extremecanopy

[rikalovesrice]

Douxie x Non!Magic Reader #1

- The first time he saw you, you’d wandered into Arcane Books. You’re skimming through a book when Douxie greets you kindly, asking if he can help you with anything.

- Of course, your heart skips a beat because wow he’s beautiful.

- You’re all awkward and blushing, kind of stumbling over your words. Douxie smiles and laughs gently, reassuring you. You two have a nice chat about the book’s contents.

- It’s a slow burn on Douxie’s end. While he’s charming and sweet-talks the ladies, being in a romantic relationship’s never been a concern of his. But nevertheless, he does find you endearing from the get-go.

- The next time you see him is when you’re eating dinner at the cafe. Douxie recognizes you and waves. Noticing your drink is almost empty, Douxie gives you a refill and you exchange pleasantries. He tells you why he works two jobs. You make sure to give him a nice tip.

- That’s how it is for a while, glimpsing and talking with Douxie at his two jobs. Sure you have a small crush on him, but you also just love him as a person. Douxie’s so kind and humble and a rebel in the best way.

- Douxie finds he quite enjoys your company, too. Soon the two of you consider each other good friends.

- Douxie invites you to an Ash Dispersal Pattern concert. Standing amidst jumping and thrashing rockers and metal heads, it’s all background noise because you can’t tear your eyes away from Douxie. How he plays his guitar like it’s the air he breathes. How he sings like he’ll never sing again. You didn’t know he had tattoos on his biceps and shoulders cause you’ve never seen him without his sweatshirt.

- Douxie sees you in the crowd and smiles at you. And at that moment, you know this way more than a crush.

- You’re speechless after the concert. Douxie jogs over, all sweaty and unkempt from rocking out, and thanks you for coming. All you can do is stare at him like an idiot.

- You sputter out how amazing he his band was. Douxie chuckles.

- Ok so you know that’s there’s something...mysterious about Douxie. You really start suspecting something when you’re out on a late night stroll and see Douxie locking up Benoit’s. You’re about to call out to him, but you notice him glancing around as if seeing making sure no can see him. He then runs down an alleyway, what looks to be a black cat following him.

- You decide to observe him the next couple of nights. Sure enough, Douxie always looks around before disappearing into the night. You’ve taken note of the bags under Douxie’s eyes (that you’ve honestly grown fond of). What’s he up to?

- One night, you decide to follow him. And you’re almost immediately knocked onto your back by something. Some sort of monster. You cower before the creature and shut your eyes, terrified and waiting, before a familiar voice yells your name.

- There’s a bright flash of sky blue and the monster is slammed up against a dumpster. Douxie emerges from the darkness, holding out his left hand. Gone is his watch, replaced with some kind of...gauntlet? Arm bracelet? It’s secured around his entire forearm and blue symbols are emanating off its surface,

- You watch Douxie do the monster in in utter disbelief. The monster is swallowed up by a blue portal. Douxie’s at your side, gently grabbing your arm and making sure you’re alright.

- So....Douxie’s a wizard. A 900 year old wizard. Wizards, and apparently monsters and demons and specters, are a thing. Also cats can talk and dragons exist.

- Now that you know, you inevitably get caught up in the secret shenanigans of Arcadia. Magic and trolls and what not.

- Throughout it all, you and Douxie grow closer. Douxie knows how vulnerable you are as a normal human. Though you’ve proven yourself more than capable in many ways, but Doux can’t help but worry about you. You’ve become someone important to him and he just wants to protect you.

- Que Douxie wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you into his side as he magic blasts a monster that was about to eat you into next week. Your head nearly explodes cause holy fuzzbuckets you’ve never been this close him, close enough to feel the warmth on your cheek of his skin exposed by his lowcut shirt, close enough to smell him (spices...cloves?). You’ve never been so close to his face when looks down at you to make sure you’re okay. His golden eyes are so pretty and so full of concern and his blue tipped hair is framing his handsome face. You realize he’s still holding you and you frantically wiggle away with a quick thanks, leaving Douxie confused.

- One day when you’re hanging out, Douxie takes off his sweatshirt. You’re sitting next to him as he scrolls through his playlist, going on about Papa Skull, before you absentmindedly begin to trace his tattoos with your finger. Douxie startles, feeling an odd tingling where your fingers had gently touched him, and you almost erupt from how embarrassed you are because what are you even doing.

- Doux...doesn’t mind it all, actually. A thought he doesn’t understand.

- Douxie hates seeing you in pain, whether you’ve been injured by a monster or you’re upset and crying. He’s super gentle and sweet as he heals your wounds. He loves using magic to cheer you up or comforting you with a song.

- Archie and Zoe start picking up on something, making knowing comments here and there. Douxie doesn’t think anything of it cause he’s an oblivious doorknob

- A man of affectionate touches, Douxie will gently hold your arms or cradle your face in his hands when you’re worried or distressed.

- When you find yourself lost in time and in medieval Camelot, Douxie finds himself staring when he sees you in a medieval dress (much like Claire’s). He’s not sure why. He thinks you look pretty and feels his face go warm.

- Moppet!Douxie thinks you’re the most gorgeous thing he’s ever seen. 

- When some knights during Battle Royal flirt with you, Douxie doesn’t like that at all. He’s not sure why it bothers him so much but it does and the next thing he knows he’s stepping in. He loosely throws an arm around your shoulders and passively shoos them away.

- Moppet!Douxie tries flirting with you (with hilariously less tact than his future self) which means, yes, Douxie’s getting jealous of himself. You think Moppet!Douxie is the cutest thing and you can’t help babying him a little, which doesn’t help.

- You can’t help but wonder if the Douxie you know feels the same way. 

- Doux becomes especially more aggressive with his magic when something threatens you. Like his eyes start glowing a little it’s that serious.

- Lots of hugs. You hug him after Morgana dies. You hate seeing him so distraught, being so hard on himself. You hug him when Merlin dies. You hug him after Merlin’s staff is destroyed. And Douxie finds that he loves holding you. Douxie buries his face into the crook of your neck, holding you close and trembling and sniffling. You rub his back and run your hand through his hair.

- When you pull apart, Douxie gazes at you, his face streaked with tears. You both become too flustered to keep looking at each other, but Douxie holds your hand for a while after each embrace. He notes how small your hands are compared to his.

- Douxie realizes his feelings when he thinks about losing you to the Arcane Order. He wasn’t prepared for how much the thought would hurt, how unbearable that would be.

- Upon this epiphany, Douxie’s moppetness shows the next time he sees you because wow you’re so beautiful and amazing and how did he not see it earlier?

- Douxie pulls you into an embrace before you board the ship with Krel and the others to go back down to Arcadia. You wonder why this hug feels so...desperate. He pulls away and you don’t know why he looks so pained.

- Douxie takes in how beautiful you are. He kisses your forehead before forcing himself to let go and finish his business with the Order.

- Your heart clenches in your chest because could it be that Douxie feels the same way and now he’s going back to face Bellroc and Skrael alone?

- Believing it’s the end, Douxie bids farewell in his heart to his friends. You’re the last person he thinks of, and his last thought is how much he loves you.

- Everything inside you shatters as you watch Douxie, completely limp, plummet towards the ground. Your eyes burn with tears as you lean over Douxie’s lifeless body. When Claire, Steve, and Archie catch up, you’re sobbing into Douxie’s chest. You press your lips against his cheek, believing this is goodbye...

- ....And when he wakes up, you tackle him back to the ground in a hug, wailing with relief into his shoulder. Douxie groans in pain but firmly wraps his arms around you, overcome with the reality that he can still be with you.

- Your heart sinks when he goes to leave with Archie and Nari. You’re still holding hands when Douxie boards the ship. 

- “I’ll be seeing you Champions of Arcadia soon enough. And...,” Douxie gazes at you lovingly before kissing your knuckles, “....you, my darling. Wait for me.”

- Your fingers pull apart as the ship ascends. Your heart swells and you smile. 

- “Always.”