Archive of Our Own ^beta

Snezhnaya is a frigid and unwelcoming region. Snowstorm after snowstorm, frozen rain after frozen rain... and the enemies you encounter... are far more powerful than anything you faught before. The iced mitachurls from Dragon Spine seem like children or babies in comparison. You missed them, they were easy to overcome. Even the infuriating Capybara Boss from Natlan that could one-shot you was better than Il Capitano. The first of the Fatui Harbingers, the strongest man in the whole of Teyvat, him who destroyed his vision and faught the god of skill for days until he achieved victory was nothing weak. Not in the slightest.

"You were supposed to be so much more powerful, traveller. Such a pitty, really. I was looking forward to fight with you after that stunt you pulled with Mavuika..." The taller man's voice echoed in the icy abis of the forest clearing. The frozen, forest clearing mind you. The ground was slippery and it made you loose balance, whereas he was in his natural habitat. He was used to fighting in the snow. Your trusty companion rushed to your aid.

"But I am no brute, my dear. You are terribly hurt already, rest. If you do not have a place to shelter from the snow, you and Paimon are welcomed to join me at my platoon's main courts."

Was he genuinely being nice, or was this a Fatui Trap-

"We have food there" You weren't even hungry before he mentioned food, but your stomach slightly grumbled. You heard an even louder sound of need. "We are in!" You heard Paimon say rapidly, as she flew closer to the Captain. Sometimes, it was a wonder how she survived until now, so trusting of anyone who offered good food and shelter, a story and companionship... but again, she stuck with you longer than with anyone else. She even gave up food for you, but I digress.

"It seems your friend has made the decision for you. Come, my horse is tied not far from here." Capitano started to walk down a snowy path, his previous footprints still slightly visible. You walked behind him, with Paimon. You slightly nudged the small fairy and whispered in her ear.

"Do you really think we can trust him?" "Stop worrying! Paimon remembers he was very caring with us when we were in Natlan!"

Well she wasn't wrong per se. The first Fatui Harbinger was a cold and calculated man that most time let his blade do the talking; but he was a gentle soul, a true knight that held respect and care for even the tiniest beings in Teyvat. He had honour, that is why he did not let you continue fighting him when he realised you challanged him while still being injured from a snowed-korvin... one of the most brutal enemies in Snezhnaya.

"Paimon, I have a bad feeling about this..." "Paimon will watch him very closely and protect you from the big bad harbinger!"

She emphasised this by flexing her arms through her coat. The captain let out a huff of a chuckle, knowing full well about Paimon's pride without even glancing at her. "Ah, it is most admirable of you, tiny one. But I promise I will behave around your friend." Capitano said as the image of a huge Lavian Horse came in closer.

The Lavian was a horse type specially bread to withstand cold. They were big, emanating heat through their stone-like skin. They had little fur, mostly around their glossy black hoves. Theis blood was like lava, the veins visible from the cracks in the skin. Their manes often composed of fine and long hairs.

Capitano's horse was a particularly warm one, very warm. And its maine and tail were braided short to be easier to move in the snow. "My Kan is very skiddish, try not to move too quickly around him." A scardy horse belonging to such a mean, big-bad Fatui? This was not something you see everyday. But, nevertheless you listened to him and waited patienlty for him to untie Kan, as he called the horse. Capitano got on, helped you up in front of him and Paimon rested in one of the bags wrapped to the saddle, falling asleep almost instantly.

"Your companion seems very tired" You said nothing as he urged the mount to start its slow walk to the camp. "Not much of a talker with me? You can trust me, I do not bite pretty women such as yourself" You cringed a little at his statement. If it weren't for your leg injury, you would've faught and maybe won. Hopefully won... ok no, you would've lost like a child when fighting a tiger.

Your toughts were cut short as one of his arms wrapped around you, pulling you in closer to not fall. "Steady, traveler. The last thing you need is to faceplant in the snow. I don't want you sick on top of being injured. A korvin slashed your leg, as I can tell."

You wanted to pull away from his grasp and take Paimon and leave, but you couldn't. You couldn't fight him off, even when he had an arm lightly wrapped around you. You just realised how strong this man really was. "Yes. I hate them, the korvins"

"Hm... likewise. I once encountered a wild korvin in my youth. I still have the scar, I believe." "Can I see it?"

What were you thinking, asking him to see his scar like that? It was very unusual, he was your enemy. More than a rival, more than a bad guy, more than someone standing in your way to finding your brother. You felt a weird warmth in your stomach as his hand traveled lower and lifted your short coat slightly. "You are going to he ok, I don't sense any poisoning. Meaning it was a raised korvin, not a wild one." Fuck, those big, rough, warm hands of his. They made you think things that you never thought about. Not even with Childe in his Foul Legacy form.

---------------

You woke up as he nudged you. You had arrived at the camp, but it was very quiet. Too quiet. Where were the others- wait... When did you even fall asleep in his arms? It must've been somewhere around the middle of the journey. You were tired and cold, and in need of so much sleep and rest. "Easy, traveller. You had a bad dream..." He got off Kan and tied him by the stable, then gently scooped you up and held you in his arms close to him for a moment. Like a child.

"Stay close, and do not wonder off in the camp too much. My men must be in a miscellenious arrand for the Tssaritsa at the moment."

He was so gentle while setting you down. His gestures and care made you blush in ways you never thought a man can make you feel. Capitano thengently took Paimon out of the bag. "You too, tiny one. Wake up" He nudged her cheek with his finger but she was snoring deeply. You took her in your arms. "Paimon sleeps like a log, I'll take her"

The First Fatui Harbinger nodded slightly before taking you to his den. It was big enough to fit a makeshift bedding made of an ample collection of soft, feathery pillow and heavy, warm blankets; a chest that kept archon knows what and a small table. "You will be bedded here, both you and Paimon, as you call the little fae. Now as for your wound..." His voice trailed as he moved to the chest and pulled out an oinment and some bandages.

Was he... offering to patch you up for real? No ill intention, no nothing- "Do put Paimon down and lay too. It will be easier for me to tend to your leg. And please... never challange korvins again. They are horrible."

Carring, considerate, concerned. He was actually a nice person. Capitano moved with care in lifting your leg warmer further up ypur thigh, his gloved hands so big and rough in contrast with the way he trailed them. You were staring at this man's hands, like the weirdo you were. He took the gloves off for only a moment to put the oinment on your wound and you saw something peculliar. His skin was darck and ashy, almost black with sploches of fair tones to it and his veins glowing blue.

You saw this before... On Deinslief. His skin was decaying just the same. No... even more. He seemed to be in a more advanced state than Dein, but he did not complain of tiredness or pain like the blone did sometimes. "You need not concern yourself. The rotting of my flesh ceased at some point and it is not contagious, like many believed."

"It's not that-" "Then?" "Why are you helping me...?

Capitano dagged the soothing cream on your wound as he sighed. "You entered battle already wounded and I fear that I cannot fight you wounded. It would be shameful and ungracious of a knight to fight a wounded lady" He tightlighy wrapped your leg with bandages before putting your leg warmer back in place. So he really was just that obsessed aver rightfulness that he would help his adversary? Why was it kinda hot-

"Thank you..." "No need, cara mia"

Paimon finally woke up as Capitano put his gloves back on, grogily and hungry. Your companion noticed you were taken care of and relluctantly thanked the harbinger as well. The two of you were left alone in the den as he went to patrol around the are and see if his men were near. After all, he needed to tell them about your presence beforehand. This way, he will avoid future conflicts, whishfully.

---------------

Late at night, around a huge bonefire, everyone stood in a circle. Capitano and his small platoon, you Paimon. The fire warmed your heart and danced high in the nightsky. Your eyes were hurting each time you bore into the heat for too long, making you blink long and slow. Capitano noticed and one of his hands gently tipped your head to lean on his side, thinking you were just too tired to wait for the stew to be ready.

In the short distance you heard Paimon talking to the on-duty cook, telling him about the different foods she tried until now, drawing more attention to herself from the gourmands in the team. "You can rest, cara mia. I will wake you when they are finished." You wanted to protest and tell him you were not tired. What the hell, you were no child! You were a very big and independed woman, thank you very much.

Yet you couldn't deny that the fur of his coat was extremely cozy and warm... Or was it his body that was so warm? Maybe not. After all a decaying body should be cold and frigid like the Abyss Monsters and not warm and inviting. Maybe the pile of blankets was not only to keep warm at night, but to keep warm to his heart because he was slowly dying... The thought made you shudder. Seeing you, Capitano's hand moved to caress the small of your back.

"Cold, traveller?" "A little bit... But when I think how cold you must feel, it makes me feel better"

Ah, that didn't sound quite right. That sounded rude. Did he think you're rude? Did you- Your thoughts ware interrupted by a deep, rumbling chuckle of his " You are hillarious, little girl. I don't know what world you come from, but you and your friend do know how to lighten the mood. And for your concern," He leaned closer to your ear "I am not so dead as people might think I am"

You blushed, you didn't know why. Certainly what the first harbinger said was not blush worthy, yet you still did it. Of course, you blamed it on the heat of the fire as soon as he inquier you about it. You were an odd pair, but you did look cute together in situations like this.

The food was finally ready and everyone got a healthy portion of stew with sweet buns on the side, "How can such a tiny fary eat so much?!" You heard some of the poeple say and mutter as they watch Paimon eat her second helping. The cook was just happy to see someone so eager to eat his food and like it so much. And it was Paimon, a very well known picky eater. If his food were to her standards, then he could die happy right now.

After dinner everyone was retrieting to their dens. "Aren't you going to sleep?" You asked Capitano, confused to why he was not coming to the den.

"You go before me. I want to make sure the fire did not attract any wolven giants or other mutts. The Snezhnayan frozen forests are not for the weak, cara mia."

You had to admire his dedication to keeping everyone safe. He was a good captain- no... he was a wonderful man. you slowly went to the den, looking back at him every now as then, your heart skipping abeat whenever you saw his dark silouhette in the glow of the moon. He was beautiful, he was kind to you and Paimon. Deep down, you wanted to hurt yoursself again only to prelong this period of peace and care in your life and postpone your battle with him.

As the night got darker and darker, a snow storm started. You were growing anxious as he did not come back yet. You glanced around the den just to make sure: only Paimon fast asleep and wrapped in a fuzzy blanket like a burrito. You helped her with her 'anti snezhnaya cocoon'. You wanted to laugh really, she was such a pure and fun person... but you were too concerned. What if he's cold, what if something got to him. Just when you made up your mind to leave, he entered the den, snow falling from his coat, helmet and boots.

"I saw the light from outside" he wispered "you did not had to wait for me, you need rest" "I cannot sleep if you are not here, Capitano"

You could swear he was smiling under his helmet. He took off his coat and boots sitting next to you. Almost imediately, you wanted to jump in his arms and feel him closer, cuddle with him. But you didn't want to yet. "Just go to sleep, Y/N. I am not tired yet-" You cut him off, tilting your head enough to allow you to kiss him with his helmet still on. Capitano held your waist tightly with his big hands, holding you closer to him.

"What a good little girl I have...." He muttered as he pulled away. "But I am serious. Go to sleep..."

His voice was always so deep and calm, like a distant rumble in his chest. He was just so- "If you listen to me, I will give you what you want"

---------------

The morning was a particularly cold one. Paimon woke up first and womdered around the cook to pester him some more, as Capitano waited in the den for you to wake up. Thankfully, he did not had any missions or tasks today, so he could lose it with you. But was it really considered lost time if he loved it? If he loved you? But his patience was not endless, you know? And you looked so beautiful while sleeping, your skin soft and warm under his touch - he needed you. now, right now.

Capitano moved to the enterance of the den, secuting it closed so no one from the outside could open it, say Paimon. Lat thing he needed was that bubbly fae seeing what he will do to you. He gently took off the covers from you, seeing you shivver in your sleep. The den was warm enough, but the overheat that you created by hiding under all those blankets made you accustomed to heat.

"Cara mia... my little treasure you have no idea what you do to me... You make me feral!" He growled lowly, his gloved hand moving to the hem of your pants and slowly pulling them off, making sure you didn't woke up just yet. "So precious, so clueless. You fell in my hands like a little bunny."

He massaged your thighs for a bit, just taking in your body, like he was savouring a rare wine rather than touching the person he loved. He wanted to take his time and make sure he got your body memorised. He wanted to know what made you click, what made you, you. "I will take care of you, I will protect you and I will breed you, my little bunny" He hungrily ripped your panties off you, noticing that even in your sleep you were wet.

Were you such a slut that you had wet dreams about him just as he was touching you? Tsk, tsk, we can't have that. We can't leave out sweet girl alone and frustrated in her sleep now, can we? The harbinger leaned closer to you and looked at the nape of your neck. He didn't dare to mark you just yet, he can't ruin that perfectly soft skin of yours, not without permission from you. One of his gloved hands moved between your legs and settled right on your heated core.

What a hypocrite he was... But he already knew you wanted him, so his sins were going to be forgiven. His thumb roughly pressed against your clit, rubbing slow circles around it. Capitano made you gasp and wake up this way, your spidered view taking in the image before you in haze. "Hush, my love. You just close your eyes and let me take care of you"

He continued to work his way around your clit for a while before prodding your vagina with the pad of his finger. You couldn't, or better said, didn't want to do more than lay there and moan softly as he finally pushed a finger in. Capitano started to finger you softly at first, like it was your first time being touched like this by a man. And even if it wasn't he wanted to make you remember him as being better than anyone else, more caring, more loving of you.

"P-Please, I need you~" "Patience, my little one. I still need to stretch you out-" "Don't care! Need you...." You muttered as you cut him off. So rude, but he couldn't really blame you. He did have an efect on people.

He finally listened to your requests and you saw the harbinger shift his weight off you for a little bit. You were still so tired, your eyelids felt so heavy as you fluttered your eyelashed a bit. You closed your eyes for only a second, you swore! But you quickly opened them and claws at his back as he pushed in you.

He wasn't lying, he was big. Capitano's patience was already thin from waitin gfor you to wake up but he knew better than to start now. His dick touched you in all the right places. You whimpered and moaned for him to move. "Anything my little girl wants~" He growled in your ear and began to slowly pull his hips back and press them against your roughly again.

A hand was on your hip, sqeezing it tightly to emphasize his power over you, as his other arm lightly caressed your hceeck. His eyes bored into your soul, staring down into your core as he continued to make love to you. He felt so warm aginst you, he way right. 'not that dead yet'. His pace quickened, earning more whiny moans from you.

"Capitano, please! Please! I-i need to-" "Shh~ just let me take you"

And take you he did. As you tightened around him and came with a loud moan, he planted himself deep in you and spill his warmth in, painting the walls of your vagina white. Even if he was a fucking decaying corpse, you'd still want him... 'not that dead yet' you kept repeating yourself in your head.

"You are devine, my sweet~" He placed a gentle kiss on your lips, lazily pulling the covers over the both of you. "How about we sleep some more....?"

Life was created by God, that's what everyone taught you from the youngest of ages. He made us in his image , the quote rang in your head everytime you heard or saw a crime on the 17:00 TV News; what a horrible image we were then. Because humans cause so much suffering, to the point you were asking yourself If He made us in his image then does it mean he is just as bad? Of course, this was caused by humans believing into an actual god, unlike the other speecies in the Universe.

The first time you heard about the aliens was when the news reporter turned into some kind or one-eyed monster with antenas and sappy greyish skin. Your world was turned upside down and outside in; oh no... dizzy... But it was reality now; life on earth changing little by little and trying to accept the existance fo aliens. To be honest, you were scared at first since all the movies depicted aliens as bad- the reality being that they were not very much different from us.

Well, most of them at least. Nothing, and I mean nothing in your entire life could've prepared you for the day that you met him. He was so much larger than you, towering over a one-floor house if he stood straight, his green skin scarred from the many battles he had in his ages, his eyes a dark red. Those eyes that kept staring into your soul, trying to read you in seconds; to find out what made you click. He was nothing short of a horrific being that looked built to inflict terror; but you weren't terrified.

Terrified was too strong of a word to put it. You were scared, yes; but the fact he did not look hostile towards you calmed you down somewhat. Vilgax wasn't the type of man you'd see every day - and no, I do not mean that he is an alien - but he carried himself with respect, like he didn't allow people to give him smack. At first glance, at least...

If God really did create us in his image, then who the fuck created him ?

He barely caught a glance of you the first time you saw him, drinking in your form for much longer than he did with other humans. Vilgax hated humans with a burning passion; not only did the Tenysons always stand in his way, but the whole of humanity was a dark and frigid memory buried somewhere very deep in his heart. He despised humans, he wanted nothing less than to conquer this forsaken planet and throw it in slavery as he did to many others he viewed under him.

And you, my dear, were going to be the jewel on top of everything.

It is needless to say that he held little respect towards humans so his first thoughts to just take you in as a war prize once he conquered Earth wasn't so unreasonable. The Chimeran warlord was, is, and most probably will be a collector of objects from places he destroyed. Objects could also mean living beings, unfortunately.

His mind kept trailing off to you more than he'd like to admit it. Training: will she think I'm too scary?; Paperwork: She'd make a great companion in an age of boredom; Sleeping: Do humans even sleep-- So indeed, Vilgax would find himself thinking about you until the day he 'accidentally' made two cups of thirn tea. The realization hit him late, only when the sweet smell of the herbal tea kept bugging him long after he finished his cup.

"I am growing too soft..." He mumbled to himself as he let out a heavy sigh.

___________

Sunday morning, the lukewarm April sun hit your windows, got past your drapes, and cascaded your room. Your alarm rang in vain, as you were already awake in the bathroom after another restless night. After meeting the alien warlord (more like seeing, because truly you don't even think he acknowledged you), sleep came seldom. You were sleepless, you were skittish around people because you felt guilty. You felt guilty that you allowed others to worry about you. If you miss another Sunday, your parents will be very saddened... 'Get your act together, Y/N...' You told yourself, getting ready for today.

You found yourself before the priest as he scolded you for getting too close to a dangerous situation. Even if he was gentle with you, his words still cut deeper than maybe intended.

"You know better than I do that those visitors from the stars are not friendly in most cases. Stop trying to get yourself hurt."

"Yes, father."

"Why is it that you seem distant, dear? Are you still afraid?"

"No, father."

"Good. The last thing you need is to fear that creature of the devil. Have faith in yourself."

The anti-room was almost empty, just a few older people finding solice near the iconography or the meticulously painted walls. You walked slowly to the exit, something pulling at your heart, but it was different from fear. It was much greater and stronger than that, but you couldn't put your finger on what it was. Maybe, just maybe-- No, Y/N, focus... you cannot fall for a tirant!

Outside, you were met by the overwhelming scent of burning incence and candles by the altars for dead people, the flames of dozens uppon dozens of thin candles making everything even warmer. But not in a cozzy way at all. You saw a shadow at the corner of your eye, but when you turned around, no one was there. You were met by silence and emptiness. The once crowded courtyard of the church now madu you feel unsafe.

You were being followed

You hurried your way back home, darting past people, even bumping in a few in a desperate attempt to get on the bus before anyone else and sit at the veery back so you could feel somewhat more relieved. People were looking at you like you were a rabid animal trying to escape some unknown hunter or predator. Oh, if only they or you knew the amount of trouble you were in and whom exactly was after you...

Back walking down the street, back to seeing that shadow by your side. Although it was there, it did nothing more than just follow you, so in a way you were safe. It did not attack, it did not mock or try to rile you up into madness (yet), and that made you sigh in fake relief. It was just there, if it existed at all, looming just over your shoulder and letting you feel its imposing stature. It seemed massive, whatever it was. The sudden appearance and disappearance of the shadow was slowly making you go insane. Maybe Father Charles is right, maybe all I need is faith to make it go away.

--------

One unfortunate night, as you were desperately trying to finish a project due the week after, the clock was going on and on faster than you thought and you found yourself at your desk, at 3 am, with a stale and diluted coffee at your side and class notes scattered everywhere in an attempt to find the last fucking formula. Why did you wanted to study astro-phisics...? A man's field as well-- your family was right, you were going to fail, you were not going to become anyone. It would be a miracle to even finish the course if you can't finish a stupid project designing a one man shuttle for a Mars exploration 1 week before the turn in date.

You felt the pressence behind you once again, but you were not startled by it anymore, you grew accustomed to the eerie feeling of being watched by whatever was there. It seemed so tall that if was sloutched to enter your appartment, or at times it couldn't even get in, looming at your windows. That's why you now kept them shut, locked and at night you pulled the courtains. It could morph, somewhat morph, at your guess as you didnt really know how it looked anyway.

But you felt it, you wanted to scream as you did - a huge, frigid and strong hand placed on your shoulder and nape, the sheer size almost enveloping you and the tips of the talons slightly grazing your puffy skin, not yet scraping or puncturing it. Gentle was what this creature tried to be with you, as it looked like it was trying to comfort you.

You looked down, noticing the pear green skin, the rough and deep scars that shone a slightly off-minty color in the dim light of your room. You froze, remembering exactly to what this particular skin color belonged to, or rather-- to whom.

You swallowed drily, your throat burning with the wish to scream for help, or cry and beg him for mercy before he rips you apart and drinks your blood or God knows what his speecies does to humans. His rough, dry voice broke the line of thought in your head leaving you frozen in your chair. "Why are you awake at an hour like this? I thought you humans needed a good 8 sol-hours of sleep to recuperate-" You shrieked loudly, feeling him sqeeze your shoulder gently. Well, gently for an alien like him wasn't gentle enough for an avarage human like you.

"Apologies, but I thought you knew I was here. You even left the window unlocked this night" You wanted to punch yourself unconcious. A mistake like this, albeit small and seemingly unimportant made the difference and allowed him to get closer to you. But then again, why wait for almost 2 weeks for touching or talking to you? It seemed weird. Don't talk to him, Y/N. He does not come in peace. You kept repeating your small manttra as the lucid image of him shredding an agent rolled in your head like a film.

"That scared are you? Do not be, my dear. I do not tend to hurt those whom I want by my side"

"What-"

You bit your tongue as soon as that word left your mouth, but it was too late. The low rumble of his voice pulling you forcefully from the wish that it was all a nightmare. It wasn't, it was reality. The cruel adn unfortunate reality, because that felt too real not to be.

"Usually I'd wait more than a Waerux-forthnight to persue someone, but you seem to be destroying yourself, slowly..." Concern? Afigned, mocking one maybe, because you didnt want to believe that: 1) Someone was interested in you adn your welbeing; and 2) It had to be an evil alien tirrant, right? "The humans I met, although terribly annoying pests, at least knew how to take care of themselves"

You felt scholded by him, more than you should, but finally gathered up the courage to slowly, reluctantly turn around. Your desk chair rotated with a gentle tip-toed push, groaning lightly at the change of position as you were now face to face, eye to eye with one of the most cruel, unwelcoming, ravaging, evil, terrifying warlords in the whole Universe.

Vilgax stood before you

His body was sloutched by quite a bit to somewhat fit in your room. You always thought you had tall walls since you could barely scrape the ceiling with the tip of your broom while trying to get spider webs down... but the enourmous alien prooved you wrong. So, so wrong.

You felt sick. You wanted to scream. Your eyes burned with unshed tears, your head felt pressured by the weight of a thousand elephants at once, or like you were holding a ton of stones right above your head. Your voice gave in, letting a sounded whimper escape your lips like a last cry of hope, the last thing you'd ever be telling before the impending doom and death that awaited you. Your chest heaved, the pain in your throat and lungs making you unable to breath for a little while.

"Oh, for the love of Karon, breath-" He said, as he lightly shook you, still having a grip on your shoulder. Your vision was slowly darkening as a particle/fragmented spider web- like mesh was covering yout head. But there was nothing, it was all in your head, all in your hurt and twisted mind that could not discern between a night terror and reality anymore.

He tried his best to calm you down, but seeing as he couldn't because you were a very panic-y and terrified human, he just decided to let you fall into oblivion and put you in your bed. He was careful, neither wanting to hit the top of his head to the ceiling (for the 20th time that week... ouch) nor drop you and mnaking your wounds vary from a couple bruises to a strined leg or wrist.

Vilgax let your body fall into the softness of your pillows and blankets, and patiently waited for you to wake up. But you didn't, not even when the sun was starting to rise, not even when its rays made their way through your window, illuminating the already artificially-lit room, and especially... not even when your alarm rang. Even he knew you should get up now. With a wary hand wrapped around your body, he lightly shook you awake. "You should wake up, little one. It's already time to get ready for the day."

And you did wake up, to some extend. You were tired and grogy, as sandy residue dusted the corner of your eyes, making you rub them vigurously for a couple seconds. "Wha-" You turned your head and saw---

Nothing. Was he gone? Was it only a dream nightmare? Maybe you were so tired that you imagined the whole thing, your brain too tired from all your studies trying to attribute the shadowy figure to a real being. But then again... he toughed you, you felt his hand on your shoulder, you felt the cold talons threatening to pierce your skin, the blackout you had...

Right! the blackout! If you fainted in a panic attack, then how would you have gotten in bed yourself? And how exactly would there be a glass of water on your night stand if you kept all water in the kitchen and didn't usually get a cup for the night? It was weird, it was more than weird. It was terrifying! The thought of the mare possibility that the shadowy figure that kept looming at your back, kept following you around for the last 2 weeks being an alien warlord made you shiver.

------------

The following days came and went way too fast, but you eventually made an exceptional project for your one-man shuttle, finding a weird creative sense to even make a small layout of the spacecraft. It earned you extra points on the upcoming exam, not that you really needed them, and with them the envy of many boys your age that had mediocre projects.

During these days, you foudn random trinkets on your desk that you could put your hand in a fire stove or swear on the cross Jeasus died on that were alien. The objects just strenghtened the hypothesis of Vilgax being your stalker, the objects most likely coming from him. Joined with his presence being next to you all the time made this hypothesis feel real. One memoria in particular was accompanied with a small... ok not small but written on A4 paper was small for him- note that had weird symbols on it. Maybe his writing, you thought as you took it and pinned it on the saw wood board that was above your desk.

This trinket wasn't a trinket, but rather an artifact. It looked old and beaten down, made of a material close in shade to copper, but as tough and heavy as plumb. You were bearly able to lift it off your desk and set it aside, on the floor. Maybe I should try and figure out what he meant... You vividly remember that night before you had your blackout, your slight meeting with Vilgax closer to a lucid dream that started to wear off rather than an actual thing that happened.

Usually I'd wait more than a Waerux-forthnight to persue someone, but you seem to be destroying yourself, slowly.

Surely he didn't mean persue as in- oh... Oh he did! You googled more as a joke than a fact how do squids show interest in one another. And the answer was quite simple: following the other, observing them and learning what they liked, showing gestures that might be considered courtship-like and presenting themselves more colourful- well the last one seemed weird, but you did get mementos is coulors you showed more interest into. So maybe that was his equivalent.

But either way, it was clear now. You were being obsessedly courted by an evil and terrifying alien warlord...

You shuddered at the thought of a gigantic alien squid was trying to persue you, in his own weird way. What if the plumbers find out about this, or what I'd they did. Would they actually allow this to go on if they knew? Hardly. They would have had so many opportunities to try and capture him, ke at least neutralise him, drive him away.

Not even the intergalactic police knew.

You were at the mercy of the devil reincarnated, the words Father Charles told you circling the last standing braincell that was not corrupt with the terror of it all. You looked up, the note he left looking back at you. If it had eyes, it would stare at you all night. If it had a mouth, it would laugh and mock at you. If it had a mind, it would judge you and trick you.

Why did it had to be you of all people? Couldn't he have picked another human? Couldn't have he just stayed on his planet and leave you alone? No, of course not. He was a conquer-hungry man that had violence running through his skin.

The days went excrutiatingly slow for you from that point on. You fell into a weird routine of going to collage, getting home, working on your projects, go to church on Sunday and try to not pay any mind to the giant - yet somehow invisible to the others - octopus following you. How you dreaded that you once found dumbo octopi and coconut ones to be silly and cute. After having Vilgax in your home, even the idea of similar beings living on Earth gave you chills.

'If God created us in his image, then who the fuck created him?'

-----------

Another restless night. The sky was a murky and dull dark blue, no- it looked gray, void of any shimmer of stars or the moon. You were by the window, mindlessly looking at a stray tomcat that was picking from the overflowed garbage can on the street. The little feline found a half eaten chicken drumstick in the garbage and began to gnaw at it with a passion. Even if you weren't close enough to hear it, you could swear you heard a deep purr...

Too deep...

Too deep and too close to be-

You turned around and shrieked seeing Vilgax right behind you. He tried to calm you down, running the knuckle of his indes finger up and down your spine and shushing you gently. "You're going to scare the tiny one there. Or your neighbours."

"You really need to quit this! It's eerie!" "Oh? Well I did not see you rejecting my attentions this past week or so, nor do I see you now trying to kick me out of your home. "That's different-" "Is it...?" He cut you off quickly, he knew what he was doing, he was trying to get in your head.

He was right, you knew what you were getting yourself into when you didn't report this to the Plumbers. You knew what you were getting yourself in when you lied to your family and Father Charles, omitting to ever tell them what was going on. You knew what you were getting yourself in when you mindlessly collected every single shiny and colourful object he brought you. And you knew what you were getting yourself into the second you allowed him to be in your home, to touch you, to talk to you.

Before you knew it, your feet were no longer on the tiled floor, your waist being tightly held for support and the two of you kissing. It was a short one, and he was way too cautious in comparison with his behaviour until now, like he was afraid to scare you or break you. After you pulled away, the warm feeling of him war still on your lips. "Now people will be even more suspicious why I smell like the sea even more." He chuckled at that, a genuine not-at-all-evil chuckle. "Let them talk then, my little treasure. You don't need to worry about the rest of this damned speecies."

You were still scared, but the feeling of dread inside you was slowly replaced by a fuzzy warmth that pooled in your midriff. Somehow, this horrifying, bloodthirsty monster from another planet made you feel safer, more loved and apreciated than any other date you had. Not that you were on many, but still - Vilgax was better than all of them. His obsession with you, his persistance in 'winning' you were what got you here, what got you to trust him and let him touch you more and more.

"It's funny..."

His eyes shifted slightly to look at you more intently, letting out a small humm, urging you to continue and not leave him in a trail off of your mind. "What's funny?"

"Humans have a saying when we don't find a right partner: 'Don't worry. There's still fish in the sea'. And it seems that from an ocean full of fish, I chose an alien squid..."

He laughed again. Yeah, now he remembered what he saw so beautiful in you - your soul. You always knew what to say: from being kind to street cats and babying them to see their ears perk back; to you bickering with some classmates that would just not listen; to being you... He was sure now, you were his and his alone. It is like Karon and God met in a pub one time and decided: Hey, let's make this two be in a relationship. What could go wrong?

You were to find out: a lot can go wrong when you're dating a vilain, who also happens to be an aquatic alien.

Two days have already passed since he stood unmoving on the Throne of Fire, yet you felt like it had been 100 years at this point. A life without him, the man who oh-so-sillily joked with you about grilling Paimon for dinner one night when you failed to hunt a Bulbozaur, or even a small little Crawahal; the man who was feared by so many people that you thought you were going to pee your pants; the man whom you first bedded with in this world and taught you to love men again.

In other words, Il Capitano, the First of the Fatui Harbingers, and your one week lover was now sat unmoving and devoided of any soul he might have on that stupid throne. You never left that room in the underground, staying by his side and going to drink water by an underground little stream and eating whatever Paimon brought you from aboveground.

Sometimes, you swore that he moved, or flinched when you'd be crying at his self-made grave, like he wanted to while away your tears with his gloves hands and tell you everything will be OK, to tell you to stop mourning and save Snezhnaya as you did with the other nations. Because he can't now, he can't protect his people from the terrors that hide in the frozen tundra. Corvins... were only a nuisance, not even full threats, yet they could tear off the head of an unfortunate human in one swift claw move. But a greater threat played upon the land of the Archon of Love: the forever frost.

"Comrade-" The voice grounded you back to the world of the living, though truth be speaking, you wanted to follow the captain into the abyss that the Nightkingdom was, just so you know he's OK. Your twin knew where you were and never tried to come after you the same way you tried to go after them, so what was the point? The only people who would actually miss you were Paimon and maybe Child, but you could never be sure.

You turned your head to see the very familiar shade of bloody orange that Tartaglia's hair had, and a small floating white bunch of hair hiding behind. Childe and Paimon came to check on you and give you some resources again. How nice of them; how pitiful of a situation for you.

You sat up on wobbly feet, feeling as if the ground under you turned into a pit of quicksand and you were slowly sinking into it with a sharp pain in your soles. They furt like you were walking on broken glass wine bottles from Monstadt; they hurt like you were walking on shards of chaina from Lyiue; they hurt like you were walking on electrocharged sakura flowers from Inazuma; they hurt as if you were put to walk over a pit of over heated sand from the desert of Sumeru; they hurt like you were stabbed with mechanical daggers from Yvres shop in Fontaine.... and they hurt like you lost your kindred soul somewhere in Natlan.

"Mavuika was right... she should've"

"Don't even start it, Y/N. She meant well-"

"She killed him"

"He killed himself, traveller"

You didn't want to admit it, but they were right. The Captain being the all-rightous man that he was, wanted to save everyone. Everyone but why not himself. Why make you suffer. Why was he so quiet a day before everything happened... it was like he knew what was going to happen...

___________________

Cold- no, frigid was what Il Capitano's first contact with the barrier between Natland and the Kingdom of Nighttime Shadows, one of the many names the liminal space bore into the commonfolk. He felt undressed in the sheer cold. You'd think a man that spent more than 500 years in the land of The Cryo Archon would make a man get used to the cold, but this wasn't the same. It wasn't the same feeling as the one of snow on your lukewarm skin on the overworld of Teyvat; it was a forever chilling sensation in the deepest parts of your bones. Having had 10 furcoats and one would still be able to freeze to death.

'Perhaps this is not the Place I should guard. A trickery, might've-'

He glenced up and saw i, in the myriad of darkened clouds that covered both ground and 'sky', a spiral of blood and terror formed before him. The agonised screams of the ones before him echoed from the epi-center of the crpitid-like tornado. 'Well isn't this just sweel.' He took a couple steps forward, cautiously looking around for any other realm deformity he might find.

A sudden gust of wind hit from his back and and one from his front. Weird... this place has no winds- He turned his head and saw behind him the same kind of rupture in the realm, each one of them trying to suck up everything in their path. Almost aligned to a comma, the two deformities could cause a vortex and rip appart everything that was unfortunate enough to fall in between them. And guess who was in between the two reality-altering colosus? Capitano, of course. Why wouldn't he!?

'Most unfortunate... Perhaps of I stand right in the middleway, I will be able to stand until the passing of one of them.'

But that was easier said than done, as the two vortexes seemed to last forever, and hold their ground in eternity, not moving a milimeter left or right or wrong or true or- you get the idea. He was going to fall victim to the realm deformities one moment or the other. Even he could not stand still for eternity (irronic, in the overworld he is very mmuch unmoving). He was slowly growing more and more desperate as time went on and his legs started to give in. He felt heavier than ever before, even if now he had no armour on him to slow him down or ground him. Ground him... ground!

He got an idea, an idea so trivial that he cursed himself for not thinking about it earlier. He felt stupid - maybe this is how the 10th felt all this way. But, I digress. Il Capitano carefully let himself crouch down to the ground, and then lay flat on his front. He felt the suction power of the two colosus' getting stronger; a response that whatever Purgatory this was, it did not like the fact that he was trying to escape.

"This is your devine punishment, Thrain! Do not dare run away from it, you coward!"

He did not care for the voice that shouted after him, a mixture of broken souls and terror if was. He crawled away from it, his skin burning from the friction with the uneaven ground that was covered in sharp stones and bonedust. He bit down on his lower lip to cover a whine, his sharp cannines puncturing his lips and slowly drawing out droplets of fresh blood. The harbinger managed to crawl away for a couple of feet before the strength of the void-wating deformities grew. His nails dug deep into the ground to anchor himself, his knuckles turning an off shade of white from the pressure.

"You will not get me alive, you-"

"You are already dead, Thrain"

No, no he cannot be dead. He needs to succede, he needs to complete his mission in order to return to his darling above, the little ray of sunshine that barged in his life like the sun does in the unlit room of a teenager trying to sleep in on a Saturday morning. He needed to survie, he needed to be remembered! Capitano pulled himself away with one last sliver of hope and strength lef tin him and managed to escape the two deformities' range of distruction.

'Run!'

He turned his head with such a whiplash that he swore his head had fallen off his shoulders for a second. You weren't there, of course, only a sick part of his brain thought that you were. Or maybe this place was trying to trick him once again. Maybe eevrything was just in his head or in the head of whatever malevolent creature reigned the Kingdom of Nightshadows.

Either way, he needed to find a way to fulfill his destiny and return to Teyvat before it was too late, before you would find solice in another man's arms.

_________________

Days felt like seconds and months felt like years in this horrid place. Or maybe only a couple weeks passed, or maybe a couple seconds. Il Capitano couldn't tell anymore, because he lost track of time rather rapidly after the incident with the vortex; and to be honest, tracking time is the last thing you should worry about when you're in the land of the damned, alone and naked.

But why did he felt like time was important if he didn't even knew time here. And even if he knew it, loosing count would be too easy and therefore he'd loose the notion of what time was here.

His mind was a total fog, one as thick, if even thicker than the one that layed before him. He stopped walking cautiously a long time ago, the soles of his feet bleeding every now and then from the open wound caused by bone sharps and sharp stones scatered here and there, or by the laked and rivers of boiling blod that he had to traverse.

The world around him was going on for ever and ever; over and over. This was hell. His punishment for being imprudent and using his imortal powers a bit too much. And the heavenly principles do not like it when other omnipotent beings live on their turf, as you might have already found out. He finally eencounteres something after so many eoans of walking around. It was a fragment of a soul that floated minlessly in this abyss of a world he was in.

A slight smile crept on Capitano's dried and cold lips. "Do you know me, elder?" He had a feeling that this lost soul was one of the people he needed to guide in this place, and he was right when he saw the sparklet of light flicker slightly and kept following him around. He let if tag along, for now, until they will find its place in the forever realm.

This was his life for a long while, almost as long as the time he spent in silence. His wounds were cauterised and the ground seemed to shift to softer stone, someetimes finding moss on it to rest for a while before starting his endless journey. Only one thing kept him going: the traveller from the stars that found her way in his very heart, in the deepest of cravaces and taken roots there. A week they spent together, but that week was far more valuable than any years spent with souless and empty women of the Snezhnayan court rooms. He was tired of the way his life played as the Captain of the Fatui Harbingers.

"You seem very preocupied today, young man" One of the souls spoke to him in not one but 4 voices... they died as a group most likely. "Because I do not know when I will be able to return to my world and my home..." They laughed "Ah, don't worry. This place always serves justice"

'Tell this to the vortex that wanted to eat me alive the second I came here idiot...'

________________

A month passed in Teyvat since that unfortunate day and you were forced to leave Natlan by the impending doom that had to come in Snezhnaya. The parting was painful, sorrowful; you felt like you left a good part of yourself in that cave with him the day you left. But it's what was needed to be done, it's what he would've wanted to.

With heavy footsteps and an even heavier heart, you rose from the undertow, met by the teasing sun. It burned your eyes the first couple of seconds, as you were not used to it anymore. The sun... is this realy the reason why he sacrificed himself? For others to enjoy and bask in the fake light of a man-made sun? It was not fair, none of it was.

"Traveler! Are you ok? How are you feeling?" Paimon, the sweetheart that she is always had (and hopefully will still) been worried about you. One of the few people who actually cared enough about you was a small floating fairy with the glutony of a thousand gods. It would have been funny, if you were not still grieving the loss of The First Fatui Harbinger. "You look so pale... Paimon thinks you should rest before leaving Natlan."

'Can we stay here forever, Paimon?'

You couldn't bring yourself to even say a yes or no to her question, only making a vague gesture with your head towards her. She knew what you were thinking about and this broke her little heart. She took one of your hands in hers and slowly nudged you to sit on some fluffy moss. You'd think that saving a nation would earn you its respect and the people would treat you good, especially the Archon. But you knew better than to believe that.

Mondstadt only used you to save its own ass, kicking you out the second you solved their problems. Lyiue thought you were a killer for so long only because you were not from their nation, that not even a thousand half-teethed 'thank you's from Ningguang could change how you felt. Inazuma hated its own people and you thought it would treat you good? Sumeru was much like Mondstadt, but they actually expected you to help them no matter what, not only gambling on you. The Aranara were somewhat sweet to you in their own weird way. Natlan... Natlan thought it would be very funny to make you fall in love and then crush your soul alltogether.

Capitano was right; the Archons and the people that serve them are nothing but entitled pricks who's make anything in order to proffit off your well being and your kindness. And of course, there were Deinsleif and Aether. If they so claimed that they hold enough power to go against the Heavenly Principles now, why didn't they? They had to wait 500 years for you to break from the meteor and start looking for them? To start repairing their mistakes? Thrain was the only one you could trully trust, that you could share your beliefs with.

Even in Paimon you couldn't confine in, she was sometimes too clueless or innocent to understand your true feelings and the language barrier was always a problem. Yes, you did learn some amount of universal Teyvatan, but it was never enough. You could never trully express the way you felt towards everyone and anyone.

You found yourself laying on the green, lush moss and slowly falling asleep. A restless sleep but sleep nevertheless. It felt so real, it was so lucid, he was there. Capitano was with you, or you with him, in a realm of shadows and darkness, no light to even illuminate the way you were going. But you were going, because you trusted him, because you believed in him. But in a moment-

The view. or rather lack of it was shattered and torn and you were thrown in the frozen Tundra of Snezhnaya. "Are you alright, cara mia?" The voice was so much rougher and drier, like it was that of a man thousands of years living without a sliver of water to wet his vocal cords with. His voice sent warm shivers down your spine and you threw himself in his claws, giggling.

But every dream with him has to end, doesn't it? He was gone, after all.

You were now in a cacrt dragged by a local type of horse. Lavian horses, in all their warm might could never melt the ice in your heart. The ice he left when he decided to save Mavuika. And for what?! What about you?! You felt yourself growing more and more cold at even the thought of your Capitano thinking of saving another woman. Maybe you two were never meant to be. Maybe it was them and you misstook his kindness to love. It had been so long, forever even, since someone showed you care and affection.

Suddenly, you heard Paimon shrieking and telling the woman handling the Lavian to start hurrying. You turned your head towards the shadows that Paimon was looking at and they were... massive. And moving fast.

"I have never seen something like this before...! Go Gero, go fast!" "We're going to be human popsicles soon!"

You took your sword, your grip painful on the already worn down handle. Your knukles were turning white with desperation, you needed to act now. There was no way a horse could outrun whatever this thing was, not for long at least.

At Paimon's desperate attempts to stop you from confronting it, you snarled and told her to fuck off. You jumped off from the cart and the soles of your feet hit the frozen snow, the flakes crushed into small pillars of icy terror that pierced your skin. Maybe you should've made sure to wear something more than your socks and a dress adeqvated to Sumeru's climate than this one, but you didn't care at this point. To be honest, you didn't even know why you cared in the first place. None of them did. None of them helped you.

You strode painfully towards the shadow as you realised something... It didn't move for some time, as if it was waiting for you to come to it. Maybe it was not a hostile mob, but one of the 'gentle' giants of Snezhnaya like the frozen Tibiru (a giant bear with 6 heads that roamed the forests in search of frozen meat discarded by humans near the streams; rule no 1: if you left it alone, it will leave you alone).

"Y/N, you are here-"

You could swear there was something familiar in that voice. But it couldn't be right? You had to be dreaming, right? One of those lucid dreams with him in it... Most likely.

___________

The wind cut roughly through your hair and skin, as you were holding on for dear life by the horns of Thrain. Horns? Well darling, you were surprised to find out that the shadow in the tundra was no other than the Captain, back from the Underworld in his true form and ready to fulfill his desteny to a full. You were torn between being happy he returned and being angry with him... But after he told you his true reason for descending into the Nighttime Kingdoms, you were back to adoring him.

"Cara mia, you need to understand that sometimes a man has to hide things from his darling in order to protect her. It was not my intention to make you suffer... I apologise for this, but-" "It's ok, I think I understand..." "Then would you like to accompany me in battle one more time?" "Yes-"

And now you were swerving the skies together to get to the Zapolyarny Palace and kill the head of the snake that coiled around the power of Teyvat once and for all. Even if it was going to be the last battle you fight, you knew that, this time, everything will feel like it came from the bottom of your heart. There will be ballads about two lovers who went and challanged the unchallangeable for a chance to change the world as it is now.

"Thrain?" You leaned in closer to him, your heart pounding "I feel the Statue of the Seventh just bellow us." You always thought that your powers to absorb all elemental powers without a vision was a blessing, but sometimes it was a curse. Now, it was one of those times you thanked yourself you had these weird and unpredictable powers.

You felt his body twist and dive at a greater speed, making you dizzy. You so needed to get reaccustomed with riding dragons. Now more than ever sincce Thrain was one.

__________

Blood, everywhere you looked there was blood pooling from the countless bodies of Fatui agents and palace guards. You had no mercy. They all needed to pay for their sins and you werre ready to make them suffer for it too. Simply taking their life was too much of a blessing, as the Cryo Dragon told you. His stories about the underworlds made your soul shatter. He went through so much just to make sure that the innocent people of Kaenri'ah were safely guided through that nightmare of a realm.

A newly fledged agent caught your gase, as he desperately tried to trag the upper half of his friend away from the battle, not realising the fucker was already gone. Thrain has swung his tail once and beheaded banny, or cut them in half from the strength of his nsap-back. You let our a small laugh. This was going to be fun. You got to them and swung your Dull Blad into the already dead body. "He's gone, buddy. Quit looking so desperate. It's pathetic really. Didn't the Tsaritsa teach you to fight with glory in your poisoned hearts and brains?"

The look on that poor fella'ss face made your day and night for maybe 3 weeks. You were proud of yourself as you saw him literally crawling to you and asking you to spare his life, that he had family- family ey?. You grabbed him by the throat and held him up in the air, chocking him only slightly. "Listen here you fucker, you better go and tell Pierro that if he does not get here right this instant, the Cryo Dragon will blow ice so cold over the forsaken region that it will burn. Understood?"

He nodded rapidly, scurrying away like a rat before being stomped once by Thrain's clawed leg, his body making an all-known bone shuttering crack. He didn't even scream, all his nerves were mostly crushed and his body pure'd into mush. "Oh, oops~ How silly of myself." He let out a chocked and dry laugh and lowered his head, licking one of your cheeks. "I'll be careful to not hurt one of your pets again, cara mia." You placed a kiss on his muzzle and pat him.

You loved him, he loved you. And the two of you were going to fight here until either they manage to kill you, or until there are no more Harbingers to torture.

A week and a day worth of slaughter was what finally made the Tsatrisa act, with almmost all the Harbingers on her side, not counting Capitano and.. surprisingly, Childe. He and Paimon came to the palace as soon as he caught word of everything and decided to side with you against these tirants. "It is an honour to fight along side you, Capitano-" "Likewise, Ajax. But now we no longer bare the names she gave us. Let us win and show the people of Snezhnaya that they believed in a traitor all along"

And so, you all clashed into battle, yet you had an advantage. Paimon was floating over everyone and giving you intel about their positions and next attacks, like a great spy. You were surprised that she offered to fight and did not seem terrified or taken aback by your display of anger and violence. This felt like home, this was home.

The Tsaritsa was most terrified the second Thrain regurgitated the bodies of most her beloved Harbingers and with her weapon on your side, this was a loosing battle. "I... I do not understand, I-" "You were always destined to loose, Mariushka. Bow before the dragon of cryo or face the consequences"

And she did, forfeithing her gnosis and the other captured to him.

______________

You now stood on the icy throne in Prishkanitza Palace, as Thrain now called it, listening in on some complains people had about lack of food, nodding your head along. The vaults of the Fatui were full of food, so you'd just lead them to it and serve them with enough to last them a month or so. The foreverfrost was slowly stepping back now that you became ruler. And what a ruler you were now: with Thrain's draconic body coiled around the throne and yoursel, his head resting by your side, muzzle bumping in your thigh to beg you for your attention.

"I crave you...." "And if someone comes in? Have you not thought about this until now?" "Humans have always made me confused. But one thing is for sure: no man will dare enter when they hear the way I make you scream"

How he never ceased to make you blush.... it was his talent truth be told. Not that you complained, but you were more red than an overriped sunsetia in may. You felt a clawed han tentalizingly pulling your fluffy leggings off. "You are as horny as a teenager..." You muttered, as you lifted yourself slightly to allow him to pull the garment off completely and discard it somewhere in the distance. "Tharin!" You shouted in complete shock to how rough he was right now.

"Hush, you enjoy it"

True, you were enjoying it, but you were not going to let him know that. He didn't need to know that. You shivered and mewled at the feeling of a cold talon brushing against your core. You heard him chuckle and say something lewed about not wearing any panties on today. It was very comfortable and refreshing alright? Sometimes you were so tired of your granny skirt underpants that wearing underleggings gave you... freedom so to speak.

He nuzzled his head in between your legs as you shifted on the throne to allow your legs to part more. He game you a first lap, his tongue so cold it tickled your tiny clit and made it pulse slightly. "P-please... more!" Like you needed to beg; he would've gave you more even if you didn't want to. He was a service dragon alright.

Thrain's tongue ran over you folds many times before making you tremble and beg for him to take you. "And ruin you now, cara mia? No... not yet" Oh this gian fool- You lightly smacked the top of his head, his tough reptile skin rough to the touch. Bixby, reminder to force dragon husband to bathe in lotion- He rumbled and blew a light lizard in your facec as a response. Such a man- dragon! He was so kinky and silly before. You cannot imagine now.

He brough a tallon to his mouth and bit it shorter, rouder. "Hold still and tell me if it hurts-" He then pushed that finger in, slowly making your wet pussy give in and accept it inside you. It didn't hurt as much as you'd thought, but it did hint a bit of discomfort the first moments. He gently curled his finger inside you, trying to remember where exactly your- "Oh, my stars!" There it was. He began to draw in and out of you at quite the pace as his muzzle found its way back to your clit. Thrain loved every each of your whiny moans, drawing orgasm after orgasm out of you.

"Oh, just fuck me already, you overgrown lizard!" "Only if I see this pretty pussy squirt for me, love. Come on, give it to me~"

He teased you, moving so his big phallus was resting over your vagina. "Oh don't tease me-" You tried to protest as he rubbed back and forth on you.

"Oh, I'm going to get what I want and you know it, my tiny one"

It has been almost a week of following the little human around to make Vilgax understand her more and more. He was growing too soft about this whole ordeal, she was only human- yet... she did make his heart beat more lazy and even the idea of her calmed him greatly. 'She will be the death of me'. He couldn't help himself around her, following her around like a lost puppy, shadowing her; yet the human didn't even bat an eyelash for him. Pity, he would've already won someone of his speecies by now - are humans this dense? Or is it just her?

He made use of his intel retrievers and found out almost everything he could about her: seasonal pastry shop job, collage student, living alone in the middle of Bellwood, name, family history everything. But of course, if the time comes and he is to court you, he'd act like he did not know anything. We wouldn't want to scare our little darling now, would we? He might be an imperial warlord that's feared all across the universe, but he'd never hurt you. Not intentionally, at least.

One night, when he followed her home, he noticed she has been awake for quite a long time. 'I thought humans are meant to sleep at some point' He peeked inside, and saw you tiredly working your ass off for a project. He cursed the human learning system under his breath: it was clear you were tired and you needed rest. And he was going to make you rest alright.

One tired human leaving the window unlocked on her appartment and one determined alien ssquid made it so that he managed to sneak inside your home. Blessed be Karon for making them with bendy bones and readjustable sizes. He would lie if he said it wasn't uncomfortable as fuck to sloutch over so much, but he didn't really care now. He placed a hand on your shoulder and squeezed lightly to catch your attention. And in fact he did.

"Why are you awake at an hour like this? I thought you humans needed a good 8 sol-hours of sleep to recuperate." You shrieked, voice so high and loud he thought you'd shater your own brain. He tried to make you relax, rubbing your shoulder as gently as he could and trying to reason with you. But you were already hyperventilating and much so, chocking on your own shallow breath. He never thought hed have to teach a human how to properly breath air, but- "Oh for the love of Karon, just breathe-"

But it was too late, you were already out cold. Maybe because you were tired, maybe because you were shocked to see him. At least you'll have some rest, even if it's forced sleep. He picked you up and moved you in your bed, so you were all nice and comfy. Vilgax tucked you in and looked to your face for a moment longer: what he feared of happened... he scared you and he was not going to forgive himself so easily. Any moment now you could run crying to the plumbers and tell them about his weareabouts and weaknesses; that if you realised that you were his weakness.

He found some miscellaneous bottle of water discarded on your floor and poured some in a glass that was on your desk, placing it on your nightstand. Truth be told, you looked absolutely adorable sleeping so tightly wrapped in a blanket, passed out from exhaustion and fear. The warlord placed a small kiss on your forehead, your body's warmth making him shiver with anticipation to the things you two could do if you'd just accept him already!

He wasted no more time and went out the same as he came in. 'One day, my treasure'

He gave you your much needed space after that night, thinking that if he takes it slower, you would eventually warm up to him more. But, as possessive as he was, Vilgax could not stay away from you for much longer and so decided to share some of his findings with you. He loves to collect beautiful things from planets and galaxies he conquers or destroys.

It started small with a few broken mechanical arrays that showed maps of the galaxies (even if they were quite old and imprecise, their hand-carved exterior was something out of this universe), and then some marbled objects or colourful geodes. Give him his peace, he loves treasures! And with his last one, he left a note, the warlord definitely forgetting in his lovestruck phase that you could not read his mother tongue, not the standard galactic alphabet. And so, his sweet message of "ʖ⚍ℸ ̣ i ᓭℸ ̣ ╎ꖎꖎ ᓵᔑリ'ℸ ̣ ⎓╎リ↸ ᔑ ℸ ̣ ∷ᒷᔑᓭ⚍∷ᒷ ꖎ╎ꖌᒷ ||𝙹⚍" ("But I still can't find a treasure like you") was absolutely in vain... for now, one hopes.

He hadn't behaved like this in a good 100 years since trying to pursue his former wife. He felt again like a young Chimera in search of the best way to tell his darling what he felt. Oh, to be young again; but did he truly want you more than just another pretty thing on his shelf? Maybe. It is very weird to know what's in the mind of Vilgax the Conquerer.

_____________________

It has been a few days since that night; and you haven't been able to get him out of your mind yet. He was a horrible person, no one could ever argue with you on that, but the fact that this evil warlord had a soft spot for you made your heart flutter in a way it didn't in a long while. Or maybe never had, because this- this was soemthing else entirely. Considering he's not even human (aside the fact that he's evil) would make it taboo for your family... You haven't talked with then in a while, have you? You haven't talked about what has happened to you to anyone. Who would believe you; who would want you after that.

All your life you had been struggling to keep everything inside and not tell a soul about anything that was remotely wrong in your life; or interesting at that. You were a listener, but never listened. You heard everything, but you weren't heard. You saw, but no one saw you back. You were a shadow that they have used and abandoned at may. You were their little puppet that needed to fall into their little play.

In middle school, when other kids would pick up on you and call you weird for just being yourself, you never told. When they would dump the water bucket near the black board on your head and call you stinky chalk-girl, you never told anyone. When they pushed you and pushed you and toyed with you near a window and you almost fell, you never told. High-school wasn't much different. From the monkeys that some call their 'precious boy' that would mot shower and rub against you whenever they got up from their seat and passed you, you never told. From the class representative that hated your guts and stomped on your winter coat, or stolen your project ideas-- you never told. From that one old teacher that gave you a 25% because 'you should go discuss it with him in private, sweet thing', you never told. University life was just like this too: from the guys that harass you to the ones that undermine you, you shut up, plaster a smile on your lips and tell everyone that "I'm fine, life's just challenging me a bit".

This, wasn't much different, but man did it feel like the opposite. You wanted to tell someone and know that you're not alone in this shit. But of course you were alone. You were always alone- well... not if we count Mr octopus, but hes besides the point. Vilgax treats you different and always treated you different, from the get go. Why? Karon and God know, because neither of you did. He was acting on instinct like he always have, and you were trying to survive, like you always had. In a way you two completed one another.

Things settled down in a taboo cycle: you'd wake up and have breakfast on your own then go to uni feeling being watched by the warlord, then after courses, you two would meet up at your place and try to have a peaceful dinner. It never worked until now, because there was always a commotion at uni, and you'd cry and tell him what happened like he didn't know. And Vilgax would listen, like a good boyfriend? octofriend? Yeah, octofriend; that fits him better.

One night, he looked at you a bit serious, too serious: "I need to be away for 3 or 4 Earth axis rotations to stop a riot in Alpha Centauri. Can I count on you that you will not be in any trouble if I leave?" What were, you? A child, that he did not believe in? A mare infant that could not stay alone for more than a few seconds?

You nodded your head lightly and leaned into his side, resting your head on an armoured arm. You muffled "I'm not a baby" as he ran his tallons through your hair, lightly scratching your scalp. "One can never be too safe about his treasure, now can they?" He was sweet when he wanted to; and it turns out he wanted to be sweet with you all the time.

One hour of trying to make you drink more water and rest more, he had to leave. It's funny really: the big and scarry octopus monster that terrified everyone, was now being soft with you and trying to make you feel better. Where's Hollywood with the bad romantic comedies when you need it?

The next day, you felt more tired than usual, and with a big lack of want to get up from the little burrito situation you were in. Like always, you fell asleep somewhere in the middle of one of his stories about outer space, and Vilgax ended up tucking you in like a child. You always woke up like a toasty, warm burrito, but today you were also a sad one. You got used to him more than you'd ever like to admit, and the idea that he won't shadow you for a few days was making you not only sad, but also anxious.

You knew you always had someone there to watch over you and to confide in when someone was being weird about talking to you. Vilgax was always there to make sure no one was making you uncomfortable not in the slightest. You'll miss him when he is gone.

You slowly got up from your coocoon and made your way to your bathroom. You waited for the water to warm up enough to take a shower. No, a bath. You deserved it, it was Saturday morning. You were free from all worries today, theoretically. Because in reality you needed to go make a trip to the grocery store, since you ran out of instant noodles last two days ago.

You filled the bathtub up and put some vanilla scented bubble bath soap in, with extra vanilla shower gel. You had one dream today: to achieve total sweetness within 90 minutes. One woman, one bathtub and one full day of self care. Stay tuned to find out-

You quickly got undressed after getting the right water-to-bubble ratio and your sinuses filling up with the sweet vanilla scent and a misterry cupcake one tickling your senses. You slowly got in, the water just a smidge too hot for you; water seeping through the pores of your skin and making you itch slightly. You practically felt as the water was washing away the smell of yesterday, pulling out the grime and dust in your skin.

The small room quickly became a warm fuzz of steam and you quickly lost track of time, only realising youve been in the water for too long not when your fingers pruned, but when scrubbing your skin with your loofa, the water felt awfully cold. You leaned in and pulled the plug to drain the water and looked at your hair debating with yourself rather or not to wash it. Why no, after all you should feel like a pretty princess when you finally get out the shower and get dressed.

Your phone kept ringing as you were scrubbing your scalp, literally feeling the oil buildup melt away. You ignored the somewhat annoying tune as you rinsed and wrapped yourself in a warm and fluffy towel. You flopped in bed and held closer the weird alien plushie you received a few days ago from your very caring warlord; you grabbed your phone to see who it was.

Parental unit 1

Your father was calling you. One. Single. Beep. And you dared ignore it... how dare you ignore your own parents. As it is law to obey and love the ones who birthed and raised you, sinner. One man in your life and you were already too in the trance of promiscuity to answer the phone when your father was calling? You were unacceptable. Not only did he bring you in this world, raised you as good as a a cat obssessed lady dots her cats, he made you blossom, he flowered you in the best way a sinner like you could ever think of.

A cold shiver ran down your spine as you remembered that night, your lips quivering and a tiny sob escaping your painfully tightening throat. You chocked out another cry and another.

You came home from your nationals training, the road already dark and the street lights barely illuminating 2 meters before you. Old Springvale was a very traditional town, so-to-speak and the lighting remained the same from 1970, the roads stood busted and the stray dogs threatened to bite you at any step.

It was quiet tonight, and everything stood still. You felt like something was off but you couldn't really put your finger on it: sure you should've usually gotten home 2 hours ago, but you just had to finish that one hypercuadric, didn't you? You stepped on the front poarch and slowly left yourself in the house. "Mom, dad-"

"Kid, what's with you at this hour? No young lady should go around at 7 pm like this-" Your father teleported to your side and grabbed your arm shaking you a little. The snow rapidly fell from you and melted instantly at the contact with the warm and toasty wooden floors. "And you're covered in snow-"

"I'm sorry, it was just class got extended and-"

"No excuses. The last thing I need after that slut of a mother of yours was seen having coffee with the police officer nearby."

Flowers are gentle things that God created, ones of the most delicate and fragile things that humans have put their hands on. Flowers are said to be in need of only sunlight, water, and good soil to live; but what use is the material world for one who isn't loved properly? Flowers will wither if the sun is too strong, they will rot if you put too much water in their vase and they will dry out if the soil is unfruitful. Yet not many know that if you touch it the wrong way, or someone comes home with a bad attitude, the flower will wilt from the inside out.

It is also often said a man shall never touch a woman, not even with a flower. Because such as their botanic counterparts, women also welt if treated badly.

You always loved the fresh smell of primroses in early spring. How much the pale yellow made you happy... your bedsheets smelled of primroses, but you never thought your head would be held tightly against them; the smell protruding as always, your poor nose. You could barely breathe, letting out pained gasps and whimpers as a sharp pain echoed in your nether area.

Honey or blood, they were the same to you in this moment, as you were now used by a lazy bumblebee that tore most of your petals off, leaving the ones that you still have wither together with you. You'd never wear those petals again, not with him, not with anyone else. You cried, you screamed, you begged. but does anyone listen to a flower and ask it: Do you want us to take it from you? Do you want to be pollinated? No.

You shoved your phone under your pillow and took rapid steps backwards, stopping only when you hit the door. You slowly slid down, your ass hitting the cold floor of your room. You should tell him; he should know. A gardener can always take care of his beautiful primrose.

__________

It's been a few days since Vilgax returned from his expedition; the riot died even quicker than anticipated, a clear reminder that he was feared beyond anything in the close universe. All those things happening, and you still haven't told him what happened to you: neither when he was away, nor when you were younger.

In the evening, he sneaked into your room and saw your depressive state. "And why does my treasure stay in bed all sad and soggy...? Won't a ᓭ∴ᒷᒷℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ∷ᒷᔑℸ ̣ (a sweet treat) help her feel better?" He was caring, he wasn't like your father. You could trust him, so why did it feel like thorns grew in your throat whenever you tried to speak what was on your mind and soul.

"Nothing-"

"Don't nothing me, Y/N... humans are stupid creatures when it comes to their emotions, but I am here. Ok...?

You exhaled, shuddered a bit as you rose up from your lying position and looked at him. Or, tried to, since your eyes seemed to be covered by a thick cobweb of tears. He hugged you tightly, holding you against his chest. The salty sea scent on him cleared your mind slightly. You sighed and leaned more into him, muttering something incoherent even to you.

"I don't want to be his anymore..."

"Whose...?"

"My fathers-" And you told him, you told him everything that happened, how you were forced to dry and wither by the one person that should've protected you from the harshness of the world. This should have never happened, you should have remained a beautiful flower, untouched and blooming until the end of time.

You were not met with a cold shove, a scowl on his face, or a disgusted sound of disapproval. Yet, you were met by a myriad of soft kisses and light caresses. If the most feared and terrifying warlord, who mind you hated humanity, was so loving and accepting towards you... then humans are trully fucked in the membrane.

Before you knew it, you let him kiss you more deeply on your lips. His thick, wet tongue glided across your mouth, and you parted your lips, thinking he was asking for permission to explore it, but he didn't. Not yet. He wanted to savour you and give you the love you always deserved. You shouldn't have craved it, it should have been given to you by default. You were his little treasure, the sparkling gemstone in his eyes and the beautiful flower that he wanted to care for.

"May I see you uncovered, my sweet?

"A-always-"

His talons, inflictors of fear and terror, now gently worked their way into pulling your clothes off, but not all. He saw how defensive you became of your chest area, so he didn't take your t-shirt off. Vilgax laid you in your bed gently and moved so his breath would lightly graze you. He slightly parted the lips of your pussy, trailing his tongue over you one time. His red eyes bore into yours, searching for a reaction.

You writhed and shivered as you felt the warm muscle press on your sensitive parts. "If you want me to stop, tell me... or throw a rock at my head, both will work." You giggled slightly at the Chimera's comment; he always knew how to make you feel more comfortable. He moved his gaze back to your pink angry clit and lightly bit and sucked at it. You pulled a pillow close and pressed it to your face to muffle your moany self. You had neighbours, after all; and not all wanted to be given an 18+ rated live movie.

He kept teasing your bundle of nerves until you got whiny enough, got sensitive enough for him to make you his. "I want you-" "I want you too, my treasure~" That deep voice of his made you shiver; that rumble, that- your thoughts were fuzzy as he took out what you guessed was the Chimera equivalent of a dick.

Four long, flexible parts that were swirled against one another, together big enough to make you flinch away and have a second guess about everything. Seeing your distress, Vilgax slithered an arm under you and wrapped it around your body, pulling you closer. "You're calling the shots here, love. If I scare you, I'll stop here and tuck you back in bed." He was so sweet. Despite being a bit creeped out by the way his alien package looked and worked, you still wanted to wear your big girl pants and go ahead with it. Though you were questioning how it would fit inside. Even the tip, however wet and slimy it was, didn't look like it could fit inside your tiny vagina.

You whimpered seeing the parts separate slightly, and he only positioned one to your enterance. "This might hurt a little bit, ꖎ𝙹⍊ᒷ." He slowly pushed himself inside; you arched your back and let out a strangled sigh, your hands gripping his shoulders tightly for support. He gave you little time to adjust to his length before slowly, almost painfully, drawing out of you, then pushing back in, hitting your poor cervix. He held you tight against him as he picked up the pace, both of you hiding your moans by kissing and biting at one another.

"Vilgax-..! P-please"

"I'm here, my treasure. All here for you"

You felt a weird pressure build inside your lower abdomen, making it harder for you to suppress your moans. His movements got a bit rougher, but never enough to hurt you, his thrusts getting uneven and rushed. "⎓⚍ᓵꖌ╎リ⊣ !¡╎ℸ ̣ ᓭ, ||𝙹⚍ ℸ ̣ ╎⊣⍑ℸ ̣ ʖ╎ℸ ̣ ᓵ⍑" ("fucking pits, you tight bitch"). You couldn't tell for sure if it was that, but not even a few moments after, you came hard, your orgasm almost blinding you, almost not making you realize how you felt him dive deep and stay there, letting out a low groan, he finished inside you. Well, you guess he did, because it felt like eggs-?!

You jumped up a bit at the feeling, whimpering as he held you down, fingertips digging into your soft, plushy skin, most certainly leaving marks that would last a week or two. "Hush, Y/N.... it's ok, it's all going to be ok~"

His voice did help soothe you for the moment...

__________

In the morning, Vilgax was woken up by a slipper, smacked on his head and an angry little Y/N. She was tapping one of her feet on the floor, her bottoms were off and light blue slick trailed down her thighs.

"Ah... I guess I overdid it with laying them inside you-"

"You think?"

It has been only a month since you came to the Devildom - or more likely - got kidnapped and placed in the House of Lamentation. The name always made you shiver, a cold gast running down your spine as you remmebered the story Lucifer - oldest Prince - told you when you came here. You always believed his side of the story, that the family butler killed the rich family, but you couldn't really understand why Lamentation. A better name, you thought, would be Reprisal. But, alas, that was the least of your concerns.

How wonderful it is - the human mind - to create problems and resolves for the tiniest things only for you to evade reality and actual problems.

And a bodyless, bloodied and rotting head floating over your bed every night could be very much considered a problem. It had a deformed jaw, like someone repeatedly hit that peron in the jaw bone with a brick until it was shattered, teeth both sticking out and in of the trap that was once called a mouth. Well... teeth was a too gentle term, as they looked more like sharp bone fragments stabbed in dried gums after the actual teeth were shattered and pulled out brutally. The lips, or better lack of, were just the mouth's corners stretched out and curled into a horrific smile. A smile that was complemented by the eyes: one pulled out of the socket, the other mimicking egg ehites. The blurriness of those eyes not hiding the ill intent of whatever kept it floating. The skin was an ashy steel blue, mixed with the black rotting that ate most of the flesh away from the cheeks. Thin, burned, cadet blue hair strings sat around the stuck out ears and the back of the head. All of this was covered in sheer blood and some unknown fluid.

The first time you saw it, you weere absolutely terrified - so terrified in fact, that you screamed loud enough for people in the Human Realm to hear you. You cried and screamed for your mother, why? You knew she could not protect you from a being that was made of rage and magic; not to mention she was thinking you were happily accepted in an actual exchange programme. As I said, your mother could not come, but someone else did.

"Are you alright, Y/N? It is the iddle of the night, dear human. You should've-"

The first born brother stared at the head over your bed and noticed your expression. He let out a small chuckle and approached, nudging the head to the side as he sat in bed, next to you. The sheets cramped a bit where he sat, his cloat pulled to the side. "I see... you humans are not useed to demon romanticisms anylong. Fear not, Y/N, it was just a token so I could watch you sleep." You did not know rather to be more scared of the floating head that belonged to a zombie or the fact that Lucifer wanted to watch you sleep.

He made it disappear in an instant with a motion of his hand, then turned back to you. "Be not afraid, dear human." He said in a mocking voice, as he placed a gentle kiss on your forehead. It was odd really, how the brothers behaved; and now especially Lucifer. He wanted most likely to test your wits and powers to survive here - in the Devildom. You were feverish, your skin warm to a sickly way at the touch of his lips. "So sensitive... I shall keep that in mind, dear."

But he didn't keep it in mind, as you got accustomed in seeing the same head float above your bed each and every night since then. It was like a guardian watching you sleep, and now you knew that through the eyes of that sinner, the Avatar of Pirde was spying your sleepy body. However hard it was, you understood that it meant no harm to you, the grotesque exterior only a carcass that held his magic. Besides the slight blood droplets you had to wash away from your face or hands in the morning, the head was the most harmless thing the eldest demon brother could do to you.

___________

As you skipped a class at RAD, to help Luke with some dark spell homework he couldn't get the hold of, you were called in Lucifer's office first, as going to Diavolo's surely meant a fate worse that death in most cases. Surprised you weren'twhen you entered the relatively small and dark room in the Academy. The walls were covered in a shadow, woven like material that looked very soft to the touch - but you knew better than to ever tough them. Who knows what kind of magic lies in its fibers? There were iron carved candle holders on the wall, vintage looking ones, that were dusted by a slight silvery tint to them. Either by time or usage, you guessed the powder silver blown to them had worn down and showed the mate iron like a hidden smile. it was warm iside, but not at all as warm as he kept his study room. You also noticed the difference in lighting, and the lack of coziness that this office had. It was normal, of course, as this was more of an official place rather than a room in his house.

The floor creaked gently as you made your way to his desk, where he was waiting for you, the dark oak wood a bit too maleable under you. It felt as if you could fall right into it. "I am not here to schold you, Y/N, but you must undertsand that skipping courses can make some professors here be more drastic in their grading." His tone was calm, not at all angry. The fair on your neck stood right up as he loomed over you, the demon lening closer to your face. "But I am here to deliver you a message: help that little angel again and I will make you eat wings tonight." You swallowed and nodded quickly, afraid that he might hurt booth you and Luke. Poor child... you needed to keep your distance from him, or else Lucifer will not be as forgiving as he was now. He warned you; but the Lucifer his brothers feared, and that even Simeon feared never gave you a warning - a second chance. He was a punisher, not someone who let you walk away with a little scare.

You, my dear, did manage to get on a weird, maybe caring side, of the brother; and so got out of his office only lightly shaken and staring right ahead as you went to the cafeteria for the rest of lunch break. Or so you thought.

When you went home, you froze in fear as warmth splattered slightly on your face and your ears rang from the loud scream. It was an empty, dead scream, made by some kind of animal that was passing away, or by a small child - You quickly fell to your knees as you saw the first born hand you a fist of bloodied, pearly white feathers. You quickly took them in your hands and craddled them close to you as Lucifer laughed darkly. Their slight glow was dying down rapidly. "Do not worry, human. He is very much in one piece and alive. But now both of you got my message. Don't forget it!"

That night you couldn't sleep. And no, the head did not bother you this time either, but the now cold and dirty feathers you still held close to you; you could feel the same pain and terror that the little angel felt when Lucifer cornered him. Unlike other's, you did not wash the blood from your face or hands, you wanted it to stain you and mark you. It was your fault he was hurt. They all needed to know that. You needed to be stained by his blood. You felt terribly guilty, but for some reason you did not blame the demon for doing this. He was a demon, after all. He was here to reap the terror out of everyone, not nurture you. Of someone that renegated his own son and refused to awknowledge him, of someone who terribly hates his brothers and always puts his hell mut on their asses until they almost die, of someone as cold and calculated as Lucifer; you could not ask for compassion. You could not ask for anything else but useless mercy. And how long would this mercy last anyway? A year, a month, a week, a day- a second was too long for the Avatar of Pride. He'll give you mercy, to see your hopeful eyes as he beaheads you or rips your heart out of your screaming chest. He was a sadist, and not in the way many might think. He trully lived and relished in the suffering of others. There is a good reason why Lucifer is a demon and his pride is the last of it.

The Avatar of Pride was a truly, truly evil person... expected from a Hell prince. What didi you expect? That you'd be treated kindly? That you'd be put on a golden piedestal for the next year just so you could write a beautiful report about them? Dreams, dear child. They were all but dreams that were long lost in the abysal sea of nightly terrors and daydreaming. There was no way out of here, and you knew this. This was Hell; your Hell, handmade and orchestrated by out dear Lucifer.

You tossed and turned in bed the next morning when the alarm rang and a loud knock came to your door. "Y/N, I know you need time, dear, but I require your help." You knew that voice oh too well - distinctive from any of the brothers, deep and cold, a tint of urgency in his tone. He was either stressed about something or someone managed to finally make him flustered in a meeting and he needed you to be his tea partner and talk about his sorrows. Lucifer was a cold man, but even he needed someone to confess his stress and anxieties to - if you can call them that.

You got out of bed, tiptoeing to the door. Maybe if you were quiet, he might think you were still asleep. "We do not have time, Y/N. I know you are awake, I can hear your heartbeat." Too late... or maybe it was never too late. He wasn't human, that was a fact you constantly needed to remind yourself of everytime Satan could read your mind, Beel could smell what you ate 5 days ago and lucifer could hear your heartbeats. To Hell with the demons- wait no...

"Yes...?" Your voice was quiet, as most of the brothers were still asleep by 7 am. "I need your assistannce. Forget class today-" "You said I shouldn't-" "Help me."

And so you got dressed.

______________

Absolutely nothing in your life could have made you guess what was going to happen in the next hours or so. You just walked with him on some of the more dark and private streets of the city, towards an old wing. "Where are we going?" Your questions fell on deaf ears, as Lucifer continued to walk 3 paces in front of you. He ignored you, no. He ignored your question as he believed it meant nothing. Why should it matter where he is taking you? You accepted to come - it is your fault if anything happens.

His coat lightly dusted the old stoned street, his shoes clicking with the hard rock as he continued a desolated path. You never actually realised how much height hellped wit hbeing taller. The eldest demon brother must have been 2 meters or so - his pace was terribly slow and almost unrythmic, yet somehow he still was ahead of you. Six steps of yours and he was only starting the second.

It didn't took long until you saw exaclty what was ahead of you. A cemetary... So demons could actually die, and they were actually burried. Maybe it was odd and extremely rare for a demon to pass away, but it happened. Exorcism - one of the biggest reasons for this ceased to be used mainstream by humans, and demons stopped overusing their ability to go to the Human Realm. Deaths by exorcism were no longer such a great threat for them.

You followed Lucifer as close as you could, the dried earthy path that traversed the grave was acompanied side to side by dried and rotten tree trunks, barren and howling in the wind. You shivered slightly after feeling someone other than the demon brother call out your name. "Do not respond, Y/N. You know better than that." A trap, he meant. You were smarter than to fall for a stupid trap like this. Mimics, even in death could easily change their voices to lure you to their graves and pull you in with them. Why? Purely for pleasure, my dear.

It must have been a good hour of walking around the graves until you saw the man before you raise his hand slightly and stopping in front of an ancient tomb. "We are here... Dig" He handed you a rusty shovel that laid somewhere nearby. "Lucifer, this is a tomb, not a grave-" "Dig around it." You saw him grabbing another shovel that looked like it was going to powder into dust the second someone would blow to harshly on it. You dug, you knew better than not to listen to him anyways. Especially after what he did to little Luke.

You finally hit something hard, very hard, the vibration from hitting it going up the shovel and transferring into your bones.

"Lucifer-" "Lord bellow, finally!"

He came to you and got off his gloves and got on his knees on the other side of the hole you dug. He raked the dirt with his bare cands, uncovering an old, moldy wooden box. You scrunched up your nose at the smell of it and turned your head away. He chuckled at your human-like reaction before the ratchet smell hit him as well and icked. "I suppose you are right regarding it. It is disgusting-" He opened the box, putrid and stale dusty air puffing around the two of you as he did so.

Inside the box there was a hand- well, the bones of a hand as the flesh long decayed and liquified int osome black goo - You gagged and tried your best not to throw up, but you couldn't. You supported yourself to the wall of the tomb as bile raised to your throat and you released warm, chunky fluids on the ground bellow. You were feeling sick, you were sick.

After recovering a bit from the shock and heeving, you turned to see Lucifer gently patting your back and muttering a slight appology. It was rare of a demon to feel bad; let alone the Avatar of Pride, but you did apreciate the gesture. You two opened the tomb and stepped inside. Thankfully for your stomach, it was a little better kept. He set the big bag he was carrying on the ground, next to a coffin. Why didn't you payed more attention to the bag until now-

He opened the coffin and took out the corpse of some poor fella demon that died sometime in the '500 year of the great rapture' - whatever that meant. He opened the bad and you curiously looke what... whom he was taking out. You feel to your knees next to him and the bag and began to cry. Why? Crying won't bring him back. Crying won't make him get out of that bag and hug you and tell you everything is going to be ok. "Lucifer-..." You whimpered tugging at his pants. "Lucifer...!" But he didn't really payed attention to you as he put the more fresh corpse in the coffin before closing it.

"Get up, dear human. We need to hide our tracks."

He put the skeleton in the bag and waved his hand around, as you watched the dirt being "unshoveled" and everything outside getting back as it was. "Let's get back. I have the box and cleaned up. Don't just stand there and cry..."

_______________

It took you a few good weeks to get over what happened, only on the outside of course. It was a promise, a pact between you and the eldest demon brother, a secret so deep that none must know what it is, and what happened.

And at R.A.D., you sometimes looked out the window on breaks and saw a tiny blonde angel playing outside and chasing Semeon. But you knew that it wasn't Luke. It wasn't your Luke, as the litte angel that loved baking now lies and sleeps eternally in the coffin of some demon barron.

You wished at night that you would be the one forgotten in that cold, cold coffin. But now seeing the decaying and rotting face that once smiled at you watch over you as you slept... was punishment enough one might guess.