Mephisto’s Jar of Scheiße

She didn’t even want to see his card most of the time. Just having it within her line of sight made her a kind of anxious Sylus couldn’t ignore. Aside from that one auction they attended together, she hadn’t even held it any other time.

Sylus couldn’t understand it. It wasn’t even her lack of greed. It was as if she had an aversion to money entirely. She didn’t not live humbly, her recent housing purchase said otherwise. She could spend money, she just didn’t want to spend his-

-and that irritated Sylus to no end. After all, what use did he have for his dragon hoards if the only person he’d ever share it with didn’t take part in the spoils?

So he’d keep negotiating.

“Are you worried about the “blood money”? I can guarantee you that most of my wealth was acquired through legitimate and fair channels.”

Legitimate? Sure. Legal? Less so, but that was besides the point.

“No.” She’d argue anyway. “It just feels unfair to me. It’s not my money, I didn’t work hard for it. It makes me feel like a bad person.”

“You aren’t a bad person for wanting things. You aren’t a bad person for letting someone take care of you.”

Eventually, he’d relent and let it go for a while. Ask, argue, give in, repeat.

—

Then, she gave him the keycard to her new home, and the two of them found themselves experiencing a new flavor of synergy and cohabitation.

“...can I borrow your card?”

For a few quiet seconds, Sylus thought he’d imagined it.

The two of them were sitting together on her couch, a light rain humming against the windows. He held her close on his side. The two of them on their phones, enjoying a quiet morning together before Sylus would inevitably head to bed.

“...my wallet is upstairs. I’m too comfy to move.”

Sylus finally looks at her. Her eyes were still on her phone, head rested on his shoulder. He didn’t know if it was the morning haze or the new domesticity to their recent routine, but Sylus found himself handing over his card without another word.

He watched her input the card details into her phone, handed back his card with a quiet “thank you”. Then, she snuggled further against his shoulder, resting her eyes just a bit longer before she had to get her actual day started.

And Sylus? He spoke nothing of what happened until about two days later, when she pulled both him and Mephisto into her living room.

“Matching shoes?” By then, the shock that she’d finally used his money of her own volition had worn off, and Sylus was left with a feeling of warm satisfaction.

“Yeah. they were on sale, so I grabbed us both a pair.” She had that cheeky smile on her face. “But I didn’t want Mephisto to feel left out, so-”

She proudly gestured towards her coffee table. Mephisto stood there in what looked like a mild daze, his talon slipped into the smallest pair of shoes she’d managed to snag. Even then, it was rather…clown-adjacent.

But that didn’t stop Mephisto from waddling around in them.

“Ours are matching too.” She held a box towards Sylus. “They aren’t the exact same design as Mephie’s, though. I figured you probably wouldn’t be caught dead wearing sneakers.”

Sylus could feel his own smile reaching his eyes as the faint blush crept up her ears.

“I figured we could wear these on our date today. I thought it would be… you know.” She wasn’t even looking at him anymore.

Sylus reached down and pulled her into his arms. Her initial shocked squeak is quickly rounded out by a breathless laugh, filling Sylus’s chest with even more that addicting warmth-

-and if either of them noticed Mephisto falling off the coffee table and walking far away from the sickeningly sweet display of affection, it went unsaid.

Little skittering footsteps echoed down the hallway as Mephisto ran past Sylus’s feet. Cut up cardboard and paper were taped to his head and tail, fluttering as he scrambled to get away.

"Stop." His command was firm and inarguable. Mephisto rolled to a halt, plopping onto his butt in defeat. Turning the corner, a certain Hunter finally managed to up.

"Thanks, Sy!" She scooped up the chubby crow into her arms. "Doesn't he look fierce?"

Any words Sylus had waiting to say died on arrival once he actually got a good look at Mephisto’s costume.

Cardboard horns, cut up so they look bent at an angle. A paper tail, misshapen only in the way a fiend's would be.

A red paper crystal, haphazardly taped to his chest, a more innocent rendition of the abyssal crystal that once pulsed on his chest.

Designs and details that Sylus, after meeting his beloved once more, was convinced existed only in his memories.

"What's the occasion, sweetie?" Sylus really hoped he sounded as casual as he usually did.

Her smile soothed his heart more than he'd ever admit. "I was daydreaming at the end of my last patrol. I imagined what it'd be like if Mephisto was a little dragon. It suits him, doesn't it?" She held the crow up to Sylus. He prayed that she couldn't hear the rapiding beating of his heart.

"Oh? How so?"

"He's greedy, likes to collect shiny things in abundance, and he's has a lot of pride."

Her wording was deliberate. The words "just like you" had not needed to be spoken.

Sylus so desperately wanted to ask. He wanted to know where the costume design came from, did she know- did some part of her remember?

But there was no way to play that off as just curiosity, and he couldn't guarantee that he could hide any disappointment-

-because she didn't deserve that.

Who she was, who they were doesn't matter now. What mattered is that she was here, and she was perfect the way is was.

The best part? It was all for him. It was enough to soothe any ache or pain, even fresh out of a 12 hour shift.

At least, it would've been, had Zayne not been standing right outside his office, hearing the love of his life supposedly mid conversation with himself.

"Oh? You think this one is the best? It is a pretty color..."

"Hehe, aw... you're so sweet, Dr. Zayne."

Zayne wrenched the door open, unable to stand the thought of her speaking so sweetly to anyone else other than the real him-

She let out a soft little yelp. "Oh! Zayne! Did you have a good meeting?" She's just a bit too quick on the uptake.

"...I did." Zayne managed out after some hesitance, scanning the room, only to be surprised to find no one else standing there. "Who were you talking to just now?"

He watched as that cheeky little grin creeped up on her face.

"Why, Dr. Zayne, of course!"

She stepped to the side, hands throw up in presentation at the round little crow sat on top of his desk.

It was "Dr. Zayne" alright. Complete with a tie, his actual glasses and a few pieces of scattered candy.

"...I see." Zayne knew this bird. He'd see it outside of his office, staring inside whenever Skye and/or his girlfriend were around. He'd not had the chance to interact with it, let alone see it up close. "...I hope that you didn't just grab this bird out from the window for this... surprise."

"Of course not!" She exclaimed in faux-offensive before settling back into a smile. "This is Mephisto. Skye let me borrow him." She paused. "Okay -technically- he lent him to his girlfriend, who lent him to me."

"But, why?"

Her face fell, looking guilty. Seeing it did not make Zayne feel good.

"...I'll be deployed out on a Wanderer purge this weekend. I know you wanted spent it together. I feel bad, leaving you alone." She admits, lacing her fingers with Zayne’s. He did his best to maintain a neutral expression, even when his heart ached to never part with her warmth. It didn't help that she looked just as torn up as he felt.

"I thought that, maybe you wouldn't be so lonely if you had a buddy to hang out with." She glanced at Mephisto, who trotted closer to Zayne.

With barely contained excitement, she carefully gathered Mephisto in her arms. She raised him up, letting him loaf on top of Zayne’s head.

"See?" Her voice quivered, watching Mephisto settle into the doctor's hair. "You guys are already friends." She was reveling at how cooperative Mephisto was. What a well trained crow!

Mephisto was warm. He nested a bit into his hair, almost like he had melted just a bit over Zayne’s head. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so close to another animal. Not even Clopidogrel got so close.

It wasn’t her warmth, Zayne could already tell the difference.

However, it was not unwelcomed.

Sylus’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He was, of course, expecting his usual good night text as his beloved finally decided to get some rest. Instead, he's greeted with a picture.

"Please say this means he liked the peanuts I fed him at dinner."

Stuck onto her window, there was a piece of paper with a little lopsided smiley face, so crooked it was no doubt the work of little crow feet.

Sylus thought nothing more of it. If anything, he was just pleased to know Mephisto was entertaining her.

The morning after, and she'd send another picture, this time of a note with a crooked frowny face and -what they assumed- was a peanut. Sylus told her that if Mephisto wanted more peanuts, he needed to clock in for the night.

Another day goes by, he'd find Luke and Kieran, sitting almost shamefully on the couch. An angry little scribble taped to each of their foreheads. Mephisto, apparently, didn't appreciate the bomb that they set off during their last mission together, and very much wanted to make it known.

Sylus would continue to ignore it- until about a week later, when he and Miss Hunter had a brief but intense spat about his safety.

It wasn't sudden. Trouble had been stirring up in the N109 Zone, and she could only handle so many attempts on Sylus’s life without saying something. It ended with her begging Sylus to get out of her apartment for the night.

He didn't want to, but he already knew how much it hurt her to argue with him in such a way.

Upon reaching the base, Sylus was greeted with another crudely done drawing stuck onto his door.

Angry frown, thumbs down.

It's artist, standing right on his perch, staring down at Sylus with silent disapproval.

"...go keep an eye on her. Until she's willing to meet with me again."

And two days later, she was. Sylus made his way over to her apartment as soon as he received word from Mephisto.

He knocked on the door, a small apology gift tucked safely under his arm. Sylus could hear shuffling on the other side. Slow, nervous movement.

A piece of paper slipped out from under the door. A sad face, hesitantly drawn by the person he loved.

Oh.

OH.

Sylus could not believe he didn't put it all together sooner. Of course Mephisto picked it up from her. On her hardest days, whether she was too tired to speak or when she couldn't trust her words...

She must have been so worried the whole week. Why, then, hadn't she drawn or left a note for him earlier? Had she been trying to get Mephisto act in her stead-

-or had Mephisto been trying to quietly to encourage her to do it?

"I'm sorry." Sylus whispered through the door, the distance between them suddenly feeling much more cavernous than he'd ever accept.

Her reasons didn't matter. What mattered was righting his current wrongs.

"Won't you... let me tell you in person?"

Let me see you -touch you -hold you?

Sylus could never judge her. Not when there were so many words, he too, left unsaid.

~~~~~

Mephisto hopped in through the open balcony. He was sure that Boss already knew he was there. Really, he only came in to play with the wrapping paper from Miss Hunter’s gift.

Right beside it, the note that she handed to Sylus, now turned over.

Two little hearts scribbled in the corner, one in bold, confident strokes. The other shaky, and bleeding with emotion.

Again, because he wasn't bothered.

He wasn't.

"What are you doing?"

He called out, right as she pulled the little sweater over Mephisto’s belly.

"I took a knitting class." She said, her eyes never leaving the crow as he stood up and waddled around the table. "It was pretty hard, honestly. Disassembling and cleaning a gun is easier than knitting frickin' loop."

She and Sylus watched as Mephisto plopped back down on the table. Normally, the little crow would've torn through any costume Miss Hunter threw onto him.

But right now? Sylus swore his usually faithful and obedient companion was staring at him with the shittiest shit eating grin a bird could have on.

"Do you like it?" She whispered, almost in disbelief. Sylus felt his irritation ease off from his very being. Her smiled healed him in ways he could never explain in so few words. There was nothing more important to him that her happiness. No amount of petty jealously could ever-

"Nice sweater little man!"

Luke and Kieran jogged by, pointing and waving before heading out for night.

Sylus watched as Mephisto puff up, proudly showing off the little heart stitched on his chest.

Okay.

"Did you make anything else?"

Sylus resisted the urge to physically curl up on himself.

He could already see the gears turning in her head as she looked up at him. That face of mild confusion, and the pause right before that smile-

-that undeniably beautiful smile that he'd fall in love with over and over again-

-even if it was to tease.

"Are you jealous?"

"You're answering my question with a question."

"That wasn't a no."

She poked his buttons a bit more before settling on a thoughtful, more serious gaze.

"I'm sure you've heard of the sweater curse." She'd go on to explain, watching Mephisto roll over to sit beside her. "You knit a sweater for your boyfriend, and then you end up breaking up. We like to talk big about taking risks and facing life head on together but..."

She looked up at him, eyes marred with that subtle fear she knew only Sylus could see.

"...even if it's a silly superstition, I'd hate the idea of losing my boyfriend over a damn sweater." She smiled, her last words said in half jest but the true extent of her anxieties were real.

He knew this. The immediate respond that Sylus had in his mouth was quickly swallowed back down in favor of comfort and confidence, of reassuring her that no curse has been or will ever be strong enough to tear them apart, and any thoughts on the sweater idea away for now.

He'd save those words for another day, when the time was right; and especially when Mephisto wasn't trotting around like the smug little cupid he thinks he is.

"The solution is simple. If I were your husband, then you wouldn't have to worry about such a curse anymore."