#anyway Briar if youre reading this

[bbboar]

The other week i had a friend ask me essentially what the appeal of Gortash was and the experience was embarrassing, humbling, illuminating, devastating.

I am always delighted to explain why i like a character who is honestly kind of atrocious (love me an asshole, love me a villain etc) but ngl 80% of the appeal of Gortash to me is the durgetash dynamics and the rich potential for horrifying, romantic, gross, gorey, loving, tragic, expansions of canon implications. And i truly truly truly feed off the stuff my fellow enjoyers come up with. Its an ecosystem.

This is a house that has been built upon headcanons and character analysis. How these fucked up villains would commit cardinal sins against their respective gods because they like each other so much. How they see see the horrors in each other and not only not flinch, but admire them. And you can take that and do so much with it!!

Kind of reminds me when i was super into venom/eddie and it was bcs fic writers and fellow enjoyers were doing The Work!! They were analysing, they were expanding from canon, they were adding more story and depth etc And thats the beauty of transformative works but the down side is that you can look at canon and be like "Oh yeah i forgot you were bare bones".

Just like how i spoke to Gortash yesterday in-game after not having spoken to him in what was irl weeks and what washed over me was a feeling of "Oh. I have made a feast of crumbs"

Like im sure when i do my durge run, there will be perhaps a decent meal but i am also very aware of how much of this ive built up in my own head

[c4ndl3-w1ck]

I think its really funny to me i got so wrapped up and obsessed with one of my friends and he broke my heart immediately in the most horrible way possible then like two months later another friend confessed to me and i Realized

Like hot damn why the fuck was a going poo brain over garbage fire when the most amazing perfect boy was right in front of me the whole damn time

[pomefioredove]

overblots and rollo with a reader who flirts a lot unknowingly? like they see it as friendly teasing or just genuinely giving someone a compliment they don’t think of it as romantic. (their reaction to you accidentally flirting with them or. someone else and they start seething perhaps?!)

oh... I'm guilty of this (｡- .•)

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ accidental flirting

type of post: headcanons characters: riddle, leona, azul, jamil, vil, idia, malleus, rollo ~☆ additional info: romantic, reader is gender neutral, reader is yuu

it's not like Riddle's fellow students have never complimented him, but this is different. his academic achievement is not like... what had you said? the color of his eyes?

no one would be so bold as to compliment his physical features, let alone call them "beautiful" ... no one except for you, of course

you seemed rather confused when his whole face turned red. hopefully, you won't think about it too much...

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

what was that? Leona looks nice when he dresses up? well, aren't you the flatterer? go on, then, say something else. he's listening!

Leona knows you didn't mean it that way, but that makes it even better. smug bastard. and it gives him the go ahead to flirt back, without you even realizing! if you weren't such a clueless little herbivore, he'd think you were trying to get something out of him... but you're you, so he knows you mean it

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

you're so strange. you're definitely just mirroring Azul's body language and flattery, but you're being genuine, too... you're so socially awkward, it's making you a flirt. he's trying to butter you up for a deal, not a date!

...well... he was, anyway

now he's got to figure out how exactly to flirt back in a way that'll sound genuine coming from him...

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

is it unconscious? are you teasing? or have you suddenly become a flirt overnight? Jamil is having a difficult time reading the room, which is unusual for him. the way you've been complimenting him, batting those pretty eyelashes of yours, is... distracting, to say the least

...he could also be reading too much into this. maybe he just needs a nap

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Vil simply can't pass up the opportunity. can you blame him? there you are, looking adorable as per usual, telling him all this nonsense about how lucky his future partner will be, blah, blah...

and you're clueless. it's endearing, really. he'll call you sweet and leave you with a kiss on the cheek

something to think about for later ;3

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

are you trying to send Idia to an early grave??? of course, the one time he lets Ortho drag him outside, there you are, as cutesy and... sunshine-y as ever, telling him you like his hair with a smile. and what does he say?

"uh- um- uh-"

great work, everyone. he'll work on that

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

fae courting is... strange. you know this. you don't know all of it, though. so when you tell Malleus you've planted some Briar Valley flora around Ramshackle for him... he sort of takes it as a vow. it's basically like a promise ring to him

he's all sunshine and rainbows for the rest of the week, much to everyone else's confusion

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Rollo will hit you with the most unamused look you've gotten in your entire life, politely tell you to be decent, thank you, and then leave to lie in bed and think about your future wedding for the rest of the day. that's just the kinda guy he is

[darkacua]

The Cain instinct

I demand canon moments where Silver and Malleus treat each other like siblings whenever they're alone, especially if Lilia or Sebek aren't around them. Where they show that outside of their typical treatment of respect is the fact that they were raised by the same man whom they both consider their father. They love each other eternally, they would kill, they would die and they are capable of destroying the entire world for each other, one to a greater extent than the other.

Especially since I'm sure they both have ridiculously strong Cain instincts.

One day you are a prince taking care of your caregiver's adopted son and the next a being who lives in an eternal circle of revenge and destruction towards the cruelty of humanity (Silver bit his finger when he was 8 years old and Malleus pecked his eye in Consequently, they continue to blame each other whenever they can)

Imagine a Silver who fell asleep in the forest and Malleus just finds him. If Lilia, Sebek or anyone was near him he would feign complete concern and take him to his bedroom. But he's alone, so he's going to wake up the young man he considers his brother with a loving kick in the ribs (nothing too hard, he wants to bother him, not kill him).

Or a malleus who is simply reading and out of nowhere feels a wet finger in his ear, a finger that belongs to a 17-year-old with a smile too kind for someone who has just drooled in the ear of the next king of the Briar Valley , and someone who is also a coward since he runs away the moment the older man gets up from his seat.

It is better if neither of them knows what is happening, they just know that there are days when they have to be mean to the other or they will go crazy, they have accepted it as a royal decree and will continue it until the end of their days. .

Imagine that no one knows about this kind of treatment, until someone enters Diasomnia only to find the all-powerful Malleus Draconia screaming like a dying child because Silver has him in a wrestling hold (which it is very obvious he can get out of, but… Where's the fun in that?)

Anyway, I need an irrational Malleus and Silver being a shitty little brother. I leave my delusions here.

Español bajo el corte

Exigo momentos canónicos donde Silver y Malleus se tratan como hermanos cada vez que están solos, sobre todo si no están Lilia o Sebek a su alrededor. Donde muestren que por fuera de su típico trato de respeto está el hecho de que fueron criados por el mismo hombre al que ambos consideran su padre. Se aman eternamente, matarían, morirían y son capaces de destruir el mundo entero el uno por el otro, uno en mayor medida que el otro.

Sobre todo porque estoy segura que los dos tienen un instinto de Cain ridículamente fuerte.

Un dia eres un príncipe cuidando al hijo adoptivo de tu cuidador y al siguiente un ser que vive en un círculo eterno de venganza y destrucción hacia la crueldad de la humanidad (Silver le mordió un dedo cuando tenía 8 años y Malleus le pico un ojo en consecuencia, se lo siguen echando en cara cada que pueden entre ellos)

Imaginen a un Silver que se quedó dormido en el bosque y Malleus simplemente lo encuentra. Si Lilia, Sebek o cualquiera estuviera cerca fingiría completa preocupación y lo llevaría a su dormitorio. Pero esta solo, así que va a despertar a él joven que considera su hermano con una amorosa patada en las costillas (nada demasiado fuerte, quiere molestarlo no matarlo)

O a un malleus que simplemente está leyendo y de la nada siente un dedo húmedo en su oreja, un dedo que pertenece a un joven de 17 años con una sonrisa demasiado amable para alguien que acaba de babear el oído del próximo rey del Valle de Briar, y alguien que también es un cobarde ya que sale corriendo en el momento que él mayor se levante de su asiento.

Es mejor si ninguno de los dos sabe que es lo que pasa, solo saben que hay días en los que tienen que ser malos con el otro o se volverán locos, lo han aceptado como un decreto real y lo continuarán hasta el final de sus días.

Imaginen que nadie sabe de este tipo de trato, hasta que alguien entra a Diasomnia sólo para encontrar al todopoderoso Malleus Draconia gritando como un niña moribunda porque Silver lo tiene en una llave de lucha (de la cual es muy obvio que se puede zafar ¿pero dónde está lo divertido en eso?).

En fin, necesito un Malleus irracional y un Silver siendo un hermano menor de mierda. Hasta aquí dejo mis delirios.

[mayakern]

If you don't mind sharing, what happened to vanetta's ex Edmund and his new saintess gf?

oh boy, so, a LOT has happened here so BUCKLE UP.

(and here’s a picture of vanetta for context for the maybe 2 other ppl who will read this huge post, which i have tried to summarize)

TLDR: after vanetta “died” and was yeeted into time travel, edmund died and charlotte saved the world. but edmund got brought back… and he came back wrong.

but the full story is so much weirder than that:

the core conceit of this game is that we are time (and place) hopping every time the party levels up, and mostly this is pretty normal—someone who’s from an ancient time visits a future date and finds out their country no longer exists, someone from the future goes to an earlier time and is shocked by the severely lacking technology, etc etc

except for vanetta, who is not from the past or future. she is from a book series. and she has JUST discovered this.

our most recent time hop has taken us to a dystopian capitalist future that takes place in a big mall in outer space (think a combination of tron, zenon: girl of the 21st century, wall-e and other similar media), where our wizard comes from.

and as soon as we materialize there, vanetta is recognized as a “really high quality and authentic cosplayer” of, well. herself. the book series she is from (the briar path) is popular on a level that basically combines twilight, harry potter and the bible all in one. it is fantastically popular, but also pretty old, and also is continually getting remakes and re-releases and right now they are currently making a manga adaptation of it. and it has a very active fanbase that writes a lot of fan fiction. this is, somehow, incredibly plot relevant.

an npc shows vanetta the comic, which currently i think covers 2 of the books in the series, and it shows her being depicted as basically your typical shallow, unsympathetic villainess character. and it depicts her death: the moment when, on the ramparts of the palace she was meant to preside over, she is faced with an angry mob seeking her death on one side and the crown prince (edmund, her former fiance) and charlotte (the saintess, his new woman, who in the fiction of the book was isekai’d into the world of the briar path) on the other side. vanetta climbs onto the rampart and makes a big impassioned speech (aka a villain monologue) about how pathetic and horrible they all are and when charlotte makes a swipe at her, vanetta chooses to let it unbalance her, forcing charlotte to live on with the guilt of her death.

only, the real vanetta doesn’t die. she gets yeeted out of time and space with three other time travelers. and our story continues

anyway, back to present day, the manga adaptation has just reached the part of the series where edmund dies—something vanetta did not know about. but just because he died in the book doesn’t mean he died in real life.

see, edmund had some pretty devoted fans. and one of them, who thought edmund was robbed by the narrative, got into some ancient, evil magics and combining this with the immense power of FAN FICTION, he tried to bring edmund out of the novel and into real life, and in the process ended up fusing with him and also with a force called The Hunger, a roiling miasma of despair that was the ultimate evil in the novels.

and so they all fused together and became a new thing. a god. in fact, our yuan-ti paladin’s snake god. who uhh subjugates and eats all non-snake people. the creation of this god also uhh was a huge cataclysm that basically started the earth apocalypse that lead to everyone ending up in the sky.

vanetta has JUST managed to secure annotated copies of the entire series that include academic commentaries and notes on historical context and the first chance she gets she is reading them so hopefully i’ll get more info soon lol

[trappolia]

── KISS ME ONCE AND KISS ME TWICE AND KISS ME ONCE AGAIN

silver vanrouge. silver dreams of you, always you. it only makes it far more painful to break from the chains of malleus' curse to seek the you that exists beyond his dreamscape.

Silver has always taken his time with you.

He has never been able to tell you why. Lilia says that it is just the way he is, ever since he was a boy; he plays by the rules, he goes by a routine that is, as much as possible, not too affected by his strange sleeping habits.

it is why he goes through the meticulous steps of courting you, offering you flowers and gifting you with thoughtful trinkets and even writing letters for your family while your worlds remain separate. It is why it had to be you to take the first step and kiss him one night during a star-gazing date because gods damn it all, you’re sick of waiting.

( Silver had laughed and laughed that night as you apologised for your callous actions; because you were so cute, because he was so in love, because it had all felt like a dream come true when he allowed himself to ignore tradition to cup your cheeks and pull you into another kiss. )

Silver discovers very early on that even when he takes his time, it's all still overwhelming. Like a dream come true, he used to tell Lilia in bouts of deliriousness when he was still caught between dream and reality and his mind was too muddled with sleep to care about embarrassing himself in front of the fae who had raised him.

Like a dream come true.

But what is his dream, exactly?

A cottage deep in the forest of briar valley, with ivy growing up the walls and over the red-tiled roof. Soft, packed dirt with growing flowers of all kinds, spring blossoms of pink, yellow, blue, red, protected by a low wall. There are no horrors with dripping ink and dragging claws, no glowing emerald eyes or scaled wings. Just grass and flowers and sky and nothing.

No. Not nothing. Because there's you.

"I just cleaned, so remember to take off your boots by the door!" Silver hears you call out from inside the cottage. His chest quakes as he lets out a ragged breath, his bag dropping as he rids himself of the extra weight.

The floor below his dirty boots is clean slate compared to the cluttered kitchen to his left and the living area to his right. Silver sees the same threadbare couch by the stone fireplace, cluttered with throw pillows and blankets and an unfinished knitting project. The couch is old. Used. Loved. There are some closed doors beyond the stairs, but Silver doesn't have to check to know what lies behind them. His old childhood bedroom where Lilia used to tuck him in. A bathroom that has been flooded one or more than a few times when he got too carried away with playtime. The small study where he used to have his lessons on reading and writing.

There's something about the sight of his childhood home that sets Silver off, as if he’s caught in crosswinds, but he fumbles his way inside anyway, toeing his shoes off out of ingrained politeness. His footfalls feel heavy and light all at once against the wooden floors as he walks — almost as if by habit — to the kitchen where he had heard your voice come from.

"There you are," you beam at him, putting a kettle of water on top of the same stove that Silver had watched his father cook his meals so many times. Your brows furrow when you notice the strange expression on his face; the emotions whirling in his aurora irises like a hurricane and the trembling of his bottom lip.

You frown, wiping your hands on a cloth rag. "Silver? what's wrong?"

Silver lets out a ragged breath, his hand shaking as it comes up to cradle your own as you cup his face in your palm. What is wrong? This is all he's ever wanted, isn't it? A life with you in the woods he had grown up in, free of worries and dangers and hurt and anger. He's built a home with no fear, no yelling, no uncertainties. Just like the life lilia always wanted to give him.

It's a dream come true.

"You're a dream," Silver whispers when he realises, his hands coming up to cradle your face in turn. He's shaking, he knows that even with his mind whirling, but he just can't help it— he has to touch you, make sure this isn't— this isn't a nightmare—

No. No, no, no. Malleus wouldn't do that. This is his dream. This is what his heart has always yearned for.

"My dream."

"Well, aren't you sappy today?" you muse, lips quirking up in that soft smile that Silver oh so adores to kiss. "What's the occasion?"

"I—" Silver opens his mouth, but no words come out. What can he say? What can he do, knowing that this is all he's ever wanted, but this is a dream. This is a dream and you're not real but gods, does silver want you to be.

A beat passes, and your smile turns sad.

"You know, don't you?"

Silver feels his heart ache. He wants to tell you no. No, please keep this veil over my eyes. Pretend i don’t know this isn’t real. Please. Please.

You reach out, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear with such tenderness that he feels like crying. “You’ve always been so smart, Silver.”

“I’m sorry,” he allows himself to say, because this is the least he owes you— this perfect imitation of you that his mind, Malleus’s magic, has managed to conjure, because in the short time you’ve known him, you’ve managed to ingrain yourself into every fibre of his being so that even under this spell, all Silver can dream about is you, you, you.

Silver doesn't want to wake up. He doesn't, he really doesn't. There's something in him that pulls at his heartstrings, tugging at every vein and nerve as if begging him to stay, please stay. There must be a reason why you're always falling asleep, why this had to happen. Just stay. This is a dream come true, why would you want to wake up?

“You’re still there,” Silver says in a voice so small, it feels like he’s a little boy again, crying and clinging onto Lilia like the fever that sticks to his skin and reminds him of his mortality.

“You’re still there, and I’m here.”

His childhood home is small, but within the cottage and with your hands cradling his face, the thick walls feels unnaturally closer, like something is breathing on the back of his neck. He’s reminded of you, somewhere in Night Raven College, trapped within your own dream. Do you dream of him, he wonders? Has he become your new dream, just as you have become his?

Will he ever see you again?

Silver can't bear the thought of you somehow waking up from your dream — a matter of when rather than if, because Silver knows that you've always had a knack for getting out of impossible situations like this — and realising that he had left you alone to stay in this eternal sleep, with this dream– this illusion of what could have been.

“I have to go,” Silver whispers, and his heart breaks because this might be a dream, but it’s still you. How can he tell you he’s going to leave? He can’t do that. He can’t break your heart like that, he can’t—

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry— I'm so, so sorry.”

He expects you to stop him. What do the stories say about dreams where you’re supposed to be kept unaware, blissfully oblivious to the fact that this utopia is not your reality? Silver expects this dream version of you to pull some sort of trick to lure him back into your trap—

But instead you just smile softly, reaching out to stroke his face, "How lucky I am to have someone like you love me."

Silver hears something crack, resonating in his soul. Is it the chains of Malleus’s magic breaking its hold on him, or the last pieces of his heart shattering at last? He doesn’t know.

Maybe it’s both.

But whatever it is, Silver knows he doesn’t have much time. His hands cup your cheeks, pulling you close to him with the desperation of a dying man.

He feels you gasp against his mouth, lips parting and allowing his tongue to slip inside. He maps the cavern of your mouth as if immortalising it in his mind, like he’ll never see you again after this— because that is very well a possibility, no matter how he tries to ignore it.

Silver kisses you like it’s his last day in this godforsaken world, because it might as well be, and great seven, he should have done this every time he kissed you. He should have kissed you first. He should have kissed you every moment he could instead of taking his time because now he can hear the sand running in the hourglass, and he’s blind to how much time he has left, and he just wants to see you in the flesh again, please, please, please—

The two of you part an eternity later, but it still feels much too soon. There’s so much love in him, and too little time, and Silver feels like drowning.

"Wait for me," Silver pleads. He'll make this dream come true, he swears. He’ll give you all the love he has in this wretched body of his, and then some. He’ll never sleep again even, if only to make this dream come true.

"I will," you whisper breathlessly—

—and with a bittersweet smile and a final, fleeting kiss to his lips, you let him go.

© trappolia 2024

[verdantlights]

HES PSOTED HES PUT WAGWGAGWGAWGAGWGW SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG AND SORRY IM ONLY JUST NOW REBLOGGING THIS??????? ANYWAYS

first of all, theyre both the same height,,,, perfect for a pair of kissboys I MEAN WHATT!!!!! WHO SAID THAT!!!!!!! anywyas ive already thought up a few cute scenarios, one where briar is asking questions and ichor is writing them down and answering dutifully. he loves answering questions and also loves how sweet briar is about everything!! after answering some question,, idk what,, briar like,,, cant contain himself anymore and he just pets ichor in between his ears. he puts his clipboard down and everything and just goes in petting all over ichors head

and hes just chilling. he doesnt purr very often, but briar gets him to purr in this instance and briar is just like :0

:0000000

he just :0

and then he goes to write it down and hes just like OH MY GOD HE CAN PURR.

another cute little scenario where ichor is just sitting in briars presence,,, think parallel play,,,, and briar is too focused on what hes researching so he doesnt notice ichor dozing off and wrapping his tail around briars legs,,,,,,,,,

also, this doesnt have to be a ship, it can all be platonic!! im okay with either since i had no intention of creating a love interest for ichor!! ill leave it up to you if you want them to be kissboys or not!! :D (tanner your so cool- IM NOT A KISSBOY!!)

.........i will say tho that if they were to have a duo/ship name it would be Brambleclaw. like the warrior cat..... i sincerely hope you get that reference cause its SO funny to me

OH AND AND AND ALSO. EDITED. BUT I FORGOR TO ADD. ICHOR IS PARTICIPATING. I HAVE A VAGUE IDEA, BUT SOMETHING HAPPENS BEFORE GRADUATION AND HES ABLE TO REGAIN HIS VOICE JUST BEFORE........... ALNST.......... AHUWEHJAKEHWAEHJ

AKANEEE HI ITS ZEN HIHHIIHHHI I REAAALLLLLLYYY LIKE BRIAR AND I WAS WONDERING. IF HE LIKES TO RESEARCH AND STUDY PEOPLE,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, WOULD HE LIKE TO STUDY A CATBOY.

.. OKAY . I. UM. IM ALMOST DONE WITH HIS PROFILE BUT HIS NAME IS ICHOR AND HES LITERALLY JUST A CATBOY. HES NOT EVEN A TUBE BABY HES JUST. LIKE THAT.

to be fair he was meant to be a crack oc but then i locked in,,,,, erm. but i thought it would be an interesting dynamic since you said Briar does a lot of research and would probably study his friends/someone hes interested in. would he be interested in studying Ichor?? because him being the way he is,,,, is a mystery and idk i just thought itd be a cute idea ewgyegwgegeghg *looks at you with my big round eyes and bats my eyelashes*

also HUGHU baizhu inspo im SCREAMING i love baizhu i love briar so mUCHuijkm,ndjiojlmm i love him i want to hold him and squeeze him (ive already added him under s41 on the doc too)

YES.

the minute I read the first few sentences I was like "COUNT ME IN."

I JUST SEE IT SO MUCH😭😭 It makes so much sense for Briar.... because like it's hard to get his attention and just... he'd be so fascinated by Ichor (I love this name I'm going to remember it forever probably), i mean, he'd just gain what basically no one can by existing..... he'd be so interesting in literally WHATEVER ichor does, probably notes it down too and it's even better because ughhh he's a mystery and probably briar wouldn't be able to pin point almost anything about his actual nature but would just write... like... all of his actions down... "for the sake of research" yes sure sure...

AGGGHHHH THIS IS SO CUTEEEE I JUST LOVE THIS DYNAMIC SO MUCH..... MAKES SO MUCH SENSE...

bats my eyelashes back at you I AGREE AND I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS. I CANNOT WAIT. TO SEE ICHOR. PLEASE TAG ME AS SOON AS THIS MASTERPIECE APPEARS. I'm thinking too much about them already I want to draw them.

i just love how we all collectively agreed baizhu = immediate green flag

[yuri-is-online]

Been thinking back on the early books where Crowly would just not even play coy about holding Yuu's vulnerable status in TWST over their head to do things, he's only stopped in recent books because after Jamil's overblot, Yuu's stopped going to him for things/Yuu gets involved in stuff anyways but like, imagine Ortho or any of the boys with real Means hearing Crowly do the whole "Oh I'd hate to see you on the streets, Prefect" shit and just going "not if I have anything to say about it".

STYX probably has some sort of deal with other countries for Nationality if people born there like Idia ever need ID, so i could see the Shroud brothers just asking Mum and Dad to make their buddy a fake ID so they can get a job.

Or just Kalim or Vil using their wealth to simply pay for Yuu to get all the paperwork they need and then some if Crowly continues to be skeezy about it. (And its because its me and you, Ace debating whether or not to cheekily slip a marriage certificate in with all the paperwork, if only briefly).

Azul and the Tweels Girlbossing and Gaslighting that Yuu is actually from the Coral Sea and their paperworks just been lost in the exchange program, how dare customs lose something that important! All four of them deserve compensation for the damage!

But who needs all that when Malleus just bold face says that by Divine Right he declared Yuu a sovereign citizen of Briar Valley. Whose gonna fight him in this? Just.. the boys in general making sure Yuu is OK

Ortho offers to give you any secret you want off the internet for your birthday so I definitely see the S.T.Y.X. people coming in clutch for the paperwork. It makes the most sense to me because when I read Book 6 I felt like the implication was Grim was going to be kept there past when the OB boys were returned due to him being seen as a danger, so if Grim is a matter of interest to S.T.Y.X. then Yuu probably will be too eventually. Paperwork shmaperwork they'll have ids made up for Yuu lickty split.

Malleus is another good option, but there is that pesky senate to deal with... I wonder if we will ever get an explanation of how Sebek's dad immigrated there? Could Malleus claim that he's technically doubled the human population by making Yuu a citizen because Mr. Zigvolt is the only one there for now?

and just because it's between you, me, and hundreds of our closest aceyuu friends and family, maybe yuu jokes that if they just got married then they'd have some paperwork and ace makes a great big show of "taking one for the team" even though we both know he'd really like that actually. And so would you otherwise you wouldn't be joking about it.

[dolliels]

I’VE BECOME THE FIANCÉ OF THE VILLAIN?! pt 2

synopsis: going to bed after reading a horribly self indulgent romance novel, you seemed to wake up as an extra of the series. what stories will unfold while on a mission to find a way out?

author’s note: ik i said there would be more romance but i lied i got carried away and wrote too much and so i divided the sections as equally as i could make it without making it end too clumsily.

[one] [two] [three] [four] [epilogue]

it's been about two days since you housed leona from his injury. damn, he slept like a log.

you had been sleeping on the couch ever since you decided to carry this absolute wall of a man into your bed, so you spent most days lounging around.

the first night leona came into your store, you frowned. you've read in the novel that leona is an unstoppable, powerful and consuming being. there was no reason for him to be so gosh darn injured.

then you thought back to when roselia and leona first started falling in love. You had to constantly remind yourself that this novel was not realistic at all and terribly self indulgent. of course there was some stupid reason as to why leona would end up like this.

you already had the gist of the idea.

the thing is, the kingscholar family's royal ties weren't exactly held up by blood alone. there was some string magic that bounded the current king to be worthy of leading the kingdom.

leona stubbornly believed that the magic was false, thinking that his brother had no true leadership at all, just charming and handsome (just how charming is king falena anyway? you almost shed tears looking at just leona. how much would you evaporate if you saw the king?)

so, he took a trip to an ancient cavern where a dragon guarded a book containing some of the most powerful answers in the world, including the truth to all magic. leona really wanted to see if his brother's claim to the throne was true at all, wanting to use it as a way to get one step closer to the throne.

(the dragon was in fact, prince malleus of the briar valley kingdom. he was roselia's second love interest. but only because roselia went to find the book for herself, encountering him along the way. you, however, had no interest in meeting the briar prince. roselia eventually convinced malleus to let her take a peek at a book and spoiler alert: nothing about reality transmigration was there. that was how roselia decided that she would just live in this world forever.)

however, something was extremely odd.

the dragon, far more powerful than leona, beat him almost to a pulp (embarrassingly, haha!) and leona scurried away and snuck into the castle once more, into the arms of roselia, where she sat and took care of him (she couldn't try to get the maids to do it– she didn't have the heart to tell anyone of leona's plans. the transmigrated roselia in the novel still viewed leona as an OC after all, and had an attachment to him, no matter how insignificant the story was to her.)

so the question is: why the hell are you the one taking care of him? where is the hell is roselia??

you placed a cold towel over his forehead (he had a really high fever– probably a cold from walking in the rain. he got sick in the novel too.) you sighed. you also wondered what motivated leona to walk into your bookstore instead of anywhere else. he's seen you only once.

up until the evening, leona was sound asleep, soft snoring being heard in the background as you kept track of all the books you've sold so far on a piece of paper. owning a bookstore is little more complicated than you thought.

your eyes shot up when you heard a distant grumble. leona was waking up.

you instinctively brought leona to your home instead of calling for authorities, so you never really thought about what would happen when leona was conscious again. your mind started overflowing with consequences. you didn't know the law system in this world very well, and only skimmed through some books you've had about it.

"w… what…?"

leona touched his own forehead, feeling the soft cold towel cover his head. he took it off and slowly sat up, finally noticing your presence.

"where am i?"

instead of scared or surprised, leona just looked confused and really frustrated. the overthinking getting to you, you prompted to answer straight away.

"you're in my room. uhm. you've been asleep for nearly three days."

"what…?"

he scanned your bedroom, then at you.

"oh. you're the bookseller."

-

having leona kingscholar in your living room wasn't something you had on your bucket list today, but you didn't seem to mind.

leona adjusted quickly. although he didn't thank you for your efforts, or try to explain himself of who he is and how he ended up here, it was better than going on a rampage and punishing you via death. you knew that if things pissed him off, leona would make sure it goes bad for the other party from simply the flick of his hand. this meant you weren't such a bad host.

his entire left arm was wrapped up in bandages, still soaked from some of the dried up blood (you were intending to change but now that he's awake, you're not sure if you should)

he sat at your round dining table. you placed a hot english muffin stuffed with bacon and cheese (it was the only warm food you were able to make. coming into this world, you oddly developed an obsession with english muffins…)

without a word, or any thank yous, leona snatched it from the plate and ate it with no complaints. I mean, as long the food isn't that bad, right?

being a bookstore owner, you had stacks of books lying around the house, including the dining table. leona was silently flipping through one of them. wuthering heights, it read. he kept frowning as he skimmed over the pages. it looked like he'd read it a hundred times before already.

you slowly sat yourself across the table, fiddling your hands together as you watched leona eat and read, unbothered.

"uhm… your highness?"

there was no reply, but his ears flicked and he subtly lowered his book down. his eyes weren't gliding across the pages anymore.

"how long… how long are you planning to stay here?"

"does that matter? you work for me, so there should be no issue with housing me for an undetermined period of time"

you sighed. what a bitch. you pretended to laugh nervously.

"alright… uhm. anything else you need?"

"more of these." leona said waving the book at you.

"more emily brontë? i mean i could–"

"wuthering heights is her only novel, you dumbass, i meant more of this genre. i thought you read?"

oh he's a pretentious dick!

the next day, you ran shop like usual. leona, ungratefully so, snoozed away in your bed and ate all the meat you had left in stock. you were barely able to create a balanced meal with some left over ham you stashed away for emergencies. it seems like you have to go grocery shopping tomorrow…

leona seemed to be devouring one book after another. he was a fast reader, and seemed to be rummaging over piles and piles of books in nearly just one day. that seemed a little (very) impossible. you just shrugged and assumed he was skipping through them because he was bored.

dinner was entirely silent. you still had a lot of questions, especially with how the story isn't going as planned.

you watched leona just push away his plate and walk up to your room (again) in which you assume he's planning to snooze away again. he surprisingly sleeps a lot, it was never mentioned in the novel.

"so?"

you turn around to see leona look down at you halfway up the stairs.

"huh?"

"aren't you coming?"

"why?"

leona just glared and pointed at the bandaged arm.

"oh! right! I'll just get my medical kit–"

-

"so… uhm… you highness…" you started, as you slowly started unwrapping the bandages. the injury was pretty hard, cuts everywhere, dried blood cover nearly his entire arm, a piece of skin completely gone… it was truly a sight to look at.

leona yawned widely before replying; "what?"

"how… how did this even happen?"

he just stared off into the distance. "take a wild, wild guess."

"a fight?"

"bingo."

you sighed. well that was probably it. it didn't seem like leona wanted to explain further, and you didn't want to pry. you knew the reason anyway. it's just that the uncomfortable silence was murdering you in half.

"i'm not good at taking care of injuries… i really do think you should go back to the palace and get medical treatment. i heard the royal doctors are good!"

"pish posh." leona replied. "they're going to go on about how i need to be inside and i'm gonna be caged in the palace again for an entire week."

you shrugged. "well maybe your fiancé? I don't think my medical skills can match up to even the higher class…" there was no reason for you to say this, but you were prying in. so far, you've had absolutely no mention of roselia anywhere. you decided that it was best to get the information from the source alone.

"fiancé? i don't have a fiancé. what are you talking about?"

you felt your blood run cold.

"oh! nothing! i must've gotten the words confused… i meant friends! yeah. your friends could help, right?"

leona scoffed. "no."

as you slowly patched up leona's injury, you bit your lip. leona doesn't have a fiancé…?

that completely ruins the trajectory of the story.

you had two options: the universe where roselia transmigrated into the novel, or the universe where no one but you transmigrated, except leona still had a completely helpless fiancé that he kills eventually. the universe you were in… doesn't make sense.

does that mean you have no way of going home…?

no. you shake your head. just focus on the present and good things will come your way.

"ouch. watch it."

leona glared at you as you jabbed an injury too hard.

"i'm… uh… sorry."

he rolls his eyes and looks back at you. since you were tending to his injury, you were able to see his face even more up close. you probably would've actually shed a tear, except leona was being so unlikeable that despite his good looks rubbing in your face, you could only scowl.

"what's with that face?"

"nothing… just thinking about how a thank you for hosting you these past few days would be nice."

"what?" leona snorted.

"i-" you tightly wrapped the bandage on leona's arm. his face didn't change but you could see a jolt of movement in his ears. "have been watching over you-" another tight pull. "and feeding you-" leona winced.

"but not a single acknowledgement is there!" you huffed. "i'm sorry your highness, but even people of the noble class should know how to have some gratitude. i don't mind housing you in my place forever if i have to, just a simple thank you would've worked."

leona stared at you, wide eyed for a second, rubbing his injured arm, probably from the hot pressure against it. you do admit you've been pulling the bandages way tighter than you should've.

he then lets out a laugh.

"no one has ever spoken to me like that before! haha, you really have no comprehension of what i am capable of, are you?"

in all honesty, you did not. you did know that leona was merciless, cold and unforgiving. but the novel spent 90% of its entire story just talking about the better half of him when he fell in love, so, no, you really didn't. nor did you care. you still had a hard time viewing leona so highly, even if you had been constantly reminding yourself to call leona "your highness" (blegh…)

"I guess not…" you mumbled, looking down.

"could I at least get a thank you…?"

leona huffed. "there's nothing to be thankful for. the food is lousy, the house is small, this bed is too stiff and there's way too many books scattered all around to move around comfortably."

hah… this bitch…

you breathed in and out deeply, calming yourself. you needed to be composed, you couldn't risk getting on leona's bad side for now. you have no idea where roselia is, meaning there is no other alternative way for you to get out of this world.

your hope was diminishing the longer you were here…

"sorry." you replied quietly, standing up to leave. the idea that you couldn't possibly go home now put you in a sour mood. it seemed like leona felt the shift in vibe and went silent himself as you walked out the door.

"by the way, the food is lousy because you keep eating all the good food."

you shut the door.

-

the next morning, you ran shop as per usual. you didn't bother checking up on the prince, you assumed he was fine. and there were more urgent matters.

flipping through your collection of books on transmigration, you sighed.

there was options of weird chants and rituals you could do to go back home, but that meant you had to have done already in the first place, so that a checkpoint is saved between two worlds. you, however, passed out on your bed with your phone open to the novel on one hand and your other in a bag of chips. that's probably not how you came here… right? honestly, if desperation got to the best of you, you'd probably do it.

you felt movement behind you, as a certain someone comfortably sat himself beside you.

"oh, the store and the house are connected. didn't know that."

you rolled your eyes out of leona's sight.

leona glanced at the books you had stacked on the table. "transmigration? you want to leave this world or something?"

"if it means leaving you, then precisely." you snapped. then blinked.

"oh wait- im sorry-"

leona snorted. "yeah, yeah. whatever."

you coughed awkwardly. "people come into the store pretty often, your highness. are you sure you want to be seen? you are a recognizable prince after all. you should just go back inside." you said, trying to get him to go away so you can focus.

"nah. i don't care."

you scooted closer to you as he skimmed through your list of research. you tried to hide the paper away but he just leaned in closer, your shoulders touching.

"wow… rituals and stuff. you sure you know what reality you want to go to?"

you huffed. "no. this is just for fun."

leona shrugged. "alright."

ding

the doorbell to the bookstore rang again and you looked up.

"welcome-"

two men in armor walked up to you, squishing past these tiny book shelves.

"hello." said a tall man with white, gruffed hair.

"hi…?"

"we're the royal guards."

"yeah… i thought so."

"don't mind him" said the shorter, blonder one beside him. "it's his first day here. anywho, we're looking for prince leona." he shoved a drawing of leona to your face. "have you see him?"

you turned to your side to find that leona was gone. actually, he still there, just under the table.

"uhmmmm… errrr…"

you felt a pinch on your leg.

trying to keep your composure, you smiled. "no. I haven't. I'll contact you guys when I have, though!"

the guards nodded in understanding and left.

you finally looked down to see leona.

"what the fuck was that???"

leona shrugged. "i've been gone for days. they're probably looking for me."

"then… shouldn't you be going home?"

"no." leona leaned against the table. "i don't want to."

you heard another customer walk in.

"okay mr prince, you should go back into before someone recognizes you." you hissed, pushing him away.

leona proceeded to walk back inside your house, as you closed the door. you felt a little nervous, like you were hiding a criminal.

the drawing of leona did make you laugh a little, though. he looked dead and pissed off, really capturing what he looks like on a day-to-day basis.

TO BE CONTINUED..

a.n: 2 more chapters and a prologue to go.. 😩 anyone whose really into the story i love you and hopefully you can survive the next 3 days because i’m trying to survive too

[snail-migraine]

Hey what do you think of a platonic yandere Malleus with a perfect child?

They get great grades, they are super well behaved, they never object to anything, simply what most people would describe as a perfect child.Only to discover that it's not true and that the reader has a completely different personality when he's alone/with friends.

They are those friends from the group who like art, their clothes are always covered in paint, they are always wearing headphones and I think it would be very interesting if she wanted to work with Music like being a singer

((sorry if this seems a little confusing, I'm not very good at expressing my ideas and it gets harder when my native language isn't English :p

Kisses from Brazil~★

It's okay! Honestly as a native English speaker I'm more than use to hearing and reading grammatical mistakes in English, often times coming from fellow native speakers, so please don't worry. Anyway, thank you and let's get to the fun stuff!

I imagine that if Malleus's had a perfect child things would go a bit differently. If you were a "perfect" child so to speak, you'd probably still be at N.R.C., he'll you'd probably even graduate without much trouble with school or with your father.

It isn't until you've graduated and you tell him your aspirations that things on his side begin to change. See cause Malleus was always under the impression that you'd become his successor, his heir to the throne. When you tell him your dreams of being a musician he's flabbergasted!

"When did this come about?" Is the first thing he says, the second being, "No."

He's against it wholeheartedly, and won't chamge his mind. When you try listing off reasons why he should let you go he gets angry and starts yelling. How dare you! You know better than to make stupid comments like these just to anger him! For someone as gifted as you, you surely are foolish. The fact that you'd even want to leave Briar Valley upsets him.

If you start rebelling against him like sneaking out when he's not looking, stealing his crown, and even painting an offensive doodle of him on his own throne. That's when he puts you up in the tower. Tired of your antics and just wanting thr sweet little child he knew back. None of...whoever this is.

-Anon-Yan

[bones4thecats]

MC! Reader Returns and Reunites with Sebek

Type of Writing: Request (Added Part) Characters: Sebek Zigvolt Name: MC! Reader Returns and Reunites with Sebek Original Poll Link: Here Other Parts: Part One Tagged Requester: @twistedcece and @blues824

A/N: This part two to the original request made by the second tagged person above. This features a hint at the original piece, so I recommend, before you read this, go check out the first part that I linked above! Anyways, enjoy!

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⚡ When you walked through that mirror all those years ago, Sebek went through so many emotions, emotions that he never thought he'd ever go through

⚡ Lilia eventually retired from being a member of the Briar Valley army and watched as Malleus was crowned King of Briar Valley and he applauded as Silver and Sebek graduated and became the personal guards of their new King

⚡ Even though he knew his grandfather, the person he looked up to the most, was happy for him, Sebek couldn't help but feel a large pang in his chest

⚡ You weren't there to celebrate with him...

⚡ Sweet Seven, why was he still thinking about you? It's been over three years, why were you the only thing that was on his mind during his rare breaks?

⚡ Sebek was walking alongside Silver as they stood right behind Malleus, as he was on his way to sit on his throne and discuss matters of borders with the new established leaders of the Queendom of Roses and the Shaftlands

⚡ Silver noticed his friend and co-workers un-easy behavior, and he gave him a light pat on the back

⚡ Even Malleus was kinda off that day for some mysterious reason

⚡ That morning, he had mentioned to Lilia and the two other knights that he felt a spurge of magical energy racing around the atmosphere for some reason, one that he couldn't answer

⚡ It was enough of a warning that prompted the guards to double on staff, leaving Silver and Sebek far more tired and busy than usual, but, they signed up for this

⚡ When the meeting finally ended, Malleus bid farewell to his fellow rulers as Silver and Sebek returned to their posts beside his throne

⚡ Malleus sat down and began to read a book that you had gifted him years ago, and he froze when the sound of a magical burst entered the room, prompting Sebek and Silver to hold their swords up, facing the portal with murderous glints in their eyes

" Child of man? " " Hey, you guys... long time no see, huh? "

⚡ Sebek froze in place as you stepped out, the portal closing behind you as Malleus hugged you, Lilia laughing as Silver smiled, patting your head in a welcome

⚡ You looked around and saw the familiar hair-cut of your long-time love, and when your eyes met across the room, Sebek began to tear up

⚡ You were here... standing right in front of him... now was his chance!

⚡ Walking up to your old friend, you smiled and rubbed your neck as tears threaten to spill from his eyes

" Hey Sebek... how have you be- "

⚡ Cutting you off mid-sentence, Sebek grabbed you by the waist and laid his lips against your's roughly, prompting Malleus to chuckle as the father-son duo took photos of the cute event

⚡ Allowing you both to take a breath, Sebek pulled away from your lips to lay his forehead against yours, his chartreuse eyes staring into yours

" I love you... I always have, Y/N. So please, please don't leave me again... "

⚡ Chuckling as you laid his head in your hands, you pressed a small peck to the half-fae's nose, your answer made every hateful thought of himself go flying out the window

" I will never, ever, leave you alone again, my dear. I love you, Sebek Zigvolt. " " And I you, my one and only. "

[moonyasnow]

Ship intro: Mallina

Fics:

Malleus and a Reader who's just as lonely as him

Your[Irina's] latest ‘friends’ turn out to be trash. Their words lead you down a terrible descent. At least someone is willing to reach out to you.

Spotify List:

IT'S TIMELINE TIME

I'VE BEEN WAITING SO LONG FOR THIS YOU HAVE NO IDEA

This is just a basic timeline though; I'm leaving out a fair bit of detail.

Also added in random things I've written so if it feels a little bit disjointed in some areas, that's why.

T I M E L I N E :

How they meet:

Book 2

One night she'd just been laying in bed unable to sleep, hearing the distant whispers of her parents fighting at the edges of her mind like usual, and deciding to go outside just to escape the confined room and get some kind of distraction from hearing them. She was incredibly startled hearing someone suddenly call out to her, having been too stuck in her own thoughts to notice him approaching like she usually could. She was honestly scared at first, though mostly as a result of being caught with her guard down, which she usually never was.

But as soon as she properly looked into his eyes, all that fear suddenly seemed to fade away in an instant. She didn't know why, but she suddenly started to feel relaxed in his presence, more so than she usually ever did. And she felt almost sad when he disappeared. But she told herself off for it; that was the first time she'd ever met him after all, and she didn't even know his name. But since he'd said she could call him whatever she wanted…

She'd call him Peridot, after the color of his eyes. 'Peri' for short.

Tomoe's first reaction to the name 'Peri' was to laugh, explaining that it made her think of Perry the Platypus. And once she'd also had the thought, Irina couldn't help but laugh too, 'Peri' being exchanged for 'Perry' in her mind after that point.

Book 3

She ended up being asked by some Student or other if she'd thought about joining a club yet. She hadn't, not even really knowing which clubs actually existed. And so she decided to take a look to see if anything seemed interesting; she had a lot more free time after being fired from her job anyway. When she saw that there was a 'Gargoyle Appreciation Club' and that it had only one member, she knew instantly who that must be, and decided to join it. Irina joins Gargoyle Studies Club

Then Irina goes to the Harveston Sledathon!

This is the first time they'd really gone without being ABLE to spend time with each other and go on their nightly walks.

Book 4

When Lilia showed up to give her the postcard, she knew who it must have been from. And so she asked Lilia to wait for a second, rushing into her room to get a box, with a letter attached, which she asked him to give to the sender of the postcard. It was a birthday gift for her friend Peridot; a clay tea pot, its spout designed to look like a little dragon, the handle on the opposite end sculpted into the shape of a scaly tail. The letter contained not only wishes for him to have a happy birthday, but also an explanation of the spout. She wanted to give him a Gargoyle as a gift, but she also wanted to make sure it was an actual Gargoyle, with a clear purpose, rather than just a decorative Grotesque. So she settled on a tea pot! Since it serves as the spout, the 'needs water spout' element of a Gargoyle was cleared, as well.

She wasn't there to see it, but when he got her gift and read the letter, he was so beside himself with joy that for the first time in at least a century, there was sunshine in Briar Valley. Not only was it a birthday gift from his best friend, hand-crafted no less, it was also incredibly thoughtful, proof to him that she'd been listening and paying attention to every single word of all his rambles about his beloved Gargoyles. The next time they met again, before any words could be spoken he quite literally picked her up off the ground and spun her around as a way to say 'thank you'. That was the moment she admitted to herself that she'd fallen in love with him.

He ended up insisting on them drinking at least one cup of tea for all their club meetings after this point, so he got a chance to use it. And he also insisted on the same for every single Housewarden meeting he went to, which he'd started to actually know the times and places of thanks to Irina knowing through Tomoe and telling him. If he'd had any less decorum he would have literally shoved the pot in the face of random people in the halls; he was that happy about it.

Book 5

The invitation and everyone who didn't already know finding out about their friendship

She's also the one who gives Malleus the tickets to the SDC. For their booth at the cultural festival Irina made a bunch of small clay figurines of Grotesques and then wrote above them the differences between them and Gargoyles, to educate people.

When Tomoe meets Malleus for the first time, she lightly teases Irina, asking "So this is the famous 'Perry the Platypus."' Irina got very embarrassed, and Malleus, eyes wide with surprise, asked if that was meant to refer to him. Irina, face burning with embarrassment, then explains the name and its connection to a certain animated Platypus spy, but also says her nickname for him was actually supposed to be short for Peridot. It ended with Malleus bursting out laughing right then and there, Irina, still embarrassed, saying: "W-was it really that funny?" It then becomes a recurring inside joke of him calling himself 'her platypus friend'.

When Malleus began to fix the stage, not being used to magic and thus a bit scared at first, Irina moved close to his side out of reflex, feeling safer there. It made him really happy to think that for once, not only was there someone who wasn't afraid of him, but she even felt safe around him. Though she became very flustered when she realized she'd been gripping onto his jacket arm.

After this, she starts referring to him as both 'Peri' and also 'Malleus'. He can't decide which one he likes more: the nickname, or her calling his name. (by this point he is just as head over heels for her as she is for him. But he still hasn't figured out why sometimes, she does something that makes him so happy it literally makes his chest hurt and gives him goosebumps. He just hasn't realized why yet)

They have their first Sleepover! I wrote an actual fic about it here! 👀

Book 6

She stays behind at NRC, staying in an unoccupied room at Diasomnia and waiting for Tomoe, Grim and everyone else to come back. Just as she's starting to settle into the bed in the room, she gets a knock on her door. It was Malleus. As soon as she saw him, she basically launched herself into his arms. And he embraced her as though he'd been expecting her to do just that. He walked further into her room and closed the door, then just picked her up, and laid the both of them in the bed and used his magic to cover them with the blanket, not wanting either of his arms to let go of her for even a second.

She was incredibly worried, and disoriented— one of her best friends (Jamil) and the closest thing she had to a family (Tomoe and Grim) were gone, and her other best friend (Ruggie) was visibly stressed and very busy trying to manage his dorm while his Housewarden was gone. So everyone she was close to except for Malleus was unable to be there for her when it felt to her like the entire world was falling apart. And she's not used to things going back to normal when it starts to feel like that. Even if she knew where they were, to someone with such bad abandonment issues as her, who is so dependent on the people in her life and has such bad separation anxiety, she wasn't handling it well. When Malleus offered her a room in Diasomnia, she was grateful… But something inside her just felt absolutely horrible when she was given a room that wasn't his room, or anywhere close to his room. She really, really needed him.

She cried into his chest for a long time, holding onto him like he was the only thing keeping her from falling off the edge of the world. And in a way, that's what it felt like to her. She called out his name between her sobbing, and each time, he replied with an "I am here" and held her a little tighter. When she finally fell asleep, he was holder her so tightly it almost hurt. That was exactly what she needed. After she'd fallen asleep, he kissed the top of her head, and vowed to himself that he would never ever make her feel like that; he'd never leave her side for as long as he lived.

Glorious Masquerade

"My lady," he bent down as far as he could without hurting his back, and placed a kiss to the back of her hand. "May I have this dance?"

He lifted her by her waist, spinning her around. Looking up to see her surprised face as she held onto his shoulders to keep herself upright, he felt utterly breathless. The smile that formed on her face, accompanied by the rare, breathy sound of her laugh, shot through his heart like a spear. When he gently let her down onto the ground again to continue their dance, there came that feeling again. That indescribable urge of wanting to take her by the hand and guide her to someplace they could spend time just the two of them, to do…something. No matter how he tried, that 'something' refused to make itself clear to him, leaving him struggling ceaselessly to understand the very nature of that urge. And so, he did not act on it. For he did not know what it even was he wished to act upon.

Even with her mask crooked on her face and her hair disheveled, he thought her beauty greater than that of any painting he had ever seen. Not even within Briar Valley's uncountable collection of art could there be one which came even close to what he saw before him in that moment. Nor could any poem, written in any language, living or dead, adequately put it into words.

Coming back, his eyes were locked on her all the while. And as they were, he saw her begin to talk to someone. When he came within earshot he heard:

"Will you dance with me?" The boy in front of her, one from Noble Bell whom he did not recognize, was blushing, looking terribly flustered, even shy. The image sickened him. In seconds, a terrible storm began to pick up outside. Who was he? What right did he have to look at Irina, at his Child of Man, that way? None. Malleus was better. More worthy of her attention. So why did he feel so threatened by that nameless boy? As though someone was trying to yank away the one precious thing he cherished more than anything; his one and only friend. That boy probably had friends of his own. Why couldn't he go be with them, instead? Irina was his friend. His.

He walked over with a steely gaze, no doubt frightening any poor souls he passed by near to death. But the moment she noticed his approach, and her guarded body language broke and she nearly lept to be closer to him, wearing that sweet smile, the clouds vanished in an instant. "Peri!"

"My Child of Man." He smiled right back.

The other boy quickly backed off. 'Good.'

"I had a wonderful time. I was happy to spend it with my dearest friend, Irina."

The word 'friend'…had it always come up so…short? He had felt the same once in the past, and brushed it off, too afraid of what it might mean, were they not friends- as though it would mean losing the warmth and joyous sense of familiarity the title brought. Yet the question plagued him more and more, until at last, he found himself unable to merely brush it off as he once had.

It occurred to him that, having no prior reference of what a 'friend' was, or how friends acted with each other, he had no idea if the things they did were things friends would do. Did friends have sleepovers where they shared a bed, holding each other tightly through the night, singing each other to sleep? Did friends feel so possessively about each other as he felt over her? Did friends…sometimes look at each other's lips and wonder if they would be soft to the touch? Did friends wish to spend their every waking moment, now and forever in the future, together?

He didn't know. Irina was the only friend he'd ever had. And she made him happy.

But…he was beginning to wonder if they truly could be called friends at this point.

What were they, if not friends? What lay beyond that title?

Things were fine as they were now, weren't they? He was happy, and so was she. Wasn't that enough? Yet, then…why did he desire for something more?

...

Perhaps he would consult Lilia, after their return to Night Raven.

And so this is where, during a conversation with Lilia about it, he finally starts to realize just what his feelings are. The literal second after realizing he loves her, he starts thinking up a way to propose to her

He's already picking out their kids' names in his mind and mentally decorating their bedroom in Briar Valley's royal castle.

Book 7

She runs to him, who's sitting on the ground, and throws herself around his neck. She's crying.

“I-I-I was— w-was so— sca-red…!” Her voice is shaking and wavering so much from the tears that she can barely speak.

“I…apologize, my dear Child of Man… I know now that my actions were wrong, but it was never my intention to frighten—“

“Th-that's not why!” Uncharacteristically, she cuts him off.

“I was so, so, s-so worried! I thought you could die! I-if I didn't defeat you in time. I-I thought you were going to die! I thought I'd lo-lose you!!!”

Then she just can't hold it in anymore— she starts wailing, just at the mere thought. She holds him tighter.

When she's calmed down enough that there are no longer tears cascading down her face, she pulls back…and she cups his cheeks and pulls him closer so their foreheads touch. “I love you. I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you! I—“

He kisses her forehead and holds her closer, tucking her head under his chin and circling his arms tightly around her, apologizing profusely for scaring her so badly. And he kisses her. For a second she just stares at him in shock Before she can really respond, they're interrupted by someone who says they should really get him to a doctor.

After that is another sleepover since Irina can't bear to be apart from him for a while after what happened

Stuff I didn't know where to put:

Quote I'm stealing from @diodellet:

"They're 2 flavors of incapable of vocalizing their feelings but they're willing to share the burden with each other wordlessly"

BECAUSE YES SHE PUT IT SO WELL

Not sure when exactly this would happen, but certainly after they get together. Anyway, here is how I imagine Malleus proposing to her:

And ALSO how the whole 'Malleus is immortal and Irina isn't' thing gets resolved because I REFUSE to let either of them go through that; there are some angst lines even I won't cross

AND A FINAL THING! There's a Swedish song in their spotify list called 'en säng av rosor' (a bed of roses) and I NEED you to know what the lyrics are, so I translated them:

"The glass is half-empty right now Half-full if you'd been here The days they go by but never seem to end I wish I were where you are

The streets echo of you Memories that'll always be there All I say is a film-reel of the two of us I've gotten stuck in our little world

I will make a bed of roses I will light every candle I will play the music That you always sing I will make a bed of roses for you

Stockholm is more grey now The summer passed all too quickly Now Spring is nigh and soon you'll be here I've longed for it more than you'd probably think

I will make a bed of roses I will light every candle I will play the music That you always sing I will make a bed of roses for you

I miss getting stuck with my gaze deep in your eyes The safest place in my lonely word, no questions I can be myself with you; no need for words

I will make a bed of roses I will light every candle I will play the music That you always sing I will make a bed of roses I will light every candle I will play the music That you always sing I will make a bed of roses I will make a bed of roses I will make a bed of roses for you"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Now, I'm not saying I have a favorite ship....

But I have a favorite ship OTL

Tag list:

@another-random-paradise @thehollowwriter @faefum @cactus13-rolloflammesimp @beneathsakurashade

@nyx-of-night @theolivetree123 @babyghoul138 @skibidibabygirl @screamintoad

@gingacat @buttholesparkles @angelwishess

[liliansun]

FREE TRIAL WEDDING STYLE | L. DONGHYUCK

synopsis: when a random, cute, guy comes up to you and practically asks for you to follow along, you do so without much thought. that is until you get home and see he’s your new neighbor who just might need your help a little more than you expected.

pairing: fake-bf/new neighbor!haechan x oc

wc: 10.6k

genre: fluff, comedy, fake dating au, slice of life (?), wedding au

warnings: warnings, kissing, all that fun jazz (lmk if I miss any)

mentions of: 127, dream and wayv members, mention of aespa members

<3: special thanks to ash and briar for literally just beta reading anything I ask them to and for just being the best friends I ever could’ve asked for, they’re the real og besties and I love you guys sm 🫶

PART TWO: FIRST ANNIVERSARY

Looking up at the boy in front of you who seemed desperate for you to follow along, you clear your throat as you shift your eyes to his friends. “Um, I thought I told you I was coming here on break.” Awkwardly trying to come up with the right words, the boy watches as you look panicked and takes the seat in front of you. “It must’ve not gone through, babe.” He said, reaching across the table to place his hand over yours. You glared at him, making him immediately retract his hand and laugh it off as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“We’re out Haechan, text us when you’re gonna meet up.” One of the guys from what you can only assume was his friend group said as he got up and gathered his belongings. “What- wait I still wanna come.” The boy, who you just learned is Haechan, whined as he immediately stood up from his seat when his friends made way for the door. “Dude you’re here with your girl, catch up later.” The boy with blue hair gave him a knowing look which caused the boy, Haechan, to pout. “Actually, I was about to go back to work anyway because- yeah, so um it’s nice seeing you, honey?”

Haechan can see how uncomfortable you are and simply nodded as you grabbed your belongings. He walked beside you, making your way to the door before you two part ways. To his surprise, you go off in the opposite direction than him and his friends, not saying another word about the shit show you had to endure.

After the awkward encounter back at the cafe, you went back to work and tried to pretend it never happened. Rubbing your eye with the palm of your hand, you don’t get a good look at whoever joined in the elevator when it stopped midway to your designated floor. Too caught up in the oddly comforting feeling of rubbing the stress and sleepiness from your eye, you lean back with both eyes closed. “Didn’t get enough sleep?” You recognize the voice, humming as you let out a yawn.

“Why didn’t you take a nap on break?” You roll your head toward the voice, opening your eyes to see Jaehyun giving you a knowing look. “I had lunch away from the office and I’m honestly starting to regret it.” The ding of the elevator signals you to get off on your floor. Jaehyun follows behind, slipping his hands into his pockets. “What happened, did you try some weird new restaurant again because if you spend the next 30 minutes away from the desk again I’m gonna shred your computer.”

You furrow your brows, whipping around on your heels to point a finger into his chest. “It’s not my fault, okay, last time I tried that cheap fusion food truck and it gave me food poisoning.” Shuttering, you try to block out the memory of the last time you went away from the office for lunch which cost you a bill from the hospital and toiletries to keep you at bay. “Plus this wasn’t anything that happened with the food, this guy..I don’t know it was weird and I just wanna forget about it.”

“Suit yourself, but don’t be calling for me when your stomach starts to churn.” He says, walking away from you to enter the main office area. You sigh, running your fingers through your hair as you slip between the crowded area till you get to your own desk. Plopping down in your seat, your eyes immediately look at the brightly colored sticky note left by your senior editor. Snatching it from the base of your computer, you groan while crumbling it in your hand. “Someone’s sour today I see.”

“Maybe if Kim Jungwoo didn’t leave cryptic messages at my desk when I’m not there instead of telling me when I’m actually in the office then I wouldn’t want to bash his pretty face in.” Karina smiles at you, leaning against your desk as she watches you throw away the note into a bin. “Do I even want to know what that was all about?” You roll your head towards her, shaking your head before refocusing on the emails you missed. “Gotcha, speaking of pretty faces, Jae told me you met a boy at lunch.”

“How did he tell you that when we literally just got in?”

“He has a big mouth for such a quiet man.” Nodding along, you start to click through emails, sorting through which ones are important and which ones can be pushed back till you get home. “So.”

“So?” Karina smiled at you, leaning towards you as she wiggled her finger. “Don’t play dumb y/n, tell me about the boy!” Rolling your eyes, you shrug her off and go back to what you were doing before. “Uh uh, don’t do that, tell me pretty please? I mean when’s the last time you had a boy to talk about since your douchebag of an ex.” Fighting back a frown, Karina notices how stiff you get and gently rubs your arm. “I’m sorry, I know it’s still fresh.”

With a heavy sigh, you turn your chair towards her. “That’s the thing, it’s been two years and I still can’t seem to get over him or even mention him.” She continues rubbing your arm, knowing all too well how messy your breakup with your ex was. “I really can’t say much about him though, the guy I mean.” She nods, letting you know she’s listening. “He’s cute, I’ll give him that, kinda baby faced in a mature way if that makes sense and he seems almost childlike with the guys he was with but in the moment he was more desperate than anything.”

She smiles, playing with the ends of your hair. “Sounds like you like him.” You give her a twisted look, shaking your head at the thoughts you could only imagine that were starting to play out in her head. “No, uh uh no ma’am, don’t give me that look I literally just met him.” She props herself up on your desk, swinging her legs as her smile widens at your sudden defensiveness on the subject. “Karina, I promise you, he literally came up to me and pretended like we were dating! What kind of guy does that?”

Raising her eyebrows, she leans back on her palms. “Only the desperate boys who wanna slip your skirt d-“ The sound of a loud clearing of the throat caught both of your attentions. Looking at who was standing in the entryway to your small desk space, you see a very unimpressed Taeyong. “I’m not gonna ask what you two are giggling about,” he throws his hands up, wiggling his fingers with one while the other shakes around a manila envelope in the other, “But this is for you sent directly from Doyoung.” With a fake smile, you take the envelope that he ever so kindly handed over, snickering as he left off back to whatever he had found before.

“I hate to see what you did in your past life, karma is a bitch to you.” When your face deadpans, Karina throws her head back in a fit of laughter. You slap at her legs with the envelope, whining as she finds humor in your torture. “I don’t get why Doyoung always sends me the most complicated stuff, like I’m not the only person on the floor.” Putting emphasis on his name, you make a mental note to not get such a nice gift like you do each year for Christmas exchange. And if you’re wondering, yes you do get him a separate gift every year because you simply can. I mean, who wouldn’t, it’s Doyoung.

“Maybe because you’re one of the best editors on the floor.” Smiling, you lean back in your chair while tossing the envelope beside your keyboard. “You always know what to say to me.” Hopping off your desk, Karina flattens out the front of her pants before placing both hands on her hips. “Yeah yeah, work your magic and I’ll see you later.” You wave her off, facing your laptop with no intent on working on the pile of stuff in front of you.

After many excruciating hours sitting in your chair, you read the time and quickly gather your things to head home. You catch a cab to your tiny apartment, dragging yourself up the stairs in hopes you’ll actually make it to your bed before the mental exhaustion takes its toll. Reaching the top of the stairs, you see the door across from yours wide open. “I guess they found someone to fill the room.” You mutter to yourself, slinging your purse over your arm that doesn’t seem to stop sliding down.

As you’re putting your keys into your door, you hear scuffling behind you. “Oh hey neighbor.” Turning around, you meet eyes with the person you literally thought you’d never see again. “Oh, it’s you.” Haechan seemed taken aback, offended to his core when he gasped as he held his chest. “Nice to see you again, too.” If this was your final straw, your 13th reason, you’d probably let the world swallow you hole right on your doorstep and not bat an eye, but knowing Jungwoo he’d still find a way to drag you back to work in the morning.

“Sorry, I’m just too tired and honestly don’t even want to have this conversation.”

“What conversation are we not having?” You can’t tell if he’s genuinely confused and doesn’t recognize you, which only hurts a little, or if he’s just that pretty and that dumb. Maybe a combination of both to soothe your ego a little. “Y’know what- never mind, goodnight, neighbor.” You finally turn the key, unlocking your door and slipping into your lonely apartment. Dropping the bag by the door, you toss your shoes off and convince yourself a hot shower would wash this day away.

And it does, for the most part. Maybe it’s because you shampooed your hair and you feel ten times more clean or maybe it’s because hot water seems to cure every bad mood you had before you got into the shower. Now, you’re hungry and all you want is something warm and to snuggle with your cat till your dreadful alarm takes you away from your sleep. You’re in the kitchen, drying your hair with a towel when you hear a knock at your door. And another and another.

Your only guess as to who it could be was Karina, maybe she and her boyfriend got into a fight again and she wanted to blow off some steam at your place. You go to open the door, being met with a very sheepish looking Haechan who can tell your mood dropped a little at his presence. “What.”

“Okay, firstly ouch, is that any way how you treat a neighbor? I mean I just moved in tod-“

“I’m giving you five more seconds to tell me what you want or I’m shutting the dam-“

“Okay okay fine, uh, can I maybe, possibly just sorta hang out?” Maybe Karina was right, maybe this was your punishment for whatever fucked up thing you did in your past life and now you have to endlessly suffer as if you’re made of steal. Well news flash universe, you’re not, now lay off. “You’re kidding, right?” When his eyes drop down to his hands that he was anxiously rubbing together, you let out a sigh before stepping aside.

He looked up, his eyes almost bright as he looks into yours. “Come in before I change my mind.” Once he stepped inside, you expected him to sit quietly on your couch and do whatever he thought he was gonna do when he got in, but you were far from that reality. The quiet, almost shy, boy who you just so happened to meet twice in one day completely came out of his shell and is now sitting across from you on your floor while sharing a separate bowl of soup.

“So why did you name your cat peanut?” The pet in question, or conversation, came from the hallway and walked around rubbing his body against various things in your living room. “Because my brother is allergic to peanuts and peanut hated him so it seemed fitting.” He smiles, content with your answer as she moves his spoon around in the bowl. “You’re a bad host, you know?” With a mouth full of soup, you chew the contents with furrowed brows. He came to your door, invaded your space, is eating your soup and dares to call you a bad host?

“Excuse me, but you’re the one who came up to me at the cafe and practically forced me into going along with your story!” He scoffs, setting his bowl down in his lap while pointing his spoon at you. “You’re the one who went along with it, look where that got you.” You narrow your eyes, trying to weigh your options on what’s the best way to commit homicide. “Wait-what—why are you even in here again?”

“Well, see now that’s a good question.” His sudden change in demeanor was weird. He suddenly seemed nervous, shifting in his spot as he avoided your gaze. “I actually, uh, have something to propose. Well, more like ask a question if you will, it’s really interchangeable honestly.”

He mirrors you, watching you with hopeful eyes as you start shaking your head. “Oh no, uh uh, don’t even say it.” He hurries behind you, pouting as he watches you set your near empty bowl in the sink. “I didn’t even say anything yet.” You turn around, holding your arms out to prevent him getting any closer. “No, but I know what you’re gonna ask and I’m not—no!” Haechan tries to speak, being interrupted when you shh him. You walk past him when he puts his bowl besides yours, speed walking down your hallway to your room.

“Y/n, don’t leave me in here alone.” God he sounded so whiny, it’s kinda cute if you’re honest, but that’s more of a random thought than a compliment for now. “Wait- how did you know my name?” Turning on your heel, the two of you stop midway in your hallway. “The landlord told me, he said if I ever needed anything to ask my neighbor and I currently am in need!” You turn back, trying to block him out as you enter your room and desperately climb into your bed.

Haechan stands at the entrance of your room, pouting when you reach for your laptop beside your bed. “Do you know how insane this is, I mean we just met today and then you just so happened to move in across from me and now you’re in my apartment, practically in my room,” you take in a deep breath, laughing it out as you open the device in your lap, “and I already feel like I know what you’re gonna ask me and it’s so fucking insane.”

Haechan doesn’t say anything, looking at you with an awkward smile. If you knew him, you’d think he was enjoying this, but that’s the thing is that you didn’t know him. “I know this is crazy and you might try to call the cops, but just hear me out.” You scrunch your nose, staring at him from across the room with crossed arms. “Remember the guys I was with earlier right, they’ve kinda been on me about being in a relationship and in a panic, I saw you and yeah the rest you pretty much know.”

“Do you know how pathetic that sounds, to use a random stranger as a decoy for your love, or lack of, life.” He looks taken aback, almost hurt at your brutal honesty and it leaves a slightly bad taste in your mouth. “Look, I’m sorry for that and almost as sorry as the situation your friends put you in.” He shrugs, running his hands through his hair as he opts to sit against your doorframe. There’s an uncomfortable silence that settles between the two of you, both not entirely sure what to say next and not sure on what to even begin to say to make it better.

You stare at the unopened files on your screen, mentally weighing your options and trying to decide whether to kick him out and potentially file a restraining order or to give him a chance, both seem like they’ll end up in flames honestly. “Look, I’ve seen way too many drama shows and I have a feeling on how this is supposed to go—it may be because I’m sleep deprived or how sad you’re looking right now, but I’ll think about it.”

His face lit up, hope filling his eyes with a certain kind of sparkle that made you feel worse if you’re being honest. “I knew it was a good decision to move here, I just knew it.” He mumbled to himself, smiling as he got up from your floor and brushed himself off. “I’ve got work to do, but we’ll talk tomorrow..I guess?” Nodding, Haechan gave you a salute which made you laugh before turning on his heels and disappearing into the darkness of your hallway. You let out a breath, a breath you didn’t know you were holding and lean against your pillows trying to figure out what you just signed up for.

Just as you start clicking on files, Haechan comes running back to your door. “You should probably lock the door.”

“Oh yeah, that’s a good idea.” Pushing your laptop aside, you get up from your bed and follow behind him.

The days following your very awkward and yet unclear agreement, you would only see Haechan in the hallway when one of you was leaving as the other was just getting in. That talk you were supposed to have, yeah that never actually happened due to your sudden pileup of work that occupied your time. Just have you been all week, you were currently sitting on your couch with your laptop occupying the space on your lap as you wait for your takeout order. You’re about three-fourths of the way done with what you’re working on when you hear a knock at your door.

Setting the device aside, you get up and go to answer it with your wallet in hand. When you open the door, much to your surprise, you see a very awkward Haechan holding your bags of takeout. “You sure do order a lot of food for one person.” Raising one brow, you reflect the smile he was giving you. “And who said I didn’t have company over?” You step aside, letting him come in and he does just so. After making his way towards your couch, he sets the bags down on the table in the center. You stop to think as you close the door how comfortable he seems when he barely knows you and has only been in your apartment one other time.

“If you did, I probably would’ve heard because, you know, the whole being neighbors thing.”

“Oh so you’re stalking me now?” He rolls his eyes at your comment, plopping down at the end of your couch. “You wish you got that much attention, don’t you.” You grab the nearest thing, good thing for him that it was a pillow, and throw it across the couch—directly hitting him in the head.

“Now that’s enough for a restraining order!”

“Please, if you didn’t wanna be near me then why’d you come to my door?” Haechan got silent, looking down at his hands while you sat back in your spot and started unpacking the food. “That got real deep real fast.” The sound of his chuckle made you smile, making sure to lay out the food across the table for the both of you. Silently, he leaned forward and started to fill up his bowl with toppings of his choice. Both of you started munching down, occasionally setting your food aside to continue your work. “What are you working on?” He asked, leaning into your side to peak over your shoulder.

“Our contract for this unrequited love.”

“Haha, very funny.” Haechan’s sarcastic tone and expression to match made you snicker as you finished up on your report and sent it off to Jungwoo for review. “Just some final notes for an article.” He nods, seeming content with your answer. “That’s not a bad idea though.” When you turn towards him, confusion evident on your face, Haechan then elaborates. “I mean the contract or at least some rules to this,” he motioned his hand between the two of you, “because I can’t tell if you can tell, but I’m desperate as hell.”

“Brownie points for rhyming.”

If you could see whatever went through his head when you said that, you probably would’ve enjoyed it just as much as seeing him throw his head into his hands. “Okay, in all seriousness how are we supposed to do this—I mean we don’t know one another and I’m not very sure I can trust a guy who still plays Michael Jackson till three am.”

Throwing his hands up, Haechan looked both offended and taken aback by your sudden forwardness. ”Firstly, don’t talk about the king like that, he’s a classic and everyone should be blasting his music the way I do, secondly I get where you’re coming from.”

Over the next two hours, the two of you talked about yourselves to help one another get more of an insight of your personalities, laugh at poorly made jokes and eat your way through cheap takeout food. After all that, you two moved on to why he approached you and the reason behind his need for a girlfriend. “So you’re telling me that the tall one,”

“Johnny.”

“Right, Johnny, is getting married and he kept pressuring you get a date for the wedding and instead of telling him you didn’t have one you made up a girl who doesn’t exist and when the one with blue hair,”

“Mark.”

“Yes, Mark, pointed me out as your imaginary girlfriend, you had no other choice, but to approach me and hope I’d play along?”

Haechan took a deep breath, cringing at the way you broke down his story which honestly made it sound worse. “Yeah, pretty much and did I mention they went to meet you before the wedding?” Squinting your eyes, you stare at him with your mouth agape. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“If I was, would I seriously be sitting on your couch right now?”

He had a point, he could honestly be doing anything in the world, probably playing some video game, but like anything other than staring at you like you’re his only hope. “You’re lucky I didn’t call the cops on you or something like a, I dunno, normal person would have.” Haechan falls forward dramatically, grabbing both of your hands and squeezes them as he muffles what you assume is happy screams into your couch cushion.

The sudden move shouldn’t have made your heart jump a little, but it did and you’re not entirely sure why. For now, you’re blaming it on the fact that he’s insanely cute and the greasy food as you feeling a little beside yourself. “Your godsend, truly from heaven itself.” You pull your hands from his grasp, trying to hide the fact that your face feels like it’s on fire. “Yeah yeah, let me go before I reconsider this whole thing.”

“Let me at least take you on the first date before you try to back out—which by the way, will be next weekend at the actual wedding.”

You know that spit-take scene in movies where a person literally spits their drink everywhere because of the shocking news they just received, well that was you when he said that. Only this time it wasn’t in slow motion and wasn’t nearly as awesome, instead you choked halfway through spitting it out and it came back up and out your nose as you tried to save yourself from choking.

Haechan, disgusted you just spit all over him and also worried to see you nearly come to your end, gets up from the couch and searches your apartment for a towel to clean you and him up. When he comes back, you had slipped away to the bathroom to not only hide your embarrassment, but to clean yourself up and change your shirt. After what seemed like enough time to hope he had left, you went back into your living room to see Haechan sitting on the floor and using your couch as a back rest.

“Are you okay because that was—well that was tragic to put it kindly.”

“Can we not mention that, like ever for the rest of our lives would be good.” Sitting across from him, you fold your arms on top of the table, trying to avoid his gaze as you look anywhere but directly at him. He nods, understanding how overwhelmed you just be with all that he’s asking. You can tell by his stance how grateful he is for you and you use that to settle your nerves a bit. After all, maybe this would be a good thing. Maybe all of Karina’s talk about the universe and good karma might actually pull through.

“I’m sorry for roping you into all of this.” When you finally meet his eyes, you could see the sadness that lingered in them as he hung his head. “I don’t want you to think I do this for fun or I’m creepy or anything—I feel really bad for bringing you into something you didn’t ask for.”

Your chest felt heavy as you watched him slump against your couch. The last few interactions with Haechan made you feel like you’ve known him your entire life and seeing him so down had you feeling hurt.

“If you don’t want to do this, tell me please because I just- I don’t want you to go along with this because you feel bad for me.”

“I do feel bad for you, but that’s not why I’m doing this.” When he lifted his head, you could see the smile spread across his lips. “I see this as a an opportunity.”

“To what exactly?” When he leaned in, you did the same. He looked so familiar in this moment, so relaxed and almost kissable. But that’s the last thing you need to be thinking about when his face is damn near touching yours. “Two words: free food.” Watching Haechan gasp, you laugh as he raises his eyebrows at you. “Who said I’m going to pay for your food?”

Shrugging, you look down at your wrist and start to tap it with your finger. “Oh look at that, seems like you’ll have to find another girl who will help you, guess you might as well go ho-“

Haechan jumped up from his seat, moving around the table to grab your wrist. “No no, that’s okay—free food you said, that includes travel rights too?” You almost hate to say it, but this boy was making moves that damn near took your breath away. It sounds almost sad to be so swooned over a boy you hardly know, but there was something about him that just made you feel so at home. Maybe it was the way he laughs at every bad joke you tell or maybe it’s the way he’s way too touchy for your liking and yet you don’t seem to mind it.

Maybe it’s the way his lips are so plump and every time he pouts, you just wanna grab his face and kiss him till you’re out of breath. Maybe it’s the way his hand always feels warm to the touch and you could only imagine how you’d feel with his arms around you.

“Earth to y/n?” The snapping of Haechan’s fingers pulled you from your thoughts, blinking at him as if he was just apart of your imagination this whole time. “What’s going on up there that’s got you so spaced out?”

“Nothing, just thinking about what I’m gonna wear to the wedding.” Haechan looked at you a little longer, his eyes scanning your face to which you assume he’s trying to find something in your eyes. He seems to have bought it, backing away from you to create more personal space for you while he goes back to sit across from you. “Good point, we might just have to go shopping around this weekend to find a dress—oh and don’t forget one for the wedding so that makes two.”

“With what money, exactly? I mean I’m not broke, but I’m not paid enough to buy two dresses I’ll probably only wear once.”

He rolls his eyes at you, pulling his phone from his pocket when it starts vibrating. He doesn’t answer, instead he swipes right on the caller id and brings the device to his ear. From what you can hear from the person on the other side of the phone, you felt like he probably had something important to do. You start to get up, picking up the towels that he used to clean up the couch with. When you left to drop them off in the dirty basket, you return to find your door cracked and Haechan to be missing. Assuming he had went back to his apartment, you start to go and close the door before it swings. Haechan comes in, being followed behind by a guy you don’t recognize.

“Donghyuck, that’s breaking bro-code and you know it.” You’re a little confused as to why Haechan was called by another name, but you stay silent and watched the blonde haired boy cross his arms at Haechan. “I told you Yangyang, I’m not going to give you the girl at my jobs number—she already told me she filed a restraining order.”

Yangyang, the blonde haired guy you assume, pouts as he gets down on his knees with hands intertwined. “Pretty please, it doesn’t even have to be her, it can be someone else, I just need someone man—I’m lonely!”

You watch the dramatic scene unfold in your living room, getting a weird sense of deja vu. After clearing your throat to try and prevent yourself from coughing, both boys look at you with confusion in their eyes. “Are you the fake girlfriend?”

“I guess?” The question threw you off when Haechan’s friend said it so bluntly. “Stop asking questions and go to my apartment.” Haechan picked his friend up from the ground, shooing him out of yours and to the one across the hall. When Yangyang was now in his apartment, Haechan turned to you with a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry for what you had to witness.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve had weirder experiences than that if I’m being honest.”

He nods, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks around the floor. “So, I uh, I gotta get back to him or else he’ll probably destroy my apartment.”

“I’ll walk you home.” Your offer had his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink as you followed him from your door to his. Right before he went inside, he turned around and, to your surprise, gave you a hug. You took him in, wrapping your arms around his as you two held each other for what felt like forever. “Goodnight, Haechan.” You whispered as he pulled away, smiling at him. “Donghyuck.”

When you looked at him confused, he shoved his hands into his pockets. “My name is donghyuck, but my friends typically call me Haechan.”

“So we’re not friends?” He shook his head, smiling so fondly at you that you weren’t sure what was real or fake at this point. “Only my special friends can call me Donghyuck.”

That night, his words echoed in your head as you laid in bed staring at your ceiling. You seem quite delusional for falling for someone who you barely know, but boy oh boy does he have you on the edge and you’re ready to give it all just to fall into him. You grab your phone from off your bed, scrolling through your messages till you find Karina’s name.

y/n: baby boo u awake?

naevis baevis: no ew go to sleep

y/n: I think I like him

naevis baevis: GIRL WHATT THE HELL DID I MISS??

y/n: i don’t know I’m IDK he’s got me feelin wheezy

naevis baevis: so he’s got you having diarrhea??

y/n: NO BITCH WHAT??

naevis baevis: tell me tomorrow at work I’m too tired for you and your pneumonia

As Karina swiveled her chair around, you sat on top of her desk while picking at the chipped polish on your nails. “So what’s his friend look like?” You look over at her with a deadpan expression as she wiggles her phone in her hand for you to see. “That’s the least important part of the story and instead of being a good friend you wanna ask about the random guy who practically begged for bitches on my living room floor?” She nods, continuing to wiggle her phone at you until you snatch it from her hand and type in his name.

“That’s all I get?” She frowns, scrolling through the pulled up suggested accounts with the same name. “Look, I only know his name was Yangyang and you better hope I spelt that right.” She looks focused as she continues to scroll through, clicking on an account and holding it up for you to approve—to which you did. “He’s kinda cute.” She coos, looking through his instagram feed while leaning back in her chair. “Karina.” You whine, nudging her leg with your foot as she giggles at her phone. She looks up from her phone, mirroring your pout as she sets the device down and folds her hands together. “Look, I don’t see anything wrong with it, he’s offering to pay for your dresses and he’s incredibly hot from what I saw on his friends page so I say it’s a win-win.”

“How do you know he’s incredibly hot based off his friends page?”

“Duh, you’ve described this man to me so many times I’ve practically seen him through your eyes at this point.” She had a point, ever since Haechan walked into your life, all you seem to do is talk about him and how he makes your stomach is filled with butterflies. “So when’s the wedding again?” You snap out from your thoughts, staring at her with shock. “Huh?”

“His friends wedding, when is it?” For some reason when she first asked the question, you thought she was talking about you and Haechan and that alone had your face turning a slight shade of pink. “Girl please don’t tell me you thought I was talking about your man.” You rolled your eyes, sliding yourself off her desk and pulled down the rolled up pieces of fabric of your pants. “He’s not my man.” She gives you a look that tells you she doesn’t buy your bullshit and swivels her chair back around to her computer. “Tell that to lover boy next time you see him.”

You ignore her last comment and head back to your desk, confused to see a note left by your keyboard. When you pick it up, you read that Xiaojun had eaten your lunch by accident and apologized via sticky note. Crumbling it in your hand, you plop down into your chair in defeat. You throw the sticky note in the trash and start to open up files on your computer when you hear the phone on your desktop ring. Answering, you continue to click open files with the phone to your ear. “Y/n’s office.”

“Hey y/n, it’s winter down at the front desk, this guy is asking for you if you’re not busy.” You check the time on your computer, shrugging as you pin a couple important things before closing off the rest. “Sure, I’ll come down.” After you hang up the phone, you let Jaehyun know you’re going to lunch in which he replies he hopes you get a stomach bug. One of these days you’re gonna poison his food you think—playfully of course.

After a quick elevator ride down, you enter the main lobby of your building and wave at Winter who was standing behind the front desk. She returns the wave with a smile and points over at Haechan who was sitting on a bench by the front doors. In his hand was a bouquet of flowers and his phone. “Um, are you stalking me because if you are then this won’t work, I draw the line at being creepy.” Your voice caught Haechan’s attention, closing off his phone and tucking it into his jacket pocket as he gets up and heads towards you. “No I’m not stalking you, I asked the landlord for your number and where you worked and surprisingly he told me in a heartbeat.”

You make the mental note to stop sharing personal information with your landlord before focusing in on the flowers in his hand. Haechan’s eyes follow yours, looking down at the flowers before handing them over to you. “I thought since I’m your fake boyfriend, I might as well be a good one for compensation on having to deal with the shit show you got sucked into.” You smile at the flowers, looking up to meet his eyes. “Thank you, for the flowers I mean.” He nods, rubbing the back of his neck as he tries to hide his smile. “So, you’re not busy are you, because I totally showed up unannounced, but I figured it was better to do that then text you and you block my number”.

“No, I’m on lunch right now and you chose the best option on that.” He nods, linking his arm with yours and immediately starts walking towards the exit. “Excuse me, but where exactly are we going and why the hell did you feel the need to skip with your steps?” He smiled and if you’re honest, his smile brightened up the entire atmosphere around you. “We’re going dress shopping, duh, oh and to get lunch because I’m a good boyfriend like that.”

You didn’t have time to protest before the two of you were off into the city. He gave you the choice for lunch, picking a taco stand near some shops because you felt guilty for him paying for everything. He would not let you bring out your wallet and even threatened to throw it out the window if you tried to spend your money. The gesture was sweet, but his seriousness made you tuck it safety away in your pocket.

Once you found a dress shop you were comfortable entering, you both entered and looked around before one of the staff took you away while the other walked Haechan around and helped him pick out dresses for you to try on. Once he found a couple different options, you tried them on and the both of you settled on your favorite pick for the first dress that you’d wear to the ceremony. Since the reception was going to be later in the night, Haechan opted for a different dress that was more covering so that you wouldn’t be so cold. When you came out in the second dress that he himself specifically picked, you almost felt too nervous to meet his gaze.

When he turned around from talking to a staff member, he visibly froze when his eyes met with yours. Panic starts to rush through your veins as you pull and fluff the dress in hopes that you don’t look like a total fool. “So, how does it look?” Haechan didn’t say anything for almost two minutes, staring at you with his mouth open. You snap your fingers at him, face turning read as the staff members smile lovingly at you both. “Sorry, I uh, wow.” You look at him dumbfounded, turning around to go back and change out of the dress. Just before you close the curtain, you could feel the warmth from his fingers wrap around your wrist and turn you around. “Breathtaking, to answer your question, you look absolutely breathtaking.”

“I meant the dress.” You mumble as you try to avoid his gaze. “The dress is just a piece of fabric, it’s the person wearing it that gives it such glow.” You couldn’t think straight, your mind going to mush with the lack of space between you and Haechan, the sudden smell of his cologne taking over your senses and his blown-out pupils making you feel almost dizzy. You nod, swallowing thickly as you pull yourself from his grasp and rush into the changing area. Embarrassing is what you’d call that, way too embarrassing to talk about and way too embarrassing to not forget. You opt to pretend it didn’t happen and get dressed. When you hang the dresses on the outer rack, you realize the dress Haechan picked didn’t have any coverage on the shoulders and by time you had gotten dressed, you saw him at the register.

“Where’s the dresses?” You ask, meeting him by his side when he gets his receipt from the cashier. “They’re bagging them up now, why?”

“The second one didn’t have sleeves, you wanted sleeves so I don’t get cold, no?” To see the smile on his face made you confused, there wasn’t anything particular that was funny nor did you say anything for him to be smiling like he just found a million dollars. “I only want you by my side in that dress, the rest doesn’t matter.” You snicker, shoving him as one of the staff members calls his name. He walks over, getting both dresses in their boxes and some simple instructions on how to take care of them in washing. “You two are a beautiful couple.” The cashier’s voice caught you off guard, waving your hands as you shake your head.

“No, you’re mistaken, we’re not together.” Her eyes flicker between you and Haechan, smiling as she looks away embarrassed. “Oh, I’m sorry, I just thought because of the way you two look at one another.” You were just about to ask her what she meant by that when Haechan came back. “Ready to go?” You nodded, following him out the store and back to his car where you two drove in silence back to your job.

He bid you a goodbye and told you he’d keep the dresses till you came by to get them. You promised him you’d be by after work and went back into the building with the biggest smile on your face. With the flowers in one hand, you scanned your ID badge when you entered the building and saw a bunch of weird states from your coworkers. You wouldn’t necessarily call the weird, but they were all smiling at you so sickly that you felt as if you were about to get pranked.

The ride up the elevator was also weird, a bunch of people kept giggling and smiling at you when asking about your flowers and it was starting to make you uncomfortable. As you got off on your floor, you walk down to get to your desk when someone grabs you and drags you into a janitor’s closet. You nearly scream when being jerked to the side until you see Karina with a shit-eating grin on her face. Now that you know you weren’t about to be chopped up into little pieces, you steady yourself and take deep breaths to catch your breath. “You’re fucking insane.”

Staring at her in shock, you slap her thigh to which she winces. “Me, insane? You just drug me into a closet like a psycho maniac and for what?” She giggles into her hand, leaning forward as she sniffs your flowers. “So he brought you fucking flowers girl? We were just talking about him and he shows up with a bouquet and a ring?”

You roll your eyes at her emphasis on a ring. “What ring, we literally—wait firstly who told you he brought me flowers?” She then proceeds to explain how Winter saw you and Haechan and then told Ningning who then told Wendy who then told Taeyong who then told Jaehyun who then told literally everyone. You make another mental note to hunt Jaehyun down and ruin his chance at having kids. “So spill the tea, c’mon, don’t be shy and tell me about your date.”

“It wasn’t a date, he took me to lunch which he wouldn’t let me pay for I might add, he brought me dresses for the wedding he coerced me to be his date for and then drove me back.” She holds her hand over her mouth as she stares at you with a smile. “So he took you on a date.” You then slap her thigh again as she giggles and an unfamiliar smell catches your attention. “What’s that smell?” She looks at you, considering what smell you could be talking about. You lean in, getting a good look at her to realize her hair had been messed with, her lips slightly swollen and her shirt was buttoned wrongly.

You give her a grin as she sees you connect the dots and immediately opens the door. “Oh no, come back and do spill the tea miss Karina!” She covers her ears, trying to block you out as you follow behind her and start pointing out the differences of her appearance from before you last saw her.

Later that night, you kept your promise to go over to Haechan’s, but only after you had taken a very much needed shower did you do so. When you knocked on his door, you could hear the music that was being played stop and a bit of shuffling before the door opened. You expected to see Haechan, but to your surprise you saw someone you weren’t exactly familiar with. The guy who was giving you a weird look was his honestly kind of cute in an intimidating way, but you stopped yourself from thinking that any further than you already did. “Are you gonna say something or are you just gonna stare at me?”

Embarrassed, you avert your eyes from his and try to think of something to say. You don’t know why you feel so under pressure, maybe it was the lack of expression in his face or the fact that he was practically your height, but made you feel small. “Renjun, was that the pizza guy?” You could hear Haechan from inside the apartment, his voice bringing a smile to your lips. Just as you’re about to go back into your apartment and give up on getting your dresses, Haechan comes beside to the boy you assume is Renjun and sees your visible uncomfortableness. “Y/n, hi- oh shit I forgot to give you your dresses, didn’t I?”

“No, no actually I was supposed to come get them, but that’s okay I’m just gonna uhm I’m gonna go home.” Backing away from the door, you signal to your apartment entrance behind you as you see Haechan pout. “Wait, why don’t you come inside and hang out with us?” Haechan, who slipped through the space between Renjun and the wall, made his way to you in hopes to stop you from leaving. Your eyes flicker between Renjun and Haechan, feeling almost guilty for wanting to remove yourself from this awkward situation. “Hyuck, I’m just across the hall, go have time with your friend.”

Haechan’s face softened at the nickname, nodding when his hand brushed against yours. He clears his throat as he steps back towards his apartment, waving at you goodnight as you go back in to snuggle up to your cat. Haechan re-entered his apartment, ignoring the look on Renjun’s face as he plops down on his couch. “What was that and why was that so weird?” Haechan shot a look over at Renjun when his friend started to mirror the look.

“What, I mean from what I just saw from you two, y’all have some weird tension that needs to be solved.”

“Nah, you just scared her away by being that ugly.”

Renjun sarcastically laughs at Haechan’s poorly made joke, flipping up his middle finger at his friend. “I have you know that women find me dangerously attractive.” Haechan snickers, trying to prevent himself from laughing too hard. “Is that what your mom tells you at night?” The last part is what lead Haechan to run for his life around his apartment as Renjun brought various objects for use of a weapon against his friend. Finally after the two made a truce, Haechan decides to text you after remembering how he never did give you his number.

You were a little surprised to get a text when you weren’t expecting one, especially at the hour that it came in. You had been on the phone with Karina while she filled you in on the reason for her shirt being undone and messed up earlier that day. “I literally don’t know what came over me, but I messaged the guy and he ended up being around and we just pounced.”

You laugh, clicking on the message app. “I can’t believe you nearly gave it all to Yangyang.” She laughs, wiping the tears that were in the corners of her eyes from all the giggling you two have been doing. “Me either! I mean I know he’s cute, but damn his lips are magic.” You hesitate to open the unknown message, afraid it could bad someone trying to scam you out of whatever you got and to be honest it wasn’t much, but you knew you wouldn’t let them have your cat peanut.

unknown: hey

y/n: uhm hello?

unknown: I miss u

y/n: I will literally block you

unknown: ITS ME ITS HAECHAN

y/n: ohh hi hyuck

You decide change his contact name and save his number.

boy next door aka hyuck: wyd :p

y/n: blocking you bc that was cringe

boy next door aka hyuck: you want me so bad oo 😵‍💫

y/n: don’t you wish I did 😏

boy next door aka hyuck: yes

y/n: I’m telling my fbi agent

boy next door aka hyuck: tell them I said i just wanted to text you so you’ll have my number

boy next door aka hyuck: and to apologize for Renjun earlier but goodnight for now

y/n: goodnight hyuck

boy next door aka hyuck: goodnight y/n

The rest of the week and a half that played out before the wedding only added more fuel to the fire in your heart that burned for Haechan. He would send you songs throughout the day at random times to which you started adding to a playlist anytime you couldn’t stop thinking about him. He would leave things at your doorstep or drop stuff off at your job for you to get on your lunch break. He occasionally would come over or you’d be invited over and the two of you would spend the night laughing at poorly made moves, singing old Michael Jackson songs at the top of your lungs, which is how you realized that he was literally gifted the voice of an angel, and play board games after the two of you had one too many drinks.

Each time you two were alone and it was late, it always seemed that you were avoiding the inevitable. You could always stop yourself from leaning in and stealing a kiss from his plump and precious lips, but that never stopped your mind from thinking about it. The tension that Renjun mentioned before seemed to only get thicker the more you spent time with him, making it harder to see the line between this all being fake and what was genuinely real.

The morning of the wedding to be specific was when you could clearly tell that the dynamic of your relationship had shifted and there wasn’t much room to turn back now. That alone terrified you because you weren’t sure if you had been the only one feeling the way you felt. You had changed into your dress and made sure to apply minimal makeup to keep yourself from looking like a burnt out clown by the end of the night. Thankfully for you, the dress was comfortable and the venue where the ceremony was being held wasn’t too far.

“Are you nervous?” Your question came unexpected to Haechan, turning his head to give you a quick glance over as he continued his drive to the ceremony venue. “Why should I be, I’m not the one getting married.” He smiled thinking about his friend and the future he was creating from this day forward. Haechan was genuinely excited to see Johnny become a dad and do all the things he knew he was fit for. It wasn’t like Haechan was scared for that part of his future, he did look forward to being married and settling down with his partner, but he never thought he’d actually get that far in life to do so.

“Dunno, just thought I’d ask.” You lean against the window, propped up on your elbow as you watch the buildings pass by. Haechan reached over, grabbing your free hand and intertwined his fingers within yours. A lot of the time he would do this and each time it felt so comforting that silence would take over and all that could be heard was the music that was being washed out by the beating of your heart for him.

You must’ve zoned out because by the time you tuned back in, Haechan was parking the car at the front of the building and waiting for you to realize you had arrived. You got out the car, instantly smelling the salty ocean air beige meeting him around the front of the car and bring your hands up to straighten his bow tie. He smiles down at you, shoving his hands into his pockets as you brush off his tuxedo and fiddle with his hair. You give him a puzzled look, watching as he shook his head and mumbled something along the lines about ‘that was cute’.

The two of you entered the building, you turn to glance back at the beach that looked so relaxing before linking your arm with his. A few people come up to Haechan and you, introducing themselves and complementing the two of you as a couple. You stayed quiet for most of the time, not exactly knowing what to say and Haechan didn’t seem that interested in the people as well. You spot someone familiar, well he’s not exactly familiar, but you had seen him before. The boy with blue hair makes his way over, you choose to step aside and watch as he hugs Haechan as the two smile and pat one another on the back.

“Dude it’s been so long, what’s going on?” After hugging Haechan, the boy you try to remember that is Mark, straightens out his tux, but never falters his smile. “I‘be been busy with work and oh- I want you to meet someone.” To be honest, you weren’t really paying attention when Haechan started walking over to you. His warm hand lifted yours and the sweet look in his eyes made your cheeks feel warm. “This is my girlfriend y/n, y/n this is my best friend Mark.”

You go in to shake his hand, surprised when he pulled you into a hug. “It’s nice to finally meet you, y/n, lover boy over here has literally been talking nonstop about you.” You smile, watching as Haechan mouths to you that he’s going to find your seats. After mark pulls back, the two of you chat a little by the same area, occasionally looking around for Haechan to find him talking to who you assume is his friends. “You know, you’re really good for him.” Marks words had you almost taken aback, turning your head to see him smiling. “At first, I was pretty hesitant because when he told me he had a girlfriend I didn’t believe him, but I’ve seen how happy he’s been and I can’t wait for us to meet again like this, it’s been a pleasure to meet you.”

“Meet like this again?” Mark look slightly embarrassed that you didn’t catch on, but he was being called by his date for the evening so he started to make his way off.

After the ceremony was over, everyone started to move towards the venue for the rest of the evening to conclude. A lot of people were left in tears, yourself included, by the vows exchanged between Johnny and his now wife.

When the two of you enter the venue, an overwhelming feeling washes over you and makes you grip his hand a little tighter. Haechan seems to notice, giving your hand a gentle squeeze as he guides you through the crowd of people who grouped around the entrance. Once he finds quieter space to pull you two, you were too spaced out to realize how close he had gotten. Both of his hands were on your shoulders, rubbing softly on the exposed skin to calm you.

“Hey, you’re gonna be okay, I’m right here y/n.” His voice brings you in from your thoughts, focusing on in the look in his eyes and how soft his features are in this moment. With a little nod, you let him know you’re with him and he smiles as you pull one of his hands from your shoulder and intertwine your fingers. He takes this opportunity to lead you towards your table where some of his friends you met earlier were seated. You immediately spot Karina and Yangyang at the mini bar just further down from the table and gave Yangyang a wave as he spots you and Haechan.

Haechan’s hand finds its way into the small of your back, immediately getting your attention as you turn your head towards him. “I’m gonna go get us something to drink.” He says, just loud enough to be heard over the music. You nod, standing behind your chair as you look over to the stage. Johnny walks up with the widest smile you’ve seen him sport since he kissed his bride and taps on the microphone a couple times. “Can I have everyone’s attention? Hello, everyone look up here.” Everyone goes quiet and the musics volume is lowered as Johnny looks over at the crowd. “I want to thank everyone coming out to celebrate me and my lovely wife coming together, this first dance will go out to all the new and older couples that are here, please join us in this dance to celebrate love that’s everlasting.”

Just as Johnny raises his glass, Haechan comes back and hands you your drink. You smiled as you took the glass from him and took a sip as the crowd raised theirs with Johnny. Just as Johnny gets off the stage, couples all start to make their way to the dance floor as Johnny gets to his wife and meets her in the middle. “We should go dance.” Surprised, you set your glass down and give Haechan a puzzled look. “Dance? But I don’t know how to dance and this is a couples dance.” He doesn’t take no for an answer, grabbing your hand and pulling you to follow him. “We are a couple.” You can’t exactly tell if he’s still going along with the fake dating charade for his friends or if the light in his eyes was genuine.

It doesn’t take much for you to give in, especially when the most romantic song Dandelions starts to play. Once he found a moveable spot on the floor, his hands circle around to your back and pull you in close. Your hands rest on his shoulders as you try not to make too much eye contact with him inches away from your face. “You’re so beautiful, y/n.” You could feel your cheeks heating up, trying to hide your face from him as you clear your throat. “Likewise, hyuck.”

“Just likewise?” When you turned your head to face his, he seemed a lot closer than you remembered and for some reason that terrified you and relaxed you at the same time. “I mean you are beautiful, very handsome and whatnot.” He laughs and the sound goes straight to your heart. You knew before you gotten to this point that falling for him would be so easy and so hard, but never did you expect for it to be this gentle. “I’m glad you think so, that alone gives me enough confidence to do what I’ve been dying to do.” You tilt your head at his sudden confession, watching as he leaned in and rested his head against yours.

You didn’t know what to do or even what to say, instead you opted to stay quiet and continue to hold him as the two of you danced. Somewhere between the end of Dandelions and the beginning of Golden Hour, your head was now resting against his chest and the two of you were lost in your own world. Haechan brought his hand up to your chin, gently lifting your head up. You blink at him, caught up in the music and the moment, not realizing what was about to happen nor did you want it to stop.

Haechan leaned in, pressing his lips to yours in a soft kiss. Your heart was beating out of your chest as you wrap your arms around his neck and pull him further in. Your brain turned into mush and your body felt like it was on fire as the two of you were caught up in a slow and almost loving kiss on the dance floor. Haechan was the first to pull away, resting his forehead against yours as he catches his breath. You continued to sway with him, moving back and forth as you build up the courage to ask the question you’ve been dying for an answer to. “Will you be my girlfriend, like a real one this time?” Pulling back, you smile at Haechan who looks almost panicked.

“Because if not that’s okay too- like you don’t have to we can totally forg—“ You cut him off by pulling him back in for a kiss. He smiles against your lips, giving your hip a playful squeeze. Once the two of you pull back from one another’s lips, Haechan smiles which turns into a soft string of laughs. “What’s so funny, it’s not exactly polite to laugh after kissing a girl you know.” He tries to explain, failing to when he continues laughing. “Aren’t you glad you got a free trial?” You give him a puzzled look, watching as he steps back from you and spins around on his heel. “Free trial wedding style.”

You couldn’t stop yourself from laughing at the way he poorly described your fake relationship from the beginning, but he had a point. You look back and now thank the universe for bringing him into your life and can’t wait to see what it’ll be like from here on out. Who knows, maybe the next wedding you’ll be at will be yours.

©︎𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐔𝐍., 2022

[atsucry]

Beyond The Thorn Vines

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝐈

Synopsis: A budding friendship between two magical beings, what could possibly go wrong?

tags: Childhood friends-->strangers-->enemies-->???

Malleus Draconia x gn!reader

Additional Info: Both Malleus and reader are children, atleast in this part. Ages 10-12 in fae years. I don't know how to translate that to human years so...you do the math. Also this might be a little ooc.

content: fluff (for now...)

"Who might you be?" The young nymph spoke, peeking their head out of the river to eye the fae, that seemed to be around the same age as them. They've never encountered another person of each other's species before. It seemed that it was their first interaction with another child. Both were pretty much isolated, so it would be awkward to get about how to do this.

The prince twiddled with his thumbs. Perhaps he should've stayed in the confines of his castle, to continue to be isolated…to be surrounded by only gargoyles and walls.

"I am…Malleus. The prince of Briar Valley." It was a sort of balance with confidence and shyness. He'd read about nymphs in storybooks from his grand library.

"Hm…" You hummed. "I am (Y/N)." The child stepped out of the body of water to face and properly converse with the dragon fae.

"So you say you're a Prince? What do you have to do outside your castle?"

"I was just curious." Malleus turned his head to scan his eyes around the area. "And this seems to be within the bounds of my castle…I'm sure I haven’t strayed off so far." This was the first time Malleus actually held a conversation fairly well. Other kids often refused to play with him, not that he knew anyone else at all for the matter. He was only surrounded by adults.

You attempt to approach the boy, he exuded an intimidating yet also timid aura. Continuing to cautiously walk towards him, you reached just a few feet away from him before sitting yourself down on the forest grass. "Do you ever get lonely in that palace you say you live in?"

Malleus watched you speak to him with almost no hesitation, even sitting in front of him to ground yourself. He wasn't used to anyone coming near him without fear or apprehension. So you'd expect this to surprise him. Which he is.

He took a long pause before following your lead to sit down to be on the same level as you—it was strange.

"I only have books and my guardian; Lillia to accompany me. So you can only imagine." He sighed. "I've read about you in one of them before, What can you do?"

"I don't know…what about you?"

Malleus pondered that question for a bit. He was still so young and learning about magic. "I don't know either."

You purse your lips, the awkward tension slowly growing between you two. The only thing that you could relate to him was being sort of isolated and had no one else to play with. "What kind of stories did you read?"

"All sorts."

"Did you enjoy them?"

"Some, yes."

You two continued on with this back and forth question and answer, though, you were the only one asking. It was all just about superficial subjects. some small talk here and there.

You questioned him so much that every sentence practically used every word in the dictionary. All about eachothers endeavours, though little. Simple contact with another person was enough.

You told him all that you knew about your living environment. You only had your mother as company after all, she let you wander off sometimes since she trusted that you wouldn't get yourself in trouble. You knew your way back to her anyways, so it was all just fine. But you rarely get to meet someone else of your age of the same species. Which led to the other nymph ladies to treat you as somewhat royalty.

He seemed unsure whether or not to start asking. He gathered the courage and opened his mouth:

"...Are you the same as me? from the looks of it you don't have any friends either."

"I guess…I mean I can technically talk to water but…It's not really the same as talking to someone…who can talk back."

This information amused the young Prince. "I see." he paused in between. "I take it you live in this river? or some nearby lake?"

"No…I just so happened to be here when you came. I have free reign to explore as much as I want."

You lean back into the soft grass, tapping your fingers against the mushy soil, waiting for him to speak up.

"Free reign and no supervision from anyone else?" He inquired, his eyebrows raised as he leant forward in response.

"Your mom must know that you're somewhat a responsible person."

"I guess so."

"Well, I am a prince—almost all my actions are supervised."

He crosses his arms, looking down. He holds his title up highly of course and knows the responsibility that comes with it and accepts it. But that very same thing he holds proudly is what drives others away, to revere him.

"...So how are you out here then?" You sprung right back into questioning mode.

"The castle is quite large. And the guards know it, of course. They probably still think I'm in my room…studying…" he propped his elbow up on his knee, holding his head in his palm.

When he looked up, he saw that his companion was staring at him peculiarly. What was their deal? He couldn't tell whether they had all or nothing in their head. They looked similar to an owl, it made him almost feel embarrassed.

"I like your company."

He flinched at that sentence, why did he flinch? It wasn't anything scary or anything similar of the sort…just unfamiliar.

"I'd like to play again sometime." You suddenly said outloud. Gathering yourself to stand up with a grunt.

"...Is this your idea of 'playing'?"

"Of course not!" you chuckled, reaching out a hand for him to take. "I'll tell you all the games I know tomorrow…If you're up for it."

A bewildered face looked back up at you, his eyes blinking a few times before finally taking your hand so he could stand, too. He dusted off his pants to clean off any dirt that could give away the idea that he's been outside.

"...I agree to your request. I'll meet you here again, same time tomorrow, that is, if I know my way back to this place…I'll make sure I know my way back here." He promised. "A fae always keeps their word."

"I've seen mortals make 'pinky promises' to solidify the deal. They interlock eachothers smallest fingers at the end of their palm." You curled all fingers but your pinky, holding it out.

"Oh, I see…"

As you both proceeded to pinky promise, the wind around you seems to turn, then calm down. As if the orbit of the world has been reversed with one simple, childish action.

You waved to each other goodbye as you retreated to your respective residence. Disappearing in the shades of the trees and the dark of night. The sound of your footsteps fading away as the moon marked the time of slumber.

Note: scariest experience of my life bru I'm actually writing a series.

Another note if I made any errors please excuse them, this was made on a school night😓

[toreii]

Sebek: “And, you must be very worried about Princess Meleanor.”

Lilia: “Worried? Me about Princess Meleanor? Ahahaha!”

Lilia: “It’s not the princess I’m worried about. It’s Wild Rose Castle, and my own life!”

Lilia: “During my absence, the castle was completely destroyed by the princess’s tantrum…I want to avoid something like that.”

Sebek: “Huh?”

Lilia: “The Draconians, who rule the Briar Country, are the descendants of the dragons, who are said to be the pinnacle of the night spring genus.”

Lilia: “The “princess” of your country may be a beautiful person that everyone should protect…”

Lilia: “Our princess is so strong that even if we attacked her as a group, we wouldn't stand a chance.”

Lilia: “On top of that, she’s a tomboy, quick to quarrel, selfish, and prone to tantrums…furthermore, she’s unbelievably vicious.”

Lilia: “Princess Meleanor is truly the “most evil” princess in Briar Country.”

Lilia: “If you’ dawdle, lightning will strike your head, or you’ll be roasted by flames blowing from her mouth.”

Lilia: “I’m not kidding, I tell you. Seriously, that princess.”

Baul: “G-GENERAL OF THE RIGHT! YOU’VE SAID ENOUGH!”

Lilia: “How rude. I’ve dragged this out long enough.”

Lilia: “I mean, I’ve been abused by that princess for 300 years as far as I can remember.”

Lilia: “If Lady Meleanor was only the kind of princess who quietly waits for a prince riding a white dragon to the castle…”

Lilia: “I’m sure I wouldn’t have to struggle as much.”

Baul: “G-GENERAL OF THE RIGHT!”

Lilia: “Well…the only solace is that I’ll be able to stay at Wild Rose Castle obediently for the next 2-3 years.”

Lilia: “As expected of a princess, she won’t do anything unreasonable until her precious egg hatches.”

Sebek/Silver/Grim: “EGG!!??”

Lilia: “What? Why are you suddenly shouting…?”

Silver: “Princess M-Meleanor already has an heir!?”

Sebek: “Y-Y-Young…no, where is the egg now!? Is it in Wild Rose Castle with its parents!?”

Yuu:

(Tsunotarou was born from an egg!?)

(How old is Tsunotarou?)

Baul: “Why do you guys care where the heir egg is?”

Baul: “It’s suspicious……surely, you wouldn’t be going after the egg!?”

Silver: “O-Of course not! We didn’t even know an heir had been born…!”

Lilia: “Haa…you’d know where the egg is even if you walk around that area in this country.”*

Lilia: “Dragon eggs do not hatch unless you pour love and magic from their parents.”

Lilia: “Besides, the safest place in this country is none other than the arms of Lady Meleanor.”

Lilia: “As far as I know, it can’t be done.”

Baul: “But! There’s also the matter of Lord Ryūgan. Don’t trust strangers! It’s best to be careful.”

Lilia: “Lord Levan of Ryūgan, huh……”

Lilia: “If he had returned safely, we wouldn't have gone to the eastern fortress to run errands.”

Lilia: “That couple has been working me extra since I was a child.”

Notes:

Siiigh… Again, I apologize for any mistakes. I seem to be having some trouble with Lilia’s lines. I feel like I’m struggling a lot more right now than I sometimes do. I don’t blame the writing. It’s definitely me and my lack of comprehension.

Anyways, about Malleus’s dad…or, rather, his title. I left it the way the furigana was written, but I’m not entirely sure how to translate it. My app translated it as “longan”, and several online dictionaries stated this, but I’m still not sure. Kanji wise, it reads as dragon/imperial, eyeball, and public/prince/official/governmental according to Jisho. Until we get an official translation, I will leave it as so.

[mochinomnoms]

Reading that of adopted children, yeah, I agree with Kalim and Malleus. I REALLY doubt they could have adopted children. Specially Malleus, like, you are telling me the next heir is not blood-related to Malleus, I think Briar Valley views Draconians as gods I swear hqbahw-- anyway, having adopted children means they won't get Malleus magic capabilities, so that's a no-no. Besides, Malleus is an only child, who the heck can they turn to IF is not Malleus' heir?

BTW, if you are using a magicless Yuu/Mc... good luck with Malleus Xd I wouldn't dare put adopted children in that position, still. Especially adopted children. What a combination, tbh! 😂

With Kalim AT LEAST, they can say, "Oh, well, let's get one of his siblings' children as the heir."But even then, that's asking for even more problems @×@ because... who would be?! He has a LOT, and I would feel bad for his adopted children being looked down just for not being blood-related.

Anyway, Mc/Yuu has to either suck it up and look for another partner, one that isn't from high class or at least first in line of some high ranking position (I don't think would be that much of a problem with Leona, but then again, I still wouldn't do it, just in case). That or simply have their children, lmao.

I think that with Malleus, they are able to have the kid via magic. Mild Chapter 7 spoilers but I believe that the egg and it's growth are attributed to magic and love. I think that potentially Malleus could create the egg and pour magic into it while Yuu could pour love into it (I'm sure it senses like the vibes or something).

The last ask was specific to adoption so I didn't mention it, but the thing is that surrogates and IVF are options for same-sex couples or infertile couples, or couples who don't want to be pregnant themselves for any reason. It wouldn't be that complicated to just do that for either of them, and the issue of bloodlines wouldn't be a concern.

The main issue I think would come up is that people sometimes don't consider adopted or stepkids as "true" members of a family because they're not blood related. But that's not the case at all, they're still family no matter what they say and with Kalim and Malleus, it would really come down to them setting their foots down to protect their families.

I also think that they wouldn't let something like other people's issues with adoption get in the way of their relationship. Both of these characters strike me as extremely devoted lovers, they'd put their spouse and their needs above everyone else. If their spouse doesn't wish to carry a child for whatever reason, then they will make it work.

The only issue would come if the spouse doesn't want kids, as both Kalim and Malleus also strike me as people who really want kids. If you don't want kids, and that's a hard ass line, then there might be a dilemma. Even in Kalim's case, where I strongly believe polygamy is accepted in his home (his father must have multiple wives for him to have over 30+ children...I refuse to believe that a single birth giver did that) if you don't want kids at all would still cause some strife, because you can't just ignore his kids from your other spouses. Otherwise, I don't think there would be any issue.