Pt. 1.5 of Who needs true love's kiss when you have a deity?
Synopsis: Lilia isn't good at being a familiar.
Part 1, Part 1.5 (here)
I'm calling this one 1.5 because it's kind of just a blurb. Dw, I'll add some actual story soon.
It had been less than a week since you made Lilia your familiar in order to save his life, but in that short time, he had already managed to make you start questioning your decision. You had told him he didn't have to worry about performing the duties he'd have as a familiar, but he decided he wanted to try anyway. He told you it was because he was grateful for you saving his life, and while you don't doubt that you have a sneaking suspicion his main driving motivation was curiosity.
"What did I tell you about cooking?" you warn as you walk by the Ramshackle kitchen and see Lilia standing inside with a pot in hand.
"Oh, come now, Master~" he sighs. "I just wanted to lessen your load by making you a delicious meal."
"You can't cook to save your life, and don't call me that." you groan, walking into the kitchen and snatching the pot from his hand.
"Didn't you used to be a general?"
"Indeed, I was. Why do you ask." Lilia chirps from where he sits on the floor in a pile of dirt.
"Then shouldn't you have better coordination than this? I thought you were trying to clean the floor. How did you make it dirtier?"
"What did you do to my garden?" you breathe, pinching the bridge of your nose.
"Weed!"
"WHERE'D THE GRASS GO!"
Despite his inability to do any sort of housework, you couldn't be upset. Not only because you never expected him to do such work, but because he always looked so happy. Seeing him after the contract was sealed made it clear that his draining magic had been putting a much more extreme strain on him than anyone had realized. If you thought he was bad before with his jump cares and antics, he was a demon now.
A/n: been very fed up with my body today, it refuses to cooperate with me & I was playing book 4 so I got the idea for this. Self indulgent shit. It’s probably OOC bc I don’t know the characters too well but I love them
Warnings: health issues, childhood neglect, starvation, reader gets a little sick
Description: reader has health issues because of their trauma, and has tried their best to keep it from their new friends at NRC. Unfortunately, something that ails you every time you eat isn’t so easily hidden
Riddle
Admittedly, he had been pretty preoccupied with house warden matters so it took him a bit to notice that your behavior was off. But… every tea party, every meal, the way you scurried off each time made him worry. He thought it was nothing at first, as he didn’t notice it every time
But things added up. He began to realize this wasn’t just an occasional thing. Now, when you, Riddle, and the third years were sharing a meal together, you began to feel the consequences. Ah shit, you were going to be sick. You didn’t want them to notice, didn’t want them to worry, so you sat up and excused yourself.
Riddle, Trey, and Cater exchanged a look before nodding at you.
You went to the bathroom, but the pain got so strong you had to sit on the floor. It was throbbing and you couldn’t make it stop. You tried shifting the way you were sitting multiple times, it didn’t work. You clutched your stomach, leaning against the cupboards below the sink, and sighed. This sucked.
“Yuu?” Riddle knocked on the door. “Are you okay?”
Shit. How long had you been in there? Had you been too obvious?
“Yuu?”
“Oh yeah, I’m fine!”
“Are you sure? You… do this a lot.”
“What do you mean?” You tried to feign ignorance.
“Run off after eating, I mean,” Riddle replies. “Are you….?”
You hadn’t normally ever heard Riddle be like this before, at a loss for what to do. You must have had him pretty concerned.
You sighed. Might as well tell him. You figured you wouldn’t be able to keep this hidden forever. It wouldn’t have been long before you ended up burdening your friends
Grimacing at the way it made your stomach hurt, you forced yourself to stand up and go to the door, unlocking it. You hated the way you couldn’t move without upsetting your body, but you had to
When you opened the door, you were met with Riddle’s concerned face. You smiled awkwardly at him before sitting down once again, on the floor of the hallway. Riddle looked at you in confusion.
You pat the floor next to you “sit down and I’ll tell you a story” you tried to be dramatic
“We can sit at the table, or in the lounge, I believe that would be more appropr-“
“As much as I’d love to, I’d rather not anger my body any more by moving,” you said with a playful tone.
“What?”
“My intestines are revolting against me and I fear if I move I will make them worse.”
“We should get you to the nurse’s office if it’s that bad,” Riddle spoke with concern.
“Nah, nah, it’s normal don’t worry.” You waved your hand dismissively.
“Don’t worry? Yuu, that is very worrisome. Such conditions should not be normal.”
“I guess I should say it’s normal for me. I’m used to it by now.”
Riddle furrowed his brows. “But being used to something doesn’t make it healthy or normal, Yuu. Pain in the intestines can be a sign of several underlying medical conditions.”
You laughed. “I should have expected you to take this more seriously than even me.”
“Of course I take it seriously. Health is an important matter that shouldn’t be ignored,” Riddle spoke firmly, but the concern was obvious in his tone.
“No its-“ You sigh. “I appreciate the concern, Riddle, it’s very sweet of you but I mean it when I say don’t worry. This is just how my body is. This just happens. It’s inconvenient at most, I promise.”
“Even so it’s.. alarming that that’s how your body is. Is there nothing I can do to help? Or make it better?”Riddle asked earnestly.
“Well, medicine helps it not be so bad,” you shrug.
“Why haven’t you asked for it before?” Riddle frowns. “If I knew about this sooner, I would’ve ensured you got the proper medicine whenever this happens.”
“I didn’t want to be a bother, I guess,” you look at the floor.
“It’s not a bother if it pertains to your wellbeing. This should be a basic necessity.”
From then on Riddle was extra aware of you anytime you had parties with snacks, or meals with the Heartslabyul students. He made sure you got medicine with your food during each meal, and even sent one of the third years to bring you some when you would eat at the cafeteria instead of with them.
Once they were made aware, Trey and Cater made sure to take note of what foods upset your body less. Mysteriously, you noticed those foods served more frequently when you ate with them. And even in the cafeteria, Ace and Deuce would insist they trade meals with you when yours included worse irritants.
“If I can help it, you’re not going to struggle any more than you need to. If it gets worse, let me know so I can arrange something.”
Kalim Al Asim
You could never turn down Kalim whenever he invited you to the Scarabia dorm to eat. He was always so generous to you, and it would have felt wrong to not accept. However… Kalim could be a bit much.
His enthusiasm was never for no reason, after all, he was right, the food was good. You had already eaten, definitely not enough to get your fill, but enough so you wouldn’t be too hungry, and it was a safe amount that probably wouldn’t make you sick.
You knew you over calculated the second Kalim sat you down to have you try a bit of every dish Jamil had prepared. Just looking at the amount of food already made your stomach churn. You frowned, unsure of what to do. It would be rude of you to turn him down, but you know your body would get even more upset if you ate anything more.
Unfortunately for you, your body decided you wouldn’t get the time to think about it, and the familiar ache came to you. You bit your lip, hoping Kalim wouldn’t notice.
“Hey, Yuu? Are you okay? Are you really that hungry, here you should eat this one first, it-“
You shook your head, putting a hand on your abdomen when the sickness worsened. “No, no I already ate, this is just..”
There was a look of confusion on Kalim’s face for a moment, only a moment, until it morphed into worry. “Yuu? What did you eat? What are you feeling? Are you lightheaded, or just sick to your stomach?”
His concern was almost sweet, but he seemed panicked. “Kalim-“
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine, just- uh, JAMIL!”
“Yes, Kalim?” Jamil snapped to attention.
“I think Yuu was poisoned, we need to get them help right now,” Kalim spoke with urgency.
“Kalim-“
“Are you feeling worse?” You were convinced now that Kalim felt worse than you. You had gotten used to this by now but… yeah, it was probably the smart decision to hide your condition, if he was going to react like this
Jamil sighed, crouching in front of you. “Was there anything off about the food you ate last?”
You shook your head. “No. I’ve been meaning to tell Kalim, I wasn’t poisoned.”
“You can’t be sure, you never kn-“
You grab the white haired boy by the shoulders, making eye contact with him. “Kalim. I wasn’t poisoned. Though, it wouldn’t exactly be wrong to say that all food is basically poison to me…” you trail off, your tone getting bitter. “But that’s not the point. I know I wasn’t poisoned.”
Kalim frowned. “All food is basically poison to you? What do you mean? Are you allergic?”
You sigh. Woud you really have to explain the full thing to him? He seemed very worried for you, and probably wouldn’t stop worrying until you explained. “No, I’m not allergic. Ironically, I’m not allergic to anything. I just… because of stuff, my body… doesn’t handle food well.”
“Stuff?”
“…Alright. I uh. Was starved, for awhile.”
“STARVED?!”
You fiddled with the hem of your shirt. “Yeah. Didn’t have much to eat for awhile. Almost… 2 years, I’d say.”
Kalim frowned. “That’s awful! I knew some people struggled financially but not even being able to afford food is horrible!”
You scoff. “It’s not that we couldn’t afford it. My dad just. Didn’t buy any, very often. For me at least. He got enough to eat, but I guess I’m not worth food or whatever.” You chuckled dryly, trying to force humor
“What? No! Everyone is worth food, especially you! That’s a terrible thing to think,” Kalim huffed passionately. “Man that makes me so sad.”
“Why does it make you sad? It’s my life. It’s not like it affects you,” you frown in confusion.
“I wish I had met you much sooner, than you wouldn’t have starved! I would have given you food every day so you would be fine!”
You smiled. “That’s very thoughtful of you. But it is what it is. I’m just mildly inconvenienced by this body of mine now.”
“Is there something I can do now? Like is there anything you need? Something I can get you? There has to be a way I can help,” he insisted.
“Mmm, not really. I usually just wait around until I feel normal again.”
“That’s not a very good way to live! Getting sick from food and not doing anything about it,” Kalim seemed genuinely upset for you.
“Well, back home I took medicine that helped lessen it a little,” you shrugged.
Jamil interrupted, “I believe I know a medicine that may work. Is it nausea and pain?”
You nodded. “Yeah, but you don’t have to. I’m fine.”
“No way, you’re my friend, we’re going to help you!” Kalim immediately insisted.
You smile and roll your eyes sarcastically. “Of course. Well… thank you.”
“It’s no problem! Are you completely sure there’s nothing else we can do?”
“Well, I guess there’s some foods that irritate my body a little less than others. But I couldn’t ask you to go out of your way to get me them or anything,” you picked at your shirt.
“No, you can! If it helps make things better for you, of course I’d get them for you. Jamil would definitely be willing to cook them!”
As you listed off the foods that were less irritant, Kalim listened intently, but Jamil on the side made a mental note of each one you mentioned. You noticed that the next times you visited, all the food served to you included only the things you mentioned.
Kalim made sure to invite you over to the Scarabia dorm often, claiming “that cafeteria is making you sick so you should eat with us every day instead!” He would eat some of the things made for you as well, not out of greed, but rather because he didn’t want to eat what you “couldn’t”.
“You need to eat, your health is important so Jamil will make whatever is best for your health! No arguments!”
