Cosmic-Lilies

            “Wow… Are those horns real, mister?”

            To his surprise, she didn’t express fear toward him. On the contrary, she looked at him with wonder. “They are real, young one. Why do you ask?”

            With increased excitement, she asked “Can I touch your horns? I’ve never touched dragon horns before!”

            After a moment of being taken aback, Malleus chuckled. “To think that you, a human child, would be so bold as to ask such a question. I’ll allow it.” Getting on one knee, he lowered his head & patiently waited as she felt his horns.

            The little girl couldn’t believe how they felt. “So smooth. How do you take care of them, mister?”

            “I only utilize a shower brush & soap.” Malleus eventually stood back up. “By the way, young one. Where are your parents? I certainly hope that they are nearby.”

            “Ummm… They’re at the headmage’s office, I think” was her response.

            “This is a concerning matter. I shall return you to your parents at once.” With magic, Malleus now had her in his arms.

            She whined “But I’m hungry! I want food now!”

            “I’m afraid I have no snacks with me. Your parents could take you to the cafeteria, although it may be crowded.” With that, Malleus teleported to the front of Crowley’s office & knocked on the door with one hand while holding the little girl with his other arm.

            A faint “I’m afraid I’m currently busy” from Crowley could be heard behind the doors.

            “Mom. Dad. Are you two almost done? I’m getting hungry” asked the little girl.

            A second later & the doors burst open, revealing a visibly frightened woman. “Young lady! How did you sneak out of the office?! Don’t ever do that again!” Taking the little girl in her arms, she looked at Malleus. “I can’t thank you enough for returning my daughter. I am ashamed to have not noticed her disappearance.”

            “No need to thank me, ma’am.” Upon seeing (Y/n), he couldn’t help but smile. “It’s wonderful to see you, Child of Man. How are you on this noisy day?”

            “Tsunotauro! I’m doing fine, thank you.”

            “Tsuno… tarou? Child of… Man? Huh” the poor little girl found herself confused.

            (Y/n) proceeded to clarify the reason behind the nicknames. “His real name is Malleus.”

.

.

.

            “Oh, is he the guy that you said was handsome?”

            (Y/n) felt the world around them collapse. “Chiara! Don’t say that!”

            If Malleus wasn’t paying attention, he certainly was now. “Hoh? Is that what you truly think of me, Child of Man?” His smirk only grew as (Y/n)’s face became redder.

            “They sure do! They think you’re a really, really nice guy too” responded Chiara. 

It would not take long for Malleus to sit on a chair, listening to Chiara talk about her older sibling’s romantic feelings for him. 

Mr. & Hrs. (L/n) were busy talking to Crowley.

            (Y/n) was slowly perishing. Great 7. What have I done to deserve this punishment?

            After the meeting with Crowley was over, (Y/n)’s family & Malleus left the office.

            “Child of Man. I’m afraid I must return to my dormitory to rest. If you could visit me sometime today, I would be most grateful.” With that, Malleus teleported back to his dorm room. He couldn’t help but feel giddy knowing his Child of Man loved him the same way he loved them.

            (Y/n) looked at Chiara with a grumpy expression “Chiara, why did you embarrass your older sibling like that?”

            “Because my big sibling deserves a happy ending” said Chiara with pride.

            (Y/n) couldn’t help but imagine a life with Malleus. From having a grand wedding to growling old with him, (Y/n) chuckled realizing that they sounded like a hopeless romantic. They expressed their desire to go to the cafeteria not only for Chiara’s sake, but also to not confess their feelings to Malleus on an empty stomach.

            “Mmm! So yummy” said Grim as he ate his breakfast.

            “Grim, please be mindful of your manners” replied (Y/n). “Also, thank you.” The Ramshackle had already eaten their breakfast, so they were waiting for their companion to finish theirs before heading out to class.

            Once Grim (somehow) became full, he had an idea. “You know, henchman. You oughta sell your food. We could make tons of money that way. With more money, the Great Grim can have more deluxe tuna cans!”

            (Y/n) chuckled. To clear Grim’s confusion, they explained what happened yesterday.

“I would criticize their bad choices, but I can’t” grumbled Grim before washing his dishes.

            (Y/n) nodded in agreement. “I’ll go get our bags so we can leave asap. I heard Professor Trein’s not in the best mood today, so you better hurry up.”

Later that day during lunch time…

“Hmph. Can’t believe I don’t have the money to afford that juicy steak” mumbled Grim before eating a hamburger (Y/n) made. “This hamburger’s pretty good, though.”

            “Grim. The headmaster’s barely paying enough to cover our expenses, so why can’t you save money” asked (Y/n).

            “I don’t see what’s wrong with trying various tuna brands."

            “That’s not the issue. The issue is that you’re constantly buying tuna cans & that can easily eat up our monthly budget.”

            From a nearby distance, Azul smirked. He couldn’t wait for the feline monster to want to form a contract with him, but he had to ensure (Y/n) couldn’t save him like last time. In the evening, Azul was in the Mostro Lounge’s VIP room preparing for Grim’s arrival. He quietly hummed as he was putting away a few papers & checking if the inkwell was full. Once everything was put into place, he sat down on his chair & waited patiently.

“Azul. The client has arrived” said Jade.

"Please let the client in now."

An hour later…

“Now then. Would you be so kind as to sign the contract here” asked Azul while handing Grim a pen. He watched with a smile knowing Grim has once again failed to fully read all of the stipulations of the contract. One such rule was that every time Grim wished to speak to anyone about his job at the Mostro Lounge, he would find himself unable to do so. He knew that if (Y/n) became aware of what he had done, he would kiss his contract business goodbye.

A week later…

Grim hummed to himself as he walked out of Sam's shop with a bag of canned tunas in his mouth. He earned more than expected with his new job at the Mostro Lounge, so he could spoil himself without (Y/n) getting upset at him.

At the Ramshackle dorm…

"Grim. I've made us some- What did I say about spending our money on-"

Grim dropped the bag of tuna cans. "I swear! I didn't use your money this time!"

(Y/n) raised an eyebrow. "That bag you've dropped made a lot of noise. How many tuna cans did you buy & how were you able to afford them?"

"Because I-" Grim was surprised to feel his throat tighten. He kept trying to tell (Y/n) the truth but failed every time.

"If you don't want to tell me that you stole my money again, then don't bother" (Y/n) said before turning around, cooking the remaining portions of the dinner.

Grim really wanted to tell them the truth, he really did. He just couldn't understand why he can't say anything about his job.

After dinner…

(Y/n) grumbled as they took out their box of Madols. Grim couldn't be trusted with it, so as much as it pained (Y/n) to do this, they had to move it somewhere & not let Grim know.

"(Y/n). What's wrong" asked one of the Ramshackle ghosts after seeing their expression when dinner ended.

"Grim's been stealing the Madols I earn from working at Sam's shop lately. He even had the gall to lie to me earlier today!"

"I never saw Grim enter your room all day. In fact, none of the ghosts have seen him that much lately."

(Y/n) paused & looked at them. "What?"

"It's true. *We were starting to get concerned as to why he rarely came here during the afternoon these days."

"But how did he get the Madols to afford those tuna cans" (Y/n) asked. "I didn't lend him any & I’m certain no one else would either. I've got an idea how many tuna cans he bought this week & it's way too high for him to be relying on some change that someone would accidentally leave on the ground."

"Perhaps he got a new job" the Ramshackle ghost suggested.

"The only two businesses on this campus that I know of are the Mostro Lounge & Sam’s shop & I don't recall Sam needing more assistants. At least, not on the days that I work. Is it possible for you to spy on Grim for a bit & see if he’s working for Azul again?” They smiled after the Ramshackle ghost left & continued to look for a new place to hide their Madols.

A few days later…

            “Azul… that bastard” yelled (Y/n). They slammed their fist on a table. “Taking advantage of my idiotic Grim! He’ll pay for this!”

            “But how are you going to get revenge on Azul” asked one of the Ramshackle ghosts. “It may not be as simple as getting someone else to force him to terminate Grim’s contract.”

            “That’s true. Perhaps he came up with a counterplan because of the schoolwide test incident.” (Y/n) was frustrated, but they had to develop a plan to get Azul to comply with any of their demands, including setting Grim free from his job. One thing they knew about the Octavinelle dorm leader is that he loved money. How could I make him earn less money? The only skill they had that could potentially be utilized in a business is their cooking. Suddenly, they remembered Ace & Deuce’s idea of setting up a food truck business.

            “Any ideas” asked one of the Ramshackle ghosts.

            “Yes. I might have to… set up a food truck business.”

"Pre-fect! PREFECT" yelled Ace & Deuce.

“What” (Y/n) yelled back. “Can’t you see I’m reading?”

“Prefect! Listen to this” Deuce said.

“Floyd-senpai & Jade-senpai promised us that we would receive anything we wanted so long as we worked at the Mostro Lounge for one night. After we finished our shift, we were tired & thirsty as hell” Ace said.

“And when Azul-senpai asked if we wanted drinks, we said yes! Once we finished them, he said “With those glasses of juice, I have granted your desired wishes!” Can you believe that” Deuce asked.

A moment of silence has passed before (Y/n) continued reading their book. “Yeah. I can believe that.”

“Huh?! How can you not feel sorry for your two best friends” both Ace & Deuce asked.

After putting the book down, (Y/n) pinched the bridge of their nose. “How could I feel sorry for you two if you’ve already been tricked by Azul-senpai in the past? Him, Floyd-senpai & Jade-senpai are essentially the merfolk mafia.”

“Well we figured they would’ve changed after Azul-senpai’s overblot, but I guess we were wrong,” Deuce muttered under his breath.

“No one can change overnight, Deuce” said (Y/n) as they shook their head. “I’m not surprised that he’s still scamming people.”

Ace sighed. “Great. I guess that means we can’t convince you to set up a food truck business to get revenge on Azul-senpai.”

(Y/n) looked at Ace. “Huh? Why me? I don’t want anything to do with him & his goons.”

“Well you’re good at cooking, right? I’m sure many people would line up just to get a taste of their friend’s home-cooked meals” claimed Ace.

“First off, I’m only good at making home-cooked meals & not restaurant-quality cuisines. Second, just because I’ve made a lot of friends in Night Raven College doesn’t mean this business will be an instant success. The Mostro Lounge has already made a name for itself, so competing against it would be nigh impossible, especially when I'm competing against an entire dorm by myself.” said (Y/n) as they raised a finger for each point they’ve made. 

“We could spread the word to everyone. I mean, there’s still plenty of students that are pissed at Azul for what he did during the school-wide test incident” said Ace with a bit of hope in his eyes.

“Guys, we’re just three, random first years. No one here’s gonna want to help people that they don’t know nor care about. It’d be easier for them to just keep going to the Mostro Lounge as they already have been” claimed (Y/n).

As Ace & Deuce sulked, (Y/n) felt a bit sorry for them. “I know I’m being a downer right now, but understand that most things don’t work out the way you’d hope. Another thing is that you two can’t expect someone to help you after every situation that you get involved in. I’m saying that because I’m either going back to my home world or finding a place in this world to call home. Either way, we’re going to go our separate ways one day so you two better start becoming more wary about offers that sound too good to be true.”

“Geez, you’re starting to sound like my mom” whined Ace.

“What kind of a friend would I be if I can’t prevent my friends from getting in deep trouble” asked (Y/n). "Friends are meant to help each other out, right?"

You couldn’t tell if it was because of the complex nature of alchemical concepts or how one topic relates to another, but you’re not having an easy time with Professor Crewel’s class.

His upcoming exam terrified you because it was a cumulative one. It also didn’t help that there’d be a lab portion as well. Immediately, you began wondering who could help tutor you.

Leona would be too lazy for the job. Azul would try to rope you into another contract. Kalim’s distractible. Vil’s tutoring sessions would be brutal as hell (plus he’d probably be too busy tutoring Epel). Idia would be too anxious to talk to you. Malleus COULD teach you as the two of you were friends, but you were concerned about Sebek yelling at you for “getting in the way of the Young Master’s studies.”

As much as it pained you to ask Riddle for help, you had no choice but to do so. You could ask Trey for help if Riddle declined.

To your luck, Riddle accepted your request for assistance. 

He mentioned that earlier this week he was trying to tutor Ace & Deuce for the same exam you’re studying for, but the former was barely paying any attention. He knows that you’re the responsible member of the 1st year squad, so that was why he’d happily assist you.

Riddle’s tutoring session wasn't as bad as you expected & it paid off very well.

You couldn’t help but hug Riddle the next time you saw him. He was too busy blushing to give you a response (best believe Cater has taken a picture of this moment).

Ever since he helped you with Crewel’s test, he was your go to option for tutoring sessions. Sometimes you simply visited him just to hang out.

This gave Riddle the chance to slowly open up to you. From talking about Trey’s desserts to the strained relationship he had with his mother, he felt comfortable talking about most things to you. It was no wonder you were considered the leader amongst your 1st year friends. Either you gave him sound advice, or you listened to him whenever he needed to vent about something (mostly about Ace & Deuce’s dumbassery).

Because of this, he felt upset when you started hanging out with other people again. Were you bored of him? He hoped that he was being paranoid.

After a moment of feeling jealous, Riddle had to pause for a second. Why did he care about who you spent your time with? This shouldn’t be a big deal. How you spend your days is none of his business.

When this feeling of jealousy wouldn’t go away, Riddle decided to ask Trey for some answers.

He had to take a moment when he was told that he was falling in love with you. It is true that you make his day with how kind & considerate you are. That would also explain why he felt jealousy upon seeing you with other people.

The next question he asked Trey was how he should declare his love for you. He didn’t want to go overboard out of fear he’d intimidate you & not putting enough effort in a confession could lead you to doubt its sincerity.

While Trey admitted that he’s not the best when it comes to giving love advice, he did recommend Riddle to give you a bouquet of red roses while expressing how you made him feel.

Riddle agreed & after buying them at Sam’s shop, he asked himself “How should I word my confession? I would hate it if I made myself appear as a fool in front of them.”

On a peaceful afternoon, he was waiting in the Heartslabyul garden with the bouquet behind his back. His heart was beating at an alarming rate after you appeared.

After the two of you have exchanged greetings, Riddle gives you the rose bouquet.

You automatically understood what he wanted to say but remained silent out of respect. After hearing how important you were becoming to him, you had to muster up the courage to reject him. It really pained you to do so because of his troubled past, but it was better to let him know now than to live in a relationship based upon a lie.

Riddle’s saddened expression & silence broke your heart. Before he could say anything, you quickly assured him that the two of you could remain friends if wanted to.

“Of course. I just… need some time to myself” is what Riddle said while nodding.