Art and SelfShip sideblog of @super-avery-artist Avery | 26 | Black | Female | She/Her/Hers | ADHD & Autistic Current Hyperfixation: Cookie Run Kingdom
the first time "you're mine" slips from his lips without even thinking about it... it's a heated moment and the words are out before he can even process the implication of them... he never thought he would feel this strongly about you, about keeping you. never thought he would want you all to himself like this, but it happened so suddenly, before he ever had a chance to stop it. he didn't expect you to say that you're his in response, but when you do, something shifts and now all he cares about is staying like this for as long as possible, with you.
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Imagine your big, scary f/o that others are (rightfully) afraid of being so tender and gentle with you. How the same hands that have caused pain in others now cradle your face like its the most fragile and precious thing in the universe. You know they are capable of hurting someone and yet would never harm a hair on your head.
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Characters: shadow milk x reader
WC: 1k
CW: gn!reader; there may be mistakes in the text because English is not my native language; fluff; y/n is not used; Shmilk calls you sweetheart; title is as deceitful as Shmilk himself; I didn't know how to finish the story, so the ending ends abruptly.
Your quarrels have never been loud. No matter how much annoyance was rotting inside, your voice never wavered in front of Shadow Milk, who persistently tried to turn everything into a joke. But this time everything… took a little longer. You felt like you were hitting a blank wall, like you were running out of steam; he was getting more and more annoyed — for you? For this stupid argument? Who knows.
But when you stop right in mid—sentence, sigh and leave your shared bedroom, he doesn't stop you. Shadow Milk doesn't really worry about it, being distracted by his work.
It would be nice to make some noise on the citrus islands. He has so much to do, so much to do~.
But then evening comes. Being immortal, Shadow Milk is alien to many needs — food and sleep rarely interested him after corruption. However, recently one small, interesting thing has appeared: you and your mortal tricks.
Therefore, he returns to the Spire, exactly at the moment when you usually get ready for bed … only to realize that you are not in the bedroom.
Oh, so you decided to play on his nerves? What a pity: it would take more than just being late. While waiting for you, Shadow Milk turns your shared bedroom into a living nightmare — scissors, cardboard, colored pencils. All this is floating in the air while the Beast of Deception itself is hanging upside down and carving another doll for a future performance. Ten minutes, half an hour, an hour pass during this occupation, and you are still not there.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees eyes opening one by one in the semi-darkness — they glide in the shadows like snakes, but each, absolutely each of them was focused on the door. This annoyed Shadow Milk — he could lie to himself all he wanted, but those eyes were one of his subconscious incarnations.
He's waiting for you.
After an hour and two minutes, Beast simply throws everything that was in his hands behind his back and goes in search of you. Spire, obeying his inner state, did not help at all: it stretched the corridors, allowed him to see his own back when opening the door, and abruptly changed gravity.
(After all, the Spire is part of the beast of deception. The best thing it can do is deceive and confuse, even if that means it will confuse and deceive himself.)
However, that still doesn't stop him from finding you. A half—empty, unremarkable room - most likely, you just entered the first one you came across, not worrying about the consequences. The sofa looks small and uncomfortable. You're wrapped up in a blanket, almost with your nose, curled into a fetal position, hugging one pillow in your arms, another tucked between your back and the back of the sofa, and the third is almost ready to fall off the sofa, but is held by your head.
Shadow Milk snorts, hovering over your figure like an arch. The darkness of the room does not prevent him from seeing your sleeping face: tense and gloomy.
It almost makes him feel guilty. Almost.
Instead, he pokes his finger into your forehead, trying to remove that frown. He pokes so long and hard that you wince, open your eyes, and hiss in annoyance.
"Shadow, what the-" "If you're going to play hide—and-seek," he interrupts playfully. "You should have looked for a better place, sweetheart!" You sigh heavily, rubbing your eyes: "I wasn't trying to hide from you. It's just…" you pause for a second, sleepily trying to find the words. "The room has become too suffocating. Morally."
A acute smile did not waver on his face. The narrowed gaze did not change. But the eyes hidden in every shadow surrounding the two of you, focused solely on you, have become softer. Not so offended.
"That's why you decided to sleep in…" he thoughtfully puts his finger to his chin and turns his head all 360 degrees. Slowly and with the characteristic crunch of dough that always annoyed you. He needs to pretend that he's exploring the room! "The furthest, darkest, and most forgotten corner of the Spire?"
"I went into the first room I saw," was your deadpan reply.
Shadow Milk chuckled. In this place, the "first room you see" may end up spitting you out in an unfamiliar hallway, and then you go and look for ways to contact the others. Or, as a last resort, a way out. What will catch your eye first.
But the room is still no good.
"Shadow… Ouch!" you scream, clutching at the first thing that comes to hand with your fingers. Calming down a bit, you hiss. "Shadow Milk, what do you think you're doing?"
The first thing you saw was the shoulders of the Beast of Deception himself. The way he abruptly lifted you into the air, taking you in his arms, involuntarily drove away the last remnants of sleep. Ignoring your question, he flew out the window, straight into the street, which made you tighten your grip a little. Of course, this wasn't the first time he'd caused you to be at a high enough altitude, but now Shadow Milk was soaring higher and higher and higher. Focused solely on the receding earth, you decide to close your eyes.
He won't leave you. You're sure of it. But the very sight makes you head spin.
"No, no, no, open your eyes, sweetheart!" Shadow Milk pokes your cheek, giggling. "Come on~. Otherwise, it all makes no sense!"
Come to think of it, your position has changed a little bit. The hand disappeared under your knees, but you still didn't touch the floor with your feet. Now you feel like you're leaning your shoulder against Shadow Milk, and when you open one eye, you realize that you were right: you're sitting on his lap.
And the beast himself sits on the roof of the Steeple, near the flagpole, and looks at you with a mocking squint.
"You scared?" You're frowning. "And who wouldn't-"
He wraps his fingers around your face, turning you sharply away from him. All the indignation gets stuck somewhere across your throat when you realize what you're looking at. The night sky, studded with stars so much like powder. As soon as your attention is focused on them, one star quickly flies off the horizon, leaving a trail behind it. A second one rushes after her, then a third, a fourth…
Starfall.
"Is this your doing?" "Who knows."
You're snorting under your breath. Never says yes, never says no. Think the way you want, and he'll adjust. It used to annoy you, but now… you had neither the strength nor the desire. You lean back, snuggling even closer to Shadow Milk. You fingers were trembling from the approaching coolness of the night, but Beast himself did not help in any way — it was always cold as snow.
Suddenly, a blue blanket with embroidered white stars falls on top of you, blocking your view. Pulling the blanket off your face, you turn around in displeasure at Beast, but almost immediately you sigh humbly. He's just… Such. And, fortunately or unfortunately, that's how you love him. Therefore, to the best of your ability, you throw a blanket over Shadow Milk's shoulders, wrapping you both up.
