zzz men (hugo, harumasa, severian and seth). but they deal with the insects/spiders when you’re deathly afraid of aforementioned animal.
wc: ~6.1k
includes: 5-6 bulletpoints + snippets per character!
c/w: might be ooc, very silly, bugs mentioned, quite angsty in seth's section whoops😭(it gets lighthearted in the end i pinky promise).
𑣲 can kill bugs without a hitch. not scared of bugs in general, has dealt with horrors far more triggering. a mere bug cannot shake him into submission - but it doesn’t mean he won’t feel at least a bit grossed out by the bug itself. Is the type to NOT let a bug touch his bare hands, will have to use another item like a tissue and or cup to kill the bug 💔(normally makes vivian kill the bug, she probably has a higher tolerance for bugs in general than hugo).
𑣲 but if it means he’s capable of pissing you and or vivian off with only the dead remains of a small little bug?? he’d ignore his general distaste for bugs, at least by a little bit if it means he gets to evoke a reaction.
𑣲 he’s one of those people who have a scarily accurate/godly aim when it comes to catching bugs (he’s a literal thief, his ability to steal anything and everything HASSS to be top tier). It's almost mesmerizing… minus the disturbing factor of having to catch a bug. if he has to go and capture a bug with mere chopsticks - then he’s able to do so within the first try without much issue.
𑣲 revels in the chaos that’s about to ensue the moment the roach decides to move a centimeter closer to where you’re from. as soon as you give him the panicked look of “hugo vlad you’re literally the man of the house what are you DOING !! go kill it!!”
𑣲 and what does hugo do? he stands still. seemingly unfazed by your quiet, incessant pleas. though you don’t miss the subtle grin playing on his lips as he watches the chaos begin to stir within the mockingbird hideout.
“me? you want me to kill the wretched vermin?” hugo inquires, tapping his chin with his index finger in deep thought, rubbing in the fact he’s literally doing nothing at the moment to take action. “you want me... to get my hands dirty… after i had just finished painting my nails? what do you take me for?”
he scoffed, waving off his hand, acting as if this whole situation was nothing but insignificant. (it isn’t), “I’m most certainly not a bug exterminator,” he sighed heavily, “although… if i were a bug exterminator, my services would come at a hefty price-”
before you even allowed hugo to finish his sentence, you cut him off with a loud blood curdling scream as soon as the roach decided to take off from the wall and commence war, the sounds of the roach’s wings whirling did far more harm than good.
and you? you were shitting your pants in sheer horror. if this were a small bug, or hell, even a fat fly?? you’d be a-okay! no screaming involved, just a quiet death in the midst of a warm and humid summer day, no biggie!
but a fat, FLYING cockroach?? out of all things?
yeah no, it’s safe to assume that you’ve clocked out. killing that hellspawn was out of the question - it’s wraps.
and now it’s hugo’s turn!
without much thinking on his part, he grabbed a nearby paper cup with elegant haste and swung the opening end of the cup at the flying roach, catching it in the process without much trouble. to hugo, this was nothing more than child’s play, just a little bug extermination in hopes you don’t accidentally get a heart attack.
now that wouldn’t be a fabulous outcome, he thinks.
he pinched the paper cup with his pointer and thumb by the rim in a bone crushing grip, refusing the captured flying roach to get any ideas about escaping a thief’s grip alive, much less an esteemed and infamous one as hugo. “ah ah ah, no escaping you little rascal,” hugo crooned as soon as he felt the subtle rattle and irregular, panicked tapping from within the cup in his grip. “you’ve caused enough trouble for my lovely friend over there,” he gestured to you with a subtle tilt of his head, chastising a child (roach) for its silly mischief, “...you might as well pay for your transgressions, right~?”
“for a cost, of course,” he shook the cup slightly, taunting. “...a cost that i deem appropriate.. and i have high standards~”
there’s no way he’s talking to a literal roach, out of all things!! is he crazy-?!?!
“ever heard of ‘a life for a life’?” he chuckled, the sound silky and rich despite its threatening undertones, “ah, bet you haven’t. you don’t have the emotional capacity of grasping a concept larger than your entire life, but it’s the best your measly life can offer.”
and now it was the roach’s turn to feel fear.
having grown tired of listening to the roach’s useless pleading against the cup, he crushed the paper cup in his hand in silent finality and nonchalance. he shot you a knowing look, scheming. “well?” he tilted his head, ignoring how his nose crinkled instinctively at the stench of death that emanated from the now dirty paper cup. “what’s done is done, don’t you think?”
hugo watched as you let out a breath of relief you didn’t know you were holding, saw how the tension in your shoulders from before seemed to mellow out, coaxing a tiny, sincere smile to grace his lips in response. yet that sweet and sincere smile was quickly wiped off his lips when a mischievous idea made itself comfortable in the crevices of his mind. shaking the crumpled paper cup filled with the crushed roach without much thought, he offered it to you with a knowing grin.
“want to check if it’s truly dead?” he offered lazily. hugo knew it was dead. obviously, he made sure of it. but it wouldn’t be fun if he didn’t get his piece of the pie by not subtly poking fun at your fear - silly as it was endearing to him.
𑣲 generally indifferent to bugs if they were ordinary, small and insignificant bugs like flies or mosquitos. if he’s not feeling entirely lazy or if the bug actively gets in the way of him lazing around working.
𑣲 then he’d kill it without much thought. he’ll only need a small tissue and simply call the bug’s life quits from there.
𑣲 if harumasa’s capable of killing big and scary ethereals with little to no fear at all? then surely he’s capable of killing any and every bug that’s out there… right? wrong. you are sorely mistaken.
𑣲 as soon as a spider bigger than a dime is on the battlefield? he’ll fold, but not immediately.
𑣲 he may try to hold his ground against the eight-legged creature before him, his stance rigid and ready to pounce… but pounce without much enthusiasm as he’d like. with quiet, underlying hesitation.
𑣲 don’t expect him to be too thrilled about killing it though, expect plenty complaints and demands for compensations for his “noble sacrifice”
“(name)?” harumasa called your name out in confusion, watching you with a curious gaze as he noticed you stand eerily still, as if your feet were glued to the wooden floor of his apartment against your own will. not once in his time knowing you, have you ever stayed frozen in place for longer than a second, you were always up and about doing whatever you can to stay occupied.
so… to see you so still and tense? now that was uncharted territory for him.
eventually, his eyes made the rookie mistake of following the general direction of yours, zeroing in on the fierce, eight-legged threat prowling around his apartment like it paid the rent.
but not just any spider, no no no. a beefy one with elongated spikes for limbs and a rotund abdomen. even he was surprised the spider hadn’t crushed itself to death by now, although he would’ve preferred that outcome so he wouldn’t have to come face to face with it.
because internally? harumasa knew he would have to be the unfortunate soul who has to deal with the threat himself. sighing, harumasa set his trusty bow and arrow down against the side of the couch, placing a hand on top of your shoulder - almost shielding himself behind you as he stared down at the slow moving arachnid as well.
“...perhaps it’s friendly!” he tried to cope, his voice almost a weak croak with how he was this close to making a run for it. “...maybe… it’s just a lost little guy who doesn’t know any better! maybe… just maybe, it’s so scared of us he’d never approach us…” he glanced at you for a moment, expecting a sound of agreement.
well.. anything from you at this point.
as if the universe decided it needed a good laugh today, the spider paused its prowling. as if the fear lingering in the air caused it to pause its movement before it decided to make a calculated move and completely do a 180, crawling in a circle in order to try to face its food source with its impaired vision. its pedipalps twitched with a purpose, relying on the fear that emanated between you and harumasa - using the subtle vibrations to detect the source of your shared fear.
this day can’t get any worse, right?
realizing that this entire situation cannot afford to go down to shit, harumasa made the brave decision of grabbing a plastic cup and a piece of watercolor paper - his movements visibly subdued than the usual, in hopes it would be enough to not disturb the spider and potentially ruin the makeshift stealth mission at hand.
taking a much needed deep breath, he approached the slow moving arachnid with great care, albeit shaky hands, his golden eyes refusing to move a single inch away from the animal. “...easy… easy…” he crouched in front of the spider, slipping the paper underneath its spikes for limbs, internally wincing with how his sudden movement seemed to alert the spider - causing it to move at a slighter quicker speed, prone to bolting if it wanted to.
and that’s the last thing you and harumasa needed, especially harumasa if he was in the line of fire.
“no no… do not panic on me now!! I do not want a heart attack at the ripe age of 24…” he whispered frantically as he slammed the plastic cup on top of the spider - entrapping the living, now fearful animal within its temporary enclosure. “see? now that wasn’t so hard now, was it?
he ignored how your mouth went agape at his brave action, his attention primarily focused on placing the spider outside… preferably on his neighbor’s balcony - their balcony was close enough to his, not too straining to his sick body yet not close enough for the spider to make a reappearance and potentially scare the living daylights out of you once more.
they can deal with the little guy themselves, no biggie!
“phew… now… i need you to cooperate with me here…” he says to the spider, pressing the rim of the plastic cup against the sturdy watercolor paper firmly, ensuring it wouldn’t escape, “me and my dearest friend, (name)... are nothing but innocent people… we, yes… us, we are NOT your enemy…!”
he cleared his throat loudly as soon as his feet finally made it to his balcony, the fresh summer wind billowing through his hair and golden bandana, now edged with beads of sweat. “see?? don’t you miss the feeling of nature pulsating through your entire body???” he nodded his head eagerly, mainly eager to get this arachnid off his property. “...you’re meant to go outside and experience the highs and lows of nature! not the lows of a man who is probably two seconds away from meeting his maker at every turn!”
ouch.
“... there there…” he smiled wearily, placing the watercolor paper onto his unfortunate neighbor’s occupied plant pot, angling the paper to work as a makeshift slope. “... take it easy now little guy, wouldn’t want you to fall off and hurt yourself.. that’d… be kinda bad!” he chuckled, lifting the plastic cup slightly, allowing the spider to walk off and be done with it.
slowly, harumasa pulled his shaky hands away from the scene, allowing the spider to explore its new surroundings and hopefully its new home - away from his apartment, and most importantly..
“is it gone now???? has it been taken care of?” you ask, taking measured steps towards harumasa at the balcony, tapping his shoulder for quiet reassurance. he turned to face you, giving a small nod in response. “...pfft! obviously!!” he rolled his eyes playfully, acting like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “...did you really think i’d leave you out to the wolves??? hm?? buuuuuuutttttttttttttt…. did you ever stop and consider how i could’ve been that spider’s spoils for the week? hell, the entire year??”
“...didn’t interpret it that way.” you replied, looking a bit remorseful for single-handedly throwing harumasa to the wolves without thinking. It was basically every man for themselves at that moment! “and don’t exaggerate … you won’t become that spider’s spoils for the year, that idea in itself is asinine-”
harumasa was quick to put an end to your logic, wiggling his pointer finger in refusal. “no no no, i wager my worries are very much valid and not exaggeratory in nature,” he tilted his head off to the left, slow and methodical. “i’d recommend making it up to me by treating me to a cup of black coffee, my favorite~”
“absolutely not-” - “ah, but who was the one who benevolently swooped in and saved the day??”
you sigh deeply in quiet defeat, knowing that arguing with harumasa can be quite.. futile. “...fine.. fine..” you acquiesced without much resistance, knowing he has a point. “a coffee hangout it is.. my treat.”
𑣲 the epitome of nonchalance and stoicism - he does NOT gaf 😭
𑣲 out of everyone on this list, he’d be the least reactive (in comparison) when it comes to insects as a whole, he’d be too preoccupied in making sure to deescalate the situation/deal with it swiftly - there would be no room for fear to take root in his mind.
𑣲 will definitely feel annoyed at the fact this insect believed it had the audacity to cross him and get away with it scot-free - specifically when he’s actively working and a fly decides to land close to where he was about to write on an important document.
𑣲 unlike hugo, he’s the type to swat the fly away with his bare hands. not caring if he touched the bug, he cares more about resuming back to work more than anything else.
𑣲 but generally, if the insect isn’t in his way of what he’s doing - then he can learn to coexist with it, even if he’s slightly bothered by its presence. It’s not the end of the world for him, he has better things to worry about and do.
𑣲 however.. if a literal centipede has proven to cause unnecessary commotion and capable of inducing fear in others for simply existing, then he’d deal with it himself without much issue.
severian clears his throat in a way that demands the attention of the other n.e.p.s officers crowding your cubicle, arms crossed over his chest. “what seems to be the matter here? i reckon you all aren’t at (name)’s cubicle with the sole intention of getting any work done,” he states, sharp eyes sweeping across the… fearful gazes of the officers crowding your cubicle as if it were life or death.
“so tell me, (name),” his eyes settled onto yours, which refused to move from the corner of your desk. “what could possibly be the reason as to why-”
“commissioner lowell..” one female officer piped up almost immediately, her voice shaky at both the fear of being the sole receiver of the senior commissioner’s wrath.. but also- “...bug… there’s a large centipede at (name)’s cubicle, crawling up and about and scaring everyone into submission with its..” she trailed off, biting the inside of her cheek at how ridiculous this all sounds. “...over 100 legs… and– and– it keeps making weird noises.”
are you serious right now.
“is that correct?” instinctively, severian pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a deep, drawn out sigh, “this..” he gestured to the centipede in utter disbelief, brows furrowed. “...really?” his exasperation, so palpable underneath his measured and cold voice even the centipede itself had to stop crawling. he couldn’t fathom how what he believes to be a small insect, was more than enough to render professional n.e.p.s officers into gawking machines who are incapable of their own autonomy.
sensing their boss’ displeasure, the other officers — seasoned, rookies and everything in between, all gave each other a knowing look, whispering amongst each other before they came to the unanimous decision of turning around to face severian’s scrutiny head on. “yes.. really… everyone’s pretty bothered by its presence,” one officer exclaimed, shifting in place as though uncomfortable with the stuffy atmosphere. “and.. to be quite frank.. no one has it in them to deal with it.”
silently, all your co-workers turned their heads to face you, a silent plea for you to - well - do something. “what?” you frowned, immediately defensive. “am i incapable of having my own set of fears?”
you, who typically has it all under control. you, who has seen all the horrors new eridu and the neverending hollows had to offer… is currently glued to their seat, stuck watching a centipede sneak and curl around your favorite blue pen that you’re more than sure is now covered with gross centipede juice… and you’re expected to kill it??? unprovoked?? yeah… no. it’s not surprising your co-workers began to spectate the spectacle that is a LARGE small insect vs. a rookie n.e.p.s officer. who wouldn’t want to watch that!
unable to handle the idiocy of his employees, he decides to take matters into his own hands by letting his golden eyes settle onto the very still centipede, narrowing into displeased slits as his fluffy white tail begins to swish lightly. the lack of commentary from their senior commissioner was more than enough for the rest of the officers, who were initially crowding your cubicle like a group of vultures, to make a rigid pathway for a peeved severian, allowing him to take the steering wheel and to hopefully steer them back into normalcy.
“out with it.” he shrugged the rest of the officers off with a simple wave of his gloved hand, inching near your desk, causing you to break out of your fear induced trance and eagerly pushing yourself out of severian’s line of sight - no way in hell are you going to get in the senior commissioner’s way when he’s this serious.
without needing to say much more, severian’s ears twitched, attuned to the centipede’s every vibration and lack of defense on its part, allowing the commissioner to reach over without an ounce of disgust, snagging the centipede with his bare hands - leaving no room for the centipede to even think about escaping a lynx thiren’s grasp.
everyone in the room collectively gasped, eyes wide with both horror and silent respect at commissioner lowell’s… boldness. a boldness they should’ve grown used to ever since he took charge. “Mm, now that wasn’t proven to be difficult,” he says with the calmness of a man who has seen far too much to even bat an eye to a centipede currently squirming within his death grip.
“clear cut, swift and efficient - just how the academy taught you all.” he paused, squeezing the centipede in his grasp without much thought, unblinking to its remains dripping off his bare hand. “hmph. or should’ve.”
that is, till you took note of the way severian grimaced under that pristine mask of cold and harsh professionalism, tight-lipped and silent. “i’d advise you all to not get too ahead of yourselves,” he says, wiping the sticky remains off with a handkerchief, sharp eyes that learned to never give mercy now settling onto you. disapproving. “...we want to avoid making room for inept officers who are incapable of fending for themselves against minor threats.”
ignoring the rest of the officers’ scandalized looks, severian tossed the handkerchief into the trash, fixing the expensive cuff of his sleek black tailored suit, quickly taking his leave — pretending as if he hadn’t decimated everyone within your cubicle in under the span of 10 minutes.
nervously, one male officer decided it was a bad (good) time to speak up:
“...preeeeetty sure that was targeted—”
𑣲 the most reactive out of everyone on this list, he is NOT nonchalant about the idea of having to go and kill a bug 😭
𑣲 i’d wager he would feel a bit creeped out by the creepy crawlies - he most likely was fine with bugs prior until he learned to be fearful of them in general, and that fear has stayed with him since.
𑣲 can imagine him minding his own business until a bee landed on the bridge of his nose and without thinking he began to flail his arms around, absolutely mortified and running around in circles as the bee tries to sting him 💔
𑣲 i’m sure when he and severian were younger/still on good terms, seth was never on the frontlines of killing a bug, severian probably had to step up and kill the bug himself 😭#youngersiblingprivileges #relatable #oldersiblingwoes #notrelatable
𑣲 like harumasa, i’m sure seth would be fine if he had to swat an annoying mosquito and or fly away from his face without much issue —or he’d be too locked in working given he’s mainly career driven, seth probably didn’t even notice a little buzzer invading his personal space.
𑣲 but it would be a different case entirely if he had to come face to face with a silverfish roaming around his apartment without a problem, and realizing that he would be the one who has to kill it since you (or anyone else for that matter) is deathly afraid of them? then yeah… he’s shitting his pants - fear can be contagious after all!
“(name)!!! I bought some tuna sandwiches,” seth announced excitedly, closing the front door behind him as the pitter patter of his shoes bounced off the decorated walls of his quaint and humble apartment. “i made sure to leave extra early today to get not just one, not two, not three… but four tuna sandwiches, all half off!” he says, stacking the plastic containers with the tuna sandwiches on a nearby side table.
the jovial lynx thiren paused in the middle of the living room, bewildered, ears twitching in an attempt to locate, well, you. “...(name)?” he called out, his tail low and suddenly alert. “...now this isn’t funny.. if you plan on pranking me like last time..” a displeased shudder ran through his shoulders at the mere thought of the last prank you pulled on him — that one time where you pounced on him from behind and he almost elbowed you in the face because of it.
yeah… safe to say he’s grown more alert whenever you decide to stop by his apartment.
his eyes darted around his small apartment for clues:
the couch in the living room? nope, nice and neat. you didn’t lounge or sleep on his couch like a cat sunbathing on a warm sunny day - blankets were folded neatly at the corner, safe to assume you were unable to crash at his couch the moment you arrived.
the kitchen? nope, a barren wasteland. left untouched.. how unusual. you often treated his barely used kitchen like it was your oyster, unapologetically chaotic. and yet… it was.. tidy? Just how seth left it?
the pantry? nope. remains untouched.
the bathroom? the door was left ajar. rarely does seth leave doors ajar. they’re either closed or wide open, never in the in-between.
perhaps it’s a clue worth investigating.
he didn’t mutter a single peep as he tried to sneak towards the ajar bathroom door, but of course, stealth was very much not seth’s strength with how he tripped on one of the books scattered across the floor, making the wood beneath him croak in agony - alerting anyone in the premise of his position.
there’s no use hiding it now, right?
seth took a much needed deep breath, allowing his ears to twitch before they eventually stilled and went back to their usual, fluffy and relaxed state, tail stagnant despite the tension curling within his stomach at the lack of movement in his apartment. “you don’t need to hide from me!! you know, pranks don’t have to be scary in order to provoke a reaction?” he tried to reason, nearing the door, he wrapped his fingers around the silver doorknob, opening the door slowly with the intent of poking his head inside. “I’m coming in, okay? i’m only here to make sure everything is alright!”
as soon as he poked his head inside though, expecting nothing out of the ordinary.. well, he was about to be rendered speechless the moment he took in the scene before him:
you, standing on top of the marble countertop, holding a fresh roll of toilet paper and pointing it to… the corner of the bathtub? more specifically… at a silverfish?
seth couldn’t believe his eyes, could’ve sworn his mouth went agape like a cartoon character who had the intelligence of a peanut, absolutely dumbfounded beyond disbelief. “...(name)...” he gulped, eyes darting between a very much horrified you, now settling on the fat silverfish claiming its territory on his pristine bathtub. “...can… can… you elaborate as to why you’re currently standing on top of my countertop???”
he shook his head incessantly, as if slapping himself for asking such a dumb question in the midst of a very distressing situation. “..no no.. scratch that–” - “it attacked me first,” you answered hastily, fingers tightening around the fresh roll of toilet paper in hopes it was enough to protect you from the silverfish strolling around the bathtub. “it bolted towards me in the middle of me shitting–”
seth blinked. “...what…–”
“I was clearly vulnerable and it had to have known that, so of course, it had the audacity to bolt towards me like i offended its entire bloodline!” you huffed, now taking the time to face your confused friend. “say, if you noticed your enemy was vulnerable, you’d take the opportunity to ambush them, no?”
this day cannot get any weirder. clearly, you were passionate about your current predicament. not that seth could fault you here.
the bewildered thiren blinked once more, rapidly. helplessly trying to grapple the absurd situation to the best of his abilities. “...uh…” he falters, scratching the back of his neck nervously. “if it means bringing them closer to justice.. then.. yeah?? probably?” he says, eyebrow lifted in sincere, deep thought. “but.. then again, they’d get hurt before i could interrogate them, so–”
before seth could continue to what you believe to be the beginning of an unskippable ad, you nodded your head rapidly before pointing at the silverfish - to which it began to squirm underneath the scrutiny of not one, but two individuals at hand. “...since you’re a figure of authority…” you cleared your throat loudly, gesturing to the silverfish with a tilt of your head. “you might as well kill it… because.. because.. yeah?”
are you for real right now.
seth felt his heart drop all the way to his stomach with how you entertained that ridiculous idea of him playing the bug exterminator! what do you take him for??? he’s a rookie cop!! meant to face hardened criminals head on and to allow justice to shine through new eridu’s corrupt underbelly…
he’s not meant to kill bugs on command!
but with how the situation is looking… with you being two seconds away from genuinely bolting and acting hysterical, or even worse… trap him inside with the silverfish. yeah no, he has to deal with this as swiftly as he can. quick and painless.
acquiescing to your helpless (demands) pleas, seth grabbed a nearby toilet plunger, literally anything he could get his hands on in order to be done with this. determined as he was drained with this entire fiasco, he most definitely deserves compensation for his noble sacrifice. “...don’t do anything rash, okay??” he instructed, angling himself in front of you, hackles slightly raised with how he eyes the silverfish with the same intensity he uses when facing hardened criminals in an interrogation room. “i don’t want you to get hurt, especially if i can avoid it from happening.”
examining closely, he took measured, cautious steps towards the bathtub. toilet plunger raised over his head executioner style. he peered over the bathtub, and there it was, the silverfish - wiggling around in his bathtub like it was its territory, and not the furniture of a formidable lynx thiren.
he took a massive deep breath, trying to soothe his fear of having to kill a bug executioner style. the tip of his tail shivered in mild disgust. “...don’t move…” he inched closer. “...easy there buddy…” without giving the silverfish a moment to react to seth’s looming shadow, the rookie cop then slammed the rubber part of the toilet plunger against the unlucky silverfish.
again.
one more whack – for good measure.
with each whack made against the silverfish, its remains splattered across the bathtub and walls, painting the once pristine tile walls of seth’s bathroom with the scent of death. his nose visibly crinkled. “eugh… to think this was crawling up and around my bathroom is quite…” he paused, turning to face your expectant expression. “unexpected…” his ears flattened, cringing at his own discomfort. “and unwelcome.”
you break the short moment of silence by jumping down from his marble countertop, setting the toilet paper roll aside. “pfft yeah…” you roll your shoulders. “tell me about it.. who knows how that little bugger got in,” you say thoughtfully, looking at seth with a troubled, albeit apologetic look. “we’re better off not knowing, ignorance is bliss after all.”
seth bit the inside of his cheek, this entire situation leaving him perturbed. he can’t help but feel a bit uneasy since he may have to deal with a potential silverfish issue – if he encountered one, then who knows if there’s more out there? just sitting there, idly in the shadows of his neat apartment that he rarely occupies due to his long shifts at n.e.p.s.
Its off-putting, to say the least.
he set the stained toilet plunger inside the bathtub – he’ll clean it later. “i guess so…” he shrugged off with a roll of his shoulders, or tried to. “even though i dealt with it without much issue.. it doesn’t sit right with me,” seth admits, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, as though left rattled than victorious. “it’s weird, i know i know.. you don’t have to poke fun at me for it. go ahead, call me soft-hearted for feeling repulsed over a tiny bug when i’m often faced with cruel ethereals and even crueler people.”
huh? where did this come from?
you felt your heart constrict within your chest, blinking back a few stray tears – emotional or not is a whole different story. “you know,” seth begins, “i’m used to my older brother doing the heavy lifting between us when we were younger. if a problem ever arose in the family, our school life, or hell – between us? he was the one who stood up and fixed it with no complaints.” he crosses his arms in front of his chest, as though trying to guard himself from his feelings of inferiority and insecurity when facing his short-comings.
“but me?” his voice wavered slightly. “i couldn’t even kill a bug without feeling as though my heart was about to burst out of my chest! or better yet, feel uneasy even after killing it! ” he sighed deeply, head hung low. ears drooping in silent defeat. “if i’m so easily disturbed by a bug…” he glances at you, his eyes searching for answers. “then am i truly capable of protecting those i love?”
you froze up. throughout this entire exchange, you thought that once this situation was over, it’d be one of those stories where you and seth can look back on a few weeks later and laugh it off like it was nothing – a silly and absurd tale between two friends who almost met their maker thanks to a wandering silverfish.
but to see seth look so dejected and like a husk of his usual self – bright-eyed and eager to bring justice anywhere and everywhere? it was quite the whiplash, and to be quite frank, it made you quite guilty for putting him on the forefront just because he so happens to be a rookie cop.
with hesitation that’s unusual for you, you made an attempt to reach out to him. your hand lingered in the air between you two before it slowly settled on top of his shoulder – the same one where his faded scar made its brand. “of course you’re capable of protecting those you love,” you smiled, melancholy.
“if you truly were incapable of protecting those you love, then you would’ve taken any opportunity to bolt out the bathroom and leave me there to rot with that silverfish.” you say with a weak laugh. “seriously, seth. you didn’t let your fear and disgust of bugs derail you from your main goal, and that was to protect me – when i probably didn’t even deserve in the first place with how i treated you.”
you cringed, recalling those memories of where you practically shoved seth towards the line of fire. “i.. acted out of sheer impulse..– no. i let my shamelessness get the best of me and treated you unfairly, disregarding your discomfort and confusion only because i was worried for my own skin.” you sighed, offering him a strained, gentle smile. “so yes, you are more than capable of protecting those you love – from gargantuan and ferocious ethereals to itty bitty but feisty insects who seem to love your bathtub more than we had anticipated.”
and just like that, your words served like the sun’s rays sifting through gloomy rain clouds, dispelling those persistent negative words meant to wear down on his generally optimistic demeanor. “(name)...” seth felt his breath hitch. taken aback by this sudden… seriousness from you. his curiosity piqued. “really..? you mean it?” you nodded, to which his voice began to pick up a bit. his scarred shoulder subconsciously leaning towards your comforting hand.
“you… you don’t understand how much your words mean to me, it.. it–” he chuckles weakly, shaking his head. “it feels… awfully nice, to be acknowledged for all the hard work i do to make sure everyone is safe and sound – often setting my personal fears aside in order to protect those who are far weaker than me.”
he sighs softly, exhaling all the negativity that tried to sink itself within the deep crevices of his mind. “and for that, i have you to thank,” he smiles earnestly, causing the tip of his tail to perk up in silent delight.
“me???” you pointed to yourself, eyes wide in genuine surprise – wider than saucers. “Pfft… i hardly did anything… you, on the other hand…” you poked seth’s forehead with your pointer finger, causing the lynx thiren to close his eyes briefly in surprise before letting out a huff of laughter at your silliness.
finally, he seems to be doing awfully better now! “you did alllllllllll the heavy lifting today, as you so eloquently put it!” you pointed out, deciding to pull away from him in order to give him some space. “now… if you truly want to thank me for whatever…” you grinned. “you might as well share those delicious tuna sandwiches you so generously bought for you and i, yeah? how does that sound?”
the sound of tuna sandwiches seemed to trigger all the hunger hormones within seth’s stomach with the way his stomach grumbled – like it was agreeing to your words before he could even respond. he let out a sheepish chuckle before his expression softened into something akin to happiness.
“yeah…” he agrees, the dead silverfish and his past insecurities long forgotten in the name of hunger and sincerity. “we both deserve it.”
a/n: oh my god this took me DAYSSS to finish good LORD this one is a beefy one😭 yesyeys i deserve a round of applause for doing the bare minimum wowie!! yippee!! 😭 anyways, i must give thanks where thanks are deserved...
everyone say thank you to @nemoibemoi for both helping me articulate my thoughts/help shape up my writing AND for helping me figure out severian's... sense of being? i didn't realize how much of a difficult character he was to write for 💔was going off of straight up vibes for this one gang.. 💔i even had to go the extra mile of logging in and looking through his dialogue to get reacquainted with his character once more.
p.s - i didn't mean to make seth's section so long?!? i swear his section could've had a separate post of its own but it's too late go back righttttt 💔 anyways you seth enjoyers are gonna be eating WELL!!!
besides the point, i had fun writing this !!! guhhh its 4 am i need a rest shnoook mimimimi
