Heroes vs. Villains : Pomefiore [Part 3]
Gender Neutral Reader x Pomefiore vs. Neige Leblanche
Word Count: 3.6k
Summary: Woe to the Ramshackle Prefect, being caught up in the drama between the Disney Villains and their respective heroes. Pomefiore Version
ie. In which no actor alive is apparently able to comprehend the expression ‘too much.’ Or, Neige sends you far too many flowers and Vil reacts about just as well as you would expect.
[PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3]
Everything was going great.
Sure, Rook had nearly assassinated you through the power of embarrassment alone and Vil was still commandeering nearly every spare moment of your free time, but overall it was good. The House Warden had slipped back into his usual not entirely self-destructive haughtiness, and you had tucked his subordinate’s betrayal into the deepest recesses of your mind in hopes you might one day just black it out entirely.
And then one morning you woke up and there were flowers on your doorstep.
At first, you genuinely thought it was a prank. Because they were white lilies, and lilies were toxic to cats. And obviously Grim had yowled at you immediately about how he was “NOT A CAT, HENCHMAN!” But you tossed the bouquet in the garbage anyways, just to be safe. Part of you figured that it might be Jade. He certainly seemed the type to dabble in poisoning house pets, and he went on enough nature walks that procuring some of those nifty little blossoms would be an easy feat. So you casually penned ‘Threaten Azul With Octopot Blackmail Until He Can Learn to Control His Demon Spawn’ into your planner and carried on with your day.
And then there were more flowers the next morning, and something cavernous and foreboding in your gut told you that this wasn’t Jade Leech. This time it was a pleasantly wrapped bouquet of mixed white and red carnations—all tuft-like and fluffy. There was a small square of cardstock tucked into the stems. Maybe there had been one in the lilies too, but you hadn’t even bothered to check before dunking them into the trashcan. The paper was embossed with something that looked a bit like an insignia—a teeny, round, sparrow made up of curling silver swirls and little, scratchy, tufts that you assumed were meant to be feathers. The real damning part of all of it though was the elaborate, cursive, N.L. tucked beneath the bird’s spread wings.
Ruh-roh.
“Huh? What are those?” Grimm yawned as he padded down the stairs on his teeny, black, paws.
You tossed the bouquet into the coat closet and slammed the door. “Nothing. Jade’s just trying to poison you again.”
Grim puffed up like a little lion. “You should poison him back! Or stab ‘em!”
“Right,” you nodded, walking bravely into the winter morning with no coat, because the evidence was with your coat, and you immediately wanted to shrivel up and die. “I’ll just do that then.”
The next morning, there was a knock at your door—bright and early. You cracked it open cautiously and peeked through the slit like a ghoul creeping out of its dark lair. It was a person you didn’t recognize, and you opened the door more fully.
“Can I help you…?”
“Yes!” the guy chirped. You realized then that he was wearing a delivery uniform. “I’m just here to drop these off for you,” he smiled, and pressed a bundle of daisies into your arms. “I guess it was noted in the delivery request that it wasn’t a certainty if the last orders had ended up with you or not.”
“Is that so,” you droned, trying not to sound like your soul was actively attempting to vacate your body. “Well. Thank you. Goodbye—”
“Oh!” he called, before you could retreat back into your hovel like a wounded animal. “There are a few more actually!” he said, pointing to another delivery man headed in your direction—weighed down under an entire armful’s worth of blooms. You couldn’t even make out the poor guy’s head beneath the forest of pale pinks and yellows consuming him.
“Right,” you nodded, horrified. “Of course. Anyways, is there a way I can go about returning these, or…?”
The poor dude being eaten alive by all those flowers just laughed good-naturedly and dumped the wagon’s worth of tulips, and camellias, and even more carnations at your feet. You could feel something in your jaw tick.
And then another pair of delivery men came sauntering over the hill and you wanted to scream.
That day at lunch, you felt like a convict in a lineup.
You were seated at Vil’s left, as was the norm, and you were having to actively fight the raw survival instinct tugging at every muscle in your body as it demanded that you flee from the room post haste. A part of you felt like the intuitive beauty would just know somehow. Like he could smell the goddamn flowers on you. You were practically vibrating out of your seat. Every time he brushed up against you, you’d jolt like you’d been electrocuted. All of the moments where he’d shift and his knee would bump against yours, or when he would reach for something just a little off center and his arm would tuck up against your side, or how he’d rest his hand on the table just close enough to yours that even the teeniest fidget would push your pinkies together. It was like the universe had decided that today you were going to be a lightning rod, and that it was oh so fun to just zap-zap-zap you endlessly.
“Are you feeling alright, Mon Coeur?” Rook called from his spot across the narrow table. “You look a bit grey.”
You grit your teeth, because Vil sitting less than a foot away or otherwise, no way would you be telling anything to this snitch. “I’m perfectly fine, thank you.”
“No. He’s right,” Vil asserted, stern, and turned to face you more fully. “You’ve been miserable from the moment you sat down. What’s the matter?”
“I’m fine,” you tried again, and Vil’s eyes narrowed irritably at your bold-faced lie. He leaned closer, as if chastising you from three inches away instead of six would make any sort of difference. But then something odd flickered across his expression and you experienced the very distinctive and horrifying sensation of being marched to the gallows.
Vil reached out and the featherlight touch of his fingers brushed along the curve of your jaw and down your throat before settling heavily at your collar. He plucked a small, pink, petal from a fold in the fabric.
“What’s this?” he asked, with the inflection of someone who already knew perfectly well what ‘this’ was.
“I fell into a bush,” you replied, deadpan.
Silence.
“A bush, hmm?” he mused blandly, and rolled the petal around between his fingers.
Epel and Rook exchanged pointed glances.
“It was an ugly bush,” you added. Because, sure, it was a lie. And Vil clearly knew it was a lie. But maybe hurling around insults at Neige the bush would help.
Vil snorted, and thankfully it sounded more amused than enraged. The petal disappeared in a puff of dark, purple, smoke and he returned to poking at his salad and your posture in equal measure. Safe. For now.
That evening, you approached the only other person on campus that you could think of who would benefit more from helping you keep your horrible, little, secret than in just selling you out at the first opportunity.
“Epel, you lived on a farm,” you tried, conversational in perhaps the way a hostage may try to sound casual to avoid panicking the SWAT team listening in from just outside the door. “You know how plants work.”
He arched a lavender eyebrow at you.
“Yeah?”
“Cool. Cool, cool, cool,” you chirped, steepling your fingers. “So, anyways. Can I get your help then. With a plant problem I’m having?”
“Uhm, sure?” he agreed, face scrunched up in bewilderment.
When you walked him into Ramshackle’s foyer, Epel made a noise like he was choking. You couldn’t blame him—shock aside, the petals floating around were becoming a real hazard.
“Where did these even come from?” he gawked.
“Neige,” you winced, scuffing your toes against the carpet. Or at least in the general vicinity of where you assumed the carpet was. The entire floor was blanketed in loose leaves and bits of ivy.
He whistled low under his breath, and something in his gaze went a little hazy—a little spooked. “When Vil finds out about this…”
“He won’t,” you declared, with as much determination as you could manage.
“He will,” Epel grumbled. He looked like he was having war flashbacks.
“If he does,” you sighed, defeated, “you might as well just shoot me and put me out of my misery.”
“The shotgun is back at grandma’s,” he mumbled, his pale blue eyes still clouded and very, very, faraway.
You blinked. “What.”
“What?”
“…Nothing. I just. Please,” you begged. “You have to help me.”
Epel seemed to take your pleas seriously at the very least (or maybe it was just his own sense of self-preservation kicking in), and he gently raised a finger to tap at his chin as he pondered. After a moment, he made a little ‘ah-ha’ noise and turned back to you with a firm nod.
“You ever lit a bonfire in a dumpster before?”
You blinked. Once. Twice. A third time.
“I,” you began, slow, “have never. Set a dumpster on fire.”
Epel reached out to thump you squarely on the shoulder. “Well, you’re gonna today.”
.
.
“What were you thinking?!” Crewel snarled at you, cracking his pointer across his palm.
You coughed, sending a cloud of garbage-and-petal-scented soot into the air of his otherwise very pristine office.
“I wasn’t?” you tried.
The alchemist looked like he was ready to put his head through the wall or maybe yours, but instead he just reached up to dig his fingers into his temples.
“Detention,” he snapped.
“Understandable,” you nodded—another wave of dusty, black, ash falling to the carpet beneath your feet.
.
.
And then all your arson was for naught, because the very next morning there was a fresh mountain of pink roses crowding your entryway.
You kicked them into the back of the coat closet and hurried off to class, making sure to double and triple check your clothes for any damning evidence before you did.
You made it all the way through the rest of the day without any other flower related nonsense, and maybe all that success had made you cocky, stupid. So when you realized you’d forgotten your little notebook full of reference numbers and stage cues for the Drama Club’s newest production, making a pitstop at Ramshackle only seemed sensible. And when Vil offered to walk you there and back, you agreed without any consideration for rationality.
You could just see the pointed rooftop of your dorm coming into view over the hill when your companion final spoke up.
“This path is ridiculously undermaintained,” he hummed. His purple gaze slid pointedly in your direction. “I suppose I can see how you were you so easily felled by a bush.”
“An ugly bush,” you repeated, just to see his lips quirk into a smug little smirk.
But then that satisfied expression froze on his face, and his mouth curled downwards into that venomous sneer of his that made each and every hair at the back of your neck stand on end.
Because standing in your doorway, a delicate bouquet of sunflowers and sweet peas tucked under his arm, was Neige LeBlanche. With that goddamn purple scarf wrapped around his neck.
“Oh! Hello!” he chirped, his doe eyes wrinkling at the corners as he smiled. “I was hoping I’d be able to catch you!” A fetching shade of pink bloomed across his cheeks and along the bridge of his nose, and he fidgeted nervously with the soft wrappings in his hands. “I was starting to think I had the wrong address…”
There was a steadily increasing pressure around the meat of your upper arm, and it took you a beat too long to realize that it was Vil and his ever-tightening vice grip and not just your clothes trying to strangle you. You could feel the blunt crescents of his fingernails digging into the fabric of your coat—sharp little pinpricks that didn’t exactly hurt or anything, but reminded you just a little too much of a big cat flexing its claws before it pounced.
Neige seemed to notice his one-sided nemesis for the first time, and his expression lit with genuine mirth.
“Oh! Vil! Hello to you too!” he beamed, a merry laugh working its way past his lips. “I didn’t realize you two knew each other! Though if you both go to Night Raven I suppose that makes sense…” He mused.
“Of course,” Vil ground out past his gnashing canines, with about as much civility as you were expecting. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”
At this inquiry, Neige went pink all over again—from the tip of his gently pointed chin to the edges of his neatly styled fringe. He shifted nervously back and forth on the balls of his feet and his fingers clenched into the velvet bow of the bouquet. When he spoke up again, he was addressing you and you alone.
“I, uhm…” he spluttered. “Well, I… I was worried you weren’t getting any of my flowers, because I never heard anything back from you. Not that I was expecting you to thank me or anything!” he hurriedly rushed out. “I just—Ah. Well… I-I’ve never really done this sort of thing before, and I wanted to make sure I was doing it right, and Dominic said that if you weren’t responding then maybe I should be doing this in person, so… I…” he trailed off, his face practically glowing with the crimson heat radiating off his cheeks.
“You never actually gave me any way to respond,” you tried (which was entirely true), aiming for as middle-of-the-road as possible. Clearly it wasn’t neutral enough, because Vil’s glower swiveled to you and became a tangible force against your skin.
“Oh!” Neige gasped. “Oh my goodness! You’re right!”
Maybe that would be the end of it. Maybe he’d be like you, and wind up so encumbered by his own embarrassment that he’d have no other choice but to run away.
But instead, he soldiered on.
“Well…” the brunette murmured, clearly fighting an intense urge to fidget. “I was wondering then, if I—if you—if we—could. If you want to—”
This poor, lost, boy was so sweet and endearing. And as much as you could not comprehend how saving him One Time in a crowded mall had turned into weeks of pining and near hero worship, you felt for the dude. And you felt even worse knowing that you were going to have to absolutely cut him down if you wanted any hope of coming out of this alive with an even marginally stable Vil at your side. Neige was kind, but Vil was totally not the object of your miserable, unrequited, affections your friend. And if you had to sacrifice Squirrel-Sweater-Boy and his crush to keep the House Warden from falling into another spiral of self-flagellation and despair, then so be it.
“A-Actually!” you cut in as fast as you could. “I was just…”
Your eyes flickered to Vil, panicked, and you hoped he wouldn’t eviscerate you for this.
You placed a hand atop the one he’d wrapped around your arm and gave it a gentle, blatant, squeeze as you leaned heavily into his side. “The two of us were just planning on going somewhere! Together!” You shot him a pointed look that you prayed he’d be able to interpret past the veil of red fury muddling his gaze. “Weren’t we?”
“Oh! Like a friendship outing!” Neige chirped, and clapping his hands together enthusiastically. You wilted. “Do you mind if I come along too then? I’d really love to spend more time with you if I can, but obviously I don’t want to step over any of your preexisting plans! I’d love to be able to hang out with Vil again too! It could be like a field trip!”
Your stomach dropped, and you were genuinely worried for a moment that you were going to have to just honest-to-God turn around and book it before you could be indicted as an accessory to murder.
But then the twisting resentment melted from Vil’s face and the hand at your shoulder snuck around your back to settle firmly at your hip. He hauled you flush against his side and you barely managed to swallow your squeak.
“No, actually,” Vil crooned, a wickedly smug grin splitting his crimson lips. “Together, as in together. Partners,” he continued, perfectly chipper. “Involved. Entangled. Romantically linked. Whatever you’d like to call it.”
Neige’s expression immediately fell into something terribly dejected, before bouncing almost just as fast into mortification.
“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry,” he gasped. “I had no idea! If I had known, I—I mean, I would never have tried to—to—Oh, I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable!” he rambled, so red and embarrassed that you were back to feeling bad for him all over again. “Please forgive me for overstepping!”
“I suppose,” Vil sighed, dramatic. And you were officially done feeling bad for him and all his crippling self-worth issues. He turned to you with this demure little pout that you just knew he’d probably had to practice in front of a mirror at some point. “And how about you, darling? Are you feeling magnanimous this afternoon?”
“You’re forgiven,” you grit out, and there was bit of a terrible moment where Neige clearly assumed your spiraling vitriol was aimed at him and not the smug bastard pinning you to his side.
“Th-Thank you!” he squeaked, before darting forward to press the bouquet into Vil’s hands. “Here! Have these! As a—As an apology bouquet instead of a, well…” He buried his face into the plush fabric of his scarf and took a very long, very loud, breath. As if he was trying to center himself. “Anyways! I should be—I’ll get going then! Enjoy your date!”
And then Neige was scurrying off as fast as his legs could carry him, and Vil smirked proudly throughout the entire retreat and beyond. The sunflowers sat in his hands like a trophy.
You took a moment to remind yourself that you were not always a terrible person, and that surely something like this was outweighed in the grand scheme of things by all the Overblots you’d stopped, and how many murders you’d prevented. You sighed, bone deep and weary, and were just about to start making the last leg of the trek into your dorm when Vil pulled you in the opposite direction.
“Where are we going?” you asked, confused. “We still need to get my notebook for the club meeting, and—”
“I thought you just said something about me taking you out for the evening,” he interrupted, arching a finely shaped brow. “Or did you already forget.”
“But that was…” you trailed off, hesitant. Something warm and eager swirled in your belly, and you tamped it down as fast you could. There was no way he meant what your fluttering pulse was assuming he’d meant. I mean, you were ‘the potato.’ That’s it. “You don’t have to feel like you need to take me somewhere. I know that was just…”
Vil scoffed. “Oh, please. I assumed you knew me better than that. Do I seem like the sort of person who would be willing to fake a relationship to avoid any kind of fallout—within the media or otherwise?”
“…No?” you said after a moment.
His hand flexed at your waist. “Correct. Now. Let’s get going. We’ll stop at my dorm first—you’re not going out dressed like that.”
The world was tilting on its axis. Hell had frozen over. Deuce had aced an exam.
“Are you—did you just ask me out?” you gaped.
Vil sighed. “Technically, you asked me. Or, well, demanded.”
“Oh,” you rasped, dazed. “I guess I did.”
And so began the journey back to Pomefiore. Or, well, Vil’s journey. You were just being carted along like a useless sack of vegetables. Your head was spinning, the rest of you barely able to catch up to its frantic swirling. Amidst all your emotional vertigo, you did catch Vil glaring frostily down at the bouquet in his hands. You wondered idly why he didn’t just throw it to the side, and then remembered that ah yes. A trophy.
“Sunflowers,” Vil scoffed under his breath, and the contempt there helped ground you back in reality.
“What’s wrong with sunflowers?” you asked in a huff, no longer feeling the need to cater to his bruised pride now that he was so obviously riding high on a wave of self-satisfied vindication.
He snorted. “You clearly have no grasp on floriography.”
“And you do?”
“What exactly do you think poisons are made of? Or most natural cosmetics?”
You sighed. “Fine. Then if sunflowers are so awful, what kind of flowers would you give me?”
“Roses, naturally. Scarlet Sage.” His lips quirked. “Coriander.”
“Coriander isn’t a flower. It’s what you cook with,” you sniffed, indignant. “Sage too!”
Vil laughed under his breath and reached out to take your hand, threading your fingers through his. You felt warmth spread from your cheeks all the way to the tips of your ears, and you hoped more than anything that your palm wasn’t too sweaty.
“Is that so?” he hummed, amused.
“Well what do they mean then?” you conceded, that furious heat still working its way along your skin.
He glanced down at you out of the corner of his charcoal-lined eyes—the purple there brilliantly sharp and fond. He gave your hand another firm squeeze.
“I suppose you’ll just have to do your best to figure that out.”
.
.
.
.
🌸FLOWERS🌸
White Lilies = Virginity, Purity, Heavenly
Red Carnations = ‘Alas for my poor heart, my heart aches,’ deep romantic love
White Carnations = Innocence, pure love, sweet love
Daisies = Innocence, Loyal love
Ivy = Affection, Friendship, Fidelity
Pink Camelias = Longing For You
Pink Rose = Happiness; innocent romantic love
Yellow Tulip = Sunshine in your smile; hopeless love
Sweet Pea = kindheartedness, Blissful pleasures
Sunflower = Adoration; Pure Thoughts
Red Rose = Love, ‘I love you’
Scarlet Sage = Forever Mine
Coriandor = Lust
.
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TAG LIST [CLOSED]
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Thoughts on second read of Obscuary chapter. (Roughly chronological this time)
Darkwick has a general medical center — so Mortkranken isn't the only medical care on campus, regardless of what Yuri might say
The Gala happens in August, which means the end of the school year is in August, which means there is basically no break between the school years. (Do they have breaks at Darkwick? If they do, are the ghouls allowed to leave? Probably not.)
Moby is barely even trying to hide that Darkwick sees Lyca primarily as a research subject (and MC as his "warden")
Darkwick doesn't trust Subaru anymore? MC asks if Subaru wouldn't be a better mentor, and Moby's like nope but doesn't explain
Kinda sus that the flashback repeats Haku's "have I ever lied to you" line
What is the "most severe form of disciplinary action"? In Hotarubi chapter, Lyca and Subaru imply that Darkwick planned to kill Lyca if he was, in fact, guilty of murder. Are they going around secretly executing people?
Haku's like "I'm well aware." Does he know someone who was punished this way? (I've been thinking for a while that he's the spy, but that his motivation is trying to protect someone, possibly Rui. I feel like this is another point in that direction.)
Aww, Lyca makes MC sit down when she gets upset remembering the anomaly that cursed her. What a sweetheart.
If the moon is always a crescent in Obscuary, does that mean Lyca doesn't have to worry about transforming if he stays there during the full moon?
...did Rui seriously get cursed by hitting on a Reaper?
Hmm is it just me, or does Subaru not look super thrilled when Lyca says that he's already made a new friend?
Lyca and Rui's reactions to MC saying that she wants to use the Gala to get help breaking her curse — Lyca looks upset (didn't know she was cursed), Rui smiles (proud of his curse twin being proactive)
Rui making Lyca actually work at the bar but telling MC to just relax
Why is Nicolas being so shady about other people (particularly MC) being at the bar?
Benkei only started working at the campus store recently and immediately arranged to start selling anomalous medicine. Maybe he was a former student?
Aww, Lyca takes afternoon naps.
Rui says that going to the basement to make liquor is "always a workout"... and that there are freaky looking plants writhing around down there..... and he wouldn't recommend it unless you're into that kind of thing......... are you keeping a tentacle monster in the basement, Rui???
Towa says that the tree is sick because she's not getting enough love. Possibly she is reacting to the overall tension on campus? Or maybe more people used to be able to see her, but something has happened and they can't? Maybe it's a response to the general students leaving Jabberwock? (Is her hill in Jabberwock or in its own area?)
On first read, I thought maybe Rui was previously in Ultio, since he knew about the prison. Now I think he was held in that prison at some point.
Towa says that Edward doesn't understand love... but he doesn't give a crap about the dog, he's only looking for it for Haru. (Towa loves Haru confirmed?)
Taiga remembers Ed, even though it's been a while since they've seen each other. Is his bad memory a recent thing, where he only has trouble remembering people he's recently met?
What does this mean? Taiga can (literally or figuratively?) see some kind of danger Ritsu is unaware of?
Lyca's twitchy ears. So cute...
Darkwick supposedly doesn't know much about MC's curse, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if they're letting it run its course just to study it. If MC wasn't useful as an inspector, she would probably be in a lab or a cell somewhere.
Back on the mission, after discovering that the Barometz is "friendly" — I wonder how much of the previous animosity between ghouls and inspectors was due to stuff like this. Trying to let a peaceful anomaly be.
In parts of the comic scene, Lyca looks like he's running on all fours. Cuuuuute
Earlier, Rui said that Ed was basically on house arrest. Towards the end of the chapter, Moby calls it a "self-imposed confinement". I don't really trust anything Moby says at this point...
Ed clearly knows more about anomalies than Darkwick does... so they're not asking him, or he's not complying, or they're not listening to him. Why is he at Darkwick anyway? I can't see what he's getting out of this. Is he being detained?
Rui's conversation at the end — honestly, I can see it. His comments about not liking hard work or not reaching out to help people — throughout the whole chapter, he only seems to enjoy helping MC. He's kinda irritated with Lyca and Ed for almost the entire chapter. All of the housework and stuff he does is because no one else will do it, and he literally can't sleep so he's probably bored out of his mind. He chose to start the bar, so he probably enjoys that... but maybe he started do it partly to have more people to talk to. I think the isolation is getting to him and he's starting to feel less "human", in a sense, and detached from society. I think he's starting to warm up to Lyca near the end, at least?
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