pomegranate tea; at what point did they know they loved their s/o?
I think eiji knew he loved his s/o when they attempted to make him a food from his home country to cheer him up.
Eiji was in a sad mood that day and his s/o noticed. They decided to try to make onigiri to cheer him up.
After an hour or two of failed attempts,they were successful at making a couple of them that didn’t fall apart.
Eiji wasn’t feeling good, he knew he was feeling homesick, but nothing seemed to ease the homesickness even a little. He can’t call his little sister cause she’s asleep right now, and He couldn’t hang with ash cause ash is out doing business. What business he’s not sure but ash insist he not come. Eiji decided to lay in bed all day and hope that sick feeling goes away. He sighs and pulls the covers up to his chin, trying to get himself to sleep to pass the day quicker.
“Eiji! You home?”
The sound of the door unlocking and being opened and closed sounded throughout the apartment. Y/n was a close friend of ash that was trusted with the keys to the apartment Incase eiji might needed to be looked after while ash is gone. Not that eiji needs to be, he’s a full grown man but sometimes ash treats him like he’s younger than him. “Eiji! Where are you?” Y/n called out from the living room. “I’m in the bedroom!” Eiji say up in the bed, y/n walked in, a Tupperware of something in her hands. “Hey you sick?”
Eiji shook his head “No, just feeling homesick”
Y/n beamed at that and opened up the lid of the Tupperware, “well good news for you! I was experimenting on trying to make some onigiri and I made too many of them, so I figured I’ll give some to you!” Y/n handed him the Tupperware and inside was some onigiri. Y/n scratched the back of their head, “They don’t look the best since it was a bit hard to shape it but they taste great!” Eiji smiled a bit, finding it be so nice that someone cared to make him something from home.
“When Shorter was manipulated to join the lee clan how about Yut lung also took his s/o and threatened to kill/hurt them.”
I literally got this request three months ago and, after setback after setback, it’s finally done. I’d like to apologize for such a long wait for this, the ending just never sounded right, the dialogue bothered me, it just wasn’t coming together. After reworking most of this, it finally sounds acceptable, so I hope it’s, at least somewhat, worth the wait.
It also deviated slightly from the prompt and definitely from the actual storyline in Banana Fish, but it was close and I’m happy with the result.
Shrill ringing broke the stillness of the apartment bathed in the late afternoon glow. You'd been lazing around since arriving home, too exhausted from a long day at work to do anything but plop down on the couch and mindlessly watch whatever played on screen. In the haze of a lazy afternoon, you'd forgotten to message your boyfriend, currently off doing God-knows-what with his friends. Then again, Shorter had always been like that, running around with his gang or with Ash; should anyone need anything, and he was there, no questions asked.
Would've been nice to know where he was though. Now over a week ago, he'd left for what he called a "quick weekend trip up north" with Ash, Eiji, and two older men you weren't acquainted with. Sometime during said trip, "plan's changed," he'd rushed over the phone. Now they were headed west, not stopping by for explanations or supplies, once again just taking off.
"We'll be back home soon, I promise babe."
At the time, you'd laughed it off and made Ash swear over the speaker to keep Shorter out of trouble. As time went on, however, you were increasingly concerned. Whatever had driven them out west was certainly unknown to you, and you weren't too keen on finding out what it was.
If it was anything like their normal shenanigans or related in any way to their line of work, you'd be more than content to remain in the dark.
The ringing of your cellphone had stopped, starting again as you jolted out of your daze. Praying it was your partner on the line, you pulled yourself up and shuffled to the counter where your belongings lay.
Sure enough, it was your beloved boyfriend trying to reach you. "Where are you?"
"Jeez Shorter, forgotten your manners out in the country? Can't spare your lover a simple greeting, hmm?"
"Where are you?"
The hiss in his tone and aggravated tone sent a chill down your spine, dissolving any humor you had at the ready. "I... I'm at home. Where-"
"LA. Stay there, don't leave. I'll have some of the guys check- wait shit." His voice trailed off, muttering to himself a string of incoherent words over the line. "Ash's boys will stop by. You know Bones and Kong. Remember em, right?"
LA? That wasn't just west, that was the clear other side of the country. And while you attempted to stay out of gang business, you had met some of Shorter and Ash's men, the former due to his overprotective and at times paranoid behavior while being introduced to the later's in passing. "Wha- What about Lao or Sing? Surely they-"
"Too dangerous, shit's already fucked as it is." He paused, a rustle sounding past the phone. Knowing Shorter, he was probably running a hand through his neon mohawk, a typical response he had while deep in stressed-out thought. His voice came through again, quieter this time with a subtle shake to it. "Maybe. They wouldn't... surely. Still, can't take those chances. Bones and Kong will do just fine. Answer the door for them and them only."
Trembling now, you mumbled a "got it." A second passed before you continued. "Sweetheart, what's going-"
Two knocks sounded at your door, a stark difference from the pounding and banging that usually alerted you or Shorter to a presence outside your door. Minutes previous, an unknown number sent you a simple message, stating that it was Kong on his way in tow with Bones; they'd be there any minute. Surely the knock was them.
Thumping of heavy footsteps and wind rushing past the receiver stopped your question, your boyfriend cursing under breath on the other side. He said no more before the call ended, leaving you alone once more.
---
Two more knocks sounded followed by an eerie stillness. Bones and Kong weren't the silent types, so the quiet of the building around you raised suspicion. You were expecting them, sure, but Shorter was clearly afraid of something, something he didn't want you facing.
In all honesty, Shorter was afraid of everything when it concerned you, be it your attention on anything or anyone that wasn't him to spending your days apart doing your respective jobs. He'd joked on more than one occasion with an unnerving glint in his umber eyes that he should lock you in the apartment where only he could interact with you. No more job, no more social media, no more friends or family. Just you and Shorter.
You'd laughed and told him to stop messing around. Shorter only held you tighter, reluctant to let you go in the morning.
Three knocks, sharp and clear sounded this time, impatient at a lack of response. Maybe your boyfriend was more protective and clingy than he should be, but maybe that was a result of leading the most powerful gang in Chinatown, second only to the Lee Clan. He'd made plenty of enemies on his own, let alone being Ash Lynx's right-hand man. Certainly, the knocking sounded more sophisticated and dignified than the usual gangsters trying to break the door down, but that in itself scared you enough. Whoever it was, dignified or otherwise, could be a danger to you; it sounded like anyone who wasn't with Shorter or Bones and Kong were at this point.
Grabbing a baseball bat you kept near the coat rack and pulling one of your boyfriend's switchblades from a stray jacket pocket, you peered through the peephole, your gaze falling on a lone, sharply dressed man. Whoever he was, he definitely wasn't a gangster. Mafia perhaps? But Shorter had kept as far of a distance from any of the local mobs or even the Lee Clan as possible; you'd never known him to have angered any of them.
But if he had... that wasn't why the boys were in Los Angeles, was it? It couldn't be, no.
As if he could see through the peephole or merely felt your presence through the door, the man outside finally spoke. "Excuse me. I was wondering if I could speak to anyone from the Wong residence."
Your breathing stopped, hoping that maybe he'd go away.
Trying again, he asked, "Is there anyone home? This is of the utmost importance."
Dread, thick and overwhelming started to creep in on you. The stranger didn't seem to be in any rush, he could definitely wait you out or at least until Bones and Kong arrived, when you'd have to let them in and reveal someone had been home the whole time. You'd have to shoo him away, there wasn't a way around it.
Against your better judgment and Shorter's ominous warning earlier in the day, you latched the door and adjusted the grip on both your bat and blade before unlocking the door, letting it creak open just enough for one eye to peek through to the hallway.
The well-dressed stranger straightened up slightly, nodding to you in greeting. "Apologies for the interruption, but as I stated, this is urgent business. Would you happen to live at this residence?"
Without thinking, you gave one, silent nod, not trusting your words to be enough.
"Then you would know Shorter Wong? I have information that he too lives in this particular apartment."
Again, you nodded, albeit shakier this time. In your stress, you found no sense in lying, though perhaps that would have been wise.
"Excellent. May I ask you to step outside for just a moment?"
You shook your head rapidly, already moving to close the door on him.
His face betrayed no emotion. "Please, it will take just one moment."
You refused him an answer, pushing the door farther. He merely switched tactics, dropping the eloquence of his words and politeness in the questioning.
"I understand you're quite close to Shorter."
You paused, hesitated; that was all he needed.
Coldly, he continued, "Got himself into some trouble. Looks like he won't be back for some time."
In a panic, you cracked the door back open, ready to ask what he was talking about when the man lunged forward, the opening just wide enough for him to grasp your arm roughly. A prick of a needle into your skin, an instant exhaustion overtaking your senses. Slumping forwards, grip on your only means of protection loosening as your eyelids fell.
A sharp scent wafted through your nose, waking you suddenly from the spell you'd been under. Your limbs felt like lead, heavy and immovable, as your head pounded furiously.
"Then again, he shouldn't have allied himself with Lynx and betrayed the Lee family."
---
Instantly, the man from the hallway and the strange prick in your arm returned to the forefront of your mind along with his claims of the trouble Shorter was in.
You weakly sat up with a groan, hands held to your forehead in an attempt to compose yourself. The danger he mentioned seemed to match with the fear you'd observed over the phone, the danger he wanted you far away from.
The danger you now found yourself engrossed in.
Squinting your eyes from the harsh artificial light, your gaze finally landed on the only other visible form in the room. You'd half expected the man from the hallway, not the stunning visage of an elegantly dressed teenager before you. Predatory eyes studied your form as a Cheshire grin stretched across his features.
"Took you long enough. You sleep like the dead." What a pleasant greeting.
Pushing his jest to the side, a question fell past your lips. "And you are?"
A huff sounded from the boy across from you as he rolled his eyes, finishing with a glare your way. "Hilarious. I wasn't aware you were a comedian."
You didn't answer, staring ahead blankly.
Waiting a moment longer for any response, the boy's eyes widened, clearly taken aback by your lack of recognition. "You can't be serious."
You were.
"You... You honestly don't know who I am?"
You didn't.
"Do you have any clue where you are?"
Thinking for a moment, you wanted to answer in the negative before recalling the stranger from the hallway's words. He'd mentioned the Lee Clan and how Shorter had somehow wronged them. By process of elimination...
"Uh, is this the Lee home?"
Another huff. "One of them."
"So... you must be a Lee?"
A snake-like smirk settled upon his face. "Took you long enough, but you got there. Yut-Lung Lee, seventh son of my father."
You hesitated, making an attempt at collecting your thoughts before the words spilled from your lips. "This matters why?"
The boy before you erupted in cruel, shrill laughter, sinister in nature at the bluntness, if not rudeness, of your question. Truly what you'd said wasn't funny, not humorous in the slightest; your best guess was that it was a thinly veiled attempt at keeping his anger at bay.
Judging by the sudden leap from his seat and dagger pushed against your throat, your assumption must have been correct.
Breath hot on your ear, Yut-Lung forced a chuckle before growling menacingly, "It matters because, if not for my generosity and goodwill, you'd be dead by now, or at least wish you were dead, so I'd watch your tongue and show a bit more gratitude if I were unfortunate enough to find myself in a situation such as yours."
It was your turn to express disbelief, scoffing at his claims.
"I'm being serious, so treat this matter as such. I could hurt you; my brothers would do things far worse. They know no mercy while I retain my humanity." His tone was asking for the gratitude he'd hinted at earlier, a luxury you would not afford him.
"Says the brat threatening my life," you growled venomously. "You cannot claim to be oh so merciful when holding a blade to the neck of an innocent person."
A melancholic glint settled in his eyes. "Sure, you didn't do anything wrong per se, but Shorter loves you, he'd do quite literally anything for you, and I need leverage. Simple as that."
"Whatever. It's all gang business, I get that. But torturing me half to death isn't necessary," you spat.
Silence passed between you two, Yut-Lung thinking on your words before drawing his dagger away from you, straightening up in the process. "No, not at all necessary, I'll give you that."
Hope sparked within your chest at his words, only to be doused as he continued while making his way to the door. "But if I am to be given the answers and results desired by my brothers and those even higher than them, it may be our only option."
The ornate door serving as the room's only exit flew open before Yut-Lung could reach for its sparkling golden handle, a panicked man rushing through the threshold. Stumbling through his words, he hastily explained to the Lee son the situation at hand as a distinct bang sounded down the hallway, followed by hollering and chaotic shouting.
Yut-Lung's polished facade cracked, hands shaking with fury as he screeched in response to the poor man before him. Hissing, he turned to face you, staring at your form for a moment before tearing his eyes away and striding the opposite way, debating his next move.
Whatever he'd decided failed to play out, interrupted as he was thrown to the ground, falling pathetically at your feet. The cocking of a gun directed your eyes to the man above him, shouting aggressively in a voice you recognized. Staring intently at his eyes, the only part of his form not covered in his attempt to disguise himself, you knew him instantly to be Shorter's right-hand man Lao.
A firey rage shone clear in his gaze until his eyes found yours, softening instantly despite not knowing if you'd recognized him or not; a simple nod from you was all the confirmation he needed.
"You! This way, now." You'd laugh at his weak attempt to deepen his tone if you weren't sick to your stomach, nerves getting the better of you while still woozy from whatever drug or sedative had been jammed up your arm.
"And you, you sick bastard!" He slammed his handgun against the Lee son's head for good measure. "Stay down and stay here, don't get any ideas about sending your goons after us."
Yut-Lung laughed airly, raising a single slender hand to the back of his head. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Lao gently took your hand in his, pulling you along with him past Yut-Lung and the man who'd barged in mere seconds before your savior's arrival. Out in the hallway, decorated just as ornately and finely as the small room you'd awoken in, the chaos of Lao's arrival, with what you assumed to be the rest of Shorter's gang, was apparent. Thunderous shouts and violent threats bounced off the walls and traveling through entryways, accompanied by slamming doors and the occasional gunfire.
The hectic atmosphere that surrounded the two of you was broken only by the clear voice calling out from the edge of the corridor, its speaker being a familiar wide-eyed photographer you'd befriended through your boyfriend not long before their little road trip. "Eiji! What the hell are you doing here?"
"I'd ask you the same thing, but Bones and Kong told us they'd found your apartment empty. I sincerely apologize we arrived here so late, we were planning a rescue and trying to find a flight home when Shorter and I got kidnapped ourselves out in California. Thankfully Lao and-"
You cut off his hurried words quickly. "What? You and Shorter were kidnapped?"
It was Lao's turn to speak up, answering gruffly, "Yeah, we got word from Ash and the guys with him who weren't taken, the old men-"
"Ibe and Max!" Eiji corrected.
"Uh right, Ibe and Max, that Shorter was double-crossed out in Chinatown and to ensure his cooperation, you and Eiji were simultaneously kidnapped. When Shorter tried to save Eiji, they took him too."
Your head was pounding, dread overtaking you as you were left thinking the worst. "But... But if you're here, Eiji, and I'm here... Lao, where's Shorter?"
A nearby door was thrown open, guns drawn and ready to fire at the slightest hint of hostile movement. The menacing weapons weren't what you focused on, your attention instead taken by the familiar sight of your beloved knight in shining armor, or neon mohawk to be accurate.
It was as if he'd heard your concern for him, eyes finding yours immediately, the rage blazing in his umber eyes overtaken by relief at your apparently unharmed form. Abandoning his gang mates at the door, Shorter all but threw his machine gun away in his mad dash to you, sweeping you up in his arms as if you were the most precious thing in the world.
Burying his face into the crook of your neck, you felt his breath on your skin, his piercing and digging into your neck, and what could only be his tears streaming down his face. Attempting to properly look at him, you shook your boyfriend slightly as he only held you tighter, shaking his head as he mumbled something against you.
"H-hey, you gonna look at me?" You tried, laughing shakily.
Shorter looked up weakly, red-brimmed eyes searching your uneasy gaze hopelessly as if he were waiting for the world to fall apart and for your life to crumble before his eyes, unable to save you from a horrifying fate at the hands of men with too much power.
He ultimately settled for a simple, breathless, "You're here."
Chuckling, you confirmed, "Yeah, I'm here babe."
His cheerful visage dissipated, eyes going wide and lips pressing into a line. "But you shouldn't be."
"Hmm?"
Trembling, Shorter straightened up, scowl etching itself deep into his features as a growl ripped through his throat. "You shouldn't be here."
Fully pulling away from you, Shorter glared down the hallway you and Lao had just run down. "You wouldn't be here if the fucking Lees hadn't-"
"Cool it, boss!" A gloved hand pulled on Shorter's bicep, forcing his attention back to the group. You recognized Sing as quickly as you had his brother, hoping beyond all hope that he could get through to your partner. Though, truth be told, once Shorter went on a rampage, next to nothing could stop him.
With your safety in question, you had no doubt this could prove the same.
Shorter's eyes found Sing's, shaking his hand off, before sweeping his gaze over Lao, Eiji, and you, lingering on your worried face, before facing Sing once more. Sighing exasperatedly, he snarled, "If the Lees hadn't gone back on their goddamn word and teamed up with the old bastard, then they wouldn't be here, we would've finished our business out in Cali without issue, and we'd all be at home right now."
"I understand that, we all understand that, but there's nothing we can do about all that now." For such a young guy, easily the youngest in the gang, Sing sure had an air of wiseness beyond his years about him. "What we can do is get the two of them out of here and take out anyone we find. We know Ash's boys are taking out Golzine and Arthur, so there won't be anyone to swoop in and help out here, it's just us and them now."
Grunt and shouts from the others backed up Sing, now holding out a spare machine gun to his friend as his brother clapped him on the back. "We've got this."
Hesitating for a second, Shorter took the gun in one hand while reaching for you with the other, searching your eyes for a moment or two before bringing your knuckles to his lips, kissing you softly. Mumbling against your skin, he promised a few of his men to escort you and Eiji home while he and the others "dealt with some things," as if you hadn't already gathered their plans.
"I'll be home soon, we'll talk then," he vowed, fury dripping in his voice, before dropping your hand, turning on his heel, and stalking down the way with his men behind him, leaving you and Eiji behind with a few men - mere teenagers, if you were honest - ready to leave the mafia mansion from hell.
You'd finally refused Nadia after the seventh cup of tea.
Your ears couldn't quite block out the deafening gunfire and enraged shouting as you all made your way out and onto the street.
---
For hours into the night, you'd been sitting in the same corner of Chang Dai's, staring out the window across the dining room, nursing the same cup of now long-cold tea, waiting, waiting, waiting. You'd attempted a spot near the window when the boys accompanying you had ushered you away, something about staying away from the windows and out of the open. That was enough for Nadia to close the restaurant early, waiting up for a bit with you and your companions before retiring to bed upstairs with the promise to be awoken the moment her kid brother returned.
Eiji had pushed through longer than you expected, finally passing out in the booth beside you maybe half-past two in the morning. Shorter's boys took turns waiting up and sleeping, intermittently checking their phones to no avail. If there was any news, it had yet to reach any of you.
No news is good news, you repeated over and over again in an attempt to keep you sane in the stillness of the terribly early morning. No news is good news.
The rattle of the front door shook you from your thoughts. Through the fogged glass, the person couldn't be seen; the lack of any word from the boys left you to assume it was one of the millions of others calling New York home trying to grab a late-night bite.
Keys being inserted into the lock accompanying the hushed but familiar tones of a few distinct voices erased any such thought from your head.
Leaping from the booth and sprinting across the floor, you'd reached the entryway as Shorter finally pushed the door open. Sing and Lao stood beside him, Ash Lynx and a few of his boys behind them, presumably having come to gather Eiji and perhaps lay low for the night.
Ultimately, whatever their real reason for being there wouldn't be answered for the foreseeable future, your attention directed elsewhere. Shorter mimicked his actions from hours previous, lifting you off the ground and into his embrace, breathing you in as though you were the very oxygen he breathed. Perhaps that's what he needed, no doubt a reprieve from the chaos of the past few hours. Your own lungs filled with the distinct scent of gunpowder and blood rolling off him in waves as you took note of his arms still trembling, perhaps from adrenaline or fear.
You caught Ash's eyes over the neon hair blocking most of your sight, the beautiful blond nodding once before directing his attention to your sleeping companion. While he made his way over to him, the others locked the door behind them, moving past you and Shorter to the guys who'd escorted you back home, groggily waking up and gathering their wits. You simply directed your attention back to your boyfriend, all but squeezing the life from your lungs.
Quite strangely, he was deathly silent. Even before in the mansion, you were able to pick up on the sounds of his ragged breathing and hushed sobs, but now he made no sound.
Still and unmoving.
Thinking.
"Shorter." Your whisper practically echoed throughout the room, only broken by the muffled voices of the others.
Shorter paid them no mind, his mind racing only with thoughts of you. He refused you an answer or even acknowledgment.
"Shorter?" You tried again.
Calculated and methodically, his face turned to meet your gaze, practically ashen and lifeless. Had you not felt the rise and fall of his chest or the thumping of his heart, you'd thought his face bore the glare of the dead.
A single command rang throughout the dining room. "Leave."
Wordlessly from all but a sleepy and confused but now awake Eiji, Shorter's companions exited through the back door that would lead up into the rest of the building. Perhaps they would go and wake Nadia now, perhaps they'd head home; either one wasn't your concern for the time being.
"What happened?" Another command, now phrased as a question.
"Honey I'm fine, just shaken up," you attempted meekly. Truthfully, it was probably too late, his fury having already run its course.
"That wasn't my question."
Your breath caught in your throat. Struggling for words, you finally managed a, "Someone came to the door, said you were in trouble, and stuck something in my arm-"
His grip on you tightened, face tensing in anger.
"-and then I woke up. Some kid named Yut-Lung threatened me and then Lao rescued me."
Eerie ticking from a nearby clock ticked on by, maybe for a minute, maybe it was less; your nerves wouldn't allow your brain to properly function, all but scared of the man you loved so dearly looking so irate.
"And?"
You cocked your head in confusion.
He took a breath to still himself, trying desperately to calm down enough to ease your fears. "And anything else? What else happened? Who touched you? Are you feeling okay? Anything?"
Weakly, you shook your head. "Nothing. I've told you everything that happened."
He studied you coldly, taking a deep breath before mumbling to himself. His shoulders drooped as he seemed to relax, color slowly returning to his now softening face, truly appearing to believe your claims of being unharmed. Shorter tugged you gently towards the nearest table, sitting down before you and taking your hand in his. His shaking having ceased, he caressed your knuckles softly while staring hopelessly into your eyes.
"Christ, I'm sorry." He chuckled weakly, shaking his head. "I'm so, so sorry. This shouldn't have happened, it won't happen again, ever. You can hold me to that."
You shook your head in turn, huffing lightheartedly, "Don't worry about it. Dangerous stuff happens when you're dating a gangster, I guess."
Shorter didn't laugh at your quip.
"Not anymore."
You opened your mouth to question what he meant when your question died on your tongue, drowned out by the growing wail of firetrucks rushing down the street. Only a minute or so later and three vermilion trucks with blinding lights sped past the front windows, flying down the road.
You'd come from that way earlier in the night.
A vice-like grip squeezed your hand, pulling your attention back to the soulless gaze of your boyfriend before you.
"You aren't going to be in danger anymore."
Chuckling nervously, you tried, "I'm not?"
His grip on your hand increased, eyes now shining with an insane lovesick glint. "Nope. Can't be in danger if you don't leave the house."
Your breathing stilled, unsure of what he meant.
Shorter snickered to himself, watching your every move. "The boys have been given the order; the building is to be watched at all times, all entrances guarded. No one's comin' in or out, not without my say."
"O-okay, but that doesn't-"
"The Lees won't even try, not while they're preoccupied with their own place, so don't worry your pretty little head about them."
The air was impossibly thick, dread surrounding you. His words were finally setting in.
"Even if they were stupid enough to try, they won't get within a mile of you, babe. Not if I have something to say about it."
Finding your words, you attempted, "Wonderful, but what about... what about when I leave for work?"
He stilled before you, breathing ceasing for a moment before erupting in cruel laughter. "Leave? Whaddya mean leave?"
"I-I've still got work, Shorter."
His laughter died out. "No you don't."
You opened your mouth.
"No. You don't."
Your head was pounding now, leaving your hands trembling under Shorter's grip.
"Life would be so much better for us both if you just stayed at home, where I can keep you safe." He leaned over the table, grinning madly. "Just like I’ve always wanted."
Your voice trembled, words failing you.
Shorter took note, quickly shushing you gently, bringing up his other hand to caress your face. "Oh sweetheart, this isn't to punish you. You didn't do anything wrong, not at all!"
His manner shifted, returning to rumbling anger once more. "It's the others- it's always the others. They're trying to hurt you, to hurt me by hurting you."
Your breathing was erratic now, gasping futilely for air as panic set in.
"But now they can't. No one can. It'll just be me and you. No one else."
You could still hear the sirens; you weren't sure how you'd missed the distinct smell of smoke and burning material throughout the early morning sky.
Imagine if readers apartment got burned down and she has to text Arthur to ask if he let her stay a few days while she finds a new apartment.
I'm not sure why, but when I first read this ask way back when, it didn't spark any of my creative juices. I needed a break from the other fic I'm working on right now, so I went back and read the asks in my inbox and this one screamed perfection. It certainly took a while, but it's finally here and I'm actually quite happy with what I wrote for it!
Maybe God was laughing at you, maybe you just had rotten luck. Neither would surprise you at this point, considering the sight you were greeted with upon turning the last corner before your apartment building.
Or rather, where your apartment building used to be, now reduced to nothing more than rubble and the charred remains of hundreds of homes.
You had nothing left in you after leaving work that night, beyond exhausted and utterly worn out from the late rush that served to make your existence a living hell. A nice hot shower and an unremarkable movie for background noise sounded like a stellar way to destress and rest before your next shift a few days out. Those plans wouldn't come to fruition any time soon, your priorities having shifted towards what in the world you could do now.
Numbly, you'd joined your neighbors in speaking to the responding firefighters and officers on scene, talking over next steps and what could've possibly started the blaze that destroyed your homes. By the time those around you started their respective calls to nearby hotels or friends across town, you'd distanced yourself, standing alone not far from the scorched remains of the front door.
Never again would you rush through the entryway and up to your lonely little place, gone forever with practically everything you owned. At the very least, no longer would you have to feel eyes staring you down until you crossed the threshold every night, an unseen yet very felt presence stalking your movements late into the night.
Unnerved by your unknown companion, you'd almost asked Arthur on a number of occasions to escort you home, though the small, insecure voice within your head warned otherwise. He already spent hours of his days simply hanging around the cafe, taking even more of his time just so you'd feel better about a walk you made every day sounded insane.
Your thoughts these days consisted mostly of him, so naturally you were thinking of him now, even if finding a place for the night was more important. And you swore you were only pulling out your phone to send him a quick message, a meme or knife-throwing video he'd enjoy perhaps, not at all asking to crash at his place tonight.
A simple misclick, surely, tapping the call button instead of a text, that was all. Of course he answered on the first dial, almost like he was waiting for your call, yearning to hear your voice.
Hearing his voice was what finally broke you. "Ar-Arthur.."
"What happened? Tell me where you're at doll and I'll be over in a heartbeat." Exhaustion embedded in his growl, you mistook his concern for annoyance.
"I-I'm really sorry to bo-bother you-"
"Don't say that."
"- but, but something's happened... God, I'm so sorry, but do y-you have a couch I can crash on or so-something?" you finally managed to hiccup out, nearly failing to hold your building sorrow and panic any longer.
A sharp exhale proceeded the sound of a door closing on the other end. "Leaving my place now, fuckin' course you can stay here, long as you want. Seriously though doll, you've gotta tell me what happened and where in the hell you're at."
You responded with your former address and, upon being asked what that was, you responded a weak, "Where I used to live."
"Used to? Til how long ago?"
"...Until tonight."
A confused scoff from Arthur pushed you to explain, feeling helpless in admitting the truth, though there was realistically no way around it anyhow. "Got home from work, whole apartment building was gone. Fire ripped through the place and I've got nowhere to stay."
"Oh shit. Oh shit, sweetheart I'm so sorry." His tone softened noticeably, a common occurrence when conversing with you. "Just hang on, I'm almost there then we can get you back to mine. You eaten yet? We'll grab you some food on the walk back, and don't worry about how long you need to stay, place is all yours."
He rambled until spotting you down the block, hanging up in favor of sprinting your way. Cutting through the late-night air, Arthur ran like his life depended on it, desperate to hold you close and comfort you after such a monumental loss. Stretching his arms out, he pulled you in and enveloped you in his warmth, the familiar smell of his cologne and cigarette smoke filling your lungs as you breathed him in.
That was all you needed, emotions finally catching us with your racing thoughts as you broke down, sobbing against his chest while clinging to him tightly. Your wails almost drowned out the sound of his cooing, rocking the two of you gently back and forth while rubbing your back softly and patting your hair.
Apologizes tumbled pathetically from your lips almost as fast as the tears spilling from your eyes. "I.. I'm sorry, God Freddie I'm so sorry f-for calling so late-"
Arthur pulled away just far enough to hold your face in his hands, ice-cold gaze boring into yours with an even greater intensity than normal. "I already told you not to say that shit, you can't apologize for this."
"Bu-But it's so late and I'm sure you were busy-"
"I'm never too busy for you sweetheart, I thought that was clear by now," he stated with a chuckle, cracking a smirk.
At a loss for words, you let your gaze fall to your feet, tears falling to the pavement. Arthur tsked gently, bringing his thumb up to wipe your tears before they cascaded down your face again.
Mumbling quietly, sobs finally subsiding, you questioned a final time, "You're sure?"
"Yes, I'm completely sure dollface." He chuckled again, adding, "Why? You weren't gonna crash over at someone else's right?"
Sighing, your face fell in your hands as you stumbled back into his chest, letting him hold you again.
"... You weren't, right?"
His icy tone chilled you to the bone, jolting your head up to meet his murderous glare. "No. No Arthur, you're the only one I called... only one I told actually."
In the darkness of the night, you somehow missed the cheeky smirk he slipped.
"Oh, alright." Pulling away again, he wrapped an arm around your shoulder to lead you away, back down where he'd arrived. "Then let's get you home. I'm sure you're starved, there's a few places on the way home that are open all night, so whatever you'd like. Don't worry about costs, I got this one, and then there's..."
He rambled on again, what you'd guessed to be an attempt to fill the silence and keep you from thinking back to the remains of your own apartment, now charred beyond recognition and completely in ruins.
True to his word, Arthur grabbed you a bite to eat before escorting you to an apartment building not unlike your former residence. Once inside his actual apartment, however, it was starkly different from the place you'd called home.
Very fitting for the persona Frederick Arthur displayed, the place was mostly barren, beige walls sporting few photographs or mirrors along their length. His burgundy couch and armchair were clearly worn as was the coffee table separating the seating from a surprisingly, compared to everything else in the room, newer tv.
An open door lead to his room, thrown back blankets and a clear indent in a pillow proving his call from earlier when he'd mentioned leaving his house immediately. In turn, it also proved your guess correct that you'd bothered him, pulling Arthur from the near release of sleep.
Silently, you moved towards the couch, ready to slip off your shoes and lay down for the night when a harsh tug at your wrist stopped you in your tracks.
"Where are you going? Room's over there."
Surely you had a misunderstanding. "Arthur, I just wanna go to bed."
A single eyebrow was raised in question. "Okay, doesn't explain why you plan on camping out in here."
"I'm sleeping on the couch? Like I asked on the phone?"
Arthur scoffed, giving your wrist another tug. "Cool, but I never agreed to that."
Confusion took a solid hold over you as Arthur chuckled, gazing your way with a softness reserved only for you. "Bed's comfier than that old sofa, now get in here."
"Oh! Well, I uh.. Thanks Arthur, but I'm still in my work clothes, and I don't wanna kick you out so-"
"So I've got pajamas, moron; sweatpants and one of my t-shirts should be fine for the night. And my bed's plenty big enough for the both of us, you won't even know I'm there."
Leaving no room for debate, he pulled you along, stopping in front of a worn dresser to pull out the sweats and t-shirt he promised before exiting the small room, giving you privacy to change. You opened the door for him when you were done, turning away from him as he entered, trying to swallow your nerves.
He may be your friend and favorite customer, as your running joke entailed, but he was also someone you cared about. He'd done enough that night, from visiting you at work, to literally running to get you from the ashes of your home, buying you a meal, and now offering his own bed to sleep in, let alone staying at his place at all. You didn't know how you could ever repay him.
Slipping under the covers, exhaustion engulfed your body, the stress of everything on your shoulders threatening to drown you if not for the security your friend offered more and more of these days. Before you were out cold, you yawned, "Thank you Freddie... promise I won't stay long... just til I find somewhere else..."
Sneaking an arm around your sleeping form, Arthur couldn't help but smirk to himself. He hadn't left the cafe long before you had, though judging where you'd ended up at the end of the night, he'd say that it'd been plenty of time. They wouldn't catch him, they couldn't even prove it was arson. You'd said it yourself, you hadn't anywhere else to go, and finding a new place would take a while.
A while he could spend further proving himself; by the time you'd find anywhere suitable, you'd already be completely and wholly his. Even if you did manage to find a new apartment, he'd simply burn that too. He'd light anything that stood in his way of you, over and over and over again until you came to your senses.
There is a growing population of children whose parents were born after the release of Shrek (2001). Which really goes to show the years start coming and they don’t start coming.
It’s finally here! After the, what has it been, two week delay, the first in the Soulmate Series is finally here! I sincerely hope you all enjoy and that the wait was worth it! 5.8k words later, and I’m worn out but thrilled, ready to write the rest of the entries!
Children are often taught, when they don't understand someone or what they're going through, to place themselves in that person's shoes, to try and see the world from their point of view; the bond soulmates have to one another took that phrase to a whole new level. Romanticized by society, the notion that a person and their destined other half can see through each others' eyes at any moment was celebrated and praised at seemingly every turn.
Beginning in grade school, about the time when most children gained the ability to see through their future partner's eyes, the idea that this bond was the highest form of pure, absolute adoration began its implementation into young minds. The repetition of just how magical and wonderful such an eternal tie to your destined lover wasn't necessarily planned, as there were dozens of individuals found in everyday life that didn't buy into the idea for one reason or another. At such a young age, however, the soulmate bonds were just as spectacular as fairy tales or heroic legends and thus, treated with the same reverence. Whenever someone saw through their soulmate for the first time, it was seen as a big deal, a momentous and celebrated occasion for something so common and expected.
It wasn't surprising that you were left speechless the first time you saw through your soulmate's eyes. You had tried here and there to finally discover your own bond, randomly covering one of your eyes during class or during dinner, once and a while even while lying wide awake at night, wondering who your oh-so mysterious soulmate could possibly be. It was all for naught, however, when a classmate kicked a soccer ball your way during the third grade, rocketing into your face with enough force to throw your head back. God, how it hurt, both the impact, forcing tears from your eyes and already bruising your face, and the horror of weeping in front of the other kids.
In the weakest attempt at bravery you could muster, you held one of your eyes shut while blinking away tears with the other, an assurance that you were just fine already on your tongue when it happened.
Shades of rich, deep oranges peaked through the clouds and reflected off the ocean as the sun sank further down the horizon, headed out of sight for the evening. The last rays caught on a distant sailboat here and grains of sand there, sparkling in the dying sunlight while the water rose and fell nearby in a constant push and pull. More awe-inspiring than a painting, both eyes shot open in an attempt to witness all of the wonder the mysterious beach had to offer, forgetting in your amazement how the soulmate bond worked.
Thus, the sight before you was gone, leaving you once more on the playground surrounded by classmates, their concern for your wellbeing now forgotten as they inquired about your apparent bewilderment. It didn't take long for everyone to realize what had transpired, as a teacher came over to check on the crowd of excited children with you at the center, covering your eye hesitantly in an attempt to reclaim your view of the ocean. No doubt some of your classmates told their parents that night that you'd finally seen through your soulmate, the bond between strangers now established; you certainly told everyone you could that evening and in the days to come.
Surely your soulmate felt it, as when you pulled your hand away, a strange pressure behind your right eye appeared as your vision in said eye grew foggy. It startled you at first, but you quickly realized that your partner must be seeing where you were, as the feeling left quickly and returned at random intervals. So that's what they must've felt that when you saw the ocean. While not painful, the fogginess and pressure felt unnatural, not a pleasant experience, filled with romantic bliss the way some films depicted. You quickly found that, should one partner see through the other too frequently or for a tad too long, the pressure build-up caused annoying headaches, leaving you to vow not to see through them too frequently, just when you set out to find them someday.
As the years went on, you found that your soulmate wasn't as gracious, your sight frequently invaded by a familiar haze while your skull pounded in excruciating pain. You'd avoided causing them the same pain yet the same consideration towards you apparently slipping their mind. Physical discomfort aside, the invasion of privacy began to eat away at you. Adults and friends assured you that soulmates should have nothing to hide from one another, so privacy should naturally not be an issue.
This did far from comfort you.
You needed time to yourself, both to recover from the nasty headaches and blurred vision and to just do things on your own without the worry at some stranger would see everything whether you wanted them to or not. Family gatherings, reading alone, walking around school, nothing was sacred; you served as their eyes, your only true escape being to shut them out, closing both eyes and often laying your head down. Only then did they get the hint and leave you be. You didn't want to shut them out, but you also hated living like this, tolerating headaches and groaning whenever your word was interrupted by a stranger unseen.
Regrettably, you found yourself blocking them out more and more by the time you entered high school, hoping not that they would forever cease their efforts, but that they would understand you needed a break from time to time. Instead, they disappeared completely by your graduation, leaving you alone. You checked only once that they were alive, covering one eye and catching a glimpse of a rough-looking bar before your sight was flooded with darkness, no doubt your partner shutting their own eyes in an attempt to keep you out, the way you'd done for years. Deciding the trouble wasn't worth it, at least not while they acted childishly, constantly seeing through you while allowing you nothing, you resigned to move on with your life.
You didn't need a soulmate, not really; it was apparent they didn't need you either.
---
"Police say that, while the rise in gang-related shootings is a cause for concern, none of the incidents so far have involved civilians. Those found dead have all been linked to rival gangs in the downtown area, leading local law enforcement to conclude that this spike in violence is calculated and methodical."
How comforting, you mused as the anchorwoman continued her report on the alarming deaths in the area. You were well aware that New York City wasn't the safest place in the country and that gangs were certainly a threat, but the newest reports were worrying. First it was a boy or two here, a few over there, but as the days and weeks flew by, it turned into a dozen boys here and a dozen more over there, all found cold as they died with terror in their eyes. No doubt some poor young soul was being hunted and slaughtered just a few blocks away as you sat cozy and alone in your homely, little apartment.
With a groan, you leaned forward as your face fell into your palms, rubbing your temples in an attempt to relieve the stress. Between the troubles right outside your door and all the general stress that comes with being an adult, your mental state was in shambles. A break would be nice, escaping everything and just ignoring the world. Absentmindedly slipping a hand over one eye as the other fell away, you couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of abandoning everything for just one day and giving yourself time to rest.
The recoil of a pistol gripped tightly in one hand greeted you. Beyond the firearm, a man, or rather a boy no older than twenty, kneeling before your gaze fell backwards, a cry unheard by you slipping past his lips as death rushed to meet him. Both of your eyes shot open immediately, the sight of your apartment replacing the murder only milliseconds before.
A murder. Through your eyes - your soulmate.
You leaped from the couch, stumbling only as far as the kitchen before your stomach emptied itself of dinner, sick at the sight of the dying man in a dingy alleyway. Pushing yourself up with shaky breath proved to be futile, legs giving way immediately at the thought that your fated lover was a killer. True, you'd pushed any thoughts of them far past daily wonderings and all but given up on ever connecting with them, but the knowledge that they were still out there, that they were capable of something so horrific, so awful, you were destroyed. Tears blurred your vision as you pulled yourself up far enough to sit, staring around your home in horror. This had to be a mistake, or just a misunderstanding that one day, should you two ever encounter one another, would make for a hilarious story. You'd laugh together and move on from it as though you hadn't just witnessed a vicious killing all too reminiscent of the news report-
Oh God, the gangs. This couldn't be gang-related right? Surely it wasn't, it just couldn't be. If it was, then your soulmate had to be a gangster of some sort. But if they weren't, then what else was that? A cop? Could be, but the grip on the pistol didn't strike you as one a police officer would do. A serial killer? Horrifying and definitely not any better than the gang member theory.
Furiously wiping away your tears, your gaze caught your own petrified reflection in a nearby window. Shit, you never closed the curtains. This late at night, it was probably a good idea to do so, especially now that you'd be picturing the dying kid all night, paranoia preventing any attempts at sleep. Rising to your feet, you hobbled to the window, staring out at the street below, rubbing your eyes again to clear the remaining fog. You just needed to calm down, that's all, just push the thoughts away and chill out. Sure, calling the authorities would be the right thing to do, but what could you say, "Hello officers, I just witnessed my soulmate who I know nothing about kill someone, please investigate." Seriously? And besides, you didn't even know where they were, let alone that they were in the same city. Maybe it was somewhere else, in another alleyway in another city, perhaps Chicago or LA. You just didn't know for certain that it was here or that it had anything to do with the local gangs, so all you could truly do was forget the whole ordeal and forget your soulmate.
Grabbing at the curtain with one hand and rubbing your face once more with the other, heading to your room for the night and taking some Tylenol to relieve the throbbing in your skull sounded like a plan, a terrific way to ignore everything that just-
Your vision was still blurry. Even after you ceased your sobbing and wiped at your eyes repeatedly, your vision hadn't returned to normal, an all too familiar headache accompanying your change in sight. The sight of your reflection in the window said it all, eyes popping out of your skull as your lips wobbled. They knew. Your soulmate knew you saw them and now, now they knew about you. Your apartment, the street you lived on, your open damned face were all clear as day to them. The same soulmate who'd snuffed out the life of another just minutes before.
You squeezed your eyes shut, praying they'd show mercy and leave you alone.
---
A knock on your apartment door at 4 am didn't give you much hope.
You were frozen in bed, exhausted from the lack of any real rest. The past few hours saw you slipping in and out of consciousness, the need for sleep driving you to shut your eyes while the image of a dying man drove prevented any substantial sleep. Perhaps you imagined the knock, your fragile mind playing a cruel trick on your weary body.
A second, harsher-sounding knock cast that hope from your thoughts. There really was someone there, someone trying to speak with you. Based on a third, impatient bang on the door, they were very eager to do so, prompting you to shakily make your way out into the living area and towards the sound. Coincidences do happen, surely this wasn't your soulmate; out of the hundreds of doors on this street alone, surely they hadn't found you this quickly. One of your neighbors down the hall lived with their elderly mother, perhaps something happened and they needed your help. Or maybe the boys across from you came home drunk again and were trying to enter the wrong apartment. Either of those made more sense than your paranoid worries.
Of all the people in all the world who could be standing outside your door, they all made far more sense than a soulmate who'd never bothered to come looking for you, doing nothing more than annoying you in your youth and terrifying you in adulthood. Simply and logically, it just couldn't be them.
Stern emerald hues and a cold scowl greeted you once the door was cracked open. Words escaped you, bewildered that such a gorgeous stranger awaited outside after such a long, restless night; the stranger was much the same, eyes softening just a fraction once you finally appeared before him. A quick and almost unnoticeable shake of his head rid his orbs of their wonder, returning them to an icy glare.
"H-Hi there. Can I he-"
"You didn't see anything."
Your blood ran cold, jaw falling open as tears welled up in your eyes. Chuckling nervously, you stammered out your confusion.
He leaned towards you, platinum blond hair falling over his eyes as he growled, "What happened tonight, it did not and does not concern you. It's in your best interest to keep quiet, unless-" his hand lazily rested on a familiar pistol in his front pocket "-you want me to shut you up."
Taking a single step back, you shook your head once. The blond opened his mouth to reply before you cut him off. "So you, you're my soulmate?"
His tired, hesitant sigh said it all.
A single, hollow chuckle escaped your lungs, head and shoulders drooping as you slumped against the door. Without meeting his eye, you muttered a defeated, "Got it," before slowly closing the door. The sound of sneakers headed down the hallway altered you to his departure, following suit as you headed back for your room, thoroughly drained and disheartened.
---
Your soulmate clearly didn't trust you. Consistent blurry vision and awful headaches you hadn't dealt with in years came back in full force, the blond keeping a close eye on your surroundings and actions. On short runs here and there to the store since meeting him, you'd caught glimpses of your destined partner in your peripheral vision, following you from the time you emerged from your apartment building and until you returned inside.
God, how you wanted to confront him. Surely if you promised your silence and agreement to leave him alone should he vow the same, then perhaps you could move on with your life. That's all you'd ever wanted, all you'd strived for in the years since you discovered your bond, yet here he was, following you around town like some sort of stalker. It came as no surprise when venturing to a diner for a late breakfast, a familiar form waltzed into the dining room not long after you'd arrived. Striding past the confused hostess, your soulmate searched the room before his gaze landed on you, calling out in fake joy as he slid into the seat across from you. Hardened green eyes, now sporting glasses missing from your previous meeting, bore into your bewildered stare, willing you to play along as though you two were old friends meeting up during an early lunch break.
"Had a chance to look through the menu yet? Maybe we could split something. The western omelet sounds delicious, but if you're in the mood for waffles, then we should-"
"Excuse me?" You growled.
He blinked up innocently at you. "Hmm? Something wrong hon?"
"Hon?"
Blondie chuckled, resting his head on an open palm, an amused smirk gracing his features. "C'mon honey, you can tell your sweetheart whatever's troubling that pretty little head of yours."
One furious blink, then another accompanied your stunned silence before you huffed, palms pressing into the table as you pushed yourself out of your seat. A single hand shot out and pulled your wrist forward, forcing your gaze to meet his, smirk gone as he murmured a quiet plea for you to stay. With an eye twitch and loud groan, you plopped yourself back down, bitterly crossing your arms in a pout.
"Seriously, how you holding up?"
"What are you talking about?"
Emerald eyes focused intently on a spot just past your table as he sighed. "You know, sweetheart. What we discussed before. I know seeing something like that isn't easy, just wanted to check up on you."
You too took interest in space away from where you sat, looking anywhere but the man before you. "Is that it? Feels more like surveillance."
"That too."
"Of course. Look man, I-"
"Ash." Your eyes snapped back to his as he pulled the glasses from his face, a gentle tenderness overtaking his features as he stated, "My name is Ash."
You shook your head. "Okay, Ash, I thought you understood I wouldn't say anything. I don't wanna get involved in this or in whatever it is that you're doing."
"That's good to hear."
"Yeah, sure, so you can stop following me around, okay? And stop watching through me, it was annoying before but now it's unnerving."
His eyes hardened at your request. "Is that so?"
You nodded before pulling your arms closer to your chest and looking away. "It, it hurts. The headaches, I mean."
"The what?"
"You know, the headaches when your soulmate watches for too long?"
A single brow rose on his face as Ash slowly shook his head negatively.
"Well, yeah I guess you wouldn't know, but when you see what your partner does, there's that dull pounding that happens, yeah?"
"I noticed that. It's only ever happened a few times."
"That's because I've only ever done it a few times," you growled. "You, on the other hand, just loved watching my world. That pressure builds up you know, creates some pretty wicked headaches. Sure didn't appreciate that growing up, and I still don't now-"
Ash waved a hand in front of your face to cut you off. "So wait, you weren't just shutting me out? You were actually in a lot of pain."
There was a long pause before he added weakly, "Because of me."
Silence followed as he refused to look your way, suddenly appearing so small and broken. You opened and closed your mouth a few times before shrugging. It had been his fault, sure, but it clearly wasn't intentional, you knew that now.
"You had no idea Ash. Look, just forget I said anything, I just," you bit your lip before continuing, "Didn't you have anything better to do back then?"
"Seeing through your eyes was the better thing to do."
"Oh, come on, didn't you-"
"I had to zone out and forget about the old bastard somehow."
Words failed you, the man across from you staring with such apathy that it didn't take much for your mind to fill in the blanks. "A-Ash, I..."
Your head was spinning, any conversation between you two dying but not before his quiet voice murmured, "You were my escape."
The meal he'd invited himself to was eaten in silence as you two avoided looking at each other. Clearly, you'd both been wrong, the blond believing you wanted nothing to do with him and keeping him out when he needed you most while you thought his spying and nasty headaches were done intentionally. With the misunderstanding out of the way, you had so many questions for your soulmate, desperate to ask where that beach you'd seen the first day was, why he was in New York, and what drove him to kill. Perhaps those questions could wait, but now that you were together, knew each other's names, and were actually speaking, you could get some answers. Apparently, Ash had other plans, finishing his meal quickly, standing as he slid a hundred dollar bill your way to pay for the meal.
"A relationship between us couldn't work."
You choked, reaching for your water to soothe the pain. "Wait what?"
Ash stood slowly as he put his glasses back on. "All I have ever done is hurt others," pausing as his words caught on his tongue, "You included. Not anymore."
His eyes found yours one last time, a profound sadness swimming in his orbs. "Not to my soulmate. So I'll do as you asked, stop seeing everything through you and stop following you. Though," he added with a chuckle, "I'll always be here. Feel free to see me anytime."
You watched him go, stunned and alone once more.
---
Laughter erupted from your corner of the bar yet again, near impossible to hear over the thunderous music blaring from every speaker in the joint. The man beside you, an old classmate visiting New York for the week, leaning into you, clutching his sides as he cackled at a horrendously stupid joke you'd cracked, already forgotten to you both. While the number of drinks you'd already downed didn't help your memory, they certainly aided in your comedic effect when cracking jokes with your date.
Yes, date.
He'd shot you a text before flying out, asking if you were down to catch up over drinks, maybe spend the night together should the mood allow. You weren't opposed to the idea, jumping at the chance at a fun night out in an attempt to forget the gorgeous blond and his striking emerald hues. Sure, you'd agreed that things between you two wouldn't work out and that it was probably for the best when you didn't give Ash chase, let alone utilize your bond since your last meeting, but you still should be allowed happiness, a stable relationship with a partner of your choosing. And even if your classmate wasn't the partner you were looking for, at least tonight would be the first step towards that, getting out into the dating scene, and allowing yourself to move beyond what fate and destiny had decided for you.
Thankfully, your date was under no such illusion that you two could possibly be soulmates, as he'd actually been the same classmate who'd kicked the ball into your face all those years ago. Your descriptions of the seaside at sunset were obviously not what he'd seen that autumn afternoon on the playground. He, however, was looking for a relationship after his previous one with his own soulmate failed back in the final days of high school.
"How did he seriously think that would work?" You heaved as your boisterous laughter faded into drunken giggles.
"Well they are soulmates; Trent just thought he had nothing to lose."
"Okay, but proposing like that?" You scoffed, sipping on your beverage. "Lex certainly didn't appreciate it. She still refuses to tell people about it."
It was Grady's turn to scoff. "Oh, my apologies, but we haven't all known our soulmates forever and still have the perfect relationship. I'd give anything for that, hell, just for her to even look at me."
"Yeah, me too," you spat bitterly, forcing Grady's gaze up.
"Wait, you finally meet the dude?"
"Heh, something like that."
With all but enough force to shatter the glass, he threw said cup down with one hand, the other slamming onto your shoulder excitedly. "Well what are you doing here with me for? Nevermind that, why didn't you say something?"
"It's like you said, we can't all have the perfect relationship; my soulmate didn't even want a relationship."
That's not fair, you shot back to yourself. You didn't want one either for the longest time, give Ash some credit here. Besides, it'd be dangerous if you stayed by his side, the man is a murderer and gangster.
Grady's grip on your shoulder relaxed as he slotted himself more closely against your side, mumbling an apology as he stared off into space, the atmosphere now thick with tension and unsaid words. It wasn't his fault, he had no way of knowing, but now your mind drifted back to the beautiful man who was supposed to be yours, not that it should matter to you, sitting at a bar with someone else. God, if this happened every time, you'd never move on. Better to just forget it, perhaps more alcohol would do the trick.
Your throat burned as it went down, the booming beats and half a dozen drinks finally catching up to you as your head started to pound. Before you could shut your eyes or rest your head on the countertop, Grady caught on, rubbing slow, soothing circles into your back as he mumbled into your ear about getting you home. A quick nod was the only response you could manage. Everything was a haze as he paid the bartender and eased you out of your seat, leading the way out onto the sidewalk and escorting you the few blocks back to your apartment. That was Grady for you, so caring and always keeping an eye out for others. Aside from the soccer ball to the face over a decade and a half previous, Grady had been nothing short of a gentleman in the years you'd known each other. Easily one of your kinder classmates and certainly a respectable friend, you silently wondered if the universe had made a mistake.
It was crystal clear that Ash would never have time for you, that being linked to each other just wasn't beneficial for either party. But Grady? His company was looking to expand its market in New York, maybe he'd transfer to the city. Maybe tonight wouldn't be a one time fling, but rather soulmates without their destined partners coming together to heal, to build a life with one another, a screw you to the destiny and the cruel joke she'd played with your lives. You couldn't help your wandering thoughts as he checked out your apartment, making sure everything was in tip-top shape and safe before turning to leave, a promise to call you later and meet up again before he left town slipping past his lips as he pressed them to your forehead. Promising to get some rest, you closed the door behind him, turning locks sounding out through your lonely little home.
Strange, you noted, how your headache that pained you so earlier was now gone, vanished in its entirety.
---
If destiny and fate were cruel before, then this was monstrous.
The world as you knew it lay shattered at your feet as your trembled on the couch, hiccuping on your sobs as the reporter droned on and on, listing the vague facts about the body found three short blocks from your apartment in the early hours. You should've begged Grady to stay. He knew you weren't feeling well and sure, he probably would've brushed off your concerns, but if you'd only forced him to spend the night then maybe his bruised and broken corpse wouldn't be frozen in an alleyway right now. He'd still be alive, safe and warm in the home that you hoped could house you both in the coming months. You'd move on together, healing from the soulmates who didn't want you and you could just be happy.
A chill ran down your spine at the thought, remembering the icy green orbs the first time you saw one another. Ash was a murderer, yes, you'd seen it with your, or rather his, own eyes, but that was nothing like this. Your soulmate had shot that poor kid, cold and calculated, but Grady's slaying was vicious, the reporter detailing how he'd been ripped nearly in two, throat slashed, arms and hands shredded, and an eye torn from his skull. Passionate and unforgiving, this slaying was personal. That wasn't Ash, couldn’t be when they didn’t even know one another. They had no business with each other and had most definitely lived the entirety of their lives without ever crossing paths, so why would last night have been any different?
A single knock sounded at the door, prompting you to tear your gaze from the television. Sighing, you stumbled your way over, shakily undoing your locks from the night before while quieting your cries. Pulling the door back, your eyes met his, concern flashing across evergreen hues as they took in your form.
"Shit, you look like hell."
Cue the tears, grief once again overtaking you as Ash pushed his way inside quickly, gathering you into his arms while you sobbed into his chest. Cooing and shushing gently, he attempted to ask what was wrong, ignored by your sorrowful cries.
"Sweetheart, I can't help you if you keep crying like that. Besides, you're soaking my shirt," he teased, rubbing your back and head slowly.
A quiet apology slipped past your lips, muffled by his chest as you clung to him tighter. He may favor his distance with you, but in the moment all you needed was the soulmate fate had promised you and the comfort he could provide. You'd never been so grateful to have a fated lover, even if only the night before you'd cursed the bond between you; if only for a moment, he was all you needed.
"Ever going to tell me what's going on?"
You burrowed your head further into him before muttering, "They found a body this morning."
The blond shifted his body, turning to look at the last seconds of the report behind you. "Ah, friend of yours or something?"
Sniffling, you nodded, slowly relaxing in his arms.
"Wow, what a shame. Real sorry to hear that, sweetheart."
"Quit saying that," you spat, pulling your head up to stare up at Ash. You were finally starting to wonder why he was even here; he'd made it clear you needed to keep your distance, so why'd he suddenly decide to make an appearance?
"Saying what?"
"Sweetheart."
A teasing smirk graced his features. "What, you don't like it, sweetheart?"
You were pissed now, shoving at him as you pulled away. "No, as a matter of fact, I don't, so if you'd cut it out, I'd really appreciate it."
With a roll of his eyes and a scoff, Ash spat, "Didn't seem to mind if he called you that, now did you?"
"Grady didn't-" Your snarl was cut short, terror flooding your veins. "Wait, he-? What?"
The temperature dropped rapidly as you two stood in silence, your question unanswered as Ash's eyes bore into your own with a displeasure you had yet to see. Shadows fell across his face as he remained unmoving before you. You, on the other hand, shook like a leaf. Surely you misunderstood him, right? The deadly glare on his face had to be a coincidence, there's no other way. Besides, he didn't even know about Grady.
Your vicious headache from the previous night came to mind, growing in pain the longer you stayed with your date yet disappearing the moment he left. And his body, found on the route he would have taken back to his hotel from your apartment, in an alleyway, just like all the other deaths your soulmate had been behind in the months prior.
"Ash, tell me you didn't." Your voice didn't sound like your own, weak and uneven as you choked on your fear. "You couldn't have."
"You seemed to have quite a lot of fun with him. Was his life worth it?"
Bile rose in your throat. "But you didn't, why would you-"
"He really thought he had a chance with you? Seriously?"
"We-Well why wouldn't he?"
"Because you're mine!" Ash roared as you fell to the floor. “We’re soulmates!”
“Seriously?!” You huffed, “You care about that now?”
“Of course I do! I always have! Since the moment I first saw things the way you did, the wonder and awe you have when watching the world go by. I envied you, how heavenly you own, normal life was in comparison to my shitty, disgusting hell.”
Ash fell before you, crawling to meet you. "You started keeping me out, denying me the only joy I had left in this world by watching yours. I realized how normal you were, how different we were, and decided it was best to leave you alone.”
A stray tear escaped his eyes, alerting you to the tears you didn't know he was shedding; you'd forgotten you'd been crying too until his tears mixed with yours, cascading down your face and falling to the floor below.
"But then you saw what I’d done, and I saw you. I just couldn’t help but want you, to protect and cherish you for the rest of our lives. I was - I am - terrified of hurting you, but I just can’t stay away either. Not from my soulmate.”
"Ash, please," you whimpered.
His fingers found their way to your shoulders, digging in as he hissed, “So when I saw him? I had to check up on you, make sure my precious little partner was alright; the last thing I expected was your betrayal."
"Betrayal?" You shrieked. "You told me that we wouldn't work!"
"I lied!"
You both stilled, news stories and the world beyond your apartment walls being the only interruption of your deafening silence before Ash continued, "I lied to keep you safe. I thought, despite my yearning, that trying to live without you would be your safest option.”
Voice fading into a murmur, he continued, "But now I see just how wrong I was. You may have been in far less danger, but I will not surrender you to anyone else, so while the hideout isn't ready, it'll have to do."
"The wha-" You never got to finish the question, your partner wrapping his hands around your neck quickly, shushing you with phrases of comfort as you thrashed around wildly, desperately fighting off your increasingly spotty vision and fading senses.
Blacking out, the last thing you heard was your soulmate coo into your ear, "Nothing will ever harm you again, so long as you never leave my side, sweetheart.”
Malicious and terrifying, Arthur could easily scare anyone he wishes away; you, however, are the exception.
Your fear directed towards him is Arthur's worst nightmare.
He takes great delight in with his toying rivals - legitimate ones or your family, they all count in his mind - and seeing the color in their faces drain, terror overpowering their senses. Arthur gets some sort of high from this.
But you? It's devastatingly ironic. All he wants from you is your devotion, to hold him gently at the end of the day and tell him how much you love him with fondness in your eyes.
It's sickeningly sweet, something he'd never let his gang, or anyone else for that matter, see, the way you turn him into a lovesick mess.
Try to leave him and you run the risk of Arthur being consumed by his rage, destroying everything in sight until you calm him down.
And if he accidentally hurt you in his rampage? Honey, you can expect to be held all night by a sobbing Arthur, begging and pleading for your forgiveness. He won't ever hurt you again, he swears.
That isn't a lie. Arthur would sooner die than hurt you, so it happening even once? He'll be distraught for weeks, unable to look you in the eye and treating you as if you were made of glass for months.
During soft moments together, Arthur would be unnaturally quiet. Not boasting about how much better than Ash he is or plotting a torturous end to his rivals, just silent with this odd, content look on his face.
Ask him what's up or what he's thinking about and he'll just shrug, saying it's nothing. Arthur isn't lying, there's legitimately nothing going on in his head when it's just you two lounging around the apartment.
When he's with you, Arthur doesn't need to worry about the world or his gang or Ash. In these moments, he doesn't even need to worry about you; you're safe in his arms, so he can finally take a break and just shut off his brain for a bit.
Try to leave for any reason while hanging out, be it going to the bathroom or stretch after cuddling, and he'll snap out of his trance.
You're literally just trying to grab a snack while this man is plagued with paranoid delusions that you're trying to leave him, take off and never be seen again. You can't do that! You just can't do that, doll please don't leave him!
If keeping you cooped up in his apartment is the only way to keep you safe and secure, then so be it.
He knows you'll hate it, but please just don't hate him. God, please, Arthur doesn't know what he'll do if you were to express a hatred for the man that adores you more than anyone else in the entire world.
If you willingly remain in the apartment for a good while with no escape attempts and no apparent grievances towards your oh so loving partner, Arthur might take you outside once in a while. You deserve a reward, and if that's what you really want, then he'll set aside his distress and take you wherever you wanna go.
He'll growl at anyone who looks at you for too long - strangers, waiters or waitresses, friends you happen to run into, whoever, doesn't matter to him - and act more like a guard dog than your boyfriend.
You'd never imagine that this is the same person who holds you so gently while asking how his sweetheart is, holding your hand tenderly and peppering your face with kisses the moment you're alone.
The whiplash is unreal; he doesn't seem to think so, it's just necessary for keeping your relationship what it is.
While not a Shorter or Eiji level simp, Arthur is completely and utterly devoted to you, or at least in the moments where he isn't plotting Ash's demise. All rivals are bad news, but Ash is something else. Arthur does not care if Ash shows any interest in you at all, let alone if he's even met you, him being alive is enough reason for Arthur to panic.
Ash has, in Arthur's mind, taken everything from him; if he were to take you away from him, all hell would break loose.
Aside from every ounce of your love, Arthur's other goal is to eviscerate Ash, wipe him from the face of the earth. Once he's gone, Arthur will finally have some semblance of peace; heck, he might even let you leave the apartment more often, now that his biggest threat has been dealt with.
With a gleeful shake in his voice, he'll return home to tell you the fantastic news, accompanied by an eerie grin and tremble of his hands.
Lucky you, who gets to sit him his lap until the early hours of the morning listening to every last gruesome detail of what happened; it's likely the first and last time Arthur will let you in on just how dangerous he is.
You might fear him the way he was terrified of all along after this, but he'll change your mind later, remind you of all the good times together and just how in love you two are, he simply couldn't help himself in telling you about his mortal enemy's death at long last.
If this isn't what clues you in and allows you to figure out why all your friends and family have either vanished without a trace or avoid you like the plague, you aren't ever gonna figure it out.
Wow, not only was this post super late, but also a lot harder to write than I expected. I’ve written for Arthur so much that I was afraid of simply restating everything I’ve already had to say on him and his yandere tendencies. Either way, I hope you guys enjoyed this and can forgive me for the late post, today just wasn’t my day oof. I like this jerk way more than I should but whatever ( case in point, he’d be smug to know that this set of headcanons has a few more bullet points than Ash’s). Next few posts for today should be out shortly, thank you everyone for your patience!
ok but like imagine shorter with a pregnant s/o... 🥺🥺
tw: pregnancy, murder
He’s literally the happiest man alive 🥺🥺🥺 He cries for two hours after you tell him, already touching your stomach (he ugly sobs to Ash and Eiji, too). The smile on Shorter’s face will remain there the whole nine months. He places a lot of kisses to your tummy and talks to the kid, telling them how much he loves them and how excited he is to meet them. You’ll wake up sometimes in the middle of the night to hear him whispering to the baby, saying goodnight and to sleep well. Shorter will gush to his friends 24/7 about the kid and how pretty you look, while also discussing the baby name ideas and how you’re both thinking of moving to a bigger home. If you want the whole bed, he’ll sleep on the couch. If you need some strange craving, chef Shorter is sprinting to the kitchen. He has so much love in him, Shorter can’t contain it!
But don’t get started on his protectiveness. Papa bear Shorter isn’t about to let anyone or anything ruin his future. You won’t be carrying anything remotely heavy, and he’s always guiding you around the house with a hand holding you. You haven’t left the house in a long time, finally settling down and listening to Shorter’s constant pestering to stay inside. If you stumble or you bonk your head on anything, Shorter freaks out and acts like you’re about to die. And if any rival gangs try and hurt you? Lord help them. Shorter will be merciless. This is his family! HIS LIFE! Anyone who tries to ruin it deserves to die. Shorter will throw himself into crossfire to save you and the kid. He was bad enough when you both were two years younger, actively killing people behind your back and manipulating you into leaving your friends. And while there may be no more rivals to take care of, there are still just as many threats. As long as there’s threats to his precious spouse and child, he’ll do everything in his power to destroy them. Even if it means he has to get messy.
You’d pick up a fork to eat dinner and Shorter just dives across the table, “Here honey, I’ll help you with that! Don’t want you or the baby to get hurt!” and you’re just stunned like?? it’s a fork??? I’m just trying to eat?? He simps too hard
That’s literally the worst situation ever. Vampire Shorter is so much more cunning and street-smart than Arthur. Shorter’s been alive since the Western Han dynasty (which was two-thousand years ago), and has seen enough shit to put up a gruesome fight. Not to mention he’s muscular and tall as hell, so with the vampire abilities is his brute strength. His personality is altered for the worst. He can go from your smiling, goofy best friend to a blank-slated and empty lunatic. Shorter will give you warm hugs and serve you amazing Chinese food, and then turn around and drain his rivals of blood without a care. He’d probably laugh and stomp on their corpse afterwards.
Okay me, stop simping over Shorter
We’ve been over Frederick and his horrific abilities, as well as his personality. He wouldn’t take well to another suitor trying to prove themself worthy as your boyfriend. It’s an animal thing. Frederick has to make himself seem bigger and stronger than any other male competitors. So when Shorter, the fang-toothed and charming vampire steps in, Arthur has to fight him off. It’s in his blood. He can’t stop himself, he needs to rip this man to shreds.
Being stuck between them would suck ass. Shorter steals you away in the dead of night, keeping you cased in his arms and away from the sunlight. He’ll beg for you to let him have just a taste of your blood, and acts like he gets high off of it if he does. He treats you delicately and keeps you away from the world as he and Nadia hide away from the sunlight. But Frederick won’t take kindly to this, and will brute force his way through New York City to drag you back home. He could smell you from halfway across the world, and will go to the ends of the Earth to bring you back to his apartment.
Shorter and Arthur will fight in the night and tear each other to shreds. Shorter’s immortality will serve him well, but Frederick’s claws will rip him to shreds. Shorter has to watch as Frederick drags you away, the vampire’s regeneration slowly growing his limbs back. You’re brought back to Frederick’s apartment, and Arthur insists that he rids that wretched smell of vampires off of you. He brings you food and guards you carefully. But the vicious cycle continues, and you’re stolen away once you escape and thrown back into the apartment over Chang Dai.
The only way one will win is if one is killed. Shorter doesn’t die from the sunlight, but he becomes extremely weak. But everyone has a weakness. Shorter’s weakness is a silver bullet, and Frederick can only be killed by decapitation. Neither will share, and neither gives a damn if you want to go with the other. You’ll belong to one or the other. I have no idea who would win this fight, but regardless of who it is, you’ll be traumatized and holed up in an apartment regardless.
General dating hcs with shorter or ash? (You pick)
Ash Lynx
Snarky and quieter than some of the other yanderes, Ash still adores you with his entire being, he's just not as vocal about it.
As I mentioned in my Ash Lynx headcanons, he will initially be reluctant to open up to you. When he opens up to people, he ends up losing them one way or another; needless to say, Ash does not want to lose you.
Similarly, nine times out of ten, Ash will refuse to participate in any public displays of affection. He loves you so, so much but showing you off like that in public will put a huge target on your back. Just the thought of it sends Ash into a panic.
There is that one out of ten times where Ash will set aside his fears and wrap an arm around you or kiss your cheek to show others what kind of relationship you have. This will only ever happen if some jackass doesn't get the message that you aren't into him or if a group of girls won't stop harassing him.
Behind closed doors, while still not very touchy, he will hug you far more often, usually leaning against you in some manner while reading or holding your hand at dinner. He likes being with you and holding onto you. If he's got you in his grasp, nothing can take you away.
You're his partner and no one gets to touch you but him. Strangers, friends, family, none of them are an exception. Should they try to even reach out to you and Ash is inserting himself in the middle, glaring at the offender while lowly asking why an old bat thinks they have the right to even look at you.
Protecting you is Ash's big thing, so what better way to do that than move you into his apartment? You'll both be saving on rent, you'll never be apart, and you can't leave! It's perfect, or at least to Ash it is.
Ash suffers from constant nightmares, so waking up to see you beside him is an incredible comfort. He doesn't like to talk about his terrors, so don't bother asking.
Distract him instead, talk about the future you have together. Tell him about moving somewhere far away where the mob can't find you, let alone anyone else, and just living out a quiet life together.
Any and all threats to your peaceful life together will be ruthlessly eliminated. Ash would eviscerate anyone who stands in between you two and the life he so desperately wants to build for you both.
God help you should you decide that your relationship isn't working out. Is it the not being able to leave the apartment? Is it the constant surveillance and limiting who you speak to? Is it your friends disappearing only to be located weeks later in horrific manners that you know only Ash is capable of?
Doesn't matter, you will not leave him. Not now, not ever.
Shorter Wong
You're in search of a chaotic himbo who's literally a simp? Well, look no further than the greatest guy alive, Shorter Wong.
Not a moment goes by with this dumbass that you don't feel unloved. Every few minutes, he turns to you with a cheeky grin on his face as he tells you how much he loves you.
If you two are apart for whatever reason, he'll spam your phone with memes and "I saw this cute thing and I thought of you" texts and late-night phone calls where he rambles about his undying love for you.
He just loves you so much! You know that right? Good, he'll still say it again!
He's that boyfriend that has an entire photo album on his phone of you, both pictures you know about and begged him not to take and other photos you don't know exist, nor will you ever.
He's always there for you, like that time your favorite character died and you cried for a week, or when your dream job offer in the next city fell through, or when things started disappearing around your apartment, someone other than you obviously going through your belongings.
He was there through it all; what a great boyfriend, what would you do without him?
Doesn't matter how long you've been dating, he will talk about getting married and running Chang Dai together with several children like it's happening tomorrow.
He gets this blissed-out look on his face while his grip on you tightens, stating, "Well of course we're gonna get married. How does a year from now sound? We can go now if you want. Oh, and how many kids? I was thinking a small army, but-"
He's loyal to Ash and his boys through and through, they've been to hell and back together, but if any of them get too close to you aka just saying hi, he will shove you behind his back and growl at them to back off.
Man's so possessive and paranoid that even you have to notice. Maybe that's why your only real friend left standing is also your partner. Funny how that works.
Both? Both is good. I had a little trouble with this one, didn't want to just restate what I did in their general headcanons, so I hope I did alright. I apologize for the wait, this was one of the first asks I got but I wanted to wait until I posted the Shorter headcanons before doing this one. I hope you enjoyed it!
Shorter wants nothing more than to goof around with you. You're the love of his life, the cause for endless amounts of joy and warmth, you're all he needs. Surely he's all you need, right?
He'd do anything to see you smile, to hear you laugh, to be the cause of your happiness. You being happy makes him happy.
Don't let his rowdy behavior and loud laughter fool you though, this man is extremely cunning and deadly, he'd just prefer you didn't know about that.
He wants you to see him as your protector, a knight in shining armor, sure, but he would never want that to cross into what he actually is, wildly possessive and jealous.
He knows you have other things to do than just hang out with him all day (plus he doesn't want you near any of the gang activity, it's too dangerous) and that he isn't the only person you know, but he doesn't like it!
If Shorter lived in a perfect world, he would spend every moment with you. Once in awhile Ash, Eiji, and maybe Sing could tag along, but it would always be you two. Always.
When you two do spend time together, please keep all your attention on him. It's the least you can do since all of his attention is always on you.
Should you be allowed to venture out of the apartment with Shorter, you must always be linked to one another, be it through hand-holding or an arm slung around your waist or shoulders. This way, it's harder for you to run off and everyone knows exactly who you belong to.
Shorter knows it's risky but he does not care, this man will proudly declare that you are his to any unfortunate soul who will listen.
You know something isn't right with Shorter, from the way he obsesses and fusses over you to the harsh glint in his eye when you speak to anyone other than him for a moment too long.
The faint specks of blood on his clothing and reluctance to admit why he was gone for so long don't help convince you everything is a-okay either.
Shorter will always dodge the question or questions you have. Why can't you just trust him? Everything he does, he does it for you! No, of course he wouldn't hurt anybody, why would you even ask?
When friends or coworkers vanish and reappear not far from Chinatown, brains blown out and shredded to pieces, you're terrified. Who would do such a thing?
However, you've got nothing to worry about, Shorter will look into the matter and keep you safe! In the meantime, maybe you shouldn't leave the apartment. You know, just to be safe.
Funny, though, as time goes on and Shorter's no closer to finding the psycho who eviscerated your buddies, you're still spending all your time at Shorter's.
Surely it's okay to go outside, right? No, you can't do that! It's still not safe! Until they're found, the killer is still a very real and very dangerous threat that Shorter can't bear losing you to, so please just stay home. He'll make it worthwhile, he swears!
In the time you spend together goofing off, cooking new dishes, playing videogames, and cuddling, you're having so much fun that you forget why you ever wanted to leave.
Just the way Shorter wanted it.
The final set of single character headcanons for the week! We’re three down, five to go, so that’s very exciting! I’m so glad to finally have the headcanons for my favorite himbo done! Hooked, please come get your man.
Holy shit werewolf Arthur is something I didnt know I needed in my life, please tell us about him and if hes different at all to normal Arthur
WEREWOLF ARTHUR WEREWOLF ARTHUR WEREWOLF ARTHUR
Dedicated to the Arthur Arby’s bc they serve better grilled steak than I do -- seriously the flavor is immaculate
Frederick Arthur
Werewolf Arthur is a regular Arthur on steroids. Escaping from him is ten times harder -- Arthur’s got heightened senses and incredible speed; dare I say it’s near impossible to get away from him. You won’t make it halfway to Chinatown before Arthur hunts you down and drags you back home.
When you try and escape, he can hear your footsteps and breathing. And if he isn’t nearby, your scent is easy to track down. You need to get away from New York fast, because if you don’t get the hell out of dodge fast enough, the blonde menace won’t be far behind. You may be quick, but Arthur is quicker.
His rivals are dead in a pinch; he can smell them on you. Arthur can track them down in less than an hour and rip them to shreds.
Personality-wise, werewolf Arthur is more impulsive and destructive. Human Arthur has a rhyme or reason to his madness. He knows what he’s doing and how to get away with it efficiently. But werewolf Arthur does things on a whim, often landing with the cops catching onto him. If someone looks at you funny, they’re dead. If you show the slightest bit of romance toward another person, you’re dragged up to his apartment and tied up. He’s also more emotional, and is heartbroken if you even glance in another person’s direction. Arthur, while caught up in the moment, might injure you or scare you half to death. But he can’t control his impulses, and when the slightest bit of trouble arises, Arthur is quick to destroy it.
Arthur is more sadistic than before. His murders don’t just leave a body sliced up in an alleyway. There’s limbs, eyes, and organs ripped out a victim and blood splattered across the walls. Arthur comes home -- wild-eyed, sharp toothed, and covered in gore -- wrapping his arms around you and nuzzling into the crook of your neck. To Arthur, he’s proving his love to you and dominance over other suitors. He’s proving himself worthy of being your partner.
