I've been wanting to send this ask in ever since you posted those Abrams relationship headcanons. I love how in-depth you got, and was wondering if you'd mind giving your thoughts on Shiv in a relationship?
Shiv Relationship Headcanons
Content Warnings | None, I don't think
Synopsis | Headcanons for Shiv
Word Count | 1.4k
Notes | When I’m on a roll as Haze, honestly, this MF is like the only one who scares me because I do NOT play a very tanky Haze at ALL bro… Like can you stop reaping my very being with so much swag thanks </3 Also, I wanna add this here: I apologize for never acknowledging nice things you guys say when asking or commenting. I really do appreciate them, I swear! I’m just incredibly shy and very awkward with acknowledging compliments or praise and stuff so I end up acting like some cold, distant one night stand who busts then ghosts LMAO
🗡Slow burn. S L O W. B U R N.
🗡Shiv will NOT rush into anything, even if the chemistry is beyond obvious. This is for several reasons.
🗡He has some trust issues. Not the worst out there, don’t get me wrong. The issues also don’t necessarily lie with his trust in his partner, rather, they’re with how much he trusts himself.
🗡These trust issues aren’t so bad to the point where he’s become celibate or anything; I mean, he’s (canonically) a really attractive dude; he’s gotten around. His trust issues start becoming more of an issue when his relationship with someone starts becoming more than short term and casual, as the deeper the bond, the more emotions go into it, and the more the other person is naturally going to rely on him and let themselves become more vulnerable.
🗡Shiv’s afraid that, with those things, the chance of him hurting someone becomes more likely. He’s okay with hurting people when it’s necessary, but what he’s not okay with is taking advantage of trust put in him to hurt people who haven’t done anything to deserve it.
🗡Because of all of this, he goes from the suave, chill hot guy, to the cool dude you start hitting it off with, and then once you start hitting it off too well, he goes back to being kind of aloof. He doesn’t ghost entirely, or become resentful at all, but the shift in behaviour is evident. He thinks he’s being lowkey about it, and stays just close enough for you to not notice, or that you wont care enough to mention it.
🗡Honestly, this approach has worked in achieving what it’s meant to; getting people to grow bored and give up. Very rarely are people invested in him enough beyond a superficial level for them to find it worth the trouble of working through this distant stage. Like I said; it’s a slow burn, and when most people only got with him for the pretty face to start, well, it’s not a very solid foundation let’s just put it that way. Building trust and reliability will come before any true romance or intimacy.
🗡When that bridge is finally crossed though, that slow burn sparks into a blazing inferno; he gets excited, and the enthusiasm he tries so hard to suppress starts seeping through the cracks of his ‘cool guy’ persona.
🗡One thing that’ll surprisingly make him fall kind of hard is if you’re able to pump the breaks a little, at least at the start. Not in a way that kills the vibe, but in a way that shows you’re conscious and concerned over his excitement possibly making him move things a little too fast, even for himself. You won’t have to babysit him; he’ll reel himself in eventually.
🗡Shiv can definitely talk, but verbal affection isn’t his strong suit. He shows he cares through subtle actions; when you’re out he watches your blind spots or positions himself on the side of the sidewalk closest to the road. He’ll make sure your tools or weapons or other supplies are stocked, or that you have the stuff you need to maintain them. If he notices you’re in an uncomfortable situation, he’ll step in; not in a loud or defensive way, but quietly, either just as a comforting presence, or to gently usher you away if it’s particularly bad.
🗡He has a habit of standing really close. Not even just in dangerous situations. Just in general. He’s clingy.
🗡He’s protective and clingy, but not possessive. As much as he likes being as physically close to you as possible whenever even somewhat convenient, he also values autonomy too much to ever think of taking that away from you.
🗡Once you get closer to him, you’ll get to see a really dry sense of humour that he doesn’t share with a lot of people.
🗡Shiv remembers small details about you, even if he never points them out. You’ll only notice when he does something that perfectly matches what you said three weeks ago, once in passing. He’s probably as observant as people like Haze or Abrams, which people don’t expect a lot of the time.
🗡If anything goes wrong, whether you get hurt, or the two of you encounter any conflict, it’s always handled the same way. There’s no yelling, he takes long pauses to think things through, and he chooses his words carefully. But, even when everything is said and done, you can notice that his hands were shaking and his shoulders held tension that only settles when he knows things are okay.
🗡Sometimes he needs space, not cause he’s pulling away, but because he processes things internally and needs the time to think things through when they start getting to him.
🗡As mentioned earlier, he’s clingy. He’s like, always touching you; a hand on your shoulder, fingers brushing yours or leaning close without a word. He doesn’t say “I love you” often, instead, it comes out as “be careful” or “I got you -insert favorite flowers you mentioned once-”. He’ll claim that he saw them ‘just along the way’ but you damn well know he had to go a block out of his way to get them. As time goes on, ‘I love you’ becomes a bit more common though. When he says things that are emotionally direct it hits hard because he means every single word. Not to say he doesn’t mean what he’s trying to convey otherwise, it’s just that the extra layer of vulnerability is… different.
🗡He softens when alone with you; his voice is lower, posture less rigid. Not in a way where he’s censoring himself, but more so handling himself in a way that lets him be more eye-to-eye with you; everyone always has to perform when in public, some more than others. Here, he wants to shed that performance entirely.
🗡He hates raunchy PDA, but LOVES innocent, sweet PDA.
🗡Shiv, once he’s committed, is unshakably loyal.
🗡When it comes to the kind of person he’d be into, I feel like he’s much more versatile than, say, Abrams. What matters with Shiv is having someone who is empathetic, patient, some level of kind, and trustworthy. Reliability is also a big one, and he dislikes people who are shallow. I feel like he also wouldn’t be super attracted to very naive or innocent people. Nothing against them, they’re just typically not his speed. He also likes a hint of mischief, IMO.
🗡He tries to rely on himself, but there are times where all of these traits prove their importance. He will be incredibly slow to speak about his past in depth, but when he does it’ll be at a pace that’s deliberate and sincere.
🗡As much as he tries to hide it or convince himself otherwise, his insecurities about whether he truly is some dangerous person, or even a monster bubble up. That’s when the trust issues set in bad; he’s worried about hurting the people he cares about. It’s why he tries so hard to make up for the bad he’s done, but on these days it feels like nothing he can ever do will be enough. Being able to reassure him without discrediting his concerns is really important.
🗡Shiv’ll put a lot of effort into helping you with your troubles as a way to redirect his own, too. He genuinely enjoys being a very giving partner, emotionally and physically, don’t get me wrong, but you’d need to make sure that you remind him that that support goes both ways. Don’t push him, let him take space as he needs it, but also be there when he’s ready to lean on you as he lets you do to him.
dividers: saradika-graphics
