. Word Count — 4.1k
. Warnings — None!
. Contents — Late nights, annoying 5012, hints of insomnia, mutual bullying, Caspy Waspy is mentioned, 5012 being the workaholic he is, annoying 5012, existential questions and possible dread, lost memories, amnesia, fluff, comedy, soft angst, chickens, Reader is 0213 and gender neutral, did I say annoying 5012?
Prologue — Bothering 5012 is always fun. Bothering him about being a shut in that always stays in his office? Even funnier. Except that it quickly takes a deeper turn... and you decide to visit him every night
5012’s office door greeted you quietly.
Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork and paperwork again.
At this point when you thought about 5012, senior Grim Reaper and your trainer, you could only picture his face covered by stacks of paper.
Was that normal?
Why would a place full of dead people need so many files?
Souls probably, classified information, those terminated reapers in need of rescue and yada yada yada.
You fumbled with the edge of your shirt, stalling.
0204, Atlas, was nowhere to be found, probably off to sleep or… honestly you didn’t know. Did you even want to know?
Your section of HQ was quiet. Time was frozen in the Underworld, but it was supposed to be past midnight in the human world, and Reapers either set out for missions or rested around that time, for convenience.
In all that stillness, and boredom, you thought that it would be a good idea to greet your oh so dear trainer.
Taking for granted his probable irritation… ahem.
How should you even approach him? It was never easy, but not difficult either.
You kind of rehearsed your greeting while climbing the stairs to his office: barging into the room rather loudly and risk getting punched in the face.
No, you thought, you would revisit the idea for another day.
And there you were, listening to the led lights buzzing above you. In silence.
Waiting, anticipating.
“Are you going to come in or not?” His voice, muffled by the door.
It didn’t even scare you, it just surprised you a tiny bit.
“Just so you know, you probably look stupid standing idle like that, especially out of my office,” he continued.
Rude.
“First of all,” you slowly pushed the door open, “rude.”
Your face peered from the crack.
“Second of all,” you slid in the room, closing the door behind you, “you’re ugly.”
A smile adorned your lips, yet the man on the other side of the office, sitting behind his desk, didn’t even raise his eyes, “you’ll find out that I do not care about your opinion of me 0213.”
He flipped a file over, unbothered. "Especially when it’s uncalled for.”
What a grump.
In the new found silence you took in his office again. It was the same as always, but every time something appeared and disappeared.
A stack of files, an unfinished cup of coffee, 5012’s coat on the chair, books opened on random pages and so on.
It was like an ecosystem, a very sad one of course. Changing and working in its own way.
“Why are you here, 0213? You’re awfully quiet,” the grumpy, ugly, boring, absolutely lame man spoke again.
“Ah, uhm, I was distracted sorry,” you walked further into the room.
“Distracted by?” He barely raised his eyebrows, “why you of course,” you teased, smiling.
5012 refused to look at you, and to entertain you.
“Do you need help big boss?” You peered over the stack of papers. “Hardly, you’d only make things… harder."
“Tell me about it,” a stupid grin formed on you face, eyes wandering around before setting on the guy in front of you, who was already looking at you, sternly.
“Okay, okay, I’ll stop,” you raised your hands defensively, only relaxing after his glare left you.
“Can I at least stay here?” You probably would’ve stayed anyway.
“Why?”
“There’s no one around and nothing to do.”
“Go rest.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“How would I know? I still don’t understand this Grim Reaper body,” you huffed, he sighed.
“Just be quiet.” He rubbed his temples, sliding his fingers down his face in resignation.
A few minutes went by, you could only hear your breathing and the occasional pen scratching the paper's surface.
5012’s office was very dark, and very purple… dark purple.
You slowly made you way around it, taking in the subtle details, the titles of the books, the pattern of their covers, the arrangement of the tiles on the floor. Some were uneven.
Your curiosity took you to the big window. Looking down you saw a street, in front of you endless “sky scrapers”.
You knew the word, but never actually stopped to think about it, how could a building scratch the sky if there was no sky?
“How high up are we?” You leaned against the glass.
“If you’re planning to jump down I’d advise against it,” he tapped his pen on the desk.
“Wh— Why would I do that?! I already died once,” you twisted your neck to look at him weird.
“0204 once said that he wanted to test his fall damage, maybe he shared that stupid idea with you,” you alerted the distinct tone of annoyance in 5012’s voice.
“Well, even if he did… I’m not him, and it’s not like I go along everything he does—“
“…?”
“Mostly.” You coughed.
And then silence again.
You finished scrutinizing his room and returned in front of 5012, sitting on one of the chairs.
“Your office is cozy. I get why you’re always here,” your arms flopped on the table, next to some signed files.
“I’m glad it’s to you liking but I’m not always here, 0213.”
“Every time I come knocking you’re here.”
“Pure coincidence.”
“When do you go out?”
“Occasionally.”
Silence.
“Are you sure you can’t lie?” You raised one eyebrow.
“I can lie, but chose not to,” he huffed.
“So you’re not lying now.”
“No, 0213, I am not.”
“But you’re avoiding the truth. Because it’s a fact that you’re shut in here most of the time,” you’ve been staring at the man for a while now, and just then he returned your gaze.
Not matching your energy at all… but at least he was looking at you.
He cleared his throat.
“Should’t you be resting? We have stuff to do in some hours,” you looked at the clock.
“I already told you, I can’t fall asleep. Check your hearing grandpa.”
You smiled, he did not.
In all honesty, if 5012 could, he’d be smashing his head on the table with much pleasure… and until the surface molded into the shape of his face
“Why did you come here?” He interlaced his hands together, resting his chin against them. Purple irises dug deep into you, were 5012’s eyes always so sharp?
“I wanted to keep you company,” your voice quivered with embarrassment. You wondered, on a scale from 1 to 10, how much you looked stupid while saying that.
“I do not need your company, 0213.” He repeated the word with a strange tone, almost as if he was pronouncing it for the first time.
“Wow you’re so emo.” You dead panned.
“Here I was trying to be kind,” you continued, folding your arms.
“I don’t need your kindness either, you’ll see that’s something the Underworld is lacking.” The senior Grim Reaper grimaced.
“I guess I’ll be the first kind Grim Reaper,” you whispered to yourself, fidgeting with your sleeves.
5012’s eyes snapped to your face, scanning you and maybe your very soul, in a pensive silence.
Silly him probably forgot to look away because you caught him right in the act when you focused on him once again.
“Do I have something on my face?” You joked, ignoring the weight of his attention.
“No you do not,” he began. “It just surprised me, what you said.” He blinked, dragging his eyes to the window and… staring, glaring, admiring it.
You expected him to elaborate further, but he didn’t, and you both sat in silence once again.
It was comfortable, for you of course. For that emo guy over there, probably not.
You could only hear outside world, 5012’s office acted as a bubble, quiet, floating over the everything.
“Why?” You heard him ask.
To who? You weren’t sure. He wasn’t looking at you.
“What?” You asked, caught off guard.
You swore you saw his body shake and stiffen, barely, but you knew it did. His eyes were on yours again, for one second he looked startled and the next it was gone.
“I,” his mouth hung agape in thought.
“I think you should go 0213,” his voice gradually got colder, back to his usual tone huh.
“Why?” You asked, confused.
Why.
“I need to continue with my work, alone. You are distracting in the worst ways,” he fixed his necklace and jacket, nervously.
“Did I do something?”
“Just go, I’ll see you later for training,” he refused to look at you.
You could only imagine the consequences of pushing him too far, so you let it go.
“Okay,” you got up, the leather of the chair creaking under your weight.
“Goodnight then, or good day,” you put on a light hearted tone while walking backwards towards the door, 5012 never looked at you.
Your smile faltered. Finding the handle you disappeared once again, in the cold and silent halls of the building.
Why?
If eyes could burn, 5012’s office door would’ve been reduced to ashes.
Brows furrowed, eyes squinted, various lines caused by tension decorated the man’s face.
His body was still stiff, until he deflated all at once, fingers creeping up to rub his eyes in frustration? Anger? Tiredness? Fuck him if he knew.
Staring at the spot you left empty, 5012’s night went on.
A sound from your computer caught your attention, you rolled on your bed, one of the plushies from the infamous claw machine in your arms.
Another sound, and another.
“Hmpf,” you wobbled towards your desk.
Atlas: “Earth, or idk, to oh two one three”
Atlas: “I was thinking, why not go try to make a mysterious food from we find in the kitchen? Who knows how the Underworld stuff reacts to each other…”
Atlas: “Helloooooo???”
You stared at the text, grinning.
0213: “Hi chicken”
Atlas: “I’m not.”
0213: “Honk honk”
Atlas: “That’s not how chickens sing”
0213: “How do you know?”
Atlas: “I saw a video duh”
0213: “Did you now…”
Atlas: “Here look”
Atlas: *1 attachment
…
0213: “woW”
Atlas: “Aaaaaaanyways,,, how are you? Wanna hit the kitchen?”
0213: “Not today sorry, I have a lot on my mind.”
Atlas: “I want to have your lot on my mind swell ;)”
0213: “5012 was mean to me”
0213: “:(((((((“
Atlas: “hOw Dare he, cold hearted king!”
Atlas: “He’s such a doofus.”
You would’ve searched the meaning of that word later.
0213: “Has he been weird with you too or…?”
Atlas: “He’s always weird with me, I mean in the mean way.”
You asked a stupid question. Or just to the wrong person.
Atlas: “Maybe he’s in THAT time of the month.”
0213: “Huh”
Atlas: “Idk dude, he probably hadn't had his coffee when you talked to him.”
0213: “We’ll wait and see, now go be useful to the world.”
Atlas: “You mean being absolutely useful to society and sending the claw machine in bankruptcy?”
0213: “Honestly I don’t even remember what that word meant but sure, pop off diva!”
You logged out of your iReaper, pondering on what to do in this soon to be boring day.
5012 hadn’t called any meeting nor training yet, which was weird, but until further notice you were free. As much as you were.
It wasn’t like your newborn soul was chained with this association of Grim Reapers that totally killed people, without a way out.
Heh. Free time!
Although, it confused you. 5012, senior Grim Reaper, role model, dutiful worker deathly dedicated to his job, didn’t alert you about working.
Nor training, not even complaining about some crazy shit 0204 pulled.
Checking up on him wouldn’t have been a bad idea, not a good one either.
Your feet went on autopilot and when you snapped out of your thoughts, you were back in front of that office.
Determine as you were nothing could’ve stopped you!
“Oh 5012!” Hand on the door handle you were ready to burst in until… the door didn’t budge.
“Huh,” you rattled it, lightly at first, then harder, gripping it with your whole strength, making the whole door shake.
He either closed you out or wasn’t in the room at all.
You could’ve knocked this thing down. No, too extreme.
Resting your hands on your hips you huffed.
“I guess I’ll come back later. With a chainsaw. This isn’t over, fuckass door.”
You glared daggers at the piece of building as you walked away.
Your steps faded out and silence settled back in, the two men in the room relaxed.
“Didn’t know your trainee was so, direct,” the white haired guy spoke first.
“What was direct in what they did?” 5012 asked, annoyed.
“Almost taking the door out of its hinges.”
“They’d know better.”
“Are they always like that?”
“Abrupt?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve got two of them, actually three with you.”
“Hey, rude.”
“Casper, you should go, wouldn’t want to be eavesdropped on a second time.”
1 am. You were back. Along with your… will? You couldn’t find a chainsaw.
Skipping the knocking you directly went to the offensive, trying to open the door, which again, didn’t budge.
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” you cursed under your breath, pushing and pulling it angrily.
Suddenly you heard a clicking sound, and got dragged along the door as it opened. Revealing a very, very, annoyed 5012.
Your hands were glued to the handle, sweaty.
“Oops, hi boss,” you did everything you could to avoid his gaze.
“Sometimes I wonder why they made you a Reaper 0213,” he sighed.
“I guess I’m that good,” a stupid grin was plastered on your face, letting go of the door.
“I half thought you wouldn’t be here, and actually asleep,” you continued.
“So you DO spend all your time in here,” you pointed an accusing finger to the tall man.
“Is that why you’re here?”
“Yes and also, uhm, to ask why there wasn’t training today.”
“Paperwork kept me busy,” his voice was lower than usual, taking a good look at him, you noticed that he looked more tired. And that was surprising considering he looked tired all the time.
“Can I help?” You smiled, encouraging the man to say yes.
“No,” he replied quickly, “but, I appreciate the offer.”
Your stomach flipped upon hearing 5012’s tone soften. Damn.
“Of course,” you looked down at the floor.
“Can I at least stay here? I’ll be good!”
“I have a feeling that you will stay regardless of what I may say,” the Grim Reaper sulked away, defeated, and headed back to his desk.
“You know me so well!” You followed him with a skip in your step.
The night passed in the quiet of 5012’s office. Having small talks every now and then, insulting each other.
The thought of your trainer never resting lingered.
Persistently.
You weren’t REALLY worried though.
...
Ok, you were. A tiny bit.
So you kept “visiting”, sacrificing your nights to stay with him and the days to hang out with 0204. After a while you also resumed training.
5012 never questioned the real reason behind your nightly appearances, and if he was bothered by it, he didn’t show it through and through.
It became a habit, going to the “purple room”.
Every night he was in his spot, refusing to rest.
Because his job was his life, and he wanted to feel alive, to have a purpose.
A week passed of you and him spending your nights together, obviously 5012 couldn’t have a say in this.
Tonight was no different. You were lounging under the big window, asking stupid questions to the other man, for the sake of wasting his time.
“Why can’t chickens fly?” You quizzed.
“How did you learn about chickens?”
“Atlas told me about them, they’re cute,” you smiled, focusing on the faraway buildings. Imagining a chicken flying from one to the other.
“I don’t know why I’m answering you, but no. From what I know and saw, chickens can’t fly,” 5012 facepalmed, you giggled.
The night went on like that, you asking his favorite candy, him admitting that he never had one, you being shocked before moving on to another question.
Before the both of you realized it, you fell into a habit of being there for each other. Well, sort of.
You fell into the habit of being there and 5012 into the one of, waiting. Waiting for you.
He slowly noticed how he’d think about you in the evening, whether you’d show up or how’d you show up.
A week in, tonight, before you made your appearance he made sure to tide up any misplaced objects and hide the fragile ones just because he saw you almost trip on yourself during training, and decided that he wanted nothing to do with broken objects.
“I heard that Reapers can fly,” you spoke suddenly, he nodded.
“Is there a secret or…?” You tilted your head.
“No, it’ll come to you eventually.”
The man looked at the window, you followed his line of sight.
There was nothing outside.
A dark, empty sky and tall, cold buildings.
You whispered something about reaching the moon, or the sun.
5012 did’t immediately ask you why.
He pondered, and wondered how you could remember what those two things were.
In the end he did ask, carefully.
When did he start being cautious around you?
“Oh I,” you paused, staring at him.
“I don’t. I don’t remember. I just feel that I want to see them.”
You smile, a bit confused yourself.
“You could always describe them to me,” you fidgeted with your clothes. "So at least I’d know what I want to reach,” you joked.
The senior Reaper stared back at you. Searching, questioning.
He surprised you when he complied, beginning with the Sun.
Pure light, he said, warmth, the opposite of whatever you had seen in the Underworld.
Then the Moon.
Something you figured he preferred by how he talked about it.
“The Moon has been my only companion, since the beginning of this long job. The only real witness of all the souls I’ve taken,” his eyes slowly set on his desk, his hands intertwined.
“Many mortals spoke to the Moon before their end, they asked for mercy, kindness. Sometimes for a reason.”
He paused, thinking, calculating, recalling.
And as quickly as he started, he stopped, abruptly.
“Yeah that’s all.”
5012 cleared his throat, collecting pieces of his cold attitude, building his wall once again.
You had perked up during his explanation, his delicate tone caught you off guard. So reverent, smooth, chilling.
You decided against teasing him about it. He felt like a wild animal when he was near you. Inching closer, painfully slow and running so far away if noticed.
You kept your tongue in your mouth.
“Just a big ball of light in the sky,” he spoke, rushing his words.
“And the other is a smaller ball, white.”
You nodded.
“I’d like to see them one day, maybe even touch them,” you blinked, eyes meeting the vast black sky.
5012 thought about saying something about it being impossible AND dangerous. He did not. He let you dream.
But why did you want to reach the sun, the moon?
Why did you want to be kind?
Why?
Your conversations swayed between unbelievably stupid topics to extremely deep ones in matter of minutes.
First you were asking about the moon, then how many plastic balls would be needed to fill the Reaper’s office.
Then about your lost life, and later about fishes.
One day you asked about the stars. You had heard other Reapers talk about them and you, obviously, got curious, and decided to rely on 5012cyclopedia.
“It’s been a while since you asked me about space,” the man noted.
It had been a little more than 2 weeks since you started nagging your trainer.
“They’re small white dots in the sky,” the corners of his mouth curled slightly.
“They’re little moons!” You smiled.
“Not quite but to the human eye, I suppose.”
“Can you reach them?”
“0213 we can’t even reach the moon, which is pretty close.”
No response.
Another day you met him at the coffee machine. The first thing you noticed were his prominent eye bags.
Not that he never had them, but they were particularly dark tonight.
5012’s eyes quickly found you. Zeroing on you from the side.
“Rough night?” You asked.
“Rough everything. 0204 covered my office in confetti.”
He looked —more like glared— down at his coffee mug.
A few seconds of silence passed, 5012 suddenly felt his blood pressure rise. “Please don’t ask me anyth—“
“What’s your favorite blend of coffee?”
Ugh.
And it went on. And on, and on, and on.
Night after night.
He thought of you as a nuisance at first, but gradually reconsidered your presence as an ALMOST entertaining one.
He wondered if you sacrificed your sleep for him.
The idea made him smile. Wait, no, huh?
Maybe you didn’t sleep at all. Or you did, just not at night.
Until finally, after a month of you stating that 5012 was a recluse who only stayed in his office, his pride took over, deciding to prove you wrong.
How?
One evening he quickly messaged you that he wouldn’t have been in his office that night and to not search him. No further explanation and no clues.
Turns out he decided to hang out on the building rooftop, not expecting you to show up.
Firstly because he didn’t tell you where he was, and secondly because you didn’t know how to reach that place.
That is until you, somehow, barged through the stairs’ door.
“How did you—“
“I started asking about you and searching for a way up here as soon as you texted me. It’s that simple.”
No it’s not, it wasn’t, it shouldn’t have been.
You’re dumb, stupid.
He didn’t say anything.
“Why the change of location?” You walked up to him, looking at the scenery.
“Birdwatching.”
You stopped next to him.
“There are birds in the Underworld?”
“I’m messing with you 0213.”
You snapped your head towards 5012, he was looking at the other buildings ahead.
“Since when do you lie?”
“It wasn’t a lie, it was a joke.”
“Even worse. Since when can you joke?”
“You and 0204 are a bad influence.”
“Rude.”
You swore you saw a smirk grace 5012’s face.
Your voice and Casper’s mixed in his mind, reminiscing when the other “Reaper” told him the same thing.
“Anyways,” you chirped, “you finally left your office!”
He huffed, annoyed.
Was it worth entertaining you? He didn’t answer.
In the quiet of the night you thought that... this was nice, chatting with 5012. Then you noticed that you were smiling to yourself.
Ah…
You shielded you face from him, suddenly embarrassed.
If he saw you like that he probably would’ve called you an idiot.
Luckily the man was distracted by the dark sky above.
“Say 0213,” he whispered.
Why.
“Why do you want to reach the moon and the sun?”
Your eyes widened, surprised.
He remembered that?
“Uhm,” you paused, not exactly knowing why.
The reason was buried in your lost memories.
But it felt right —like your name— to grasp at anything and everything connecting you to the human world. To the lost you.
Purple eyes pierced you. Waiting.
“I saw a few pictures of them and I…” the words died in your throat.
Your brain was digging, clawing at something that was no longer there.
“It just felt… I felt, grief.”
Grief.
5012’s eyes softened.
He hummed, acknowledging your answer, eyes meeting the sky once more. Oh, how eyes could tell everything.
During the shared nights the man had unconsciously learned to read you better. He never wanted to, but still, it happened.
His tongue trembled in his mouth.
It downed on him the reality of the situation. Two mortals now dead and reborn anew. Two beings that had to learn how to “live” again, on the rooftop of a random building, in a cold city. Alone.
He thought he got used to it. But you… you were new to this.
You truly were alone in that world.
It was a rare occurrence, seeing 5012 have mercy, be kind.
But that night, engulfed in death with you, he gave you solace.
“0213,” his tone was painfully delicate.
Only then you noticed the proximity.
It was both suffocating and comforting at the same time.
You hummed low, curious.
Some time ago, you'd never thought you'd find yourself having serious talks with 5012.
You only ever wanted to poke him. Annoy him.
But you longed for more. You yearned.
In him you could start seeing a person. Someone worth discovering.
Someone that made your heart squeeze and your stomach twist.
Because he knew what having it hard felt like.
Only God knew how your lived your human life.
Yet your body remembered.
In him you saw someone who could understand, even if he refused to.
And then, only then, the man showed a piece of his heart. To you.
“I will show you the moon.”
Thank you for reading this short oneshot! Hope you enjoyed!
English is not my first language, sorry for little errors!
. Word Count — 1.4k
. Warnings — Horrific humor
. Contents — Grim exploding, relentless teasing (from you), Reader is a menace, Grim is a pathetic loser/j, no he's just really in love, fluff, comedy, mundane life, sorta crackfic, Reader is gender neutral
Prologue — Ever thought about annoying a Grim Reaper? It's Casper teasing o'clock!
The morning sun kissed your skin, announcing the new day.
You would've felt at peace...
If it wasn't for the man lying on top of you like a dead weight.
The Grim Reaper, Grim, Grimmy... Casper.
He had been crashing at your house for a while now. Well, not really crashing, more like staying... living there.
How did you end up like that? No idea. Or maybe yes.
His skin was cold, smooth. You felt it as you ran your fingertips up and down his bare back. After a few strokes he grunted in your shoulder.
”Morning," you whispered.
Casper jerked his head upwards, red eyes meeting yours.
"Hi Mortal," he mumbled, plopping on you once again.
"Mortal? Dude, what? You're still calling me that?”
"What should I call you then?" his arms wrapped around your chest.
A clock inside you went off, signaling it was "Casper teasing time”.
It was a weekly occurrence, sometimes daily... but who even counted?
He deserved it.
All that messing around with your soul had to be excused.
"You could call me ‘my love’," you combed his hair, "or ‘my pookie’.”
At that Grim stiffened and slowly raised to sit next to you.
”A what now?" His eyebrows furrowed.
"Pookie," you smiled.
"What is a pookie?" He stared at you.
"How do you not know what a pookie is..." you mocked him.
You exactly knew why.
"Is this a human thing?" He frowned.
It was a social media thing, actually a Shrek reference, but he couldn't know that... ancient soul.
"It's actually an ogre thing!" You flicked his forehead, he yelped.
"You're spitting out nonsense."
You smiled at him, kindly.
"What now?" He idly twirled his hair.
"Nothing in particular," you sat up on the mattress as well, pecking Casper's cheek before jumping out of bed.
"Hey! You—" his cheeks heated in embarrassment.
He was cute, extremely so.
The morning went on normally, in a casual way.
You were getting used to Grim's presence in your apartment, it was calming, in a way.
He was busy preparing breakfast, some time ago he had claimed that:
"I have to show you how better I am at cooking and baking!”
Arrogant much…
You tip-toed towards him, resting your side against the counter you knocked on it a few times.
"Knock-knock," he threw you a confused look.
"Huh?"
"What do you mean huh... knock-knock Casper." You stared at him, he didn't move an inch.
You facepalmed, giggled and cleared your voice.
"What do you say when someone knocks at your door?”
"Leave me alone." He frowned, you blinked.
Was he saying that to you or was that what he said to anyone who tried to disturb him?
"I tell them to leave me alone, I don't want to be bothered..." he had an innocent look despite the cold words.
"What do you tell them?" He fixed his gaze on the pan again.
"I ask who's there," you watched him nod.
"So... knock-knock?”
"Who's there?”
"Eyesore," you smiled.
"Who the hell is Eyesore?”
"Eyesore love you a lot!”
He froze, slowly fixing his eyes towards you.
"What was that," he was staring at your soul.
"Normal conversation," you reached for him, wrapping your arms around his waist.
"Ah!" He jolted, gripping the pan tight. "If you're trying to get something from me just say it Sunshine," he chuckled, clearly flustered.
You buried your face in his back. "Did it hurt? When you fell from Heaven?"
You squeezed his lower back, he groaned in exasperation.
"I'm not even from Heaven! You dumbass!" He tried to whack you with the wooden spoon he was using.
"Get out of m— your— OUR kitchen!" He commanded you out, threatening to chase you if you didn't, (and steal your soul but, you were used to that at this point).
You were scrolling on your phone while waiting for Casper to finish cooking. You saw him trot out of the kitchen happily, two plates in hand.
“Here," a plate of freshly made crêpes was served to you.
They looked good, you were positively surprised.
"Thank you Grim," you reached for his face with your hand and pinched his cheek.
He sat across you, your pet was at his feet, looking up.
"I can't, it's not healthy for you..." he reached down to boop their head, then looked at you once again.
"You became less snobby huh?”
"Snob— excuse me?”
"With your whole ‘I Am The Grim Reaper I Will Harvest Your Soul, Bend Down!’ thing you know," you smirked, he pouted.
"It was your fault.”
"My beauty blinded you! Oh my goodness!"
You dramatically leaned back in your chair, the white haired man blushed.
"You're extremely infuriating this morning." His eye twitched.
He knew what you were doing, sadly he wasn't modern enough to get everything you said.
Between idle chatting and eating you finished your plates.
Looking at your companion, you noticed that his lips were smeared with sugar.
Oh yeah.
"Caspy you have..." you got up, circling the table and bending down at eye-level.
"Mh?" He glanced around puzzled.
Cradling his chin with your hand, your fingers brushed his lips.
“Mortal."
"Grimmy," you whispered while sliding one of your fingers across his soft skin, cleaning the sugar.
He let out a short scream.
"Stop you're gonna kill me!" he panicked watching you lick your fingers clean.
”You're still alive tho.”
“You—“
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!"
That was horribly cliché of you.
Heavens above…
You gave Casper a break from late morning to late afternoon while you were at work, it was one of those days where your presence was needed.
There wasn't a minute that Grim passed without thinking about all the irritating attentions you gave him in the morning.
"Your owner is a hell-spawn."
He complained about you to your pet, who shifted between paying him no mind to somehow listening.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid." He clapped his cheeks with his hands a few times.
"I hate having to wait for you Sunshine," he mumbled, staring at the window... evening was nearing.
You were walking home, and like someone else you couldn't stop thinking about who was waiting for your return.
Walking past a pizza place you decided to reward the God of Death that was in your apartment by buying him dinner.
"Honey I'm home!" You announced your arrival, slamming the front door happily.
"What did you just call me?!" Casper raised from the couch, completely red.
"Honey," you repeated.
"Don't call me that it's cor—" you shut him up by shoving the pizza boxes in his hands.
"Let's eat, my dear babygirl, I am STARVING,” you winked, Grim exploded.
You decided to spoil yourselves by eating on the couch in front of a tv show.
"What do you wanna watch Grimmy?" You nudged the remote towards him.
"I'm fine with anything, it's not common for me to watch... stuff."
He frowned at the ground.
Typical.
"Are you beyond human shows?" You raised an eyebrow.
"Absolutely,” he nodded while you snorted.
You both settled for a comedy, which was actually fun for once.
Casper couldn't get most of the jokes, that alone was extremely funny.
"Say my dear Grim, do you ever feel sigma?"
"WHAT." He choked on a string of mozzarella.
"Yeah like, you're so skibidi, I'd want you in my bed all day..." you tapped your chin.
”But of course I'd buy you dinner first, oh wait! I just did…” your eyes landed straight on the white-head beside you, he was fuming.
You could almost feel the warmth from your spot.
"You're gonna be the death of me," the man covered his face.
You shuffled closer, your hands finding his and sliding them off his face, he was staring at you.
"Cutie," you smiled and gently kissed him on the nose, then his lips.
Casper stiffened for a brief second before softening all around you.
"Sunshine, I—" you shushed him with your fingers.
"Silence is worth one thousand words," you said dramatically, pretending to wipe away fake tears.
"I truly can't understand you human," he moved away your finger from his mouth, you giggled and pecked his cheek.
"Also, I just KNOW that in another universe we're two ladybugs dancing," you clapped your hands and Casper couldn't contain himself anymore.
"SUNSHINE WHAT?!"
This is a repost! Thank you for reading this short piece, hope you enjoyed!
This fanfiction was requested! ★
English isn't my first language sorry for tiny errors T_T
. Word Count — 1k
. Warnings — None!
. Contents — Draft?, sleeping troubles, hints of insomnia, Leander taking care of you, Reader is gender neutral
Prologue — You're a tired fella. Leander comes to the rescue.
"I'm asking you to trust me.”
"Yeah of course." You twisted your body on the bed, wrinkling the sheets even more.
It was late at night, the ruckus outside the Wet Wick still loud and clear.
You, unable to sleep, had started to think about your first day in Eridia.
In particular, the time spent with Leander.
"I'm asking you to trust me," you repeated, his words echoing in your mind and cutting trough the unpleasant background noise.
Was he really trustworthy?
During your life you learned not to trust anyone, the closest people you had ended up leaving you in the same wastes you almost died in.
"Fucking Leander," your eyes hurt.
"If you ever need a break from all of this, come to me.”
Again, his words not yours.
"Is it too early to ask for help?" You whispered to yourself. "Is it too early to trust?"
You scoffed, "of course it is, stupid."
1 AM. Eyes open. Limbs twitching. Sore ears.
“Fuck this."
You grunted. In order to feel comfortable you unbandaged your arms and hands, took off most of Kuras' clothes leaving you in your pants and the loose shirt.
"The bartender should've had just knocked me out flat," you slowly sat on the bed, your consciousness hazed by tiredness along with that incredibly strong drink you had earlier.
As you made your way out of your room, you noticed that the tavern was full.
Not like before but the fact that there was no place to sit nor stand and the counter said it all.
The wooden floor was warm, not sure how, given the weather, but you found it pleasant.
"Noisy bastards." You leaned on the wood railing, scanning the room only for your eyes to land on none other than the man of the hour, Leander, serving drinks.
Were you staring at him? Yes.
Did you find him interesting and attractive? Also yes, wait.
Your cheeks flushed at the thought, you quickly covered them with your cold hands.
"Truth to be told, no one I met today was ugly," you noted.
But despite everything, could you let your guard down?
“Look at you!” A familiar voice shouted from under you.
"Can't sleep? Want me to sing to you or brew you something worth a knock out?"
Leander...
"Your Bloodhounds are noisy." You smiled.
"Cut them some slack," he started walking up the stairs. "They've been working hard," he reached out for your shoulder, probably to rest on it, but stopped right over it, giving it a pat.
He smiled at you, seeing you wobble on your spot.
”So how are you—" suddenly your legs trembled almost losing balance due to the lack of rest.
“Ah careful," Leander wrapped one of his arms around you.
"You really need to rest after a day like this one, let's get you to bed."
He guided you to your room —while scolding you— holding your hand. Your bare hand.
It made you giddy.
"There you go, rest up," he smiled, helping you on the bed.
"Wait," you held on his wrist with slight pressure, "stay."
You whispered.
"Please."
Your brows knitted and his raised, Leander's face was crimson red.
"Oh you," his gaze softened.
"Who am I to deny you company?" He intertwined his fingers with yours and took a seat at the edge of the bed, your head on his lap and your hands gently linked.
You weren’t sure for how long the two of you stayed like that. But at some point, you let darkness engulf you. Cradling your body in a warm embrace.
You cracked on eye open, sunlight filtering trough the window.
You looked up and saw Leander, he never left.
His eyes were closed, chest rising and falling calmly.
You wondered how he stayed comfortable the whole night, despite his back resting against the bed frame and his legs dangling from the side of the mattress.
One of his hands in yours and the other on your head, fingers laced in your hair. You stared at his relaxed face, his dark circles prominent, his lips slightly parted.
With your free hand you delicately reached out for his face, like the previous night... you were scared, no doubt.
You trembled as you hovered his lips, "just a stroke" you thought.
"Good morning," a deep voice broke the silence, startling you, and before you could pull away a calloused hand embraced yours, bringing his lips closer, leaving a soft kiss on your palm.
"Ah..." you face reddened still looking up at him from his lap.
"Oh, my apologies," he looked away, his cheeks pink and his mouth curled in a grin.
"I got too ahead of myself," he helped you up and sat beside you.
"I enjoyed our night, you must've been really tired, you never woke up." He nudged you with his elbow.
"You didn't sleep?" You questioned.
"Ah... about that, it's one of my many struggles," he giggled.
"Mh, thank you for staying with me, I don't know what came to me when—"
“Whenever you want dear,” his smile seemed genuine, it made you feel warm.
"Now, I'll leave you to your morning routine while I follow mine."
He stood up, bowing briefly, his hand leaving yours.
"See you later..." you whispered, his warmth lingering on your body as the day started.
Later that day, a voice reached your ears as you were walking near the Senobium, "If it isn't my favourite person in the world.”
"Hello Vere, Ais." You greeted them with a smile, they returned it.
"Care to join us for a walk?" Vere cooed stretching his arms.
”They let me roam a few hours, shame." He smirked.
”Better than nothing," Ais joined. "What do you say Sparrow? Coming with us?" His red eyes met yours.
"It's gonna be fun~" the fox winked as you rolled your eyes.
"Sure why not.”
Hopefully you wouldn't end up drunk and wasted by the evening.
But frankly, if that led to Leander taking care of you again, you didn't mind.
But even so... was Leander really the man he seemed to be?
This is a repost! Thank you for reading this draft(?), hope you enjoyed!
Might write a proper piece in the future :]
English isn't my first language sorry for tiny errors T_T
. Word Count — 2.6k
. Warnings — None!
. Contents — A normal day in Low Town, Mhin being Mhin, Mhin being somewhat sweet, fluff, pastry craving, dancing, hand holding, quiet moments, Reader is gender neutral
Prologue — An unplanned date with Mhin where you challenge their social skills
You felt good today, great even.
Leander had helped you gather informations about the Senobium and the job was successful.
You felt good, discovering more about your curse gave you hope.
You were savouring one of those fried dough sticks that you grew to love when, suddenly, you spotted a white-haired individual standing in front of a bakery.
"Mhin!" You whispered to yourself, acknowledging their presence.
How you even managed see them was a mystery, given their...stature.
As you approached them, navigating the thick crowd of a normal afternoon in Low Town, a thought came to your mind.
Slowly creeping up behind them, you tried to ease the urge to giggle.
Maybe this was the time you could scare the attitude out of Mhin.
"You must me really stupid if you think I didn't notice you already," the person in front of you spoke, still facing the bakery display. You froze.
"What were you even trying to achieve?" They turned around with their arms folded and a scowl on their delicate face, cold grey eyes meeting yours.
"Ah- I..." you stared at Mhin for a few seconds, embarrassed, then quickly dropped your gaze down to their boots.
They sighed and turned towards the glass window once again.
You decided to join, to their dismay, taking in the pleasant sight of the different desserts neatly organized on small shelves.
"Do you like one in particular?" You glanced at your sight-seeing companion.
"Why do you care?"
"Ugh, just answer, it's small talk."
"I hate small talk" they retorted quickly, surprising even themselves.
Mhin furrowed their eyebrows, biting their tongue.
"...The riceballs with osmanthus flowers."
They mumbled, refusing to look at your face.
Silence fell between you two, you felt the discomfort in Mhin, it was clear that they weren't used to silent company, or company at all.
"Uhm," their voice startled you, it was strained.
"Yours?"
"Pardon?"
"What's... the one you, like?"
Were they making an effort in talking to you?
You smiled. "That one," you tucked your arm out of your cloak to point at the dessert that caught your eye, Mhin's gaze lingered on your hand and nodded.
The silence was back.
You had an idea. You patted down your clothes, finding your coin purse, quickly checking the number of coins.
You headed inside the bakery, startling Mhin, whose eyes perked up with curiosity.
"What are you doing?" They spoke in a hushed tone, barely audible even to their own ears. Much to the hunter's misfortune, or not, you didn't answer as you already disappeared behind the wooden door.
After a few minutes Mhin assisted to what they could only label as a tragedy.
The beloved dessert that they were eyeing was removed from the display, in front of their eyes.
"What⎯" their hands pressed to the glass, missing the sight of such delicacy.
That is, until their cold eyes glued to your figure exiting the building, two bags in hand.
You were smiling, Mhin decided that it was irritating.
"Here," you beamed, offering one of the two bags to the them.
"Don't tell me you..."
"Yes, I got you the riceballs," you winked.
Mhin stared at the bag in your hand, their cheeks dusted by a soft blush. They turned their head away harshly, looking everywhere but at you.
"You didn't have to."
"But I wanted to."
Were you being serious?
"No, I don't want it."
"Really?"
Silence.
"Mhin?" You inched closer.
"Why?" Their sharp expression cut trough you, a shiver ran across your whole body.
"Because you wanted it," your eyes drifted to the side, sometimes Mhin intimidated you.
"Because you're stupid." They breathed the sentence out, rubbing one of their arms.
"I'm not," and just before you could finish talking, the bag was snatched out of your hand.
Mhin was pouting. Were they upset? No, on the contrary.
But you couldn't read that on their face.
"Let's go somewhere else," Mhin nudged you, motioning to follow them in the crowd. And so you did.
Dodging the citizens while keeping up with Mhin's pace wasn't easy, they were used to it, you weren't. For a matter of fact you had just learned to dodge the drunk clients of the Wet Wick during busy nights.
Mhin took notice of that and without thinking too much about it their hand found yours, squeezing faintly.
Your stomach flipped, it wasn't the first time you made contact with them but everytime it sent a shock trough you.
You remained silent untill the white-head stopped in a narrow hallway and turned around.
"Much better," a hint of a smile on their face.
"Yeah, I agree..." your eyes landed on your linked hands, Mhin's gaze followed.
"Oh," they quickly retracted their hand and hid it under the cloak, you giggled.
"It's fine! I enjoyed it."
"You what?"
"Nothing," your face reddened.
The seconds went by, you decided that it was time to eat your dessert, after all... you bought it for a reason.
You slumped down the nearest wall, the paper bag crinkling in your hands as you took out your oh so treasured possession.
"Don't mind if I do," you took a big bite.
Mhin was staring at you in a mix of confusion and amazement.
They didn't take you for someone who was okay with eating in gloomy, dirty hallways. You looked fancier than that.
They glanced down at their own bag, they could smell the sweet food inside.
"I don't mind." Mhin whispered, "...don't mind if I do either."
They slumped down next to you, a few feet apart. You watched them open the bag and delicately take bites out of their own dessert, you liked seeing them relaxed... if they even were.
"You can come closer, you know." You tilted your head, smiling.
They shot you a confused look, it happened often, you confused them.
Was it your personality? Your way of talking? Mhin didn't know.
You were unique in your own way.
The hunter didn't answer, so you took the initiative, scooting closer until a few inches were between your shoulders.
"You're annoying." Mhin scoffed.
"I've been called worse," you flexed your bandaged hand while the other held the half eaten sweet.
"I didn't mean...sorry." They grimaced.
"About what?" You raised an eyebrow, their gaze fell on your arms.
"My arms don't affect my annoying personality," you joked.
"I'm not that sensible by the way, you could call me a monster and I'd laugh." You gave them a thumbs up.
They narrowed their eyes before taking another bite.
Silence stretched between you two. It was comforting.
"Thank you," you felt their shoulder make contact with yours.
"I appreciate it," a faint smile made its way up their face, it was beautiful.
"You're welcome, Mhin." You pressed your shoulder to theirs gently, smiling from ear to ear.
The two of you stayed like that for a lot, exchanging a few words on different topics and such. You were having fun, and so was Mhin, they would've never admitted it though.
"How about a stroll?" You asked, tilting your head towards the hunter.
"Where?"
"No specific place, around the main plaza of Low Town?"
You saw Mhin grimace at the idea.
"Don't worry about the people, I'll do my best to make us remain distant, and unnoticed. Maybe." You winked, they looked away.
You got to your feet and offered your hand to the other.
Surprisingly, they took it, and raised themselves to their feet. "Let's go," you chuckled.
The walk to your destination was quiet, you had time to think about what you wanted to do.
Maybe eat some more? Shop trinkets?
You were smiling before even realizing it. Every now and then you stole a glance at your companion, they were silent, in the most mesmerizing way possible. They fascinated you.
At your arrival you both were greeted by a medium crowd, circling a street musician who was playing calm melodies.
Mhin tugged you to a corner the sun didn't reach and let go of your hand.
You watched them as they leaned against a wall, propping their foot behind them to have the heel of their boots scrape against said wall.
"This is nice isn't it?" You smiled at the sight of mundane life, people going and coming from their businesses, merchants selling their products, the crowd listening to the music that filled the made-up auditorium.
"Yes, I suppose it is," their smile matched yours, which was unusual. You felt your cheeks heat ever so slightly, it sure was a sight.
Time passed, you and the hunter kept admiring the day going by and anyone that fell in eyesight.
Suddenly, you heard the start of a rhythmic song, seeing the crowd disperse into small groups of people dancing made you perk up.
The song wasn't familiar, you still haven't learned about local culture, but that surely didn't stop your thoughts.
In a rush of adrenaline you reached out to squeeze Mhin's arm.
"Let's go dance!"
"What?" The hunter couldn't even react properly before being pulled out of the shadows and into the plaza, near the big group.
"What are you doing?!"
"Just follow me!" You laughed.
You felt guilty for putting Mhin into an uncomfortable situation, but you were optimistic, maybe it would've ended up being fun!
You placed your hands in theirs, and tried to mimic the dance moves of the people around you.
Surprisingly, you managed to pull them off despite being foreign to the dance, and even more surprisingly, Mhin followed along.
Not without giving you an earful about it.
"What are you even thinking?? You stupid, you..." they couldn't continue. They kept looking around for someone possibly staring.
Even in the spinning and twirling they still managed to keep an eye on the surrounding situation.
You reached for their cheek, grazing it with your fingers, you moved their head so that you both were facing each other.
Mhin's eyes widened, their cheeks flushed.
"Stop looking at others, only you and me matter at this moment," you smiled, you hand fully cradling the side of their face.
"Yeah?" You tilted your own head to the side, ignoring the flurry of dancers around you.
"You could also pull down this hood of yours, unless you want it to fall during our dance..." your tone was lighter now.
"Did I tell you how... difficult you are to deal with?" They frowned.
"You did," you giggled before twirling them around.
"Show me your moves Mhin!" You teased.
After that you both made the dance work, you taking the lead, pulling the white-head to you everytime they tried to slip away.
You laughed, stepped on each others' feet, tripped... almost fell. And eventually assisted to Mhin's hood fall on their shoulders. The music kept going, it speeded up and slowed, changing the pace of everyone dancing.
As the melody raised you felt like it was nearing its end, you smiled at yourself, letting Mhin twirl you until you noticed the positions most dancers took, and so you followed.
You accompanied the hunter in front of you with your hand, they were looking at you. Only you.
Without any warning, they circled an arm around your waist, reached for your hand and before the music could finish, spun you around ending the dance by dipping you... or at least, Mhin tried.
"That was unexpected," you whispered to them, their face was completely red and their eyes couldn't meet yours.
It was an adorable frown, you thought.
"We should... get up, now." They quickly pulled you straight up and covered their head with their cloak. "Forget that happened."
You wouldn't, absolutely not. The hunter unfortunately knew that.
"You're good at dancing when you put effort in it huh?"
You rested a hand on your hip, covering your mouth with the other, trying to hide your —rather goofy— smile.
"Please stop." Mhin glared at you, cheeks still red.
"Alright, still... thank you for dancing with me." Your expression softened.
You felt nice, happy.
Hopefully, Mhin felt the same.
They were. In their own way, they were happy.
"I think I should head back to the Wet Wick, I'm starting to feel tired," you rubbed your neck.
If only you could spend all your days like this, having fun with ol' grumpy Mhin. You grinned at the thought.
"What about you?" Your eyes met theirs.
"I'll accompany you, and then..." they briefly looked down at their feet before snapping their eyes back up, "go about my business."
"Fair," you nodded as you both started walking back towards the tavern.
The walk was silent like the previous one, you realised how much Mhin has talked that day... unlike others.
You were glad, maybe they were finally putting some trust into you.
That made you feel warm, and even if you couldn't tell, Mhin felt that way too.
You were walking side to side, the narrow walls and passersby making you move closer, your hand brushing against theirs, you both tried to ignore it.
You reached the Wet Wick, still unusually empty both inside and outside.
You took a few steps ahead of Mhin and turned around to face them.
"Thank you for today, it was fun!"
"What are you thanking me for?" Their eyes shifted between the ground and yours.
"Thank you for... not denying my company," you smiled, they frowned.
"Don't mention it, I⎯" the hunter paused for a few seconds.
"I had fun too."
And that phrase made you happy, SO happy you couldn't even realise it. Your hands tingled under the bandages, craving to feel.
You inched closer, Mhin instinctively took a step back with an alarmed expression.
"What are you doing?" Their eyes bored into yours, embarrassment filled you.
"Nothing bad I just, wanted to..." your gaze fell on your slightly outstretched arm.
The other person picked up the hint and relaxed, their face slightly red as they mumbled an "okay".
That was what you needed, you arms wrapped around Mhin's body, it felt stiff yet soft. Your hands slid down their back, you felt as if their back bones were sharper than normal.
Your head pressed against their chest and they slowly raised their hands, resting them on your upper arms.
You felt Mhin shiver under your touch, as if your hands, even if bandaged, could have an effect on them.
"Hey..." they whispered in your ear, they were staring at you.
"Yes?" You blinked, distancing yourself a few inches.
Their fingers gripped your arms as they quickly moved their face very close to yours, you could feel their breath on you, the subtle warmth of their skin.
"Mh⎯" your mouth was covered by an icy cold hand as you felt a pair of lips rest on your forehead.
It lasted less than a second, before you could react everything ended. The Soulless hunter took a few steps backwards, facing you before turning around and disappearing in the streets of Low Town.
You stared at the spot they left empty, your fingers grazing the place where you've been kissed, you felt your cheeks burn and your lips curl upwards.
"Damn it," you laughed, turned around and headed inside the tavern.
All you could think about was Mhin's last expression, a tranquil smile... ironically bright, in fact it got printed in your mind.
You absolutely didn't care.
That night you fell asleep reminiscing the events of the passed day.
It felt weird, sappy even, but your mind still found itself thinking about it.
Your body was engulfed in thick blankets that reminded you of what the previous hug felt, you loved it.
And again, that night you weren't alone, you couldn't have had known it but a figure was on your roof, maybe protecting, or just stalling.
Their slim body resting on the rooftop tiles, savoring the night air.
You both had something in common, aside your curses.
You were both smiling.
This is a repost! Thank you for reading this short oneshot, hope you enjoyed!
English isn't my first language sorry for tiny errors T_T
. Word Count — 2.4k
. Warnings — None!
. Contents — Mutual pining, drunk!Reader, fluff, Kuras taking care of you, oneshot, implied alcohol usage, hangover, morning after, Reader has abandonment issues, story inspired by Kuras' expression (header), Reader is gender neutral
Prologue — Drunkards are often left at Kuras' door, and so were you. What can a Doctor do if not aid you?
It was a normal night really. You had come back from your daily errands, tried to discover more of the Senobium as well as your curse and retired to the Wet Wick for a nice drink before your rightfully earned rest.
So how did you end up like this?
At the door of Kuras' clinic, probably drunk out of your mind.
Seriously, how?
Hell, that one drink must've turned into 4 or 5 more, Leander sure knew how to be persuasive.
How did the doctor even come to mind?
Were you hoping for a remedy to sober up? A quieter place to rest?
You blinked, your mind blank. Amongst the fog caused by the alcohol, coherent thoughts were still present.
"I'm just gonna piss him off aren't I?"
You asked yourself, staring at the wooden door before dragging your gaze at each of your sides.
Maybe it was still too early in the night to start seeing passed out drunkards outside his clinic, but you didn't mind, at all.
It was actually better for you.
"What am I even doing here..." you grimaced, gently slapping your cheeks to gather your senses.
"Why am I even thinking so hard about this? If I'm bothering him he'll just send me away, it's not like he's not capable of doing that."
Indeed, why were you worrying so hard about a man you met a few weeks ago...or have you known him longer? Time flew.
Despite that, you got close to the doctor, your relationship developing and forming something that was more than a normal acquaintance.
You had a bond with him, a bond you cherished.
"Screw this." You looked up at the door, raising one arm and ready to knock.
As your knuckles made contact with the wood you heard a clicking sound and the door opened, as on cue, your eyes snapped up, meeting his own.
There he was, Doctor Kuras, in all his mysterious elegance, looking down at you with a placid expression.
“It's you," he met your eyes, acknowledging your presence at the ungodly hour.
“Kurasss," you responded, dragging the 's' in a long slur.
"You, surprised me…” your raised arm fell to your side again.
"So did you,” his eyes narrowed, a small smile crept to his face.
"How did you...uhm, figure out I was out here?”
"I heard mumbling and couldn't concentrate properly on my reading, so I investigated.”
Fuck, you did bother him after all.
"I apologize, I didn't really think this through⎯“
"You're drunk," he interrupted you, his brows furrowed.
"No?" You swayed, your hand flying up gripping the wall to stabilize yourself.
"No?" He repeated, his eyes closing.
“No!”
“Are you sure?” His tone was firm as a boulder.
You weren't doing a great job at keeping the conversation light-hearted were you? Was he mad? Bothered?
"Come inside,” he held the door open for you.
You stared forward, your body had gotten comfortable standing where it was, and Kuras picked up on that.
Settling beside you, he placed a hand on your lower back and gave you the slight push you needed to unfreeze from your position and followed him inside.
"You can sit on the bed,” he stated, walking over his “doctor stuff”, you knew the specific name, but couldn't bother to remember it at the moment.
You took a seat on the firm bed, looking at your lap, waiting and thinking, again, why you were there.
The furniture around brought you back at the start of this insane journey.
"Have this,” his silky voice reached you, goodness... you thought that the same voice was enough to put you to sleep.
“Thanks," you smiled as you brought the small cup to your nose.
"Smells like liquor,” was Kuras trying to worsen your drunken state?
Was he even capable of that?
You earned an almost full smile from the tall man.
"Does it?" his eyes squinted in a fox-like gaze. You shrugged and downed the drink.
“FUCK!” You cursed before coughing, a few strangled noises came out of you as you wiped your mouth on your sleeve.
"Bitter, bitter, bitter!” You coughed, Kuras still had that smile plastered on his face, the now empty cup in his hands.
"Your reaction is completely understandable, most people react that way,” he blinked slowly, admiring your response.
"But it worked regardless of the unpleasant taste,” he added, walking towards one of the counters to put down the object in his hand and to tide up a few small vials.
"What even was that?" You briefly stuck your tongue out, the bitter taste lingering.
“Felwort,” he briefly said.
Sensing your confusion he explained further: "A flower, more specifically a plant." His head turned to the side to look at you.
"I don't feel less drunk,”
"It wasn't to sober you up, it was to make you react,”
"So you turned me from a tired drunk to a feisty drunk?"
You heard an irregular breath coming out of him, similar to a snort, a very quiet one.
"If you want to put it that way, go ahead.”
You shook your head and blinked a few times, your sight was still blurred and you felt tipsy as hell, but Kuras was right, you weren't on the brim of passing out anymore... you wouldn't have minded going to sleep though.
"You're always helping me..." your voice was a whisper in the quiet room, still, Kuras heard you perfectly. He turned around, glasses in hand. "It's my job as a doctor, I told y⎯“
"That's not what I meant." You interrupted him, meeting his eyes.
"You're always here for me, you were there when I first arrived in Eridia...you saved me, you were and still are here when I need guidance, you even are present when I don't wanna eat my meals alone,” you rubbed your forehead, your head hurt, and you weren't even hungover at that moment.
Kuras kept silent, a pensive gaze veiling his expression.
"I'm just constantly wondering how you haven't betrayed me yet,” as your eyes trailed to the ground, your face scrunched up in an angry expression.
It hurt. Drunk words are sober thoughts.
You were scared, scared like crazy.
You couldn't afford to find comfort in anything, as you were used to having that thing taken away by those who you dared to trust.
"Please don't betray me, please be always here," you mumbled to yourself, your eyes began to sting.
The three stages of a drunk person: tired, aware, and sad... it was almost funny, you would've laughed at the situation if you weren't the person dealing with it.
Kuras' footsteps were light as a feather, silent, elegant like him.
He stood in front of you, leaving his glasses at your side, on the bed.
You didn't look up, you weren’t going to, and when he understood that, his hand gently tilted your chin up.
At the sight of his expression, your eyes slowly opened wide.
Brows furrowed, lips slightly parted, that one single expression held so much sorrow that you felt your heart squeeze in your chest. His eyes boring into yours, eyes filled with delicate worry.
You didn't mind if Kuras himself didn't care about you in reality or that maybe all of his actions were a made-up act.
In that moment, he was worried about you, and that was enough.
You wanted to live the moment.
Maybe he just pitied you, but you were craving so much comfort that you would've accepted any form of it.
Even if that comfort was just eye contact.
Especially from him.
His golden eyes scanned your face, his hand slid up and rested on your cheek, his thumb wiping a few tears in the most gentle way possible. His lips slowly morphing into a smile.
"I won't betray you,” he said.
"You're dear to me, so very dear.”
You stared at him, dazed. Did he mean it?
You felt your face grow warmer, but not enough to make it noticeable.
Fucking doctor.
Fucking charming doctor.
In your drunken state you ended up resting your head against Kuras' chest, in a sort of half-hug.
One of his hands still on your cheek, the other gently stroking your back to calm down your silent sobs.
He waited for you. He always waited for you.
And you loved that, you almost didn't believe it.
Half an hour later, there you were.
Again... How did you end up like this?
On one of the clinic's couches, curled up under your own cloak (gifted by the doctor himself), half asleep with your head resting on Kuras' lap. The same man caressing your hair in slow motions, waiting for you to fall asleep in his care.
He promised you that it was fine, he would've never suggested it if he didn't want to do it.
"I think it will make you feel better, don't you agree?" he had said.
Cheeky doctor.
You opened your eyes lazily, your head twisting to be able to see his face.
He was already watching you, a small smile adorning his features. He smiled often with you. Maybe you were funny to him.
"Kuras..." you wanted to thank him, to tell him his eyes were the best thing to look at, that you would've spent hours around him, that he was insanely charming, and that you never wanted to see a trace of worry on his face ever again... drunk thoughts, huh?
But everything trailed off, your voice overcome by tiredness.
He chuckled, clearly this time.
"Goodnight dear,” he caressed your forehead.
“Night," you mumbled, and let yourself slip into sleep.
Morning. Sun. Brightness. Noise. Pain, a lot of it.
You groaned, loudly. Your head was killing you. And so was your stomach, it felt on fire.
“Figures…" you thought.
You knew you drank last night. You knew that you saw Leander and Kuras at a certain point, and you knew about an extremely, disgusting, bitter drink you had.
You rolled on whatever surface you were on, shielding your eyes from the light as you waited to decently regain consciousness.
You were in your room, in your bed. You could hear the usual ruckus on the ground floor of the Wet Wick.
At least you weren't in some weird alley.
"Some cold water will help,” you said to yourself as you padded towards the bathroom. Taking a good look at yourself in the mirror, you didn't look as bad as you felt. That was good.
Your bandages came slightly loose, and you frowned.
“I needed to change them anyway…" you carefully took the cloth off your arms, trying not to pay attention to their appearance, one you still haven't gotten used to.
Cupping your hands together you filled them with water, looking at it rippling on your golden scars.
Then washed your face until satisfied, small droplets running down and between the curves of your face.
You went on like usual, washing, dressing, bandaging your arms, tidying up the bedroom as best as you could, and heading down to the counter for a short breakfast.
"Look at you my friend! Good morning,” you heard a familiar shout, Leander.
“Hey," you offered him a tired smile.
"How are you feeling?”
"Everything spins, what did you make me drink yesterday night?”
"Ah— heh... I don't remember either, lost track of my own drinks as well,” an embarrassed blush rose on his face.
"You're awful,” you both laughed at your statement.
"You don't seem to be doing bad tho,” you said, taking notice of his unusual clearness, he was supposed to be as hungover as you were.
"That's because I have my own hangover remedy, it's a simple drink really.”
"Should I trust you?" you raised an eyebrow.
"No, you shouldn't."
He stared directly in your eyes.
"But!" he clapped his hands, startling you.
"You've got my word on this one, I'll give you just my —most genuine— hangover drink,” he winked before getting to work.
Leander was a funny guy. Always so weirdly cheerful.
You trusted him, even if his jokes about the fact that you shouldn't were extremely frequent.
After a few minutes a cup slid in front of your hands, steam rising from it.
"Here, tell me if you like it,” the mage sat in front of you, behind the counter.
You took the glass, and brought it to your nose.
"Smells like honey…” you took a sip and stuck your tongue out. "It's bitter."
Leander's eyes widened. "Oh I'm sorry, have some sugar".
And then the two of you fell quiet as you drank the 'magic liquid'.
"You know... you scared me yesterday night," Leander rubbed his neck.
"Huh? Why?" You shot him a puzzled look.
"I was cleaning the counter and managed to sober up enough to help out serving. Kuras suddenly arrived with you, completely knocked out, in his arms. I thought the worse, what if a soulless had attacked you." He shook his head.
What?
"Wait, Kuras... in his arms?"
Your eyes widened and your muscles tensed.
"Yeah, he explained me the situation and asked me where your room was, 'suppose he tucked you in."
So, that's what happened.
Your face heated up, your cheeks and ears turning red. Not only from embarrassment.
"Oh heavens..." you covered your face, Leander laughed out loud.
"Cheer up! The doctor did us both a favor, don't know what I would've done if one of my guest suddenly disappeared."
He patted your shoulder. "I have work to do now, but I'll see you later!"
And just like that he was gone, a few bloodhounds on his tail.
Kuras.
Kuras carried you back to bed, where did he even find you?
Your mind raced as you stepped back to your room, if the alcohol was no longer torturing your head then your thoughts were.
When you opened the door, you noticed something that you missed before, a small note on your bedside table.
You skipped towards it, curious, you recognized the handwriting…doctor handwriting. You read the note with attention.
"Feel better soon." signed Kuras.
Cheeky doctor.
You decided to keep the note, it made you smile, a lot.
You never thought that you'd have ended up drunk in Kuras' care. Never.
Leander? Sure, it always happened.
Ais? Meh could happen.
But Kuras wasn't an option, up until yesterday.
"...That doctor,” you bit the inside of you cheek, trying to suppress a stupid smile.
You made a mental note to thank him next time the two of you would've met, maybe even buy him something.
But for now, staring at the note was all you could do.
Little did you know that Kuras didn't leave you without a parting gift, one last stroke to your cheek and a tender kiss on the forehead.
He liked you more than you thought.
This is a repost! Thank you for reading this short oneshot, hope you enjoyed!
English isn't my first language sorry for tiny errors T_T
David that, when you're at dinner with Asher and his mate, steals your french fries and blames the other dude with the most serious, cold, on god expression and somehow makes you believe him.
titsay
yousharknotpass
janainaart
romaincrisis
areudirty