Ruggie - Tumblr Posts

Didn't know where else to go

Prompt:

Looking up at the boys, swaying slightly as they’re close to passing out, mumbling “..didnt know where else to go…” the collapsing into their arms

y/ns sick, and after dark on a week off school, appears at the entrance of the boys dorms, before passing out.

Characters: idia, epel, ruggie, jack, leona, deuce, azul, kalim, trey, malleus and lilia (a few of my faves essentially.)

a/n: i wanted to create something for you all, but im not feeling the best (mostly just dizzy, dont worry to much) so this is a fluffy comfort headcannons thing for me, but if you want i can do a part 2 (minus jamil,)

All of these are both platonic or romantic, you can definitely decide for yourself,

Headcannons below the cut

Deuce:

The shock on his face when he sees you exit the mirror, bundled in a ragged blanket from ramshackle, was already too much, much less you passing out.

Immediately catched you however he can and rushed back into the dorm house, shouting, which had agitated riddle

Until he saw you in that state and allowed deuce a pass.

Kicks everyone off the couch to lay you there

Riddle had trey get some medication, while helping out brew some tea for you.

Deuce was very frantic, staying with you, and was trying to wake you before cater stopped him, saying you needed to sleep to get better.

When you wake up, its dark, and your warm, bundled in a better blanket,

Riddle had made everyone go to sleep on time, but deuce stayed with you.

When you look around and attempt to sit up, you see him sitting on the floor by the couch

The movement jolted him out of his thoughts, making you stay laying down for a bit.

You heart warmed slightly at his efforts,

He basically nursed you back to health, with the help of his dormmates. (ace was keeping an eye on grim for you, the sweetheart)

Lots of cursing crowley for letting this happen to you

Trey

He was in the dorms kitchen, when you had staggered in, knowing that would be where he was.

Seeing the state you were in shocked him,

And then you passed out.

He dropped the empty tray he was holding to catch you.

Calmer than deuce, he carried you to his dorm room, not without notice from riddle in the hall. (not that the tray dropping noise wasent a tell enough that something was wrong)

He does take better care to make sure you were comfy and able to get better, i mean, he has siblings, he must have had to help nurse them back to health before.

He had herbal tea on the bedside table, as well as some foods to make sure you could get your strength back.

You had slept the whole night, and started slightly when you woke, not realizing where you were at the time.

Trey had been reading in a chair in the corner, startled slightly, but got up and calmed you, reassuring where you were.

You stayed with him the rest of the week, where he made sure you ate foods to help make sure you were getting better,

10/10 person to go to to get healthcare

Jack

Was doing laps around the dorm when he spotted you, and before realizing how dishevled you looked, was approaching you to see what you needed.

Upon getting closer he saw the thin blanket you had wrapped around yourself, and could definitely smell that you were not ok.

And then you passed out.

10/10 caught you with ease, his tail drooped when he did, and carried you inside.

Also took you do his room, as to not let the others smell the weakness you were displaying.

Savanaclaw is usually pretty warm, so he doesnt have a better blanket, but has his more fluffy coat from home, so he covered you with that, (which did a good job cause hes a giant)

While you were passed out he went and got sick meds from the dorms first aid kit, and brought you plenty of water, and he had some jerky from his healthy snack stash he left for you.

He did take care of you, but didnt deviate too much from his usual schedule

When you woke up, it was early the next morning and he wasent around, but was back within 10 minutes, (he was on a run)

If you really wanted and begged, he might give up one of his training sessions for your nap, so you could have a warm fluffy dog to cuddle. (his tail was totally wagging when you asked, but he would deny it profusely)

Also nurses you back to health, but his dormmates dont know about it, mostly. (ruggie knows all, shehehe)

Ruggie

I actually dont know what he would do.

You wandered into the lounge where everyone was, and when he ‘greeted’ you (totally had started to give you hard time) and you passed out, he caught you out of habit.

He definitely did this all the time for the poor kids back home, but you werent just a child, and he wasent sure where he could put you up, if he could spare anything, if anything needed to be treated differently then when he was back home

Thankfully for him, leona owed him a few favors, and lucky for you, he has a soft spot for sick or injured people. So he cashed some of them in.

Had the spare room taken care off, and put you up there.

Got jack to agree to let him borrow his jacket for you

Snacks, and water were a given. (not the healthiest snacks, but food none the less)

When you woke up, he could be seen in a corner, crocheting something

Once he notices your awake, he hides it and profusely says you saw nothing.

Makes jokes and whatnot to get you to smile,

Does help to make sure your healing.

By the time your better and about to leave, ruggie gived you the thing he was crocheting, which is a better blanket to help you not get sick again

Leona

Raises an eyebrow at you

Will not catch you unless your about to fall on your face.

Will pick you up though, and takes you back to his dorm, where he sets you on the side of his bed.

Sends ruggie to get medication, and with extra money to get you a better blanket, cause damn herbivore you should have asked sooner.

Ruggie does most of the fetching, but he stays with you and convinces you to eat and rest and whatnot

“Not that i care about your health herbivore, i just dont want crowley to put your little monster on me if you dont make it.”

Definitely does care though.

Takes naps with you

The first time you wake up, its the middle of the next day and hes asleep on the other side of the bed, respectful distance away

If you pout at him, he may just let you rest your head on his chest, just so you dont freeze,

Not the worst person to go to if your sick

Azul

At first when you entered his office, was confused why the twins just let you in

And then when he got up to meet you, you passed out

He caught you of course, but didnt know what much else to do

Jade helped him alot

Floyd- he meant well.

Your waking up to a ton of plushys covering you on azuls couch.

Azul does know what to do with what jade got him to take care of you

While your passed out, hes there, being glad you chose him out of everyone else.

“Didnt know wherelse to go hu?”

Definitely is being teased by the tweels,

You wake up in the middle of the night, to find him also passed out, just of needing to sleep, with his head on his desk.

Overall, your fed and watered, and because of you saying what you did before you passed out, its free of charge

He must be going soft

Kalim

Spots you across the room, you had staggered in on a party he was throwing, and he was surprised to see you, having invited you earlier in the week and you saying no

He hurried over excitedly, before seeing the state you were in.

Que the passing out

He quickly catches you and picks you up, calling for jamil, the poor clueless boy,

Refuses to let any of his dormmates take over carrying you to his dorm, setting you on his bed.

Jamil is definitely giving him instructions.

Its not that he wouldnt have been able to figure it out, but hes never had to deal with such pressure and just needs the nudges in the right direction.

Definitely getting you warmer clothes, a ton of food, all the extra flourishes that you really didnt need, but it was sweet none the less.

First time you wake up, he was on his knees next to the bed and burst into happy tears to see you awake.

Your definitely pampered.

Well fed, well hydrated, well taken care of.

And lets just say your not getting sick because of the cold anytime soon

Epel

Catches an eye of you from washing windows, running down to see you, hoping for the distraction

And then you pass out in his arms.

10/10 is picking you up, he may look weak and not able to, but give this country pumpkin(​​​​​​​affectionate) some credit

Though he does panic slightly

When he busts into the dorm, his accent has slipped, and vil came to scold him, before seeing you, and letting it slide, for now

Lounge couch. Thats where you rest.

Better blanket and all.

He does know how to take care of sick people, but most of his practices are more home remedies, than actual healing stuff

It still works though.

First time you wake up,its later in the night, and vil made him go to sleep, but he refused to go to his room, so he was asleep on the floor next to the couch

You get to stay at pomfiore, and while your healing hes talking in his accent, and entertaining you with stories, or carving apples

idia

Surprised eep when he answers the door to see you there

#2 doesnt catch you (dont blame him, you surprised him)

Picks you up quickly and sets you on his bed, calling for ortho, cause, hElP theres a sick normie here

Ortho does most of the taking care of you

idia stays with you though, in his gaming chair, but with you none the less.

In a panic, like kalim, buys you too much stuff that you didnt need, but its the thought that counts

First time you wake up was actually only an hour after passing out, first thing you see is ortho, whos there doing diagnostics on you.

idia will entertain you during your awake times. Be prepared for anime and games (nothing too hard)

Overall, because orthos the one taking care of you, you get better the fasts there

You also leave with way more then you need, but a welcome back if you ever need to (or want to, dont look at him like that)

Lilia

You didnt even get to diasomnia before you found him

He actually surprises you so much, you pass out before you could say your line.

#3 doesnt catch you, but thats cause he was definitely not expecting that

Does however take you back to his dorm and sets you up on his bed,

Does medication and water nursing, but for the love of god, silver does the cooking and feeding. The others dont want you dead

You get snugged up with blankets

First time you wake up its morning time, and hes sitting in a chair next to the bed, with headphones on, jamming to music until he notices your awake.

Now is where you say the line, bringing a smile to his face

“Well thanks for the compliment deary, now lets get you feeling better”

Overall takes care of you very well, entertaining you with stories or a performance or whatnot

Your better in no time, (thank silver for the food, and not letting lilia cook)

You leave with better blankets as well

(Flip I can't add the last image)

Malleus

You didnt even travel to diasomnia, just stumbled out of ramshackle at the time of night he was bound to be there

Takes one look at you and picks you up just before you pass out.

Swiftly makes his way back to diasomnia,

Where sebek starts speaking loudly, trying to take you out of lOrD mAlLeUs’S precious arms.

Before silver shushs him and lets malleus take you to the couch

No one questions him,

He even takes off his dorm jacket to cover you

I mean, you are is child of man after all

Has lilia and silver get him the stuff to take care of you

Sebek means well, but hes not allowed near you, too loud.

When you first wake up its with him sitting in a chair near you.

Will entertain you with facts about gargoyles, and stories from when he was younger.

Overall, great experience

“Thank you for trusting me with your recovery, child of man”

—-----------------

Sorry if the last few ones seamed rushed, i had to hurry cause i have medication i needed to take. Hope you enjoyed. None of the pictures are mine, and apparently if I had something formated before putting it on here. It unformats it, so no bullet points for you, cause I don't trust writing in the app anymore. Feel free to request anything.

-queer.lord

RUGGIE MY BELOVED

YOU CAN'T BE DOING THIS! YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK, YOU LOOK TOO PRETTY.

This isn't fair! THIS ISN'T FAIR!

LOOK AT HIM.

LOOK AT HIM.

HE'S PERFECT.

BOY I was reading, right? I was in a very cozy environment of Ruggie's village, the construction of the environment, the beastman children, the love in the air with Ruggie x Reader. I was so immersed that I COMPLETELY FORGOT IT WAS A DARK FIC MY HEART FELL OUT OF MY MOUTH AT THE END I WAS IN SHOCK THAT MY MIND STOPPED FOR A MINUTE Me reading: yayy …. strange …. very strange …. no boy …. no …. I can't believe it …. RUGGIE BOY NO ….. aah was it a trick? BOY WAS NOT REAL?….. BOY WHAT IS GOING ON? ((That's a compliment, it's a very engaging fic and the way it's done and treated in a non-obvious way, congratulations to the author. The way you portrayed Ruggie is so him, few can characterize him in that way)) < 3 < 3 <3

Play Hard Games, Win Soft Prizes

Gonna be absolutely so real with you, I have no idea what that title means. Maybe it'll make sense to someone. This is a request from @whenwewhereyounger. If you'd like me to remove that tag, I can do so, just let me know. Like I do for Leona fics where Farena and his canonically unnamed wife show up, I made up a name for Ruggie's grammy, just like her appearance.

Shoutout to my girlfriend for helping me with a concept that I was struggling with in this fic! Woohoo! I did so much freaking research for this one, scarred myself for life tbh, but hey, I found out a lot. So much. Also: does Ruggie's UM focused on physical or mental control, and, depending on which one, does it matter if the subject(s) are alive? Dividers by @/cafekitsune

This fic is for: Anyone who can handle it! The reader does have hair, but the length is never specified. Reader is Yuu/MC, like usual in my fics, but it is mostly implied more than anything else.

TW for: DEAD DOVE, DO NOT EAT, straight up murder and stalking in this one, everyone. Non-sexual nudity, blood and explicit gore, questionable usage of magic. Also so many words. There are 8763 words in this fic.

Ruggie is a mite conniving. You’d be lying if you said that most of Savanaclaw wasn’t, but Ruggie specifically is a calculating little bastard.

That’s rude. You know that’s rude. Ruggie does what he needs to do in order to survive. It’s something that has been drilled into him from the moment he saw the world, but you just wish he wouldn’t have invited you out here since he knows this area isn’t the safest.

Grim decided to hang out with the Octavinelle guys and you went with Ruggie for spring break. It was kind of nice, the trip there. The Afterglow is beautiful. You enjoyed yourself, it was fun and Ruggie has a wonderful sense of humor, or perhaps his laughter is just contagious. That and the sun on your skin as you traveled made for a wonderful time, actually.

No, your problems started when you got to his hometown. About as soon as you entered, something already felt off, like there were a hundred eyes watching you, waiting for something. Perhaps it was the odd shadow that seemed to be laying over the entire place, or maybe it was the occasional snicker or whisper that you thought you could hear in the eerie breeze. Whatever it was, you kind of felt like an asshole for judging his hometown so swiftly. He was sharing something deeply personal with you by even bringing you here. Ruggie is very emotionally intelligent, though, despite him being a piece of shit, so when he noticed your trepidation, he reached out and squeezed your hand.

“Are you nervous? Shyeheeheehee, don’t worry. I’m right here.” And he smiled, and you felt sort of relaxed. His smile always made you feel relaxed.

Nothing could be as relaxing when he showed you to his little home. It was nice, the walls made of dirt and a few very beautiful rugs on the inside, from what you could see. The roof was thatched, but beyond the light being streamed in by the afternoon sun, you couldn’t see very well inside the place after Ruggie opened the door. He poked his head in and pressed a hand against your belly, a silent “back up.”

You took a step back and sharply turned your head to the sound of a twig snapping. There wasn’t anything there, but you also couldn’t see the twig. For a place called the Afterglow, this area was honestly kind of shadowy. It was pretty unsettling, like a blanket that had a spider hidden in it somewhere, but you didn’t know where. You stared out into the dim distance and a gentle touch on your arm scared you out of your skin.

Ruggie’s hand retracted as he looked at you as though you'd lost it, “What’s wrong?”

“I- Sorry, I thought I heard something.”

“You did? I didn’t hear anything.”

You gave him a wide-eyed stare and he gave you one of those big grins that makes you feel like everything is going to be okay. His hand rested on your arm and he gave your bicep a gentle squeeze.

“Relax, okay? I’m right here.” With that, he led you inside and snapped his fingers, a few lights flickering on, “Grammy doesn’t seem to be home, which means you get to help me with dinner.”

“H-huh?”

“You can cook, I’ve tasted your food before, shyeheehee. C’mon.” He looped his fingers through yours again, leading you deeper into the house. As you walked, the lights behind you turned off so the ones in front of you could turn on. You belatedly realized that the electricity is reacting to Ruggie.

“No, I just- I don’t know what I would make. I mean, what does your grandmother even like?”

Ruggie gave you a sort of odd look and showed you to a kitchen, a basket with some fresh vegetables sitting on the counter. Ruggie opened the fridge and you stiffly approached the veggies.

“Hmmm, oh… Looks like we’re making pasta today. That sound good?” He asked you.

You nodded, still feeling a bit out of your element. Ruggie pointed to the veggies and smiled kindly.

“Do me a favor and start washing those? I can do most of the rest until Grammy shows up.”

You calmly looked around the kitchen for a large bowl and some baking soda, glancing back at Ruggie as he retrieved a pan and a few seasonings, clearly planning to brown the… honestly somewhat suspicious-looking slab of meat on the counter. He carefully cut the striped fur and underlying skin off of the steak and rubbed some seasonings into the meat itself, his ear twitching as he glanced back at you.

You fill your bowl with cool water, salt, and baking soda, then start washing the vegetables, “So… where is your grandmother?”

Ruggie snickers under his breath, “I’m not all-knowing.”

“Well… yeah, but I just figured she would have told you?”

“Nah. She’ll probably be back soon. Make sure you wash that celery twice, okay?”

You nod obediently and diligently tackle your task, only pausing as Ruggie plops the meat into a pan and leans back on his heels, whistling as his arms rest behind his head. He looks way more casual than usual, which is especially funny to you since his uniform is usually in some form of disarray because he moves around so much. You smile to yourself and re-wash the celery, then rinse all of the vegetables.

Ruggie’s whistling cuts off abruptly and his head jerks towards the direction of the entrance. You turn off the water, your blood chilling as you hear soft footsteps headed towards the kitchen. In other words, there was someone walking towards you. Ruggie went back to his lazy grin as he watched the meat, flipping it over a bit as a large, sinewy woman steps into view. 

She looks incredibly serious, and there’s a scar lining her face, from her jaw, straight across her nose and splitting the start of her left eyebrow. She has a pair of fuzzy, round ears, similarly to Ruggie, and freckles along her forearms. In her hair, there’s streaks of gray, but other than that, her hair is a soft, mousy brown. Just like Ruggie, she has those pretty crystal gray eyes, like the sky just after a nice rain. 

She curled her lip in a grin and pinched Ruggie’s side. He yelped, even though it didn’t look that harsh, but it must have surprised him.

Her voice is brusque, like she might smoke or she’s a lot older than she looks, “You didn’t tell me you were bringing your cute buddy along, whelp!” If you didn’t know any better, you’d say you saw Ruggie’s tail wiggle. From what you’ve understood, that tends to be a sign that he wants to remove himself from a situation. The lady, who is very obviously Ruggie’s grandmother, approached you and jerked out a very firm looking hand as Ruggie awkwardly turned back to his cooking meat.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Vittoria Bucchi, though most folks around here call me Vita or Grammy. And you are?”

You stuttered out your name, tentatively grasping Vita’s hand in a handshake. She’s kind of a mountain of a woman. She’s a good handful of inches taller than Ruggie, and if she’s taller than Ruggie, she’s definitely taller than you. She’s got to at least be 6 feet tall.

Vita’s grin grew wider and she turned back to her grandson, scooping him up in what appeared to be a bone-crushing hug and kissing him on the cheek before she placed a small paper sack on the counter and took a step back. Her eyes narrowed as she took in the sight of the two of you, and then she let out a sigh and put her hands on her hips.

“Well done, you two, but you both stink. Ruggie, darling, why don’t you take your little friend out to the showers? Grammy can take over from here.”

Ruggie seemed grateful for the out. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he was blushing. He grabbed your hand and gave you a very unconvincing grin. Of course you followed him.

As soon as you’re in what you assume is the bedroom (there only seems to be one of those) he let out a little sigh and chuckled, “Uh… heh, sorry. I forgot to warn you that Grammy is kinda…”

“Energetic?” You offered, then shook your head as you watched Ruggie pick out some clothing, “I don’t mind. She seems really sweet. I was pretty scared when she just walked in and stared at me for a moment, but she’s very cool…”

There’s a moment as Ruggie doesn’t say anything. You felt the horrible need to fill the silence, so you continued speaking.

“Uh, I can… I can see where you get it from.” Your voice came out as more of a mumble, but you know Ruggie heard you. He has good ears.

He stood up and grinned, rubbing the back of his neck with two towels and some clothes rolled up inside of them, “Oh, you think so? Shyheehee, my cute underclassman thinks I’m cool!” He was teasing you, but the butterflies in your stomach didn’t account for that. Your mouth went dry and he nudged you with the back of his hand, guiding you to follow him.

The neighborhood kind of grows on you. Several kids ran up to Ruggie, all of them sporting the too-big ears that you often see on wild hyena pups and very shaggy hair. They cheer and dance around him and he takes it in stride, waving them off with the same thing his grandmother told you two, that he stinks and needs to take a shower. The kids all intermittently say that the water is probably going to be cold by now, but Ruggie shrugs.

You’re not mad about that. It’s honestly fine. Ruggie pulls you into a somewhat creepy, kind of large stall, and you can see a rather frightening-looking dead moth underneath the dividing wall. There’s no way that the water reaches all the way to the opposite wall, but it kind of makes sense, since there’s only tile just in front of the two shower heads before it transitions to the same wood that the stall walls are made of. There’s hooks on the wall opposite the shower heads, with nice little baskets underneath them. The heavy wooden stall door is locked securely. It’s a little strange that the wall with the door is a full-length wall, but the walls adjacent to it, other than the shower wall itself, only come down part way. There’s no roof.

When you turn back to Ruggie, he’s already hung up the towels, put the new clothing down, and is buck ass naked and fiddling with the shower controls. You stifle a gasp and his ear swivels towards you.

“Everything okay?” He asks, ever so innocently.

You are the one being weird. What’s a shower with your close friend? Nothing is going to happen. So you stripped down as well, stepping towards Ruggie as the water turned on. 

As soon as the water touched you, you squealed. It was, quite literally, a jet of freezing cold water on your bare ass. Ruggie bursts into raucous laughter and lathers his hair like the cold water doesn’t even bother him.

It took you a moment to get acclimated. There was a rattling at the stall door and Ruggie didn’t even bother turning around as he rinsed his hair, his hands keeping the water out of his ears, “Ocupado!”

Whoever was on the other side didn’t move until Ruggie walked over to get his towel, a kind of unimpressed look on his face aimed towards the door. The shadow under the door retreats and you bring your shower to an end and dry off as well. Ruggie leaned against the door, clad in a pair of loose shorts and a kind of baggy shirt, waiting on you. He’s been very long suffering with you, thus far, but he’s very easygoing, so you’re unsure if you can do much to change that. Not that you want to.

He’s offered you some of his own clothing, to borrow. Most of his stuff is a bit… the wrong size? So you can wear it comfortably enough. He’s not bulked up or incredibly tall like Jack, so it’s a nice, cool change to your school uniform that fits you well enough.

He smiled as you approached him, sighing airily as he grabbed your hand, “Ah, I feel so refreshed after that! Usually I get water in my ears, but I guess you’re my lucky charm today, shyeheehee!”

“I bet that’s even less pleasant when your hearing is so good.” You supplemented, politely making conversation.

Ruggie shrugged, lifting his arm to rest his hand in his wet hair, “Eh, it’s not that bad. Now, a bug flying in there is a completely different story.”

“Oh, I bet. I wish I could wiggle my ears like you can.” You’ve always admired Ruggie’s ears, but not really because you wanted to have your own look like that. You just thought they were a friendly shape. Ruggie’s honestly very cute.

He gave you a pleasant, closed-lipped smirk and opened the door to his home. It smelled amazing in there. Ruggie wandered to the bedroom and you followed the smell. Vita grinned at you as you entered. She’s got a gap in her front teeth, and cute little fangs like Ruggie has.

“You’re just in time, kiddo! Ruggie come back with you?”

“Uh… yes?”

She giggles, much like her grandson, and plates up the creamy-looking pasta, “Well, you better go get ‘em.”

You had no idea where to look, but you obediently went looking regardless. Your search through a dark house was not particularly fruitful. The lights didn’t turn on for you, as you have zero magical ability, so you crept through the house. This house is not particularly large, and as you walked, you made a mental map, of sorts. The main hallway opens into the living area, which is attached to the kitchen. The kitchen has two entrances, one that goes into the hallway and the other that is attached to the living area. In the hallway, there is at least one door. As you feel around for the second one, you stumble blindly into a dark room because there was no door. Your toes hurt from the way you stumbled. You regained your balance, and after taking a step, you heard a soft click, which made your blood freeze. You went stiff, waiting for a second click or some other noise, and then something touched your back and you shrieked.

Ruggie took a couple steps away from you, raising his hands as you shot him a nasty look.

“Where were you?” You frowned.

He simply laughed and grabbed your hand, guiding you back to the kitchen. Vita was waiting, patient as can be. She smiled and took a seat. Ruggie followed suit, and you followed Ruggie.

As you ate- which, by the way, was amazing even though you were certain the meat came from a zebra because it tasted gamey- you listened in on the conversation that Vita and Ruggie shared. You felt like a bystander, but a welcome one. This was a pocket of domesticity, despite how unusual it felt to be here.

“So, how’s school going, whelp?” Vita asks between bites.

Ruggie swallows and tilts his head so he can look at his grammy as he shovels food into his mouth, “It’s going okay. No trouble.”

“Mmm. You’re getting good grades?”

“Of course.”

You quietly ate as Vita’s eyes turned to you. Her eyes narrowed as she smiled, flicking between you and her grandson, “And you scored yourself a nice partner. They’re so polite!”

Ruggie coughed, then sat up a lot straighter than you’ve ever seen him sit up, “Uh, heh- Grammy, we aren’t dating.”

“You aren’t? What a shame. Maybe things’ll change soon.”

It was your turn to cough. You choked and a noodle came out of your nose. Ruggie and Vita just stared as you intensely wished to be anywhere but your seat at the table, and then Ruggie, very gently, incredibly gingerly, pulled the noodle out of your nose. It burned, but not as bad as the embarrassment, but Vita and Ruggie went back to eating as though that didn’t happen at all.

After dinner is over, Ruggie washed the dishes and you dried them. He kept laughing to himself. 

“What’s so funny?” As soon as the words left your mouth, you wished you could take them back.

Ruggie glanced up at you, those pretty sky-after-rain eyes narrowed in mirth, and then he did not mention the noodle incident at all, instead pointing at the little knob of bone that was inside the zebra steak earlier on a single plate. It’s fully cooked.

“Grammy left it out, ‘cause you’re human. I just thought it was funny.”

“I- I mean, I guess I could have eaten the marrow?” You placed the dishes in their places and Ruggie shrugged.

“Do you want the marrow?” Ruggie asked, a sort of sardonic tone to his voice.

“Not really.”

He nodded, then picked the little bone chunk up and popped it in his mouth. He casually grabbed the plate it was on and washed it. For a moment, you thought he was just sucking the marrow out of the bone, but then a horrible crunch resounded from his jaw and you just stared for a moment.

“Are… you okay?” You asked quietly.

Ruggie politely finished chewing, handing off the now-clean plate to you, and turned around so his back was to the counter, “Yeah.”

Okay. So he just… crunched on a bone. Wonderful. You silently made a note to never put your hand in his mouth and put the final plate away.

There was a comfortable silence as Ruggie stared out the window, and then he broke it, “So typically, Grammy takes one cot while I take the other. Do you want your own cot?”

“What?”

“To sleep on.” His lips quirked into a smile and you blinked a couple times.

“I don’t need my own cot. I usually sleep with Grim on my head anyway.”

Ruggie nodded and covered his chin with his knuckles as he snickers, “Shyeheeheehee! Well, I’m not as cute or compact as Grim, but if you want, we can share a cot.”

The two of you already shared a shower. Sharing a cot is honestly something of a step down, “That’s fine.”

Ruggie gives you that soothing grin and grabs your hand, “Promise I’m not a sleep fighter like Grammy. Let’s get to bed. Tomorrow I wanna give you the grand tour.”

So, of course you found yourself lying against Ruggie as he quietly snored. His grammy doesn’t snore, but you actually couldn’t tell if she was asleep or not. Before the two of you laid down to go to sleep, it was mutually and silently agreed that neither of you wanted to be a spoon, so you decided to lie shoulder to shoulder, but Ruggie is apparently a bit of a sleep cuddler, since as soon as he fell asleep, you were bundled against his chest. 

You weren’t really complaining. Ruggie is a piece of shit and emotionally intelligent, so you harbor the belief that he knows. You weren’t really subtle about your affection for him, but you weren’t overt either. You would share your lunch with him. You would forage on your down time, just hoping to catch a glimpse of him but often bumping into Jade. Whenever Crewel decided to have a shadowing class, where you had to look at what your upperclassmen were doing, you’d go to Ruggie’s side as soon as humanly possible. And now, here you were, having decided to stay the whole week of spring break with a guy who probably saw you as some kind of younger sibling.

Oh well. You closed your eyes and heard that clicking noise again. You sat up and Ruggie’s eyes opened, but you didn’t really think he was awake, since they closed after a moment of him staring through where you were. It was that thing that you’ve seen so many animals do. Grim did that too. It’s that protective thing that animals do when something slightly disturbs their rest. You had the thin hope that you didn’t fully wake him up as you stared into the darkness near the doorway. There was nothing there, and you’re not stupid enough to go wandering into the dark and chasing a noise. You laid back down, shutting your eyes as your head rested on Ruggie’s arm and shoulder.

Sleep didn’t come easy. It hadn’t ever since you ended up in Twisted Wonderland. You attributed this to the stress, honestly. You dreamt about the darkness, spreading like ink through cloth. It bleeds into the world around you and you see it crawling up your feet and ankles, as though you’re a ragdoll, something soft and made of cloth and being tainted. When it reaches your elbows, you felt something heavy in your stomach, bringing you to your knees. The ink crawled up your shoulders, to your neck, and your mouth opened, darkness spewing out of the depths of your very being. As you looked up into the dark sky, you had a resounding, loud thought within your dream, “Is this what overblotting feels like?”

You woke up to the sound of sniffling and someone shushing someone else, as well as a soft, rolling massage against the base of your ear. As you woke a bit more, you realize that you were the one crying, and Ruggie’s hand is massaging your neck as he shushed you like he was talking to a distraught child. 

“Shh, shh… It’s okay, you’re alright.” He whispers.

You rolled onto your back and looked up at the sunlight coming through the window, then back at Ruggie’s soft smile. Your head hurt, “What…?”

“You were crying in your sleep. Are you okay?”

“Oh. Yeah. I’m good.”

Ruggie very obviously didn’t believe you, but he moved back and Vita appeared in the doorway, holding a steaming cup. She smiled and passed it down to Ruggie, who passed it to you.

It’s just hot water, but it’s relaxing and your headache eased as you sipped it, offering a sheepish grin to Ruggie and Vita, “Sorry. The… The crying doesn’t usually happen.”

Ruggie tilted his head and Vita’s ears flicked as she sighed. Both of them are wearing different clothing, Vita was wearing a sleeveless shirt and a pair of loose khaki shorts and Ruggie was wearing a sports jersey and a pair of basketball pants. 

Vita mumbled something about getting to work and left the room, and Ruggie placed a hand on your wrist. His hands were warm and he tilted his head, his voice soft, not even above a whisper as he gently squeezed your arm.

“You’re safe. With me, you’re safe.” He let go and stood up, stretching with a little whoop on his tongue, “Well, lemme find you something to wear. We gotta go soon!”

You stood up as well, far more comfortable in the house now that the shadows clung strictly to the corners of the walls and behind the doors, and took your still-warm, empty cup to the kitchen sink. You washed it, drying and putting it away before you returned and Ruggie promptly passed off a bundle of clothing to you and tweaked your nose.

“I’ll be right outside, okay? Shyeheeheehee, don’t have a heart attack without me.” He slumps out of the room.

Ruggie is a chronic sloucher. You thought it was kind of funny, really. He’d look a lot taller if he stood straight, but it was kind of cute. He doesn’t walk, he lopes. It’s cute.

You paused your fuzzy thoughts as you pulled the sweatpant shorts up your legs to shoot a look at the window. You could have sworn that you saw something from the corner of your eye. You stared at the window a moment longer, then quickly finished dressing, putting on the old tank top that Ruggie lent you.

You left the room in a bit of a haste, slamming into Ruggie. The impact knocked both of you down and Ruggie shot back up to help you up.

“Hey, what’s the matter? Are you okay?”

“I, uh, I saw something in the window?” It sounded stupid when you said it. You swallowed and shook your head, “Nevermind, I- it’s stupid, I’m just… seeing things.”

“It’s not stupid.” Ruggie reassured you, a smile on his face as he grabbed your arm to steady you, “You’ve got to trust your eyes and ears, right? What’d you see?”

You shook your head, “I didn’t get a good look.”

Ruggie nodded so understandingly that you almost burst into tears, his hand snaking down your arm so he could grasp your hand, “Alright. That’s fine. C’mon, I gotta show you around. You’re gonna feel something today, shyeheeheehee!”

You followed him around as he showed you the neighborhood. It’s actually rather large, considering. He explained that this section was mostly hyena beastmen, which might have been why you felt so freaked out at first. A lot of the littler neighbors, the kids, were more or less nocturnal. It’s a thing they grow out of as they adjust their schedules to tasks that usually operate during the day. The dim haze in the area persists, despite it being broad daylight out. 

Ruggie showed you to the showers again, then to the somewhat sparse community garden, where Vita happened to be. She waved and Ruggie squeezed your hand as the two of you waved back. A lot of these houses were falling apart, plenty of the neighbors wandering around looking overworked and overtired. You noticed some older kids, the human one looking kind of familiar with shaggy blond hair and green eyes while the other has black-streaked brown hair and hyena features and wide brown eyes, getting into a fist fight. You took a step forward to stop them and Ruggie stopped you with a hand on your belly.

“It’s fine. They’ll figure it out themselves. C’mon.” He led you away.

That didn’t sit well in your stomach, but this was Ruggie’s turf. Who knew? Maybe you’d have gotten stabbed by one of those kids. Anything can happen.

A chill runs up your back and you look around, noticing a man leaning against the shower stalls. You furrowed your brow and Ruggie turned to look at whatever had caught your eye.

“What is it?” He asked.

You shook your head. It wasn’t worth making a big fuss about some dude just minding his business. Ruggie showed you some kind of herb shed next? It was kind of hard to explain, but top to bottom, it was drying racks for herbs and mushrooms. And almost everything else is either houses or someone else’s property.

“What do you think?” He asked you with a kind of lopsided grin. 

“It’s not what I was expecting,” You admitted. This place was a part of Ruggie, of course it was, and even though this place wasn’t perfect, you don’t imagine the guy you have a crush on would be who he is without it, so you tack on, “It’s very home-like. People working together for the community. Plus, those were some really bomb herbs.”

Ruggie’s grin turns into a beaming smile and he tilts his head, his fist coming up to his chin as his shoulders jerk and he contains his giggle, “Shyeheehee, that’s big, coming from you. Well, since we’re up, we better get moving. There’s a nice little spot over there and I’d bet that there’s something worth foraging there.”

“I can forage!” The words spilled out of your mouth, making your cheeks burn, but Ruggie laughed it off, tweaking your nose again.

“I know that. C’mon.”

Ruggie walked off, and you followed him, that prickle on the back of your neck fading as you entered what seemed like an oasis in the middle of the desolate land that everyone lived in. There were a couple little kids napping in the two trees, two to a branch. You didn’t think he had seen them at first, but as he scanned the ground, Ruggie called up to them.

“Your parents wouldn’t be too happy if any of you fell.” He said, his tone rather neutral. 

The kids groaned but filed down the trunks regardless. There were eight of them, six girls and two boys. They’re all skinny and dirty, and a couple of them are tugging on their ears, a couple others sucking on their thumbs, some of them doing both. They’re the cutest little things you’ve ever seen. 

Ruggie spread his hands, “Not in the mood to play today, guys? Shyeheehee, I would think a bunch of active kids like you would be running around like crazy!”

All of the kids shook their heads, one of them, a sort of tall girl with her hair cropped short, spoke up, leaning back and forth with her arms limp in a dramatic display of exasperation, “No. It’s too hot today, Ruggie.”

“Too hot?” Ruggie said, sort of exaggeratedly.

You piped in, “Well, this area doesn’t have any scary crocodiles or whatever. How about hide and seek? Ruggie and I will look while we’re foraging, and you guys can go hide.”

Ruggie shot you an alarmingly pleased smile and nodded, “Shyeheehee, of course. But if we find you, you gotta help us find the rest of you… and help us forage.”

The kids didn’t seem very impressed. You smiled, “It beats doing nothing, doesn’t it?”

They seemed to concede, more or less, and you turned around to face one of the trees and started counting while Ruggie started looking for good forage. 

Once you got to twenty, all of the kids were gone. You walked over to Ruggie, who stood up, holding what appeared to be some kind of onion or leek, and nudged you with a dirt-covered hand. “Quick thinking.”

“Not really.”

Ruggie smirks and hunches back down, “Well, if you wanna go look for kids while I grab these onions, you can go ahead.”

Ruggie didn’t correct you when you said that this area wasn’t dangerous, so you chose to believe the implication. You wandered casually around the bushes, spotting four of the littler kids almost immediately. One of the boys fashioned a sort of breathing tube from a chunk of dried reed, but he seemed to forget that water is see-through, so when you reached in he jumped out of the pond and stomped his foot, shaking the water from his ears as he pouted. 

So, now that you had a troupe of five kids following you like ducklings, you wander towards the edge of the oasis. From where you stood, you could see that one of the boys and another girl had gotten bored and decided to help Ruggie dig up onions, but were mostly just making mud castles, which left just the big girl.

There weren’t really many places for a gangly kid to hide, but you looked up and, sure enough, you spotted her. You grin and point up at her.

“Alright, found you! But you won!”

The big girl doesn’t respond at all. She was staring away from you, into the brush and bramble. She just stares into it, flinching as the sound of a twig snapping crackles through the silent and still air. She quickly dropped down and cowered against your side. Children are familiar little creatures and can make friends as easily as breathing, so you weren’t entirely shocked by that, but her tail wagged once and the other five kids rushed towards where Ruggie was. You hold her as close as you can with mobility and rushed back toward Ruggie again.

Once you’re near Ruggie once more, you bent down and looked into the kid’s eyes, “What’s the matter?”

She looked up at you, her right ear twitching towards the direction she was staring in, and very solemnly whispered, “I heard someone in the leaves, new friend.”

You nodded, just as seriously, and squatted down so you could get more on her level, “I believe you. But I bet it was just someone looking for something good to eat later, like us. Are you still feeling hot?”

She nodded slowly and swiveled her torso side to side.

You smiled at her and tilted your head towards the gaggle of other kids all playing in the mud, “Your family might make you clean up before you go inside, but I bet that mud is nice and cold… And it makes some really nice castles.”

She gave you a sort of blank look and a soft little smile lit her face before she went over to bury her hands in the mud as well. You watched her go, Ruggie’s eyes catching yours in the corner of your vision. Was he watching you?

By the time the sun was high in the sky, Ruggie seemed satisfied with all the forage that you had collected, and the kids were sleepy and ready to go back to their respective homes. Whatever the big girl had seen in the bushes never showed itself.

That didn’t change the uneasiness that settled in your gut as you looked back towards the oasis. The kids ran ahead with Ruggie, who laughed and dodged their filthy little hands, and you cast one last look at the oasis.

You didn’t see anything. It was all greenery against the dim sky, nothing but green and the murky blue of the sky.

The sound of your name pulled you out of your staring, and you turned to see Ruggie standing a little ways away. He gave you a very sweet, concerned look, his eyes wide and ears pointed towards you. 

You shook your head and walked towards him. He was using his shirt as a makeshift basket, humming to himself as he led you back to the neighborhood.

Once the two of you got back, he put you on veggie-washing duty again while he made a quick roux. 

“Ahhh, what a good haul! I told those kids to come by later to get some soup. This is gonna be so good!” Ruggie sighed, very obviously pleased with himself.

“Oh? This is a lot of onions.”

“Yeah. We’re making onion soup. Don’t worry, it won’t be too pungent, shyeheehee!”

You heard the end of your sentence before you managed to register what you said, “Well, just don’t kiss me after you eat this.”

As soon as the sentence is punctuated, you paused, your movements halted entirely as your muscles locked and you glanced at Ruggie from the corner of your eye. The discomfort of stretching your eyes in that direction without turning your head made the whole thing more embarrassing. 

You let out a stilted laugh, “Uh, well, haha, I don’t- I mean-”

“Do you want me to kiss you?” There had to have been a shit eating grin on Ruggie’s face. You weren’t looking at him, but you can hear it in his voice, “Shyeheeheehee, my cute underclassman wants me to kiss them?”

That had you turning to face him, just in time for him to lean up on his toes and plant a kiss on your forehead. And then he laughed and turned back to his roux.

You liked Ruggie. He was a piece of shit, but he was emotionally intelligent, so you were certain he knew. As you carefully chopped up the wild onions and Ruggie stirred in some kind of broth and the other already chopped foraged vegetables, you thought about how you could still feel his lips on your forehead despite him standing several feet away from you. Being around him made you feel like a total space-case, your head floating up in the stars and the clouds, looking at the way the world glitters. Your feet were on the ground, of course, but you felt lighter when you were near him. 

These thoughts carry you as you took a seat next to Ruggie after the soup was done. You sat on a blanket that one of the kids brought over. One of the other kids managed to convince their mom to let them bring some bread out to enjoy the soup with, so in the center of your circle sat a chipped old porcelain plate with a small stack of sliced, white bread on it. The kids all chattered between themselves and Ruggie, but you were stuck, thinking about how soft his lips were on your forehead and how nice he always was to you. Perhaps it was just a habit for him to always be polite, but politeness didn’t usually consist of someone inviting you to stay spring break in their hometown. 

You tapped your fingertips on your forehead and the big girl from earlier tugged on your elbow.

“Friend, can you go get me just a little, itty bitty piece of sage? Please?” She asked, her bottom lip poking out.

You glanced at Ruggie, who shrugged and nodded, so you ruffled her hair and smiled, “Yeah, okay.”

The herb shed isn’t that far away. It’s out of sight of the picnic blanket, which did kind of frighten you, but you weren’t as freaked out as you were the first night. You opened the shed and jumped in fright as someone cleared their throat behind you. 

It’s that guy who you noticed earlier during Ruggie’s tour. He gave you a broad smile, the dim sunlight shining off of his bald head. He’s more ape than hyena. You offered him a polite smile and stepped to the side, holding a shriveled up sage leaf. The man didn’t enter the shed, simply looking at you.

“Hard out here for us.” He said.

You didn’t know what that meant. The way the man’s kind-looking eyes stared through you was disturbing, so you laughed awkwardly, “Uh… yeah. I’ll get out of your way.”

He nodded and you returned to the blanket. You couldn’t see the shed from where you were sitting, but you could almost still feel the strange man’s eyes on you.

You finished eating and helped clean up. You nearly dropped a bowl and Ruggie looked kind of concerned, but didn’t say anything about it. As you just stood there after putting away the last of the dishes and the kids all ran off, Ruggie rested his knuckles on your forehead.

“You’re kind of warm. C’mon, let’s hit the showers.”

“Oh, okay.”

Just like the first night but far more comfortable, you showered with Ruggie. The water was lukewarm this time, so it was a lot nicer, and after you got out, you did feel a lot cooler. The sun was low in the sky, just resting on the horizon. Ruggie grabbed your hand, squeezing it as the two of you walked back to his home.

Vita was back by now, but she had a few other ladies in the living area playing a card game. You stood by, idly, listening as they talked about Ruggie with him right there, asking him about sports but not listening to his answers, really. Vita’s eyes laser-focused on your hand in his and she shot you a grin before going back to scowling at her deck of cards.

About as soon as you got back to the bedroom, you noticed that you forgot your borrowed shorts.

“Ruggie, I forgot something.” You said, stowing the rest of the clothes.

Ruggie gave you a wide-eyed look and turned back to dressing up the cot, “Alright. You should hurry and go get them then. Grammy’s gonna be out tonight, so it’ll just be us.”

You were a bit curious, but you went back out to the showers. The sky was that same pitch black that it was on the first night, and as you walked, you felt those prickles on the back of your neck, like you were being followed. You looked behind you as you got to the showers. The single, weak lamp in front of the stall felt useless in the dark like this. You grabbed the balled-up shorts and stepped out of the safety of the light and into the inky blackness of the night.

Almost immediately, you felt like you were suffocating. It was like your nightmare. You could see a little bit in front of you, the moon affording you just the outline of the buildings. You tripped over your own feet as you stumbled into a run and returned to find Ruggie’s home completely dark.

You took a deep breath and reassured yourself that he had just decided to go to bed before you got back. Your hand presses against the wall as you walk, the only way for you to tell where you’re headed. Something in that room made a soft clicking noise. You froze for a moment.

When your blood stopped roaring in your ears, you whispered, “Ruggie?”

There was no response. A pressure against your back, like a weighted blanket and a harsh grip on your chin prevented you from trying to call out for Ruggie again. Your silent assailant swiveled and turned you so you’re facing the now open door.

You recognized the silhouette, the friendly shaped ears and messy hair, the sort of gangly build with the skinny limbs, but it’s his eyes that made your heart beat faster.

You didn’t know he had these. Tapetum lucidum, the lining in the back of his eyes that gives him a biologic advantage over stupid creatures that can’t see in the dark. It made for an eerie sight, though. He was a shadow standing in the door with two bright green, glowing dots for eyes. You wondered if this is what prey animals felt like when they saw wild dogs. He raised his hands up to put them behind his head, just a shadow in movement, and let out a big sigh.

“Grammy’s gonna be real mad if you get blood and whatever all over her floors. Let’s take this outside.”

The calm tone of Ruggie’s voice paired with his rather jarring appearance set a pit in your stomach. You couldn’t stop the sob that punched out of your chest.

You sounded as betrayed as you felt. “Ruggie? What’s-”

The man holding you clubbed you with something harder than a fist and dragged you out of the house, following Ruggie.

You cried the whole time. You didn’t even know where they were taking you, but this felt worse than a usual betrayal. You thrashed and sobbed and begged, only getting a quiet, “Knock it off,” from Ruggie’s direction.

You knew. You knew Ruggie was a duplicitous little snotbag and that he would eventually crush your heart in one way or another, but this is not the way you wanted. You wanted him to hurt you in a way that meant you could still be friends, where he told you that he didn’t see you the same way, where he tweaked your nose and watched as you cried. Not like this, not being dragged off by some stranger to who knows where. Your bawling was cut short by Ruggie clicking on a light and you being unceremoniously dumped on the floor.

You rolled over and shot the individuals looming above you the dirtiest look you could manage. Of course, one of them is Ruggie, staring down at you with the light above his head almost mockingly making him appear like a heavenly being. One of his eyes looks like it usually does, only a bit more dim, while the other only has that reflective lining in the back of the pupil visible, that eerie green glow pinned onto your face. The other individual is the bald man from earlier. You appeared to be in a sort of shed-like building. There was a shelf, casting the absence of light over you, as though you’d been covered in paint and left to rot.

Two shadowed figures and shadows below. It’s similar enough to your dream, the one where the darkness swallowed you whole.

Ruggie nudged the man with his elbow and held out his palm, his fingers waving back until the man dropped a stack of cash in it.

Your heart pumped so hard you could feel it in your throat and stomach simultaneously, “You sold me?”

“No.” Ruggie responded, flicking through the wad of money, “Just your organs.”

As if it wasn’t crushing enough. Your lips parted and your eyes were dry, but you felt as though a bucket of ice had just been dumped over your head. The bald man’s grin looked silver in this light as he angled his hand to reveal a standard kitchen knife, glinting in the shitty light of this shed and primed to slice into you.

You couldn’t take your eyes off of Ruggie as the man squatted down to sit on your stomach, couldn’t look away as the man crushed your windpipe with his giant hand.

You couldn’t stop looking at Ruggie as he leaned against the wall to watch for a moment, then cleared his throat and stood up straight, as though he was putting on a show for you in your final moments. Your vision was spotting out, considering that the bald guy was strangling you, but Ruggie spread his arms and grinned.

His voice was startlingly loud, overshadowing the sound of your own pulse as you struggled to breathe, “Both kings and hyenas are my friends! Laugh With Me!”

The man on top of you stiffened, then his hand on your neck relaxed as he sat up, his free hand joining the one on his knife as he raised the blade above his head.

As you stared up at the stranger, the creases in his jacket creating splotches of shadow that hid more of his face from your view, you tried to quickly come up with a way to brace yourself for the pain you would soon experience. Betrayal and heartbreak are not the same as getting your ribcage cracked open, not that you had extensive experience with one or the other. You squirmed, trying to get your arms out from under the man atop you, your eyes glued to the light streaked along the knife. The looming figure of the man atop you is stiff, and… you saw Ruggie doing much of the same from the corner of your eye.

For a moment, you thought that this is maybe what you deserve. You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. You grow a festering affection for someone without integrity, he sells your organs and kills you so he doesn’t have to watch the guy supposed to be doing the job choke you to death. You let another powerful sob punch out of your chest and writhe, shutting your eyes so you don’t get tears in your ears from crying on your back.

You heard a dull noise. Kind of like a slab of meat getting cut, or someone putting their hand into a bag of pudding. Maybe the two of those noises combined. You waited for the pain, because you could feel something warm spreading along the base of your ribs. Maybe it just didn’t really hurt when you got stabbed. You’d be willing to accept that.

There was a moment before you opened your eyes. The first thing you saw was the terror in the bald man’s eyes as he sat on top of you. He sputtered and blood sprayed over your face. It cools on your face as you gape up at him. His knife is buried in his own gut.

In the still moment, you heard a quiet little laugh. It bounced off the walls until you couldn’t hear anything but the laughter. You turned your head and noticed Ruggie, his hands pressed fist to fist to abdomen, his face stretched in a hellish grin as he cackled. You can still only see one of his eyes clearly, the other still that little dot of reflection, a glowing green facet, looking right at you. His laughter calmed as he looked at you, a serene smile replacing the maddened grin he was wearing moments before. He made a quick jerking motion, pulling his hands up so his hands rested at the base of his own ribs, still holding an invisible knife. 

The man atop you spluttered again, pitching forward a bit as his blood gushed over you. It got in your eyes and nose, covered your mouth and ears, tainting your perception with a bitter copper coating. 

Ruggie theatrically threw his invisible knife to one side and tilted to the other. You weren’t sure if it was the motion Ruggie started or if it was the man just being dead, but you attacker hit the ground hard, the knife skittering to a stop on the other side.

The human body is fascinating. It always has been. You, having had a degree of understanding, thanks to being born into such a form, weren’t prepared at all to have a man disembowel himself while sitting on top of you. The sight set you into a hysteria. 

You could hear your own breathing, the reedy gasps for air you sucked in as you stared at the bald man’s organs and blood spreading across the floor. In all the scientific diagrams, they looked so different. The lungs were red, the heart was pink, the intestines were orange and purple. The diagrams lied to you, or perhaps you were too stupid to realize that the very simple vector diagrams that you’d always seen were color coded for your ease. The slick sacks of flesh spilling onto the ground before you with their sheen of blood were all varying shades of flesh. No bright colors, just peaches and reds and pinks, a thick, puss-looking yellow being tainted on the sides of the gash. Adipose resembles lemon curd, sort of. You could hear soft footsteps coming towards you. You had nearly forgotten Ruggie was here, even though he was the very maker of this nightmare. You felt one of his hands turning you over, rolling you so you were looking up at him.

The smile on his face was so sweet and kind, the type of smile you’d expect to see on a kid who had just gotten a kitten for their birthday. He brushed a hand along your hairline, his eyebrows furrowing. It made him look concerned. 

“Did you really think I’d trade you for money?” His smile took on an uncanny, eerie edge, and his eyes narrowed, “Shyeehee, maybe I should become an actor.”

You didn’t respond, staring up at him as he helped you sit up. He pressed a hand against your collarbone, sighing at the sanguine dampness left on his hand afterwards.

“Aw, that guy made such a mess. Don’t worry, we can take another shower.” Ruggie curled one of his arms around your shoulders, the opposite hand tilting your chin so he could look at your face. “I bet you’re pretty mad, huh?”

“Wh-What… why did you…?”

“I didn’t. The man who paid me for your organs has had his sights on you since we got here. Guess he got cursed or something and needed a fresh human heart.” Ruggie wrinkled his nose before smiling at you again, his fangs looking even sharper in this low light, “Grammy even noticed him. So yesterday morning, before you woke up, I tracked him down and made a little deal. He gets you, but I wanted to watch. Of course I was gonna just bleed him dry, shyeheeheehee!”

You had no idea what to say to that. You stared at Ruggie and he leaned close, his lips brushing against yours for a moment. The blood transferred from you to him resembled a kind of sick, clumpy lipgloss. Knowing that it’s blood makes it all far worse.

Ruggie sighed and leaned against you, still crouched beside you as you lay partially sprawled on the dusty floor, trying not to think about the dead body less than a foot away from you. His cheek pressed against your forehead, and he sighed again.

“Of course I couldn’t go through with it.” He almost sounded like he was more so talking to himself than to you, “You’ll always be safe with me.”

For Tuna:Blackmail End

A/N: for those who asked if I was still doing endings to "for tuna"....yes. I know it's been a while, but I'm slow and have depression! I'm sorry 😭

Part One Part Two Part Three Choose another ending

"Congratulations Leona! Don't blow this."

"It's dishonorable," Jack muttered as he listened to Grim and Leona outside the door.

"Heh, yeah," Ruggie said, not really listening. 

So you were going to end up with Leona, huh? He had his suspicions, Leona had to be one of the wealthier students at this school, but it didn't make the sting any less.

Grim was smart. Whatever story he would spin, you'd no doubt fall for.

"I gotta go," Ruggie muttered, walking away from the door.

"Ruggie," Jack called after him, but he didn't want to listen to what the goody two shoes freshman had to say.

He needed to clear his head. He'd never have been able to be with you. He didn't deserve you, and even if he did, he couldn't support you. Not when he was already supporting his granny, and all the kids in his area. You certainly were also capable of working and helping to support him and his family, but legally, you didn't exist in this world. It would be hard.

Especially if Leona rescinded his invitation to continue working for him after graduation. Which he would, if Ruggie "stole you".

Ruggie realized he had wandered himself over to the courtyard. He sat under a tree, leaning back with a groan. He rubbed his tired eyes, trying to get the image of you on Leona's arm out of his head.

"Ruggie!" 

Man, he must be hallucinating. You were burned in his mind, and in his ears, apparently.

He felt someone standing in front of him, and cracked open an eye. You were smiling at him excitedly.

"Can't you see I'm trying to rest?" He snickered.

You rolled your eyes. "You hang out way too often with Leona."

"Well he is my esteemed employer," he laughed. His eyes flicked over to your hands. "Whatcha got there?"

"Oh! They're dandelions. Before you come at me, they're seeding, it's too late to eat them."

"Then why are you holding them? And so gently, may I add."

You gently, slowly, handed him a seeding dandelion. Then you sat down next to him.

"Blow on it. Make a wish."

"Huh?"

"Just trust me! This is one of the only ways we can do magic where I come from!"

He sighed, but you looked so earnest. So he made a silent wish, and blew on the dandelion, just as you did the same.

"So what did you wish for?" You asked sweetly. He opened his mouth, but you grinned wickedly. "Just kidding! You can't tell me, or it won't come true!"

He rolled his eyes. "That's not how magic works. Besides, my wish is never going to come true anyway."

"Not with that attitude!"

"Not with any attitude. It isn't going to happen."

He leaned against the tree again. You sat quietly, scrutinizing him.

"Well, I wished for a man."

Ruggie snorted at your abrupt change in attitude.

"Any particular man? Remember, if you tell me it won't come true. Shi hi hi."

"Oh hush," you snorted. "Let's see, he's kind."

So not Leona, Ruggie thought with an internal, evil snicker.

"Someone who'd help me fix the dorm, even if he's already super busy. Someone who goes out for a snack, and comes back with a dessert that tastes like sardines. Someone who accidentally started my cat son on a pointless quest to find me a wealthy bachelor so that he can earn mine and Grim's love with tuna."

Ruggie blinked a couple times, slowly mulling over the clear description of himself.

"Huh."

"Yeah. Huh. Still not a wish that's gonna come true?"

He bit his lip, looking off into the distance.

"It can't come true," he tried to sound calm, but he couldn't ignore the bitter tint to his words.

You stiffened. "Oh. Any particular reason why?"

"I can't support you, Y/N. You deserve the world. And I can't give it to you."

"Well, you're thinking super far ahead. I won't even graduate until a year after you. Plus, I don't need supported. I'm a big kid. I can work."

"You deserve the world," he repeated, looking over at you with palpable heartbreak in his eyes. "And my one chance to give it to you will go away once we're together."

"Dude, you're completely losing me. What the fuck are you on about?" You raised a brow.

"Leona offered me basically a lifetime gig with him after graduation. But he's as in love with you as I am. And he's not exactly the most reasonable dude on the planet."

"So you love me too?" 

He rolled his eyes. "That's what you got from that? Of course I love you! I wouldn't fix your shoddy building for free, now would I? I'm not that good a person."

"Sure you are," you said softly as you pushed a stray piece of hair off his face.

"You're missing the point! Leona-"

"The Ruggie I know wouldn't be worried about the jealous anger of a kitty cat who isn't even dating me," you said sternly, and his mouth snapped shut. Logically, you were right. But-

"The Ruggie I know, would join me as I take a trip to Savannahclaw with the intention of blackmailing his ridiculously wealthy housewarden, so he can keep his job and date his true love."

He couldn't even remember the trip, or how it got to this specific point, but damn, were you sexy snapping at Leona about this.

"And another thing!"

"Sevens, shut up, herbivore. You're hurting my head," Leona groaned tiredly. "And my heart. Do you really think I'm this cruel?"

"Huh?" You seemed just as startled as Ruggie felt.

"Sevens, you clearly love the guy. Just cause I'd definitely treat you better, doesn't mean that I'm an ass who would punish Ruggie if you both feel the same way about each other."

He gave a pointed glare at Ruggie. "Does he feel the same way about you?"

Ruggie nodded quickly.

"There. I'm not a monster. You're a good worker, it'd be stupid to lose you over something like this. Just be careful," Leona snickered, and leaned in close, his eyes predatory, his smile smug, "you slip up, I'm going to be right there."

"Fair enough, shi hi hi," Ruggie extended a hand to Leona, the both of them participating in a handshake.

"Sevens, you two are so difficult to understand," you muttered. Ruggie turned towards you with a grin.

"Now that I have my future secured, you wanna know my wish?"

"What was it?" You asked, clearly having a guess.

He stepped close to you, nuzzling his nose against yours. "You promise it'll come true?"

You hummed.

"I wished for a box of a dozen donuts."

You turned on your heel, stalking away, and he laughed after you. "Obviously I wished for you!"

"Whatever, Ruggie."

He chased after you gleefully, for once looking forward to the future.

Tag list-@shytastemakerthing @stygianoir @leonia0 @lleoll @eccedentesiast-sapphic @supertmntgirl @cxsmicdustdreams @aethermostbeloved @krystalkiller25 @asmallbean3 @theneurodivergentdummy @candlewitch-cryptic @smilingfox22-blog @phantomgaming1920 @the-dumber-scaramouche @noidonothavetimeforthis @bontensbabygirl @xxoomiii @somany-fandoms-solittle-time @bre99 @stupidsimp @sus0daddy @a-small-tyrant @imlost-sendhelp @mizukiblogs @neech @kazumify @owlisbuffering

IM NOT SOBBING

you ARE

UWUEUEUEUWUWUUU Cater MY BELOVED😭

˃ ᵕ ˂ . . "what are you willing to do? oh tell me what you're willing to do."

I would,

premise. in which it's the things he's willing to do.

parts. one , two

characters. rook, cater, ruggie, lilia, epel and kalim.

contents. scenario, fluff, crack, comfort, teaspoon of angst in lilia,

includes. gender neutral reader, sebek x gn!reader (platonic) in lilia's.

cw. mentions of nudity (not what you think it is I swear)

note. not proofread, but read clarifications please thank you!! it's to clear up general idea's of the scenarios

I know most of lilia's part is sebek but I hope you know the whole point of it

my unofficial 'I am back' post

rook hunt

I would be your number one fan.

who the hell thought it would be a good idea for you to be the main character in the play?

oh wait.

that's right it's freaking vil. the worst part? it's VIL and no matter how much you resent the idea, you can't exactly deny vil all in his glory when he asks you because either way he's gonna strike you down with one look alone.

well at the very least if vil insisted you be the main lead out of... over 300 students in the school he must really be striving for success. if he wasn't he wouldn't be so lenient.

now you get why epel is both terrified and irritated at vil.

you were getting starved! (which is in fact, not true but you swear your stomach is still empty and lonely after one meal full of vegetables) maybe you don't mind veggies, maybe you do. but heck.. you enjoy those delicious, savory food once in a while.

you huff, panting as you kneel over. this was absolute hell. if you knew your character liked to apparently 'test their speed with horses' literally everyday you wouldn't have taken the spot. really though who even enjoys that?!

the play took place in an older era, where high society and such was a thing. typical main lead is outcasted yadda yadda.

you wipe the sweat off your brow and sweatdrop. "bonjour! you look positively sparkling!" a bottle of water is promptly shoved in your face, but even with the sudden intrusion of space you pay it no heed. after all water had never looked so enticing before.

though sparkling? you'd rather use the word 'hot and sweaty'. if anyone was sparkling it'd be rook. "I'm more stinky than sparkling." you can't say you enjoy the feeling of sweat on your skin.

even at your little joke his smile doesn't falter, rather it widens through the crinkle of his eyes. "you are still beautiful in my eyes, trésor"

you raise a brow at his casual compliment.

"I don't see how you'd like me racing with horses." it is rather ungrateful, you'd expect a character like yours to be on the horse, not running alongside it! magically out of nowhere rook pulls out a handkerchief which you gratefully accept.

your nose catches a whiff of the scent. wow, it smells like rook. too bad it's getting sacrificed for the better good. you think, patting down your forehead in the way vil taught you.

cause apparently just dragging it across your skin wasn't as good as patting it. though you won't question the unusual languange.

rook seemed to find your comment humorous as he laughed. "whatever you'll do. I will always admire!" well gods. his smile was contagious cause you found yourself mirroring his look. rook looks pleased with the upturn of your lips.

he catches a hold on your shoulders. "perhaps this is merely stage fright. first time, no? do not fret! I will be cheering for you if it makes you feel better."

your face twists into that of doubt. "um.. rook I love you but that seems.." embarrassing? you'd got your own share of people yelling out your name in a cheer. especially your family at an event you were featured in.

the experience wasn't that nice. it's not that you hate it, but something about it is like a thorn in your mind.

rook tilts his head. "nonsense, trésor. I will show everyone how nice your performance is, they deserve to know!" he proclaims.

oh no no no—

you chant in your head, frantically running around rook and attempting to stop him from giving you an example. just the first shout attracted the attention of your other co-workers.. "ROOK—"

"let them hear the depths of my love!"

ㅤ

cater diamond

I would be present.

cater is observant.

his ability to sway nearly every conversation to his favor is partially due to his ability to pick out the opposing person, be it a nervous twitch when the conversation tilts to a subject. or the gleeful shine in their eyes.

he can tell, especially you.

sure. he might've known you less compared to his friends but it feels like he can tell everything about you.

it does feel like a crush at first, he's questioning himself whether his feelings are actually romantic or not. borderline gaslighting himself that it's not even when he tries everything to impress you.

'you're just a friend' he tells himself but he's testing out the tricks social media told him to. holding eye contact when he can't even contain his heart.. amongst other things it's his favorite.

cause he can see your eyes, and at times you look away. clearly embarrassed by the contact.

"how's my favorite person doing?" cater slides in. seemingly out of nowhere, slinging a casual arm around your shoulder while keeping you close.

seriously. the occurrence had happened to often you had grown to find the little shoulder sling present in your everyday.

technically you are his favorite person but no matter how much he says so you just don't believe it.

you roll your eyes but can't keep the smile off your face, despite the clear look of exhaustion on your face. "just peachy. don't you have class right now?"

as far as you were aware. the time period between classes were alternating. it was the students that had to move between rooms to attend their class.

cater shrugs. "we were excused for club practice. it just ended, so I thought; why not see how you're doing?" he explains. pinching your cheek out of the simple urge and grinning when you grunt and slap his hand away.

as far as he can tell. you are definitely not feeling peachy, the bags under your eyes. more prominent than ever, or the unkempt appearance that both vil and riddle would practically strangle you for speaks volume.

"I'm fine."

cater knows that look all too well.

he tightens his grip on your shoulder and practically pushes you to his side, not really forceful. his eyes soften the littlest bit.

whatever vulnerability cater had shown for a little quickly disappeared as he simply smiles, perhaps less bright than his usual but it was.. something.

closer than you've ever been cater leans in, in a voice you've never heard. it's quiet, and gentle. "well. if you ever aren't come talk to me, okay?"

you still at the sudden warmth that jolts in your heart. "okay.."

ruggie bucchi

I would give you the tastiest piece

"—can you believe it?" ruggie huffs. words coming out in mumbles due to the amount of donuts he'd eaten in a single minute. it seemed that a mouth full of his favorite treats isn't gonna stop him from telling you all about leona's recent orders for him.

you absent-mindedly swirl your drink with a straw. "totally."

it was like, it goes in one ear and out to another. it does feel a little horrible to ignore something someone's talking about, especially if that person is someone you like! the only reason you were listening is cause you liked his voice.

you did get the gist of it though. it seemed like leona was in a bad mood nowadays, which meant ruggie had to take most of it by the increasing amount of errands leona had him run.

leona in a bad mood = ruggie's now more broken sleep.

as the resident ruggie stan you didn’t really mind him leeching off the salary you'd gotten for crowley. a few madol isn't gonna hurt your savings, plus. it's not like you haven't bought a few treats for yourself previously in the past.

you leave out the part that you like seeing his delighted face.

you did sneak a few glances by the plate almost finished by ruggie in a mere few minutes. you, by no means spent cheap money on it. for the guy you liked you'd probably buy anything he'd like (within reason) and then 'fall short' if ace asks you to buy him food.

it looked scrumptious in all honesty but from the look of ruggie's face and the assumption that he won't stop any time soon prompted you to shut your mouth and just enjoy him enjoying the donuts.

"thanks a lot for this. you know just how to cheer up an exhausted hyena up." ruggie laughs under his breath. sending you a rare look of appreciation that has you cracking a smile.

proudly, you nod. "of course. anything for you."

you wince. maybe that was too bold, but then again. it didn't seem to faze ruggie in the slightest.

after a period of silence, not exactly awkward in the slightest but rather comforting. no words needed to be said, you liked that, ruggie liked it as well. he casts you a peek.

"I can see you ogling at it. you look like me when I look at the donuts."

you frown. "no I don't.. I am not, ogling at your food."

ruggie shakes his head but there is a trace of a smile in his face. "I might be eating a lot right now but I can't leave you out of it can I? you gave it to me." ruggie says, pausing to look at you before continuing, "it's our food,"

to seemingly show you that it's 'ours' ruggie takes out the final donut in the plate and hands it to you with a grin. "I saved the best for last, here. open your mouth." he urges, threatening to squash it right in your face if you didn't with fast motions.

you sigh. he's just taunting you at this point. and, as far as you can tell that's his favorite flavor.

"but that's your favorite." you point out but ruggie's grin only seemed to spread across his face wider.

he shakes a finger in your face. "nope. correction, you're my favorite now eat up!"

you were too flustered to rebel against it.

ㅤ

lilia vanrouge

I would love with you

"aren't they simply adorable?" lilia raises one finger to point at the duo that.. didn't really seem all to adorable to you.

you sweatdrop. "uh.. yeah.. totally cute." it's not like you were gonna say outright: those are two men who are battling each other, definitely doesn't look cute to me. more like horrifying. to lilia out of all people! if silver and sebek are anything to him it'd be babies.

he beams.

it's safe to say it positively breaks down your entire body to skip a beat of your heart.

earlier the afternoon lilia had graciously extended an invitation to his dorm. something about bonding and since you're incredibly down bad, of course you wasted no time fretting over yourself as you trudged towards the mirror with barely contained excitement.

while sebek did pick you up (courtesy of lilia) you're sure he knew why you were barely able to keep yourself on your toes, hence surprising why he didn't bother to comment in it.

most probably something about the audacity of humans and defending himself if you pointed it out.

you aren't sure of the details which is admittedly kind of idiotic but did you really care? no.

but did you expect to spend your afternoon quite literally babysitting two grown men with the man you can call your yearning? quite a suprise and one you can't say you welcome.

when you accepted the invitation you didn't spend hours picking out articles of clothing and practically thrashing your wardrobe trying to make a 'casual' outfit that would appease to his eyes just to waste it on.. watching two grown men live their own lives!

frankly it's frustrating. it's endearing that lilia had his family in mind every step of the way but all the more irritating. and you don't even mean the part where he had his family in mind.

you just wish he'd realize they aren't the boys he used to baby before.

after god knows when, you watch lilia enter mother hen mode when silver fell down from his sitting-sleeping position. lilia gently lowering himself to adjust silver's position.

you look down.

and god did you feel awful for invalidating his love for family (kind of) it was too presumptuous of you to assume that you'd ever fit in it anyways.

oh well. you shrug. at the very least you were able to bear witness to it.

call it a sixth sense but you can tell sebek is right beside you. he huffs. "you, are a pitiful human." he says casually. the words are awfully mean, but you sense no particular ill intent from the boy.

instead you find it quite amusing. so you laugh quietly under your breath. "so I've been told." you can't use your fingers to count the amount of times sebek had called you that.

you both just stay like that. in silence, surprisingly no quips from sebek's mouth.

till he turns to you.

"the way you look at fathe—master lilia. you are being a coward by not telling him."

"I'm fine with that, there are things better left unsaid."

sebek stares at you. as in, stares real hard. the kind of look you'd see with someone who was feeling a mixture of confusion and frustration.

he opens his mouth as if to say something.

your own gaze lands on a poorly wrapped bandage around his arm. you raise your brows and gesture, "enough talk about me. what is that?"

great seven.. sebek had hoped you wouldn't see that, even so. he didn't pick you out as someone to care anyways (not that he wanted you to) it's just bizarre in itself.

at the mentioned he grunts and looks away. "it is merely a scratch!" he huffs. looking forward aggressively as if to try and hide away the sweat in his forehead. you roll your eyes.

it is a scratch but also not one? sebek and only noticed the blood down his arm when he was in the restroom. it seemed like silver had managed to nick him.

"sit."

"human! you are not—"

"sit."

sebek grumbles but sits down anyways. once again surprising you with his obliged silence as he waits for you to return with a new roll of bandages. the boy can feel the searing embarassment of getting treated by a human by all things!

"my my, seems like silver did a number on you did he?"

lilia chuckles deeply. sending the boy a look which sets off a fire within. sebek immediately opens his mouth to defend himself, while you. busy yourself with wrapping it around tight, but loose enough not hurt.

"silver is lucky to have done it that's all!"

you laugh.

sebek snaps his gaze to you. "what are you laughing about, human?! your way is that of a parent and I don't appreciated you flocking me." he grits out. possibly not realizing the extent of his words till he spots the look of rare suprise in lilia's face.

his face mirrors yours, but yours is definitely coated with embarrassment.

lilia giggles, a fond glance he gives you sends thousand butterflies in your stomach. "parent eh? I didn't know you yearned for another parent my dear sebek. if you wanted two that can be arranged fufufu.."

arranged?!

ㅤ

epel felmier

I would do the craziest thing with you

while you did have your own fair share of being in trouble plenty of times (a good amount stems from being with ace and deuce) you aren't sure if the potential consequences of this one can top any of them.

you squat outside the window of vil's room, which could be considered a violation of privacy if your intention was to break in this room.

right. your eyes slide to your left. in a similar position, epel sits beside you. hugging his legs to his chest looking oddly innocent for someone whose idea was to do this in the first place.

in hindsight you can call it epel's master plan to get a week with vil off his back.

apparently his master plan included adding paint to vil's shampoo, an atrocious color of bright violet. and yes, you were both on the roof. probably looking creepy as fuck to anyone else but you merely prayed that no one would look up.

"are you sure this is safe?"

"it is."

one peek down there made you question his sincerity, either he wasn't worried about falling off or was just too into waiting for vil to get out the shower.

speaking of, "what if he comes out naked?! I don't wanna see that.." you groan. shivering by the mere thought and even epel grimaced when you mentioned it.

"uh.. I hope he won't..?" so we're basing the possibilities out of your hope? great. you think grimly. you really think this is a bad idea, horrible really. but if it's epel you'll do it.

now I know what the 'in the name of love' shit they were talking about. you deadpan.

the more you stare down the more it seems horrifying to just drop down. epel huffs at you, clearly noticing your frantic eyes. "don't look down." he says, and you do just that. the problem is now you can't stop thinking about it. there isn't even a railing to stop you if you slip.

"what if I fall?"

"I'll catch you."

oh shit.

your heart rate speeds up immediately as you lower your eyes, trying your hardest to act casual.

"... with what your tiny, noodle arms?"

epel's face scrunched up at that. he casts you a glare but you know there's no malice in it whatsoever. it's become normal at this point, picking at each other. (of which you thoroughly enjoy)

he crossed his arms. "it's not—! agh whatever!" epel fumes. smacking your arm playfully as you feign a groan of pain. "my arms are manly and strong!"

you looked at him then at his arm before grinning. epel makes a look of offense.

both of you burst into a fit of giggles right after and you never thought he could look any more beautiful with crinkled eyes and a wide smile on his face.

though the moment of felt joy was hushed upon the shrill scream that definitely belonged to vil. of course, it was manly but nevertheless unable to mask the terror in it.

that was like an omen for punishment and revenge. you cover your mouth and look at epel with wide eyes.

he looks at you as well but you can tell he's holding in the cackles.

in all fairness it wouldn't have been too bad if epel used the shade of purple vil had on the tips of his hair. but this one? it's literally a bright neon that will burn your eyes for life.

you can't give yourself the moment to feel warm at your shoulders bumping, too wrapped into muffling the giggles that would definitely wake up the entirety of pomefiore from their beauty sleep.

you and epel are practically gripping each other for life, shoulders shaking in wheezes. midst that, you both failed to hear the rustle over your heads.

"my my, my ears have not decieved me! I know two love birds singing when I hear it."

"OH MY F—"

the laughing immediately seizes as you both look up at rook hovering over the two of you, donning an amused smile.

you sigh. "oh shit."

ㅤ

kalim al asim

I would give it to you

kalim is by no means rich.

he's loaded.

since the day he was born even his room as a child cost more than the monthly expense of a citizen, toys handcrafted by the most talented, a blanket soft and crocheted with the most expensive of silk.

an entire vault filled with treasures, gems, things made entirely out of gold. at some point he leaves them untouched, swimming in it out of boredom.

even scarabia wasn't exempted from his touch of gold.

you could say he doesn't know how to live other than luxuriously.

it sounds bad. he knows, but for the entirety of his life it's all he's ever known. and kalim isn't really one to break out of a habit that's been going on for so long.

nor does he see any bad in it. out of the goodness of his heart he merely thinks he's rewarding you with the things you deserve.

last week a whole lot of tuna was sent to your dorm. it was definitely the work of grim, and you imagine the little feline brought up your name in a conversation with kalim. the boy didn't have a second thought before he took out the money that didn't make a scratch in his account.

while you would have wondered who sent the shit ton that would last grim a good year it was prominent that it was kalim from the exaggerated words of happiness in the gift card, filled with little doodles. (you assume he couldn't help himself)

you make a mental note to limit the interactions between kalim and grim.

the second time it was purely out of coincidence. a mistake on your part, if you'd like to say.

off handedly you'd mentioned to kalim that if someone were to ever give you something on valentines, you'd rather it be one that's beneficial to you. a practical gift. but since it was the day of expressing love you settled for the classic choice of flowers.

everyone loves flowers!

but you didn't expect to step into the cafeteria with your friends and immediately get slapped by a straw flower that apparently sprouted wings and flew (a joke of course) but you like to think that it had something out for you.

deuce's jaw drops at the amount of wildlife around the wide room. there's flowers everywhere and in the sole center was kalim sheepishly scratching his cheek.

"oops."

you just stared around, gobsmacked and flabbergasted. "what.. in the holy name of—" you trail off.

beside you. ace grimaces, slapping away a flower that fell in slow motion beside his face. then dragging a palm across his face. "all of this and he says.. oops?" he groans.

after picking up his jaw from the floor deuce nods hesitantly. "yeah, isn't this a bit much?"

as flattered you were. it really was.

on one, sunny, hot day you invited kalim for a walk around scarabia. beyond the dorm, away from all the glamorous things.

kalim didn't complain one bit and went along without much fuss, happily even if you might add.

the sun shines down at you harshly. the weather in the desert here sure is unrelenting. you wipe the sweat off your forehead. feeling the crunch of the sand beneath your feet.

the boy isn't too far behind you, taking animatedly as you nod along.

"that reminds me! your birthday is coming up." at that, your eyebrows raise. you still can't keep the heartwarming smile off your face at the mere fact that he knows, and remembers.

you smile at him kindly. kalim flushes at the beam. "where did you hear that from?" you question absent-mindedly enjoying the walk despite the great struggle the heat brought you.

because goddamn was it hot in here!

kalim falls into step beside you. "I asked the grandmaster for it."

more like basically forced. but he doesn't know that.

he continues, "what would you like? anything you want! I'll give it to you." kalim grins. there's no doubt whatever he's saying is nothing but the truth, he has the power to get anything you ask.

you feel embarrassed at the thought that clouds your mind. one word.

you.

at your silence kalim tilts his head. "what's the matter? if you need more time to think it's alright!" he reaches out and clasps your hands together, further flustering you.

you gulp. "I just... I really want you, you and your heart." you slap yourself on the head in your mind cause god did that sound cliche.

you tense at the frozen kalim. only staying still when he breaks into this, love struck, goofy grin and giggles. he all but practically throws himself onto you in a tight embrace.

"you already do!"

ㅤ

clarifications

I've been practically dead but don't blame me I've been stressed & sick fr

after this I'm probably gonna be dead again BYE HOMIES

anyways for cater's part it's him basically being there for mc, like not just present but there.. yknow... idk if you get what I'm saying LOL

so like picture this, you're going thru a hard time and there's a shoulder to lean on which is cater. WHICH I ALSO REALIZED OMG HE DID GAVE US A SHOULDER TO LEAN ON LITERALLY WKAJSKJA

B4 you say lilia's part didn't even include the whole romance thing I just thought it'd be sweet if I incorporated his lil' family in it

so while you might not think it's a lilia x reader it really is, I'm just showing the parts that'll get lilia to love you. especially if you're doting on his babies!!

ngl reader in lilia's... I lowkey thought they were a grandma when I was building their character

'I would love with you' is loosely based off two parents loving their children lmao idk what I'm saying. anyways j hope you spotted it, lilia taking care of silver + you taking care of sebek = loving them (platonically)

draft for epel's was actually like. since rook appeared out of nowhere I wanted reader to be startled and slip off, epel actually saving them just like he said. (with his noodle arms.) you're free to imagine it! but if you do wanna see me write that just hit me up in my inbox and I'll write an alternative scenario 🤫

♡↷ | "When will I see you again.." (Childhood crushes that never faded)

CHARACTERS. Riddle Rosehearts, Ruggie Bucchi, Malleus Draconia

TAGS. Fluff, Love at first sight(?), meeting them at their childhood/teenagehood, spoilers for character's backstory(?), ambiguous ending, mentions of being stabbed in Malleus' part

WORD COUNT. 2 035

RIDDLE ROSEHEARTS.. ᐟᐟ

Somewhere in the Queendom of Heart's small forest, you, a little child wandering off alone to explore. Walking not too far, you heard a shuffle and a few whimpered cries behind the bush. You were curious as to what it was and walked toward it. You pushed down a few leaves to see a red-headed boy crouched down and crying.

"AH—!" The boy jolted as he heard the bushes beside him shake from movement—he held an arm up defensively and closed his eyes like he's defending from an attack. "Are you...lost?" You asked in a gentle tone. He opened his eyes slowly, his eyes fully opened after

"Uhm, I-I am..." He looked down from his lap but a minute later, his tears started to pour out again, "I don't know where I am..." he sniffles, "Mother would be angry if she found out I— I haven't stayed out this long..." He's not only scared of being alone out of nowhere, but also because scared of his mother finding out about his secret.

You panicked when the tears kept flowing out like a waterfall, "Oh no.. don't cry—! I'll help you out of here, we're not too far off of home!" You kneeled in front of him and grabbed his soft, tiny hands, and give him a reassuring smile "C'mon, follow me!" You stood up and pulled him out of the ground, dragging him out of the forest.

This was the first time Riddle held someone's hand and felt the warm fuzzy feeling he read in books. He can't contain the red blush adorning his face either. Is this what adults call 'love'? But he was far too young! He doesn't even know your name yet! Oh no... He held someone's hand... he's not married yet and he held someone's hand! How inappropriate! Mother would be ashamed....

His thoughts were all over the place he doesn't notice you already arrived at Queendom of Roses. His best friend Trey and Chenya just outside the forest, waiting for him.

"He's alive! Chenya, he's not dead yet!" The green haired shook his cat friend back and forth before running off to hug their short friend. "We've been worried sick! We couldn't find you anywhere!" One of them said,

"I'm okay Trey, an angel found and saved me!" The two was confused and look to the side, they see you standing behind them awkwardly. once they all pulled away from their hug, the two friends gave a small bow and a thank you for founding and helping their friend out.

But sadly, you soon had to leave. "It was nice meeting you! But I have to return home, see you next time!" You waved them goodbye and ran off. The three boys waves back while Riddle smiled fondly, Chenya nudged his elbow to his arm teasingly. "It looks like you have a crush~" Riddle gasped and playfully punched his friend's arm, "I do not!"

To this day, Riddle remembers that small but memorable memory, he never once let himself forget. It was the day he experienced the feeling of 'love'—he wishes he can meet you again even if it's a brief moment.

It may sound foolish—clinging to a person he only met once in his life. How absurd to even continue loving them when you barely know them at all. But he lets himself be foolish, he'll let himself be deluded because he hasn't given up finding you yet.

RUGGIE BUCCHI.. ᐟᐟ

As a child, Ruggie had always had it rough—he had to thrive and work hard just for a piece of bread. The world was too cruel on him. He only wishes for one day, one day where he doesn't have to steal or work tiredly just for one meal with a drink.

As if his wish was granted, he saw a noble walking by on the slumps without anyone defending them, they're completely defenseless. Their luxurious bag look liked it was handcrafted by an expensive fabric, the inside smelled a delicious aroma of food he'll never get to eat. Out of instinct of a hyena, he ran towards you and stole everything he can grab on,

"Oomf— What the..." The sudden bump made you stumble, but you get to see a brown-haired(?) beastman who stole from you run away "Hey—! Get back!" But your shoutings was ignored as he continued to run. The only thing you have left was a water bottle and your extra coin purse somewhere in your pocket.

Ruggie hid in a corner where no one can see him, he ate the first thing he grabbed from the bag, he gobbled the expensive looking bread and ate it all. Inside still had some extra—enough to feed the remains to his family.

"Slow down. You'll choke if you eat too fast." Your sudden appearance fumbled him, How did you get here so fast? He grabs all the items he stole from you and piled them all up, protecting them like a beast protecting their valuables, "I'm not gonna steal it back, here, have this water." You hand out an metal water bottle, which, he was still hesitant to take. What if you're trying to poison him? "Geez, you're too wary..." You pulled out the cap and poured some water in it, drinking it to prove it was consumable. When you held out the bottle again, he quickly snatched it from your hands and drank all of it like it was the last water he'll ever drink. Some even spilled out of his mouth

"...Thanks," he said lowly as he wiped his mouth off, "You're welcome!" You gave him the biggest grin you could muster. It gives Ruggie an ick at first, how can someone this be forgiving when they just got robbed? He has too many questions, why are you so... Weird...?? You didn't yell, shout or do anything to get back at him after he mugged you.

Are you secretly a saint, or a liar who'll liar him who'll punish him after?

He has too many questions, and none had been answered, but one he guess so far is that you came from a rich family. The given hint was your expensive attire.

"What are you doing here, anyone here could've easily robbed you or done something worst. You don't even have any guard on sight to protect you." He chides and eyes you suspiciously. You let out an awkward laugh and touched the back of your neck, "I wasn't thinking when I ran away... It was also dumb of me from getting lost." Oh, so he was right, you are a noble. A very dumb one at that.

Watching you be naive to your surroundings, he almost felt guilty for robbing you—he guesses he can repay you by getting you back to your guards.

He let out a sigh after contemplating his decision, "I'll safely get you out of here." After he said that you gave him a loud thank you as your eyes sparkled like jewels. He wishes he can have it for himself, it was breathtaking

"You have to pay me first, Nishishi~" You pulled out a coin purse from your pocket and was willing to give him everything to, "Deal!" He flicked your forehead and scolded you for how idiotic you were. Seriously, who the hell easily falls for a simple joke?

He wishes he didn't help you return to your home. He wishes he stole you away instead. Because that was the last time he ever saw you, it's like you completely disappeared forever. The only remaining he has of you was the coin purse you gave him.

MALLEUS DRACONIA.. ᐟᐟ

A stroll in the woods alone could be scary for a little kid like you, but you were different—you're a Fae! It means you're powerful, strong, you can totally take care of yourself! Well, you cower in fear once you heard a loud roar. It wasn't from any feline animal like a lion, it sounded like it came from a dragon, a weeping dragon. You gulped when you realized how near you were to the Dragon's territory. What if you get eaten?! But a little peek wouldn't hurt... Right?

You hid behind a tree to look at the dragon, and what you saw surprised you. Normally in fairytales, Dragons were more larger and menacing—this one was rather... small... You took a closer look to see why it was whaling so loud. There, a sword was impaled on its stomach and it was losing blood, it look like it was weakened from it with how spent it looked. You wanted to leave it alone, but you felt bad for it.

You didn't know Dragons can sense their surroundings because their head turned toward you, and their eyes were piercing through your skull. You shrieked and almost ran away but it let out another wail that made you turn around and face it again.

This time, walking towards it in a more civil approach. "Uh, do you want me to take it out?" You pointed towards the sword, the dragon just stared at you which didn't give you a clear answer. "I'll pull it out. It might hurt, okay?" You grabbed the sword, but it was rather difficult to pull because of your weak, young body. But sooner or later you did manage to pull it out.

The Dragon let out another roar as it stood up, then it's head lowered down to your level. "...Thank you," the dragon said in a low, gruff voice. Suddenly, green magic illuminated everything, you covered your eyes with your hands from how bright it was. Once the magic died down, the dragon was nowhere to be found and was replaced by a kid a year or two older than you who stood tall and gazed at you. His hand pressed against his stomach trying to apply pressure on his wounds. He was taller than you, not adding the horns on his head.

"You're— You're just a kid—! Like me!" You shouted while pointing at him, he covered his ears from your loud shouts. "You're too loud..." His voice was surprisingly less low compared to his dragon form. You covered your mouth with your hand and let out a small 'sorry'

"Why are you out here alone?" You asked him, "Why are you out here alone." He repeated your question, he was a bit sassy. "I asked you first!" Geez, are you this childish? He thought as he ignored your question. But you gave him an innocent, curious look that made him give in, "I ran away, my mentor was forcing me to train again. I was too tired to do it"

"Why were you stabbed?"

"You ask too many questions" you weren't satisfied with that reply, and gave him the same look earlier. "A human saw me and attacked me. There, are you satisfied with your little interrogation?"

"Not quite" as you continued.

He sighed, he noticed how the sky was turning orange and how dark it had gotten. "It's getting dark soon, you should head home" he suggested. You looked left, right, and back but didn't walk away, you just look—like an animal who had gotten lost.

"...You're lost aren't you?" You turned to him in defeat

"...Yes"

He took out his free hand, and you stared at it for a bit before you held on to it. Just like before, green sparkly magic surrounded you two and fireflies appeared, the magic teleporting the two of you to the Castle. Everything was a blur after that. All he remembers was his guard already out to ask him where he had been while trying to heal his wound. He asked his mentor, Lilia, to escort you personally and return you home as he passed out from blood loss.

He doesn't remember anything after that, all he knows is that he never found you again. He tried asking Lilia, but even he doesn't know where you had gone. He can't find the Fae who saved his life.

But this doesn't mean he stopped his search. You haven't left his thought even after so long, he'll keep searching even if it's an eternity

My sister rates TWST characters !!

tw: judgmental, your faves WILL be harmed

Riddle: 7/10

bad attitude, looks good

Ace: 3/10

“generous” score

Deuce: 1/10

“looks like if marinette from MLB became a boy then came to twst“

Trey: 1/10

“disgusting”

Cater: -5/10

no comment

Leona: -1,000,000,000/10

like riddle but dresses worse

“dresses like hobo”

Jack: 4/10

mid

*growls*

alpha guy

Ruggie: -1,000,000/10

*heart attacks (in a bad way)*

Azul: 2/10

“he looks old”

Jade: 6/10

“looks and acts bareable”

Floyd: -1/10

his voice 🤢

Kalim: 3/10

”it’s jasmine and aladdin!”

Jamil: 7.5/10

not cool accessories

Vil: 4/10

knock off fake frenchie

Epel: 7/10

slay guy

Rook: 5/10

“oh”

another knock off frenchie

Idia: -1/10

*flinches at the sight*

Malleus: 5/10

mid

nothing special

Lilia: 4/10

not a fan of the hair

kinda goofy fit (diasomnia fit)

Silver: 5/10

basic

“but it’s ok to be basic sometimes”

Sebek: 3/10

“EW WHO IS THAT”

bad hair

uh, she knows nothing about the characters except for how they sound like and their voice lines on the twst site

My sister rates TWST characters !!

tw: judgmental, your faves WILL be harmed

Riddle: 7/10

bad attitude, looks good

Ace: 3/10

“generous” score

Deuce: 1/10

“looks like if marinette from MLB became a boy then came to twst“

Trey: 1/10

“disgusting”

Cater: -5/10

no comment

Leona: -1,000,000,000/10

like riddle but dresses worse

“dresses like hobo”

Jack: 4/10

mid

*growls*

alpha guy

Ruggie: -1,000,000/10

*heart attacks (in a bad way)*

Azul: 2/10

“he looks old”

Jade: 6/10

“looks and acts bareable”

Floyd: -1/10

his voice 🤢

Kalim: 3/10

”it’s jasmine and aladdin!”

Jamil: 7.5/10

not cool accessories

Vil: 4/10

knock off fake frenchie

Epel: 7/10

slay guy

Rook: 5/10

“oh”

another knock off frenchie

Idia: -1/10

*flinches at the sight*

Malleus: 5/10

mid

nothing special

Lilia: 4/10

not a fan of the hair

kinda goofy fit (diasomnia fit)

Silver: 5/10

basic

“but it’s ok to be basic sometimes”

Sebek: 3/10

“EW WHO IS THAT”

bad hair

uh, she knows nothing about the characters except for how they sound like and their voice lines on the twst site

SUMMARY: thanks to two certain idiots, you were yet again landed in detention. As if your luck couldn’t get any worse, of course it has to start raining! But no worries, a certain Hyena has your back.

WARNINGS: mentions of Ace Trappola, Ruggie says D*mn. Other than that it’s just tooth rotting fluff!

COMMENTS: Anndd here’s the Ruggie fic! It’s not very long but I thought it turned out pretty cute. I hope you guys enjoy!

How perfect, you thought dully, staring out into the rain that bucketed down just outside the entrance. As if your day couldn’t get any worse.

Actually, scratch that. Your day hadn’t really been all that bad, come to think of it. Other than those dirtbags Ace and Grim ‘generously’ gifting you a pretty seat in detention from their shenanigans. Granted, it had been pretty funny. Not detention-worthy, but still funny.

“Shishishi, penny for ya thoughts, Prefect?”

You grinned; that adorably contagious laugh could only belong to one person - your crush.

“Hey Rugs.”

Ruggie Bucchi appeared to your left, hands held behind his head and smiling widely, revealing his little fangs. His dirty blond hair was just as messy as usual, and his drooping blue eyes held that usual mischievous glint that never failed to capture your attention and make your heart skip a beat. “Hey yourself. Whatcha doing out here this late in the afternoon?” He crossed his arms, curiosity in his eyes. “Almost never see you out here this late.”

You thought for a moment, then shrugged. “I got detention.”

He let out a low whistle. “Damn, Prefect. Never took you for the type.”

You smiled. “It happens. Still, though…” you looked out at the downpour and cringed. “That rain is coming down fast. Wish I’d had time to grab an umbrella.”

Ruggie raised an eyebrow, genuinely impressed. “You can afford an umbrella?”

“No.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Shoulda guessed. Welp, you’re in luck then, Prefect. I got one in my bag.”

You looked at him curiously. “You own an umbrella?”

He cracked a charmingly crooked smile. “Nah, it’s Leona’s.” He winked and held his finger in front of his mouth. “If you keep that on the down-low for me, I’ll let ya use it if you want.”

“Really?!” Your eyes lit up with hope, and you could’ve sworn his expression softened for a second, before returning to his signature cheeky grin.

“‘Course!” He grabbed his bag and, after digging around for a while, pulled out a black umbrella. “Take it.” He held it out to you, but you hesitated.

“Are you sure? We could both share it. That way we’d both stay dry.”

He looked startled for a moment, an almost unnoticeable pink briefly dusting his cheeks before he recovered and smiled. “Nah, I got errands to run. You should head back to Ramshackle before this rain gets any worse.”

“Alright, if you’re sure… thanks, Ruggie!” You reached to take the umbrella.

As you took the umbrella, your hand brushed his. For a split second, it looked as though Ruggie had been jolted by static electricity. Then, he shakily laughed it off, shrugging off his jacket and lifting it over his head.

“Welp, gotta go, later Prefect!” He smiled, a little nervously, and plunged into the rain.

Warmth spread over your face as you watched him disappear with a smile. Maybe one day you’d be able to have a conversation where he didn’t try to escape before the end.

Not yet, but soon.

♥Thank you for reading!! I hope you enjoyed it!!♥

ruggie and 7am sleeping in, for the event, please!!! and congrats on 200 followers!!! <3 💖💖💖🎉🎉🎉🎉🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳💗💗💗

WARNINGS: Ruggie is a little gremlin, he totally does this on purpose hehe. We love him though >:3

COMMENTS: Aaa thank you so much Kei!!! Sorry this took a while, I hope you like it!!

If you'd like to request something for my 200 followers event, details can be found here.

You hated your alarm clock. 

Typically, on a day such as this, your alarm clock blaring meant that it was time to get out of the warm comfort of your bed and get ready for school, before beginning the process of dragging Grim out of bed. 

But not today, you thought, slamming the stop button on the clock. It was Saturday. 

And Saturday meant you could sleep in. 

Pulling the covers back over your head, you smiled sleepily and closed your eyes. Everything planned for the day could wait. Right now, it was time for some much needed rest. 

Until someone banged on the door.

You groaned and shoved your pillow over your head. Ace and Deuce could wait. You were not prepared to sacrifice your precious morning just to drag those two out of trouble. 

And yet, the knocking didn’t stop. 

“Oi, Prefect! Open up!”

Wait, that didn’t sound like Ace or Deuce. 

Reluctantly, you dragged yourself out of bed and stumbled to the door. Unlocking it quickly, you threw the door open, planning to deal with whoever it was quickly and go back to sleep. 

However, it seems like fate had other plans for you that day. 

“Hey, Prefect.” Your boyfriend, Ruggie Bucchi leaned against the doorframe, grinning. His grin grew wider as he took in your appearance. “Did I wake you up? Sorry.” 

At least he had the decency to sound contrite, you thought grumpily. “It’s fine, what do you need?”

He chuckled and held up a basket. “I got some food, wanna have a picnic?”

You groaned internally. Why’d Ruggie have to pick today of all days? “You mean right now…?” 

“Yup! This morning’s the only time I have off all day. Figured the best way to spend it would be with my darlin’ Prefect. Shishishi.” He laughed and flashed a mischievous smile.

He’s enjoying this way too much, you thought grumpily. 

You chewed the inside of your mouth, hesitating. On the one hand, you loved your new boyfriend dearly. On the other hand, you’d really been looking forward to this…

You sighed, decision made. “Alright Ruggie, just let me get dressed and I’ll be down.”

He grinned. “Sweet, thanks Prefect. See you in a minute?”

You nodded, smiling. “Yeah, I’ll be back in a sec.”

You turned and made your way up the stairs, leaving the door open in case he wanted to wait inside. You hummed to yourself. This wasn’t the way you’d planned to spend your morning, but you found yourself more energised and excited about the day than you had been before. Maybe that had something to do with the cute boy waiting downstairs that knew just what to say to get your heart to beat faster.

♥Thank you for reading!! I hope you enjoyed it!!♥

Hi! Thank you for doing this event! This is such a cute prompt idea, I love it! Would it be alright if I use it in the future?

And could I request Ruggie at 11:38PM in the Savannaclaw laundry room?

WARNINGS: None! Very cute and wholesome :D COMMENTS: Hello! Thank you so much! I don’t mind at all hehe, these are fun to write :D I hope you enjoy this, sorry it took so long!!

It had been six hours and twenty-seven minutes since Ruggie Bucchi went AWOL. 

Typically, on a busy day like today, he’d send you a short text explaining that he’d be busy for a while and couldn’t chat. He always messaged you as soon as he could after that, so that you knew he was free again. 

Only this time, he hadn’t texted you back. 

For the first little while, you figured whatever he had been doing was just taking longer than he’d thought. But when four hours had come and gone with no sign from him, you started to get a bit nervous. At five hours, you were checking your phone every couple minutes. At six, you’d put on your jacket and rushed out of Ramshackle. 

The night was cold and eerie as you slowly made your way to the Savannaclaw dorm. You kept your eyes peeled for any sign of Ruggie as you got closer and closer, but there was no sign of him.

Upon arriving at Savannaclaw, you carefully made your way to Ruggie’s room, keeping as silent as possible. You figured that in a dorm full of beastmen, they probably knew you were there anyway, but you still didn’t want to disturb them if you could avoid it. 

You finally stood in front of Ruggie’s room, thinking hard. What if he’d just forgotten to text you, and was currently enjoying some much-needed rest? You hesitated.

Well, if he didn’t want to be disturbed, he should’ve remembered to text me.

You knocked on the door.

Silence.

“Ruggie? It’s me.” You kept your voice low and quiet as you knocked again.

Still nothing.

“I’m coming in.” You paused and waited for a protest. Nothing came, so you opened the door.

Ruggie Bucchi was not in his bed, nor in his room.

He was simply gone. 

You felt your heart start to race. Where in twisted wonderland was he?!

You pulled out your phone, scrolling past the slightly embarrassing amount of texts you’d sent to try and get his attention. He hadn’t sent anything to insinuate what exactly he’d be doing.

You thought back on your conversations earlier that day, trying to figure out where he could possibly be. Ruggie had been complaining about all the work that he had to do for Leona. More specifically, he’d been making fun of Leona for not knowing how to even wash his own clothes. 

Wait. Wash his own clothes…

You turned and hastily made your way to the Savannaclaw Laundry room, racking your brains for anywhere else he could be.

Turns out, thinking of other options was entirely unnecessary. 

Curled up on a pile of freshly dried laundry, Ruggie Bucchi lay fast asleep. His hair drooped messily over his eyes, arms still clutching a half-empty laundry basket. He looked eerily peaceful. You weren’t sure you’d ever seen him this relaxed before. You pulled out your phone and snapped a quick photo, before shoving your phone in your back pocket and crouching down beside him, looking through the washing.

You grabbed a clean, lukewarm blanket from the pile and gently draped it over him. He, still asleep, snuggled into it with a cosy smile on his face.

“I love you.” He mumbled. 

You froze, unsure if he was awake or asleep. If he was awake - or at least, half awake - then what he said could’ve been legit, right…? Or maybe it was just him dreaming of someone he loved, like his grandma or something. It didn’t necessarily mean you… did it? You were suddenly very aware of how fast your heart was beating.

You sighed and sat down next to him, adjusting yourself until you were also comfortable. It was late and you were starting to get tired. 

Might as well stay here for the night, you thought. I can give Ruggie an earful tomorrow…

You tossed another blanket over yourself and shifted until you were comfortable. As sleep slowly began to pull you into its warm embrace, you could’ve sworn you felt a calloused but gentle hand take yours.

♥ Thank you for reading!! I hope you enjoyed it! ♥

Beastmen Courting Rituals | TWST

Savanaclaw Dorm X Reader

Leona X Reader, Ruggie X Reader, Jack X Reader,

---- BeastFolk typically have instinctual ways they begin 'courting' or a relationship, some even taught from a young age certain courting rituals. (Non-Human courting rituals part 1/3)

Note: Fun fact, I began making Fae courting first but then I posted the future kid thing and didn't want to post two Diasomnia so close together!

Octavinelle Ver | Diasomnia Ver.

Jack:

It started very small, one day he was there, the next he was there again, and the next he was also there.

He was always there.

Then it got a bit... weird? You noticed that when he would approach you, he was making this grumbling, whining sounds? You don't even think he realized it. You chose to ignore this fact for now, maybe it was just because he was a beast man? You didn't want to be rude by saying anything- or make him feel embarrassed.

After that he began to help you with your hair more as well. Well, your general appearance. He'd help you fix your uniform and brush off any dust or anything you'd may want or need help with. In turn you helped him back, it was only fair after all!

Never mind his flushed face while you did this, moving small hairs back in place and picking any particles off his own uniform.

"There's our dynamic pair! beauty and the beast man." Ace teased, a confident grin on his face while you sat down at the table, Jack not too far behind you.

Jack just rolled his eyes, a small blush on his face as he ignored Ace. Aka, while he did the smart thing to do. You, however, have yet to learn that Despite so many months of friendship and raised an eyebrow at the Card boy. "What are you talking about." You rolled your eyes at the boy.

"You don't know? but it's so obvious!" Ace frowned, Grim nodding beside him in agreement, though you doubted he even knew what the boy was talking about. "His tail is always wagging like a fan when he's talking to ya! He's totally in l-" just as Ace was about to finish speaking Jack piped up, his ears straight on his head in an alert manner and his tail stiff behind him.

"I didn't get anything to drink when we got food." He excused himself, you tried to get a look at his face because he wasn't looking at you but he didn't look back and stood up.

Glancing at his tray, you didn't fail to notice the milk carton on it. Plush, Jack was always the prepared, diligent one. That was so odd... You glanced back at Ace only to find him laughing to himself like the funniest thing just happened. "Whatever, where is Deuce?" You rolled your eyes.

"Why should I know? I'm not his mom."

After that, Ace started calling you dense. Maybe you were because you really didn't know what the hell he was talking about.

After that it was like there was a switch in Jack. He began to be touchier, not that you minded of course! Cuddling with friends is always nice, and you liked to think it was because of his more... animalistic features and instincts he was cuddlier.

But somehow it felt more intimate. He'd nuzzle his face into your neck and hang off of you like he was a coat instead of a large man who was... well jacked.

You'd often wrestle him off of you because he had gotten into the habit of, as you said before, hanging off of you! He'd whine and almost instinctually wrestle you back to stay into his place.

You may not be as strong as him, but you also didn't hate the way he'd run with you at P.E. You knew he could easily run laps around everyone, but instead he stuck with you. Smiling at you exhausted look and cheering you on. "I'm sure Coach Vargas wouldn't mind us taking a break?" He laughs a bit awkwardly after you glared at him for suggesting it when he barely even broke a sweat.

It wasn't till after Leona off Handly mentioned something about you smelling like Jack. Even wrinkling his nose and saying that he "didn't have to lay it on that thick." That you started to think, maybe, just maybe, something else was going on here.

So, you went to the library. Got yourself your very own book (that you had to return in two weeks) on Beastfolk Mating rituals.

Suddenly, it made sense why Ace thought you were dense. Apparently, this was commonish knowledge in this world! And maybe you were ignoring pretty obvious signs now that you thought about it.

So, one afternoon when Jack was hanging off of you, that look in his eyes you hadn't noticed till now. You bit his hand. His ears straightened in surprise and he looked at you for a moment. A thick blush on his face.

"Am I dense or are you courting me?" You finally asked now that you had his attention.

"I have been for a while now..." He sheepishly admitted while not looking you in the eye.

____________

Ruggie:

He avoided you like the plague, at first.

Even now, sometimes when he's approaching you, you noticed that he might backtrack and hesitate.

Now he is a lot more relaxed, often hanging off of your shoulder. Now that he knows you won't bite his head off. His tail would wag behind him slightly while he interacted with you. A stark contrast to the stiff, alert eared boy he was just a little while ago!

You will say though, it did take some of your lunches to get here. You'd equate this process to that of getting a scared cat to approach you with treats. Now, you didn't even need the treats to get him around! He'd approach you first now too. Still with hesitance, but once he did come up to you he did seem to enjoy himself.

"He loved hanging off of you and cuddling up to you. He was very handsy, (Like most beast men, you'd later learned) His face often nuzzled into the nook of your neck. "He loved hanging off of you and cuddling up to you. He was very handsy, (Like most beast men, you'd later learned) His face often nuzzled into the nook of your neck.

"It's so weird to see a Ruggie-Senpai hang out with you so much." Deuce said off handedly one afternoon. You two were studying together when he thought of this.

"What do you mean?" You couldn't help but ask the card solider. Putting your pen down as you looked at him curiously.

The boy just shrugged, a odd look on his face. "I don't know, I just thought Hyena beast men were more... You know." he added a bit awkwardly. You decided to drop it there.

"Yeah... Anyway, I think I remember-"

The interaction stood out in your head, however. What exactly did Deuce even mean? After that interaction, you noticed a couple things as well. Beast students would look at you and nodded at you in recognition? Leona's nose would scrunch up a bit when you spoke to him (though he never made any comments on it), and when you walked into Savanaclaw a beast guy once mistook you for Ruggie before he looked at you?

What did any of that even mean?! When you asked Jack, he just said you smelt like Ruggie.

That small interaction you had with Deuce quickly began to send you down a hill of thinking about everything Ruggie ever did! How he hung off of you, and how you two hung out. It got even weirder when Ruggie offered you some food. Like he had been for a while.

This was very out of character for the Hyena boy! How did you not realize it before? So, you asked him about it. "How come you always offer me something when we eat together?"

He blushed a bit looking at you with wide eyes for a moment before shaking his head, "I do that don't I?" he laughed awkwardly, "I mean I bring food home for the neighborhood kids too. We all got to eat; you know?" He shrugged it off. You wondered what that meant, because he didn't do it with anyone else, but you failed to push him on the subject.

Your sad to say, you never fully realized what was happening till someone explained it to you.

He knocked on Ramshackle door with a handful of pretty dandelions and asked you on a date. "Perfect, would you like to um... go out with me?" he asked hesitantly, a nervous smile on his face while he put his head down. Like he was trying to protect his neck...

You said yes and it was after that Leona explained how annoying it was watching you two and basically inadvertently explained everything to you...

"That would have been helpful to know sooner." You grumbled to yourself after talking with the lion.

"Eh? Ignore him shyhehe!~ Ruggie just snickered with his usual sly smile.

____________

Leona:

Leona didn't really have time for games. If he liked, you he'd just come out and say it. At least, that's what you had first thought. Yes, he did use your lap as a pillow and you two did cuddle somewhat regularly. That didn't exactly mean anything. Right?

And yeah, Ruggie did scrunch his nose up and complain that you smelt too much like Leona, but that didn't matter. Leona probably didn't mean to do that; he was probably sleeping.

Did Leona roar at you? Yeah, so what? It was like a yawn; it just came out. No, he wasn't blushing! He couldn't be because you were already looking away in embarrassment.

Leona just didn't like you like that. No matter how many Courting book you read on beast men!

The Lion man in question invited you out to a Spelldrive tournament he had been practicing for. Obviously, you went without a second thought. It would be nice to see the lazy lion not lazing around for once! At least that's how you justified it.

You definitely didn't want to just see your crush play a match.

You couldn't help but notice the whole time, how Leona kept looking at you in your seat. Making sure you had just seen him perform. You'd smile and cheer for him and maybe, just maybe, a sense of pride would build up in his chest.

And maybe it was really nice to hear you cheer, and see you jump up from your seat in excitement. And maybe it was really nice to be able to cheer for him.

So you planned to confess to him after this game. "Leona I really liked you! I have for a while now!" And you did.

"Finally." He yawned and rubbed the back of his neck, you two then went to cuddle in the garden.

Did that mean you two were together now...?

____________

A/N: I know that some dorms aren't like nonhuman, but I can imagine that like Riddle was taught like courting customs in The Queendom of Roses, (Some queen of heart rule) or like the scalding sands have some costumes? Like the world changes because of beastmen/Fae customs and people adapted to that and added it to their own ways of approaching a relationship? Idk lol

Sorry Leona's part was quite short, I was getting tired and just wanted to get this out! But thank you for reading!

𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝 𝚁𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙

-𝚈/𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙻𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙.-

-𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐: 𝙽𝚘𝚗𝚎-

-𝙿𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: 𝚈/𝚗 𝚡 𝙻𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚊 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚛-

-At Savanaclaw Dorm-

Y/n just woke up she pulled a all nighter finishing her homework and a certain Lion's as well. 'Ahgh' 'huh? At least he bought me to my room and tucked me in' Y/n said in her mind. 

"Y/n? are you awake now?" 'Huh? oh right the new fresh pups, Damn you Leona why did I agree to show them around, Oh right he saved me from the hell training. F*ck welp time to get up'

-In Leona's room-

"Leona! wake up, time to get ready for class" 

"LEONA!" 'Damn it... Why can't I just sleep in peace'

-Ruggie's POV-

"Damn it Leona. I don't want to miss first period... Fine... I'm calling Y/n" 'damn it Leona now I have to run to the other end of the dorm' finally I found her~

"Now remember, If you have questions, Annoy our Dorm leader Leona okay If you have something to ask about the menu or something about the food in the cafeteria. you can find me in the Heartslabyul dorm. Just be quiet and don't run. Riddle will have your head, Any further questions?" 

"When can we eat?" 

"Oh Right you can find Ruggie in the kitchen he's probably cooking breakfast" "Y/n!!" 

"Oh speak of the Hyena, RUGGIE!!, These fresh babies are hungry, can you feed em?" 

"Uh... yeah if you wake Leona up for me" "What do I get?" "Uh... I'll cook F/f for your breakfast~" 

"Fine..." Then she left with a smile on her face.

-Y/n pov-

'Damn it... But F/f is waiting. I need to make this Quick' Lucky for my Sore Legs, His room is just near. Or in my perspective. 'What way shall I wake him up this time....'

{Leona's room}

"LEONA!" "Mhmm" 

"LEONA CHEKA's HERE!!" "!HUH?! WHAT?" 

"Hahaha, you still fell for it!" "Oh shut up, you know he pop's up like a Mushroom and keep quiet" "Oh right.. LEONA!!" "DAMN YOU!"

I was then Suddenly under Leona. "Mhm.. what? cat got your tounge?" "What in the GREAT SEVEN'S ARE YOU TWO DOING?!!" "Oh.. your friend is here." Leona said while getting off me.

"Riddle... Uh-" "OUT OF ALL THE DAY YOU CHOSE TO HAVE Tha- THAT WHY WEEK DAYS?!!" Riddle yelled while getting dragged out by Trey.

"Oh My~ Y/n I didn't know your into Bad Boys~" 

"Hahahaha I can't believe it! Y/n is dating Leona Bahahahah" 

"Oh shut up you two!" 

"Just get out of my room.. I want to sleep" Leona said while growling towards Lilia and Cater.

"Oh my bad. This will be so Magicamable!" After cater took a photo he and Lilia ran off. 

"Aren't you gonna chase them?" "mmh, no I just want to cuddle." "You always want to cuddle Leona" "So?"

"Leona!! Y/n!! WERE GONNA BE LATE!!" "WERE COMING RUGGIE!!"

{Meanwhile At Diasomnia}

"So.. Child of man is with Kingscholar... I see.." The ebony haired man said while looking out of the window, If look’s could kill the whole dormitory would be in ruins by now.

"Oh come on now Malleus. Don't be sad you two are still friends" a short man said while stirring his cup of Ear grey tea “Now come sit and let’s have some Tea” but his request is denied for the Prince respond’s with a grim look on his face.

"That's the problem Lilia.. I want to be More.."

𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝 𝚁𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙

-𝚈/𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙻𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙.-

-𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐: 𝙽𝚘𝚗𝚎-

-𝙿𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: 𝚈/𝚗 𝚡 𝙻𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚊 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚛-

-At Savanaclaw Dorm-

Y/n just woke up she pulled a all nighter finishing her homework and a certain Lion's as well. 'Ahgh' 'huh? At least he bought me to my room and tucked me in' Y/n said in her mind. 

"Y/n? are you awake now?" 'Huh? oh right the new fresh pups, Damn you Leona why did I agree to show them around, Oh right he saved me from the hell training. F*ck welp time to get up'

-In Leona's room-

"Leona! wake up, time to get ready for class" 

"LEONA!" 'Damn it... Why can't I just sleep in peace'

-Ruggie's POV-

"Damn it Leona. I don't want to miss first period... Fine... I'm calling Y/n" 'damn it Leona now I have to run to the other end of the dorm' finally I found her~

"Now remember, If you have questions, Annoy our Dorm leader Leona okay If you have something to ask about the menu or something about the food in the cafeteria. you can find me in the Heartslabyul dorm. Just be quiet and don't run. Riddle will have your head, Any further questions?" 

"When can we eat?" 

"Oh Right you can find Ruggie in the kitchen he's probably cooking breakfast" "Y/n!!" 

"Oh speak of the Hyena, RUGGIE!!, These fresh babies are hungry, can you feed em?" 

"Uh... yeah if you wake Leona up for me" "What do I get?" "Uh... I'll cook F/f for your breakfast~" 

"Fine..." Then she left with a smile on her face.

-Y/n pov-

'Damn it... But F/f is waiting. I need to make this Quick' Lucky for my Sore Legs, His room is just near. Or in my perspective. 'What way shall I wake him up this time....'

{Leona's room}

"LEONA!" "Mhmm" 

"LEONA CHEKA's HERE!!" "!HUH?! WHAT?" 

"Hahaha, you still fell for it!" "Oh shut up, you know he pop's up like a Mushroom and keep quiet" "Oh right.. LEONA!!" "DAMN YOU!"

I was then Suddenly under Leona. "Mhm.. what? cat got your tounge?" "What in the GREAT SEVEN'S ARE YOU TWO DOING?!!" "Oh.. your friend is here." Leona said while getting off me.

"Riddle... Uh-" "OUT OF ALL THE DAY YOU CHOSE TO HAVE Tha- THAT WHY WEEK DAYS?!!" Riddle yelled while getting dragged out by Trey.

"Oh My~ Y/n I didn't know your into Bad Boys~" 

"Hahahaha I can't believe it! Y/n is dating Leona Bahahahah" 

"Oh shut up you two!" 

"Just get out of my room.. I want to sleep" Leona said while growling towards Lilia and Cater.

"Oh my bad. This will be so Magicamable!" After cater took a photo he and Lilia ran off. 

"Aren't you gonna chase them?" "mmh, no I just want to cuddle." "You always want to cuddle Leona" "So?"

"Leona!! Y/n!! WERE GONNA BE LATE!!" "WERE COMING RUGGIE!!"

{Meanwhile At Diasomnia}

"So.. Child of man is with Kingscholar... I see.." The ebony haired man said while looking out of the window, If look’s could kill the whole dormitory would be in ruins by now.

"Oh come on now Malleus. Don't be sad you two are still friends" a short man said while stirring his cup of Ear grey tea “Now come sit and let’s have some Tea” but his request is denied for the Prince respond’s with a grim look on his face.

"That's the problem Lilia.. I want to be More.."

Tia cooking for Ruggie would be so cute....

!!! THAT REMINDS ME OF AN OLD DRAWING I NEVER POSTED when i was exploring general concepts

If you're still accepting requests, 14 for Ruggie? :)

(only ones from a month ago like yours)

14. Their sick day scrubs

my gut says he technically doesn’t have or own anything designated for that

how appropriate that i finished this while I myself am sick with covid :,))) i will never take it easy

Bucchi

Twisted wonderland Incorrect quotes #2

Ruggie: Maybe the true treasure was friendship all along. But I hope not, because I can't spend friendship on new clothes.

Twisted wonderland incorrect quotes #4

Yuu: Fine! Judge all you want but... Yuu, points at Riddle: Married a lesbian. Yuu, points at Leona : Left a man at the altar. Yuu, points at Kalim: Fell in love with a gay ice dancer. Yuu, points at Ruggie: Lives in a box!

Twisted wonderland incorrect quotes #5

Ace: Rules were made to be broken

Riddle: They were made to be followed. Nothing is made to be broken.

Kalim: Uh, piñatas

Idia: Glow sticks

Ruggie: Spaghetti when you have a small pot

Ace: Rules

Riddle: