Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

ՙִՙ ✧ Clarifications ៸៸ 𖤥

➪ ,, THIS IS A HOBBY! I don't promise constant updates or complex plots. This book is mainly a creative outlet for the fictional scenarios I have in mind, something quick you can read if you're bored.

➪ ,, I DO NOT MAKE ORDERS! Mostly because I don't consider myself responsible enough for it.

➪ ,, BOOK WITH MATURE CONTENT! This is because, well, Ranfren usually contains bloody or strange scenes or themes for certain audiences, besides that, I may add chapters with sexual themes and so on. I do not recommend that anyone under the age of 18 read it. If you decide to continue in any way, it is at your own risk.

➪ ,, KUDOS AND COMMENTS! It's not mandatory, but I could use some support, knowing what you think is a great motivation even if it doesn't seem like it.

Chapter Text

DEAR WIFE

( 👁 ) 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : marriage with dubious consent, slight trust and love problems, parental issues, falling in love, marital and domestic fluff, hurt/comfort, Luther wants to be a good and beautiful husband. 

˖⏝ׄ⏝˖⏝ׄ⏝‌୨‌୧⏝ׄ⏝˖⏝ׄ⏝˖

⠀⠀Weeping and rejoicing were common at weddings, as it is beautiful to see how two people were willing to intertwine their lives forever in such an intimate act, in a pure display of love. Although in the case of someone like you, it would be at the very least something peculiar if something like that happened to you.

⠀⠀Your parents never had faith that anyone could walk you down the aisle, your friends agreed on the same thing, and let's not even touch the subject of your former partners or suitors. You simply resigned yourself to the fact that you would die, not only chaste, but also alone.

⠀⠀As if there was something wrong with that, it wasn't as if you were going to choose the first stupid person who crossed your path and call him your husband. A pet could also give you a companionship, even much better than the companionship of a human being. That was your motto for a long time to justify your lack of romantic affection and you lived well with it.

⠀⠀Then...

⠀⠀Could someone explain to you what you were doing there?

⠀⠀Dressed in white on an altar theatrically decorated with the strangest flowers your eyes had ever seen, badly cut paper hearts and what looked like doll parts, in full view of many strange-looking beings and others who seemed to retain some humanity; who wept or stood silently contemplating the scene.

⠀⠀A large translucent veil of whitish tones covered your face to avoid being recognized, at least your bouquet of flowers in hand was alive and with a bit of color. In front of a man of at least extravagant appearance, very tall and thin, with a hairstyle you remember worthy of the 70's or 60's, dressed in white to match you.

⠀⠀As if they were two dolls made for each other.

⠀⠀Behind the wooden dais was a guy with square glasses who conducted the wedding ceremony assuming the role of a father. His presence is a bit useless, because he only said the basic phrases while holding a comic book or manga in his hands, which he read throughout. Until suddenly he ask the tall man to start with his wedding vows.

⠀⠀"With this hand I will hold your yearnings."

⠀⠀His voice was extremely monotonous as he uttered each word, somewhat robotic, as if he felt absolutely nothing for you or the matter at hand. His bearing was straight, he watched you without blinking and you swallowed dryly at the creepiness of his appearance. You avoided his gaze, thankful that he didn't notice through the veil.

⠀⠀"Your cup will never be empty, for I will be your wine."

⠀⠀His hands reached out to your face, making you curse internally because your plan failed. Slowly, he lifted the veil from your face and placed it behind your head, never brushing your skin for a second, avoiding you. That is your face, the one he would have to put up with seeing every day of your life together, or what you thought would be your life, you didn't quite know which would be the right term.

⠀⠀"With this candle, I will light your way in the dark..."

⠀⠀The sound of something crawling across the floor became more audible as the man finished pronouncing his vows, out of the corner of your eye you could see some sort of... snake approach. Snake? Why does it have a woman's head? You didn't know how to express what you were seeing, although you couldn't either. But it didn't matter, that thing was standing next to him, on top of her head was a small pillow with what looked like two wedding rings.

⠀⠀"And with this ring I ask you to be mine" he took one of those tiny shiny objects while grabbing your left hand, you felt how his soft fingertips caressed your ring finger as if touching something made of porcelain. And with that, he placed the ring on this one, sealing the oath you just made.

⠀⠀You shuddered at the sight of him, thinking that there was no going back on the decision you had just made, that you chose to have this weird guy be your husband until you took your last mortal breath. You didn't know at what point you mimicked his actions, placing the single ring pad on one of his languid fingers. You even realized now that, although he had several rings before, he decided to take them all off to make way for this new one only.

⠀⠀"What a nice touch," you thought, as a guess.

⠀⠀You clasped your hands together carefully, though it was rather he who cupped yours gently, as if to warm them, as if to help you hold the bouquet, collaborating in a charming gesture. For a while now, his penetrating gaze on you had seemed frightening but, when you noticed the blush on his already flushed cheeks, it made it even look adorable, in a way.

⠀⠀"All right, I now pronounce you: human woman and my amazing brother!" raised the voice of the boy with glasses, who seemed a bit excited even though he had been reading that comic since the ceremony started without paying attention to them. "Now, brother, you can kiss the human... but make it quick."

⠀⠀You raised an eyebrow at that last, not believing that a father could add that extra something at the end of his words at a wedding. Then you remembered that this boy wasn't and didn't look like a church father to begin with, which would invalidate your marriage in a way. However, you didn't have time to question anything else, when you could feel something touch your lips, making you groan in amazement.

⠀⠀That man was kissing you and stared at you, again.

⠀⠀A shiver ran down your spine as your gazes connected, you were paralyzed to see that he didn't even close his eyelids while kissing you at least to show enjoyment, or is it that he doesn't have any? You wouldn't know, but the uncertainty stung you to the core.

⠀⠀You closed your eyes instead, trying to barely reciprocate because of how nervous you were, clinging to the bouquet as if that was going to help you out of that situation. It didn't, however, you felt him grab your waist moments later to pull you closer. He began to caress your flesh through your dress, which made you intuit that he was doing it to try to keep you calm.

⠀⠀Miraculously, it worked after a while.

⠀⠀Another low moan escaped you, but this time you controlled your anxious yet fearful emotions better. You stopped squeezing the object between your hands, now you only used it as a support while your lips (unfortunately) separated, thanks to him sensing that you were losing air. Despite that, he didn't seem to pull away, just leaned his forehead against yours and let out a murmur of approval.

⠀⠀You managed to hear the applause from the audience along with those euphoric whistles and screams you once dreamed of hearing, which sounded far away as they went on. The only thing you managed to hear after a while, was your husband's slow breathing against your skin, which, in fact, wasn't that uncomfortable. You smiled unconsciously and only opened your eyes a little to see him one last time.

⠀⠀"Actually, this isn't so bad..."

[ . . . ]

⠀⠀You stirred in your position carefully on the soft surface on which you lay, hugging the pillow that should have been for your head as if it were a stuffed animal. Although the constant scenes of your dream made you stir more and more to the point of waking up between moans of complaint, feeling your eyelids still heavy. Carefully you got out of bed, disoriented like a wounded animal.

⠀⠀It was truly a miracle that those events, in fact, were not a dream for you, but your reality: one in which you got married in spite of everything, in spite of the fact that your wedding was not how you thought it would be. Nor with whom you thought.

⠀⠀"Oh, you're awake. Guten Morgen, do you need anything? Have some water."

⠀⠀You turned your head towards the place where the voice came from, only to find your husband, just like every morning for the past couple of months. Even his beloved cat-men were already there, helping him wake up and checking on him. You let out an indescribable mumble as you rubbed your eyes.

⠀⠀"No, I'm fine, Luther... thank you." You couldn't refuse anyway, because as soon as you finished the sentence, Nyon approached you with a silver tray containing a glass of fresh water just for you. You looked at Luther instinctively, and he apparently expected you to drink. "Heh, okay, you win."

⠀⠀Luther covered his eyes with those squares of paper to pretend to close them cheerfully, delighted that you accepted.

⠀⠀You appreciated Nyon's gesture, giving him a friendly pat on the head before proceeding to take a sip and just watch as your man prepared for his day. Your palate was mushy as it was every morning, inevitably sticking out your tongue with some distaste for the ugly taste.

⠀⠀"Today we will leave in the afternoon. Nyen, you take care of the house."

⠀⠀You paid no attention to his words, thinking that the matter was not with you. Instead, you just looked at the glass a couple of times as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Oh, there were hearts stamped on the glass now that you noticed, two hearts kissing.

⠀⠀"Are you listening, (T/N)?"

⠀⠀You startled as soon as he said your name, now you were paying attention to him, but it didn't last long because you looked away as soon as you saw that he was taking off his shirt. Well, Luther was your husband, you shouldn't be ashamed of that which should be common, but you hadn't reached that point of confidence to admire those "forbidden parts" of him.

⠀⠀Counting that you had not yet consummated your marriage either.

⠀⠀"A-Ah, yeah, I... I hear you. Are we going out? As far as I remember our anniversary is a year from now, so..."

⠀⠀"Let's go on a date, just the two of us."

⠀⠀You almost dropped the glass from your hands if Nyen had not caught it nimbly before it hit the floor, placed it on the bedside table and returned as if nothing had happened to help her Master with the buttons of his shirt. You swallowed hard and got out of bed to go straight to face your husband.

⠀⠀"D-Date? You and me, alone? Without the cat-men and Randal? W-Why?"

⠀⠀For a few seconds one could make out how his lips tightened a little, forcing the appearance of a vein or two in his neck. He shook his head several times, however, he remained a bit thoughtful before answering. "Nothing special. I was thinking more about it, and from what I could research: going out together is a very common activity among couples."

⠀⠀"Oh, right..."

⠀⠀It was normal for you to forget that they were married all this time. Yes, they could have married the same day they met and jumped a thousand rungs on the relationship ladder. But they were still a couple at the end, even if the infatuation was still in process. They hadn't had time to go on a romantic date together to get to know each other, it was always family outings that ended in total chaos because of your brother-in-law or some other being.

⠀⠀The idea of dating Luther was both appealing and terrifying.

⠀⠀You shrugged and looked at the floor, weighing whether it was right to accept or not. He wasn't a bad guy, he treated you well as a person beyond how a spouse should treat you, and not giving him the chance would be leaving you in the dark about how much potential he really had. Who knows, maybe you had the true love of your life in front of you and didn't know it.

⠀⠀You sighed, absently stroking your arm. "And you, well... where do you want to go? You know, if we're going out we should have a plan."

⠀⠀Once ready, the cat-men turned away from Luther and he adjusted his hair a little, without answering you. He turned to look at you after so long, his stoic expression still sending shivers down your spine and now even more so with that stony silence among all present. He approached you and raised his hand in a rhetorical movement.

⠀⠀You immediately went on the defensive, preparing your arms for cover.

⠀⠀But he just placed his hand on your head, giving you gentle caresses with his large palm and running his thumb across your forehead with the most tender taps you could have felt. Was he trying to keep you calm? Like that time at the wedding.

⠀⠀"I've already taken care of it, don't worry." A hint of a smile tugged at his thin lips, he wanted you to know he was happy. He turned away from you and waved the cat-men away. "It will be an outing you won't forget, Liebe."

⠀⠀You opened your eyes with surprise and a little embarrassment, not understanding the last word.

⠀⠀Liebe.

⠀⠀What did Liebe mean?

[ . . . ]

⠀⠀A walk in the woods that bordered the area around the house, that was going to be your fantastic date with Luther.

⠀⠀You were sitting on the vanity chair, carefully brushing your hair while humming the catchy song that was playing on the nearby radio, at least it served as a distraction for the immense storm of thoughts that were swirling in your brain during those hours. It was your first date with your husband, it wasn't going to be like you thought, again, but... you didn't want to disappoint him either.

⠀⠀Looking pretty would get you a couple of points, wouldn't it? Maybe a couple of compliments, although well, you don't usually get them from him. Was it because you didn't dress up much when you were at home? But he didn't even notice the cherry lip gloss you bought last week even though you wore it all the time, or when you intentionally used some of his shampoo to see if he noticed a change and he just scolded you for using it without authorization.

⠀⠀It's as if your changes are invisible to him.

⠀⠀What was the point of doing all this if he wasn't going to notice?

⠀⠀You squeezed the handle of the brush with some force as you made the final pass over the ends, intentionally dropping it to the floor afterwards. You were alone in the room, alone. You don't know where Luther had gone, he was probably getting ready in another room to give you privacy. His absence caused you some discomfort, which was strange.

⠀⠀Without thinking, you picked up the object and put it back in its place, there was no point in being bitter about it. It was your first date in years, you had to enjoy it and trust yourself, you looked beautiful! And if he doesn't appreciate it this time, it's because his eyesight is failing him.

⠀⠀"He doesn't have eyelids for a reason." You thought with your childish mental tone, grabbed one of your perfumes from the dressing table and applied it to your usual areas before leaving it in place. You walked out of the room with your head held high, determined to make even an attempt to woo that shady looking man and have him at your feet.

⠀⠀You went off alone to find Luther in the confusing organizational system of the house, unwilling to wait now that you deduced it was getting dark, your appointment was from seven to nine, not a minute less. You thought about pulling him out by the scruffs even if he wasn't ready, but he loves his cute, perfect hair too much to do that to you. Maybe you'd be being a little violent.

⠀⠀You didn't want another punishment either, really.

⠀⠀"Luther, I'm ready! Where are you?" you cried out in search of him, receiving no answer.

⠀⠀The house was a bit quiet, perhaps Randal was with Sebastian in his room.

⠀⠀You searched the guest rooms, opened doors and then closed them, looked under rugs or vases, even asked a picture hanging in the living room if it had seen the Ivory leader. He didn't seem to be there.

⠀⠀You frowned, placed your hands on your hips already completely annoyed by the situation. It took you less than an hour to fix yourself up in the span of a fair hour, you didn't want to believe it was taking him that long to what, put glitter in every strand of his hair? get a pair of eyelids and false eyelashes? Now that would be ridiculous. Again, you try to keep your composure and not think he had chickened out at the last minute.

⠀⠀Clearing your throat, you stopped in the driveway near the exit, knowing Luther didn't like you coming so close there and unaccompanied. Boldly, you put your hand on the doorknob and began to painfully and slowly open the door for him to hear. You sketched a mischievous smile and decided to call out to him.

⠀⠀"Oh! Luther, darli..."

⠀⠀Someone threw a knife at you that almost hit you in the head when it hit the wood. You closed the door immediately.

⠀⠀You turned to see who was responsible, you were not surprised to see Nyen with his arm outstretched in your direction and an expression that could make anyone's hair stand on end, he was accompanied, not only by Nyon who seemed somewhat self-conscious, but also by Luther. The latter gestured to the four-whiskered one to relax and subsequently approached you.

⠀⠀"Holy stars..." you muttered, realizing why it had taken so long.

⠀⠀He wasn't wearing his usual clothes, this time he was so much more elegant than usual that one would swear he glowed in the epitome of radiance. With his long-sleeved striped shirt and chest pockets, his pants pressed to perfection, his shoes polished to a shine, and... Were those eyelids? You rubbed your eyes a couple of times thinking you were hallucinating.

⠀⠀No, you were not.

⠀⠀Where the fuck did he get them? And why did they look so good on him?!

⠀⠀"I had heard you the first time" he spoke at last, carefully took his staff in his hand and approached you at a considerable pace. You did not perceive a threatening aura coming from him, at least not the intentional one. "I should teach you some patience, but if I do we will be later for our appointment."

⠀⠀You were still with your mouth open looking at him, the surprising thing is that he didn't get uncomfortable as you would expect from someone normal, he simply placed his long fingers under your chin and gently closed your jaw.

⠀⠀"Don't keep your mouth open, you might inadvertently eat a ghost."

⠀⠀You shake your head to get out of the trance, a small blush permeated your cheeks and that made him almost smile again, but obviously you didn't notice because of the embarrassment you were experiencing. He opened the door for you like a gentleman, this time giving you permission to leave and without slicing your neck in the process.

⠀⠀"We'll be back by 9:30 at the latest. Nyen, you're in charge: make sure Randal goes to bed early and doesn't cause any trouble." Luther wagged his finger at the aforementioned, who merely nodded in agreement. Unexpectedly, he grabbed you around the waist and gave you a little push so that you would finish leaving the house and he could go after you.

⠀⠀Before he closed the door completely and sealed the beginning of the date, you could hear Randal's voice saying goodbye to the two of you.

⠀⠀"See you, don't come back soon! Bring me something from your date!"

⠀⠀You just hoped this wouldn't end up in such a big mess that it would cause your divorce.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .