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Chapter Text

Chapter 1: A day in the life of a kidnapper, day 1

When did (Y/n) become such a horrible person? Honestly, she couldn't remember when she had confirmed to a life of crime. When she threw out her humanity and become a complete follower of the Aster mafia. 

For the last few years, she had been loyal to the skeleton family, but she had a special relationship with the eldest son of the Aster family, Riggs. 

It wasn't romantic, no way, but it was... much deeper than just simple romance, you know? They were friends, willing to do anything for one another. That's why, when he came to her, complaining that his lifelong love was unrequited... she might have given in to her own feelings, and did something bad.

You see, not too long ago, alternative versions of the Aster family members started to pop out of nowhere, and things were very tense. That's why, when one day, she came back to the mansion with a girl tied up behind her, in a bag, things got a little bit worse.

Everyone had decided that giving her back was not an option, so many voted on killing her, but Riggs and (Y/n) begged and begged for that to not happen. It was luck that managed to save the woman's life, and she was glad that had happened because the smile Riggs had when he finally held her in his arms...

It hurt her, it honestly hurt her to watch someone that she would give her life away look at someone else with those loving eyes, but she simply smiled at him that day, and decided that because she cares so much about him, she will get out of his way, out of the way of his happiness, and will simply reside in the shadows.

Did she ever regret that choice? It was complicated. She was happy that he was happy. Seeing him smile, actually smile for the first time in her life, warmed her heart, but the fact that it wasn't her who was doing that to him... that she wasn't even near him when he became happy, it hurt her more than she would like to admit...

Things got even more complicated when people slowly started to fall for that same human that Riggs was so in love with. It was like the fantasy that (Y/n) was slowly creating for herself, was slowly being destroyed.

She worked so much, she gave up so much to see Riggs finally happy, and everyone decided that... that they would ruin that?! She can't lie, at that moment, she wanted to kill all of them, because they dared to even think about that, but she controlled herself. She knew that if she did something, she will regret it... 

That's why, to at least somehow salvate Riggs happiness, she had decided to place an offer to everyone. To share Ashley. Of course, people didn't like it at first, but eventually, people came around it. It wasn't perfect, but at least Riggs still was happy, and that was good enough for her.

Now, at the present time, she was currently with Riggs. What were they doing? Nothing much, just having breakfast together, while Dreary was having his time with Ashley. 

"So I say then to him ' I would like to see you try!' before shooting him right in his privates!" (y/n) said, barely being able to contain her laughter, as Riggs was doing the same, covering his mouth with one of his hands, trying so hard to stop himself from laughing.

These were rare moments that (Y/n) treasured so much. Before Ashley, they would spend so much time together, but she didn't regret giving Riggs what he desired the most. Maybe if she'll keep saying that, she'll believe it? She managed to push her humanity out, so maybe she can push her regret out too?

"I swea' (y/n)! Yer so fucken violent!" Riggs said, laughing, as she nodded, a gentle look on her face. Couldn't she be the person that makes him so happy all the time? Why had it been some girl that he never actually talked to more than a few times? Someone who completely hates him? Does he think she didn't see how that bitch spit on him not that long ago? 

"Not like he was using his privates with a personality like that!" She said, chuckling with Riggs. She looked over to the side, before her smile falling from her face... 

She let out a sigh, before saying. "Dreary is done with Ashley, seems it's your turn now~" (Y/n) said, a forced smile on her face. It was clear she wasn't happy, but Riggs simply looked concerned but didn't say anything, as he got up from the seat and headed towards the room were Ashley was held in.

Usually (Y/n) would follow him and watch as he and Ashley would spend time, Ashley mistreating Riggs, and him being so happy... If he had a thing about being treated like shit, she could do the same thing. He didn't need Ashley for that, honestly. Well, whatever, she couldn't do much now.

Today she didn't follow Riggs, because... well, it hurts being there. Seeing them so close. Seeing Riggs so happy when (Y/n) could only hope of making him that happy. That's why, she decided that for her own mental stability, it would be best that she would simply skip today's season, and would do something else.

She got up from the seat in the kitchen, the annoyed look on her face still there, as she tried to think about what else she could do instead of following Riggs, or doing her job. 

Soon, the answer of what she could do came in the form of Dreary nervously walking into the kitchen, almost jumping out of his suit when he noticed her standing there.

Who was Dreary? Well, a very cowardly person, that's for sure. It was a surprise how he was even in a mafia, or how he could be an alternative version of her boss, Whip.

She let out a sigh, shaking her head disappointed, as she looked him up and down. He looked absolutely horrific. It was no surprise why Ashley completely hated him and would scream her head off each time he even tried to come closer.

She also heard a few rumors that he and his brother ate monsters and people in their world, explaining why their Lvs were so high. She wasn't the type who liked to listen to rumors, but they looked like the types who would do something like that.

"Remind me again, how did you become part of the mafia?" She asked in an annoyed tone, as she walked over to him, a frown on her face, as he took a step back from her until he hit the wall.

He hugged himself with his long arms, trembling as he started to mutter incomprehensible apologizes. The only words she managed to understand from what he was saying was 'I'm sorry' and 'please don't hurt me'. Well, at least she knew that if he would ever be tortured and would rat them out, the enemy mafia wouldn't be able to understand jack shit he is saying.

"Calm down, no one's gonna hurt ya," She said,  looking to the side. Now, how can she calm him down, so his older brother wouldn't come and hurt her? The last time she tried to pick on Dreary, his older brother almost took off her arm. She still had a scar around the place were Grim's blade touched her skin.

She wasn't good at comforting people, especially people that she didn't like at all, but she couldn't just let him leave being so shaken up. He will obviously go and rat her out to his brother, even if she didn't even do anything that bad.

What did her mother do whenever she would be shaken up? Her mother was a cold and distant person, but sometimes she would give her tight hugs and rough head pats.

Of course, she couldn't do either of those things. If she even breathed his way, he was going to dust right there from fear... Or would he? She wasn't exactly sure, but she was desperate enough to actually try this.

She took a deep breath in, placing her pride as down as possible, as she moved her hands closer to him, him trembling even more, but that all stopping the moment that she managed to wrap her arms around him.

For the first time in his life, he wasn't trembling in front of her, but she couldn't exactly see what was going on, because her eyes were closed. She couldn't bear seeing this, her pride wouldn't let her.

The next thing that she felt was being gently pushed away. When she opened her eyes... Dreary was nowhere to be seen... Well, she might as well go and write her will, right? Because Grim will murder her, no question asked.

She sighed, shaking her head, before heading out of the kitchen. This was going to be a hard day to survive. First with Riggs, and now with Dreary. What else is going to happen?

~~~RIGGS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

 Riggs and (Y/n) had been close friends for a very long time. That's why, he wasn't surprised when she brought him, Ashley, saying that he should be happy with her. What he was surprised about was how she suddenly... stopped being close to him. She started avoiding and started to work more than before...

It hurt him, really, it did. She was his best friend, his only friend that he wasn't afraid of being friends with, but she just decided to... stop talking to him. He wasn't sure why, but because of that, he devoted himself fully to Ashley.

He really believed that she abandoned him completely, but he realized that wasn't the case when she stood up for him when everyone else started to fall for his lover... 

That's when he realized that from the moment that the two met, she has been doing everything to make his life better... Did she think that she was bad for him? If yes, that was wrong! He was happy around her, so she shouldn't worry about it too much...

From that moment on, the two always spent together. Or well, he would spend time with Ashley, and she would look at them with a fake smile and a hurt expression. Did she like Ashley too? He hated sharing.. but if it was her, he was willing to share with her!

When he asked her once, she laughed and shook her head, saying that she didn't like Ashley and that he shouldn't worry about that. He wasn't sure if he could believe her, but he decided to drop the topic.

They still aren't as close to one another as before, but they are much better. He loves each morning and night that they spend together. He misses being around her more, but there is nothing he can really do about it.

He was surprised that she didn't follow him this time, but not wanting to waste any more time, he still went over to where Ashley was. He sometimes wished that Ashley was like (y/n)... So willing to do anything he wants to do. So soft and gentle, and always so aggressive when someone wants to hurt him... she really is a great friend...

~~~DREARY'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Miss Salems is frightening. There is no way around it. She is always out there, trying to scare him or hurt him and he doesn't understand why she does that. 

She always says that he is too weak to be in the mafia. He knows that that's the truth, but it still hurts to hear it from someone who is like her. From someone who is so.. nice to others but so rude and aggressive to him.

His fear for her grew after his brother almost cut her arm off... He was scared that she will hate him even more now, and he was right, but at least she controlled herself more when she was around others...

Today, he was scared like always. Ashley was still screaming at him. He wasn't that bad... and he didn't even do anything to her. Why did she scream at him like he was going to hurt her?

Of course, (Y/n) had to make fun of him like always. He usually didn't want to fall apart in front of her, but with what had happened with Ashley, her cold words were really hurtful for him.

He expected her to hurt him when she came closer to him, but you could imagine his surprise when he had felt her hug him. The hug was awkward, and she wasn't looking at him, but it was still... warm.

Was this what it felt to be hugged by a human? He wanted to hug her too, but he stopped himself. What was he doing!? Just because Ashley wasn't giving him the attention he needed, it didn't mean that he should use another human for that. Not the human who always scares him, for that!

But... But because of her hug, he could think more clearly. Maybe her words weren't mean, but... worried? Maybe she was worried about his health, that's why she always asks him why he is in this business?

Maybe she's just too rough around the edges and doesn't know how to act around him, that's why she comes off so rough and angry to him?... Maybe she noticed that he was crying after leaving Ashley's room, and that's why she decided to hug him?

A light grey blush appeared on his face as he shook those thoughts away from his mind, as he pushed her away and runoff. He couldn't be there anymore. His thoughts were getting so confusing...

Maybe, just maybe he got the wrong impression about her?

***DAY TIME***

For a few hours, she had been finishing up some of her assignments. When she was done with them, she returned back home. All she wanted was to go over to Riggs and spend as much time with him as possible, but she knew that he was probably busy being outside Ashley's room, listening to her talk with someone else...

She would like to call him pathetic but seeing that she was doing the same for him, she couldn't exactly judge him. He had an unrequited love, and he was just happy getting something, just like her... 

Seeing as she couldn't do what she wanted, she would need to find a different thing she could do to relax. Watching something was another thing that she could do, but that plan of hers was destroyed when she noticed that Rus was on the couch. She sighed a little bit, before looking over to him, who was laying on the couch, watching nothing, simply napping.

Rus was another person that she couldn't understand how he entered the mafia. He was so boring, no charisma at all. He was also so lazy, that she hadn't seen him doing anything else but laze around. 

Dreary at least goes and visits Ashley sometimes, but Rus? He keeps saying that he likes her, but not even once had he actually gone and seen her and it's clear that it's because he is too lazy...

He was, in one word, disgusting. She couldn't understand how he was an alternative version of her boss, Whip. The guy was, well, he was perfect when thinking about a mobster. He had a foul personality, but he was good at his job.

"..." Rus said nothing, as he stared at her staring at him. She also didn't say anything, before letting out a sigh. There was no point in staying here for any longer. It wasn't like she would be able to move him.

"You are disgusting," She told to him, before moving to the next room. The only thing he heard from him was "Don't you tell me all the time?" And that was true.

She might be cruel sometimes, but she believed that there was a reason for that. If they would be better, if they tried more, they could reach more, and the reason they haven't reached more if their own laziness, so, she could insult them as much as her heart desired.

Insulting the others became a habit for her from the moment that Ashley appeared. Before, when Riggs was all of hers, she would usually talk to him and could control herself for him, but without Riggs? She couldn't care enough to keep her facade up any longer.

She was going to head to her room but was stopped when yet another skeleton came in front of her, a disappointed look on his face as he looked down on her.

She fucking hated that look. Who did he think he was to look down on her? He was the pathetic one, the one who fell in love with his hostage, and not her.

"MISS SALEMS! PLEASE DON'T TALK TO RUS LIKE THAT" Rose said, as she looked coldly at him, before letting out a laugh. A crude laugh that was making fun of him.

"Excuse me, but who do you think you are to tell me what to do? Do I need to remind you that you are a guest here and not the other way around?" She said, staring at him with cold eyes. He stared back at her, the look of disappointment not disappearing from his face, as he talked again.

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER MADAM! YOU NEED TO REMEMBER MANNERS" Why would she need that when Rus didn't do anything to deserve her to treat him with dignity?

"What did he do to earn that from me? For all I know, he only eats and sleeps here, doing nothing but freeload and do no work." She said, a smirk on her face.

Rose shook his head, letting out a tired sigh. Rose always tried to make her come around to being less rude to everyone, but did she ever actually care? Of course not. Why would she care about what someone like him would even think about her?

"MISS SALEMS, IF YOU DO NOT STOP, I'LL HAVE TO TELL MISTER WHIP ABOUT THIS" Did he think that was a threat? Whip thought the same things about everyone here, so he would stand on her side. Rose could use that threat to someone else, but not her.

She knew that Rose wouldn't leave her alone, nor would he let her leave unless she did something drastic, and she knew exactly what to do. Lucky for her, she had all of her pride down the drain for today.

She took a step closer to him, the smirk from before gone and a smile on her face as she took one of his gloved hands closer to her, placing one of his hands on her cheeks.

Rose looked confused at her, but he didn't move his hand away from her. He always was like this. It was like he didn't know what was going to happen next, or maybe he liked to act like he didn't know it, so she would keep doing it.

"Oh, Rosie, Rosie, Rosie,~," She said, before placing a few kisses on his gloved hand, causing him to immediately retreat his hand, before taking a step back, and hurrying away, without saying anything.

She burst out laughing when that happened, before starting to head back to her room. This was absolutely great. She loved it so much. She would love it more if he would stop annoying her, but this was just as fun.

~~~RUS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

Did her words hurt him? Of course, they didn't. She was someone that he didn't know and didn't care about. She was just some stranger that would call him disgusting from time to time. 

But it's slightly weird. She seemed to be different before, but now she is just so... rude? Aggressive? Flirtatious? He wasn't sure what to call her, but it wasn't what she was before.

He didn't know her that much, but she was always such a cheerful and friendly person. He could still remember when she would offer to carry him back to his room, and when she would place blankets on him when he would sleep.

Of course, that seemed all so fake, like she was acting like that to please someone, but still. He liked it when she said that he was trying his best. She was the only person who actually did that, so he almost started liking her, but then she changed to this and well... Nothing much changed?

It's weird, but nothing inside of him changed. Sure, it was rude of her to call him that, but she only called him that, and she never did anything worse than that, so he wasn't worried all that much about it.

Besides, people had it worse with her. And what was worse was that Whip and Riggs never said anything, even when they saw how she treated everyone. Whip would even compliment sometimes and say she was doing a good job...

This was too much for him to think about it, but he could say that she was a little bit harder to understand than everyone else likes to think. She was like a puzzle with one piece missing.

He was just wondering if he'll be able to find the missing puzzle piece or not.

~~~ROSE'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Rose believed that (Y/n) could be a better person. Well, he couldn't really say much about being a good person, he was in the mafia, but what he meant was that he believed that she could still fix her personality. 

She seemed to be so nice before, but after Ashley arrived, she changed so much. He sometimes wonders if she is maybe jealous of Ashley? He knows that she is wonderful and gets everyone's attention, but she shouldn't be that jealous of the girl!

What really surprised Rose was how sexual she could be sometimes. How she could change from angry into seductive in no time! And he couldn't understand why she would keep doing that.

You see, he wants to keep himself safe for his lover, and he always gets embarrassed by such things... he feels embarrassed that she always gets him fluttered, but what can he actually do!

Even right now, he was staring at his glove, a light yellow hue on his skull as he wondered how soft her lips would be on his bone. It wasn't because he liked her! He didn't like her, he liked Ashley, but still, he was someone who got embarrassed easily either way!

When he calmed down, he sighed. She always did something like this to get out of trouble, but he swore that he wouldn't give up on her. He will make her become a better person, that's for sure.

***EVENING TIME***

As she got out of her room, she was ready to head out back to work, as there wasn't much else to do, but was stopped by a shy hand that was placed on her shoulder.

She turned around to look at who it was before a grin appeared on her face. You see, there were a few of the skeletons that she liked, and Toots was one of those skeletons.

Similar to Dreary, the guy was not meant to be in the mafia, but he never shook in fear in front of her. Each time she would criticize him, he would try to become better. He respected her and clearly showed that in front of everyone. 

She was used to many people showing respect to the Aster brothers, but never her, but Toots? Oh, he was a complete darling. He really snuggled up to her heart, and now she couldn't help but find him pleasant to be around.

"Oh, Toots, what is the problem, my dear?" She said a gentle smile on her face. Toots had a shy smile on his face, as he took a step closer to her. He was taller than her, but he was always hunched over when talking to her, so he didn't look much taller than her.

"Miss Salems, I was wondering if you could take over my shift with Ashley?" That question surprised her. No one had asked her that before. They usually asked to do their dirty work just so they could stay with Ashley more. Of course, she always did it, but still, it didn't mean anything at all.

"And why is that Toots? I thought you liked being around little Ash" (Y/n) asked, her tone being soft and the expression on her face gently. She didn't want to scare her or come off as rude to someone like Toots.

"W-well... Miss Salems, it's bad to miss out on work... I don't want to miss work, because you taught me that's wrong!" At that moment she wanted to wrap her arms around him and tell him how proud she was, but she kept herself in check.

"Oh darling, that's so kind of you! Don't worry, I'll make sure that she's taken good care of" Of course, she isn't going to take care of Ashley herself, but will give more time to Riggs, but Toots didn't need to know that.

"T-thank you miss Salems!" He said, wrapping his arms around her, before letting her go, letting an embarrassed laugh "S-sorry!" She laughed along with him, a merry laugh escaping her, as she shook her head. 

"Don't worry darling. Just go and don't be late!" She said, watching him as he walked down the stairs and was getting ready to head out of the door and towards work.

The pleasant moment was ruined by a voice that she came to dislike. It wasn't a surprise that she disliked Riffle, she disliked many of the skeletons that were not her own, but Riffle was someone that she really disliked.

"Interesting how you treat the kiddo so well." Riffle said, walking over to her, his usual grin on his face, as her smile feel, and a frown appeared on her face. "But tease my brother so much. Not only my brother but a lot of the others too. What, ya got a thing against Papyruses?" Riffle said, still grinning, but the grin was clearly forced.

"I don't have a thing against Papyrus. I respect my own a lot and I would even call him my friend. What I don't respect is lazy and useless people. And your brother is annoying. Tell him to stop trying to 'better me' and I'll stop teasing him" She added, getting a laugh from Riffle, an actual laugh.

"Oh, I tried, but he just doesn't give up. Isn't he the coolest?" She rolled her eyes, shaking her head "All I know is that he is stubborn for the wrong things"

"Come on, don't you have fun having someone believing in you?" Riffle asked as she shook her head again " Of course not. If I liked it, I wouldn't act so reluctant, would I?"

He was about to say something again, but she turned to look at him, before pushing him slightly away from her, seeing that he got closer to her that she would like it.

"Listen, Riffle, I don't have time to humor you today, alright? I gave you my side of the deal if you want me to stop teasing your brother. I think you know that nothing happens in this world for free. Now, I will be going, don't follow me" She said, stepping down the stairs, glad that he wasn't following her.

~~~TOOTS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

It wasn't hard to get on (Y/n)'s good side. At first, he only wanted to try and avoid to be treated badly like she treated everyone else, but eventually when he actually started to listen to her advice, and doing what she would ask him to do, he realized that he could use her even more than just to not be bullied.

Asking for things, getting her to stand on his side on fights and so much more... He wasn't sure why, but he liked this. They were not friends, he would never be friends with someone like her, but he was glad he could use someone like her.

He couldn't lie, he kind of felt like he was doing something bad, seeing as she was always so happy when he would come over to him when he would talk to her... Was she lonely?

Well, of course, she was lonely, she pushed absolutely everyone that's around her away from her. Why wouldn't she be lonely? But it still didn't exactly make sense, right? He thought that she could befriend others just like she did with him...

With what started off as a simple using of her, it soon turned into him pitying her and spending time with her. Of course, he still used her, but now he actually spent some time with her, when he was bored.

He wasn't sure what would happen if she would ever find out that he is lying about liking her... but he knows that Riffle knows... He just hoped that Riffle's hate for (Y/n) would stop him from telling on Toots...

~~~RIFFLE'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

He dislikes (Y/n). And she disliked him. There is no way around it. But at the same time, he couldn't really imagine a day without teasing her, seeing her annoyed face.

It makes his day, really. Each time he doesn't get to do that, he feels like something is missing. and he has a feeling that she feels the same way because he had caught her smiling slightly to him several times.

They were, in a few words, frienemies. More enemies than friends, but still friends on the side, when they would be tired enough to actually fight. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough...

He didn't like Toots one little bit. He was making fun of (y/n). He was using her and not even making it clear. The girl actually thought he liked her, and that she could treat him close to her...

He wanted to tell on Toots so many times, but his pride always stopped him. He wanted to see her hurt, of course, but another part of him was making him pity her and want to tell her. He wasn't sure what to do.

So, he usually tried to be around her whenever Toots is around, and slightly send out hints, to see if she would ever understand. Sadly, she never did, but hey, maybe one day he would manage to get to her.

And maybe that they, they would tease one another without anyone else getting in the way.

***NIGHT TIME***

She was tired. She was so fucking tired. She just wanted to get back to her room and sleep, but she knew that she couldn't exactly do that without finishing some of her other work.

She stared at her clothes, that was covered in blood. She had gone a little bit insane about this, but oh well... It didn't matter all that much at this moment. She needed to get the work over.

The first thing she did was walk over to Whip's office. She knew better than to try and do something without telling him first. He was the boss and she was a simple follower. She might treat everyone like shit, but she really wasn't much better than them compared to Whip. The only reason she could do what she does is because of the trust and respect she has from Whip.

With a sigh, she knocked on the door, before a smile appeared on her face when she heard Whip call her inside. She opened the door like everything was alright.

He looked at her clothes, and before he could ask anything of her, she answered "Sorry boss! Was out working, and just wanted to bring my report back first, before changing. I hope you don't mind?"

He shook his head, before tapping the table, that being the sign that she should bring the papers over to him. He liked it when she and everyone else would write everything else to him, as that was much clearer. 

He took the papers that she wrote for him, before glancing through it, and nodding his head, content she guessed, as he looked over to her, and finally spoke.

"Good job like always. You can go now" He said, waving her away, as she nodded her head, and waving back to him, before going out of the office, her smile falling when she came face to face with Slim.

Who was Slim? A dog, a pet of his older brother, that was what Slim was. She hated him, she hated him so fucking much, because he reminded her of herself so much.

He simply stared at her, saying nothing, before pushing her to the side, and entering inside of the office, leaving her biting her lip in anger. She hated him so much. So fucking much.

With a huff, she stormed up the stairs to where Riggs was supposed to be, before knocking on his door before he opened. He looked worried at her and was about to ask if she was okay, but she interrupted him saying "Toots' out, take his shift taking care of Ashley" And with that, she was gone.

~~~SLIM'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

He liked (Y/n). He liked (y/n) a lot. Not as much as Ashley, but he liked (Y/n) pretty close. He liked her as much as he liked Ashley, expect only platonically. But his brother doesn't like her, so he can't show that he likes her.

He has to glare, shove her and even curse at her when in actually he just wants to say that he really would like to be friends and that she looks really good in that suit.

Even today he had to push her. She seemed too angry, but she didn't say anything. He was glad that she never said anything to him, simply glaring at him. That way, he could sometimes fantasize that they are actually secret friends...

~~~WHIP'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

How had he met (Y/n)? Well, it had been so long ago, that he barely remembers the day they met. All he remembers is that if she wasn't there, he would have died. 

Maybe it's because of that that he always had a soft spot for her. That he always turned a blind eye to how she was treating everyone. Or maybe it was the guilt of taking Riggs away from her eating away at him?

Whip had been with her for so long, he knew her better than she knew herself. It was clear that she was in love with Riggs. It was his fault for Riggs falling for Ashley. That's why it was best that he would just let her act however she wanted...

He knew everyone hated it, but he didn't care. She deserved to feel free, and if insulting everyone was what made her feel better, then he was going to happily let her insult anyone she wanted. Even him if that was what she wanted.

~~~RIGGS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

He really was worried about his friend... Something was really wrong with her, but he didn't have the courage to ask what was wrong. She had been so cold with him again... was he losing her again?...

The thought alone was hurting him. He wanted her to be happy, and he knew she would never be able to be happy if she will keep having these mood swings...

END OF CHAPTER ONE...

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Frightening encounters with a crazy brother, day 2

Like any other morning, she was in the kitchen, wondering what she needed to do today. She was still sleepy, trying to get some energy by drinking some black coffee. Usually, Riggs was there with her, but he was nowhere to be found. Probably either with Ashley or doing something for Whip. For her own sanity, she hoped Riggs was just working.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone sit next to her. For a second, she expected that to be Riggs, maybe after sleeping in, coming to join her for breakfast, but one single glance to her side made it clear that that was not the case at all.

There, instead of Riggs, was Riffle, who seemed to be grinning at her, as he had brought some breakfast and was planning to eat. She wasn't sure what made him think eating with her was a good idea, but it wasn't.

She was not in the mood for a fight, that's why she simply rolled her eyes, before returning to her cup of coffee, hoping that he wouldn't try to start a conversation with her.

Thankfully, her hopes were fulfilled, as he silently ate his meal, not even bothering to look at her, as she simply dark her cup of coffee. This wasn't the first time that he did something like this.

He would just come over to her, with a grin on his face, and would eat or do something else, but would never say anything to her. After he would be done, he would stare at her for maybe half an hour, sometimes an hour, before getting up and heading to do whatever he needed to do. If she would leave before he leaves, he would say goodbye to her, before getting up and head off himself.

It was... uncomfortable. Especially when he would stare at her. She tried to tell him to knock it off a few times, but he said that when she would stop teasing his brother, he would stop staring at her.

She wasn't surprised that he was doing this because of his brother, but something... or more, something made her... well, made her think that it might be a little bit different?

She wasn't sure why, but whenever he would look at her, the intense gaze, that wouldn't leave her body for even a second, would always make her even more uncomfortable. 

If she didn't know better, she would say that he was staring at her as Riggs stares at Ashley whenever she wouldn't talk to him, or when she would mistreat him. 

"You know Riffle, My clothes won't disappear off my body if you just keep staring" (Y/n) said, laughing a little bit when he seemed to almost choking on the bite that he was eating. 

It took him a second before he managed to catch his breath. A light blueish hue had been covering his face, as she covered her mouth with her hand to try and hide the laugh she was keeping inside.

"G-geez (Y/n). Don't say things like that to a guy, not while he's eating" He said, letting out a weak chuckle, but it was clear that he was a little bit shaken up.

"Oh, I'm just saying. I mean, with how much you stare at me, whenever you are close, I just thought you might have forgotten that" (Y/n) was feeling... in a teasing mood today. She wasn't sure why, but teasing Riffle was... fun.

"Eheh... Yep, t-thanks for reminding me?" He said, clearly uncomfortable. She couldn't exactly lie, she was feeling a little bit bad about this, but decided to say absolutely nothing about it.

"Come on, Riffle. I'm just teasing you. You know that I mean nothing by it" She said, almost placing a hand on his shoulder, before stopping herself.

What was she doing? Was she honestly acting so friendly with someone that wasn't Riggs? Was she honestly laughing, teasing, and enjoying herself while Riggs wasn't here?

She knew that she wasn't part of Riggs life, not as an important part of it, at least, but why did it feel like she was betraying him? Why couldn't she just... open herself up to someone else?

Was it because Riffle was an alternative version of Riggs? Was that why she was feeling like she was betraying him?... But why should she feel like this? If he could betray her so easily, why should she not replace him with someone else?

She looked back at her half-empty cup of coffee, that was now cold... Yeah, even if she wanted to betray him and replace him, she couldn't. He really had her wrapped around his finger, hadn't he?

"..." Riffle didn't say anything, looking at her, a worried look on his face. Did he pity her? She was pretty pitiable, wasn't she? Wasn't he the only guy that actually tried to talk with her? Act like a friend?

"Hey Riffle?" That seemed to get Riffle's attention, as he nodded, looking at her and only her. "Am I attractive?" That question seemed to bring the same cute blush on Riffle's face, as he seemed to be unsure of how to answer.

"I mean... O-of course! But well, um... Man, I... I-" Before he could continue, she let out a laugh, shaking her head "Riffle, I'm not trying to ask if you are interested in me or not. I mean physically... I kinda like someone, ya know?"

She said, surprising Riffle, even herself. She had never told this to anyone. Not even herself. She had never actually fully admitted this and was she honestly going to admit this to Riffle?

The answer was, of course not. But you see, she already started, so she needed to get out of this without actually saying anything, or leaving any place for him to fantasize and figure the answer out. 

He was not stupid, so if she didn't play it right, she might just mess this up, and honestly, she couldn't have that happen to her, not right now, or later on. She needed this to stay as a secret.

He seemed to look at her, interested in her answer. Well, the only way to go about this is the flirty way, right? Besides, she wasn't going to really do anything too bad.

She moved closer to him, moving her hands over to him, pulling his tie out from his suit, gently pulling him closer to her "Someone very handsome, very kind. You think he would like me?~" she purred a little bit, getting so close to him, almost feeling his breath on her.

She thought that was going to be enough to scare him. She thought that he would try to push her away, or say that he wasn't interested, but instead, he wrapped one of his bigger hands around her waist, pulling her closer to him, almost sitting on his lap...

The one who got scared was her, not thinking that he would actually be inching closer to her for a kiss. When their faces brush together, was when she realized that maybe she messed up.

She gently pushed him away from her, looking nervous, as he looked confused at her, the blush from before gone completely. She let out a weak laugh, before ripping the hand that he had around her off.

"Ehehe, I was just joking Riffle! Come on, I thought you knew, eheh... um, I... I got some stuff I need to do... I'll see you later riffle..." She said, hoping that he would play along with her, but he had an annoyed look on his face, as he said.

"You sure you can't postpone that?" What? Alright, that was not the answer she was looking for. What was he trying to say? Now, being all alone in the kitchen with him felt a little bit uncomfortable...

He stood up from where he was sitting, walking over to her, pulling her closer to him, caressing her cheek with one of his hands. "I promise you won't regret it if you do..."

He was coming so close to her, their faces almost touching, but this time, she couldn't break from his grip, as he was tightly holding her in place.

She never thought she would ever say that, but when she heard Dreary's loud voice, she was never as glad to hear it... The appearance of someone else in the kitchen stunned Riffle long enough for her to slip away from his hands.

"I-I Didn't See Anything, I-I swear!" Dreary said, his voice shaky when she started to go towards him, but when she didn't stop near him, he seemed to be a little bit confused.

She was so glad that Riffle didn't follow her, but the annoyed look on his face didn't disappear... She wasn't sure what happened, but she will keep away from Riffle for the time being, just in case...

While she was walking, without really looking where she was going, she accidentally bumped into someone else. When she looked at who It was... Slate. 

Her worried expression turned into an annoyed one, same with Slate, as he looked at her. You see, Slate was a two-faced asshole, but his personality always stayed cheerful and friendly around everyone. Expect her, of course. 

"Slate, I see that you are still as trashy as always, getting in the way of everyone," She said, a smirk on her face, as he rolled his eyes at her childish insult.

"And I can see that you are still as immature as always." He said, making her laugh. It seemed that both of them weren't really good at insults, but it didn't matter.

"Why were you hurrying off like that?" Slate asked, the look of annoyance on his face still present, but he also looked a little bit worried. Or maybe curious?

"Wouldn't you like to know? Stop annoying me and get out of my way" She said, pushing him away from her path, before heading towards her room.

She felt Slate's eyes on her back, but she didn't look back, not wanting to stay there or talk about what happened for any longer. She just wanted to get out as soon as possible and do something to get her mind off this.

~~~RIFFLE'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Riffle wasn't sure what had happened at that moment, but he felt like it was.. right? He wasn't stupid, he understood that she was just playing with him, but she had been teasing him and so many others for so long, and never got scared before, so he wanted to do something to scare her and maybe make her stop.

But... but when she was so close, him having her in his arms, her losing that confidence of hers, leaving all the power for him, he felt something, something he didn't like.

When she pushed him away, he didn't like that even more. He planned to let her go. To just scare her a little bit, but the thought of her going somewhere, to someone else angered him.

At this moment she made him feel something he didn't like. Something he never liked to feel. He felt completely unreasonable. He knew that she was teasing him, but he was acting like she was serious. He knew that she was not going to go to anyone else, but the thought that the possibility was there angered him.

He wanted to follow her, but the way Dreary was looking at him... That look of disappointment and even a warning made his return to his senses and realize that he took his teasing a little bit too far.

He wasn't sure what to blame. Was it because Ashley had been so cold to him, so getting someone to be so close to him woke something inside of him? Was it the sweet yet bitter smell of alcohol and cigarettes that was coming off (y/n) affecting him? Or maybe it was the warmth she was imitating? Or maybe even the soft body of hers, that felt perfect in his arms?

The fact that he had so many reasons why she might have made him feel like this scared him more than he could describe. The fact that he could think about so many reasons why he acted the way he acted really frightened him.

Maybe, for the safety of them both, he should avoid her. Besides, he was sure that Dreary will keep an eye on her for the time being and tell Grim if something happens...

It was funny how she underestimated Dreary. It was like she was the only one who didn't know what Dreary was capable of. The only one who dared to treat him so badly.

Why was he interested in her now? Now that he paid attention to it, he could smell a faint smell of (Y/n) on Dreary. Was it because of that? Was she teasing him too? 

He wasn't sure why he did what he did, but he didn't regret it. "She doesn't like you, you know that?" Riffle said as he walked out of the room, not waiting for Dreary to say anything to him.

He needed to drink. A lot. 

~~~DREARY'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Dreary wasn't sure why but he was worried about (Y/n). He had been thinking about her a lot, and he could sense that something was wrong with her the day before.

Dreary wasn't sure where she was, but he had hoped that maybe he could find her in the kitchen. Thankfully, he had arrived at the kitchen at the right time, because he was afraid if he took even a second later to arrive there.

The scene in the kitchen was horrific. You see, if (y/n) didn't look so.. so scared, and she wouldn't be struggling to get out of his grip, that would seem like an embarrassing yet cute scene. 

Dreary was glad that because of him she could get out of the problem. She simply ran off, and he just stared at her, until he saw that she was off somewhere. After that, his gaze returned back to Riffle.

Dreary honestly couldn't understand what Riffle was thinking. Why was he even doing this? Didn't he like Ashley? Like most of them? So why was he... why was he touching her in such a way?

He wasn't sure why, but he really didn't like that. It was probably because of how uncomfortable she looked... Or maybe, just maybe, there was another reason for that?

He didn't want to think about it. All he knew was that he liked Ashley a lot and that he was worried about miss (Y/n) and how she was holding out right now.

The thing that Riffle said really confused him, but also... angered him. Dreary knew himself that Miss (y/n) didn't exactly like him that much, there was no reason to be mean and remind him!

Something though told him that Riffle meant it in a different kind of like, and that didn't sit well with Dreary even more.

~~~SLATE'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

He hated (Y/n) and she hated him. Their relationship was easy and there was nothing hidden there. She was the only one who saw through his facade and that's why she is someone he hates. But you see, there is one little problem. She is HIS enemy. His nemesis. He would go even as far as saying, his archnemesis. Only he was allowed to make her seem worried, scared, or angry. No one else should have that privilege and he was jealous that someone managed to make her feel so uneasy...

It wasn't weird that he felt like that. He knew that much, and if anyone else would tell him otherwise, he wouldn't believe them. He knew that what he felt was okay, and no one could change his mind.

When she pushed him away the way she did, he felt like he wanted to rip apart whoever did this. Who dared to take the satisfaction of hurting her from him? 

He wanted to follow her, and keep pressuring her, but decided against it. Something felt... wrong about this time. Something felt like something actually serious happened, and that he should probably leave her.

He hated not being able to do anything. If she keeps being like this, breaking her will not be fun. He needed to find a way to make her feel better, but he... he didn't know what he could do that.

Well, he wasn't her friend, no one here outside of Riggs really was, so he would better leave her alone. She'll be fine tomorrow, he was sure, and for that, he would probably just relax for now, without worrying about her.

...Still, maybe picking up one of her jobs and giving her the night off would make her feel better? Yeah, he'll do that. He had tonight free, either way, so yeah, that seemed... good enough.

Wasn't he just the best archnemesis? She better appreciates him a lot, and next time tell him what was wrong, so he could worry less about her, and deal with the problem sooner. Not like he is worried about her. A lot.

***DAY TIME***

Currently, she was outside in the garden, relaxing a little bit and trying to catch her breath, to try and understand what had happened just a few hours ago. 

Why did Riffle do what he did? She knew he didn't like her, he had Ashley so that was out of the question, so why? Was it... because she was teasing his brother so much? But didn't he take it a little bit too far?

This was hurting her head. Honestly, why did it have to be him that did this? Couldn't it have been someone else? Maybe someone that she didn't consider an almost friend?

... Okay, ignore that thought. She did not just think like that about Riffle. He is not her friend and he will never be her friend. She will keep telling that to herself for as long as she would need to because that's just the fucking truth.

Not after what he did, of course. Oh well, it didn't matter. "Miss Salems? What Are You Doing Here?" Asked the loud voice of Rose, making her jump up from her seat, to look behind her to see if Riffle was there too.

She seemed to relax back again when she saw that Riffle wasn't there, and only Rose was there... Wait, Rose wasn't the only person there. Slim seemed to be there too, as he didn't even look at her.

Wonderful, why did she have to encounter this pair? It was weird to say, but both of them were friends? It was weird to really explain, but Rose always dragged Slim around whenever he would get a chance, always saying that the guy needed to befriend more people.

"... Nothing much. Just thought of relaxing a little bit. I'll go away" She said, getting up from her seat, before being stopped when Rose pushed her back down on the seat. Were both of Rose and Riffle so aggressive?

"Nonsense! Please Stay Miss Salems!" He said as he dragged Slim to a seat that was in front of her own, so now both of them were watching her. Or well, Rose was. Slim was looking at his feet.

"..." She stayed quiet, feeling like it would be best if she went away. But she liked the quietness of this place. Besides, going back into the mansion gave her more chances to see Riffle.

Rose seemed to stare at her... He had the tendency of staring at her a lot, and she didn't like it all that much. At least Slim was quiet and didn't look at her.

"... Are You Alright Miss Salems?" He asked, as she looked confused at him, as he elaborated on his question "I Mean Miss Salems! You Usually Would Be Teasing Me By Now Or Going Away... So, Is Everything Alright?"

He was completely right. She almost asked if he missed her teasing him, but stopped herself. Seemed that what Riffle did was making her tease Rose less now...

"Don't worry Rose, everything's fine. Thank you for worrying, that's very kind of you" She said, not looking at him, but to the side, not really wanting to think about much anymore.

That made him get up from his seat, a look of worry on his face, as he walked over to her, placing his gloved hand on her forehead. She was startled by him coming closer to her, but she didn't do anything to move him away, smiling a little bit.

"Do You Have A Fever Miss Salems?! Something Must Be Very Bad If You Are Being So Polite! Slim, Call Doctor Alphys, She Needs Immediate Help!" Rose said worried, as Slim slowly got up from his seat.

A sudden laugh escaped from her, making both of them stare at her. "Oh, this is good! I'm fine, honestly!" She said, pushing Rose's hand away from her, as she got up from her seat.

"I didn't know you missed me teasing you, Rosie~," She said, taking his gloved hand, and placing a kiss on it. That reaction of hers seemed to relax him, be it embarrass him too.

"I'm glad You Are Okay, But This Is Very Inappropriate!" Rose said, but he didn't sound that angry about this. She really needed to stop dwelling about what happened and keep going, as she was worrying people?

...The thought was foreign for her, but she liked it. Not that she would worry people without a reason, but she liked it when people worried about her.

She started to walk back to the path that leads to the mansion, as she chuckled a little bit, shaking her head, "If you want me to believe that you didn't like it, maybe stop looking so happy, Rosie?" And with that, she was gone.

~~~ROSE'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Rose noticed that something was wrong from the moment that he saw her face. She looked so... distraught. So in thought, like something major happened and she was trying to figure out what she had to do.

Was she worried about Riggs again? The poor girl clearly had some unrequited love for the skeleton and he didn't even realize that. He still doesn't realize that. Rose can't help but pity her and her feelings.

He wasn't sure what to do to make her feel better. If he knew, he would already be doing it, but there honestly was nothing that he could do. Nothing that he thought he could do by himself.

The only thing he knew to do was to try and make her smile, to make her laugh. That seemed to have worked. He knew that she wasn't feeling better, but at least she looked her usual self now...

He wished he could have helped her more, but she had a barrier up and no matter how much he wanted to get to her, he wouldn't be able to do that. He knew that much. He just hoped that she would let someone else inside, so she would tell them about how she's feeling, and maybe start feeling better.

He wasn't sure if he could really handle seeing her being so off from her usual self... 

~~~SLIM'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Slate told Slim that (y/n) seemed off, so Slim wasn't surprised when he saw that she was off. But she was really acting weirdly. He wasn't sure what he could do to make her feel better, so he didn't do anything.

He was worried about her. He wanted to do something to make her return to her usual self, even acting aggressively with him would be good enough for him, but he knew he couldn't do anything like that.

Slim felt jealous of Rose. How the guy could walk over to her without a fear and act this friendly with her, and her just playfully pushing him away... If Slim did this, he would never come out of the situation with his hand...

He hoped one day he would manage to reach that level with her too... 

***EVENING TIME***

(Y/n) was slowly walking through the mansion halls, thinking about some work she needed to finish tonight, feeling like it was going to take all of her night away... She would probably need to sleep in the morning, and she hated that.

The morning was the only time she could sometimes spend with Riggs and if she would have that time taken away from her... Well, she couldn't really spend the rest of the day in a good mood. Besides, after what had happened this morning, she really needed to spend some time with someone she liked.

She was taken out of her thoughts by the loud voice of Casanova. Who was Casanova? Well, don't let the name fool you. He has no charm at all, and a dirty sock has a bigger chance of getting someone to like it than Casanova.

He was an overgrown child who always ordered everyone around and would start a tantrum if someone wouldn't do something he didn't want. and because of her wonderful luck, Casanova seemed to have started to 'like' her enough to give her a lot of work to do instead of him... lucky her, she always says sarcastically.

"(Y/N), MY UNDERLING, I HAVE A JOB FOR YOU. COME HERE!" Casanova said, with a proud smile on his face. She could easily not even humor him, but for some reason, she always did...

"Yeah, sure... whatever..." She said, letting out an annoyed sigh, but he seemed to not notice as he walked over to her, contradicting what he was asking of her.

"I HAVE ORDERED A GIFT FOR MY DEAR SUNFLOWER. I DEMAND THAT YOU GO AND PICK IT UP" She stared at him, not really believing what he had just asked her to do.

Did he seriously just ask her to go and pick up a gift for his 'girlfriend'? She kidnapped the woman, she did her job. Why did she need to go and do something like this now? 

Well, whatever. Not like she cared too much. But would she be able to come back in time for her job? If she would be late, she'll cut off his arm, alright?

When she was about to accept the job, she was interrupted by another voice, which was much more soothing, and calm. The voice of Mal. Who was Mal? Well, he was the complete opposite of Casanova.

A charismatic and serious skeleton, who always put work before anything else. He put work even before his love life with Ashley and was one of the skeletons that seemed to understand that their work is more important. He reminded her of a smaller version of Whip and she respected him for that.

"Do you have no shame, Casanova?" Mal said, his tone clearly full of disappointment "I believed you were smarter than to interrupt dear Miss Salems right before her work. Do you wish for her to get in trouble?" Mal said, staring at Casanova, as the guy glared at Mal.

Well, that was true, but she had no time to argue here. If she was going to be late because of this fight, she was still going to get in trouble, so it didn't matter too much.

"DON'T GET INVOLVED, YOU PEST! COME ON, MY UNDERLING. WE MUSTN'T WASTE OUR TIME WITH TRASH LIKE HIM" Casanova said, as he stared at her, but Mal wasn't done.

"Don't talk to me like that, Casanova. Nor talk like that to Miss Salems. Madam Ashley is your lover, meaning that if you love her, you must do this yourself. Miss Salems doesn't need to get involved with this" Mal said, taking a step closer to (Y/n), as he added "Am I right, Miss Salems?"

Before she could reply, Casanova interrupted "YOU ARE NOT RIGHT!" Him taking a step closer to her, as he continued "UNDERLING, I DEMAND THAT YOU STOP TALKING WITH THAT PEST, AND GO PICK THE PACKAGE"

What interrupted this fight was the voice of Whip, startling both Mal and Casanova, as neither of them had the bravery to speak against him, not right now at least.

"Are you annoying (Y/n), Casanova? I thought I already said what is going to happen if you keep doing that..." He said, his tone angry, yet still holding that elegance he always had. 

"(Y/n), I wanted to tell you that Slate shall take your place tonight. You are free to relax today" She was a little bit confused why that was the case, but she simply nodded, before starting to walk away, leaving Whip to deal with Mal and Casanova.

~~~CASANOVA'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

(y/n) was a very important asset for him, that was just the truth. She was much more useful for him that Rus was ever. The guy has so much talent, yet he never does anything with it. Meanwhile (Y/n) had almost no talent, but at least she could do her job right. 

Right now, he was annoyed that she disappeared before he could really give her the job that he wanted to give her, but he knew that if he caused another scene, he would really lose his eye... He didn't want to end up like Toots...

Well, it looked like he needed to go and force Rus to actually do this... This was going to be annoying. Why did someone as great as him need to do so much to get good followers?

~~~MAL'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

At first, Mal wasn't sure how to feel about Miss Salems, but eventually, she just grew on him. She seemed to be someone that would be useful if he had close to him. 

She was good friends with Riggs and she was dotted on by the don of this world, Whip. It seemed the smartest to keep her near him and be on her good side.

But why was it always so hard? No matter what he did, she looked bored or tired whenever she would interact with him. She just never showed the same excitement to interact with him as he showed.

He wanted to show his frustrations and yell at how ungrateful she was, but today yet again proved to him that Whip dotted on her way too much and if he would really do something like that... He would lose his life in the blink of an eye...

Seems like he would need to keep his facade up for a little bit longer before he can become closer to her, make her trust him, and use her however he wanted...

~~~WHIP'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Whip wasn't surprised when Slate came to his office and said that he will take (y/n)'s job, giving her a free day off. Slate did that often. Whip still couldn't understand what her relationship with him was... Slate and (Y/n) says they hate one another, but Slate always tries to make her life as easy and perfect as possible. If he didn't know better, he would say that Slate liked (Y/n) but was in denial about that.

A sigh escaped from him. It looked like Casanova and Mal were annoying (Y/n) again. It didn't surprise him how fast she disappeared from the scene when he arrived. He couldn't understand how she could deal with those two without breaking on them.

***NIGHT TIME***

With her night off, (Y/n) was ready to turn in bed sooner than usual. She knew that her chances of catching Riggs would be almost zero, she might as well go to bed sooner, so she could wake up early in the morning.

She was about to start taking off her suit but was stopped when a knock on her door snapped her out of her action. For some reason, she thought that maybe Riggs was outside of the door, so with an excited look on her face, she opened the door, only to see... That there stood Grim...

She gulped down the saliva she had in her mouth, before taking a step back. Dreary really did go and tell on her, didn't he? And Grim was going to cut her hand now... wasn't he?

"Aw, why the sudden expression change? Were expecting someone else?" Grim said, a grin on his face, but she didn't trust it one little bit. He was grinning too when he almost cut her arm off.

"... No..." She replied shortly, hoping that he would go away. Or if he was going to cut off her handoff, he would not stall it anymore, and would actually do it...

"Well, isn't that great? You are free then, right?" Grim said as she nodded her head. So, he was going to cut her hand off, mh... Well, there was no point in her to try and fight back. If she was lucky, he might cut her less used hand...

"Great! Let's hang out then" Without waiting for her answer, he grabbed her hand, before teleporting both of them somewhere where she had never been before.

Magic was never something that she could handle very well, especially his magic. The headache she had after the teleportation felt like thousand of needles cutting into her scalp... the pain was horrible.

After a few minutes, she managed to finally look around her, without wanting to cry out in pain. She realized that they were... in a forest?  A hill with a forest behind them?

She looked up, only to see... a blanket set out and a basket too... Did he plan to eat her arm in front of her after cutting it off? Stars above, that was just evil of him...

"So? How do you like this place?" He asked, grinning at her, be it looking a little bit nervous? She must still be confused because of his magic because there was no way that could be it...

"It's... pretty. I like it" She said. There was no reason to lie. For a place where she was going to lose her hand, this was quite a nice place. She was glad he at least had good taste...

"So... let's go then?" He said, looking at the direction where the blanket was. There was no reason to lie, laying on the blanket while having her hand cut off, and looking at the stars might be one of the best ways she could lose a hand.

She followed after him, looking around her. These past days she had no time to enjoy herself and look around nature... was the forest always so wonderful? 

"eheh... You must really like this..." Grim said when she sat down with him on the blanket. She nodded her head, smiling weakly, as she said "I mean... Considering this is where I get my hand cut off, it's a pretty nice place"

Silence came over both of them, as Grim stared surprised at her, before realizing what she meant "oh?... oh stars above, I didn't bring you here to cut your hand off!" Grim said, before stopping, and asking "... Is there a reason for me to do that?" His voice seemed to be darker than usual. Well, she might as well come off clean, because if Dreary ever does tell on her, maybe he'll spare her if she tells him immediately. 

"Outside of hugging him? Not really" She said, looking at Grim to see what type of expression he would make, but he seemed cheery "I'm glad to hear you two are getting along then! I was actually worried about that"

Well... She did keep out the fact that she scared him before the hug, but this seemed a way too good react to mess up right now... "Well, I wouldn't say that..." She muttered, but it seemed that Grim ignored that.

"Anyways, I invited you here because... Well, we haven't spent much time together... Dreary also told me what happened with you and Riffle. Felt kind of jealous! Wouldn't want you to just go and become happy out of nowhere!" Grim said, as she slowly nodded her head.

Grim was... a weird person. There was no way going around it. She had never managed to figure out what type of person he is. All she knows is that he is dangerous and that even this situation could end up with her without a hand...

"So, why did you kiss Riffle?" She had been spending the entire day trying to forget that moment, but Grim was reminding her right now. She didn't want to talk about it.

"Honestly, it was... a mistake?" She said, trying to avoid saying that he forced himself on her the second time around... She didn't want to come off as weak in front of someone like him.

"Like, I wanted to tease him a little bit, but he got too serious, and that was just boring," She said, letting out a sigh, before laying on top of the blanket, looking at the stars, before closing her eyes, relaxing a little bit.

"Sounds rough," Grims told her, as she nodded her head, agreeing that she didn't like that at all. "Yeah...  The kiss wasn't even that good" That was a lie, but she didn't want to admit that she enjoyed the kiss more than she should have.

"How about this one?" Before she could react to what happened, she felt him come close to her, kissing her. She wasn't sure why, or what type of devil took over her body, but right at that moment, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her.

It didn't take long before the kiss turned into them making out, as he pulled her up and into her lap, as she wrapped her legs around him. Eventually, they had to stop because she was starting to lack air.

She stared at him with a surprised look, as he looked back at her, a small smile on his face, pushing some of her hair away from her face, as he asked "So... Am I a better kisser?"

The form that her answer came in was with her pushing him down, and starting to kiss him again. She wasn't planning to do anything more than kissing, but something inside of her was making her want to tease the skeleton that she was on top of, just enough to make him needy for her, before stopping this and ignoring him for some time. She wanted to make him the same way she feels towards Riggs... 

~~~GRIM'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Grim never liked (y/n). And he never hid that fact. The girl didn't seem to even be a good enough meal. Did he like (Y/n) now? Of course not. She wasn't much better now, but something made him do what he did tonight.

Did he feel jealous about Riffle? No, he didn't. But tonight, the desperate look in her eyes... it reminded him of how he felt... It made him remember how pathetic he was when it came to Ashley.

They were two broken souls, two problem people who just wanted to bury themselves in one another, just for one night, and that was what they exactly were supposed to do...

That is until he was stopped by her... With a grin, she simply got off him, and with a small kiss to the forehead, she said that she needed to go, before starting to head to the path into the forest...

She didn't even know where they were...

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, day 3

When she chose to go back home alone without Grim, that was one of her worse choices. Who would have known that he would have dragged the two of them so far away from the mansion... She had to hitch hick to get back home and that was just the most horrible choice she had ever done. 

Well, that didn't matter right now. Currently, she was sitting on her bed, feeling a little bit unsure if she wanted to go out of her room right now. The memories of what she did yesterday seemed to hunt her right now, and she honestly didn't want to deal with anything that had happened...

Sadly, it looked like her wishes would not be granted today, as, without a warning, Riffle entered her room, an uncomfortable look on his face, as he looked over to her.

She didn't say anything, as he closed the door behind him, and slowly walked over to her, before sitting next to her. She looked at him, as he looked at her too.

"... I'm sorry" Riffle eventually said. She didn't say anything for a little bit. Should she tell him it was fine? Would he try to do something else then? She couldn't say that she didn't forgive him, that was stupid. It was just a little bit. They were not children, they shouldn't be embarrassed about something like that.

"...Yeah... It's whatever" She said, letting out a sigh. He seemed to relax a little bit at that, as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Well, it seemed that he wasn't that worried about this if he was willing to be this touchy-feely with her... Heavens, that's just stupid... Oh well, it didn't matter one little bit right now.

"Glad to hear that. Wouldn't want anything to be rough between us" Riffle said, as his hand wrapped around her shoulder, and just for this morning, she decided to let him pull her closer. Things with Ashley must be pretty rough if he was searching for comfort in her.

"Yeah, don't worry. Things won't get worse between us than they are" She said, joking a little bit, as he did the same, wrapping his arms around her. This was... Well, weird. But she liked it in a sense. Riggs always did this before.

Riggs has always been a very touchy person. He always wanted to feel close to him. Always hugging her, ruffling her hair, or just having his hand on her shoulder. She guessed that was one of the similarities that Riggs and Riffle had...

"Thing's been rough with Ashley?" She eventually asked as Riffle seemed to freeze up. She didn't even notice how Riffle had started to caress the top of her head, but when he stopped did she notice that he was doing that.

"... Is it that clear?" Riffle said, letting out a sigh, as she laughed a little bit. "Seeing that you are being so cuddly, yeah." She said, making him laugh too.

"Well, I guess things have been rough. Don't know, she had been so... aggressive?" (y/n) shrugged a little bit, not seeing the problem. She was always aggressive with everyone and no one ever asked what's wrong with her. So, why were they worried if Ashley was aggressive?

"Could you... maybe like... spend some time with her?" The request came as a surprise for her, not sure if she really understood him. Did he honestly ask her to spend time with Ashley?

"...Riffle, that's your girlfriend... I couldn't care less about her mental state. It was your responsibility to make sure she's okay. If she's not okay, it's not on me" She wasn't going to play around. Besides... If she becomes unlovable, maybe Riggs will come back to her?

"... Well, I at least tried," Riffle said coldly, clearly angry that she didn't accept, but she couldn't care any less. He let go of her, a cold expression on his face as he stared at her, before adding "I'm busy, I'm going to go now" And with that, he was gone.

She stared at the open door, before letting out an annoyed sigh. Well, that was quite a rude thing to do. If he just wanted to ask for her to babysit Ashley, he didn't need to get this cuddly...

Did it hurt her that Riffle was acting like this? Of course not. Riffle was no one to her. Riffle was not her friend. Riffle was not her lover. He was nothing to her. Just someone she sometimes would talk with. The only person that mattered was Riggs, and well... if he would ask her to do something, she would do it without a question, even if it would be to watch over Ashley...

After she dressed up and got ready for the day, she decided to head for breakfast. After the encounter with Riffle, she wasn't exactly all that angry about meeting with Grim either. She was just worried for nothing.

"(y/n)?" The voice was of someone she knew very well. With a huge smile on her face, she turned around to see that Riggs was behind her, a worried look on his face.

"Hey, buddy! How are you doing? Long time no talk!!" She said, sounding a little bit too excited about talking to him. She felt embarrassed about that, but he seemed to relax at her attitude.

"Ehe, your usual self, I see! I was kinda worried you were hurt... as I didn't see you yesterday?" Riggs said, reminding her that the last time she met up with him, she kind of looked very bloodied up and she didn't exactly tell him if she was fine or not.

"Oh, sorry about that. You know how things are." She said, as Riggs nodded his head, starting to walk towards the kitchen, as she followed after him, a happy smile on her face.

The two of them passed a few people, but she completely ignored them, having all of her attention on Riggs. When will she be able to spend time with him?

"So, I heard some juicy rumors about you (Y/n)" Riggs laughed a little bit, as he sat down at the kitchen table, her rolling her eyes at that, as she brought two cups of coffee for both of them.

"it's not true unless you have proof," She said, laughing along with Riggs. He nodded his head, taking a sip of his coffee, before looking at her, making her feel warm inside.

"I mean, I know. But it's funny how these guys don't know anything better to do than spread rumors. Like, people say you and Grim are together. Said saw you and him go on a date or something" Riggs said, laughing, as she let out a nervous laugh too, taking a sip of her coffee, not sure what to say.

"... Yep! Eheh... I'm not dating Grim, that's for sure. About that date thing..." She said, looking nervous "I wouldn't call it a date... It lasted only like half an hour at best..." That answer made Riggs choke on his coffee, as he looked over to her.

"What!?" He turned to stare at her, staring at her in disbelief. "Man, I thought you said you weren't interested in anyone when I tried to set you up with my bro..." Riggs said, letting out a disappointed sigh.

"I wanted my best friend to become part of the family..." Riggs whined as he placed his head on her shoulder, her rolling her eyes at him. She wanted to forget about that day... It was so awkward, she thought she would never be able to look at Whip the same way.

"I don't like Grim. I was bored, so I went along" That was a lie, he dragged her against her own wish, but that wasn't important. She didn't want to worry her friend.

"Boo, that's boring. Anyways, planning on going on a second date, or?" He asked, grinning at her. "Tell me all the juicy gossip" She rolled her eyes at that statement.

"I'm not telling you anything!~ but no, I'm not planning on going on a second date." She said, making Riggs laugh "Cold~ He probably tried so hard, yet you reject him"

She shrugged, before saying "Well, he will have to try harder next time. I wasn't impressed!" Riggs laughed, nodding his head "Yeah, you need to be really great to impress ya!"

For the next hour to two had been chatting, having a lot of fun. That is, until his time to be with Ashley came around. Her smile almost fell, but she managed to control herself.

"Hey, you're coming today, right?" Riggs asked, surprising her, "Why?" She asked as he sighed "... I... I don't feel like I can do it alone, you know?"

He stopped talking for a second, before starting again. "I feel like I am not good enough for her. When you're there, I feel like I can actually try my best because I have you there supporting me... Besides, she likes you too..."

Did she like her? Mh, well, she wouldn't say that. (y/n) was the one who kidnapped Ashley, but (Y/n) was the only other human in the house and well, the only person who wasn't crazy for Ashley.

"... Sure thing. I wouldn't leave you alone. I just thought you wanted to have some alone time with Ashley" (y/n) said, as Riggs relaxed, taking her hand in his own, before starting to walk towards Ashley's room.

She stared at the hand that was holding her own, feeling herself be filled with happiness yet... sadness too. She knew that this nice feeling will end soon, yet there is nothing she can really do. This was just what her role here was...

With a sigh, she looked to the side for a second, trying to catch herself. It was... hard. How does one tell their closest friend that they want to be more than just friends when they already have someone in their heart?

They arrived at the room, and Riggs opened the door, as (Y/n) entered inside first. Ashley was a young woman in her early twenties, with long light brown hair, and beautiful green eyes. Her body was thin, yet curvy and she was short, making her even more charming. (Y/n) was the complete opposite of that.

The woman was tall, with short black hair and red eyes that could bring fear in any of her enemies. Her body was lean and she had curves of her own, but with the clothes that she wore, it was hard to see anything.

"... You're back..." Ashley said, looking at the two of them with a frown. (y/n) wasn't sure who Ashley was referring to, but it wasn't all that important for her.

"How have you been doing Ashley?" (y/n) asked, as Riggs went closer to her, yet not close enough to make her comfortable. He sat down at one of the chairs, while Ashley was still on the big bed that was in her room.

The room was comfortable but completely soundproof. No windows, no escape, just a small ventilation vent, and a thick metal door that you could only open with magic or a passcode (That was added for her when (Y/n) accidentally was locked inside with Ashley until someone else came for their shift with Ashley).

Currently, (y/n) was standing near the door. She always stood there, and no matter how much Riggs or Ashley asked her to sit down, she didn't want to. She didn't want to involve herself with these things.

"... Just as I did before," Ashley said, sighing, as she laid back on her bed. Riggs barely spoke with Ashley, as she would always yell at him or try to hurt him when he would get closer. It was good that she restrains usually kept her far away from Riggs.

The only person that spoke with Ashley while Riggs and (y/n) were in the room was (Y/n). With a sigh, (y/n) nodded her head, a small smile on her face.

"That's a good thing then. I was worried" That was not the truth, but if Ashley felt good and would talk with Riggs, that would make the guy feel very happy... even if (Y/n) would like it more if Ashley would completely break and Riggs would come back to her.

"You were?" Asked Ashley, not looking at (Y/n). Of course, (y/n) was not, but she wasn't going to say that. She simply nodded her head, not caring if the woman saw that or not.

"Anything I can bring you for tomorrow to make you feel better?" (y/n) asked like she did every single time she went into this room. Even if she knew the answer.

"Outside of the passcode to the door? Nothing." Riggs seemed to get sadder at that answer, but he said nothing. That seemed to anger (Y/n) but she didn't say anything.

"Well, how about breakfast? Lunch and dinner? What would you want to eat for today?" She asked like she usually did whenever she visited with Riggs. 

Because (Y/n) was a human like Ashley, it was her job to make Ashley's eating schedule and prepare the meals if she wasn't busy. If she was, she needed to make the recepts and give them someone to make the meal... 

It was troublesome, but she didn't mind it all that much. Or well, she didn't really want to bother anyone and tell them how annoying that was. (Y/n) usually made three meals for Ashley a day, and would ask a few people to bring her specific snacks for her twice too, so Ashley would be able to eat healthily.

"... I want a pimiento cheese quiche for breakfast with a strawberry smoothie... Sausages and eggs with sesame zucchini bread for lunch and.... maybe... a vegetable stew for dinner? With a piece of chocolate cake for dessert? Maybe some lemonade alongside that too? Or maybe mint tea... Or both? You could make both, right?" Ashley finished, a smile on her face, annoying (Y/n) even more.

This girl was going to drive her insane. Who had the time to make all of that? Couldn't just be like everyone else and drink coffee for breakfast, eat a sandwich for lunch and drink soup for dinner??

She sighed, before nodding her head. She'll need to start bringing a notebook and pen whenever she visits Ashley's room because the amount of food that she just listed off was just... too much to remember.

For the other hour that Riggs and she stayed in Ashley's room, (y/n) was trying to talk with Ashley, making sure that everything was going alright, but eventually, she and Riggs had to leave and she was glad.

When they were out, she started to immediately head into the kitchen. If she wanted to finish everything and still be able to do something else, she needed to start cooking immediately. Or maybe if she was lucky enough, she would be able to catch someone else and force them to make that food...

While she was walking, Riggs was following not too far away. When they entered the kitchen, and there was no one else around, Riggs took her hand in his own bigger hand, as he asked her one thing that she could never decline...

"... Ashley really likes you... Please... Please take good care of her, even when I am not around?" Riggs said, looking at her with a worried expression. She didn't want to accept, but... but could she really decline something when Riggs was asking her "... Okay... I... I'll take good care of her."

~~~RIGGS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

He knew that it was cruel to ask (y/n) to take care of Ashley, but who else could he really trust? Everyone else was his enemy for her love, and (Y/n) was the only person that he could trust... The only person he knew that Ashley would be safe with. He didn't want to put too much weight on her, but what else could he do?

He knew that (y/n) wasn't as comfortable around Ashley as he would want her to be... He knew that (y/n) felt like Ashley was a needless weight and he felt so horrible because it was because of him that her life was so much harder now.

She was always there for him. (y/n) was always the person that would stand up for him, the person that would comfort him when he had nightmares, the one that told him that it was okay to cry. She was someone very important to him. That's why he wanted the two most important people to get along and protect one another...

He... He would be willing to give up his love if (y/n) ever fell in love with Ashley too. He would be willing to give Ashley over to (Y/n), that's how important the woman was for him...

When he heard that she was on a date with someone, and that is true... He felt like he might lose her. She was great, it was no surprise that someone liked her, but when this actually happened, it was like his world shattered...

He needs her to be by his side. It's so selfish for him to desire that he knows that she deserves a life of her own. A life where he isn't involved, not even part of it... But is it really wrong for him to want to have her by his side until the end of times? Is it truly so wrong for him to feel so connected with her?

He knows that he won't be able to keep her for long at his side anymore. He knows that she's slipping out of his grasp. She has been slipping out of his grasp for a very long time. He just hoped that he could live in his fantasy world for just a little bit longer...

He hopes she could find it in her heart to forgive him for his selfishness, one of these days. He had always been someone selfish.

~~~RIFFLE'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

He wasn't sure what brought him over to (Y/n)'s room. It wasn't like he really cared about teasing her. Not like she ever apologized whenever she teased Rose, but this time, something else brought him to her room.

Ashley had been acting so... So cold towards him. Towards every one, honestly. (Y/n) was the only other human in the mansion, and she was the one who took care of Ashley. So, it was only natural for him to go and ask (Y/n) for help with how Ashley had been acting.

Why did he start to get so close to the woman? Well, he couldn't explain why. She looked so... so pitiable. He wanted to be close to her, wanting to be able to touch her and be close to her, yet he didn't know why.

He never felt like this when he was away from her, but when she was close to him... It was like a magnet was pulling him closer to her. It was so... well, It was really confusing for her, she wasn't sure what to do...

When she declined him, he got slightly annoyed. Of course, he left her room, but after a little bit, he felt like that was... well, that was just not okay for him to do. 

She wasn't Ashley's babysitter, and he shouldn't get angry with her if she didn't want to get involved with Ashley more than she already does. He should probably apologize to her. She already does quite a lot for Ashley's health.

Just as he was heading back to apologize to her, he noticed something... something that annoyed him even more. Outside of her room, came out Riggs together with (y/n). 

The two looked so happy, laughing and joking around. She was acting with the guy so differently than she did with everyone else. It made Riffle wonder what Riggs did to her to make her act like that...

It was annoying. She allowed Riggs to be so close to her, yet she never allowed anyone else close. It wasn't like Riffle didn't try to become friends with her, but it was her always pushing him away. What did you want for him to do?

***DAY TIME***

It had been hours and she was still slaving inside of the kitchen. She wasn't the fucking cook, yet she was still here. She had offered Whip to hire someone that could cook, but he would always say that was a bad idea because people could try to kill them... Well, if they will keep making her cook for Ashley, she might as well do the job herself.

She had managed to cook up breakfast for Ashley, and Riggs had already brought it over to Ashley, but now she was making preparations for the cake and homemade bread... It was annoying.

She noticed that the ingredients were running out, so it would be pretty smart for her to head out and buy some more things. But stars above, if she does that alone, she won't be able to buy everything she wanted. Should she bring someone along? But who? She could ask Riggs, but he'll probably be busy... oh well, she'll figure this out, later on, she didn't want to think about this right now.

"Oh, Miss Salems, I see you are keeping yourself busy?" The smooth voice of Mal came into the kitchen, as he watched as she started to prepare the dough for the bread.

She was in no mood to talk with Mal right now. The guy wasn't that bad, but he... he always loved to try and get on her good side, and she felt like he was being too forceful at times.

"Indeed. I'm making some bread for Ashley. Need to make sure that she gets all the nutrition that she can" (Y/n) said, not looking up at Mal, as she continued to work on the dough.

Mal hummed thoughtfully as he walked over to her, looking at how she was working. Alright, she wasn't the best cook, but she knew what she was doing. There was no need to look at her like she was unable to even do this little.

"Is there anything I can do to help you Miss Salems?" Mal asked as he looked over to her. Well, he seemed to be willing to help her, so she might as well ask him for help.

She currently had flour, baking powder, eggs, zucchini, and oil, but she needed quite a few things, and with him around, she didn't need to go and search for those things.

"I need... some kosher salt, sugar, and brown sugar. They all should be in the cupboard on the right... Then I need one lemon from the fridge." She said as she heard him shuffling over to where she said he needed to go. 

It took a few minutes, but he came back with those things. She was annoyed that he took so long, but she was glad that he at least took what she asked him to take.

"Thanks. Now, for the finishing touches, I need you to bring me the roasted walnuts and sesame seeds." He didn't move from his spot, so she sighed, adding "They should be at the cupboard on the left"

Honestly, she would have gotten around much faster if he was away from her. That's why she hated cooking with other people, but there was no point in saying anything else about this.

When he brought those over, she sighed, nodding her head. "Well, thank you. I think I'll finish the cake alone.." She said, and Mal seemed to get the hint of his slowness.

"I... I'm sorry Miss Salems... I'm not used to cooking" Mal said, but she didn't exactly accept that excuse. He wasn't even cooking. All he needed to do was bring her the simple ingredients she asked him to bring. She even told him where everything was. His job was much easier than her own.

"Doesn't matter now. Now, if you could just leave, that would be wonderful, thank you" She said, clearly making it clear that she didn't want him around anymore.

Mal wanted to say something, but her "Now, would be nice" was enough for him to let out a sigh, but leaving without any fuss, telling her that if she needs help, he was willing to try and help.

Thankfully, she managed to finish the dough for the bread. She added the bread into the stove, and set it for however long it needed to stay there, reading to move on to preparing the dough for the chocolate cake. 

She looked into the fridge, letting out a sigh. Yes, she really did need to go and buy some more things tomorrow. There will be enough products for her meal, but there won't be any for anyone else... Well, they will need to go out and eat. 

"...Cooking?" She turned around, only to see Slim looking at her. She was surprised that Slim talked to her, he usually never talked, but she was kind of glad he was around.

You see, she had seen him cooking before, and she knew that he knew what he was doing, unlike Mal who probably never stepped foot in a kitchen before... 

"Slim, dear!" She said a smile on her face. She usually was frowning whenever he was around, that's why the change of attitude seemed to surprise him. 

"Can you be a darling and make the rest of the food? I have this list prepared, just make whatever is on the list with what's left in the fridge. Okay? Okay!" she said, taking off her apron, handing it over to him.

She didn't wait for him to say anything, just happy to get out of the kitchen already, but was stopped from completing her plan when he grabbed her hand, pulling her closer to him.

She expected him to do something to her, or yell at her to stop pushing her work on him, but instead, he gently placed the apron on her again, tying it behind her, before saying.

"...Don't go... Let's cook... Together" He said while still being behind her. She wasn't sure what type of expression he had on his face, but she felt like he was smiling from how gentle his voice was.

She was annoyed that she couldn't get out right now, but for some reason, she couldn't say no. Maybe it's because she never has seen Slim like this? It... surprised her, that's for sure.

... Okay, for today only, she'll make sure that they will spend some time together, but it doesn't mean anything. Besides, she would get in trouble if something would go wrong either way... She might as well be here to make sure everything goes well...

For the next half an hour, both of them were working, and if she could say this, she felt like they had become much closer to one another throughout that half an hour. 

She wasn't sure why they always acted like they were enemies, but Slim seemed like such a nice guy, even if he barely talked. Was it because he was the little brother of Slate?

She walked over to him, laughing a little bit, as he was smiling too, before she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. She always hugged Riggs after they would finish cooking, so she felt like this would be okay.

It seemed that he liked that as he wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her closer. After a few seconds of hugging, he looked at her, as she looked confused at him back. 

He started to inch closer, and she expected him to kiss her. What was going on with people and trying to kiss her?!... But instead of being kissed, she felt his slimy tongue lick off her cheek...

".. You had... Some flour... Cleaned it off..." Slim said, looking to the side, a light orange dusting his cheeks, as he let go of her, and gently pushed her off of him, before hurrying off. She didn't stop him.

~~~SLIM'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

When he had gotten the chance to spend some time with her, he couldn't just let her go like that. She seemed to want to stop cooking already, but he didn't want to just finish this on his own, even if he would be able to do that without a problem...

He had been looking at her for some time, and she seemed too serious and concentrated while she was cooking. He wanted to see that from closer. He wanted to be part of her little circle...

He knew that he couldn't always be like that with her. He knew that he had to be angry with her and hate her, because of his brother, but how could he force himself to do that, when he really did like her, platonically.

She was everything that he could ever want to be. She was everything he ever wanted his brother to be. She was kind when she needed to be and she was strict when she needed to be. She never let her grudges blind her actions and she was easy to be around.

She didn't force him to talk more, and she didn't mind if he was slower. The two seemed to have so much fun, that he wished that this could be their everyday life, but he knew that it was too selfish of him to ask that of her.

When she wrapped her arms around him, he felt his soul squeeze tightly inside of his chest... She didn't even realize what she was doing, did she? 

Being so close to her, having her act so gently with him... He didn't deserve it. It was better when she pushed him around when she insulted him. That was a better dynamic. 

He knew a way to make her start hating him again and that was by scaring her... He didn't want to do anything too much, but licking her... that would do it, right?

Who would have thought that he would have liked that more than he should have? He thought that he would lick her, get yelled by her, and things would go back to normal, but... She didn't do any of that. She just had a surprised look on her face, while he felt himself heat up because of the taste...

He needed to get something to drink... Something that would help him get that look of surprise out of his mind, and something that would help him forget that delicious taste, and the smell that engulfed him when he had gotten so close to her...

~~~MAL'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Why was (Y/n) so hard to please? No matter what he did, she was never happy. She was so ungrateful. Why did Whip even like her that much? She was a simple punny human, that wasn't even that strong, didn't have any special talents, and was mistreating everyone, acting like she was someone important...

He couldn't wait until he would be able to put her in her place, because he is so sick and tired of her being how she is. She is always so annoying, that he wanted to just wrap his arms around her neck and snap it.

After he left to cool off, he had decided to return into the kitchen, just to try and kiss up to her. He still needed to reach a higher standing position with Whip, if he wanted to put (Y/n) back into her place...

The scene he came to see was... disgusting to say. When Slim left, she was still standing there for a little bit, before letting out a weak laugh, cleaning the spot that he licked on her cheek.

He simply stayed there, waiting to see what she will do, or when she will notice that he was there now. While he was waiting, he looked at how she was acting. A soft blush was on her cheek, as she had a silly smile on her face.

Did she like getting attention? THAT sort of attention...? Did he need to get more... physical with her to get somewhere? How.. disgusting. But he probably needed to do that...

He didn't wait for her to discover him, as he walked out of the kitchen, not wanting to look at her any longer. He needed to relax and stop the disgusted look on his face... It seemed that he will need a different approach to get to her...

***EVENING TIME***

The events from before were still... bothering her mind, but it seemed that she was starting to get used to this. She wasn't sure why everything was getting so intimate these past days, but still, it was weird for her.

"(N/N)!! AHHHH! I'm back darling~ Did you miss me?!" She was surprised when someone picked her up from the ground, before spinning her around, burying their head into her neck, nuzzling her.

A look of surprise appeared on her face before she realized who it was, and she laughed a little bit, before roughly caressing the skull of the skeleton who picked her up.

This right here was Syrup. He was neither an alternative version of Riggs or Whip. He was an Alternative version of... the old boss that... died, making Whip the next leader. 

She thought she wouldn't get along with him, but she actually did. There was another one alternative version of the boss, but she only talked to him once before, and he was related to Grim and Dreary, so for her own safety, she tried to avoid the guy.

"I'm glad you're back, Syrup!" She said, smiling "Weren't you supposed to be back next week?" She asked, a little bit confused about why he was back sooner than he should have. 

"Aww, I'm just back from work and you remind me about work immediately? How mean, (n/n)~" He said, finally putting her down on the ground, ruffling her hair a little bit, getting a laugh out of her.

"But I managed to finish the mission sooner than planned, so here I am~" She nodded her head, smiling at him, as he spoke again "I hope you've been behaving and not being a meanie to anyone~"

Similar to Rose, Syrup tried to make her be less mean to people, but he wasn't as pushy as Rose was, and at least she liked being around him, unlike being around Rose.

"I didn't do anything unless you can prove it otherwise~," She said, laughing a little bit, as he laughed with her. They were close... but not as close as she is with Riggs. 

Or maybe they are? Seeing as Riggs is leaving her side... Syrup might as well be that close with her... "Oh, buttercup, why do you look so sad?" Syrup said, a worried look on his face.

"It's not, don't worry Syrup. I've just been figuring some stuff that confuses me, don't worry about it" Syrup slowly nodded his head, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"If you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here, okay? You know that I will always support you, buttercup" He said, making her expression soften... Yeah, he always listened to her when she needed it.

~~~SYRUP'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Syrup knew that (y/n) was a good woman. She just needed a little guidance, and she would reach perfection, he was sure about that. If he wasn't that sure about that, he wouldn't keep saying that.

Honestly, it was always a surprise for him how everyone talked about her. The only people who seemed to realize her potential were Whip and Riggs. Sure, she was rough around the edged, but weren't all of them like that? What was such a huge difference between her and them? He couldn't grasp the reason.

Sure, it was hard to get closer to her, and he still feels like there is a lot that needs to change before he can say that they are close, but he believed that she liked him, as a friend, and he did like her too, as a friend.

He never liked this Ashley girl, and couldn't understand why everyone was so obsessed with the girl... Well, because he wasn't busy with the girl, he had more time in getting closer to (y/n) and getting to know what she would want from him. 

He knew exactly what she needed and he gave that. She needed someone who kept an easy-going relationship with her, without expecting much back from her. That might be a little selfish from her, but he didn't mind giving her that. 

People might say that he was stupid with spending so much time on her, but he could say the same for them. They spent so much time with Ashley, and yet she still yells at them and says how disgusting they are. But he and (y/n)? They are so close, it's completely a perfect relationship.

***NIGHT TIME***

After her meeting with Syrup, she felt so much better. The guy always knew what to say and what to do to make her feel better. She wasn't sure why more people didn't hang around with him. He was absolutely lovely to be around.

While walking back to her room, she noticed that Rus was on the couch again, instead, for the first time since forever, she actually found him trying to sleep...Maybe even already asleep.

On a normal day, she would completely ignore this and would keep going with her day, but today? After the fun cooking season with Slim, seeing Syrup again, and even spending some time with Riggs, she was in a good mood.

She went over to her room, before taking her favorite blanket out of her closet, that she had washed up just a few days ago. It smelled still fresh and the blanket was really soft, that was why she loved it.

She walked back down, back to the living room, before walking over to the sleeping form of Rus. She looked at him for a little bit, before smiling and letting out a sigh.

She placed the blanket on top of him, before making sure that he was covered in a comfortable way. When she was done, she lowered herself close to him, before whispering "Bring me my blanket later on. Sweet dreams Rus" And with that, she was gone.

~~~RUS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

He waited until she walked away, before snuggling under the blanket. It was... warm and big. Rus honestly couldn't understand what type of person (Y/n) was. She always acted as she hated him, but on rare days like this, when she thought that he was asleep, she would treat him so gently... He wasn't sure how to feel about her.

Why did she have to bring something that smelled so much like her? He couldn't understand that at all. Didn't she understand what would be the implications if he would smell like her?

Honestly, she acted so innocently sometimes, for someone that loved to tease people... He couldn't understand her at all. He didn't even try to figure what type of person she is. There is no point of him trying to do that. 

Eh, well, it didn't matter right now. For now, he'll just relax and sleep under this warm blanket. He'll deal with him smelling like her tomorrow. He'll think up of an excuse for that... He couldn't tell them that she brought him a blanket... He wouldn't want to ruin her reputation.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: What's the difference between love and hate? Day 4

The first thing that (y/n) did was get dressed and head downstairs to get ready to head out to buy some groceries. She woke up earlier than usual, so she would be able to go out and buy everything, yet still have the chance to go back home and spend some time with Riggs. Now, the question was, will she go alone, or try her luck and ask someone to help her with the groceries?

Then she remembered that Syrup was actually back. She knew that if she would ask him to help her buy stuff unless he's busy with something else, he'll for sure say yes. She was actually glad about that. She didn't want to go alone, and she didn't want to go and ask someone else either, as she wasn't close to anyone. Outside of Riggs, but he was too busy with Ashley, so she wouldn't dare to disturb him.

Before anything else, she decided that it would be the smartest idea to start off by preparing some plans for what she'll feed Ashley. She wouldn't go to her room this time, because otherwise, the woman was going to force her to make her something insane again. She'll probably cook today, leaving the work to someone else. 

First of all, for breakfast, (y/n) was thinking of maybe preparing some... Granola with... Yogurt? Yes, that sounded appropriate. For lunch, an egg sandwich with coffee would work pretty well, right? And for dinner, maybe some burritos with some chocolate cookies for dessert? It was.. very simple, but that seemed good enough, compared to how much she needed to cook because of Ashley.

With the list prepared, and everything needed writing down, she hung the note on the fridge, for whoever will come across it and will decide to prepare the food. For now, she was off to Syrup's room, to ask him.

She arrived at his room, before taking a deep breath and knocking on his door. She really hoped that he wasn't busy with anything else, because just the thought of going to ask someone else disgusted her.

The door opened to a smiling Syrup, already dressed up in his suit as he looked down at her, looking a little bit more excited when he saw that it was her who knocked on his door.

"Buttercup!! What are you doing here?" Asked Syrup, coming in for a hug, but she moved out of the way, trying to avoid it, not feeling up to his touchy-feely self from the very morning, but ended up being pulled in a side hug, either way, letting out a sigh, rolling her eyes, but the smile on her face was still there.

"Well, I was wondering if you are busy?" She asked as Syrup kept her in the hug for a little bit too long, before finally letting her go, looking less happy about it.

"Not right now! Why do you ask, buttercup?" He asked as she let out a sigh of relief, happy that he wasn't going anywhere right now. She might be able to pull him along.

"Well, I'm going shopping. Was wondering if you could help me with the bags?" She asked as he frowned, looking very upset. Did he not want to go? He didn't need to look that angry if that was the case. Not like she would get angry with him or anything.

"They aren't overworking you again buttercup, are they?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around his chest, clearly concerned about her. It felt... nice.

"Don't worry. Just the fridge is empty of any sort of human food. No one is overworking anyone." She said, but the look on his face told her that he didn't fully believe her. 

(Y/n) was happy that Syrup cared for her, but she wasn't someone who needed protection. Or well, more protection than she already has. No one would dare hurt her, not when she is in such good books with Whip. It would be like asking to be killed.

"Well, alright buttercup, but if anything is not alright, please tell me!" He said, coming in for a hug, this time, she didn't push him away, letting him wrap his arms around her, but she didn't do the same.

After a little bit, he let her go, saying "Alright, let's go! You still have other things you need to do, right?" He asked her, as she nodded. That was true. As much as she wanted to, she still had other things she had to do. "Let's stop wasting time and get to the store then!"

With that, Syrup and (Y/n) headed downstairs. (Y/n) was about to ask something from Syrup, but was interrupted when her name was called out as if it was a question. "(y/n)?"

Syrup and (Y/n) stopped in their tracks, as she turned around, both of them confused and curious. There, she saw Riggs, who looked as confused as ever.

She smiled at him, wanting to curse under her breath. Why was he available right now?! Was she honestly going to waste her chance to stay with Riggs to buy food for Ashley?... Yet, she knew that everyone would not leave her alone if she would leave Ashley without food. Even Whip couldn't protect her, seeing as he liked Ashley too...

"Hey, Riggs! You're up pretty early" She asked, as he nodded his head, walking over to the two, a suspicious look on his face as he looked at Syrup. That's right, Riggs didn't exactly know many of the other skeletons, including Syrup.

"Oh! Riggs, meet Syrup. Syrup, meet my best friend, Riggs" she said, introducing the two, as Syrup extended his hand for a handshake but Riggs didn't do the same, leaving the other hanging.

The air was awkward after that, Syrup glancing at her, a worried look on his face, as she tried to clear up the air. This was really awkward and she had no idea why Riggs was acting like this.

"Um... Well, we need to go now! Riggs, I'll see you later on, alright? Ashley needs some food and we're going to buy it. I'll talk with you later on" She said, smiling at him, as he still looked at Syrup, but nodded his head.

For some reason, he looked unhappy, but she decided to not question it. There could have been too many reasons why he was not happy, and she didn't want to give herself any false hope.

When the two were outside of the mansion, Syrup let out an awkward laugh, that was followed by him starting to talk "That friend of yours was glaring at me all the way through! How scary~" 

She nodded her head, sighing. She wasn't sure why Riggs seemed so hostile with Syrup. Syrup was one of those people that she believed she could be friends with. She wasn't sure why Riggs seemed so unhappy. Maybe... he was jealous? No, that couldn't be. He didn't like her in that way, right?

"Eheh, I was surprised how nice you were~," Syrup said teasingly, "You must really like him!" She immediately looked over to him, a surprised look on her face, as she said.

"Stop being so loud!" Syrup had a teasing smirk on his face, as he laughed "So you aren't declining it!" She didn't reply to him, simply frowning at how loud he was being.

When they arrived at the store, she looked down at the list she had. There was so much that she needed to buy. Honestly, she was part of the mafia, this wasn't something she should be doing. She still couldn't understand why they couldn't hire some people to do such works for them. Or at least not make her do this work. She wasn't their maid.

"Okay~ Where should we go to buy those things that you need, buttercup?" He asked, looking around like he had never been inside a store before. She wouldn't be surprised if he actually never been inside a store before.

"Well, just follow me around and push the cart around," She said, as he nodded his head, doing exactly what she told him to do, him looking around just as before.

While they were walking around, people were whispering around them, but neither of them cared too much. Sure, it was rude, but they weren't doing anything to them, and if she or he would cause a scene, it's not like those people will change either way. The only difference will be that Syrup and (y/n) will be kicked out of the store and those people will now have a reason to tell people why they hate monsters. Syrup and (Y/n) were not about to give them the satisfaction

"Ohh~ Is this tea? Can we get some more tea?" Syrup said, stopping, as she turned around to look where he was pointing. Well, why not? It wasn't like they were on a budget.

"Sure, but don't take too much. We won't be able to carry everything around" She said, walking over to the isle herself. She wasn't someone who drank tea a lot, but she saw Riggs drinking some a few times. Maybe she could make him some?

"Hey Syrup... What teas are for relaxation?" She asked. It would be pretty nice if she could make a cup for Riggs to help him relax, right? He looked so tensed up, that would be nice. Whip also likes tea, so it would be nice if she would bring him a cup, as a thank you for being her protector.

"Why do you ask?" Syrup asked, as he looked over to the side, smiling a little bit at her, as he was holding a bag of green tea. She shrugged a little bit, not wanting to tell him.

He seemingly understood enough, as he didn't ask her any more questions, but looked around for a second, before picking up a packet, and bringing it over to her.

"Here you go, buttercup. This is some peppermint tea. It personally relaxes me the most. This should be good for you too" He said, handing her the pack, as he returned to looking at his green teas.

She didn't pay attention to him anymore, as she stared at the packet. Should she buy it then? She wasn't sure, would it be a little bit too much? Or would it be just the right thing?

She was about to put it back but something stopped her. No, maybe she should take it. Maybe she won't make the tea right now, but maybe later on, when she's closer to him, she should do it?

With a sigh, she nodded to herself. Yeah, she'll take it the tea. She placed it into the cart, only to see that Syrup already had over a dozen packs of tea already inside.

He looked a little bit guilty, but she couldn't really say anything. Well, at least he was having fun. And there were other people who liked tea in the mansion, so if he doesn't drink it, others will. Or Ashley. Either way, the tea won't go to waste.

"Okay, let's keep going" With that, they moved on from the tea aisle. Like that, they continued walking around, buying things, and sometimes stopping when Syrup wanted to grab something else.

She had to admit, it was... fun. If she had to go buy groceries, she usually was always alone, but now? Now she wasn't. She was... really happy about it. It felt nice, she felt happy about this.

They paid for their things, before starting to head back. Syrup simply smiled at her, and she smiled back at him. Yeah, he was a good friend. She hoped that he won't leave her for Ashley too as everyone else did.

~~~SYRUP'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Syrup didn't like Riggs one little bit. It was clear that (Y/n) liked him, yet Riggs didn't show any signs of liking her the same way, yet he was acting as he owned her.

She might have not noticed it, but the look of surprise and even disgust in his eyes showed possessiveness. Like he owned her and he was disappointed that she dared to be around someone else.

(y/n) was too good for someone like that. The girl was too good for anyone in the mansion, she was just not made for people like them. They couldn't understand how great she really is. That's why it was his job to make sure that she is taken care of. 

He might not be any better than anyone else, but he at least cared for her and wasn't that possessive. He wanted her to spread her wings and show how great she really is. To show what he sees in her. 

He really does want the best for her, but he just believes that Riggs and everyone else is not good enough for her. It's not possessiveness that makes him want to stop her from being friends with everyone else, but the fact that he cared for her a lot. Besides, she was still young, just entering her early thirties. She didn't know how the world worked, how monsters worked and she could be used pretty easily. He was older and knew monsters much better. He was going to make sure she is not taken advantage of.

He had been looking into a lot of things, about every skeleton and how they act around her and he doesn't like it one little bit. For example, Riffle has been trying to befriend her, even if he isn't worthy of her, and then just tried to force himself on her. How inappropriate, but he can't do anything unless she tells him something's wrong. He doesn't want to scare her...

Grim is even a worse case. When he found out what happened with Syrup, he wanted to dust the skeleton right there, but he was controlling himself. He knew that she was an adult, and she could do those types of things with whoever she wanted, but well... He was her friend and sometimes a friend knows what's good for you better than you know it.

You have no idea how glad he was when she came to him for help instead of anyone else. It showed that she understood that he was just the best option. All he needed was to make sure she understands that he's the best option for everything.

~~~RIGGS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

Riggs was really worried about (Y/n). She had never come out of her shell before, but lately, she had been hanging out with so many people, and that is worrying him quite a bit. 

It's not that he doesn't want her to hang around others. He's very happy that she is, but she's doing so much in so little time, he's worried she's being used.

For example, Riffle. Like, the guy has been so inappropriate. Trying to kiss her, touching her, pulling her close to him, and even coming to her room without announcing himself, while she was in her underwear. 

Grim is even more horrible. He didn't like her, yet he was playing with her. She was his best friend, Riggs didn't want her to end up being hurt because Grim couldn't keep it in his pants.

Syrup was... even worse, he wanted to believe. He had never seen someone look at her with such... He couldn't even explain it, outside of calling the look in Syrup's eyes as control. 

Riggs was worried. Syrup looked at (Y/n) like he owned her. He had a possessive grip on her too like he was ready to rip her away from Riggs if she would do something wrong...

He never liked any of the Gasters... They all are bad news and the fact that his best friend is so close to one is worrying him so much. He wanted to make sure that she is fine, but he didn't want to cross the line...

He knew that she was an adult and that she would be able to take good care of herself. More than Riggs could ever, but well, he would still make sure that... in case she would ever need anything, he would be there for her.

He stared as the two walked out, Riggs feeling like he was completely hopeless. He just hoped that everything will go fine and that she will realize how dangerous Syrup really is...

***DAY TIME***

The morning was spent in quite a fun way, and she enjoyed being around Syrup. After she came back, she tried to search for Riggs, but he was gone. Well, there was nothing that she could really do, right?

while she was walking around, she noticed two people that she didn't want to interact with right now. She was just not in the mood to deal with those two.

Who were those two? Well, none other than Dreary and Grim. Dreary was always so annoying to be around, meanwhile Grim... well, it was clear why she didn't want to be around him right now. It was just too awkward, especially on how she got up and walked into the forest, not even knowing the surrounding area.

She wanted to try and walk away without being noticed, but it seemed that luck wasn't on her side, as Grim noticed her, and grinned even wider as he saw her.

"Ah, (y/n). Coming back from somewhere?" Grim asked as Dreary looked over to her, a nervous look on his face, but he didn't do anything outside of looking nervous.

She wanted to get out of this conversation as fast as possible, but it seemed that Grim wasn't planning to let her go that easily as he got up from where he was sitting and walked over to her.

She frowned a little bit when he grabbed her arm and pulled her to the couch, but she didn't say anything to him. Grim was one of those monsters who didn't fear Whip, so she needed to be careful around him. 

"... Yeah," She said, as he pulled her down on the couch, a little bit too close to him for her own liking, as he wrapped an arm around her. She wanted to move it, but he had a very tight grip on her.

"Where were you then?" He asked, his grip loosening, but she didn't want to try her luck by trying to get out, so she simply tried to ignore the grip that he had on her.

"...out shopping with Syrup," she said, as he nodded his head, but the grin on his face seemed to be more strained than before as if he didn't like what he heard.

"That so? Why're you hanging with him? He's back?" Grim asked as she nodded. Dreary seemed to be getting more and more nervous as the two spoke, but it didn't surprise (Y/n). He always looked nervous.

"Yeah. He came back yesterday, around evening time." She said. Her answers were dry and short, but he didn't seem to mind too much and she was glad because of that.

"Well, isn't that great? What are you two, friends, or something?" Grim said, laughing a little bit, that angering her a little bit. What was that supposed to mean?

"Actually, he is my friend," She said, frowning a little bit. He stopped laughing when she said, looking at her, a frown on his face too at her answer.

"Though you don't do friends outside of Riggs" That was true. She didn't like the idea of befriending others, but for some reason, she couldn't help herself as she has become closer to Syrup.

"I guess he's special. I like being around him" She said, his grip getting tighter on her shoulder. "Why's that? He fucks you good or something?" He said, getting closer to her, as she looked surprised at him.

Did he seriously just say that? What the loving fuck was wrong with him? Just because they made out once, doesn't mean that he can talk to her like that.

She pushed him away from her, actually managing to get out of his grip, as she looked angry "What the loving fuck is wrong with you, you freak!? Don't you fucking understand what a friend is? Never had one before? Don't fucking come closer to me anymore, yeah? Or I'll fucking hurt you" 

She was surprised herself by her outburst. She usually never allowed himself to get so angry for anyone except for Riggs. Is she getting so attached to Syrup that she's angry? She wasn't stupid. She never did something like this to someone that could hurt her, but here she was, doing something that could easily get her killed.

She didn't wait for him to react, as she started to head away. She didn't want to wait until he realizes what she said and would come to hurt her. That would be bad. Seemed that she'll be spending the night working...

~~~DREARY'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Dreary was worried about what Grim will do to (Y/n). But... But nothing happened. Grim didn't get up to go and hurt her, nor did he look that angry. All he looked was... surprised and maybe... hurt? He wasn't sure...

Dreary was having a hard time understanding what was going on. He didn't understand why Grim kept her so close to him when just a few days before Grim was talking about how disgusting (Y/n) was.

What was his brother's relationship with (Y/n)? Were the rumors about Grim and (y/n) being together real? Who even spread those rumors? As much as Dreary asked around, no one admitted to being the one who spread the rumors.

Yes, that doesn't mean much, but still. Someone would have told him something, right? And besides, he was good at knowing when someone was lying, yet he didn't sense any of them lying...

Was it Grim who spread such a rumor? But for what reason would he have spread that rumor? Dreary just couldn't understand it one little bit. It was clear it was not true, so why?

(Y/n) wasn't declining it, but well... Dreary was just not sure. He hoped that everything would get better soon. He just hoped that things would either go back to how they were before or they would get better.

~~~GRIM'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Grim didn't love her. He loved Ashley. He didn't love (y/n). Yes, that's how it is. He didn't love her. There was nothing to love, and everyone knew that. He was just bored and humoring himself with her, nothing more.

What they did was nothing serious, and it was clear that she didn't even think about it. And he wasn't thinking about it either, because what they did meant nothing to him.

And she doesn't like him either, that's clear. So, everything was okay. They did something, and that was it. She probably did similar things with so many other people, and went even further, so why was he even worried about it.

It would be nice if she would tell him if she even enjoyed it. Did she not enjoy it? Was that why she just got up and went off to god knows where? 

Wait, why did he even care if she enjoyed the make-out session or not? It's not like he was planning to do it again or anything like that. He couldn't care less about her opinion.

When she started to talk about Syrup, he completely felt himself boil with anger. So, she liked playing around with that fucker? So, what did he have that Grim didn't?

Was it that Syrup gave her all his attention? Never said no to her? And that he treated her so affectionately? Well, Grim was being close to her too, so what was so wrong, mh? He couldn't understand the problem at all.

When she blew upon him, he... He was hurt. Did she honestly just do that, and for what...? It wasn't like Syrup deserved her getting so angry about and what Grim asked was not even that bad.

It was true that she was very cold to people. She never befriended anyone. So why was Syrup any different? It was quite normal for him to think that they were more than friends.

When she stormed off, he felt like he really messed up... Maybe, he should do something nice for her, to make her forgive him? He's not sure what he could do for her, but he'll figure it out eventually.

***EVENING TIME***

Honestly, things had been going to hell since her morning ended. She had such a good time with Syrup, but now she was having a horrible time with everyone else.

Was this the universe punishing her? That would make sense, right? She wasn't sure what she should do. Should she maybe stop hanging around people for a little bit, and just spend time alone? Was that going to make things better?

"Hey (Y/n)" She was knocked out of her thoughts by the voice that belonged to Slate. She looked to the side, rolling her eyes. Honestly, and now Slate was here too. How worse could her day get.

Currently, she was in the kitchen, making herself a cup of coffee. She hadn't got one in the morning, so she was making herself one right now, as she needed as much energy as possible.

"Want some coffee too?" She asked as he let out a quick yes. Well, that's good then. Sure, they didn't like one another but doesn't mean they couldn't help one another. Besides, he helped her before, so yeah.

"want some eggs? I'm going to make some sunny-side eggs" He said, taking out the pack of eggs. She realized that she hasn't eaten yet and that she might as well, right?

"Yeah. Could you make two?" He nodded his head, closing the fridge and walking over to the pans. He took out everything that he needed, oil, spices, and all of that, before starting on cooking. 

She brought both cups of coffee over the table, as Slate was cooking. She placed his cup down, as she started to drink her own, looking at him as he cooked.

Why were they hating one another? Why did he just declare that they were enemies? Was it because she realized that his niceness was just an act? Was that honestly why he just decided to hate her?

Did he even hate her? Every single time he had the chance, he was nice to her. He worried about her, and he acted annoyed when someone else hangs around her. What was the deal with him?

"Don't stare at me so much, (y/n). It's annoying" He said, but she didn't look away from him. What else was she supposed to do? Look at the wall or something?

"Well, deal with it." Was the only thing she said, as she returned to drinking her cup of coffee and watching him. He didn't say anything else anymore, but she could have sworn she saw a blink of blue on his cheeks.

Eventually, he brought the eggs over, placing the plane in front of her, before sitting next to her. He could have sat in front of her, but instead, he sat near her. Well, she didn't care too much.

The two ate in silence. That is until she broke the silence. "Thanks for... well, doing my job. Ye know, it was nice" She said, as Slate didn't look at her, continuing eating.

"Don't mention it. You looked tired and a mess. Though you were in no state to work" Here he was doing it again. Acting so caring and sweet with her, even if he always said he didn't like her. He was so confusing.

"Well, thanks anyway. If you need to take a day off, you tell me. I'll take over" He didn't say anything to her, and that was her cue to return to eating.

When she was done with her food, she was about to get up, but he stopped her "Leave your plate. I'll clean it. Now go" She looked at him, but didn't question him, as she got up, and with that, she was gone.

~~~SLATE'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

As her main enemy, it was his job to take good care of her. She needed to be healthy, happy, and satisfied to be able to be his best enemy. That's why it wasn't weird that he was taking care of her. No matter how much people would tell him that he was acting weirdly, he knew better than them.

The way her eyes were on him, it made it hard for him to concentrate. He couldn't do it if she would stare at him like that, but she didn't stop looking at him. Why was she staring at him either way?

Well, it didn't matter. He was glad that she looked better now. The reason why he even came into the kitchen was that she looked so tired. Someone was bothering her again.

It was like people didn't understand that what they were doing was affecting her in the worst way. Didn't they understand that if she's in a bad state, he can't be enemies with her?

Honestly, she should just get rid of everyone around her and just keep him around. As his enemy, he'll take good care of her. He'll always wake her up, make sure she eats, cook for her, clean her clothes, prepare clothes to wear, clean her room, make her bed, and even help her bathe if she wants. 

He was everything that she would ever need. She didn't need anyone else around. They could happily live just by one another's side. She could be his enemy and he could take care of her.

It wasn't weird at all. It was normal for him to want to take care of his enemy. It was normal for him to want to be the only monster she's around. So, he won't listen to anyone who says it otherwise.

***NIGHT TIME***

A sigh escaped from her mouth, as she looked to the side. Right now, she stood in Whip's office, as someone that she barely knew was near her. That, someone, was Chompers, and she didn't know how to feel about it.

"I know that this might be very sudden, and I apologize for it, but Chompers has come back after a very hard mission, and he doesn't know how anything here works. I would like for you to take care of Chompers for the next few days. He'll simply follow you around sometimes and ask you for things." Whip said, looking unhappy about it as much as she.

She wanted to decline, but it seemed that Whip was not going to let her do that. So she simply nodded her head. She wanted to get this over as fast as possible.

"I'm glad you are reasonable. It is only temporary, of course. Now, please go" Whip said, and she nodded her head again. Chompers walked over to the door and held it open for her. Well, at least, he's not rude. 

When they were out of the office, she looked over to him, sighing a little bit. This was going to be messy and they both knew that she was sure about it, but was there anything she really could do about this? 

She looked over to him, "Well, guess we'll be working together from now on. If you need anything, just ask me, alright? Second of all, just try to not get in my way. That's what I hate the most. If you don't, we'll get along just fine" She finished, as he simply nodded. For some reason, she felt this was going to be harder than she wanted. 

~~~WHIP'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Whip didn't want to leave (y/n) with Chompers. The man was dangerous, but he didn't have any other option. He needed someone who he could trust around Chompers and (y/n) was the first person that came to mind.

He stared at the closed door, hearing muffled voices behind the door. He just hoped that she could handle Chompers just alright without any help. He didn't want to get rid of someone who is such a good helper this easily. Hopefully, Chompers wouldn't mess up.

~~~CHOMPERS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

Chompers nodded his head. So, now she'll be his boss? That is alright. He'll follow her every word. That's fine with him. He just hopes to have some time with his sons. Outside of that, he has no problem with following her... 

She seemed to be annoyed with him, but he didn't say anything. Today was late, and he didn't want to immediately get on her bad side. It would be best to just keep quiet.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: Spreading your wings, day 5

Like any other day, (Y/n) got up, got ready for the day, and headed downstairs. The only difference today was that outside of her door already stood Chompers there, waiting for her. He didn't say anything to her, simply following her around.

She wasn't sure how she would manage to go through the day if he was going to follow her around like this. It was very uncomfortable in general and she wasn't sure what she could do to make him stop following her.

Of course, she couldn't make him go away either, because she will get in trouble with Whip if he does something he shouldn't have. She honestly couldn't understand why he was put under her care.

They arrived at the kitchen, where Riggs was waiting for her already. She was glad that he was there, and he seemed to be glad to see her too until he noticed Chompers behind her.

"... Who's that?" Riggs asked as he got up from his seat. She looked at the table and saw that there were two cups of coffee and two plates with sweet potato and kale frittata. Did he make some for her too?

She felt her cheeks rose up a little bit. How sweet was Riggs? To actually make her breakfast and coffee... Honestly, Ashley was lucky to have Riggs love her. (y/n) would do anything to get that love from Riggs.

"Chompers. Whip asked me to babysit him for a few days" She said, walking over to him, a smile on her face, as he smiled back at her, the look of concern disappearing from his face.

"Well, I made you some breakfast. I heard you missed breakfast yesterday, so I'll make sure you don't today. Coffee isn't good enough for breakfast" He said, as she laughed a little bit.

Riggs was really sweet. How much she missed when she could just spend every single morning with Riggs, laughing and eating together, having a good time, before spending the rest of their days together...

Love really is cruel. "Do you want to eat anything, Chompers?" She asked as she turned to him, but... he was nowhere to be found? She was about to go and search for him but was stopped when Riggs grabbed her arm, pulling her closer to him.

"Come on... Have breakfast with me. We haven't spent time together in so long. We're best friends, we're supposed to spend time together..." He said, looking actually sad.

How could she care about anything else when he was looking like this? So what if Whip might get angry with her, she would rather spend some time with Riggs than anything else.

"I'm sorry, I really was a bad friend these past days. Okay, let's taste this frittata you made for me. I'm excited" She said, as he relaxed again, seemingly being happy again.

They both returned to the table, and sat down next to one another, as Riggs pushed the coffee cup closer to her, before starting to dig into his own food, from time to time glancing at her, watching how she ate, with a smile on his face.

"Do you like it?" He asked as she finished one of her bites, nodding. It wasn't as good as Whip's cooking, but it was pretty good either way. She really liked it, but she would eat anything that Riggs would make, that's for sure.

"It's really good. You became better at cooking, I'm glad" she said, laughing a little bit, as Riggs pouted a little bit, but didn't say anything, as both of them returned to eating.

Moments like that meant the world for her. She wished to be able to do things like this more often. But she could never actually ask of that from him. Because she cared for him so much, she needed to let him spread his wings and love whoever he wanted. She couldn't stay in his way all the time.

"Next time, I'll be making some breakfast for us two, already?" She said, putting a little bit of her own effort in trying to keep this friendship alive. 

He looked at her, surprised for a second, before nodding his head. "Oh?... Oh, for sure! That sounds good. Whatcha gonna make?" He asked as he finished his piece of the Frittata, as she did too.

"Well, it depends on what you want. I know you got a big appetite, so I gotta make you something really good. Maybe... give you some energy bar?" She joked a little bit, as he gasped, gently hitting her on the back.

"That's just cruel, (y/n)!" He said laughing, as she did too. Of course, she wouldn't do something like that, but it was fun teasing him from time to time, to see his reaction.

"Don't worry, don't worry~ I wouldn't do that to you. I was thinking of doing something like a taco or something like that. Maybe an egg taco? or maybe spinach cheese pockets? I don't know yet. I'll figure it out when the time comes around" She said, as he already looked excited. She wasn't the best cook, but she wasn't all that bad either.

Sadly, their blissful moment was over when Riggs started to ask questions from her, getting a little bit more serious. "So... You've been getting along with some of the others, right?"

Where was he getting that from? She wasn't close to anyone, except for Syrup. And even then, she only was around him whenever she needed him to do something or they had to work together. 

"I... I kinda saw you and Slate together yesterday?" Riggs said, looking a little bit nervous. "I don't know... It looked that you two are getting really along... You even ate what he made you"

The only question that she had right now was... when did he manage to see all of that and how long was he watching the two if he saw all of that? Why didn't he come and join?

"If you were there, why didn't you come and join, Riggs?" She asked, a little bit confused, as he looked uncomfortable at those questions. It seemed he didn't expect it.

"I just thought... I wasn't welcome and all of that... You both looked really close to one another, Didn't want to get in the middle of your alone time with him" Riggs said, confusing her even more.

"You are always welcome to join me at anything I'm doing. Don't be shy" She said, not understanding the problem. He knows that he's the most important person to her, right?

"...He wouldn't like it, I'm sure," Riggs said, and she rolled her eyes. "Why would I care about what he thinks? If he doesn't like it, then he can get lost"

Riggs let out a weak laugh, before saying "Hey, you shouldn't say that about your boyfriend." She stopped when he said that, not believing what left his mouth.

"... What did you just say??" She said, disbelief in her voice "Oh stars above, he's not my boyfriend! He's not even my friend. I'm single as it comes. Riggs calm down" She said.

Riggs looked over to her, before smiling happily, pulling her in a hug "oh, I was so worried! Well, I'm glad you aren't with him. Okay, are we done? I think we should head over to Ashley's!"

When Riggs said that they had to head over to Ashley's, her smile fell. Well, it looked like their moment was ruined and Ashley was back at the center of the attention.

"I don't know... Riggs, I'm not feeling the best. I should probably prepare the food for her. I wouldn't want to go over to her and accidentally make her sick" It's because of Riggs showing so much attention to her, that she didn't want to go back to Ashley's just yet.

Riggs stared at her, before nodding. "Oh... T-that's fine! Can I ask something from you?" He asked as she nodded. Well, it would be rude to decline at least that much.

"Would you be able to make something for Ashley? Like... maybe a scarp book or something?" (y/n) was confused again, not sure why Ashley would need something like that.

"Why does she need something like that?" She asked as Riggs answered. "She seems very sad lately, I thought something like a scrapbook with her favorite things and photos of her would make her feel better"

She simply sighed, not wanting to say anything about it. "Alright, I'll ask someone to help me with it" When she said that, Riggs seemed to get a little angry.

"Why do you need help from someone else? Can't you do it alone?" Alright, what was wrong with Riggs today? Why did he care if she did this with someone else or not?

"Calm down Riggs. What's wrong with you today? I don't know her as well as you guys, that's why I need help with this. " She said, as she looked at Riggs.

"It's just... I feel like you are leaving me behind... Replacing me with other people" He said, and she was about to say something but was stopped by him talking again.

"Doesn't matter. Ignore I said anything." And with that, he was gone... leaving her behind, unsure of what to do and confused on why it felt so good that he was acting like this.

~~~RIGGS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

She was leaving him. There was no way around it. She was replacing him with everyone and she didn't even care about it. Did he mean nothing to her? 

Well, two could play that game. If she didn't care about him anymore, then he'll stop caring about her too... even if that will hurt him. He couldn't remember how his life without her was before he met her, and here he was, needing to start living without her...

He hated the fact that she didn't want him anymore. What did everyone else have that he didn't have? Were they prettier? Were they healthier? Did they make her laugh more? Did they buy her more things? Did they show more care to her than him? Was he been neglecting her, that's why she was feeling like she had to find someone else?

Sure, he hasn't been around here much lately, or at least, she never saw him, but he actually was always there!... He tried to come and talk to her, every single time he would see her come back from somewhere, but she would either ignore him, while deep in her thoughts, or she would be spending time with someone else and that hurt him quite a bit... 

Everyone was getting a little bit of her, except for him. The one who was her best friend. It was clear that she didn't need him as much as he needed her, but... but he couldn't live without her.

He tried, he wanted to drop her, he wanted to quit caring for her, but how could he ever when the first thought he has in the morning is of her? What can he do when he eats breakfast, he wonders if she ate too? What can he do that when he's with Ashley, he wonders who she's with. What can he do when all day long he thinks only about her.

Doesn't she think the same way about him? Weren't they supposed to be best friends until the end of time? Weren't they supposed to only care about one another? Why was she leaving him behind like this?

Why was she smiling at other people that way? Why was she making others laugh while he was far away from her? Why did she feel comfortable around others, when Riggs didn't even know the names of most of the people in the mansion...

Was their friendship not as important to her as it was for him? Did she not care about him the same way that he cared for her? He was doing everything he could do to make her life better, but she was doing absolutely nothing back.

He just wished that things would go back to normal. Everything went to hell when the others appeared in her life. Now she is involving herself with them, when she should actually just be around him...

He'll need to prove to her that everyone else is not good enough for her and that he is really the only one that really cares about her. There is no way around it.

~~~CHOMPERS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

Chompers was no idiot. He understood that Riggs and (Y/n) were close, and his presence there would just be in the way. But he also didn't want to get her in trouble, so he simply decided to head to the living room and be there until she's ready to do whatever she needs to do next.

But something was telling him that something wasn't alright between those two. The way (Y/n) looked at Riggs was with care and love meanwhile Riggs looked at her with disappointment and sadness. 

Chompers wondered if there was some sort of misunderstanding between those two. They really seemed to care for one another, it would be sad if their friendship would be ruined because of a simple misunderstanding.

He just hopes that they will one day talk this through and solve their problems. It would be absolutely heartbreaking seeing so much care go to waste because of a misunderstanding that could be easily avoided.

***DAY TIME***

She was feeling so confused. There was no way around it... What is she supposed to do, now that she knew that Riggs thought that she was replacing him with someone else? She needed to do something and fast before she would actually lose him...

She really wanted to ask someone what to do, but who could she even do that with? There was no point in trying to ask anyone because she felt like no one would really help her in the way she needs it.

She hadn't even moved from the kitchen since the moment that Riggs left, as she had been racking her brain, trying to figure out what she could do to make him feel better.

For one, she really would need to do that scrapbook. Second, she needed to spend more time with him. And probably start going back to Ashley with him, but that... that hurts her way too much. What was she supposed to do about that?

She sighed, well, she should stop dwelling on it, and probably start writing for the others on what Ashley should get for food. Maybe while she's preparing it, she could figure it out.

After thinking for a little bit, she figured out that the best option for food right now would be an egg toast for Ashley's late breakfast, with some of the tea that she bought the previous day. Maybe some of the leftover frittata for lunch with a cup of coffee. And probably for dinner, steak, fried veggies with banana chocolate muffins as dessert.

"... Is this... Ashley's food list?" The voice of Slim snapped her out of her thoughts, as she looked to the side, where she found Slim standing. She nodded her head.

"Yeah, I'm a little bit late with it, but yeah, because the food is simple, it should be prepared pretty fast" Slim nodded his head, looking over the list.

"You... always make... simple food," Slim said, making her roll her eyes. What is that supposed to mean? Each time she asks Ashley, she gives her a crazy amount of food to make that (y/n) just doesn't have the time to make.

"Well, as long as it's good, it shouldn't be a problem, right?" Slim nodded his head again, showing that he agreed with her. It was weird how he was beginning to talk to her, but she wasn't going to push him away.

Or should she? Would Riggs like that more? No... No, Riggs wasn't that type of person. He would want her to be around others too, he just needs her to spend more time with him personally.

"...Miss...?" Slim asked as she hummed back in response "Do you... have any sweets... around?" She looked over to him, before shaking her head. What a weird question.

"Nothing right now. There will be some banana and chocolate muffins later on if you want?" He seemed to frown for a second, before shaking his head.

"No... Thank you... Miss..." He looked disappointed but wasn't saying anything else. What was she supposed to do? Many of the people here usually didn't eat at home, so there were no sweets like candies laying around. 

"There is an ice scream parlor around here... If you want to visit it?" She said as Slim looked a little bit confused, as he asked "Ice Scream?" Oh, that's right.

"Many people who came from other universes didn't have Ice Screams, right? Anyways, Ice Scream is like ice cream, but it comes with horror-themed quotes and on special occasions, with horror quotes attached or some even scream. It's still as good as Ice cream. " She explained, as Slim listened.

"... I want.. some..." She nodded her head, happy with the reply as she got up from her seat. "Alright then, let's go" She needed to get out and clear her head either way and this seemed like the perfect excuse to do that.

Slim followed after her, a few feet behind her, as he was hunched over like always. It really brought pity to her. He was quite handsome, but that hunched over back really took points from his attractiveness.

"Slim, walk straight. You'll mess up your back otherwise" She said, walking a little bit slower, so she could keep an eye on Slim. He looked surprised at what she asked of him but did it either way.

He was much taller than she thought. It seemed that he was heavily hunching over all the time. Was it because of his brother being jealous of his height? He hoped that was not the case, or she'll have a serious conversation with Slate and how bad of a bother he could be at times.

"Here you go. Much better. Don't you feel better like this?" She said but didn't get a reply. Well, not like she needed a reply. She was glad that he wasn't hunched over anymore.

They walked in silence until they arrived at the parlor. He looked much happier when they did. She felt like she was a parent bringing their good child to get a treat.

"Okay Slim, choose whatever you want. I'll pay for you" She said, as they walked inside. The moment they did, he was already near the ice scream, looking at what he would want to get.

Should she spoil herself a little bit too, and get herself a treat too? Well, that did sound wonderful. Why not? She walked over to the Ice scream, smiling at the woman behind the counter.

"Did you choose what you want Slim?" He nodded, going immediately to order, as she followed suit pretty soon, being glad that she offered to bring him out.

When they were done with that, they took their ice scream, and went out of the parlor, feeling satisfied. Slim was happily eating the Ice Scream, as she was taking small bites too.

It was peaceful and nice, simply walking in silence while eating ice scream, with Slim by her side. She liked going outside, quite a bit and only these past days had she had the chance to do that more often.

"If you ever want to go for some Ice scream again, come ask me. I'll come along with you" She offered. Maybe she should bring Riggs for some ice scream too? 

"... okay... Let's do this... often," Slim said, enjoying his treat. Stars above, he must really be enjoying his treat if he wants to go here more often. Sure, ice scream was good, but he had to make sure he took good care of his health. 

"Make sure you take care of your health, yeah? Too many sweets will hurt you" She said, but didn't get a reply from him. It seemed that he was the type to not reply at all when he would hear something he didn't like. Oh that punk, she swore.

They returned back to the mansion, their treats done, and both of them going their way. Now that she was done with this, she should probably stop being so worried about Riggs and actually doing something. 

"Had fun with Slim?" Asked the voice, coming from Riffle. She looked to the side, sighing. Honestly, Riffle was getting on her nerves. The last time he visited her, he was really being an ass. What was he going to do now?

"Well, actually, I had a good time with Slim. So yes. You should learn something. Maybe then Ashley would actually start to like you" Why should she hold back? She wasn't interested in playing friends with him.

"Ouch. Didn't need to go there, buddy" He said, the grin on his face still there, but the lights in his eyes were so light that she could barely see them.

"Listen, is there a reason for you to bother me? If not, I have other things to do" She said, wanting to get past him, but not managing to do that, as he grabbed her hand, keeping her in place.

"Why the rush? Have some date with someone else?" He asked, the eyelights returning to their usual color, as she rolled her eyes. Like she would ever give anyone the chance.

"Of course not. I have actual work to do. And someone to babysit, so if you would let me go, that would help me return to my job faster" She said, but Riffle just laughed, not letting her go.

"If you could have gone out for some fun with Slim, I'm sure you can spare a second or two for me," Riffle said, turning her around so she would be facing him.

"Do I have a choice?" There was no point for her to keep fighting. If she would just go along, this would be over faster and she could go back to doing whatever she needed.

"Good girl~," He said, laughing a little bit. "Now, are you okay?" He asked, surprising her with the question. He laughed even more at the confused expression on her face.

"Come on, don't look so surprised. You seem to be talking with more people and all of that. I was just wondering if everything's okay with you?" Riffle asked.

Well, he didn't need to be this aggressive with her to just ask about her wellbeing, right? The fact that he was being like this, showed that he didn't care all that much.

"Is it really weird that I am actually enjoying myself with other people? First Riggs and now you. Just leave me alone Riffle. Care about yourself more, yeah?" She said, ripping her hand out of his grip, as she turned around, and started to walk towards the stairs, not looking behind at Riffle.

~~~SLIM'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Slim felt like he could be around (y/n) more often now. Why? Because his brother wasn't saying how annoying she was or telling him strictly to not be around her. 

Right now, Slate was just telling him that she couldn't take care of herself and that she would have probably starved to death if he wasn't around yesterday. 

Slim was sure that it wasn't that bad, but he didn't dare say anything to his problem, not when he looked so happy about all of that. It really made Slim wonder if Slate really hated (y/n) or if he was just saying that to himself.

When she invited him for some ice scream, he couldn't be happier. He had been craving some sweets and spending some time together with her. This was just perfect.

She looked so in thought like something was happening and she just seemed to be needing something to do outside of thinking about that thing. Going out seemed like the perfect solution.

He really did want to spend more time with her. She was fun to be around, but she did act as his parent from time to time. He was younger than her, but it didn't mean she really needed to act like that...

~~~RIFFLE'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Riffle messed up. And he messed up quite a bit. Not only had she been ignoring him, but also his brother. Rose had been complaining to Riffle how she wasn't coming up to him as she did in the past, and that he felt like he did something to anger her. 

Riffle knew that it was he who actually angered her, and he hated that his brother needed to pay for the fact that he couldn't just control himself or play it cool.

Riffle tried to return to how things were before, but she just doesn't seem to want him to be around. Maybe if he didn't mess up the bedroom thing, then things could have gone back to normal.

She's clearly becoming friends with people that she hated in the past, and pushing him and Rose out as fast as possible, and that was hurting both of them.

Yes, Riffle didn't like her romantically, but it didn't mean that he didn't see her as a friend at some point. The fact that she treated him like an annoyance hurt him.

***EVENING TIME***

After getting away from Riffle, she had been doing some paperwork in her room that she had been pushing away for far too long. Today she wasn't all that busy, so it was just the right time to get over with it.

Just as she was turning the page, about to start on the next part, she heard a knock on her door, and before she could say anything, the door was slammed open, and Casanova stood outside.

He had a pleased expression on his face when he saw her, as he stomped over to her, taking the papers that she had on the table, and pushing them to the side, trying to get her full attention.

"(Y/n), THERE ARE YOU! I FINALLY FOUND YOU!" He said as she looked over to him. Stars above, what did he want right now? She was having such a good time without him around, but it looked like her luck was not going to last for long.

"That so, Nova? Well, what's the problem?" She said, expecting him to start yelling at her his problem, but nothing came. She looked over to him, wondering what was wrong.

"N-NOVA?" He asked, stuttering. She couldn't understand what was the problem. Casanova was way too long for her to say every single time. Nova was shorter and cuter. And she couldn't call him Casa, because that means house in Spanish and Italian.

"Yeah. I mean, we're close, right? A nickname seems appropriate" She said, not wanting to get too deep into this. She wasn't even sure why he was acting like it's a big deal.

"R-RIGHT! OF COURSE! CLOSE... UM, THEN... I'LL CALL YOU!..." He stopped like he was thinking for a second, before saying "HELPER! BECAUSE YOU ARE MY HELPER! AREN'T I A GENIUS?" he said, starting to laugh. 

Let's say that she didn't like that nickname one little bit. At least he showed her some respect by calling her by her name, and now he was going to call her what? Helper? Was he stupid?

This couldn't go like this. She needed to do something. And something drastic for him to choose something better. She knew him, he wouldn't change her nickname if she just asked him, instead would keep calling her that just to spite her. So, she needed to do something that would leave a mark on him and would make him call her something else.

... Flirting. She did it before with a few others, and that helped her get where she wanted. She might as well try this with him. Besides, he's so dense, he might not even realize she's flirting with him.

The first thing that she did was slowly wrap her arms around his waist, surprising him quite a bit, as he looked down at her, unsure of what to do. "W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING, HELPER?"

She really wanted to frown right now because of the nickname, but she controlled herself. She needed to do something about it, and she couldn't mess it up right now.

"... You know Nova, you really are hurting me right now..." She said, her grip on his hip gentle, yet possessive, as she got up from her chair, stepping a little bit closer to him.

"Aren't we... close, Nova?" She kept talking, pulling him slightly closer. She expected him to struggle against her, say something to her, or anything like that, but instead of that, he kept looking at her, a soft blush appearing on his cheeks.

"U-UM... H-HOW CLOSE... DO YOU MEAN?" Casanova eventually said, looking up at her, looking nervous. It seemed that she got him caught in her web.

Now, she had two choices that she could go with. That she could keep talking, or... she could kiss him? She knew that the kiss will really embarrass him, and the chance of it working was bigger, but the talking was much safer...

Fuck it, things were going to hell today. She might as well go all out today. There was no point holding back anymore, seeing as Riggs was trying to distance himself from her...

One of her hands that was on his hip slowly moved over to his cheek, as he glanced at her hand, but didn't try to move her away from him. "This close..." She said as she started to inch closer to him.

His reaction to that was to close his eyes, before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her closer to him, hurrying the kiss. The kiss lasted for a few seconds, before he pushed her away, blushing even more than before.

"T-THAT WAS VERY UNCALLED OFF!... HONEY..!" He said, clearly embarrassed as he pushed her away, before running out of the room, probably forgetting the reason why he was even there.

When she was sure that he was long gone, she couldn't control herself as she let out a laugh. Honestly, was he a child or something? His reaction was so cute! Besides, the nickname that he gave her wasn't that bad. It was better than Helper, either way.

~~~CASANOVA'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

He never thought that she... That she felt like that towards him!... It made sense, honestly. She always looked so angry or sad or disappointed every single time that he talked about Ashley and how great she is...

He must have been hurting her so much... Well, he couldn't return her feelings, that's for sure, he loved Ashley, but he could make sure that he wouldn't keep hurting her...

Of course, things like what happened today shouldn't happen again! But if they would ever happen, he couldn't just push her away... She was a very needed asset, so he couldn't just lose her...

But that didn't mean that he liked her. He honestly didn't... He just liked the attention she was giving him, okay?! Ashley never kissed him first, and when he would kiss her, she would never kiss him back... Yet now, (Y/n) kissed him and acted so gentle...

He had needs too, yet he couldn't force Ashley into too much, otherwise, he'll get into heavy trouble. But with (y/n)? He could do anything he wanted because she clearly wanted it too...

***NIGHT TIME***

It was already night time and she still hadn't found Chompers. And she still needed to do the scrapbook. This was going to be a mess and she knew that...

She walked into the living room, only to find Chompers sitting on the couch, while Dreary was sitting next to him, and both of them seemingly were chatting.

She had never seen Dreary look so happy and Chompers too looked pretty relaxed, she even saw him smile once. It was nice that they were already getting along this well.

She walked over to the couch, before saying "Here you are, Chompers. I was looking for you" She said, as both of them stopped talking, and they looked at her.

She felt a little bit awkward at that, but didn't say anything. "...I was here the whole day, Miss. I didn't cause any problems. Just as spending time with my son"

Son? Was Chompers the father of Dreary and Grim them? Similar to how Syrup was the father of Mal and Toots? Well, that was nice. She was glad he was getting along with his son.

"That's good to hear." This was actually pretty good for her. She could ask both of them to do the scrapbook for her, right? That would be pretty good, right? Dreary spends a lot of time with Ashley, meanwhile, Chompers wants to spend time with his son, right? And he'll follow whatever she asks him to do, right?

"Oh, by the way, Dreary, could you do me a favor?" She asked, surprising Dreary when she walked to him, as he looked down at his lap, but nodded his head.

"Riggs asked to make a scrapbook for Ashley of things she likes and photos of her and the others together with her. Would you and Chompers be able to do it?" She asked.

The silence was there for a few seconds before Dreary nodded his head. She smiled, letting a sigh of relief as she said "I'm glad you accepted. I'll make sure to get you something nice as a thank you. Wait here for a second, I'll bring you two what you need" And with that, she was gone to bring everything they needed, feeling happy that she didn't need to deal with this anymore.

~~~DREARY'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Dreary still felt shy around her. They weren't on good terms, that's for sure, but she was acting much nicer to him lately, making the idea that she might not be that bad true...

He wasn't sure if she felt that he wanted to spend more time with his father or not, but he was glad that she was giving him that chance. Grim never got along with their father, but Dreary liked their father.

While Dreary and Chompers were working, she had gone into the kitchen to prepare some late-night snacks for the three of them, and he really felt like this was some sort of fun sleepover...

It was like they were a big happy family. He was happy about that. He would have wanted Grim to join too, but Grim clearly made it seem that he didn't want to be around Chompers...

When she had come back, she had some drinks ready, some tea, coffee, and some veggies, eggs, and ham sandwiches. It was simple, but it was really good either way. 

Chompers and Dreary worked on the ground, while she was sitting on the couch, and would choose the pictures to use, and complimenting their work, saying that they were doing really good.

He had never seen her this relaxed, actually laying on the couch and at times even closing her eyes to nap for a few seconds until either of them needed something new.

Grim really was missing out on so much. But that was okay too, at least he, Chompers, and (y/n) were spending some time together. If she would keep being this good, maybe one day they all could be really happy.

He can't wait until he will be able to go back to his own world, and maybe if she would like to, she could come along with them? She clearly isn't getting the proper attention from her world's people, so he thinks her coming with them would be the best option.

~~~CHOMPERS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

He hadn't moved an inch since he had been left in the living room. He didn't mind it one little bit, since his youngest son had joined him. He was sad that his oldest was still as hostile with him as he was the last time they saw one another, but there was not much that he really could do about it.

When she finally arrived and offered the job, Chompers was happy to work on it because of how happy Dreary seemed to be. He didn't know (Y/n) all that well, but if she could make his son so happy, then she must be something special.

She seemed to have a tendency to laze around, but he didn't mind that much, as she made Dreary look so happy. The way he would go over to her and ask if what he was doing was good or not, made Chompers happy.

In a sense, they all looked like a happy family. Chompers as the father, Dreary as the young son, and (y/n)... No, it was just too soon to say anything. Besides, he was feeling like that only because his son looked that happy around her.

He would need to get to know her more before he would make sure that his feelings are real or if he is just wanting to see his sons happy. All he knows right now is that she comes with the feeling of familiarity and makes him feel like he belongs here, even if he really doesn't. He's sure his son feels the same way.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: A shitty day, day 6

Honestly, she was tired. Not actually tired, but she was tired of the things that had been happening to her. She honestly couldn't understand why everything was happening to her and not someone else. She wasn't special, nor did she want to be special. All she wanted was for things to get back to normal. When there were no alternative versions of the Aster brothers. When all Gaster's were dead and when Ashley wasn't part of their life.

It might sound cruel, but it was so much easier before. She wouldn't need to wake up every morning to slave away in a kitchen, she didn't need to pray to whatever gods were up in the sky to just give her a moment with Riggs. Things were just perfect before.

A sigh escaped from her, as she looked at the bowl of oatmeal. This was going to be Ashley's breakfast. She couldn't care less about what she wanted to eat. Right now, she had no energy to do anything.

For lunch, she was going to make Ashley some Frittata egg muffins, with a fried egg BLT sandwich. And for dinner, some quiche with overnight chilled chia for dessert. It was simple, but honestly, she couldn't bring herself to do anything more. She wasn't even doing most of this food, but leave it for someone else to do.

While she was in her thoughts, she felt someone touch her shoulder, making her jump up. She turned around, only to see Dreary there, smiling at her weakly with his ragged teeth pointing out. Honestly, she wasn't surprised by the fact that Ashley was afraid of him, but what was he doing here instead of going to Ashley's?

"A-are you... going to miss Ashley now, Miss Salems?" Asked Dreary, as (Y/n) looked at the bowl. Did she want to go with Dreary to visit Ashley? She honestly couldn't look at the woman without feeling disgusted.

"... Sure" She eventually said, not sure why she did that. She didn't even notice how Chompers followed after her and Dreary. The skeleton has completely become invisible to her as time went on, because of how quiet he truly can be...

".. um, miss Salems? Is... um, is that all for breakfast?" Dreary looked at the bowl, an uncomfortable look on his face. Wasn't he from a universe where food is scarce?... This could be troublesome if he thought she was starving Ashley...

"Ashley doesn't eat much for breakfast. I don't want any food to be wasted" She said, not looking at him, but it seemed that that answer was good enough for him, as he dropped the topic.

They finally arrived at the room, Chompers stopping near the door and not going inside. That was good enough for her, not really wanting him to be inside either.

When Dreary closed the door behind, and Ashley looked up, seeing that (Y/n) was there too, a huge smile appeared on the woman's face, as she tried to get up from her bed, but the chain didn't let her wander over to were (Y/n) was.

"Oh, (y/n)~ I missed you! You are finally here. Got me breakfast on time today? Thank you~" Ashley said, as (y/n) walked over to the bed to give Ashley the food. She was about to walk away from the bed, but Ashley grabbed her and pulled her back onto the bed, wrapping her arms around (Y/n).

"Aww, don't go just yet. Come on, you always stand in the corner. The bed is much comfier, we can be on here... And you skeleton, stay where you are" Ashley's tone completely changed when she looked over to Dreary, but he didn't look offended at all, but happy for some reason. Were the skeletons masochists? Was that why they liked Ashley that much?... Couldn't be, (y/n) was just as bad, maybe worse, but they seemed to dislike her. Whatever.

"... Eat" Was all she said, but she didn't try to struggle or anything, deciding to get comfortable on the bed. She actually found standing to be much better, but oh well, she might as well rest up.

Ashley started eating the oatmeal, not complaining at all, as Dreary was watching at the two, a happy look on his face. He was never this happy around her. This was annoying.

"So... Are you going to visit me more often? Oh, and did you get in a fight with that other skeleton? Never seen you with this one before" Ashley asked when she finished the bowl.

(y/n) didn't answer anything, placing the bowl on the nightstand, still laying on the bed and looking up at the ceiling. Just because she was here, it didn't mean that she was interested in being buddy-buddy with someone who was ruining everything for her.

"M-Miss Salems... W-would you and Ashley like to do some... um, crafts?" Dreary eventually asked as he held a box. (y/n) immediately looked up at Dreary. Was he insane?! Giving anything sharp and dangerous to Ashley would be insane...!

"I don'-" Before (y/n) could say anything, Ashley looked excited, nodding her head "I would love to do that Donny!" "It's drea-" "Whatever! Let's do it!" Ashley said.

Ashley wasn't stupid, she realized what she could do with that, right? Well, she needed to keep an eye on Ashley now... Hopefully, she wasn't stupid enough to do anything.

Dreary came over, ecstatic to be getting some sort of attention from the woman, as he opened the craft box, and started to take out things. Before anyone could realize anything, Ashley grabbed the scissors and almost immediately tried to attack Dreary, but (y/n) was fast enough to be able to catch the scissors before they could hit Dreary.

She looked down at her arms, seeing that they were bleeding... Honestly, Ashley was troublesome and it seemed that Dreary was shocked about what had happened, while Ashley looked annoyed, as (Y/n) dragged the scissors out of her hands.

"Whip will hear about this Ashley. Let's go Dreary. Or you'll get in trouble for being here" She said, not caring for him to answer, as she dragged him out of the room.

When they came out of the room, Chompers looked over to them, before looking at her hand but he said absolutely nothing, as Dreary stared at her, and her bloody hand.

It hurt, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle with a straight face. She had been through worse, considering she worked with the mafia and she needed to fight a lot of people.

She was about to walk away, but she was stopped when Dreary gently picked up her arm, trailing his fingers over the cut. She stared at him, wincing slightly, but trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling.

He looked at her cut, before bringing the hand up to his skull, and placing it on his cheekbones, smearing the blood all over his face... She tried to pull her hand back, but his grip was much stronger than she excepted.

He was about to move closer, but he was stopped when Chompers grabbed his arm, making him finally come back to his senses and let her go. He didn't wait for her to say anything, as he ran off, leaving Chompers and (Y/n) alone and confused.

~~~DREARY'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Dreary wasn't sure what came over to him... But the moment that she protected him, even if those pesky little scissors weren't going to do much damage to him, he felt like... He was loved, in a sense? It was hard to explain, but he had never expected for (Y/n) to protect him the way she did... 

It was sad to say, but he did expect Ashley to do what she did. A few of the guys had decided to do a test to see if she was dangerous anymore or not, and she clearly failed the test... The last thing he expected though was for (Y/n) to protect him.

It was like it came naturally for her. She didn't even think about it and moved on her own to grab the scissors. He knew that she was one of the most loyal people Whip had working under him, but he never knew that that loyalty would go for him too.

You know, (y/n) was as rude as Ashley, but at least she cared for Dreary and tried to protect him... At least she would hug him when he needed to and she gave him a chance to be with his father... Logically speaking, (y/n) was the better choice when it came to who he should... love.

It was insane of him to think like that of (Y/n). But was it really? He had noticed how she would interact with the people she was close to, and... Dreary wanted that. Oh, he wanted that so much!

He could imagine it already, them both walking, holding hands, and buying some snacks for one another. Or maybe cooking together? Or even simply cuddling... It was so sudden but he felt like if he worked towards that, he could achieve it!

The only reason he liked Ashley was that he felt like she might come to love him because everyone else loved her... If everyone loved her, she must have been great, right...? Well, it looked like that wasn't the case at all...

(Y/n) wasn't great, either, don't get him wrong. She was cold, her words could be cutting and she... she looked the type to play around with people, but he knew that she had potential and he was going to train that potential out. 

***DAY TIME***

Honestly, she felt like today was going to be bad. The fact that she hurt herself was one of the reasons. Another reason why this was going to be bad? Well, because Slate was currently being annoying.

"WHO DID THIS TO YOU!?" Slate yelled as he took her hand, looking panicked, as Chompers stood behind her, looking as annoyed as (Y/n) looked right now.

Slate wasn't... bad perse. She understood that much, but it didn't mean that he couldn't be annoying. They were in the mafia, she had gotten hurt much worse before... and he would always act like this each time she would return home bloodied and he would catch her. She was lucky that she immediately went to her room the last time she came back home bloody, or else this would have happened then too.

"... Please... Tell me..." Slate eventually said, much calmer than before, only the worried look on his face. Honestly, she couldn't understand him one little bit. Who did he think she was to him? Why was he always acting like this?

"..." She stayed quiet. No one cared that much for her since forever. She was an adult, she could take good care of herself... but it felt nice, in a sense. Riggs took care of her like this, at the beginning too...

"...I accidentally cut myself" Slate was in love with Ashley. Slate was also nice to (y/n), except for his sometimes annoying 'arch-nemesis' speeches and the constant request for fights, which end up in him apologizing for any damage that he caused her. Outside of that, he wasn't someone she wanted to hurt. Not anymore at least. That's why... She would rather lie to him about the origin of her wound and not ruin his image of the person he loves...

"..." Slate stayed quiet, before letting out a sigh. He seemed to be calm finally, but he didn't look completely convinced. Oh well, it didn't matter at all right now. She was also glad that Chompers wasn't saying anything or reacting to it in any way. Not like he knew the truth either.

"You are such a clutch..." Slate muttered under his breath, before sitting her on the couch and telling her to wait for a second. Soon, he came back with a medic kit and started to patch her up.

"Honestly, what would you do without me..." He kept muttering under his breath, but she was barely picking what he was saying up. Chompers, on the other hand, was understanding everything Slate was saying.

"... You need me, I know that..." Slate muttered his last sentence under his breath as he finished up his work. She looked at her patched up hand and smiled slightly.

This was much better, she was slightly afraid she might get an infection, but she was glad that wasn't the case. Now, she should probably thank him, right?

"Here, all done!" He said, getting up from the couch, and about to head out, but she stopped him by grabbing him. He looked back at her, as she stood up.

"Thanks, Slate. For everything" She said, hugging him. He seemed to be surprised by this, but he slowly wrapped his arms around her, putting his head on her shoulder, muttering something else, but she again couldn't catch it.

~~~SLATE'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

(y/n) was... hopeless? That was it. Of course, she was. There was no reason for him to worry about her not needing him. Of course, she needed him. If she managed to cut herself with scissors, then she really needed him.

Slate hated how that new guy was following her around all the time, but he decided that ignoring it was going to be the best thing to do right now. She seemed to not mind it, and he was going to not mind it too.

As Slate was saying, (Y/n) was really hopeless. She always looked so lost and in thought, that Slate couldn't help but always follow her around, to make sure that she's fine. Because she's his enemy, of course.

You see, Slate didn't want to assume anything but... But she smelled of so many of the others. It made him wonder how many people touched her, smelled her, and even lied to her!

It's clear they have been lying to her. They have been getting close to her, trying to give her a false sense of security while using her, and she is simply not smart enough to realize that.

Honestly, he couldn't blame her for that. She is lonely, she wants to find someone that adores her and loves her and takes care of her, and he can understand that, but the problem is that he could be that for her.

As her enemy, it's his job to make sure that she is happy, so she could just accept all that he gives her and simply go with him. If she would just stop playing around with everyone else, that would make things so much... better.

The way she hugged him, with so much longing, well, it made him realize that she might just be unsure of what to do. Honestly, it was his job to make sure to give her the right path to follow and he was going to do exactly that.

And of course, he'll start off by getting rid of anyone he thinks isn't worthy of her time. That being, everyone.

~~~CHOMPERS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

Slate was... weird. Something was wrong with him, and Chompers could understand that. He wasn't sure how (Y/n) couldn't notice that, but Chompers did.

The boy, in one word, was obsessed. He was obsessed with (Y/n), and Chompers couldn't understand why or how. It was like the idea of taking care of her was making him lose his mind.

Chompers remembered how Slate and (Y/n) were before, that one time he had met the two a few years ago. They were like cats and dogs, fighting all the time, but it's like something happened and now... And now Slate was completely different.

Chompers wasn't sure what was wrong with him, or what he could do, but he knew that (y/n) wasn't safe. Or at least, not alone. She needed to keep a lookout for Slate. He seemed to be up to something bad, and he didn't want her to get hurt.

***EVENING TIME***

Chompers eventually had excused himself to go and spend some time with his sons, and she didn't mind him going away. So here she was, currently alone, and ready to head for a walk.

Honestly, it had been forever since she had gone out, alone, for a walk, to clear her mind. It was... refreshing, that's for sure. She always loved doing that in the past.

As she was about to head out of the mansion, a loud voice made her stop in her tracks, as she slowly turned around, only to recognize the person who was walking over to her.

It was Casanova. Oh well, what was he going to do now? Was he going to ask her to go out and bring something for him? Well, sadly for him, she was not only not in the mood to do that, but she was also hurt.

As she was about to decline, she was surprised by what left his mouth "A-are you... ARE YOU LEAVING FOR A WALK?" Casanova asked, seemingly nervous, as she nodded her head. He seemed to relax at that "WONDERFUL, LET US GO THEN"

Before she could say anything, mostly decline, she was dragged out by him. Well, it looked like her peaceful walk was not going to happen. But he was acting strange. Was it because of the kiss?

The two said nothing to one another as they walked down the road, him not letting go of her hand. This time, he was much slower with his walk, and he looked at her from time to time, like he expected her to do something.

She wasn't exactly sure what he wanted from her, but she couldn't deliver that, she was sure of it. She already felt uncomfortable holding his hand, with how tight his grip was.

Her hope of him not speaking at all was shattered when he finally spoke up, "W-WHY IS YOUR HAND PATCHED UP, H-HONEY?" Oh? He was using that nickname that he had given her the previous day... cute.

"Nothing much," She said, almost wanting to tell him that Ashley did it, but he knew that he was such a blabber mouth... And well, that could reach Riggs and Slate's hypothetical ears and that would be troublesome towards her...

"Just accidentally cut me. Was thinking about you too much~" She added, joking of course, but he seemed to take it seriously, as he looked to the group, blushing and looking even more nervous than before.

"Y-YOU NEED TO TAKE... TO TAKE BETTER CARE OF YOURSELF, HONEY, YOU DUMMY...!" Honestly, was he child? Sometimes she couldn't really understand how someone like him managed to reach so much in life.

"... Was there a reason why you wanted to come along with me?" She said as he looked up at her, the blush not disappearing from his face, as he muttered out.

"W-well, you idiot! You... YOU ARE MY... MY GIRLFRIEND! IT'S MY JOB TO SPEND TIME WITH YOU!"... W h a t? Excuse me, what was that supposed to mean? Did he seriously-?

She was about to correct him, but he continued talking, seemingly too embarrassed to let her add anything to that statement. "S-SO DON'T ASK SUCH STUPID QUESTIONS!... FROM NOW ON, I'LL SPEND A LOT OF TIME WITH YOU, HONEY, SO... So, please... Treat me well..." The way his voice got quiet at the end gave her shivers and not in a good way.

She had kissed many people before. She kissed Rose many times before while teasing him, the same for other people. She even kissed Syrup once while being drunk, and the guy didn't have the same reaction.

Casanova was living in a fantasy world and she didn't want him to be bringing that fantasy out in the real world. He could imagine anything he wants in his head, but he shouldn't say things like that!

...She just hoped she will be able to deal with him before he would start spreading that lie around... otherwise it would be very troublesome for her...

~~~CASANOVA'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

He did it... He finally managed to call her his girlfriend!... She was his girlfriend, right...? Well, she didn't decline it, so it meant that she didn't mind it!

Honestly, he did kind of feel bad for calling her his girlfriend, when he had Ashley, but honestly, she needed to learn that he had other options too if she wouldn't start behaving!

For whatever reason, he wasn't allowed to visit her today. Whip said something about her attacking someone, but he wasn't listening... But... Well, could it be that... (Y/n) was attacked?

Casanova wasn't sure how he felt about that idea. He... loved Ashley? But did he honestly love Ashley, or was he just attracted to her body? Was he even attracted to her body?

Now that he had someone else he could look at. Someone else he could give his love to, he was really wondering if what he felt towards Ashley was even close to being real or if he was just being unsure about his feelings and mistaking his loneliness for love.

He couldn't say that he wasn't in love with Ashley just yet, he needed to think about it for a little bit longer, but what he was sure about was that he cared about (Y/n) more than he thought before.

***NIGHT TIME***

Finally, she came back and she was alone. Sadly, she didn't have much of anything left to do. Her day had gone horribly, and she now found out that because of a kiss, Casanova thought they were an item now. She really needed to go and try to clear that up.

She slowly walked up the stairs, and when she just arrived at the top of the stairs, she noticed that Mal was going somewhere in a hurry. She was about to move out of the way, but before she could do that, the two of them ran into one another.

Everything happened very fast, as both of them were now falling down from the stairs. The only thing that she could think about at that moment, was that today was really shitty.

When they finally landed on the ground, she felt like she might have messed up one of her shoulders, as it hurt like hell... What was this cold feeling on her lips?

She opened her eyes, only to find Mal under her, blushing under her, but a disgusted look on his face, as he pushed her off, hurting her shoulder further.

She winced at that, about to yell out after him, but he wasn't there anymore when she managed to get her composure. She cursed under her breath, not caring about what had happened anymore, looking at her arm.

Well, great. Now, she needed to go and ask someone to heal her fucking arm, or else, she might need to take a long time off work... That would be bad...

~~~MAL'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Disgusting... disgusting... Disgusting...! Disgusting! He was fucking disgusting! How could her disgusting lips touch his own?! How could she have done something like this to him?!

He was currently in the bathroom, scrubbing his skull like there was no tomorrow. He was acting like a complete maniac, scrubbing and muttering under his breath about how disgusting this was...

He hated this, he hated that he needed to do this to get what he needs when even the thought of her touching him disgusts him!... But he needs to do this... He needs to do this no matter what...

Even if it disgusts him...

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: A need for a drink, day 7

The worst idea that she had ever had was to wait until morning to go and tell Whip about her dislocated arm. Throughout the night, she would wake up over and over again, because the pain of the shoulder was not letting her fall asleep. Because of that, she was very tired and unable to really function too much today.

She tried to put on her usual suit, but it was impossible. The more she tried to do that, the more pain she would feel. That's why she looked at her current clothes, that were not appropriate to walk around the mansion with.

With a sigh, she decided that it was early enough, so all she needed to do, was run over to Whip, get her arm fixed up, and then she could get back to her room and get dressed up. That wasn't a problem at all, she was sure about that.

Opening the door, and making sure that no one else was there, she gets out of the room and started to hurry up towards Whip's office. She didn't even knock on the door, as she opened and entered inside.

You see, the clothes she was wearing right now weren't too bad, but they were much more different than her usual clothes. She wore shorts and a tight t-shirt that made her curves evident. She just found sleeping with that much more comfortable than anything else.

The reason she didn't want to be seen wasn't because of her being shy about showing her body. Heavens, she was an adult and she had been around the block, but there was another reason. It was the insane amount of scars that she had on her body.

Some old, some new. Some small, some big. Some sewed up, and some naturally healed up. Her body wasn't perfect like Ashley's, who hadn't had any sort of wound on her body.

Why she was insecure about those scars... Well, he had said her body was ugly... He's dead, she knows that, but he still haunts her mind from time to time, like he's trying to ruin her life from the grave.

Whip looked at her, a small blush appearing on his face from the sight before him, but he said nothing, understanding that she came here for a reason if her holding her own shoulder was anything to go by.

"Hey, whip... I need your help" She said, looking at him, as she walked over to him, and sat down at the chair in front of his table. He slowly nodded his head, as he looked at her.

".. I think I dislocated my arm. Could you fix it?" She asked as Whip stayed quiet, as she added "It hurt so fucking bad, I couldn't even put on my normal clothes..."

Whip let out a sigh, nodding his head as he got up from his seat and walked over to her. She looked at him for a second but decided to turn her gaze to look out of the window that was behind his chair.

His fingers gently trailed on her arm, like he was trying to memorize how her arm was. He always did things like that whenever he would heal her. Touching her so gently, with an indescribable look in his eyes...

"How... Did you get hurt?" He asked eventually, as he was still touching her arm, oh so gently. "... Fell down the stairs. Probably fell on my arm the wrong way"

Whip simply nodded his head, not asking any more questions, as he finally started healing her. You see, every magic has its distinct smell and feeling it gives. Whip's magic smelled like expensive cherry whiskey, meanwhile, his magic felt like... feathers gently brushing against your skin, helping you relax as nothing else could...

Every single time he would use his magic on her, she would feel this sense of calmness like everything was alright. She would always like she could fall asleep at any moment, and he always looked at her with such a gentle look.

It made her wonder, why was he always so gentle with her? What made him think that she was worth such a privilege? Was it because of what had happened in the past? 

She hated thinking about the past. The past had so many bad things happen, that she likes to live in the moment, but sometimes, she did remember the past, and she would get so many questions.

When he finally finished healing her up, his hands were still touching her skin, as he looked at her with such... longing and sadness, that it made her wonder what was wrong.

When she was to ask, he let go of her arm, before walking back to his desk, not looking at her this time. This was enough for her to understand that it was time for her to get going back to her room, so she could actually get dressed up.

She got up, not saying anything, and walked over to the door, but before she could really get out, the voice of Whip stopped her, as she turned around to look at him.

"... Please take care, alright? If you ever need anything, please tell me... I shall do everything in my power to make your dreams come true... " Whip was again in one of those moods, wasn't he?

She sighed, closing the door behind her, as she started to walk back over to whip. She knew how he could get when he was like this. How emotional he was.

She walked over to him, before wrapping her arms around him, as he immediately wrapped his arms around her waist, gently pushing her into his lap, as his grip tightened on her.

She let out a sigh, as he placed his head on top of her own, her snuggling into his chest. She knew these moods, and how emotional he was. All the nights she would spend with him, she knew how to handle him. But wasn't Ashley supposed to handle these moods now? Truly, what was her purpose here?

"... You won't leave me, right?" Whip asked her, in a trembling voice, as she nodded her head, caressing one of his hands. Even if she wanted, where could she go? She gave everything up for them. They were everything she had left.

"Of course not, Whip. I'll sooner die than leave you" After that, the two didn't speak again. All she knew was that she won't be able to get out of his office for at least a few hours.

He truly was a pathetic person, wasn't he?

~~~WHIP'S POINT OF VIEW~~

He knew that she hated it when he did this... He tried his very best to try and keep himself in check, but lately, things have been so rough on him and all he needed was someone to hold in his arms... He wanted to own someone for himself, not needing to share.

Why did he start liking Ashley? Well, because Ashley was the perfect replacement for (Y/n). The woman liked Riggs, there was no around it. And Whip... Whip liked (Y/n).

He hated the fact that he couldn't imagine his days without seeing (Y/n), there, sitting in the kitchen, and eating something while in some thought.

He couldn't imagine waking up one day and not finding breakfast for him ready, that she would prepare and bring it over to him. He couldn't imagine his life without the sound of her crying at night when her nightmares would get stronger.

He tried to replace (y/n) with Ashley, but it was impossible. He thought that because Ashley was as horrible as (Y/n), that it would be possible, but he had thought completely wrong...

It was cruel for him to say, but he loved the few moments that he would be able to get with her, as she would completely be weak, and under his control. He loved that so much, it drove him insane.

No, he shouldn't think about her like that. He had promised himself that he would stop liking her. She belonged to Riggs, but... But Riggs didn't even want her, why couldn't Whip have her instead?

His grip on her tightened, as he smelled her scent. Unlike Ashley, she smelled like cheap alcohol, cigarettes, and rotting bodies... He came to love this smell, like nothing more. It always meant that she was there, next to him, all of his.

He knew that she wasn't him. And that she would probably never be his. She wasn't the time that would give herself to him that easily. But that was fine, he was happy with this for now... But if Riggs ever threw her away, he would be more than happy to give her the comfort that he would deserve...

***DAY TIME***

Finally, she had managed to get out of Whip's grip and go dress herself up. Right now, she was eating lunch in the kitchen. It was nothing special honestly, just some strawberry cupcakes and some leftover quiche. 

As she ate, she was surprised to see that her buddy, Riggs joined her. But... He didn't look happy one little bit. He hasn't looked happy for quite some time now, ever since she went out with Syrup... What was wrong?

"So, you're dating Casanova now? You understand that you are his second option right?" He said, as he took her last cupcake and started to eat it. She didn't care too much, though. She never liked cupcakes all that much either way.

"Dating him? When did you hear that?" She said, taking a bite from her quiche. He seemed to want to act aggressively with her, but she didn't care too much. He was still her buddy. 

"Casanova's been telling everyone that, so they would stop being around you," Riggs said, taking another bite of her cupcake. She knew that he was going to cause problems with this, but for fuck's sake, this soon?

"He's lying. You know me, Riggs, I don't do dating" She said, expecting him to laugh, or something, but what he said, made her freeze up a little bit. "Do I know you? Because I don't know about that anymore"

Without letting her ask any other question, he got up, finishing her cupcake, and started to head out. She looked over to him, feeling herself wanting to burst out crying right now. What was that?!

She always thought that she could accept it if he would push her away, but why did it hurt so much? Why couldn't she accept it now that he was actually pushing her away? Why was she being so hurt over this?

No, she wasn't going to cry. She wasn't going to cry, crying is not important right now. Crying wasn't going to help her get anything done. What she needed was to go and get stuff done.

She needed to figure out what made Riggs so angry with her and fix that, but before that, she needed to fix the problem with Casanova, before anything else would start getting troublesome.

Pushing down her tears, she got up from her seat, leaving the half-eaten quiche piece on the table. She had no appetite anymore. She needed to get this done as fast as possible, everything else will be left for later on.

She got out of the kitchen and decided to walk over to the first person that she would find, telling them to stop spreading the 'I'm dating casanova' lie.

Lucky for her, the first person that she found was actually Slim. He himself might not be able to do much, but if he would tell Slate, the two would manage to kill the rumor pretty fast.

She walked over to Slim, before pulling him to get his attention. He turned around to look at her, a confused look on his face, as he waited for her to speak up.

"Hey slim, you heard the rumor about me and Casanova?" Slim slowly nodded his head, looking slightly uncomfortable now "Well, it's not true. Can you tell Slate to help me out? I need the rumor to die down."

Slim didn't do anything, before finally asking "You... aren't dating... Casanova...?" She shook her head, letting out a sigh, as she spoke up "Of course not. I don't do dating. He's been lying and I need that to finish as soon as possible. You think you both can do that for me?"

Slim nodded his head, looking much happier than before. She let out a sigh of relief, as she finally let go of him. Wonderful, it seemed that this was done and that she didn't need to worry about it.

~~~RIGGS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

Riggs wasn't sure why, but the moment that he heard that Casanova and (y/n) were dating, it made him boil in anger. She had said she didn't want to date his brother, but now she was dating that brat? Were her tastes really that bad?

No, he shouldn't be that angry. She was his bes-... No, no, she wasn't his best friend. She clearly was trying to leave him behind, so why should he consider her to be his best friend? He didn't need backstabbing friends like that.

Well, she did tell him that she wasn't dating him, but honestly, could he really believe her? Something made him feel like... Like he might be doing the wrong thing.

She wasn't acting any differently with him, acting like he's her best friend like she always does, but he keeps acting like she's his biggest enemy, and that makes him wonder if maybe he's doing the wrong choice...

No, he wasn't... right? Or maybe... he misunderstood something, and she wasn't trying to push him away, but right now, he was pushing her away and ruining everything...?

He shook his head, not wanting to think about that. He couldn't bear with the thought of actually being the reason for their friendship to slowly be dying out.

~~~SLIM'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

When he had heard that she and Casanova were dating, well, he wasn't happy. He didn't want to believe it, but a part of him believed that the possibility might have been real...

When she came to him and told him that it wasn't true, he felt like he couldn't be happier. This was good news, it meant that she wasn't taken at all.

He wasn't sure why he was so happy about that, all he knew was that things weren't going to be good if the rumors keep spreading. It was good that she came to ask him and his brother for help.

Oh, he needed to tell Slate this immediately. Slate was so angry before, breaking a few vases in their room, but now he was sure that his brother was going to calm down and be happy that she's not taken.

Honestly, his brother is very protective of her. He probably just thinks that Casanova isn't good enough for her, and slim couldn't agree more. She deserves to have someone who wouldn't make her their second best.

Like him.

***EVENING TIME***

"Come on, things will get better, I'm sure," Syrup said, petting her head as he took a sip of his drunk, her doing the same. What was she currently doing? Well, she was currently drowning her worries and hate with a cup of whiskey, at Grillby's. By her side was Syrup, who had noticed how she was doing and had offered to take her out for drinks.

In the past, she had a problem with alcohol, and only in the last few months had she managed to actually stop drinking as much as she did before, but right now, she couldn't care less, as she drank like there was no tomorrow.

You would think that Syrup would stop her but he simply smiled at her, as she ordered more and more cups, while he slowly sipped his third cup.

She was actually glad that he wasn't trying to tell her to stop drinking, or telling her that drinking wasn't going to change anything. She knew that much herself, she didn't need to be told. 

"So, tell me, buttercup, why are you acting like this?" He asked, smiling at her as he glanced at her, already drinking her 7th cup, already seemingly slurring her words, but still not stopping her.

"I... I fucking hate... Hate everyone!" She said, slamming the empty glass down on the table, not it seemed to not really impress anyone there. Especially Grillby. He was already used to her.

"I... I want... I want Riggs to... " Before she could say anything, she stopped, placing her head on the table, feeling tired. She wanted to go back home and be with Riggs.

"Come on, buttercup. Don't leave me hanging. What do you want Riggs to do?" Syrup asked, slightly nudging her to get a reply from her, but she didn't reply.

Syrup seemed to get a little bit annoyed at this, but he didn't say anything, as he sighed, before calling Grillby over and paying for their drinks. It seemed that this was going to be enough for them today. He'll just try another day.

~~~SYRUP'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Syrup knew that this was wrong, but he also knew that if he didn't do anything, then he was going to never find out what is wrong with her. For the last few days, he had been noticing how badly she had been reacting to everything, and honestly, he is very worried about her. She is his very dear friend, and he can't simply let her torture herself like that.

Honestly, he was going to do everything in his power to get that answer out of her, and if getting her drunk was going to get her to talk, then he was going to do it.

Today he didn't manage to get much out of her, but it didn't mean that he wasn't going to manage to get all the answers that he would need as they would go on.

He would probably need to figure something out so no one would notice what he's doing, but he was sure that he will figure something out, especially when this is for her good.

He knew that she had a problem with drinking, but he hoped that the small amount of alcohol that he will give her won't bring her back into the spiral... He heard she had been working very hard to get better.

And well, even if she did get back into drinking, he was going to accept her either way, so honestly, was that really any problem? Of course not, he would accept her no matter how she would become. 

***NIGHT TIME***

She was currently in her bed, moaning and groaning from how uncomfortable she felt with her suit on, but she didn't have the energy to get up and take it off.

She turned around, about to try and go to sleep, but instead of that, she opened her eyes and noticed... Gaster? No... No, Gaster wasn't here! He was supposed to be dead!

"W-why are you... still alive?" She stuttered out, a frown on her face as the Gaster looked at her, a bored expression on his face. Was he looking down at her like he always did!?

"W-why can't you just... drop dead... and finally leave us alone..." She muttered out, still stuttering, as she started to sob. Why couldn't he just leave her alone?

"Just die!... Please... Just die... We're happier... Happier without you..." She said, slowly letting out deep breaths, as she closed her eyes, feeling like sleep was taking her over.

The last thing that she felt was a gentle hand caressing her head... Gaster never did that to her... This must be a dream... Thankfully.... just a dream and not Gaster...

~~~CHOMPERS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

Chompers isn't sure why (Y/n) was saying the things she was saying, but he understood that there was something more intriguing when it involved her Gaster...

Chompers did notice how uncomfortable Whip, Riggs, and (Y/n) were at the beginning near Syrup and him, and it intrigued Chompers to no end. 

He wasn't sure why, but he wanted to find out what was making everyone seem so frightened of this Gaster that was dead. And something that made him even more intrigued was... who killed this Gaster?

He looked down at her, not being able to control himself, as he caressed her, only for her to calm down, and slowly start to fall asleep. She truly was like a cute little puppy... He didn't think he wanted to lose her just yet.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: Painful Memories

A frown appeared on her face, as she slowly got up from her bed. She looked down at her hand, seeing that it was still bandaged up. Why didn't she ask Whip to heal her arm too? Oh well, it didn't matter. A small cut like this was going to heal over time, even if it would probably leave a scar behind.

The problem was the headache that she was experiencing. It felt like her head was going to break in two. But she was sure that if she'll eat some of the monster food they have, the headache will soon disappear.

She got dressed up and looked in the mirror. She looked like she always did. Everything was like every single day. She wasn't sure if that was something good, or something bad.

Why was she feeling so down today? It was like something was weighing heavy on her chest. She wasn't sure what it was... Was it the way she treated everyone yesterday?

She almost let out a laugh at that thought. She was so much worse on a daily basis, why would she feel guilty about something like this? It couldn't be that she's slowly... getting used to them?

The smile that was on her face slowly started to die out. She was getting used to them, wasn't she? But why did she feel like that? They weren't worth her feeling like that, were they?

...Riggs was leaving her behind. That was why, wasn't it? She, in a few words, is lonely. She always liked Riggs, even when he was a young child, and she was a teenager, she would look at him, and feel so happy while being around him.

She wished that maybe one day, she would be able to make Riggs as happy as he made her, but that day never came, and she sadly gave him up to Ashley.

When did she become this... cruel? When did she think Whip was pathetic? The one she gave everything up for, just to help become the boss. When did she care enough to make fun of others? When did she become like him?

She shook her head, letting out a weak laugh. But she wasn't laughing at anyone. She was trying to force herself to try and think about anything else but what she had done in the past.

It wasn't that she was sorry for what she did. She hated him so much, she could never be sorry for him, but... but a part of her wanted to try and go back in time, to stop herself. To see what would happen then.

She shook her head, what she did, she already did. There was no reason for her to try and regret what she did. There was no way around it, she needed to try and live her life right now.

Gently hitting her cheeks to wake herself up, she got out of her room. Today, even if she was feeling the worse, she felt like she could be a little bit better, for herself.

There was no chance for her to become better now, she was far too gone, but she was at least going to stop hating herself. Stop avoiding problems. And her first problem would be with Casanova.

She needs to stop pushing her problems on others and actually try to solve this without anyone else's help. Slim and Slate were good people, but she shouldn't use them because they were loyal.

With a small smile on her face, she walked into the living room, only to be surprised to see that Whip was there. Was he feeling better? Usually, when he's in his moods, he doesn't get better than fast...

"Good morning, Whip. What are you doing?" She asked as she walked over to him, looking at what he was doing, seeing that he was currently pulling out books and putting them on the coffee table.

He looked back at her, a surprised look on his face. She could understand why she usually would have ignored him, but well, it was time for her to stop pushing everyone away. Besides, Whip wasn't at fault for looking like Him.

"... Some of the others found some old photos of us all laying around. I'm trying to look through these books and take every single album and book with his writing out," Whip said eventually, sounding as pained as you would think while speaking about him.

She was sure she burned everything that was left of him, how could something like that appear here? Especially in such a visible place? She was sure she would have noticed it if it was here.

"I'm sorry Whip. I must have overlooked that." She said as Whip shook his head, not looking at her, as he looked through one of the books, before throwing into a pile on the floor. She guessed that was all the books with his things in there...

"I know it isn't your fault. You hate him as much as everyone else. It must have been another reason why these keep reappearing. Would you be willing to go and throw these books in the pile outside? We'll burn them" She nodded, walking over to the pile and picking almost all of the books down.

Honestly, she loved a few of these books, but because they were gifted to her by him, she knew that she couldn't keep them unless she wanted to anger Whip and everyone else.

She walked out into the backyard, where another pile of books laid. She threw almost all of the books into the pile, only one reminding in her arms. A fond smile appeared on her face, as she trailed her fingers over the book cover. 

"... You would read this book to me all the time..." The voice of Whip came from behind her, as she immediately turned around, to see him standing behind her, so close to her, that she could feel his breath so close to her neck.

"You always misread the words, and your intonation was horrible, but... I loved every moment of that" He said, slowly wrapping his arms around her, putting his skull on her shoulder. He was still in one of his moods, wasn't he?

She should probably push him away, but something inside of her was stopping her. He needed her... She had been pushing him away for far too long, it was time for her to comfort him like she always did in the past.

She might hate everyone else, but she shouldn't abandon Whip. Not when he doesn't have anyone else. Riggs and everyone else has Ashley, but he? He doesn't. He might say he loves Ashley, but he hasn't visited her even once... and he clearly doesn't care about her... He really is... Pathetic, just like her.

"I loved those moments so much... because you always held me in your arms, putting playful kisses on my skull, as I would tell you how gross it is, but you wouldn't stop..." A soft smile appeared on her face, as his grip on her tightened.

She always came to him to try and comfort him. To make him ignore the yelling that would happen in the house. She was the oldest of the three, but she was the biggest coward. 

Riggs always took the blame, always got hurt because of them both. That's why she loved him so much. He was supposed to be there for her forever, so why wasn't he anymore? Why did he replace her?

"I loved how soft your hand was, as you would fall asleep while holding my hand. I felt safe" But he shouldn't have felt safe. The only reason she would stay in his room would be because she was too scared to go out. Not when he would be walking all around the mansion at night time.

"Remember, when he would come into the rooms, yelling and throwing things around, you always held me in your arms, covering the side of my skull, and always hiding me from him... He hated that a lot" Whip kept talking, slowly reminding her of so many bad memories.

Many of those scars on her back were because of him. He didn't like it when Riggs and she tried to protect Whip from his rage. Even if she was a coward, she still couldn't let a child who wasn't even of two digits get hurt...

One of his hands slowly trailed her back over the suit that she was wearing. "You never left my side, even if he hurt you so much... You will never leave my side, right?"

There were many reasons why she wouldn't leave his side. Because she didn't have anyone else outside. Because she loved Riggs... Because she was afraid of Whip and how much he resembled him... He too had moments as Whip has... Sweet and gentle moments before he would start hurting everyone around him...

"... Of course." Whip's grip loosened, finally allowing her to breathe without a problem. If he would have held onto her for any longer, her ribs would have cracked, and she was sure of that.

"Now, throw that book away. Let's get back to work" And just like that, she did as he said. Whip was really pathetic, wasn't he? They fought so much for Whip, so he wouldn't become like him, but in the end... he was like a mirror reflection of Gaster.

~~~WHIP'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

From his childhood, their father had taught them that keeping what you want close to you, but not too close was the only way to be loved. You need to give them enough to make them feel like they have freedom when actually, they are a caged up bird.

Whip never wanted to become like his father. The man had caused so much pain and suffering for everyone, but every single day he would look at himself in the mirror, he would see his father.

She killed their father for a reason, yet she never thought of killing him. And he really did want to try and become perfect for her. Become what she would want him to be.

'she wants me to be put together' he would repeat to himself 'she wants me to be gentle' he would repeat to himself 'she wants me to give her freedom' he would repeat to himself, yet it was so hard to keep this up.

He wanted to own her, to be the only person that she would look at, the only person she would be around, yet he knew that he was living in a dream world.

He watched her from afar, and he hated that she was around so many people. He wanted to trap her like a bird in a cage, but he knew that she was no bird.

She was a snake, and if he wanted to trap her, he needed to make sure that he would give everything she could ever desire and more, to the point of her being unable to think of anyone else, but him.

***DAY TIME***

It took a long time for her to finally get away from Whip, but he seemed to snap back to normal and realize that he needed to work. That gave her the excuse to slip away from him. Of course, he only accepted if she would prepare him some snacks so he could work better...

He was acting weird, and she couldn't understand why. He never asked like this before, not for the longest time. Was looking at all of those old things bringing back bad memories to him too?

She hated thinking about Gaster, as much as Whip and Riggs did. She wasn't his daughter, so she couldn't imagine how horrible it was to be related to him, but just from living with them, she understood how horrible he was.

Before going to bring him some snacks, she had stopped herself so she could eat a little bit. She didn't do anything special, as she didn't want to make him wait too much. Just a smoothie, some monster candy (for her headache), and some fruit on the side. This wasn't even close to being enough to be lunch, but it was the best she could do for now.

When she finished, she placed the bowl inside of the sink, before grabbing some pumpkin-cherry cookies she had bought, opening the packet, and placing them on the plate. 

She didn't have enough time to prepare something for him, nor did she have time to get something better for him, so she hoped that he would be understanding why she brought him store-bought things.

She started walking up the stairs, only to find Casanova at the top of the staircase, an angry yet hurt look on his face. She hoped she could have this talk with Casanova a little bit later, but it seemed that she was hopeful.

She got at the top of the staircase, stepping away from it, so no accidents similar to what happened with Mal would happen again. Casanova watched her, his arms crossed.

She waited for him to speak and he didn't disappoint her, but what surprised her, was how quiet he was, as he took a step closer to her, and started to speak.

"W-why... Why are you saying we aren't... dating?" She had never seen him so... sad and distraught in his life. It made her feel... really shitty, but she couldn't play with his feelings.

She didn't know that a simple kiss was going to mean so much to him, but if she would have known, she would have been more understanding about playing around with him...

"Nova... I think... there has been a misunderstanding" She finally said, bracing herself. Playing with him was no way to go with things. She needed to make things right, and besides, he deserved at least that much.

Yesterday, he was so happy... it made her feel so bad only thinking about it. He really seemed to expect them to be something and she didn't want that.

She loved Riggs. Or at least, she thought she did. Maybe she only loved the idea of him, but never actually him. She wasn't sure, but she knew one. She didn't love Casanova or any of the others.

"... I... I don't love you, you know that?" The look on his face made her want to slap herself from how she said this. She should have been more tactful about this, yet here she was.

"..." He said nothing, but his hands were shaking, and she could have sworn that small prickles started to appear in the corner of his eyes, ready to call at any moment.

Before she could say anything more, he stopped her, by starting to talk. "I... understand. There, THEN I DON'T SEE WHY WE ARE EVEN TALKING RIGHT NOW, IDIOT! DO NOT EVEN LOOK AT ME, DO YOU UNDERSTAND? OR I WILL KILL YOU!" 

She stood there, looking as he walked away, but she didn't follow after him, nor did she do anything else. He was hurt, she was sure of that. Even if she couldn't understand why she understood that this probably meant more to him than to her.

She should have made this clear yesterday... It looked like Casanova and her weren't going to be talking any time soon. She just hoped that... He was going to be okay.

~~~CASANOVA'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

He didn't need her. He really didn't need her. She was horrible either way. She was playing around with him, and that was clear. But if she was, she should have at least spared him the embarrassment and simply stopped him from telling everyone they were dating...

It doesn't matter, he doesn't need someone like her around him. She is horrific either way. The only reason why he even wanted to try something with her was that he thought that she liked him and he wanted to feel what it was to be desired.

All he wanted was to be loved, not to be made fun off. He knew he wasn't the greatest and that people didn't like him, but was it really necessary for her to play such a cruel joke on him...?

He felt like he was going to cry. Or maybe he was already crying. All he knew is that he should stop crying. Only weak people cry. And he's not weak... he's not weak.

"Stop crying you idiot, stop crying!" He kept repeating to himself, as he kept hitting his own skull, while curled up in a ball in his own room, as he was crying like there was no tomorrow.

"Stop crying! Stop crying! She's not worth it, stop crying!" But no matter how much he would hit himself, how much he would yell at himself, he would just not stop crying...

He really was pathetic. His father was right.

***EVENING TIME***

Currently, she was sitting in the kitchen, looking at her meal. Some leftover quiche... It was probably already bad, but she didn't care too much, as she took small bites.

Today wasn't going any better than yesterday, she would say, today was even worse than yesterday. Was it better when she's always cold? At least then, she would put up a protective barrier and wouldn't care too much about what she does. Maybe she should return to that already if this was going to be how she feels all the time.

"Hey asshole, having a good time after breaking my bro's heart?"  The voice of Rus snapped her out of her thoughts, as she looked to the side, surprised to see him off the couch or out of his room.

She didn't reply to anything, because what was there to say? She did something really bad, and she had no right to try and justify herself because there was nothing to justify. She was at fault here.

After looking at him for a second, she soon returned to staring at the meal before her eyes and starting to eat again. She probably angered Rus even more, but she didn't care right now.

She just wanted to be alone, left in her own thoughts. She had a lot to think about, and having him around wasn't going to help with anything, she was sure about that.

"Nothing to fucking say, ah?" He said, sitting down next to her, putting a hand around her shoulders. "Usually you would have a snarky remark ready. what? Thinking how to fuck with my bro's mind further?"

Rus was always such a lethargic person, but it was good to know that he cared for his brother. It makes her feel like maybe, things will get better for Casanova if he has his brother around.

Yet again, she didn't say anything, simply looking at the food before her. That seemed to anger him further, but she didn't care. That was how she should have been from the beginning. Closed off and not caring for anything. Maybe then, she could have saved herself from the guilt she was feeling.

"You fucking bitch... How many more people will you keep playing? Honestly, Whip should have kicked you out so long ago, but it's clear that there is another reason why he's keeping you around" Rus said, clearly trying to anger her.

Rus had all the right to be angry with her. All the right to assume anything he wanted about her. Maybe he wasn't that far off either. She might not give any sexual favors to whip, but it was she who makes him food, who works hard for him, who he always calls when he needs comfort. Maybe Rus wasn't that far off.

She didn't say anything, except a small little smile appeared on her face. She slowly looked at him, before shaking her head gently, and returning to her meal.

The next thing she felt was her head grabbed and slammed so hard into the table, that she swore she heard something crack. Everything started to get blurry.

She brought one hand over to her head... blood, uh? It looked like she might have gotten a tad bit hurt, right? Nothing she can't handle... right?...

It was starting to be hard for her to hear things, but the last thing she heard was yelling from a familiar skeleton, as he ran over to her, grabbing her, and yelling something at Rus, but she couldn't understand anything, as everything finally turned black for her.

~~~RUS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

When he came to (Y/n), he didn't expect to hurt her. He didn't want to hurt her. He liked her, she was fun to be around. She had sweet moments, passive moments, angry moments, and cold moments. He guessed that today was one of her passive moments.

He had to understand that she was going to be slower with her reactions, but something inside of him hated the fact how she acted like she didn't care at all for what she did to his brother.

Rus really didn't understand why Casanova was reacting so badly, but he knew that it must have been something related to what their father always would repeat to them in the past.

"You are a disappointment, Casanova. Even your brother is better than you" Day and night, their father would repeat that to them, without a stop. 

Rus changed so much just to try and make his brother feel better about himself. He was talented. Rus was very talented, but because of his brother, he hid all of his talents.

Rus loved his brother with all of his soul. He wanted the best for him, that's why he couldn't handle seeing him that disappointed in himself. That's why he stopped showing his talents. For all everyone needed to know, he was a useless mutt that his brother kept around.

But (y/n) noticed his talents. She always noticed his talents and would keep telling him to stop laying around and finally go use them. She even said once that his brother wouldn't want him to ruin his life to this point.

That was why he liked her. He wasn't sure if that like was simply platonic or something more, but that was why. She saw so much in him, something no one else did.

When he stared at the pool of blood on the table, and on his hand, he couldn't believe what he did. Rus looked over to Mal, who was currently holding her in his arms, looking panicked.

Rus didn't mean to do what he did! He really didn't. He... He didn't want to hurt the person who understood him the most... He tried to get closer to her, but Mal yelled at him, telling him to stay away.

Away... Yeah, he should stay away... Away from her... He hurt her... He hurt her... He... He hurt her... He shouldn't be around her... He always does something bad... He shouldn't be around her...

~~~MAL'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Mal never liked (Y/n). She was just... too free, you know? She had everything that he always dreamed about and she worked not even half as hard as Mal did. All because she was close to the main brothers.

Even so, he couldn't do nothing when he saw what happened. He ran over to her, trying to keep her awake, but she soon lost consciousness. Rus tried to take a step near her, but he stopped him.

Of course, Mal wasn't going to let Rus close. Rus was the one who hurt her, why would he be insane enough to let him close to her? She needed to get fast help.

He wished he could heal her, but his magic wasn't of healing, and he had no healing skills at all. He would probably make it worse if he even tried to do anything for her...

He needed to try and find some help for her. He picked her up and started to head out of the kitchen, telling Rus to fuck off one last moment, before leaving the room.

Immediately, he ran over to one person that he knew that could heal her, and that was their father. Mal and Toots didn't have a bad relationship with their father, but it wasn't a good one either.

Syrup, to say it in a few words, was negligent. He cared about making friendships and having fun much more than taking care of his sons. They were mostly raised by nannies and paid off friends.

Mal and Toots had a good childhood, for sure. They had everything they could have wanted, except the love of their father. Well, it didn't matter now. It is all in the past, and he hated living in the past.

***NIGHT TIME***

Sometime later, she slowly started to wake up. Looking around, she couldn't understand what was going on. She was in the kitchen, right? She was talking with Rus... And she couldn't remember what happened after that... 

Oh wait, Rus, hit her head into the table and hurt her seriously, didn't he? Heavens, her luck was really not here today, was it? Why was she getting hurt so much these past few days?

She tried to get up from the unfamiliar bed but was gently pushed down onto the bed by the familiar figure of Syrup, that was gently smiling at her, making her feel a little bit more comfortable.

If she was right, she saw Mal before passing out, right? He probably carried her over to Syrup who healed her up, right? Otherwise, she wouldn't be feeling much better now, she was sure about it. She could handle a lot, but not a fractured skull, she was sure about that. 

Maybe Mal wasn't as bad as she thought. She should probably thank him for what he did and take him out somewhere as a thank you. That would be nice, right?

"I'm glad you are awake, buttercup, but please rest. You need all the rest you can gather if you want to be able to be fully healed up by tomorrow" Syrup said. Honestly, magic was wonderful, wasn't it? 

She simply nodded her head, wincing from the pain. It seemed that she wasn't completely alright just yet. Well, it wasn't a surprise. Magic took some time to fix everything.

Now that she was starting to see things a little bit better, she noticed that a few other skeletons were in the room. Whip, Riggs, Rose, and Grim, to be exact. 

She could understand why Whip and Riggs were here, even if she fought with Riggs just a little while ago, but why were Rose and Grim here? She wasn't that close to those two... More than anything, she expected Slate to be here, but he was nowhere to be found.

"... I'm sorry" She was snapped out of her thoughts by the quiet voice of Riggs. Why was he apologizing? He didn't do anything to hurt her, he shouldn't be apologizing.

"I'm sorry for not being with you at the time... " Did Riggs think that it was his fault? Oh, but that wasn't his fault at all. She did something bad, and she knew she shouldn't have. Those two are simply too unstable to be played with.

She extended her hand towards him, taking his bigger hand in her own, giving him a weak smile. "Oh, come on. Don't get sappy on me now, Riggs. At least you're here now. That's good enough for me... I want some black coffee after this, though" She said, getting a small smile from him too, as he held her hand.

Their moment was ruined by the voice of Whip interrupting them. "Don't worry, (y/n). Rus will be punished for what he did." He said, making her sigh. Honestly, all he could think about was punishment, didn't he?

"Whip, loosen up. I don't want Rus to get in trouble. Honestly, I can understand why he did what he did" That seemed to get the attention of everyone in the room.

"I think you all heard the rumor about Casanova and I dating, right?" They all seemed uncomfortable, but Whip nodded his head "Well, it was a misunderstanding, ya know? We kissed, he thought we were dating, and it spiraled into something more troublesome than what I wanted to handle"

Grim seemed to be holding back a laugh. She could understand that too because the two had a make-out session and he didn't misunderstand that as anything more. Hopefully.

"I don't know, I should have cleared the misunderstanding sooner and not leave Slim and Slate to embarrass Casanova. I guess the guy took it wrong and Rus being a good brother, decided to get a little revenge. Nothing much. Just leave him alone, please" (Y/n) didn't want Rus to get in any trouble. It would cause more trouble for her in the long run than she wanted to handle.

"... Alright. I'll leave his punishment up to you then," Whip said, and well, that was probably the best that she could get. She'll probably get him to be on cleaning duty or something like that.

"So, Kitten, how ya holding up? My bro and pops been worried, but couldn't come in." Grim finally spoke up, grinning at her, as Riggs' hold on her hand tightened a little bit, but not in a painful way.

"That so? Well, tell Chompers that I'll be back to taking care of him tomorrow, as Syrup said." She said but ignored the fact that Dreary was worried. With what happened with Ashley, she didn't want to deal with him just yet.

"Will do. Take care, will you Kitten? You are a magnet for trouble. First Ashley cut you and now Rus cracked yer skull up" Grim said, as she sighed, but what she didn't expect was the surprised look on almost all of the faces of the people in the room, expect Syrup and Whip's.

"D-doll... Ashley did this to yer arm?" He asked as he looked at her bandaged up hand. why wasn't it healed just yet? Was she seriously going to need to be with a cut hand?

"Yeah, I thought you knew? She tried to cut Dreary with some scissors and I stopped her, I guess" She said, not wanting to lie. She did promise to herself she was going to keep this a secret, but maybe that would just end up hurting everyone more.

"N-NO WAY! MISS ASHLEY COULD NEVER DO THAT" Rose said, clearly in denial. Well, she wasn't going to argue with him. If he wanted to believe Ashley was good, then he could.

"Sure. Believe what you want. I'm not here to argue. I'm just telling my truth. You believe what you want" It seemed that she was back to normal because she had her usual distant tone.

"... Was that why Ashley hasn't been getting food these past two days, or why we couldn't visit her?" Riggs asked as Whip nodded his head. "of course, dear brother"

"She's being punished, hasn't she?" (y/n) added, as Whip smiled at her. Whip really was obsessed with giving people punishments, wasn't he? It was a surprise that she hasn't gotten punished just yet.

"Of course, my dear friend. In a few days, she'll be getting her food again, of course. I can trust that you'll keep doing the job?" whip asked, as Syrup was about to argue with him, but she stopped the guy.

"Of course. I don't see why. But I'm not kidding. You should hire some cooks. I'm getting tired of making food." Whip simply laughed at that, but he didn't reply more.

Currently, Riggs was holding tightly onto her hand, a look of surprise and guilt on his face. Whip looked as content as someone like him could look, meanwhile Grim looked like he always did, and Rose seemed to be shocked and disappointed. Syrup was the only one who looked still worried about her health.

~~~SYRUP'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

How could all of these idiots keep thinking about Ashley, when dear little (y/n) was clearly hurt? When he had seen her in such a state, he almost passed out from fright.

He didn't even want to let these four inside, wanting to keep her in his room (To himself) until she would get better (Forever). But he knew that she would have wanted to have them around her...

Honestly, he wanted to throw them out immediately. They were stressing her too much. The fact they wanted her to go back to work tomorrow was insane to him.

Yes, she would be all healed up by that time, but still, it didn't mean that they should use her in that way! she needed to be taken care of and Rus should be punished.

He knew his son would never do something this stupid. It was clear that Rus was raised in the worse way ever, meanwhile, his children were raised perfectly!

Well, it didn't matter. This clearly proved to him that he couldn't trust anyone else with her health and that he needed to make sure that he would take the best care of her, as he could.

She clearly could only be happy with him around and no one else.

~~~RIGGS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

Riggs was surprised when he found out that she was hurt. He almost decided to not go and visit her, but in the end, he did go and he was glad he did because the way she got hurt was not just something simple...

The way she looked so pale while being passed out, like she was dead, made him hurt so much. He didn't want to lose her, and this made him realize that he didn't want to keep hating her, to keep fighting with her.

He could survive without having Ashley around, but without having (y/n)? He couldn't survive without his best friend... He was going to make sure that she will keep safe.

He wanted to break Rus' skull in, but she clearly didn't want that to happen, that's why he was going to spare the guy, this time around, but it didn't mean that he was going to keep doing that if Rus hurts her again. She needed her best friend by her side, and he was going to come back to her side.

When he found out that it was Ashley who hurt her hand, that not being a simple accident... Well, he felt this... hatred?... This horrible hatred built inside of him towards Ashley... 

She could hurt him as much as she wanted. she could insult him and not love him, but she should never hurt his best friend... Ashley should never hurt his (Y/n)...

It looked like Ashley needed to be taught a lesson on why (Y/n) should never be touched.

~~~WHIP'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Whip wanted to destroy Rus right at this moment. He almost went immediately to Rus, but Slate and Slim volunteered to teach Rus a lesson. Well, as much as Whip wanted to hurt Rus himself, he knew that those two will hurt him good enough. Besides, Whip needed to be near her right now, he was sure about that.

When she said that she didn't want him to be punished, he felt annoyed. Why? He hurt her, why didn't she want to hurt him? She was never this kind, so the reason she gave wasn't true, he was sure. Maybe she wanted to give him her own punishment?

Why didn't he understand that sooner? It was clear that she wanted to hurt Rus herself. Oh well, he was going to make sure that she would have a chance to do so too. She deserved that much.

He... felt jealous by how close she and Riggs seemed to be again. He hoped that the thing with Ashley was going to make him less close with her, but it seemed that he looked angry with Ashley and not with (Y/n)...

He was willing to give her up for Riggs in the past, but right now? Right now Whip wasn't going to give (y/n) anymore. Riggs had a chance with her and he gave it up for Ashley. Now it was Whip's time to get with (Y/n).

~~~GRIM'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Honestly, he didn't care too much about what happened with Ashley or Rus. She was an adult, she could handle herself. The fact that everyone was freaking out about her was slightly annoying, but he wasn't going to say anything about it, not wanting to get in trouble. 

Honestly, it was kind of funny how she was back to normal. He heard from everyone else that she was acting weirdly today, but it seems to have her skull fractured brought her back to her normal self.

Something Grim didn't like was that they were starving Ashley. Grim, Dreary, and Chompers come from a world where food was scarce, that's why playing with food like this was annoying for him.

With a sigh, he shook his head, not caring too much about what was happening anymore. He just hoped that things would get back to normal soon enough because he was starting to get annoyed.

~~~ROSE'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Rose was... shocked. Sure, Ashley wasn't the sweetest person around, but well... But well, she couldn't just hurt someone else, right? Especially not (y/n)! 

Whenever he's with her, and they manage to start talking, she keeps talking none stop about (Y/n). With such love and adoration in her eyes, like she's talking about someone very important... She honestly couldn't have ended up hurting (Y/n), that's for sure.

Rose had a theory that maybe... Maybe Ashley liked (Y/n)? That's why in Rose's mind, Ashley could have never hurt (Y/n) and even if she did, she must be in a lot of pain right now, wanting to be forgiven...

He hoped that (Y/n) had it in her heart to forgive Ashley.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: Punishments, I suppose

"Hey, hey, (y/n)! I bet you can't catch me!" Riggs yelled, laughing, as the older girl laughed along with him, as she was running after him. Her head was covered in bandages, but she was laughing and smiling like nothing was wrong. Riggs seemed to not care about it too, as he was having fun playing tag with her.

They were interrupted by the loud voice of Whip, who ran over to (y/n) and hugged her leg, begging to be allowed to play too. "Pwease, wet me pway too!" Little Whip asked as she nodded her head, saying that she was the hunter and he needed to run so she wouldn't catch them.

All three of them were having the time of their life, laughing and joking, as they were catching one another. Even with she was all bandaged up, she didn't seem to care at all, same for the other two, like it was a normal occurrence. Their fun time was over the moment that a calm voice spoke up, bringing fear into all of their little souls.

"What are you two doing with (Y/n)? Haven't I told you to leave the child alone?"

The day began, the rays of the sun waking her up from the dream that she was having. That was one of her memories about when she was young, and Gaster was still alive...

She wasn't sure why she remembered that memory. Maybe because that was the time she had hurt her head too? Gaster told her to not leave her room, because of her injury, but Riggs and Whip dragged her out even if her head hurting, and made her play with them, even if she did have fun. If she was right, she passed out not too long after that and was down with a very severe flu for a few weeks. 

Remembering things like that wasn't something that she wanted right now. It wasn't something that she was supposed to be proud of. And she wasn't. She hadn't dreamed about her previous life in so long... She wasn't sure why she dreamed about it now. Was it because of the injury that she had gotten?

She slowly started to open her eyes, looking around the room, seeing that she was still in Syrup's room, she guessed. She wanted to get out of the room as fast as possible, so she could get back to her own.

She hated feeling weak like she would need to be supported by someone else. She wasn't someone weak that would need other's help. It was good that Syrup healed her up, but she was fine now, her head didn't even hurt anymore, it was time for her to return back to her room.

She tried to get up from where she was laying, but she was gently pushed down to the pillow. She looked to the side, only to see that Syrup was there, next to her bed, looking at her with a smile.

How long has he been here? Of course, this was his room, so she wouldn't be surprised if he was here, but well, was he watching her sleep? She wasn't sure why, but the thought alone was making her feel shivers run down her spine.

When did she start feeling so uncomfortable around her own friend? She knew that he would never hurt her, so why was she feeling like she was in some sort of danger?

Was it because of how much he looked like Gaster? He was an alternative version of him, after all, it wouldn't be surprising that her body was reacting like this because of the dream she had, and because of all those things they have been finding with Gaster in them...

"Syrup?" She said as he nodded his head "Yes, yes, buttercup, now, go back to sleep. It's still early. You need to rest up" He said, acting like she was sick, but she wasn't.

She was feeling like she felt like any other day. Why was he acting like she was sick? She could understand if this would have been the first time he saw her like this, but that wasn't the case. He had healed even worse wounds on her, but never acted like this before with her.

"You know, I really thought I lost you this time around, (y/n)" He said, looking at her. What did he mean? Sure, she probably fractured her head, but they healed her. No need to be this dramatic, right?

"Your soul almost fractured, (y/n)..." He said, not making any sense. What? Fractured? Was it really that bad?" Your heart had stopped beating for a few minutes, (y/n). My magic was holding onto your life on a thin string. If not Chompers, I wouldn't have managed to keep you alive..." He said, the look in his eyes becoming slightly distant.

The realization hit her like a brick. did she honestly almost lose her life? Was she truly this close to losing her life to the hands of Rus? Just because of a misunderstanding.

You would expect someone in her situation to start crying. To start thanking Syrup. To do anything, except for what she did. (Y/n) simply stared at the ceiling, covering her eyes with one of her hands, before starting to laugh.

She started to laugh, as tears started to stream down her cheeks. Honestly, that would be so befitting of someone like her. Ending up dying at the hands of someone who thought she did something she didn't... With her skull fractured! 

Syrup stared at her but did nothing. She wasn't sure what he would even need to do in his situation. He was probably so confused, but she didn't care right now. She couldn't care less right this moment.

"This is great!... Oh, this is great Syrup. Can you believe it? I almost died, Syrup! Died!" In the past, she thought a lot about how death would be. And she always thought she wanted to die... but now that she almost died, she realized that she was just not ready to leave this world just yet...

"Syrup, Thank you" She eventually said, finally managing to calm her emotional outburst. "If not you and Chompers, I would have probably died..."

The only thing left, was for her to figure out what she wanted to do. Did she want to get revenge on Rus, or was she going to forgive him? Was she that kind?

"... You're welcome," Said a quieter voice, as she looked to the side, to see that Chompers was there too. Oh, he was here this whole time too? Was he watching her sleep too?

This was really something she needed to think about hard. What was she supposed to do? She couldn't go back and act with Rus the same way as before, could she?

He had crossed such a line that he shouldn't have crossed. He might be sorry, she wasn't sure about that, but it didn't change the fact that she almost died because he couldn't control himself.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand starting to caress her head, gently playing with her hair. She looked over to Syrup, to see that he was still smiling at her, his hand near her scalp.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you not like people touching your hair?" Syrup eventually asked, still not stopping playing with her hair. She wasn't sure if he would stop even if she would ask him to, so she decided to simply stay quiet, letting him do what he wanted.

"Thought so! just relax okay? You don't need to do anything today... you can be here... with us, alright?" He said, but the way he said, it made her feel uncomfortable.

What was wrong with her? She had never felt this uncomfortable around Syrup. He was her friend, so why was she feeling like this. She needed to stop being like this...

She needed to calm down. But how? Maybe some tea? That tea that she bought a few days ago with Syrup? Wasn't it a calming tea? Maybe it was going to help her, at least a little bit?

"... Chompers?" She said, getting his attention, as he looked at her, not smiling, but his gaze intense. She thought she had gotten used to his gaze, but it seemed that she didn't, because his gaze was making uncomfortable too...

"Could you make me some tea?... I feel... Panicked. I need something warm..." She said as Chompers got up from his seat, and without saying anything, he was off to prepare something warm for her.

The moment that Chompers left, the room was silent again, as Syrup continued to play with her hair. She usually liked it when people played with her hair, but this time, the intense look that he was giving her, it was making her so uncomfortable.

She hoped that he would start talking with her like he usually did, but instead, he chose to be quiet. The only sound in the room was her breathing and the movement of her hair.

She slowly closed her eyes, hoping that she could relax into the touch. Right now, she needed to relax as much as possible. She needed to relax and not worry about any of this.

"You're so beautiful, have I ever told you?" Syrup said as she was trying to calm down. What he said did the complete opposite, as her heart started to beat faster, but for all the wrong reasons.

This might not be that weird for someone else, but she knew what Syrup was like, and how he was acting was not right. Syrup always saw her as his daughter. He always gave her advice, was protective of her, and was the friend she needed. He never saw her as a woman and she never saw him as a man. So why was he complimenting her like this right now? When she was alone, in his room, and mostly helpless?

(y/n) hated this. She didn't want to be afraid of Syrup. This wasn't okay, she wasn't supposed to be afraid. She should smile at him and thank him for the compliment, but instead, she felt afraid.

"How could anyone hurt you? You know... when I saw you all bloodied... I felt my soul skip a beat." Syrup kept talking, either not noticing how uncomfortable she was looking or not caring about it.

"So weak... Clearly needing someone to protect you all the time. Isn't that right, (y/n)? You need to be protected, right?" She was about to decline but stopped herself.

(y/n) hated admitting it, but she was nothing without Whip and Riggs backing her. She wasn't as strong as she would want to be and without them healing her, she would have been dead long ago... She needed protection, but not from Syrup.

Syrup took her silence as her agreeing with him. His smile seemed to get bigger, as he seemed to have gotten life breathed inside of him, as he looked so happy at what she said, or well, he assumed she said.

" That's why, I'll protect you (y/n), alright? You are my dear buttercup, so it's my job to make sure that you are loved and protected..." Syrup said, gently pulling her up in a sitting position, taking his hand out of her hair, now moving to touch her cheek.

Thankfully, the door opened, and Chompers came back in with the cup of tea. He took quite a long time to prepare the tea, but he was probably having a hard time finding where everything was.

Color returned to her face, as she looked over to Chompers as he walked over to the bed and handed her the cup of tea, alongside a granola bar. Well, she wasn't surprised by his tastes in food.

She took a bite from the granola bar, before sipping at the tea. It... Tasted slightly off but she couldn't wrap her mind around the reason for the different taste. She doesn't drink tea that often, but she was sure it didn't taste like this...

She ignored the taste, as she continued to eat the granola bar and drinking the tea. But the more she drank, the dizzier she was getting. The moment she realized that was happening, she understood what had happened. She was... drugged, wasn't she? 

She almost dropped the cup of tea, but Chompers caught it in one hand, before placing it on the night stand. Things started to get blurry, and it was hard to concentrate at this point, as sleep was slowly seeping into her.

"... I really do love you, my dear buttercup" Syrup said, coming closer to her, and placing a soft kiss on her forehead as Chompers took her cut hand and brought it closer to him, as he placed it on his cheekbone. 

"... I promise you... We'll take... good care of you..." Was the last thing she heard from Chompers, as everything started to get dark and she soon fell into slumber, leaving herself to the mercy of the two.

~~~SYRUP'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

It took him some time to realize, but he was in love with (Y/n). He loved her so much that it hurt him. The reason he was jealous of everyone her was not because he thought they were bad enough for her. It was because he wanted to be with her himself.

How stupid was he, to not realize that he was in love with her? Or maybe he was in denial? Afraid to admit that he loved her, when he clearly knew that she could never love him.

Even now he knows that she wouldn't come to love him. If he would have any thought of her loving him, he and Chompers would have never thought of drugging her. That would have never even crossed their minds, because they would have honestly tried to win her heart, but there was no way around it.

She was in love with Riggs, and she saw no one else. It was a miracle that she even considered him a friend, as she didn't consider so many people her friends.

It was something sad, he knew that much. She was always so close to him, but always out of his reach. He desired to have her in his arms so much, but she never was, always a step too far.

He realized his feelings when he saw how weak she was. She always tried to act strong and like she always had everything in her control, but he knew better now.

She was actually a little bunny, that loved to act tough, but was always hiding behind the backs of those two wolves. Well, no matter, she will be taken care by him now. 

Whether she likes or not.

~~~CHOMPER'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Chompers wasn't sure if he agreed with Syrup's approach or not, but he... he wanted to be closer to (Y/n). He wasn't sure why, but she just seemed to different for him.

He looked at her, and he felt like he wanted to protect her. It was something strange for him, as he had never felt like that towards anyone else. He wondered if she felt the same towards him. If Syrup felt this towards her.

It was his idea to drug her. Chompers didn't think she would react that well to finding out about Syrup's love. Or the fact that Chompers was interested in her.

He might not be on the same level as Syrup, but he wanted to be able to have a chance with (y/n) too, that's why he was actually helping Syrup out and not going against him.

Syrup wanted to take (y/n) away, but Chompers managed to talk the other out of it. Syrup wanted her to be happy, right? But she would be unhappy if she ever left. That's why, it was best if they would stay here, with her, and make her happy here.

Syrup was reluctant at the beginning, but eventually gave in and that made Chompers relax. It seemed that Syrup did care for you, even of his care was extreme and even insane in some cases.

He just hoped that (Y/n) would come to understand their reasoning for what they are doing...

***DAY TIME***

She again started to wake up, this time more pissed than before. Her body felt numb from the drunk, but she was finally able to move however she wanted.

Fear wasn't taking over her body anymore, only pure annoyance and anger, as she looked at the two surprised skeletons. She couldn't believe that Syrup and Chompers would do something like this.

Alright, she could believe it if Chompers did something like this, he was a strange skeleton, but Syrup? Her friend Syrup that she trusted? Honestly? 

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Was the first thing she said, as she got out of the bed, as Syrup looked at her, surprised. Of course he was surprised, wasn't he? 

"Not only you both tried to drug me, but you gave me the wrong dose of drugs, didn't you?" She said, annoyance dripping off her voice. Honestly, she knew this was going to happen the moment she was getting drowsy.

None of the skeletons here knew how to treat a human. That's why she was the one who took care of Ashley. So, there were two chances here. Either they would give her too little of a dose, as it happened, or... a too big of a dose and she would have ended up dying.

She was glad that Chompers decided to put less and not more, or else she might not be standing here, being able to get angry at them, otherwise.

"Look, I don't know what the hell you both thought, but that was not something I appreciated" She said, starting to head towards the door, but not before checking what she was wearing. Thankfully, it was her old suit. But she did need to change it, as she slept in it.

"I think you both need some time to cool off, alright? Look.. I'm not angry, alright? If I can forgive Rus, I can forgive you two, but please don't do this again." She said, sighing.

"Just... I won't tell Whip. I'll tell him that I was tired because of the amount of magic I received yesterday... Just... Don't do it again, alright?" She said, waiting for them to reply.

The first one to reply was Chompers, as he nodded his head, but didn't say anything. Syrup stared at her, before laughing a little bit, but the look on his face was tired and disappointed, as he said "Guess I forgot how firece of a bunny you can be... Well, alright. But I won't give up! I truly do lo-" (y/n) didn't wait for him to finish his sentence, as she got out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Honestly, she never thought that Syrup was going to be someone so troublesome, but... for some reason, a smile appeared on her face. Even if they did drug her, it was nice... to have someone liking you. She felt important. 

She returned back to her room, before changing her clothes, and fixing herself up. Thankfully, she wasn't feeling the effects of the drug anymore, and was able to move fully at this point, but still. 

She knew that Syrup was a very protective person, but she never thought that he would go that far, especially with Chompers. And love? Was he confusing care with love?

And who even said that he loved her romantically?! Was she jumping the gun here? Why was she even thinking about this? She shouldn't be thinking about something like this. 

Just as she opened the door, she saw Riffle in front of her. Both of them stared at one another, an awkward silence between one another. It had been a few days since the two saw each other and she felt awkward around him...

"... Hey" She said, as he did the same "Hey". Silence came over them, as she was about to try and ask him to move, but she was interrupted by him beginning to speak.

"So... um, heard what happened... Does your... um, head hurt still?" He asked, pointing to her head. She shrugged a little bit, shaking her head. "It doesn't."

Both of them stared at each other, as she sighed. "What do you want Riffle? I'm sure you aren't here to ask about how I almost lost my life?" She said, getting a stiff reaction from Riffle.

"... Slate asked to call you to the living room... About Rus' punishment" Riffle said, looking to the side. She pushed past him, confused why Slate was there, but she would find out when she would arrive there.

Before she could head to the stairs, Riffle grabbed her hand, stopping her "Hey!... I... I gotta warn ya... It's... It's bad... He looks... Man, he got quite a beating... Go easy on him, alright?... I know it's shitty of me to ask but... he's a good kid, deep down..."

The moment that Riffle said this, she finally realized something. Why Whip was so calm even if Rus did what he did to her. Why Slate wasn't there, when Slate always panicked whenever she would get a simple paper cut... It was because Whip ordered Slate to take care of Rus, wasn't that right?

She grabbed her hand away from him, an angry look on her face, as she ran down stairs. She asked for them to not do anything to Rus, but they fucking did, didn't they? 

~~~RIFFLE'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Riffle was worried... He wasn't sure if she would be able to handle what was down there. But what he was worried the most was that she was going to hurt Rus even more.

He knows that what Rus did was wrong, but he's a stupid kid. He doesn't know better. He hopes that she has it in her soul to actually forgive him and not just get him killed...

Even if Rus wasn't his brother, he still looked like his little brother and he wanted for him to at least survive. He himself can't do much to her him, but he knew that she could.

Riffle was a coward, he knew that. And he hated that so much.

***EVENING TIME***

When she arrived in the living room, she almost fell back. You see, she was used to seeing torture victims, but what she saw before him was... It was bad. It was fucking bad.

"Get the fuck away from him, Slate, I'm not fucking around right now" She said, her tone as aggressive as she could manage, as she walked closer to the trio.

Slate looked over to her, a confused look on his face, before smiling at her "(y/n)! I'm glad to see you are here. You want to give him your punishment, right? Oh, here!"

Slate said, throwing a small box over to her.  She looked confused at it, before opening, and feeling anger completely flood her. Inside that box were several parts of Rus. 

His Purple eye, that held most of his magic, outside of his soul. A few of his fingers, and one of his ribs. She slammed the box closed, before holding close to her, her hands shaking, as she looked over to him, feeling pity.

Even if he was the one who almost killed her, she couldn't bring herself to actually hate him. She didn't want anything like this to happen to him, feeling responsible for what happened.

"Slate.. How could you do something like this?" She said quietly, before getting louder "For fuck's sake Slate, this is an alternative version of your brother, don't you feel any pity towards him?!"

She wasn't sure why she was feeling like this, but something inside wasn't letting her be angry at Rus. He didn't deserve what was happening. She knew that he didn't mean to do what he did.

In the past, the amount of nights she spent comforting him from his nightmares, the amount of times she tried to help him better his skills, the amount of times she took care of him when no one else did... She couldn't just stay angry at him.

"But he hurt you, (y/n)!" Slate said, seemingly getting angry too "Of course he did! And that is horrible and he should pay for it, but it was MY JOB TO GIVE HIM A PUNISHMENT. NOT YOURS, NOT YOUR BROTHERS, NOT FUCKING WHIPS!" She yelled out, all of her anger clear.

"CAN YOU FUCKING STOP TRYING TO DECIDE WHAT IS BETTER FOR ME?! I'M NOT A CHILD, I CAN DECIDE WHAT TO DO WHEN I NEED TO DO IT!" She finally figured out why she felt the way she did, all the time.

She felt trapped, without control. Everyone treated her like a pet. Like she didn't know better. Like she was just angry because of something stupid. But she hated that. She hated that so fucking much. She wanted to have control too. Didn't she deserve to have control too?

"... You ungrateful little wench..." Slate slowly said, looking over to her, an angry look on his face. She looked as angry as he right now, as she let out a crude laugh out.

"That's the fucking best can do? You went fucking soft, you freak. Stop playing house and grow up. I don't need you, your brother doesn't need you, stop acting like we won't survive without you" She didn't mean her words. This was the anger talking, but she couldn't stop right now.

Slate was important to her. He was her friend. He was someone she cared about. She helped him a lot and he helped her a lot. But today? Today she was angry, and she wasn't going to hold back.

"... That's what you think?" Slate said, his hand in a tight fist. She expected him to attack her, but instead, he turned around, dragging his brother out, neither of them looking back at her.

Like that, she was left there, standing and without anything else to say. She soon snapped back to herself, and walked over to Rus' pitiful form, feeling guilt.

She untied him, before raising his skull up a little bit, and wincing. He looked horrible... It was going to take some time for him to heal. And she wasn't even sure if the body parts in the box were possible to re-attach...

"... Why did you help me?" Rus eventually asked, as she sighed, handing him the box back. "Rus, what you did was... bad. I almost died... I... Almost... died, Rus. But, I didn't lie when I said I wanted to be able to give you your punishment... Eh, guess I can't do that anymore" She said, letting out a weak laugh, as he did too, before stopping to cough out a thick, black fluid. That was like blood for monsters.

"...Look, you'll get in trouble if I don't tell you something to do. For the next week, you will do cleaning duties, alright?" Rus was about to say something, but she stopped him "Listen, do you want to be hurt more?" He slowly shook his head no "That's what I thought. Look, just do as much as you can. I'll figure something out as we go on.. Now, go back to your brother, okay? Maybe he'll get you some sort of help, alright? Also, try to not go out too much, same for your brother... I can't promise you'll be safe if you do"

She didn't wait for him to say anything to her, as she got up, and headed into the kitchen. She needed a drink. And this time, not a simple cup of black coffee.

~~~RUS' POINT OF VIEW~~~

Rus wasn't sure why she decided to help him out. Rus believed that she would left him or ordered the two brothers to hurt him more, but instead, she actually fought for him...

Was Rus wrong? Was she not that bad? Maybe she didn't mean to actually hurt Casanova... Maybe this really was a misunderstanding and he did a huge mistake...

He looked as she walked away from him, feeling like maybe, just maybe, she was kinder than she wanted to come off as. He could understand why she would hide her kind self... Kind people get killed very fast... 

Rus just hopes that she'll manage to survive in such a cruel environment. 

~~~SLATE'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Slate hated how ungrateful she could be at times. But what hurt him the most was the fact that she said she didn't need him. Of course she did, so why was she lying like this?

He wondered if she liked Rus. Slate had seen several times how gently she treated Rus. But could her love for the other really make her forgive him for almost killing her? Make her fight with her arch nemesis?

He didn't want to insult her, and he wanted to apologize, but the words she said hurt him so much that he couldn't help but storm out of the room, dragging his brother with him.

He... needed some alone time. Especially from her. He needed some time to think before he could try and reconcile with her. She really hurt him and it looks like he hurt her too...

~~~SLIM'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Slim didn't like how both his brother and (y/n) were fighting. He couldn't understand why she was so angry about what happened with Rus, all he could understand was that they did something bad, probably...

He hoped that Slate and (Y/n) would get friendly again. He wanted to drag his brother back into the room and he did try, but Slate simply kept dragging him, further and further from the mansion, and closer to the bar.

... He just hoped that Slate would be able to put his pride to the side, and initiate the apology first, as she will never apologize first. That is what he learned from watching her all these years...

***NIGHT TIME***

It was night time and everyone were already asleep. She was tired, but she couldn't sleep. So much was on her mind. The worse was that she couldn't go and talk to anyone. 

She couldn't trust Whip anymore, as he clearly showed that he didn't care about what she wants. She's if Riggs knew about this or not, so she couldn't trust him either...

Syrup was acting strange and she didn't feel safe around him, meanwhile Slate... Well, the two were fighting right now and she wasn't sure if she wanted to see him just yet...

Ashley. She wasn't sure why, but the woman came to her mind next. Who was always willing to listen. Excited to see her and probably starving right now?... Ashley.

She looked over to the fridge, before getting up from her seat, and walking over to the fridge, before taking out the last piece of quiche they had left. 

She placed it on a plate, before putting it in a microwave to heat it up, before going to the cupboard and pulling out a cup. She then opened the fridge again and pulled out some orange juice, pouring it into a cup.

This was nowhere enough for someone who hadn't ate anything in two days, but this was the best she could currently do with how tired she was. And how much she disliked Ashley.

She bragged the plate and cup, before starting to head towards Ashley's room. When she arrived there, she inputted the code of the room, before slowly opening the door.

Ashley didn't even look over to her, but she knew that she was still alive, as the woman was softly breathing, and her eyes were blinking in the darkness, same for her stomach rumbling.

She closed the door behind her, as a sigh escaped from her. Guess she was doing this. "... Hey Ashley." Her voice seemed to snap the girl out of her thoughts as she immediately turned the lamp on, to see if she was really there.

Almost immediately Ashley treated up, and tried to run over to where she was, but the chains stopped her again. All (y/n) heard was her muttering out that she was sorry and that she didn't mean to do it.

"Calm down... I know. I brought you food..." She said, sighing. She walked over to Ashley only when the woman calmed down. When she did, (y/n) sat down next to Ashley, watching the woman dig into her meal, drinking her juice.

"...Thank you" Ashley said, when she finished everything, putting her plates on the bedside table. (y/n) grabbed the plates and utensils before bringing them to the other side of the room, where Ashley couldn't reach them, before returning to the woman's side.

Without saying anything, (y/n) laid down on Ashley's bed, before petting the side of the bed, as to say for Ashley to lay down. Even if (Y/n) didn't like Ashley, both of them needed to have someone around one another.

without a second thought, Ashley came closer to the woman, putting her head on (Y/n) chest, wrapping one of her arms around the woman, having a tight grip on her, as she softly sobbed.

After a little while, (y/n) reached to touch Ashley's hair, starting to play with it... She forgot how much she loved playing with hair... It seemed that both of them really needed this...

For the rest of the night, both of the women held one another in each other's hands. Even if (y/n) didn't even like Ashley, she could understand when she needed the warmth of another human next to her...

~~~ASHLEY'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

She... She didn't mean to hurt (Y/n). Ashley honestly didn't want to hurt (y/n)! (y/n) was the only person that she didn't hate. Who Ashley wanted to hurt was that freak with the crooked teeth!...

She hated all of them... All of them, except for (Y/n)... (y/n) was the only one who was gentle with her. The only one who knew what she needed. The only one who made Ashley feel loved...

Rose was the only person that Ashley talked to, and that was again only because Rose didn't mind Ashley talking about (Y/n), even telling Ashley about what (Y/n) does on an everyday basis. 

When (y/n) came into her room, Ashley thought she was dreaming again, but this was not a dream and you have no idea how happy she was. Being able to hold her in her arms, feeling her warmth close to her... She missed having someone close to her...

Ashley knew she should hate (y/n) like everyone else, but how could she ever... how could she ever hate (y/n), when (y/n) was the only person who treated her like a living being and not a pet? 

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: More trouble than worth

Things were... tense, to say the least. She was not careful enough, and she actually fell asleep with Ashley. She looked to the side, where Ashley was currently sleeping, but still snuggled up to (Y/n). (y/n) wasn't sure how to feel... She wasn't even supposed to be here. She wasn't sure how late it was... Would she be able to slip out of the room before anyone else noticed?

"... You're going now?" Asked Ashley, as (Y/n) started to gently move out of the bed, so she hopefully wouldn't wake Ashley up. But it seemed that Ashley was already awake, and her plan failed without it beginning.

" I must, or else, I'll get in trouble" (y/n) said, not looking at the girl, as she got to the edge of the bed, before giving a hug to (y/n). The woman couldn't understand what was going on. If Ashley thought that she could seduce her as she did with everyone else, then she is completely wrong. Even though she knew that she wrapped her arms around the woman in a loose embrace. As much as she disliked Ashley, she... she missed human contact.

"Please... visit me more often?" Ashley said, sounding desperate. Was Ashley starved for affection too? It would make sense right? (y/n) gave her life away for Whip and Riggs, meanwhile, Ashley's life was ruined because Riggs fell for her and... and (Y/n) stole Ashley from her life for him.

(y/n) couldn't understand why Ashley would ever find any sort of comfort in (y/n), because she was just as bad as the rest of them. Maybe even worse, because it all began from (y/n).

"...I will visit when I can" (y/n) already did so much to hurt Ashley. Giving false hope was not something she wanted to do. Ashley stared at (y/n), before letting out a sigh.

"Well, at least give me this much..." Before (y/n) could react, Ashley, pulled her closer into a kiss. (y/n) had been kissing so many skeletons, almost forgetting how good lips felt. The warmth was making her lean more, pulling the girl closer.

The kiss started off pretty chaste, a gentle and sweet one, but soon it turned into a more passionate one, leaving both of them breathless as Ashley pushed (y/n) down onto the bed, before crawling on top of her and returning to kissing.

(Y/n) didn't mind it all that much, wrapping her arms around the girl, pulling her closer, before starting to kiss again. What finally made her stop was the moment Ashley started to unbutton (Y/n)'s jacket. That had snapped her out of the kiss and realize what Ashley was trying to do.

Don't misunderstand. (y/n) was not new to sex, she had her way around the neighborhood, we could say. She had experience with women, men, and anything in between. Monsters and humans. She was wild in her youth. Ashley was also an attractive and young woman, probably in her early twenties at this point, but still... This was not right. Not right for Ashley. Not right for (y/n). Not right for Riggs and everyone who liked Ashley.

(y/n) gently pushed Ashley off, looking at the confused girl, as (y/n) sighed. "The kiss was fun, but I'm not doing anything further. Listen, just be good from now on and things will be better. And... And I'll try to visit you more IF you are good." 

Both of them knew exactly what (y/n) meant. Ashley needed to not hurt anyone else and... and pretend to like them, or at least, play along. (Y/n) hoped that Ashley would either give up or would become better. In both situations, (y/n) would win, and Ashley would lose.

"... Only if I can kiss you every time we see each other" Ashley said, looking at the other. So, Ashley wasn't going to give up that easily? Was her 'love' stronger than her 'hate' for everyone else? That's new...

"... We'll see," She said, a small smile on her face as she headed to the door, and excited. Heavens, she was feeling... like she and Ashley had gotten a little bit closer. It didn't mean that (Y/n) didn't hate Ashley, but maybe, (y/n) would go and talk with Whip about taking off Ashley's punishment, when she will go over to him to figure out what happened with Rus.

She exited the room, seeing that no one was around, she headed downstairs and into the kitchen. When she arrived there, she looked at the clock, smiling, seeing as it was still morning. That was good. She needed to eat breakfast now. Maybe even bring something for Ashley if no one was around. 

(y/n) prepared herself a plate of cereal meanwhile for Ashley, she made a banana-berry smoothie and a bowl of oatmeal. This was pretty good, right?

She placed the plates down on the table, before starting to eat her own meal. She was pretty curious, why were no one around? Well, she could understand why Slate, Slim, Casanova, and Rus were not out, same for Whip, Chompers, and Syrup but where was everyone else? She wasn't sure.

Just as she was about to start eating, she felt arms on her shoulders. She looked up only to see... Slim? What was he doing here? Didn't his brother tell him to avoid her?... Was he going to hurt her?

They stared at one another for a little bit, before Slim finally started to talk. "... You looked... Tense... I wanted... To... Help" He said, confusing her a little bit. Why would having his arms on her shoulders make her less stiff?

"... Massage... I wanted to give you... A massage..." Slim said, never breaking eye contact. He didn't look like he was lying. And he was a weird kid, so she could believe it.

"... You are weird. " (Y/n) muttered out, but didn't do anything to try and move away. Things were confusing right now. She wasn't sure what to do with everything that has been happening. Perhaps a message was exactly what she needed right now... Even if this was Slim and she was fighting with his brother just the other day.

When she didn't say anything, his arms slowly came back to her back, starting to touch her again. She felt uncomfortable at first, but eventually, it didn't take long before she let loose. 

Leaning into his touch, eyes closed, as (y/n)'s mind was completely relaxed. She didn't want to think about absolutely anything right now, just how to relax her tense muscles, as they have been hurting for quite some time.

"... Does it... feel good?" Slim eventually asked, as (y/n) hummed in agreement, not wanting to bother with answering something with words. she was enjoying herself a little bit too much with this...

"... That's good" Was the last thing that Slim said, before returning to massaging her. It was a weird moment, but this was something that both of them needed.

~~~SLIM'S POINT OF VIEW~~ ~

It was confusing for Slim too. He wasn't sure why he did what he did... when he saw there, in her thoughts, there, all alone, he couldn't control himself from touching her. When he had been caught, he made up an excuse of wanting to give her a massage. He didn't think she would fall for it, but he was so glad she did...

At that moment, Slim really believed that (y/n) was being gullible. But the stress she was going through... Well, it seemed that he was going to try and give her a massage then.

This was the first time he was trying to do a message, but from how relaxed she looked, he guessed that he was doing a good enough job. That... well, that made him happy, in a way.

Just because his brother and she were on bad terms now, it didn't mean that he couldn't spend time with her. Yes, his brother might hate that, but it was the truth. He could do whatever he wanted, right now.

So, was it really that wrong that he wanted to touch her right now? As long as she didn't know his intentions, he wasn't doing anything wrong. Nothing wrong at all.

***DAY TIME***

Had (y/n) even thanked Mal for the help he gave her? Well, as much as she remembered, she hadn't. And she was feeling ungrateful because of that. 

After she had finished bringing the food to Ashley, she decided that what better way to thank Mal for what he has done for her would be by inviting him out for some dessert?

She made her way over to where the guy was, before gently knocking on his door, wondering if he was in his room. The soft "come on" was all the reply that she needed.

When she entered inside, Mal looked over to her, an uncomfortable look flushing through his face, before he asked ".. Can I help you in any way?"

"Well, I would like to invite you for dessert. Would you accept?" (Y/n) asked, probably giving a misunderstanding to Mal, but she didn't care too much about that.

"..." He seemed to hesitate for a second, before slowly nodding his head, the look of reluctance still on his face as he did that, probably not wanting to go. "... Of course"

The walk there was slow and agonizing, but she didn't mind it too much. She always knew that something was off with him, and now she realized that he probably forced himself to be around her. What she was interested in finding out was why would he do that? what can he gain from that?

"So, tell me, why did you invite me here?" Mal asked her when they finally arrived at the cafe and sat down, each ordering something for themselves, her making it clear that she will be the one paying for the meals, so he shouldn't be worrying about something like that right at this moment.

"Well, I wanted to thank you" (y/n) answer was simple and quick. It was clear that there was a barrier between the two, especially after what had happened. She hoped that he wouldn't look back and let that get in the way of trying to finding a compromise and understand one another a tad bit better.

"Thank me?" Mal sounded confused, even surprised. Was he not expecting an apology from her? Yes, it was true that she wasn't rumored to be the best person, but she knew when to thank someone, especially after they save her life.

"Well, of course! If not you, I wouldn't be standing here" (y/n) replied, giving him a small smile, finally looking at him, seeing it on first hand how surprised he was. Stars, he must have really had a bad impression of (Y/n).

"I owe you my life, so I know that a simple outing here won't be enough to thank you, but it's a start" (Y/n) added, to try and make her point that she didn't think a simple dessert was going to amount to him saving her life. This was just... well, a cherry on top, we could say.

"... There is no need to thank me" The silence was almost painful, but when he spoke up, he sounded unbalanced like he wasn't sure what he would say. Most of the time, his words were calculated, but now? For the first time since he came, she noticed how shocked he was.

"Is there anything else you would want?" (Y/n) asked, trying to figure out if there was a reason for him to have saved her. (Y/n) knew that no one gives anything for free, so she wanted to see what was going to be his catch. What would he want? 

"... Ashley's punishment. Would you be able to talk to the boss about it?" Well, of course. But it seemed that this was just a recent thing, yes? Mal has been like a dog, following her every footstep since he had arrived in this world. Well, it didn't matter. She was going to eventually find out. 

"Well, I was planning to do that either way. Anything else?" and that wasn't a lie. she was indeed planning on getting Whip to let Ashley go, but not today. She wasn't really in the mood to go and meet with Whip. She was still angry with him and the choices he had done.

"... Well, nothing that I can think about" Mal replied calmly, thanking the waitress when she brought the two of them their desserts, as they started to eat, and sip away at their drinks, in complete silence.

Some time passed, and they both were finished with their pastries. "Well, I do hope to be able to hang out with you more often." (y/n) said,  as she stood up, leaving a 50 dollar bill on the table, as Mal stood up too

"Oh, it was a pleasure for sure." And with that, both of them headed their own ways. (y/n) back to the mansion, meanwhile, Mal was going the other way around.

~~~MAL'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

This was confusing. Mal couldn't understand why (Y/n) did what she did. There was absolutely no reason for that, yet she decided to take him out and even offer him something.

Mal wasn't stupid, he understood that this was a trap and he wasn't going to fall for it. Not that easily, at least. for now, he was going to observe her from afar, as he needed to figure out what was her end game.

... But... If she... wouldn't have an end game, well, he wouldn't mind humoring her a little bit more and going out with her again. If he wanted to become the next boss, he needed to do that, didn't he?

***EVENING TIME***

(y/n) felt like she was doing a bad choice, but was there anything else that she could really do? Things with Slate couldn't stay like this forever. she needed to act like the grown-up and try to initiate the talk with Slate. Thankfully, Slate was cleaning his room right now, and she saw that as a perfect opportunity to try and talk with Slate eye to eye.

"what are you doing here idiot?" Slate replied the moment that she walked inside the room, looking absolutely annoyed by her presence, but the gentle glint in his eyelights told her a different story. He was probably happy to see that she came to him.

"I came to help you, of course. Stop being a brat, and accept my help" (y/n) said, walking over to him, and looking down at his shorter self. He looked back at her, but he didn't hold any hatred towards her, just like she thought.

"I don't need your damn help. Get lost" Slate said, turning around, and starting to work on cleaning up, but before he could do that, she did catch a small grin forming on his face. So, he really was happy to see her here.

"Then why are you grinning?" (y/n) teased a little bit, as Slate seemed to burst out into a light shade of greyish blue, as he tried to deny anything that she said about it.

"S-shut up! I'm not fucking grinning!" (y/n) simply chuckled. She... she was already missing these moments. She only had moments like that with Riggs before, but even those were different, as she had romantic feelings towards Riggs.

The smile that made way to her face fell the moment that she realized what she needed to do now, with the given chance. she didn't want to ruin the mood, but this was much more important. When was she going to get a chance like this again?"Yeah, yeah... Listen, what you did was shitty." It seemed that she was right, as the mood did die the moment she spoke up, reminding him of the events of yesterday.

"If you're here to lecture me th-" Before Slate could continue, he was interrupted by (y/n). No, she was going to get her thoughts out. She wasn't going to let anyone try and silence her.

"Shut up, okay? It's my damn time to speak, okay?" (y/N) said, showing an angry side to her. It seemed that Slate wasn't expecting that, as he had gone quiet. ".."

"That was supposed to be my choice. I was supposed to choose what happens to him." All the frustration, and anger that she held inside was slowly being let out with calm and thought out words. She wasn't yelling, but she wished that she would have.

"And you took that choice away from me." (Y/n) could go on and on about why she was angry. But she knew that it wasn't going to have the same effect. This...? This will leave a better scar for Slate. Make him understand how much he had messed up.

"... I'm... sorry" (y/n) honestly didn't expect Slate to apologize this early on. She expected him to maybe wait a little bit, show a little reluctance, but nothing... Only regret was visible in his eyesockets. 

"I know you are. So, be more considerate next time" (y/n) said, feeling a small smile rise on her face. It seemed that... She didn't want to lose Slate. He was her only friend besides Riggs... and Riggs was... Well. She didn't want to lose Slate. Not over a fight like this. Not over Rus.

"..." The silence almost felt overwhelming. Did she say something wrong? From the look on his face, he just looked to be feeling sorry. Well, at least.. that was good enough for her.

"... Let's finish up cleaning" Slate eventually said, making her smile a little bit, as she nodded at him. That seemed good enough for her. Maybe weren't going back to how they were fully, but this... this was good enough for now.

"Yeah, let's do that" Slate replied and with that, both (y/n) and slate returned to cleaning in silence, but they seemed to be doing much better. It seemed like they will get back to how they were before in no time. 

~~~SLATE'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Slate was honestly glad that he had made up with (y/n). He never thought that he did something to take her choice away from her... If he thought have thought about it in that way, he wouldn't have done it. Wouldn't have listened to Whips orders.

They were cleaning in silence, but everything was almost perfect. She was looking so much more relaxed than usual, and well... He didn't want to lose her. Not yet. She was his... Enemy... His only enemy that was worthy of him... and he was the only one who was worthy of her.

Sadly, it seemed that Slim didn't understand that just yet. Slate could smell Slim all over (y/n) body. He would be surprised if not everyone else could smell Slim on her too.

How dared Slim touch her, and for so long too. His smell was completely soaked into her... For now, he wasn't going to do anything, but later on, he will have a talk with Slim... This was not okay... Slim needed to learn to not touch what belonged to Slate.

***NIGHT TIME***

(Y/n) wasn't sure what she was doing here again. She wasn't sure why she was in front of Ashley's room, or why she was unlocking the door, and entering inside. If she would get caught, she would be in trouble but.. she didn't want to be alone right now. And the only person that came to her mind was Ashley.

When she came inside of the room, Ashley looked over to (y/n), a surprised look on her face, as a small blush started to appear on her face. It didn't surprise (y/n) at all, especially after what had happened...

"... y-you're here tonight too? After what I... tried to do?" Ashley asked when (y/n) didn't say anything, while simply staring at Ashley's hopeful eyes, as she seemed to have gotten the wrong idea again.

The hopeful look on her face disgusted (y/n)... Why the hell was she even here?! (Y/n) didn't want to sleep with Ashley. With anyone, actually! "I'm not here for that, Ashley. I just... I don't know, this was a mistake, I-" before she would finish her sentence, she was interrupted.

"N-no, please!... Please don't go..." Ashley muttered out,  coming to the edge of the bed, looking desperate in her night gown. She looked so.. damn delicate.. in need of protection... Stars, she reminded her of how she was when she was young...

"..." (Y/n) said nothing, being unsure on what she wanted to do. Should she play along with Ashley, or should she return back to her room... If she's found out here, she will get in trouble, she knew that much... But stars.. She couldn't bare being in her room without wanting to break things...

"Come on... I won't do anything. Just, please... I want to have you near.." Ashley said, the look in her eyes was desperate. (Y/n) felt uncomfortable, but eventually, she decided to give in.

"If you try anything... I'll kill you" (y/n) eventually said, as Ashley looked like a child on Christmas as (y/n) walked over to the bed, but unlike the previous night, she took off her jacket and pants, only leaving her in her oversized shirt. 

Honestly, the excited look on Ashley's face was making (y/n) uncomfortable, but she didn't care too much. Besides, the fact that Ashley wasn't questoning her boxers was good enough for her.

"... I would happily die by your hands" Ashley eventually whispered out, when (y/n) laid down, and Ashley cuddled up to her. (y/n) honestly couldn't understand what was wrong with Ashley... She was the one who kidnapped the woman, so why was she acting like this?

"... Did you say something?" (Y/n) asked, not being able to believe what she had heard... This was going to be more troublesome than she wanted it to be... right? Stars, this was going to be horrible...

"... Nothing... Let's sleep" Ashley finished up, wrapping her arms around (y/n), pulling her close, looking content as both of the women slowly fell asleep in each other's arms.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: Bad luck

Honestly, you were pretty lucky that the person that caught you was Slate and not someone else... Well, not that Slate was any better, but you at least knew that Slate wouldn't exactly do anything to hurt you or get you in trouble. You were sure that with enough convincing, Slate would shut about this, and wouldn't try to ask what was happening.

With a tired yawn, you got up, putting back the few clothes that you took off before heading off to bed, as you looked up at him. The two of you stared at one another, without saying anything for a second before he let out a sigh. It was like the two of you understood what you both wanted to say without needing to say anything. That was just what happens when you are friends with someone for a long time. 

You were honestly glad that you two made up before this happened. If you didn't put the extra effort to try and make up, he would have probably already run out of the room and reported you to Whip. And no matter how much he might care for you, Whip would need to be fair and punish you for breaking the rules. 

"So... You and Ashley...?" Slate asked, looking over to the other, as you sighed, shaking your head. You knew that this was going to end up badly. But how could you control yourself? You needed someone to be close to you, but sadly, you didn't have the chance to do choose anyone besides Ashley.

The girl clearly liked you, and you were not sure how to feel about that. You hated her for so long, and now, you just pitied the girl. She had been trapped for years, because of you, and now, she had fallen in love with you, because you are the only person who hasn't abused her yet. It's honestly pitiful...

"... I felt lonely" You finally admitted, sighing, as you ran a hand through your short hair, shaking your head a little bit. You needed to go and fix yourself. You probably looked a mess already. And you hated looking like a mess. You needed to be your best all the time, how else were you supposed to feel good about yourself?

"... Lonely?" Slate said, looking at you, with a raised browbone. His tone sounded incredulous. You didn't blame him. You usually didn't complain about such things. And you were surprised yourself. You spent so much time never needing or wanting to have any human interaction and now, these past few days, you have been feeling this uncontrollable sadness. Like you were craving for something. Like you needed something, yet you yourself didn't know what you wanted or were craving. 

"... Yeah. Don't ask me why. It just felt this urge to be near someone else. And. Don't know. Ashley was just there. God, this is stupid. Don't question me anymore" You said, starting to get annoyed. The more you listened to your own explanation, the less you felt okay about this. Honestly, this was a bad idea. If you just controlled yourself, if you just pushed your feelings down again, you would have been able to avoid this.

"... Okay," Slate said, and silence came over both of them, for a second, before sighing. He nodded his head, before adding. "Well, I won't tell anyone. But make sure these visits stop." Slate said. For whatever reason, that annoyed you. The concept of Slate telling you what to do want annoying. Who was he to tell you what you could do and what you couldn't do? If you remember right, you are above him in ranks.

"Know your place, Slate. I don't think you have any right to tell me what I can and what I can not do. Besides, if you are here, it means that you were breaking the rules too." You said, glaring at Slate, as he glared back, before sighing, massaging his frontal bones, slowly nodding his skull, as you relaxed, smiling.

"... Yes, yes. Well, at least, tell the boss about these visits. If anyone else catches you, and reports you, you are going to be in deep trouble" Slate said, making you nod your head. You knew that very well yourself. This place was dangerous. Everyone was trying to destroy one another, just to be able to get a higher position in the world.

"... (Y/n)?" Finally, Ashley spoke up, still sitting on the bed, in her pajamas. You looked over to her, a soft look on your face, as she started to speak. "... I'm hungry... You think... I could have something to eat?" She said, her voice quiet as if she was a mouse under a broom. She was so different now than how she was with the others. 

Slate seemed shocked too by that, as you let out a small chuckle, nodding your head. "Of course. Give me a second, Ashley. I'll try to get you something. And you. Wait here with Ashley. I'll get you something too." You said, glancing at Slate, as a small blush appeared on his skull, as he nodded, sitting down on one of the chairs.

You sighed, exiting the room. Things were so different lately. You didn't know what caused such a difference, but you knew one thing. You didn't exactly want things to go back to how they were before. You weren't sure why, but this felt.. Better. You were starting to get out of your shell. Finally living life. Why would you want to go back to how things were before?

A few minutes later, you were coming back upstairs, with two plates in hands, as you entered Ashley's room. There, Slate and Ashley were waiting for you. Slate seemed excited, same for Ashley. Thankfully, it looked like neither of them fought while you were away. But, why would they fight, right?

For Ashley, you prepared a beef sandwich meanwhile for Slate, you prepared a chicken sandwich. Both looked pretty happy, as they ate, as you sat down in another chair, letting out a sigh, as you thought about what you needed to do next. You looked around the bare room... It looked like you were going to go out to get Ashley some stuff from the local flea market...

"Hey Slate? I'm going to borrow your brother for a little bit"

~~~ASHLEY'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

The way Ashley hated everyone was like a fire. The things that all of them did to her... God, those things still hunt her. She isn't a living being in their eyes, but a toy. And then they ask her why she treats them badly. She was hurt and abused by them. Molested for their own pleasure How could she ever actually be happy around them?

You weren't any better. The only reason that she was here was because of you. But something about you attracted her in a way that she couldn't explain with words. The cold look in your eyes. The small smirk that you would give when you thought something was funny... The way you licked your lips when you looked at something you liked.

Ashley wished that you would look at her the same way you would look at Riggs. The main reason why she loved it when you would visit her with Riggs was that she liked to imagine that you looked at her like that, instead of Riggs. She knew that it was delusional, but that was the only comfort she had.

Sometimes, Ashley liked to fantasize about how it would feel to be with you. Wonder if she would have ever fallen for you if she wouldn't have been in this situation. Each time she would think about it, she would think that she would have. You were just... A cold beauty, that's for sure. Not exactly what Ashley liked to date, but you were pretty close.

Ashley wondered if you liked her too. Maybe you didn't realize that you liked her? Why else would you have spent two nights with her? Why would you have held her so gently against her? Ashley wouldn't understand why else. None of the guys who said that they loved her treated her that gently...

Ashley knew that this wasn't right, but she didn't care. She wanted you, and she was going to do everything in her power to use those idiots to her advantage to get you... Ashley will need to talk with Rose. 

~~~SLATE'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

The last thing that he expected was to find a half-naked you in the bed of Ashley. The reason why he had even gone to check up in the room was that she heard your name being moaned out. That had never happened before, so, of course, he was worried. He needed to check everything out, to see if everything was okay.

What he saw inside of that room was... something. It was Ashley staring at you, in between kissing you all over and whispering out your name or small sentences. It was... Well, there was no better word than creepy to describe this. What was even going on? Thankfully, you woke up before anything else happened.

It seemed that you didn't know what had happened at all, and Ashley was acting like she wasn't doing something creepy to you while you were asleep. Slate didn't trust Ashley. Nor did he like her. But he couldn't tell you that just yet. Slate didn't want to anger you, in case, this was consensual. He needed to figure out what was going on...

***DAY TIME***

"... Thank you, Dreary" you let out a sigh of relief, as the two of you arrived at the flea market. The guy behind you looked absolutely flustered, as he looked at you, not saying anything. Before you could go anywhere, he grabbed your sleeve, shyly holding onto it. You let out a sigh, not saying anything, allowing him to hold onto you.

"..." Dreary didn't say anything, him simply following after you, staring at you intensely as you looked around. For some time, you felt uncomfortable by that stare, but after almost an hour of that, you simply got used to it and started to ignore it. Honestly, this was better than what he had thought. 

You never believed it, but Dreary was very strong. He was carrying a lot of the stuff that you were buying, while still holding onto you. It was pretty impressive, but there was no point lying about how creepy it actually was in a way. How much he stared at you. And how tight his grip on your hand would get whenever you needed to talk with someone.

Finally, the day had ended, and you two returned home, with all the things that you needed. Honestly, it was hell going through all of that. Dreary had scared off many people, and so many people didn't sell to them because of Dreary. Either because he was a monster or because of how scary he was acting.

"... Thank you Dre-!" Before you could finish your sentence, your words were slammed out of you, as Dreary pushed you into the nearest wall, looking at you, with eyes that seriously were sending unpleasant shivers down your spine. Shaky hearts were formed in his eyelights, as he stared at you, holding you in one place.

His breathing was heavy, as he stared at you. And for the first time in forever, you felt scared of Dreary. Someone who you used to bully almost every single day was scaring you now... God, what happened to you? Why did you get so soft? What happened to you to make you such a pussy? You hated this... 

Without a second thought, he took a strand of your hair, before bringing it closer to where his nose would be, as he took a deep breath in, a look of pure bliss appearing on his face the moment that he breathed in your scent. A look of disgust appeared on your face, as you stared at him, frowning.

You tried to push him away, but instead of it working, Dreary pulled you closer to himself, burying his face in your shoulder. You kept struggling until you felt something disgusting. A bite. Dreary was biting you... The moment you realized that you started to hit him harder, just to rip him off you.

Was this crazy fucker trying to eat you!? What the loving fuck!? Finally, after almost screaming out in pain, you managed to rip him out of your wound, but not without him disgustingly licking the bite mark that he made. A frown was on his face, because of this. How dare he try to attack him out of nowhere?!

Sadly, Dreary didn't move away from you, as he continued to hug you tightly to him, muttering words that you couldn't clearly understand. He was slowly falling to his knees, as eventually, he was hugging your waist, his eyelights closed, as you finally heard what he was muttering away. And that made your skin revolt.

".. I love you... I love you... I love you..." Over and over, like his life depended on those three words... You finally realized what Dreary really did. He wasn't trying to eat you... God, he would be lucky if he just tried to eat you.. What he was trying to do was mark you as his mate, wasn't he?... God... You needed a drink...

~~~DREARY'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

What made Dreary finally realize that he loved you? He wasn't too sure... Since the last time you two hang out, Dreary has been thinking about you. He kept seeing your plump lips in his dreams, and he has been hallucinating your beautiful voice calling out to him, telling him to come closer to you...

Dreary loved you. He knew that much. He never felt like this towards anyone else. Not even Ashley. He thought that he loved Ashley but the truth was... he loved you all along, right? The cruel way you treated him... The way you looked at him like he was a bug... The way your beautiful lips insulted him... How your angelic voice made him realize his place... He knew that he wanted to belong to you. Since the moment that you two knew each other, he was meant to belong to you, he knew that much.

He knew that he wasn't the only one who felt like this. Syrup and his father felt the same towards you. Dreary didn't mind sharing you with his father, but Syrup would need to be eliminated... Dreary wasn't going to hang you over to someone who wants to have you all to himself. Syrup was not worthy...

Who was the one who was insulted by you all the time? It was him, Dreary. Who was the one who got so much of your attention, while you were bullying him? Dreary. Who was blessed to hear your voice call him a maggot and a waste of space? him... Dreary was getting all of this breathtaking attention from you.

Dreary knew that you loved him. You had to love him too. Why else would have you showed such a sweet side to him, now? Why else? You probably started to get impatient about how Dreary wasn't yours yet and wanted to show a sweeter side to him, to bring Dreary to the light. To make Dreary understand who really loved him...

Dreary felt disgusted thinking that he even considered being in love with Ashley before. Why would Ashley ever be an option, when you were there? When you were being so perfect for him? Why would he need anything else? Exactly, he wouldn't. The idea of someone else being his lover now is insane for him.

Dreary knew that claiming you was not right for him but.. But how were others supposed to know that you were already in a happy relationship with him? People loved to ruin relationships... Dreary didn't want anyone to try and seduce you! He had seen how some people tried to seduce you... 

He was going to make sure all of those disgusting people would end up dying but before that.. He needed to make sure that you wouldn't leave him. Honestly, he couldn't blame you if you would get seduced. You are just so wonderful, it's not a surprise if a lot of people would want you! It wouldn't be a surprise that you would end up being tricked into doing something with someone else.

Well, you were lucky now.. Because he wasn't going to ever let you go now... He loved you and he was going to make sure that you never leave him... Never leave him...

***EVENING TIME***

You had no idea how you managed to escape from Dreary, but you did thankfully, after yelling at him for a little bit longer, he had cowered away and ran away. Seriously, you couldn't understand what was wrong with people nowadays. Not only was Ashley punished for hurting someone, when she never was before, but now, a lot of the guys were acting weirdly...

"... Hi.." The quiet voice of Slim was heard, as you turned around, letting out a sigh of relief. "Finally. I thought you would never arrive. Alright, we have work to do. We need to decorate Ashley's room"

"... Did... Whip give permission?" Slim asked a valid question, but instead of answering, you glared at him. That was enough of an answer that he needed to pick up the boxes of the stuff that you and Dreary bought. Now...

The whole process of decorating the room was slow. The dangerous things were put further away, out of Ashley's reach, meanwhile, the harmless things were placed near her. Ashley smiled warmly every single time you came closer to her, as she would thank you while eating the plate of mashed potatoes and pumpkin soup that you made for her.

A few hours passed, but the two of you had finished, and you felt proud of what had happened, as a small smile appeared on your face. You and Slim excited the room, as you looked over to him. 

Slim, like always, stared at you, with a blank expression. You sighed. That sometimes annoyed you. You weren't sure why, but you hated when people stared blankly at you. You preferred glares over blank expressions even.

With a small smirk on your face, you decided to pull Slim closer to you. The other seemed surprised, as his eyelights widened, the moment that you placed your lips on his teeth for a split of a second, before letting go of him, leaving him a shock, as you decided to walk away. After what had happened today with Dreary, you deserved to be able to tease someone.

~~~SLIM'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Slim wasn't sure why you were acting the way you were with him. You... Clearly choose someone else to mark you... So why were you still acting so seductive? Or was Slim just sick and seeing everything that you as seductive...? That would make sense. The way you move makes him always so hungry for something... more primal...

Slim had never felt like that before towards anyone before. What was going on with him? He just couldn't understand... This wasn't right. You had someone in mind already, so he shouldn't be thinking about you. Not in that way, at least.

Just Slim was starting to accept that you were taken by someone else now, you went and surprised him again, lighting his soul on fire again. A short but passionate kiss on his teeth was enough for him to be ready to chase after you like a lost dog. God, you knew exactly what you were doing, right? Even if you had someone now, you couldn't live without knowing that everyone was in love with you. without knowing that they would never be able to move from you.. To forget you and how delicious you are... 

Slim wasn't sure if this was right or not. If this was going to make him become a target or not, but Slim knew one thing. He needed you. That he wanted you... And that he wasn't going to give up just yet... No, he wasn't going to give... It wasn't how his older brother raised him, oh no... He wanted you and he was going to get you... Even if he had to kill your mate.

***

Slate/Mafiaswap Sans - Slate has been enjoying spending time with you. He doesn't really feel anything for Ashley anymore, that's why he doesn't feel jealous. He didn't really enjoy spending time with Ashley alone, and Ashley seemed to not like Slate either, like always. He was just glad that you came back early enough. 

Dreary/Mafiahorror Papyrus - Has completely fallen into his obsession, and entered the yandere stage. Dreary is the protective and delusional type of yandere. He will not share the reader with anyone but his brother and father. He is very territorial but is pretty submissive towards the reader. He will try his best to never step out of the line he is allowed in, not wanting to ruin his 'relationship' with the reader. 

Slim/Mafiaswap Papyrus - Slim has been developing a crush for you. The more time he spends with you, the more the crush develops. He is confused on why you kissed him while being claimed, but that kiss has sparked some more powerful emotions inside of him, that makes him want to defy a marking, and still persue you, even if you had a mate already. 

Ashley/The protagonist - Ashley has been developing her feelings for you with time, and she has reached a point of being willing to use the remaining idiots to try and get closer to you. Ashley shows signs of being delusional, and playing innocent just to get pity points towards her. Don't understimate her power. She is the protagonist for a reason. 

***

Chapter Text

Chapter 12: A surprise meeting with a detective

What keeps leading you in such situations? You honestly don't know. No matter how much you think about it, you don't want to be in such a situation. You regretted ever saying that this was good. That you liked how things were now. At least before, you didn't need to worry about being cornered by two crazies.

"... So." You said awkwardly, looking at the two brothers. Grim was grinning down at you, while Dreary had a shy look on his face, but he looked happy being around, glancing from time to time to your neck, where the bite was, that you tried to hide, but it seemed that a bite like that was had to actually hide.

"... Welcome into the family, 'little sister'" Grim said teasingly, as he burst out laughing. "or should I call ya 'mommy'?" Grim was starting to annoy you. Who did he think he was...? You hated this guy so fucking much... Honestly, you wanted to just kill him... He knew this wasn't consensual, but he's still humoring the thought.

"Stop fucking with me, you fucking idiot..." You said, snarling at the other, as Grim laughed joyfully. "God, no need to look at me like I killed your mother! We'll be seeing each other a lot now that we're family. So, don't hold back, yeah? If you need help, ask away, 'little sister' or 'mommy'"

You knew that Grim was acting like this because of how weirdly Dreary and Chompers were acting towards you. And you hated it... God. You hated it. Grim took any chance he could to tease people. And ever since the two of you kissed, you felt him watching you for some time now. He had been just... Glaring at anyone who you hung around.

"... Also." Grim said, still grinning "You are a taken woman now, aren't you? Stop going around kissing people like Slim, especially after he knowledged that you were taken." Grim said, as Dreary looked shocked and hurt towards you. You hated that look. You didn't consent to the marking. Of course, you weren't going to follow its rule. 

"... Fuck off," You said, glaring at him again. "This brother of yours fucking forced himself on me. I don't need to follow shit" You knew that it was dangerous for you to talk like this. Grim had tried to kill you before, but this situation was pretty dangerous either way. You weren't going to hold back anymore.

"Aww, of course, you didn't. You wouldn't stoop so low to date Dreary" Grim said, grinning as Dreary looked down. He seemed to have gotten sadder by the words of his brother. The truth was that you weren't the only one who made fun of Dreary. Grim did the same, even if he tried to act like he was better than you.

"Okay, what the fuck??" You said to Grim. "Control yourself. Your brother isn't that bad. He can date someone. You're a bigger asshole than him" You said from anger, but when you realize the reaction your words had on Dreary, you cursed under your breath. It seemed that you messed up again. This wasn't good.

"..." Dreary looked over to you, the heart eyelights being in his eyes again, as he had a silly smile on his face like he was on cloud nine. Honestly, you were already regretting standing up for Dreary. Maybe if you stayed quiet, or agreed with Grim, you might have gotten rid of Dreary easier.

"I... I love you" Dreary said, as you sighed. "Yes, you already said that enough yesterday. Look... I don't love you. Nor do I like you. This?" You said, pointing to the bite that he gave to you "Was not okay. You did something bad. Thankfully, bites like this disappear fast, but still... Remember, you can't do this and just because you forced yourself on me, it doesn't mean that I'm yours. Now, I don't have any more time to waste with you both. I have things to do"

"Maybe, please to do?" Grim teased, laughing, as you started walking away, but not without flipping the man off, as soon, the only thing that you could hear was the boastful laughter that came from Grim. In the rest of the morning, you made sure to prepare breakfast for Ashley. Some chili with beans. 

~~~GRIM'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Honestly, Grim was starting to get more and more interested in you. God, why were you just so... Different? One moment, you are making out with most of the guys in this household, and the second moment, you are bonding with Dreary, and then, you are so cold and cruel to everyone. 

Grim wasn't sure why, but the idea of you and his brother didn't sit well together. I mean, why would you ever want to be with his brother? No offense but Dreary was absolutely disgusting. The guy looked horrible, he wasn't confident at all, and he had so many quirks that girls and guys found creepy. Why?

When Grim heard that Dreary forced himself on you, it made sense. Well, of course, you weren't going to just date someone like his brother. Like, he was a complete loser. Why would you ever want to give yourself away to him when Grim was an option? Even if you two weren't close, you being with Grim would make more sense.

Honestly, Grim didn't like you. But he also didn't like the idea of you being with someone else. The idea just did not sit well with him. It made him feel like it was just not right. Why would someone like you date any of the others? You clearly don't like any of them. Grim is the one you seemed to like the most, actually.

When you told him off, Grim couldn't help but grin. Seriously, you were so hot whenever you were just angry. You looked so angry, that Grim just wanted to do something with you... Maybe, Grim should try and prove to all these idiots that he was the only person that might look good with you?

~~~DREARY'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Dreary didn't like how his brother was acting. It didn't take long for him to realize that Grim liked you too. Dreary knew that if Grim wanted to have you, then Dreary wouldn't have a chance to be with you... That wasn't good. Dreary didn't want to give you up. Dreary couldn't give you up... God...

Grim was handsome and powerful. If he wanted, he could have you... Or well, could have you, if you weren't strong-willed. But you were strong-willed. You didn't care about anyone. Not even yourself, sadly. That's why for Grim to make you fall for him was going to be impossible. Besides, you liked submissive people and not dominant.

Sure, if you were any other girl, then he would be one of the hottest people you had ever seen, but you were... Different. Dreary had noticed that you had taken a preference to people that were... shyer.. In other words, more submissive people and not dominant people. Honestly, he wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Dreary thought that he might be your type, but it seemed that no matter what, you just didn't like him. But it wasn't like he was going to give up just yet. Or ever. He loved you. He wasn't going to let you run away from him... not right now, not ever. And if you ever fall in love with someone else... Then he would be forced to hurt them very badly...

***DAY TIME***

There were only two people that you could trust to be safe with. Riggs and Slate. Seeing as Riggs and you were not on the best terms, for the time being, you had decided to head to the other person that you knew you could trust. Slate. Honestly, you could go back to Ashley, but she... She didn't make you feel comfortable.

With slow movements, you arrived at Slate's room. Almost immediately after you knocked on his door, it opened, letting you in. A worried look appeared on Slate's face, as he looked at you. You looked tired, as a sigh escaped from you. 

You entered the room, not look around it, as you walked towards the bed, sitting down. Slate glanced over to you, as he closed the door. The two didn't speak for the time being, as he slowly walked over, sitting down next to you. The both of you didn't need to talk, to understand one another perfectly.

Even no words were told for the longest time, you felt comfortable and happy around Slate. You felt like things were going to be okay... You were... Okay. This was giving you a chance to take a breather, and relax a little bit. Without saying anything, you cleaned against the wall, in Slate's room, as he glanced over to you again.

"... So, something happened?" Slate finally broke the silence, as you glanced over to him, nodding your head. You stuck a hand in your pocket's before pulling a lighter and cigarette out, and lighting it, before offering one of the cigarettes to him, he smiled, taking one of the cigarettes, taking your lighter, and lighting the cigarette with a smile.

"... Eh." You sighed, blowing some of the smoke out. "You can say that" How do you tell your friend about all the crazy things that have been going in your life, without making yourself seem weak? Easy answer, you can't. You just tell everything, without holding anything back, because there is no point in lying.

"These past few days have been shit.. God. A few days ago, Chompers and Syrup drugged me, and just.. Watched me sleep??" You said, confused, as you rubbed your forehead. You had no idea what was the point of what they had done. But you knew one, you didn't like it one little bit. That was for sure.

"Then... Ashley has been acting weird too." That was all you said about the girl, not wanting to elaborate more. Honestly, there wasn't much else that you could say about what has been happening with Ashley.

"... And yesterday, that idiot Dreary fucking bit me" The moment you said that Slate looked over to you, shocked. But you guessed, he was more shocked about the fact that Dreary bit you without your consent, which was again all the morals of a claim like this. Both sides need to be okay with it, and Slate just found out that Dreary force himself on you.

"And grim has been just targeting me with his shit.. It's fucking shit. I hate this. what changed out of nowhere?" You asked, bringing the cigarette close to you again, before breathing in the smoke, and puffing it out after keeping it in for a second longer. "It's disgusting" you added.

"...." Slate didn't say anything for a second, before slowly nodding. "Yes.. Whip should be able to heal you. Though... how could Dreary do something like that..? It's against the rules, he knows that.." Slate said, annoying you. Was he not believing you? Was he seriously going to believe Dreary before you? 

"Are you saying I'm lying, Slate? You know I hate that. Be careful with your next words, Slate." You warned the guy, looking over to him, as he looked shocked like you killed his grandmother in front of him and urinated on his dead dog's rotting body.

"of course not! How could you think that! of course, I'm going to believe you! Come on.." Slate said, sighing. "You aren't a liar. I'm just shocked that Dreary dared do something like that" You sighed alongside him. You were as shocked as Slate was.

Honestly, Dreary was not the type who would do things like this. You had no idea what happened to him to cause him to act like that... It was making you feel uncomfortable, that's for sure.

"..." Slate went quiet for a second longer. You didn't notice the growing darkness on his face, too focused on finishing up your cigarette, before finally leaving, thanking him for talking to you, already heading off to Whip.

~~~SLATE'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

The moment that Slate heard what Dreary did to you, he was ready to storm off and break him to pieces right now, but the memory of what had happened the last time he did something without telling you flashed before him, making stops in his tracks, not wanting to cause that to happen again.

When Slate heard that Dreary and you claimed one another, it was like something broke inside of Slate. That was the moment that Slate needed to realize his true feelings for you.

Slate was in denial for so long. Slate truly believed that all the flustering in his soul and the feelings of butterflies in his ribcage when you were close was just his excitement to have another battle with you but that was not the case at all.

Love. That was what he had been feeling for you all this time. It scared him. It honestly scared him, thinking that he was in love with you, especially if you were in love with someone else. He understood why he was in denial in the first place. Because he knew that he never stood a chance to be with you. That's why it was easier to think he hated you than to realize that he loved you. 

But the moment that you came to him to be comforted, it was like a small hope for him returned. Maybe, just maybe... You liked him? That maybe when you would get bored of Dreary, he would have a chance with you? of course, when he heard that Dreary forced a claim on you, it was like he could burst from happiness right here.

You came to him... And you were not willingly claimed by Dreary. And you were going to go and get healed, so the bond will disappear in a little bit... Didn't it all mean that the one that you were interested in was Slate?

No matter what your feelings were, Slate finally understood his.... He understood that he was madly in love with you, for years now and that... He had the purpose of protecting you now...

***EVENING TIME***

You opened the door, a sigh escaping from you. Being with Slate was helpful, thankfully. You managed to calm down a while and be able to think more logically. Otherwise, she would have forgotten that she had just the chance of healing the bond off. And who else would you visit for that, then Whip?

"... Not only did you get claimed by another man, but you came here, thinking of another man too?" The smooth voice of Whip came from over the table, where he was sitting, smoking a cigar. 

Whip looked to be... Angry. Angry with something that you couldn't understand. You were confused, but it wasn't like you could run away from Whip. He was the boss.

With slow movements, you closed the door behind you, looking over to Whip. You had been with Whip since he was a young child. You knew him... And because of that, you knew something was wrong, even if he didn't look much different than he usually was. But something was off. Very off.

"... God, (Y/n). I believed that you were smarter. I was being so patient with you too... But instead, you went and choose Dreary to claim you..? Stars. Your standards have really gone down, haven't they?" Whip said, glancing at you, as you sighed. That made sense. Whip didn't want you to date, anyone, because of work. Not like you wanted to be with anyone either. You didn't exactly have a choice, now did you? 

"Whip, come on. You know me" You sighed, "You know that I'm not interested in any relationship. I'm devoted to my job. Dreary lost his mind for a second and went to bite me." You said, glancing up at him, but it didn't seem that that helped in any way.

"You naive woman... That's the problem. Not only are you not interested in anyone, but you are so weak, that people even forced themselves on you." Whip spoke, his words laced with venom, that stung you like nothing before. He was calling you weak... After all that you've done for him?! YOU KILLED HIS FATHER SO HE WOULD INHERIT THE FAMILY... And he was now calling you weak...

A cold laugh escaped from you. The Asters were all like this... They would use someone, before throwing them out when they didn't need them anymore. Whip was kicking you out, wasn't he? "Are you kicking me out, Whip?" you asked, not wanting to beat around the bush anymore.

A laugh escaped from him, as he got up, slowly getting closer to you. When he was close to you, he gently traced the bite mark that Dreary left, before his grip started to get tighter, and you winced, as he started to dig his claws in the wound, as a frown appeared on his face.

"Quite the contrary, my dear... I want you to become mine." Those words boomed in the room, as you couldn't believe what you heard. The mixture of pain and shock made you unable to see what happened next.

Whip removed his claws from your shoulder, as he gently wrapped his arms around your shoulder, pulling you closer into a kiss. The moment would have been romantic if only he wouldn't have forced himself on you, while you were finally struggling to break free, but he wasn't budging one little bit.

It felt like forever, but the kiss finally ended. You didn't even realize how your wound and bite was healed. The bastard must have done it while you were too focused on struggling...

"... I should claim you myself," whip said, the smile from before on his face. "That's the least you own me after all these years of patiently waiting for you but.." Whip stopped for a second, as his smile turned into a smirk. "I'm as desperate as Dreary. I will wait for you to beg for me to claim you.. To make you mine"

Whip finally let go of you, as he returned to his position. "... And about Ashley. I knew what you've been doing with her since the first day. Play with her if you want. But only you. Take it as... a future engagement gift" Whip said, laughing, as you glared at him, whipping your lips away, as you ran off.

It seemed that even Whip wasn't trustworthy anymore.

~~~WHIP'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Whip knew that he couldn't wait anymore. He had waited for you since childhood. He had loved you for years, yet you never had eyes for him. you always looked at others. Even falling in love with his brother, and now... Being claimed by Dreary. He knew that staying silent was only going to make him lose you.

Whip knew that by doing what he did he ruined everything but did he care? God, he didn't. He needed you and if taking you by force was the only way that he would be able to have you, then he was going to do what was necessary. He just loved you that much. You could run as much as you wanted, but Whip knew that you would always come back to him in the end... You didn't have any other options. Because you knew that Riggs would die if you ever left.

***NIGHT TIME***

It had been hours since you left the mansion. You were drinking yourself to absolute oblivious like this. But you didn't care. This bar was shitty, but at least, you knew that no one you knew was going to come here, and annoy you. You hated everyone. If only you could run away, far away from everyone else... But you couldn't. As much as you could have wanted to... There was no option like this. You had nowhere else to go, and if you left, Riggs would be all alone... You couldn't let that happen.

"... You sure look in thoughts, mh?" An unknown voice said, from your side. You glanced at the person, frowning slightly when you noticed that this person was also a skeleton. At least, you didn't know them...

"What do you want?" You said angrily, as you sipped your key lime gimlet. The unknown person laughed next to you. "Well, you seemed like you needed some company... And I need some company." It didn't take long for you to realize what the stranger at hinting. You were about to decline, before stopping.

But why would you decline this? You haven't slept with anyone for so long. And that was all because you were devoting yourself to your job and Riggs. It was time that you would finally let loose, and play with someone.

"... You know what?" You said, finishing up the gimlet. "... I'm too drunk to decline," You said, as the stranger grinned widely, getting up, as he grabbed your hand, but not without paying for both of your drinks. 

It didn't take long before both of you were off, towards the stranger's place. "By the way, the name's Onyx," The skeleton said. For a second, you thought the name rang a bell, but your drunkness pushed it all to the side, before slamming your lips onto the skull, surprising the skeleton, before he relaxed.

It seemed that this was going to be a long night. 

***

Grim/Mafiahorror Sans - Grim is annoyed that others are trying to seduce you. He has started to develop a crush on you, but doesn't want to believe that, so he has been in deep denial about that, thinking that he just wanted to play with you, when in reality, he might be looking for something more serious with you. 

Dreary/Mafiahorror Papyrus - Dreary feels very scared of his brother stealing you, but he is confident that dreary is your type. At least, that was keeping him from pulling anything too drastic. 

Slate/Mafiaswap Sans - Slate has finally realized that he loves you, turning him into a yandere. He is absolutely sure that you can't protect yourself, and that you need him to do that for you instead. He is worried about you, and chances are that he is planning on taking you far away, somewhere, where no one else is going to find neither of you.

Whip/Mafiafell Papyrus - Whip broke the moment that he heard that Dreary claimed you, his nice guy facade breaking, and his true feelings of wanting to own you came out. Whip knows that you don't have anywhere else to go, and he will use that to get you to himself. Even threaten to kill his brother to get to you.

Onyx/Mafia!Nightmare - Noticed that you were all alone, and drunk, and was planning to bringing you to the police station, but that surprise kiss made him change destinations. Maybe, just for today, he could let himself enjoy himself, and not play detective. 

***

Chapter Text

Chapter 13: Troubles at home

"Oh?" Onyx looked up, a sly grin on his face, as you looked tired. "Are you leaving already? After all that you did to me yesterday? God, you sure are cruel... I like that in a woman" Onyx said, laughing a little bit, as he crawled closer to you, wrapping his arms around your waist, as he placed his skull on your shoulder, giving a gentle nibble into the sensitive skin.

Usually, in situations like these, you would probably push the man off you, before cursing him off and going your way, but this time, something told you to be a little bit... Well, sweeter. Besides, what wrong would that bring? You wanted to be away from the mansion for as long as possible, so why not entertain the guy for a little bit longer.

"Alright, but get dressed. We'll get breakfast together" It seemed that your reply was shocking enough for the guy to stare at you for a second, before the sly smirk from before returned, as he nodded, jumping up from the bed, and heading into the bathroom to get cleaned up. Now, you could disappear while he is busy, but you wanted to stay away from the mansion for as long as possible, so, you will wait.

A surprised look appeared on his face when he came out of the bathroom, and he saw you. You could have sworn a blush glowed on his face for a split second before it disappears. "... You actually stayed?"

"You want me to go?" You asked, raising a brow, confused. "... Not particularly" You nodded at that, before getting up, completely naked, as you gave him a smile and pat. "Then, I'm not going to go yet. I'll take a shower now. Be patient." And with that, you entered the bathroom to go and fix yourself up.

You exited the bathroom already dressed up, and ready to head out. Onyx was there, waiting for you, looking his best self too, as he stared at you for a second, for a sweet smile appeared on his face, or at least, for a few seconds, before it turned into a smirk. "God, women in suits are fucking hot"

You let out a laugh, as you nodded. "Well, I don't think what happened yesterday would have happened if you didn't think that. Now, do you want that breakfast or not, mh?" You asked as he got up from the bed, walking over to you. "Of course, I want breakfast. So, (y/n), want to tell me why are you so willing to stick around a one-night stand?"

You stayed quiet for a long time. You didn't need to answer him at all. He should be thankful that she was here. As he said, it wasn't usual, and she could have easily left so many times. He should be a little bit more grateful to have such an attractive woman near him. 

"If you don't stop asking so many questions, I will go. I don't need to be here, and I can easily go. I didn't decide to stay with you because I wanted to be questioned. Now, shut up and walk or we'll have problems" It was clear that you were not someone who was going to play around.

"Damn, how hot can you get? I like dominant women" You simply rolled your eyes at that, as the guy followed you, laughing all the time as he did that. You would have lied if you said that you didn't have a smirk on your face too.

When the two arrived at the cafe, Onyx grabbed your hand, intertwining your fingers together, as he dragged you over to one of the tables at the very end of the cafe, near the windows, as the two sat down. You looked confused at him but didn't question him, letting him hold your hand while waiting for the waitress to come over and help the two of you.

To describe how you were feeling right now, you were, well, enraged. Everything was just too much for you. You didn't want this. You missed when things were calmer. You couldn't understand what just changed out of nowhere. Stars, understanding everyone was so hard. You didn't want to try, yet you knew you couldn't avoid it. 

"Hello! I will be your waitress today. What could I get you?" Asked the young lady. The first one to talk to was Onyx. "Hello, miss! I would like to get a Zucchini egg skillet with a cup of cappuccino, thank you!" The next one to talk to was you. You thought for a moment about what to grab yourself, before talking "I would like to get Cezar's salad with an Americano" and with that, the young woman walked away, leaving the two of you alone.

"So! Will you talk about yourself more now?" Onyx asked, still grinning at you, as you shook your head, giving him an equal grin, that he laughed at. His laugh sounded.. Nice. Like you were listening to music, of sorts. It was.. silky in a way, yet was a little bit deep, yet not in a way that sounded forced. It was pleasant to the ears, same for his voice.

"My answer hasn't changed, Onyx. I'm not going to say anything. Ask one more time and I will leave right here and the-" Before you could say anything, you heard your voice being called. You slowly turned around, as the life drained from your face.

There, before you stood none other than the two... most dangerous women you knew. Dove and Sage... You knew the two women for a long time. Or well, you knew Dove for a long time, and you knew Sage for as long as Slim and Slate were here. 

There were no words to really describe these two. It wasn't that you hated them. At least, not Dove. You could never. You just felt like the two were a little bit too intense most of the time. Dove was always too uptight and Sage always got in trouble for her loose act. Those two were a bomb ready to go off. Especially when together.

"... It's quite a surprise to see you here," Dove said, her tone soft as if feathers were caressing you. She walked over to you, and sat next to you, the smile never disappearing from her face, as she looked straight into your eyes with her own ruby pupils. As warm as she tried to act, her pupils showed the truth. They were completely cold and deprived of any warmth or life for that matter. She could bring fear to any man, no matter how experienced.

"... You don't leave the house a lot, (y/n)... Is this a friend of yours?" Dove said, looking over to Onyx. It didn't take long for the other to notice that something was wrong with Dove, as he frowned, and that caused Dove to smile even brighter, as she turned to you again. "... Your friend seems shy, right Sage?"

Sage and Dove have been very close friends since Sage came to this world. It was no surprise, seeing as both were lonely women and who could ever be a better friend than an alternative version of yourself. Though, it really made you think about the horrible things that those two always did whenever they got together. It was always a disaster.

"... You see, we were in town to visit my... Fiance." Dove said, with so much malice and hatred, but soon, it all disappeared as she placed her hand on your shoulder. "But we mustn't go to him just yet, yes? We can go and have fun on our own, yes? Just as ladies..." Dove said, wrapping her arm around your arm, which caused Sage to grin, and sit next to Onyx, wrapping one of her arms around Onyx, making the guy uncomfortable. 

"Seriously, like, long time to talk! We should totally catch up, you know? You're always busy working, and we never have time to play anymore. And with Dove's new duties, we have even less time now. How many months has it been since we last saw each other? You also blocked me on every phone number I tried to call you on!" Sage said, pouting, as her grin on Onyx tightened.

"... I was busy" Was the only reply you gave, as Dove's grip on you tightened. She looked up at you again, the piercing coldness in her eyes there, hunting you like nothing else. You felt like you were being judged for your sins. 

"... That is always your excuse. We all are busy... You should make time for your old friends.." Dove said, as you slowly nodded your head. Not like you were going to actually do that, but you might as well try and please the two while they were visiting. 

"... I'll see what I can do" That was what you would usually tell the two, yet they seemed to be happy with that answer, that's why you sighed in relief when the grip loosened and the two returned to looking like they usually did.

Before the food could even arrive, you heard someone else call your name, but this time, instead of panic, you felt anger rise inside of you. It was one of the guys from the mansion. It was Slim. He always had a sweet tooth, so, perhaps, it wasn't really that weird that he was in a place like this.

"... (y/n)... Miss Dove... Sage... And... who are you?" Slim asked, as he slowly walked over, a cold look on his face. You sighed, trying to calm down. All of this was happening a little bit too fast, and you weren't enjoying it one little bit. All you wanted to do was wait for a second before going back to the mansion.

You were about to ask onyx something before you noticed something. And that something was that he was missing. It seemed that Sage was surprised too. All three of you stayed quiet for a little bit, before sighing and getting up, leaving some money on the table, to cover the cost of the meals. It seemed that your so-needed break was going to be interrupted. You knew things were going too well for it to last long.

***

When you returned home, Sage and Dove had to head to their business, a little bit reluctant to let you go, but they did as they were told and they left without much of a fuss, not wanting to prolong their unneeded business with everyone here. It was clear that even if they enjoyed spending time with you, the same couldn't be said about the others. Except for Sage, who enjoyed being around Slim and Slate, and Dove who enjoyed being around Mal and Toots, weirdly enough. 

You were left all alone with Slim, who had been eyeing you for quite some time. You were no idea. You understood when something was wrong. And it didn't take long to realize that maybe that 'something wrong' might be the fact that you smelled of sex, sweat, and another man. You see, that shouldn't really be that much of a problem, but with how things have been lately, you doubted that things would really go all that smoothly. 

Slim and you stared at one another for what felt like an eternity before you sighed again, breaking the silence. "Come on, Slim, don't stare at me. If you have something to tell me, then please get on with it, because I don't want to waste any of my time with this, and I think we both know that. I'm in no mood to play nice. So, spit it out Slim. Are you going to ask who I fucked or not?" Your tone was dry, maybe shocking him a little bit, but he didn't show much, as he continued to stay quiet before he moved closer for a little bit, and wrapping his arms around you. 

To say the least, that shocked you. You had a surprised look on your face, as you tried to push him off, but he held on tightly. For someone who looked so weak, he had an iron grip, and you didn't really think you liked that much. You preferred it when you could easily move him around and control him. You ddin't like how aggressive he was being right now.

The next thing that you felt was something wet and slimy slowly and gently lick your neck. You wanted to jump back, realizing that Slim was licking your neck, and right there Onyx had left the bite. Or well, nibble. But you were sure that if his scent was somewhere, then it was going to be on that spot, for sure. 

"... Let me go, Slim..!" You said, trying to struggle to push him off, but you sadly were just humans he was a skeleton with magic powers. The power imbalance was too big right now and you didn't have the energy to try and fight him more. 

"... No... You... You smell like him... Bad" Slim said,  his voice... Slow and filled with hatred when he said 'him'. If you wouldn't have known him better, you might have actually been scared of him, at least at this moment. He really was acting... Differently than usual and you weren't sure what to do or what he was going to do. 

Your arms started to loosen, and with that, Slim seemed to be quite content, as he grabbed you closer, nuzzling you a little bit, as he placed small kisses, licks, and nibbles of his own on that sensitive part of your neck. You wanted to scream, kick, cry and beg him to stop, but you didn't. You weren't going to show him a weak side. If he was going to act like this, at least you would keep your dignity until the very end. 

You closed your eyes as if expecting something more to happen, but instead, you stayed there, and everything stopped, before you slowly opened your eyes, seeing a shy-looking Slim, a blush on his face, as he muttered "... Better" as he suddenly grabbed your face and pulled you in a quick peck, and before you could say or do anything, he was gone, finally letting you go, as you fell to the ground, the quiet tears finally starting to fall down your cheek. This.. Was driving you insane. 

~~~SLIM'S POINT OF VIEW~~~

Since Slim was a young child, he was taught that he had to tightly hold onto someone that he loved. Be it a toy, thing, or even person. He was taught that he needed to treasure it but never let anyone else have it. That he needed to make that thing his and his only. And if he was honest, he never understood that. He never had any desire to keep something to himself. To the end of the day, he always wanted to share things with his brother. Or look at his precious things from afar.

That's how he had grown up. Whenever he would get a crush, he would never try to pursue it. He always loved to watch his crush from afar, especially whenever they would be with someone else. Or be getting intimate with someone. He knew that he was sick for doing that. That he wasn't even doing what he was taught, but... But he enjoyed this a lot more than owning someone.

The moment that he came to this world, he was always confused. He was always lost. Except when you were around. Whenever you were around, things would get a little bit better. Yes, you were cold, but you also knew what was best for him. You were a lot like his brother and cared for his health. 

He didn't realize that he liked you for a very long time, but when he did, he was scared. He was not sure what he was going to do. You were always so.. Well, open about not wanting to be with anyone and that you simply found the idea repulsive, but he couldn't control his feelings. He never could. They were like a wildfire, unstoppable with simple words.

You never realized that the more time you spent with him, the more you were feeding that fire of his, making it larger and larger, until it engulfed him completely. Until he could think of no one but you. Until he saw you as the only reason that life was worth living. He was attached to you.

You saw him as a young guy that didn't know anything about the world, or someone who was easy to push around, and he wanted to keep that facade up. He never wanted you to know the burning fire inside of him. He wanted to keep it secret until he was engulfed in it, burning you with him as well. 

It wasn't the first time that he had smelled someone on you. Men, women, monsters, humans, all sorts of people would go through you, and most wouldn't even remember or care to notice, but he remembered. He remembered all of the smells on you. He knew so much that he started to recognize who is who by the first sniff. That's why it wasn't all that strange when he realized that who he smelled on you was... Another monster. Another skeleton monster to be exact.

Slim was never someone who wanted to own you. And he still doesn't. But the moment he realized that something snapped in him. That man was trying to steal you away from him and his brother. He was clearly trying to seduce you. Saying things you liked, doing things that you were in love with, just in hopes of taking you away... He had been watching you in the cafe for some time and he. He was pissed.

How dare some scum thing they were worthy of you? You were the most important person to him besides his brother. You were supposed to be someone who belonged to his brother, and that Slim could always watch from apart, but... But if you were going to be taken away, how was he going to do that? The idea was horrific, and frightening for someone like Slim.

He wasn't sure why, but the moment that he had seen that bite, something forced him to go for the wound, and cover it with his own pampering. If.. If she wanted to be marked that much, then he could do that too! That way, that asshole would know to stay away. He knew this was going to anger you but... But it needed to be done. He is doing this for your own good. He knew that one day you were going to understand him.

The last thing he did was something of an impulse. The way you looked there, with your eyes closed, so peaceful, so... Perfect. It reminded him of the times he would come to your room when you were asleep, and he would kiss you. A lot. Almost every night. But the past few nights have been lonely... He has been sleeping in your best, covered in your scent to try and feel less alone. He misses having you so close..

He just hopes that you won't hate him too much. But even if you did, he was still going to be devoted to you, until the day that his last dust particle hits the ground.

***

Currently, you were in the rose garden. You just wanted to relax. Honestly, with all that has been happening lately, you needed relaxation. And if you couldn't get it outside of the mansion, then you at least wanted to get it at home. 

You have been here for a few hours now, but you still felt like it was not enough. A few hours of relaxation could never be enough to really get over all of the stress that you had been through in the last few weeks. Not even that much...

You really wondered what made everything change so drastically? Before your train of thought could continue forward, you heard frantic running somewhere near you. Your eyes immediately shot open, worry on your face, as you turned around, still on the bench, only to see Rose running in a panic towards you. 

He stopped, grabbing your hand, before starting to drag you. You were confused, unsure of what to do, but seeing as Rose was one of those people who have been acting somewhat normal these past few days, you decided to follow him and trust that he wasn't going to do anything stupid to you.

"What's wrong?!" You asked in a panic, as you ran with him, him still tightly holding your hand, panic still as evident on his face as ever, him barely being able to say one word, but that one word shocked you to your core. 

"F-Father!"

***

***

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Hello, hello, and thank you for checking out this project! I'm so happy to introduce you to the newest project that I am working on! And it's an SMP! Now, mind you, we're still starting out so the lore is still being developed! 

In a few words, this project is an improv roleplay SMP where you can come and help us out making this as interesting as possible! You can also have any sort of character that you want! Humans or nonhumans! I would be more than happy to have more people come and join us!

Description: You are not a good person. Maybe not evil, but not good either. Why else would you have been exiled to the purgatory world? Gods, angels, politicians, time travelers, mythical beings and more get sent to that world for various things. Be it sins, not doing your duties right or accidentally appearing there. 

What happens when you're greeted by an eccentric exiled god who seems a little bit too eager to force you to join her country? What if a suspicious politician keeps trying to make you become part of their country? 

Seems like the land is not as peaceful as people think. I mean, how peaceful can it be when the land is made out of morally gray people?

If you have any questions, please contact me on discord!

My discord: God Complex 👑✨#7949

Requirements:

* Have Minecraft Java edition (Cracked versions work too!)
* We're going to be playing in 1.17.1 without mods
* Be ready to improv if needed

What we need:

* Players (Youtubers/Streamers or nothing!)
* Plot scripers
* Skin makers
* Thumbnail makers
* Builders

What the server will include:

* A trading system
* Cities (Roguewood and States of Cavens)
* Plotlines
* Starting point with items
* More to add as we go on