#he is very much aware of those nightly walks with malleus when you think he's asleep

[simple-dark-eyes]

*Mexican!Yuu just chilling in their room, fliming, and pans the camera to Grim; who's very interested as to whatever is happening outside their dorm*

Yuu: ¿Y tu gato es chismoso? Mire mi gato.

Grim:

[yan-twst]

could u write a scenario of yan malleus comforting (preferably fem but gn is ok) mc bc she doesnt have the best home life and thinking abt how hes gonna shower her in (unhealthy) affections

warnings: general yandere behaviour, implied familial abuse (it’s pretty much stated the mc has a bad family life, but i don’t go into details about it)

He’d never have imagined his nightly walks on the once-abandoned Ramshackle dorm would ever end up like this. He’d always liked old, abandoned buildings: they brought by a sense of peace and nostalgia (despite the fact “old” buildings by today’s standards were sometimes built around the time he’d been born), somewhere he didn’t have to worry about his guards constantly stepping on his heels or over students pointing and whispering.

Befriending the odd magicless prefect had been coincidence, as well. He’d just been amused by their naivety at first; trusting him, a complete stranger, not even knowing his true name. He’d found amusement in thinking how they’d cower and fear if they knew who he was, if they knew what people thought of him: although that interest quickly became... Genuine interest. He didn’t have many friends- and as much as he hated to think of it, he did feel lonesome at times. Finding someone who he could just talk to as a person, not having to worry about his title as the crown prince or the perception of his power was so oddly relaxing he found himself seeking out those nightly walks more than ever.

When had he gone from his usual self to caring so much for a mere human? They were a magicless, lost little thing, someone accidentally brought into this world and having none of the knowledge needed to survive here. And yet, he’d found himself growing more and more attached to them. He could still remember when Lilia was so amused by the fact he’d sent a holiday card to the magicless prefect, and that had only been the tip of his infatuation. They were just... So weak, so... Alone. In a world they weren’t familiar, he was one of their friends, and the thought made his heart speed up just a little. 

Lilia said he was “in love”, sighing about how adorable young love was whenever Malleus mentioned the Ramshackle dorm leader. Love... Malleus had to agree, he’d put that name on his emotions. When he saw the prefect, he was overwhelmed with a desire to take them into his grasp; to keep them safe, to embrace them, to hold them close... His mood soured when he saw them messing about with other students, and his heart soared when he got to talk to them during the night. He’d grown to treasure every little word that came from their mouth: he listened, remembering every detail of what they liked and disliked, of stories about their life and their world. He’d even taken to watching them during the day, observing how they maneuvered around a magic school without having a drop of magic in their body- watching them interact with others, how they shone so brightly, watching them when he talked with them and when they weren’t even aware they were being watched. He wanted to get closer to them in every way he could.

Perhaps that was how he’d found himself holding them as they cried, late at night.

They’d invited him into the dorm, since the weather outside was cold. He’d accepted, despite not really minding the chilly air; humans got sick easily, didn’t they? Still, he’d found himself warming up inside, not because of the terrible insulation or the candles the prefect had lit, but mostly by sitting down on the tiny loveseat right next to them. He hadn’t meant to say anything to make them uncomfortable, really: somehow the topic of his kingdom came up, and he’d asked them about their home in return. It was just a simple question, he’d thought, a way to get to know them better- and yet they’d tensed at the question. He shouldn’t press, he knew that much despite not being well versed in reading cues, but... The look in their face made worry seep into his gut. And so he’d asked. 

He marveled at how easy it was to wrap his arms around them. They were shaking slightly as they cried into his chest, hiccuping apologies about their little outburst. Malleus shut down every apology, rubbing their back soothingly- he’d asked them to talk, hadn’t he? It wasn’t hard to tell their home life was a sore spot, not by how hard they’d been sobbing into his chest, struggling to even get words out. Truly, they hadn’t even talked much about what was wrong, but Malleus could infer. He’d dug enough, and he knew better than to repeat his question. His uniform shirt was soaked in tears, and more than that, his heart ached at the thought of bringing them more pain.

They kept talking, words cut off by sobs and hiccups. If it had been anyone else- another weak human crying so loudly- he’d probably have gotten frustrated and left, but their tears didn’t bring any sort of ire in him. In fact, all he could think of was of comforting them. Oh, he’d known they were weak compared to him before, but now... All he could think of was to protect them. Clearly, nobody back in their home was doing so, not if they could drive them to this state.

Still rubbing circles in their back, Malleus found himself spacing out for a second. Clearly, they needed someone to protect them and give them the care they deserved- he couldn’t possibly just toss them back to where they came from. Their warm body pressed into his, their embrace... Truly, wouldn’t it be better for them to stay in such a way? Safe, warm, cared for? Thoughts of the future filled his mind: it’d be so easy to take them to his dorm, to the unused towers- yes, he’d ask Lilia to furnish them and make them suitable for a human... Or perhaps he’d let them into his room: his bed was big, and they could entertain themselves with books or games while he left, couldn’t they...? After all, there wasn’t any need for them to go to class. Not being magicless as they were, really. They could wait for him, to go and provide the care and warmth only he could give them.

His grip tightened as his fantasies ran. He could take them along his fourth year, to whatever travels or internships he was sent to. Yes, that would be ideal. Malleus’ heart sped up at the thought of returning to them every night, returning to this comfort and warmth. Thoughts of bringing them back to the castle in his kingdom; marriage, making them his. They could rule the kingdom by his side, surely. Yes, they were kind and smart; they’d make a good ruler, a good spouse for a king... They didn’t need to suffer anymore. He’d make sure of it; he’d never let anyone talk down to them, he’d make them the most important person in the castle. He’d dress them in fine clothes, make sure they had a comfortable life...

“Tsunotarou...? I- um, I... can’t breathe...” their hoarse voice quickly brough Malleus back to reality. Right- reality. They weren’t his quite yet, weren’t his partner and his spouse, not yet. For now, he was still Tsunotarou and they were still stuck in this torn-down dorm, with Crowley trying to send them home. “... Sorry for crying like that. I got your shirt all wet- I’m sorry. You... were probably very uncomfortable.”

“Don’t apologize over this, child of man. You were clearly distressed.” said Malleus, letting them go. His heart protested at the action, as the warmth of their body departed as he let go of the embrace. 

“I... yeah. Sorry. It’s just- you know. Home. It’s... Complicated.” they said, rubbing one of their eyes. Their face was red and irritated from crying, but even so, Malleus couldn’t help but think of how precious they were. How could anyone ever hurt them? He truly couldn’t understand. 

“It’s ok now. You’re far away from that place.” said Malleus. Far away from there, they were now here. Perhaps it was fate that brought them here into Twisted Wonderland; fate had brought this human into his grasp, and it was now his task to take them and protect them, wasn’t it? “As long as I’m here, I won’t let harm befall you.”

At the moment, they smiled at his words; how tragic, really, that the biggest danger to them was Malleus himself.

[fairestwriting]

title: a treasure hunt of sorts

word count: 2696

summary: Malleus had been gifting Ellis gems, recently, so many that they were piling up and he wouldn't know what to do with them even if he actually understood the meaning behind the gift. After some "careful consideration", he decides to give something back.

commissioned by @nymphgrotto​ , also available on ao3 here ! tysm for the commission, i hope you enjoy it!

my guidelines for commissions are here, in case anyone else is interested

Everything in the Ramshackle dorm building creaks, floorboards and doors and ceiling threatening to collapse in a way that Ellis somehow had just grown used to. Door shut behind him, he walks noisy steps towards the lounge, leaving the beautiful night outside, and placing a red gem the size of his palm on the coffee table.

Another one. The fifth one he’d gotten this week, and they were only halfway through it.

The gems gather on top of the surface like freshly picked fruits, full of color and life and almost glaring at him in their little shiny pile. He slides the blazer off, tossing it somewhere — Grim was asleep at this point, it’s fine if he wasn’t being the best influence — and lets himself collapse on the plush stuffing of the couch.

The gems were a gift from Malleus Draconia — A name that strikes fear into many students’ hearts, for reasons Ellis just couldn’t see. They had met by chance outside Ramshackle, Malleus was taking a nightly stroll and they just ended up chatting for a reason or another. He found out bits and pieces of information every time they saw each other. That he liked abandoned buildings and the night sky, that he was very knowledgeable about gargoyles and owned a tamagotchi, then his name that he had been refusing to actually tell. They hit it off and became friends. Malleus was a person Ellis liked to be around.

And a person he had an exponentially growing crush on, he admits, but just to himself for now. He sighs again, head in his hands. His crush, putting a different precious gem in his hand every night. It should have been a dream scenario, but he just doesn’t get it. The way Malleus does it is so unaffected, they couldn’t be heartfelt gifts at all. It looked like he was lending him money.

Maybe that’s what’s happening, he thinks tiredly, looking around the inside of the building. He had been cleaning up for most of the semester, it managed to look decent now, if only a little like somewhere a grandmother would live, but that was cozy in its own way. The outside was still screwed up, though, so maybe Malleus trying to help him with repairs? Ellis stares at the pile of gems, they stare back. With the amount all of them were worth, they were probably enough to cover all the costs needed to polish Ramshackle’s outside, so maybe…

...he really didn’t want his crush, a guy so lofty and admirable, to think he just couldn’t do something like that by himself, though. The very thought of it makes him uneasy.

He sighs. Maybe he should talk it out with someone, he was burning up his brain cells just thinking by himself like this. He scrolls through names in his contact list before stopping on Cater’s. Cater had mentioned talking to Malleus before, right? And he didn’t seem scared. Plus he may have been aware of Ellis’ crush, even half so — Though that’s sort of embarrassing, it’s not like he’d been trying to hide.

But it’s okay, the phone makes its dialing noise. “Hey, Cater?”

“Ellis! Hi hi.” Cater chimes from the other side of the line. Ellis could hear ruffling even through the phone, maybe he just moved around on his bed. “What’s up!”

“Malleus.” Ellis starts, leaning back against the couch. Thank god it was so comfy, right. “Has he ever brought you, um… gems and stuff? Like really expensive looking things?”

There’s silence.

“Uh, no?” Cater responds mid a confused laugh. “...why are you asking that? We don’t really talk.”

“I don’t know.” Ellis admits, shaking his head in defeat. “He’s been giving me gems all week and I don’t get it. I thought maybe you knew something since you’ve talked to him...once? That’s more than most people here, anyways.”

Cater hums, a short pause. “Well, I really can’t tell what that means.”

Another sigh, another feeling of defeat. Ellis sinks on the couch.

“Ugh. Do you think he feels bad about the state of the dorm or something? I like gifts as much as everyone else, but…” He sighs. “I just wanna know what’s going on in his head.”

“Y’know, they’re still gems, I don’t get why you’re complaining. And you’re so curious about him too.”

“I just wanna know.” He huffs, face feeling hot. “I feel bad I’m not giving him anything back, is all. Gifts are nice but this is too much.”

“Ehh, you wanna one up Malleus?” He asks, voice incredulous. Do I wanna do that? Ellis finds himself wondering. Is that what this is about?

“I mean, I might as well try, right.” He says. He thinks of it as a joke, but it might not really be one. Looking up to Malleus all the time felt… kind of lame, sometimes, Ellis wanted him to look up to him too. His heart feels heavy thinking about it — But he does.

“Okay, that’s just crazy.” Cater laughs from the other side of the line, mixing with the ruffling sound again.

“Yeah, yeah. Maybe.” He laughs back, but, again, he’s actually thinking about it. He can’t help but think about it. What if he actually impressed Malleus this time? He wonders how he’d look.

They say their goodbyes after more idle chatter and Ellis has his flushed cheeks on his hands, pulling his knees closer to his body. He’s tried doing something impressive before, though it usually just ends up going humorously wrong… but, but, maybe this time it’d work. He stares at the gems on the coffee table. These could be the clue he needed.

A wide-eyed Malleus comes to mind. If things went like that, maybe the messages he’d been wanting to send with all the casual affection would get through. Even if Malleus didn’t like him back — That was a scary thought, but he knew it wouldn’t ruin their friendship, Malleus wasn’t like anyone else — he’d been wanting to tell him in a way where he could actually understand, visualize how deep his feelings had been running. This seemed like the perfect chance.

He dreams of emeralds in a treasure room that night.

. . .

He knew that this, at least, was something Malleus would like — Ellis can’t help but giggle in excitement while he drags him around the woods, clutching at his hand, hearing the crunching of leaves under their shoes and the subtle howling of the wind.

“So, tonight,” He introduces, voice chimy and full of energy. Malleus is standing right behind him in his towering glory. His stare is mostly blank, but Ellis somewhat knows how to decode it, and he can see a glint of curiosity there. They stop in front of an assortment of rocks that made up something looking like a gate. “I was thinking we could go looking for gems in this little cave? I heard from some guys that it has a lot of interesting stuff inside!”

Some guys was a chain of information that started with Rook, who had been doing god knows what in the cave, but what mattered now is that Ellis would go there, and he would find something that would blow Malleus away.

“A cave,” Malleus repeats, blinking. His long hair sways with the wind, lime green glow emitted from his eyes — He did things to his heart, honestly, even just being there — as he looks at Ellis with amusement. “Is that… a common outing for your culture, Child of Man?”

“I mean, not really? But I like collecting things.” He says, a bit sheepish as they begin to walk inside. It’s dark, but that’s an issue easily solved by flicking his flashlight on. “And I thought you might like this.”

Malleus chuckles, and that does more to his heart than him just standing here. “I see,” He says, the amusement visible. Ellis can’t help the excited smile beginning to show up on his face. This was it. “I do think it could be interesting.”

“Yeah!” He chimes. Shining the light forwards, he inspects the path in front of them as they walk further away from the entrance — It was safe, right? A lot of people seemed to have been there, plus it wasn’t exactly hard to move inside, the ground wasn’t as rocky as the walls “I heard they have gems deeper inside? Uh, it might be a little creepy for a bit, though.”

Malleus hums. The glow of his eyes shows up more at every step they take towards the inner parts of the cave, shrouded in darkness. Looks magical, Ellis’ brain unhelpfully reminds him, majestic, beautiful.

(He needed to get that confession out already, and yet…)

“I’m not displeased with this place, though.” Malleus’ voice makes a light echo. “It reminds me of home in a way.”

“Home? Like in the Valley of Thorns?” He asks, wincing when he steps against what seemed to be a tree branch, cracking it into two. How do things like that end up here, anyway?

“It’s a very rocky scenery. Tall mountains and thorn bushes, dark almost all year long.” Malleus explains. “I remember seeing it through my room’s window.”

“You know, that’s kind of cool in a way, I’ve never been somewhere like that.” He comments, thumb resting over the flashlight’s switch. He feels fidgety trying to visualize the Valley of Thorns in his mind, then briefly entertaining the thought of actually being there, with him too… “Is the palace all dark too?”

“Darkness is associated with royalty, so naturally it is.” He speaks. There’s a hint of nostalgia in his voice, almost. It’s strangely warm thinking of a smaller Malleus walking around a big, imposing dark castle, and still making all those sweet childhood memories there. It’s a testament to Malleus himself, maybe. The contrast between the imposing exterior and the softer interior. “It's tall, built in black bricks a long time ago, surrounded by thorn bushes…”

“You should bring me there one day.” Ellis suggests. His voice comes out sweet, it always does — And he hopes Malleus can notice why, he wants him to. But he doesn’t expect it at this point.

(Because if there’s one thing about Malleus’ he’s learned, it’s that genius or not, everything just flew right over his head, and flirting with him was a battle you lost before you even started fighting.)

“Perhaps that wouldn’t be a bad idea at all.” Malleus says mid a chuckle, and his heart flutters. Oh to have a tour around Malleus’ hometown. Maybe there wasn’t much more to see at the place than thorn bushes, but Ellis thought about it insistently anyways. The things that made it unique, and the things about it that Malleus carried over. It’s insistent curiosity and his equally insistent crushing.

He glances forward as he smiles, recalling what he’d been told about the cave. They should be getting to the part with the cool rocks (Cater’s words, not his, maybe not even Cater’s either, since he got that from Ace who got it from someone else… you know how it is) now, Ellis is excited. He’s read up a little bit on gems before doing this. Surely Malleus would be caught off guard by that too, if he was interested in them, then they could choose one to bring home, and it’d be like jewelry shopping, kind of, maybe…

But jewelry stores don’t have swarms of bats in it, and caves do — And in they come, screechy noises and motion blur, and Ellis wasn’t thinking about the presence of bats at all, so he completely flips out, jumping in shock with a yelp and dropping the flashlight.

Dropping himself, actually, tripping on a damned rock and almost falling on top of Malleus as he hears the crack of his light falling, rolling somewhere he couldn’t see.

“Careful, Child of Man—”

Ellis blinks, looking around to try and find that light, but it’s nowhere to be seen — Not that he could see anything, the place was shrouded in darkness now — and his breath quickens with panic, damn it this wasn’t what…

“The flashlight?” Ellis asks, voice frantic. “Damn it, I can’t see it, I…”

Malleus’ eyes are still glowing green.

“I’m guessing you can’t see in the dark?”

“No?” He sputters. What, now he could see in the dark too? Malleus’ abilities are usually interesting to hear about, but now… “Ugh, the flashlight…”

“It’s not anywhere near us.” He informs unhelpfully. “Fallen from a drop. Perhaps I should guide us back.”

He sighs, heavy and tired. Great, there went his plans, everything down the drain again. Usually he could just laugh something like this off, but…

Maybe he had higher hopes for tonight.

“Yeah, I guess.” Ellis mumbles. “Sorry, in the end we couldn’t really do anything cool.”

“We still have time for a stroll near the woods, don’t we?” He can’t see Malleus’ face, exactly, just the outline of his eyes dotting the black dye, but with the way they move he guesses he may have tilted his head. “And I’ve actually enjoyed visiting this cave, short as our outing was.”

“...yeah, b-but I wanted to impress you.” His face feels hot, mostly with shame, the stutter comes with the blurting out of the words. He hates being upset like this, and yet— “You’re always the one doing cool things, disappearing in thin air and leaving fireflies behind, bringing me all that stuff… I wanted to do it too, I guess, especially with you bringing me all those gems for reasons I still don’t know why. I wanted you to… l-like me more, I guess, because I really like you.”

Too many words. He feels his core burn, but they’d been spinning around in his mind for so long now, at some point it was meant to come out. At least, even if Malleus hated that, he wouldn’t…

“Child of Man,” He speaks, voice clear and blank after a pause. There it comes, Ellis thinks dejectedly, though he doesn’t know exactly what bad thing he’s expecting. “Ellis.”

But that’s his name. His agape mouth closes. Was it that bad? One might worry his heartbeat would start echoing into the empty cave.

“...I believe there may have been a misunderstanding here.”

He shakes his head, heart twisting. “N-No, it’s okay, I get that you don’t…”

“Are you not aware of dragon courting traditions?”

Ellis feels his heart both drop the ground and soar at the same time.

“...the gifting of gems. I’d been trying to tell you about… how I feel, I suppose, for a while.” He says, and his voice sounds different. Quieter. Guilty? Ellis can’t put his finger on what it is exactly, but he wonders if Malleus is blushing.

And the image of it in his mind makes him want to look away, even as he can’t.

“There’s been a misunderstanding after all.” Malleus sighs. Yeah, his voice is different. Airy, light, something to it that has Ellis’ face burning. “If you’ve been thinking you could make me like you any more than I already do.”

It feels like an impossible dream to have something like this happen, in this damn cave of all places too, but the smile makes its way into his lips and doesn’t leave, lopsided or not. The laughter starts bubbling up. And on his first snicker, he has Malleus’ confusion too.

“Are you laughing at my confession?” He asks when the snickers turn into a full on laugh, one that has him wiping tears off his eyes with his sleeves.

“G-God, no way, I’m just laughing ‘cause we’re both so stupid…” Ellis shakes his head. Who would have known, huh. “C’mon, let’s get out of here. Then we can go for that walk you wanted. I think it’d be nice.”

“As you wish, then.” He replies, and Ellis feels his hand on his, warmth spreading across him. It’s really a dream— “Would that mean we are… dating, now?”

Oh to see the great Malleus asking him all these dorky questions. “Maybe. Let’s get out of here first.”

The light from the entrance shines back onto them soon.