No, this isn't some special. I just had an idea and decided to put into a oneshot, but it's structured like a oneshot (will be told from the writer's-my-perspective, but there will be a POV change or two). Enjoy!
-Ash
TW: Mentions of self harm, sensitive topics, graphic description (?), violence, blood, mentions of prostitution, angst (?)
❊〘-♢-〙❊
"Hey WaffleIsASimp_?" I ask.
"Hm?" they reply as they lounge on the couch, playing with my cat, Coco.
"Can I have my cat back please?"
"No!" Waffle replies dramatically, petting Coco and scooping her into their lap. "She's so fucking cute and cuddly, so she's mine!"
I roll my eyes and go to the kitchen, seeing SpottheAxolot attempting to properly toast bread, but utterly failing and burning it every time.
They mutter something to themself as I say, "It tastes better burnt, you know."
"I know, but Aveline says that causes cancer!" they reply, pissed off with how their toast was burnt.
"Then set it to a lower number Fundip (still SpottheAxolot, it's just their nickname)." I reply, setting the toaster to a decent 4, then I put a slice of bread in.
The toast pops out near perfect and Fundip jumps up and down a bit. "Thanks, Ash!" they say happily.
"No problem." I reply with a smile before heading for my room.
As I'm walking, NightWasFound waves me down.
"Hey Night, what is it?" I ask with a half smile on my face.
"What's the deal with you and Edward?" they ask curiously. "It seems like you're dating, but at the same time you haven't made it official yet, have you?"
"I don't really know what's going on with Edward and I," I admit. "We've talked about it a bit, but I don't think we're mentally ready for that sort of thing."
Night nods. "I understand. Maybe talk to him about it some more, see if you're both ready."
"Thanks for listening to me, Night. I really appreciate it."
My friend nods with a smile and walks off to wherever they're going. I hear a "JACOB FRYE!" from down the hall and brace myself for hours of yelling and clanging from the twins.
As I walk into my room, I nearly have a heart attack when I see Edward sitting in my desk chair. "Kurwa mać! (Fucking hell)" I yelp, jumping a bit. "Edward, do you know how to knock?"
"Sorry love, this couldn't wait." he replies.
"What is it?" I ask.
"Well I-I was thinking..." Edward says hesitantly. "Do you want to...make it official? You don't have to say yes and we can test it out first..."
"Edward, stop rambling. I don't know if I'm mentally ready to be in a relationship, but we can test it out for now. Okay?"
He nods. Then gives me a shy, tender peck. As Edward pulls away, I see a sheepish smile and a light blush dusting his cheeks.
"Can we watch something?" he asks.
"Life of Brian?"
"I'll do you one better, Ash. All Monty Python and Mel Brooks movies marathon."
"You know me too well, Kenway." I say as I squeeze his hand.
Timeskip brought to you by Roth committing arson-
It was getting late. Both Edward and I were starting to get tired. "Should we end the marathon here?" he asks me. I nod and grab my phone to check the time. The screen lit up, showing the time to be 23:45 (Yes, I set my phone to 24 hour time, also in 12 hour time that's 11:45pm). I sigh and put my phone onto the beside table next to me.
"It's almost midnight," I say. "No point in trying to fall asleep now."
"So what do we do?"
"Anything that'll tire us out."
"Talk?" Edward asks.
"Sure." I reply with a shrug.
"Why is your mental health so...unstable?" he asks me.
I pause. "I don't know. It's just been a problem that's been plaguing me for years."
"Do you...want to talk about it?"
I sigh and dig my nails into my palms. "I...I don't think so. Not right now, at least. I don't know how to express it..." I reply hesitantly.
Edward gently takes my hand and gives it a tender squeeze. "I'm here if you ever figure it out, Ash." he says.
"Thanks."
"I have another question. Why do you wear hoodies or sweatshirts all the time?"
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, FUCK.
"It's cold in here." I lie, hoping that Edward didn't see right through me. He looks at me and I know he doesn't believe it. "That's bullshit, the heat's on." he says as he holds my gaze, trying to get the truth out of me. I mentally tally all the ways I could get out of this conversation, but I knew nothing would work. Not when I was facing someone as stubborn as I was.
"I..." I say, at a loss for words. I just couldn't get the fucking words out. Goddammit Ash, why can't you just fucking spit it out? I think to myself.
"Please, tell me. I swear on my life I won't breathe a word till my death."
Here we go with the righteous vows. I hated whenever Edward did this. It just...didn't sit right with me.
I say nothing as I blankly stare at the wall.
So he takes it into his own hands and rolls the sleeve of my hoodie up. From my peripheral vision, I could see shock, sadness-Pain, maybe?-on his face.
"Coco scratches me when I play with her." I lie. Well, I might as well have doomed myself. I forgot Edward was a pirate and had seen a countless amount of cuts in his time.
"...Why?" It was the most pained, most weak I had heard him. Yep, Edward definitely knew what he was looking at. I blankly stare at the wall again, but he grips my chin and makes me look at him.
I just stare into Edward's eyes. Eyes that were every shade of blue in the Caribbean Sea. As I feel my own eyes grow wet with tears.
Edward's POV
Ash holds my gaze, their greenish hazel eyes dull and vacant. Their eyes had always been unique to me. Those eyes could be a shade of green one minute and blue gray the next, depending on the lighting and what they were wearing. When they talked about their passions, their eyes had some sort of glow, if you cared enough to look. But now...Ash was shaking. I'd never seen them like this before, did they hide it all? They're still holding my gaze, I see tears start to fall down their face. And they just...slump. Like they were nothing.
I wordlessly hug them. Ash just cries into my shirt. I make soothing motions on their back, holding them close. I didn't know that it was this bad for them. I cursed myself for not noticing sooner. I could have helped them.
After a few minutes, they stop crying and look at me. It nearly made me cry when they met my gaze. They had gotten thinner, their skin a bit paler than before and their eyes were completely muted.
I really feel like a pile of shit for not noticing.
Writer's POV
When I finally stop crying, Edward's still holding onto me. "Are you alright?" he asks me.
I nod and put my sleeve back down. Silence reigns for a while before Edward asks, "Do you want to cuddle?"
The question takes me aback. I've never been much of a cuddly person, but..."Okay." I reply.
Timeskip brought to you by Rodrigo dying to a poisoned apple-
My eyelids feel like they weigh a ton as I wake up and I nearly panic when I see Edward beside me, fast asleep.
Right. He wanted to cuddle last night. I try to move, but can't. Damn it, Edward had his arm wrapped around my waist. I look over at him. Still asleep. I try to move again, but his arm tightens. "Merde (shit)." I mutter. So I did the most sensible thing in the world-I shake his shoulder to wake him up. I see Edward waking up (finally) and his sea blue eyes look groggily at me.
"Morning, love." he says with a smile. Rolling my eyes a bit, I ruffle his hair and he grumbles, doing the same to my hair.
"Get up, you lazyass," I say. "If you hadn't noticed, it's morning."
"Jaysus, already?"
"Yes, you dumbass."
Edward places a hand on his heart and says with mock hurt, "You wound me with your cruel, cruel words."
I chuckle and give him a soft peck. "I had to get you up somehow, didn't I?"
"You're right about that."
"All right then, I'll see you downstairs." I say.
As I'm going to grab breakfast (for once), Night spots me. "Morning." they say.
"Morning." I reply, still feeling groggy.
"Why do you sound so tired?" they ask as I walk with them to the kitchen for my daily caffeine dose.
"I wonder why." Waffle says with a slight smirk as they walk by.
"Waffle!" I say with feigned shock and hurt as I smack their arm. "We literally fell asleep cuddling!"
"Fine, fine."
And as I walk into the kitchen, I witness something that definitely shouldn't be witnessed at 9am.
Jacob and Arno having a full ass makeout session.
Rolling my eyes, I give Jacob a punch to the shoulder and grab a mug. He doesn't notice me. Well, might as well embarrass him later, I think as I get my coffee ready. Boiling water over a spicy coffee blend (Note: It's a Turkish style way of making coffee, I just love making coffee this way), I put half a spoon of honey in it (Note 2: I prefer honey to sugar because it gives coffee or tea a more natural flavor. I've actually liked sugar in my coffee or tea and if I go to coffee shops I'll take my coffee black-). With my now steaming mug of coffee, I walk into the living room and see Connor...who's watching Fifty Shades of Grey?
As fast as my steaming coffee can allow, I practically throw myself to the remote and turn it off, which makes Connor give me a disgruntled look. "Why'd you do that for?" he asks me.
"Because you need to stay the innocent one," I reply. "Now who told you about this movie?"
"...Edward."
I sigh and just put JoJo's Bizarre Adventure on.
Night sits on the couch with a steaming mug of coffee, most likely a different kind than mine.
As I'm watching the show while sipping coffee, I feel hands lightly playing with my hair and lips on my neck. "Finally decided to get your ass out of bed, eh?" I ask.
"Hello to you too love." Edward replies as he loosely wraps his arms around my neck.
"It's...9:25 in the morning and you two are already having a PDA moment." Night remarks.
"Jealous?" I ask them with a playful smile.
"Nah, just tracking time."
Fundip walks into the room and sits on one of the many bean bags with a mug of coffee or tea in their hands. "Morning Fundip." I say.
"Mhm." they reply. Must be zoning out. As we all watch TV, I see Haytham. He just looks at us, looks at the TV and walks out.
Timeskip brought to you by a flying Jackdaw-
"No."
"Come on, please?"
"No, Edward."
"It's just going out for dinner, Ash! Please?" Edward asks, attempting to make puppy dog eyes, but he fails hilariously. "...Fine. But we're going out for poke bowls." I reply as I battle the machines surrounding me in Horizon: Zero Dawn (Note 3: Just started playing it-).
"I'm fine with that, as long as I'm with you."
I chuckle as he sits next to me and ruffles my hair again. And then I hear Jacob walk into the room. "Hey lovebirds," he says with a smile. "What you doing?"
"Playing Horizon." I reply as I kill another machine.
And then I die. "KURWA MAĆ! CHE CARICO DI MERDA DI CAVALLO! FILS DI PUTE!" (Fucking hell, what a piece of horseshit, son of a bitch) I yell as I respawn, having to kill all those machines again.
"I counted four languages in that sentence!" Shay yells from the kitchen.
I chuckle wryly as I battle the Sawtooth that was currently on my ass. I actually kill it this time, which is surprising. Edward gives me a slight side hug and I can't help but smile. "When will we be going?" he asks.
"Uh...In a few minutes." I reply, turning the PS5 off. "Do I need to change into anything formal?" he asks me.
"Nah, it's fine. I hate fancy stuff anyway." I reply.
Timeskip brought to you by me stealing Jacob's top hat-
As Edward and I order our poke bowls, I can't help but notice he's a bit starstruck. He got a spicy bowl with white rice and I made my own. Half white, half purple rice with red tuna, green onion, beets, spicy mayo, hot sauce, kimchi and jalapeño. I pay for the food and we both find a spot in the corner of the restaurant. "So," I say. "How're you liking it?"
Edward takes a bite and says, "I love it."
"More than you love me?" I joke as I take a bite of my own food.
His face looks a bit more serious as he replies with, "I'll always love you the most, Ash."
"Going all corny on me now, are you Kenway?" I ask with a chuckle.
Edward rolls his eyes a bit and chuckles.
As we eat, the door to the poke bowl shop opened and a face I never wanted to see again stepped into view.
Shit, I think. Shit, shit, SHIT-
"What is it, love?" Edward asks, pulling me out of my panic filled thoughts.
One word. One name. That was all I needed to say, I silently remind myself.
"Celina."
His face darkens instantly. He knows everything that happened, I had told him a while ago. I had told him three things about her: she's a whore, a liar and she's manipulative. What had happened with Celina had faded into the background as I lived with everyone and had a great time, but...Here was a bad memory standing at the counter of the shop where I was spending time with someone I cared for.
"That whore? I've seen better," Edward says with a snort. "I doubt she can service people right and that she overcharges them even though they have a shit ton of complaints about the service."
I laugh, which causes Celina to look over at the table I was sitting at with Edward. I felt her cold and dull blue eyes sweep over me as she tried to place where she knew me. Her mouth opens and she says, "I thought you were a lesbian."
Ah, yes. I have to admit, Celina had a way with words when she was insulting someone. She knew how to twist a harmless piece of metal into a blade, just with words.
"For your information, they're pan." Edward says coolly.
"She's a liar, then."
I internally cringe at the intentional use of my former pronouns. Usually I'm fine with people misgendering and deadnaming me by accident, but when it's intentional, that's where I start to have problems with them.
"I love them," Edward says, venom and raw anger creeping into his voice like an ivy vine. "And I'm not going to sit idly by while you insult them, whore."
Celina's face contorts with rage as the ugly dark gold sheet of ammonia she called hair swayed. "I hope you do know that's called slander-"
"I bet that you can't even service people right," he snaps, cutting the whore off. "Seriously, how can you afford the bills and rent like that?"
Celina walks over to me and stares me down. I stare blankly into the cold, dull blue-so unlike Edward's vibrant sea blue eyes-with no emotion. And she slaps me across the face, Will Smith style.
Well, definitely wasn't expecting that, I think as I feel a trickle of blood run down my cheek. But I hold my ground, showing no emotion. The thing is with Celina, if you don't react she eventually backs down because she pathetically feeds off the negative attention.
I guess that cut on my face is from her insanely long acrylic nails, I think as I observe Edward following my lead. But I knew he wanted to kill the whore for what she had done. A shame that I had taken all their weapons.
The whore ignores us as she goes to collect her order and then she leaves. Once she's gone, Edward relaxes. "How long have you known that...thing?" he asks me, clearly not deeming Celina as a human being. I agreed with him on that.
"Years," I reply blandly, finally taking another bite of my food. "Never liked her though."
"Who would?"
As we finish our food, Edward gives my hand a small squeeze and gives me a tender smile reserved only for those he loves.
I guess I belong in that category now.
Timeskip yet again brought to you by Connor screaming "WHERE IS CHARLES LEE?" at the top of his lungs-
As Altaïr looks at Edward and I on the couch, he smiles. "I take it that the date went well?"
"Yeah, but there was...someone." I reply.
Everyone knows about Celina, so Altaïr's calm attitude drops, his face becoming dead serious. "Is that where the cut on your face is from?"
I nod. The Syrian Assassin looks absolutely fuming as he goes to the kitchen to do something. Edward looks at me and asks, "Do you want me to kill her for you?"
"Depends on what she does." I reply as I snuggle into his chest a bit. He chuckles and lightly kisses my neck. "I love you."
"No shit." I reply with a smile.
Edward just laughs and wraps an arm around me.
❊〘-♢-〙❊
Ah, yes. Finally. A week of nothing and now this.
Alright, bye for now!
Nothing is true, everything is permitted.
-Ash