#Levi the harpy

[zoozvie]

Engagement?

♡ Levi/gn.Reader ♡ ao3 link ♡

You cheerfully hummed as you walked around your apartment, keeping busy with cleaning up and organizing the kitchen. It was a pretty lazy day for you two, accomplishing mundane chores that weren’t very important.

“Are you ever going to stop singing that creepy song?” Levi’s flat voice sounded from his chair in the sitting room. He had a book in his lap, but instead, he’d been watching you for the last few minutes with his perfect view into the kitchen.

“It may be weird, but it’s catchy.” You shifted to your other foot, flowing to non-existent music.

“You’re weird.”

Without looking at him, you waved him off, “Whatever.”

More humming filled the air. Harpy hare, where have you buried all your children? You looked over your shoulder discreetly at your boyfriend. Tell me so, I say. 

Your hands wrung a dish towel over and over between them, awkwardly leaning your hip against the cabinets. “So what did we say we’d do regarding marriage?”

Levi paused before he could take a sip of his tea. “Why are you thinking about that?”

“Nothing, no reason. I just wanted to remember what the plan was.”

Levi sighed, sitting back against his seat and placing his tea and book aside. “Well, we both said we’d sign the papers if it made sense legally and financially. And then later on, when we felt secure and ready, we could get ‘emotionally’ married and have a ceremony with a few friends.” His attention was trained on your face, which was purposely facing elsewhere. “Is that right?”

Your head bobbed in agreement, “Yeah, yeah, that sounds good. So we’re just kind of waiting, right?” At his furrowed brows, you continued, “We established from the beginning that we weren’t really into casual dating and wasting our time. Both of us want life partners and to take things seriously.” He nodded. “So we’re just kind of waiting for the benefits to outweigh the potential drawbacks to actually get married, legally and everything…”

“Do you not want that?”

“No, well, I do. It’s just…” you sighed, setting down the towel. Your behavior strongly showcased your anxiety, and Levi reflexively reached out his hand to you, gathering your attention with a small ‘Come here.’

His calm energy pulled you in without a choice. Your hand slid into his, standing before his chair as his thumb stroked your knuckles.

“I guess we won’t have those exciting proposals where it’s a big surprise.” Levi tilts his head to the side curiously when your eyes only look at your hands. 

“Do you want to be surprised with a proposal?”

“No! I mean, the culture around someone begging for their partner to propose and then being disappointed when it isn’t how they wanted or when they wanted it is terrible and unfair to have that job be put on one person in a relationship. It is better when it’s collaborated and communicated.” Your lips pout a bit when you finally look up at him. “Also, I don’t expect you to propose. I could propose to you.”

“I know, dear,” he blew air through his nose in amusement, “We’re equally responsible for each other.”

“Exactly.” Embarrassment fills you once again as you lay it out for him. “But I guess there are appealing parts of a traditional relationship. At least the surprise and excitement of it all. And since we decided from the beginning that we’re in it for the long run, engagement isn’t really anything new or different that needs to be…” 

Levi gently cuts you off: “You can still care about getting engaged. It’s still a title we can decide has importance—as long as, you know, we are the ones who decide that it matters.” His other hand smooths up your arm to pull your shoulder towards him. Always so gentle and kind with you. You end up arranging to sit on the meat of his thigh, on his good leg. He never voiced any bother regarding your proximity.

You bend down to wrap your arms around his shoulders and pull him close. “I think I’m just tired of calling you my ‘boyfriend’ all the time.” Your voice muffles a bit in his shoulder. “We’re getting old, I feel so juvenile talking like that.”

His smile is beautiful when you lean back to look at him. “Yeah? Look at me; I use a cane. How do you think I feel when everyone assumes my partner is half my age?” You chuckle in amusement along with him. Thankful that he’s gotten over, or gotten better at joking about his physical disabilities and appearance.

“Just call me your fiancé.” He shrugged as if it was the most easy thing in the world.

“I can’t just—Levi, people will ask questions—”

“So what? What do they know about our relationship anyway?” He frowned. Still as cute as ever. “Tell them we’re saving up because I only want to get married once, so it should be a nice gathering ‘cause I know you want that.” Your fingers interlaced with his. “So we don’t know when to have our wedding, but people can be engaged for years without knowing that.”

You hum, “My coworker has been engaged for seven years, has been since she had a kid, but doesn’t have a date for a wedding because, yeah, they want to have proper funds for their house and her daughter’s needs.”

“Right, there’s nothing wrong with that. And I’m sure you’ll get all that surprising proposal excitement from everybody when you start calling me your fiancé.” He paused to study your face closer. “I’ll get you a ring, so don’t worry about that.” 

You pull back, “What? No, you have to do that. It’s the whole point of saving money.”

“I never said it would be expensive. You know I don’t care about that, and I’m glad you value sentimental shit more than money.” You scoff, ‘duh,’ but you are smiling on the inside at his thoughtfulness.

He pulls you back closer to his chest, although with you on his lap, his face rests in the crook of your neck. Like he immediately needed to fix the wrong of separation you created. “Our anniversary is next month. That’ll give us enough time to get whatever symbol of engagement we want,” his injured hand on your back carded through your hair. “Whatever you want.”

Your smile couldn’t help but show with his words. You pressed your face into his hair, trying to get impossibly closer. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

Both of you slumped together, backs bound to ache after slouching for so long. But this space was yours, this time was yours, this home was yours. Partners in every way.

You were his, and Levi was yours.

dividers by saradika-graphics

Self indulgent because this is my exact situation? Yeah.

Harpy Hare has been in my head all week, lol. I wish I could have finished this earlier to kind of fit in with the Levimonth24 post-war marriage day, but oh well.

Masterlist

[a-local-idiots-shitpost]

Headcanons on the Brothers more Monstrous forms

anyway my Headcanons on how the Brothers could be monstrous looking also turned out longer than I would have thought with 1753 words, if there is interest maybe I´ll do one for the Dateables and Side Characters when I have time for it again, also Asmo´s got a bit short mostly because his form is supposed to be rather ambiguous

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Lucifer:

did you guys know that Seraphim Angels are mostly just depicted as just a bunch of eyes, one big eye and usually six pairs of wings?

Imagine these features alongside a massive twisted humanoid figure

and with massive I would say easily the height of a house and than some more

but you can see that he is a Demon

I could also see that Lucifer being the oldest and strongest is probably the only one who somehow managed to keep a somewhat angelic form

despite the remains of his Halo which are embedded in his skin he still has his usual horns, but his are longer and he has three additional ones, they kinda resemble a Crown interestingly enough

his skin is also interesting it seems like it barely fits onto his body, it somehow manages to look stretched beyond it´s limits but also leathery and a bit wrinkly to simply explain it, his scares from the Celestial War are also more prominent like this, he actually still has somewhat six wings his four regrown one which even in this form even have some feathers but they look unhealthy and burned, the remains of the other two who look like they are slowly growing back

despite his kinda humanoid body his “face” only makes up a skull and one eye, because of this his “voice” also sounds staticy when he “speaks”

he has hands and legs but they are incredibly difficult to make out just as the rest of his body, it almost looks like he has only his Wings and Eye

Mammon:

he looks somewhat how you would imagine a Crow Harpy

he has incredibly sharp talons, which he usually uses to pick of Demons who wear valuable or shiny jewelry and his feathers are mostly golden colored with white tips, inverted on how his hair looks in his Demon form (White hair with Golden tips), some people even claimed that either Mammon himself or someone else covered them in actual Gold but currently those are only rumors and Mammon refuses to say what is the truth and what is false

it´s actually hard to tell if he has an extra pair of arms or his wings just look like he has more then one pair of hands, it could also be possible that he has two hands on each of his wings, but whether or not he has more hands or arms his nails can easily cut through someones flesh just like his talons

as an additional note his feet do look more like a typical birds one but he does have five toes like a Human unlike the four birds usually have, but those are the only similarities

he sometimes also hides his crows in his feathers, either so they have a safe place to hide, staying close to him in case he needs them or to help him clean his feathers

weirdly enough despite pretty much looking like a crow he does not have a beak, but his teeth are noticeably sharper like this, probably to make it easier for him to eat his pray

Leviathan:

Levi actually looks like someone took a sea serpent and decided to attach some arms onto it and replace it´s head with a Humans

it´s actually unknown how long he is like this, no one ever managed to fully see him in the water but he can easily dwarf all of the surface sea creatures in the Devildom and most of the deep sea ones, so needless to say he must be massive

because he spends most of his time in the deep sea parts of the Devildom he actually managed to develop a form of bioluminescens but no one can explain how this happened or how it was even possible, before this he was actually very good at navigating in the dark, he still is but not as good as before

there are some rumors going around that when Levi once visited the Human Realm and was seen by some old time sailors that he started the myth of the World Serpent

the only Humanoid features he possess in this form are actually just the shape of his head and the fact that he has arms, he also has the tongue of a snake

Levi´s bioluminescens is also sometimes useful for attracting pray, most of the time the fish swim away from him but bigger ones usually follow it, which makes it very easy for him to catch pray, some speculate that the light somehow manipulate the fish who see it, similar to his Brother Asmo´s charm ability and this might be why only big fish approach instead of swimming away because they would be the only useful substance for him

it´s also a known fact that in this form Levi sometimes causes disasters just from moving to fast, the last time he actively hunted and chased after pray he cause a tsunami that luckily only flooded the Devildom and most citizens only had to deal with water damages and some light injuries

Satan:

Satan actually has no skin and is just made up of all kinds of bones, in the beginning he did kinda look similar to how Lucifer looks now just a bit smaller, but he learned rather quickly that he can attach bones he found or got from his Victims onto his body, though his actual bones are far more durable then the ones he attaches onto himself

his actual bones are also covered in scratches from the fights he get´s into but the most are from the time he participated in the Great Celestial War

his actual bones are also very sharp, pointed and some even stick out like needles, just touching can sometimes result in deep cuts into ones skin, it is usually recommended to keep distance from Satan when he is in this form, he´s also know to cause anger and aggression to those who are near him another reason to stay away from him in this form no matter what, this happens whether Satan wants to or not

though some people claimed that some of his Feline friends aren´t affected at all and even cuddle with him whenever they can, Satan usually moves his bones so they won´t get hurt

another curious thing to note about this form of Satan is despite his lack of skin he does have some feathers growing out of his back but he usually tears them out as soon as he sees them because they remind him of Lucifer´s wings

Asmodeus:

it´s… actually hard to tell what Asmo truly looks like, most people just see Asmo as whatever they would feel most attracted to or feel aesthetically pleased by to see

but some people that don´t immediately succumb to Asmo´s charms usually say Asmo looks like a whispy dark mass who constantly changes it´s form, though some claimed they could make out some kind of tail, further questioning of those people revealed that it most likely was a Scorpions tail or something strongly resembling one

it´s nearly impossible to truly summarize what Asmodeus looks like, it might be that even they are the only one who know what they truly look like

but they also aren´t willing to show others what they look like, Asmo would just prefer people seeing them as what they want Asmo to look like

Beelzebub:

Beel´s form is rather inconsistent and highly dependent on how much he ate and how much time has passed since he ate

if he hasn´t eaten in 12 hours or not enough so he can feel “full”, or as much a personification of Gluttony can feel full, his form while still massive compared to a Human is a lot smaller than how he looks when he ate enough, his Fly Wings are smaller than usual

Beel himself will look far more starved than his more well fed form, so much so that he literally just looks like skin and bones, his skin is even so thin and stretched like this that cracks are starting to form and it´s not unusual for his skin to tear open if he moves to much, though he rarely feels it when this happens

but if he had enough substance not only would he be the Fourth tallest Brother, which at first sounds less impressive if you forget the fact that 3 of them can easily dwarf a lot of buildings, he´s slightly humanoid which just means he has a Human shape, he actually resembles a fly more than a Human, he has the eyes of a fly and the wings of one but his skin is a ashy gray tone and it looks like his skin is littered with… mouths??? eyes??? something else???

it´s hard to say what those weird parts on his body are there IS definitely something but no one ever saw what it is or maybe the ones that saw what they are are already long gone, I mean Beelzebub does know what they are but he never tells anybody

Belphegor:

he actually just looks like a Minotaur, I mean when the Minotaur had a more Cowlike head instead of a Bulls and the fur color and patterns of one, which I suppose makes him a Cowtaur?

though he is taller than the average Centaur and this is not the only difference between them and Belphie, minus the appearance of course, he´s also a lot stronger and faster than the usual ones and I guess you can count his tail which does resemble his “Demon Form” ones but this one is a bit longer and the fur on his tail is shorter

which during the early days of his Demon days he used this to his advantage to trick manly Monster Hunters and Humans who felt adventurous into attacking him so he can kill them and has an excuse when someone tries to scold him

actually there are some rumors that Belphie still goes up into the Human world but he only visits only one specific place everytime, wonder why that is?

it´s also said that he´s incredibly territorial over this place you better not be seen by him otherwise it´s over for you and no amount of running can save you

[ifearzombies]

Midnight To Morning

A Beel X MC one-shot that eventually includes everyone.

     You can’t sleep. You’re not sure why since you had been running ragged the day before, but it doesn’t mater now. You can’t sleep and that’s that. You groan and get out of bed and head to the kitchen with the knowledge Beel will be there shortly to join you.

     You grab a tub of yogurt and some fruit and some M&Ms and begin mixing them for a sweet treat when you hear your beloved ginger trundle in shortly after. You smile as he makes a noise of surprise and face him.

     “Hey babe.”

     “MC. You’re up really late. Are you okay?” He goes over and smooches your head, ignoring the food for a moment. You can’t help but find it so cute how he makes sure you know you’re more important.

     “Just couldn’t sleep. I made a big bowl of, well... I’d call it a parfait, but it’s not layered. I just think it tastes nice,” you say as you scoop a small amount into a bowl for yourself and offer him the mixing bowl.

     His eyes light up happily as he takes the bowl. “Thank you,” he mumbles between bites, “Mm... Almost as sweet as you.”

     “Aw. Beel. You don’t have to flatter me. I already love you.”

     Beel blushes at that and keeps eating. “But you are OK though, right?”

     “Yeah. I just couldn’t sleep.” You look at the fridge as Beel opens it to grab a custard- he’s already finished the mixing bowl. “Fridge is kinda bare. Hey... Wanna go get stuff to make breakfast for everyone? I know the Wail-mart is open.”

     “That’d be great! What should we make? I love pancakes. We could do pancakes!”

     “Pancakes is good. How about also eggs and bacon? We can get harpy eggs since they’re nice and big. And horrorhog meat always makes great bacon! And I’ll make French Toast too. A nice big breakfast for the family.”

     “Can we invite the others,” Beel asks, “I know it’s late. But Luke and Simeon always make nice breakfast stuff they share. And Solomon can’t cook. Oh! And Barbatos might like a morning off!”

     “I’ll text Barbatos and Solomon. Knowing those two, they’re still up as well,” you say as you grab your D.D.D. and shoot them a text. The two instantly respond it’s a spectacular idea. “They’re in. I’ll go get dressed while you eat and we’ll head out together.”

     It doesn’t take you long to get ready and soon the two of you are out the door. With a small bag of snacks for Beel. Wail-mart is already aware of Beel’s appetite and warn him to only eat things that can be rung up later and you both accept.

     “Hey MC,” Beel calls as you’re looking over some more fruit. You go over and he holds out a bag of Ruri-chan marshmallows. “We should get these for Levi. If he has coco, he’d love that. And it’s limited edition.”

     “Get two,” you say, “One for him to collect and one for him to enjoy.”

     “Oooh perfect!” Beel puts in two bags. You look at him lovingly as you pick out a small bag of chocolates for Beel.

     “I’ll get these so you can eat them on the way home.”

     “Thanks, MC. Ooh! Asmo’s favourite tea is on sale!”

     “Wanna get a little something for everyone,” you ask, Beel looking a bit ashamed for a moment.

     “Yeah. I mean. It’s a special breakfast from us to everyone. We should put a little surprise for everyone.”

     “Hrm... Okay. How about the chocolate gold coins for Mammon? That little wooden chest it comes in is super cute.”

     “It has a slot on top. So he can put Grimm in it later,” Beel says excitedly as he adds it to the basket.

     Tea for Asmo, marshmallows for Levi, gold coin chocolates in a treasure chest for Mammon, cat shaped cookie cutters for Satan, a picture frame for Lucifer to have a family photo in (you have the perfect one at home too), a small roll up blanket for Belphie, a fidget spinner for Diavolo, macarons for Barbatos, a cookie kit for Luke that comes with a small skillet, a journal and pen for Simeon, and a cookbook for Solomon. You watch Beel get more and more excited for each item you add before you finally get all the groceries you need. You grab an extra bag of chips for Beel and he kissed you when you presented it to him with the chocolates you grabbed earlier.

     The moment you’re home, Lucifer greets you at the door with a raised eyebrow. “Where have you two been?”

     “Sorry. We went shopping,” Beel explains, “We’re going to make breakfast. Purgatory Hall and Lord Diavolo and Barbatos are coming too. It’s a special breakfast from us to everyone.”

     Lucifer looks beyond happy. Whatever he was going to say to scold you is gone and he nods. “I see. Very well. Get to it. I’ll let everyone know.”

     Beel grabs your hand and you both get to work in the kitchen preparing omelets, bacon, French toast, pancakes, a proper pan of a fruit and yogurt parfait with granola over it. Beel ‘taste tests’ everything to help keep him from eating everyone’s breakfast and you give him smooches every now and then to reward him for controlling himself so well.

     You’re about to work on coffee and tea when Simeon enters with Luke. Luke runs up and hugs your legs as you greet them both. “Hey guys.”

     “Hello. We made some crepes,” Simeon says happily, “To go with the special breakfast!” He holds up two boxes, one large and one small. “The smaller one is for Beel from Luke.”

     “He needs to taste them to know that they’re good,” Luke rebuffs while he blushes, trying to pretend he isn’t Beel’s friend.

     Beel takes the small box and inhales the crepes. “Mmm! Delicious! Thank you!”

     “You ate them in one breath! Could you taste them,” Luke asks.

     “Yeah. Very good.”

     Simeon grabs Luke. “We’ll get out of your hair now. Plus I think Barbatos is coming in.”

     “I am. I thought I could make the drinks,” Barbatos cuts in, “Since you two are doing the cooking.”

     “That’d be great. I’m nowhere near as good as you at making tea and coffee,” you admit, “Plus Beel and I still gotta plate up everything.”

     “Leave it to me.”

     It’s not long before the table is set- another table pushed up with more chairs added to accommodate everyone. Beel sets out everyone’s gifts at their setting before the two of you bring out the platters of food with Barbatos bringing in a tray of hot drinks.

     “Oh wow,” Asmo coos as he comes downstairs with Solomon, “Did you and MC make all this?”

     “Simeon and Luke brought crepes. But otherwise yes,” you reply as you go and give both of them a smooch.

     “I wanted to bring something too, but Simeon and Luke rushed us out,” Solomon says sadly, “I’ll have to cook for you all another day.”

     You push down the horror you feel at Solomon in a kitchen and just smile. “Well. Today Beel and I wanted to treat you guys. I mean. We’re all family, right?”

     Solomon instantly cheers up and gives you a kiss. “Indeed.”

     “Aaaaaa!!! ARE THOSE THE LIMITED EDITION RURI-CHAN MARSHMALLOWS?!” Levi vaults over everyone and rushes to his place at the table. “OH MY LORD DIAVOLO I THOUGHT THEY WERE OUT!! Why two bags?!”

     “So you can eat one,” Beel explains, “MC said you would want one to keep and one to eat.”

     Levi starts ugly crying in joy as Satan carries Belphie down the stairs. “It’s too early,” Satan states as he slumps Belphie into his chair, “Eh? Are those... Kitty cookie cutters? Also... Thank you for breakfast. Sorry. Levi’s just loud.”

     “No worries,” you reply, “And yes. Kitty cookie cutters.” You give Satan a kiss before giving one to Belphie; who has unrolled his blanket with a smile and already wrapped himself in it.

     “Mm... Smells like Beel,” Belphie mumbles.

     “He carried it.”

     “Eh? What’s this? Chocolate? Not real Grimm,” Mammon says, pretending badly to not love it, “I guess this is good enough for the Great Mammon.”

     You and Beel chuckle as everyone else settles down and loves their gifts and you went around and gave everyone a hug and a kiss before you and Beel eat yourselves.

     Breakfast was like a holiday. Everyone was talking about classes at RAD, their little family gifts you and Beel picked out, and generally enjoy being a family. Once it was done, Lucifer made the other brothers start cleaning as you and Beel finally started feeling tired from everything. You fell asleep on the living room couch, curled up with Beel with everyone sitting around you (or busy cleaning).

     Lucifer looks at the two of you and covers you with a blanket and rubs both your heads, letting the two of you sleep before he looks again at the picture you put in the photo. It was a picture that a Little D. took with everyone doing a ‘group hug’ that you’d called for. Faces ranged from laughing to irritation, but it was one with every member of the family from the House of Lamentation, Purgatory Hall, and the castle. He places the photo on the mantle before using his D.D.D. to take a picture of you and Beel and then sends that to you and Beel’s D.D.D.

[tigertaurus22]

Rock and Roll meet their niece and nephew

I like my designs for Harpy and Levi as children

[airrareree]

Ereri Fic Recs Part 7

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• Not a Scene actor au 25k

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• Shock psychiatrist!levi, Eren in mental hospital, reincarnation 39k

• The Prince and His Guard prince!eren guard!levi royalty au 85k

• Teenage Dream Levi goes on vacation, dreamy lifeguard eren 90k (7 of 8 chapters uploaded)

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• Submersion mermaid!levi, Eren works at his aquarium 57k (unfinished, updated recently)

• Crossed Lines centaur!eren harpy!levi, size difference, interspecies romance 35k (unfinished, last updated 2020)

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Fic recs

[blithesharem]

My HC for what the Demon Bro's full eldritch forms are like:

Lucifer: Beautiful in a way that makes you instantly afraid for your life. So beautiful he lurches into the uncanny valley. Similar to his usual demon form but just off. His black diamond splits open into a third eye and you swear you see others winking at you, but every time you try to catch one, they vanish. Looking at him too long makes you nauseous. Unsettling 10/10

Mammon: Too many feathers and too many teeth. His arms fuse to his wings and feather, his knees buckle backward like a birds, and his feet split into glistening black talons. Big harpy energy. Gets easily distracted by roadkill and his appearance in clean windows. Unsettling 7/10

Levi: BIG Sea serpent bab. Hinged jaw that can swallow small ships whole if he wanted to (but they're spiky so he doesn't really want to). Reflected strange eyes like deep sea creatures, so bright light hurts them. Finned barbs along his spine and jaw. Pharyngeal teeth (google at your own risk). 9/10

Satan: Similar to Lucifer, beautiful, but in the way a skinned knee can be beautiful. Ragged with too many eyes snapping and glaring crammed on his cheekbones and lacing down his jugular. Claws that split the ends of his fingers and digitigrade legs that end in splayed toes (beans) that feel a bit feline. Unsettling 10/10

Asmodeus: Scorpion Centaur. Scorpitaur? Gleaming black exoskeleton that fuses to his exposed spine. "Human" half is beautiful until he opens his jaw to reveal retractable fangs. Highly venomous yet sexy in a scary way? Unsettling 4/10 or 10/10 it depends on how he's smiling at you at any given moment.

Beelzebub: Another big boi. Tusks. Thick bones that won't break no matter how he abuses them. Minotaur-esque. Shaggy hair and armored knuckles. Force of destruction but easily tamed with food or soft pets. Unsettling 6/10

Belphegor: Looks similar to his demon form at first, but a second glance shows his limbs are a little too long and his muscles a bit more taunt. Lithe like a feline, but a near invisible jaguar to Satan's lion. Short fangs and sharp incisors. Looks normal enough to get you close so he can snap your neck in his jaw. Unsettling 2/10 until it's too late.

[queersrus]

masc names similar to styx and eden please?

i hope these help!

styx:

achlys, acheron, alfeios, aelo/aello, alyx brix/bryx cocytus, caron/charon, ceto

dione, diona eos, electra, eryx faber, fairy/ferry, fair

hydra, harpy, hades kishi ladon, lethe, leto, lyre, leven

mir nix/nyx oath

phlegethon, pallas, promise, pandora, perse river strix/stryx, sphynx/sphinx, siren, storm, static, scheol

tyche, thoe, truth, thia/theia whisp/wisp, wix/wyx, winx

eden:

adam, aaric/aarik/aarick, ander, andrik, atticus, archer, amy, ava blake, boaz, brecken/bracken, ben, briar caleb, callie, cheriet, clover

daniel/danielle, daniela, david easton, eli, eitan, ellerd, eric/erick/erik, edwin, edwina, elliot/elliott, elias, elad, elisha, ella, eve, ede, erin, ebony

faith grace hope, heather, holly, harper

ilon, ivy, imee jude, justice, jordan levi, lyra, liberty, lauren, laurel, leah

mia, mary, micah noah, noam, nora, naomi, neve, nik phoepe, page/paige, peris

ruth, rowan sam, stellan, stiller, seth, shira, sasha taylor, trinity, terisa

yvonne, yuval zion, zeden

[waythroughtheice]

Crossed Constellations, Part 7

For @absolutely-normal-about-x!

I can't believe we're at number seven.

And after last chapter....family fun times? Family fun times.

~~~ Yawning, Geo rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?” 

“Close to ten in the morning,” Omega-Xis said. “You slept deep, kid. What were you dreaming about?” 

“That last conversation with Cepheus,” Geo said, getting up out of bed. “And locking the Door.” 

Omega-Xis was quiet, but he knew his partner by now and what his many, many different silences meant. 

“You were injured,” Geo said, tugging off the borrowed pajamas. He dug through his travel bag in search of clothes, wrinkling his nose at the multiple dirty garments he hadn’t been able to wash. “Don’t blame yourself.” 

“I’m not,” Omega-Xis said, offended.

“Good,” Geo said, staring at the last two clean outfits left. He was down to two outfits, it seemed: the one he’d gotten while living with the Resistance against Neo Arcadia, and the other from when he’d lived with the Hikaris for a month. 

He stared at them both. The Resistance outfit was cool, durable, and comfortable, but with this household…. “Probably should go with the other one,” he said. 

Omega-Xis agreed. “Though you should put it on later when you’re more comfortable,” he cackled. 

Geo rolled his eyes. “And get kicked out? Yeah, right.” 

Omega-Xis paused. “You’re not going to get kicked out,” he said firmly. “Not with X around.” 

“X has limits too,” Geo said, putting on the shirt and pants. “I don’t want to try and find them.” 

“X won’t kick you out, kid,” Omega-Xis repeated. He floated closer. “Don’t worry about walking on eggshells.” 

Geo’s lips quirked at his partner’s odd insistence. “We won’t be here long enough to be uncomfortable or do anything to get kicked out anyway,” he agreed. 

“....everyone else is already up, kid,” Omega-Xis said. “Let’s get out there, huh?” 

Geo smiled. “Sure,” he said, and padded out the door in search of food. 

~~~

He wasn’t expecting the chaos the second he stepped out into the hall. 

“Get back here, Phantom!” Harpuia roared, chasing the cackling cat down the hallways. Geo stepped back just in time to avoid getting run over. He watched with wide eyes as Phantom kicked himself up the wall and over Harpuia, and ran to the doorway. Harpuia screeched and with a flap of his wings, sped after him.

“Wha---” Geo said. 

Volnutt came around the corner, somehow incredibly cheerful and calm despite it all. “Geo!” He said. “You’re up!” 

Geo nodded dumbly. The Phantom-Harpuia encounter had taken what, five? Six seconds? “What happened?” He asked as Volnutt kindly led him towards the kitchen. 

Volnutt shrugged. “Dunno. Was talking with Dad, then I heard Harpy screech and Phantom darting away. ‘S pretty normal, though.” 

“Normal….?” Geo’s voice squeaked out. 

“Oh yeah. If it’s not Harpuia and Phantom, then it’s Levi and Fefnir. Or another duo from those four.” 

“Don’t act like you and Roll don’t get into it,” a tired voice said.

Geo looked around the corner to see X, leaning against the counter and looking extremely tired as he sipped from a steaming coffee mug. He smiled at them both. “Good morning, Geo,” he said, and yikes he sounded exhausted. “Sleep well despite the racket?” 

Geo nodded. “Yeah! I did, actually. Didn’t hear a thing.” 

Volnutt and X looked impressed. “I’d like whatever made you sleep so long,” Volnutt. “I was up really early!” 

X gave him a completely unimpressed look. “You, little nut, have been up with me since before dawn. I told you to go back to bed.” 

“And leave you alone?” Volnutt said, offended. “No way!” 

“You were up that early?” Geo asked. “Why?” 

X blinked. “I have a few issues sleeping at night,” he said. “Old memories, scars acting up, dreams--the like.” 

Oh, so like some of Geo’s own problems, then. That made sense. He nodded. “Nightmares are the worst,” he agreed. 

X stiffened, then relaxed. “They can be. Did you have any last night?” 

Geo frowned. “It wasn’t a nightmare. Just a memory.” 

“A good one?” Volnutt asked. 

He grimaced. “Not really. Well. Sorta.” Cepheus and he had had a rough beginning, but by their end it had been a brotherhood for a reason. 

“Hmm, those can be worse,” X said knowingly. “I’m surprised you didn’t wake up.” 

“This was also the first time I’ve been human in months,” Geo said. “So I slept.” 

“Been human?” Volnutt asked, confused. 

X made a sound of acknowledgement. “The form you were in when you first arrived?” 

“Yup,” a new voice agreed. They all turned towards it as Omega-Xis floated his way to the coffee pot, and poured himself a mug. “Good looking, isn’t it,” he boasted. They all watched as the alien took a sip of coffee and sighed happily. 

“Not the oddest sight I’ve seen but up there,” X murmured. 

Geo smiled. “It takes getting used to.” 

“An alien is drinking our coffee,” Volnutt said dreamily. “Dad, am I dreaming?” 

“No one can dream me up!” Omega-Xis said cheerfully. He shook his mane, and posed. “Beauty and grace and--” 

“Is that the rest of the coffee?” Leviathan demanded, striding into the kitchen. “I need more.” 

Omega-Xis paused. “Errr….” 

“You drank the rest of the coffee?” 

“Don’t you usually drink tea, Sis?” Volnutt placated. 

She scowled. “I am in need of a higher caffeine fix.” After fixing up a new pot, she turned a gimlet eye to Geo, who froze. “You.” 

He gulped. 

“You and I are going out shopping today.” 

“Huh?! Why?” 

She scoffed. “You can’t have very many clothing options in that bag of yours.” 

“I have a lot!” Geo said hurriedly. “Promise! They’re just dirty!” 

“Hmmm,” she eyed him up and down. “Then we’ll wash them today and see what you have.” 

Somehow, that sounded like a threat. 

“Leviathan,” X said, amused. “Let him settle in a bit first.” 

She sighed. “Fine.” She then turned to the coffee pot, and then took out three mugs and filled them all to near-full with boiling hot coffee, using milk and sugar to fill them up completely. And then, in a feat that Geo still didn’t comprehend, she drowned all three mugs in three long gulps.  

“We’ll go another day,” Leviathan ordered, and then gracefully sashayed out of the kitchen like she owned it. 

“....those were boiling?” Geo said. “How did she not get burned…?” 

Volnutt nodded fearfully. “She does it with tea, too,” he confided. “She doesn’t care.” 

X sighed, pinching his nose. “She’s a mistress of the ocean and water, boys,” he said. “Water in any of its forms doesn’t scare her.” 

“It’s still scary,” Volnutt muttered. Geo nodded. 

“Wow, what a woman,” was Omega-Xis’s input, causing Geo to choke. 

“Omega-Xis!” He screeched. 

X winced. “Geo, not so loud.” 

“Sorry….” 

Omega-Xis turned to X. “Your daughter would be a fine warrior on AM,” he said proudly. Geo groaned. 

X’s lips quirked up, and he graciously took the compliment. “Any of my children would, I expect.” Then he blinked, and turned to Geo. “We got side-tracked. What would you like for breakfast?” 

“Eggs and toast?” 

“Coming right up.”

[writingattemptsxx]

Masterlist

—

Master list for all my writing work, which as far as now includes mainly Obey me and Twisted Wonderland.

More series may be added later.

If the fics are set in the same world or are their own series, then they will have a matching symbol in front of the fic name.

—

- Obey me -

Stories

—

Demons in Grief - MC is gone and the Obey Characters go through the five stages of grief - Versions: 1 2

Just Needing Comfort - Satan and MC in the human realm come across a Karen who says he and Lucifer are the same.

Sleep - You’re sick of Levi’s all-nighters and decide to get him to sleep even if you have to trick him.

A Small Gift - To get the brothers to let you go to the human world and do some exchange program work, you promise them gifts.

Antagonistic - An antagonistic little human suddenly showed up in Lucifer’s life. Why does it hurt when they leave?

Incorrect quotes

—

Obey/twist incorrect quote - Why Yuu/Mc is good at alchemy.

— —

- Twisted Wonderland -

Stories

—

;; In Sam’s Shop - Finn and Grim go to Sam’s shop and find him there

;; Unbirthday Party - Cater and Finn at an Unbirthday Party.

;; Finn in Twisted Wonderland - A school full of teenagers and staff, but what happens if instead of a normal student being teleported, a five-year-old comes along? Along with Grim breaking in to join him of course. - Chapters: 1 2

Booping Twst Characters - A small boop is a wonderful April Fool’s day joke. How do Ace, Deuce, Leona, and Vil respond?

These Words Hurt - Rumors swarm around NRC, but a lot of times the forces on a specific Moray eel. A Moray eel who wants it to stop. Floyd wants it to stop.

A Petty Rabbit - A rabbit is late to an unbirtday party and bumps into someone he hates along the way. Can’t he have a break?

Bottling up Emotions - Vil has a lot on his plate, but he doesn’t want to rely on others. It takes Crewel to snap him out of it.

Uno War - Fellow and Gidel are at the Schoenheit house for a game night but aren't able to predict the winner.

Claws and Fangs; Tentecals and Ink; Together a Deal - Jade was shunned by all and just wanted to curl up and cry, but a weird octopus changed that.

A Diamond and an Eel with a Clover - Trey starts dating Jade, and Cater finds himself picking up similar feelings.

Incorrect quotes

—

Obey/twist incorrect quote - Why Yuu/Mc is good at alchemy.

Twist incorrect quotes - A random assortment of incorrect quotes.

— —

- Original stories -

OC’s Intro - A harpy is shoved into a world different than his own.

— —

[absolutely-normal-about-x]

So umm been messing with the Fam´s height and then-

FUCKING HARPUIA KJHDQWHKJIHJNWDXQNHQIJWZDQWZDHKNJ

Yes I made Fefnir and Levi the tallest while Phantom is the third tallest

I can’t stop laughing how fucking short Harpy is compared to his siblings it sucks to know that VOLNUTT is 14 so he’s gonna outgrow him eventually bro has his father´s short genes

[sparkbeast20]

The Sea for Two (Leviathan X MC) Pt12

The Blue Lotus petals (series)

As a fan of Beauty X Beast pairing, Showing your “true self” to Lover or (Monster Love) Tropes. I figure to make a (More Demonic Forms AU/head canon) story for each brothers.

Pt1 Pt2 Pt3 Pt4 Pt5 Pt6 Pt7 Pt8 Pt9 Pt10 Pt11

Warning: Condition like Anorexia, Blood, Cannibalism, Violence, and Semi-Transformation

Previously

“Y/n… I don’t know if you can hear me…” he said between his voice cracking and the sobbing. “Please, get us out of here… before it’s too late.”

The night that Satan ran off in his demon form, it took Lucifer and Asmo two days to find him. And when they did find him in the middle of killing a harpy with his tail, decapitated it. Lucifer stopped Asmo from getting any closer to Satan because he noticed that he was in a blood frenzy. Asmo had to watch as Lucifer approached Satan slowly and without any warning Satan jumped at Lucifer and the two started fighting.

Asmo wanted to jump in but a fade voice told him to sit back and watch unless he wants to be ripped apart. So he stood back and watched but he wasn’t happy about it.

After what seems like an hour Lucifer manages to tire Satan until he passes out. The two carrying Satan came back to the camp where they saw both Mammon and Belphie in their demon forms as well.

Lucifer left them with Satan so he can go and make restraints for him before he wakes up.

Lucifer did make it back in time and with the help of Mammon and Levi they restrained Satan’s arms and tied a long leash on them to the tree near that way he can walk around but its limited area, he can get close enough so he could get warmth from the bonfire at night. Mammon and Levi made a makeshift small hut for him next to the tree he's tied to, due to Satan being dangerous to stay close to them for now.

Once they dealt with Satan they all went on their routine of gathering food and fire wood. They kept up with this usual routine for a week with Satan glaring every time a brother dropped what they gathered at the camp. During the week an incident of Satan biting Asmo happened which meant that Satan needed to be muzzled. And everything went back as usual.

However that didn’t last long, Beel who has been carrying most of the hard labor started to stop eating much and his body which relies on large amounts of food consumption is eating away his fat.

Throughout the week Beel lost so much weight in the short amount of time he looks like a completely different person.

On the eleven day Beel collapses causing the other brothers to drop everything and rush over to Beel. Ever since that day Beel has been bedredden. Now down two brothers, both of which were doing most of the work at the beginning and added that fact that Lucifer and Asmo shifted to their demons and the others are starting to develop more of their demonic features their nails turned into either claws or talons and all of their eyes changed with their sclare turned black.

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Day 14 Noon

“Shit!” Levi curses under his breath as he slowly peels his old skin off his arm. Revealing more of his dark-purplish scales.

“Ow!” Levi looks over his shoulder to see Mammon behind him with his back turn trying to pluck the feather on his neck and lower arms. “How do chickens do this!”

“If you mean before they're cooked that’s because they die before people rip the feathers off of them” Belphie comments as he helps Beel up in a sitting position. And moving a giant makeshift pillow behind his brother so he sat up properly before letting go and reaching to the side to get a leaf plate with small bite size meat and fish. Belphie grab one and slowly brought it to Beel’s mouth “Here, you gotta least eat this piece” Beel opens his eyes and looks at piece of food in Belphie’s hand and groan in disgust before opening his mouth so Belphie feed him the piece of meat and start chewing it, Belphie quickly set the leaf plate aside and grab a hollow tree stump wood turn to a makeshift bucket and held it in his hand waiting for any sign of Beel gagging but luckily Beel shallow the piece before sighing and slowly drifted back to sleep.

Belphie sighs in relief before putting the bucket down. Then he fixes Beel’s blanket which was made out of all the brother’s jackets and brings it up to his chest. Belphie had to make sure Beel wasn't too cold since he lost a lot of weight. Beel is even thinner than he was to the point that Beel and Asmo had to trade shirts because his clothes were too big for him now.

Meanwhile Lucifer left to search Leh or anything that might help them.

Asmo, wearing Beel’s shirt which he fixes to fit him better, is untying Satan’s muzzle so he can eat. “Alright, once this is off your face you better finish your plate. Okay Satan?” Satan nods in response. However Asmo already gave Satan a chance and he ended up biting his hand which Asmo reacted by punching Satan in the face. Which led Satan to have to wear a makeshift muzzle in the first place.

After removing said Muzzle, Satan starts eating and Asmo observes and sees that he is eating normally again which made Asmo smile. “Yo! Mind helping me cut my hair?” Asmo looks over to Mammon who is walking over.

Asmo just rolls his eyes “What’s the point of cutting our hair if they're just going to grow back quick” Asmo reaches up to grab his grown hair to emphasize his point before letting it go. “Besides I’m more worried about my flawless skin changing like yours” He dramatically raised his arm and slid his fingers over his arm.

“What? Scared to see your old self Asmodeus?”Asmo stiffed before quickly turning around to see Satan licking his bloody hands, he glanced at his brothers with his piercing green eyes. “Eight eyes suit you well” Sending a cocky smirk to Asmo’s way, which made the fifth born gritted his teeth in frustration before huff and turning his back on Satan crosses his arm.

“Well. at least I don’t have a fucking horse skull as a head!”

“Bunch of kidz” Mammon mutters, Belphie who can hear their conversation is getting annoyed, he got up look at Beel before turning making his way towards his brothers.

“I heard that!” Both Satan and Asmo said it in unison and whip their head towards Mammon starterling him. “Okay, I’m just being honest here! Asmo is scared of what’s eventually is going to happen-” He points at Asmo before pointing at Satan “and Satan is just rubbing salt to wound at this point”

“Because they ain’t have anything better to do” Mammon jumps when Belphie walks up behind him. “While they are bickering like they’re Luke’s age while there are more important things to do like looking for Leh or taking care of Beel” Belphie angrily stated as he looked over Mammon and Asmo and looked Satan right in the eye. “Since back to your cocky self mind helping out again?”

Satan turn to the side reaches and places his thumb and index finger on his chin pandering or what it looks looks like before turning back to Belphie “I would but~ why would I stop Beel from changing?”

Belphie’s eyes suddenly widened “what?!?”

Satan snicker leaning back on the tree he’s tied to “Beelzebub is going through a change different for ours… well all except Asmodeus and Barbatos. If I were you I would keep an eye on him at all times.” Satan started chuckling as he said it, after hearing that made Belphie quickly turn around to look back at the hut where he still sees Beel in his bed and Levi sitting beside the hut still peeling off his old skin. He senses someone looking at him making him pause and look around until he sees Belphie, he gestures his hand for ‘What?’ which Belphie responds with a shake of his head for no. Levi shrugs it off and returns his focus on getting this itchy skin off of his arm.

Belphie angry turn back to Satan smirk at his brother, while Mammon and Asmo aren’t to happy just said too “Oi that ain’t something to smirk about”

“I’m just telling you all what’s going to happen. From watching Beel from here I can tell that he's fighting his instinct and nature. But that won’t last long. Soon his self-control can’t take it anymore and one night you’ll all wake up with Beel gone from his spot. So take this word of advice Belphie, let this happen to him otherwise when he does change back into his old self there might not be any of your twin left. Only the very thing is trying desperately to keep locked up. It's funny and ironic don’t you think?” Satan side eyes Belphie before moving his plate away and laying down on the sand.

Mammon grants and turns to Asmo “Ain’t ya gonna put his muzzle back?”

Asmo sighs with his eyes closed “Why bother? Is not like that muzzle is going to keep him quiet, he just chooses to talk now” and frankly he's not in the mood to deal with Satan’s bullshit. Asmo waves a hand before heading back to the hut.

Mammon glanced towards Belphie before leaving himself, from what he saw on Belphie’s face that he was deep in thought.

Once Mammon is out of earshot, Satan slowly sat up and turns to Belphie “I can help you Belphie. I could get out of these binds but It feels right if you do it”

Belphie binks before looking at Satan with a shock and yet confused look on his face. “What?”

“Come on~ are you really going to listen to Lucifer now? Besides, the only reason he and Asmo tied me up was because I wasn’t… myself. But now I’m completely fine. We both agree-”

“We both Agree?!?” Belphie voices his concern when he hears Satan say ‘we’ “Satan… have you been talking to it?”

“It's still technically me. What do you think I’ve been doing tied up in this tree? Sleep? Fuck no! I did something productive with my time and talked to it and let me tell you all they want is out. So do you say Belphie? Help your big brother out?” Satan offers his hand to Belphie with a sinister smile on his face. Belphie just looks at the hand.

Little they know from afar, Levi watches and internally makes a note to keep an eye on them.

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Day 18 Evening

“Oh Crap!” Mammon curses loudly before covering his mouth and jumps up and runs far from the camp so he vomits the same ink-blue subscene that Beel did when the first sign of change caused by the island to them.

“Should… someone… check up… on him?” Beel said in between wheezing breathing which made wince in pain for his brother.

“Save your strength Beel” Lucifer whispers as he cloth cleans Beel. He internally winces as he runs the wet cloth down Beel’s torso due to there being barely any fat and that he can feel Beel’s ribs. 

As Lucifer keep cleaning Beel, Belphie watch from the side clenching on his shirt and glance to the side to see Satan who face show no empathy or any emotion for that matter. He glances at Belphie and shakes his head before laying back on his bed. 

At that moment Belphie decided to make a move before it was too late.

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

“Are you certain?” Lucifer asks while examining his now taloned hand. Running his finger on his new harder skin.

“Yeah, my nose isn't as good as Beel but I can tell that the scent I’ve been smelling around camp is Leh’s.” Belphie looks at Lucifer as he said it before turning his head to the hut where he can see Beel sleeping with wheezing breaths and turning his attention back to Lucifer. “If that asshole knows that Beel is in a critical state he’ll try to kill him” Belphie said with a growl at the end.

“I’ll take Mammon and Asmo with me. You and Levi stay here and keep an eye on Beel and Satan '' Lucifer peers up at Belphie and the younger brother nods and Lucifer as well before standing up from his seat and calling Mammon and Asmo and the three left and into the woods.

Once Belphie know that their gone and stalk towards Satan and with one felled swoop of his claws he cuts Satan’s restrains, Satan, knew what Belphie was going to even though he didn’t tell him just smirk before taking the remaining restrain off his wrist and rub it to ease skin. “Beel needs a spot where he can cocoon himself, somewhere he can still get sun light and shelter from unexpected weather like rain or worse a storm.” 

“Cocoon?”

“Beel is like a Caterpillar or Maggot-”

“Don’t fucking call Beel a Maggot!” Belphie said it with a snarl. He started to regret setting Satan free.

“Sorry, but I’m just telling the truth.” Satan didn’t look at Belphie when he said it so calmly, as he looked around for Levi, who is nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Leviathan?”

“I ain't too worry about him” Belphie walk around Satan and take the lead back to the Hut. Satan followed his younger brother as he kept his guard up for the third born. For Satan, he was worried about encountering Levi, from Belphie’s perspective Levi seemed to be acting relatively normal, Satan can tell from just observing from afar notice slight changes from his behavior.

Behavior that he knows too well… “I can sense him… Keep on your guard!” The voice in Satan mutters making him click his tongue in annoyance, of course he knows. He doesn’t need advice from monsters within.

Once the two reach the hut, Belphie walk in first and head straight where Beel is laying on his side facing away from the door frame. Satan took one good look inside before walking in the hut.

“Hey Beel…” Belphie reached up to place a hand on Beel and slightly shook his arm. “We got to go, somewhere you can all get better.” Belphie sucked in air through his teeth when heard Beel groan in pain, slowly turning over and laying on his back as a sound, his bones popping back in place. Beel slowly crack his eyes open and look up at Belphie

“Uh… Belphie?” He wheezed as he said it. “What do you mean by that?”

“Beelzebub, stop lying to yourself.” Satan cuts in and walks over to the bed. “Forcing your change to stop is only killing from the inside. I suggest that you stop starving yourself and embrace your hunger” A dark grin creeps up on Satan’s face as he offers Beel a hand.

Before Beel can decide all three got startled by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Cause the two demons standing quickly turn around and see Levi standing under the doorway with a worried and scared look on his face. “Wha-What are you two doing to Beel?” he nervously asks.

“None of your business Levi!” Belphie aggressively yelled at his brother, which made Levi yelp and flench back.

“He’s right in front of us!” Satan clicks his tongue in annoyance as the voice within, yells at him.

He can sense something off with how Levi reacted. It was too unnatural like he was playing off being a nervous person but is overdoing it-  then it suddenly hit Satan, he quickly lunges at Levi tackling him out of the hut and quickly straddle over his brother’s chest, than quickly wrap both hands around Levi’s neck cause said brother to gasp and cough as Satan slowly tighten his grip.

Levi reaches up and grabs on to Satan’s wrist and tries to pry his brother’s hand off as he gasps for air. But before Levi ran out of air, Belphie wrapped his arms around Satan’s torso and pulled him off of Levi in the progress Satan’s claws dug into Levi’s skin and when Belphie yanked Satan off of Levi however Satan clawed dig into Levi’s neck leaving eight deep scratches. Slitting his neck.

But the two didn’t notice and instead started yelling and arguing at each other, while Beel, who didn’t want to see his brothers fight, tried to use what little strength he had to crawl out of bed and towards the two demons.

Levi gasps and quickly wraps his hands around his neck as he choke on his own blood and gasping for air, he quickly rolls over on his knees, hunching over as he starts coughing and gasping violently. As blood seeped through his fingers.

As his vision slowly started to turn dark, a voice in his head spoke “Those fools try to kill you. Again! I told you once and I’ll tell you again, if you want to be your mate again, I suggest that you take them out first!”

“I… can’t… not like… this” Levi quickly places a hand on the ground to help keep him from falling.

“Then let me help you!”

“Why… do you… care if… Whether I live or not? I thought…. you hated me…”

“You do realize if you die. I die too!” Levi wheezes as he feels his strength is fading, then with what little consciousness he had. He remembers your face smiling at him, with you mouthing “love you…”

Left with no other option… “Fine… I’ll let you use me…” with his final words. As soon those words slipped out of his lip. Before Levi’s eyes rolled back and collapsed on the sand.

“Levi!!” Beel saw Levi fall face first into the sand and scream with his hoarse voice. Which snaps the two other demons from their argument.

Both Satan’s and Belphie’s eyes widened when they saw Levi on the sand, blood pouring out of his neck making a small pool of dark blood.

Satan was about to rush over, when he stopped to see Levi’s tense up and start trembling. Then his arms move, reach out before digging his claws into the sand and drag his hands back to his body, then pushing himself back up. 

Panting deeply, his eyes keep looking down as he pushes himself upon his knees.

As Satan, Beel and Belphie watch as their brother reaches and places a hand on his chest, and gasps in pain digging his claws into his flesh. Before muttering “Water…” before he threw his head back and gasps deeply and groans in pain the eight gash on his neck opens up morphing into gills. Opening and closing as he breaths.

As he threw his head back he dragged his claws down from his chest up to his upper abdomen revealing the dark-purple scales underneath his human flesh. Before letting both of his hands drop down to his side as he steady his breathing.

As soon his breathing got steadily but deeply he led his head forward, hunching over his long bangs to cover his face. All that happened right in front of the other brothers. 

Satan was shock but still have his guard up, Belphie is stunned, while Beel… felt something, whatever happened to Levi he can smell something off from him a pleasant aroma and smell that makes his stomach growl for the first time in a while.

Belphie was the first one to snap out from the initial shock and quickly rushed over to Levi. But as soon as Belphie is in range, Levi’s eyes quickly fling open and he quickly extends his claws and insteadly swip forward, but Belphie quickly reacts and stops in his tracks and jumps back enough that he is far from Levi.

Levi glances up, seeing through his bangs and hiss at Belphie, before getting on all fours and letting out a deep growl-like hiss as his tail flings from side to side.

Satan quickly went to Belphie's side and helped him back on his feet. “We need to leave. NOW!”

However Before Belphie can say anything, Levi suddenly appears next to them and quickly jab his claws into Belphie’s side, before drawing back his hand and swip his claws at Satan actually managing to scratch his face at the side luckily missing his eye.

Satan snaps and retaliates with extend his claw and start attacking Levi while growling, but Levi easily avoids all his attack, the two move away from Belphie, who fell on his side as his clench on his side where Levi stabbed him. He groaned in pain as blood seeped through his fingers.

Beel manages to get back up on his feet and stumbles over to Belphie and drops down on his knees and hovering over his twin. “Belphie…” That all he can mutter as he look over his twin scared of touching him. The scent of blood is clouding his mind causing his head to hurt.

Back with Satan and Levi, the two are still at each other with Levi doing more damage to Satan, while all Satan’s attacks on Levi were either dodge or Levi’s new state of form heals all his injuries. 

Now they are in a stand still, with Satan panting heavily and Levi just stares at him. “Just give up wrath… There’s no use fighting me in that form. All your strikes and attacks. I can just heal them up.” Any hint of the nervous otaku voice is replaced with a semi-serious tone.

“I know that, But I will hurt you!” Satan said it with a growl, which made Leviathan chuckle which furiate Satan and he quickly lunged at him. Tackling Leviathan at his torso, he clenched on Leviathan’s side and dug his claws into his brothers.

Leviathan hiss before ground himself so he won’t fall down, and slam his hand onto Satan’s back piercing his back with his claw cause Satan to groan in pain and clench his claws deeper in Leviathan’s side. Leviathan is tired with his child’s play and quickly moves his hand and grabs Satan by his arms, prying him off and throwing Satan far to the side into a bunch of trees knocking him out, he drops on the ground as broken trees and leaves fall on top of him.

Leviathan huffs and hiss before turning his attention back to Belphie only to be met with something biting down on his right arm and a painful stinging sensation actually made him groan in pain. He whirl his head to the side and his eyes widen when he Beel biting down on his bicep, he open his jaw only to bite down hard and Leviathan let out a louder groan before both he and Beel fall, Leviathan fell on his back as Beel fell on his knees, keeping his upper body upright while still biting and holding on to Leviathan’s arm.

Leviathan tries to reach out and grab Beel’s face and pry him off, but Beel quickly acts in instinct when he notices Leviathan move his hand towards him. He quickly uses his other hand and grabs Leviathan by the neck and sinks his claws into Leviathan’s newly formed gills choking him. Leviathan tries to reach his hand to Beel’s face while fighting to stay conscious as air leaves his lungs.

Beel didn’t waste a single second, before he shook his head like a mad dog sinking his fangs into Leviathan’s arm tearing into his hardened skin as dark blood spewed out covering both of their faces.

Once Beel had a good chunk of Leviathan’s flesh he bites down and quickly pulls back his head, tearing Leviathan's flesh off. He screams in pain while still trying to stay conscious.

Beel chews his brother’s flesh, savoring the taste and enjoying it. Then a voice in his head said “Since when was the last time you’ve eaten like this before? Remember the time you get to eat like this? You were always full and satisfied with not a single care in the world.” Beel knows to ignore the voice, but he can’t help to agree with the voice.

“I… can’t keep eating… He’s my brother…”

Then he heard the voice chuckles which shook Beel but at the same time he knew what it's going to say. “Remember who you are referring to.”

With one look at Leviathan, Beel drove back into his brother’s arm and bites down though he wanted to bite around the whole arm, then like someone answered his wish, Beel felt his clench and crack before his jaw unhinged and open widen enough to bite around Leviathan’s arm deep that his teeth and fangs are sink into the bones before breaking Leviathan’s bone and rip his arm away. And pulled away from Leviathan and began to feast on severed arm.

Leviathan passes out, closing his eyes before immediately opening them up with a sharp gasp, he frantically looks around and feels unimaginable pain his arm he glances and his eyes widen when he sees his arm has been ripped off of him. He hover his other hand over bloody mess where his arm is suppose to be than he scream in terror as tears fall from his eyes.

He quickly wraps his hand around his arm right above where the severed and twists and turns around in panic. “Fuck!!” is all that Levi can yell in between screams of pain and panic.

Belphie groans as he prop himself up awakens from Levi’s screams.

Belphie looks where he heard scream and gasps at the sight he is witnessing. Levi flanging what reminds of his arms and not from him is Beel is back at him, hunching over with the sound of meat and flesh tearing coming from him.

It didn’t take Belphie long to know that what Beel is eating is Levi’s arm. He grunts and looks around for Satan only to spot him underneath a pile of trees and leaves. He clicks his tongue before standing up and slowly walks over to Beel.

After what seems like ten minutes of scream, Levi manages to calm down, and shut his mouth, breathing through his nose heavily as he clenches his arm trying to stop the bleeding. He pulls himself upright to a sitting position and turns his head to Beel, who is now licking the blood of his hand, his eyes are pure black void of his purple iris.

“Hey!” Beel pauses and turns his head in an unnatural way to Levi, who didn’t even flinch due to the fact of his piss. “You gluttonous pig! You ripped and ate my arm!” He waves his bloody nub that used to be his right arm. 

“Levi! SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

Levi turns behind him to see Belphie clenching on his side with one hand and clenching hand into a fist with a scolded expression on his face.

“Why don’t you shut up Belphie! If you and Satan didn’t plan to take Beel then run and hide. We won’t even be in this mess-” But Levi was cut off by Beel grabbing his neck from behind.

Belphie eyes widen, and Beel stare down before spreading his wide and start flopping them than charge at Belphie with the ladder didn’t have chance to move with how fast Beel came at him. Grabbing him by the neck. Both Levi and Belphie grab on to Beel’s wrist trying to take his hands off of them. “Beel!!” Belphie chokes it out, but Beel ignores him and quickly jumps and starts flying up before turning towards the woods.

Fear of falling, both Levi and Belphie wrap their tails around their waist. As Beel flew them away from the camp.

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Satan wakes up hours late to see that he is all alone, he growls and bursts out from the pile of trees and leaves on top of him. 

He took a good sniff of the air and caught the scent of Levi’s and Belphie’s blood. He let out a low growl before dropping on all fours and ran, on trail of his missing brothers.

Tagging: @luciferwifu

Note:

Well I hope this part can make up for the wait 😅

So little thing to know about this part, It was hard for me to write Beel in a state of being weak and thin. Just writing him bedridden and have Lucifer clean him just made me feel bad writing him like this.

If there’s grammar or spelling error, please let me know and don’t be shy to leave a comment or reblogging with cute tags. I just love to see you guys thoughts on this :3

[s0ft1y-r0tt3n]

Welcome traveler!

You can call me Bug, Buggy or Creature and my pronouns are It/They!!

I'm a queer neurodivergent individual with a lot of mental problems, so please be respectful and kind. It's my first time on this planet and I'm doing the best with the body and mind I've been given! That being said, please use tone tags when talking directly to me as I struggle with understanding tone through text!!!

This blog is a spot for me to be as silly and as authentically me as I want, that being said, this blog is also supposed to be a safe space for others and I'll try my best to make it so.

Other things about me are:

I'm a pagan! I worship Greek gods (specifically Aphrodite<3), and have my own personal idea of the afterlife

I'm white as can be, and my family has deep roots from the Appalachian mountains of America!

I'm nonbinary!!

I'm an alien!! Bleep blorp >:3 (I'm actually neurogender, specifically Alienatix/Venustrandic)

My biggest goal is to become a psychologist, then move to the Netherlands!

My biggest special interest is the Witcher 3, specifically about the character Eskel.

Speaking of Eskel, I have a shrine of him, it's ever growing :3

My other special interest is about learning! I love learning new things, so if you have a fun fact please share it with me!!!! /nf

I'm otherkin and alterhuman!

I have a son, he's my dog Levi! Yes I birthed him, and he's my favorite thing in this whole world /hj

My favorite musician is Hozier atm, but icp is my second fav

My favorite song is Harpy Hare by Yaelokre! (You should check it out, I put it at the top!!! /nf)

I should note, that I respect all religions as long as you respect mine. Make fun of mine or others, and I won't hesitate to make fun of yours, as I believe in an eye for an eye. /s

My tagging system is as follows:

Rotten rambles - for all things random

Rotten reblogs - for all my reblogs

Rotten coins - for all my coined terms

Rotten chains - for all things chains related

DNI under the cut

DNI if you enjoy or support: dream, wilber soot, jschlatt, lil d*rkie, yan dev, my hero academia, jk rowling, killing stalking, yarichin bitch club, trump, Biden, elon musk,

DNI if you are a: xenophobe, homophobe, transphobe, racist, Zionist, anti-Semitic, zoophile, MAP, pro shipper, lolicon, shotacon, NSFW age regressor, ddlg, ddlb

(my DNI list can be updated at any time, as I can't remember everything all at once. So be on the lookout for any updates that might resonate with you)

[naughtygirl286]

So yes we finally went to see Shazam: Fury of the Gods (Shazam 2) this week. There wasn't anything in the way of Collectables which is both surprising and not being there wasn't anything for the first movie but you could have had cups with toppers with the Marvel/Shazam Family which would have been cool but yeah there wasn't anything. Actually there wasn't a big mech push for this movie to begin with not that I have seen anyway..

I thought the actual movie itself was great I really liked it! Alot of ppl where hating on it and I don't see why? the movie is pretty much a perfect sequel to the first one they took everything that made the first movie great and did more of that plus added more action and cool things like monsters dragons, cameos from other DC things and linking it to the previous movie and the broader DC film universe.

Your story is pretty much this Some time has passed and Shazam and his family are trying to do right by the city and being the heroes they deserve but it is not working out for them for the most part then a new threat arrives in the form of "the daughters of atlas" who wish to reclaim magic for the Gods and return them to their rightful place above humanity which means they have to take it back from Shazam and his family which leads to them squaring off over who is truly the one who should wield the power of the Gods

The movie does have more of the family drama from the original and has plenty of humor and heart in this second one even more so then the first. I felt it was a very funny movie where all the jokes land and gags will at least get a giggle out of you.

Also this movie is a visual spectacle the visual are pretty amazing and the action feels very "super heroic" like the bridge recuse around the first of the movie was really well done. all the fights and action was great I felt with this movie they knew what they were doing because of the first and there for the characters where allowed to stretch their legs a bit more and do more things and have this be a bigger and better movie visually. The creatures in this were awesome the Minotaur and Cyclops and Harpies in the 3rd act climax of the movie were awesome and I loved all that stuff and the Dragon was really cool and I thought was really well done and did come off as a major threat in this movie. Also Anthea's (played by Rachel Zegler) reality shifting powers were pretty good but of course reminded me of the similar "mirror dimension" stuff that was done in Dr. Strange and No Way Home. but it is cool none the less.

I did think everyone returning for there roles from the previous movie did a perfect job it was like they never missed a beat! I still think Zachary Levi is doing a great job as Shazam I know there are some that think he is not the best for this role but I think he is doing a good job as the character and I also think Asher Angel is doing a good job as his alter ego Billy Batson. I thought Lucy Liu,Helen Mirren and Rachel Zegler were great as the Daughters of Atlas and Lucy Liu did a good job as the films final villian. Also they gave the Wizard (played by Djimon Hounsou) more screen time and he pretty much eats it all up he is great at that character.

But yeah everyone was awesome in this and the movie does do plenty of DC comics references and DCEU ones too and builds out the world even more. You get more mythology and see more of The Rock of Eternity as well as go to DC's version of Mount Olympus and the "Godly Realm" also the linking it to the larger DCEU with all the Wonder Woman stuff was excellent the whole dream sequence thing was both weird and hilarious at the same time but her actually showing up and meeting the Shazam and the family on Mount Olympus was just pure awesomeness I loved it the only thing that would have made this movie better was if Black Adam appeared at the end but we all knew that sadly wasn't going to happen. but also they had Michael Gray the original Billy Batson from the 70s Shazam! tv series appear near the end of the movie and actually call him Captain Marvel gave me a huge smile about that.

but yeah the movie is great! I have no real complaints about it. I enjoyed it. It was lots of fun and funny plenty of action and nice visuals everyone in it was great, lots of fan moments I though like I said it was pretty much the perfect follow up to to the first movie. In my opinion if you loved the first one you should love this one so I don't understand why people are/have been hating on it becasue it's good at least I thought it was. I guess its all about that "its cool to hate stuff" mentality I don't know? but anyway I thought it was good anyway.

Also yes there is 2 credit scenes one mid and one end credit. As for the mid credit there has been some controversy over that. My opinion on that is yes it would have worked better with the actual JSA characters that is 100% true but at the same time it still works with the Suicide Squad/Peacemaker characters its not perfect but it still works but they should have put the JSA characters in there.

As for the End credit scene it is related to the end credit scene from the first movie where we catch up with a couple of characters who are still plotting their revenge.

[ameliathefatcat]

Katie Bell Headcanons

Katherine ‘Katie’ Ruth Bell,  was on May 6th 1979 to Arnold ‘Arnie’ and Judith Bell

Katie has two older brothers who are twins, David ‘Davy’ and Noah who are two years older then her

She’s a muggle born witch

The Bells are Jewish. They are not that religious. They only really go to shul for the holidays. They don’t keep kosher but they won’t eat pork or shellfish products

Growing up Katie loved playing soccer with her brothers. The Bell siblings were almost always outside playing soccer together

Everything for the Bell siblings growing up was a competition

When not playing or watching soccer Katie was playing with radios with Noah.

She has a scar on her hand from when she accidentally electrocuted herself while taking apart her Uncle Joe’s radio.

Katie’s room at home had posters of cute soccer players all of it.

It was shock to her family when Katie was told that she was a witch when she turned eleven.

Before she left for Hogwarts Davy and Noah gave Katie a copy of Quidditch Through The Ages as a going away gift

She read it and feel in love with quidditch

She’s really good friends with Cho Chang, both girls being super athletic they became quick friends

Katie and Cho would play soccer on the weekends together. As they got older and played for their house quidditch teams the two would joke about who’s better on the ground vs in the sky

Katie was the only Jewish student in her year and times felt she had to hide her Jewish identity

She tired and made the Gryffindor quidditch team in her second year

She almost immediately started to crush on the cute Captain Oliver Wood

Oliver was completely oblivious to her crush

 For her bat mitzvah Judith gave Katie a Star of David necklace. Katie almost always wear the necklace

Katie struggle a lot in potions but was extremely talented in herbalogy

She has always been terrified of snakes and when the chamber of secrets was opened in her third year her fear grew

She spent a good amount of her third and fourth year trying to get Oliver to notice her as more then just one of the chasers

It did not work, Angelina told her that ‘Wood’s only love is quidditch and no one could change that’

Katie tried to date other guys though out her years at Hogwarts

In her fifth year she dated the Ravenclaw keeper Hugo Jackson

Cho warned about Jackson but Katie didn’t listen

She should have, the relationship ended when Jackson called Katie an antisemitic slur

Katie spent the summer before her sixth year comforting Cho after Cedric’s death

The first time Katie experienced antisemitism from an authority, figure was when she was given detention by Umbridge for leaving class early to go home for the high holidays

Umbridge told Katie that the new year wasn’t in the fall and she was making things up. Katie stood up for herself and was given a detention as soon as she got back to Hogwarts

She joined the DA

Her Patronus is humming bird

Before her last year at Hogwarts she give the opportunity to try out for the Holy Head Harpies. She was supposed  to be a chaser after she graduated.

Those dreams were crushed after the cursed necklace

Katie was left permanently disabled after nearly being killed by cursed necklace

While recovering she reconnected with Oliver

She also got back into goofing around with radios

When Katie returned to Hogwarts she was using wheelchair to get around.

During the war she used her knowledge of radios to help Lee start Potterwatch

She used all of the radios Noah and Davy collected over the years to make Lee’s set up plus the radios other members of Potterwatch used

She wasn’t able to fight in BoH due to her disability

After the war she started to date Oliver

They married in 2000

They have an interfaith marriage

She did research in wheelchair sports and enjoyed during them very much.

Katie worried that she wouldn’t be able to get pregnant due to the curse.

She was able to get pregnant and give birth four times. She had Levi in 2000, Skye in 2002, Ethan in 2006, and Caleb in 2009

When kids were small they would ride on her lap pretending they were flying on a broom stick

All four of her kids are quidditch players. Her boys being Keepers like their father and her daughter being a seeker

Katie was so proud that Skye was able to play for the Holy Head Harpies. She also had to stop Oliver from disowning Skye for not playing for Puddlemere

Katie still loves quidditch even though she hasn’t been able to play since she was teenager.

[stilemawillow]

MTIJ | Ch.27 Not to Depress, But Listen Here

|mtij masterlist|

pairing: levi ackerman x reader

word count: 12.1k

summary: a girl with a variety of hidden complexes has to live with a french asshole for nine months. easy? on the surface. problematic? definitely. romantic? not too much, or at least they’d make it a point to say so everytime when asked. the end? please, their dynamic isn’t as simple as that.

Work, work, work.

Work, work, work.

Work, work, work.

Work, work, work.

Work, work, work.

It sounded like dripping water, except it was the sound my brain cells made as they died one by one ever so slowly the more I had to deal with Melinda’s bullshit. Melinda Carter, a brief overview would be – my superior and monitor at work and the biggest walking headache I’d encountered in my life. A longer physical overview would be – long blonde hair with dark roots, bright red lipstick that reminded of Hitch, harpy-like acrylic nails, wide hips swaying with each step she took in the clothes that were not dress-code appropriate, forty years of age, heavy cougar energy accompanied constantly by a sweet condescending “darling” concluding each sentence she spoke and, of course, a second-hand Gucci bag with what most people would call a rat in it.

Here was a comparison that would make you understand a bit better my disposition – I felt, undeserved as it was, I hated her an iota more than Hitch. You feel me yet? Either way. The point here wasn’t to focus on the bad, but to give a better grasp of how the good in between was greatly enunciated and appreciated against the background of it. The good in this case came in even intervals – those, in the practical sense, would be called breaks, and they broke the constant chant the scene opened with. Breaks were leisure, away from Melinda Carter, most often spent tucked against the back of the supermarket. This one did not come with as much relaxation as I’d expected.

“Annie, for the last time, I don’t want to third-wheel on your date with Erwin tomorrow,” I grumbled into the speaker as Adam handed me my coffee with a smirk, a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. It was a bad habit – with that I meant both my growing friendship with him and the way he thought nicotine-stuffed tobacco would rid him of his stress.

“We can always make it a double date,” he supplied ever so kindly after inhaling from the aforementioned nicotine source. I stuck my tongue out at him with a half-hearted glare and took a sip from my coffee, patiently listening to my best friend complain over the phone about how she had important things to share with me and Saturday was obviously one of the very few days I had no work on.

“(Y/N), I sincerely hope you realise that ever since you got this job two weeks ago, I’ve seen you only once. That says a lot considering the usual schedule we’ve maintained for the past fifteen years. This won’t be third-wheeling. It’s my chance to see you – and your chance to ask Hanji more about Petra since she’ll be coming along,” the blonde argued wisely – the only voice of reason I seemed to have both in and out of my head. A snort left my nose as Adam pushed my shoulder jokingly and almost made me choke on my coffee. I glared at him and pushed back, making him laugh.

“First, I’m sorry our schedule got ruined because I want to see you too, Ann. Second, I told you the Petra thing doesn’t matter anymore. If Mr I’ve-Got-A-Stick-Up-My-Ass doesn’t want to share, Hanji won’t either. Plus, I haven’t talked to him normally once in the past two weeks and now you expect me to interrogate his friend about his past? Say yes after letting it sit for a bit,” I warned with a knowing look, realising Annie truly was the only voice of reason I had and she would actually ponder it. Levi and Petra were taboo right now, moreover when mentioned in the same sentence, and I didn’t want to go back on my promise of keeping my pride safe after my last argument with Levi. Buckling in front of Hanji under the impression it would finally clear my conscience and mind of all doubts was plain stupid and rather humiliating, if I were to admit so myself.

“I won’t say yes because you won’t be interrogating her. We won’t ask anything at all if that’s what you want. But at least come and try to help me. I still feel uneasy around Erwin’s friends and Hanji’s the one who spends the most time teasing us about our… thing. If you learn anything about Ackerman it’ll be just a bonus.” I could almost feel the pouty face she was making on the other end of the line. Annie had a tendency to pout – much like me – when things didn’t go her way. I could bet she was doing it now, so I only took another sip of coffee before speaking.

“Fine, I’ll come and help you survive in the hard conditions,” I groaned in defeat, making the blonde snort like she’d been expecting this breaking point of mine. Of course, she had. Like I expected hers whenever I asked something of her. It was just the way things between best friends went – a bit of push and pull, but, in the end, a happy ending. Adam smirked at me and I pushed at his shoulder when he was exhaling, making the smoke slipping past his curled lips dance in the air when he chuckled. I’d sincerely hoped for him to choke and entertain me further but this much would do for now.

“Finally. Thank you,” the blonde mused tiredly, making me huff as I threw the raven next to me a warning look. At the thought of going out tomorrow, my heart sank a bit. Levi would, as per usual these past few days, not care one bit about that – I’d go in and out of the house and he’d ignore me, forcing my mind deeper into a state of repressed spite and despair.

“No problem, girl friend. I’ll see you tomorrow, so text me the details,” I sang before hanging up and putting the phone in the pocket of my uniform. It was the plainest thing I’d ever worn, but it wasn’t orange, which was a good start. “No double date,” I blurted out the moment Adam’s twinkling blue hues told me he’d open his mouth and ask what time he should pick me up. Rejected, he pouted and used what I’d learned was supposedly his best method with the girls – namely, the puppy dog eyes.

“Why not?” He whined innocently, big blue eyes attempting to pierce my steel resolve. Then he lifted the cigarette to his mouth for another drag and I rolled my eyes at the bad boy attitude he displayed. He came to work dressed in leather jackets and combat boots, knowing the evenings when we got off would be chillier than the relatively cool mornings. He smoked and used that fuckboy sup nod only to get laughed at by my unaffected highness. His charms were yet to impress me but his loyalty and persistence were truly astounding. And without Levi’s definite presence in the picture, I’d let myself realise that.

“Because you don’t know anybody there and I haven’t agreed to a date with you,” I explained, making him pout as he stepped on the smouldering butt of the cigarette after dropping it to the ground with a smirk. I had to admit he was charming but in that delinquent manner I wasn’t exactly used to. Eren had always been good to a fault – good grades, good manners, good thoughts. He was smiles and cuddles, big hands, forehead kisses, pillow fights, video game competitions turned to nap dates and purposely sloppy hot-chocolate kisses that left behind a sweet moustache.

“Yet.” The blue eyes shone brightly, confidently, and I snorted in spite of the way I liked it when they did that. Adam Rivers was crooked smirks and bad sex jokes, tickle fights when I was in a bad mood, constant nudges and distractions, strong cologne sticking to my clothes, cigarette smoke being purposefully blown into my face to pester me and an excessive amount of French kisses if given the change – or so I guessed. For me, he was the stranger tides I wasn’t accustomed to.

“Whatever floats your boat, Rivers.” I took another sip from my coffee when my headache waltzed onto the scene, greeting us with its sickeningly sweet voice.

“Adam, Raven!” Another thing about Melinda Carter that further helped create a character profile – her preferences showed in the way she addressed people. First names for whoever she was fond of and surnames for little pests like me. “Break ends in a minute, go back inside!” And there she was, turning the corner so she could look at us while scolding us. Her lips were stretched in a smile as she stared at Adam and I quickly drowned the rest of my coffee before she could “confiscate” it. She really loved doing that to every drink Adam bought me during breaks and no, I wasn’t being conceited because she never took and threw the drink away when I’d been the one to buy it. Her childish jealousy, however, was the least of my problems.

“Coming, Miss Carter.” Adam winked at me before pushing himself off the wall and heading in the direction of our superior. I scowled at her next words as she put a manicured hand on his shoulder in passing. I was honestly surprised she could reach it since she was shorter than me and the most I could do was slap him straight in the nose if I reached up really hard.

“Just Melinda’s fine, darling,” she cooed lovingly and, much like I’d caught up with Natalie’s man-eater tendencies after leading two short conversations with her, here I managed to catch the cougar vibes Melinda’s smile towards Adam oozed on my very first day on the job. The next two I’d spent confirming it. And now, before I could continue briefly cussing at her internally, her radar came to life and her brown hues bore into mine. “Raven, are you coming, darling?” The darling she attached to sentences aimed at me always had a slimy quality to it.

“Yes, Miss Carter.” I pushed myself off the wall as well and renewed my mental cussing session once we’d all entered the building. Adam and I had three more hours till the end of our shift and I scowled at the shelves I had to stack with packs of chips and chocolate under the sharp gaze of Melinda Carter. It was a wonder why she was yet to get fired when she only looked at me work when she was supposed to occupy a position of physical labour as well. Last week, however, Adam had let me in on the secret of her success, which was getting into our boss’s tight pants and visiting weekly. Climbing the social ladder wasn’t limited to just one way, after all. I’d almost puked at the mental image and Adam had gotten a good laugh from the green tint of my face.

Work, work, work.

Work, work, work.

Work, work, work.

Work, work, work.

Work, work, work.

The next three hours were a ruthless purge of my brain cells because of every comment the blonde superior behind me made during the working process. I turned around once with the intention to sass her harder than I sassed myself in the mirror when I saw her filing her nails and humming a very off-tune version of an old Britney Spears song. Maybe Toxic. Either way, her humming had made the tone unrecognisable. And the minute she opened her mouth to announce the end of our shifts, I ran for the changing rooms as fast as I did back in the day when Hitch was “it” during a game of tag.

I walked out of the supermarket and Melinda stayed behind to commit to her weekly deal with our boss – outside, I saw Adam waiting for me. He was checking the time on his phone when I asked what he was still doing here, to which he replied he was going to walk me home. I reluctantly let him, mostly because I was in the mood for company. The journey to my house was spent in shoulder pushing and lots of dirty jokes while asshole-me endeavoured to compare Adam to Levi and Eren inside my head, giving me the intense urge to hit myself across the face. And once we were standing before the Raven household’s doorstep, the blue-eyed male smirked crookedly.

“So, I guess this is goodbye,” he said shortly, but didn’t move at all. My brows furrowed in mild confusion and I didn’t know what was going through his head but then he stepped closer to me and his lips parted. “Can I kiss you?” My mouth almost gaped at the question when his hand softly touched mine. I was set on saying “no” but a whole other sentence went out instead.

“I think it’s a bit early for that,” I reasoned, making him chuckle before his lips pouted in the slightest. I would’ve been lying if I said he didn’t look cute like that. The blue of his hues shone at me sadly and I didn’t have the heart to yank my hand from his loose hold. His fingers made me feel a bit better – not safe, but better in a way.

“So you don’t want to,” he concluded softly, making my brows furrow as I glared at him half-heartedly. I felt my fingers relax in his grasp when his face leaned closer to mine curiously. I didn’t shy away at the proximity but the crease on my forehead didn’t fade either. It was rather vexing that I couldn’t get Levi out of my head right now, along with the words (“That’s not the wisest choice, princess. Kissing him when I’m still here, I mean.”) he could potentially say in a world neither of us had their brain-to-mouth filter. Still, why should his stupid face disrupt private moments such as this when he wasn’t even present? It was annoying.

“You’re putting words in my mouth,” I argued with a scowl, getting the honour to listen to the ring of Adam’s amused chuckle a second later. His eyes glistened a bit brighter and he was smiling. I found myself liking the sound of his chuckle in this setting. I hadn’t heard Eren laugh in months and Levi rarely did as much as snort in amusement. Adam’s chuckle was a blessing.

“You’re cute when you get annoyed, you know that?” His fingers gave mine a light squeeze. I saw his face inching towards mine but it wasn’t out of curiosity this time. I took a small breath and braced myself. I had the right to kiss boys if I wanted to. I was single and I didn’t have to be faithful to anybody – (Levi’s face surfaced once more) anybody at all. Adam was kind and funny and he’d been flirting with me for the past few weeks with respectable endurance – so this could be a reward for his patience. His grip on my hand was gentle and I could smell his cologne, and his lips were about to touch mine when the front door opened. Too taken aback by the action, I stood frozen when I should’ve jumped back and put some distance between us. The only thing Adam did was open his eyes and stand straight, any hints of embarrassment on his face adroitly hid from all people present. I looked at the door only to be met with the horrific sight of the grey hues I’d been thinking about.

My throat went dry and my windpipe was tied in a knot, eyebrows drawn together in an indecisive scowl while a feeling of panic closely mirroring fear nestled deep into my chest. An excuse, an excuse, an excuse, quick, I had to think of an excuse. Levi’s jaw was tense and his eyes were glaring but he looked perfectly normal otherwise, which (was oddly unpleasant) wasn’t disappointing in the least. Adam coughed into his fist after letting go of my hand and met my gaze with a small reassuring smile. There was unease clinging to the corner. Yes, before you got to know him better, Levi was quite intimidating.

“I’ll be going. See you on Monday,” he said before turning around and making his way down the street. I soon lost sight of his lean figure round the corner. My mind was full of panic and excuses but none of them were exiting my mouth. Levi moved before I could say anything – it was then I saw the tight gloved hold he had on a pair of trash bags. He didn’t look at me in passing, but he left the door open so I could get inside. So I did, taking off my shoes and skipping into the kitchen to make myself a peppermint tea in hopes it would help with my anxiety. In my mechanical performance, I made an Earl Grey for Levi. I could bribe him into keeping quiet in front of my parents with it. Or maybe I could use it to apologise. My hand froze as it stirred a spoonful of honey into his tea and my eyes narrowed.

Why would I apologise? Because I found somebody I considered a potential boyfriend? A snorted spitefully when asshole-me answered: No, dumbass, because Levi saw you almost kissing Adam when he was the one kissing you some weeks ago and you feel guilty about it. I grumbled under my breath and before I could settle on a reason, the raven had closed the door behind himself and was currently in the process of removing his gloves. His nose scrunched up as he stuffed them into a drawer under the sink and I held back a huff – such a clean-freak. He took a seat next to me at the counter and I put the steaming cup of black tea in front of him. His fingers cautiously wrapped around it and he relished the aroma prior to taking a small sip.

“I see you finally moved on from Jaeger.” Was the first thing he said as I sat by him, blowing on my tea in order not to burn my tongue. The fingers on my left hand – previously tapping along the marble counter – halted and I stared at the stream coming off my beverage in hopes it would respond in my stead. A small “not exactly” floated about in my head, but my vocal cords dared not let it out. Having moved on would be incorrect and admitting it would leave my pride with a dint in it.

“Only technically,” I returned slowly, aware of the fact the intern traced every movement I made in wait for my insecurities to slip past the collected mask. I thought I had begun to move on from Eren because he hadn’t occupied my thoughts as incessantly around my birthday, but then Levi reverted to his ignorant ways and left me spiralling, rethinking the improvement I might or might have not made during our little vacation. Two weeks later, I didn’t know what to think anymore. I wouldn’t like confessing I felt too proud to fix my relationship with the ebony-haired intern because we hadn’t had a proper conversation in so long I couldn’t remember the last time he’d said more than five words to me in a row.

“I think you and whatever-his-name-is looked pretty comfortable.” And here, of course, came the sentence containing more than five words. His nonchalant behaviour made me wary of everything I said and did, to the point I wasn’t even angry that he’d pretended not to remember Adam’s name after I’d happened to mention it a few times last week. All my coherent thoughts included Levi’s opinion on the almost-kiss, so, as the genius I was, I rushed into explaining the situation and how I had absolutely nothing to do with the supposedly romantic atmosphere that had lingered in front of the house.

“We didn’t look comfortable because we were just saying goodbye and he decided to lean in and I went along with it,” I blabbered in a steady voice as the raven next to me snorted mockingly, drinking from his black tea without looking at me. I noticed the flex of his jaw when he gulped and the mild fidgeting of his fingers but pinned it to whatever topic was occupying his thoughts – most likely Petra because he acted similarly when she came up and he tried to repress things – before brushing it off altogether.

“There’s no need to give me excuses, princess. Kissing is normal when you like somebody.” He sounded bored but his eyes kept flickering in my direction as though seeking something – a particular little thing he wished to see. The first time he’d called me “princess” in the past three weeks and it had to be during this conversation – I wanted to use the marble beneath my cup to face-palm when I felt my own jaw clenching in mild annoyance. No, scratch that – mild anger sounded a lot better and more appropriate.

“So then we must really love each other, huh?” I returned with mocking spite, eyes meeting his only to observe how he refrained from spitting out a rude retort. His lips were pursed in obstination, as if to say that he wouldn’t humour this stupid comeback of mine, but I wasn’t exactly eager to hear his reply anyway. This was a mean joke but I could see it made both of us uncomfortable. We’d been acting almost like a couple before this whole Petra ordeal, safe for the kissing and… well, maybe we’d actually been acting exactly like a fucking couple and I saw a big problem in that.

“Very funny,” he droned flatly, sarcasm dripping from his lips as I licked my own before taking a sip from my tea and crossing my legs. Levi’s fingers were still fidgety but he seemed a tad bit calmer. “I told you it was duty.” The cold statement made my face pale in dread and spite all at once. Yes. He’d said that when I’d asked the truth of him. He wasn’t lying. He said he’d never lied to me – but that meant he hadn’t lied when he claimed he cared and yet he could’ve used several other methods to calm me down. So which was it? Duty or care? Both? Neither?

“It was duty, but you could’ve refused the last time,” I returned with a scowl, fingers wrapping around my cup as our eyes locked. Some months back, I would’ve considered his glare intimidating, but now I was just used to his limited supply of ways of expression. His thin eyebrow twitched in annoyance but he had no way of pretending my argument wasn’t truthful. Duty wasn’t strong enough to cover the benevolent fee of favours.

“You asked for it,” he countered coldly, eyes digging holes into my skull as my teeth gritted so hard I thought I might crack a few. I knew we’d come onto this kind of territory – the one I could only strive to avoid because I could under no circumstances explain to myself, much less him. I couldn’t side with my own actions – the only measly excuse I dared conjure up for myself was that my hormones had never been under my control around him and that was normal for a teenager coming face to face with an attractive individual, right? Supposedly. This natural attraction, however, I decided not to include in my defence. 

“I gave you a choice and I don’t remember requesting a beaten-up from an MMA fighter makeover.” My voice was harsh and my glare was condescending as I shrugged my leather jacket off, letting the faded barely-there imprints of his teeth show in the light. The bruises had gone away relatively quickly – but these would stay for a few more days. Astounding how long they persisted. Levi’s eyes reluctantly traced the diminutive marks as I stared at him pointedly.

“Princess, you’ve been a real pain in the ass lately,” he grumbled tiredly but his hues were yet to leave the tiny red crescents on my shoulders – they kept prodding at my skin as I snorted spitefully and took a big gulp from my tea. It didn’t help me calm down and it certainly didn’t help the tension disperse. Actually, if it weren’t for this stupid tea, we wouldn’t be leading this conversation right now – all it had filled me with was unrefined discomfort and strident inward fits of anger.

“Stealing the words from my mouth as per usual, asshole.” I glared at him and my lips pursed to the point they turned into a straight line. My mind was going into overdrive because I was trying really hard to keep my mushy thoughts all to myself. No, I didn’t miss him and I didn’t miss his voice or his mockery or the way in which his gaze would sometimes dip lower than my eyes. I stared at his lips and the word “no” repeated in my mind as he eyed my shoulders thoughtfully. The most I could say was that he didn’t look displeased with his work.

“You’re looking at me like that,” he stated after a few silent seconds – my focus left the lower half of his face to meet his eyes. I licked my lips in nervousness, suddenly feeling very vulnerable, very bare and very impulsive. I wasn’t over Eren. I didn’t want to use him to achieve it. He had Petra. I had Adam. It seemed fair. It seemed fair but (kissing anybody else felt nearly impossible) it wasn’t. My head was full of popcorn. So much fucking popcorn it was ridiculous I could picture nothing else at all. Popcorn had never been bad. But each had their own bowl so why would I ask him to make a new batch for us to share? Fucking ridiculous.

“Like what?” I inquired cockily, making the most of my acting skills in this discouraging situation. As pissed off as I should’ve been (just a little bit, just a brush, just a taste) I felt deprived of the raven’s attention, thus desperately craving some sort of compromise. But a compromise would be like an overdose – which sounded good. Embarrassing in terms of future and consequences but good nonetheless. Popcorn sounded too good right now, even if he’d be giving it to me reluctantly. And I wouldn’t ask for it – so he would let his robotic duty decide for him.

“Like you want me to kiss you.” His brow twitched in something I recognised as annoyance. I gulped, struggling to keep my hands on the counter at this point of things. Every fibre of my being was screaming at me to lean over and punch his mouth with my own – and while that wasn’t a romantic way of expression, it described perfectly how I felt and how that would translate into actions. “You have whatever-his-name-is, remember?” The raven propped his elbows on the counter, eyes not leaving mine. The blue specks were smirking at me in the stead of his mouth.

“You’re reading into my expression way too much, asshole.” I reclined in my chair with a careless shrug. This wasn’t the time for (popcorn, for fuck’s sake, I want popcorn) my hormones to take over. The further apart our mouths were, the better. I had no idea what had possessed me but I doubted I’d enjoy the aftermath of acting like a reckless fucking idiot. I wanted to run my fingers through his hair – I could cope with doing it to my own. I wanted to see if I’d nailed the amount of honey I put in his tea – I could cope with making one for myself and checking. Simple as that. My hormones could back down freely now – or so I liked to think.

“Does that mean you don’t want me to kiss you?” He tilted his head curiously, leaning a bit closer as I bit back a sigh. A giant sign in neon purple shone inside my head, reading in capital letters a definitive “NO”. I uncrossed my legs and decided to participate in this little game of his – who’d get tired of playing seductive first. Surely him, since he was the one who was less likely to be actually considering kissing the person who annoyed them oh, so much on the daily.

“Does that mean you will if I say no?” My voice went from being calm to being smooth and sweet like honey, and my expression was the equivalent of mocking innocence. I didn’t know what he’d say but I knew he’d back off any second now. He wasn’t all too hard to predict when it came to practical matters. Losing would be practical right now – logical, too. And he was Mr Logic, after all. However, if somebody had warned me of what would happen, I would’ve laughed in their face and dismissed it as a lie.

“I’m tired of talking.” His growl was followed by the screech of his chair. His hands were on both sides of my face and I had no time to take a breath when his lips crashed against mine – soft and tea-flavoured as per usual. I sighed into the kiss as my body raised from its seat and my fingers clawed at his back for support. Then I was pinned against the counter and Levi’s tongue was doing wonders to my forgetful mind. I gripped the back of his shirt in my fists and pulled him closer, biting into his lip hard enough for it to hurt a bit. He, on the contrary, was rubbing circles over the leftover bite marks on my shoulders with his thumbs, as though to preserve them. I groaned when his hips pressed against mine and my nails were scratching at his undercut. I was struggling to breathe, but he acted like he had all the time in the world.

“I’m so mad at you right now,” I huffed amid sloppy kisses as we pressed our bodies so close there was no space for air between them. He was warm and his lips were soft, and the way in which he huffed when I tugged on his hair drove me crazy.

“I can feel it,” he returned flatly, casually reminding me of the aggression with which I’d reciprocated. I could’ve glared but this felt like I’d been in the middle of a heavy withdrawal and I’d finally gotten a taste of my addiction. My reserve had long run out and my manners had joined. Levi was leaving pecks all over my face, partly mocking my eagerness to respond to his earlier kiss. I couldn’t care less – my cheeks were red and every spot his lips touched was warm and tingly. Except I wanted that sensation on my mouth, not my forehead right now. So I cupped his face and pulled him down, making him hum against my lips as my body curved into his in want. His fingers were on my waist, gripping and creasing my shirt, and keeping me painfully close.

“You’re acting like an asshole,” I muttered weakly after his mouth had left mine and then I could sense him biting back a chuckle when his lips brushed against mine, once, twice, three, then four times. I was getting dizzy and my heart was beating out of my ribcage. I needed to remind myself this was just physical attraction, just hormones – and I was too proud to showcase them often but that didn’t mean I’d renounced their existence altogether, which meant I was naturally inclined to respond to each and every kiss he was willing to initiate.

“I know,” he breathed before I tugged him down again, fingers burying in his locks in a desperate attempt to keep him close. I was, quite literally, euphoric. Finally, something that made me feel better and safe. I sighed as his lips kept brushing against mine gently, just barely, in such a frustrating manner my hands twitched in his hair. I wanted a longer kiss, I wanted him to bite me, suck on my neck, fucking prevent me from wearing a top with cleavage for the rest of my life if he so wished. This was completely and utterly intoxicating and I could feel it implacably shake my resolve to stray from such heat-of-the-moment impulses come to life. The fact he’d been the one to initiate it was astounding. And that thought made me hum against his mouth when I felt his fingers tighten their grip on my waist possessively.

Then, there were footsteps on the second floor. My blood froze and Levi stilled against me.

“(Y/N), are you home?” I heard my mother’s voice, closely followed by the closing of the bedroom door upstairs. I pushed at Levi’s shoulders and hastened to put my jacket on. I was red and struggling to catch my breath as the raven sat back in his chair, putting a hand to his mouth and gripping his cup of tea with the other. I grabbed my own and hastily fixed my hair as my feet rushed towards the staircase.

“Yes, mom,” I replied in a squeak, rushing past her in the direction of my room. “I just made myself tea. I’ll be going out with Annie tomorrow. Good night.” I slammed the door behind my back before she could respond. I sincerely hoped she hadn’t seen my face glowed as bright as a red traffic light in the middle of the night. I leaned against the door and my feet slid across the parquet floor until I was sitting on it, slumped limply with wide eyes and a conviction that my heartbeat was loud enough for all occupants of the house to detect.

A few seconds passed like that before I went to my bed in a haze, leaving my cup on my nightstand, kneeling on the floor, grabbing my pillow and burrowing my hot face in it. Then, well, then you could guess what happened. Or maybe not. I myself was not quite aware the high-pitched ecstatic scream had left the restriction of my mind and slipped past my lips until complete silence reigned once more. I didn’t know what made me so ecstatic – I only knew it felt good to let it out and relish it for a bit.

A bit was all I allowed myself, since my thoughts for the next fifteen hours were occupied only with circumstances and consequences. Annie cocked a thin blonde brow at me the next day, but I didn’t notice it, too indulged in my inner monologue on the topic of Levi and Petra. There was something fishy going on there. If they loved each other as much as Hanji made it appear, why had he kissed me? Was it possible he was trying to distract himself, too? That he still thought me a replacement and all that duty talk was bullshit?

The inquiries seemed to affect my otherwise good mood, but I’d known from the start I was fucked up emotionally and any Levi interjection would make things even worse. All in all, I was aware of what I was getting myself into. It would come to bite me in the ass, of course. Despite that awareness, my rational side had been told by selfish little me to fuck off for some time and let me enjoy my youth. I was smiling and humming to myself, not to mention being selfish for wishing to keep being that way at the price of not acting like my usual self. Annie seemed to notice that, despite her own relatively good mood which should’ve made her a bit less observant.

“You’re literally glowing. Something good happen?” She checked our surroundings and asked that only after making sure Erwin and Hanji were still busy in the store behind us. I shrugged but hid the lingering presence of yesterday’s ecstasy while saying “not much”. My arms were draped over both sides of the bench my friend and I occupied when she raised an eyebrow at me and the smallest of creases settled in the middle of her pale forehead. “That translates as a shit ton when it comes out of your mouth.” It certainly seemed to as of recent. “So?” She prompted, curious and suspicious at the same time.

“Adam walked me home and wanted to kiss me yesterday, but Levi ruined the moment and we had our first conversation in a while,” I explained casually, feeling a disturbing itch under the ring on my left hand. Annie was positive this wasn’t all that had happened and as to not keep her waiting, I resumed without her encouragement. “We started bickering as per usual and then… he kissed me.” I glanced down and the smile was tugging on the corners of my mouth. Annie gaped at me in shock. The realisation that yes, Levi had kissed me, yes, he’d made the first move and yes, I hadn’t done as much as ask for it, stirred something inside my chest in a weird way. Not to mention the fact he’d gone back to normal – three raps at my door to wake me in the morning, a coffee waiting for me on the counter and a flat comment that put my groggy mental abilities to the test.

“Excuse me?” My best friend was looking at me like I’d told her about an alien invasion – crop circles in my backyard, not having enough time to cut off the transmission by wrapping my head in foil wrap and all that jazz – not a kiss between me and my father’s intern. And in spite of that, I couldn’t bite back the wondrous smile anymore – because the “princess” he’d dropped during breakfast consisting of pancakes he’d gotten up extra early to make made me somewhat happier than the kiss itself.

“Yeah. My mom almost caught us and this morning we were back to normal. I can’t believe it.” I met Annie’s processing gaze and played with my fingers with a small hopeful gleam in my eye. I was like a five-year-old having met the Tooth Fairy in a dream. I didn’t want this fragile fantasy ruined for me.

“So he suddenly went back to joking and calling you ‘princess’ just because you kissed?” Annie’s slow inquiry made me believe the careful enunciation of each word was due to the fact she was not yet used to pronouncing everything in that exact order. I was on my way to answer positively when a voice called from over my right shoulder.

“Who kissed who?” Hanji piped from next to us, having exited the store unnoticed with Erwin trailing behind her. The tips of my ears flushed in embarrassment and I saw Annie’s colour drain from her face.

“Nobody kissed nobody,” I said with a steady voice, finding the idea of telling Levi’s friend about our kiss entirely unfathomable at the moment. Things between us were complicated, to put it mildly, and some exchange of saliva surely wouldn’t make that change. We weren’t exactly prone to sitting down and discussing matters calmly and straightforwardly. And I was quite sure we were both inept at being in tune with our feelings – even less willing to admit them if god graced us with the miracle of figuring out what was going on. Moreover, we looked light years away from thinking about becoming anything, which Hanji might hastily conclude in her shock. We weren’t compatible enough to be anything.

“I could swear you were talking about that,” she hummed thoughtfully, making my shoulders tense while Annie sighed. “Anyways, I’m so glad you’re with us today, (Y/N). We can use this time to get to know each other.” Hanji sat next to me when Erwin’s phone rang. Fearful of it being Levi, I observed my former teacher over my shoulder and my best friend, unfazed as could be, asked the brunette a question.

“Can you tell us embarrassing stories about shorty?” Her request made my lips purse as Hanji’s brown eyes gleamed while she clasped her hands together in evident glee. I was forced to turn around and ignore Annie’s knowing look – she thought she was doing me a favour. Well, if blackmail material was all this would be, I would sit through it. But if any mention of last time’s despondency showed in Hanji, I’d interject and change the topic instead of her. I wanted to know about that, yes. Just not from her.

“Oh, I have a ton of those! Okay, so one time during high school, you know I’m one year his senior, so I only heard the story from Farlan and Petra, but shorty was studying for some big exams and pulled four all-nighters, then overslept on the day of the exam. Petra told me he’d shown up thirty minutes late, still in his pyjamas, completely barefoot and almost taking the door off its hinges. They let him take it and he nailed it, sure, but we made fun of him for months and the high school hobbyist newspaper had a picture of him in it. I have it framed at home and Farlan brought him a pair of slippers because poor Levi cut his foot while running across town.” Hanji was chuckling in remembrance, Annie was biting back a snicker and I only huffed when Erwin cut in with a remark.

“Hanji, you know it’s not nice to embarrass Levi behind his back like this,” he reminded wisely from behind the bench, big hand over his phone’s speaker as the brunette pouted childishly.

“Come on, Erwin, don’t be a drag now, they’re friends.” She gestured in our direction while defending and we only exchanged a look of mutual complacency, knowing we’d officially won ourselves the “friend” pass. “Anyways,” Hanji hunched over like she was relating to us top-secret government secrets and we humoured the secretive behaviour by leaning forward and listening to her excited whispers, “this other time we got together during summer and I was buying the alcohol. Not discussing the process since that one’s blurry, but we ended up going to bed at sunrise. Levi had lost a bet earlier that day so he was wearing high heels the whole time and Petra had to hold him up whenever we walked. And when we woke up in the afternoon---“

“I should be going.” Erwin put a hand on the brunette’s shoulder, cutting the story short. All three of us looked up at the blond teacher and the reprimand shining in his blue eyes. “Hanji, you got what you needed from the store, so you can go home, too. (Y/N), Annie, I believe you can find your own way home?” The questioning rise of his thick brows stirred something within me – the old fighting spirit I’d forgotten during the past few months.

“We’re not five,” I sassed confidently while getting up from the bench and meeting the blond’s stern gaze. He seemed to notice what was about to go down – yet another quarrel, a classic that would obviously not cease, unlike the end of our career as high school students. To my biggest disappointment, the nostalgic tinge of the behaviour brought back memories of Eren. I pushed them down.

“You’re yet to become twenty-five either, Miss Raven,” the male reasoned calmly, with the authority of my teacher, which he no longer was. I realised it was one of the few things I missed about high school besides getting to see my friends on the daily. And so the old mental scoreboard was dusted off and rose from the ashes, waiting for an update.

“Thank you for the reminder, Mr Smith. Your mother often tell you that when you were our age?” I put my hands to my hips as the blond’s lips pursed in slight defeat at the comeback. His brown-haired friend put a hand to her mouth to muffle her laughter and my best friend only shook her head at the antics she was so used to. My victory was irrefutable and gratifying as I imagined the changing numbers on the scoreboard.

Mr. No-PDA-In-School-Miss-Raven: 389 My Highness: 340 Out Of A Total: 729

“Anyways.” Annie dispersed the defeat perched along her unofficial boyfriend’s shoulders by getting up and rounding it to get to him. Hanji and I, detecting the intentions of the action, exchanged looks of mutual “that’s some good romance shit” whilst acknowledging how much it had taken for our friends to get here. “I’m glad we spent some time together,” she muttered when he grasped her hand, making me squeal with delight internally. Oh, only if I had a snack to enjoy during the sweet display.

“And I’m sorry my job has to lessen it,” he added with disappointment while she gave him the smallest of smiles and stared into his eyes in that way we often see in movies. Thinking of it, there had been a time (not too far back) when I’d looked at Eren like that, too. Every second of each day, for months and years on end. The sight was nostalgic but not upsetting. Something in the middle – bittersweet in a good way, closer to familiar than to unpleasantly foreign. It was strange how the most insignificant of happy memories could make my eyes narrow sadly with their lost triviality.

“There’s always a next time,” Annie reassured wisely before the blond leaned down to plant a soft kiss to her forehead. She reddened a bit and seemed to be glowing, too, when she walked back to me and I stared at her with a wolfish grin. She was experiencing her first romance properly. The pining period was done – now she could relish in the joy I’d experienced for years and taken for granted. Just having somebody peck your forehead was a blessing when it came from the right person. Judging by their dynamic, he was the right person for her.

“You’re adorable,” I teased with a nudge to her shoulder before she straight-up punctured my ribcage with her elbow. I had time to groan prior to Hanji getting up and bidding us an enthusiastic goodbye with one of the biggest and most genuine grins I’d ever seen. We waved, but I was the only one smiling. Then Annie and I were heading to where I’d parked the Audi when she decided to return to the point we’d left behind.

“So, kiss?” I snorted at the inquiry and decided to disregard the fact I knew exactly what she meant for the sake of seeing her annoyed expression.

“No thank you, Ann. You’re not Levi.” I pouted weakly, making her elbow me again. I doubted my body would be able to take more of her violent behaviour, but it had held out for over a decade so far, so I hoped it would keep going for another one at least. Maybe, instead of wearing out, each harsh act would strengthen its immunity.

“Hilarious. I was talking about his sudden change of heart.” Annie rolled her eyes and I shrugged, unlocking the Audi. My best friend got in the front seat and I started the engine before resuming our conversation with a clueless hum. It felt good to have retrieved control of my facial muscles, otherwise I would’ve spent our discussion grinning like the love-sick high school girl I was far from becoming.

“And I was on my way of telling you I have no idea what triggered it. It’s not like the kiss acts as a switch that tells us how to act towards each… other…” I trailed off and the trail of words ended there while my eyes observed the front blankly like I’d been hit by the biggest epiphany of my life. My friend rolled her eyes and shook her head, an obtrusive feeling of annoyance overwhelming her mind at my dumbassery.

“Don’t you dare even think that it does,” she threatened, pinching the bridge of her nose as I slowly came to realise it did – because each kiss flipped the switch from cold to normal and I didn’t know what to do with that ridiculous piece of information.

“But it does,” I argued in flat wonder, driving down the main street and heading towards Annie’s home. The blonde looked tired of both me and life at that moment. Maybe a little more of me since this was the first time she’d had to deal with so much ever since William – but even then it hadn’t been like this. My relationship with Eren had never included the awkward “what are we feeling?” emotional crap because we’d been kids who’d thrown headfirst into something that had turned out manageable, but now that he was (over four thousand miles away – yes, I spent three hours calculating the distance) in Germany, there was no way for me or Annie to escape from these prosaic problems of mine if I wanted to move on. Still, she set out to argue I couldn’t possibly be serious, to which I only snorted. It had a warped logic of its own and I’d listen to it even if that meant my friend’s opinion on the topic of my intelligence would take a sudden leap off a very high imaginary cliff. “It makes sense, though. That means the next time we kiss, he’ll go back to being cold to me and---“

“(Y/N), kissing Ackerman doesn’t work as a switch for his behaviour,” Annie cut off curtly, making my mouth clamp shut in silent protest as I glared at the road ahead. We stopped at a red light and Annie’s glare was on my right temple, attempting to burn the words into my brain. “Say it.” Came the stern command.

“Kissing Levi doesn’t work as a switch for his behaviour,” I muttered weakly, making the blonde snort in satisfaction. My hesitation on the matter wasn’t so much a result of me being naïve but rather a result of me being very desperate to finally receive a plausible explanation regarding his emotions. Anything that made even the slightest bit of sense would work. “It adds up, though,” I whined helplessly while stepping on the accelerator once the traffic light turned green. Annie scowled and rolled her eyes, not daring to push my shoulder because I was driving. One of the perks of it, if I could say so myself.

“It’s just a coincidence,” she grumbled with a glare, tired of my dumbassery and how much I let it affect my words and actions. Truthfully, I wished I could be that dumb. I knew Levi was no lamp and there was no switch – like nothing was ever simply black or white. There were at least fifty thousand shades of grey before that, which, by the way, was nowhere near being properly portrayed in that borderline pornographic movie a year or two back in time.

“Then if I kiss him today and he goes back to being cold it’ll be another coincidence?” I challenged doubtfully, pursing my lips in defiance while Annie snorted in exasperation and crossed her arms. Her voice was gruff when she spat he wouldn’t turn cold, making me hum mockingly as I parked in front of her apartment complex. I didn’t believe it either but, of course, I needed some kind of proof and I was torn on the matter of obtaining it – kiss Levi and risk another Cold War or let myself be dumb and naïve, unlike what my parents had raised me to be. “And if he does?” I asked stubbornly, making Annie groan in utter defeat while getting out of the car and, holding a hand to the hood, leaned down with one last loving sentence.

“You’re really making me want to kill myself right now, (Y/N).” Her gaze met mine and I grinned, sensing somewhere behind the cold tone my dear Annie’s caring voice. She was worried – the sentence told me, and the voice she used agreed. Things were complicated enough as it was and she probably wished for me to keep out of any trouble that might ensue just when everything had begun gradually fading into that shade of “fine” she’d reassured me would at one point come back. But, then again, I was sure I could handle this one.

“I love you, too, Ann.” I chuckled as the blonde closed the car door with an abrupt click – another proof she wasn’t mad, just concerned and overreacting a bit. We both were. I watched her get into the building before driving off and spending the five-minute ride home in profound thoughts regarding our conversation. I’d mechanically got through the process of parking the Audi in the garage and entering the house through the kitchen door with a loud declaration of my presence: “I’m home!”

“Stop screaming,” Levi grumbled from the couch in the living room as my brows raised in slight wonder and I went to leave my shoes by the door. I stayed silent, to which the intern decided to give me a report of my parents’ locations. “Your father’s at the office and your mother’s out with friends.” Predictable enough. And he was here, dealing with papers at the coffee table. For a second, I pitied him – burdened with work my father was supposed to be handling – but knowing it was the one thing he hated most, I purposefully distanced myself from the emotion.

“And you?” I piped, bare feet padding over the parquet floor before smoothly sliding over the kitchen tiles. I opened the fridge with disinterest, feeling, strange as it might sound, more and more at home with the passing of each second. My mother and father absent on a weekend, leaving me all alone to deal with the house and whatever else I might think of. A silent living room, a quiet office, a dark art room and a bunch of dust waiting to be wiped – everything was so normal I didn’t even consider Levi’s presence a discrepancy. Not at all. It added a sense of company I’d come to enjoy to the space.

“Doing paperwork,” he answered shortly as I closed the fridge and leaned my back against its door. I’d done a considerable amount of thinking in the car on my way here and concluded a small experiment wouldn’t hurt – or, at least, not me. Seeing as Levi was currently benign and calm, I could test that and see if he’d go back to being cold without the help of a kiss. It was a risk because he could do just that, which would once and for all prove he was a human being I had no right to toy with. Still, everything in the name of science. Or, in this case, in the name of trying to unravel the intricate ball of string my father’s intern’s character was.

“I’m giving you a deal,” I began confidently, making him glance at me from his place on the couch as I rummaged in the cupboards for a cup and the black tea he liked. And while my hands busied with preparing his drink, my mouth explained the deal I had in mind with as much nonchalance as I could muster. “I’ll make you tea and – promise not to react drastically – you’ll tell me about Petra.” Having my back turned to him at that moment helped both of us in its own way – I didn’t get to see the kind of expression he wore and he didn’t get to see the hesitant furrow of my brows.

“I thought we agreed---“

“No, asshole,” I cut off with a pointed look, slamming closed the cupboard where the honey was, “we just argued a lot and didn’t talk for a long while afterwards. I can count the times we’ve agreed on something on my left hand – and this wasn’t one of them.” My tone had grown a bit colder but Levi couldn’t argue because I was right – there had been no agreement because agreement required discussion and discussion required calm statements supported by legitimate arguments. None of those had taken place. The raven’s defeated sigh was the only thing I needed to hear to understand his benevolent mood was yet to be shaken.

“On one condition – don’t say I didn’t warn you wouldn’t like it.” A minute-long pause had preceded the statement. Just in time for his tea to be done. I put a hand to my heart to reassure Levi I took full responsibility – in a joking manner nonetheless – for what I was about to hear and how it would affect me.

“Promise. My fault if I get scarred for life.” A small smirk pulled at the corner of my lips as I fixed his tea according to his taste and waited for it to cool down a bit before sauntering towards the coffee table with the steaming beverage in hand. I pushed aside the stacks of papers sitting on the glass surface and took their place, he took the cup from my hold and wrapped his fingers around it with a sigh while I made myself comfortable in my spot, knees bumping into his during the process. Neither seemed to react but I did sense the way in which he stood a tad bit straighter afterwards. And when my expectant gaze dug into his eyes, he sighed once more.

“Petra Ral was the prettiest girl I’d seen in my life. She was kind and her smile shone. She was my girlfriend for three years and my fiancé for one.” The three flat sentences he started with sounded almost painful to pronounce. His brows were furrowed and his lips were pursed, grey eyes pinned to the steam coming off his cup. I, on the other hand, found myself in a deep state of shock.

None of this makes sense, asshole-me protested heatedly inside my head, why did he kiss you if he’s engaged? Why did he kiss you at all if it was like that from the start? I had to pretend it didn’t affect me, but it did. Was this infidelity? Had both of us been unfaithful to our respective significant others? There was a woman out there whose man I’d kissed – that was the furthest thing from fine this whole situation could’ve provided me with, for fuck’s sake. 

“You’re getting married?” I sounded like a toy running out of batteries and my throat felt like it was stuffed to the brim with sandpaper. My eyes were wide and my jaw was slack but something was gripping my heart. It hurt a bit. The raven inhaled deeply, gaze not daring to leave the safe haven of the beverage in his cup for fear he might see something he wouldn’t like. Or so I thought – because he surely wouldn’t want to face the girl he’d been kissing behind his fiancé’s back. I hadn’t thought Levi a cheater – ever – and something, in spite of the connected dots here, still prevented me from thinking it.

“Was,” he underlined with a heavy voice. He almost sounded guilty. My brows furrowed in confusion and I watched him take a sip from the tea I’d made before starting to – astoundingly enough – babble. I hadn’t heard him babble before. Not once. “She wanted a spring wedding. She said the cake would be giant despite the fact we wouldn’t have many guests. We had decided on a humble ceremony, mostly because neither had the expenses for a grand one. My mother wanted a grand one. We had no time to clear the details but I know she would’ve wanted a chocolate cake.” The sentence came to an abrupt end as his grey hues stared at the rim of his cup blankly. It was that lost look again – appearing for the first time in what felt like ages. I felt the temperature drop and my chest hurt for some reason.

“What happened? You obviously love each other. I mean, planning a wedding and all. Did you---“

“I didn’t do anything to make her stop loving me,” his brief glare cut off my bewildered interrogation, “but we aren’t getting married because of me. Because I was a fucking idiot and I didn’t---“ He cut himself off and I saw him choke on (guilt, pain, panic, regret) something as the words died at the back of his throat. He took a second to swallow it before continuing in a much calmer but shaky manner. He didn’t look at me once even when his hand reached to leave the tea on the table next to me. “I didn’t fucking think about it. I didn’t know. Things like that don’t happen every day,” he defended weakly, as though talking to himself, answering questions of his own – and it made my face contort in immense puzzlement.

“I don’t get it,” I said weakly, hands clutching the edge of the table in helplessness. I couldn’t understand this if he didn’t explain it to me and every sentence out of his mouth was a set of new questions pushing at the back of my throat. Levi got a hand through his hair with a sigh and I noticed the spiteful clench of his jaw. He was forming the proper sentence or so I thought – then he blurted out the small piece of information that made everything fall into place in less than a second.

“When you met shitty-glasses and she mentioned Petra, she did it in the past tense for a reason.” It was then he met my eyes for the first time since the beginning of this conversation – except I wasn’t looking at him. I was looking past him, at all the mistakes I’d made, everything I’d said, and reflecting on how it had affected him every single fucking time. “Petra’s dead, princess. She’s been dead for nine months now.” The final statement was a sledgehammer digging a nail deeper when the plank had already cracked under the pressure. Now it split in two and I split with it.

Maybe I’d hoped for him to say something else. Say I hadn’t been bringing up his dead fiancé and talking about her without the respect she deserved, say I hadn’t screamed at him for protecting his privacy, say I hadn’t treated her death as an article in a newspaper, say I hadn’t reprimanded him for holding onto somebody dear to him he’d lost, say I hadn’t kissed him without his consent without caring at all what he felt, say I hadn’t urged him to have sex with me when, in fact, he was still in love with a person whose death he was learning to cope with. He didn’t say it. Any of it. Because I’d done all those stuff and I was a selfish person who held no regard for what others felt even when I treasured them. Two words – that much was enough to make me the villain.

“Oh, fuck, I’m so sorry.” My brows furrowed and my voice was pleading, begging him to forgive me. Forgive me for all the misplaced prejudice and all the disrespect, forgive me for being a spoiled child who cared not for his emotions, forgive me for taking advantage of his kindness to this extent, forgive me for being terrible and selfish, and the slightest bit of jealous. Hate me, curse me, slap me, ignore me – just please forgive me. Forgive me for being me, please.

“Save it,” he cut off with a nonchalant whisk of his hand. “I knew you’d react like this.” I couldn’t look at him – it would hurt to look at him. I was brought to my knees, eyes brimming with regret. Fearful of touching him, my hand gripped the edge of the couch instead. My fingers racked through my hair in exasperation. I was frustrated with myself – angry with myself, entirely livid. I needed him to make us even – using anything at all – and the fact he treated this with such triviality made my throat constrict.

“No, you don’t get it, I had no idea and… and I was acting like a complete bitch, oh God, and all the shit I did… I’m so sorry. I---“ Pauses and pathetic half-assed whimpering – such a decadence. I was a pitiful sight and the ring on my finger was the most disgusting thing I’d laid my eyes on. Hastily tearing it from my sweaty finger, I put it on the ground and my forehead hit the couch’s cushions. Incoherent regretful muttering was all that left my lips, constantly, incessantly, ruthlessly.

“Calm down,” the raven advised softly and I felt his warm palm rest on top of my head gently, like I would break if he made one wrong move. The incoherent chanting ceased and he snorted as I repetitively bit on my bottom lip for fear it might tremble. His fingers gingerly urged me to face him. When I did, I felt like I would cry. I couldn’t breathe. “I shouldn’t have told you,” he reproached himself boredly, grey hues locked with my (e/c) gaze. The crease between my brows was deep and I shook my head, opening my mouth to protest.

“I can’t believe I’ve said and done so much stuff when you’re still…”

Still in love with every bit of her.

“Not in love with her, no,” he finished for me softly, reading my thoughts to the point it made my gaze avert. His head shook in defiance and I uncertainly stared up at him like a loyal dog attempting to understand its owner’s foreign language. “Just with the memory, I guess. Everything is fine. And it’s getting better, as shitty-glasses told you,” he finished thoughtfully, a small spark going off in his hues. Unfortunately, I was too distraught to pay attention to its candid brightness – or to the warmth of his palm, cupping the side of my face. Then the switch played its part – I grabbed his wrist and tried to distance myself from his touch.

“I’m sorry, you shouldn’t be---“

“Shouldn’t be what?” He grabbed my shoulders and cut me off coldly, eyes prodding at my resolve. I was frantic and hasty, maybe unreasonable and incoherent – the only missing thing were the tears. Agitation, frustration and dejection stood perched on my shoulders – I didn’t want to burden him with any more worries than he already had. The oblivious way in which he questioned me just aided in fueling my self-deprecation, but it didn’t take away from my menacing haste.

“Comforting me, kissing me, hugging me – anything at all, duty or not. Shit, this makes me feel terrible.” I tried to push his hands away once more but his fingers held my shoulders tightly, not inclined to buckle. I couldn’t think properly. I was sure in a world where I wasn’t raised by Rolland Raven, I would’ve cried like a newborn out of humiliation. I was too proud to do that now – too proud to burden Levi with it yet again and too proud to be vulnerable right now. But I was terrible, too. I was terrible again when I told myself I never wanted to be.

“I’m not comforting you, princess.” His slow pointed argument made me gulp as I gnawed on the inside of my cheek in hesitation. It presupposed he was comforting himself using me – that much would’ve been fine if it hadn’t been a lie. This was that duty coming in again – to reassure me when I was unstable. “So…” He trailed off expectantly, slowly letting go of my shoulders and opening his arms instead. I watched his eyes for a moment, thinking at least the blue specks wouldn’t lie to me – the guilt was great but even greater was the instinct to accept the embrace with an apology muttered into his chest. I’d been terrible to him all this time. “Stop apologising,” he reproached flatly, soothingly running his fingers through my hair.

“You were right,” I chuckled weakly, clutching the back of his shirt, “I don’t like this. It makes me really selfish,” I concluded gravely, biting back yet another “sorry” as he hummed and attempted to calm my erratic emotions. I could smell his lavender shampoo and his cologne and, for some reason, rain. Like the day on which we’d met.

“Look up,” he instructed lowly, fingers gently prying my visage away from his calming scent and positioning it so I could meet his gaze. Another wave of guilt hit me before he spoke. “Not your fault, whatever you’re thinking about. Everything’s fine. Just don’t let Hanji know I told you,” he warned half-heartedly, making my lips purse as a small snort escaped my nose.

“You won’t get angry at me now then?” I inquired hopefully, though, as a punishment, I inwardly wished to receive a very curt denial. I wanted him to do something to fight fire with fire – not be this kind and dutiful after everything I’d done. My thoughts drifted away as I watched his pale countenance and the odd conclusion they drew (a wedding) was that he could’ve been married by now. Or maybe not now. Maybe next spring. Maybe next spring he would’ve worn a nicer ring and it would’ve meant something. Next spring, somebody could’ve made him happy.

“No,” he denied flatly, making my shoulders slouch in something I could call neither relief nor disappointment. A bit of both maybe. But my mind was lost. A wedding – the imaginary ride continued as I pondered my next move – and Petra would’ve been dressed in a beautiful white dress (the prettiest girl he’d ever seen) and he would’ve been in an ironed tuxedo, standing at a church altar and watching her walk down the aisle. Watching her and seeing nothing else, and the blue specks would’ve glimmered brightly – no lost looks whatsoever. Levi would’ve been dashing, maybe smiling. A happy, smiling Levi. Would he have smiled at his wedding? Surely. Surely he would’ve hidden it as well. A happy, smiling, married Levi.

“Even if...” Air ended then. The rest of this I shouldn’t speak. Because the notion of kissing hurt and this wasn’t about the switch – it hadn’t been about the switch, it had been about his emotions and I’d gotten an estimated account of those, so I needn’t fuck this up. Another mistake was forbidden, so my mouth clamped shut before the end of the sentence arrived. And still, almost like he’d read my thoughts, his fingers twitched over my cheek. And when I didn’t finish, he didn’t urge me to. I thought he wouldn’t figure it out – that we’d draw this topic to a close. But he wasn’t letting go and I wasn’t standing up.

“Yes, I won’t get angry at you even if.” And just like that, he knew what the end of my inquiry would’ve been like. The gentle nimbleness with which he held my neck craned up so I could face him properly made my lips purse. And then he was leaning in. His locks tickled my forehead and my temples and his mouth rested on mine – barely any pressure, like I would break otherwise. I defended I wasn’t a porcelain doll on the inside, but hadn’t the heart to protest aloud. It was a soft kiss and despite his composure, I could feel both of us couldn’t quite stop our hands from trembling in the slightest.

After we parted, I could feel his nose brush against mine. I buried my face in his chest in shame and went on to apologise for the entirety of a whole minute afterwards. Levi huffed in amusement, lips resting against my scalp when I heard a weak muffled chuckle escape them. It took me five minutes to let go of him and when I did, I felt his fingers seize my wrist. I watched him lean down and take my ring from the floor, then he slipped it back on my finger with an expression I couldn’t read at all. Not lost, that I knew for sure. I spent the rest of the afternoon leaning against his side, helping him with paperwork. Neither uttered a word but I could tell what we were thinking. Everything was fine. Yes, but the version in my head had a small “not” before the end.

tag list: @unloved-cadillac ; @donaldthrts

[waythroughtheice]

Lost Constellations, Part 3

for @absolutely-normal-about-x per the usual!

More hints about this Geo's past, and the entire family is here! (And this is my first time writing like, ALL of them, lol.)

~~~

X had gotten ahead of him again. Geo couldn’t move too fast or he’d slip on his pants, and X was just….fast. It got to the point that Omega-Xis floated between the two, and guided Geo to where X had gone. 

“Wants to see his family, probably,” Omega-Xis grunted. “He went this way, kid.” 

“Thanks, Mega,” Geo said, and passed corridor after corridor until he saw an open door. Geo came closer until the figures standing outside on the Flutter’s deck came into view. 

X stood in front of a boy about Geo’s own age. The boy had to be Volnutt, and wow they were definitely related, with their similar hair and armor. Their eyes were the same, which was another big clue. Behind him though…were those the Guardians? They looked different, but if the colors were the same, then that was them. Fefnir seemed to have ruby red dragon scales dotting his body like freckles, and towered over everyone present. He was also the only one wearing light armor that Geo could see. Phantom was lanky, with inky black hair and sharp yellow cat-like eyes. He reminded Geo of a black cat. Leviathan, meanwhile, didn’t seem to have any animal traits at all, and her gray hair was braided down her back, much like her father’s. But Harpuia. What? Harpuia had actual bird arms that were mint green in color, and wore a brown tunic that extended past his knees.

As Geo came closer, he began to overhear X’s voice, talking to his family. ““--ild soldier. Skittish, but kind. I’m not sure what he’s been through, but I don’t think it was--” 

“X?” Geo said, coming fully into view,

X looked back, cutting himself off from completing the sentence. “This is the guest I was talking about. Phantom, Hapruia, Levi, Fefnir, Volnutt, this is--” 

Omega-Xis rushed forward, letting himself flicker into view in all his alien, beastly glory. “Wait, so the bird is actually Harpuia? That’s hilarious!” He then began to cackle loudly. 

“Omega-Xis!” Geo hissed, nudging his partner in the side, trying to shut him up. 

He cackled instead. “You were a bird before but now you’re actually a bird, Harpy!” 

“Hey,” Harpuia squawked, flapping his wings a little. Geo watched as bona-fide green feathers floated to the ground. Definitely a bird. What. What were--X called them carbons? Humans with machine traits? And Harpuia was a carbon? Look at X! He seemed completely human, but Harpuia was also a carbon?! How did that work?

Fefnir cackled as well, joining Omega-Xis. “I know! Isn’t it great?! It was one of the best gifts ever!” 

“Hey!” Harpuia squawked again. “At least I can fly!” 

“What are you?” Volnutt said eagerly, marching up to Omega-Xis and circling him excitedly. “I’ve never seen someone like you before!” 

Omega-Xis smirked, and puffed out his chest. “I’m an AMian from Planet AM! Feast your eyes upon me!” 

“You’re an alien?!” Volnutt and surprisingly enough, Harpuia cried. 

“Aliens exist?” Phantom said. His eyes sparkled in the fading sunlight. 

“Yes,” Geo confirmed. “He’s my battle partner.” 

Volnutt grinned at Geo, before tilting his head to the side. “Are those my pajamas?” 

Geo flushed. “Sorry. I didn’t really have anything else. Hi, I’m Geo,” he said, remembering his manners. 

Volnutt grinned easily. “No worries. I’m Volnutt.” 

One of the Guardians behind him coughed. 

“Volnutt Light,” Volnutt amended, but Geo felt how pleased-happy-joyful he was to say it. 

“Geo Stelar,” Geo said in kind, getting yet another easy grin in return. 

“Guess I’m sleeping in old clothes then!” Volnutt said cheerfully. “They look good on you.”  

“It’s the spare,” X said reassuringly. “Your pajamas are still waiting for you. I wouldn’t give away your clothes without your permission, Volnutt.”

Volnutt scratched his head, a touch embarrassed, but clearly pleased to hear that as well. “Right. I guess we’ll be matching, then,” Volnutt said. 

Geo smiled shyly. “I guess we will. Sorry again.” 

Volnutt laughed, and Geo couldn’t help but startle a little, with how similar the sound was to X’s laugh. 

“Ridiculous, isn’t it?” Fefnir snorted, but his red eyes glinted kindly. “Dad’s mini-me, am I right?”

“Please, you big oaf, if anyone is Dad’s mini-me it’s Harpy,” Leviathan said haughtily. “Even Uncle Zero said so.” 

“Zero ain’t here,” Fefnir said, and grabbed Volnutt into a headlock. 

“Hey, let me go!” 

“And he never met this guy!” Fefnir laughed, and noogied Volnutt before letting him go. Volnutt swatted at his hand and before long it devolved into a small wrestling match. 

“Our family can be a bit rowdy,” Phantom said, appearing behind Geo. Thankfully, Geo knew to expect that with him, and didn’t startle too badly. “I hope this won’t be an issue.” 

Geo smiled. “That’s okay. It’s been a while since I’ve….” he trailed off. Attended a meal with anyone but Omega-Xis, or had a meal with people that loved each other and expressed it loudly and proudly.

It wasn’t like he could go back home to his family and friends, after all. Especially since most of them didn't....

“My name is Phantom,” Phantom said, drawing Geo’s attention back to him. Geo flushed, realizing that he never really finished his sentence and had stood there, looking into space. “And that--” 

“Leviathan, Fefnir, and Harpuia,” Geo rattled off easily. “I know.” 

Phantom nodded once. “Father mentioned it. Timeline jumping?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Can you fight?” Leviathan said, eying Omega-Xis up and down, in particular his sharp claws and teeth. Her ranseur appeared in her hand, sharp and ready to go. “I’d love to have a go.” 

Omega-Xis grinned. “Can I fight? Lady, I’ve gone toe-to-toe with a god!” He boasted. 

Geo sighed. “I think you’re forgetting someone,” he said. 

Omega-Xis rolled his eyes. “We’ve gone toe-to-toe with a god,” he amended haughtily. “Twice.” 

“A god?” Volnutt said. 

Geo winced, remembering Le Mu. That had been a fight. The scars on his chest ached. That battle had one been one of the few times his injuries as Mega Man had been bad enough to actually translate over to his human form. “A god.” 

“Not something calling itself a god?” Harpuia questioned. “Or putting itself on a pedestal like one?” 

“A god-god,” Geo confirmed. 

The Guardians--and Geo decided to include Volnutt in that statement--didn’t know what to make of that. “Huh,” Fefnir said, studying Omega-Xis, and then Geo. “Twice?” 

“Second time was worse than the first,” Geo said, reminiscing. “It was our first timeline jump, and we went to a reality where I didn’t exist, so Le Mu--the god--was….” 

Out of control. That reality--all devoid of emotion, of life, of color--haunted Geo still. He hated the color gray, just a little, because of it. 

“Good fight, though,” Omega-Xis grunted when Geo didn’t finish. “And Apollo Flame was even better!” 

“Born from Le Mu,” Geo explained, seeing the wide-eyed looks. “Another god, basically.” 

Fefnir whistled, pausing in his wrestling match with Volnutt and getting up from it while Volnutt ran his hands through his hair, trying to fix it after roughhousing. “How many gods have you two defeated?” 

Geo and Omega-Xis glanced at each other. “A few,” they answered together. 

Leviathan grinned, and Geo blinked. Were those tiny little shark teeth? Well, he guessed he’d just found Levi’s animal trait, or one of them, anyway. “Now I really want to have a go,” she said. 

Fefnir grinned as well, and smashed his fists together. “Let’s do it!” 

Omega-Xis smirked, and shook his mane. “I’ll take you both on!” 

“After dinner,” X’s voice cut through sharply. They all turned to X, who clapped his hands once. “The food’s ready.” He eyed Leviathan, Fefnir, and Omega-Xis. “If you still wish to spar--not fight--after dinner, that’s fine, but Geo and I worked hard on this meal. In.” 

“Yes Dad,” was the common chorus, and everyone followed X as he went inside the ship. 

(“Yes, sir,” was Geo’s. Omega-Xis pouted, and said nothing at all.) 

Volnutt walked side-by-side with Geo as they made their way to the dinner table. “Timeline jumping! That’s so cool!” 

Geo scratched his head, embarrassed. “Not really…” he said. “What do you do as a Digger?” 

Volnutt practically lit up. “As a Digger, I explore ancient ruins!”

Geo gasped. “Ruins?! Really?!” 

“Yeah! I’ve found a lot of ancient stuff down there--lots of coins and old technology.” 

“Sounds similar to some old ruins I’ve explored,” Geo mused. 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah--from this place called Mu.” Geo winced. “It was guarded by these…beings, I guess. Murian soldiers. Really strong.” A few hits would’ve been enough to take him out.  

Volnutt nodded sympathetically. “I get that. My ruins are filled with these things called Reaverbots. I always have to be on my guard. Oh! Here, Geo,” Volnutt said, pulling out a chair next to him. 

“Thanks, Volnutt,” Geo said, and sat down beside him. 

“Levi, Harpy, help me bring out the dishes,” X ordered. “Little nut, where are the Casketts?” 

Volnutt grinned, but it looked slightly strained. “With the Bonnes. Tron and Roll got into one of their competitions, and Gramps figured it would be better to just stay the night.” 

X sighed, but it sounded fond. “Those two….We’ll tell them in the morning about our guest, then.” 

“Will they care?” Geo asked anxiously as steaming hot plates of rice and curry were placed at the table. 

“Nah,” Volnutt said. 

“No,” X reaffirmed. “We’ve plenty of space, and you’re a child.” X sat down at the head of the table, while Omega-Xis floated behind Geo. They said grace, then--

“Let’s eat!”