#sky people are moving like its official official which is kinda weird given that its not

[molliemoo3]

The answers none of the above, great times

Do we think the announcement will be at 2pm gmt when merc staff get briefed, or like 2:30, 3pm ish????

[nbrook29]

Kiss or Slap

Sander doesn’t remember when exactly their group made the riverside near the Scheldt their new hangout spot, but he couldn’t be more grateful for it as a cold breeze washes over his overheated body, providing a momentary relief against the scorching heat falling from the sky. It’s probably why the park is fuller than it usually is on Thursday afternoons, packed with people spread on their picnic blankets, searching for a bit of shadow under the big trees and desperately craving a bit of wind. 

It’s so hot he doesn’t even feel like sketching, preferring to just lie on the grass without moving a single muscle, and dying in peace. Even the enticing smell of cinnamon rolls that Noor brought with her isn’t enough for him to reach out and take one from the basket, the action requiring too much movement on his part.

“Guys, come on, we have to start or we’ll never get it done! Sander, get your lazy ass up.” He grunts when he feels Leon’s merciless fingers jabbing him in the ribs.

“Can’t we wait until it gets a little less hot?”

“No, cause that’s not happening in the nearest future and we need new content,” Nathan butts in, followed by Noor, which makes Sander officially outvoted. So he heaves a deep sigh, puts his shirt back on and ruffles his hair to make himself more presentable, rolling his eyes at Noor’s appreciative whistling.

“Someone’s gonna snatch himself a bunch of kisses today with that smoldering look,” she teases, pretending to give him a once over.

“Is that your way of telling me you want one for yourself, sweetheart?” He’s immensely proud of himself when her entire face scrunches up in disgust.

“Eww, no, feels like incest at this point.” Which is kinda true given the fact they’ve known each other since kindergarten and became best friends making sand castles. He fires an obnoxious wink at her, fully anticipating a shove which comes as expected within seconds, with Noor calling him a creep in between laughter.

“Who should we start with? Senne? Wanna go first?” Sander watches as Leon takes out his camera equipment and checks the settings as the rest collects their things.

“I guess, yeah. And then Nathan after me?”

“I’m not doing it, man, you know Britt, she’s gonna flip out.”

“Be a good reason to break up with her,” Sander mutters under his breath, not really feeling apologetic when Nathan shoots him a glare. It would be a long time coming, and honestly, Sander can’t wait for that moment to come. Just being in her presence gives him chills, she’s that much of a horrible person. A few years ago, he read something about alternate universes and sometimes when he looks at her he can’t help but think there’s a history there with the two of them, in a past life or something. At least it would explain that weird energy between them.

If it’s true, he feels very sorry for that Sander. 

He roots for him to run far away from said devil’s spawn.

“I can go next, I don’t have the ball and chain,” Noor says innocently, but she’s smirking over Nathan’s shoulder at Sander who pretends to high five her in their shared hatred for Britt.

“Yeah, us lonely birds will sacrifice ourselves and take the hit for the wellbeing of our channel,” Sander laments playfully, making Senne snort.

“Dude, you’re on your own by your own choice.”

“And pickiness. Don’t forget pickiness,” Noor adds smugly.

Sander huffs in protest. “I’m not picky! I just...” He cuts off because he’s not about to just explain it all now.

“Just what?”

“Specific about what I want.”

Brown curls, brown eyes, shortish, lean, pierced ear, cute giggle, elegant hands and a smile brighter than the sun. 

To be exact.

“Yeah. That’s picky.”

“Whatever,” he replies grumpily, and decides to ignore Noor’s knowing look. Sometimes he feels like she has a sixth sense and can read him like a book. Or she’s just less oblivious than the boys in their friend group. That’s a totally possible option too.

Thankfully, she doesn’t push him further (she’s awesome like that), though Sander has a feeling she’s gonna grill him later when they’re alone. For now, she checks her lipstick in her phone as they all briefly plan the video.

Not like there’s that much to plan; a few days ago, they decided to shoot a kiss or slap challenge for their YouTube channel because it had been wildly requested by their viewers.

Sander still doesn’t quite know how he became a part of a YouTube channel in the first place, always considering himself to be a bit more, well, sophisticated than that? But Leon was into it from the beginning and made them all participate in exchange for free beer, until one day one of their videos blew up.

If you can call getting 100k views on one video blowing up. 

Anyway, they got semi-popular amongst Flemish teens and even managed to snatch a sponsorship with Mentos (however small the offer was) that paid actual money. And he had just managed to move out of his family house so any money coming his way he welcomed with no questions asked. 

So they’ve kept shooting silly challenges slash anything else that’s a trend at a given time and have been able to cover their art supply needs with what little they earned. And, though Sander refused to admit it in the beginning, it’s actually kinda fun. It’s definitely better than his part time job at Pull&Bear where he has to deal with obnoxious customers on an almost daily basis.

They record a short introduction near the river, quickly going over the rules and explaining that the three of them will be competing in who gets more kisses versus slaps. 

“Hey, you know what, this is actually unfair cause you both can kiss anybody,” Senne points out all of a sudden, receiving four pairs of unimpressed glances.

“No one’s stopping you from getting kisses from boys too, dude,” Sander is quick to shut him up, shit-eating grin on his face as he gives him his first (light) slap to the cheek. 

They follow Senne around the park with a camera as he turns on his charm and smiles sweetly at the girls he chooses for the challenge, doing surprisingly well on the first few attempts. But when they venture deeper into the park and he tries his luck with college girls, he gets 5 slaps in the row to the rest of the group’s utter delight. In the end, his results are a blow to his pride and even Sander feels sorry for him, giving him a pat on the back while trying to hold his laughter in at Senne’s grumpy face.

Noor does much better, naturally, as her upbeat personality and a wide smile have always made boys and girls turn their heads. She gets a kiss after kiss, blush after blush, and two phone numbers in the process. Senne argues again that it’s unfair because no one’s gonna slap a girl anyway, but Leon just calls him a sore loser while Noor shamelessly flirts in French with another girl right in front of the camera.

Sander’s very proud.

Taking a quick sip of water, he gives Leon a thumbs up and starts his round, coming over to three blond girls chilling near the skateboarding ramps, trying very hard not to come off as creepy and clarifying the kiss part being only a cheek kiss. The girls erupt in giggles, but they all grant him a light kiss. One of them tries to flirt with him after, but he shoots her down before she can get too into it.

“Such a heartbreaker, you,” Noor coos at Sander’s pained face when they all walk away.

“That’s you, and you actually enjoy it,” he quips back, sticking his tongue at her.

“I do not, shut up!”

Fifteen minutes and fourteen kisses later he’s officially in the lead, sealing his victory with a kiss number fifteen he receives from a cute redhead. He’s gloating in Senne’s bemused face about nobody choosing to slap him when he stops in his tracks.

It’s the proof of his hopeless infatuation that he’d recognize that laugh everywhere.

He looks around for its source, but he comes up short. Then, his eyes focus on the skatepark area and his heart starts beating faster.

Because it feels like a sign. Like the universe is giving him a chance to finally do something. Make a move.

“Hey, can we shoot one more try?” He asks the guys, trying to sound casual while glancing furtively in the direction of brown curls.

“You’ve already won, but I guess?”

Nobody questions him about his reasons, they just follow him to the ramp.

And he’s so fucking nervous. 

It’s incredible, really, how he generally has no problems talking to people he’s interested in, conversation flowing without him even trying, gaining easy smiles and appreciative looks wherever he goes, some natural confidence to him. 

But that boy. That boy is something else.

He makes him question everything he says, makes his palms sweat and makes his deep hidden shyness come onto the surface.

Sander saw him for the first time during Open Day at the Academie in may, strolling casually through the hallway with his friend, completely oblivious to the turmoil he was causing to Sander’s heart.

That was the day Sander saw an angel. 

Fate placed him on his path again sooner than he could’ve hoped, the boy participating in a 2 week film course at his school only several days after he saw him for the first time. And he tried so hard to convince himself to talk to him over that time, but he only managed a few smiles while passing him by in the hallway. 

That and that one stupid joke he said to him while they were waiting in line at the cafeteria that makes him cringe in despair just thinking about it. Seriously, it’s like his entire cool evaporates when he’s near him.

But, the boy laughed at it. So maybe it wasn’t as horrible as Sander is making it to be. Or he was just being nice. 

Robbe. 

Robbe, who he’s been crushing on ever since that fateful day in may.

Robbe, who was at the same party he was last weekend.

Robbe, who he talked to at that party and managed to calm his nerves enough to be charming and funny.

Robbe, who giggled, blushed and bit his lip at Sander’s dumb jokes that evening.

Robbe, who slipped through his fingers because Sander blacked out soon after.

He almost never drinks, but that one night he did, celebrating the beginning of summer break, and not realizing his usual abstinence meant he was now officially a lightweight. What an awful timing.

Robbe doesn’t notice him right away, having his back turned to him while talking animatedly to his friends. Taking a deep breath and plastering a smile to his face to hide his nervousness, he approaches them.

“Hey guys, got a second?”

He notices the recognition in Robbe’s face right away, and Sander shoots him a quiet “hi” when his eyes meet his, an unsure smile blooming on his face.

“Hey, what’s up?” One of the boys nods at the camera.

“I’m Sander, and we’re shooting a video for our YouTube channel, the kiss or slap challenge,” he quickly explains, the boys’ faces lighting up.

“Hey, we have a channel too! I’m Moyo, this is Jens, Aaron, and Robbe.” Moyo reaches out to bump his fist with him and damn, Sander has to find that channel if Robbe is a part of it.

Jens levels him with a look. “So, you want us to kiss you or slap you?” 

“Pretty much, yeah?” Sander chuckles because he’s aware it’s ridiculous, but he’s a man on a mission here, give him a break.

“I think Robbe should represent all of us, don’t you think so?” Moyo proposes, tongue in his cheek as he checks with the rest of his friends. Sander catches the death glare Robbe sends the boy before looking back at him and crossing his arms, looking a bit out of place. And, fuck, the last thing Sander wants is to make him uncomfortable.

So he asks softly, “you’re in?” and waits for agonizing five seconds as Robbe watches him, eyes narrowed, before his features smooth out and he smiles at him.

“Sure, why not.”

Relieved, Sander lets out a chuckle and tries to keep his cool. “Okay then - kiss or slap?”

Robbe squints against the sun and makes him wait another few seconds before he answers, but Sander’s not worried because there’s a soft smile on his face and obviously his angel wouldn’t-

“Slap.”

Wait, what.

He can hear his friends bursting in laughter at this unexpected turn of events while Sander can only stare in shock because how could he miscalculate the situation this much?

Gulping, confused and heartbroken, he asks, “you’re sure?”, to which Robbe nods with a poorly hidden glee.

“But you have to close your eyes cause I can’t hit you while you're looking at me.”

Heaving a deep sigh and trying to save a face despite the humiliation flooding his body, he nods and closes his eyes, steeling himself for it.

But it never comes.

Suddenly, he feels a hand cupping his cheek and he flinches a little, but then soft lips touch his in a kiss so gentle he blinks his eyes open, not knowing what’s happening.

“That was payback for you promising to call me and not keeping your word,” Robbe whispers against his lips before leaning away, something sad and wistful passing through his face. Sander is left completely dumbfounded, ignoring the hollering from the two groups as his eyes fleet all over Robbe’s face.

It’s difficult for him to collect his thoughts because holy fuck, Robbe has just kissed him and he’s internally freaking out. He finally manages to get his bearings when the remnants of a smile slip off Robbe’s lips.

“I-, Robbe, you have no idea how much I wanted to call you, but I don’t have your number.”

“I gave it to you. At the party?” He doesn’t look like he believes a word Sander is saying.

“Um, I kinda blacked out and don’t remember much after like one-ish?”

“You saved it though, I saw you typing it in,” Robbe argues again, but this time he doesn’t look so sure. “Wait, what’s your number?”

Sander watches him entering digit after digit before hitting call. He fully expects a plain number to appear on his screen, eyes widening when he sees what pops up instead.

zk bambieys 🥺🦌👁️💘🧡💖💞 calling

“Fuck, you did give me your number.” He’s not fast enough to hide his screen from Robbe, but he can't even feel embarrassment once he notices the frown disappeared from his face.

“Bambi eyes?” There's a teasing note in his voice, but his pink cheeks sell him out.

Sander scratches his head. "I was very drunk, you can't hold it against me. Also, your eyes are really beautiful," he clarifies, winking when Robbe laughs at his shameless flirting. "Hey, I tried to find you on instagram, but nothing came up. I was really hoping we're gonna bump into each other again. Sorry for being a dumbass and not realizing I had your number this entire time?”

“It’s okay.” Robbe shoves his hand into the pockets of his jeans, swaying on his heels. Sander decides to put them both out of their misery and take the initiative.

“So if I asked you out, would you say yes?”

It looks like Robbe’s about to nod, but then he bites his lip, an almost cheeky smile directed at him. “I guess you have to call me to find out.” And then he gets on his skateboard and casually skates away to the nearest ramp, pulling a surprised laugh out of Sander.

If he was intrigued before, now he’s totally smitten with this wonder of a boy, because damn. 

Their friends finally seem to regain their voices and speak over each other at what just happened, but Sander doesn’t pay them any attention, just takes out his phone again and pressing the call button. 

Watching as Robbe comes to a full stop at the top of the ramp, he cocks his head with a grin and waits until he picks up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Sander.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Robbe laughs into the speaker.

“Will you go out with me?”

He meets his eyes across the skatepark as Robbe makes him wait again.

Then, with a smile so radiant it overshadows the sun, the boy finally gives him his answer.

“Yes.”

[dennou-translations]

Violet Evergarden Ever After: Chapter 3

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No one would imagine that a single drop could be the start of something so big. However, it would earn itself great meaning after a while passed. Should it continue pouring, it could also summon boundless blessings and curses.

Love was almost like rain.

   The Journey and the Auto-Memories Doll

   That one was a rain of betrayal.

It started with a calm morning, the sky unfolding without any hints of being enshrouded in dark clouds. Regardless, it did not take too long for the capricious rain brought by the heavens to turn into a downpour rarely seen in recent years.

There was no longer any sign of the rain that had started to fall like gentle kisses from paradise on the black hats of gentlemen walking around town, over the backs of cats dozing under the sun or onto the cheeks of children who opened their mouths and burst into laughter. The current season was the end of summer, and it was raining for the first in a long while in Leidenschaftlich, where the skies were constantly clear in summer, but had the god that controlled weather gone crazy? With time, as if a bucket had turned over, the city was hit by a flood.

This story is about an uneventful day, which did nothing but pass, in the lives of people who worked at a certain postal company.

   The rain and wind struck the entire building as if attacking it. The doorbell rang loudly because of this, a man standing in place and staring at it with unease.

Creak-creak, the door moved. Ring-ring, the bell resounded. Since it was ringing despite there being no customers, he had become concerned and found himself coming down from his residence in the top floor.

In the previous year, the building had been shot with rocket artillery, and not only had it earned an enormous hole but a fire had also occurred – however, thanks to the quick skills of workmen, the hole was now closed and the walls had been neatly rebuilt.

The man was a stylish redhead. He was the president of this company, which he had named after himself.

Claudia Hodgins had been left all alone in the empty postal office. Still, it was normal for him to be there, as it was both his home and workplace. However, since he was by himself at a time that would usually still be within business hours, no matter what, he looked like he had been abandoned.

The postal office had been in great turmoil because of the storm. Surely, so had its peers. With the deliveries stagnated, complaints were coming from the clients. Nevertheless, the transportation was not carried out by machines devoid of feelings. It was something done by humans, who had been given birth to by someone and who had families waiting for them when they returned home. In lieu of the unpreceded disaster, as the president, he had notified all employees that business would be closed for today.

To begin with, the customers had stopped coming in the middle of the day. If he had to say so himself, this might be the expected. Deliberately going outside amidst such strong wind and torrential rain was an act of sheer madness.

Curious about what was going on outside, Hodgins had approached the entrance from the side. He felt like attempting to open the large doors just a little. He wanted to see how inundated the ground was. Just when he slow and carefully reached a hand towards it, the door opened with force despite him not doing anything.

“Ow...!”

“Oh, my bad. More importantly, we’re screwed; it’s just impossible, Old Man!”

Hodgins was teary-eyed as his precious nose took a hit. He was lightheaded for an instant due to the pain, but soon regained consciousness. After all, one of his employees had come back dripping-wet. Hodgins pulled him – whole body wrapped in rain gear – by the arm, bringing him inside and closing the door. Although it was only open for a few seconds, the entrance was already drenched.

The visitor took off the hood over his head, allowing his face to be seen. He was a splendidly handsome and fine man of sky-blue eyes and sandy-blond hair.

“Benedict...!”

Benedict Blue. One of the postal company’s postmen, who had been working in it ever since its founding.

“It’s impossible – actually, it’s absurd! Working under this rain is absurd! I look like I’m in the bath already. I wouldn’t have come here if I weren’t soaked... Making the staff pull out was the right choice,” Benedict said as if angry-yelling, shaking his head in the same way that a dog or cat would and splattering water splashes at Hodgins.

This wetted most of Hodgins’s shirt and face, but he was unable to reprimand his employee, who had been doing strenuous effort. He accepted it in resignation, wiping Benedict’s face with the sleeve of his shirt. “Okay, stay put.”

“Uoh, what’s with you? Stop.”

“Welcome home. I was worried. Good thing you’re all right.”

“O-Oh. What, hum... I’m back... You were worried about me?”

“Of course,” Hodgins said, to which Benedict turned away with an obviously embarrassed attitude after a moment of bewilderment.

Outside, vases and planters that may have been at the eaves of people’s houses, as well as shop signs, had been turning into weapons for a while now, dancing around the city along with the wind. Managing to come back unharmed and safely amidst this weather, where one could not know what would come flying their way, was something to be happy about.

“I’m just fine. This job’s easier than running around shooting guns. Anyway, I was left with the letters and packages of a guy who fell from his motorcycle and came back by myself. Was best to do that, right?”

“Aah, so someone got hurt?”

“That newbie, Clark. But he only scrapped his knees. He fell lots of times when he was learning how to ride, but for real, it’s surprisingly depressing when you fall off other than during practice. He was crying, y’see.”

“Aah~.”

Knowing who the person in question was, Hodgins pitied him. He was the youngest postman to join the company as of late. It was difficult to find human resources for postmen as they were quick to quit.

“He’s young, after all...”

“You call him young but... he’s already a grown man. I wonder if he ain’t lying to us about his age... I thought he was a baby or something.”

“You can’t compare him to a city boy fresh from the battlefield like yourself. I’m gonna get you a towel and a change of clothes now, so don’t move from there.”

“Why?”

“You’d wet the floor. Don’t tell me to go around cleaning up where you walked.”

“Clean it up,” he said while laughing, to which Hodgins’s shoulders slumped. He was a reliable companion, but also a young man who knew not how to show respect for his elders.

——Well, guess I’m a so-called doting parent for thinking that’s cute – no, doting boss.

Anyhow, they needed towels, Hodgins thought as he went back to his room. He grabbed a few large towels and held a pair of trousers and shirt that Benedict would apparently fit into under his arm. Then returned to the ground floor. By the time he did so, the number of people had increased.

“Uwah... Amazing, it’s like squeezing a rag.”

There were three more other than Benedict. If they were to be separated by types, one of them had evacuated after receiving a report of work, one had evacuated after finishing work, and one had been ordered to clock out, but all had come back halfway through, as their bodies were about to be blown off by the overwhelming storm.

“Please stop.” There was Violet Evergarden, whose golden hair was in Benedict’s grasp.

“Why? You said your hair was wet.”

“You just want to touch Violet’s hair, Benedict. Isn’t that right?” Lux Sibyl, who had given up on wiping her glasses and was glaring at the empty space.

“That’s not it. Don’t say weird stuff, Lux.”

“You knooow, my hair’s just as long as Violet’s.” And Cattleya Baudelaire, who scowled at Benedict with her arms crossed.

The members who had been there ever since the founding were Violet, Cattleya and Benedict, but Lux, having joined midway, was now a skillful secretary who covered up the schedule of the employees and president and moved them around like chess pieces. As the four people whose ages were close to each other’s came together, the conversation naturally livened up.

“You—You’re that kinda thing. If I touch you in a place like this, it’d be that kinda thing. This is our workplace, so there’s all that kinda thing. Morally speaking, it’s that kinda thing.”

“What do you mean ‘morally speaking’?!”

“I wish you wouldn’t say those things even if you think about them. Right, Violet?”

“‘Public morals’...? Benedict, what am I from your point of view?”

“V, you’re like a little sister to me... Aah, Old Man, gimme another towel.”

It was a terribly joyful thing that the company’s young aces had returned to it safe and sound.

“Everyone, don’t move from that spot no matter what. Hey, Cattleya! Don’t move!”

However, wiping all the water off the bodies of those four turned out to be a bone-breaking work.

   Out of kindness, Hodgins invited the four people who had gathered up at the postal company to his residence in the top floor.

The whole floor was his apartment, thus it was quite large. A family of five could live comfortably in it. The furnishings were arranged in wooden items and serene shades of dark brown and green. It was a relaxed, adult atmosphere, where was nothing particularly funny. It had a faint scent of the perfume that Hodgins always wore.

The invited four let out sighs of relief. The biggest reason for it, although there was also the fact that this was Hodgins’s apartment, was that they were able to escape the horrible situation outdoors. With the exception of Lux, three of them were tough enough to take part in the act of physically crushing other postal companies, but human beings could not win against natural disasters.

“Hey, what do we do? We can’t go home anymore, can we?”

“There’s nothing we can do. We got no choice but stay in Old Man’s place.”

“First time something like this happens, huh. But we’re all together, so... might be imprudent of me to say this, but... it’s a bit fun. Violet, are you worried about your home?”

“Yes, about the flowerbeds.”

“You should say ‘about the people back home’, V.”

“The two went on a trip, so they are away. I promised that I would take care of the flowers in their absence, which is why... I am worried about the flowerbeds. Besides, if that house were to be destroyed by this storm, this place would meet its end much sooner... We have little time left to live.”

“Don’t go from talking about your family to destroying the company, Little Violet. Hey, hey, everyone, you’ll catch a cold so get changed first. Put the towels in the laundry basket. Benedict, don’t throw the towels wherever!”

As told by Hodgins, the employees firstly decided to change their clothes.

Violet and Cattleya had just returned from a work trip of two days and one night, thus they had a change of nightclothes in their bags, but Benedict and Lux did not. Although there was a height difference between them, Hodgins had no issues with lending clothes to Benedict, who was also a man, but there was a need for careful selection when it came to Lux.

“Shirt... shirt, shirt; all I have is shirts.”

“Hum, President, I’m fine with anything.”

“Eeh... that okay?”

As a result, the boy and girl came into the scene wearing baggy clothes. Benedict looked almost the same as when he and Hodgins first met. When he was left to chance completely naked in a desert, he had borrowed a shirt and trousers just as he was doing now. He seemed pleased with it, however...

“Feels kinda naughty...”

...the problem was Lux.

“Benedict’s fine, but maybe it won’t do for Little Lux? Is this okay?” Hodgins asked everyone with a meek face.

They all had at last settled down, each seated in a place of their preference while sipping tea. The employees were relaxing as if they were in their own homes. Contrary to the peaceful state of the situation inside, there was still a sound of rain hitting the windows and a troubled noise of something colliding against the building outside.

“What is ‘okay’ supposed to mean?” Sitting on the sofa, Violet tilted her head. Being comfortably dressed in a dusty-pink nightwear gave her usually disciplined self a slightly soft and gentle air.

“Little Violet.”

“Yes.”

“Your nightgown is cute, huh.”

“The people from the household bought it for me. Well, what is ‘okay’ supposed to mean? Was there any problem?”

“Little Lux’s clothes.”

For whatever reason, they had the person in question standing in the center of the room. With everyone’s eyes on her, she seemed uneasy.

“Hum... why do I have to stand in the middle?”

“Little Lux, stay like that and don’t move.”

“All right.”

“What is wrong with Lux’s look? You mean to say it lacks adornment?”

“Why would that be the case, Little Violet?”

“You are the one who chooses attires for us Dolls and you have particularities regarding the clothing and accessories, so I concluded that you might deem the plain shirt as not enough.”

“No, no.” Hodgins flailed both hands. The things he was saying had a moral value to them, out of fear that her outfit was perhaps vulgar.

Benedict had dealt with it by securing her trousers with a belt, but as Lux had too thin a waist, the outcome was the belt falling off. In short, she was not wearing pants. Inevitably, she was dressed in nothing but a shirt. However, her short stature fortunately made it look like a shirt-dress.

As Hodgins explained his concern, everyone said, “I see.”

Showered with their stares more and more, Lux began to blush.

“It gives off a dangerous feeling when you think she ain’t wearing any, but on second thought, isn’t that the same for skirts? There’s actually an open hole in them, but it’s not visible, so they’re classified as clothes. No big deal, is it?” Benedict had been standing with his back against the wall just a moment ago, yet had suddenly drawn close to her and started examining her fixatedly.

“Don’t say ‘not wearing any’!”

“Well, I mean, you really ain’t wearing any... but that’s okay. No biggie. You’re probably not an option for Old Man, so no worries. Right?”

“That’s rude!”

“I’m saying you don’t need to worry about that kinda thing... Should I take mine off, then? I see; I’m fine with it. I’ll be the same as you. That all right? I’m gonna take it off.”

“Stop, stop, stop!” As Benedict put a hand to his belt while laughing, Lux repeatedly hit his chest with her fists to stop him. Lux was red up to her ears. “I can’t take this anymore! Violet! Take Benedict to over there!”

“Understood.”

“Owowowow, V, ouch, that’s not it; it was the Old Man who said weird stuff first. We’re friends, so I was showing that she doesn’t have to get hung up over something like...”

Caught in Violet’s arms, Benedict obediently sat on the sofa. Perhaps in order not to allow him to escape, she gripped his hands and sat next to him.

Cattleya cut through the silence, “The tea is delicious.” She was scattered over the bed. She must have been tired from returning from the Doll business trip. Her eyes were downcast. She might be sleepy.

“Cattleya, do you not have any comments to make? I want to hear lots of opinions.”

“Eeeh, me?” Cattleya joined the needless debate as if it were a bother. “Hmmm... if someone were making her wear this because it’s their taste, it’d be gross indeed, but there’s no other clothes for her... It’d also be horrible to leave her with just a towel wrap, so I think it’s valid. Speaking of which, President...”

“Hm?”

“You’re saying that even though you pick open-chested clothes for my Doll outfits? And the times you were choosing Doll attires for me, y’knooow, you were never so considerate to say ‘not this, not this either’ when discussing it with the people from the made-to-order store...”

Her manner of speech was somewhat thorny, but Hodgins did not make much out of it. “That’s because they look good on you.” Rather, he said decisively, with an earnest gaze and excessive confidence, “Because they look good on you. Is my judgement wrong?”

“E-Eh?” Being replied to so unapologetically, Cattleya’s reasoning jumbled up, to the point she found herself wondering if she was the one in the wrong.

The Doll outfit that Cattleya usually wore was composed mainly of a crimson dress-coat, so there was no mistaking that one could not wear it unless the person was remarkably stylish. In addition, there was also no doubt that it was lascivious. Whoever looked at her would find their line of sight momentarily going to her chest. Still, whoever looked at her would remember the woman named Cattleya Baudelaire at once.

“No... it’s not like your choices are wrong... but I only forgive you because you’re the boss. I was shocked when you first showed me that outfit! I didn’t use to wear something like that before.”

“Well, but y’see, an hourglass-shaped person looks more slender when the area around their collarbone is exposed, and it’s pretty.”

An evident question mark floated above Violet’s head at the unfamiliar word. Benedict pointed a finger at the tea set arranged on the nearby table. An hourglass used to measure the time it took to steam the tealeaves was lying there. Perhaps finding the similarity between it and a plump chest and dainty hips, Violet nodded as if convinced.

“You’ve got an hourglass-shaped figure with that slim waist, so I gave you a coat-dress that puts this on display. You can adjust it with the ribbon, so it’s not a pain, right? It has a wonderful line in mathematical terms, y’know? Plus, you also have a cheerful character, so it doesn’t look vulgar. That’s important. It means that outfit takes into consideration even the personality of the one wearing it. And the owner of that made-to-order store is famous not just in this country but abroad. The outfits of our Dolls are on a whole different level in comparison to other companies, aren’t they?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“I don’t want to bring this up, but they’re very expensive.”

“Eh, I’m sorry. S-Should I pay you back? Either that or you can dock my salary...”

“No, you’re my Doll, after all. Nobody waters a flower to get money off it, right? It’s fine, Cattleya. Just stay pretty. It’s exactly because I have obsessions over clothes that I don’t want to make a girl look vulgar. And it’s exactly because I like girls that I want to have them shine wonderfully. That’s also why I have a few complaints about Little Lux’s usual plain clothes, though...”

“I don’t know why you decided to run a mail service, President, but I accept that passion of yours. I’ll wear those clothes with care. But, President, I’m doing my best, so I want a new outfit. A cute one.”

Listening to the conversation of the two in silence, perhaps tired of going along with her superior, Lux looked at Violet and Benedict’s direction with a gaze that quietly asked for help. There was a gap on the sofa that seemed enough for one person to sit. Having locked eyes with her, Violet told Benedict to scoot over after a brief moment and patted the open spot. Lux sat next to them, looking happy.

“Violet, what’re you drinking?” Lux peeked at the teacup that Violet was holding.

“I wonder. I took the tealeaves that were in the kitchen. I do not know what type of tea it is.”

“Darjeeling.”

“Benedict, how did you know?”

“‘Cause that guy likes Darjeeling. All the tea cans he has are nothing but that.”

“Guess I’m gonna drink that too; my body got cold from the long time under the rain.”

“Heeey, the three of you who ended the talk before we noticed! Listen to what I have to say.” Hodgins put his hands on his hips, pretending to be angry.

“We were deviating from the main subject. We deemed that it was not a necessary conversation and took action prioritizing Lux’s rest,” Violet expressed with a clear voice tone.

“Besides, this talk’s about bedroom wear, ain’t it?” Benedict added a two-fold retort. The blond, blue-eyed duo that looked like siblings stared at Hodgins with questioning eyes.

“Ugh, I comply with you two no matter what you say when you both look at me at the same time, so cut it out. But I’m not giving up. I think she needs one more article of clothing.”

“Hum... President, I’m okay with this. I’m already thankful that I could borrow your clothes. Besides, when you make such a big fuss about it, things that weren’t lewd in the first place start to seem lewd, so to say,” Lux said, wanting to end this topic as fast as possible.

“The solution has come to me. Wouldn’t it be best if I took the shirt and trousers and had Lux wear this nightgown?”

However, Violet wound up rewinding it.

——Violet!

Lux hit Violet repeatedly in her mind.

“Ah~, that’s right. If that’s the case, I can do it too. But maybe my nightgown is too big? It’s a negligee just like Violet’s. The shoulder length might be the problem for this one...”

“Old Man, you gonna die if you don’t obsess over the stuff we wear? You ain’t. Give up.”

“No way. Days like this one don’t come by. All five of us are trapped in the company and we can’t get out. You’ve got no choice but stay here in my house, right? We’re having the best of parties, a pajama party. I want it to be a good one. But I can’t enjoy it when I’m worrying over Little Lux’s clothes.”

Benedict contemplated a reply to Hodgins’s words for a few seconds, but soon stopped. He was probably tired. He looked Violet’s way and asked, “Hey, you not hungry? I’m gonna take a look at the kitchen.

“Hey, don’t ignore me.” As Benedict stood up, Hodgins chased after him.

“Benedict’s gonna make something? Yay! You guys probably don’t know this, but he’s good at cooking.” Cattleya lined up behind them.

“I didn’t say I was gonna make anything, though... Well, if you’re hungry, I can do it.”

“I shall assist you.” Violet raised her arms, rolling up her sleeves. Her prosthetics made a creaking noise.

“V, you can cook?”

“To some extent. In the military, I used to make preparations for the cooking. Mrs. Evergarden... Lady Tiffany also trained me on it.

“M-Me too... I can peel the potatoes, and stuff.” Lux hastily went after everyone. In a trail, a big move to the kitchen began to take place.

“Lux. You don’t usually cook, do you? I can already tell by just that statement. I’ll teach you.”

“Most things get solved just by peeling the potatoes... Benedict, you’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”

“Am not, Potato Demigod.”

“Violet, Benedict insulted me!”

“Benedict.”

“Owowow! V—! Don’t poke my sides! A hit from those crazy-ass prosthetics of yours ain’t no cutesy way to poke anyone! It just hurts like it normally would!”

In the end, Hodgins was able to find a light feather-print sweater in his closet and gave it to Lux. As she put it on, with her short stature, its length became the same as that of a long cardigan, which Hodgins was awfully pleased with for how adorable it was.

   The madder-red sky was not visible at dusk, the outside morphing into evening with no changes in the rainy weather.

Benedict made a soup at random with the vegetables available in Hodgins’s kitchen, which had seasonings in abundance, while Violet and Cattleya supplied it with cookies that they had brought back as souvenirs from their ghostwriting business trip. Lux brought over small candy marbles that she kept stored in her desk at the company, and Benedict, instructed by Hodgins, reluctantly took an expensive bottle hidden on the liquor shelf of the latter’s room.

“Hey, let’s rummage through the desks of everyone in the company. There are probably gonna be other ingredients in them.”

“If it’s Mr. Anthony’s desk, I think there’s definitely something in it. Mr. Anthony always gives me sweets... We’re in a state of emergency so I’m sure he’ll forgive us for it.”

“There were sweets in the reception guys’ desks. Would they get mad if we took them?”

“Definitely seem like they would. But this sweet... is one of the tasty ones... I wanna eat it.”

Lux, who was still growing, and Benedict, who had missed lunch and did not have enough with just the vegetable soup, procured more food. The sweets that the hungry thieves sneaked from the company employees’ desks turned out as what could be considered a big catch, and so, the five people trapped inside during a day of usual rain commenced a night party.

The five of different ages, genders and positions were already at a state where they could be deemed as a single family through the many incidents they had overcome and the time they had spent together. They laughed a lot, talked a lot.

“You remember when Violet brought Lux over? She went to negotiate it directly with Old Man with so much might, like, ‘I have picked up a puppy. Please give me permission to raise it here. Now, hurry’. They were holding hands and she wouldn’t let go of Lux, explaining the situation all at length as if to say she wasn’t gonna move until he gave the permission. The way Old Man acted so suspicious back then was a real blast.”

“I remember~! He was like, ‘Eh, “demigod”? Eh, “abduction and confinement”? Have you told the military police about that?’... President was so troubled, walking in circles around the two. It was the funniest thing of that year.”

“Hum... I’m sorry.”

“No, no, don’t apologize, Little Lux. You’re our main player now, so you did what you could to get where you are. You really exerted yourself in this unfamiliar land. Work for us forever, ‘kay? Rather, for me. Little Violet does some unbelievable stuff sometimes, but she generally doesn’t do anything wrong, so back then, her first-time deed shook up even someone like me, with plenty of life experience. Saying no didn’t even cross my mind.”

“I knew that President Hodgins would give you a generous treatment. If I had not concluded so, I would not have done such a thing. Thank you very much for that time, President.”

“Little Violet... Little Violet’s all grown up too, huh; you’ve become a wonderful lady...”

“Well, she’s got you as her example of guardian figure, after all.”

“I was raised by both Benedict and President Hodgins. You are my examples.”

“Eh, so I’m Old Man’s son...? Gimme the whole company.”

“No way! Actually, you’re taking a part of the company in the future, so that much should be fine, right?”

“You were serious about that? If you split the company...”

“Yeah, I’ll be the vice-president. V, call me Vice-President Benedict.”

“Benedict will be... the vice-president?”

“Violet, you haven’t been to the company too often because of work, right? I’ll stay as President Hodgins’s secretary, but some of the employees will go to Benedict’s side. That’s gonna be pretty lonely... Still, the company will be built inside the country, so it’ll be close in terms of distance. But it won’t be the same building anymore.”

“Other people... will also be gone.”

“Did I tell you that my role’s gonna change too?”

“I have not heard about that.”

“I’ll be transferred to training the newcomers. Violet, you’ll stay as you are. Well, between you and me, if we were to debate on which one should be the instructor, it’d have to be me. I’m good at looking after others.”

“Cattleya will be... an instructor...”

“I’ll be here like always. The Doll department that Little Violet and the others are in will stay in the main office and you’re largely in charge of the numbers in our Doll department, so your role won’t change.”

“Sounds like I don’t make money when you put it like that.”

“No, it’s not like that... I’ve been keeping the right people in the right places since long ago, right? I asked you to do this because I thought you could be everyone’s big sis. Besides, wasn’t it you, Cattleya, who immediately replied that you’d to it when I said your pay would increase if you became an instructor?”

“Well, that’s because I don’t know how long I could keep on being a Doll. It’s a job you can do even when you get older, but walking up mountains has been hard lately. Probably because of my high heels.”

They truly laughed a lot and talked a lot.

In their feel-at-home looks, they played card games, discussed memories of their trips and laughed holding their stomachs at silly stories. The night went on and on and the heavy rain outside gradually subsided, but no one said, “Let’s go home, then”. Days like these were a rarity. They all knew this much.

“I’m having lots of fun today. It’d be great if it were always like this.” The words that Cattleya muttered with a big smile spoke for everyone’s feelings.

Whenever a fun feast reached its climax, the loneliness towards the fact that it was going to end would cross the corners of people’s heads. That applied not only to this day that God had granted them but also to matters in the long run.

Perhaps the company named CH Postal Company itself could also be considered a feast to the people gathered in it. “May this dream, this fun time go on forever,” they wished.

The dream had begun with Claudia Hodgins. He then picked up Cattleya Baudelaire, Benedict Blue and Violet Evergarden.

“Make sure to just lick it. So, how’s that?”

They had built the company office building in Leidenschaftlich and started it together. As the postal business was a privatized one and the competitors were many, nobody could predict at first for how long this company would continue to exist.

“This stings.”

A local customer then came, earning them a large-scale contract in the delivery business.

“Eh~, you okay, Violet? You’re better off as someone who can’t drink...”

Their Auto-Memories Doll activities began to stand out.

“But everyone is changing.”

“Doesn’t that have nothing to do with drinking alcohol? I drink ‘cause I like it. If you don’t, then stop.”

“That’s right, Violet.”

“No... Major has a taste for drinking during meals, so I had been thinking of learning to do it one day as well. You are all changing one after another whenever I blink. I have started eating with other people quite often at work as well. I, too, shall adapt...”

Along the way, a girl who would later become a brilliant secretary joined them.

“I see... Then I want to try drinking too. I’m a secretary, after all. I have to eat out with other people. What kind of taste is it, if you had to compare?”

Despite the major changes in the personal life of each, all of them had contributed to the development of the company, to the point that they spent every single day being busy.

“Close to that of a perfume. In that it is hard to swallow.”

There would surely be many, many more changes.

“Hey, I can’t approve that opinion. Big Sis here will introduce you to delicious drinks. Rather than being taught by a man, you should learn from me. Lux, you can’t yet.”

Surely, their fates would twist further.

“Eh~?!”

“Benedict, bring another one. And something to crack it open with.”

For people to gather up, an encounter had to have happened. That was what it meant.

“Aight, aight...” Benedict stood up from the sofa. He had been dragged into Cattleya’s scheme, in which she had planned the conspiracy of attempting to make Violet Evergarden consume alcohol, because he himself had complied with it.

“O-Owah. Old Man. You were here?”

“‘Were here,’ you ask... this is my house.”

As they came across each other in the kitchen, Benedict had let out a brash voice without thinking. The reason might be that he perhaps was seen grinning as he walked in. Despite his nihilistic attitude, he was happy to spend time with his friends.

“I-I know. I was thinking you were taking too long in the toilet...”

“Cigar.”

With the kitchen’s small window open, Hodgins was smoking a cigar. All of the women despised the smell, so he rarely ever let them see him smoking. Just when Benedict was thinking about how he had suddenly stood up and disappeared, there he was, smoking in secret.

——He only smokes when he can’t calm down, though.

There was no better day to relax with their companions, and yet.

“Hey, take a look outside. It’s so quiet after the storm... like the wind. Even though it was so loud before.” Perhaps due to him being a little drunk, Hodgins’s face was red.

“True... Hey, need more booze. Ain’t there anything easier to drink?”

“Eh, why? You can’t give it to Little Lux.”

“Cattleya wants to make V drink some. Well, ain’t it okay? I think it’s about time she learns the ropes. Dunno when we’ll get to drink with her again... and it’s better to have people you get along with teaching you this kinda thing, right?”

“Eeh... it’s still too soon. If you insist, isn’t it enough to drip a drop of rum into her tea?”

“Can you even call that a drink? Make it a degree higher.”

Hodgins gave a strained smile. “Hey, hey, her big brother figure shouldn’t be saying this...”

“I say it because I’m her big brother figure. I mean, we’re getting more rookies. She’s the highlight of our Doll department. Eating with people is part of having a big job. Before she gets involved with someone who wants to make her drink...”

“Does this have anything to do with me telling you to be the branch manager?”

Hearing a slightly icy voice coming from the president, Benedict blinked. “No... sorta.”

“She’s still a child, and I’ll definitely always be with her in those kinds of places, so it’s okay. It’s still early to teach her how to drink. Nope, nope.”

“A ‘child’, you say... well, she’s got a childish side, but she ain’t one anymore.”

“She is – you, Cattleya and Little Lux, too, are all kids to me. Because you’re quick to do this kind of thing if I don’t keep an eye on you... My, my,” Hodgins said, blowing out the tobacco smoke. Mismatched as it was for someone with such a mature appearance, Benedict could get a glimpse of childishness in him.

“You’ll keep trying to do that from now on too? That’s impossible; face the reality,” Benedict bit out incidentally.

Silence.

Benedict’s words were not wrong. The CH Postal Company was growing rapidly as a business. The fact that the postal company led by Salvatore Rinaudo had withdrawn from the postal industry in the previous year had a major influence in this. They now reigned at a pivotal position in Leidenschaftlich’s postal service. The CH Postal Company would soon account for nearly all of the commissions from the people living in Leidenschaftlich. Other than being busy with work affairs, there were even discussions about relocating the head office because of problems with waiting areas and break rooms due to securing new employees.

“Like, you and I are gonna get damn busy. The Auto-Memories Doll department is gonna be the main organ of the head office and my place will be ordinary mail, right? We’ll be teaching people how things go, and I’ll be doing deliveries too. You’re the one with the busiest role. Anything and everything’s gonna be relayed to you. Getting to be close to your employees like until now while doing all that is just...”

It was natural for a company that had become bigger to do a corporative split-off and for one of their employees to manage the branch office. Benedict was still young but had the power to bring people together. The task would not be an impossible one if they put a veteran of the head office in charge of taking over it. They could do this, Hodgins had decided, thus he came up with the proposal.

“The regular meetings and other stuff that I take part in happen in the head office... It’s not like we won’t get to see each other.”

“Everyone will have a different post and position. We won’t get to see each other. Same for you, Old Man.”

“If it’s work, I can adjust it. I’ll do my best to administrate everyone so that the employees can get a time every now and then to relax like this...”

“Old Man, even if you do your best, V’s dating that nasty-ass military officer, so won’t they get married someday? Dunno ‘bout it, but... that’s why it’s impossible to always watch over us in the first place...”

Silence.

“Hey, don’t clam up.”

What was being thrust at Hodgins now was something that he did not want to look straight at, despite thinking about and readying himself for it. That was what he was being told.

“Hodgins – hey, Old Man.”

It was something that Benedict Blue had the right to say, exactly because they had been doing everything together from the start.

“Hey, don’t take it in a weird way. I ain’t saying this to be malicious. You left the Auto-Memories Doll department in the head office ‘cause your wish to watch over V is a big deal, right? I get it. She’s special to you.”

“That’s not it; I—”

“But she won’t be a kid forever. She’s different from back when she started working, with you teaching her everything. She’s someone who’s gonna let go of your hand one day. She ain’t your real daughter or your girlfriend. Then, if you had to say what she is, at the end of the day, she’s your employee. You’ll part ways one day. If you don’t get ready for that now, will you manage to get over it if she marries into that bastard’s family and he makes her leave the company?”

“Will you manage to get over it?” The question ruminated in Hodgins’s heart.

Benedict had shot him where it hurt without mercy. He was a gun expert. His aim was precise and the bleeding made Hodgins want to hold his own chest down.

——Will I recover if I ever have to be separated from Violet Evergarden? Hodgins pondered earnestly over the question. ——I don’t know.

He truly did not know.

Bonds were things that could not easily break off once they had connected, yet reality, time and busyness unpityingly caused the existence of “friends” to grow far apart.

——To the point that I don’t know, I...

Surely, a day like this would not happen five years from now. Their place to return to amidst the rain would be somewhere else.

——It’s not just her, but also you and everyone else.

To begin with, they might not even be working in the company itself anymore until then. More of them would fall for someone, nurture their love and move their places to be in life to their “homes”.

Twenty, thirty years from now, it might be hard for them to even work. Or they would not be alive – there was also that possibility.

The one who was more aware of this than anybody else was Hodgins, the oldest of them all.

——I’m the one who’s farthest apart in age.

That was exactly why he did not know.

“I have no idea.”

He did not want to see it. Did not want to think about it.

“I have too many things that matter to me, so I can’t make a move anymore. Y’know, you... you might aught at this, but... rather than when you’re young, getting hurt becomes scarier when you grow older. You start losing the energy to do your best and heal. It’s tiring. Still...”

Hodgins had thought that the youth in front of him, who referred to him as “Old Man” on a daily basis, was probably going to laugh, yet Benedict was expressionless.

“Still...”

He did nothing but listen. His posture of properly listening at times like these somewhat...

——...looks like Little Violet.

“Still, I know I’m the one who has to get moving the most. I’m getting everyone involved in the things I wanna do. That’s why I do what I have to. I also counted on you, because I trust you. I left it in your care. But... that and my feelings for her and you guys...”

“I get it.”

“...are different things, right? Y’know, you’re... mean. I’m like a foster parent to you, and yet... Even if you understand my loneliness...”

While Hodgins spoke as if bursting out, Benedict put a hand to his mouth as though to stop him. “I get it.”

Time halted completely.

Was he supporting the flustered figure of the one who was like a parent to him?

“My bad.”

Before he had noticed, he was carrying a load of things he must protect. Was he doing this due to realizing that he had left Hodgins to chance, thinking, “That’s because it’s him”?

“My bad. That just now was on me.”

Silence.

“I didn’t have to pick today to say this. Isn’t that right?”

“You think I’m being lame right now, don’t you?”

“Nah, you ain’t all that cool in the first place.”

“That’s a lie; I’m a generally-acknowledged beautiful young man... no, beautiful middle-aged man.”

“You might not be cool, but well, that’s what’s good about you. Right?”

Silence.

“The cool thing about my Claudia Hodgins is his uncool side.”

Since Benedict was speaking as if to comfort a child, Hodgins told him to “shut up”, slightly annoyed, yet burst into laughter nevertheless.

   The rain caused all sorts of things to pour. The way that people were drowned by the drops trickling down from the sky inevitably made them think about something.

As dawn broke, Claudia Hodgins sat up, body heavy from not getting much sleep. When he peeked at his room’s bed, Violet and Cattleya were sleeping wrapped in the same blanket. On the sofa, Benedict was scattered about, snoring in a way that made him want to laugh.

Hodgins looked for where Lux Sibyl might be. He went down from the third to the second floor, and then from the second to the first floor. She was nowhere to be found.

While thinking it could not be possible, Hodgins opened the front door, and sure enough, he could see the figure of a girl walking down the street towards him.

The clothes she had put to dry yesterday were surely half-wet. What was it that she wanted to do outside so badly to the point of going this far? He understood when he saw what she had in her arms.

“Ah, President.”

Lux was holding a paper bag with a lot of bread in it. The amount was enough that the small girl’s face could not be seen.

“Little Lux... could it be you went to buy us breakfast?”

Thinking back, this young woman was the kind of person who was always quick to act when she was trying to do something for someone. That was all it took to be a considerate person, but without kindness in their heart, they would not turn out this way. The reason why Hodgins had nominated her his secretary was not just that she could do any sort of work.

“That’s so nice.”

“Yes, the bakery owner is very nice. I woke up a bit too early, and when I went on a walk to see how things were outside, the bakery was just about to open and they were getting ready... I went to take a look ‘cause it seemed so delicious and they told me to come in.”

“Ah, hm...”

“I was so touched when they said they baked bread for people who were hungry early in the morning, so I told them many thanks for selling them and bought lots of it. It’s the bakery from that street around the corner.”

“As expected of my secretary. Did you properly get the receipt?”

At those words, Lux showed him a smile that resembled a blooming flower. “Huhu, of course.”

For Hodgins, who had spent the night deep in thought about all sorts of things, that smile was a soothing one. It was like the water of a lake for someone who was feeling thirsty.

Hodgins wordlessly took the bag from Lux. “Little Lux, I’m seriously glad you came to us.”

“Only in this kind of situation, right?”

“All the time. Always. Little Lux, you’re still young, will probably keep working with us... and you’re such a good secretary... I’m the happiest CEO in Leidenschaftlich.”

“Are you going to hire me for life?”

“Eh?”

“Is that a no?”

“No, I could. But that’d mean working with me for life, y’know?”

“Is that bad? I have nowhere else to go.”

When asked with such an innocent look, Hodgins faltered.

“I won’t say the stuff Benedict does, like wanting the company for me.”

“Well, I might... end up giving it to you if you say that, so don’t ever. Hahah... Of course, keep working for us forever and always at my place. Huh, this is kinda like a marriage vow... Wanna take this opportunity and marry me in the future? Just kidding...” Upon thinking that the jest that came out incidentally was an unsavory one right after saying it, Hodgins looked at Lux’s reaction, only to find her staring back at him blankly. He had made himself into a caricature of an old man bothering a girl. “No, it was a prank! But hey. Little Lux, you might be the only one who can go along with me, so having this kind of small talk is... I-I’m not looking at you with dirty eyes, really! We’re too far apart in age, after all! We’re c-close enough that we can crack this kind of joke to each other, right?”

Lux pretended to think for just a few seconds. “Huhu, I can tell. That it’s a joke, at least. But not happening. We’re not getting married.”

And then, she flat-out rejected him.

“Ah, yes.” Although Hodgins would have been at loss if she had accepted it, his shoulders dropped somewhat.

“But President, I’m prepared to nurse you if you ever become unable to work.”

“Don’t... suddenly thrust such a cruel reality at me.”

“Eh, is it? From my point of view... this is quite a deep form of love. President, you’re the first decent adult who accepted me. I’ll devote my whole life to you.”

“Little Lux, you sure like me a lot. Gonna marry me after all?”

This time, Lux actually grinned and replied, “I’ll take that one home and consider it.”

“Amazing; that answer’s like the business talk at the company.”

“Because you’re teasing me... even though you’re well-aware that I don’t even know love yet.”

“Don’t know love yet”. The destructive power of those words caused Hodgins to regret his lighthearted proposal a little.

“Then, I’ll ask again in about five years. I should be at a nice middle age by then.”

“You say that, President, but you’re going on a trip with some hottie next week. I know it.”

The duo, who somehow seemed like they would or other be hanging together for a long time, returned to the office with bouncing chatter.

   In order to make breakfast for everyone together, Hodgins and Lux stood in the kitchen by themselves.

Besides the already-baked bread, they would need drinks and vegetables. Those were merely simple preliminary preparations, but Hodgins felt that just this was somehow enjoyable, unlike doing the work on his own.

“President, you have yours with one sugar cube and a slice of lemon, right?”

“And for Little Lux, it’s two sugar cubes with milk, yeah? I know it.”

While arranging the bread on a plate, they also poured water over the tealeaves and left them to steam. Perhaps due to the scenery that could be seen from the kitchen’s small window being a blue sky with not a single cloud in it, it was awfully dazzling.

“Good morning.”

The next person who appeared amidst the morning sunlight was Violet. Her soft golden hair was just a bit disheveled. Hodgins’s hand naturally reached out to it.

“Morning... You’ve got a bedhead, Little Violet.”

“Excuse me...” Violet looked back at Hodgins as he caressed her head, seeming a little embarrassed. Her eyes were just slightly red. She might have not been able to sleep very well.

“Morning, Violet. Are Cattleya and Benedict also up?”

“Benedict was awake until a while ago, but when I got up from the bed, he began sleeping again by Cattleya’s side.”

“Morally speaking, it’s that kinda thing. I’ll go give him a warning.”

Hodgins laughed a little, seeing Lux off as she walked away while rotating her tiny shoulders. He then turned his gaze back to Violet. Her bedhead, which he had supposedly fixed with the caressing, had returned. For some reason, both of them being alone like this in a kitchen bathed in morning sunlight struck him as extremely peculiar.

Just the two of them, having such a tender time. How many more opportunities would they have for that?

They were already at it. He should talk about something. That was what Hodgins thought, but the words did not come out of him. Not because he had no topic to discuss. He could come up with as many things to talk about as he wanted, such wanting flowers to decorate the table or that they would surely have many customers today who were unable to come yesterday.

But he did not want to spoil this morning. He felt that it might crumble if he spoke even one sentence.

Violet was there. She had her blue eyes directed his way, looking at him. It was no longer awkward for the two of them to stay silent. That was their relationship.

Perhaps still sleepy, she was in a haze. He wanted to watch her standing amidst this gentle time for a little longer.

As she would usually always seem wide-awake, Hodgins believed that she was laidback to this extent due to being in the presence of people with whom she could be at ease from the bottom of her heart. That he had played a part in this feeling of security of hers.

——Will you forget one day?

One day, the position that Claudia Hodgins occupied in the life of Violet Evergarden would become smaller.

——She only gets bigger on my end, though.

Going to the hospital numerous times. Pushing her wheelchair. Giving her a notebook and teaching her how to write.

——I for sure can’t forget. These moments, days, everything like this with you.

The fact that he had not stopped her from fighting in the war. That he had thought they could use her.

——I can’t forget.

Delivering to Violet an outfit that could hide her prosthetic arms, yet that would also make her look her most beautiful.

——I’m sure I won’t forget about this morning either.

About that quiet morning, which was much like the one from before everyone was caught in the great storm and barged in.

Hodgins touched Violet’s hair again. Although she had told Benedict not to touch it, with Hodgins, she all but slightly left a strand in his hand’s care and let him take it, almost like how a cat would do.

——Aah, I want to hug you.

He was not in love with her. That would never be the case.

However, if she were his real daughter, on days like these, mornings like these, he would have easily said, “Good morning, precious” and embraced her.

“I had a dream, President Hodgins,” Violet whispered out of the blue with a freshly awake, faintly hoarse voice.

“Dream...?”

The stunning young woman, who was no longer a girl, talked about her dream like a child, “Yes; in the dream... you owned a clothing store.”

“Huhu, that so?”

“I cannot make clothes. You told me that you did not need me, President Hodgins, if I could not make clothes...”

“That’s horrible of me, huh.”

“Even when I said I could polish the shoes, clean up or do anything, you did not listen...”

Unlike the real one, the dream version of Hodgins had apparently chosen to part ways with Violet.

“Little Violet, what did you do about that?”

“I asked countless times. However, you rejected it countless times. I thought about standing in front of the shop until you allowed me in, but it started raining like yesterday.”

“Hm. And then?”

“Major Gilbert came to pick me up and told me to come home with him, but...”

“Hm.”

“I waited for President to come out of the store even as the lights went out.”

“Hm.”

“Despite waiting and waiting, President Hodgins did not come out, and at some point, a passerby told me, ‘This shop has moved’.”

“Even though it was open until just a moment ago?”

“It was a dream, after all... And then – and then, I asked where it was and went after it. Benedict and Cattleya also appeared in-between, but they seemed to have other things to do, saying they would come after me later... As for Lux, she was the only one who had been hired by you from the very beginning, so she also asked you to hire me again, but in the end, you said no could do.”

“Hm...” Suddenly, Hodgins felt so pained about everything that it was hard to breathe. “And then, Little Violet, what did you do...?” His hand reached out to Violet.

“I kept looking at the interior of the store beyond the shop window from outside.”

Not towards her head, but towards her eyes, where her golden lashes fluttered like the wings of a fairy.

“Inside it, many people – people that I know and do not know – came and left... showing how lively the shop was.”

A sea had silently formed in them, which dissolved and disappeared once Hodgins’s index finger touched it.

“Major came to pick me up for the nth time and said you had told him that my standing there was causing him problems. But, for whatever reason, I at the very least knew that if I stepped away from there even for a moment, you would never let me in... therefore, I could not comply. But I did not want to trouble you, President, so I was unable to make a decision... I attempted to ask Major for instructions, but he was also gone before I realized.”

The sea – the teardrop – turned into a pearl and slipped down her cheek.

“I... I... ended up crying.” Violet stared at the sky, the look in her eyes seeming almost as if the scene from her dream was there at this very moment. “To think I would cry like that...”

“Hm.”

“That was why President Hodgins would not hire me, I thought... And also why Major had grown tired and left.”

“Hm.”

“Then, without my notice, you came outside. You looked the same as that post-war day when you went to visit me at the hospital. You were very surprised with my appearance, as I was soaked with mud and rain. And so, you said this: ‘Guess we’ll start with how to hold a needle’. You told me that you had not invited me for the new job because it would surely be difficult with these hands of mine, so I was extremely relieved... Then, then...” Violet’s words cut off at once.

Unable to hold himself back, Hodgins pulled her into an embrace as if shoving her little head into his chest.

While being embraced, Violet said with eyes that looked as though she was still dreaming, “...with some effort, I could still be helpful. I was able to confirm this, after all.”

Hearing her let out a relieved sigh in his arms, Hodgins forgot about both his and Violet’s positions, clasping her to his chest very, very firmly. “You sure are helpful... Was there anything about me that made you feel uncertain?” Upon realizing that his voice sounded tearful, Hodgins allowed the tears to overflow at the truth.

——Aah, I’m such an idiot. Got caught up in it and ended up crying too.

As the girl whom he thought of as his own daughter, despite her being an actual adult, had shed tears, he found himself crying along with her. Almost like a child. Even though he was supposed to conduct himself as an elder in this situation.

“I do not know.”

“But, has anything like that ever happened until now...? You had that dream because you were uneasy.”

“‘Uneasy’... That might have been the case. Yesterday night, I came to know that many things were progressing while I was away, so I have the feeling that I was quite agitated.”

“Sorry; we were doing things on our own accord. Even though we’ve been together since the founding.”

“No, I am often absent, and it is only natural for some things to be decided in the meantime. I am an employee. I feel that your judgement is correct. Employees must correspond to the changes of a company. My surroundings are about to change significantly. I am grateful to you, President, for letting me be here like always. However...”

“‘However’...?”

“However, I do not know if I can cope with it. With the matters regarding Major, the ones regarding the company... with the fact that Benedict will be going to a different office building. When I think about these things...”

“It’s okay.”

“When I think about them, I realize that the number of things I should prioritize has increased too much.”

“Little Violet.”

“The order of priorities...”

“It’s all right.”

“I have to deal with situations of every kind as I live, and yet...”

——Surely, Violet Evergarden wouldn’t be alive if she didn’t do that.

Always, at all times.

She had been living through corresponding to her surroundings despite being at loss regarding its circumstances, putting everything she could do to use while looking for a place to belong and an adult who would take care of her. She was not allowed to waver. For beasts, hesitation was death.

Violet did not know unconditional love. She now had at last earned herself this warm place through her efforts, but it was about to suffer a rapid change with the course of time.

After running, running and running, Violet – previously one such beast – was watching the nest she had finally found crumble down. Even when people knew they had to prepare to start running again, there would come a time when they would be short of breath and unable to move.

Violet had gone from wild animal to person.

Her human parts and animal parts co-existed, occasionally revealing themselves. When she was the animal, she simply did not mind how much a place changed as long as she could live in it. However, it was difficult to live while holding something better, more important.

Now that she had become a person through the increasing of her emotions...

“I shall fight. I can always be of use. President Hodgins, please forget this aspect of me that I just showed you.”

...she had turned into just a girl who was a little bit scared of the future.

“Please... forget about it.”

Who had made her this way? Gilbert was likely the first, but the ones who had done the finishing touches were definitely all the people in this place.

“No way, I’m not forgetting.”

At Hodgins’s words, Violet lowered her eyebrows, looking troubled.

“Don’t make a face like that; I’m not teasing. I meant to say that you don’t need to worry about it. You indeed might’ve gotten weak. But is that a bad thing? You had nothing when you met me for the first time. Not even your brooch, right...? But now you have lots of things. You went on a journey for a long time and got more stuff to shoulder while you were at it, so it’s no wonder that you’d end up in a dilemma.” Albeit knowing that Cattleya, Benedict and Lux were looking at them in shock from the shadows at the doorway, Hodgins went on, “You know... life is a journey. Little Violet, you’ll go on this journey, won’t you?”

He had already forgotten about his anxiety. The feeling of frustration at such things and the overwhelming wish to cling to someone were now gone.

“You started your journey with a little less luggage than other people, so you’re staring at your bag now that it’s gotten a bit heavy, wondering what happened to it. You don’t know what to throw away anymore.”

He was able to think, from the depths of his heart, that he had returned to his usual self. While embracing her, who was indeed still young and confused in the middle of her journey, he was finally able to think so.

“You need clothes and money, of course, and good shoes are vital. Right, and an umbrella too. When you look into your bag and realize that you actually have nothing that you can get rid of, it’s indeed a problem. Even though it’s a hassle because it’s so heavy. What do you think you should do?”

He could still be useful.

“Train... my physical strength... No, calibrate my prosthetics...”

He was still needed.

“You’re such a fool... Either leave it in someone’s care and continue the journey or have someone take half of it.”

Even if it were only for a short while.

“Gilbert will probably take half of the luggage. I can take care of the rest that you can’t carry over here. I’ll be in Leidenschaftlich forever, after all. Little Violet, no matter where you go, I’ll stay here and wait for you to come back, and no matter when you come over, I’ll welcome you. I’ll take care of the contents of your bag with pleasure.”

——Even if you only remember me a few times a year someday...

“Listen up: whenever you’re troubled, remember that I’m here. And then you’ll be able to go on a journey again anytime.”

——...I’ll ready myself to welcome you at any time of the year.

“Am I really supposed to leave my luggage here?”

——I’m the kind of man who can do that, and you need it for sure.

“Hm-hm, that’s not it. Y’see, this is about memories. All you have to do is to know. That I’m here. This is the way to make your luggage lighter. Whenever you’re having problems, bam, remember me. If you do that, the worries you have now will definitely decrease a little. Y’know, at the end of the day... people’s place to come home to aren’t places, they’re ‘somebody’. You should know that much. You’d have gone to any battlefield if Gilbert was there, right? Someday, yes, you might quit being an Auto-Memories Doll. You might not come back to Leidenschaftlich.”

——It’ll be great if this “someday” never comes, though.

“But your current memories are with me. I’ll be a representation of them. So that you, my dear... will be able to open your memories anytime. When this moment right now becomes nostalgic to you, come see me. I’ll always be here. Waiting for you. You’re feeling ‘lonely’ right now. But... Little Violet. You have me. You’re not alone.”

——I want you to remember.

“I do not understand very well... However...”

——I’m always protecting you.

“...you have always guided me.”

——Waiting for your return.

“I never doubt your word.”

——I’ll be waiting here.

“But, President Hodgins, I have only one wish.”

——I want you to show up when your journey ends.

Deciding to deal with the sobbing coming from behind the door later, Hodgins opted for staying like this for just a bit longer. Her lover might get angry if he saw it, but he had the right to do it, at least to some extent. After all, she was Claudia Hodgins’s dear employee.

Hodgins asked with a particularly gentle tone, “What would it be, Little Violet?”

Violet blinked and looked up at Hodgins. The last drop spilled from her eyes.

“If, only if... there comes a time when you will quit the postal company and start doing something else...”

“Hm.”

“...please call me. No matter where you are, I will rush to you.”

“Hm.”

“I will definitely be of help... Even if not, should your luggage become too much, please call me when you need someone to carry it for you. I shall hasten to visit you.”

“For real?”

“Yes. I, too, will carry President’s luggage. You should know it. I am strong.”

“Huhu, yep, definitely. One day, you’ll understand what I mean by ‘luggage’. Hey...”

No one would imagine that a single drop could be the start of something so big. However, it would earn itself great meaning after a while passed. Should it continue pouring, it could also summon boundless blessings and curses.

   “Hiya, I’m Hodgins. What’s your name?”

Silence.

“This kid’s such a taciturn.”

“She... doesn’t have a name yet. She’s an orphan with no education. Can’t talk either.”

“That’s so terrible of you. She’s such a beauty. Just give a name worthy of her.”

   “Little Violet, thanks for meeting me.”

Love was almost like rain.

[marvinswriting]

Meeting  borrower art freaks au

Fuck.

My head hurt so bad.

The world was spinning.

I'm gonna die.

I know that much.

I think I sprained my ankle.

I'm not stupid. Weeks without water, proper food, or shelter doesn't bode well. 

Has it even been weeks?

Maybe its only been days.

I don't know anymore.

"Janis, while you were borrowing we came to a conclusion."

"What conclusion, Regina? Did I do something wrong?"

I laugh bitterly to myself at the memory. It was slowly becoming day as I pushed myself through the tall grass. A new day, with the sky turning beautiful blues with some pink far off. Just like the day my roommates kicked me out.

"We think you're a lesbian. We can't live with a lesbian. What if you do something?"

That accusation made me feel dirty. I'm twelve, why would I even think of something like that? It didn't matter to Regina. 

"Gretchen and Karen agree. You need to leave. It shouldn't be too hard to find a new house."

Regina was my childhood friend. We were taught how to borrow together. Everything I learned Regina learned too. We found Karen and Gretchen together, we picked a house to live in together. I've never been alone before.

Until now. 

My stomach growls, it feels like its caving in on itself. 

My throat is dry but I know better than to drink from the dew on the grass. 

I'm following a fence. Don't know how long I've been but I am.

I need to lean on the white painted wood to walk.

My movement is sluggish and my limbs are heavy. 

My ankle is killing me.

Birds fly overhead and I freeze. If one of them were to swoop down I'd be done for. 

I don't have the weapons to fight back, let alone the energy. 

The fence ends.

Where do I go now?

There are two houses. Neither looks appealing. Besides, how would I find a way in?

Regina and I got lucky last time.

I'm out of house hunting practice.

I just want to lay down.

The word sways again. I'm gonna die.

I know a lot of borrowers don't live till old age. But I always thought I'd at least make it to my teenage years.

The sky is total blue at this point. The night time creatures are gone for the night but I don't feel safer.

There's a willow tree in front of me, I don't see it through the grass but its flower clumps are scattered around. 

Are they edible?

I don't test it.

Maybe it'd be easier to just give in to the exhaustion.

To fall asleep and not wake up.

Maybe an animal will find me. 

Maybe a human will and I'll be an internet craze for a bit as people try and debate what I am.

I push a clump of grass to the side. The tree.

It's huge, as most things are to me. I look up, ignoring the way the world spins, at the trunk that seems to go up for miles. There's moss at the base of the tree, in between the roots. 

I give into the exhaustion and sit down. It's soft. 

I lay on my side letting my eyes close.

I've reached the point of fatigue where my eyes burn when I close them. I squeeze them shut anyway. 

My body seems to catch onto the fact that I've given up.

Everything is numb, I don't even feel my ankle anymore.

"I'm sorry this had to happen, Janis."

No, you weren't, Regina. My health was never your priority. 

My limbs feel heavy as the need for sleep sets in. 

The rustling of plants around me is almost calming.

My brain is no longer worried about what caused the noise, or what potential danger I could be in. 

The calm I felt should be worrying. 

It wasn't.

There were footsteps. Not heavy ones like humans. Like a borrower.

Oh cool. I feel like that should connect in my brain, warn me of danger, tell me to get up and fight, but it doesn't. I don't have anything world stealing. If they want to kill me, they can.

The footsteps seem to walk past before halting. "Hello?"

Its a boy. He sounds young. Maybe my age. 

I don't respond. 

I don't even move.

"Are you okay?"

No.

I don't say it though.

I don't want to de, I've just accepted the fact. 

I'm alone. My roommates kicked me out. My childhood best friend though I was a creep who would do something. Just the thought of the memory makes me curl in on myself tight.

The movement from me is all mystery boy needs to know I'm alive.

"Do you need help?"

He's walking closer.

I don't respond.

I can feel myself drifting into sleep. I don't think I could move if I tried. 

There's a muffled hello?

Is this what dying feels like?

It's peaceful. 

Arms are scooping underneath me, lifting me up. 

I can't fight it.

I don't try to.

The boy is warm. 

I'm cold.

This feels nice.

-

The first continuous thought I have is, I'm not fucking dead.

Too much pain to feel dead. Everything is sore. My head hurts.

My eyes are still shut.

I don't try and open them yet.

I try and remember what the fuck was going on.

Regina cut me out.

She made it clear I wasn't wanted.

I was left for dead.

That boy-

I sit up suddenly, my hand shooting to my head in a vain was to stop the world from spinning. I was in a bedroom. The matchbox underneath me was soft and the room looked decently lived in. 

Was I- in the boy's house?

Did he save me?

He didn't have to. 

"Hello?" I called out tentatively.

My voice sounded as awful as I felt. I froze, listening. Footsteps approached the room as a boy with brown hair stepped in. He looked my age, maybe older. 

"You're awake." He states. It's not a question but there's disbelief in his voice like he unsure it'd happen. "I'm Damian."

"Janis." I say, watching Damian hoover in the doorway. Was he scared of me? Or did he not want to scare me?

"You were unconscious for just under a week," Damian explains stepping into the room. "It's about eleven at night right now, sixth day."

Six days?

No wonder he was surprised to see me awake.

"Oh," I say softly. We kinda just glance at each other for a while. Damian's hair falls slightly over his eyes. His clothes look well taken care of, which is a sign of living pretty well as a borrower. I used to look like that. I probably look like a fucking mess now.

Damian coughed awkwardly. "Well, I gotta go borrow now. I'll make it quick but in the meantime feel free to explore around the area. I'd stick close with that ankle of yours though."

That ankle?

I watch as Damian leaves without waiting for a response. It's quiet for a while, and I just lay there.

Why did Damian make sure I was okay? 

He could have just walked away and let me die.

I swing my legs over the side of the bed and I'm instantly reminded why Damian mentioned my ankle. 

I hiss, immediately lifting the pressure off it. 

It's banged which- it definitely wasn't before.

I only knew this boy for five minutes but- if he didn't have good intentions- then why go through all this to make sure I'm okay?

I leave the bedroom, using the wall to support the other half of my weight.

Damian is right, I don't make it far before collapsing on a chair in what looks to be the kitchen/storage area. I was still concerned about Damian's motives, but I wasn't exactly nervous. 

Why not just leave me for death if you don't care.

I sit in silence for a while, the sounds outside the walls and occasional creak keeping me company.

It's been a while since I've been inside. Damian's space was about the same size as my old one. But he lived alone and I lived with four other girls. 

"I'm back!" A voice calls.

"In here," I say. I can talk easier now.

Damian enters the room. "Ankle okay? I didn't want to mess with it too much before you woke up. It felt weird to like-" He turns up is palms but I get what he's saying.

I was unconscious and he was a stranger.

"Thank you," I say softly. 

Damian nods and begins unpacking his supplies. "Ever since I've found you, I've had one question. What happened to you? You're clearly dressed as you lived comfortably. So how do you end up on the verge of death at the base of a weeping willow?"

I shrug. A total stranger doesn't need my sob story. I can tell him later if it comes to it. "Long story short, I was house hunting. Roommates decided they didn't need roommates anymore. After almost a year together. It was sudden and I wasn't prepared to be outside with no food or water."

Damian's mouth forms an 'o' but he doesn't say anything. He silently passes me what I think is part of a grape from where he was cutting food. "Well, if you want- and feel free to say no, you can stick around here for a while. At least till that ankle heals. I wouldn't mind a roommate, it gets quiet around here. Even if it's temporary."

"Until my ankle heals." I agree.

-

I smile at the newly placed bed. 

After four months of carefully dancing around the topic of if I'll be staying, Damian and I finally agreed to officially be roommates. I bounce on my toes, ankle fully healed, as Damian pushes the matchbox into place.

"Ta-da!"

"Yes!" I cross the room, throwing my arms around his neck. "Thank you."

Damian ug me back, his arms squeezing around my sides. "Of course. I'm glad to officially have a new roommate."

Even in four months, Damian has shown me more love and support then Regina had done since birth. The second my ankle was healed we started borrowing together. The arguments and tension I had borrowing with my old roommates was gone.

Damian could do a simple wave of his hand and I knew exactly what he meant.

I hug him tighter. "No, really. Thank you."

fun fact: i was writing this while giving bear ides for her most recent fic @realmisspolarbear @smallsoysauce @musicallygt @sourishlemons

[stellar-alley]

•The One With The Monster•

Hey guys! Just a little warning before this chapter starts, I will be touching on religion, but it is in no way accurate and I am not trying to offend anyone in any way. This is all simply for the story, so if I say anything please do not take offence.

Also: This story is based on the song Monster by Dodie, so if you'd like to listen to it while reading then it can help set the mood.

Enjoy!

~

"So what are we going to do with him?" The arc angel glances over at his associate.

"Well, I suppose we could always assign him to an unsolvable case, someone who can not be saved. That way he will stay on earth forever" The lower level angel suggested.

"We could always assign him to-" The arc angel tapped a name the list he held with his index finger.

"Hm... Good choice. A demon he's bound to fall in love with, he will be gone within a decade. Clever" She smirked at him.

"Would you like for me to inform him? Or shall I?" He asked as she shook her head.

"Oh no don't you worry, I will tell the boy about his new and permanent position"

(Basically, our little angel was just assigned a case to a demon where he'd inevitably fall in love and die, all because they couldn't accept that he was gay)

~

Tell me again about how it hurts

"Okay... Eddie please, just tell me again how much it hurts" Richie leaned forward to cup Eddie's face with his hand. The shorter boy pushed him away. Suddenly Eddie was up and of the bed, pulling at the ends of his hair as pain flashed through his eyes.

"I-It feels like someone stabbed me in the back with a needle and I can feel the fucking venom spread through my system. Like roots of a fucking weed growing" He hissed.

Shit... This is what I was worried about

Being awfully loud for an introvert

There was a moment where Richie didn't speak, he just let Eddie rage.

Eddie sat down on the edge of the bed, practically hugging himself, with blank eyes and an emotionless face, "God, I can feel it seeping into my blood" he sighed. "Rich... Baby, what's happening to me?" Eddie's fear-filled voice cracked as his eyes grew watery.

Richie couldn't even meet his gaze as he muttered a guilt-filled, "E-Eddie... I'm so, so sorry".

Eddie's brow scrunches together, he tilted his head like a confused puppy. "Richie... what did you do?".

~

Richie moved out of his family's house at the young age of 22. His parents were very reluctant to let him live on his own, worried that he'd somehow spill the family secret, start the next set of witch trials or something. He was a demon after all. He loved Maggie and Wentworth with his entire heart, but as Panic At The Disco once said, if you love me let me go.

He wasn't a monster, neither were his parents. They were just two angels in love who made a wrong choice, so of course, they were thrown down to earth, banished. And heaven forbid there be any angels on earth that aren't guarding a human, so Maggie and Wentworth there stripped of their white angelic feathers and gifted new ones, darker ones.

Still, they were just as magical, just as magnificent. Long and elegant,  they shimmered like the dark night sky. Their wings only came out when they wanted them to, unfurling like a red carpet being rolled out, it was one of the best feelings in the world to Richie. But if not then they just kinda went poof, disappearing. Although they would have to let their wings out at least once a week or else they'd wake up with major back pains. Sometimes Richie would even do it subconsciously in his sleep, he'd wake up from a nightmare and he'd just be curled up in his own dark wings. It was oddly comforting. When they went full dark angel, they had the wings as well as small black horns that would peak out through Richie's equally as dark curls. There were also dark eyes and sharp fangs.

There were other things that came with being a demon. They had magical powers, to a certain extent, they could make things happen, some call it miracles. Oh and also if they were to lash out and lose control, one would be able to see their pointy fangs and blood-red eyes. Richie had always been in love with his demon eyes. Their normal brown colour turned to a deep red, and the rest of the whites in his eyes turned black, making him look like a total satanic worshiper. Which they weren't by the way just cause they were demons didn't mean they had to worship the dark lord.

His place was magnificent, to say the least. It was a one-bedroom apartment with a kitchen and living room and just enough space for an office corner. But he made it work. He was only one person after all. He tried to keep everything organized, only half failing, which had surprised even himself. The apartment wasn't messy, he kept the dirty clothes in the hamper and the trash in the bin. Although he did always have a couple of dirty dishes in the sink and way too many papers on his desk, but he didn't mind.

Everything changed about two months after he moved in. He was sitting at his desk, some chill music on the in the background (Fly by Bloodwich to be precise. Recommended by Stan) when he heard something smash and fall from outside in the hallway. Richie waited a moment before he decided to go make sure no one was like... bleeding out on the floor.

Stepping out into the hallway that connected all the apartments, he noticed another male figure. Richie couldn't make out his features as he was crouching down on the floor in front of his door, back towards Richie. The guy had dropped a vase, pieces of porcelain scattered across the floor.

"Shit shit shit! Mom's gonna kill me!" The guy whispered, he frantically tried to collect all the pieces.

Richie knew he could help, alongside his miracle abilities, he also had a little bit of mind control. And he couldn't bear to hear this guy whimper about this damn vase any longer. He was going to command the guy to back away and he'd miracle the vase back to its original state, then just clean up the boy's memories a little before letting him go, so he wouldn't question the now fixed vase.

Before he gave the command he allowed his eyes to roll back into his head, they reverted back into their demonic state as he commanded, "Stop". Richie's voice stern and deep, it always got that way when he commanded someone to do something.

The boy froze.

"What?" He suddenly jumped up from his position on the floor. Richie wiped his eyes away, they changed back to their normal brown just as his eyes met the eyes of the other boy's. For a moment he could've sworn that the other's eyes were blue, but not like, blue but blue. A blue that could give the sky and sea a run for their money, a blue that'd make someone have to shield their eyes cause it was so bright. But he blinked just as Richie tried to focus on their colour, and suddenly they were brown, just brown.

"Sorry... I uh... Thought you were my neighbour, they party a lot and I always tell them to shut the fuck up" Richie told a terrible lie. No one on his floor partied, they were the Losers floor after all. He knew how weird he sounded so he quickly kept going, he tried to get rid of the awkward tension. "Sorry about the vase" Richie rubbed anxiously at his neck.

"W-What vase?" The guy asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"The one that broke..." His voice drifted off when he looked over and saw the vase that sat perfectly on the ground beside the other boy's feet. "oh" was all he could say at that moment.

Good going trashmouth. What the fuck just happened?

"I'm Eddie," The guy, who is apparently Eddie, said, forcing the awkwardness away. He stuck out his hand for Richie to shake.

"The name is Tozier, Richie Tozier" He replied and shook Eddie's hand. "Moving in I see?" He motioned to the boxes that line the hallway.

Eddie's eyes went wide for a moment, maybe a moment too long before let out a laugh mixed sigh, "Yeah, this is me" he pointed to the door right across from Richie, the sight caused the trashmouth to smile a little bit more at the thought of having a cute neighbour.

Now that Eddie was no longer crouched on the ground he was finally able to get a good look at him. Eddie was a petite guy, for sure a couple inches shorter then Richie and had a smaller build as well. He had a head of neat chocolate brown hair that flopped into his eyes, which he constantly swatted away, Richie found it adorable. He wore a pastel blood hoodie and black skinny jeans and some nameless runners.

"Welcome to the Losers floor" He said with a wink.

"The what?" Eddie asked.

"The Losers floor, that's our name. You've got me, Richard Trashmouth Tozier, the leader of course" He nods, "Beverly Marsh, the badass" Richie points to the apartment beside his own. "Benjamin Hanscom, the nerd" He points to the farthest room, the one after Bev's. "Mike the animal lover, he has a cat, but don't tell the landlord" Richie smirked, he gestured to the room across from Ben's. "And then there's Bill and Stanley. God, I don't know how they fit two people in that fucking apartment, let alone a god damn bird".

Eddie's eyes went wide at the statement, "A bird?".

"Yeah, Staniel loves them. I think her name is like Alley or something" Both of the boys turn to the camera like it's the office.

He leaned casually against the doorframe to his apartment, "Need a hand with the boxes, Edwardo?" Richie asked.

Eddie had to resist the urge to shoot the nickname down and deny his offer, but he knew that be seeing more of Richie in his life. Eddie was his guardian angel after all (;

~

Eddie was an angel, well he was pretty sure he still was. Eddie always had an enteral battle going on inside of him. They fought over what was right if he should be listening to his lord and saviour or to his heart. He repressed his feelings for centuries, but love always won. Coming out was something. (I don't feel comfortable going into details). But everyone seemed okay with it, sure some hated the idea but everyone liked Eddie. And as luck would have it, a week later he got his first official Guardian placement, Richard Tozier. They'd given him everything he needed, a book full of fake memories and a storyline to follow, it was all set, well... kinda. They basically just gave him the job, no further explanation on why Richie needed to be guarded or anything at all for that matter. They just told him he had 3 days to prepare before being shipped out.

Living on earth was something. But the guys above gave him some books and tips to keep his heavenly side a secret.

Don't fly in the city, don't use your powers unless necessary,  and never, ever tell your person about your secret.

All they said was don't fly in the city, they never told him he couldn't just sit in his apartment with his blinds drawn and his wings out, so that's what he did most nights. He had specific shirts and hoodies with little slits in the back so his wings could come and go with ease. Sometimes he'd just opt to sit shirtless on his couch while watching Will and Grace reruns.

With no knowledge of what he needed to guard Richie against, Eddie simply chose to be the friendly neighbour that was always there to help. But then he realized how dreadfully annoying Richie can be, and then their iconic banter began. But during all of their arguments and bickering, a spark was lit. The two went from friendly neighbours to each other best friends. They'd developed countless traditions that were carried out throughout the week, Taco Tuesday, well that was just the day they went to eat at Burrito Gringo. There were also Sunday laundry nights, where they'd spend countless hours in the creepy basement laundry room laughing their asses off about some random ass shit since anything was hilarious after 1 am. Although on Mondays, both of the boys always seemed to be oddly busy. Maybe it's because these are the days when they both hiked to different parts of the city, heading deep into the forest, away from civilization before letting their wings out and taking flight.

Around the one-year anniversary of Eddie moving in, Richie had no doubt in his mind about 2 things. 1) That he was head over heels for Eddie fucking Kasbrak, and 2) that said Eddie fucking Kaspbrak was also an angel. How did he know this? Well, the first day the two met, Eddie literally miracle-d the vase with shiny blue eyes. These eyes were not only a one-time occurrence, sometimes when Eddie laughed a little too hard, the times he got a little bit too embarrassed, or when he sneezed too hard, or if Richie's touch lingered a little bit too long on Eddie's body, they'd appear. Even though it was always only for a moment, blink and you'll miss them, Richie always noticed. And one day when Richie was walking home from the radio station he may or may not have noticed that he could see perfectly into Eddie's apartment. From there, he watched the short boy grow angelic wings from his fucking back. So, yeah Richie kinda knew Eddie was an angel.

He never brought it up, for various reasons. Richie knew a lot about demons but he also knew his fair share about angels, and he knew that if word got out to the people above about someone knowing Eddie's secret, he'd be in deep shit.

Even though the trashmouth knew what he saw, he could practically feel the angelic powers pour out of his little angel, but he didn't want to face the facts. He didn't want to believe that the boy he loved was an angel. They could probably be together, to hell with the sides! They'd make it work... But then came the inevitable, the biggest thing that stood in their way. Something everybody knew.

An angel and a demon could never share a kiss. It was a curse put upon the first angel and demon who fell in love, all those years ago. The curse states that when the two opposing creatures kiss, the being of light will lose their spark, it will go dark, they will go dark. Basically it means that Richie was to kiss Eddie, Eddie would lose his wings, and he'd turn into the same beast that Richie was. Or even worse, Eddie could die, if he wasn't able to survive the turn.

So Richie suppressed everything, his thoughts, his ideas, his feelings. Anything that could lead to having a crush on Eddie was shoved into a box and stuffed into his metaphorical closet. He wouldn't allow himself to be the reasoning behind Eddie's banishment, he couldn't... Richie wouldn't be able to live with himself if he knew that he was the reason his little angel was turned dark. So he made a vow to never kiss Eddie.

So Eddie kissed Richie instead.

~

It had been officially one year and one month since Eddie moved in across the hall from Richie, and it has been exactly one month since the two started dating. Richie was the first one to make a move, he was reluctant since he couldn't kiss Eddie, but he could see the yearning in his angel's eyes and he really just wanted to be happy, to make Eddie happy. That's all he ever wanted.

So he gave in. Eddie confessed his feelings one night after Richie's failed attempt at a tinder date with some asshat named Connor. Eddie spilled his guts out about since the first time he saw Richie in the hallway, he has been living on this high, the feeling that he only got when he was with Richie. And that feeling gave him life. What Richie didn't know was that the life Eddie was feeling was the feeling of finally living. He was doing what he wanted, on his own terms, with the man he loved. That night forward they were officially boyfriends.

Eddie found it kind of odd that they didn't share their first kiss after they both confessed their true feelings. Instead, once Richie finished spilling his guts, he simply wrapped Eddie up in his arms and the two held each other, their hearts beating as one. That night they slept together, no sex, just being wrapped up in each other's arms was enough. And Eddie was okay with that.

~

It was just another morning that the demon and the angel had woken up together. Eddie had woken up first. To no surprise, he found his limps were tangled up with Richie's. But once the demon had woken up, the two sat facing each other in bed for a while. Until Eddie practically jumped on Richie, cupping his face and kissing his lips.

Richie was left in shock. They'd kissed. And it was amazing. There was only a single moment where Richie's mind burst at the thought of their lips touching, but instead, he drowned it out by passionately kissing Eddie back. Eddie had pushed Richie onto his back, playing with his hair as the made out on the bed, that's when Eddie jackknifed off of Richie. That's when he started to turn, and that's where we are now.

~

"Eds, baby I'm so sorry. I should've told you sooner" Eddie snapped his head to face Richie. His angel eyes were showing, and they were blazing like a roaring fire. The flames so burning hot that they turned sky blue.

"What the hell did you do?!" He hissed, anger and confusion laced his voice.

Richie could barely let out a stuttery, "I-I'm..." that's when he let his eyes roll back. With regret he let his demon eyes roll forward, he hoped it would be more than enough of a response.

His blue eyes snapped open wider than ever, "Y-You!" he shrieked. Eddie went to stand and get the fuck out but before he knew it, he'd stumbled over his own feet and landed on the carpeted floor of Richie's bedroom. With the pain that radiated through his body, he felt something, stress relieved from his shoulders, but now there was more weight on them than usual. His wings. Eddie curled up, the pain simply had more space to cover.

Richie slid out of his bed and shuffled over to Eddie. "Please can I just-"

"No, NO! Get away from me" Eddie backed away, "You demon fucker, you did this to me" he hissed. Hastily he got to his feet,  he stumbled out of the room.

Get out of my room, smile wiped clean Isn't it weird to be so mean?

Eddie had sworn Richie out countless times, but nothing stung as badly as the words that just slipped out of his mouth. He couldn't even begin to imagine the pain Eddie was going through. The guys below always described it as the feeling of what it's like to burn in the deep pits of hell. But the least he could do was make sure Eddie didn't have to go through this alone.

He marched into the main area of his apartment where he spotted Eddie had sprawled out over the couch. The demon moved quickly to crouch down beside Eddie. The angel's eyes were in a half-open stat, but once they caught sight of Richie they reverted back to their blue shocked look. But now they were focused on something just above Richie's eyes.

I'm guessing that I've grown horns I guess I'm human no more I can tell I've rotted in your brain

"Oh... Sorry. This happens sometimes" He smirked down at the shorter boy. His hands wandered up to brush up against the small horns that had appeared in his dark curls.

The shorter boy was hugging himself, the pain pounding in his head. "I can't believe you'd do this to me. Turn me... Make me into a monster" Eddie breathed breath after breath, each word filled with a hatred that was new to the both of them, and Richie hated every moment of it.

Oh, how easily passion twists You think I'm a crazy bitch I craft my words to fit your head 'Cause no one listens to the dead

"You think I wanted to do this? Do you think I wanted to turn the fucking love of my life into the same thing that haunts me? The thing that looms over my fucking head every goddamn day of my life? Eddie I always wanted what was best for you, that's why I joke and I play and I never let you in because I didn't want to get close. I didn't want to feel anything for you but I couldn't" Richie's emotions were about to overflow when he realized the amount of stress that sat on his back. So with a roll of his kneck and a stretch of his arms, he allowed his pitch-black demonic wings to magically roll out behind him.

If Eddie's eyes could grow bigger then they already were, then they did. "LIES! That's all your kind does. It's all been lies, and to think I fell in love with a fucking spawn of satan".

The words burned like a slab of meat over an open flame. There was one way that Richie knew he could capture Eddie's attention, grab his attention by the balls and tell him what's what.

So maybe I will talk to you The only way I know how to I've said my speech through sharpened teeth

"Edward mother fucking Kaspbrak. Do you think, that I would spend over a year, lying to my dumbass neighbour just to turn him? 365 days, 8760 hours, 525600 fucking minutes, all so hell could have one more damned demon? Eds, Eddie, light of my life, I never, ever, planned on turning you" Richie's voice was stern and serious. It was something that was new for Eddie. He couldn't help but notice the fact that Richie's teeth had sharpened into fangs, poking out from behind his lips as he spoke. They must have unconsciously lengthed as his emotions grew stronger.

Although he wasn't focused on Richie's new way of talking. He was focused on the words, the phrase he just said. Light of my life. A direct quote from The Shinning, the same words Jack Torrance told his wife Wendy during the climax of the movie. It was their safe word, the phrase they said when something was happening when they needed help, when they needed each other. If something was happening and the other needed help, no questions asked. Suddenly everything became so much more serious to Eddie.

Eddie curled deeper in on himself, with closed eyes, and a weal voice, he wept, "Then why am I dying".

Richie's dark heart broke at the sight of his boyfriend who crumbled before him. "oh... Spaghetti" He muttered, collapsing beside him, throwing his arms around the angel. "I-I'm gonna figure this out".

With that declaration, the two stayed like that for a while, Eddie curled on the couch with his wings behind him with Richie's arms wrapped around him. Their foreheads pressed against each other's. Richie's wings even lowered down and wrapped around the angel. When the dark wings touched the lighter ones, it was like the first time their hands brushed up against each other. It sent a shiver up both of their spines.

Eddie's body had almost grown used to the pain, it was numbing, his body ached, but the feeling of Richie's touch made everything just a little bit better. As much as Eddie wanted to be mad about this, it was Richie's fault, deep down Eddie knew his boyfriend didn't mean it.

The angel felt the demonic presence that cuddled against him shift and move, followed by the all too familiar 'Click' sound of Richie's phone turning on. He tilted his head upwards and saw Richie's head was perched on top of his own while he scrolled through the contacts on his phone. "Seriously rich? Ruining our moment? I'm literally dying you asshole" Eddie's voice had a little less pain and some more confusion mixed in there, and maybe even a little laughter.

The demon's lips turned into a little smirk. He slowly slipped off of the other, "I've got this angel, just give me a moment. Don't die!" He hollered whilst he walked into the other room.

Richie had his parents on speed dial and the phone rang three times before they answered. He cut to the chase and asked what to do if an angel was turning. Of course, Maggie informed him that there's nothing he can do, the change will most likely kill the angel.

Richie's voice came out sounding way too chirpy for the situation he was in, "hmm, no. My angel won't be dying today. So we need another way".

There was a sudden muffled sound, followed by a very quick argument of few words before Wentworth picked up the phone, "Son? yeah, I'll call you if I find anything until then, keep the angel awake and alive. Love you son" and the line went dead.

You break the rules and spikes grow from your skin

Eddie had heard the stories, every angel knew them. The ones of the curse and what it's done to the angels that were stupid enough to fall for a damned demon. But for some reason, Eddie knew that deep down he would've kissed Richie again if he had the chance to go back, he'd do it again and again, no matter what the cost. Because deep down he knew that this boy.... this demon, was the only person Eddie truly ever felt this way about. He's never cared about anyone the same way he cared about Richie, it was love.

The angel could sense the demon when he re-entered the room. At that same moment, another jolt of pain shot into his body. This time it started at his lower back and spread like roots to a virus up his back.

"H-Holy shit" Eddie's eyes snapped up to meet Richie's, worry washed over him when he noticed that the demon's face had gone as white as a ghost.

"What? Rich, what is it?" he questioned. Richie stared in shock as black veins slowly kept up the back of Eddie's neck. They edged their way up to his neck and into his wings. They trained the whites of his wings as they. It seeped into the feathers and kept growing, black spikes in a world of white.

"Eddie, hey, sweety, trust me okay? It looks bad, I won't lie. But we're gonna beat this, you and me" Richie's voice was reassuring, but Eddie still needed to see what was happening. He rapidly sat up, ignoring the pain that it caused. He moved towards the full-length mirror Richie had proper up against the wall in his living room.

His voice was weak, only able to let out a soft "No....". Richie stood behind him, which was good since Eddie basically collapsed after seeing himself, the shock had overtaken his body.

Please let the devil in

Richie, of course, caught his boyfriend. He cradled the boy in his arms, softly stroking his hair while he wept into his sweater. The apartment was silent, the only sound to be heard was the soft sobs and sniffles that the angel.... that Eddie let out as Richie held him close.

A meter apart, we blankly stare

The demon wasn't that strong so at one point he had to slowly lower himself and the boy who laid in his arms to the ground. That's where they laid for a while. The pain pulsed through Eddie's body which caused the tears to keep falling. Richie held him tight, one hand holding the other's while the other would run through Eddie's hair, in slow calming motions. The two laid on the kitchen floor, Richie's back was leaning against the counter for support. Both of their wings were sprawled out everywhere as they laid together.

After countless minutes, Eddie's weeping stopped, so did the rising and falling of his chest as he breathed. "Eds?" Richie asked, voice low. When he was left with no response he asked again. "Eddie?". Now worry filled his face as he turned his boyfriend over to see his face had gone soft, eyes closed, lips slightly parted. "HEy, Eddie, Eddie?"

We shout in our heads, "Are you still in there?"

"no, no, NO... no" Richie winned, he ran his hands along Eddie's body. He moved his index finger and his middle finger along the boy's neckline, he tried to find a pulse, anything. But there were no signs of life.

Well, this ends bad then, we knew it would

"It can't end like this... I-I won't let it".

The sound of his phone ringing cut through the air like a knife. He grabbed his phone from his pocket, he smashed the answer button when he realized it was his father who was calling. "What?" His voice came out weak, hopeless even.

"Son... Blood" His father sounded out of breath. "A demon's blood can change him, bring him back".

"What? Dad, no... No, I can't turn him, h-he's an angel"

"Richie, either you turn him or he dies. You don't want him to die, do you?" The question made something snap deep within the demon. He knew what his dad was doing by the tone in his voice. He'd used it in the past to manipulate Richie, not in a bad way, but he needed it right now. His dad knew he wouldn't want to lose Eddie, so he left him no choice.

"Fine" Richie hissed, he clicked the end call button before dropping his phone.

So we won't eat our words, 'cause they don't taste good

(Mild blood warning)

The demon slowly moved his boyfriend off of him and laid him carefully onto the cool tile floor beneath them. Richie moved quickly through his kitchen, he got one of the various knives from a drawer before he took a seat again beside Eddie.

"Okay... Eddie, I'm so sorry" Richie apologized again for the 100th time. He took his own hand and with the knife, he made a clean cut across his palm. The demon hissed, fangs poking out from his mouth, at the pain.

Before he could change his mind, the demon carefully picked up his boyfriend's hand from where it sat on his chest. He studied it for a moment, examing the soft skin against his. He shook his head, cleared his mind. It was hard, his hand began to shake the moment he gripped the knife.

Just do it. He thought.

"I love you," He said as the knife drew blood.

The moment he was done with the knife he let it clatter to the ground. Instead, he put Eddie's hand in his, pushing their cuts together in hopes that enough blood would enter the boy's system for this cult-like ritual to work.

He held their hands together, he pressed his lips up against the back of Eddie's hand, and just held them.

Eddie's eyes snapped open. His heart beat strong and hard inside his chest. He looked over and saw Richie, a demon, his demon. He held their hands together to his chest, his head tilted downwards.

His voice was weak, tiered from the aches and pains, "Rich..." he whispered.

The demon's head jolted upwards. He was overwhelmed by emotions, he's alive. A smile spread across his lips as he let out a small, "Eds".  Without missing a beat he jumped at him, wrapping him in his arms and hugging him.

The sudden action caught the former angel by surprise. "H-Hey... It's good to see you too trashmouth".

Tears began to fall from Richie's eyes, unable to hold back his emotions any longer. He slowly let go and moved to face his boyfriend, "I, thought you were dead. You flatlined" he looked into Eddie's eyes and suddenly his face fell a little.

The angel's eyes were still blue, but there were no whites to them. They were actually similar to Richie's, which he loved. The only difference was that instead of red, it was blue, and everything else was pitch black.

Eddie noticed immediately and mirrored his emotions, fear, and worry. Which Richie caught on to and quickly changed this up, "I have something to tell you". Eddie simply responded with a small nod, "So you know the curse right?".

"Of course, everyone does".

"Exactly. So, uh... Yeah we kissed, and you almost- um, ya know... died. But I brought you back! You're here now, and you're alive. But y-you aren't the same" He glanced away, unable to meet his gaze, suddenly ashamed of his red and black demonic eyes. "I-I guess it's better if I show you".

Richie slowly got to his feet and helped Eddie to stand, the boy's legs were a little wobbly but he wrapped an arm around Richie's waist for support as he led the shorter boy towards the mirror. What stood before him sent a little shiver down Eddie's spin. He looked into his new eyes, the blue he was used to seeing remained the same, but instead of the normal white that usually surrounded them was replaced with a black as dark as night. The darkness grew wide for a second, his eyes stared at himself in shock. His wings had changed as well, the black veins were now gone, and so were the white feathers he knew so well. Although his wings weren't black like Richie's (Which Eddie kinda found dark and sexy), his new wings were a silver-grey, they shimmered under the light, slightly changing as he moved and tilted his body.

I'm guessing that I've grown horns I guess I'm human no more

The no longer angel noticed something else. Little spikes poking up through his brown messy hair. The little horns felt smooth to the touch.

"I'm so sorry Eddie. I never meant for any of this to happen" Richie kept his eyes on his hand, where the cut had already healed.

"Richie... We could've never been together before. An angel and a demon? That's insane, totally against every rule, on both sides" His voice was stern, anger slowly building up as he went on. It all changed within a moment, "But I'm not an angel anymore..." His voice drifted off a moment before Richie realized what he meant. The dark-haired boy stared wide-eyed at his boyfriend,  not 100% sure what was going to happen. His heart began to flutter. Then the smile he's grown to love spread over Eddie's lips, even going up to his demonic eyes.

"So it's just you and me now" Without missing a beat, Eddie closed the gap between Richie and himself, he moved his hand to grab the collar of Richie's shirt before he pulled him down towards him and kissed him.

~

"So what now?" Richie asked his boyfriend, who's head was leaned against his chest as the two laid together in Richie's bed after a hot and intense makeout session. It left both of them sweaty and speechless. The power that the two shared was something neither of them had ever felt before, leaving them both a little mad that they hadn't done it sooner.

Two ugly creatures, two sinister preachers

"Well... Now that we're two ugly creatures, two sinister preachers" The jokes rolled off his tongue. Richie could get used to these demon themed jokes.

Blind to the past, like a couple of monsters

The newly deemed demon rolled over to lay propped up on his elbows, facing Richie. "Rich there's one thing I know for sure. Heaven can't get to me, and I have a feeling Hell can't get to you". Eddie hadn't a clue about Richie's past, but he knew he'd find out sooner or later since they were in this mess together. Two separate sparks that by some miracle collided, creating something amazing.

"So it looks like it's just us..." Eddie's voice drifts off.

"You and me" Richie confirms.

"Us, together" The two smiled at that thought, "Just a couple of monster".

~

Word count: 6119

D A M N

Guys, I'm pretty sure this is the longest chapter/oneshot I've ever written. I had so much fun writing this chapter! Exploring their backgrounds and giving the whole angel x demon thing a go, and I really enjoyed it, I hope you guys did too!

As I said this chapter is based on the song Monster by Dodie. I knew the moment I listened to this song that there was some deeper story behind the lyrics and I needed to bring it to life.

Anyways that's all for me! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, and don't forget to like and comment, it shows that you like my work and encourages me to keep writing.

Until next time

so long and goodnight.

[ellana-ravenwood]

Salt, Tequila, Lemon - Jason Todd x Reader

Please read this intro, thank you very much :  

So. I posted this yesterday, but after a bug on the Tumblr app on my phone it got deleted. I’m super bummed out because it had over 200 notes and quite a few feedbacks that I never got to read because it was accidentally deleted...If the people that took the time to comment things on the story could take a bit more time to write a little comment again and give me their feedbacks, and also if the people that liked and reblog could do it once more...i’d appreciate the hell out of you <3.  So reposting it (thanks god I always have back ups of all my stories now). Written in twenty minutes during my break at work. Bam. Hope you’ll like it :

Also, since Tumblr’s new guidelines and enforcement of it, I DON’T really appear in searches anymore, so the only way for this story to be seen by others than those who follow me is to reblog it. So if you wanna, you can show your support for my writing by doing just that. Thanks very much. You can find my masterlist here : @ella-ravenwood-archives

_________________________________________________

Ok. So. Grandma’s remedy against heartbreak ? Oh, right. 

Salt. Tequila. Lemon. 

Got it. Licking the back of your hand to make the salt stick to it, you pour yourself a massive shot of “To-Kill-Ya” in your coffee mug, not even caring about the fact that there is still some remnant of your cappuccino from last night in it. 

You focus on the sound the liquid makes as it fills your cup. Makes you think about something else. Good. Yup. This was totally gonna help right now. 

“Cheers”, you exclaim to yourself, your empty apartment echoing your voice. 

Salt. 

Wincing. Stingy. Salt on its own is gross. 

Tequila. 

More wincing. Oh my god, it burns. The coffee that was still at the bottom of the cup is an oddly nice touch. 

Lemon. 

The last of the Wincing. 

You spit the piece of lemon you just bit into in the trash and…miss. The yellow fruit falls with a little flat sound on the floor, and you honestly can’t bother to pick it up. Your apartment is a mess anyway, so you just stare at it angrily and pour yourself another drink. 

Salt. Tequila. Lemon. 

You gulp the last of the citrus and shiver. Miss the trash again. 

Damn. This was good. 

Well, actually, it was disgusting. 

You didn’t like strong alcohol and what the Hell ?! Why did you leave a bit of coffee in your cup ? Now that the aftertaste was kicking in, it was actually really gross. If the tequila itself didn’t make you wanna throw up, the stale coffee taste nearly did. Oh, and the salt and lemon combination was as awful as ever. 

You really didn’t like salt, tequila, or lemon. 

But it was still good. 

Because thanks to all this immediate awfulness, you could slowly feel yourself drift into “haze land”, and forget about your worries. 

Forget that your boyfriend of two years just cheated on you with some random woman you worked with. Woman that, by the way, he met at the Christmas “end of the year” party from you work you invited him to…You gave him free champagne and mise-en-bouche and all your love, and he broke your heart. 

It wasn’t your thing, to drink your sorrow away. And it wasn’t your thing either to wallow because of a man…But you genuinely thought he was “the one” (oh what a mistake you would soon realize that was). 

He was always so nice, treating you like a princess. He complimented you daily, and never forgot an important date. He was affectionate, not to an annoying point. He was the perfectamount of affectionate. He was a gentleman and seemed to love you and yet, he betrayed you. 

If a man like him, that was nothing short but sweet and passionate with you, cheated on you, then did that mean you couldn’t trust anyone ? 

Because in your eyes right now, he was perfect. Albeit said eyes were slightly clouded by a a few tequila shots. 

You were downing a fourth drink starting to slowly sob when…

There’s very few things that can get you out of a drunk state in seconds. 

An extremely cold shower could do the trick, for instance. Brings you back to your senses a bit you know ? You wouldn’t magically be sober, but you’d get a clearer mind. Or someone giving you shocking news ! Or like, an event so incredible that your body just forgets how drunk it is for a minute. 

And this event, for you, came at the perfect time. 

Right when you were entering your “sad drunk” phase, which was between the “lol alcohol does NOTHING to me” phase where you downed most of your drinks, and the “dancing on the bar’s counter” phase (a few more drinks and you would have a one woman dance party in your living room, acting as if you were on a bar’s counter and that your name was suddenly “Britney”).

Right when you were about to wallow times a thousand, and cry, and yell “whyyyyyyy ?!” to the sky, arms in the air (drama queen). 

Years later, looking back on that particular event, you’ll start to realize that Destiny HAS to exist. Because come on, it was just too perfect a timing to be a simple coincidence. 

You were about to swallow up your fifth drink, launching yourself head first into the “sad phase” when an ear shattering noise rang all around your apartment. 

Broken glass. 

It was the sound of broken glass. Heightened to the max by your drunkness. You turned on your stool, and…there he was. 

It was a guy. That you were sure of because he had no boobs and too much pecs. And that guy…well that guy just flew right through your window, destroying it. How rude. 

There was glass everywhere. 

How much did a window cost ? Probably a fortune. 

You wondered briefly if you could just use aluminium foil and tape the shit up. There was nothing of value to steal in your apartment anyway, and if aluminium foil could keep meals warm, it definitely worked with a house too right ? 

You sobered up quite a bit, but you were also very drunk when this event happened, so your mind was still in that cloudy weird phase where your priorities were…interesting. 

You worried more about the broken window at first, than about that guy who just launched through it. 

A guy. 

Not just any guy. 

You saw that guy before. 

He was one of those night vigilante your crazy hometown was filled with…RED HOOD !! 

“Thick thighs”, is the first thing you thought right after you recognized him (priorities). 

The second thing you thought was that you needed another drink, and so you downed what was your fifth one, but with that crazy thing happening ended up being on the same level as if it was a second one. You were tipsy, but not “drunk” anymore. 

The third thing that came to your mind was…Is he still alive ? 

No cause, he was like, just laying there, on your living room’s floor, not moving. 

“…Outch.” 

Oh. He spoke. 

So he ain’t dead. Good, means you can have another drink then, you don’t need a clear mind to call an ambulance or something. 

Oddly enough, in your half-drunk half-sober state, this sounded completely reasonable. Nevermind if Red Hood had some internal bleeding or something. He talked. He was probably fine. 

A minute passed, and you just sat there, sipping up your tequila in between taking a pinch of salt and biting into a piece of lemon. 

Salt, tequila, lemon. Great remedy against heartbreaks. 

Wait, were you heartbroken ? Really ? You couldn’t really recall that fact now. But, yeah…it was the reason why you were drinking right ? Because right now, all you could think about was the fact that this Red hood guy had abs for days…

This unforeseen event sobered you up quite a bit, but the two shots you just took kinda brought you back to the same state than you were before.

Well. Not quite. You were drunk as hell again, but seemed to have avoided the “sad phase”. Instead, Red Hood bursting quite literally through your window took you to another road. 

The : “Cool, I got a drinking buddy phase”. Well, taking for granted he didn’t have any internal bleeding and wouldn’t die while biting into a lemon wedge. 

“Tough day ?” 

You ask him, as he slowly sits up and shakes his head, trying to regain his senses. He looks towards you and seem surprised (or at least you think he is, because he wears a mask so…kinda hard to tell). 

************

Jason definitely thought he was alone in this place, because no sane person would just sit there, not saying anything, as someone simply jumped through their window. Nope, most people would just freak out. Scream. 

He knows, because it’s not the first time he falls through a window during a night on duty. And every single time it happened, people freaked out. Screamed. Threw stuffs at him, or hid away begging for their life to be spared. 

And yet here you were, half a bottle of tequila in front of you, surrounded by lemon wedges you bit into, and table salt all over your hand, just staring at him curiously. And did you just say : “tough day” ?  

Well, Jason guessed the empty half of the bottle was why you were so chilled about it all. He sat up, and slowly got back to his feet. 

Usually, going through a window meant the end of the night for him. He’d go back to one of his secret stash, patch himself up and get some rest. Most of the time, he fell through windows because someone pushed him or threw him there…Though today, he just embarrassingly missed a step and fell by himself. 

Of course, no one would ever now he tripped while jumping from one building to another (you lived on the last floor) and went careening into your home (and life). Nope, the official story would be that he fought a fierce enemy and was thrown into that window. Finding fake villains name was easy, given how truly ridiculous some could be. 

Tim and Damian were still after the “Illusive Blue Man” that he totally made up that one time he walked into a poll and had a huge black eye that he couldn’t quite explain…Oh man, he had to stop telling such elaborate lies and just say “I fought with a few guys last night” without more explanation. 

But he couldn’t help it. And those kids believed everything he said, it was too tempting…But for now, this wasn’t the issue. Nope. 

He did a quick check of his body and knew he wasn’t really hurt (thanks “dad” for the amazing body armor ugh ?), so he was planning on leaving that poor girl’s house and send a mystery check in the mail to pay for the damage (money stolen from a certain Bruce Wayne of course, as if he would pay himself). 

Yup. He was just gonna stand up, and go on his way and…somehow, he found himself sitting on the stool opposite side of this mysterious girl, and now she was peppering salt on his hand ? 

“Salt”, she says, and she has a cute drunk voice. Jason almost forgets he just went through a window a few minutes ago. 

“Tequila”, she continues, downing her drink and pointing at the one she poured him. He doesn’t even care the she poured it in a cereal bowl that she didn’t even seem to have clean…He drunk worst things in worst recipient. He turns away to take off his mask and so that she can’t see his face, and “bottom’s up”. 

“Lemon !” she finishes, biting into the sour fruit and spitting it in the direction of the trashcan but missing completely. The lemon wedge goes to lost itself amongst his fallen brothers…

Jason bites into his own lemons, and spits it. Right into the garbage. 

There’s a slight pause, where she just stares at the trashcan, and then at Jason, back to the trashcan, and then turns to him again and simply says : 

“Wow.” 

************

So. This was surreal. 

Here you were. In your home. Taking tequila shots. With…Red Hood. 

One of Gotham’s night vigilante. The most violent one. But the dude seemed chilled. He was holding his liquor really well. 

And now you were talking about your broken heart, telling him the story as if he’d been your friend for years. And he was listening. Intently. And reacting to what you were saying. It had been a LONG time, since you had this kind of talk with anyone, and despite the fact you were drunk, you still noticed how nice it felt to have someone to talk to. Someone that genuinely listened. 

“And then he slept with her !” you say angrily. 

“Nooooooo !?!” 

“Yes, he did ! He slept with…with…what was her name…”

“Nicole. From accounting.” 

“Right, Nicole from accounting ! That bitch ! She always just…counts and shit ! And he slept with her ! Nicole from accounting ! Whom he met thanks to me, by the way ! At a partyyyy !! At my wooooork !!” 

“What an ass.” 

“Right ?! Oh but he had such a good ass though…Quite firm. But whenever he wore jeans, it was super flat.” 

“So, not such a good ass in the end then ?” 

“I guess not. You have a good ass. Popping right out in this outfit of yours.” 

Red Hood chuckles, and the sound of his laughter makes you forget that you just said something incredibly embarrassing. His voice is…nice. Deep. Manly. You like it. You wanna make him chuckle some more, so you say, hoping : 

“And it looks very firm. Not just quite firm.” 

It works. He snorts and it’s very cute. Oh wow. He can be sexy and cute. Full package. You smile a bit dreamily. 

For a second, he’s lost in that smile of yours, and there’s a silence installing itself in the room. A comfortable one. That you break : 

“Ok. So now, he’s not that perfect anymore ! He got no ass ! Penalty points ! I never notice how un-assed he was before…” 

Jason smiles and damn. He’s hot. 

Somewhere along the way, he stopped turning his face away from you whenever he took a shot, and just ended up taking his helmet off. He was probably hoping that you’d black out or something, so you wouldn’t remember his face (or he just didn’t care). 

In any case, you were pretty sure you never saw him before. His face kinda reminded you of an old memory. Of someone you saw somewhere long ago, when you were a kid…Which wasn’t really a big help right ? 

Right. You had no idea who he was. And in your drunken state, probably couldn’t piece anything together anyway. So even if you did know who he could be, you wouldn’t know in the end anyway…Makes perfect sense right ?

What you knew was : he’s hot. 

This white streak in his hair did something to you that you couldn’t explain. And that jawline ? You would love to get cut on that bitch.  It could actually cut a bitch, you were sure of it. Those blue eyes ? You’ve never seen someone with such blue eyes. And did you mention to yourself how muscular he was ? Because man you only saw guys like this in magazines ! 

But beyond his handsome features, he seemed like a nice guy. Like he was listening to you, a total stranger. And this realization suddenly raised your guard up. 

You also thought that your ex-cheating-boyfriend was a nice guy. And come to think of it, who the hell just barge in someone’s home like that, and actually stay to drink tequila shots ?! Wait but…in your guts…it’s not like with your ex. 

You don’t think he’s a nice guy. You know he is. 

************

There’s a visible shift in your mood, after this realization. So far, you talked to him about your broken heart freely, and he listened. 

Oddly enough, no words that came out of your (perfect) mouth bored him. Jason wasn’t sure wether it was the alcohol or not, but you captivated him. 

But in a split second, and without him knowing why, your features changed. You were now frowning. Like an unhappy little kid. It was kinda cute, but he didn’t like it because…why were you frowning ? 

He tries to lighten up the mood and says : 

“Well here you go. See, you didn’t loose the perfect guy, his ass was flat in jeans. Can’t work with that, can you ? I bet we can find other flaws. Make you realize he actually was a looser.”  

Your guard is up, but you can’t help but smile a bit, plus you were frowning just now because you realized you just knew you could trust that total stranger, and it was so weird…. 

Besides, no harm in indulging this, because you’re pretty sure it’ll make you feel better to try and see the bad side of your ex-boyfriend, not just his good ones. No one was perfect. And so, still a bit careful, you say : 

“Well…He never got any of my Tv shows or movie references.” 

“Well, here’s a point to take off of his “perfectness”. Doesn’t get pop culture references. Deal breaker.” 

“Yeah…Yeah you’re right. It is. He also used to hate when I made jokes. I like puns ya know ? Terrible ones. Well, he was always embarrassed whenever I made them in public.” 

“Ashamed of his girlfriend, doesn’t sound very gentlemanly, right ?” 

“Yeah. It doesn’t. Maybe he wasn’t such a perfect gentleman…He also used to not want to go out with me if I didn’t wear any make-up and was dressed just casually.” 

“What you mean, he never just went out with you ?” 

“We only went out on dates. I had to dress up. I could be casual home though…” 

“Well goodie, the man let you be yourself when you were home. Big deal. To be honest, sounds like a douchey move.” 

“That was kinda douchey…I never cared what he looked like.” 

And it’s true. For you, physical appearance wasn’t everything. And sure you thought your ex was hot and all, but only because you liked his personality too. You liked his jokes, you were never ashamed of anything he said. 

And right now, sure that stranger that bursted through your window was hot, but the reason you felt like you could tell him things was because he just made you comfortable by his mere aura. Because he gave you such a good vibe. 

You never were fully about appearances. It was always just a bonus for you…So it never occurred to you why your ex would only hang out in public with you if you were pampered. Like he used to hate when you just wore hoodies and no make-up, even if you didn’t need make-up to be beautiful. 

Comes to think of it, he was very much about appearances…Uh. Interesting. You never realized that before. 

You turn to Red Hood, and the look on your face says it all. You’re slowly realizing maybe you didn’t just lost “the one”. The vigilante says : 

“Ok, so : no ass, no humor apparently, doesn’t get pop culture references, and was kind of a jerk when it came to going out with you…” 

“He did tell me often that I was beautiful though. Including when I just woke up from a night out, and was awful looking.”

“Yeah, but he never went out with you looking like that. He shouldn’t feel ashamed of hanging out with you looking like that. Just like he shouldn’t feel embarrassed when you joke. He can be exasperated, like if you really make bad puns, sure. And he can think it’s unfunny…But embarrassed ? No.” 

“I guess…I never thought about it.” 

“Well let me tell you, as someone who does not know neither you nor him personally, he sounds like a bit of a jerk. Let’s not forget he cheated as well. Like, that’s not something good people do. Especially not with…Nicole from accounting.” 

“Nicole from accounting…Yeah. They’re together now though.” 

“So ? He should’ve broken up with you if he realized he liked her. That’s the right thing to do. Trust me on that, I put villains behind bars for a living, I know what’s right or wrong.” 

“I heard you kill criminals.” 

“Used to. I used to kill criminals, I had issues. I’ll tell you one day if you wanna. It’s a real tear jerker story. With clowns and crowbars. And I’m telling you that because I’m drunk, right now. Also, if we want to be specific, I don’t actually make a living out of putting villains behind bars. Like, I don’t get paid or anything…” 

Jason finds himself ranting about anything that comes to his mind, and though he hears himself claim it’s because of the alcohol he’s saying all this, he realizes maybe there’s something else making him want to talk. 

You. A total stranger he walked upon. Or rather, went-through-the-window upon.  Who didn’t freak out when he went through said window. And instead, invited him over to have tequila shots. 

Because, according to your grandmother, the best remedy to…basically any problems in life, was “salt, tequila, lemon”. 

“She was a wise woman.” 

He says, and you turn to him, clearly not understanding what he was talking about. 

“Who ?” 

“Your grandma. For saying that salt, tequila and lemon was a great remedy against heartbreaks and all.” 

“Oh. Yeah. I wouldn’t know, I never met her. She died before I was born.” 

“Well what she passed on to your parents is great.” 

“What ?”

“Well, that “salt, tequila and lemon” thing, I assume she said that to your mom or dad, and then they said that to you, and then it became your grandma’s advice. Right ?” 

“…Nah. It’s an excuse I made up. Whenever I need to justify something, I just say “like my grandma said, ain’t no shame in eating an entire tub of ice cream if you want to”, and then people are just like “oh yeah, cool”, because when you say the word “grandma”, then it gives a perspective to your words ya know ?” 

Jason had no idea what you were on about, but he loved it. You seemed to be very smart. And witty. And funny. The hell did that guy cheated on you for ? And why was he ashamed of going out in public with you when you weren’t dressed up ?! 

You currently wore “Hello Kitty” pyjamas, had absolutely no make up on, and your hair was a mess, and he thought you looked gorgeous.

“Why are you so nice ?” 

Your question takes him by surprise, and for a few seconds he doesn’t register it and just says : “ugh ?” 

“To me. Why are you so nice to me ? Is it the alcohol ? Does it make you nice ? Or are you just nice to every stranger ? Every girl you destroy the windows of ? Or are you like my ex ? You seem nice, but then you go off and cheat on your girl simply because you like another girl and you’re too cowardly to break up with your current girl ?” 

Jason hiccups slightly, and says : 

“No, I’m not nice to any girl I met. I’m actually usually kind of a jerk, too “brutally honest”. But you…I don’t know. You give me good feelings. Oh and here’s to add on his flaws list. “Coward”. Can’t even break up with a girl, has to wait to get caught red-handed and break her heart. Cooooward. Bad flaw. Kind of guy who runs in the face of danger, instead of standing by you.” 

It’s probably the fact that he said “you give me good feelings” that spurs this in you. That gives you a new clearer perspective on things. 

“My heart wasn’t broken.”

It’s a shock, to you. This realization. This sudden feeling jumping in your face. You…are not heartbroken. You’re mad. You’re frustrated. You feel betrayed. You feel a crazy burning anger towards your ex for toying around with you like that. For not having the balls to just break up, after spending two years together. 

He was suppose to know you. To be your friend. Things could have turned out better. He could have just come up to you, say the truth, and…You were pretty sure you’d still be friend. Because he really was a great guy. 

He really was all the good thing you though about him. He made a mistake, an unforgivable one in your book. But he was a great guy. 

He was just…not your great guy. Not anymore at least. 

And you realized, there, quite drunk, that…It was ok.  

Your heart wasn’t broken.  

Your heart wasn’t broken. 

Your pride was. Your trust was. But your heart ? …Maybe you weren’t completely in love with him. You were best friends, yes, but love ? Maybe it wasn’t love…

Your heart wasn’t broken. 

“My heart isn’t broken.” 

You tell Red hood, looking at him right in his wonderful ocean blue eyes. And he looks right back at you, and just nods. Just like that. And then he pours you one last tequila shot. 

Because like your grandma would say : “When you make great discovery about yourself…Salt, tequila, lemon”. 

************

It took you only a few hours with him to realize that you weren’t in love with your ex, and that was kinda scary. Because this realization didn’t come from nowhere. 

Nope. 

But when he said that your ex broke your heart, you felt obligated to tell him that no. No your heart wasn’t broken. You were sad and angry, yes, but not heartbroken. For you, in that moment, it was important for this total stranger to know you weren’t actually in love. 

Hell, you didn’t even know yourself you weren’t that in love before you talked to him. It just came as a sudden, yet utterly true revelation. 

Because, and this wasn’t the alcohol speaking…You felt incredibly attracted to that guy. To Red Hood. Not just because of the white streak in his hair, and the eyes, and smile, and voice, and abs, and thick thighs. That too, sure, but not only…Nope. 

Nope. Not because of this. 

But because he had a tough day (he said so himself, explaining to you how he went through the window…he was fighting a super-villain when he got flung through your window, tough tough time ahem), and yet he sat with a crazy lady that peppered salt on his hand and practically forced him to take a tequila shot…

Because you could see in his eyes, and felt in your guts that he didn’t have an easy life…and yet he took a break from whatever he was doing to just sit with you and listen to you. He didn’t even make sense, that you trusted those feelings so fiercely. And yet, you did. Because he listened to you. 

He saw you were struggling and he stayed. And though you felt you couldn’t trust anyone at that time…You oddly felt like he was ok. 

Like he wouldn’t be the kind of guy to cheat, or run in the face of danger, leaving you all alone to fight off demons. 

In a few short hours, you fell for this guy more than you ever fell for your ex. 

What did that say about you uh ? …That was pretty pathetic…

************

Jason didn’t think that you were pathetic at all. 

On the contrary. If he went to seat with you, and drink with you, is because he was instantly mesmerized by you. 

And though he didn’t know at first why, now he was sure of it. 

It’s because you didn’t freak out. And something told him it wasn’t only because you were a bit drunk (he fell in drunk people’s home before…none reacted like you). 

Nope. It was because you were special. He just knew it. Special in every way. Funny. Beautiful. Genuinely listening to him when he was speaking. 

He peppered his own problems within your story, as you told him. And you listened. Hell, even referenced a few things he said early on, way later, while you were crazy drunk. You listened. 

You gave a total stranger that seemed to have a tough day some salt. And tequila. And lemons. 

And then you cared. You asked him a thousand times if he was ok, and he basically had to take off his armor to prove it so (to your eyes’ greatest pleasure…mm mm mm those muscles). 

Captivated. He was captivated by you. It was strange, and though he knew it was because you were special, he still was unclear as to why his feelings were that strong. 

For someone he just met. And barely knew. And only knew while drunk. 

You were just…Special. 

************

It was surreal. The all thing. 

What started as a night where you planned on wallowing your pain and drinking…ended up changing your life. 

And no one could convince you that it wasn’t Fate. Because what were the odds that Red Hood would fall through YOUR window after tripping (yeah you didn’t buy that “fighting super-villains thing” at all) ?

What were the odds of his timing being so perfect, arriving just before you started to cry ? Because there was no doubt in your mind that if he had come a few seconds later, he wouldn’t have stayed. 

He would have found a crying mess, and maybe he would have tried to confort you but…You wouldn’t have answered. In your “sad phase”, you only cry and whine. He would have eventually left. And the wonderful talk you’d just have, would never have happened. 

But instead. He came right before your lips touch that fatal shot of tequila that would have brought you into the “sad phase”. And took your drunkness down a notch. Rerouted your evening. 

You weren’t wallowing anymore, you were ranting. 

Sharing your anger and frustration. 

And he helped you realize that your ex wasn’t that perfect…That maybe it was just not meant to be…After all, he cheated on you. 

Uh. What a shame. You didn’t even know his name…”Red Hood”…

You wished you knew his name. 

************

The morning lights were rising, and the bottle of tequila was long gone. 

There were still salt and lemons though. For some reason, you decided to buy the entire grocery store’s stock of lemons. 

Red Hood stood up, and said he had to go. 

He was nice about it. Said it was a pleasure to have spend the night with you. You both laughed about the innuendos that ensued. 

You were exactly on the same page. And he understood all your joke referencing to pop culture… 

But it was time for him to go. And he apparently had no intention of telling you his real name. He didn’t hint either at ever coming back to see you again. 

And there was that. Just a nice night, spend talking to a genuine friend that you’ll never see again. 

A genuine friend that you didn’t even know a few hours before. 

Maybe it was the alcohol speaking. Maybe not. 

And even if you ended up never seeing him again, this evening truly changed your life…At least, it saved you from a heartbreak. Made you realize it wasn’t that.

Though, now, as he climbs out of the window again (he couldn’t possibly use the front door), you feel like the actual heartbreak is starting. 

Grandma’s remedy against heartbreak ? Right. 

Salt, tequila, lemon…

But the tequila is all gone. 

“I’ll send someone to fix that window…Sorry again about that. …Bye.” are his last words, and then he’s out. 

And the tequila is all gone. 

************

… 

…

…

…

Days pass by in a blur. 

Salt. Tequila. Lemon. 

Ugh. But you don’t want to this time. You don’t want to get drunk to forget. 

You don’t want to forget him. And you know it’s ridiculous to get that worked up over a guy you met one night and that will never come back. That you didn’t even know the name of. 

This entire night was weird anyway. 

Getting drunk with a dangerous night vigilante. Pouring your heart out to him, and him doing the same. The hell were you even thinking ? 

Salt. Tequila. Lemon. 

That would be a good idea to do this right now, because man…your heart hurt. More than when you discovered your ex sleeping with Nicole. From accounting. But you can’t resolve yourself to drink. To forget. Nope. Instead you…

*Knock knock knock*. 

Uh ? You take a quick look at your clock in the kitchen.10 pm. Who the hell is coming at 10 pm ?! It can only be bad news. Especially in Gotham…You peep into the eyehole and…

WHAT ?! 

You open your door quickly, and… 

“Told you I’d send someone to fix your window.” 

It’s him. It’s Red hood. But in…civilian clothes. 

His ass doesn’t look flat in jeans. 

He’s holding a window wrapped in cardboard, and there’s a toolbox at his feet. 

“Yeah, you did…come in.” 

************

Jason Todd. 

That’s his name. And connections are fast to be made in your brain. Jason Todd. Bruce Wayne’s adopted son. That supposedly died…ten years ago. 

And is Red Hood now. Oh. It makes sense. Even his little “killing criminals” thing while Batman never killed. You easily put two and two together. 

Red Hood. Jason Todd. Bruce Wayne. 

Wow. Can’t believe you never guessed that before. Of course Bruce Wayne is Batman. He’s got the motive, the means, the excuses…It’s so obvious. And yet, you never realized. And no one else in Gotham ever realized. 

Jason Todd. 

Now you know his name. 

And he’s fixing your window. Nobody ever fixed windows for you before (even those who broke it).

Um. To add to the “perfect man” list : “Handy”. 

Jason Todd.  

He quickly works the window up, and then he turns to you. While he was working you talked, as if you knew each other for years. Joking around. Like old friends. Like old extremely good and close friends. 

It fits. It clicks. It’s natural. You and him, him and you. 

Barely knowing each others, and yet knowing each others the best. 

Jason. Todd. 

He turns to you now, and with a smirk, he says : 

“Ya know, my grandma always say that when something good happens to you, you need to celebrate. And I feel like this, right now, you and I, though I have no idea what we’re doing and where it’s going…Well it’s still something to celebrate. And she always says, my grandma, that to celebrate perfectly you need…” 

You smile. 

Yeah. You don’t know where this thing between you two is going, but you do know that you never met someone who so fully understood you. 

And in such a short span of time. And you know you’re not mistaking. It’s a feeling too strong to be a mistake. 

He came back to fix your window for god’s sake. And trusted you enough to tell you his actual name. Without a second thought. Which meant everything. Especially since from all the hint he let slip through last time you saw each others, about his father, well…let’s just say telling people his real name wasn’t really something he was used to. 

But it just works. It fits. It clicks. It’s not like with your ex, because you don’t think you know it does. It just does. The fact that you say those next few words in perfect sync finishes to convince you : 

(“…And she always says, my grandma, that to celebrate perfectly you need…”) 

“Salt, tequila, and lemons.” 

______________________________________________

I’m so mad the Tumblr app crashed and I deleted the original post...Y’all were great and reblogged the hell out of it ! Which is why it got so many notes in such a short span of times. And feedbacks. I haven’t had that many feedbacks on a story in a long time. So just one last time and I won’t bother you with that again : Please, if you enjoyed this story, don’t hesitate to reblog it and share it with others. People who don’t follow me can’t really find my stories anymore so...you’re a big help by spreading them. It’s always very encouraging. 

And if you got the time, feedbacks are always hella appreciated and always make my day a little brighter <3. 

[drunkdragondoes]

Qrowin Prompt

@theresivy

According to my copy-paste notes, this is the prompt:

Ships: Qrowin, Iceberg, BlackSun, Rosegarden

5 Words: Vampire, Tease (sexual and fluff for qrowin and not sexual for the rest), Pets, Babysitting, Slow Burn

In hindsight, I realize that I got too focused on the vampire part (and I guess the smut lol) and forgot the rest. On the other hand, this sort of took on a whole monster of its own that I think you’ll like! But let me know how it is in the end.

---

Politics were, to put it nicely, weird. In a world where people were so different - scaled, multi-limbed, feathered, blood-drinking, lunar-phasing, water-breathing, or covered head to toe in fur - there were so many things to keep track of.

For example, livestock cows. When they came of age and it was time for the slaughter, they really had to make sure that all protocols are followed. First, blood is drained and kept in a separate storage for vampires, quickly frozen and transported because otherwise they coagulate, resulting in a poorer quality. But they couldn’t drain too much blood because then that ruined the meat quality and then not enough nutrients would be in it for the werewolves. Then the organs had to be separated by type so that other people with special dietary needs could all be satiated.

None of that was Qrow Branwen’s job. It was similar, but not the same. He was not in charge of making sure that all represented parties were satisfied on how a cow should be divided. He was not in charge of which persons gets preference in the carpool lane when the sun was almost setting. In fact, his main job was managing union certificates.

This was usually a far, far easier job. He just had to sign documents and check pedigrees to try and figure out what type of offspring they’d probably have. The last bit was what took the longest, but important because the government needed to be ready to help accommodate unusual living circumstances that might arise. After all, a werewolf and mermaid might not be too hard to support, but factor in that one of their kids might take after their great-great eldritch grandfather and it can get kinda difficult.

Genetics were weird. But no one cared because everyone was a little bit of everything. Hell, his grandmother’s grandmother from his mother’s side was the only human in their family line in the past four generations, and somehow he and his sister was just that - human.

But today was one of the more stressful times at his workplace. With the recent effects of the full moon (and not just any moon but the Spring Equinox moon, which drives many into a mating frenzy), there was a massive influx of both planned and spur-of-the-moment unions to sort through. And while he didn’t always handle the standard grunt work, the influx was also forcing him to do other tasks. For one, he had to handle witnesses and then also ensure that the union rites were fully legitimate. Then he had to check if the ones handling the rites were actually officials or if they were simply impromptu officiates. And finally he checked if the union was the monogamous, polyandrous, or if the unknown box was checked.

Any and all variations of any kind were accepted and legally binding, of course. It just that it was important to keep count.

“If we can keep count, then that means we can predict how to best chart our future.”

Annoying words from his boss. Very correct words, but very annoying words that were keeping him away from coming home at a decent hour. But it paid well and he had a good set of benefits, so there wasn’t much use in complaining.

His eyes turned to the last three on his desk.

Union File Y82J3Q: Ruby Rose and Oscar Pine

Union File U17L6R: Neptune Vasilias and Weiss Schnee

Union File B94T0Z: Blake Belladonna and Sun Wukong

It was awkward at first to see family members on the files, but by the time he had seen Raven’s union certificate he had long grown callous to it. Still, Qrow decided to skip to the third one and take care of that first. Officiators were Kali Belladonna, witness was Ilia Amitola, monogamous box was checked. Blake was from a long line of felines, while Sun’s pedigree was a little less known. Parents were part monkey, but that was the only instance of recurring traits in the last five generations. So if they had kids, there was a seventy-eight percent chance they were probably going to have cat ears or other cat bits.

Signed, stamped, done. He went to the first one next. His niece Ruby was a werewolf, so as expected the file was marked for monogamy. Oscar, on the other hand, was quite plain. Grew up on his selkie aunt’s oyster farm so he had to have some of that in him, but otherwise he was a bit like Qrow - a human among the mass of genetics behind him. 

It was a little harder to predict what type of kids they’d have, but no matter the outcome they would probably like headpats. All in all, nothing unusual. Signed, stamped, done.

There was just one left, and he picked it up. As both Neptune and Weiss came from rich families, as expected their pedigrees were more detailed. Neptune had a mix of everything - merfolk, fae, moth, kirin, and surprisingly some siren in him. Weiss’ side, however, had a line that was predominantly from the nocturnae tree - humans that were more night-based. She had a string of grandparents that were at least some part vampire, including a full-blooded one. So given the genetics, their kids would probably be a vampire that liked swimming. Maybe.

What was most interesting was that the relationship was marked as polyandrous. As Qrow thought about it more, though, it made sense. Neptune’s siren influences meant that he might attract a partner on the side somewhere. And when he thought about it for even longer, he realized it shouldn’t have even been a question. Somewhere in the Schnee family history, someone had a union with a-

“Uh, Mr. Branwen?” a voice crackled through his desk phone. “Your wife is... well-”

Whoosh

“She’s probably in your office already.”

He supposed that this was to be expected. Stamped, signed, done. He put the three files into his completed section and closed his laptop. And when he looked up, there was Winter, leaning against his door. Her white hair was up in its usual bun, and she had donned what Qrow could only define as barely acceptable office attire. Across her hips was an all-black mini pencil skirt, along with matching stockings and heels. And for her top she had chosen a pure white button-up that was perhaps a size too small, pressing hard against her breasts. And this time there was something completely unusual upon her face - red, thin-rimmed glasses.

All purely cosmetic, of course. Winter had perfect vision, and she her job was nowhere near office-related at all. It wasn’t hard for him to figure out that she was impatient. Her tail, a thin long cord that ended in the shape of a spade, swished from side to side. Her leathery black wings may have been folded against her back, but fidgeted constantly, never staying still. And her arms were folded right above her stomach, pushing up her chest even more.

Besides, the Spring Equinox moon was still hanging in the evening sky. Winter Schnee might be a vampire, but like her sister she inherited the same qualities from that one ancestor long ago. Even if the pale light wasn’t hitting her directly, it was still accentuating the aspects.

Hell, even he could feel the moon’s pull. Those with human traits were often the least impacted by it, but add onto the fact that he was looking at list after list of people who were all fucking each other and it was a ball of frustration that only grew larger and larger. More than once did Qrow find himself staring into the distance, thinking about Winter in all of the wild ways they’ve had each other. And now that she was here-

Her eyes scanned the four walls, absorbing the lack of decorations before settling on him in his seat. “You know, I’ve always wanted to have sex in your office.”

Qrow leaned back in his chair with a deep breath before he pushed himself up and strode to her side. When she looked into his eyes, he moved into kiss her, reaching out and let his hands rest upon her shoulders before drifting low to her hips to pull her tight against him, against his hot and hardened flesh.

Right before she could pull him past the point of no return for the night, though, he pushed away. When he looked at her face, it was easy to see that this only fanned the flames within her.

It was exactly what he wanted. Winter arms wrapped around his shoulder as she leaned into his neck, lips parting to expose sharp, vampiric canines.

“Teasing your wife, a half-succubus? And on this moon?” She clicked her tongue. “For shame, Qrow.”

She bit down. The pain was momentary - repeated instances meant he had built up a tolerance to the sensation. But the way her tongue dragged across the shallow wound, licking and suckling away at his skin, that was always something else. It almost always drove him to madness, one that made him aware of every press of her body against him, of her hands dragging up and down his sides, of her loins pressed against his.

One of his hands squeezed her hips and she gave a soft, contented moan. “Trust me, Winter, the only thing that’s keeping me back is the sexual harassment policy we have. So let’s get out of here and-”

Her tail deftly coiled around his thigh. Her leather wings snapped around him and they were gone.

[lvtvr]

s4 thoughts under the cut

i have criticism and i have praise, but most importantly i have common fucking sense and i dont lose my mind if a kids cartoon doesnt go my way so dont worry about that palios

please read this post in a neutrally speculative tone because that’s my voice in my head as i’m typing it. also of course my opinion is just a star in the sky and your mileage, as always, may vary. warning its the Great Wall of Text

sweet stuff

most importantly its a great time to be a lotor stan. i love my boy my problematic trash fav i love him so much hes officially my favorite character now 1000000000% (it used to be lance, but he’s been dethroned for real now)

not only is he a fucking babe but whenever he appeared the plot was guaranteed to move forward so every time he came onscreen i got my two favorite things in one

listen im just not going to go overboard w this but lets just say i think about him and grin a lot what a fucking GREAT character he’s so MORALLY GREY so FUCKED UP so INTERESTING so sexy

matt holt is in fact a meme! good job fandom, well predicted. the allura heart eyes stuff was lame stock cartoon humor which imo added Nothing of value, but that aside he’s an angel boy and brilliant addition to the recurring cast and i love him

i thought the rain and the big no during the cemetery scene were kinda over the top cheesy but that episode was, overall, really great

okay but real talk that one dog looking captain has to be somebody’s fursona???????????? somewhere a furry is fucking thriving right now

fighting animations and space backgrounds were gorgeous, as always

i adore where they’re taking keith’s development!!! i had some pretty serious concerns post s2, but they’re taking him in exactly the direction i had hoped for

i feel like he’s honestly really happy with the blade, their style really suits him and i mean that both figuratively and literally *wink wonk*

he’s a loner, but he’s not alone. he’s in a position where he’s expected to function as an independent unit within a team, instead of being literally connected to the others in his squad; at this point in time that autonomy is what’s important for his development. he has both the insight to realize that and the empathy to be concerned that it might be selfish or wrong in the eyes of others

but his friends support him!!!!!!!! the group hug oh my god

his self sacrifice... i almost died that was just so. beautiful

im just really emo about keith

why does zarkon hate lotor SO much? i have a feeling it must be connected to the circumstances of his birth. SOMETHING is up and i can’t wait to find out WHAT

and what the fuck is going on with haggar

shes still the most aesthetic character in the show sjlgdjsdgjsg PURPLE WITCH PURPLE WITCH

LANCE AND ALLURA!!!! OMG IM CRYING honestly i am still rooting for no canonical romance but at this point i wouldnt even mind canon allurance, because the way they’re having lance mature and act around her is just... im still crying dont look at me

that said i think its beautiful how canon lance, in stark contrast to the awful character that is fanon lance, is a selfless and insightful boy who -- once he steps out of his theater-kid attention-seeking leo persona -- has a better grasp than perhaps anyone of the true dynamics of the team

he gave allura the speech that shitty lance stans want the rest of the team to give him. i can’t believe he single handedly screwed over all bad characterization. im so proud of him.

salty stuff

lance’s sweet moment at the end of ep6 aside, i’m still pretty bitter about the fact that we know virtually NOTHING about either lance or hunk. to some degree shiro is also still a mystery.

the reason it’s so frustrating is because to varying degrees, keith, pidge, and allura all have some sort of backstory and ongoing arcs

in comparison, hunk and lance have been kind of stuck in support roles for four seasons now. they are occasionally shown maturing, but im just lacking a foundation for what’s driving them?? besides lance’s insecurities, what do we really HAVE?

episode 4 was a waste of time that i hope the under-12 demographic enjoyed more than i did. the meta wasn’t on point like, for instance, the avatar theater episode. also, it treated hunk terribly. like, lampshading how horribly he’s treated as a fat comic-relief character isn’t funny when your writers are the ones giving him that treatment in the first place lol???

it was, how u say, a shitty filler that could have been dropped entirely without affecting a thing

the sailor scout poses were pretty okay tho

why would you create a setup for whatever is going on with shiro and then not so much as allude to it during an entire season? 

like, a forty-second scene implying some weird juju would have been enough, but completely dropping one of the plot threads for six consecutive eps makes for a pretty porous story-tapestry. im assuming they’ll pick it up again but this season is just... a gaping hole, dramaturgically speaking.

if i had written it i would be kicking my own ass for lack of continuity

seriously this makes me feel less bad about my first-draft mess of a fanfic because holy shit lol its a lot tighter than this was

lotor killing narti came literally out of nowhere, and im not saying this to defend him (she was my favorite general and im incredibly sad she’s gone?? im lowkey hoping haggar’s mojo will revive her tbh) -- but, again, we have some really weird writing decisions going on here

lotor was set up in season three as someone who values mercy and explicitly orders his people not to kill. like, im not trying to excuse what he did -- im just saying it seems like a contradiction, based on what we’ve been shown

why wouldnt he just incapacitate her or kill kova instead?? the nature of the psychic bond was never addressed enough to make killing her seem motivated, and his character was never built up as someone who would succumb to a random murderous impulse, so tl;dr I Don’t Get It

also we havent been given enough background on the team to be able to say for sure, but what i assumed was a tight-knit elite group with history seems to have actually been a ragtag group of neutral-aligned mercenaries, temporarily banded together for personal gain.

while i’m okay with a plot-driven show that doesn’t spell things out and leaves most things as implied subtext, i still feel like there is such a thing as being too subtle

like you can’t set up plot threads only to put them completely on pause to have some ships blow up, it will only frustrate the audience and make the action seem like a cover-up for the writers having no idea what the fuck is going on

its not hard!!! to just throw in allusions to things!!!! like we’re talking literally just tossing out HINTS so people remember that “oh yeah that thing existed at all” @ dreamworks please uh... do that?

the pattern seems to be that we get a mindblowing season followed by a mediocre season so time to hype s5!

so anyway those are my two cents ("its more like ten dollars char" yeah yeah i know!!!) and i’m very happy to discuss the events of this season, and for people to disagree with me (as long as its polite and... at least relatively motivated lol)

[snickertoodles]

Hey it’s 6 AM and I have insomnia so have some taggy stuff

(Maybe if I ever have 1000 followers I’ll do these ask things as intended instead of just answering them myself XD)

From: https://she-who-fights-and-writes.tumblr.com/post/175450098186/random-writing-asks

1. What is your favorite punctuation mark?

I love me my parentheses (probably because I always go off on a tangent).

2. What writing taboos do you break consistently?

I guess writing fanfiction about Shadow the Hedgehog above the age of 16 counts as a “writing taboo”...

3. What POV do you prefer and why?

Third because... I don’t know why. I used to be terrible at it. Now I don’t write in first person at all.

4. What tense do you prefer and why?

Past tense because I’m basic. I don’t really like present tense unless it’s paired with second person.

5. Adverbs: for against?

I do not think this hard about my sentence structure or word classification lmao

6. Do you outline or not?

It’s easier if I at least have SOME idea what’s going on... Plus I usually come up with ideas while I do the outline, which is helpful.

I actually have two outlines. A “this is generally what’s going to happen” outline and a chapter-by-chapter breakdown. The latter is usually a mess of random ideas shoved hastily in of what I want to happen in the chapter.

7. Do you prefer writing dialogue or narration?

I like having a lot of cool-sounding narration, then nailing you in the face with perfectly-delivered emotional dialogue (at least when everything works properly).

Character conversations are my favourite parts of writing. XD

8. What punctuation/grammar/spelling errors do you make consistently?

Well I’m not sure this exactly counts, but I have a weird Canadian/British/American grammar/spelling hybrid thing going on. But my “official” writing work requires me to write with American spelling and I sometimes end up using the wrong one (British when I’m freelancing, American when I’m writing...)

Also I miss words pretty frequently. My fingers don’t keep up and I guess I compensate by skipping some small word!

9. Do you write characters based off of real people or make them up?

Generally I make them up. I have based some little quirks or actions off people I know. 

10. Do you write more guy or girl characters?

Girl. I dunno why it just happens.

11. Which is easier to write: guys or girls?

I can fucking tell you which is easier to draw...

I don’t find dudes particularly harder to write so I don’t know why all my OCs are girls! I might be moving away from that though. I mean, that was mostly a thing in my old stories. They just didn’t have much diversity. 

Hourglass had a nearly entirely female (and dragon) cast, while The Impossible Sky (its kinda-spiritual-successor) had different species and also more dudes than girls. Not counting the Guardians in both of those.

12. Which is easier to write: original fiction or fanfiction?

I’ve had some original book ideas but they just don’t hold my interest.

13. Which of your characters would you want to be stuck in an elevator with?

That is a strange question. :P

I guess Crystal would be the easiest to talk to since her original iteration was heavily based off, uh, me... That’s no longer the case, but she is probably the OC I feel closest to.

14. What do you include in character descriptions?

I usually only mention major features when they’re first noticed.

15. Do you let people read your rough drafts?

I don’t write that way. :P

16. What do you do with your rough drafts once you write a new draft?

I mean I’ve had a few “I don’t like this first chapter so I’m going to drop it and restart it in 3 years” and I put those in my Super Secret Writing Folder for the world to laugh at.

17. How do you handle writer’s block?

The benefit of also being an artist (and game designer, and pixel artist, etc...). I don’t need to. I do something else fulfilling with my time until writing makes me feel fulfilled again.

Although recently I’ve been struggling a bit with The Memory, and looking for a phone wallpaper, I looked up Maria and Shadow images like I used to when I was 15... That wave of nostalgia has given me a burst of inspiration to continue this series and make it everything I wished it would be when I was a teenager. (Probably cringy to some people, but shove it. ;P)

18. How many stories do you work on at one time?

Fucking one because the alternative is a disaster and a three-year hiatus.

19. Do you write from beginning to end, or jump around in your story.

@bionicfrogstudios How do you do this convoluted jumping around bullcrap?!

20. What is one thing you would never do in a story or to a character?

There is nothing I wouldn’t do.

21. What do you do if you come to a fork in the road (where your story could go one of two different ways)?

Pick the one that I like better. XD

22. Do you “write what you know” or not?

Uhh, well, I don’t know what it’s like to be suddenly transported to the Dragon Realms... Or how to fight with a sword, or drive a train or boat, or what dragons would act like... I also don’t know what it’s like to be dying of a fatal disease, or a super-powerful test subject, on a gigantic spacecraft floating above Earth, while it gets violently invaded by the military...

So, er... no?

23. Do you research things in your story? If so, how?

Everything I don’t know for sure. And like everyone else, I do it with Google.

24. How do you figure out your characters looks, personalities, and speech patterns?

Feel it out in the story. I mean I’ll have an idea what they’re like. But a lot of quirks just come out as they write them. (For instance, I didn’t specifically think “Cedric is a mole who talks with a slight drawl/accent”, that just happened.)

25. How do you figure out character motivation and backstory?

It just... happens? And I think of it? And then I write it? Is there supposed to be some special methodology to this XD Sometimes it happens as the story is being written, like above, too.

[isaacathom]

So, when the dragons first reappeared, they did so in a big show of force - attacking the Sevarian Castle, home to the royal family

the royal family was very public, as is common. the king and his queen were well loved and admired, as was their eldest child, the princess Mathilda. her many younger siblings, while too young to make real character impacts, were adorable and loved. but there was a sibling of hers who seemingly avoided the public at all times. the second oldest child, the princess Sofia.

noone was sure exactly what her issue was with the public, but Sofia never left the castle. Many Sevarians didnt even know she existed, unless they thought hard about exactly how many children the king and queen had. She was quite and contemplative, and simply faded from the background. Mathilda, on the other hand, was very boisterous and confident, a hogger of attention and a genuine sweetheart.

all these children are at home in the castle, playing with each other in one of the big rooms while their mother watches over them and chats to some officials. Princess Mathilda is taken away to talk to her father, and in the course of their discussion wind up on the parapets between two of the towers, chatting in the sun. The clouds above moved fast, quite fast. When Mathilda noticed the glowing eyes and glittering fangs, it was far too late.

The dragons, arriving from the sky in groups, tore down the centre of the castle, splitting Mathilda from her father. His last clear sight of her was her screaming, the flapping of faded blue wings, and an empty, crumbling parapet.

Within the castle, little Sofia feels the rumbles and hears the screams. Interpreting it as an earthquake, and being old enough to have learnt about them, she quietly picks up her youngest brother and walks crawls under the table where her mother is sitting with the officials. as the rumbling gets worse, the Queen stands up and calls to her children, and holding their hands firmly where shes able, escorts them quickly to the safest room in the castle. and there they wait for news.

it comes slowly, at first. the Queen is denied exit to the safe room on the basis that the King cannot be found, and that in his absence her safety is paramount. News comes from chamber maids coloured white as snow, whispering gently to the Queen as she pats the heads of her children and coos gently. Sofia stands quietly at her side, looking intently at each bearer of news, barely hearing but completely understanding all the words that pass their lips. to the third maid, she asks a simple question - where was Mathilda? there was only silence and the shake of a head, but it said enough for Sofia to understand what that meant. for even as young as 8, Sofia knew her place. she was the second oldest of the royal children, and in the absence of the true heir, she was the heir.

The rumbling would eventually stop, and with in the news erupted. The queens exit from the safe room was met with screams for aid, for anything. The kids were instructed to remain in the room with a maid, but as she devoted her attention to soothing and feeding the crying toddlers, Sofia quietly slipped out into the wreckage of her home.

im losing steam and thats good fun, but the idea from here is that Sofia sneaks into the kitchen - which was ok in the attacks - and steals a bunch of sweets. and the cooks, who are busy making like, soup and shit for the people who were injured as well as like, really rudimentary potions (because you could hundred percent make potions here) either didnt notice her entry and exit or thought nothing of it given her hitherto complete obedience. actually, she probably offered to deliver some of the soup, like carry one of the trays, and the cook instead gives her a loaf of bread to carry (to accompany the soup, yknow) and directs her to where everyones kept. (like the main hall or smth)

and what Sofia does is she gives people a slice of bread and a lil lolly. she finds a couple of her cousins, whod been visiting, and she gives them extras and draws smiley faces on their band aids with a texta. in the chaos, shes noticed and told off, but never told to leave, and she continues quielty coming and going to deliver sweets and quiet smiles.

it takes far longer for concrete news about Mathilda to arise. the King is finally found, dazed and exhausted at the base of a collapsed tower, having had it collapse around him as he tried to descend, and only protecting himself from the falling debris with the magic inherent to his bloodline. hes incoherent and babbling, and quickly hidden from the sight of his emotional children and taken to the nearest hospital.

on the next day, as the media floods with the news of the dragon attack and subsequent major structural damage to Severia Castle, the King comes to and reveals Mathilda’s fate - kidnap by one of the dragons. through coordination with the castle knights, whod fired en masse at the dragons, they work out where it SHOULD be and begin to set up a troop to track it down. but until they know for certain, the kids aren’t told what they expect happened, simply that Mathilda is missing. but little quiet Sofia, with wide eyes and hushed lips, knows. she knows. and she steps up promptly.

When the Queen appears before the media to issue a statement re: the dragons sudden reappearance and attack, Sofia stands proudly at her side, her first major public appearance since she was a very small child. When the Queen finishes talking officially, the journalists press the two of them for more information on what they experience, and Sofia tells them about how she stole sweets for the injured and gives a massive grin as her mother looks on in horror and the crowd laughs. the queen laughs too, in the end, and gives Sofia a massive hug.

individual scenes dont really go much further than this, but the idea is that, with Mathilda’s death at the hands of the dragons (which is confirmed when her body is eventually recovered from the dragons lair), Sofia basically Becomes Mathilda. she emulates her deceased sister in a lot of ways in regards to her personality.

and what was fun about this, beyond general melodrama which i love, is what this means for Cecilia. see, Cecilia is the daughter of a Duchess, and has visited the castle a few times. but primarily, the royals would come to her estate for celebrations, and as such, Cecilia rarely if ever saw little quiet Sofia. its unlikely she never did, but with age, she believes that must be a younger sibling of Sofia (as Sofia does have a younger sister). and due to a delay on meetings between the royal family and Cecilia specifically due to the disaster, Cecilia doesnt see the royal children for like, 2 years. and when she meets Sofia then, shes a different person. and what Cecilia has done, with her naivety, is replaced Mathilda with Sofia in her mind, despite the fact that all of her memories of a pre 11 year old Sofia are actually Mathilda. the reason this works is not just general physical similarities, like hair and eye colours, but the fact that Mathilda hadnt hit puberty when Cecilia last saw her (she was like, 10?) and when Cecilia met Sofia proper, Sofia had, and basically looked to match. in Cecilia’s head, all that happened in that gap in time was that Sofia hit puberty. she didnt realise the age inconsistency because she didnt realise Mathilda was actually older than her, or even that Sofia was 4 years her junior. she simply had no reason to think

what it boils down to is this - Cecilia doesnt know that Mathilda and Sofia are different people. she never referred to Mathilda by name, only as ‘her highness’ or ‘her majesty’, and simply never realised the mistake she made. up until someone - probably Arianna, because Sofia doesnt know either - tells her the truth about it. in a conversation along the lines of ‘do you know all of sofia’s siblings’ ‘yea. younger bro and sis... ooh, another younger bro!’ ‘youre missing one’ ‘what’ ‘she had an older sister’ ‘WHAT’ and its kinda wild.

my idea for that is that Arianna, being as she is the daughter of a Marquis, has herself visited the castle and met the royal siblings. likely at an event relation to her families history as powerful warriors. something about veterans. whatever it was, Arianna personally met both Mathilda and Sofia, remembers them clearly as distinct entities, and clearly remembers hearing about Mathilda’s death. especially since its part of Arianna’s whole cowardice complex (smth like that). since the de la Fayes promptly fled the city following the dragon attack instead of helping people recover, blackening their once respected name. and like, the family does feel guilty about it, which is Why Arianna’s cowardice is her whole thing for her book specifically. but the point is that she knows Mathilda died because she feels like her family is responsible, even though realistically their aid would have done little except recover her body sooner.

the irony there is that Arianna is the same age if not slightly younger than Sofia, who was 8, while Cecilia was 12, and yet Cecilia had no idea about Mathilda’s death specifically. the whole naivety and coddling thing.

while all this is happening Leila was probably aware of the whole thing (being shes in the middle of Sofia and Cecilia age wise, i think, or older than Cecilia) but isnt aware that there was every any confusion. she never saw any reason to bring up Mathilda based on the simple fact that to do so would be a faux pas real bad. so Leila’s very much out of the conversation here. like, itd make sense for her to tell Cecilia about it since she and Cici are friends, but shes also not aware its a problem specifically. shes knows there is an issue with Cici’s perception of Sofia and who Sofia actually is, but she doesn’t know the source and doesn’t have the first idea of how she’d work it out, so she sticks to just cutting Cici off when she starts getting weird about it. hence it falls to Arianna to fix it, especially since shes met Sofia and Mathilda (while its not impossible for Leila to have met Mathilda or Sofia prior to Dragon Attack, its unlikely and wouldnt make a huge change) and since shes antagonistic towards Cici. like, Aria is a lot more critical of Cici’s actions, and is therefore more likely to notice whats causing it and address it, ESPECIALLY since Aria considers Sofia a good friend and she wants to help her. plus Aria adores getting an upper hand on Cici, fuels her ego real good. Sofia would never confront Cecilia about it, not just because of her general nature, but also because thats a really sensitive topic for her and has a lot to do with her personality as a whole, so bringing that up is.... yknow.... faux pas, again. hence Aria doing this 1v1 with Cici instead of bringing it up in a bigger conversation.

tl;dr Mathilda was real cool and then got totally fucked up by a dragon, and a quiet and shy Sofia promptly filled Mathilda’s role as heiress by basically emulating her sister and her mother in equal measure and just. bam. there she is! and Cecilia, for a long time, has no idea that Mathilda and Sofia are separate people, or even that Mathilda ever existed.