Gavriel Huffman hadn't meant to take care of this small animal, but the small weak thing came into his life one day all on its own with no mum or owner by its side, so he nurtured it.
Animals are respected in the Grimwoods City. It's simply tradition, so it's his obligation to care for the kitten since he was the one who found it.
Initially, he planned on giving it away after it was old enough to eat solid food, but plans change. He's invested too much time and effort in her, so she's now the doted princess of their branch, where she's adored and well treated! (Or else.)
------
Princess Elizabeth grew up in an environment filled with dangerous people. All the yelling, shooting, and dead bodies are the norm for her. She yawns at the face of death, as she's seen it so many times that it bored her.
Slurs and curses are a normal part of her vocabulary since she's heard it so many times from the people around her. Not that anyone understands her anyway, she's a cat. Her meows are always so soft and sweet.
She's become quite the self-absorbed little lady as everyone, from Gavriel's subordinates to the commoners (normal people), praise and flatter her for her cute charm. But of course! It's only natural!
She seldom lifts a paw to fight lest she gets her beautiful claws dirty, but she doesn't have to! Daddy and his underlings will take care of whatever it is that she wants. She's the princess after all!
Previously // Next - (chapter list) / (AO3 ver.)
[contains: BLOOD / GORE / MILD DISTURBING IMAGERY]
Jack had slumped on the couch, his chest gently rising up and down as exhaustion weighed him to sleep at last.
Gavriel noticed the stretch of silence. He glanced back at the other man in the room before noticing the Toon was then fast asleep.
The scarred man frowned at this. He hadn’t even so much as glanced at Gavriel before drifting off, to check and assure that he hadn’t been making any suspicious movements with the intent to hurt him. Any blunt or sharp objects in this room could have easily become a weapon in Gavriel's hands, and the fool had left himself wide open, completely defenseless.
Gavriel shook his head disapprovingly. He’ll have to turn down the food the Toon had offered him. What if it had been laced with something? Not that he doubted his stomach wouldn't be able to handle it — he’d been poisoned with way worse, but the experiences were never pleasant.
Though, now with his main concern asleep, he allowed himself to relax a bit and took a closer look around the shabby but homey apartment. He'd never been to a Toon's place before. Some parts of this place were a bit worn down from time and lack of upkeep, but the windows provided decent natural lighting inside, so it didn’t feel stuffy at all.
The difference in the overall atmosphere here and the one he was accustomed to felt weird. The color palette was warm, but the fluff wasn’t overbearing at all.
Just comfortable.
Gavriel wasn’t sure what to make of it.
Perturbed, he walked around, inspecting every room in the small apartment before he soon spotted the sliding doors connected to the balcony. Gavriel didn't have his phone to check the map or call for help, he was unsure if it fell out of his pockets when he was fleeing or if Jack had taken it away. All the same, he wanted to take a look outside to try to guess where the hell in this unfamiliar city he had managed to end up in.
He made sure to check for any CCTV cameras before stepping into the balcony when he found none, and he was welcomed by the cool morning wind caressing his face, chilly from the heavy rain the night before. He took a deep breath, the feel of the frigid air penetrating his thoughts.
Speaking of CCTV cameras, that foolish Toon. Gavriel clicked his tongue, displeasure seeping through his features. Had he been seen dragging his body here? What about the blood? Did the Toon take care of that, too? Did the residents here know about his unwelcome arrival, or was it just him?
The more he thought, the more his brows furrowed. He couldn’t stay here, he needed to leave.
His hands grasped the railings as he scanned his surroundings, his pain-muddled mind slowly grinded into action as he tried to remember which portion of the city contained apartment complexes comparable to or identical to this one. Unfortunately for him, a great deal.
Uneasy, he subconsciously scratched the gnarly scar that ran along the side of his neck. Nothing much to gather from that. He also wasn't familiar enough with this city to pick out any particularities about the place either, so he was basically stuck.
The scarred man sighed and tipped his head down in simmering frustration. “Shit.”
The wind blew gently, swinging around and playfully swaying his bangs, but Gavriel’s mood was too bitter for him to notice. He took that moment to think about what happened to him that day. Before he collapsed in that alleyway.
Gavriel's guarded nature earlier hadn't come from nowhere.
He was coming back from an exhausting trip. Cel City was the midpoint road from his previous location and back to Grimwoods City, his home. They were driving down a long crowded lane when something strange started to happen.
A few cars that acted normally before began to swerve and drive wildly, hitting and causing mayhem on the road before eventually making a reckless turn to chase after the car Gavriel and his men were in.
Guns went off and vehicles screeched as people attempted to avoid them while Gavriel’s gang were pursued down the road at high speeds. One of the cars following them collided with a truck and flew into the air, striking Gavriel's car and a few others as it flipped before landing upside down on the ground, nearly destroyed from the hard collision.
Everything else had been a blur of gunshots and yelling after that, yet he distinctly remembered the moment he saw the door of the fallen car being slammed open from the inside. Whoever had been driving that thing had survived the fatal car crash.
The person’s bloodied and broken body climbed out, dragging themself forward. A few joints were turned the wrong way and injuries littered their body, but they pushed themself up and stood without as much as a flinch.
Gavriel glared, appraising the person before realizing something odd that made him pause for a moment.
It was a Toon.
More of them appeared, coming out of cars that were previously driving away or have been hit. Their simplified cel-shaded hands held guns far too detailed and foreboding for their wholesome appearances.
The sight of Toons holding guns had already been peculiar, though something else caught Gavriel's attention. Their pupils were rolled to the back of their lids with capillaries crawling in their eyes, almost like they've all lost their minds. Or had they perhaps been drugged? Gavriel wasn't sure, but those people hadn't looked like they were capable of reason at that very moment, and they were very clearly there to hunt them.
Gavriel and his gang were eventually forced to retreat. He managed to escape, but not without losing a few of his men in the process and taking a few lethal wounds himself. He didn't know if there was still anybody alive amongst his Grim subordinates or if they were all dead.
So when he awoke to the care of Jack Desmond, a Toon, he was wary of him being one of them. But not only had Desmond chosen to help dress up his wounds and given him his bed to rest on, he was also dumb enough to sleep in the open with Gavriel in the same room as him. Though, there was always a chance of all of that being a show he was putting on.
Having lived years of his life through hell and back in his line of work, he could never be too sure about the nature of people he was unfamiliar with. For all he knew, Desmond could just be skilled in putting up a front. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time he's met somebody similar; the "nicest" ones were somehow always the most deranged.
…He needed a phone to tell someone about the attack and to get a ride back home.
—
Meanwhile, deep in his blissful sleep, Jack stayed unknowing of the dark picture Gavriel painted about him. If he knew, he'd surely cry out in despair. His act of kindness was being misinterpreted and twisted, he was being wronged! Wronged, he'd tell you!!
_
Previously // Next - (chapter list) / (AO3 ver)
Thank you to @demonicrhythms for proofreading this chapter.
loving an idol doesn't mean i can't love you — chapter 1 : unrequited love
(AO3 link below / I'm lazy to copy paste the entire chapter here but if anyone wants it on Tumblr instead of AO3, I will post it)
Fandom : Alien Stage (Web Series)
Relationship : Ivan (Alien Stage)/Till (Alien Stage)
Tags : Minor Mizi/Sua (Alien Stage); College AU; Roommates AU; Modern Au; Angst & Fluff; Domestic Fluff; ect...
Summary:
It was well known that Ivan had a crush on his long-time best friend except for the concerned one, Till.
But it was also well known that Till had only his idol, Mizi, in his life. Ivan knew damn well it was never possible between his beloved and him, Till's love for Mizi was so strong that it made his heart hurts by how pure and intense this affection was. Ivan could never been the savior of Till's sorrow, it was Mizi, but Till was the only one who ever made Ivan felt like this since they meet in highschool. He knew it wasn't possible, his love was unrequited from the start.
Until Till actually met Mizi, who happened to be Ivan's older sister - Sua - secret's girlfriend. Maybe loving an idol wasn't the kind of love Ivan was craving from Till... And maybe, his feelings weren't that unrequited.
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