#rafayelxwitchy!reader

[loveanddeephistory]

Rafayel with a Witchy MC

I sent @poisonf0rest an ask talking about this but as someone who's on the spiritual side, I can't stop thinking about how funny it would be for someone who works with different deities to find out their boyfriend was one. So this is incredibly self indulgent and niche.

Not proofread, this is specifically for shits and giggles.

WC: 1.2k

divider by @thecutestgrotto

Everyone's got their beliefs and little practices. Tara does tarot readings without anyone batting an eye, Xavier will pray at a shrine with others, and you have a full practice. As accepting as Linkon is, you know outright witchcraft was a little out of the norm

You keep it chill. You have an altar and keep it clean, honor your ancestors where appropriate, visit shrines, leave offerings. You have your main patron but you're not stingy with your respect.

You keep it on the down low, though. You discuss how sassy your tarot deck is getting with you around Tara in public leave it at that.

When you get into a relationship with Rafayel? You know you have to come out of the (broom) closet eventually, but you start slow.

You discuss some tarot readings where he showed up, to which Rafayel expresses interest. Unless it's bad, then he scoffs.

"What would a stack of cards know about us >:("

You add in some herbal knowledge, maybe drop hints about deity work

But then Ebb and Flow happens. Finding out your boyfriend is basically a merman makes you feel a looooot less guilty about dabbling in magic and not telling him.

Shortly after you just come out and say it, he isn't surprised, but you can't help but catch a weird glint in his eye. Like a fleeting glimpse of deja vu.

Things smooth out from there. With these big secrets off both your chests you move on. You're pleasantly surprised to find him showing off his own knowledge of magic over time, teasingly cursing you in Lemurian, showing his knowledge of tarot during an abyssal chaos commission, and eventually revealing he, too, is a god.

As shocked as you are, it makes sense. He makes your hair stand on end the same way other presences do during a prayer or ritual. At first you chalked it up to how he always made your heart flutter, but look at him. Look at him and say you aren't surprised he's divine.

The first time he visits your place is what surprises both of you the most.

Your altar is in a private space and he doesn't go out of his way to snoop (to your knowledge), but you do catch him staring at the statue of your patron deity.

"Y/N." His voice, melodic as always, was tense. "Tell me that isn't what I think it is." You turned, peering into the corner of the room where your small altar lay. It was humble, a couple of dried flower petals, a bowl for offerings, and the statue. You shrug.

"It's an altar."

"Yeah. And it isn't for me." He turned to you, a look akin to absolute betrayal on his face. You poked his cheek.

"Yeah, well, last I checked you're my boyfriend. What are you first? My boyfriend, or my god?" He immediately opened his mouth, ready to answer. But he paused. He lifted a finger to his chin, breaking eye contact. The silence hung in the air for a few moments as he attempted to puzzle the answer for himself.

"Both...?"

"I'm not gonna lie, wouldn't that make us have a huge power imbalance?" You kept teasing him, even as that bottom lip jutted out.

"No, you still have the bond, it's not like I'm gonna force you to do anything." There's the pouty fishie you know and love. He seemed almost genuinely distraught that you were paying attention to other gods. "But isn't this, like... cheating? Or something?"

"If that were true, I started working with these gods long before I knew who you were." You chastised right back. He was immediately ready to argue with you, but caught himself before he could. He groaned.

"Okay. Whatever. Just- make me one, too. I wanna be included."

And thus, the hunt for proper tools for a sea themed new altar began. The first part was easy, repurposing some of Rafayel's gifts. The jar full of sand and seashells was first to go on, along with a beautiful blue scarf he got you for an altar cloth. A little ceramic bowl he made became the offering bowl. Rafayel gifted you seashells with the expectation that they be placed on his altar, and you were happy to oblige. You found out his favorite scents for designated candles.

You were tempted to get a designated oracle deck for him, but he talked you out of it.

"If you want my advice on something, just call me, cutie." He was quick to flick your forehead as well. While you'd received the spiritual equivalent of a Gibbs slap from ancestors and deities before, this was a new ride in and of itself.

Oh, but it was wholeheartedly mutual. You couldn't just date a god and not banter back. You couldn't just sever the relationships you did have, nor did you want to, so you still spent time with your patron deity. A prayer here, a reading there, an offering where appropriate.

Every. Single. Time. Without fail. Rafayel would call or text you.

You had just lit some incense, leaving a bowl full of fruit for the deity, clasping your hands and murmuring your prayer before your phone loudly began to ring. You recognized the song you had set up for your beloved, so you answer your phone.

"I know that isn't for who I think it's for, is it?" There was no greeting. No 'hello love of my life', no 'hi cutie', just straight to sharply asking about the offering.

"I was just about to get to yours! I light incense for you, you know, if you want fruit I'll buy you some and come by Whitesand."

"Cutieeeee, I should be your patron, not them! I'm your boyfriend and your god!"

"Well technically since I'm not a Lemurian-"

"No. It counts." He came off a little sharper than intended, you could tell by his immediate sigh. "It counts." His voice softened. "You're still my follower."

"I am, yes, I am your follower. I am also your partner and beloved bodyguard. If you really want my prayers, I can just call or text you. If you want offerings, I can swing by with some takeout for dinner?" You glanced at the incense burning, the scented smoke filling the room in the most satisfying way. The smoke began to curl and shift. It seemed aquatic.

And from that alone you knew why you felt the air shift. You smiled, speaking gently into your receiver. "I got that oceanic incense you recommended the other day, baby. Want me to burn it while I place the order?"

"... yes, please."

Your other deities were rarely so polite. Though, of course, you weren't dating them. Your dynamics were different. They could be sassy through tarot cards, or the flame of a candle spitting back at you when you went to extinguish it. Rafayel could just be sassy to your face. That perfect bottom lip jutting out as his ears turned red.

Rafayel was unlike any god you had every worked with. But something about him felt familiar anyway. So you lit his incense, put it in his incense holder, on his altar. Pictures of the two of you decorating it, his gifts littered about, signs of his affection for you everywhere.

And as you stood in awe at the altar of his devotion, the air stilled. You would be in his arms soon enough, with an offering of takeout and your prayers of devotion spoken directly into his ears, trailed down his bare chest, wrapping around his body in the devotion of a darling devotee. But for now, you could still feel the air shift. You could practically feel his arms around you already.