sylus had woken up, quickly sensing that something wasn't right. no, it wasn't the fact that you had basically hogged the blanket.
sylus sat up, the bed slightly creaking at the sudden motion. he turned to his left, only to find you comfortably wrapped in the soft, heavy blanket whilst hugging a plushie of mephisto.
sylus had felt personally offended. he stared at the plushie and you for a while in absolute pure disbelief, eyes wide open. that should be him, not the crow.
but yes, the mephie plushie that he got for you from that claw machine after multiple attempts. even with help from his evol, it still wasn't a success until thirty minutes later.
the mephisto plushie looked... unique. the light grey shaped ball of fluff and cotton currently in your arms was being squished and indeed, very misshaped.
for a while there was pure silent.
then a quiet, much offended scoff.
sylus leaned against the headboard, arms crossed, very much rethinking his life decisions while staring blankly at the wall. he only persevered for you, just because he saw you eyeing the toy for a few seconds. he's basically losing his mind to a medium-sized stuffed animal at four in the morning.
it was until he had decided that it was enough. it had been officially five minutes. and so, sylus decided to make his move. he gently, with utmost care, removed the soft plush from you and plopped it on the nightstand next to him.
your brows furrowed at the sudden loss of comfort.
sylus quickly glanced at you, making sure that he didn't fully wake you up. immediately, he slid into the plushie's original place, gradually pulling you against him with an arm around your waist.
instantly, your expression softened.
"better?" sylus whispered. you buried your face into his neck, arms wrapped around him and already falling asleep again.
sylus was clearly, very satisfied with his victory against the inanimate object.
(little did he know, mephisto saw everything through the small gap between the door and the wall and tried his best to quietly walk into the shared bedroom. there were little echoes of small metal pats, as he then jumped onto the nightstand and proceeded to nip the wing of the crow plush, then slowly waddled away).
mephie kidnapped mephie.
a/n: lmao i cant sleep without hugging anything. how i would love to be hugged by sylus.....
summary: in which the lads guys are down bad for you.
ft. xavier, zayne, rafayel, sylus & caleb
notes: caleb is just kinda strange (love), zayne's an eater, xavier is xavier, rafayel is bratty (mmm), and sylus is lowkey subby (mmm intensifies). suggestive/explicit by nature LOL (mainly sylus but kinda all of them), bad cropping/timestamps too (forgive me đ), also forgot to clear my messages ooooops. any grammar issues are not my fault i literally did not make this (i did) i can do no wrong (i can).
p.s. if the humor is like...bad I'M SORRY i made these with my style of texting and humor (i will take it as a personal attack and assume you hate me) (i'm fully joking)
a/n: i hope this is okay ă ă it's my first smau and i tried to emulate their personalities as best as i could but yk. also, if anyone for any reason has (smau or standard drabble/writing) reqs i'm down to do them! this was fun to make so i'll prob do more whenever i don't feel like writing (often)(but i'm working on that)(i still have a lot of free time tho)
summary: in which you ask the lads boys if they prefer ass or tits.
ft. xavier, zayne, rafayel, sylus & caleb
notes: mild suggestive content so MDNI / NSFW, xavierâs frightened, zayne isnât with it, rafayel hates it here, sylus is lovely, caleb is strangeâŠallusions to a fem reader (!!!) and obvious mentions of body parts but no explicit mentions of shape or anything like that ^^ thatâs it (i think)
p.s. this is based off of a req SO ty anon, i hope you like it (even if just a little bit) <3
double p.s. this is just my interpretation so donât think too deeply about the preferences hehe. ALSO lmk if you guys enjoy dark mode too bc i can try to do some more here and there in the future if so (> <)
a/n: this was made very quickly bc i was so #lockedin for some reason SO if there are any errorsâŠno there arenâtâŠlook awayâŠty for reading (- -)(_ _)
when you shut down after sylus calls you clingy, he tries to make it up to you..
it wasn't often that sylus messed up. he was always so precise, ready for anything and everything that came his way.
that was why when he did mess up, he knew exactly what went wrong, and he was certain he had done the worst thing possible.
it was meant to be a joke. a playful jest, the way he usually would as he smiled that smug grin and called you "a clingy kitten".
but you hadn't laughed at him, hadn't shoved at his chest with that cute pout as you tried to defend your honor. no, what you did was far worse.
shut down. you had shut down on him, and he didn't know what to do about it.
where you would usually be clung to his side, you were distant. where you would talk his ear off, you were silent.
and it was driving him nuts.
every attempt he made at getting close to you, you pulled away. every attempt to talk to you, you were short with him.
he couldn't put up with this for much longer. so of course, he devised a plan.
you got an urgent text from the twins telling you that something terrible had happened to sylus, and of course it sent you into a panic. rushing your way to onichynus, you burst your way into the base with a gasp. "what happened?? where is he??-"
"in his room!" luke provided, moving out of your way.
"he's resting!" kieran added, and only after you were well out of earshot did they start laughing. "oh, boss is gonna get her so good!"
you burst into his room, gasping for air as you looked around. "sy? sylus-"
when you saw him laying on the bed, stock still, his eyes shut, barely breathing, you couldn't help but panic. you rushed to his side, checking his pulse, his breathing, his temperature, everything to get a grasp on what happened to him. "oh goodness, sy-"
when your hand neared his neck to check his pulse, there was a swift movement before you were suddenly pulled onto his chest. you blinked in surprise, looking up to find him perfectly fine, a smile on his lips.
"wh- were you just pretending?-"
"finally," he breathed, cutting you off as he buried his face in your hair. "finally you talk to me."
you blinked in surprise, eyes flaring as you looked up at him. "what the hell, sylus?-"
"you weren't going to talk to me otherwise." he mumbled, leaning in to breathe in your scent. "so i had to resort to drastic measures. forgive me this once, my darling."
you trembled in his arms, gently pressing against his chest. "i thought you didn't like when i clung to you-"
"not at all." he sighed, looking down at you with a frown. "it's the exact opposite, sweetie. i want you to cling to me. i want you in my space. i'm sorry if it came across that way, because i didn't intend it to."
as your eyes welled with tears, he kissed your forehead, a warm smile on his lips. "take up all the space you want with me, kitten. i promise i'm more than happy to oblige you anytime."
Possession, Obsession, Devotion: A Study in Five Men
Nope, I havenât vanished.
Super grateful for all your messages and the sweet support â seriously, thank you. Just swamped with work right now, so writingâs slowed down a bit.
Still working on your requests, I promise!
And Iâm knee-deep in a pretty massive, emotionally wrecking angst based on a Songfic prompt.
While that oneâs cooking, I thought Iâd drop another batch of my random writer notes â all bundled up in one chaotic little post.
CW/TW: Headcanons, Possessive Behavior, Obsessive Love, Jealousy, Power Imbalance, Toxic Romance, Red Flags Treated as Romance, Intimacy with Control Undertones, Emotional Manipulation (Mild), Dubious Coping Mechanisms, Intense Emotional Dependency, Suggestive Themes, Mild Sexual Content, Unhealthy Attachment Framed as Devotion
Genre: Romance-Infused, Erotically-Charged Drabbles with a Generous Side of Fluff
Words Count: 8.6K
5 Petty Jealousies That Reveal Just How Much Calebâs Obsessed With You
1. You call another man âhandsomeâ â even as a joke.
You were teasing. Flirting, in that harmless, breezy way of yours. Caleb laughed. Then immediately kissed you like he needed to reassert territorial dominance with tongue and body weight. Funny how your jokes always end with your back against the wall and his hand on your throat. Lovingly.
2. You go to someone else for help instead of him.
You needed tech support. A charger. Help moving the couch. And instead of calling your six-foot-two, military-trained, emotionally unstable boyfriend â you asked Xavier. Caleb didnât say anything. Just stood in the doorway, watching, calculating how long it would take to move the entire solar system to make sure you never do that again.
3. You donât sit on his lap when thereâs clearly space.You chose the chair. Next to him. Not on him. Heâs not mad. No, no. He's just questioning the entire fabric of your connection and whether youâve lost all sense of instinct. And when you finally realize and climb into his lap? He sighs like a man being restored to life.
4. You post a photo where you're not touching him.Nice shot. Great lighting. Cute outfit. But why is he two feet away and not glued to your side like a shadow with military clearance? His arm belongs around your waist. His hand belongs on your thigh. And your caption? Shouldâve been his name, followed by a possessive noun.
5. You forget to wear his dog tags.
He left them for you. Carefully. On your nightstand. The same tags heâs worn through hell. And you? Walked out the door wearing a cute sweater and nothing that says âbelonging to Colonel Caleb.â Heâll never say a word. Heâll just strip you slow the second you get home and fasten them back around your neck himself. With teeth.
5 Lies Caleb Tells Himself About You
1. âI donât care that she uses my toothbrush.âYou could take a fresh one. You donât. You reach for his, same as always â like that handle belongs to you more than to him. He mutters something about germs. Then watches you rinse with that smug little smile. And later, when you're asleep, he moves it back to your side of the sink. Right where you like it.
2. âShe can wear whatever she wants.âAnd you do. His shirt. His flight jacket. That tiny black top you swear is âpractical.â He acts unbothered. Says nothing. But the second someone else looks too long? He stands behind you. One hand on your waist. That casual kind of possessive that feels like a warning wrapped in warmth.
3. âI donât need her to text me when she gets home.âYouâre a grown woman. A Hunter. Youâve neutralized things with more teeth than common sense. You say âDonât wait up.â He says âSure.â Then checks his phone every ten minutes like it's a heartbeat monitor and he's waiting to hear yours again.
4. âItâs fine if she flirts. I know itâs harmless.âYouâre charming. Itâs part of who you are. You wink. Smile. Lean in a little too close. Caleb plays it cool. Says, âSheâs always like that.â Then grabs your waist in front of everyone and whispers: âTry that again, and Iâll fuck you so hard next time you wonât remember anyone elseâs name.â
5. âShe doesnât need to say she loves me every day.âYou say it once. In passing. A low little âlove youâ as you walk away, like itâs nothing. But he hears it like an oath. And that night? He holds your hand a little tighter. Pulls your body a little closer. Not because he needs to hear it again. But because if he doesnât touch you, he might forget how to breathe.
5 Things That Make Him Go Completely Feral (In Lust, Not Rage)
1. Your hair falls in his face.
Leaning over him. Stretching across the couch. Just close enough that it brushes his cheek like it has rights. You donât even notice. But he does. Every time. He doesnât say anything. Doesnât move. Just breathes in and lets the world narrow to that one soft, smug part of you.
2. You chew on your thumb when youâre thinking.
Not seductively. Not even consciously. Just a tiny bite to the edge of your nail while youâre mid-rant about your latest recon or trying to remember the name of a street vendor. Itâs nothing. Stupid. Barely a gesture. And yet â he stares. Tracks it like a countdown. Fists flexing slow. Jaw tight. Because that mouth should never look that innocent.
3. You interrupt him when heâs cooking.
Heâs focused. Knife in hand. Half-distracted by heat and oil. And then you slide in behind him. Touch his lower back. Squeeze something you shouldnât. Say âSmells good, chef,â with a grin that makes his whole spine forget how to hold. He curses. Tries to shoo you off. You lick something off his finger. And now dinnerâs going to burn.
4. You try on his Fleet cap like itâs a joke.
You lift it off the rack. Set it crooked on your head. Salute with two fingers and that smile that once made him fall off a training tower. âColonel,â you say. And heâs gone. He should laugh. He doesnât. He walks over, takes it off you slow, and kisses your temple like heâs reassigning you to a very different kind of mission.
5. You say âIâm yoursâ.
Not in bed. Not in public. Just⊠casually. In passing. In that low voice you only use when somethingâs real.
âIâm yours.âHe looks at you like you just disarmed a bomb with your bare hands. And then he ruins you for saying it so lightly.
5 Power Couple Moments That Made Everyone Else Jealous (And a Little Scared)
1. Youâre the only one allowed to fly with him in his military jet.Clearance denied. Protocol says no. Regulations triple-confirm it. And yet â youâre in the co-pilot seat, boots up, fingers tracing buttons youâre not supposed to touch. He doesnât stop you. Someone once asked why you get to ride with him when no one else does. He looked up from the cockpit and said, âSheâs my gravity.â End of discussion.
2. You only need to place your hand on his to calm him down.No words. No pleading. No strategic de-escalation. Just your fingers, settling lightly over his, when something in him starts to coil too tight. And just like that â his spine eases. The heat in his eyes lowers by a degree. People have seen him end arguments with three words. Theyâve never seen him go silent for anyone but you.
3. Youâre the only person heâll interrupt a briefing for.Heâs mid-sentence. Room full of officers. Tactical projections glowing on the wall. His phone buzzes. He glances down, sees your name â and pauses. âGive me five,â he says. And walks out without waiting for permission. Someone once asked who it was. He said, âThe only priority higher than this fleet.â No one asked again.
4. You walk in on his arm at the Farspace Fleet annual gala.Heâs in dress whites. Youâre in black. And the room â full of admirals, envoys, diplomats â parts like mist when you enter. He doesnât introduce you. He doesnât need to. Youâre not just his date. Youâre the one who makes him dangerous in silence. And everyone knows it.
5. You donât need words to communicate.One glance. A tilt of your head. A tiny shift in posture across the room. Heâs already moving. Already reading you like mission data. To others, it looks like magic. Intuition. Maybe telepathy. But for you two? Itâs just muscle memory â built from years of almosts, nevers, and finallys.
5 Times Caleb Was a Walking Red Flag But You Loved Him Anyway
1. He pulled the full personnel file on a man you once smiled at.You were being polite. Friendly. The guy asked something harmless, you laughed. By morning, Caleb had his record open on a secure datapad, scrolling like he wasnât reading a life â just calculating the risk factor. You asked what he was doing. He said, âI like knowing who wants whatâs mine.â And then kissed you like he hoped you never asked him to stop.
2. He showed up at your door at 02:03 AM. Soaking wet. Furious. Silent.You missed one message. One. He waited. Thirty minutes. An hour. And then something in him snapped. No threats. No drama. Just the sound of his knock like a warning shot. You opened the door. He didnât speak. Just stared. And then pulled you in with a grip like survival wasnât optional anymore.
3. He scared the hell out of a junior pilot for asking your name.The kid was fresh. Eager. Smiled a little too long. Said, âHey, what should I call you?â You started to answer. Then turned â and saw Caleb across the room. Expression calm. Stance neutral. Eyes loaded. The pilot apologized before you even said a word.
4. He slammed his hand on the table when you joked about breaking up.Just a joke. A throwaway line. Something stupid like âGuess Iâll go find someone less intense.â And his hand hit the surface before the words fully left your mouth. Not loud. Not violent. Just final. He didnât yell. Didnât argue. Just looked at you like youâd put a knife in his ribs and smiled about it. You never made that joke again.
5. He called you âdangerousâ â and meant it like a vow.It was late. You were arguing. You said something sharp. He caught your wrist and said it low, almost reverent: âYouâre dangerous.â But not like an accusation. Like awe. Like worship. Like heâd already decided to stay, even if you wrecked him completely. Even if heâd have to protect the world from you. Or protect you from himself.
5 Petty Jealousies That Reveal Just How Much Zayneâs Obsessed With You
1. Someone else bandaged your scratch.
Just a graze. A stupid piece of shrapnel across your forearm. A colleague wrapped it up. No big deal. You came home smiling. Told him it barely hurt. He nodded. Quiet. Then excused himself to the kitchen. Five minutes later, he returned with antiseptic, clean gauze, and the words: âTake it off. Iâm doing it properly.â Â You didnât argue. Neither did he.
2. Someone at work lent you their umbrella. A man.
It was raining. You forgot yours. He offered. You accepted.Â
Zayne didnât say a thing when you mentioned it over dinner. Just hummed. Neutral. The next morning, you found a new umbrella in your bag. Carbon fiber. Windproof. Labeled discreetly with your initials. You didnât ask how he knew the exact weight your bag could carry without straining your shoulder.
3. You asked the waiter to recommend a wine.
It was harmless. Polite. You were curious. But Zayne was sitting right there. He didnât blink. Just looked at the waiter, then at you. Then took the list back. âActually,â he said, calm as glass, âshe prefers reds with less acidity. Iâll order.â You nodded. The waiter nodded. And somewhere between the clink of glasses, you realized that wasn't about wine at all.
4. You didnât invite him to your morning training.
Heâd had a night shift. Surgery ran late. You wanted him to rest. So you left quietly. He woke up to an empty bed, your gym bag missing, and a silence that felt like a closed door. You came back to find his routine disrupted, his pulse still too fast â and a protein shake mixed just how you like it, chilled and waiting on the table. He never mentioned it. But now, if you decide to âlet him restâ again⊠your training starts later. And doesnât involve clothes.
5. You called another man âsmart.â
It was a game show. Trivia night. Some stranger on-screen made a clever move. You smiled. âWow. That was actually really smart.â Zayne didnât look up from his tablet. Didnât even shift. But ten minutes later, you found yourself in a very precise debate about probability, strategy, and why that move wasnât that brilliant after all. You didnât argue. You just leaned closer. He didnât smirk, but you felt it anyway.
5 Things That Make Zayne Go Completely Feral (In Lust, Not Rage)
1. You straighten his tie.
Youâre not thinking about it. Just reaching out, adjusting the knot, smoothing the line down his chest like itâs second nature. He stays still. Breath held. Eyes on your face. You step back. He doesnât. Because now all he can think about is using that same tie to bind your wrists to the chair in his office â and how many minutes he can steal between appointments without compromising your breathing.
2. You dip your finger into the frosting of his pastry.
You donât ask. Just lean in, collect a bit of cream with your fingertip â and taste it. Oblivious. Innocent. Distracted by something else. He watches. Silently. And now the fork in his hand feels criminally unnecessary, because his mouth is dry, his mindâs gone blank, and heâs halfway to pulling you into his lap just to return the favor â with interest.
3. You take off your bra without removing your shirt.
Itâs casual. Automatic. Youâre talking about your day, laughing, and then â
One arm out. Then the other. The strap slides through the sleeve and vanishes into your laundry bag like it never existed. His brain glitches. His hands twitch. And he will absolutely spend the rest of the evening pretending to listen while picturing every technical step of reversing that maneuver with his teeth.
4. You imitate him. Badly.
Youâre wearing his lab coat. His glasses. Sitting at his desk, brows drawn, lips pressed tight. Your impression is awful. He should be annoyed. But instead â he watches. Sharp. Quiet. And when you finally laugh and start to take it off, he gets up. Takes the coat from your shoulders himself. And tells you, too evenly, âYou forgot the gloves.â
5. You trace lazy shapes on his wrist while talking about something unrelated.
Youâre saying something about your neighborâs cat. Something trivial. But your fingers are moving in a slow, absent pattern across his skin. And Zayne â who has operated on live hearts under pressure, who has held lives in one hand and death in the other â is currently struggling not to grab your wrist and drag you onto the desk. Because apparently, nothing in this galaxy has the precision impact of your fingertip.
5 Power Couple Moments That Made Everyone Else Jealous (And a Little Scared)
1. You have a keycard to his office.Not a guest pass. Not a shared access code. A permanent, personalized, high-level card to a room most staff canât even knock on without permission. You walked in one day mid-shift, casual, spinning the card between your fingers like it was a hairpin. Three nurses saw. One dropped her tablet. Rumors started before you even closed the door. Zayne didnât correct them.
2. When he received a prestigious award, the first person he thanked was you.Best cardiothoracic surgeon of the year. Cameras flashing. Applause rising. Everyone expected a speech about innovation and responsibility. Instead, he said: âIâd like to thank the one person who keeps me alive enough to do this work. My partner. My favorite interruption.âThen he looked straight at you. The auditorium melted.
3. Youâre both dressed like weapons. And everyone notices.He wears tailored coats, precision-cut collars, charcoal palettes like a tactical signature.You? Heels like blades. A suit that redefines âcombat-ready.â And when you walk together â sharp, silent, side by side â people stop talking. Someone once tried to photograph you.
The headline read: Unknown dignitaries arrive. Security does not comment.
4. You donât argue. You duet.Someone crossed a line. Loud, drunk, smug. Zayne responded first â clean, cold, just one sentence long. The man blinked. Started to retort.
You finished it for him. Elegant, sharp, no profanity required.
He left. Fast. And you turned back to Zayne like nothing happened â while everyone else tried to recover from what could only be described as a linguistic orgasm.
5. He opens doors, buttons coats, and moves chairs like itâs instinct.Not performative. Not flashy. Just⊠precise. He adjusts your sleeve without thinking. Helps you into the car like itâs always been his hand. You barely register it.
But the woman across the street? The one who saw it all from behind her coffee cup? Sheâs still texting her group chat about âthe man in the long coat and the woman who ruined my standards.â
5 Times Zayne Was a Walking Red Flag But You Loved Him Anyway
1. He gets live data from your heart monitor.Your Hunterâs Watch sends updates to the cloud. Zayne rerouted the feed to his private tablet. âJust in case,â he said. Now he knows when your pulse spikes. When youâre injured. When you donât sleep. You never gave him access. You never had to.
The first time he called mid-mission to say âslow your breathingâ â you realized he wasnât tracking. He was watching over.
2. He absolutely hates when you drive. Always.You're capable. Fast. Efficient. And yet â every time you take the wheel, something in him shuts down. He doesnât argue. Doesnât protest. Just goes silent. And stares at the road like it personally offended him. He says, âItâs fine.â But he holds the dashboard too tightly for that to be true.
3. He freezes every time you say âI can handle it.âYou mean well. Youâre strong. You are capable. But when you brush him off with a casual âIâve got this,â he doesnât nod. Doesnât smile. He just stops. Eyes unreadable. Hands still. And when you come back later â even fine â thereâs already a backup plan on your datapad. Three versions. In color.
4. He never replies to emotional messages right away.You send: âI miss you. A lot.â His read receipt appears. Then⊠nothing. For two hours.
And just when you start to spiral â he sends a photo. Of your favorite pastry. Waiting on his table. With one word: âSoon.â You hate how well it works.Â
5. He spoke to the man flirting with you like he was reviewing his autopsy.It was harmless. A drink. A joke. A compliment. You laughed. Zayne didnât.
He stepped in, shook the manâs hand, and said: "Tell me, has anyone ever checked your prefrontal lobe for impulse control irregularities?"The man left. Quickly. You rolled your eyes. Zayne didnât apologize. He just took your hand. And changed the subject. Completely calm. Fully satisfied.
5 Petty Jealousies That Reveal Just How Much Rafayelâs Obsessed With You
1. Someone comments âđ„â under your photo â and you like it.He sees it. Of course he does. He sees everything. You think itâs harmless. He thinks itâs appalling that someone dared mark your beauty with an emoji better suited to grilled meat. He says nothing. But that night, you get a charcoal sketch of yourself in your favorite pose, signed with a tiny flame in the corner. When you ask about it, he hums. âOh, just honoring your admirersâ creative input.â
2. You linger too long in front of another artistâs painting.Not just glance. Linger. Eyes soft. Head tilted. That thoughtful little breath you take when something moves you. He stands beside you, perfectly still. Smiling. Then leans in and whispers, âCutie, if you start weeping, I may need to challenge the gallery owner to a duel.â
You're not sure if heâs joking. Youâre also not sure you want him to be.
3. You talk about a beautiful place you visited⊠without him.Youâre glowing. Describing the light, the air, the view. He listens, nods, even asks questions.
Then: âAnd did the sun taste the same without me there?â You pause. He smiles, all charm and cheekbones. âIâm just wondering how it dared rise, knowing we werenât together.â
4. You send him a photo â and thereâs someone elseâs hand in the frame.You didnât notice it. He did. He stares at the image like itâs a crime scene. Zooms in. Later, he replies: âBeautiful composition. Fascinating use of background tension. Would love to discuss the symbolism of that wrist â whose is it?â You laugh. He doesnât.
5. You say some actor is âexactly your type.âHe doesnât flinch. Doesnât blink. Just goes very still, then casually asks, âBefore or after makeup?â Later, you find your datapad background changed. Itâs him. In perfect lighting. Shirt unbuttoned just so. The caption reads: âStill unsure who your type is? Look into my eyes. Youâll remember.â
5 Lies Rafayel Tells Himself About You
1. âI didnât paint you. Itâs just resemblance.âHe insists itâs a study of emotion. A symbol. A face from memory. But the tilt of the head, the mouth, the birthmark near the collarbone â theyâre all yours. You ask, teasing: âIs that me?â
He blinks. Smiles slowly. âCutie,â he says, âI wouldnât paint you without permission.â And then changes the subject. Very deliberately.
2. âI don't reread your old messages.âHeâs far too elegant for that. Far too composed. Except on quiet nights. On long flights. In museums where the silence scratches at his skin. Then he opens the archive. Just for the rhythm of your words. The accidental poetry. The way you once wrote âcome home soonâ like it meant more than time and place. He says itâs for âemotional reference.â He lies beautifully.
3. âI don't watch your mouth when you talk.âHeâs an artist. A visual thinker. Of course he looks at faces. But not like that. Not at yours. Not like heâs memorizing the shape of every syllable just to feel them later against his throat. Not like heâs fantasizing mid-conversation about shutting you up with his tongue and tasting the sentence off your lips. No. Never. Heâs listening.
4. âI havenât memorized your scent through every season.âHe claims not to notice. But he knows the spring version of you â soft rain, citrus skin, the aftershock of lilac. He knows the winter version â leather gloves, cinnamon breath, quiet wool. He doesnât name them. Doesnât chase the memory. But when you walk past â his eyes close. Briefly. Automatically. Like heâs gathering air before going under.
5. âI don't imagine your name with mine.âHeâs not that romantic. Puh-lease. Marriage is a construct, surnames are politics, and love is beyond paperwork. He says all that with a flourish. And yet â thereâs a notebook. Tucked under his mattress. Full of signatures. Yours. His. Just to see how it would look. Just in case.
5 Things That Make Rafayel Go Completely Feral (In Lust, Not Rage)
1. When you eat something juicy. Fruit. Fingers. With zero awareness.You bite into it slowly, distracted. Something sweet. Ripe. Juice glides over your lower lip, and your tongue follows without thinking. He watches, motionless. Not breathing. Not blinking. You glance at him. He tilts his head. Smiles. Says lightly: "That peach is about to become my personal enemy." You laugh. He doesnât. Heâs too busy wondering how itâs possible to be jealous of the fruit.
2. When you kiss his hand instead of his mouth.
He leans in, expecting lips. Contact. Heat. And instead â you take his hand. Press a kiss into his palm. Soft. Deliberate. His breath catches. His throat tightens. Because that wasnât affection. That was submission. And now heâs wondering just how far youâd let him take it.
3. When you tease him with your voice. Not the words. The tone. The whisper.
You say his name like silk sliding over glass. You ask âYou think so?â like it means âprove it.â You laugh â not loudly, but just enough to make his chest hurt. He could diagram it, break it into sound waves, prove the seduction in math. But instead, he just steps closer. And says, low: "Say that again. Slower."
4. When you sit on the floor, barefoot, flipping through his sketches â looking like you belong there.
Youâre humming something. Knees tucked up. No shoes. No guard. You tilt your head, study a piece, murmur: âI like this one.â He doesnât even remember drawing it. He just remembers the way your hair spills over your shoulder and how the studio feels suddenly too small for how much he wants you. He doesnât touch you. Not yet. He just watches like a starving thing. Memorizing the moment in case he dies of it later.
5. When you say âmore.â In any context.
âMore sugar.â âMore time.â âMore.â
Thatâs all it takes. One syllable. One open door. You never mean it the way he hears it â but he takes it as a promise. Like permission. Like a match tossed onto something already too dry to survive. And the next time he touches you? He makes damn sure you say it again.
5 Power Couple Moments That Made Everyone Else Jealous (And a Little Scared)
1. He painted a self-portrait â with you reflected in his pupils.
Not your full form. Not a shared composition. Just his face. Direct gaze. And in both eyes: you. Looking at him. Always. When the painting debuted in the galleryâs main hall, critics called it âa study in obsession.â He called it accurate.
2. In an interview, he said youâre the only one who gets his sketches.
The host asked who his work goes to first â gallery, agent, press. He smiled lazily and answered, âHer.â The room stilled. âThe raw ones. The incomplete. The brutal drafts no one else deserves to see.â He didnât say your name. He didnât have to. The moment he said it, you were already trending.
3. He delayed his own exhibition opening because you werenât there yet.
The venue was full. Lights ready. Guests murmuring. But he stood at the entrance, fingers laced behind his back, perfectly calm. âSheâs on the way,â he said. âShe had a prior engagement.â No one questioned him. Later, when you finally arrived â graceful, composed, in a deep sapphire gown that matched the evening â only he noticed the tiny scratch on your knuckle. The faintest shadow of something darker, just beneath the perfume.
You smiled. He took your hand. And the doors opened like theyâd been waiting for you all along.
4. Someone flirted with him. He looked at you. Then said: âIâm already spoken for. Permanently.â
It was charming. Playful. Someone touched his wrist, laughed softly, leaned a little too close. He didnât pull away. Didnât react. Just turned his head toward you. Found your eyes. Then said it â quietly, cleanly, like a closing signature on a finished masterpiece.
5. At a charity auction, he sold a painting titled: âPainted Between Her Breathing and Mine.â
The crowd didnât know what to do with that. Some laughed nervously. Some applauded. The bidding started high and ended astronomical. But as the winning guest walked past you, holding the canvas with reverent hands â he still glanced back. At you. As if to say: That canvas holds the image. But I keep the original.
5 Times Rafayel Was a Walking Red Flag But You Loved Him Anyway
1. He can disappear for three days and return with, âI just needed to stop being jealous.â
No warning. No calls. Just silence, like he fell off the planet. You panic. Rage. Rehearse five speeches. And then he walks in â composed, scented like night air and oil paint. âSorry,â he says softly. âI was being irrational. Had to⊠recalibrate.â You want to scream. Instead, you breathe him in like heâs home.
2. He destroyed the career of a critic who called your photo âpoorly lit.â
It wasnât even a real insult. Just a throwaway line in a blog. But Raf read it. Once. And within a week, that critic was blacklisted from three galleries, publicly corrected by five curators, and accidentally misquoted in a viral controversy. You found out much later. He just looked at you and said, âNo one calls shadow a flaw when it falls across you.â
3. He faked an illness so you wouldnât leave for a mission.
Nothing dramatic. Just a cough. A warm forehead. You hesitated. Postponed. Stayed. The next morning, he was radiant. Healthy. Annoyingly smug. You narrowed your eyes. He only shrugged, kissed your wrist, and whispered, âI needed one more night. Forgive the performance.â You did. Of course you did. The guilt felt almost like foreplay.
4. He left your clothes wet in the wash so youâd wear his shirt instead.
Accident, he claimed. Timing. Cycles. But somehow, your entire outfit was still in the machine â cold, damp, and useless â while his favorite linen shirt lay folded neatly on the bed. You put it on. He watched you button it. And smiled like he'd won a silent war no one else even knew was happening.
5. He reads your messages without asking. Calmly.
You know it. He knows you know. He doesnât deny it. Just traces your jaw one evening and says, âYou donât hide anything from me. Thatâs why it doesnât count as intrusion.â And the worst part? Heâs right. You stopped hiding a long time ago.
5 Petty Jealousies That Reveal Just How Much Xavierâs Obsessed With You
1. You nap on the wrong side of the bed.You nap on the wrong side of the bed. Not wrong, exactly. Just⊠not his. Youâre curled up in the late-afternoon light, peaceful, quiet, unaware. He doesnât wake you. Doesnât move you. But when you stir, thereâs a weight in the silence. His side of the bed is untouched. Pillow perfectly aligned. No warmth. No scent. And your blanket â tucked just a little tighter â like a quiet reminder that even when youâre here, somethingâs missing. Something heâs not sure how to ask for without sounding ridiculous. Like: your perfume. On his pillow. Where it should be.
2. You tell him about a dream. Someone else was in it.You describe it absently. A mission. A flash of danger. And a man â not him â at your side. He listens. Nods. Doesnât blink. But that night, when he kisses you, his hand stays on the back of your neck longer than usual. And his mouth says I want you, but his grip says: you donât forget me, even in sleep.
3. You keep something old, worn, unnamed.A keychain. A patch. A folded slip of paper. Nothing dramatic. But itâs always near. He asks, once: âWhat is that?â You smile. âJust something from a long time ago.â He nods. Never brings it up again. But two days later, he leaves something else beside it. Not to replace. Just to match the weight.
5. You close your laptop too fast when he walks in.âJust a movie,â you say. Too quickly. He doesnât ask. Doesnât tilt his head. Just nods and sets his gloves on the table like he didnât notice the flicker in your tone. Later, while checking your tabs, he sees the paused frame â teeth on skin, hands holding wrists, someone begging. Silently. His breath doesnât change. His expression stays neutral. But when he finds you, hours later, he doesnât speak. Just pins your arms above your head and kisses you until you canât remember what the scene looked like â only what it felt like when it became real.
5 Lies Xavier Tells Himself About You
1. âIâm not jealous of whoever taught you how to fight like that.âHe knows it doesnât matter. Itâs skill. Itâs history. Efficiency passed from one warrior to another. He tells himself itâs irrelevant. But when he watches you move â precise, lethal, beautiful â something coils in his chest. Not because of the technique. But because someone else saw you become this version of yourself. And he didnât.
2. âItâs logical to sleep apart sometimes.â
You need rest. Space. Post-mission decompression. He understands. Itâs healthy. Statistically sound. But the first night you say âIâll sleep in my own apartment,â the bed feels wrong. His internal balance off by degrees he canât quantify. He tells himself itâs fine. Then stares at the ceiling for hours, heart syncing to a rhythm that isnât there.
3. âIt doesnât bother me when you keep things to yourself.â
Youâre independent. He respects that. Boundaries are natural. But you say âIâm fineâ with a smile that doesnât reach your eyes, and he catalogs ten micro-expressions that say otherwise. Still, he nods. Doesnât push. Then replays your words in his head for the next three days, trying to solve you like a puzzle that refuses to open.
4. "I could walk away, if it ever came to that."
He tells himself heâs rational. Detached. If you chose something else â someone else â he would adapt. But deep down, he knows: heâs already memorized your weight in his arms, the way your name fits inside his silence. If it ever came to leaving⊠he wouldnât walk. Heâd stay exactly where you left him. Quiet. Waiting. Ruined.
5. "You wouldnât lie to protect me. Would you?"
You say âit was nothing,â âIâm just tired,â âI handled it.â And he accepts it. On the surface. But his mind starts building alternate versions. Safer ones. Worse ones. Ones where you bled and said nothing. He tells himself youâd never hide real danger. But he still checks your vitals in the logs. Every time.
5 Things That Make Xavier Go Completely Feral (In Lust, Not Rage)
1. You walk in wearing a bright yellow duck kigurumi.Â
Absurd. Fuzzy. Zipped up wrong. You yawn, mumble something about tea, and pad across the room like comfort incarnate. He looks up. Blinks once. And forgets what he was doing. The beak hood. The bare ankles. The way you scratch your neck, half-asleep. None of it should be seductive. But now he canât look away. His gaze tracks you like threat assessment â only it's not danger heâs calculating. Itâs proximity. Access. How long he can pretend he's unaffected⊠before you end up against the wall. Still wearing the duck. For now.
2. You adjust the chest plate of his armor.Â
No rush. Just fingertips over matte metal, sliding a buckle, pressing a clasp. Your hands linger longer than they need to. You donât even realize youâre doing it. But he does. Heâs counting your seconds, your pressure, the exact placement of your thumb. If anyone asks why his next shot missed the center by half an inch, itâs because you touched him like a secret no one else was allowed to see.
3. You peel off your combat gloves with your teeth.Â
Itâs efficient. Quick. Practical. But the way your mouth closes around the strap and your fingers flex once, twice, before theyâre bare â
Heâs staring before he knows he is. Processing nothing but the curve of your jaw and the memory of that same mouth around his length. The second glove doesnât stand a chance. Neither does he, honestly.
4. You wear a thin black choker.Â
No explanation. No warning. Itâs not part of your gear. Has no field utility. But itâs there, snug against your throat like a promise no one else knows about. He sees it once and looks away. Sees it again and swallows too hard. The third time, he doesnât look at all â he just shifts in his seat like everything in his world needs immediate recalibration.
5. You say âlaterâ when he leans in.Â
Just a little. Enough to feel the pull. And you smile, soft, apologetic, not teasing â just... not now. He nods, like he understands. He always does. But from that second forward, every calculation, every breath, every cell in his body becomes attuned to the moment you say now. And when you finally do â he doesnât wait. He doesnât ask. He just takes, like patience was never part of the equation to begin with.
5 Power Couple Moments That Made Everyone Else Jealous (And a Little Scared)
1. You moved in perfect sync â without saying a single word.
In the training hall, you didnât say a word â but moved like a mirrored code. You shifted, he adjusted. You reached, he passed. No signals, no commands. Just two bodies in absolute sync. Someone watching whispered, âDo they rehearse this?â Someone else muttered, âNo. Thatâs just them.â And suddenly, no one wanted to spar with either of you.
2. Someone called him âtoo quiet.â You didnât let it slide.
It was a throwaway comment ââHeâs so silent, itâs weird.â You didnât even look up from your drink. âThen youâve never heard him breathe next to you.â The room went still. Xavier didnât react. But you felt it â how he went still too, the way his attention locked fully on you. As if your words changed the temperature.
3. He braided your hair for three weeks while your wrist healed.
At your desk. Between reports. No comments. No hesitation. Just practiced hands and quiet efficiency, like it belonged in the schedule. And maybe it wasnât romantic. Or loud. But after that, no one ever looked at you the same way â because somehow, without trying, the two of you had redefined what closeness looked like.
4. You didnât ask for his jacket. You didnât have to.
A shift in the wind. Goosebumps on your arms. No complaint, no drama. He just stepped behind you, slid his cardigan onto your shoulders like it belonged there, and said nothing. The couple walking by paused. Stared. You didnât. You were already reaching for his hand.
5. Thereâs a photo of you on his desk.Â
Just you, caught mid-laugh, in natural light. Among tactical reports and encrypted drives. He never explains it. Never acknowledges it. But everyone who enters that room sees it. And no one ever asks if he's serious about you. They already know.
5 Times Xavier Was a Walking Red Flag But You Loved Him Anyway
1. He monitors your meals like itâs a clinical trial.
âYou didnât eat enough protein today.â âThat pastry had no nutritional value.â âAre you hydrating?â He says it softly. Calmly. Like a doctor. Like someone who cares. And yet â youâve seen him survive three days on black coffee and whatever snack bar was closest to his hand. You mention this once. He pauses. Then says, âThatâs different. Iâm used to operating under stress. Youâre not.â End of discussion.
2. He didnât argue. He made the argument disappear.
You disagreed about something small. Nothing dramatic. Just opposing views. He didnât push back. Just nodded, quiet. Said, âIf thatâs what you think.â Later, you realized the entire issue â schedule, person, condition â was gone. Resolved. Removed. Replaced. No apology. No discussion. Just silence... and a solution that left you with nothing to win.
3. He never asked where youâd been.Not once. Not even after you were late. Not even when your message came hours too late. He didnât accuse. Didnât guess. He already knew. Tracked your path, logged your signal drift, checked your pulse history. All without a word. And still held the door open when you arrived.
4. He always calls via video when youâre in another city.He never misses a day. Never just texts. Always video. He says he likes seeing your face. That it âgrounds him.â And maybe thatâs true. Maybe. But every time the screen lights up, you notice how carefully his eyes scan the room behind you. How his voice sounds different if thereâs movement. How he never quite hangs up until you say, âIâm alone. Itâs quiet here.â Only then does he relax. A little. Maybe.
5. You told him, âSometimes, you scare me.â He said, âGood.âIt slipped out. Low. Uncertain. Not a joke, not an accusation â just the truth. He didnât deny it. Didnât soften. Just met your eyes and said, calm as ever, âGood. Then youâll stay alert.â And for a moment, you werenât sure if he was warning you⊠or protecting you from something only he could see coming.
5 Petty Jealousies That Reveal Just How Much Sylusâs Obsessed With You
1. You didnât tag him. He made sure the world knew anyway.You posted a photo. Cute. Stylish. Perfect lighting. But no mention of him. No tag. No trace. He reposted it within minutes. Same photo. New caption: âCorrection: mine.â It got five times the reach. And suddenly, everyone knew better.
2. Someone else made you laugh. Sylus didnât.The waiter was charming. A little too witty. You laughed â loud, unfiltered. Sylus just raised a brow, pulled out his wallet, and handed the man $2000. âFor your last night in customer service,â he said. He smiled. You choked on your wine. The waiter never came back.
3. You called some man a friend. Sylus ran a background check.âHeâs just a friend,â you said. Lightly. Barely thinking. Sylus smiled. Tilted his head. âIâm just a man with access to his tax history.âAnd that was the end of that conversation.
4. You said another man had a nice voice. Sylus gave you no air.It was innocent. Harmless. âHis voice is kind of nice.â Sylus said nothing. Just waited. That night, he read you poetry in three languages, one line at a time â mouth against your neck, breasts, stomach, thighs â until you begged him to stop. Not because you wanted him to. Because you physically couldnât take more.
5. You forgot to wear his ring. He didnât forget anything.It wasnât intentional. You were rushing. Distracted. But he noticed. Of course he did. He said nothing all day. Then, that night â when you were breathless, undone, on your knees â he took your hand, kissed your finger, and slid the ring back into place. Slowly. Deliberately. Like sealing a deal you forgot you signed.
5 Lies Sylus Tells Himself About You
1. âI didnât pick your outfit to match mine. Mustâve been the stylist.âIt was just coincidence. That your lipstick matched his cufflinks. That your dress followed the same line as his collarbones. That when you walked in together, people paused â like royalty had arrived. He didnât say a word. Just looked at you once. And didnât look away for the rest of the night.
2. âIâm not furious that I wasnât your first.âHe says it doesnât matter. Shrugs. âIâm not a teenager.â And yet, the thought of someone else touching you before him? It coils in his chest like smoke that wonât clear. He tells himself you chose him now â and thatâs what counts. But the next time you moan his name, he fucks you hard enough to make sure no one elseâs ever mattered.
3. âI donât answer your messages instantly. Iâm just always holding the phone.âHe just⊠saw it. Right away. Just happened to be holding his phone. Just happened to pause mid-meeting, mid-deal, mid-war â to write: âBe safe.â You tease him for how fast he replies. He teases back. And never mentions the part where your name makes him drop everything.
4. âIâm not obsessed with the way you say my name when youâre annoyed.âYou do it without thinking. That exact tone. That breath. That syllable dipped in heat. He rolls his eyes. Says, âWhat now, kitten?â But every time it happens â he shifts closer. Hears it again later in his head. And stores it next to the version you whisper when you want him most.
5. âI wouldnât beg. If it came to that. âŠBut only for you. And only once.âHeâs not that man. He doesnât plead. Doesnât bend. But when he thinks of you leaving â really leaving â something dark and fragile coils behind his ribs. He tells himself heâd let you go. That he wouldnât chase. But even in the lie⊠heâs already halfway down the hallway.
5 Things That Make Sylus Go Completely Feral (In Lust, Not Rage)
1. You ask him to zip your dress. Then donât wear anything underneath.
Itâs casual. Innocent. âHelp me?â You turn your back, lift your hair, and wait. He moves slow â almost reverent. But when his fingers meet bare skin where silk should be⊠he doesnât finish the zip. He turns you around, steps in close, and says, âYou came dressed for trouble. Good. So did I.â
2. You say âdonât be gentleâ with a smile that promises youâll say it again, louder.
He always controls the pace. The heat. The rhythm. But when you lean in, lips brushing his ear, and whisper those words â something in him fractures. He doesnât ask if youâre sure. He doesnât give you time to change your mind. He just obeys. And makes sure you feel the echo for days.
3. You use his tie to pull him into a kiss.
He likes power. Centered, composed. Collar straight, voice cool. But when you grab that perfect silk tie, wrap it around your fingers, and yank â he stumbles into you like a man starved. You kiss him once. He kisses you back like vengeance.
4. You say âyes, sirâ in a tone that means the opposite.
You drawl it. Sweet. Defiant. Like you know exactly what it does to him. He doesnât argue. Doesnât smile. Just leans in, voice low against your throat, and says, âKeep using that tone, kitten. Letâs see how long you last when I take it seriously.â You donât last long. Not that night.
5. You put on his ring and ask, âSo what does this buy me?â
Itâs a joke. Almost. You twirl it on your finger, playful, reckless. He watches. Then smiles slow, wicked. âThat?â he says, stepping closer. âThat buys you a night where I donât stop until you forget your own name.â And just like that, you do.
5 Power Couple Moments That Made Everyone Else Jealous (And a Little Scared)
1. The earring incident at the casino.
You dropped it. Somewhere between the blackjack table and the bar. Nothing dramatic â until your face shifted. That quiet flicker of loss. Sylus didnât sigh. Didnât scold. Just raised a brow. And a dozen seasoned criminals began crawling across the velvet floor. They found it in twenty minutes. You wore it for the rest of the night. He wore the look of a man whoâd moved the world back into place.
2. The arrivals are always his favorite part.
You come back from missions â tired, sore, alive. And there it is: his sportscar. Engine humming. Heâs waiting with a bouquet of roses so rare you donât recognize half the species. The entire terminal watches. You donât. Youâre too busy smiling. He says, âWelcome home.â And just like that, the war disappears from your shoulders.
3. The seat at the head of the table.
It was a high-stakes meeting. Old money. Dangerous names. Sylus led you in by the hand â then pulled out his chair. You blinked. He said nothing. And while you sat at the head, calm and poised, he stood behind you like a king who knows exactly where real power sits. No one even dared raise a brow.
4. The auction. Your hand. His silence.
He gave you the paddle. Not instructions. You bid on instinct â numbers rising, tension thick. The item? A rare protocore with blackout-level clearance. Sylus didnât flinch. Not once.
And when the gavel dropped â he leaned in, lips brushing your ear, and said, âYou can spend my money however you want, kitten. Just make sure they see you doing it.â
5. The moment the room lost him to you.
It was mid-negotiation. Tense. Crucial. Every word counted. But across the table, your fingers tapped. Your eyes glazed. You were bored. Sylus watched. Then stood. âDealâs done,â he said. âYouâll take our terms.â And somehow, they did. Because the only person in the room whose attention he wanted â was already drifting.
5 Times Sylus Was a Walking Red Flag But You Loved Him Anyway
1. He knows whatâs in your delivery before you do.
No one told him. But every time you order something â clothes, tech, vitamins â itâs re-screened. Not stopped. Not blocked. Just⊠âverified.â You only noticed when your favorite moisturizer showed up improved. New formula. Better scent. Hand-selected. Of course.
2. He said heâd put you on IV if you skip another meal.
You were busy. Distracted. He asked what youâd eaten. You said, âDoes coffee count?â He laughed. Once. And muttered something about installing a medical station in your apartment.
He was âjoking.â Until you saw the discreet courier bring an IV stand the next day. Just in case.
3. He took you to dinner at a place you hadnât been since Academy.
You didnât realize where you were â until you saw your ex across the room. The one who cheated. Sylus just smiled. You were in a dress that made people stop breathing. He ordered champagne. Lobster. Left a four-digit tip. And made sure your ex saw everything. Including the way you kissed Sylus on the way out.
4. He froze your accounts. Just to prove a point.
You said you didnât need his money. You insisted on âindependence.â So he waited until your card declined at the pharmacy. Then texted: âYou have my black card. Use it. Or stay home.â
You gave in. He sent flowers.
5. He apologized like a storm front.
You fought. It was ugly. The next day, a gift arrived at HQ. Then another. Then six more. By day four, your car was full. You marched to his door, furious. He opened it, leaned against the frame, and said, âTook you long enough. Come yell at me. Iâll pour the wine.â
you introduce a gold star system to sylus. needless to say, things get chaotic very quickly!
sylus didn't notice anything different until there was a solid collection of gold stars on his fridge.
he thought it was amusing. was this some kind of reward system? you hadn't said anything on the matter, and as long as the stars kept growing, he would let you do as you wished.
he started keeping track of it. anytime he complimented you, or gave you a new gun, or took over a chore, there it was. a new gold star to his ever growing stack.
he was proud. even though it went unspoken between you both, he was clearly doing something good.
but then, disaster struck.
suddenly, one star was gone. then two, then three, until a good chunk was missing.
and all sylus could do was panic.
had he done something wrong? were you upset with him? did he do something you didn't like without knowing?
he had to investigate.
he was extra careful with you the following days, quiet where he would usually tease, gentle where he would usually let his strength get the best of him.
and oh, were you laughing about it when you were out of his sight.
when no new gold stars were added to his list, he was getting desperate. buying everything he laid his eyes on that reminded him of you, presenting you with bouquet after bouquet when you came home from work, cleaning the base from floor to ceiling..
and still, there was no new stars.
he caved, finally. pulled you into a tight hug and buried his face into your neck, as if that would grant him your mercy.
"i'm sorry," he breathed, rubbing his cheek against you, "i'll make it up to you. do you want a new gun? a car? do you want to go on a date? i'll do anything, just-"
"just what, sy?" keeping your composure had never been harder than when he looked at you, red eyes wide.
".. just give me my gold stars back."
and he sounded so sad, so scared that he had lost your favor, that you couldn't help but burst out laughing, kissing his cheek.
"alright, i'll give them back." when he still didn't look happy, you squeezed his cheeks gently, "i'll even give you ten more, since you've been such a good boy."
the twins couldn't help noticing how bright their boss was that day.
(and frankly, sylus, the twins and mephisto were more well behaved when you started offering prizes along with your gold stars.)
10 Ways You Ruin His Day (and 10 Ways You Ruin His Self-Control)
I originally made this list as character notes for future stories â I love digging deep into their dynamics and really breaking them down. But honestly? I couldnât not share.
Would love to hear your thoughts too: what do you think drives them absolutely mad, and what turns them into helpless fluff puddles? đ€
đ Top 10 Things That Make Caleb Absolutely, Irrevocably Mad
1 He doesnât know where you are
Even when it makes sense. Even when youâre safe. Even when heâs on the far side of a tunnel with no signal and too much time to think. The silence eats at him, turns every breath into a countdown. By the time heâs back, no one on the base dares talk to him until youâre in his line of sight again.
2 You come home with a bouquet of flowers from another man
Itâs not jealousy, really. Itâs⊠fury dressed in olive green. Youâre standing there, smiling, saying some poor man gave you flowers because you saved his life. Great. Fantastic. Calebâs thrilled that his girlfriend is both competent and accidentally irresistible. But now he has to pretend this isnât bothering him while mentally comparing the man's face to strategic punching surfaces.
3 You climb on unstable furniture to reach something
You know, nothing fancyâjust a stack of books on top of a chair thatâs on top of a bench. And you? Balancing like a gremlin in fuzzy socks. He walks in and suddenly the war flashbacks begin. You think itâs funny. He thinks itâs a workplace hazard, and you are the HR violation.
4 You rearrange his model planes
He adores you. Worships the ground you walk on. Would throw himself in front of an oncoming dropship for you. But if you dust his shelf and dare to reorder his starfighters and aircrafts by vibes instead of model number? He's already rewriting his will. In blood.
5 You do something reckless and then smile about it
You say ârelax, I had a plan.â He hears: âI almost died, and Iâd do it again, because Iâm cute and unstoppable.â That smile? That grin you give when you know exactly what you did and youâre proud of it? Thatâs why he needs stress meds. And maybe a punching bag with your face on it. (Lovingly.)
6 You casually mention the girl he used to date
You say it with a smirk, like itâs just some harmless teenage memory. But he doesnât see herâhe sees you. You, standing in the doorway that day. You, catching him with her, both of them half-undressed. And you looking at him like something cracked between you. Back then, you were off-limits. You were the girl he wasnât allowed to want. So he wanted someone else. Easier. Safer. And now, years later, you bring it up like itâs nothingâwhile heâs still trying not to remember how badly he wished it had been you.
7 You werenât his first kissâbut worse, he wasnât yours
It never comes up. Not out loud. But he remembers. Vividly. The hallway. The way your face lit up. The boy leaning in. You smiling. And Calebâwatching from across the room, fists clenched, jaw tight, playing the role of older brother when his whole body screamed mine. You never talk about it. But he never forgot. Never will. Because that moment shouldâve been hisâand someone else took it first.
8 You walk away during a fight, or shut down emotionally
You call it âspace.â He calls it âpsychological warfare.â You shut down. He short-circuits. Nothing drives him more insane than trying to fix something while youâre actively ghosting him across the living room. Heâd rather you screamed. Threw something. Anything. But this quiet? This distance? Thatâs the one thing he doesnât know how to fight.
9 You cryâespecially if itâs because of him
And then heâs done. Game over. His spine straightens like heâs under military command and his entire soul just went through the paper shredder. You cry, and suddenly heâs the villain. You say âitâs not your fault,â but that doesnât matter. Heâs already rewriting the past and taking full responsibility. And yes, heâll suffer in complete silence. Like a man.
10 You secretly try to uncover what heâs hiding from you
You call it curiosity. He calls it a breach of protocol punishable by full emotional lockdown. You think youâre clever. He thinks you just walked into classified territory barefoot, blindfolded, and with a target on your back. You were never supposed to see that side of his world. And now that you have? He doesnât know whether to yell, hold you, or lock you in a room with military-grade firewalls and a blanket.
đ Top 10 Things That Turn Caleb Into a Complete Fluff-Mess
You wearing his dog tags / uniform shirt / flight jacket
Instant puddle. No chance. He sees you in his gear and his brain just... shuts off. All he can think is mine mine mine, and he gets this dumb, soft little smirk like heâs trying so hard not to combust.
You falling asleep on himâespecially mid-conversation
Youâre curled into his side, mumbling something about dinner plans, and then: silence. He looks down, sees you asleep on his chest, and thatâs it. Whole day ruined. Cancel all missions. Heâs not moving.
You bringing him coffee exactly the way he likes itâwithout asking
That quiet, thoughtful act? Hits him right in the soldier-shaped heart. He doesnât even know how to process being taken care of, so he stares at the cup like it just proposed to him.
You absentmindedly touching himâfiddling with his fingers, tracing scars, playing with his hair
He pretends he doesnât care. He does. He cares so much he forgets how to breathe. Just turns into a warm, red-eared statue trying not to whimper.
You whispering âI trust youâ or âI feel safe with youâ in a soft moment
Core memory unlocked. He stores that one like sacred intel. Will literally whisper it back to himself at 3 AM when heâs lying awake, missing you. It breaks him in the best way.
You clinging to him in your sleep / pulling him closer without waking up
Caleb.exe has stopped functioning. He will lie perfectly still for HOURS if it means not disturbing that moment. Bonus points if you mumble his name while doing it.
You defending him when someone questions his methods or past
Heâs used to being the shieldânot having someone stand in front of him. The second you raise your voice on his behalf? He falls in love with you all over again. Might even cry. Secretly.
You gently helping him out of his gear after a long day
Soft hands on his buckles. A kiss to his shoulder. A low âYouâre home now.â Thatâs how you make a Colonel melt. His fingers twitch like he wants to worship the ground you walk on.
You surprising him with something dumb and heartfelt, like a handmade gift or bad sketch of him
He acts gruffâsays âthe hell is this, Pips?ââbut then puts it in his locker or keeps it in his chest pocket for missions like itâs sacred treasure. Because it is.
You calling him âbabyâ / âhandsomeâ / âsweetheartâ when he least expects it
He acts like itâs annoying. It is not annoying. It turns him into actual butter. If you do it with a teasing smile? He short-circuits. Might drop something. Might combust. Definitely blushes.
You ignore his instructions when you're sick
You had a fever of 102°F. He left explicit care instructionsâbed rest, fluids, minimal movement. You, sweating and glassy-eyed, decided this was the perfect time to rearrange the furniture. When he came home and found you dragging a bookshelf across the room âbecause the light felt wrong,â he genuinely considered sedating you. Not as punishment. As damage control. For both of you.
You order greasy fast food instead of going somewhere ânutritionally viableâ
He offered to cook. You said no. Twenty minutes later, youâre eating fries from a paper bag while half of it spills on his clean table. You grin. He stares. Not angry at the food. Angry because you rejected his precision, then settled for processed chaos.
You leave wet towels on the floor after every shower
Heâs not sure when it started. Day three? Day five? But every time he walks into the bathroom and steps into cold, soggy cotton, something in him fractures. You claim you âforget.â He suspects a psychological experiment.
You casually mention spending time with male friends
You think itâs harmless. Lunch with Caleb. Training advice from Xavier. You light up when you talk about themâand thatâs the problem. Zayne doesnât say anything. Doesnât raise a brow. But the sudden over-fixation on his email inbox says everything.
You receive a speeding ticket. Forty miles over the limit.
You wave it off like itâs a funny little anecdote. He sits in absolute silence, calculating the stopping distance of your car vs. standard reaction time at that speed. You think heâs judging. Heâs actually trying not to scream.
You poke his ass. Specifically, between the cheeks.
You call it âaffection.â He calls it âemotional terrorism.â He flinches like heâs been electrocuted, whips around with murder in his eyesâand youâre giggling like a gremlin. Later, you regret nothing, but your thighs may beg to differ.
When you diagnose him with internet psychology
Youâve read one book on attachment styles and watched three reels about emotional unavailability. Now youâve decided he has "clinical avoidant tendencies with a hint of fear-based control fixation." He stares at you, deadpan, like he's about to perform your autopsy.
You keep spoiled food in the fridge and expired meds in the cabinet
You say âit doesnât smell that badâ or âmaybe it still works.â His eye twitches. His gloves are already on. Heâs not even mad at youâheâs mad at entropy. Youâve become its agent.
You watch reality shows. About infidelity. Willingly.
You claim itâs âjust background noise.â But he walks in and hears someone scream âthatâs not even your baby, Kyle!â and your eyes are glued to the screen. His soul briefly leaves his body.
You washed his white lab coat. With your pink unicorn pajamas.
Itâs not just the color. Itâs the betrayal. The symbol of his clinical neutrality now smells like bubblegum and looks like cotton candy. You say itâs cute. He looks personally violated by the washing machine.
You bring him lunch at the hospital
He never asks. You just appearâarms full of neatly packed containers, face lit up like this isnât the third double shift heâs worked this week. He complains about the timing. The smell. The disruption. And then eats every bite with frightening focus. You leave. He stares at the empty container like itâs proof someone still believes heâs human.
You quote him back to himself like a philosopher
You remember something he said weeks agoâsome throwaway line about time or structure or entropyâand you drop it casually in conversation, like itâs wisdom from an ancient text. He doesnât know how to react. You turned his logic into poetry, and heâll never recover from that.
You wear the little seal keychain he made
He didnât think youâd keep it. Let alone turn it into your everyday keychain. But there it isâalways with you, worn smooth from touch. You twirl it absentmindedly while talking to him, never noticing the way his gaze lingers. Never realizing how something so small can hit him so hard.
You put a photo of the two of you on his desk
It appears one day. No fanfare. Just⊠there. A moment frozen in light, sitting quietly beside his surgical reports and diagnostic schematics. At first, he moves it to the edge. Then back to center. Now it lives next to his pen. He doesnât talk about it. But itâs the only object on that desk he wipes clean with his bare hand.
His work shirt smells like you
You borrowed it that morning, wore it while dancing around the apartment with wet hair and no real purpose. Hours later, when he pulls it on between rounds, the scent hits him like a loaded memory. He short-circuits mid-button. Everything feels warmer than it should.
You leave your phone with him while you shower
No password. No hesitation. You toss it into his lap with a breezy âcan you clear out whateverâs making it lag?â and vanish behind steam. He sits there, phone in hand, suddenly trusted with everything. He opens nothing. But the fact that youâd let him? Thatâs the part that shakes him.
You ask for his opinion on minor discomforts
A papercut. A weird freckle. A suspicious sneeze. You hold out your hand, utterly serious, asking what he thinks. Itâs laughable. Ridiculous. And it absolutely wrecks him. You could ask a dozen othersâbut you ask him. Like heâs the one who makes things better.
Youâre on top
He likes control. Precision. Strategy.
But when you climb into his lap, all instinct and fire, hands braced on his chest and lips already partedâhis brain stops cooperating. Thereâs something about you taking the lead that makes him unravel. Quietly. Violently. Completely.
You argue with him about complex theoriesâand mean it
You donât just nod. You push back. You challenge. You quote sources he hasnât thought about in years. You spark. You flare. And he watches, fascinated, lips twitching with something dangerously close to pride. No one does this. No one dares. But you? You never flinch.
You whisper âI love youâ in your sleep
Itâs not loud. Itâs not even clear. Just a faint breath in the dark, like a dream half-remembered. But he hears it. Every time. And though he never says a word in returnânot while you're sleepingâhis fingers tighten around your waist like he's anchoring himself to the only thing that matters.
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You told him his painting was âniceâ
You stood in front of a piece that cost him three sleepless nights, a minor existential crisis, and two broken brushesâand said âNice.â Just like that. No gasp, no poetry, no tears. He aged five years on the spot. Somewhere in the distance, a violin cried for him.
You dragged him to a cat exhibit
You thought it would be cute. Enrichment. A bonding experience. Instead, he spent the entire time perched on edge, eyes darting like prey. You said âtheyâre just kittens.â He said nothing. He was too busy making sure none of them came closer than ten feet.
You cleaned his studio
You thought you were being helpful. But you moved The Pile. The sacred, unholy, perfectly calibrated mess. Now he canât find his favorite brush, and also heâs deeply offended by how cheerful you looked doing it.
You didnât reply to his messages for over an hour
He sent three texts, one meme, and a âthinking of you đâ voice note. You replied 67 minutes later with âsry was showering.â By then, heâd already decided you were breaking up with him, joining a cult, or possibly dead. He had a whole monologue planned. And now youâve ruined it.
You cut your hair
He loved your long hair. Adored it. Worshipped it. You showed up with a sharp little bob and said âitâs just hair.â It is not just hair. It is the collapse of a visual era. Heâs still adjusting. And by adjusting, he means mourning with wine.
You made fun of his driving
You muttered âtechnically, you were meant to let the tram go firstâ He muttered âtechnically, silence is golden.â His driving is instinct. Vibe. Energy. If you didnât want drama, you shouldnât have sat in the passenger seat of a man who parallel parks like heâs in a ballet.
You woke him up too early
He went to bed at 4 a.m. because inspiration struck. You woke him at 7:12 like it was nothing, and said âyou have that interview, remember?â He does remember. He also remembers specifically telling you that if he ever falls asleep before sunrise, you are to let him die peacefully, cancel all earthly obligations, and throw his alarm clock into the ocean where it belongs.
You hid your phone screen when a message came in
You were probably teasing. Just being playful. But now heâs spiraling. Who was it? Why the secrecy? What do you have to hide? Congratulationsâyouâve just activated his inner opera villain.
You got jealous
Which is absurd. Heâs the one who invented possessive affection. But you being jealous? That makes him unreasonably indignant. What do you mean you âdidnât like the way that gallery girl looked at himâ? Of course she looked. But he didnât see her. He saw you.
You burned the bacon
You say âitâs fine.â He says itâs charcoal. The entire kitchen smells like culinary war crimes. And now heâll have to burn incense and replant three garden beds to recover emotionally. Who even let you near the stove? Who hurt you? Was it⊠the bacon?
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You massage his head
Heâs mid-rant. Arms crossed. Absolutely furious about the lighting in that gallery. And then your fingers slip into his hairâand just like that, the war is over. His entire body melts like heâs been tranquilized. Heâll deny it later, of course. But the way he leans into your hand? Case closed.
You claim him in public
Itâs an art gala. Heâs dressed to ruin people. And then you slip your arm through his, fingers just tight enough to say mine. You smile like a goddess. He pretends heâs unaffected. Inside, heâs writing vows in ten languages and considering printing matching business cards.
You actually listen to his advice
He knows he can be dramatic. Unfiltered. Emotionally volatile. But when you sit there, really listening, nodding like his words matterâyou destroy him. Suddenly heâs not the chaos. Heâs the compass. And that? Thatâs love.
You share every detail of your day over dinner
You talk about everythingâthe lady at the store, the funny email, the awful latte. You give him your day like a story, like heâs the only one you wanted to tell. He leans in, listens too closely, files away each emotion like a collector of rare art.
Youâre always down for his wildest ideas
Itâs 3 a.m. He wants to hike 2.5 miles along the beach, take a boat to a tiny island, and watch the sunrise with wine. You say âgive me five minutes.â And just like that, you become the only person worthy of his wildest, most beautiful chaos.
You let him photograph you
Nothing compares. Not awards. Not praise. Nothing rivals the moment you look into his lensâbare, unfiltered, unashamed. Especially when youâre nude, glowing, and laughing like the world doesnât exist. Thatâs when he falls in love with you all over again. And again. And again.
You let him choose your dress
You come out in the one he picked. Elegant. Perfect. You spin for him. And the way he watches you? Like he made you. Like youâre the gallery and heâs the only one with the key. Itâs not fashion. Itâs trust. And he adores you for it.
You sing when you donât know heâs home
Wearing socks and earbuds, dancing with a broom, serenading your way through burnt pancakes. Youâre off-key. Glorious. Real. And he stands in the doorway, silent, just watching. Because in that momentâyouâre not posing. And heâs never loved you more.
You take care of him when heâs sick
He has a fever of 99°F and insists heâs fading. You bring tea, stroke his hair, whisper that heâs âvery brave.â You donât mock him. You take his dramatics seriously. He will never forget it. He may also write you into his will.
You join him in the bathtub without asking
Heâs already halfway submerged, music playing, steam curling in the airâand then you slip in behind him, no warning. You nudge your legs around his hips, hand him your shampoo, and let him wash your hair while you giggle. He tries to act unimpressed. But when he starts kissing your toes? Yeah. You win.
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You break an agreementâeven if it's âjust a small oneâ
Itâs not about control. Itâs about structure. You promised. And when you bend the rulesâjust slightlyâhe doesnât react outwardly. No visible shift, no sharp breath. But something behind his eyes goes cold. Because for him, even small deviations mean recalculating everything. And that means risk. To you.
You create drama âjust to get a reactionâ
You push. You poke. You escalate. And he gives you⊠nothing. No outburst, no flinch. Just that flat, unreadable stare while he mentally exits the room. He doesnât get angryâhe just shuts off the part of himself that wants to stay.
You refuse his protectionâon principle
You call it independence. He calls it a strategic vulnerability wrapped in pride. He wonât argue. Heâll just be one step farther back the next time, quietly cataloging how to stop caring just enough that it wonât kill him if something happens.
You call him coldâespecially when heâs holding himself together for you
You see stillness. He feels restraint. You accuse. He remembers what it takes to not become the darker version of himself. If only you knew how much energy it took to stay composed. If only you knew it was for you.
Youâre late
Five minutes. Ten. No message. No explanation. And his pulse ticks upwardânot with impatience, but with pure, trained alertness. He starts looking for signs. Traffic reports. Emergency alerts. By the time you arrive, heâs smiling. But itâs the tight kind. The kind that says never again.
You skip training
Youâre tired. You had a long day. You say youâll make it up later. He doesnât argue. He just recalculates survival probabilities and mentally adds you to the list of people who might die because they were unprepared. And he will blame himself for letting you get soft.
You pull away from his touch when you're angry
Itâs not the rejection. Itâs the meaning behind it. He reaches outâsmall, careful, calculatedâand you shut the door in his face with a single backward step. He doesnât try again. He doesnât ask why. But the space you leave behind? It echoes.
You use a photo of Lumiere as a bookmark
You think itâs cute. Maybe even sweet. He sees itâand freezes. Heâs not jealous. Not exactly. But the idea that you might admire that version moreâthe legend, the mask, the sharpnessâit unsettles something deep. Something he canât name.
You secretly believe youâre not good enough for him
You never say it out loud. But he sees itâin your deflections, your nervous jokes, the way you doubt his love like itâs a glitch. It doesnât anger him in the usual sense. It justâŠhurts. Because youâre the only one who never had to earn it.
You throw yourself in front of him during a mission
Itâs instinct, you say. Split-second decision. You didnât even think. And thatâs the problem. He does. Always. Every variable, every movement, every risk is accounted forâexcept you breaking formation to protect him. You think itâs brave. He sees it as catastrophic miscalculation. Not because you acted without logic. But because you decided his life was worth more than yours. And that? Thatâs the one conclusion he refuses to accept.
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When you start reading the same book heâs readingYou donât announce it. You just show up with the same title, a few chapters behind, and start casually asking questions. He plays it off. But inside? Heâs spiraling. Because thisâthisâis how you speak his language. Silently. Precisely. Together.
When you knock on his door like youâre trying to break it downItâs loud. Impatient. Inappropriate for the hour. But he knows that knock. That rhythm. That you. You need him. Not his solutions. Him. And somehow, that chaos pounding on his door feels more like home than anything else.
When you hug him from behindYou wrap your arms around his torso mid-task, face pressed between his shoulder blades, palms splayed across his chest like youâre anchoring yourself to something ancient and steady. He stills. Every time. Like someone just whispered a secret to his bones. He never asks why. Never moves away. He just tilts his head slightlyâlistening, as if your silence said everything he needed to hear.
When you touch his sword (the actual weapon, calm down)He never lets anyone handle it. Not even for cleaning. But your fingers skim the hilt, gentle, curious, reverent. And somehow⊠itâs okay. Youâre not just touching steel. Youâre touching him. And he lets you.
When you act like a little girlYou scrunch your nose. Say something ridiculous. Blush like you didnât mean to. And he watchesâutterly disarmed. Because he knows exactly what you want. You want him to carry you. Wrap you up. Keep you safe. And he willâwithout hesitation.
When you join him on a morning runYou complain. You lag. You swear this is ânot your vibe.â But you still show up. Same hour. Same route. And when you match his pace for those few precious minutes? He doesnât say itâbut heâs proud. Painfully proud.
When you share your dreamsâand say âweâYouâre rambling. Light spilling from your words. Talking about the future, the maybes, the next steps. But you donât say I. You say we. And that sound? That tiny shift in grammar? It settles deep. Irrevocable. Permanent.
When you make matching braceletsYou say itâs silly. Handmade. Slightly uneven. Thereâs a charm shaped like a rabbit. He never takes it off. Not in combat. Not in sleep. It rests against his wrist like a pressure pointâand grounds him better than anything else.
When you remember his habitsYour shopping list always includes his cinnamon. His brand of shampoo. The exact instant noodles he pretends not to love. You donât make a show of it. You just know. And that knowing? It destroys him in the softest possible way.
When you trust him completely in bedâeven when his darker side surfacesThereâs a momentâquiet, chargedâwhen the softness shifts. He waits. Watches. Braces for resistance. But you donât pull back. You open your hands. Arch into him. Let him take control without fear. That? Thatâs what breaks him. Not the pleasure. The trust.
đ€Top 10 Things That Push Sylus Into Maximum Sarcasm and Mildly Homicidal Disapproval
Your outdated, unreliable weapon
Yes, he gets it. Itâs vintage. Itâs âstandard issue.â Itâs approved by the Hunters Association. Congratulations. That wonât matter when it jams and gets you killed. Every time you return one of the sleek, upgraded firearms he hand-delivers like heâs your personal armory concierge, he has to resist asking if you've already made a draft of your death wish. Alphabetically sorted. With floral headers.
You chew gumâand pop it
Itâs not the gum. Itâs the snap. The sudden, violent pop of sugary air bubbles that hits his trauma response like a trigger. He knows itâs just a noise. His shoulder still twitches. Heâs this close to reaching into your mouth and extracting the gum like a gentleman. A very sarcastic, deeply annoyed, half-feral gentleman.
You try to shake your tail (him)
You use stealth tech. You block your signal. You go dark. Adorable. Youâre forgetting that the very system youâre relying on was developed by his own syndicate. The only person who ever really evades Sylus is Sylus. And maybe the cat that lives under his car. But not you. Never you.
You donât introduce him as your boyfriend to your old classmates
You panicked. He gets that. You called him âa friend.â And now heâs deeply committed to the bit. For the next seven days, every time you said anything, he replied with âOf course, as your friendâŠâ in front of waiters, dealers, and one extremely confused ambassador. You only managed to shut it down by hastily posting a photo of you two with the caption âmy boyfriend and the love of my life.â Acceptable recovery. Barely.
You refuse to use his resources
His private jet? Untouched. His cars? Collecting dust. His black card? Sitting unused like some kind of insult in your purse. You say youâre âindependent.â He says youâre actively offending his entire lifestyle philosophy. Do you have any idea how disrespectful it is to ignore an entire walk-in wardrobe prepared for you in his estate? Honestly, itâs almost admirable. Almost.
You once smoked a cigarette, and he saw it
He didnât say anything. At the time. Just looked at you. Silently. Like someone had drop-kicked a kitten in front of him. Heâs not judging. Heâs just picturing your lungs in an ashtray. And adding another page to your death wish list.
You speak in riddles and expect him to âget itâ
You want somethingâtime away, a trip, his attentionâbut instead of asking, you sigh dramatically and murmur, âItâs fine. I guess some people just donât want to escape the city with their girlfriendsâŠâ He blinks. Slow. Dangerous. âWas that a request, a riddle, or an emotional booby trap?â If you want something from him, Kitten, try using nouns and verbs. Not cryptic guilt puzzles.
You suggest another woman would be âperfect for himâ
Itâs a joke. Offhand. Barely a breath. But your voice waversâjust slightlyâand that ruins it. He doesnât want her. He doesnât want options. He wants you. And now, thanks to your charming lapse in self-worth, he has to waste the rest of the evening reminding you that this face, this power, this entire empire already belongs to someone. Guess who.
You sneak up on him
You never mean to. But somehow, you're always the one person who slips past every alarm, every trained instinct, and ends up whispering behind him when his brain is still in kill mode. It takes everything in him to not react on pure reflex. You think itâs cute. He thinks itâs potentially catastrophic.
You donât believe him when he says heâs fine
Yes, heâs bleeding. Yes, his shirt is soaked. But he said âitâs a scratch,â and when he says thatâhe means it. His body heals like a myth. Your worried face? It makes something in him ache. Because the real wound isnât on himâitâs in you, for thinking heâs anything less than unbreakable.
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When you finally spend his money
It started with coffee. Small. Harmless. But the alert hit his phone and, for a moment, he genuinely wondered if his card had been stolenâuntil he saw your name. And something in him shifted. Not because of the cost. Please. He could buy the city it was brewed in. No, it was the fact you used it. You. Willingly. Now? Youâre bolderâlittle dresses, shoes, jewelry you donât need. And every time you do, he rewards it like you just proved you understand the assignment: what's his, is already yours.
When you give orders to his men like you're the boss
You donât ask. You instruct. Calm, certain, completely in charge. One of his men hesitatesâjust onceâwhile youâre directing them to rescue a terrified kitten stuck in a tree. Sylus doesnât interfere. He just watches, arms crossed, a grin tugging at his mouth as armed professionals scramble to obey you like you're the patron saint of lost animals. Somewhere in his mind, heâs already fitted you for a crown. With tiny cat ears.
When you secretly pet Mephisto
The mechanical raven used to drive you insane. Now? Youâre sneaking him treats and absentminded scratches under the jaw. Sylus sees it. Says nothing. But deep down, he knows: if youâve accepted the birdâyouâve accepted all of him. And thatâs lethal. To him.
When you make him a playlist
You never explain them. Just send a link and say nothing. But he listensâevery time. Alone. In his car. In the bath. Eyes closed, calculating your every choice like itâs encrypted intel. Each track? A hint. A mood. A coded message from you to him. He doesnât ask for them. He just waits for the next one. And when it arrives, he treats it like gospel.
When you leave a trail of chaos in his car
Your hair on the seat. Your gum wrappers in the cup holder. The seat so close to the wheel he practically has to fold in half. And the music? A full-volume love ballad ready to ambush his eardrums at ignition. It's obnoxious. Itâs inconvenient. Itâs perfect. His life, now featuring you.
When you eat from his plate
You swore you werenât hungry. You said âno carbs this week.â And now? Youâre stealing fries from his hand and dipping into his steak sauce like itâs your birthright. He doesnât stop you. He just watches you chew with that look that says: mine. forever.
When you talk and talk and talk
Something happens. You spiral. Words spill. Thoughts tangle. Youâre not even aware youâre ramblingâbut he is. He listens to everything. Stores it all. Because thereâs something magical about your voice when itâs unfiltered. You donât realize it, but he falls a little harder every time you forget to censor yourself.
When you crawl into his lap while heâs working
Heâs in the middle of paperwork. Calculating things. Dangerous things. And suddenlyâyou. Right there. Knees on either side, arms around his neck, like the worldâs most beautiful interruption. He tells himself he needs to finish. But his hands are already on your hips.
When you call and ask for help
A jar. A stuck zipper. A ride. It doesnât matter. Youâre a trained hunterâyouâve faced things with claws, fangs, and no name. But you still call him. Because you want him. And that? That wrecks him in ways heâll never admit. Heâs already on his way before you hang up.
When you scream his name right before you come
Thereâs a lot heâs proud of. His empire. His power. His record. But nothingânothingâsatisfies him more than the moment your voice breaks open with his name. Like prayer. Like surrender. Like heâs the only thing in your world. Which, of course⊠he is.
Sylus pissed you off that morning. His constant teasing and rage-bating got on your nerves again, and like the fussy kitten you were, after snarling and snapping at him, you turned your nose up and started the silent treatment.
Even after he returned to your apartment after his morning workout, you look one frosty look at him, and turned back to your book and your breakfast as if he wasn't there.
But he knew your weakness and the thing that would get you to break.
"Your neighbor Edward got a food delivery this morning."
You didn't show anything on your face, but you were clearly listening. This was the tactic he was going with? Hmph, quite different than his previous plan of attack whenever you were angry with him: buying everything in your cart, getting on his knees in front of you, or letting you physically manhandle him if he really pissed you off.
Also, who cares about your neighbor? Althoughâa bit early for food delivery, don't you think?
"Your neighbor said he didn't order anything though, and his girlfriend came out to say she didn't order anything either."
He stood above you, enough to eclipse the morning sun that came from your window, but despite the shade over you, you continued on as if you didn't hear nor see him, too busy thinking about what was the most passive-aggressive way to tell him that he would be sleeping on the floor tonight.
"So the delivery guy said the name on the order..." You raised a brow. "And it was Miaâ"
Your eyes flew open dramatically, completely dropping your book to look at him. "Noâ!"
"So Edward's little girlfriend said, 'Your ex?'" His smirk grew as he had you hook, line, and sinker.
Standing up to be nearly chest to chest with Sylus, you gasped.
"No way!" you said dramatically. "He told me that was his cousin!" Red eyes flashed in amusement, and he wrapped an arm around your waist easily as the gossip flowed out of your mouth.
"I knew it! I knew something was strange! Ugh, it has to be like my girl-code senses or something! I knew something was off when I saw them together! His girlfriend goes to work at that time, but I saw him with that other girl, and thought, 'Oh, that's weirdâ' and so I walked up to them to try and dig more, and introduced myself, he said they're cousins! UGH! All men suck!"
They were your neighbors and Sylus never really bothered to socialize with them, but he knew from the start that the neighbor's devotion was weak, and Sylus viewed him as a pathetic man as a result. Hmph, if your neighbor really loved his girlfriend, he wouldn't walk ahead of her as she carried all of the groceries, or close the door after himself, like what he has seen multiple times.
If he really loved her, he'd let her shoot him or stab him the chest a few times, then take her to an auction to spend all of his money.
"And guess what?" his smooth voice added, the mirth in his tone apparent.
"What?" you whispered, eager for more gossip.
"Mephisto tells me they're on the balcony right now."
Shooting him a side-eye, you wasted no time in grabbing his hand and rushing to your apartment balcony.
True enough, you didn't even have to open the sliding door to hear their loud argument, but because you and Sylus were so nosy, you did so anyway, popping your heads out to watch them for good measure.
"C'mon, babe, I'm sure it's because her name was just in my old account somewhereâLook! You're bothering the neighbors!" Your balcony was tiny, and Sylus took almost two-thirds of the space. It was impossible to miss him, your little head peaking out behind your white curtain, and even the little crow on your railing while you were all snooping. "Let's just take this inside, calm down and we can talk about it."
"What happened?" you gasped innocently, acting as if you and Sylus weren't just gossiping about it mere seconds before. "Are you okay?"
His girlfriend whipped around in a fury and shouted your name. "Tell me! Have you seen him with a girl with red hairâ?"
"Babe, you're acting crazy right now! Why would she even see her hereâ?"
"Girl! He told me she was his damn cousin!" you spilled.
You clapped your hand around Sylus's mouth to hide his chuckle when a loud slap! sound rang across your apartment complex.
synopsis: how he reacts when you call them by their full name in front of other people
character/s: xavier, zayne, rafayel, sylus, caleb x f!reader (separate)
warning/s: none!Â
note/s: my favorite one has to be zayne and sylus' im ngl i had so much fun writing this
xavier:Â
you shouldâve known that dating the notorious quiet, handsome man in the association would be an open invitation for your coworkers to pry and get answers for the questions they always had but never dared to ask.Â
how could they? whenever they talk to xavier, he replies with one-word answers, worse, sometimes he just stares as if the question was the stupidest thing he has ever heard. and honestly, that idea wasnât far-fetched.Â
having you as his partner and girlfriend only solidified the associationâs curiosity about xavier.Â
âi donât think heâd care.â simone mutters as she bites another mini sandwich from the snack display.Â
tara shakes her head as if trying to convince her to change her mind. âhe canât not care! right?â she turns to you as you tilt your head in confusion, not catching majority of the conversation, too caught up in a mini staring contest that you and xavier had from across the room.Â
âwhat?âÂ
âhow do you think xavier would react to being called by his name.â you furrow your brows at taraâs question, not exactly getting it.Â
ânothing? itâs his nameâŠâ âno, not his name but his name-name.âÂ
in all honesty, tara lost you. but you urged her to explain that couples usually dislike it when theyâre called by their given names rather than a pet name.Â
and now that youâve thought about it, you didnât think that youâve ever called xavier by his real name.Â
with taraâs devilish grin, you almost felt bad for wanting to test it out, after all, no better time than the present, right?
âi bet twenty that he doesnât care.â simone wagers, you almost scolded her, if not for taraâs enthusiastic counter with a fifty.Â
your gaze flits towards xavier who was already approaching the three of you with two drinks in hand.Â
he smiles softly as he hands you the flute of champagne. you gave him a grateful smile, the words slipping out of your lips almost in a foreign way.Â
âthank you, Xinghui.â
you could see the way xavierâs smile twitches. he does not respond; instead, he wraps an arm around your waist.Â
âare you having fun, star?â you nod before turning back to your friends whose expressions differed from triumph to devastation at the immediate turnout of their bet.Â
âmm!â you nod, a smile on your face as you lean over to his warmth. âi was just telling simone and tara how much my Shen Xinghui treats me well.âÂ
xavier swoons at the my but not so much what came after.Â
âah. i see.â he tightens his grip around your waist before he gestures towards the open balcony, in the guise of fresh air.Â
you bid your friends a wave goodbye, tara looking like she was trying her hardest not to laugh and simone already counting the bills in her wallet to slap on taraâs waiting hand.
once you and xavier were on the clear, he pulls you into his arms, his face buried on the crook of your neck.Â
âdid i do something wrong? iâm sorry.â xavier says softly against your skin, tickling you slightly.Â
you giggle, pulling his face away to see a pout on his lips.Â
âwhat do you mean, Xinghui?â his pout deepens.Â
âi donât like that name.â âwhat do you mean? itâs literally your name.âÂ
âyeah, to others, but not to you.â xavier says as he holds you tighter against him.Â
you conclude that it was the end of your little prank, as you explained the bet that your friends made. xavier huffs as he mumbles at the crown of your head.Â
âiâd rather you call me lumiere.âÂ
âreally?!â
âno.â
zayne:Â
when zayne told you that his parents were going to visit, it was safe to say that you spent the entire day ensuring that your home was welcoming. you and zayne spent time cleaning and redecorating your shared space.Â
the doorbell rings, and for a moment, you thought it was his parents who arrived an hour early, but to your surprise, it was only the deliveryman for the patisserie you ordered from.Â
knowing that althea and jace rarely spent time in linkon, you wanted to ensure that they could try new delicacies, so you ordered linkonâs finest macarons, and as a bonus, you bought them their favorite tea as well.Â
you placed it on the kitchen countertop and forgot about it, thinking that you could easily plate them once they arrived. you failed to notice the curious doctor who approached the box after you left.Â
althea and jace arrived right on time, you greeted them with a smile as althea hugs you, complimenting how beautiful you had grown from the last time she saw you, while you led them to the couch. zayne sat on the opposite sofa, engaging in small talk, blushing slightly as his father coos about how chubbier his cheeks are and how healthier he looks.Â
âiâll prepare some tea.â you excuse yourself as you walk to the kitchen to steep the tea.Â
once it was finished, you put the teacups on the tray as you walked back to the living room, where they were.Â
âoh! zayne, could you pour out the tea? iâll go get the dessert,â you say to your husband, who freezes for a split second.Â
âno need, darling,â zayne says as he makes a move to stand up. âi can get it; you should sit down. youâve done enough,â he says, coaxing you to sit down. you shake your head, stopping him from standing up.Â
âitâs okay, zaynie, iâm already standing up, just sit down and catch up, iâll be right back.â you say, giving his cheek a swift peck, hearing his mother coo at how domestic the two of you were.Â
you went back in the kitchen, humming slightly under your breath before it stops as you opened the box ofdesserts.Â
there were only six macarons left. you ordered eight.
your jaw drops at the only answer as to why two were suddenly missing. without saying anything more, you plated the remaining macarons before carrying it back.Â
you can see zayneâs back as you walk, slightly tense as he tries to keep up with a conversation with his father.Â
âLi Shen.â zayne jolts as you say his name, you canât see his exact expression, but judging by the way althea was biting her lip in amusement and jace was already grinning, you know that he knows that heâs in trouble.Â
âyes, dearest?â zayne answers, his hand on the teacup as he takes a small sip, trying to act unbothered.Â
âwhy are there only six macarons?â you walked slowly, placing the plate in the middle of the coffee table and facing him, crossing your arms.
zayne blinks slowly, you can see the small gulp he took.Â
âperhaps the patisserie made a mistake. we can contact them after,â he says in a calm tone.Â
you raise a brow.Â
âyou have crumbs at the corner of your mouth, Li Shen.â his eyes widened before he put the teacup down, wiping at his mouth, trying to get rid of the evidence, but the four of you know it was too late.Â
althea laughs at the display, patting her husband affectionately on the arms.Â
âthis reminds me of when we caught our little zaynie sneaking for the cookie jar when he was young, right jace?â jace nods, a stifled laugh leaving his lips.Â
zayne looks down in embarrassment. you clicked your tongue softly before sitting beside him.Â
âi told you the desserts were for your parents!â you whined softly as you took one of the macarons, slicing it and eating it, stabbing another bite for zayne.Â
he unashamedly takes it.Â
âi apologize, my love.â he was not sorry at all.Â
althea and jace only look at the two of you, amused. yet, happy that their zaynie truly found love.Â
you reached down absentmindedly towards zayneâs teacup, only for you to flinch.Â
his teacup was frozen solid.Â
you looked at him who avoided your gaze, before clearing his throat.Â
âiâd argue that the frozen teacup is your fault.â zayne says, immediately regretting it as you glared at him.Â
âwhat was that?â
âi said that you are sweeter than any macaron i have ever tried.âÂ
sounds about right.Â
rafayel:Â
rafayel has been working on a painting for the last three hours. well, thatâs how long it seemed to you because youâve only been in his mansion for three hours. you knew he was painting for longer, given that it looked like it physically hurt him to adjust his posture.Â
âraf, take a break,â you say gently as you place a hand on his back.Â
he looks at you with a smile on his face. âin a bit, cutie! i promise. iâm about to invent a new color.â you rolled your eyes at his quip, yet let him do it, you wouldnât have been able to pry him off anyway.Â
the sound of a doorbell ringing takes your attention off your boyfriend, who seems to have the idea of ignoring the sound.Â
âdonât worry, cutie. itâs probably thomas.â rafayel waves it off. you sighed and walked towards the door.Â
âyou know, he wouldnât be as overbearing if you stopped ignoring him,â you retort.Â
âno, cutie. heâd lock me up in his basement to keep painting if he could.âÂ
you paid his response no mind as you opened his door, awaiting to see thomasâ brunette hair and stressed-out expression. only to be pleasantly surprised when you see the shade of rafayelâs hair greet you.Â
âtalia! what a surprise.â you say, greeting her as your eyes flit downwards, seeing the luggage at her feet. âoh! let me carry those in, please come inside. i didnât know you were visiting.â you hurriedly grasp her luggage, then usher her in.  Â
talia thanks you with a smile on her face, giving you a gentle laugh as you fussed over her.Â
at this point, you were flustered. you did not know that rafayelâs aunt was visiting; had you known, you wouldâve made a greater effort in getting rafayel to clean his own home. it was in no means ready to cater to a guest.Â
âah, really?â talia asked, genuinely surprised. âi thought rafayel mightâve told you. but then again, rafayel easily forgets things.âÂ
you smiled, nodding, still giving her your best host-like smile, while inside your head, you were already scolding your boyfriend in your mind.Â
â--just like how he forgot to pick me up from the airport.â âwhat?âÂ
you couldnât help but cut talia off as your eyes widened. you looked over to the painter who was still stuck in his own world, as if his only remaining family member wasnât standing in his house.Â
âQi Yu.âÂ
rafayel freezes in his action, the paintbrush dropping from his hand for a split second before he sharply turns towards you, who looks back at him, unamused.Â
your arms were crossed, a glare on your face as you stared him down.Â
â...yes, my cutie?â
you give him an unimpressed look before raising a brow. rafayel seems to have noticed the additional presence in the room as his eyes widened. from under his breath, you could hear him mutter a curse.Â
he immediately straightens, ignoring the kinks in his back that screamed at him from the sudden movement, before he walks to where the two of you were, his arm rising to wrap against your waist, only for you to dodge it in an obvious way.Â
âcutieââÂ
âyou didnât tell me that talia was visiting!â you say, exasperated. âand how could you invite her here when this place is such a mess! she came all the way from varona and this is what you greet her with?â
rafayel rubs a hand behind his neck, sheepish. âi forgot.âÂ
âreally, Qi Yu. you forgot.â
rafayel flinches as you use his full name; that action spurs talia to let out a laugh at the banter.Â
âi have seen rafayel be summoned by his father using that name, and he does not even bat an eye, yetâŠâ talia smirks as she interlocks her arm with yours.Â
âi see my nephew has a weakness.âÂ
rafayel wouldâve found a way to refute, really, he would, but his face was burning and his lips were formed into a pout as he saw you visibly soften at taliaâs assurance.Â
âno need to worry about me, dear. iâll make myself at home in the guest room.â talia pats your arm once before she wheels in her luggage towards the relatively tidy guest room.Â
when talia was gone, you looked at rafayel with a blank expression on your face.Â
âcutieâŠâ
âso, let me get this straight.â you interrupt him. âyou ignore me for three hours even though you invited me to your house. you forget to pick up your aunt from the airport and you forget to tell me so i can prepare to accommodate her, and now all you can say is cutie? really, Qi Yu?â
rafayel wraps his arms around you, pulling your front flush to his chest as he whines. âcutieeââ he buries his face onto your hair. âiâm sorry. please never call me that again.â
your lips twitch, secretly having fun with his reactions.Â
âQi Yââ âcutiee. stooop.â rafayel whines as he nuzzles his face onto your neck. he sighs as he pulls away, a pout still on his face. âi promise iâd take better notice of my schedules.âÂ
âand?âÂ
âand?!â rafayel echoes back, offended that you didnât take the bait before he collects himself. âand iâll treat you and talia to an expensive dinner tonight.â
âgood.âÂ
rafayel pouts.Â
âyou can be so mean sometimes, cutie.âÂ
âreally, Qiââ âstop!âÂ
sylus:Â
sometimes, you curse yourself for being competent. at first, you thought that showing guts in the hunterâs association would bring you more respect and dignity.Â
in reality, it just thrusts you on more missions that make you question if the salary was justifiable.Â
you were so tired, you just got back from a week-long mission.Â
you just wanted to rest in sylusâ arms and whine about how the association was wringing you dry and look at him in appallment once he suggests quitting your job. you know, the usual.Â
as you ride your motorbike to the N109 zone, you can already imagine the conversation. you smiled softly to yourself as you approached the heavy doors that seemed to readily open to you.Â
you walk towards the main hall, brows furrowing as you hear luke and kieran throwing out profanities and the sounds of controllers clicking.Â
you push open the door to see luke, kieran and, surprisingly sylus, on the couch with their vr gear on. you see the tv playing a racing game that you vaguely remember playing. judging by the twinsâ response, you assumed that sylus was in the lead.Â
as much as you wouldâve loved to join in and have a little game night, you were tired and wanted nothing more but to be held by your lover.
seeing sylus be so unguarded and oblivious to your arrival, you couldnât help but time your entrance, once you see sylus seconds away from the finish line, you cleared your throat as you loudly called out.Â
âQin Che.âÂ
luke and kieran freeze as if they were the ones being called as they ripped out the vr gear from their faces, looking like deer in headlights. sylus also takes his off, albeit slower, as he takes in your figure. a look of surprise and longing in his expression.
you had your arms crossed, a blank expression on your face as you stepped closer.Â
almost immediately, you see the twins skedaddle past you, dropping their gear and leaving sylus sitting on the couch.Â
âooooooo, dadâs in trouble!â you hear luke tease, and a sharp smack! right after, as kieran urges him to move faster, the door slams shut.Â
an offended caw resounds in the room, you turn around to see mephisto banging itself on the door, wanting to get out as well. you bit back laughter as you see the door open for just a sliver before a gloved handâ youâre assuming luke, reaches out to pull mephisto by the wing, an indignified squawk leaving the metal crowâs beak.
the room was silent, save for the video gameâs background music, to which sylus shuts down.Â
you walked over to him, who sat there waiting for your next move.Â
without another word, you sat on his lap, your face pressing against his chest, hearing the way his heart was beating significantly faster.Â
âwelcome home.â sylus says as he wraps his arms around you, breathing in your scent.Â
âyour heartâs beating really fast.â you point out, voice muffled by his chest. you pull away slightly to look up at sylus who immediately presses a kiss on your forehead.Â
âwell. it seemed like a certain kitten hissed at me unprovoked,â sylus said as he affectionately ran his fingers through your hair.Â
âall because i called you by your name?âÂ
sylus chuckles as he presses another kiss to the crown of your head.Â
âsweetie, you underestimate the power you have over me.â
caleb:Â
you really shouldnât have agreed to be calebâs date at their high school reunion. hell, he shouldnât have even bothered going.Â
the day couldâve been spent with the two of you cuddling in comfortable clothes on your sofa, but no. caleb thought it would be a good idea to show you around the DAA.Â
which wasnât what was happening as his former classmates whisked him away. you stood off to the side, a frown on your face, arms crossed over your chest.Â
caleb promised you that heâd be back in five minutes. itâs been thirteen minutes, and there was no sign of him ending the conversation. good thing that gideon was right beside you, keeping you company, as he only arrived a few minutes ago.
âyour boyfriend sure is popular, huh?â gideon teases as he nudges you with his elbow.Â
âtoo popular if you ask me,â you mumble under your breath, eye twitching as yet another former classmate approaches him.Â
gideon snorts under his breath. âheâs always been popular, not even your scrunchie on his wrist managed to ward off the girls at the time.â you huff at that, eyes zoning in on the girl by the corner of your approaching caleb.Â
it was irrational, youâre well aware of that, but enough was enough.Â
âcaleb is mine.â the jealous part of your mind screamed.Â
âXia YiZhou!âÂ
for a split second, you can feel the tension in the room drop, and everyone in the room freezes. caleb immediately turns to where you were standing, smiling sheepishly.
âcoming, honey!â caleb walks briskly to where you were, but you gave him the cold shoulder.Â
he tries to pry your arms away from your chest as he attempts to coddle you.Â
âyou said five minutes, Xia YiZhou.â you say, turning away from him. from the side, you can hear gideon stifle a laugh as calebâs face drops at your words.Â
âpips, you knowââ âfive minutes. you said.â you glare at the way calebâs lips twitched, you knew the bastard was fighting a smirk.Â
âis my pipsqueak feeling boredââ he reaches up to playfully pinch your cheek, but you dodged his hand before walking away.Â
âdamn dude, good luck.â you hear gideon say as you exit the venue.Â
caleb follows you, letting you walk three steps ahead. you walk by the schoolâs open garden, feeling the breeze pass your face.
âgo away, Xia YiZhou! i donât wanna see you.â you hear caleb chuckle from behind you, and all of a sudden, heâs right beside you, flinging an arm around your shoulders.
âwhatâs got my baby apple upset, hm?â you huffed, reaching for your opposite shoulder to pull his hand, only to feel his palm sweating.Â
and calebâs palm only ever does that when heâs nervous.Â
you fight the grin that threatens to escape your face. however, caleb already caught sight of it.Â
âah, i see. someone just wanted my attention.â you rolled your eyes, dropping the facade.Â
âthere were too many girls trying to talk to you.â you huffed. âitâs like they donât know you have a girlfriend!â you squint your eyes, accusatory.Â
âunless you told them you didnât have one.â
âhey now, pipsqueak.â caleb flicks your forehead softly. âeven if they didnât know, iâd let them know. no need to be jealous,â you huff, turning around.Â
caleb couldnât help the chuckle that leaves his lips as his arms snake around your waist, pulling you flush against him.Â
âiâm all yours, pipsqueak.â
âXia YiZhou, you dummy!â
caleb only smiles against the back of your head, finding your little tantrum cute. Â
âyeah, yeah. your dummy. i know.â
mentally, he was already planning all the ways he could get you to call out to him affectionately once more.
note/s: omg two uploads in one day that's craaaaaaazy lmao i hope you enjoyed this one <3
"Yes, ma'am," being his most repeated phrase in the house.
Hits the gym every morning to do twenty reps of "Happy wife. Happy life."
His penthouse in the N109 Zone might be dark and industrial, but you wanted the family forever home to have lace curtains, soft pink walls, and flower-shaped windows? Well, you're getting your lace curtains, pink walls, and flower-shaped windows.
Several months after his baby girl was born, he took one walk around his operations building and then immediately got to work installing diaper-changing stations in every men's bathroom and putting in gender-neutral bathrooms on every floor.
He might be the fearsome leader of Onychinus, and he spends his days doing thrilling, dangerous stunts, but he goes home, grabs the twins and Mephisto, and now he's just an esteemed guest in his daughter's tea party. He's immediately sitting down on that tiny chair, letting her sloppily put makeup on him, and putting on a tiara.
He'll reach for the gun, but his hand has sloppy, uneven sparkly pink nail polish on them, curtesy of his baby.
He's always had an eye for fashion, especially since he loved to dress you up, but now he definitely knows how to hype you two up too.
"Go back into the room and come on out again so I can see you twirl."
When his daughter grows older, he's constantly in litigation and thrives in it. His lawyers are booked and busy. Whether it's medical misogyny or discovering that a harmful bleach was used in the production of your sanitation pads, you know this isn't even about the money. He's doing this purely for the love of the game.
He was mainly nocturnal, and that helped with the night shift when your daughter was still a newborn, but made the effort to switch his sleep around to drop her off and pick her up from school.
You know he lives for the skincare nights where him and his girls all put on sheet masks and hand soaks.
He may treat you both like princesses, but he also makes sure your daughter can hold her own. When he teaches his daughter how to box, he always has that stupid smug face, but inwardly he's so genuinely overjoyed that he can spend more time with her.
He's a savage. He knows this. But with you and your daughter, he lives in paradise, and doesn't know if he deserves it.
On bright sunny days, you'll be lounging outside on your picnic blanket. The twins would be swimming in the nearby lake and Mephisto will be by your daughter's knee. Sylus made the sandwiches for your family because he constantly wants to show off his knife skills. After your daughter fills up her belly, she'll lay her head on his lap. He has your large, floppy sunhat on since he burns easily, but even as his eyes strain from the bright light, he doesn't dare move.
Itâs 3:07 am when Sylus finally steps into the bedroom. The lights are off, the room is quiet, except for you. A faint glow illuminates your face as you lie on your stomach, feet kicking lazily in the air, completely absorbed in your phone.
A soft snort escapes you, followed by a quiet giggle. Sylus pauses at the doorway, watching.
ââŠYou should be asleep.â
You donât even look up.
âMhm. I will.â
Another reel plays as you laugh again.
âJust ten more minutes.â
He doesnât argue... instead, he just exhales quietly before turning away. By the time he returns, fresh from the shower, dressed for bed, youâre in the exact same position. Still scrolling, still laughing and still wide awake. Sylus climbs into bed beside you without a word, slipping an arm around your waist and pulling you closer.
âLook at this one...â
Your phone suddenly lifts out of your hand.
You blink.
ââŠHey.â
It floats calmly through the air using his evol and lands on the bedside table. Completely out of reach.
âSylus.â
No response. Instead, he shifts, pulling you down with him until youâre half pinned beneath his weight, your face tucked into his chest.
âThatâs not fair....â
âClose your eyes.â
His hand comes up, gently covering your eyes.
âSleep.â
You huff softly, but your body melts into him anyway.
ââŠYouâre annoying.â A small giggle slips out of you, soft and sleepy, as he pulls you closer, his warmth wrapping around you completely.
âGo to sleep.â
Sylus tightens his hold just slightly. It doesnât take long before his breathing steadies, his grip loosening just slightly as sleep finally takes him first. You blink, a little surprised.
ââŠThat was fast,â you whisper.
Carefully, you lift a hand, gently running your fingers through his hair. slow, absent-minded strokes, the kind that always seem to relax him without fail. Your touch softens.
headcanon: how i think the boys would react to you asking them to deal with a surprise spider in the house
cw: spiders (which, is, given⊠lol), established relationship, mostly fluff & banter, you/yours for reader (mc) and presumed fear of spiders
xavier: he rolls up a nearby pamphlet and just⊠smacks it without hesitation. he blinks when the spider scurries away, only slightly dented at his efforts.
âhuh.â he unfurls the makeshift weapon. âthatâs a problem.â
âxavier?â you raise your head from the cushion you had plucked to defend yourself with. your eyes are just as wide as his. âxavier, oh no, where did it go-â
âto the next plant⊠probably.â he scratches his nape and gives you a small smile. reaching for your shield, he replaces it with his hand. âitâll be okay. out of sight, out of mind.â
âsure, but what did you even hit it withâŠâ you mumble.
a glance to the coffee table shows a slightly wrinkled promotion for bunnies hot pot. something about couples, something about certain cuts of meat being showcased for new customersâŠ
xavier gives your hand a squeeze. âsince the spider might be here for a while, why donât we go out and eat? to get your mind off of things.â
âyou just want hot pot, donât you?â
ââŠmaybe.â
zayne: he calmly asks for a cup so he can do the cup/sheet method and displaces the spider to an opened windowsill. he looks fine overall, but secretly, he did jump a little at firstâespecially since the spider was bigger than he had imagined.
âmy lifesaver,â you sigh, reaching for his forearm when he returns. with a slight squeeze, you add, âwhat would i do without youâŠâ
âitâs alright,â he says with a slight nod. he pats the crown of your head and adds on, âthank you for letting me know. do you feel better now?â
âi do.â placing your cheek against his chest, your arms loosely wrap around his waist. a beat passes, and you look upwards, poking just past the center of his heart. âbut i think i should be asking you that, mister.â
zayneâs ears are slightly pink as he meets your gaze. âitâs nothing.â
âreally?â
your fingers make a little walk upwards. past the collar and up the side of his neck, you gently pinch his earlobe. âiâll keep this in mind the next time a spider decides to trouble us, then.â
rafayel: initially, he shares in that panic you called him over with. pulled out of his sofa-lounging reverie, rafayel stands next to you and frowns.
he readies his hand. âiâll set it on fire, yeah?â
âokay, wait, letâs not set off the fire alarm either,â you tell him just as quickly, grasping his fingers. âsomething else, anything-â
the spider lifts a leg, and time seems to stand still between the three of you. then, it begins to crawl in your direction.
âitâs moving closer?!â
you both end up throwing things at the spider in a collective effort before it eventually just scurries away. silence weighs in the air as you look around and realize the place is a bit messier now. papers, spare paintbrushes and even a house slipper; all start to return to how they once were as the two of you pick up the pieces.
rafayel clears his throat. âsooo how about we move in together and away from this place?â
you glance at him. âover a spider?â
âwell, duh. i donât see why not.â he crosses his arms and gives you a wink. âwe make a great team anyways, cutie. more of us and less of them sounds pretty good to me.â
sylus: one flick of his evol-studded finger and the spider is gone in his web of red-black. the spot where it once was is now spotless. and yet sylus still sits there, comfy in his chair.
you look at him in slight disbelief. countless times, youâve seen the flawless execution of his evol in combatâagainst wanderers and humans alikeâbut over a rather small mishap is still a surprise to behold.
âis that all, sweetie?â
âi think so.â your eyes scan the floor. âthere better not be another one, or i swearâŠâ
the corner of his mouth lifts. he redirects his evol your way, curling around your waist in familiarity and settling you to stand between his legs.
hands on his shoulders, you steady yourself and glance at him with a tilted head. âcan i help you?â
âa reward would be nice,â he hums. âi dealt with a nuisance to our lovely hunter. wouldnât you agree?â
âit might've been a little overkill,â you say with a small laugh, yet cup his cheek nonetheless. âbut i can think it over, if youâd like. your standards are quite high these days.â
he leans into your touch. âindeed. that wouldâve been a hefty commission fee otherwise.â
caleb: he casually scoops it into his hand and decides to walk closer to you with it. a menace never grows out of their habits.
âooh, the spiderâs gonna get youuuâŠâ he sings, that familiar glimmer in his eyes. âlook at his little legs. all eight of them, crawling your way-â
âcaleb, youâre a jerk!â there's both a laugh and panic in your voice. you do your best to dodge him. âget away from me! one more step and iâll make you regret it!â
he laughs as you squirm and decides to send it off outside after entertaining the situation just a little longer. he comes back, dusting off his palms like itâs in a dayâs work.
âall gone.â he raises both hands, empty. âsee?â
wordlessly, you huff and a curled fist meets his bicep instead.
âow, ouch.â he feigns an injury, despite the grin. âi just saved your life and this is how you repay me?â
âthis is my thanks,â you say with a grumble. âiâll get you next time.â
he takes your wrist and twirls you around, now effortlessly in his embrace. âyou promise?â
âyou sound a little too happy about this,â you remark, swaying together in a soundless rhythm unique to the two of you. âi wonder why.â
âmaybe i just want to find out what you have in store for me. is that so bad?â