Naoki to not suffer such a dangerous aspect when he dies; However, the only way to not suffer it is for Naoki to accept and embrace Asher’s own destructive traits as her own, in a similar way Ying-Yue did when she carried his heart. This way requires a lot of time and effort, which is also why it wouldn’t have been possible to do in the Haunted Dark Bridal saga when he first appeared.

• While it is only implied and hasn’t been decided yet, It is possible that Asher will come back again in the DARK FATE saga after his death.

• While he no longer resides in Naoki after the DARK FATE saga, Some of his personality traits were adopted and embraced by Naoki, along with memories of his past shown in dreams, which makes even Carla question if Asher really did disappear from within her.

~

Height Chart:

Credits: Sprites made by @crezzstar-commissions, Chibi made by minoux-draws, Character sheet image provided by Yuiannii on DeviantArt (color edited by me)

[dumbbelle]

robber!Minghao

In the end, Chan’s the one who says it best: “So… What you’re telling me is that you broke into Y/N’s house to steal a painting, and walked out having stolen their heart instead?”

Seokmin raises his hand for a high five. “Smooth man, smooth.”

Minghao Robin Hoods the frick outta his life, and quite literally bumps into you in the process. 

✄ Word Count: 3402 ✄ T/W: Swearing, attempted robbery, cute shit ✄ A/N: Heyo it’s Belle, I’m back with something that nobody asked for but I thought was necessary.

Masterlist

Contrary to what his best friend and roommate says, Xu Minghao insists that he’s a decent person.

(“And Mingyu can go fuck himself with his morals, the asshole’s the most notorious bootlegger you’ll find on campus”)

But honest, Minghao is a simple college boy.

He came to Pledis University when he was 18 as an international student, double majoring in Visual Arts, and Korean Language and Culture.

He’s there mostly on scholarship but he also has financial support from his parents, so he’s never really had to worry about his economic status.

He’s not the most social of kids but he’s also not the most introverted, so he always has just enough friends and just enough parties to attend as to not get bored.

But he gets bored anyway, because he’s always been an active child itching to do more.

So really, this whole mess started when he decides that he should pick up his old hobby:

Breakdancing

It’s mostly just a passing thought that comes to him when he comes back home for holiday and rewatches a VHR tape of an old b-boying competition.

But it lingers and every once in awhile he considers the possibility of him just quitting school and becoming a b-boy star like he once dreamed of.

After all, he was pretty damn good.

(He accidentally thinks this out loud during dinner and his mother throws her chopsticks at him)

Anyway, he returns to college for the new year and he’s almost completely forgotten about his old dreams.

Luckily enough (or maybe unluckily enough, depending on the perspective), there is a campus b-boy squad that he happens to stumble upon during his second-year clubs fair (as in, they barrelled into him with a flier and bombarded him with questions).

To be truthful, it seems pretty lame and Minghao’s sure that if he went underground, he could probably find a cooler scene,,,

But also, they said that there would be snacks at the interest meeting,,,

And so he makes the considerate decision to attend.

The interest meeting is where he meets Seokmin of all people.

The acting major makes a scene when he announces that he’s not there as Lee Seokmin but as Kang Hajoon, a lower-class high school drop out who finds his way through the power of breakdance.

(“Nobody knew who you were in the first place, dipshit–“

“–I said to call me Hajoon–“

“–Just sit down.”)

And people are snickering at Seokmin because they find his method acting lame.

But Minghao finds that lame so he proceeds to sit down right beside the boy and stare daggers at any jerk who directs a snide comment their way.

He hangs around just long enough so that he can decimate the rest in a b-boy demonstration, pretty much showing them all what they’re going to miss out on.

And then he gets up and leaves the meeting, Seokmin following behind him.

They grab some chips on their way out and properly introduce themselves.

“Hey sorry about all of that in there, Seo- uh, Hajoon. B-boyers usually aren’t assholes… Just them. Don’t let that bleed into your portrayal, you feel? I’m Minghao, by the way. Nice to meet you.”

“Don’t worry, I’m over it. Thanks for what you did back there... It’s nice to meet you too. And you can call me Seokmin now, I’m done with Hajoon for the day.”

Which starts an odd, but well-oiled friendship.

Seokmin introduces Minghao to all of his friends, and that’s how Minghao ends up with an incredibly,, diverse,, friend group.

And by diverse, he means that he’s positive his friendship with them will likely result with him going to jail.

He should’ve realized it when the de facto leader Seungcheol introduced himself as “S.Coups” and made him sign a waiver of liability before joining the group.

It was scribbled on to the back of a receipt but yeah, it should’ve been a little concerning

But Minghao just kinda rolls with it.

And this is how he finds himself inducted into their so-called “League of Good Doers Doing Not So Good Doer Things”.

It’s a working title; LoGDDNSGDT for short.

(“What do you do, Seokmin?”

“I’m a recruiter!”

“… That’s fair.”)

It takes him a few months to solidify his role in the group (he’s the last to join), but in that time he manages to become especially good friends with Mingyu, so much so that he becomes his roommate.

Mingyu’s known for using his technical abilities to bootleg high quality concert footage, videos, textbooks, and whatever else you need.

(“We’re all just a bunch of broke college students with a bunch of broke college student needs. We’re just making those needs realities.”)

Also alcohol, he sells a lot of alcohol.

And though Minghao initially scoffs at this, it also makes him check his privilege a little

He’s always been fortunate enough to grow up with money and be smart, free to do whatever he wants when he wants.

Growing up, he’s had a lot of interests and a lot of phases, all of which he more than excelled in.

Gosh, there was even that one ninja phase…

THE NINJA PHASE

He’s eating a brownie that’s probably been laced with weed one Friday night as he watches tv with Mingyu and Seokmin when he remembers the ninja phase.

He remembers how stealthy he is and just how good he is at picking locks.

And so he decides to Robin Hood the frick outta his life, robbing the expensive belongings from the richer students and pawning their items off so he can donate to the poor.

He excels at this too, much to Mingyu’s chagrin (“the kid’s just fuckin’ good at everything!”)

It definitely alleviates him of his boredom, and he’s so subtle and precise with it that most of the time, people don’t even notice when things are missing.

He’s become some kind of town legend, and so many people idolize this mysterious robber that the authorities aren’t even too concerned.

He’s also somehow acquired this odd nickname?? The8?? They say it’s because you never know how his crimes begin or how they’ll end.

Like the only thing anybody knows about his victims is that they’ll be wealthy (but gosh, Pledis U has too many of those roaming the place),,,, but then next thing you know the underfunded art department will suddenly get a donation of a few thousand, or the Culture Club food drive will find a gazillion non-perishable cans when they come back the next morning.

Minghao likes to think he's spontaneous.

Now this is where you come in (“finally,” I can hear you sigh from behind your screens)

Unlike everyone else around you, you do not have the biggest crush on this mysterious figure.

(“Just for the record, ‘The8’ is literally the dumbest robber alias I have ever heard.”

“How many have you heard before?”

“Not. The. Point.”)

All he does is go around and undermine people’s hard work, invading their personal space and infringing on their privacy.

All so that he can make a quick buck.

And sure, maybe he’s not spending all that money on himself, but to make students feel unsafe and unprotected in their own freaking homes and dorms?

And to have nobody do anything about it?

Absurd.

It becomes such a constant source of ire for you that you rant about this almost daily.

But it’s like you’re the only one who understands the gravity of the situation.

Your closest friends are all about this guy, singing his praises and commending his selflessness.

Your junior, Chan, is particularly adamant about the quality of his character (you have no idea about his involvement with the LoGDDNSGDT, of course; after all, he also had to sign the receipt contract).

So you’re a party of 1 in the Anti-The-8 Movement.

He’s three months into it when he makes a rather stupid mistake:

He decides to rob you.

Minghao will later complain that anybody could’ve gotten the wrong idea.

He sees you for the first time in his Korean History class.

He doesn’t exactly know how he missed you before.

First of all, you’re fucking gorgeous

First of all, there is a certain air that you carry yourself with–

It’s poised and self-assured and kind of breathtaking.

You raise your hand to read a passage and even the way you speak is levelled and controlled.

You remind him of royalty some of the other wealthy kids on campus.

Probably trained to uphold a certain degree of eloquence so that you can one day take over your parents’ company and maintain good business relationships. 

And socialize at those hoity-toity parties with the little hors d'oeuvres.

His thoughts are confirmed after class when he overhears you talk with your friends.

You’re asking your friend to take notes in place for you when you go off to vacation with your family next week.

“Heading off to the island?” Your one friend chirps.

“Yeah, dad just finished a successful case and we’re celebrating.”

And wait, an island? These guys must be fucking loaded.

Your friend lets your name slip and it’s all starting to make a lot more sense.

Now he’s heard of your name around campus.

Your parents are lawyers who built an empire, opening up law firms around the country.

They’re known for being ruthless and never sharing their wealth.

In short, they’re prime targets!!

Minghao feels like it’s Christmas– this will be his biggest catch since that one kid who was the heir to the electric toothbrush company.

He trails you and your friends for a few minutes just to confirm the details and then he’s off to plan.

Fast forward a week later to when you should be going off to vacation.

But instead you come down with the stomach flu, and not a pretty one either.

You experience the full range of systems:

Vomit, fever, dizziness, fatigue,,, There’s no way your parents are letting you tag along on the trip.

And you’re too busy vomiting to argue.

So they ditch your ass and head off to vacation by themselves, once you assure them that you’ll be fine on your own.

After all, you are a certified GDI who can take care of yourself.

… Who just so happens to be dressed up in a onesie, cuddling a large teddy bear as you watch Netflix from your nest of pillows on the couch.

You’ve scrolling through your recommended feed when you hear it:

The door opening

And you have to wonder if the vacation ended early because who else… Would…

You gasp when you realize what’s going on, rushing to turn off the television as to eliminate all sources of sound.

All your nightmares are coming true, and you haven’t even fully developed a game plan to approach this awful situation.

Now you’re not dumb, you’re not gonna run headfirst into a situation where you don’t have the upper hand.

Instead, you’ll hide and discreetly notify the authorities when you activate the alarm system.

And so no, you’re not dumb,, 

But you are clumsy.

You’re trying to navigate your way to your bedroom, remote in hand as a backup weapon, checking over your shoulder at every possible moment.

Perhaps you’re checking over your shoulder a little too much, because next thing you know you’ve crashed into a wall.

Except the wall moves and you know that it’s definitely not a wall.

The wall makes a sound, a little grunt and you snap your head back around so quickly, you think you hear the whip of the wind.

The man in front of you is tall and skinny, and seems oddly familiar even with his ski mask on.

You don’t have too much time to contemplate this however , as you’re too busy trying to whack the heck outta him with your remote.

“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE YOU ASSBUCKET.”

It's all just too much, and you're surprised you haven't shat your pants because of how scared you are.

But,,,, The8 is kinda just taking it??? He's trying to block you of course (and mostly succeeding to, the jerk) but he's not trying to fight back. What kind of shitty robber…?

You're c o n f u s e d, which is why you stop to look up at him expectantly.

“You done?” His voice incites a whole new wave of panic to wash over you, and you raise your remote to start hitting him again but The8 quickly raises his hands in surrender. “Hey, hey now, I'm not here to hurt you.”

You're skeptical, of course you are. But you think back to all the gossip you’ve heard about The8, and realize that you can’t recall any accounts of violence.

This doesn't change the fact that this asshole is robbing you, so you use the remote to gesture towards his ski mask.

“Take it off.”

And he sighs, as if it's inevitable, but holds up a finger and starts to negotiate,,,, as if he has any right to in this current situation,,, and gosh, how is he so damn calm right now??

“Okay, but if I do, promise you won’t call the cops immediately.”

You don't know why you agree to his terms– you're sure it won't make a difference.

He’ll get the cops called on him sooner or later.

But if it gets him to cooperate… You agree with a swift dip of your head.

The tension in the room is palpable, and you have to remind yourself to breathe as he starts to take off his mask.

And oh fuck you know who it is you know who it is you know who it is.

You recognize him immediately as the cute guy in your Korean History class, the one you've had a crush on since forever and a half ago.

The one that's always hanging out with that group of loud kids…Chan's Precious Seniors

And somewhere in your subconscious, you're freaking out about the possibility of Chan being involved in a crime syndicate.

And further freaking out about how you’ve confided in Chan about your crush in Xu Minghao, who just so happens to be The8 and holy fuck you can’t believe it’s him.

You really don’t have much time to dwell, because the shock and overexertion of the situation starts gets to you, and you’re starting to feel dizzy. It’s like the fever finally catches up to you–

And then you’re falling, fainting–

The last thing you hear before you pass out is the startled cry of your name.

…

You wake up to the smell of broth, and the feeling of a damp cloth pressed to the top of your forehead.

Your headache is devastating, but you’re otherwise positioned comfortably

It takes you a minute to process that you’re back on your living room couch, low hum of the television sounding from somewhere to your right

You try to locate the smell of broth, which is when you meet eye-to-eye with a very timid looking Minghao

He’s more tense than earlier, as if he’s scared you’ll jump up right then and there to attack him

And you would, honest, but the broth,,, smells,,, so,,, good,,,

You motion for him to give it to you and he relaxes before quickly complying, letting you sit up before gently placing the bowl in your hands.

He settles into a stool beside you– one that definitely wasn’t there before, but it’s whatever.

You sit there in silence for a good couple of minutes, Minghao watching the drama playing on TV as you drink your broth.

It’s kinda nice

Minghao’s the first one to speak.

“Please don’t exert yourself like that if you’re sick. You could’ve had a heart attack or something.”

He sounds so small that you just manage to resist throwing the rest of the hot soup at him in the sudden bubble of anger that erupts from you in the form of a hiss.

“Um, my memory might be wrong here but wasn’t it you who broke into my house in the first place, assbucket?”

He chuckles at that, and you’re slowly losing that sliver of self-restraint.

“Assbucket, that’s a new one.” You notice that his accent is more prominent when he’s amused.

“You deserve worse, you assbucket.”

At that he really laughs, and you have to look away to distract yourself from how attractive the sound is.

“You’re cute, you know that?”

You’re not sure what to say to that, and Minghao can tell. He quickly changes tact.

“Listen, I get why you’re mad.” Oh, now wouldn’t that be the understatement of the year.

“But I promise I’m not here to hurt you. I-I won’t even steal anything from here anymore. But please, please don’t make yourself more sick because of me.”

And man, fuck Minghao for making it damn near impossible to call the police on his ass. You don’t say anything more until you finish up your broth.

“Why… Why do you do it?”

Minghao shrugs. “Just because.”

“Just because? You’re violating my home, Minghao. This is my private space, and you’re infringing upon it without my consent.”

Minghao furrows his eyebrows, as if he’s never considered it before. And God, why did it have to be him?

Minghao finally hums. “Would you miss it?”

W-wha… “Huh?”

Minghao nods towards an abstract modernist piece that hangs high up on your wall. “Would you miss it?”

Your silence is more than enough to answer his question.

“But I’m sorry, you know. I truly wouldn’t have come around if I was aware you’d be home. Aren’t you supposed to be on vacation?”

“. . . Minghao, that’s creepy. Don’t do that. Besides, how do you know my name?”

“How do you know mine?”

The fucker. You blush, shrugging and dropping the subject completely. You’re avoiding his eyes so much that you miss the fond smile on his lips. He’s about to say something when a phone sounds. You realize it’s coming from Minghao’s pocket and watch as he takes it out, curious.

Minghao checks his phone and immediately scowls, closing his eyes in what seems like exasperation.

“I… I have to go, so sorry. My roommate just did something unbelievably stupid because he’s unbelievably stupid.”

You refrain from asking; you really don’t wanna know.

“Will you be alright by yourself? I’m worried… I’ll try to stay longer if you don’t think you will… I mean, if you want. Or I can call someone to come or–”

Where was this bashful kid an hour ago? For the first time that evening, you let out a small smile. He sees it and is stunned, momentarily blinded by your beauty.

“I’ll be fine Minghao, go help your roommate.”

He nods, getting up to leave, but not before taking your phone from the coffee table. He holds it out so that you can unlock it, and you do, though the question hangs in your eyes.

“I-I’m not taking it, just wanted to give you my phone number. In case you start to feel worse. Call me or don’t... It’s whatever.”

And so you do.

...

Bonus:

Three months later, you’re recounting the tale to the rest of the boys during one of their weekly movie nights. (You don’t dare touch the brownies, Minghao tells you they’re fucked.)

In the end, Chan’s the one who says it best: “So… What you’re telling me is that you broke into Y/N’s house to steal a painting, and walked out having stolen their heart instead?”

Seokmin raises his hand for a high five. “Smooth man, smooth.”

Your boyfriend ignores it, though Seokmin stubbornly keeps his hand up and waits for anyone to complete the exchange. You tap your palm against his in pity.

“Actually,” Minghao starts, nuzzling his nose into your hair, “I would say Y/N is the one who stole my heart instead. Just had to fall straight into my arms like that… A true master of seduction.”

You giggle, turning your head to peck his lips. The boys groan, losing interest in your story and turning back towards the movie.

From somewhere in the corner, you hear Mingyu fake a gag.

(Perhaps it’s the brownies, you can’t really tell.)

Masterlist 

[everythinguncharted]

Partners In Crime (Teen! Sam Drake x Reader)

This is a repost from my previous blog!

Pairing: Sam Drake x Reader

Fandom: Uncharted

Request: "I hope you don't mind prompts. "There's nothing going on!" with Teen!Sam. -UnchartedTrash (Please tag me!)"

Prompt: "There's nothing going on!"

Word Count: 3,428

Key: [Y/NN]: Your Nickname

A/N: Hey everyone! This took a bit longer than expected! It was originally supposed to be way shorter than this and I feel like this is too long but whatever haha. Hope you enjoy!

From the moment you had laid eyes on Sam Morgan you knew he was different. You had spotted him while casually strolling through the flea market, a place your parents had forbidden you to visit because of the rather... extreme personalities that sold trinkets there. They would never say it out loud to you, but it was also because they thought they were too good for this place. All they ever shopped at were higher-end stores.

Of course, as teenagers will do, you broke that rule. It wasn't just because you wanted to be rebellious though, you've always been drawn to the sorts of things that were sold here. You had actually made a hobby of fixing the broken jewelry and then pawning it off to people. The intricate, detailed, but yet slightly damaged objects captivated you.

Maybe that's why Sam had drawn you in as well. He gave off the broken soul aura as soon as you two had made eye contact with each other across the market. There was something about the way he looked at you, his eyes gleaming with a sort of wistfulness you've never seen in a teenager. Perhaps just like the jewelry, you could fix him as well.

You watched him as he ducked into a tent, and for some reason, you had to find an excuse to start talking to him. It was like a magnet being drawn to its polar opposite, not being able to stop until you were close enough to him.

Deliberately walking slow to the tent he had entered a few minutes earlier, you pulled the curtains gently to the side and peered in. This booth looked unfamiliar to you, which was surprising since you were usually a regular at the flea market and could map this whole place out in your head. Space was minimal compared to the other booths but this one had much more stuff in it, which made you feel slightly overwhelmed looking at all the items.

You saw him towards the far left, in the jewelry section of the tent. He seemed to be thumbing a quite stunning gold necklace, the chain slightly glinting in the overhead light. It looked like some sort of medallion, with tiny, delicate gemstones encrusted in it.

If he weren't the main goal at the moment, I would most likely be naming prices for it with the merchant right now.

As soon as this thought had passed through your mind, you had an idea. A not so subtle idea, but it was better than nothing at all.

Swallowing the lump of fear in your throat, you abruptly began to walk towards him before you could change your mind and back down completely with this plan. As you had reached your destination after weaving through the hordes of customers down the aisle, you contemplated whether or not to do this. You've never been the type to quite literally throw yourself out there like some of your friends do, but at this point in time, that would change.

Without giving another thought about this whole plan, you roughly bumped into his back, making sure to elbow him hard enough to jostle the necklace from his hands. This indeed worked as you watched the chain slip through his fingers and fall to the ground with a loud clatter, some of the gemstones falling out-of-place.

His shoulders raised and fell as you heard an annoyed sigh escape his lips. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all. This may just make him pissed at you. "Hey, why don't you watch where you're going nex-" His sentence was brought up short as he turned around to face you, his eyes widened with curiosity as he looked you up and down. He opened his mouth to say something, but you beat him to it.

"Sorry about that, it gets a little crowded in here," You smiled sweetly at him, gesturing to the crowds of people walking around the two of you. "But I'll most definitely be paying for that. I was the one who was clumsy enough to bump into you."

Bending down to ground level and scooping up the broken necklace, you walked over to the vendor, explaining the situation and handing him a generous amount of cash. He thanked you for your business and you exited the tent, taking notice of the fact the boy was now trailing you. You let a smug smile spread across your lips as you realized your plan had actually worked.

"Wait!" He shouted behind you, as you felt a hand grasp your shoulder and gently turn you around. "Seeing that whole chunk of cash you just gave that dude back there, I don't exactly see you as the type to be walking around a flea market buying broken junk." He pointed to the damaged necklace you had just purchased with a smug smirk.

"I fix these things you so-call, junk and sell them if you must know." You replied coolly, crossing your arms and jutting out your hip with attitude. "Are you always this quick to judge girls?" The initial curiosity you first felt about this boy started wearing off, and now you were slightly offended he was being so quick to assume things.

He obviously caught on that you felt insulted, and his eyes softened, the mischievous glint in them almost completely diminished. Almost. "Right, I'm sorry, how about we start this introduction over?" He said as he stuck out his hand. "I'm Sam. Sam Morgan."

"[Y/N]. [Y/N] [Y/L/N]." You told him, shaking his hand and giggling slightly over the cheesiness of all of this. The both of you sounded like James Bond. He chuckled a bit as well, a sound that made your heart flip, and you made the mistake of looking at his smile. Dimples formed at the corners of his mouth, and you could feel yourself staring much too long at his lips, but you couldn't help yourself.

When you finally snapped out of it, you were relieved to see he was too deep in thought to notice your staring problem. His eyes looked distant as if he wasn't even here with you at the moment. Suddenly, he clapped his hands and rubbed them together in a devious manner, a sly smirk spreading across his lips. The jaunty glint in his eyes returned, and you couldn't help it as your heart started pounding slightly in your chest. There was definitely something about Sam that drew you in, and you had a feeling that once you got caught in his web, you wouldn't be able to untangle yourself. Maybe you wouldn't want to untangle yourself after getting a taste of him.

"How well do you think we'd work as a team, [Y/N]?"

After that, the rest was history.

For a few months now, you and Sam have paired up as partners in crime, stealing damaged artifacts from museums and restoring them, then pawning them off to rather sketchy people. It was quite the deal, and both of you made a pretty fair share of money from it, not like you needed it for anything. Whenever you found the chance, you would always slip your earnings into Sam's pockets, although you had the feeling he knew exactly what you were doing.

The only downfall to this whole partnership between the two of you was that you weren't the one doing the risky business; Sam was. You guys have had a few particularly nasty fights with each other because he refused to let you tag along. You remembered how loud he had yelled at you, saying he couldn't afford to let your life be as worthless as his was. It broke your heart that Sam truly believed he had no potential. He is the most driven and dedicated person you've ever met, which truly amazed you. Somehow, and some way you were determined to show Sam just how much potential he really did have.

"So who is this Henry McAvery guy anyways?" You asked Sam, the two of you walking next to each other while his younger brother, Nate, trailed behind. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Sam look over his shoulder at his younger brother, and it wasn't long before you heard the two of them burst out laughing. Quite confused and clueless, you looked back and forth between the both of them, and sighed while saying, "What's so funny?"

Sam gave you his infamous crooked grin that caused butterflies to take over your stomach as he explained the humor in what you had just said. "It's Henry Avery, [Y/NN]."

When Sam told you that Nathan had been kicked out of yet another orphanage for bad behavior and needed to wait a couple of days minimum before getting relocated to another one, you welcomed both of them into your home right away. You've seen Sam's studio apartment, and you couldn't imagine both of those boys living in such a small space for an indefinite amount of time.

Plus, you actually liked having the extra company since your family was out-of-town. The thought of being home alone at night terrified you, so you don't know what you would've done if Sam had declined your offer.

Grabbing your house key from your back pocket, and unlocking the door with a click, you stepped into your house. As you began sliding your shoes off, you heard a gasp of excitement coming from Nate. "You live..." he paused for a second, looking around your house with wide eyes, "...here?"

Giggling from his amazed reaction, you nodded your head. "Yep. Go ahead and make yourself at home. There are some popcorn bags in the pantry over there." You pointed him in the direction of the kitchen. He was just about to scamper off, but Sam stopped him momentarily.

"[Y/N] and I are going to head upstairs to work on something, you think you'll be okay?" Nathan gave him a nod as Sam playfully ruffled his hair. "Oh and try not to set the house on fire, okay?" He said while the two of them exchanged devious looking grins before Nate ran off.

Sam followed your lead as you walked up the stairs and into your room. You approached your closet and started shuffling some things aside, trying to find the box you keep all the artifacts in. You spotted it all the way on the top shelf, stepping up on your toes to at least and try to make an effort to reach it, but it was no use. You gave it one more try, this time around jumping up as far as you could, which just resulted in hearing Sam's snickering behind you. "Are you just going to sit there and laugh at me?" You huffily said, annoyed he hasn't offered to help you.

Sam raised his hands in surrender as sat up from your bed and walked across the room towards you. Giving you a smug little smirk, he looked at you and teasingly said, "Whatever you want, Princess."

Although Sam was just kidding around, your breath slightly hitched at the pet name he had just called you. It seemed like he heard that as you watched his smirk grow.

Him and his smug little smirk I just want to kiss it of-

"Here we go." Sam plopped the box down on your desk, and you were actually quite thankful he had cut off your previous thought before it got too out of line.

You carefully took out the most recent artifact Sam had nabbed, which quite ironically, was a golden medallion that looked like the one you purchased at the flea market where you first met him. The thought of that day brought memories back that made your heart flutter with joy.

Before you had met Sam, you felt like your life was incomplete, each day fading into the next, with no meaning to them at all. It was the same routine every day and it was almost like you knew something was missing. Then Sam Morgan came barreling into your life, and it's never been the same before, but in a good way.

The medallion wasn't too damaged compared to some other pieces Sam had retrieved in the past, so it had only taken you several minutes before it looked good as new. Grabbing a rag off to the side of your desk, just to clean it a bit and make it look shiny, you turned your head to the side to look at Sam.

It felt like your heart had stopped dead in its tracks when you found that he was already looking at you, a smile slightly tugging at his lips. "What?" You asked, eyebrows beginning to furrow in confusion. "Is there something on my face?"

Sam cleared his throat as his eyes darted away from yours, fumbling with his fingers as he mumbled. "No. Nevermind, it's nothing." You could tell he was nervous right off the bat as you watched his hands begin to shake. The cocky, teasing side to him quickly diminished in a matter of seconds, leaving you wondering why.

"Sam..." You trailed off, placing your hands on his to stop the trembling. "You can tell me anything."

His head was turned so you couldn't see his face, but he acknowledged you by giving your hand a squeeze. You knew he wasn't facing you on purpose because truth be told... you could read him like an open book. Sam had mastered a pretty solid poker face, but his weakness was his eyes. They told you everything.

"C'mon Sam, you're my best friend," you tried again, hoping to coax him into confessing what was wrong.

What you had just said sparked something in him, as he turned around and gave you a quite intense look, his eyes searching yours for what seemed like an eternity. This was the most scared you've ever seen him. His eyebrows knitted together as he let out a shaky sigh when he finally spoke. "That's the problem, [Y/N]."

Puzzled, you began opening your mouth to say something, but he beat you to it, bringing his index finger to his lips. You obeyed his command, but never more in your life have you wanted to say something to someone as much as you did now. Sam was scaring you.

The empty silence as you waited for him to explain was excruciating. You just wanted to jump up at of your seat and yell at him, tell him to spit it out. But you didn't. You just continued rubbing your thumb on the back of his hand to try to put him at ease.

"You remember the first time we met [Y/NN]?" Sam finally spoke up, but he didn't wait for you to answer the question as he carried forward, "I do."

His eyes seemed far away, and you could only assume that he was replaying the first encounter between the two of you in his head. You yourself thought back at that memory as well, closing your eyes and smiling, remembering how bad you had wanted to talk to Sam.

"This artifact reminded me of that pretty medallion necklace you bought," Sam said, reaching across your desk to grab it. Still silent, you watched as he sat there for a moment, just looking at the piece. "To be quite honest, I was going to go off on you for running into me, but when I turned around and saw you..." A deep, crimson tint started blooming on his cheeks, and you couldn't believe your sight. Sam Morgan was blushing.

His hazel eyes strayed away from the artifact to meet yours as he continued, "Let me just tell you, I couldn't be happier that you bumped into me that day. I don't mean to sound like a total sap, but you've forever changed my life in the best way possible. You've made me feel like I actually matter." He spoke in a quiet voice, but you heard every word. And each and every one of those words made you feel light-headed from the realness of this. Was Sam confessing his feelings towards you?

Sam's hand cautiously reached out towards your face, intently watching you as he touched a loose strand of your hair. He twisted it around, playing with it for a moment before tucking it behind your ear. Your heart skipped a beat as he murmured, "And that's the problem, [Y/N]. All you see between us is just a friendship."

It completely shocked you that Sam actually believed you didn't feel attracted to him. Has he never noticed that you sometimes stare at him a little too long while he's cracking one of his adorable smiles? Has he never seen the blush creep up on your cheeks every time he would call you a cute pet name? Surely he could hear your pulse from where he was standing every time any physical contact was made. As these thoughts raced through your mind and you looked him in the eye, you saw that he truly was left in the dark about your feelings towards him.

Deciding that actions speak louder than words, you swiftly leaned forward without warning, and placed your lips against his. Astonishingly, he responded without hesitation, his mouth in sync with yours. You felt like your heart was going to rip out of your chest as the kiss deepened, growing more and more passionate by the second. Tugging on the collar of his shirt to bring him closer, you caught the scent of his cologne, a slightly spicy smell that you could never get enough of.

Both of you break away from each other for air, only pausing for a few seconds before going right back to kissing Sam. Although this time, the two of you sat up from the desk, slowly making your way to your bed. Surprisingly, you got there smoother than expected, not even having to break the kiss.

Sam pushed you gently onto the bed, your back softly hitting the mattress. He laid on top of you, the sensation of his body hovering over you made you overwhelmingly dizzy. Your breath hitched as his lips found his was across your jaw and down towards your neck. Your hands roamed across his chest as you moaned faintly once Sam had kissed the sweet spot on your neck. You felt the heat rise up in your cheeks as you realized you made that sound, and you could only hope that he didn't hear that. Unfortunately, you could feel a smirk being pressed up against your neck, which confirmed he did indeed hear you.

Just as he was about to tease you about it, you heard your bedroom door creak open, followed by a, "Whoa, what the hell guys?!"

Sam hurriedly pushed himself from you, now sitting next to you in bed. Your jaw dropped as you saw Nathan standing at your door frame, a look of horror on his face, his eyes as wide as saucers. "There's nothing going on!" You exclaimed, trying to diffuse this whole rather awkward situation. Looking next to you at Sam for some help, he seemed to be rather amused by this, pretending to have to cough while in reality, he was actually laughing.

Swinging your head back to Nate, trying to think of something to change the subject, you saw Sam in the corner of your eye lean in towards you. He was so close you could feel his breath against your ear, sending chills throughout your whole body. "More like there's something going off." He whispered in your ear teasingly, as you felt his hands brush up against the hem of your shirt. You placed both of your hands on his chest and gave him a gentle push. Giving you one last smug look, he turned his head towards Nathan.

"So, what did you need help with little brother?" Sam inquired him while scooting off the edge of your bed, acting like nothing had ever happened.

"I just needed help with laying out our sleeping bags until I found you and [Y/N]--"

"Okay, and we're going now," Sam said, cutting off Nate's previous sentence, much to your relief. You watched as he ushered Nathan out of the room, starting to swing the door close. Before he could do that though, he looked over his shoulder, giving you a wink while saying, "See you in a few, Princess," and with that, he closed the door, leaving you a flustered and blushing mess.