Moth and Flame [Dew x Reader] {Complete}

Chapter 10 - Unwillingly

Tw: People pleasing wins out

You turned in your floor-length mirror. Copia had given you the white suit himself. You forwent the shirt and left the jacket open to let the vest's neckline dive down your chest. It was tight at the waist and ass and ended in tails. You were, in every sense, a handsome fucking devil. You preened your tail and shined your horns; ghouls liked to look good, and you were no exception.

You had a flash of you preening before the Halloween ritual last year and immediately felt foolish. You were alone in your pretty nurse uniform... you'd trusted Sodomiser. That wouldn't happen again. Whatever he had planned, you would de-escalate and step away from. He wouldn't ruin your ritual.

Then you were looking at yourself in your mirror and wondering what he saw. What part of you was he seeing? You realised the passing thought too late before you could bin it. Why in the nine hells would you give a shit what he saw when he looked at you? Who you should have been thinking about was your lovely partner.

You gathered two bouquets. The blood-red mass of tricking roses and vines for Cardinal Frankie to compliment their dress and a pile of single-stemmed black roses for each of your favourite people. They both looked gorgeous solo and just as pretty gathered on your arm. You checked your sharp teeth one last time in the mirror and stepped out the door.

In the hallway, you heard a sniff. A soft, stifled sound.

Your tail gave a curious flick. There came an uneven breath. You took careful, silent steps towards the alcove beneath the stairs. The contrasting light meant your eyes couldn't quite make out the shapes under the dark stairs, but you heard a heartbeat slow as someone held their breath.

You sniffed the air and recognised the scent of iron and liquorice. He smelt like a bag of all sorts on Halloween night. "That's uh, usually my crying spot, Phantom," you called softly.

There was only silence in response.

"You need me to get someone?"

"No," he responded too quickly. "No..."

You sighed. You weren't about to be nice to this guy. You weren't. You weren't, you weren't, you weren't. "Do you need anything? A drink of water?" Fuck.

He moved slightly, and you caught a glimpse of his crestfallen face. He shook his head of flicky, raven hair.

Damn it. You stepped into the alcove, sat on the dark bench next to him, and didn't look in his direction. Your roses took up the air and surrounded the two of you. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I..." that's all that came out.

"I promise I'm only trying to infect Sodomiser," you muttered. "And whatever I give him will be messy, painful and affect both his reproductive and gastric systems. Might make his horns fall off too... lots of swelling..."

There was a soft huff of amusement before his sorrowful voice whispered, "I'm sorry."

"We all do stupid shit to be liked; look at me, doing stupid shit right now," you peered at him, and he looked down. "I can guess, or you can tell me."

"It's not hard... uneven amount of ghouls."

"No, there isn't," You pulled a very tight smile at him, and he made a face, realising he had completely omitted you. "You don't have a partner," You looked at your lovely, ravishing red roses—then to your black ones. You still had your second bouquet, after all.

"...yeah."

"I'd let you join my partner and me... but I imagine third wheeling with me would probably be somehow worse, huh?"