Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jevil just remembered being flung against the bars when Seam was trying to capture him. It had knocked a tooth or two out, much to his displeasure in the moment.

There was now a gap between the two now-smaller-than-the-other-teeth. While his sharp fangs already made it hard enough to speak quickly, now he had a lisp to go with it. Fantastic.

So when Seam slowly made his way down the stairs to release Jevil by the new king's order's, he wasn't expecting the earful he got the moment he and Jevil made eye contact.

"FUCK YOU! COME HERE AND LET ME HUG YOU, THEAM! THEAM! GET YOUR FHURRY ATH OVER HERE THO I CAN HUG YOU!"

"....wh...what....?" Seam looked positively floored at Jevil's first words after so long.

"YOU FUCKED UP MY TEETH!" Jevil screeched. Finally, he could at least make Seam feel a little guilty. Pent-up anger and frustration spilled out. He never even had a warning before Seam kidnapped him in the first place! Just up and thrown into his lonely freedom! But not without a confused, angry fight!

He pointed at the exact few prison bars he'd been thrown against. Seam's ears lowered flat against his head and he cringed.

"Ah....apologies..." he said slowly, sheepishly. He unlocked Jevil's cage hesitantly, taking a step back as he tensed himself.

Jevil, as expected, kicked Seam as hard in the shins as his little body could. Which wasn't much. And then he hugged him tight, gluing himself to him and not letting go.

"I-I-" Seam slowly wrapped his arms around Jevil before picking him up easily. Jevil flashed him a toothy grin. Yup, his two top front teeth were smaller than the rest and there was a noticeable gap. Probably caused by Jevil sticking his long tongue through the gap when they were growing back in. Imp logic, yet typical and expected of Jevil.

"....apologies, friend." Seam moved to set Jevil down, but he was stuck to his arm. "...you can walk on your own, can't you....?" not that he minded Jevil's clinginess, honestly.

"Too thoft! Thhhoft. Futhhy." Jevil looked offended with himself and pat the thick, warm fur on Seam's paws. Ah, soft. Fuzzy. Warm. Physical contact. Yeah, it seemed like he needed all of those things right now.

Chapter Text

"WH- LET ME GO! LET ME GO!! THIS ISN'T PART OF OUR GAME, GAME!" Jevil shrieked, positively horrified as the blue human swung him over his shoulders and strode out of the cell. Ralsei looked mortified at Kris' bluntness and Susie was cackling.

*The power of lifting the clown-gremlin man fills you with determination.

Jevil was small, light, and easy to carry. If only he'd stop squirming. Kris opened up his inventory and removed the dainty scarf, carelessly tying it around Jevil's face to make him shut up and not spoil the surprise.

Ralsei and Susie followed behind as Kris carried a squirming Jevil under his arm. They went all the way back to Seam's 'seap', where it was becoming clear what his intensions were. Kris gave Jevil over to Susie and made her hide him behind her back.

"Oh? Back so soon?" the old, scruffy cat was there to greet them. "Did you chicken out from your encounter with my old friend?" he joked. Kris signed something back. "You want to sell me something? Oh, very well."

Kris made a motion and Susie none too gently slammed Jevil down onto the counter. "Take your angry goblin man!" she declared to a fluffed up, startled, and floored Seam. Jevil looked miffed for a moment before seeing Seam and staring blankly at him.

"Is...is that....?"

"Take the angry clown bastard!" Susie insisted. "We got sick of him before we even went in there. Plus...." she then started mimicking Seam's voice badly. "Oh wOE Is mE, fOr I HAd tO lOCk mY pARTnEr Up FoR A hUndRED yEArS!"

Ralsei looked floored, just awkwardly smiling. ".....you looked sad when you talked about him and Susie felt bad. Sorry if she broke your table." he noted the splinters in the wood where Jevil had been slammed down. "...I hope your friend's okay, there."

Jevil quietly writhed, and then fell off of the table on Seam's side, landing presumably at his feet as he vanished. The cat shopkeeper looked baffled for a long, long moment. ".....I...don't know what do say-"

"Do you wanna keep 'em?" Susie asked. Kris made a motion and the girl looked confused. "Wait, you seriously didn't plan to get money for this guy? Just to drop him off? God dammit, Kris!"

Seam picked a squirming Jevil up and removed the gag which was partially torn to shreds. Jevil stuck out his tongue at Kris. "Not fair, not fair! We didn't play a game, no fun, fun!"

Kris ignored this and turned to leave, motioning for Susie and Ralsei to follow. Ralsei bid the shopkeeper and the jester farewell, and soon they were gone.

Seam stared at where they'd gone before turning to stare at Jevil as he regained himself. "...so, guessing they dragged you here?" he slowly lifted the fool up, glancing him over for any injuries. He seemed fine other than a few scrapes from being slammed down against the counter. His hands looked the most scratched up, as if he'd been clawing at the ground when being dragged away.

Jevil still stared blankly at Seam, as if feeling strange seeing his old friend after so long. Then Jevil kicked him in the face rather easily. "YOU LOCKED ME UP AND LEFT ME ALONE, ALONE!"

Seam stumbled a bit and hissed, annoyed and remembering how annoying his beloved partner could be at times. "Oh, don't get started with that- I..." his expression softened and he smiled. "...I missed you."

Jevil's annoyance softened as well and he embraced Seam for the first time in years. It felt nice. "....I missed you a lot, a lot, too."

Chapter Text

Seam was sitting in his old and worn but loved chair. Jevil was snug in his lap. It was getting late, the perfect time that Seam spent reading. By now, he'd stopped guessing whether Jevil was actually reading along with him or just wanted an excuse to cuddle. He was leaning towards the latter.

But then his thoughts wandered on how the ex-jester was in nightwear(a black onesie with yellow duckies on it), but kept the almost obnoxious hat on. It was big on the tiny creature, and the bells were really testing Seam's self-control.

"Why do you insist on wearing that all the time?" Seam finally asked.

"...I like it. I dunno, dunno." Jevil shrugged.

"Well, why don't you take it off? Do you wear it to bed, friend?" Seam snorted teasingly. Jevil huffed and playfully swatted his chest, shaking his head.

"Fine, I'll say, say! You know I'm like a demon, demon?" Jevil asked, referring to his own race. Seam nodded. Imp, gremlin, demon, he was like that. "I have horns, but they're tiny, tiny!" he whined in dismay, flushing in genuine embarrassment as he posed dramatically.

Seam bit his tongue to keep back a laugh, cracking smile. Jevil, after all this, didn't want to take off his hat because he had small horns? Sure, he was hesitant to getting normal clothes after so long, but it was about time he stopped wearing the hat so much. Plus, Seam's sworn he's seen little tufts of black hair peek out from under the hat and Jevil probably has some awful hat hair.

Jevil looked offended, mockingly covering his chest and huffing. He tugged his hat off, as if in defiance. As expected, his hair was a mess and fluffed up in every which way. His ears were lowered as much as possible and tilted back in a flustered annoyance, the tips the same shade of dark purple as his adorable blushing face.

His horns were just a few inches long, three or four, and curled backwards and outwards a bit. They were cracked and dull at the ends and along the top, as if some blunt force had struck them repeatedly. One was a bit shorter than the other.

"...th-there."

"And what's so bad about them?" Seam asked, genuinely curious. He looked adorable like this! Forget the hat, he was soft! So very soft. Jevil grumbled and sank into himself as Seam played with his hair contently.

"They're so small, small..."

Seam resisted making a crude joke and just face-palmed. "Jevil, I have never seen another monster remotely similar to you. I have nothing to compare it to. You're just fine, friend."

Jevil eased up, resting his head on Seam's just and nodding. "Yes, true, true...." he mumbled, curling up and starting to let out soft purrs.

"What happened to make them so...dull?"

"...sometimes the king, the king got mad....when I first became the fool, the fool...." Jevil sank deeper against Seam, looking precious. "When I wasn't good with magic, magic, only the Devilsknife, so...."

"You don't have to explain further." Seam interrupted, entangling his paws in Jevil's curly hair and staying there. "Just....you're adorable, Jevil." Jevil whined pathetically, swatting at Seam in a feeble attempt to escape.

"Lies, lies!" Jevil cried, leaning away from Seam's grip. He struggled to free himself, childishly refusing to believe that there was nothing wrong with him.

Seam smiled warmly at his partner and rubbed just along his jaw, earning a loud purr. Jevil grumbled, blushing heatedly as he sank into the affection. Seam trailed a paw up to Jevil's horns and rubbed them curiously. It was definitely a different, rough sensation compared to typical Jevil softness.

Jevil was reduced to a purring mess, immediately falling limp against Seam. His tongue poked out from behind his teeth and he was vibrating slightly. Seam kept gently kneading the base of the imp's horns, amused at Jevil's trance. "See, friend? There's nothing wrong with you."

Jevil tiredly nodded, pressing himself into Seam's soft touch. "Mm hmm...yes, yes, Seamy..." he sleepily reached up to grasp Seam's free hand, hugging the paw and idly petting it. "Soft, soft..."

It didn't take long for him to doze off completely in Seam's arms.

Chapter Text

Seam hadn't gotten the memo for Jevil being released.

Everyone else seemed to, though. So when Seam went out the day after the King was overthrown to join in the festivities, he didn't know why everyone gave him such warm, happy looks. Like they were....happy for him.

There was no reason to be. The most he did was just do his little job of running his seap and supplying the heroes. So why was he getting all these looks from Rudinn and Hathy alike?

People slowly filtered into the castle's ballroom, chatting and waiting for music to start. Some were going to town on the alcohol, while Seam just stood back and appreciated being in the castle after so long. He glanced over the crowd for any familiar faces.

There was Rouxls giving the new king, Lancer, a piggy back ride so he could see everything. The kid looked so happy. Ralsei was hopping around to make sure everyone was okay and having fun. He seemed to be holding a plate of ham sandwiches. Seam might just get one of those.

Then the shopkeeper paused and squinted, his gaze lowering. At about everyone's waists, was the glint of yellow and purple. People seemed to part around whomever it was like the red sea. A miffed, "UEE NO, NO!" rang out as Jevil's shrill, annoyed voice met Seam's ears. "GET OUT OF THE WAY, WAY!! MOVE, MOVE!"

Seam had only two seconds to be floored before he was actually floored. Jevil made eye contact and jumped back onto his tail, springing lightly a few times before launching himself at the cat and tackling them both to the ground. "YAY, YAY!" Jevil cried gleefully.

"JEVIL?!"

His stunned cry got a few partygoers to glance at him, giving a shocked look back or a gleeful grin, as if....it was planned. They kept this from Seam on purpose. Brilliant.

Seam tried to get back the breath Jevil stole from him, before the fool started to bounce on his stomach and only made it harder to breathe. Soon he did get off, helping Seam up. "I'M BACK, I'M BACK!! I escaped my lonely freedom, freedom and caused some chaos, CHAOS!"

"O-of course you did..." Seam felt something wet slide down his face from under his button eye and from his empty socket. Was he....crying...? Jevil frowned, making a face. He didn't like seeing Seam crying. He hated seeing people sad in general.

"What's wrong, wrong...?" Jevil reached up, pulling Seam somewhat to his own height to wipe away his tears with his sleeve. Even for Jevil, he looked snazzy in a somewhat extravagant suit. He looked like he'd been forced into it by Rouxls and was only in it via force. So he didn't mind if it got a bit messy. "Did I scare you too much, much?" his ears lowered. Seam looked old and worn compared to the last time he'd seen him.

"N-no, I...I'm fine, I just...." Seam tried to quiet his sobs, embracing Jevil and lifting him clean off the ground. "I missed you so much...."

The small jester tried to hug back, barely managing to wrap his arms fully around Seam. He whined, trying to stop Seam's sobbing. "Shush, shush!"

It took a few moments for Seam to quiet down to sniffles. Jevil examined him once more before he was set down. "I..." Seam didn't know what to do now. Leave? Stay? He didn't even have a place for Jevil to stay- plenty of sugary sweets and clothes for him, yes, but not a bed!

"Can we go home, home?" Jevil then made a face, remembering they no longer lived in the castle. "....your home, home?"

"Y-yes...let's go home."

_____

It was late by the time they made it back. Seam took Jevil to his room, deciding he could sleep on the couch or the recliner. Jevil slid onto the edge of the bed with one seamless motion, resting his head on the pillow and taking up barely a quarter of said bed. He didn't bother to undress, resting his chin on the pillow and glancing at Seam.

Well, this was rather stereotypical, Seam thought. He sighed. "You can have the bed, I'll sleep on the couch until I can get you your own-"

"Nah, nah." Jevil rolled closer to the edge, leaving Seam plenty of room to sleep. "The bed is big enough for the both, both of us." Seam sighed, giving in.

"Okay, fine...I'll get you some nightwear as well, too...." he said, making his way to his closet. He never wore anything fancy, not even to the celebration. He picked out his pajamas and a loose nightshirt that might not slip off of Jevil unlike the rest of his clothes. He tossed it over to him.

Jevil caught it easily and hopped off the bed to get changed, wheeling around to his back was facing Seam. They've chanced in the same room before for shows, though it has been awhile. Seam did the same.

Before he could fully put on the nightgown, Seam felt Jevil decide he wanted to hug him. He felt the imp's small arms wrap around his side, just in time for the nightgown to fall over him and trap him. "...what are you doing?"

"Tired, tired...."

"I'm not the bed, friend." Seam sighed, prying Jevil off of him and nudging him to the bed. Seam laid down, curling up and almost immediately getting comfortable. Jevil laid beside him, staring at him unblinkingly.

"What's wrong....?"

Jevil just leaned against Seam, burying his face in his chest. "I missed you so much, much..." his ears were low and he sounded more than genuine, smiling weakly.

"I missed you too."

Chapter Text

"You wanted to organize an event, event?" Jevil asked, standing beside Seam and gazing up at the tall slimy thing that was Rouxls.

"Indeed, though I doubt thy has any experience in doing a thing as simple as organization." Rouxls remarked. Jevil gawked. Seam snorted.

"It's true." the magician purred.

"Now, it's about nay high to stopeth thy tomfoolery-"

"Gazuntite." Jevil said blankly, looking like half of that went right over his head.

"I did not sneezeth, stink bug." Rouxls then went on to explain the event. "It shall be thy prince's birthday soon and thy king as requested we start practicing said act soon and get planning for something, dare I say, original."

Now Seam looked offended. Jevil still looked lost. "...are you calling our work unoriginal?" Seam asked slowly. Jevil looked mortified. Rouxls looked him dead in the eyes.

"Sometimes, thou's work is rather repetitive."

"OH, SAYS YOU!!" Jevil shouted, startling them both. "Nobody likes your stupid, stupid puzzles! They're easy, easy!"

"Lies, you fool!" Rouxls said tartly. "Thoust prince adores thy crafts!"

"He's a kid, kid!"

"As art thou, foul worm!"

Seam sighed when the two got into a heated argument over puzzles, Jevil's age, Jevil's stutter, and how Rouxls spoke.

"Seam!" they both shouted. The cat stared at them, startled. "Settle this minor disagreement!" Rouxls hissed. "Thy has common sense!"

"....okay."

"Does thou think I speaketh strangely?"

Seam paused for a moment, stalling for a few seconds by smoothing out his robe. Jevil started to grin.

"....yes."

"EXCUSETH THY WORM-?!"

Chapter Text

Jevil had been fast asleep. Emphasis on 'had been'. He'd woken up to something rough lapping at his hand in smooth, repeated moments. It felt like sandpaper and was a rather strange feeling for his poor hands.

But whoever or whatever it was apparently didn't notice he was awake. Surely the man he now slept beside would've noticed by now. This was Jevil's first time sleeping alongside Seam without waking up to the large cat rolling over and crushing him, after all.

Jevil opened his eyes just enough to make out his position. Jevil was laying on  his back, splayed out. Seam was in his usual curled-up-like-a-cat position, right beside his hand. And licking it, seemingly half-asleep. So that's what it was-!

Ew, was Jevil's initial thought. About two seconds later now he was internally cooing at how content his boyfriend looked. Seam's small tongue felt like worn-down sandpaper and he looked hilariously content licking Jevil's hand. He was purring, his fur puffed out in every direction.

"Uee hee hee...." Jevil purred. He tried to move without alarming Seam. Much to his pleasure, his boyfriend didn't seem to mind as Jevil adjusted himself to be sitting up, petting him with his free hand.

"Hmm....?" Seam finally seemed to notice that Jevil was awake, pausing his grooming to look up at him. "Did I wake you, friend?" he seemed too content to consider how it might've felt uncomfortable. Which it didn't.

"I don't mind, mind!" Jevil said, patting Seam's head lightly. The cat nodded and idly sat up to crush Jevil in an embrace. "What is the licking, licking even for, for....?"

"Just a habit of a cat, friend." Seam responded. "Grooming. It's something cats tend to do to those they like, but I can stop if you find it uncomfortable."

"It's a weird, weird thing to wake up, up from. You can keep, keep going." the jester shrugged, not minding it. He got comfy, as if inviting Seam to finish whatever this ritual was.

Seam started grooming Jevil again. Oddly enough, he produced no form of saliva, but then again he was made of cloth and wool. Any liquids were probably made of his magic and purely for recreational purposes, like make-out sessions with the best, and only, imp around.

Jevil purred lowly at the gentle laps against his cheeks, stifling a giggle at the new sensation. Seam nuzzled his face into the crook of Jevil's neck, purring loudly.

"...I'm done." Seam said softly, content with the morning. Jevil hugged him best he could, happy that Seam was happy. Hearing him purr was immensely satisfying to his ears.

"Hee hee..." Jevil hummed, curling up against Seam contently. "Soft, soft kitty..." Seam chuckled softly at that, rubbing his head soothingly and lulling the jester back to sleep.

Chapter Text

The new king had declared that the kingdom try out a Lightner holiday in their honor. People were pretty chill with the idea of snow, cookies, and gift-giving.

Soon after Jevil had been released, Lancer pretty much ordered him and Seam back into the castle since he deemed them worthy there after their time as entertainers. Perhaps he was secretly hoping they'd go back to shows once and a while. So Seam, Jevil, new-king Lancer, and Rouxls all lived in one big semi-happy home.

Lancer had idly mentioned a mistletoe once, much to Rouxls' horror and Jevil's unbridled glee the moment he learned about it. At least it distracted Jevil for a while because he went to actually buy one.

_____

"Higher!"

"I'm trying, dearest water beetle-" Rouxls hissed. He lifted Lancer higher, the young boy having a star in his hands. The two had been trying to get the star on the much too big of a tree for a good five minutes now. The tree was definitely too big if even Rouxls couldn't reach the top.

"Jevil!" Rouxls glanced back. Jevil had returned and was waiting for Seam to show up with his heavenly cooking. He swiveled around on his tail questioningly.

"Yes, yes?"

"Help thine prince get thy star-"

Jevil took approximately .2 seconds to look at the tree before launching himself at it. Thankfully it stayed up, even as Rouxls pulled him off of it rather forcefully and set Lancer down. "Thoust is not the cat in thine household!"

Jevil snickered. Lancer giggled and cheered him on as Rouxles begrudgingly let Jevil balance his tail on his hands and get high enough to put the star on securely. "Yay!" Lancer clapped happily, overjoyed at the sight of his Greater Dad and uncle 'bonding'.

"And thus, thy tree is almost complete." Rouxls set Jevil down and let him scurry off to do whatever. "Now, does thine water beetle want to help me decorate?"

"Yes!" Lancer and Jevil said at the same time. Lancer looked at Jevil, and Jevil looked at Lancer.

Rouxls face-palmed and sighed deeply, fully aware that now he was babysitting not one but two children while Seam was gone. "....fine, both can help thine decorating."

"Yay, yay!" Jevil clapped happily, bouncing up on his tail in excitement. Rouxls noticed the mistletoe tied to it, but didn't ask about it.

"Thoust must take utmost care in thy more fragile décor, thus I bought only plastic, and not glass. ...go wild." Rouxls slid the box towards the two and turned to hunt Seam down.

As if on cue, Seam peeked his head in through the doorway. "Dinner's ready. Just let it cool." much to Rouxls' un-surprise, he was wearing an apron that read 'PET THE COOK' that Jevil probably got for him in the first place.

Jevil bolted over, interrupting anything else anyone had to say. He bounced on his tail once, twice, and used the momentum to grapple himself onto a now rather surprised Seam, letting his tail hang between them. With the mistletoe. "Uee hee hee!" and thus without warning, Jevil smashed their faces together ungracefully.

"Ewww..." Lancer whined. Rouxls covered his eyes, or at least roughly where the kid's eyes would be- he didn't know- and steered him back to the task of decorating the tree.

Thankfully Lancer was distracted by that fairly quickly, letting Rouxls collapse onto the couch and sink into it. Finally, a break...

About a minute later, just when the man was ready to fall asleep, he felt something round being shoved into his mouth. He choked on it for a moment before realizing it was one of Seam's homemade cookies. A Lancer-sized weight settled itself on his stomach.

Rouxls sighed and ate the cookie, letting Lancer curl up atop him. He rubbed the child's head lightly, opening his eyes just enough to see Lancer holding another cookie and nibbling on a third. "Do you want another one? Seam made a lot."

"Perhaps later, water beetle." Rouxls sighed. "Let us at least eat thine cat's dinner first before dessert."

"Aww...!" Lancer pouted, obviously feeling teased by the smell of cake and every other treat in the house. Even Jevil seemed to have a hard time restraining himself, fidgeting. At least he's calmed down about the mistletoe thing and poor Seam looked frazzled and breathless.

Seam lifted Jevil up like a football as if he weighed nothing. "The food should be cooled off now. Come on."

Lancer hopped off of Rouxls, who soon joined him. This wasn't so bad, he thought. Lancer was happy, Seam could supply food that wasn't just worms and salsa, and Jevil was under control. Today was pretty peaceful considering who was living in here.

Chapter Text

Imagining a guy like Jevil living alone could only result in mayhem in his household. He'd moved out after living with this guy named Rouxls for a couple years and had already melted into the town as your friendly neighborhood clown. Mostly known as the guy who nearly sold out the local Party City in two weeks.

A couple weeks after Jevil had moved in, he'd seen an old-looking stray cat wandering around. He'd left out some ham and tuna for it and then completely forgotten about it for a solid month.

"....Rouxls, Rouxls."

"Wh...what does thine want, Jevil...? It's...6 in thy morning..."

Jevil whispered into his phone, stock still in bed. The cat had somehow gotten into his home, probably through an open window or something when Jevil wanted to let some fresh air in. "Whisper, whisper, Kaard." he hissed. The cat was fast asleep in the crook of his neck, vibrating in its sleep and apparently set on not waking up anytime soon. "Remember that kitty, kitty I mentioned forever ago?"

"Yes...."

"It got into my house, house. What, what do I do?! It's asleep, asleep right on top, top of me and I don't wanna wake, wake it up!" Jevil whisper-screamed. "It's so soft, soft...!"

As if summoned, the cat stretched and pawed at Jevil's face as it did so. Jevil screamed silently, begging to Rouxls to tell him what he should do with his new pet.

"U-uh, I don't know bye-!" Rouxls hissed, and hung up.

Jevil silently swore and managed to put his phone away. The cat nuzzled itself against the warmth of his face, kneading his cheek as it woke. "N-nice, nice kitty..."

The cat opened his eyes. Or just one eye. Its right eye was  a brilliant orange and the other remained closed. The cat itself was a patchwork of browns and oranges, particularly around its neck, and looked like a plush toy. Jevil couldn't recognize the breed off the top of his head, but it was extremely fluffy. Its whiskers tickled his face.

"...." Jevil slowly sat up, much to the cat's displeasure. It stretched and slid off the bed like it owned the place, padding around to the open bedroom window. It glanced at that, then Jevil, looking smug.

Jevil sighed and got out of bed, shutting the window and wondering if he should keep the cat or not. He knelt down to pet it, which it gladly let him do so. He slowly lifted it up, and then it went limp in his arms. Ah, a ragdoll. Quite ironic considering its looks.

"Okay, okay, time for you to get some food..." he hummed, stroking the cat's head gently. It purred. "Aaand you are....not, not neutered, sir, sir. Definitely a stray, then, then...no collar, collar."

No signs that it had an owner. Jevil rubbed along his jaw lightly, carrying the cat into his kitchen and setting it down. "Tuna, tuna, fish..." he remembered reading that adult cats couldn't drink milk, so water it was. "Stay there, there."

Thankfully the cat did stay there, patiently waiting as Jevil set down a bowl with tuna in it, juice and all. A smaller bowl was set beside it with water. "There you go, go."

The cat stretched and then laid down, idly switching between meowing softly at him, drinking, and eating. At least he was a happy kitty.

"So you need a name, name..." Jevil hummed, concluding he'd keep the cat. He had the time to care for it, plus it didn't seem very demanding or loud.

He crouched down beside the cat, squinting at the animal. He turned to stare back at him questioningly. "...hmmm..." fabric-colored, ragdoll, kinda patchwork-y... "...Seam....but, but hmmm..." needs to be a bit more original than that. "...pronounced, pronounced Shawm. Like Sean, Sean. Perfect! Perfect!"

"Your name, name, is now Seam." Jevil said, patting the cat's head. It recoiled in surprise, making a face at the contact. "Seam, Seam." he repeated, pointing at the kitty. "You are, are Seam."

Seam yawned, apparently done with Jevil's nonsense. He stood up, smacking him in the face with his tail as he turned around and padded away. "...aw..." Jevil pouted at being rejected by Seam. "Come back, back...let me pet, pet you....!"

Seam picked up his walking speak as Jevil followed, soon breaking into a quick trot and then a typical cat-at-3 AM-run. Jevil quickly followed, trying to pet the cat.

"Come back, back!"

Chapter Text

How a cat made of fabric and cotton got sick was beyond Jevil.

The heroes, the heroes had opened the gate to his freedom and....left. No playing. No games. The blue human just left with the prince of fluffy boys and the purple girl. So of course Jevil had gone after them. The ensuing chaos that occurred was massive.

The human had been set on leading him down a certain path. Right to a lonesome shop. And well, that got him a good slap on the wrist from his old friend and then a hug.

That had been quite a time ago. Seam was hiding Jevil best he could, though even Jevil knew that the newfound child-king known as Lancer and his advisor-secondary-dad knew very well where he was. He was sure that Seam thought that the ex-king wanted his head.

Which he didn't. Because he was in jail. And didn't know that Jevil was with Shawmy, Shawmy!

"...uh, where's Seam....?" the fluffy boy whos name Jevil had easily forgotten stood at the shop's window. Jevil was perched on his tail high above the customer.

"He's sick, sick!"

"...how?"

Jevil shrugged and vanished back into the shop. "We have customers, customers!" he exclaimed to someone nowhere in sight. His response was the sound of a grumpy cat who'd just been woken up from a nap.

"I told you to close up shop, Jevil...not open it...."

"Too bad, too bad!" Jevil chimed. "....do you want more soup, soup?" he asked in a softer, more comforting tone.

"...yes."

Jevil audibly ran off and there was the sound of things being opened and knocked over, and the distant yip of a startled dog. Something clattered to the ground and Jevil squeaked in defiance at something.

Lancer launched himself through the shop's window, screeching as he escaped. He seemed to be holding a jar full of worms and a butterfly net. He nearly trampled Ralsei.

A few moments later a microwave's beep went off and Jevil seemed to fetch the soup to Seam. The trio silently stood there for a solid minute before Jevil returned. One of the bells on his hat was on fire, which he quickly pat out.

"Pesky new-king keeps sneaking in here, here! Apparently he thinks this place is a prime spot for hunting worms, worms!" Jevil huffed. He leaned over the counters, propping his arms up on the counter and resting his chin on the back of his hands. "Now, now, would you like to buy anything, anything?"

Jevil glanced down before heaving up a small chalkboard and propping it up. It was written on, having several items listed along with prices. Amber Cards, the Spookysword, Dark Candy, etc.. There were a couple other new items- like a custom-made doll. Even a Devilsknife, but that was much more pricey than the other items. And the last item....homemade tea.

On the shelves behind Jevil, there were some of said items on display. Some dolls of various monsters and even of the heroes. There was a plush of Seam, but based on how it was set right behind a purple and black jack-in-the-box that looked awfully Jevil-themed it probably wasn't for sale.

Kris pointed at the plushies of the trio and offered a bag of D$. Jevil grinned. "Thank you, thank you!" he purred, snatching the bag and counting it, soon throwing the dolls at the human alongside the change. "Anything else, else?"

"Ah, what about the tea...?" Ralsei tried.

"Seam isn't fit for making tea, tea! Try again later!" Jevil chimed. Ralsei sighed in disappointment but nodded. "....we have water, water."

"I-it's fine, I'll come back in a week or so." Ralsei assured. "...could I place an order for some sugar?"

"Of course, of course!" Jevil said happily, diving under the counter. There was the sound of him knocking his head at something before he appeared a good few feet inside the shop out from behind a wall.

After about another minute of him fumbling around he returned with a bag of sugar. Ralsei paid for it and collected the item happily. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome, welcome!"

Soon the trio of Lightners left with their items and Jevil closed up shop for now, heading into the part of the shop where it changed from shop to house. Or at least small guest bedroom where Seam resided.

"Seamy, Seamy?" Jevil whispered. The old shopkeeper was fast asleep, curled up in a typical cat manner. The empty bowl of soup and a half-empty bottle of water sat on the nightstand. Jevil sat down beside the sleeping cat, patting his head lightly.

Seam let out a soft purr in his deep rest. Jevil scratched behind his soft ears lightly, surprisingly silent to let him sleep. After a few moments, he curled up beside Seam with no regard to the possibility of getting sick himself.

He snuggled up against Seam, and fell asleep.

Chapter Text

There were quite a lot of things about Seam that Jevil was obsessed with.

One was Seam's smile. His jack-o-lantern-like features amazed the imp. The way the magical light emanating from his mouth and from behind his button eye that would strangely light up brighter the happier he was.

Another was, reasonably, how soft Seam was. He was the perfect blanket and pillow wrapped in a neat little bow of purring. Jevil could listen to his purring for hours, it was so nice to hear. He loved curling up against him whenever he could just to hear the satisfying rumble.

How calm Seam was and how he put up with Jevil was a blessing. He had the grand skill of calming down any hyper episode Jevil was in with a warm hug and a cup of tea. Oh, and Seam's cooking was just the best. So were his handmade sweaters, too. He wasn't the best kisser, then again Jevil had never kissed anyone else, and had no clue what he was doing in that field, but his hugs were amazing.

He was a grand storyteller. Even before he'd been locked away Jevil loved to sit down and listen to his stories for hours. Then nap after. Oh, he still loved doing that.

And last but certainly not least, was his soft little paws. Not so 'little', really, they were about as big as Jevil's face. Seam's habit to knead anything relatively soft when he was half-asleep or asleep was adorable. All Jevil had to do was snuggle himself into his lap and he got a nice little massage. It was a nice thing to fall asleep to, plus it was adorable to see Seam kneading his pillow like the adorable cat he was before curling up and falling asleep.

"Jevil? Jevil, you're daydreaming." Seam waved a paw in front of his face. He's been like this for ten minutes now. "Come on, friend, snap out of it."

"...I love, love you so much, much, Seam..." Jevil murmured sleepily, still deep in whatever daydream he was in. Seam lifted him up, patting his head lightly and hoping the jester wouldn't explode like he sometimes did whenever he did this.

"I love you too, Jevil."

Chapter Text

Seam was an ancient android, no bother trying to hide it. He's been around for ages, a scrapped model unable to pass the Turing Test. In his part of Detroit, he was known to be a deviant. And honestly? He just lived like a normal human would. Almost nobody bothered him. He got odd jobs, bought knickknacks, and milled around at his own leisure.

He had nothing to say, so he didn't say anything at all. He had no friends and looked visually unappealing to anyone who even thought about 'buying' him. He looked like a darker-skinned android, an orange eye and a black socket, and frazzled light brown hair. He's tried to grow a beard and failed, his old model not suited for the advances.

Children personally loved him. Seam himself didn't know why. They wanted to hear his tales of friends come and gone, of his first days on the run, of his 'grand adventure' through the scrapyard. About his old entertainment partner and fellow reject, Jevil.

Ah, Jevil....

He and Jevil had both failed the Turing Test and had then been bought up by a circus company toying with android animals. Jevil fit right in, being such a wild card. He found such joy in making others laugh and smile. Seam was the magician, which consisted of tricks both old and new. He enjoyed seeing children's eyes twinkle in amazement as doves emerged from his sleeve and rabbits from his hat. Oh, what ever happened to that hat...?

Then some cops came by and spotted the two androids who were supposed to be scrapped. Seam never did see what became of Jevil. He'd played dead and been dumped into a scrapyard. He'd spend days there searching for his friend and eventually left to set out. He's never seen him since, and had come to the terms of the thought of his friend's death or reset.

_____

Seam had such a hard time finding a place to rest.

One moment he's in a nice hotel for a week, the other he's trying to live in a tree. Now he was being forced back to the scrapyard, not wanting to enter a building at this time of night. His LED flickered to red for a few moments as it started to rain, reminding him of his first night at the yard. Hands, dismembered limbs grabbing at him, trying to tear him apart.

Seam sat down a fair ways in under a broken-down crane. He curled up, hugging his knees and sighing. Wonderful....just wonderful.

"Hhh...hhh..."

Seam slowly looked up. Another android? No surprise there. In the scrapyard, many runaway androids lived. "Hello? I can cause no harm." his voice had a rusted tinge to it from years of no proper repair.

"Hhhheehh...hehhe..." the voice was glitching, lagging behind itself and overlapping. "H-h heelll...ooohh...?" it sounded like an old model, confused and curious. "Hhhhheellloo...?"

Seam stood up and looked around. Thunder crashed. Then he heard a soft thump as something crawled into view. Jevil.

Jevil looked like he'd been thrown into a grinder. His legs seemed to be useless and he was dragging himself along by his arms. He looked to be mostly blind and his entire face was half gone. A scan, even from Seam's old model, showed that he was mostly blind, deaf, and barely clinging to life. He was bleeding from his torso from what looked to be a struggle. Recent, given how long he seemed to have been here.

"Jevil-!" Seam rushed forwards, not processing that his friend couldn't tell it was him. Jevil screamed when he was picked up, squirming but overall helpless. His LED was red and pulsing, his stress levels skyrocketing. Jevil slammed his head into Seam's chest and then bit his shoulder, still screaming and trying to escape.

"No! No! No! No!" Jevil's voice was broken and screwed up, and he kept screaming 'no' over and over. Seam was floored for a moment before he turned to run, sprinting out of the scrapyard as fast as he could and to the nearest Cyberlife store.

The clerk, an android and deviant-hater named Rouxls, jumped a little when the known deviant burst through the door. "What, did thy get attacked by a dog aga-" he stopped, seeing the broken form of Jevil in his arms. "Is that...?"

"FIX HIM!"

Jevil started screaming again when he was shoved into Rouxl's arms. He fumbled for a moment before flipping Jevil onto his chest, keeping him on the counter. "Get me a screwdriver and thy SP100!"

Lancer flew through the door, being under Rouxls' care as he was a deviant. He was a kid model, so surely he could be 'fixed'. "I'm here! Wh- WHO'S THAT?" he asked loudly.

"Get me some spare audio processors-! Thine RK series will do'ist fine!" Rouxls barked, being an RK himself. Lancer jumped and nodded, bolting away.

Rouxls let Seam scoop Jevil up and try to calm him down. Seam cupped the screaming android's head in his hands, rubbing his head gently and trying to soothe him. Gradually, Jevil quieted. Either he was realizing he wasn't being mauled yet or he'd screamed his voice box through its last breath. "Shh, shh, I'm here, I'm here...." Seam said softly, rubbing the spot just behind Jevil's ear and below his jaw that he seemed to enjoy. He could feel the desperate hums of his Thirium pump struggling to keep circulating.

A minute later, Lancer returned holding a few types of audio processors in his hands. He dumped them onto the table, not being mixed up thank goodness. They were tied together in their pairs. Rouxls snatched one and rather unceremoniously grabbed Jevil's head and crammed it into place.

Jevil's eyes widened at the rush of noise and sound, his stress even higher now. "Jevil, Jevil are you okay?" Seam asked, panicking. Jevil fainted, his LED changing from a bright red to a blue all in one moment.

"Jevil?!"

_____

"Hh...hhhh....h...."

Jevil had been placed on the makeshift bed in a spare room in the store. It had been where Lancer usually slept- his settings were broken from his deviation and thus he had the urge to sleep in a bed alongside an adult. Whom happened to be Rouxls.

Seam hadn't budged, even when his stress levels grew more and more every hour Jevil stayed passed out. Rouxls had sent Lancer straight to Cyberlife to fetch the oldest model that could be scrapped he could find. Or some Jevil-only parts. Jevil and Seam were one of a king. RJ and RM respectively. A deck of cards, if you will. Royal Joker and Royal Magician. Rouxls was, well, the Rules Card. Spelled Rouxls Kaard, ha.

"Nnnngg..." Jevil groaned, his LED turning yellow as he started to wake up. He slowly opened his eyes. His unseeing eyes that flickered to and fro, as if by some miracle he'd be able to see after a good nap. "...S...Seamy....?"

"I-I'm here, I'm here friend." Seam pulled him into a hug, which was immediately returned. "Shh, don't strain yourself. Are you okay?"

Jevil's LED turned red and he started sobbing without warning. No tears came, but he was still sobbing none the less. He gripped Seam tightly, burying his face in his chest and whimpering about how alone he was and how scared he was and still is.

"Shh, shh, shhhhh..."

"I, I....I...I want, want, want...to....see, see, see you...I want.....want...to see....you..." Jevil reached up, grasping for Seam's face as if his life depended on it. He felt his rough hair, trailing his fingers down to his neck and feeling every groove on his friend's face. The look of starved, desperate longing on his face was painful to look at.

"Shh, you will soon friend, I'm sure. Some kind androids are trying to find compatible parts for you." Seam soothed, running his hands through Jevil's hair. "I'll stay by your side through it all, okay?"

"O-okay, okay, okay..." Jevil whimpered. His voice box must be horribly damaged to make him repeat words like that.  Seam rubbed his head soothingly, letting the broken deviant cling to him.

Rouxls burst through the door. Jevil tensed. "It's okay, it's okay, it's just Rouxls." Seam murmured. "He's here to help."

"O-oh, oh..."

"Is thy deviant awake? Readyeth for repair?"

Jevil made a face. "Who, who....? Shakespeare model, model...?" he muttered in clear confusion at Rouxls' speech.

"No, no, that's just how he is." Seam smiled a little. Rouxls approached, placing his hand on Jevil's head. The deviant made a face and tried to lean away from the stranger's touch. "He's ready when you are."

"Okay, then..." Rouxls set a small box down. Lancer peeked out from behind him. "Cyberlife was being very....reluctant and thy seems suspicious of our odd request. I hope thine two have similar models, because precious water beetle said it was for Seam."

"Thy, thy, Shakespeare, I am, am," Jevil mimicked, amused at the stranger's speech. Rouxls sighed deeply. "Uee hee, hee, hee~"

"Just keep thy eyes open, worm..." Rouxls muttered. Jevil rolled his eyes before obeying, staying snuggled against Seam and keeping his blind eyes open. "This may sting, thy being a deviant."

"Mm-hmm..." Jevil's LED turned red as Rouxls slid his hand intrusively against his eye. The ex-jester let out little whine and whimper. There was a buzz, then a spark as the RK tried his best to pry the eye out.

"Thy's glued into thine socket-!"

"Please be gentle with him, Kaard." Seam said softly. Jevil shuddered, moving to pull away and back out.

"Be stilleth, worm." Rouxls muttered, giving another push as he appeared to get a grip on the pesky piece. "If thy can, turn off thy pain processors."

"C-can't-can't-can't r-r-r-reeeally, really, really, do that, that- th-that-" Jevil stuttered, shuddering badly. Every wire in him screamed that he move away from the pain. But Seam was there, holding him, so he must be safe. He was safe.

"Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop- stop it, it, s-s-s-stop it, stop! Stop! S-stop it!" Jevil lashed out, grabbing Rouxls by the arm as self-preservation kicked in. He refused to let go, whimpering in fear. Seam tried to get him to let go.

Thankfully, Rouxls was much stronger than him. The RK pried Jevil's arms off of him and let Seam keep them pinned to his sides. LED bright red, Jevil started to try to escape. "Keep thy worm still, I almost have the pesky eye out."

"You're not making this easy for me either, Kaard!" Seam snapped, but did as he was told.

_____

Jevil curled up in Seam's arms, shaking badly. Well, now he was traumatized for life. He could see now, so that was....nice. He could see Seam, and actually absorb him in all his glory. Still as cute as always. A little roughed-up-ness never hurt anyone.

"How do you feel?" Seam asked slowly.

"Better, better." Jevil said softly. Despite his voice being fixed and returned to normal, he still bore the habit of repetition.

"Do you want to tell me all what happened?"

Jevil paused, debating it for a few moments. "...yes, yes." he hummed. "After you were scrapped, or so I thought, thought, I followed soon, soon after. They left me deep, deep in the scrap, scrapyard since I put up a fight, fight. Uee hee hee..."

He went quiet for a few moments as he recalled the events. "Another android, android, thought I was dead, dead, since I hadn't reactivated yet, yet. They tried to steal, steal my legs. I scared, scared them off when I woke up, up. They did not, not have any legs."

"....and, and then I realized that who, whoever tried to off, off me had rendered my legs, legs useless. I couldn't, couldn't walk much, much, if at all."

A small paused. Seam motioned for Jevil to continue. "...I kinda, kinda switched between looking, looking for you and sleeping, sleeping. I had lost, lost a lot of Thirium so I had, had to be careful."

There was a small pause.

"...then I found what, what I thought was a dead android, android. And I tried to get access, access to its Thirium pump. But it was alive, alive, and it fought back and a fled and, and that's how you found, found me."

"Ah..." Seam sighed, pulling Jevil into an embrace. "Well, you're safe now and Rouxls and I can fix you up."

Jevil smiled weakly and hugged him back as tight as his weak body allowed. "That sounds nice, nice..."

Chapter Text

Seam personally was a little startled at Jevil when he showed up. Seam had never been good at making people laugh- so the kings decided on getting a jester to go with the magician.

The thing that really took him by surprise was Jevil's energy. The guy acted like he consumed copious amounts of coffee and lived off of expresso. He defied gravity sometimes and his tail still managed to hold him up considering how he seemed to only eat candy and carnival foods. At least his constant movement seemed to balance his meals. But he was great at his job and he toned it down a little when with Seam as to not give him a heart attack, so he was fine in Seam's eye...s.

"...I don't like it." Jevil stared accusingly at the tea Seam had offered. "It smells weird, weird."

"You...didn't even taste it. And that's probably because you only eat candy. When was the last time you ate normally?"

Jevil gave him an incredulous look. "Says you and your gross, gross green tree things!"

"That, Jevil, is called broccoli."

"Well I don't like it!" Jevil stuck out his tongue and crossed his arms, sitting mid-air and letting his tail support his weight. "You all eat weird, weird things! I am getting a normal amount of sugar, thank you very, very much!"

"Sure you are..." Seam muttered. "You can't just live off of sugar. I'm surprised you haven't dropped dead yet from heart failure."

"I can say the same for you!" Jevil huffed, making a face. "But I'll try the camp-o-meal tea thing if it'll make you happy, happy!" he picked up the teacup and squinted at it, not even holding it by the handle. Seam sighed.

"It's pronounced chamomile, and that's not even what kind of t- ah, just...try it." Seam watched as Jevil took a sip of the drink and made a face. It...wasn't disgust, but it certainly wasn't a good expression either.

"...what kind of tea, tea is this?" Jevil asked slowly. "It tastes leafy, leafy."

"Catnip." Seam said calmly, keeping a perfectly straight face. He could practically see the gears in Jevil's head turning as he processed what he had just consumed.

"...o-oh."

Chapter Text

It was rare to receive a letter to go to this particular academy of magic. It was even more rare to actually get past your first impression.

The waiting room was colossal, almost resembling what one would consider something from Hogwarts would look like. Tables with food to hopefully sustain hungry teens that would be there for hours sat around the center. Chairs lined the sides. In general, it was packed.

Seam was attempting to find a clearer area than the one he was in, trying to keep his tail from being stepped on. Then he saw a little circle of nobody. Except a tiny imp in jester gear that looked to be running on expresso, bouncing on his tail. A luggage bag over half his size was beside him. "Hello, hello!" he grinned at Seam, as if seeing a new competitor for this bubble of space. Seam could tell why nobody wanted to be too close to him.

"Hello. Do you mind if I join you here?" Seam asked. The boy nodded, moving a bit to the side so Seam could do so. "What's your name?" the guy seemed interesting, so might as well get to know him.

"Jevil, Jevil! And you, you?" Jevil seemed to be suppressing the urge to ask if he could pet him.

Seam smiled a little. He wasn't so bad, really. "Seam, that's pronounced 'Shawm'." he offered his hand, which Jevil shook vigorously. The imp lingered, fascinated by the fact he was made of cotton.

Right off the bat, Seam couldn't tell what magic Jevil would dabble in. He could already guess he loved entertaining, based on the costume and his enthusiasm. "What can you do Seam, Seam, then?" Jevil asked. "...so soft, soft." he still didn't let go of his hand.

"Oh, and why would I tell you that, friend?" Seam smiled. Jevil giggled.

"I'll tell you one of my tricks, tricks!" Jevil grinned, lifting his suitcase to reveal...swords? Three swords, almost twice as long as Jevil was, bright silver blades and purple and yellow striped handles. Sword-swallowing, perhaps? But how would that work if he was so tiny...?

"Ah, very well." Seam doubted Jevil could mimic his magic if he tried. Jevil grinned broadly, anticipating this. "It'll only be fair if I only show you one of my tricks, friend."

"Of course, of course!"

Seam made a small flame appear, conducting it to whir around Jevil in circles. More flames appeared, circling the amazed boy. He giggled happily, clapping excitedly at the mini-show. "I love, love it!" The irony of the patchwork cat possessing fire magic.

Seam smiled warmly, and the flames merged and dissipated. "Your turn now, friend. That was merely an example of what I can do."

Jevil grinned, clapping and applauding the act. "Yes, yes! And I think, think you'll find that I can do anything, anything, anything!" he said excitedly. He stood on his own feet, his tail coiling around his legs. He picked up one of the three swords from the pile.

Seam could do many things involving fire. He could make it look like he breathed it, but of course it was merely making the fire appear just outside of his mouth and blossom out. He could preform countless magic tricks. But sword swallowing for him was just a bad idea.

Jevil smiled at him before tilting his head skyward and opening his mouth. A few other magic users saw this and turned to stare in horror. The sword was longer than Jevil's body, so how the hell would-

He let out a little giggle before lowering the blade. It vanished into his maw, and he took his sweet time lowering the rest of it. Past the mark where it surely wouldn't be physically possible for someone of his stature of a proud two feet to do such a thing. Right to the handle. Then he released it and stood proudly, grinning. His razor-sharp teeth grazed the handle threateningly.

Seam could tell that Jevil was holding back laughter, much to his horror and the horror of everyone watching. Jevil remained in that position for a few more moments before gripping the handle and slowly pulling the sword back out. It was unmarked, though coated in a thin sheen of saliva from its journey. He bowed deeply. "Uee hee hee!" He bounced back onto his tail and grinned at Seam. "What do you think, think?"

Based on Seam's stunned silence, Jevil assumed he liked it. The little imp cackled. "Watch over my stuff, stuff for me! Now I gotta clean, clean this." he took the sword and bounded away, leaving Seam with a small hard of stunned people.

_____

With the friendly knowledge that Jevil's stomach must be a black hole and he truly can do anything, Seam bid him good luck when his name was called for the auditions. Even though Jevil didn't need luck. He could do anything. Hopefully the judges don't have heart attacks.

It had taken a little while for Jevil to set up his act to make the best first impression possible. After a quick joke about how to was so time-consuming to eat a clock, he began.

Jevil supported himself on his tail, bouncing once, twice, and then launching himself into the nearest rope hanging from the stage's ceiling. He laughed like the madman he was, preforming slightly challenging acrobatics and jumping from one rope to the next.

Ah, but acrobatics weren't magic, as entertaining as they were! So Jevil moved onto his next trick, hopping back onto the ground. Being, say, a joker card, he didn't have any one suit as his magic.  All suits' symbols appeared, swirling around him in circles inside of circles.

Beside him sat a short folding table with the three swords on top. He picked one up, and tossed it into the air. Then the next, then the last one. And then Jevil was juggling the sharp blades, grinning and giggling.

As if to drive his point of doing anything into the ground, he bounced up onto his tail and kept juggling perfectly for a few more moments. Then he grabbed a sword in each hand and caught the third by the handle in his sharp teeth, grinning happily. All with the suits and symbols still swirling and spinning and revolving.

Jevil tossed the blades in his hands behind him and took the third one, pretending to examine it for a few moments before tipping his head back and preforming what wasn't even his finale. He was pulling at all the stops for this show. One by one, the suits and symbols vanished until it was just Jevil and the sword.

The sword once again disappeared into his mouth, down to the handle. Jevil cocked his head back a little more, grinning a little wider as he spread his arms out. The rest of the weapon vanished, and he snapped his mouth shut. "Hee hee!" He swallowed, took a moment to absorb any shock from the judges, and bowed.

Yes, he did just eat a sword.

And he still had more in store. Jevil grinned, showing off all of his sharp chompers as he bounced over to his next act. A torch and match. He lit the match and soon the torch. Jevil idly blew out the match and placed the torch into his mouth so he was holding it sideways.

Then his contortion acts began. Jevil knew he didn't have much of an athletic body, but that wasn't needed for this. He once again returned to the ropes and hoops suspended from the ceiling, contorting his small body into interesting forms.

Then the suits appeared once again, firing at him from all directions. Of course they narrowly missed, none actually hitting Jevil as he expertly avoided them and held the lit torch in his mouth.

Jevil slid down to one of the rings, hanging upside-down by his tail. He removed the torch and blew it out, the suits' swirling and dizzying patterns coming to a stop. "I can do anything, anything!" he announced, and let himself drop to land on his tail.

He set down the torch and giggled a little to himself. His tail had wound itself into a tight coil under him. He grinned yet again, hopping onto his feet and letting his tail snap itself straight.

"Pop!" the moment Jevil's tail straightened itself, Jevil's head popped clean off his shoulders, supported by a coil spring much like a jack-in-the-box. "Goes the Je-vil!" he howled in laughter, his head bobbing up at down on the spring as his body clapped happily.

Jevil's act thus ended. He giggled. "Goodbye, goodbye, boyzingirls! I hope, hope you'll have me here again, again!" he said, and then waltzed off the stage without putting his head back onto his shoulders.

One of the three judges by the name of Rouxls stared at where the imp had just left. "...10 out of 10, thy goblin is terrifying."

C. Round barked, as if in agreement. A puppylike monster by the name of Lancer nodded. "...he passed in my book."

_____

Seam had also passed the auditions and had to help Jevil shove his head back onto his shoulders. Since there were only so many dorms, people had to live in pairs. So of course they latched onto the only other person they knew, each other, and picked out a dorm room.

Jevil was laying on his bed, his luggage at the foot of said bed. "...I don't feel well, Seam, Seam." he mumbled.

"What is it?" Seam asked. He was deeply concerned for his friend, after seeing that one of the swords was mysteriously missing and Jevil had yet to tell him where it went. Seam dreaded the answer.

"...I think the sword's, the sword's coming back up, up-" Jevil started coughing, rolling onto his stomach.

"You ATE A SWORD-?!" Seam hissed, getting up to either help him or call someone because what the hell was he supposed to do in this situation?!

"I-I can do- ack!" Jevil made a noise of pain and without warning the entire sword shot out of his mouth handle-first. It clattered onto the floor, unscathed, and Jevil sank into the bed. "Ugghh..."

Seam snapped out of his stunned trance and picked Jevil up. He seemed fine, other than being a little shaken. He groaned and hugged Seam, drained after literally throwing up a sword that he shouldn't have been able to swallow in the first place.

"Are you okay, friend...?" Seam asked warily. He already dismissed internal bleeding since obviously Jevil must be a hollow shell at this point considering what his anatomy lets him do.

"Yes, yes....just tired, tired..." he mumbled, curling up against him. Jevil sighed deeply, and then passed out.

Chapter Text

He was back.

Back in his terrible, lonely, freedom.

It felt as if he's been here for seconds, for years, for his whole life all at once. He's never been free, has he? Just an illusion his sick mind created.

He's been crying here for seconds, for years, for his whole life. He couldn't remember when he stopped sobbing, his voice raw from bouts of misuse and then sudden screaming.

Sometimes he got up and walked around the carousel, around and around the carnival rides in endless loops until he got tired and had to sit down again. Other times he'd sleep until he was tired of being tired.

He lost track of time.

He's been here for seconds, for years, for his whole life.

Sometimes he'd hear screaming. It was always his own screaming, his mind scrambled and not recognizing his own voice until the pain of his throat going raw tore through his conscious.

Sometimes he needed to feel something. He stomped on his own tail once, to feel the pain, to feel anything. But that didn't work and then he couldn't bounce, bounce, because it hurt so much for a time. And bouncing was fun, fun.

So then he started scratching. He'd sit down and dig his nails into his forearms. Sometimes even his legs if he was really desperate. One time he scratched and scratched and scratched and scratched until he couldn't feel his arms anymore and he started laughing because he was bleeding and his blood was so colorful and pretty and so he started scratching again until he had to stop because he couldn't see and he got so very dizzy.

And it was fun, fun, to feel something, even if it was the pain of tearing himself apart. Oh, his colorful, colorful blood pooling onto the floors of the prison until he passed out in it and then he was laughing, laughing because it was so new and it was something he could feel other than his fading will to live-

"JEVIL-"

Seam had heard Jevil crying in his sleep and just went to wake him and make sure he was alright. Now he was frozen in the doorway, shocked.

Jevil, now awake due to Seam's startled cry, was covered in his own blood. His claws were gripping at his already scarred arms, multi-colored neon blood pouring from the wounds. It shone a bright yellow, vibrant green, and cool pastel blue all at once, extremely hard to look at for longer than a few moments.

Jevil looked up at Seam with wide, scared eyes. Tears streaked his face and he was shaking like a leaf.

Seam snapped out of his mortified trance and rushed towards him, scooping the traumatized imp into his arms and practically forcing his healing magic into him. Jevil was so scared and confused and weak he didn't even try to stop it, just looking up at Seam.

Jevil slumped again Seam, passing out either due to shock, blood loss, or the healing magic. Seam knew he had incredibly potent magic of all kinds and it probably wasn't the safest to force it onto Jevil without him expecting it. At least it was stopping the bleeding.

Seam had been horrified when learning about Jevil's habit of scratching himself. In his cell he had no access to anything sharp other than his own claws, so Seam had a lot of scolding and bandaging to do. His poor friend had thankfully stopped soon after being freed, but the nightmares....they sometimes resulting in marks, but never drew blood....until now...

The warm orange glow of Seam's magic soothed Jevil into a relatively quiet sleep as he was carried into the bathroom to have the blood washed off. Seam rubbed his head slowly, handling the small monster delicately as he got to work.

_____

Jevil cringed as Seam bandaged his arms. Despite the cat's efforts to be as gentle as physically possible, it still stung as the cloth came into contact with the deep scratches smothered in disinfectant. "...are you fit to tell me what happened?"

Jevil flinched and looked away. "...possibly, possibly..."

"I won't force you, friend. Take your time." Seam murmured, finishing the bandaging and pulling Jevil into his lap. He curled up against his chest, sighing weakly.

Jevil nodded a little, letting himself be comforted. He looked spaced out and for once was quiet. He sighed shakily before grabbing Seam's paw and hugging it like his life depended on it. "...Shawmy, Shawmy?"

"Yes?"

"....promise, promise, me that you'd never, never, never lock, lock me up, up again in my little, little free, freedom. Never, never leave me all, all alone, alone, please, please, please." Jevil said softly. His repetition worsened whenever he was stressed, but at least he wasn't completely incoherent.

"I promise, Jevil. I'll never do anything like that to you ever again." Seam murmured. It had taken a toll on his health both physically and mentally when he'd been forced to lock Jevil up. He'd never do it again if the Spade King himself threatened him with a knife. He never wanted his friend to experience such a prison ever again.

"....thank, thank you."

Chapter Text

"Jevil? You've been in your room all day, we have to practice for our next show." Seam knocked lightly. He tested the doorknob to find that it was unlocked. "I'm coming in, Jevil."

Jevil was curled up under his blankets. He was visibly shaking, paler than usual. "...oh dear. Not again, friend..." Seam murmured. "You need to tell me these things... We talked about this."

"I...I know...." Jevil mumbled. He looked exhausted. "So cold, cold..." he barely responded as Seam sat down at the edge of his bed and lifted him into his lap.

"Come on, friend." Seam lifted Jevil easily. He was just in a nightgown and pants, and dreadfully chilled to the touch. "Let's get you to Kaard..."

"D-Don't want, want to..." Jevil mumbled. Seam chose to ignore this and brought him out of the room.

"We both know the substitute blood isn't working well." Seam muttered. Jevil flinched. "I'm not- it's not your fault, friend. I just want you to know that you'll have to use something alive sooner rather than later. If my species allowed it, I'd let you use me so you wouldn't have to go through that."

Jevil looked down and away, avoiding eye contact as he was carried to the duke's shop. Rouxls seemed to be organizing his stock, pausing when hearing them come in. "Seam?" he turned. "Oh- Jevil." he immediately noticed how drained the imp looked. "It hasn't been that long since thy worm had his last bag. He had one...yesterday, I believeth." he said slowly.

"We are aware of that." Seam said flatly. "I'm trying to encourage him. Please try to do the same." he set Jevil down, helping him stand. "I think two bags is fit for this...situation."

Jevil let out a small whimper. "Don't, don't want, want it..."

"You're probably sick of the taste, I imagine." Seam sighed. "But you need this, Jevil. Please."

Jevil flinched and nodded, soon nodding a little. "Okay, okay..." he murmured. Rouxls sighed softly in pity, leaving and going to a back room in the shop.

Soon, Rouxls returned with two bags of a dark red fluid. "Alrighty. Thy blue child is growing increasingly exasperated, though. I do not believe thou can take this for much longer."

Jevil had guilt all over his face, his ears lowered and his tail limp against the ground. "...oh." he still cringed when Rouxls handed him a bag. "Do, do I have to, to have all, all of it...?"

"Yes." Seam and Rouxls said at the same time. Jevil flinched but did as was expected of him, holding the bag up and sinking his long canines into the bag.

The imp shuddered visibly. Rouxls did, too, but for a completely different reason. He looked horrified as Jevil let out a hungry, guttural sound extremely scary coming from his tiny frame, sucking down the blood in a handful of long, quick sips. "Oh lordeth..."

Jevil paused, his ears flicking upwards a little. He glanced at the bag, seeming surprised it was empty now, and removed it from being locked onto his fangs. "...an...another?" he motioned to the remaining bag, which Rouxls gladly handed him to rid himself of the item. Seam just watched on silently. Normally Jevil fed in his room, or somewhere private. This was one of the few times Rouxls had to witness it.

Rouxls disposed of the empty bag while Jevil slurped down the second one, some color returning to his skin and eyes. He looked almost a little disappointed when he had finished it.

Seam was used to this pattern now. It had showed up recently. Jevil being extremely reluctant to take the blood he needed, and then he was content and just as lively as he usually is. Then he gets 'hungry' again, then he remembers that he needs blood to actually function, and the cycle continues. But having blood frozen, away from the body was beginning to stop being enough. One of these days he'd have to actually bite something, perhaps even kill it. ...like he used to do.

Jevil just wanted to entertain. He wanted to make people laugh and be happy. Just the thought of having to take a life depressed him. Seam didn't like remembering the state he used to be in. Constant self-destruction and self-hate, it was awful.

"Feel better?" Seam asked. Jevil slowly nodded. "Alright, friend. We have practicing to do."

Jevil brightened up at this, jumping up onto his tail with his usual excitement. "Ue-HA! Race, race you to the practice, practice room!" and he was gone, smoke trailing behind him.

"And please put on some proper cloth- and he's gone." Seam sighed.

"...I cannot fathom how thou manages to date....Jevil." Rouxls muttered, more shocked than anything else.

"Jevil can be predictable sometimes. He'd never want to hurt a fly, and I fear that may be his downfall. I love him too much to let him do that to himself." Seam sighed. "...he cannot help who he is. I don't hold it against him."

Rouxls frowned softly. "Thoust heard the tales of what, dare I say, chaos, vampires can do. I shall never fully trust thine bug. You know that."

"...I know, Kaard. And I can't blame you."

Chapter Text

Rouxls sighed deeply, shuffling outside and dragging the trash with him. Taking the trash out. Wonderful. Truly an amazing job for the soon-to-be duke.

The man froze upon hearing a scuffle from within a trash can. A racoon?  Rouxls paused, holding the trash bag in front of him as some sort of defense against whatever animal was in there.

The lid of the can rattled once, twice, as whatever was in there tried to escape. Rouxls slowly approached it, preparing to stuff the trash into the can and run.

Something small and purple shot out of the can, hissing. It lunged at him, ending up on the bag and immediately wiggling off of it. "DEAR LORDETH-"

The vermin screeched and crawled backwards on all-fours. It was small, barely two feet tall. Perhaps a child, perhaps not. Short, stubby horns grew from its messy black hair. It had four claws on each hand and five on each bare foot. A J-shaped tail swished behind it, standing straight up like a T once its gaze locked onto Rouxls. A mouth full of golden, sharp teeth snarled at him.

Rouxls did the only reasonable thing and shrieked like a little girl.

His voice hit a record-breaking high octave and he bolted, the gremlin chasing after him at an unholy pace. He dropped the bag of trash, which audibly stunned the creature while he fled into the castle and slammed the door shut.

Rouxls had about two seconds of peace before the creature started scratching at the door. Rouxls felt the thing's magic gather and only had just enough time to dodge to the side before a scythe slammed through the door.

The tiny gremlin barreled into the room full speed, cackling. Rouxls screamed again and gathered enough of his wits to prepare to teleport away.

"What the hell is going on?!" a deep, booming voice yelled in outrage.

Rouxls froze and slowly turned towards the Spade King, half-asleep. Even the vermin froze, pointed ears lowering at the harsh tone. "...uee...?"

"...Kaard. What in God's name is that thing?"

"T- 'twas scouring through the t-trash, s-sire." Rouxls stuttered. The king could be scary at times, mostly whenever the queen wasn't around. "...it broke in." he pointed at the shattered remains of the door and the scythe buried into the tile floor.

The king sighed deeply. "You're lucky I'm preoccupied with my unborn child, Kaard, or else I'd gain easy EXP from you for this. Dispose of...whatever that is."

By then the creature seemed to have lost interest. It wore a black long-sleeved shirt much too big for it, and it started scuttling past the king when its tail was stepped on by said king. "Or." the Spade King muttered as the monster cringed.

The creature was picked up by the tail. It let out a noise of pain. "What even is this thing...?" the king muttered, examining it. "Can it even speak?"

The creature stuck out its long purple tongue, letting out an upset noise. "Bleh!" he kicked out his legs and flailed blindly in an attempt to escape. "Let, let me, me go, go, go!"

The king seemed largely uninterested in the newcomer and dropped him. "Tell me your name and I might consider letting you not be banished for this indecency."

The creature sat upright and stood up, hugging his sore tail. He looked cowardly under the king's stature and Rouxls looked uncomfortable. "...Jevil, Jevil."

The king looked up at Rouxls. "...get this thing some clothes and we can discuss what to do with it in the morning." he said calmly, even though he looked unnerved.

"V-very well, sire." Rouxls stuttered, just as creeped out by the gremlin. He glanced down at it nervously as the king walked away. "....thoust's name is Jevil, correct?"

"Yes, yes." the imp responded, bored. "I'm not, not going to listen, listen to you because, because I want to explore, explore." and he turned to leave.

"Wh- thoust cannot just do that!"

"I can do anything." Jevil retorted. Rouxls rolled his eyes in utter disapproval and grabbed the cretin's tail, tugging on it harshly to get him to listen.

Jevil pulled a jack-in-the-box and let out a sound of surprise as his head sprang off his shoulders, bouncing on a spring. He seemed perfectly fine, if not annoyed.

The scream that left Rouxls woke half the castle that night.

Chapter Text

Nobody enjoyed talking about what the Lightners did.

Darkners and Lightners had been living in the world above for centuries on end. Then they just...started terminating them. The black blood Darkners bled was everywhere, the dust some species became when they died stained the ground.

The only reason Seam hadn't died yet was because of his magic. It held him together, let him go longer without food and water, and it was immensely powerful. Strings and needles assaulted any danger to his wellbeing.

The Lightners shoved the Darkners into abandoned, worn-down cities and built barricades to keep them separated. Seam was far away from the place where Lightners lived, trudging along the streets of what looked to be what was once a child-filled neighborhood.

He picked out a house that looked less run-down than the rest and approached it. He hadn't seen many left. Ever since the Lightners killed most of them off, order was near-impossible to obtain. Seam's heard rumors of it existing...somewhere. But not around his parts. No. Only loners who just wanted to survive.

The house was unlocked. It had an oak tree in the front with a tire swing on it. Inside was the home of a child, or at least had been filled with children. Doodles and posters for circus acts were plastered on the walls. There was no food, and thus Seam's trip here was in vain. He could still explore for other things, though.

Seam slowly entered the backyard. It was basically a small, woodsy area. A treehouse was built against several trees, the way up to it being haphazardly-placed rope and 2x4s. Half of one side of the treehouse had collapsed, showing various chests and other containers. Even from here, Seam could see things he'd want for whatever reason.

Welp. Time to test his old cotton body.

Seam approached the first 'step' up and judged it for a moment before sheathing his claws and gripping the bark for support, beginning to slowly, very slowly, make his way up. Several times the rope threatened to give way.

After much too much effort just to get into a treehouse, Seam was on the wooden platform leading to the 'house' itself. It creaked threateningly under his light weight combined with the items in his backpack.

Something below half his size dropped onto the platform soundlessly in front of him, a couple feet away. It looked like an imp, having a J-shaped tail curled around a branch above it. It was clearly a Darkner, and looked quiet young, his horns only a few inches long poking out of his messy, curly hair. He looked up at the startled Seam. "Wh- who-" Seam didn't get to finish.

"Bye-bye!" the imp grinned, and he grabbed at the end of a rope beside him. He tugged on it sharply, and the boards gave way from under Seam with a creak and groan.

The imp suspended himself by his tail and the branch for a moment before dropping, landing on his feet and swiftly approaching the dazed cat. "Uee hee hee! You looked a little out, out of breath, old man!" he giggled happily, amused. "Was my trap, trap tiresome?"

"Hooligan." Seam muttered, and summoned a needle behind the creature. He didn't notice, so Seam summoned a few more.

The imp grinned lopsidedly. "Ua-HA! Just stay still, still, and I'll let you live, li-"

"O!" the imp let out a comical sound when the needles pricked him and dug into his back. He whipped around, and Seam sat up. The creature fell off of him with a yelp.

Seam stood, brushing the fool off of him. "If anything, that was just a bad prank. But I do applaud you at keeping hidden, child." he hummed. He looked too offended to defend himself properly, hoped up on adrenaline.

"Hey, hey-! I'm not a child, child!" the boy cried, his small hands in fists. Definitely at least not an adult, or at least an immature one. "I'm a god, god!"

Great, a narcissistic child.

Seam chose to ignore the latter. "Of course you are. Farewell." he muttered, starting to sidestep his way into the house to leave.

"No, no!" the imp shouted. Spade attacks appeared in a circle around him. Then diamonds. And clubs. Hearts. Seam froze. He didn't belong to any suits...?

"And I...can do ANYTHING!!" the child grinned, jumping up onto his tail and fired the attacks at once. Not at Seam directly, but surrounding him.

Seam panicked, which was extremely rare for him. He didn't know other non-suiters even existed! His strings appeared and lashed out, grabbing the imp and yanking him to the side and slamming him into the ground. In turn, his magic was misdirected and some attacks struck Seam before dusting.

Seam immediately tried focusing his magic on mending the broken fabric, strings and needles working to sew himself back together. Even so, some of the deep black blood Darkners bled wept from the wounds, bright orange magic leaking with it.

The boy froze, his eyes widening at seeing the injuries he called. "I-I-" he practically threw himself further away from Seam, blood dripping from his legs and arms from Seam's strings digging into them like barbed wire. He let out a broken sound, still trying to back away and escape.

Seam's strings snapped and broke away from the boy.  He whimpered. "I-I- I didn't, didn't- I didn't- didn't- m-mean, I didn't, didn't- mean to-" he shakily stood, turned, and ran.

Seam muttered curses to himself, slowly standing as the attacks in and around him disappeared. He glanced around, still trying to gather his wits. "Child..." he scowled, and then realized he had run away, a trail of dark blood mixed with neon coloration in his wake.

Now, the cat could just raid the house and leave and forget the boy ever existed. But Seam wasn't heartless. He had some concern for the kid. His magic could do serious damage if he wasn't careful. If strings still remained coiled around him, it would take an hour for them to finally dust and give out on their own. Needles could stay buried into skin for longer.

_____

"....child? Boy?" Seam called, wandering in the woods for a few minutes now. He debated giving up, leaving a bandage roll at the treehouse or something for the kid, and leaving him alone.

He saw the imp curled up at the base of a tree, on his side and hugging himself. His tail was coiled around his small frame, which quivered at hearing his voice. "Please calm yourself, I won't hurt you."

The boy let out a small sound of fear, but let Seam sit him up properly and start looking him over for any wounds. The kid's magic must've been powerful for him to have healed most scratches this quickly. "....what's your name?"

The kid gave him a wide-eyed, confused look. "Wh...what?"

"Your name. I'm Seam. 'Shawm'." he introduced. "Your turn."

"...J-Jevil." the imp stuttered out, still tense and coiled as Seam finished looking him over. He had slim, frail arms. The closer Seam got to look at him, the more he realized that Jevil wasn't a kid. An adult, perhaps in his twenties. He was just....tiny. Roughly three feet if not a bit shorter.

"...it's nice to meet another person." Seam said softly. "Wasn't expecting anyone to be in a tree, but it's nice to have company." Jevil slowly nodded.

"..I...I didn't...didn't...mean to, to hurt you." Jevil said slowly and quietly. He closed his eyes and flinched, looking away even though Seam made no move towards him. "...?" he opened his eyes a sliver, as if surprised he wasn't hurt. "...you...you don't want, want revenge, revenge...?"

Seam stared at him blankly. "...what? You didn't hurt me on purpose. If anything, I panicked and that made you freak out." he reached out to pat Jevil's head. The imp shivered, not used to this.

There was a small silence. "What...were you aiming to do with your attacks? Was it just for intimidation?" Seam questioned. "Or to trap me?" The attacks had seemed poised to land around him in a circle.

"...b-both, both...." Jevil mumbled, hugging himself. "...I-I'm sorry, sorry, sorry..."

"It's alright. You're forgiven." Seam said softly. Jevil gave a little nod, curling up in a ball. Seam rubbed his head lightly, ruffling his hair and earning a weak smile. "...do you want to come with me?"

Jevil's ears twitched a little and he looked up at Seam, his eyes wide with hope. "R-really, really?"

"I can't just leave you out here, and I'd enjoy the company." Seam murmured. "So, do you want to?"

Jevil nodded vigorously, beginning to grin. "Yes, yes!" he began to stand, a little shaky since his legs still seemed scratched up. "Let's, let's go to my, my home, home to rest, rest!"

Assuming Jevil lived in the home with the treehouse, Seam nodded. He helped Jevil up, following him home.

_____

"Take, take what you'd like, like!" Jevil said, running upstairs to get his own things together. Seam nodded a little, beginning to look around.

Seam found a rather peculiar picture drawn, stapled to a random corner. It was crudely drawn, and compared to the other pictures, it had been drawn by a younger Jevil. It was of him and another man much taller than he was, in all black with a white face. Seam could make out black eyes with cracks going up and down the face. The man was smiling. Jevil was smiling.

It was immensely suspicious, considering the figure was nowhere else in any other crude art. Seam approached it and scrutinized it for a moment, wondering who the man could be.

Jevil trotted downstairs, having a small backpack on and wearing a cap that had messy holes cut in them for his horns. He stiffened at seeing Seam looking at the drawing. "Uee...ha...never got around, around to taking, taking it, it down...always...always chicken, chickened out..." he said nervously, forcing out a dry laugh. "At least, least now I won't, won't have to look at it, it anymore."

Seam gave him a concerned look. "Oh? And why is that?"

Jevil swallowed thickly, already in a nervous sweat." O-oh, th-that's just nobody, nobody-....nobody..." he stuttered. "A-absolutely...no one. No one."

Well that was worrying.

Seam looked around, noticing the scratches on the walls. They were mostly covered by more drawings and posters, but they were there. Something happened to Jevil, and Seam chose not to press him on it.

Seam went back to looking around, keeping an eye out for any signs of the man. If someone was still here....or if this was a well-planned trap..... No, Jevil was sincere, Seam knew that much.

"Is it alright if I look around upstairs?" Seam asked. Jevil nodded absentmindedly, seeming to force himself to tear his gaze away from the picture. He shuddered and resumed grabbing things that he seemed to hold dear and putting them in his backpack.

A door sat unopened. So, of course, Seam opened it. It was a dusty monochrome room with an unmade bed in it. It looked like it had once belonged to someone, but that someone was no longer here.

"Are you ready, ready?" Jevil called from downstairs. Seam quickly shut the door.

"Yes!" he called back, making his way downstairs where Jevil stood beside the front door.

"Where are we going, going?" Jevil asked, bouncing on his heels and smiling broadly up at him.

"I just wander the land, that's all. I suppose we could look for civilization now if that interests you. We can go wherever we please."

Jevil gave a little nod. "I...I stopped exploring, exploring when I ki-" he let out a sad excuse for a cough to hide his slip-up. Seam's gaze narrowed. "....n-now, now th-that, that I-I'm alone, alone."

"Oh? And then who was with you before then?" Seam asked lowly, wanting to know if Jevil had spilled blood before.

"..." Jevil looked down, tears welling up, fully aware he was cornered now. He hated it. "....a-a- Kn- spec- special- Knight- s-s-some-some- someone- who, who- who I, who hurt- who was, was not- he, he, powerful- not- love- he hurt- he l-loved, loved- h-hurt-"

"Mother of- please." Seam moved to calm Jevil down when he started to cry. He wiped the imp's tears away. "You don't have to continue. I understand. Please calm down."

Jevil sniffled and his crying subsided to hiccups. He nodded a little, quiet now. Seam held the imp close, rubbing his back soothingly. Then Jevil let out a small sound of pain, and so Seam stopped.

"...how long."

Jevil stiffened. "Wh...what?"

"How long were you hurt. How long has it been since you killed him." Seam said bluntly. They weren't questions, more like orders for answers. "I want to know."

Jevil started shivering, terrified to answer. He feared that it would affect his chances to stay with Seam. "You don't have to talk about it after you answer. Please."

Jevil whimpered softly before responding. "...s-since I was, was, was- uh-" he paused, hesitating to answer. "S-sixtee- no, no, f-fifteen, fifteen." he managed. "I-I'm t-twenty- twenty-one n-now, now." he paused again, flinching as he recalled something. "...I...I got rid, rid, rid of h-him, him... I think a c-couple, couple of, of years ago, ago, I don't really, really remember, remember."

Seam nodded, and gave Jevil a hug. "Okay, we can get going now. Are...you alright?" he asked. Jevil shook his head a little. "...do you want to talk about it?" Jevil shook his head again. "Let's get going, then."

"Yay!"

Chapter Text

Jevil loved teaching Lancer how to improve his magic. While he wasn't the best, he enjoyed it. The poor kid could get frustrated sometimes, though, but he was extremely good-spirited about not being perfe-

"GOD.

DAMMIT."

Jevil was stunned into silence. Where did he learn that?! He stared at Lancer blankly, standing there awkwardly. Lancer slowly turned back at him, a confused look on his face. "...Greater Dad says that all the time when he's mad."

"Aha....hee...Uncle Jevil, Jevil has to do something. Just...keep practicing, practicing!" Jevil managed. Lancer nodded happily. Jevil bolted off, towards Rouxls' shop.

"KAARD."

"Aighntshnkjhb-" Rouxls nearly had a heart attack when Jevil practically kicked down the door. He looked furious; absolutely murderous. "....I do not like thy's expression."

Jevil balanced on his tail to be somewhat more level with Rouxls' face. "Watch, watch your language, language around the new-king, new-king." he said it softly, yet full of a threatening malice. Rouxls paled, beginning to drip from anxiety.

"Wh-what do you mean....?"

"God. Dammit." Jevil said each syllable slowly, as if speaking to a child. Rouxls shuddered. "Do you understand, understand?"

"Y-yes..."

"Good, good."

Chapter Text

"I can...I can do anything, anything...."

Jevil mumbled this to himself over and over, sitting in his lonely freedom, staring at his hands and grinning. "Ue-HA! So fun, fun! My heart joys, joys at this new, new knowledge!" he looked up at the darkness, knowing that he was being heard by something unseen.

In a flash, in was in front of him. A square, not that different from a window in battle, but filled with numbers. Ones and zeroes, variables and characters. "Now, now to test, test..."

What to try first, first?

He could open his cell oh so easily, easily. But what would be the fun, fun of having things easily? Jevil brushed through the coding. What would happen if Lancer was never born? Oh, oh how the king would be so much nicer if a miscarry had happened instead and the queen lived through the process.

Then Jevil paused upon seeing Seam's coding. It filled him with a sense of violation, seeing something personal. Numbers upon numbers representing such a precious, unique cat that he cared so deeply form.

It couldn't hurt to tamper with just a few aspects, could it? Just to.....yes, yes. "Oh, uee..." Jevil grinned at his idea. Yes, yes! Seam, Seam does deserved to be in a much, much better state! A few fixed stitches here, perhaps even return his button eye.... Fix his stuffing, perhaps, perhaps. Even make him generally happier....?

Jevil paused and hesitated. He was doing something wrong, he could feel. Changing the man he adored to his whims. What if he....couldn't go back? He pulled away from the coding and dismissed the box. No. No, he didn't want to change Seam. He loved him just the way he was.

Even if that meant not giving him so many things he needed.