yours in eternity

You make it no more than a few steps into the warm living room when a hand grips onto your wrist, pulling you around the couch before you can question what’s going on. Your attempt to shriek is stifled by a large hand, and rather forcefully you’re tugged down onto the lumpy piece of furniture. Dropping all your bags, you collapse inelegantly onto the trespasser; their snicker is one you’d recognize anywhere.

"About time you got back, herbivore."

Your fear turns into overwhelming annoyance almost immediately. Slapping his hand away with a glare doesn’t seem to phase him at all, though. He wraps his arm around you instead, pulling your legs over his lap with an annoying smirk. Albeit reluctantly, you settle into his embrace seeing as he clearly has no plans of setting you free.

Taking off your gloves you huff, “what are you doing here?"

“Heard Crowley had you running around. I wasn’t going to chase after you, so I sent your pet to go hang at some other dorm and waited here.” He punctuates his sentence with a yawn, showing absolutely no remorse for poor Grimm. You roll your eyes.

That’s when you finally take note of the state of your living room.

It’s undoubtedly much cozier than it had been when you left in the morning; wood crackles in the fireplace, a large candle spreads the faint scent of vanilla throughout the room, and several expensive looking blankets are laid out on the arm of the couch. You squeeze the hand he has around you, blinking at him warily.

“You did all of this?” 

“About time you noticed.”

Leona doesn’t give you a chance to say anything more, not that you even know what to say. He drapes a blanket over you both and pulls you closer, instructing you to sleep while he he tends to removing your shoes. The wood burns bright and the snow continues to fall as you relax in his embrace.

Winter vacation is imminent, meaning Leona will have to go home and face his family along with the complicated emotions he feels toward them. But your company is a reminder that the world is not entirely against him.

You can’t shame him for wanting to keep you close.

Floyd, and playing in the snow...

When you meet up with Floyd after class, his mood is clearly sour. He wears a deep-set scowl and his uniform is in more disarray than usual, but what most concerns you is his silence. 

He always has something to say, no matter what kind of mood he’s in. If he's happy, he'll let you know all about it. If he's mad, he won't let you go until you justify his emotions and whatever actions he took as a result of them. But as he walks you to your next class, your attempts to spark conversation are blatantly ignored. Something that's never happened before.

“Floyd, something wrong?”

“I dunno.”

“Oookay. Are you feeling alright?”

“Yup.” 

He pops the ‘p’ and silence settles between you once more.

Shoving your hands into your coat, you run through what else you can say, but Floyd isn’t someone who can be forced to cooperate. There's not a high chance you'll find out what's wrong, so your hands are pretty much tied.

But just as you reach the exterior hallway, you notice the flurries of snow cascading just a few feet away. Afresh layer of snow rests upon the grass, entirely undisturbed. An idea strikes you.

Looking around, you make sure that the two of you are alone in this section of the courtyard and it's all the motivation you need. Quickly, you jog over to the snow-covered ground while Floyd watches you silently, an impatient expression creeping onto his face. Crouching low, you ball up some snow. And your aim, for better or worse, decides to be perfect today.

When you turn and throw it at him, it hits him straight in the face. The snow falls to the ground comically as he stares at you with eyes full of disbelief.

He wants to be upset, really. But the words on the tip of his tongue are held back when he hears your laughter.

And before you can breathe a word of apology, he’s running toward you full-speed.

“No, Floyd. Stop! Wait-” You jump to your feet and try to back away, but it’s too late.

In the blink of an eye he topples you backward into the thick snow, leaving you struggling to breathe underneath his body weight. After a few smacks to his back, he places his arms by your head to hoist himself off of you, giving you a daring look. But his is hair covered in so much snow that you can't help but burst into laughter again. 

“What’s so funny?” He questions, knitting his eyebrows together with a pout. But his eyes are bright, and his mouth twitches with the threat of a grin.

You shake some snow from his hair instead of answering, which proves to be a bad choice as it falls directly onto your face instead. He laughs at you and rolls over, laying next to you in the now-disrupted blanket of white. You both turn your heads to look at one another expectantly, Floyd seemingly searching your expression for something while you helplessly smile back. With a huff, he ultimately turns his gaze to the clouds above.

“Ya never just leave people alone. Dontcha ever get tired of tryna fix everyone?” 

His voice is quiet, barely audible over the harsh whisper of the wind. He feels around for your hand in the snow, lacing his fingers with yours a bit too tightly once he finds it. Squeezing his hand back, you contemplate how to reply.

Ultimately, you settle with something simple. Something he'll understand.

“Well, you’re boring when you’re sad, Floyd.”

After a moment of stunned silence, he laughs brightly.

It’s carefree and infectious, and you have to take a moment to admire the way joy looks on him. Once you both recover, he sits up to shake snow from his hair, flashing you a maniacal smile and speaking cheerily.

“You have 3 seconds before I get ya, Shrimpy. Start runnin'.”

Azul, and shopping for gifts...

It only takes a half hour of gift shopping for Azul to start acting like he’s being tortured.

He was hesitant to accompany you from the start, but the moment you suggest he do some shopping of his own he seriously considers abandoning you. According to him, gift-giving isn’t one of his areas of expertise. Nor does he desire it to be.

Even so, you drag him from store to store until you find yourselves in the perfect holiday antique shop. As you walk ahead of him through the cluttered aisles, your conversation lands on gift ideas for the twins.

“You should get them something physical,” you stress, explaining yet again that a “holiday bonus” isn’t as thoughtful as he thinks it is. “Money is great, sure, but a thoughtful gift shows you care.”

Judging by the way Azul doesn’t argue this time, he must finally see some sense in your argument. Either that, or he realized he won’t win against you. You pick up a plastic snowman and he grimaces at its poorly painted face.

“I don’t have the slightest idea what they would want. Money is much easier.” A line of porcelain knick knacks manages to catch his eye as he says that, but he realizes the major potential for disaster should one of those be put in the hands of Floyd.

You link your arm with his. "It’s the thought that counts. Just get them something you think they’ll like." For a while, he remains silent.

You lead him through the store, arm in arm, while grabbing a few things for your own friends. Leaving him to contemplate his gifts, you only make the occasional suggestion until a few minutes later, he mumbles something under his breath. You don't quite catch it.

“What was that?” You ask.

He bristles, clearing his throat. Your attempts to catch his eye prove unsuccessful, but he repeats himself.

“What would you like? For the…holidays.”

It's entirely accidental that your laughter escapes you, caught off guard by his uncharacteristic shyness. Immediately you try to stifle it with a cough, but he's already petulantly trying to unlink his arm from yours.

“I didn’t mean to laugh!” You plead lightheartedly, contented when he stops fighting with a sigh. Tightening your hold, you let your head fall to his shoulder in front of a display of snowglobes. “I promise I’ll be happy with anything, even if it’s just a card. Don't worry so much.”

“And if you don’t like what I get you?”

“Try again next year.”

In the reflection of a snow globe, you finally see him crack a smile.

He pinches your arm playfully, successfully slipping out of your grasp when you recoil in surprise. He turns to you, slightly startling you but prompting you to do the same. Wide-eyed you watch as he takes a step forward, crowding you into the corner of the already cramped shop. 

“Actually, I think I might know what you’d like,” he leans in close, his gaze flickering to your lips and making your breath hitch. There's no more room for you to back up, and your heart pounds relentlessly as he watches you like a hunter their prey. He cups your cheek, his lips ghosting over your own.

“Would you mind if I gave it to you early?”

Idia, and the first snowfall of the season...

The sound of an incoming call disrupts Idia’s game. He doesn’t bother to check who it is–there’s only one person it could be–yet he still pauses before accepting.

It hasn’t been long since you pushed your way into his circle and started developing a friendship with him. It took him (and Ortho) by surprise, and so speaking with you is still something he finds himself needing lots of mental preparation for. His fingers are unsteady in picking up his phone, causing him to almost miss the button when he finally answers.

“Idia!” Your voice comes through somewhat breathlessly, but your enthusiasm is loud and clear. He can hear you aggressively slamming what seems to be drawers, for whatever reason. “Have you looked outside?”

Your sudden inquiry catches him off guard, seeing as he barely had the courage to answer the phone, let alone questions. His nerves spike as you wait patiently for his answer, so he glances around his room.

Only to cringe when he realizes he doesn’t even have a window to look out of. 

“Um, n-no I haven't. Is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, it’s just the weather.” You laugh, slamming another drawer which makes him jolt.

He takes a steadying breath, trying to relax. “Well, the weather in my dorm isn’t the s-same as yours, so...”

“Ugh, that's right.” Your disappointment gives him a dreadful feeling, but you don't give him a chance to dwell on it. “Well, it snowed here last night! I was thinking of making a snowman, do you want to come over?”

Ten minutes later, you’re standing at his door with an extra hat in hand and an excited Ortho hovering at your side.

As the three of you make the journey back to Ramshackle, you and the younger Shroud brother make excited conversation the whole way. Once the snow is in sight you suggest making a snowman to Ortho, and Idia hangs back while you get to work. He takes a moment to better compose himself.

Yet it’s in watching you with his brother that Idia realizes how much of a mess his emotions are. He watches through the condensation of his breath as you show Ortho how to carefully pack snow and place it where it’s needed. His expression softens at all the ways you take care to ensure that the wet snow doesn’t harm his brother's build.

Idia hardly ever notices the cold, but he knows it would feel much more frigid here, and in all of Twisted Wonderland, without you.

Caught in his thoughts, he doesn't notice when you come bounding up to him until his cold hand is in both of your gloved ones. He squeaks, startled by the very object of his anguish. You tug on his arm innocently.

“What are you sulking over here for? Come help us!” 

But Idia won’t budge. His gaze flickers behind you, checking that Ortho is distracted, before focusing his attention back on you. He sort of processes you asking if something is wrong while tentatively adjusting the collar of his coat. 

Very much so, he thinks.

The flurries of snow landing on your face take up most of his focus. Your eyebrows are raised and your head is tilted at him, and it’s so captivating that he wants to burn this moment into his memory forever, if possible. One of your hands still holds onto his, playing with his fingers patiently.

As he stares at you, he wonders how you’d react if he just…kissed you, maybe. He knows you must have some feelings for him, at least he thinks so, but in his state, it would surely be a disaster regardless. So he shuts the idea down quickly-there's plenty of time to get to that.

He squeezes your hand with an apologetic smile, one you reciprocate ten times brighter.

“S-sorry,” he chokes. “Lead the way?”

He relishes in the warmth of your hand in his.

Malleus, and decorating for the holidays...

Malleus, ever eager to learn more of your customs, happily agrees to help you decorate Ramshackle for the holidays.

He arrives early, as he tends to when he’s excited about something, and beats your alarm clock in waking you up. You open your eyes to him sitting beside you, reading a book and sporting gold tinsel wrapped around his horns. In your half-awake state, the tinsel is much more startling than his presence.

"Um, goodmorning. What's with the uh..." Blinking sleepily, you gesture to his head.

He looks up in confusion, before piecing together what you're referring to.

"Lilia informed me that it would be appropriate. He said you'd appreciate 'festive' attire?"

You laugh warmly as you rub your eyes, ever grateful for Lilia's whims.

Malleus reads patiently as you get dressed in as many layers as possible, and eventually, you make your way downstairs to the lounge.

As you open some boxes of decorations you’d gathered from Sam’s, he takes the opportunity to peak through them as well. He’s fascinated by the strings of lights and paper snowflakes you bring out, excited to be the one helping you. As if his horns weren't shiny enough, he's practically glowing every time you ask him to place something up high, finding joy in being at your service. It would be lying to say you weren't absolutely endeared by his excitement.

When you get to decorating the windows, you don't expect the sight of a thick blanket of snow outside. It hadn't been there last night, and the way it falls from the sky indicates that it won’t be stopping, either. You pause your actions, Malleus joining you in intrigue.

“I didn’t realize it was going to snow today.” You look down thoughtfully before turning to him. The snow seems to be coming in quite heavily, even still. “Do you want to go back to your dorm?”

He blinks at you.

“Would you like me to go?”

Looking surprised by your question, disappointment practically drips from his voice. He seems to take it as you asking him to leave, which you correct frantically.

“No, it’s not that! I just don’t want you to get stuck here."

His face softens, chuckling fondly. Reaching a hand out he smooths the space between your eyebrows until your face lifts into the lighter expression he prefers on you. Taking one end of the garland in your hands, he only momentarily disregards your question to bring it to the mantle above the fireplace.

“I may come and go as I please, as I do believe you are aware. How do you think I arrived?” He questions, gesturing for you to join him. You chastise yourself for not realizing, having forgotten about his magic since you spend most of your time with him walking. “But I wish to spend more time with you, if you’ll allow it.”

After that, your conversation dwindles–largely due to your embarrassment–but the silence is comfortable.

Once all the decorations go up, the two of you find yourselves on the couch. You sit on one end, his head in your lap while you admire the hues of gold and silver all around you. Your fingers brush through the hair on his forehead and trace over his horns, tinsel now gone in favor of decorating the windowsill. You feel a warm sense of home, one you've been missing so much since arriving in this world, and it's a comforting thought as you watch flurries of ice collect on the window pane.

“Thank you for helping me today, Mal. It really means a lot.”

He meets your eyes, smiling warmly.

“Anything for you, my child of man.”

a/n : haiii everyone I hope this gets u guys in the holiday mood! I wanted to explore some cozy prompts with my fave boys since it's the holidays (can u tell I got carried away w Azul n Idia...) hope these r cute