#aroace reader

You’d never managed to work out how exactly he had conjured the place permanently, but hell if it didn’t give you some much needed respite. The two of you had never spoken about it, but the fact that he let you – and only you – spend time there did not go unnoticed. You walked slowly, feeling the press of the damp ground beneath your shoes, allowing your eyes to shutter a little as you listened to the chorus of frogs and insects. A gentle, warm breeze caressed your face, bringing with it a familiar scent of vegetation. Your frustration seemed to seep out from your very bones, absorbed into and replaced by the energy of the bayou. Hell felt so very far away.

You eventually caught sight of Alastor, sitting on a folded blanket he had set up for himself with his back against one of the oldest cypress trees you could see. He was looking out over the nearby water, absent his coat with his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The buttons were halfway undone, giving you a clear view of the harsh scar raking across his chest. A small coil of smoke drifted upwards from the cigarette tilted back lazily between his fingertips. An empty tumbler was nestled into the grass behind him.

“You are back quickly, my dear,” he called softly, yet to look at you. “I would have expected someone of your age to be out on the town until much later than this.”

A small smile pulled at your lips. Alastor certainly would have been, especially since the bars in Hell never closed.

You stopped next to him, waited for him to smooth the blanket out and give a sweeping gesture to indicate you could sit beside him. You accepted, but you didn’t touch him yet. Sometimes he would engage in touch, sometimes not, but he always wanted to initiate it himself. He took another slow drag  of the cigarette, breathing the smoke out into the darkness before tilting his head down towards you. His crimson eyes glowed with attention.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

You hesitated a moment, taking your own turn to gaze out at the bayou. More than anyone, Alastor would understand.

“I kept getting hit on,” you muttered. “Four different people in the space of three hours. All I did was sit there and talk with my friends, and got up to go to the bar whenever I wanted another drink.” You sighed heavily. “None of them really did anything wrong, but I hate keep being reminded that that’s how everyone’s thinking about me. I left after the fourth person couldn’t keep their eyes on mine long enough to even ask me to go home with them.”

Alastor ran the back of a deceptively soothing claw down your cheek.

“Describe them to me?”

You laughed as you turned back to meet his gaze, watching his sharp smile ease into something a little more genuine.

“You don’t need me to give you suggestions for your broadcast,” you told him.

There were worse crimes to be committed than asking someone out, and annoyed though you had been, those sinners didn’t deserve to be torn apart just for talking to you. Alastor hummed, a rather high-pitched noise.

“True, but there is something satisfying in torturing the deserving. I may as well have those who upset you pay as anyone else.” He paused a moment. “You know I can find them regardless.”

Your shook your head just slightly.

“I do, I just…” Revenge over something so trivial didn’t really matter to you. “It was just supposed to be a nice night out with my friends, you know?”

Alastor dropped his head forward in a slight nod, smile lessening a little more.

“I know, sweetheart,” he said quietly.

His hand slid across your upper back, claws curling around your far shoulder as he pulled you snugly against his side. The breath of relief which left you was audible. You turned to bury your face into the collar of Alastor’s shirt, taking in his familiar scent of cigarette smoke. You resisted the urge to lay a hand on him in case the combination would be too much. Instead, you folded your arms around yourself. Alastor squeezed you to him tightly for just a moment, no doubt drawing satisfaction from the way all your tension immediately dissipated.

A light pressure on top of your head indicated he had rested his chin there, leaving you to marvel at how touchy a mood he was in. It made you feel confident enough to pull your knees up towards your chest and rest your legs against Alastor’s, matching his own posture.

“I don’t get the obsession,” you groused, after he had made no indication he was anything other than perfectly at ease.

Your eyes were now closed and you were simply enjoying the feeling of being in Alastor’s hold. Your strength was nothing compared to a demon of his calibre, but he always made you feel so safe.

“Neither do I, my dear,” he mused, voice a little airy. “I never did. All the things people will do, the lengths they will go to, just for… that. Why anyone submits to such weakness is beyond me.”

It was beyond you too. You thought about your friends, about the times that each had come crying to you over something a partner had said or done; the times you had consoled them during a breakup.

“And it’s not like things even work out, a lot of the time. All that stress and for what?”

Your rhetorical question received another hum. Neither of you had the faintest idea why anyone thought putting themselves through such an experience was worth it.

Time seemed to stop in the following hours you spent sitting there together, just existing in each other’s company. One of Alastor’s shadows appeared with another cigarette for him at one point, and you were fairly certain you drifted off to sleep for a little while. Alastor didn’t seem to mind. The light level in his little pocket dimension never really seemed to change, so it could well have been morning already and you wouldn’t have known.

You started paying attention again when Alastor’s thumb stroked across your shoulder a few times. He shifted to sit upright when you raised your head from his shoulder, withdrawing his arm from you entirely. That was your cue to give him some space.

“Ah,” he said, raising a hand to stop you from getting up. “I have some business to take care of now, but you may stay here if you wish to.”

The gesture meant more to you than you could really express, even if the touch a single one of my belongings and I will physically tear you apart was implied. Alastor knew how important having a place of nature to escape to was to you, even if it was conjured supernaturally.

You watched as he stood and made his way out of the swamp. His shirt was back to rights before he stepped foot into his actual room at the hotel, which was when you lost sight of him.

it was weird. helpful, but weird. you often read "too much" into social interactions, your therapist told you to go home after you practically self-diagnosed yourself, and you figured out from an early age that your view on sex and relationship was... different from your peers.

not a bad different, you just didn't have very much interest in it. you were always told you hadn't found, "the one," but if you were being honest, you weren't sure what "the one" would even look like. so, when you did some online digging, you figured out it was completely normal... and that was that. or so you thought.

yeah, life got rough, but that's another story for another time— the important thing was that you wound up on the "z-team" roster alongside a bunch of pricks. from the get-go, you could tell you were eye-candy for them. every time your gaze swept across the room, you'd see at least three or four pairs of eyes on you.

invisigal would often ask you invasive questions, wherein you'd annoy her off by asking for clarification on every question. she'd always end up storming off.

sonar had tried every pickup line in the book, but you'd treat them like bad jokes, delving way too far into why they didn't make sense. exhausting. you swung between doing that and invading personal space to "unknowingly" flirt back.

flambae had trailed around you, trying to impress you with his raw strength and build, but when you'd go even more vulgar than him, he wound up nearly in flames with how frustratedly turned on he was. it was pathetic, in your eyes.

coupé and punch-up had hinted around the idea of a threesome, and yet again, you played dumb, acting like they were actually asking you for a movie night. you used that oh-so-sweet innocent tone that made the both of them uncomfortable.

and so went the same routine with the rest of them. you'd just have to sweep your hand over prism's hip and whisper some sweet words, and she was dead. you acted completely clueless and professional with blonde blazer, and she backed off. malevola was difficult, but after calling her "bro" enough times to make your own head hurt, she got the hint. shit, even the janitor and the company poster-boy and the dispatcher were sniffing around you! sometimes all at once!

the only person who didn't try anything was golem. he treated you just the same as everyone else, and that was a fresh change of pace. you found yourself hanging around him more than the rest, either sitting in comfortable silence or chatting over any topic under the sun.

after a conversation, you learned that he seemed to share the same feeling towards people as you; being little to nothing aside from friends. you guys played video games together, made playlists for one another, sent each other basically every video that popped up on your feeds— he became a great, close friend to you. and you showed it, puzzling the rest of the team.

it all bubbled up to the surface one night at the sardine. the team went out and crammed into a corner, golem sitting out front alone. if you were being honest, you kinda wanted to sit on the curb with him more than this.

as they do, the team got on the topic of sex lives. flambae described, in detail, a recent encounter with an ice-powered guy he met at a club. malevola followed up describing a girl she and sonar nabbed, reminiscing over the night. and so on and so forth, until it got to... you.

"y'know, i've heard some rumors that you're into, like, monsters," invisigal brought up, swirling her drink in her hand. "i mean, actual monsters. like, the freaky fucks from those alien movies."

sonar perked up at that. "actually?"

"makes sense. bet they're into a lot of freaky shit. the quiet ones always are," prism chimed in.

they all looked to you, and you decided... yeah, this was probably the time. you took a deep breath and set your hands on the table.

"alright, look. i know i've been giving mixed signals, and i know all of you probably want to have an orgy in the office, or something," you began. flambae barked out a laugh. "but... i guess i haven't been very truthful. i don't... i don't feel attraction. not as intensely as most of you do, at least. there's the ocassional interest, sure, but not like the average person."

brows were raising, questioning glances exchanged.

"nothing's wrong with any of you— actually, no a lot is, but still— i just don't have those urges or feelings, or... whatever you wanna call them. call me a virgin, or whatever, but that's just how i operate." you shrugged, glancing around the now very silent table.

"... ah, shit, and here i thought i actually had a chance," invisigal muttered, breaking the silence. a few heads nodded in agreement.

"i feel the same way, sometimes," coupé offered flatly, looking dead at you.

"pffsh, i don't," flambae scoffed, getting up and leaving to find someone to bother.

the group gradually fell back into normal conversation, absorbing your confession and treating it as just... fact. you're aroace? cool, anyways, next topic. the casual acceptance, no talk of "you haven't met your person," made you do a double-take. but, you eventually settled.

you got up and slipped out of the bar at one point, taking a seat next to golem on the curb. you held up a drink, watching as he slowly turned and pulled an earbud out. his mouth curved into something akin to a smile, and he took it into his large hand, offering you the earbud in return.

The residents of the Hotel are gathered in their new lounge discussing the most recent extermination, or more specifically, Adam's death and the consequences. Heaven hasn't made any contact with Hell yet, but then again, it's only been a few days.

"I still think my idea is better," Angel smirks as he leans back on the couch comfortingly.

Vaggie growls with frustration, but Charlie quickly intervenes by gently touching her lover's shoulders. "Angel, we appreciate your help, but um," Charlie smiles tensely, "I don't think you seducing the angels in Heaven will help."

Angel shrugs. "Best idea anyone's had in the last hour."

Well, he isn't wrong. They've been severely lacking in the brainstorming department. After the conclusion that killing the first man has undoubtedly set off alarms in Heaven, for the past three and a half hours, they've all been discussing potential ideas to protect Hell from Heaven.

So far, Husk has thrown out that they should just set Nifty loose in Heaven (which Vaggie actually considered), Alastor has been making angelic puns (not at all helping), and Charlie has been pitching many civil plans to persuade Heaven (all her plans are in song form).

Lucifer has been very quiet throughout this. He's only been partially listening to everyone, as he is too focused on his worries. He's been mentally debating bringing up his idea; it's potentially the only way they'd stand a chance against all of Heaven's wrath.

But so much could go wrong. . .

Charlie must have noticed the faraway look in her father's eyes. She gently calls out to Lucifer, making him jolt out of his thoughts. He straightened up in the armchair and forced a smile. "Yes, Char-Char?"

Charlie holds one of her dad's hands with concern. "Are you okay? We can take a break if it's too much."

Lucifer sighs, letting his body sink into the chair, and his smile drops. "No, no, it's okay. I just. . .I have an idea."

Charlie perks up at this, a big smile shining on her face. "That's great!"

Lucifer opens his mouth but closes it again. He really doesn't want to mention you, but they've been shoved in a corner, and it's starting to look like only you can break down the walls.

With a reluctant sigh, Lucifer asks the others, "Have you heard of the Demiurge?"

Alastor hums with amusement as his grin stretches. "If you don't have ideas, there's no need to make up words. Just admit that little head of yours is empty!"

Lucifer, unknowingly falling for Alastor's rage bait, glares at him. "I'm not making up words, you oversized dried cherry! That's their title!". Lucifer then specifies your actual name.

Charlie clears her throat, awkwardly trying to distract the two demons. "Okay, let's calm down and hear what Dad's idea is."

Lucifer crosses his arms, still glaring at Alastor as he explains. "The Demiurge is responsible for a lot but mostly known for creating the mortal realm and overall shaping the material world. They're the maintainer of chaos."

Husk scoffs and mumbles under his breath, "Did a shit job maintaining the chaos in my life."

Charlie anxiously shifts her weight from leg to leg. 'Maintainer of chaos' doesn't sound very appealing. "Soooo, are they. . .nice?"

Lucifer finally looks away from Alastor; his smile is pissing him off more anyway, and he shifts his body to face his daughter. "Nice?" Lucifer repeats, "Maybe? From what I remember, they treated their creations with kindness."

"Creations?" Vaggie asks with a raised brow, "What does that mean? Like weapons or. . .?"

"Life.", Lucifer clarifies, "The Demiurge is capable of creating intelligent life forms."

This hooks everyone's attention. Even Nifty stops herself from stabbing a bug and looks up curiously. The little unfortunate bug quickly scurries across the floorboards, trying to escape, only for Nifty to leap at it again with her knife closing in on it.

"Like God? The fuck?" Angel asks with astonishment.

Lucifer nods. "They're powerful, so I thought about summoning them to help us since they owe me a favor anyway."

"Favor?", Charlie asks curiously and slightly worried.

Lucifer was about to explain further but decided to tell the Demiurge's origins so everyone could better understand who you are.

With a wave of his hand, a large and old book of the universe's secrets lands in Lucifer's lap. He opens it to the exact page of your tale and takes a deep breath before reading out loud.

"Before time, there was only the Celestial power in a realm called Heaven. But that power balance began to tip when an unknown angel mothered a deity with unbelievable divine powers that she abandoned their child in a clouded realm. The young deity lived for millennium alone, thinking they were the only being in existence. With no guidance from their mother, their power was disorganized, and they created galaxies, planets, and even complex life forms in their clouded realm.

After discovering the mysterious deity and their divine powers, Heaven deemed them a possible threat to the universe's balance. Questions rang in Heaven, wondering where this God-like creature came from. Only one angel knew who the deity was and where they came from, but she stayed quiet in fear she would be punished. It was her very own sinful thoughts and overwhelming emotions that had birthed her child.

The deity was elated to witness life forms they did not create, as they were not as alone as they formerly thought. At first, knowledge was transferred in civil conversations to understand each other's existence. The deity showed their realm, and in turn, the angels showed theirs. Heaven was more lenient towards them after witnessing their calm and happy nature. The deity behaved much like an angel, Heaven thought, so they let them remain in their realm of creation.

It was during that time the deity discovered they had a mother and how she abandoned them over her selfish desire to protect herself. The deity then lashed out with exasperated grief. The one who gave them life was ashamed of them. Their creations began behaving more aggressively and rigidly as the deity's emotions swam in negativity. Once again, Heaven became alarmed by the deity's power. They threatened the deity to stop, or Heaven would have no choice but to force them to stop by the power of the Heavenly Father. But the deity was too far lost in their rage of despair to listen. So, Heaven destroyed the deity's creations to almost extinction and trapped their soul within an apple tree. This massive tree became known as The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

After 65 million years, the Heavenly Father created the first humans within the Garden of Eden. As long as the humans didn't eat the forbidden apples of The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they would live a pleasant life under God's guidance.

But, the life balance for humans forever shifted when Eve accepted the apple from the serpent and took a bite.

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil vibrated until it burst into golden flames. The deity stood freely with their power surging through their veins once again. There was no longer only peace; now, there was chaos in the world.

That was the rebirth of The Demiurge."

After Lucifer finishes reading the timeless tale, he gently closes his book and teleports it to where it belongs with cloudy red magic. It's been a few millennia since he's sat down and read the origins of the Demiurge like this.

Nifty squeals from her spot on the floor laying on her stomach, kicking her feet in the air. "A bad boy!" She giggles.

Lucifer quickly clutches his fists in his lap as he realizes he's shaking with anxiety. Honestly, Lucifer does NOT want to call upon you. So many things could go wrong, and the first thing that comes to mind is how awkward it'll be. He can't just be like, 'Oh hey, haven't seen you since Eden! Could you fight Heaven and protect Hell for us? Thanks!' ABSOLUTELY NOT!

The second reason is that Lucifer has only a vague idea of what you're capable of. He knows you're powerful; he was one of the angels investigating you and your realm of life.

You treat your creations with love and gentleness, as Lucifer's father does with his creations. But you're the Demiurge, maintainer of chaos. Your mere existence allowed chaos and evil to spread in human souls. What motivates you? What are your aspirations?

. . .And would you be a threat to Charlie?

Vaggie's eyes are narrowed, glaring at where the book just was. Having the radio demon managing the hotel is enough of a risk as is; she will not allow some powerful entity- the maintainer of chaos, that is, anywhere near Charlie.

Husk is the first to break the tense silence with a slight smirk on his lips. "That's some serious mommy issues."

Angel snorts. "Careful, whiskers, the Boogieman might just catch ya for saying shit like that."-he suddenly scoots closer to Husk on the couch, invading his personal space. "But don't ya worry, I'll hold ya real close for safety!"

Without even looking at Angel, Husk shoves him off the couch. "OOF!"

"Boogieman?" Alastor asks with some amusement.

Angel sits up on the floor and shrugs in response. "They sound creepy, like the Boogieman." Angel grins wide with a laugh, "Hey, maybe you and them will get along then, Smiles!"

Alastor only raises a brow at Angel's comment. If anything, the Demiurge will most likely piss him off like Lucifer does. But either way, he's deathly curious about you. What exactly can you do? Or rather, what can he exploit from you?

Lucifer groans and throws his head back against the armchair. "I don't know if we should ask the Demiurge for help. . ."

Charlie quickly shakes her head. "What, why? You said they can help, and they owe you a favor anyway! We have to ask, at least!"

Vaggie rests a hand on her lover's shoulder. "I'm not sure about this either, Charlie. This isn't your average favor exchange."

Charlie is about to argue more but closes her mouth. She bobs her side to side in acknowledgment. "Yeah. . .but Dad freed them from the tree, and helping us protect Hell from Heaven is sorta like freeing us, right?"

Now, Vaggie nods but sighs in exasperation. "Babe, we can't trust the maintainer of chaos who, might I remind you, brought evil into the world."

Lucifer, without a second thought, jumps to your defense, "Now, I wouldn't say they brought evil into the world. Evil already existed; human souls at the time couldn't comprehend evil. That's how they were originally designed. The Demiurge brought the ability for humans to understand evil, and I gave humans free will." He rubs his neck awkwardly and mumbles, "And I mean, it was their world before Heaven took control of it."

Husk scratches his chin in thought. "Sounds like they'd be eager to fight Heaven if that's the case."

Charlie claps her hands together in determination. "Exactly! I'm not for the idea of revenge, but they already aren't on good terms with Heaven. And it sounds like we- as, in Hell, are on neutral terms with them?"

Lucifer nods, but he's still not convinced he should summon you. . . Indeed, you've never shown malice towards Hell, but you've also never shown any signs of supporting Hell.

Well, you've shown respect for his family, which he is confident of. Lucifer can recall how each year, on his and Lilith's anniversary, they'd receive a generous gift from the Demiurge. They especially received a lot of gifts from you for the baby shower Lilith held for the nearing birth of Charlie.

Now that Lucifer is thinking about the Demiurge more, how'd you even know these dates? Neither he nor Lilith invited you to their wedding or baby shower, yet you still sent them gifts. Lucifer always assumed word had got around, and that's how you heard of it, but you were always so precise with the timing, too.

For instance, when their marriage started going South, instead of receiving one gift from the Demiurge on their anniversary for them to share, Lucifer and Lilith received their own uniquely catered gift. He was so emotionally distraught back then that he never realized how odd and borderline creepy that was. How could you have possibly known that Lilith and him weren't doing well? Not to mention how after they split apart, they received no gifts from you! How do you know all of this?! Are you hiding in his castle walls or something?!

Alastor knocks his cane against the wooden floorboards to gather everyone's attention. "I must agree with our dear Princess! We need extra assistance for what's to come, and it sounds like the Demiurge is the one for it."

Lucifer glares at Alastor. Well, now that he knows Alastor wants you to be summoned, Lucifer wants to summon you even less now!

"Plus!" Alastor continues with a stretching smile, "Our little King and the Demiurge are bound by a contract! They must fulfill their end of the bargain whether they want to or not."

"Preferably wanting to!" Charlie quickly adds, "Actually, only wanting to! We aren't forcing anyone to do anything they aren't comfortable doing!" Alastor subtly rolls his eyes.

Lucifer takes a breath in through his teeth at that realization. "Uhhhh, we didn't shake on it soooo. . ."

Vaggie immediately facepalms. "Are you serious right now?!"

Alastor's neck snaps at an angle toward Lucifer. "You didn't. . .Make an official deal? Then what makes you think this creature of chaos would willingly do you a favor?"

Lucifer stands from his chair with a glare and points an accusing finger at Alastor, "Excuse me for having more important things on my mind like, I don't know, getting out of Eden alive!"

Alastor's brows furrow together with irritation, and his smile sits tightly. Leaning onto his cane for stability, he bends forward to reach Lucifer's much shorter height. "You're excused."

Lucifer starts rolling up his sleeves. "Alright, you pompous prick-"

"Okay! That's enough!" Charlie quickly intervenes by leaping between the two demons with a nervous smile. "How about we finish this discussion tomorrow after thinking more about it? Sound fair?"

Reluctantly, Lucifer backs off, blowing air out his nostrils with pent-up anger. Alastor shows no further vexation as he straightens up, firmly placing his hands on his cane.

From the floor, Angel raised one of his hands. "So, question about the Demiurge."

Lucifer sighs with exhaustion but brings his full attention to Angel anyway. "Ask away; I'll answer the best I can."

Angel smirks as he asks, "What do they look like? Are they sexy?"

Husk and Vaggie groan at the question, not even surprised. At that, Husk stands from the couch and goes to the bar. He needs a drink—or maybe 12.

Lucifer, on the other hand, was genuinely pondering the question, the first half at least. "Uhh, from what I remember, the more humanoid form they take on have ears and a tail like a lion and golden scales on the edges of their face, around their eyes, and just scattered around their body, I think."

The term 'humanoid form' catches Alastor's attention. According to Lucifer, it sounds like the Demiurge is a creature that naturally doesn't look like a human and instead takes on that form, most likely for simplicity purposes. From the spiritual knowledge Alastor has gathered throughout his time in Hell, he's come to find that beings of higher ranks typically have a more abstract form. In that form, they are the most powerful, so to harness and control their magic, they take on a humanoid form.

"How interesting," Alastor hums, "A feline and a reptile."

Finally standing up, Angel whistles with a grin. "I've been with both, and I gotta tell ya, those scaley motherfu-"

Angel gets cut off by Vaggie punching him in the gut with the dull end of her spear. "Shut the fuck up, Angel!". Angel only laughs as he clutches his stomach.

Charlie winces and immediately but gently grabs her lover's elbows, making Vaggie lower her spear. "Okay, I think it's time to get ready for bed now."

The residents of the Hotel each do their nightly routine before ending the eventful day in their respective rooms. Though, with the most recent events taking place, they all find difficulty relaxing.

Can the Demiurge truly help them. . .?

They can only hope so.

Next ->

As you stare at him sitting across from you, you notice that he’s still bothered by the receptionist's comments, even if his always confident smile hides it well. He’s quite sensitive and gets demoralized easily due to his low self-esteem deep down, and you know this because you’re the only one who looks past the surface to see the real him, the depressed and confused man he really is. People think he’s always confident and flamboyant because of his charming face and personality, but you pierced his lonely heart and have become his intimate platonic soulmate, so to speak.

You think back to when you first met him, you were just assigned to the Ten Stonehearts’ department after working in other parts of the IPC for a few years. You didn’t think much when you first saw him, you were not the type of person to focus on appearance or physical attraction, and you just thought he was strange and nothing more. Eventually, you got assigned to work on a big data project with him, which brought you closer. You noticed his hesitancy to open up to you that he cleverly hid under a playful persona, and invited him to hang out with you, pitying seeing him so lonely. After a few friendly interactions, he shared some of his horrifying past with you, how he’d been neglected and through horrible wars and wasn’t sure what his feelings were. You made sure to comfort and reassure him while keeping this in mind, which he really liked and viewed you in a more trustworthy light.

And over the next year, the two of you got quite close. When you lost your house due to inflation, Aventurine graciously offered you to live with him. His apartment was luxurious and you felt quite comfortable there. As he got to know more about you, you could tell he wanted to be more than friends but held back and didn’t seem to think he was good enough for all that. When you started to feel similarly, you told him about your non romantic feelings, which seemed to light a fire in him of sorts. He felt the same, but wasn’t sure how to progress anything without feeling like it’s too romantic. You helped out first, by setting up boundaries and what you both wanted out of your relationship.

Soon, you both did more intimate things that felt so platonic and soulful, like cuddling each other while sleeping, helping each other with work and chores, doing personal health care for each other, and just talking about anything that comes to mind with no filter. For the first time in your life (and likely his as well), you felt alive and truly understood in your bond with him. After much debate, you both settled on “soulmate” to describe yourselves, thinking “partner” or “friend” gave the wrong implications. It was pure bliss and you didn’t mind if people didn’t get it or if it didn’t fit with what “romance” was, but he was affected more, however…

Due to his past, Aventurine struggled to adjust to your situation at first, despite internally feeling the same way you do. Due to stereotypes about Sigonians and his conventionally attractive face and personality, he felt pressured to appear romantic, with his flamboyant and playful speech frequently being mistaken for flirting, and people would often flirt with him unprompted. You remember one time where you and him were sitting on a bench together one day in a park, just enjoying the scenery and each other’s company. Suddenly, what appeared to be a young college student approached him, with a nervous smile on their face. They clasped their hands together and quietly stated: “Hey… I just wanted to say that you’re so cute and attractive…”

 You could feel Aventurine growing uncomfortable by this unexpected person’s arrival. Regardless, he smiled deviously and put on his confident mask once again. “My dear admirer, I appreciate the bet you’ve placed on me. But I’m not really into others in that way, darling…”, he said to them showily. Even though you knew what he meant, his common usage of terms like “dear” and “darling” would be misinterpreted by most. Of course, that happened and led to the person responding to it with, “Oh, I see… You’re playing hard to get, aren't you? No matter, I know what you REALLY mean, hottie!”, not backing down. You sense him shift and go speechless at this, realizing that it’s time for you to help him out. “No, he really means it. There’s nothing hidden about his words.”, you firmly explained, “We’re together, not romantically or platonically. People like us exist, and you have to respect that…”

At this succinct comment, the person hung their head lower and began to walk away while bitterly saying: “You can either be friends or lovers, there is no other option. I’m so sick of new age trendchasers like yourselves! I won’t respect confused idiots who can’t make up their minds…” Your fists clenched in frustration at that person’s aggressive remarks, unsure of why people have so much trouble understanding you and your soulmate’s feelings. That person turned so rude when they were rejected, and you wonder why so many romantic people do that and can’t accept it. The both of you didn’t do anything wrong, just minded your own business with each other. It’s unfair that he gets harassed because of how he looks and talks, and that you have to straddle the line between romantic and platonic constantly, since people judge you constantly either way, there’s no winning. In fact, relationship options aren’t a line, they’re a web and no clear options, and you and him know this.

For the rest of that day, you reassured Aventurine and told him that it wasn’t his fault and he shouldn’t have to change who he was for someone else. While he still felt a little down by the incident, his typical self returned. Since then, he got better at not caring what others think and expressing his feelings more effectively. He recently started to not mind if others didn’t understand him, he’s got you, after all. And all this complicated relationship stuff leads you back to today, Valentine’s Day and your birthday at your favorite restaurant.

Snapping your attention back to the present, you stare at Aventurine and smile at him, wanting to look happy on your birthday he’s spending time with you on. “Don’t worry about what other people say. Even if no one gets us, we have each other. We’re not missing anything by not being typical lovers, since we’re already the perfect fit for each other!”, you assure confidently, trying to match his usual tone. For the first time since leaving his home today, he gives off a true and genuinely confident smile and replies, “I suppose you’re right, sweetie. It’s taken me a long time to reach this conclusion, but I’m glad I had you to help me through it.”, while twirling the table’s silverware in his hand. You nod and sit up straighter in your chair. “Me too. I’m so happy you're my soulmate.”, you state truthfully, “I never thought I’d find someone who understands me and feels the same way as I do as much as you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, truly.” He adjusts his blonde hair and his grin grows more confident than it somehow already is. He takes your hand lovingly as he answers your kindness with: “In the gambling world, they call that a surprise jackpot. But you’re even better than that, the ultimate grand prize.”

You giggle uncontrollably and hold his hands with both of your own, no longer caring about how the other couples around might think. Today is your special day, no one else’s. Whether or not it’s Valentine’s Day is irrelevant, since your love is just as important as everyone else’s, and beyond the commercialization of the holiday. He then leans across the table and kisses you on the forehead before embracing you, and you do the same. You two really are true soulmates, and there’s nowhere else you’d rather be than right there with him and his loving self, forever true to your special bond.