wonders of life

From his perch against the southern bookcases, Lohen watched you with his arms crossed over his chest. In his right hand, he held his favorite blade, twirling it around his finger until the hilt pressed into his palm, then twirling it around again. The soft sound of his knife hitting the fabric of his glove was quick to fill the space around him, which had returned to near silence yet again after Theodore’s departure.

You walked past him with a stack of books in your hands, giving him a glance. “Can you put that away, please?”

He sighed through his nose. Slotting his dagger back into its sheath, he pouted dejectedly at your back. You didn’t pay him a shred of attention, instead focusing on your duties of restocking the bookshelves and rearranging any misplaced codices.

Lohen sighed aloud. When you still didn’t turn around, he sighed yet again. Sighing so hard and so repetitively that he was nearly going dizzy from it, you eventually turned around with a smile that didn’t match the glare in your eyes.

“What is it, Lohen?”

Lohen. It was always ‘Lohen’ with you. But with Theodore, it was ‘Theo’.

“Nothing,” he said, his shoulders rising in a shrug. “Nothing at all.”

You stared at him for a moment, then eventually frowned. Your voice was gentle. “You look upset.”

“Upset? I’m not upset.” Lohen shrugged again, glaring down at the wood floor. “What would make you think I’m upset?”

Your hands directed his face to yours. He ignored the flush of warmth that it sent through his cheeks, and tried further to ignore the sudden thrill in his chest. When you smiled, he swallowed his nerves.

“What’s wrong?” you asked softly.

“N-nothing,” he answered, his hands rising to your wrists. “It’s nothing, really. I’m fine.”

“If you were fine you would have been using your cryo-infused hand to scare me when my back was turned,” you laughed. Softening your voice, you said, “Please, just talk to me. I don’t want you to be upset, Lohen.”

The way your thumbs brushed over his cheeks felt all too tender. Smiling rather awkwardly, he squeezed your wrists between his fingers.

“We started at ‘Vice Captain’,” he said, “and then we got to ‘Lohen’. But we never got much farther past that.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Theodore. Theodore is ‘Theo’. But me? I’m ‘Lohen’.”

“Well, that’s your—...oh,” you said inquisitively, your eyes widening. “I see what you mean. You want me to give you a nickname?”

“It doesn’t…have to be a nickname,” he babbled, feeling oddly out of his element as he did. “I mean, I call you Bun and Princess. But you only ever call me ‘Lohen’, even though I know you call other people shorter names and stuff.”

“I’ll call you whatever you want me to, Lohen. How does handsome sound?”

Your arms looped around his neck, and as you smiled with those half-lidded eyes of yours, Lohen’s nervous laughter burst from his lips. Staring at you with wide eyes and a face so hot, he was convinced his vision had flipped to pyro, he quickly said, “That’s a lot more embarrassing than I thought it would be.”

“Hm?” You tilted your head, staring down at his mouth as you grinned. “What, you don’t like that, sweetheart?”

“Fuck,” Lohen stammered, his eyes shifting around the library. “Bun, quit.”

“But honey,” you purred, the heat of your breath tickling his upper lip. “You’re the one who wanted me to call you something different. You mean you don’t like it?”

“I’m gonna kill you,” he answered, his grin hurting his face. “Stop it.”

“Oh, but, baby. You look like you like it.”

“Let’s just…let’s just go back to Lohen.”

You laughed, and with a chaste press of your mouth to his, he laughed back. He glanced around once more, ensuring the library was as empty as ever before throwing his arms around your hips. Backing you into the bookshelf, his grinning lips pressed against yours before he gave you a playful little nibble.

“I’m working,” you laughed.

“Take a five minute break,” he crooned.

“Vice Captain,” you murmured. “You’re going to get me in trouble.”

“Oh, yeah? That so, Library Girl?”

The way you giggled tickled his ears. He pressed his lips to your cheek, peppering kisses against the corner of your mouth as you laughed and laughed and laughed.

“Lohen,” you said, ever so dearly. “You know I just like the sound of your name, right?”

He cracked a smile.

“You know, whenever you say it, Bun…I like the sound of it too.”

Written part: In result of everyone drinking, they had hangovers and were unable to drive, you drove everyone home and this is after that.

warning: this chapter does have more suggestive themes, however they don’t engage in anything explicit

i went heavy on the flirting…LMAOO

taglist: @depthinthedarktide

ask to be added to the taglist if you enjoyed this chapter pleasee🙏

except that it’s far too embedded into his identity to rid himself of. because they had already become one and the same, even though you could still… at times, tell them apart, this fact still holds true. even though they cant be seperated or reduced to just one and the other, theyre still quite a bit distinct.… as far as the eye can tell.

just imagine the potential, say, in a story, reader thinking that abyssal! lohen was the one in control, when in reality, it was the real lohen all along. but who’s to say who’s real and who’s not? they are the same person after all, no changing that.

the idea in this is that the real! lohen is supposed to be the sane and clear minded one, who is recognizable for just the blue in his eyes, while abyssal! lohen would have that intense red/pink glow we see lohen have in the trailer, being the one who constantly tempts and manipulates the real!lohen into gaining more power by fighting more, making him feel that euphoric adrenaline the real!lohen eventually gets addicted of, until he can’t resist anymore and ultimately gives in-

…which is how they become one with each other and he becomes the battle maniac we know him as which is really just canon lohen

also! the thought of real!lohen actually being just as sick and twisted as abyssal! lohen but he’s just constantly in denial and never realizes he’s actually the one who desired and thought of these things in the first place, that abyssal! lohen just acts as an amplifier to the real!lohen’s desires, who pushes him into acting them out because he also just can’t take it anymore when real! lohen is doing nothing to make it happen or have a release.

Partner on crime trope is put aside so much like its so good when you think about everything it could bring to the characters dynamics

Also Reader having a goal and being determined to do it would be more appealing to Lohen because everytime he watches you gut people out, you would always have that one look on your face that screams danger

If we continue on this, Lohen as mischievous as he is would also always try and make your goal slightly harder to reach with a few more obstacles (manipulating people to stand in your way) just so he could have you kill people by his side forever for a little while longer🧍‍♀️