minajael x reader | he’ll never love anyone else other than you
A/n: originally planned to be released with a twst! meg fic but 1) I’m going on vacation so might as well as post this now 2) many people want more, yippee?
Warnings: mentions of potential suitors, minajael has a pet tiger in this fic
Yea sry the title’s shit can’t think of anything
· · ────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ────── · ·
you saw a tiger cub trotting to you on your way to his room in Durasmina. Immediately, you recognise it's his pet tiger, and there's a small paper bag and an turquoise coloured envelope in between his canines
you gently pat his head, before taking the bag and opening the letter attached
it had gold highlights to the paper, and his fine handwriting:
Hayati, happy 3.5 months anniversary
I know you've been telling me to not spend money on you, however, if I made something for you, it doesn't count, right?
you have to stifle a giggle, already picturing his smirk while writing this
as you look inside the bag, you saw a pair of golden earrings— matching his hoops, you have a feeling where this is going...
"hm, excellent delivery from the mailman I assume?"
you don't need to turn around to recognise that voice you'd remember in sleep
minajael's chin rest on your shoulder, hands wrapping around your waist
"do you like them?" his smooth voice is like water in the oasis, always soothing you and making your stomach flip
"like? I love them, Minajael" he hummed in response, pressing a gentle smooch on your cheek
"how did you make gold earrings out of nowhere?"
"why are you questioning me, hayati?" his smirk widens
you just can’t bring yourself to be pissed at him, holy shit he looks too gorgeous for any fights
“what are you planning, your highness?”
he looks slightly offended by the title, he doesn’t like being a prince afterall, but who are you to resist teasing him?
“what do you think I’m planning, pretty?” his hand reached for yours, thumb grazing over your knuckles and giving it a squeeze, “I know you won’t be so heartless to deprive me of my desires, right? No matter whatever they are.”
· · ────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ────── · ·
this motherf…
you thought as you’re standing in the middle of a ballroom, surrounded by prestigious people from Scalding Sands to Shaftlands— this is how influential his family is. Royalty, afterall
how did you end up here? your lover asked you to come to a family reunion with him, welp…
you fidgeted with the gold accessories on your dress, as Minajael is pulled away by his father to greet some of the ‘business partners’
you’re not familiar with this setting, where everyone speaks so carefully and one word may ruin their reputation. now it’s even worse, as Minajael isn’t there to do the talking for you.
as you drowned yourself with your inner thoughts, you’re suddenly pulled back to reality by a familiar voice near of you
your heart almost clenched at the scene of your lover being introduced to another girl, she’s pretty, looks like she came from a loaded family, very poised and elegant
‘does he prefer this type of girls more? how fast will he leave me if his father founded him a better choice one day? what if he only dated me because he felt bad about rejecting me?’
A hand pulled you towards him, firmly yet careful, like he’s trying to brush away your inner doubts
“Father, I already have a bride of my choice, I will never be with anyone except for her.”
it’s been a while since you’ve heard him speaking so firmly, standing his ground
you looked up, meeting his gaze which softened
“this is my partner, if I cannot have her, then I will not marry. I can’t imagine a future with her by my side.”
he’s 10x hotter when he’s not being a smug ass
you know the expectations that are forced on him, he always told you, and how he never talked with his father about it because it will just be a “waste of time”, with how he’ll never listen
that’s how you know how much you really mean to him. so much, that he’s willing to speak out and make things clear to his family.
· · ────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ────── · ·
“you really meant it?”
you two are on the balcony of his room, one that allows the both of you to see all of Scalding Sands
the soft breeze caressing your hair does nothing to calm your inner thoughts, the woman, the girls who seem much more suitable for him as a wife—
“you think I’d ever lie?” the smug tone is gone, replaced by something raw, sincere
you looked at the city, gaze at anywhere but him; but the only thing in his eyes were you
“don’t you think those girls may be better for you?” it felt like a crime to doubt him, but he didn’t seem to blame you, instead he whistled, then a magic carpet flew out.
he climbed on, hand out for you to take
“come with me, darling, I’ll give you an answer”
· · ────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ────── · ·
the city looks like a dream at night
he brought you to see the desert, the river and at last landed on the roof of the castle
“you really think I’d bring any of those girls here?” his warmth can be felt through his silk clothes, holding you with his arms around your waist
you know the answer, he never do extra things to please people whom he’s not interested in
a kiss landed on your temple, “such an overthinker”, a teasing comment from him
“I’ll say this one last time, I will only love you in this lifetime.”
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Here are 10 fun facts of lion beastmen not to mention having Leona kingscholar as your husband
Now, hush little baby, don't you cry
Everything's gonna be alright
Stiffen that upper lip up, little lady, I told ya
Daddy's here to hold ya through the night
Leona kingscholar x reader ( Twisted wonderland )
I wanna do other characters fun facts.
FUN FACT 1# : Baby lions are totally dependent on their mothers for food and protection during the first few months.
No matter where you go or what you do, the cub would love to be by your side. Even if Leona wants to take them away so that you can have your alone time, the cub would screech and cry every time they are taken from your embrace. It will clings to you 24/7, the cub simply has a sense of knowing who is holding them–if it's not you then they will cry until it's back into their mothers arm.
FUN FACT 2# : cubs are born blind and without teeth.
You are originally worried when finding about them being blind but Leona says that it's normal for lion cubs to be born blind so at least that gives you reassurance, you often worry about the smallest things–afraid it might affect the child but when they finally open their eyes, you are so to see your baby eyes.
FUN FACT 3# : cubs have spots on their coats that act as camouflage
You would be gushing over how small and cute your cube is, like who wouldn't... Well Leona but he expresses his love in a nonchalant way or simply teasing about the cub being ugly when they cry its all fun and games until he realizes that the cub is his own son. Leona would be overprotective about you and his cub, making sure they are wearing a sound proof headset even though it is quiet–he simply doesn't trust others with his child.
FUN FACT 4# : Lionesses leave the pride and give birth to their lion babies in dense bush
Even though when you are giving birth, Leona was told to wait outside but unfortunately giving birth to a beastmen as powerful as him was a painful experience and throughout the entire time you were calling out his name. Leona almost turned an advisor to sand if it weren't for his brother intervening and letting him go inside, he immediately went towards your side and held your hand through the process.
FUN FACT 5# : Lion cubs spend up to 20 hours of the day sleeping or resting
Your cub and Leona both share the same hobbies, sleeping of course. Leona would often place the cub in his chest while holding in, even though he may be asleep the slightest movement from the cub would immediately get him to open his eyes as well as making sure they don't fall or someone tried to pry them to the cub of his hands. Leona would send a glare towards anybody who would wake them up, the only exception is you.
FUN FACT 6# : mothers keep their cubs hidden away from the pride and predators.
When Leona's family finds out he has met the laugh of his life at NRC, their jaws would drop. Felena is honestly quite excited to meet the human who has shaken his brother's cold heart into a soft lion, Leona doesn't like his brother's enthusiasm. This case becomes in the spotlight because, Leona doesn't want anyone to hold the cub. The only people who are the exception are Cheka supervise or neiji.
FUN FACT 7# : Lion cubs spend most of their day playing
Your cub is energetic as heck, they will not stop moving around. Cheka is so happy to play with the cub because they match their energy, neiji would remark on how identical the cub was with Leona when he was younger. Leona is often the victim of your cub endless pursuit of games, the child is basically glued to his side after they learn to walk and now the cub prefers to be in Leona side over you–which is something Leona would tease about.
FUN FACT 8# : Cubs grow baby teeth while they are very young.
They are bitter for sure, chewing and munching on anything for no apparent reason. The mid wives would say that it's normal for this age to bite as a way to stimulate their bite, the cub would bite on anything even on your hand. Leona seems to not mind though, but... He was obligated to act hurt when the cub decided him as his next prey–saying that it was a good way to practice hunting.
FUN FACT 9# : Lion babies first start to eat meat at about three months old
Originally you didn't get used to it, but I guess it's normal for cubs to eat meat even when they are young. During your pregnancy, Leona would not let anyone approach you–he is overprotective. He would often put his head near the bump and would whisper and talk towards it as if the cub was listening, felena is grateful for how you change his brother as well as excited to finally having a niece/nephew. Cheka mother or Leona sister in law has been nothing but a big help during the pregnancy giving you tips as well as pep talking Leona, meanwhile Cheka would go visit you to hear the bump everyday.
FUN FACT 10# : Lions are the only known cat species where individuals roar together.
The cub arrival was a big celebration for the people at sunset savanna, to be honest when the prince came back from his studies oversees everyone did not expect to bring back a mate. But hey, there is a first for everything. Leona is smug showing his family off to others, as well as enjoying his family members shock. What matters most to him is you and his cub being in good health and are fine, sure he loves the shock expression from others but... What matters is you being there with him, you make him feel completed and now you just make it more.
ᓚᘏᗢ When you cause them cuteness aggression.
ᓚᘏᗢ TAGS: Gender-neutral reader. Reader is stated as being shorter than the boys. Reader is regarded as cute by them too. Established relationship.
ᓚᘏᗢ A/N: while looking up for the guy's height i came across this. It took me by surprise and made me burst out laughing 😭😭 fcking leech twins are huge what were they giving them in the coral reef lmao | ᓚ₍ ^. .^₎ . . . TWST MASTERLIST
ʚ⁺˖↪ FLOYD
Waking up entangled with Floyd’s limbs was a guarantee when you had a sleepover. That was the best scenario. Worst case, you'd wake up on the floor because Floyd had no sense of space and overestimated the size of the bed and ended up pushing you out of it while asleep.
This time, Floyd behaved better regarding that.
Floyd stirred awake, waking you up along with him, and you found yourself cuddled to him…if having one of his arms half draped around your waist and one of his legs on top of yours counted as such. It wasn’t the most comfortable position to wake up in, but you preferred this over finding yourself on the floor.
“Mornin’…” you muttered, still half-asleep as you stretched.
Floyd barely regarded your greeting—it was the least of his concerns. Instead, he fixated on the sliver of skin exposed when you extended your arms overhead, the way the hem of your shirt rode up, akin to curtains unveiling a stage.
Rather than a good morning, Floyd’s impish smile made a slow, playful appearance.
Your stretch was short-lived, the relief interrupted. Instead, sharpness bloomed on the side of your lower abdomen.
“You—!”
He had pushed your shirt higher up, exposing more of your abdomen, and bitten onto it. It was a quick chomp he gave you. Hard enough for it to leave a mark, but not enough to draw blood.
“Eh? What’s that look for? You’re the one being all soft and cute.” With a sleazy smile, he rubbed his face into your tummy. “Don’t act surprised if I try to gobble you up when you look that tasty.”
ʚ⁺˖↪ JADE
“You know, I could use some help over here.”
To end up drenched by sudden rain was not how you were expecting your concise camping trip with Jade to go. Woe is you. Moreover, your single climate-appropriate jacket proved unusable now. Since you were just going to stay a couple of days, you didn’t bother packing another one. Your backpack ran out of space, anyway. It was another jacket or your weighted blanket, and you weren’t about to endure a cold, sleepless night in frigidity.
Jade’s backpack capacity was bigger than yours, thus posing him the availability to pack an extra upper-body garment that suited the temperature.
As much as you were grateful for getting a second chance to accompany Jade on his quest for mushrooms, the truth was that you were struggling with putting the insulated hoodie on. How could someone’s arms in this godforsaken land be this long?
“Oh, do you? I’d say you seem to be managing quite adorably on your own.”
“Jade!”
“My, do not distress, darling. You’re quick to aggravate,” Jade didn’t even bother hiding the amused smile curving his lips, striding towards you with an expression you knew too well. You felt him grab the ends of the sleeves and push them so you’d find the holes faster. “Careful now, or you might disappear in there.”
That little shit.
ʚ⁺˖↪ IDIA
In a school with students from all backgrounds, ranging from supermodels to a literal prince, Idia considered himself not to be at the same level as them. Sure, he was a genius who could design complex algorithms in record speed and code in any programming language known to mankind, and no one in the entirety of the student body compared to his programming prowess…but let’s be honest, who actually finds that attractive? (His thoughts).
The thing was, Idia wanted to impress you. Thus, his solution to his headache ended up being…
Showing you how much of a good gamer he was. No—good didn’t even begin to describe it. He was the MVP.
“Wait, wait, wait! That’s not how you do it! Give me your controller, you’re using a cheat exploit, so that doesn’t count!”
Much to his chagrin, his little plan to awe you went awry. This was nowhere near the little fantasy he spent the night imagining. (It had gone something more like: “Wow, Idia. The way you’re ranked as one of the top 1% of players is so hot I don’t know what to do with myself. And the way you’ve spent over 500 hours on this one video game? Marry me already.” As you fluttered your eyelashes at him.)
“Wha…? What do you mean I’m not playing it right? I’m literally beating your ass this round!” you dodged his attempts at grabbing the controller off your hands, struggling to empty the HP bar of his character.
“That doesn’t count if you’re button-smashing!”
After what felt like forever, he snatched the controller from you, holding it up above his head.
“You sore loser, give it back!”
You stood up from the chair and jumped, raising your arms the furthest you could reach. The odds weren’t working in your favor, as Idia was taller than you, and not only that, but the fact that he also held it up above his head decimated your chances of retrieving it.
At first, your misfortune made him burst out in laughter. You had no chance of taking it back, and your attempt was futile in every sense of the word. However, the longer he glanced at you from his point of view, the spark of endearment did appear. You were smaller than him by a considerable margin. Surely you couldn’t hope those short arms of yours to snatch the controller back, right? To make matters worse for yourself, that little frown and pout wasn’t intimidating him in the slightest.
At last, you huffed.
“Did you give up?” Idia taunted.
You glared at him and crawled onto his bed. Idia’s eyes followed you, confused. Then, you stood up on the mattress, further dumbfounding him.
From that vantage point, you lunged at him, both succeeding in tackling him to the floor and regaining possession of the controller.
ʚ⁺˖↪ MALLEUS
To understand humans and create meaningful connections, such an endeavor implied the necessity to watch—study, even—how these quirky creatures interacted with their environment. Despite the intricacies human relationships and peculiarities entail, he did crave to bridge that gap.
Therefore, he observed you.
His objective was devoid of ill intentions; he found himself gazing upon you more often than he did with the fellow student body, proving that you held a uniqueness that drew his eyes to the way you unfolded to the world around you. The sentiments that stirred when he did were one of a kind; nothing he had ever felt in his over one hundred years of life compared to what he experienced when his eyes or thoughts settled on you. Most humans don’t live that long. They don’t make it for over a century. That thought made him realize the gravity of the situation…
After a date, when your eyes fluttered close, and you leaned in for a kiss, somehow, his memories retraced to that one time you were trying to reach something on the cupboard. For a moment, you looked around as if checking if anyone was around. You hadn’t noticed Malleus was there.
You try to place a leg on the counter, to climb onto it and attempt to grasp what you looked for… To which Malleus was quick to use his magic to levitate the plate you were trying to reach towards your hold.
What else do you do when you can’t reach something?
Instead of lowering himself so you could kiss, as that’s the usual occurrence, he remained unmoving. The way your lips were slightly ajar, waiting for a kiss that has yet to be bestowed upon them, and how the moonlight cast its silver glow on your soft, warm skin…
A heartbeat passed, followed by a second one.
Malleus chuckled, and you opened your eyes to see what was so funny, but that question disappeared when Malleus tilted your chin up to press that long overdue kiss.
☆Embarrassing (cute) things they did before you started dating!☆
with diasomnia! ☆ >masterlist< ☆
Malleus-When did he become this easy to read? When was he this… cute? He often forgets his regal way of carrying himself when he’s with you. When you refuse his invitation, you could practically see a pout on his face! Finding himself in front of your door, he knocks politely, despite the pouring rain outside. Upon opening the door, all you could think about is how he resembled a sopping wet cat. You even catch him sneezing, water droplets dripping from his hair. Isn’t he able to block rain? Little did you know, he was a little too excited to see you. From the looks of it, he noticed it too, looking away from you to calm himself down. A slight blush began to bloom on his neck when he turned.
Lilia- His age was showing, in unexpected ways. Honestly, he never expected to get this far. It started as a fun way to tease you, so why was he actually going through with it? From holding doors for you to pulling the chair back before you sit… wasn’t he practically courting you? Thank goodness he caught himself before he went too far, heavens, he’d even asked if you had received his ‘correspondence’ yet! Surely you would just pass it off as him being the kind and welcoming person he is, right? Despite this, he still continues gifting you thoughtful presents and even holds your hand gently while both of you walk down the staircase.
Silver- Everything seems so much funnier when you say it. He smiles a lot more around you, if you’re lucky, you catch him laughing. Soft giggles that are rarely heard. Even when you’re not telling stories or funny (lame) jokes, he still finds himself staring at you, almost fondly. He never really notices when he’s smiling, unconsciously laughing alongside you. Maybe it’s just… you? When you realised, it all made sense. No wonder the birds and squirrels started coming over, to listen in.
Sebek-He somehow always finds an excuse to offer you his jacket. Too cold? A jacket is thrown at you. Raining? While running, you notice Sebek rushing to the rescue. If you accidentally spill something on your uniform, he’s the first one to lend you his jacket. Of course, he does it in his own way. Through thoughtful nagging and lecturing, you could still feel the warmth behind his words. Though, you probably missed when he would cough awkwardly, watching you wear his jacket with a tinge of blush on his cheeks, glancing away and back again. It’s his duty… totally.
SUMMARY: First, Skully kissed your hand and said all those sweet words to you, and now he's kidnapping you?! After they rescue you, they won't let him get near you again!
CHARACTERS: Overblot Students (Riddle Rosehearts / Leona Kingscholar / Azul Ashengrotto / Jamil Viper / Vil Schoenheit / Idia Shroud / Malleus Draconia) x Yuu (Reader)
TAGS: Fluff; GN Reader; Cute jealousy; Hand kisses
WARNING: Spoilers from Twisted Thrills Vs. Classic Chills (Lost in the Book with Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas)
WORD COUNT: An average of 1.260 words per character.
COMMENTS: Since English isn't my first language, it's always a bit more challenging for me to write the dialogue for characters as eloquent as Skully, but I try my best.
Hope you enjoy 🎃
CONTEXT: I wrote this as a supplement to the original story. So here are just the parts that would change if they had a crush on you. 😉
Even knowing that Skully had done the exact same thing to him and everyone else, Riddle couldn't contain his sudden annoyance when he saw Skully kissing your hand.
“Likewise, (Y/N) and Grim, it's a delight.” Skully says before kissing Grim's paw and then the back of your hand.
“What do you think you're doing?” Riddle says instinctively and positions himself between you and Skully.
“Oh, I was merely extending my deepest gratitude for the occasion of our acquaintance.” Skully explains with a smile. “And, of course, I could not fail to do the same with the lovely personage who was fast asleep in my arms upon their arrival.”
“F-fast asleep...” Riddle repeats before raising his voice, almost outraged. “IN YOUR ARMS?!”
“Well, yes. A wonderful coincidence, wasn't it? And such a fortuitous event deserved my utmost care for this person's well-being.”
“A... coincidence...” Riddle says through gritted teeth, thinking. Then takes a deep breath and continues. “Skully... I ... apologize for my reaction. From what I can understand, you were looking out for (Y/N) and simply exercising your gentlemanship. I may have... overreacted.” He says with a mix of embarrassment and reluctance.
“There is no need to worry. I can see that they are extremely dear to you. May I be so bold as to inquire how close you two are?”
Riddle blushes bright red and stutters slightly.
“In fact...” Jade smiles with that shrewd look. “I've always been curious to ask myself.”
Jamil, Leona and Azul also looked at Riddle with the same smirk.
“We... I... am not sure I understand your question. Shouldn't friends look out for each other?”
“If you'll excuse me...” Trey interferes. “I believe that at this moment we have more important things to worry about.”
“Well, much to my curiosity's chagrin, I can't disagree with that.” Jade admits.
“And that's the gist.” Jamil explains, after returning from checking on Jack's house, because you guys were taking so long to come back. “The mayor's driving around alerting the townsfolk now. This is turning into a real mess.”
“How...” Riddle’s face turned red, his pupils and irises contracted, and his voice grew hoarse with anger. “HOW DARE HE?! The moment I see him, IT WILL BE OFF WITH HIS HEAD!”
“Riddle, please calm down.” Jamil intervenes. “We have to find out where Skully took them, and we need to remain calm to analyze the possible clues to do so.”
“Fu fu. I wonder what Riddle would be capable of doing in this... situation.” Jade comments.
“This is neither the time nor the place to find that out.” Azul reprimands him.
Riddle takes a deep breath and agrees with Jamil, but without apologizing for his reaction. He can't calm down enough for that.
You were tied up with Grim and a sleeping Jack in a bathtub full of candy when a group of familiar faces approached to rescue you. Riddle was the first to reach you.
“(Y/N)! Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Skully had removed your and Grim's gags, but you still had your hands and feet tied. Without a second thought, Riddle plunges his arms into the candies to pick you up from the bathtub. He set you down on the ground ans uses his magic to untie the ropes that bound you. Immediately afterwards he bent down beside you to examine your wrists.
“I don't see any redness on your skin. He didn't tie you up too tightly.”
“Aww, were you that worried about me?” You ask.
“Of course I was! You were kidnapped. How was I supposed to feel?”
He was closer to you than he thought, and seeing you looking at him like that, he moved away, flustered. He clears his throat and composes himself, while the others struggle to get Grim out of the middle of the candy and wake Jack.
“Oh, Jack...!” Sally approaches as soon as you arrive at the Halloween Town plaza. “I'm so glad you're all right. I was worried sick!”
“You were worried about me?”
“Of course I was!”
“Wow... Thanks, Sally.” Jack smiles reassuringly. “But you don't need to worry anymore. See this? Not a bone out of place!”
Riddle has never left your side since they rescued you, and he's not oblivious enough not to notice that this exchange between Sally and Jack is very similar to the one you two had. This, plus the fact that he was one of those who noticed that Sally had some kind of crush on Jack, made him wonder if his situation with you might be similar in some way. But he quickly dismissed that thought from his head.
Some time later, Skully approaches you to apologize for what he did to you and Grim. Riddle is still by your side, but not even that stoped Skully from trying to apologize in his own way.
“Allow me to express my remorse through actions.” Skully finishes by saying and extends his hand to take yours, but before he can, Riddle is faster and protectively grabs your hand instead.
“Your words shall suffice!” Riddle retorts in a tone very similar to his Housewarden's assertive one.
“Oh, but-”
“(Y/N) already said they accepted your apology.” Riddle interrupts him and places himself between you and Skully. “Why don't you go check on Grim? He was saying his paws were numb after being in that bathtub for so long. Perhaps he requires your assistance.”
“Very well then.” Skully sighs, but with a smile. “If Grim is feeling to weak, I shall carry him myself.” He bids you both farewell and walks away to look for Grim.
“Is something wrong, Riddle?” You ask.
“Wrong? No. Why do you ask?” He simply replies.
“I think I remember you commenting that you appreciated Skully’s gentlemanly bearing, but... that's not what it seemed like just now.”
“Gh! I... I just...” He blushes slightly. “I just didn't think it would be appropriate, after what he did to you, for him to have the privilege of kissing your hand... Huh, Wait! I mean...”
“It's rare to see you so flustered with words.” You comment with a chuckle.
“I... I'm sorry if I intruded too much.” He apologizes, ashamed of himself. “I just... don't like seeing him so close to you. If he had the nerve to kidnap you, who knows what he might do next.”
“Well, he kisses everyone's hand, including yours.”
“Well, yes, a somewhat... strange habit.”
“And he really seems sorry for what he did.”
Riddle doesn't answer that one, he just looks away.
“Are you sure you're not just a little bit... jealous?”
His gaze abruptly returns to you, and his cheeks flush even more.
“What?! Don't be ridiculous. I'm just concerned about your well-being... I... think...”
You tell him that it’s okay, that you even find this side of him cute, and that makes him even more flustered.
“Well, I saw how flattered you were whenever he kissed your hand.” Riddle says, somewhat sullenly. He looks at you and sees you smiling encouragingly. “Why are you looking at me like...” He blushes when he realizes. “Wait! You want me to do it?!”
“Would you like to do it?”
He thinks for a second until he sighs with a small smile.
“Well, perhaps I should practice my gentlemanly.” He smiles confidently, straightens up, and extends his hand to you. “Allow me to demonstrate my affection for you through actions.”
He waits for you to place your hand in his so he can hold it tenderly, lean in, and kiss it gently but affectionately.
Leona is not one to get jealous easily, or maybe not at all. He saw this Skully guy kissing the backs of everyone's hands, including his own. Kissing yours didn't bother him, or at least not for the reason you might think.
“Likewise, (Y/N) and Grim, it's a delight.” Skully says before kissing Grim's paw and then the back of your hand.
If you say "You do this with everyone, huh." Leona will give a slight, half-smile, away from the eyes of everyone, including yours, pleased that you’re a clever herbivore.
If you say "What a gentleman.” Leona will know you're saying that to annoy him. And to annoy you back, he'll ignore (or at least pretend to ignore) what you said.
Leona found out that Skully had kidnapped you through the Mayor's advertising car. The fact that he was near Malleus of all people when he heard this did not help his composure.
“I see...” Malleus said. “This is certainly unexpected.”
“Tch, stupid badger. Why'd he have to pull such a boneheaded stunt?” Leona says, not simply annoyed, but angry. “Guess I'll have to find him and get this mess sorted myself.”
“Where are you going, Kingscholar?” Malleus says as he sees Leona starting to walk away from him. “Do you intend to handle this matter alone?”
“Figured that much was obvious. I'm under no obligation to team up with you just 'cuz you happened to be nearby.”
“The child of man's whereabouts are also unknown.”
‘Grrr... That stupid nickname again.’ Leona thinks.
“We cannot risk the worst coming to pass. In the interest of as swift a resolution as possible, I'd prefer to avoid wasting any time.”
“Oh yeah? The only way I'd be wasting time is by sticking with you.” Leona retorts and smiles smugly. “Or does the great and powerful Malleus Draconia have trouble functioning if he's not constantly surrounded by retainers?”
And so they return to their usual bickering.
You were tied up with Grim and a sleeping Jack in a bathtub full of candy when a group of familiar faces approached to rescue you. Leona wasn't among them because he was with Sebek and Jamil taking care of Skully so that the other group could rescue you safely.
Nothing seemed strange about Leona until you arrived at the Halloween Town plaza and Skully approached you and Grim to apologize in his own way.
“Allow me to express my remorse through actions.” Skully says, takes your hand and kisses it.
He did the same with Grim, and while he was trying to offer his help to carry him, you see Leona in the distance, looking at you discreetly in a unbothered pose.
Epel told you about Leona offering his arm to Miss Sally because he thought he looked so mature and cool. You agree, but you can't deny to yourself that you also felt jealous. He was never such a gentleman to you.
“(Y/N)? Is something troubling you, my dear friend?” Skully asks you.
You say it was nothing and try to dismiss it.
“Please, if anything is bringing you down, tell me. A person as lovely and kind as you deserves the best Halloween anyone could possibly provide.” He takes your hand and gently pulls you closer to him. “I know this won't make up for what I've done... But I shall follow you everywhere and do everything in my power to ensure your happiness on this very special day.” He smiles widely.
“What a lovely nightmare that would be.” Leona appears walking towards you with a sarcastic smile on his face. “You would be doing everyone a greater service if you kept an eye on that furball and made sure he didn't eat all the candy instead.” He points to Grim at a table surrounded by sweets, already eating many of them. “Babysit him tonight and give (Y/N) a break. That should be a valuable enough act of apology.”
“Oh dear!” Skully exclaims. “I must hurry and stop him! (Y/N), would you like to follow Leona's suggestion? Would I truly be helping you rest by watching over Grim for you?”
You think about it and you can't deny that it would actually be one less thing to worry about. So you agree and Skully leaves you with Leona, but not before giving you one last kiss on the hand.
“You really get flustered just by that?” Leona questions you, his smirk now replaced by his usual grumpy expression.
“What's your problem with him?” You ask. “He's just being a gentleman.”
“You think Skully’s a gentleman? You must be mistakin’ that for bein’ undisciplined. He just plants a kiss on the back of our hands without askin’… He’s nowhere near proper.”
“What do you think he should do instead? Offer me his arm and escort me through town?”
Leona is silent for a second before looking at you with a smug grin.
“Oh, were you jealous of Miss Sally? How cute.”
You cross your arms and look away.
“Do you want me to escort you through town?” He continues. “Well, too bad you've already seen it all.”
Annoyed, you say you're going to join Skully and Grim. Perhaps also saying that, even so, he is a more pleasant companion than Leona.
You turn to walk away but Leona gently holds your hand, which surprises you, and you turn around to see him lifting your hand to his lips and kissing the back of it in a somewhat sensual, yet respectful way.
“What? I thought you liked havin’ your hand kissed out of nowhere.”
After a moment of stunned silence, you start talking again.
“Are you only doing this to compete with Skully?” You ask. “Like a way to prove that whatever he can do, you can do better?”
“As if I need proof of that.” He crosses his arms and continues smiling. “You always forget, but I'm still a prince, and I was raised as one. That badger doesn't know a tenth of what I already knew at half his age about... let's call it gentlemanly. I just don't like practicin’ it on a daily basis. It's exhausting.”
“I believe that.” You say. “Now I just wonder if when you are truly a gentleman it's out of genuine respect or because you're somehow being forced to be so.”
“Who knows.” He shrugs. “Maybe I just want to sweeten my prey.” He turns to walk away, but not before throwing you a candy he had kept in his jacket.
A heart-shaped candy? How the heck did he get one?
Azul might be able to let the discomfort of having his hand kissed out of nowhere by Skully slide, but seeing him do the same to you is something he cannot ignore.
“Likewise, (Y/N) and Grim, it's a delight.” Skully says before kissing Grim's paw and then the back of your hand.
If you say "You do this with everyone, huh." Azul will feel less worried. He'll even have less trouble smiling knowing that you're smart enough to see through people's "kindness."
If you say "What a gentleman.” Azul’s jealousy will increase so much that he won't even realize it if you're just saying that to mess with him.
He'll approach the two of you and try, in the most subtle way possible, to position himself between Skully and you with that attentive, albeit fake, smile of his.
“Indeed. Your indulgence is an enviable trait. It only makes me feel even more guilty and ashamed of our lack of manners.” Azul says as he slides closer to Skully, making him move away from you. “As much as I would like to continue converse with you to make better amends, I fear we have more important matters to concern ourselves with at the moment. Namely, where are we?”
“What a real shame.” Jade says with his sharp-toothed grin. “It would have been such a pleasant exchange of thoughts. Especially if we had included (Y/N) in the conversation.”
Azul glances at him sideways with a smile that's unsettling to anyone who knows him. Fortunately for him, Jamil and the others followed his line of thinking and shifted their focus to where you all were and what might be happening.
Whenever you ended up in a group with Skully, Azul would get annoyed about it, but he'd hide it as much as possible. Something similar happened when you went looking for Jack. For some reason Azul had a bad feeling, but that was all, so he didn't say anything. And then, some time after, Jamil and the mayor returned after checking on you to see why you were taking so long to get back from Jack's house. Jamil then tells them that Skully kidnapped Jack, you, and Grim.
“HE KIDNAPPED THEM?!” Azul exclaims before clearing his throat and composing himself. “H-how terrible! Poor (Y/N) and Grim have terrible luck, getting dragged into it.”
“I never would have guessed Skully to be capable of taking such drastic measures.” Jade says. “I'm sure you'll contribute greatly to this rescue, Azul.”
“Me?” Azul adjusts his glasses and looks at Jade with a sly smile. “I'm certain you meant 'we', Jade. After all, they are two of our dearest first-years. Are they not?” Azul's smile remained friendly to someone who didn't know him, but to Jade it was a warning, or even a threat.
“But of course. They must be terrified right now. I will do everything I can to rescue them and solve this problem.” He said it with his usual smile.
“I doubt Skully would treat them too horribly...” Azul continues. “But the sooner we find them, the better.”
“Agreed.” Jamil follows. “Let's search for Skully and rescue the three captives.”
You were tied up with Grim and a sleeping Jack in a bathtub full of candy when a group of familiar faces approached to rescue you. Azul was the first to reach you.
“(Y/N)!” As soon as Azul sees that you seem fine despite the circumstances, especially seeing Grim enjoying the sweets so much, his usual smile returns. “How are you? I believe that gentleman didn't hurt you, did he?” He emphasizes ironically.
“Well, at least his gentlemanly is honest.” You respond.
“You wound me, (Y/N).” He says it in the same dubious tone he always uses. “You really think my concern is not genuine? We were worried sick.”
“Well yes! You are our dearest friends, of course we were very concerned about your well-being and safety.” Jade says this with a normal smile, until he widens it and it becomes more mocking. “Especially Azul. He almost cracked his voice when he found out you'd been kidnapped. A heartbreaking testimony.”
“That's a clear exaggeration.” Azul replies, smiling at you. “My voice doesn't fail me that easily.”
“Precisely.” Jade points with the same sly smile.
“Instead of chit chatting,” Vil says impatiently. “How about taking (Y/N) and the others out of the bathtub and untying them?”
“Oh, how careless of me. You're absolutely right.” Azul says before glancing sideways at Jade for a second. Then he smiles at you confidently. “If you'll allow me.”
He buries his arms in the candy to hold you and lift you out of the bathtub bridal style. It's easy to forget how strong Azul really is. He puts you down on the ground, while the others deal with Grim and Jack, and unties you with magic. He holds your hand to check your wrist.
“Just as I thought, he didn't treat you badly.” Azul comments. “Skully didn't even tie you up too tightly. I don't know how you didn't escape on your own sooner.” He smirks.
“And take away your joy of rescuing me?” You say with a similar smirk. “That would be so mean of me.”
His smile is warmer and more genuine than any he would let others see. Which makes him a little embarrassed.
“How thoughtful of you indeed. It seems we're even after all.” He finishes by saying, before shifting the focus to the others having difficulty getting Grim out of the bathtub because he wanted to keep eating the candy.
Although discreetly, Azul never left your side again. Not even after returning to the Halloween Town plaza. But that didn't stop Skully from approaching you to apologize in his own way.
“Allow me to express my remorse through actions.” Skully finishes by saying.
He takes your hand and kisses the back of it, but not without feeling Azul's penetrating stare on him. What was most frightening was the fact that it was accompanied by a smile.
Hearing Grim complain that his paws hurt, Skully offered to accompany him wherever he went and would be his new hands and feet. Of course Grim didn't want any of that, he was just hoping Skully would give him more candy or something. However Azul saw an opportunity.
“What a thoughtful suggestion!” He says in a cheerfully approving voice. “That would be a great help, don't you think, Grim? A young man as helpful as Skully as your serva- assistant, would certainly be a very welcome support if I were you. That, and you could give (Y/N) a moment's rest.” He looks at you with that shrewd look. “I'm sure you're exhausted after these past few days too, aren't you, (Y/N)?”
You agree and go along with Azul's plan to get Skully and Grim to go away together.
“Do you really like it when he kisses your hand?” Azul asks as soon as you are away from unwanted ears.
He wasn't smiling, but he didn't seem exactly annoyed either; he was looking at you as if analyzing your response. Flustered or not, you end up admitting that you actually kind of enjoy the gesture. Maybe because no one had ever done that to you before.
“Truly?... So it's more about the gesture than the person doing it?” He adjusts his glasses, with a suspicious look. “Are you sure? Because even after what Skully did to you, you always seemed quite pleased with his company.”
You can't help but look at him with a little smirk. Is he jealous?
“Of course there is a way to prove what you claim.” He says, seeing you more interested in his words and with a certain glimmer of hope in your eyes. But then it's his turn to smile maliciously. “You can give permission to one of this lovely townsfolk to kiss your hand.
You widen your eyes in surprise and with a slightly... unpleasant expression.
“What's wrong?” He looks at you with that triumphant smug smile of his. “Didn't you say it was the gesture that mattered, not the person?” He contemplates your conflicted expression for a moment before continuing. “Or did you expect me to volunteer to do it?”
You get flustered, but try to fight back.
“Okay, maybe the person matters too.” You admit. “And isn't that the part that bothers you?”
“Bothers me?” He says, without losing his confident demeanor. “And why would that bother me? I simply wanted to better understand the effect this kind of gesture has on others.”
“On others or on me? I'm almost certain you didn't ask any of this to all the others whose hands Skully kissed.”
“Well, the others weren't kidnapped by him. Your perspective is much more... interesting.”
Debating with a silver tongue like Azul's is extremely difficult, but perhaps the best way to counter is with the truth. You admit that yes, it also depends on the person, and that despite what Skully did to you, he was always very careful and kind. The more you talk about what you like in Skully, the more annoyed Azul will get.
Suddenly, he takes one of your hands, leans down, and kisses the back of it with a surprising passion that leaves you speechless. He looks up to appreciate the expression on your face before straightening up, without letting go of your hand yet.
“Your praise for Skully suddenly stopped.” He says with a smug grin as he slowly pulls you closer by the hand. “I wonder why.” He lets go of your hand, turns around, and takes a few steps. “We've spent too much time here, don't you think? We should go back to enjoying the party.”
Having his hand kissed out of the blue by someone he just met is unpleasant enough, but Jamil would rather go through that again than see the same thing happen to you. And even worse, if you somehow enjoy it.
“Likewise, (Y/N) and Grim, it's a delight.” Skully says before kissing Grim's paw and then the back of your hand.
If you say "You do this with everyone, huh." Jamil will feel more reassured knowing you're not so easily fooled, but still upset that Skully had the audacity.
If you say "What a gentleman.” Jamil will be even more upset, and he'll wonder how you could be so naive as to fall for something like that. But thinking that maybe it's not a matter of naiveté only makes things worse.
“Now that I've sanitized my hands...” He says as he approaches you, but speaking to Skully. “Let's review our situation, shall we?” And discreetly, he uses magic to sanitize your hand, just as he did with his own.
“Skully kidnapped Jack, (Y/N), and Grim?!” Jamil inquiries to know if he understood Zero's barking correctly when he arrived at Jack's house and found no one there.
Both he and the Mayor panicked, but Jamil had more self-control and managed to calm the Mayor down enough to start organizing his thoughts. He had to inform the others first so they could start investigating and devise a plan to rescue you all once they found out where you were.
As expected of him, Jamil managed to control his emotions to such an extent that his concern specifically for you is masked by his natural stress in situations of this kind. He didn't need people like Jade or Azul messing with him in the meantime.
You were tied up with Grim and a sleeping Jack in a bathtub full of candy when a group of familiar faces approached to rescue you. Jamil wasn't among them because he was with Sebek and Leona taking care of Skully so that the other group could rescue you safely.
As soon as you and the others met up with Jamil, Sebek, Leona, and an defeated Skully, Jamil promptly approached you.
“Oh, good. Looks like everyone's safely rescued.”
The others commented on how difficult it was to get Grim out of the bathtub because he wanted to eat the rest of the candy. And while Jack was talking to Skuly, Jamil's attention was drawn to you once more.
“From what I understand, Skully managed to tie you up. Can I see your arms?” He asks, offering you his hand so you can place one of yours on top.
You do so, and with his other hand, he pulls up your sleeve to see your forearm. He then does the same with the other, examining it carefully.
“The marks are very subtle.” He says, while adjusting your sleeves for you. “Just as I thought, he wasn't harsh with you. They'll disappear in no time.” He gives you a gentle smile. “How are you feeling? You didn't eat too many candy, did you? Are you hungry? Thirsty?”
You can't help but smile, and probably chuckle.
“What is it? What's so funny?” He says with that annoyed face that with time you started to find cute. “We were worried about you.”
“Yes, I can see it.” You say.
He gets a little embarrassed, realizing his insistence, and begins to blush to the point of trying to hide his face with his hat.
Fortunately for him, it was relatively easy to change the subject to Skully, Jack, and what you guys were going to do next, namely return to Halloween Town and enjoy the party you'd been preparing for so long.
All the way back, Jamil never left your side again. You could also tell that he was always trying to position himself between you and Skully, no matter if he was 5 meters away from you.
And everything got much stranger after you arrived at the plaza, whenever you wanted to eat something, Jamil would try to convince you to let him taste it first.
“Jamil, I'm not Kalim.” You tell him. “We're the ones who made these candy, they're not poisoned or anything.”
“Believe me, I've seen poisoned food that was better protected than this candy.” He says, determined not to change his current stance.
Meanwhile, Skully approaches you two, and Jamil's reflex is to position himself between you two, glaring at Skully.
“Oh, I'm deeply sorry to bother you.” Skully says with great regret. “Well, it seems this is yet another action of mine on the list of ill-mannered deeds I must apologize for."
“Another?” Jamil maintains the same distrustful attitude. “Does that mean you came to apologize for kidnapping (Y/N) again?”
“But of course!” Skully replies, raising both hands to his chest. “(Y/N) is such a kindly personage. Even after all my most impolite behaviors, they always remained so understanding and empathetic. The least I can do is apologize as many times as humanly possible.” He then looks at you, partially behind Jamil. “Please (Y/N), allow me to express my remorse through actions.”
“Oh no, you won't.” Jamil answers bluntly.
“Jamil!” You say, disbelieving of his attitude.
“Okay, just say that you forgive him.” Jamil turns around and tells you. He was acting so much like he acts with Kalim, telling you what to do.
“I decide what I do.” You say determinedly, and move from behind Jamil to in front of Skully. “Very well, how do you want to express your remorse?”
“Ah, just as I said, such a kindly personage.” Skully says, takes your hand and kisses it. “Oh, but I don't see your companion here. I'd like to apologize to him as well.”
You tell him that Grim was probably around the food tables, and Skully asks your permission to step aside and go look for him with one last kiss on your hand. You turn around and see Jamil with his arms crossed, staring at you sullenly.
“See? Nothing bad happened. He just kissed my hand again.”
“Yes, and twice this time. Please give me your hand.”
“Are you going to cleanse it again with magic?”
“Sanitize it, more specifically.” He extends his hand, more insistently.
You sigh and give him your hand so he can do that.
“You're exaggerating.” You say. “I'm fine. And everything is fine now. There's no need for you to act like you're my bodyguard or something. Again, I'm not Kalim.”
“You were kidnapped once, and there's no guarantee it won't happen again.” He then looks at you with a smug smile. “Besides, it's not like you aren't enjoying this. Is it?”
You get flustered being caught.
“Look who's talking, the person who no longer wants to be apart from me.” You manage to reply.
“Indeed... Maybe you’re right.” He whispers, still holding your hand, and places a delicate but loving kiss on the back of it. “Perhaps I no longer have the moral authority to comment on that aspect.” He concludes by saying, looking back into your eyes to appreciate your reaction.
First, Skully had the audacity to kiss Vil Schoenheit's hand without his permission! And now he's kissing yours?!
“Likewise, (Y/N) and Grim, it's a delight.” Skully says before kissing Grim's paw and then the back of your hand.
Even if you say "You do this with everyone, huh." Vil won't be reassured at all, especially because he noticed your little smile.
But if you say "What a gentleman.” Vil is going to feel indignant. How can you be satisfied with such behavior? How can you be pleased by such a selfish gesture? To kiss your hand as if he had the right to!
However, he won't comment on that at all. His focus is on what's happening and how you can get back to Twisted Wonderland.
“Did you hear the loudspeaker just now?” Vil asks Epel.
“Yes, sir... This is turning into a real mess.”
They had just heard the announcement that Jack, you, and Grim had been kidnapped by Skully and that your whereabouts were unknown, so they needed everyone's help to rescue you.
“Then let's find Skully and make him realize exactly whose bad side he's gotten himself on.” Vil tells Sebek and Epel. “I believe it's just the four of us here. We'll have to look for Skully ourselves.”
Despite Idia's attempts to hide, he couldn't fool Vil or Sebek and was dragged along with them.
You were tied up with Grim and a sleeping Jack in a bathtub full of candy when a group of familiar faces approached to rescue you. Vil was among them and was the quickest to approach you.
“(Y/N), how could this have happened?!” Vil says, but just when you thought he was being considerate, he quickly frowns and looks at you disappointed, arms crossed. “How could you have let that freshman capture you? That's it! No more deliberation! As soon as we get back to Night Raven College, I'll give you intensive self-defense lessons. Understood? And don't you dare try to make up an excuse. Just because you can't use magic doesn't mean you have to be helpless.”
If you look at Epel while Vil is lecturing you, you'll see him looking at you with pity, like a brother who knows what it's like to be in your position. When Vil finishes scolding you, he sighs.
“Let's get you out of this sugar bath.” He plunges his arms into the sweets and easily lifts you out of the bathtub, holding you bridal-style. He then sits you down on the nearest rock. "Did you eat any of those candy?" He asks disapprovingly as he unties you with magic. "How many did you eat?" And he examines your wrists to see if they had any marks from the ropes.
Depending on your response regarding the candy, you'll hear some more words from him about how too many sweets are bad for your health. But beyond that, you can see that he doesn't seem to want to distance himself from you.
Not even after returning to Halloween Town Plaza.
You didn't notice anything particularly strange apart from his sudden closeness. It was common for Vil to pay attention to your posture and what you ate (especially regarding sweets and whatever strange things the people in that town ate).
But then, Skully approached you and Vil's gaze did not spare him. However, he didn't say anything while Skully was apologizing to you.
“Allow me to express my remorse through actions.” Skully says, takes your hand and kisses it.
Then, he extends his apology to Grim and tries to kiss his paw.
“I, personally, don't know if I would consider those apologies sufficient.” Vil tells you, while Grim tries to dodge Skully. “But considering the way he ask for forgiveness, I would be content with this if I were you. Even though, unlike you, I wouldn't allow just anyone to kiss my hand without permission to begin with.”
“And yet he still did it.” You say.
“He is fortunate that in circumstances such as the present I can be more... forgiving.” Vil says this last word with a somewhat sinister smile. And then, he seems to have an idea. “Skully. Would you mind looking after Grim while (Y/N) and I go check the decorations? I heard there are some children playing with fire and I'd like to make sure nothing's been destroyed... yet...”
“Mrah?! And why do you have to take my hench-human with you?!” Grim inquired.
“Because that way Skully can compensate you both.” Vil explains casually. “He becomes your hench-human for a day and (Y/N) has some time to themselves.”
Grim opens his mouth to protest, but Vil gives him that menacing look of someone who will do whatever it takes to get things his way. So Grim swallows hard and ends up accepting the idea. And so did Skully, but without the swallowing part and much happier than Grim.
“We're not going to check any decorations, are we?” You ask, as if you already know the answer.
Vil simply gives you a smirk that confirms your suspicions.
“Vil... May I ask why you are... acting this way?”
“And may I ask you to elaborate on that question?”
“Well, you didn't seem too concerned about me or Skully before.”
“Exactly, before. Before he kidnapped you. I was already a little concerned that you didn't seem too bothered by his hand kisses, but I didn't think it would come to this, so I didn't express any displeasure or try to interfere in your conviviality. Although I would prefer to simply start teaching you self-defense techniques right away, now is not the time for that. This can wait until these celebrations are over and we return to Twisted Wonderland. Until then, I'll keep an eye on you and Skully. Which is not a bad way to pass the time. I quite enjoy your company.”
“Are you sure that's all there is to it?” You ask.
“Are you trying to insinuate something... dear?” He asks you with a smug smile. Seeing that you are hesitant to answer, he continues. “Perhaps that I feel some kind of jealousy?”
You look at him in a way that kind of confirms that.
“Please, I thought you knew me better than that.” He crosses his arms with a disappointed look. “Unless...” He smirks. “Is it really just something you'd like to witness?”
You look away and he laughs at your display of having been caught.
“I don't need to be jealous of anyone. Ultimately, anyone you liked more than me would either be because I wasn't your type or because you prefer to settle for less.” He takes your hand, leans in, and kisses the back of it. “But I don't believe in either option.” He finishes by saying, while looking at you, proudly beautiful.
First, Idia was dragged into that honking gaggle of extroverts, but at least you were there. He knew you could be his support when he needed it. But then there was this new guy, Skully, who apparently had a habit of greeting people with a kiss on their hand.
It was already a shock when he did that to Idia, but when Idia saw Skully do the same to you, the little voice in his head started spouting nonsense.
“Likewise, (Y/N) and Grim, it's a delight.” Skully says before kissing Grim's paw and then the back of your hand.
If you say "You do this with everyone, huh." Idia will think: “Yeah, that guy probably seduces anyone who crosses his path. He kissed all our hands like someotome game character flirting with all the players. You deserve better than this, someone who saves all the kisses just for you. If you like players, better get a gamer.” He will smile smugly, even though all of this conversation would have only taken place in his head.
If you say "What a gentleman.” This will worry Idia. “WUT?! What you mean, you like that?! Urgh... That silver tongue smiley extrovert thinks he can charm (Y/N) so easily? Slow burn is the best kind of romance, and I've known them much longer than you have! Especially since you literally only met them today... Love at first sight is so, like, brainlessly pathetic.” And he'll probably keep this conversation going in his head until someone speaks to him and he finally snap out of it.
Idia found out that you, Grim, and Jack had been kidnapped by Skully through the Mayor's car loudspeaker. He was in a group with Vil, Epel, and Sebek when this happened.
“HE KIDNAPPED (Y/N)?!” Idia yelled in his head, while the others discussed the matter amongst themselves. “Oh no no no no no! I don't like this! I’m no hero, I’m an otaku! We are spectators or, at best, a secondary character that fans can relate to. I'm the PC guy with the cool hacking tricks, not some knight who's going to save his beloved from the clutches of a kidnapper. Any one of them can... Wait... but if they do... They will be (Y/N)'s brave hero in shining armor! Oh... wait... I don't think that's (Y/N)'s type anyway. At least not from what I've heard them saying about their favorite anime characters. I think the closest thing to their type would be... AH! ENEMIES TO LOVERS! Could it be? Especially if Skully ends up having a whole redemption arc and feels super guilty about what he did to (Y/N) and wants to redeem himself in any way possible...”
“Come on out, human.” Sebek's voice abruptly brought him out of his trance. “Don't bother trying to hide!”
“Eep! H-h-how'd you know I was there? Did my anxiety make my breathing heavy?”
He tries to come up with an excuse for them to leave him behind. Not only out of cowardice, but also because he knows the others would do a better job than him, and he doesn't want to share the blame if the plan goes wrong. But Vil doesn't care and drags him along with them.
You were tied up with Grim and a sleeping Jack in a bathtub full of candy when a group of familiar faces approached to rescue you. You almost didn't notice Idia between them because he had fallen so far behind, but it was hard not to see a guy with his hair.
At no point did he get very close to you. It was the others who pulled you out of the bathtub and used magic to untie you, while he stayed a little further away, observing.
It was only after you returned to the Halloween Town plaza, when you were alone with Grim, that he timidly approached you.
“H-hey...” Idia says in his low voice, with his right hand on his left forearm. “So... a-are you okay? Like, as okay as can be?”
You say yes, that you're okay now, and you seem very happy that he showed concern for you, even if it was only now.
“Well, it was to be expected that he wouldn't treat you badly. He liked you instantly. And I don't know who would put someone they don't like in a bathtub full of candy and let them eat whatever they want.” He said, smiling. “Well, unless you can't eat sweets... in that case I think it would be torture.”
You laugh, which makes him feel comfortable enough to laugh with you.
“My deepest apologies for interrupting such a delightful conversation.” Skully says, approaching you. He is there to apologize for everything he did to you and Grim.
You can hear Idia muttering sarcastically under her breath.
“Allow me to express my remorse through actions.” Skully says, takes your hand and kisses it.
He does the same with Grim and offers to keep you company for the rest of the night (or day, it's hard to tell in Halloween town).
“Yeah... And what about nope?” Idia tells Skully with a displeased expression.
This surprised you all. Even Skully had enough time to realize that Idia is the type to avoid talking to people.
“First, we're practically forced to prepare a whole Halloween party for this extroverts fueled town. Then you kidnap their big shot, (Y/N), and Grim. And now you want to monopolize their company after leaving them tied up in a bathtub? I mean, kudos to you on your complete lack of awareness and disregard for other people's feelings, I guess.” He finishes by saying with that sarcastic smile.
“W-What?!” Skully jumps in place and loses his composure, looking even more worried than before.
“Why don't you first ask what (Y/N) wants you to do to redeem yourself? Maybe just leaving them alone would be more than enough?” He still has that creepy smile. “For me, it would be, at least.”
“(Y/N)...” Skully says with some difficulty, as if gathering courage to speak. “I-is it your wish for me to disappear from your sight?”
You say no, that everything is fine, that you've even forgiven him. But, taking advantage of the opportunity, you suggest that Skully could accompany Grim and make sure he doesn't do anything crazy while you take a break from ‘babysitting’ him. This, of course, not in such a blunt way because Grim was listening. Skully thanks you again for your immense kindness and indulgence with another kiss on the hand and accepts your suggestion.
After he and Grim walked away towards the tables laden with food and sweets, you turned to look at Idia, perhaps with a disapproving expression.
“W-what?” He tries to remain assertive despite clearly disliking the way you're looking at him. “I-it's not like I lied. And if you really wanted to spend the rest of the night with that guy, you would have just gone and left me alone.” He puts his right hand on his left forearm and looks sullenly at the ground.
“Well, I chose to stay with you. Now you have to make sure my time with you is better than the time I would spend with Skully.” You smirk.
His eyes widen, startled.
“Wow wow wow wow! When did I ever make a deal like that? You stayed and sent him away because you wanted to. I didn't promise any quality time.”
“So in that case, maybe I should go join them.” You turn around.
“WAIT, wait, wait! Talk about changing your mind at the speed of light.” As soon as you turn back to him, his courage goes back into hiding. “Ah... H-h-hey, listen, I'm here alone, okay? Ortho isn't here and... hum...” He gets a little embarrassed. “Y-you're the only other person I feel... comfortable with.”
“I thought you got along well with Azul and Jamil.”
“That doesn't mean I enjoy being with them. There are three categories of people we introverts can classify someone as... well, technically I have more, but to make it easier I'll summarize it into three main ones. There are the people I avoid at all costs, mainly extroverted party animals, but not only. This category has the highest percentage of people I've met, unfortunately. Then there are the people I can ‘get along with’.” He makes quotation marks with his fingers. “Like, for example, the ones you mentioned. It's quite bearable, but I still prefer the safety of my room. Like, they don't make me want to panic quit from the chat. And finally, the people I... we... um... enjoy being around. Like... a pleasant party member... you know.”
“Funny, you elaborated much more on the first two categories.” You notice and he gets more embarrassed.
“Y-you know very well what I'm talking about.”
“Sooo... you're saying you enjoy being with me?”
He blushes and the tips of his hair turn slightly pink. He stammered a little, flustered, before sighing and letting his shoulders slump in a gesture of defeat.
“Fine... I might enjoy your company. Happy now?”
“Might?” You ask.
He looks away with a cute sulky face.
“Hum... I don't know...” You had an idea to mess with him a little more. “You know, I think Skully likes me more than you do.” You smile mischievously, to make sure he realizes you're not being serious. “After all, he's such a gentleman kissing my hand.” You extend your hand to him, playfully.
You thought he would just sigh or get embarrassed, but to your surprise he actually took your hand and kissed it with a quick, scorching kiss.
“Whee hee hee. See who's flustered now.”
Malleus is not the type to see Skully kissing your hand as anything more than a gesture of politeness. So, despite his surprise at having someone he had just met greet you all in that way, he had no other reaction.
“Likewise, (Y/N) and Grim, it's a delight.” Skully says before kissing Grim's paw and then the back of your hand.
If you say "You do this with everyone, huh." Malleus will probably just agree with you in his thoughts.
But if you say "What a gentleman.” Malleus will notice your small smile and start to wonder if you really enjoy having your hand kissed that much. And if so, perhaps he should start doing the same to you?
Thunder began to rumble and lightning to strike when Malleus found out that Skully had kidnapped Jack, Grim, and, most importantly, you.
“Pipe it down, will ya?” Leona complains. “The most your thunder will do is burst everyone's eardrums.”
“I often wonder if you are truly intelligent enough to know when it is not appropriate to provoke me, Kingscholar.”
“And I wonder if you're smart enough to know when I'm not doing it.” He stares at Malleus annoyed, but not angry. “The more of a spectacle you make, the harder it’ll be for anyone to find out where that badger took them.” He sighs. “Guess I'll have to find him and get his mess sorted myself.”
“Where are you going, Kingscholar?” Malleus asks as he sees Leona starting to walk away from him. “Do you intend to handle this matter alone?”
“Figured that much was obvious. I'm under no obligation to team up with you just 'cuz you happened to be nearby. Especially with the tantrum you're throwing.”
“Tantrum?” He smiles, but the thunder rumbles once more. “Must I remind you that the child of man's whereabouts are also unknown? We cannot risk the worst coming to pass. In the interest of as swift a resolution as possible, I'd prefer to avoid wasting any time.”
“Even if it means hitting everyone in the city with a lightning bolt?” Leona gives him a wry little smile. “Sure, I see your point.”
They continue the bickering, even bringing Trey into it, but eventually they move on with the investigation together... more or less.
You were tied up with Grim and a sleeping Jack in a bathtub full of candy when a group of familiar faces approached to rescue you. Malleus approached you so quickly that you could swear he had teleported.
“(Y/N)! Are you well?” He asks as he gently lifts you out of the candy-filled bathtub, bridal style.
Malleus doesn't even need to put you down to untie you. With a simple glance, he burns the ropes without the flames affecting you or your clothes in the slightest.
“Are you injured? Were the ropes too tight?”
You say no, that you're fine. Skully was kind and polite to you the whole time despite what he did. While you were saying this he walked away, so focused on you that nothing else happening made him look back. Aka Grim fighting the others because he didn't want to get out of the candy bath.
You'll need to tell him that he can put you down now, and even then he'll ask if you're certain.
Malleus never left your side again. Apart from that, he didn't seem to be acting strangely. Until, back at Halloween Town Plaza, Skully approached you to apologize for what he did. Malleus didn't say anything out of the ordinary, but you could feel his gaze piercing Skully like daggers, and his imposing presence right beside you.
“Allow me to express my remorse through actions.” Skully says, takes your hand and kisses it. But the moment his lips touched your skin, a thunder sounded.
You take the initiative to make up an excuse for Skully to distance himself from you again, and then suggest that he could go with Grim to the food tables. Grim protests, but you remind him that he was complaining that his paws hurt and he wanted someone (you, but that part doesn't matter now) to carry him around. Skully is thrilled by the idea of redeeming himself in this way, and eventually Grim reluctantly gives in.
The brief storm dissipates as Skully walks away with Grim.
“Tsunotarou...” You say.
“Yes?” He asks, too casually.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes. I think everything is fine. Why? Is something bothering you?”
“The thunder. Just now.” You point it out, as if trying to give clues to him to explain.
“Oh. Did that startle you?” He smirks. “My apologies. But shouldn't you be prepared for some frights during this day?”
You cross your arms, look at him, and Malleus makes that cute sulky face.
“It does not please me seeing him kissing your hand. Especially after what he did to you. Even if it is a sign of genuine remorse. But I did not speak of the matter, did I?”
“You didn't need to. Your storm spoke for you.” You say. “But he also kisses your hand.”
“That does not bother me.”
“But when he kisses mine, it does?”
“Yes, it does. Did I not make myself clear on the subject?” He calmly admits it, oblivious to what it actually means. “Why are you chuckling?”
You say it's nothing, and that he doesn't need to worry anymore. Especially if he stays by your side. You even admit that you like having him close to you and seeing him so concerned about you.
“I'm glad to know that my closeness is as pleasant for you as yours is for me.” Malleus says with a gentle smile, politely takes your hand, leans down and kisses the back of it. “I will not leave you unprotected again, (Y/N).”
If you would like to read more from me, you can find it in my pinned post: INDEX
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you confess to jade with one goal: to get rejected. things do not go according to plan.
tags/warnings: jade leech x reader (romantic), gn!reader, reader is yuu, swearing, set at the end of NRC year 1, confession crack, first date, reader is miraculously/momentarily a god at Dance Dance Revolution, not proofread cuz i’m lazy
a/n: so i DOUBLY made a liar of myself: i said i’d write a bunch a few weeks ago, didn’t; and then said i wouldn’t write for a while, then did. life’s still kicking my ass and i have midterms this week but i’m neglecting my responsibilities in favour of writing fanfic :D this one was actually meant to be the beginning of a wip request, but it was so long that i split it off and expanded it. that’s maybe half the reason it's so winding yet virtually plotless ;-; anyways so this is basically a prologue to that wip, but i’ll make it so that you can read either one as standalone :)
follow-up fic here :D
DO NOT FEED THIS TO AI.
word count: 3.2k
dividers by @/cafekitsune!
“I’m gonna do it,” you whisper.
“Don’t do it,” your entire first-year friend group whispers back, ears picking up on your stupidity even beneath the drone of Crowley’s long and winding year-end speech. They plead with you now more out of resignation than hope of persuasion. That ship has already sailed, and everyone knows it.
You eye the figure three rows ahead, clad in ceremonial uniform yet identifiable thanks to their towering height.
“I have to…” you sigh dramatically.
The ‘it’ in question that you shouldn’t do: confessing to Jade Leech, a sharp-toothed and sharper-witted eel with sketchy intentions and tendencies. It's a terrible decision that you’re unfortunately already firm on, but to be fair, this decision has been thoroughly deliberated. Your main reasons are as follows:
#1: You have a stupid crush on Jade Leech, arguably one of the worst people to have feelings for. Jade Leech is the type of person to leverage any crush for his benefit, let alone a crush on him. And confessing is the quickest way to get rid of your pesky feelings, something you’re very eager to do.
#2: After this, summer break will begin and school will be out of session. ‘Distance makes the heart grow fonder’, as they say, and your feelings will absolutely compound if you don’t confess now. The break works in your favour though, as you won’t have to deal with repercussions until September comes back around. Best case scenario, everyone will forget by the time you return to school. Worst case scenario, you’ll at least get two months free of awkwardness and teasing. Which leads to:
#3: Jade will 100%, absolutely, undoubtedly reject you. He’s the type of person who only makes choices that benefit him, and you have nothing to offer. And though humiliation sucks, a one-and-done micro-moment of mortifying rejection is a small price to pay for emotional freedom.
It’s not that you want to confess to Jade Leech. It’s that you have to.
So with that airtight reasoning in mind as the ceremony finally comes to a close, you rush through the sea of eager students, your destination not a where but a whom.
The moment he’s within reach, you grab his sleeve. “Jade.”
He freezes; the crowd doesn’t. Even Floyd and Azul vanish in the flow of people. Still, though students shove past you ceaselessly, you stand strong.
“Prefect?”
You realize you’re cooked when Jade turns to face you. His eyes are wide in shock—adorably so—and surprise is a rare expression to see on Jade. It’s affecting you more than you’d like to admit.
“Um, could I talk with you?” you ask sheepishly, just as someone shoves you from behind. Luckily, you manage to right yourself before crashing straight into Jade, sparing yourself the extra embarrassment. “Preferably somewhere less busy?”
His expression morphs back into his usual: a coy, composed smile with eyes too scrutinizing for anyone’s comfort.
“Of course.” You repress a smitten grin at the sound of his voice. Soon, you won’t have to do that consciously anymore, and that thought is exhilarating. “Let’s be on our way, then. Stay close to me, Prefect.”
And you obey, never once dropping your grasp of his sleeve so as to not lose him.
It’s in the courtyard, beneath the apple tree, that Jade finally stops and you release his sleeve. With most students staying in the hallways and subjecting themselves to traffic jams by foot, only a sprinkling of smarter students pass through.
“What is it you’d like to tell me?” Jade asks, heterochromic eyes glimmering in the dappled sunlight. For a second, you almost forget that you’re here to be rejected.
Besides him, the scene isn’t picture-perfect: trampled apple blossoms decay beneath your feet, a brawl has broken out in the hall nearby, and you’re coated in sweat from being smushed in the crowd earlier. It’s pathetic and imperfect, which makes it perfect for your purpose.
You take a deep breath and brace for impact.
“Um…” you start, looking anywhere but his perfect face. “Well, y’know…”
Jade doesn’t rush you, doesn’t even raise an eyebrow. He’s perfectly patient.
“You probably know this already, but—oh Sevens, I’m regretting this even now—so I… ah, fuck it.
“I have a crush on you,” you blurt.
…
…
…
“Do it quickly, please,” you add once the silence stretches five seconds too long for your liking.
“...Do what quickly?”
Jade’s seeming ignorance simultaneously baffles and infuriates you enough to make you look back up at him. The cunning smirk that you expect is nowhere to be found. In its place: pure, genuine confusion. Which confuses you.
“Uh… reject me?”
“Did you not just confess that you liked me?” he questions slowly. “Why do you want me to reject you?”
“Why wouldn’t you reject me?” you counter. “Just get it over with.”
And with that, the confusion washes from his face, and the composed smile you’d been expecting in the first place reappears.
“And if I were to decline? What would you do then?”
“Then I’d be fucked!” you think aloud accidentally.
The cutest chuckle leaks from his lips and rattles your heart in your chest. You slap your hand over Jade’s mouth before he can inflict more emotional damage on you.
“Oya oya?” you hear muffled against your palm, Jade’s eyes crinkling with mirth. “Quite forward of you~”
With your other hand, you hold an authoritative finger in his face. “Stop it. Quit being charming and cute. Just turn me down, please.”
As you feel his lips pull into a sharp grin, your hand flinches away on the off chance that he bites you à la Floyd. But Jade is quicker, catching your retracting hand in his own.
“No.” He says it firmly, a stark contrast with how gently he strokes the back of your hand with his thumb. “I’ll see you soon, Prefect.”
Jade leaves you with a pat on the head, a rejected rejection, and a mess of thoughts and feelings. Somehow, in all your overoptimistic deliberation, you’d neglected to take into account your crush’s stubbornness and affinity for playing the long game.
Kicking at the wilted apple blooms under your soles reveals the small mushrooms sprouting underneath.
Fuck.
Deuce is the first of your friends to find out how unsuccessful you were in your mission, him and his mom having very generously offered you and Grim a place to stay for the summer.
“You’re cooked,” Deuce helpfully comments while you’re settling into the spare room. Grim, on the other hand, has already crashed on the floor. “Jade’s totally stringing you along!”
You groan your entire soul out your throat. “I know.”
“Just DM him and reject him yourself!”
“mMMmmmm…” you whine. “Fiiiine…” You unlock your phone for the first time since passing through the mirror at NRC and open the Magicam app. For all the mental and emotional turmoil that Jade put you through today, you don’t expect him to spare you the satisfaction of replying to your DMs right away.
Well, it's not the first time you've been wrong about him.
Jade messaged you first. 42 minutes ago, to be exact.
Good evening, dear Prefect :) Where would you like to go for our first date?
You place your phone face-down on the dresser and place yourself face-down on the floor.
You lie there for a good minute before Deuce’s concern catches up to him. “Uh, Prefect…? You good?”
You flop about like a fish. “uUurGghhhHhh.”
“Wait, is he blackmailing you? If he is, I’ll teach him a lesson.” Bless Deuce’s sweet delinquent soul. “Just tell me. It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not that,” you groan into the hardwood before lifting your head. “It’s worse. He’s asking me on a date.”
“WHAT?!” Deuce practically screams. “He’s totally playing you! Or else he’s gonna bring you up a mountain and we’ll never find your body! Tell him no!”
“Yeah, I know,” you sigh. “Okay.”
Jade, I'm gonna have to reject your rejection of my rejection. Sorry for bothering you. Have a good summer break 👍
“Done,” you update. “I think he’s literally in the ocean so he’s probably gonna leave me on sent—oh Sevens he read it!”
Deuce leaps across the room to see your screen.
“Oh fuck, he’s typing!” you shriek, causing your friend to glance around warily and Grim to flip over in his sleep. “Oh shit, oh fuck.”
You shove your phone into Deuce’s hands. “W-What? What do you want me to do?” he sputters.
“Just—! If he sends something bad,” you instruct, “don't tell me what it is, just block him.”
“Okay, I can do that.”
You wait in charged silence for what feels like an eternity. Then:
“Prefect?” Deuce treads carefully.
“…what.”
“What counts as ‘bad’?” And slowly, he turns the screen toward you.
It’s a single sentence.
Even if I want to date you as well?
Yeah, that's bad.
Really bad.
Your first date is at a summer fair in a coastal town of the Kingdom of Roses.
You try to bail on Jade, really, you do! Or well, you try to convince yourself to bail on him.
He’s taking advantage of your naïveté for his amusement, whispers your brain as you agree on a time and place.
Tell him you don’t like sleazy schemers like him, it advises while you thoughtfully pick out your cutest outfit.
Say you got food poisoning and can’t meet him; the thought rattles through your mind on the 1-hour bus ride to the date spot.
Even as you arrive at your destination, your self-preservation endures. Even at the sight of Jade in a casual t-shirt and jeans, checking his phone for messages from you, It’s not too late to turn around!
Unfortunately though, your heart has been a whole lot louder than your mind lately. That fact becomes especially clear when Jade spots you: his eyes gain a twinkle to them as they meet yours, effectively shutting down every blaring alarm in your head.
“Hello, Prefect. You look lovely.”
“Um, thanks,” you respond choppily. “So do you.”
And because you’re in the palm of his hand and he knows it, Jade holds out said palm for you to take. “Shall we?”
It’s your Cinderella moment; of course you take it. If you’re this deep into a bad decision, you might as well go all in and enjoy yourself before the clock strikes twelve.
The date is… really nice.
You make pleasant conversation. About your hobbies, about your summer plans, about the shenanigans of the past school year. You tell him about the summer job you got to earn your keep at Deuce’s, and Jade tells you about the mesocosm he’d made with flora from Sage’s Island. He’s voluble when it comes to his interests, and you’re equally receptive when your guard is down. Together, you’re peak yappers.
“Are you hungry?” Jade asks when you (try to) subtly eye the food stalls.
You chuckle bashfully. “Just a little. It smells really good.”
“Good. I’m quite hungry myself,” he replies. “If you don’t mind finding us a seat, I’ll be back in a moment.”
And so you plop yourself down at a clean table for two, and wait for your date to return. With little else to do, you pull out your phone for the first time since meeting up. The notifications you’re met with—both the nature and the quantity—give you whiplash.
96 missed calls, 114 texts from Deuce, 201 from Ace, 1049 from your first-year group chat and counting. All spread across the past two hours, all with the gist of: ‘ARE YOU STILL ALIVE???’
You simply open your camera app, stick out your tongue and shut your eyes in a play-dead face, and snap a selfie. Into the group chat it goes!
baymax!: Prefect! Hi!
ass: oh tahnk sevens he hasnt killed them yet
doos: Are you in danger????? Do you need help????????
🍎: damn i lowk thought deuce was lying about you going out with jade lmao
You: no deuce i’m chilling dw he’s actually super sweet
got that DAWG in him: You don’t know what he’s thinking. Call us if you feel something’s off
“WAKASAMAAA”: DO NOT let him take you to a secondary location.
You: guys i’m fine lol
[ass started a video call]
You: bruh what do you want
ass: just pick up dude
ass: gotta make sure
When you do pick up, everyone’s already there. “Hiii~” you greet.
Your friends collectively sigh in relief. And then they start drilling you with questions.
“WHY???”
“Did he make you sign an NDA? Or some other life-binding contract?”
“He hasn’t poisoned you or anything, right? Don’t eat anything he gives you!”
“Guys, it’s fine,” you laugh. “He’s getting us food now.”
“Don’t let your guard down! That’s how he’ll get you.”
“Oh Sevens, they’re cooked. He’s stringing them along.”
“You sure have a lot of faith in me, huh?” you sigh. “It’s just one date, guys. We’re not dating.”
“Is that so?” Jade’s voice croons from behind you. You scream. Your friends scream. Jade chuckles, laying out a feast-worthy spread of street food onto the table.
Your stomach drops at the sheer amount of stuff he bought. “Jade—this is so much. How much did this cost?”
“It’s my treat,” he assures you quietly, while your friends yell at you through the screen not to fall into his loan shark trap. “Don’t worry about it.”
“PASS US TO THE EEL,” Ace articulates loudly, but Jade gently takes the phone from your hand himself. “Listen here, Leech,” the redhead threatens. “If you do anything to the Prefect—”
“You’ll be sleeping with the fishes,” Deuce finishes, “and not literally.”
“Of course,” Jade smiles politely, and you groan in pure mortification. “Rest assured that I have no ill intentions with the Prefect. I’ll do nothing against their will.”
“That means nothing! It’s you, so they’re gonna be willing either way!”
“ACE!” you scold, snatching your phone back from Jade. “Appreciate the concern guys, but I’m fine. BYE.” You hang up and bury your face in your hands, quietly screaming. Jade laughs, whether at your friends’ passion or your mortification or both, you’re not 100% sure.
“Your friends care very deeply about you,” he giggles, finally taking the seat across from you.
“Yeah. Um, just ignore everything they said. They’re really spirited,” you plead. “Sorry about that. I didn’t think you’d be back so soon.”
“No need to apologize,” Jade reassures you. “I find it very endearing.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“It’s the truth.”
A particularly loud growl cuts you off before you can refute him again. From a stomach. Your stomach.
“Please, dig in,” Jade invites, unfazed. “I apologize for keeping you waiting.”
Despite everything, your embarrassment quickly dissipates as you two work through the buffet, exchanging reviews for each dish as you go. Even when you’ve eaten your fill, Jade is still ravenous. It’s impressive how a cute boy like him can have such a boundless appetite and daintily pat his mouth with a napkin like he didn’t just effortlessly Kirby-inhale three times as much as you did.
It’s annoyingly charming.
Bellies full, you slip back into easy conversation, and before you know it, the sun has nearly fully set. Lingering copper sunlight skips across the rippling surface of the sea, tinting the town with warmth (as if your rose-tinted glasses weren’t enough).
“The last bus back to Clock Town leaves in 40 minutes,” Jade alerts you. “Would you like to check out the rest of the stalls before we part ways?”
“Sure, let’s do that!” You slip your hand into the crook of Jade’s elbow as he offers it, the gentleman. “We still haven’t seen the vendors or the game stalls.”
You browse the pop-up vendors selling magical trinkets, handmade charms, jewellery, all sorts of wares, but nothing catches your eye nor Jade’s. And as you walk through the area of game stalls, you begin to think that you might have the same luck here, too.
Except a gasp from Jade stops you in your tracks. Like you, he’s equally frozen to the spot, but his gaze is trained on one particular game stall: what looks to be… Dance Dance Revolution? Well, to be more specific, it’s not the game that entrances him, but the prize.
It’s a jumbo mushroom plush. Like, you-sized-level jumbo.
“Wanna try?” you ask him.
It takes a moment for Jade to come back to his senses. “Ah, no, no need.” But the stiffness in his posture betrays his reluctance.
“C’mon,” you coax, tapping your fingers on his elbow. “Let’s do it.”
Unfortunately for Jade, his two years of experience with legs never prepared him for the impossible gauntlet that is Dance Dance Revolution. Five seconds into the game, it becomes clear to everyone that Jade’s dream of winning the mushroom is nothing more than that: a mere fantasy.
Well, not if you can help it. The second he steps off the platform, you’re up. Failure is not a possibility, let alone an option.
Your legs move unlike ever before. Even as you’d run for your life from overblot monsters, your legs never had this speed. Even as you were training for your VDC audition, your legs never had this level of coordination and precision. The omnipotent Spirit of Dance Dance Revolution has possessed your body.
And so, naturally, you win the game. The stall owner’s jaw is dropped, the passersby are applauding, and your date stares at you with so much wonder that you chuckle a little.
Jade is so adorably awestruck when you pass the mushroom to him, you almost forget how bad of an idea he is. Well, either way, at the moment, he’s perfectly harmless with both his arms wrapped around the giant stuffed stalk.
“Thank you,” he whispers, more tenderly than you’d ever thought possible for him.
“It’s my pleasure. You’re the one who bought me an all-you-can-eat buffet earlier, anyways.”
“Fufufu, I’d told you it was my treat,” he hums. “There was no need to repay me.”
“It’s alright, I’d rather not leave with debt anyways.” You do, after all, know that being indebted to the trio from Octavinelle is bad news, regardless of how sweet Jade seems. “Speaking of, my bus leaves in 10 minutes, so I should probably get going.”
“I’ll walk you to the bus stop, then.”
And so, as your bus approaches in the distance, your Cinderella moment comes to a close. Both of you got this date out of your systems, so now Jade’ll find you boring and leave you alone, and now you can die knowing what it’s like to go on a date with Jade Leech. All’s well that ends well, right?
Except, you find yourself thinking that it wouldn’t be so bad to miss your bus if it meant spending a little more time with Jade. The next bus comes at 6 in the morning; you know that would be a seriously bad idea. But you also think that if Jade asked you to, you’d still do it.
So in a last-ditch attempt to save your soul, you ask again, “Can you reject me now?”
He laughs. “No.”
“Hm. Worth a shot.”
“Instead, actually…” Jade starts, his hold tightening around the mushroom, “would you be interested in doing this again sometime?”
because yuu's geniuenly my favorite character....... im still torturing them
[view p.2] - masterlist - more of yuu?
Yuu occasionally forgets details about their old world. First it’s small things like favorite snack brands, a classmate’s face, the route home from school. Then one day they realize they can’t remember their own bedroom clearly anymore.
Nobody at NRC fully understands how lonely being magicless is. The first years mentions it rarely but in a casual way, like 'oh yeah we forgot', but Yuu constantly lives with the awareness that if something goes wrong, they can’t protect themselves the same way everyone else can. They're thankful to have friends that protected them during the overblots even tho they felt utterly useless...
Ramshackle is cold because the dorm was abandoned for so long, and sometimes Yuu stays awake listening to the building creak, realizing there’s nobody in this world they truly belong with.
Grim notices when Yuu is homesick before anyone else does. He’ll start fights or act extra annoying on purpose just to distract them from crying.
Yuu keeps souvenirs from every dorm. Not because they’re sentimental, but because they’re terrified that if they ever go home, this world will disappear like a dream.
Some nights Yuu quietly wonders whether their family thinks they disappeared… or died. (I think I saw something about Yuu's original world being paused or something like that in one of the novels but im not too sure so...)
Ace is one of the first people to realize Yuu smiles differently around others versus when they’re alone.
Yuu gets used to being needed only during crises. They become “the reliable prefect,” but secretly start feeling like people only come to Ramshackle when everything is falling apart.
Malleus visiting Ramshackle late at night becomes important because he’s one of the few people who understands isolation. Neither of them says it directly.
After every overblot incident, Yuu becomes more afraid. Not of the overblots themselves, but of losing the people they’ve grown attached to.
There’s a version of Yuu that stops talking about going home because they realize NRC is home now… and that realization scares them more than anything.
Crowley promising “we’ll find a way home soon” starts hurting after a while because Yuu can tell he doesn’t (want to) know.
Yuu sometimes sits in on magic studies they can never use anyway. Not because they expect to learn magic, just because they want to feel included.
The students eventually stop calling Ramshackle “haunted” and start calling it “home,” and Yuu nearly cries the first time they overhear it.
If Yuu ever made it back to their original world, the loneliness would hit in subtle moments. Reaching for their phone to text Ace about something dumb. Hearing thunder and thinking of Diasomnia. Turning around to tell Grim a joke before remembering he isn’t there. And the worst part would be knowing nobody around them could truly understand why they miss a world that technically never existed.
When you asked Riddle for his card, his eyes widened in surprise. You rarely asked him for anything. He had always told you to rely on him more, to let him take care of you once in a while, so he did not hesitate. He handed you his card, imagining you would use it for something nice, maybe a fancy gift or a proper meal. He wanted you to feel spoiled. “Do not hold back, alright?” Riddle smiled.
Later, when you returned, he looked up from his homework, expecting a bag or two of purchases. Instead, you handed him his card back and quietly licked at a small cup of strawberry ice cream.
Riddle just… stared. “That's all?” he asked, utterly baffled. “You could have...you could have bought something useful!” His voice went up slightly, flustered by how casual you were. You only shrugged and said you just wanted ice cream. His expression softened immediately, the strict composure melting into something fond.
He sighed, smiling. “Honestly… you are unbelievable” he murmured. But as you sat beside him, Riddle watched you happily eat and shook his head fondly. “But… if that’s what made you happy, then I suppose spoiling you with something simple is not so bad.”
۶ৎ Leona Kingscholar
Leona did not even question it when you asked for his card. In fact, he had been waiting for you to finally give in and let him spoil you. “Bout time you asked” he drawled, handing his card over lazily. He expected you to come back with something extravagant, maybe new clothes or jewelry. When you returned and plopped down beside him with only a single ice cream in hand, his ears twitched in disbelief. “That’s it?” he drawled, brow arching as his tail flicked.
You took a bite, humming contentedly as you handed the card back. Leona snorted, getting his card and leaning back against the bed. “You seriously used my card for just an ice cream? I told you to spoil yourself, not go easy on me.” There was an amused rumble in his chest, low and teasing. “You’re such a weirdo.”
But as he watched the little smile on your face, his teasing softened. He reached over to swipe a bit of ice cream from your lip with his thumb before licking it off, smirking lazily. “Hmph. Guess if it made you happy, I don’t mind. But you’re too modest. Guess I’ll just have to spoil you myself next time.”
۶ৎ Azul Ashengrotto
Azul was genuinely pleased when you asked for his card, he had been trying to pamper you for ages. “Of course, my pearl. Buy whatever you desire.” he said, smiling smoothly. He wanted you to indulge, to feel taken care of. His imagination ran wild, already picturing you returning after shopping, perhaps you had chosen something expensive, or maybe you had ordered from Mostro Lounge’s premium menu. But when you came back with a small ice cream, his confident grin faltered.
He blinked at the dessert, then at you, then at his card. “...That’s all?” His voice came out faintly incredulous. “You could have purchased anything you wanted, and you chose ice cream?” When you nodded, perfectly content, he pressed a hand to his face, muffling a sigh.
But then he peeked between his fingers to see the satisfied smile on your face. The genuine happiness there made his chest tighten. Slowly, Azul chuckled under his breath, giving up. “You truly do not know how to spoil yourself, do you?” he said, fondness slipping through his composed tone. “Next time, I will accompany you and we will make sure you get more than just that.”
۶ৎ Kalim Al-Asim
Kalim was so excited when you asked for his card. His eyes sparkled, thinking you had finally accepted his offers to let him spoil you. “You want my card? Absolutely! Buy anything! You deserve it!” he said, practically pushing his card into your hands. He spent the next hour happily imagining what you might get, jewelry? New clothes? Something fun and colorful? When you came back grinning with an ice cream cone, he froze mid-wave.
“Huh? That’s all?” he said, wide-eyed, before bursting into laughter. “You’re amazing! I thought you were going to go all out!” You shrugged with a bright smile, and he could not stop grinning.
He reached out to take a bite of your ice cream, “You could have bought the whole cart if you wanted! But you just wanted one scoop, huh?” He laughed again, his eyes soft with adoration. “You’re too cute. Next time, I am coming with you. I am not letting you leave until you really let me spoil you!”
۶ৎ Vil Schoenheit
When you asked for his card, Vil’s lips curved into a graceful smile. “Finally” he said, handing his card to you. “You deserve to be spoiled, darling. Do not hold back.” He imagined you browsing the boutique, picking out something refined, maybe a new outfit, a skincare line, a designer item, or a luxury perfume, something worthy of you. But when you came back holding only a single cup of ice cream, Vil nearly dropped his mirror.
“You… used my card for an ice cream?” His voice was calm, but the disbelief was clear. You simply nodded and handed the card back, licking your spoon. For a moment, he was speechless, until his lips curved into an amused sigh. “I give you the world, and you ask only for a spoonful of sugar.” he said softly, shaking his head.
Vil moved closer, brushing a bit of melted ice cream from your chin with a tissue. “Still, you look content.” he murmured, his tone warm. “I said you should spoil yourself, but perhaps you already did, in your own way. Next time, let me teach you what true luxury feels like.”
۶ৎ Idia Shroud
When you asked for his card, Idia almost glitched on the spot. “Wait, you actually want me to pay for something?!” His face turned crimson as he fumbled with his wallet to get his card, handing it over immediately while muttering something about how he had been wanting to spoil you anyway. “Sure. go wild, I guess…” His mind ran wild with anxious excitement, imagining you spending a lot, he did not care, he just wanted you to be happy. He sat there later, imagining you buying gaming merchandise, tech, or something cool. But when you came back with just an ice cream cone, he blinked in disbelief.
“That’s it? You… only bought that?” he asked, his voice cracking slightly. You nodded, smiling softly. Idia flared in embarrassment as he groaned, “You’re supposed to let me spoil you, not save my credits!”
He trailed off, then sighed, a faint smile forming. “You’re kinda ridiculous.” he said, though his voice had softened completely. “But… that’s what makes you adorable.” He looked away quickly, adding under his breath, “Next time, I’m ordering for you, no arguments.”
۶ৎ Malleus Draconia
When you asked for his card, Malleus looked pleased, his emerald eyes lighting up with quiet delight. He had been wishing for a chance to give you anything you desired, to see you bask in comfort, to see you enjoy the luxuries he could easily offer. “So, you have finally decided to indulge yourself? Buy anything that pleases you, my beloved. I want you to get whatever your heart desires.” he said softly, placing the card in your hand with full sincerity. He expected perhaps a trinket of value, or maybe something you had long desired. When you returned, happily eating a cone of ice cream, he blinked in surprise.
“That's what you bought?” he asked, puzzled but amused. “Ice cream?” You nodded, explaining simply that you were craving it. Malleus blinked once, then softly laughed, genuine. “You are truly curious.” he murmured, shaking his head in wonder.
He leaned closer, eyes fond. “Of all things you could have chosen, you picked something so small… yet it seems to bring you great joy.” His lips curved faintly as he brushed a thumb against your cheek. “Very well. If this small thing makes you happy, then I am content. But next time, allow me to spoil you properly.”
⸝⸝ lmao, this draft has been rotting in my notes. I just finished it this week during my free time and polished it yesterday, but I fell asleep before I could post it.
