Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When she was fifteen, all the humans died.

They didn’t suffer, they just… died somehow. It was the end of their fate. They were past their primes. She was also technically supposed to die too, according to the fate’s design.

But she didn’t. So that was unfortunate.

She remembered how all the cars stopped. How everyone just disappeared. Poof. How she had cried and cried for weeks that her dad and little brother James were gone. How everyone was gone.

Then the power went out. And a bunch of things exploded that she didn’t even want to go into detail there. The world started crawling with nature, and in the middle of it, sat a girl. She eventually lost track of time and watched her world slowly fall apart, knowing that her solitude was driving her insane.

Then came the ‘best’ part. The demons! YAY!

All the demons just randomly started popping up. Ghosts, spirits, and everything else just creepy. They tried to kill her- she was okay with that- but none of them succeeded. So they finally just gave up and let her be. They fascinated her- even some of the urban legends that she had read about were real!

The Chasmes were her personal favorite to date. They were giant mosquito-bird thingies that flew around and pollinated the fields like bees or something. The actual bees were not to happy about this.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t die. So she was stuck in an Earth with demons for the rest of her potential life.

Her name was Rose.

After another long day of wandering around and seeing her hometown rot away to the hands of vegetation and Godzilla-like creatures, Rose walked back to her house. Or, what was left of it, for that matter. The only actual part of her house that was left was her bedroom, but she had turned it into a kitchen-bathroom-living room too. It had a COUCH. And it was PINK.

She plopped down on her couch, and picked up the picture frame on the coffee table. She blinked back tears.

“Hi, Dad. Hi, James. I uh, saw that sandwich shop that we liked to go to today. Unfortunately, it’s been invaded by digging demons. I guess they like the sandwiches too!” she joked. “I really, really miss you… and I hope I can see you again soon.” A few tears dropped down her face. “Say hi to Mom for me.” Her whole family looked a lot like her- Olive skin, dark eyes, and brown wavy hair. Then she set the picture back on the table, buried her face in her hands, and sighed.

Then she made a fire and warmed up some water, and took a shower with her very own mechanism. Outside, she heard some very loud and angry demons probably fighting over an old car or something ridiculous like that.

She got into her purple flannels and crawled into bed, silently telling the demons to SHUT IT. After reading her favorite romance story for a while, she shut the flash light off and fell asleep.

Chapter Text

Rose woke up late at night with a strange feeling. The feeling that she was being watched. It was somehow comforting that there was another person with her, after all this time.

“Hello?” she called. She heard a quiet sigh.

A huge smile spread on her face. THERE WAS A PERSON. IN HER ROOM.

Or it was the Nishi demon that could shapeshift and lure people to their death, but this presence felt… good.

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “It’s gonna be okay.” She grabbed her flashlight and pointed it to her visitor. It wasn’t a human, but it wasn’t a Nishi, either. It was a…

Super tall and skinny starved demon, without a face. And for whatever reason, he was wearing a suit.

“I have a hard time believing that any of this is OKAY,” he mumbled.

Rose stumbled back out of her bed in surprise and screamed.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” the demon said really quickly.

“GET- AWAY- WHAT ARE YOU?!” Rose shouted.

“I’m- very sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you-”

“STAY AWAY FROM ME!”

“I’m a nice guy, I swear!” he promised. He offered a pale, cold and shriveled hand to help her up. She stared at him. He was at least seven feet tall. And he had SUPER long limbs. But she still took his hand, which was more warm than it actually looked. She stood up, and he was about a foot and a half taller than her. She gulped.

“Hi,” she whimpered.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he replied. “I just… thought all the humans died, and then I saw your house so I went in.”

“It’s- okay,” she smiled weakly. “I just thought that YOU were a human, so…”

He seemed to stared at her in wonder. “I know I’m not much to look at.”

“Well, it just looks like you need some sunlight,” Rose suggested. “You have a very… pale complexion.” He laughed, and something inside her sparked. Something that she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Comfort. But then she realized that they were still holding hands. He noticed this very quickly as well. They both pulled away, chuckling awkwardly.

“I… uh, my name is Rose,” she said. “What’s your name?”

“You don’t want to know,” he said under his breath.

“What?” she teased.

“Slenderman,” he whispered seriously.

“Slenderman?” she asked incredulously. “Your mother named you SLENDERMAN?!”

“Not exactly. Me and the other demons… we’re based off people’s fears. So that’s what they call me. But you can just call me Slen.”

People’s fears. Wait a second.

“You don’t seem very scary, Slen” Rose said.

“Thanks, Rose,” he said softly.

She flicked on her battery-powered lamp and saw his full… self. Yup, he definitely had NO FACE. And he was super tall with super long legs.

“Do you wanna sit down?” I can make us some tea,” she offered. He sat down on the side of her bed stiffly, but seemed to melt into it.

“This is NICE,” he whispered, and she laughed.

“You don’t get out much, do you? Here. Peppermint tea.” She gave him the cup, but then froze, realizing that he didn’t exactly have a mouth. So, he just poured the tea into his empty face. Rose shrugged it off.

“So, why didn’t you… die?” Slenderman asked.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I shouldn’t be here, but I am. I should be with my family.”

“You- your family?”

She stood up and brought him the picture from the coffee table. He traced her image with a finger.

“Oh,” he said softly.

“Sometimes I think about them a lot, and it hurts,” she said. “I miss them.”

“I’m sorry,” he replied.

“Don’t be. I am perfectly happy, right here.” She sat down on the bed next to him, but kept some space between them.

Then her bedroom door burst open to reveal another demon that looked kind of like Slenderman, but way taller. He had a face, but it was utterly horrifying.

“AHA!” he screeched.

“Great,” Slenderman sighed.

“YOU! HAVE A HUMAN GIRLFRIEND!”

“Excuse me?” Rose snapped.

“She’s NOT my-”

“Wait a second.” The demon had to bend down to fit through the door. He examined her. “The humans are supposed to be dead.”

“Who are YOU?!” Rose exclaimed.

“That’s Bogey. He was a lot of little kid’s fears because he likes to murder them.” Slenderman whispered.

“Sounds like a nice guy,” she replied. But something in her head was clicking. People’s fears, Slenderman had said. What if-

“People will not be happy about this,” Bogey was saying. “I should just kill you. It will solve all our problems. That’s what you were doing, right, Slen?”

“Actually, I-”

“Good, because we wouldn’t want a HUMAN walking around our demon world, right?” Bogey hissed. Slenderman crossed his arms, but then giant… talons sprouted from his back. He looked… well… terrifying. “Good man. I’ll see you later. Hopefully we don’t have any more… distractions. You’ve never done well with humans anyway.” With that, he crawled out of Rose’s room and slammed the door.

Chapter Text

Rose took one look at Slenderman, and ran off her bed. She cowered into a corner and covered her head, whimpering.

“What are you- oh no, Rose, I would never-” He stood up and walked over to her, but she just cowered even more, so he stopped. The talons retracted from his back and disappeared.

“If you’re going to kill me, just do it,” she whimpered.

“I’m not going to kill you, Rose, I promise. I would never do anything to hurt you.” She seemed to relax just a little, but was still trembling. So he just offered her his hand again. “Do you trust me?”

Slowly but surely, she gave him a trembling hand. He made a relieved sound and pulled her up.

“What… were those things?” Rose asked.

“My tendrils? Oh, that’s what I use when I threaten to strangle demons named Bogey,” he spat. She cracked a smile, then hugged him. At first, he was very stiff and startled.

But then he reluctantly hugged her in return. Since he had super long arms, his hugs were even more comforting. When he pulled away, Rose had tears in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s just… I haven’t been hugged for a really long time.” He tensed.

“You haven’t been hugged since…”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” she said quickly, dropping her arms from his waist. He put his hands on her shoulders.

“Yeah. Yeah, it actually IS a big deal,” he said firmly.

“I’m fine, really, I have my house, and the demons, and you-”

“You do NOT have the demons, Rose. They are NOT on your side, do you understand me? In fact, I shouldn’t even be on your side.” He started pacing the room, fiddling with the buttons on his suit.

“But you ARE on my side,” Rose replied stubbornly. “And the demons have never given me any trouble. Other than the fact that they tried to kill me, but they were unsuccessful.”

“THEY DID WHAT?” Slenderman hissed. He whipped around to face her.

“I can’t die, remember?! I’m stuck on this sorry excuse for a planet for… ever, I suppose-”

“You CAN die! That’s just what they want you to think!”

“Then explain why I was the ONLY HUMAN to survive.”

“THAT’S only because it was MY FAULT-” He immediately stopped mid-sentence, and seemed to wince a bit. Rose stopped.

“You know?” she asked. He slumped down against the wall and sat down, his long legs making it slightly harder.

“The demons are taking over earth because they are getting revenge over the people who locked us up in… basically HELL for three thousand years. So, once the last protector descendant died, the curse was lifted. They wiped out all the humans, but you-” he paused for a few seconds.

“Slen?”

He sat straight up. “Oh,” he said, and then, “Rose. No wonder you survived. They chose YOU.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” she whispered, glancing at her family picture.

“You’re a protector.”

Rose actually started laughing as he stared at her. “Please tell me that you aren’t serious.”

“That explains it! Why you didn’t die like the others! They can’t kill you because the prior protectors selected you to save your whole planet!” He jumped up, and immediately ducked so his head wouldn’t smack the ceiling.

“Slen, that’s ridiculous. I mean, look at me. I can’t possibly hold off a whole legion of demons- and SAVE THE WHOLE ENTIRE EARTH!” She started to pace around her room as a concerned Slen watched her babble excuses.

“What are the demons planning to do with Earth?” she asked. He visibly chagrined.

“Destroy it…?” He offered.

Chapter Text

“Welcome, everyone,” Bogey said. “Thank you for attending the weekly demon council, where we plan to annihilate this pitiful planet, brick by brick.” Rose shivered. There were SO many demons gathered around the cave. She just hoped her disguise would hold up, or else she would be toast. Her eyes flickered up to Slen, to which she couldn’t tell whether he was glancing at her, or Bogey. He had snuck her into the demon council so they could plot against Bogey and his gang. Rose was dressed up as a swamp demon: she rolled around in her local pond, which was now submerged in sewage water. At least they couldn’t smell her. Right?

“As you know, our initial goal was to destroy this world so there would be no traces of the human’s existence. But my dear friend Slenderman made me consider another idea.”

He pierced a cold stare with his dark eyes to Slen, who seemed to glare back at him, even though he had no face.

“Fantastic,” he muttered under his breath. Rose nudged him ever so slightly. They could not risk getting caught.

“Since the humans no longer rely on their beloved protectors, I say we turn Earth into OUR planet- it belongs to the demons, now!” Bogey shouted. The cave erupted with cheers.

“Oh, come on. How did I inspire that idea?” Slen complained under the din.

“They are going to totally destroy this place,” Rose said. “We can’t let them do this!”

“Well, what are we gonna do about it?” he asked her, a hint of excitement in his voice.

“As the loyal protector of the humans, I declare that I, Rose Sable, and my best companion Slenderman will bring back the humans to prevent the destruction of this planet!”

“Really? You think of me as your “best companion”?” he groaned, but cheered. Maybe he was just how he was so happy. Or maybe it was how they grabbed hands unintentionally, but didn’t let go. Or maybe it was just the fact that he was so close to her, and he was so warm. But Rose felt something begin to bubble deep inside her.

Oh well.

“Alright, alright, SHUT UP!” Bogey screeched from the center. Everyone quickly quieted down. “I expect all of you to contribute to the creating of this world to make it ours. Let’s get to work- and make this the paradise we deserved!” The demons began to file out of the cave.

“Let’s get outta here,” Rose hissed. As they hurriedly shuffled out of the cave, a cold voice made them freeze in their tracks.

“Slenderman- a word?”

Slen sighed. “Of course,” he called cheerfully, then to Rose: “I’ll be back in a second.” He dragged himself over to Bogey, who was leaning against the wall of the wave with his arms crossed. If she didn’t know any better, he looked… smug. Ugh. She crept towards them to listen in on the conversation.

“You didn’t kill her,” Bogey drawled. He slowly advanced on Slen, who backed away. He stopped when he ran into the wall of the cave, and Bogey crawled closer to him. Rose winced. He was at least two whole feet taller than him.

“I didn’t have to,” he replied cooly. “She did the job herself.” Bogey’s tendrils launched from his back, but Slen didn’t cower.

“Don’t you dare lie to me,” he sneered. “What really happened?” She ducked behind a rock, panting. Did Bogey know that she was still here?

Slen crossed his arms. “What I’m telling you is the truth, Bogey. Believe it or not, I can actually be threatening.” Bogey and Rose both snorted. He wrapped two tendrils around Slen’s neck, but didn’t squeeze.

“You aren’t scary, Slen. You don’t even have a face. Once people grow accustomed to you, you’re just another URBAN LEGEND.” Slen scoffed, and his tendrils launched into the air.

“I would rather be an Urban Legend than scary. I never forgot that day, you know. And I will never forgive myself. Besides, you and I are very similar,” he snapped. “We’re both Tulpas, and the ONLY reason people fear you at ALL is because you drag poor kids out of their beds!” Rose started thinking. Both of them were comparing each other over how much people feared them. What if, the more scary one was, the more powerful they were? And what did Slen mean? He couldn’t forgive himself?

“All I’m saying is that we can’t have any more humans on Earth, do you understand? We are killing the species off, and if you want someone to blame, blame Allegra. You did that to yourself, anyway.” He retracted his tendrils, and Slen did the same. “We’re monsters, Slenderman. We do NOT permit any survivors.”

“I could never blame Allegra,” he said. “But the girl is gone.”

“Very good. All I’m saying is that you don’t want to end up like me. Don’t get to attached. Women. They tear you apart.” And with that, Bogey slithered into the darkness of the cave.

Chapter Text

Rose took a deep breath and crawled army-style to the exit in case he was still watching. Slen took a few strides and left the cave with his fists clenched. She approached him, and they snuck off through the remainders of the wood back to her house. Rose had many questions. Who was Allegra? Who was Bogey? What was a Tulpa? Right when she triple locked her door, Slen started to laugh. But it wasn’t a laugh of joy or amusement. He sounded… well, he sounded broken.

“Bogey doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” he sneered.

“Bogey… he sounds familiar,” she said thoughtfully, trying to change the subject from his obvious distress.

He nodded. “A very famous monster. Let’s see if you can guess.”

She tapped her chin. “Let’s see. Creepy facial features, about nine feet tall, drags children out of their beds… he’s the Boogeyman, isn’t he?”

“Bingo,” he replied. “The problem is, he’s super powerful. Which means, going against him to save the humans isn’t going to be easy.”

“Let me guess- the more people who fear you, the more powerful you are?”

“Bingo again. I’m impressed. Luckily, you’re talking to a scary MASTER.” He proudly adjusted the bow-tie on his suit. Rose made a mental note to ask him about it after her other questions were answered. “Although, we do share the same weakness.”

“What is it?” Slen scratched the back of his head bashfully.

“Well… two things, actually. Really bright lights like halogen lamps… or love.” Love. Slen’s weakness was love? She then started to wonder if he was in dire need of another hug.

“That’s why Bogey assumed YOU were my girlfriend. I was being nice to you, so he thought we were in love. Really, it was just that you had a lot of light sources in your room, so I knew you were safe to be around.”

Rose averted her attention to the pink rug on the floor and fiddled with it, trying to hide the blush growing on her cheeks. Enough, she told herself. He’s just a friend. And he’s a demon, and you’re a human. Snap out of it. She then noticed how dark it was getting, and turned on her homemade lights.

“So,” she said, quickly trying to change the subject. “Allegra.”

He winced. “Bit of a touchy subject there, Rose.”

“You don’t have to-”

“No, you deserve to know what I really am,” he said, a self-loathing tone to his voice. Her brow furrowed. He sounded… angry. At himself.

“Slen, are you okay?”

Slen sighed. “Okay, so, a long time ago, about 3,000 years ago, these demons used to rule the world! (This includes Bogey and me.) We didn’t know humans really existed at all, because we lived in a super dense forest away from all people. Besides, there were only about 20 million people on earth.”

“So, this tribe moved into our forest. At first, we were okay with it, but they started to steal all of our land. Everything that was rightfully ours to begin with was just being taken away. First our land, but then our food. They started hunting, and killed all of the animals. Me and the other demons were starving. By the way, at this time, we were all Lumas. That means that we were kind, magical, beautiful creatures. We didn’t look like the monsters we look like today. Bogey didn’t, but I had a FACE.

“We wanted to help the humans thrive in a world with us, but they wanted all the power of the land to themselves. One day, their leader Allegra left the village to see if she could become magic, like us. After a few years of on and off battle with the humans, Allegra returned with powers of some spirit of the forest. She threatened that if we didn’t leave her people alone, she would banish us.”

“That’s awful,” Rose said sympathetically. She patted his arm.

“Eh, we kinda deserved it,” he continued. “We finally decided to leave the tribe in peace. Allegra got married to the dear love of her life, who was a very skilled huntsman. He took every last bit of food for his tribe until we were starved. He knew what he was doing to us. He tried to kill us, and we took it too far. Eventually, he killed Exo, my brother. So, I-” He covered his head with his hands, almost ripping at his pale skin.

“Slen, stop,” she said gently, taking his hands off from prying his flesh off. “You’ll hurt yourself.”

“Exactly,” he mumbled. She just held his hands, and they gazed at each other for a while.

“I can’t see you treat yourself this way,” she said slowly and quietly, as if it were a secret that she spoke at all.

“I deserve it,” he whispered.

“You do not.”

“And why’s that?”

They spoke softly, and slowly leaned closer to each other.

“You’re-”

Just then, a mug rolled off the table and clattered onto the floor. They both released each other’s hands and pulled back, laughing awkwardly.

“We can’t,” he said softly.

“What did you-”

“Anyway,” he said quickly, as he put some distance between each other. “I um… wanted to protect my kind. I wanted to prove myself to them. But I was too overprotective. So once my brother died, I couldn’t take it anymore… I- I…” He took a deep breath. “I snuck into their house, blinded by rage, and how cruel the humans were being, and how we were starving and weren’t going to last very long, and I… killed him.” The last part he finished in a whisper. He then buried his head in between his knees.

“Oh, well I guess that’s not THAT bad,” Rose commented. He was so shocked that he lifted his head.

“Rose, I killed him.”

“I know. But if it lasted any longer, HE would’ve killed you and the rest of your family. I mean, I’m not saying it was right, per say… but it wasn’t necessarily wrong, either. Slen, where is this coming from? You seemed fine five minutes ago.”

He laughed, an awful guilty sound. “Three thousand years of living in a hell with the guilt of doing something so awful. In fact, it pretty much broke Allegra. She came after us, and cursed me. I turned into this hideous thing that I am now, a faceless monster that wears a permanent suit.”

Huh. So he was in a permanent suit. Sucks.

“Slen, stop. You’re not a-”

“DON’T try to sugarcoat this, Rose. I am a TERRIFYING MONSTER, don’t you get it?! That’s the whole point of this story. That’s the whole reason why we were banished to hell for 3,000 years. That’s why we look so horrifying, and why your family is gone. I… did this to you! This is three thousand years of truths and I’m sorry to take this out on you,” he realized.

“You were trying to protect them. And he killed Exo,” she said, as she tried to get closer to comfort him. He quickly scrambled away from her into a corner of her room. She watched him curl up and break down, sobbing broken sobs and apologies. She twirled her hair, unsure of what to do. He flinched every time she approached him, but she couldn’t just let him handle this alone. After all, he had spent three thousand years doing it already. Finally, she just sat down next to him and leaned her head on his forearm. His whole body was shaking from the sobs, so she eventually sat up and held him for a while. It was new for both of them, but it was a good new.

And so what if they had just met?

They both needed therapists.

And all the qualified ones were dead. It was only weird because of the species-difference.

“I’m proud of you,” she finally said.

“Why?” he choked.

“Because, you weren’t afraid to do whatever it was gonna take to save them,” she replied to his faceless face. “You risked your life for them. And if this is what the consequences are? So be it.”

“Thank you,” he whispered. She smiled.

“And for the record, you are so much better than the others,” she added with a grin. “For example, we’re gonna save the world together. And you can speak fluent English.”

“Bogey and a few others took that one personally,” he snorted. Rose could hear his smile through his words.

“You’re the bravest demon I’ve ever met, Slen,” she said gently, and he sighed happily. He finally hopped to his feet and scooped her up. She laughed. “Put me down!”

“No, I don’t think I will,” he replied. “You’ve officially been the first human to ever successfully comfort and cheer up Slenderman, so, I don’t think I will.” She giggled and helplessly flailed in his strong grip. He spun around, and Rose wrapped her arms around his shoulders in defeat.

Then something peculiar happened. Although he had none, she could feel his eyes gazing at her softly. She brought her hands from his shoulders to his slim face. Time slowed down as they got closer as closer for the second time that day… and- something in him snapped. He shook his head, and she quickly pulled her hands back.

Why did this keep happening? Butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

He walked over to her bed, gingerly placed her in it, and looked at it longingly.

“Come on,” she said. “I don’t mind. It’s a big bed. It might be a little short for you, but-” Slen happily flicked off the light and climbed in beside her.

“This sure beats sleeping on a rock!” She sighed contently, and nuzzled into him. He curled up and they both held each other close. It happened naturally, but it was perfect. The last thing she saw was the glint of a moon between her curtains before Slen and Rose both fell asleep.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Rose awoke with something stirring inside her. She couldn’t name it, but it swelled when she opened her eyes to see a peaceful, sleeping Slen next to her. They both had fondly wrapped their arms around each other.

She sat up and tenderly kissed the top of his head. Something shifted. He shot straight up and said, “Hi.” She smiled.

“Good morning,” she replied. She had no idea why showing a simple sign of affection had roused him so quickly, but she shook the feeling off. Call her naive, but it was probably nothing.

Right?

“Good morning Rose, hey Rose, yeah, Rose…” he mumbled nervously as he looked down towards the floor. She raised an eyebrow as she faced a speechless Slen.

“Well… today’s a big day,” she said, trying to change the subject.” Whatever had crossed his mind quickly faded, and he shook his head.

“Yup, time to save the world and bring your family back!”

After a pitiful breakfast of expired Cheery-O’s that hadn’t seemed fresh since the apocalypse, Rose packed a bag of a tent, a thin roll-up mattress, a blanket, a pillow, food and water, clothes, a flashlight, matches, and her hair brush and toothbrush. The two journeyed outside, then stopped.

“So… where to?” Slen asked.

“I have no idea,” she admitted. They both laughed. “Do you perhaps… know anyone who might know anything about the human’s death?”

“Other than Bogey, there’s just one demon… Bogey’s uh, ex.”

“Oh dear,” she muttered.

* * *

“I think Bella has decided to live here,” Slen said. They were standing outside an old abandoned movie theater that shut down post-apocalypse.

“Hold on- Bella?”

“Yeah. Well, her demon name is Banshee. Do you know her?”

“Us humans are familiar with the “legend of the Banshee”. She screams when one of your family members die, right?” Slen seemed to deflate.

“Humans and your twisted fairy tales,” he sighed. “She screams because she is really, really irritated with her ex, Bogey. She’s also kind of sensitive about that topic, so it’s best to avoid it.”

“Noted,” Rose said, and they entered the remains of the theater. Only one room was still in pristine condition, and muffled screeches could be heard coming from the inside.
“No wonder she lives here,” she stated, “The walls are super soundproof so nobody has to her hear screaming all the time.” Slen nodded and pushed open the door to the room. Rose almost flew backwards in surprise. The screams were SO LOUD.

“AAAAAAHHHHHH!” Yet somehow, through all that, Bella still managed to hear them come in. The screaming stopped, and they walked into the poorly lit room.

“She’s beautiful,” Rose breathed. And she was. She had long, silvery hair that reached her thighs, perfect makeup, and wore a long, black gown. The lights hardley lit up her gray skin, but she nearly smiled when she saw Slen.

“Hello, Slenderman,” she said. Surprisingly, when she wasn’t screaming, her voice was as smooth as silk. She also spoke with a pleasant Irish accent. He nodded politely.

“Pleasure to see you, madam.”

“Who is this friend? This…” Bella crept closer to her, admiring her olive skin. “This human.”

“My name is Rose,” she replied cooly. “It’s very nice to meet you, Bella.”

“It’s a joy to see you both,” Bella said. “I rarely ever get visitors.”

“Alas, I wish our visit were on better circumstances,” Slen sighed, shaking his head.

“Whatever is the matter?”

“We’re bringing the humans back,” Rose said heroically.

She nodded. “Your foiling one of his plans, I see.”

“We-” Slen began quickly.

“Oh, don’t you worry about it, Slenderman. It’s no hurt feelings. That man needs something ruined for him, after what he did- to me-” Then she proceeded to let out a blood curdling wail. Slen and Rose slammed their hands over their ears.

“There, there…” Rose said. She shot a helpless glace to him, who just shrugged.

“This isn’t about him, this is about the humans,” Slen said. Bella finally quieted down.

“Well, I fortunately know how to bring them back,” she responded, back to her soft voice. “But darling, it’s impossible. We would require a protector- and they’ve all died.”

“I believe that I’m a protector,” Rose said proudly. “I’m the only human that didn’t die. I’m a protector.” Bella looked her up and down.

“Well, I suppose that makes sense…” she said slowly. “I doubt you’ve discovered your magic, yes?”

“I have MAGIC?!”

“Yes, darling, you are a very powerful creature,” Bella commented. “You need to make an artifact with your magic. Have it… resemble your relationship with the demons. Then, suck some souls into the artifact, offer it as a sacrifice. It should bring them back.”

“Wow,” Slen said. “That’s… wow. How do you know?”

“I helped Bogey wipe them out,” she chuckled. “I can certainly bring them back.” When she mentioned him, she seemed to turn quiet. Something tugged in the back of Rose’s mind.

“Well, we won’t bother you any longer,” Slen said, hugging his friend. “We can figure it out from here. Thanks for your help!”

“Anytime, Slenderman. You should visit more often.”

“Is it okay if you wait for a second? I have something to ask her,” Rose told him. He nodded and left the theater.

She took a deep breath, and Bella looked at her expectantly. “About Bogey…”

Bella squeezed her eyes shut. “Please, don’t-”

“You still love him, don’t you?” She covered her face with her hands.

“It’s quite complicated,” she said quickly. “I… he used to be different. Not like… this. Wait, how did you know that?”

“I noticed when I met him yesterday. And I’m sorry. I think he’s changed because… he still loves you, too.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do? He hates me.” She looked so upset that Rose worried she might start screeching again. But she kept it together.

“You’re both afraid,” she added. “But it’s time to face our fears.” Bella smiled, and it was clear that she rarely ever smiled.

“You are very wise for a human,” she said.

Rose flushed. “I’ve just read a lot of romance books. But uh, one more thing… how do you know when you’ve found… love?”

Bella looked at her suggestively. “Your heart will lead you to them. And your head will always know. Trust your senses. Thank you, Rose. I’ll… try to talk to him.” Rose nodded in thanks, grinning.

“Good luck!” she called on the way out. “Oh, and another thing… you might be able to see all of him with your magic.” She winked. Rose waved, and left the theater, wondering what she meant.

Chapter Text

Rose left the theater, thinking about what Bella had said. All of him? What was she not seeing? His face…

“Is everything okay?” Slen asked. She searched him up and down. Your head will always know. A slight blush crept across her cheeks.

“Everything’s great,” she said. “You ready for this?”

“Definitely,” he smiled confidently. “I’ve been ready for this kind of action for four years.”

“What?”

“That’s how long it’s been. Since the apocalypse. Four years!”

She’d been living alone for almost half a decade. FOUR YEARS. Four whole, darn years. How on EARTH-

“I’m nineteen,” she said out loud.

“That’s pretty old. I’m 3,022. I’m so young. I have many years of youth ahead of me.” Despite her shock, she burst out laughing.

“You,” she choked through laughter,” are 3,022?”

He shrugged. “Pretty much. I know what year I was born in… I believe it was 999 BC? I just don’t know my birthday.” They were walking down the crumbling street back to Rose’s house, because they really had nowhere else to go. Ever so often, Slen would gently kick a pebble out of the way into the overgrown grass.

“You don’t know your birthday?” Rose asked. “I’m sorry. Birthdays are very fun, and I still remember mine- May 24th. Maybe we’ll make you a birthday.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. “And I don’t really need one.”

“We’ll see,” she said as they entered her house, and she plopped down on the couch. “Now I have to practice my magic.” Slen sat down on the plush carpet at the foot of the couch. They were close to the same height when they did this.

“Let’s start out simple… Allegra, (the most famous protector obviously) could make… sparkles.”

She stared at him. “Sparkles.”

“Oh, it was incredible! She would wave her hands and these purple sparkles would erupt from nowhere!”

“Alright,” she sighed, “but if this looks ridiculous, I’m blaming you.” He nodded encouragingly. She took a deep breath, and waved her hands. Once. Twice. Three times.

Nothing happened.

“How ridiculous did that-”

Royal blue sparkles shot out of Rose’s palms, sprinkling them both in a dusting of glitter. She stared at her hands in shock. But he scooped up some glitter and dusted it between his fingers in awe.

“You can do it, too,” he said quietly.

Her jaw dropped. “How long have I been able to…” the sparkles rushed around the room in spiraling patterns. They looped through her hair, around his arms, and across the ceiling.

Magically, her battery-powered CD player flicked on, thanks to her powers. A lively instrumental bluegrass tune floated through the room. “Dance,” Rose said quickly. She stood up and pulled him to his feet, and together they twisted and twirled with the glitter surrounding them. Slen took her hand, spun her around, and even dipped her. The dance eventually turned into a quick waltz, and for a second, they were dancing with the stars. Their outrageous height difference didn’t even matter. In the short period of time, Rose forgot. She forgot how everyone was dead. How she was destined to save them. How she was a protector. In that short period of time, it was just Slen and Rose- best friends, maybe more- dancing among the stars.

Finally the song ended, and started a different song. Nordic violins, a slow LOVE SONG, replaced the quick tone, and the dance slowed down. Finally, the two were just slow dancing. The sparkles gracefully dipped around them, as they waltzed in a galaxy. The song slowed down even more, and it happened once again. They gazed at each other, slowly getting closer and closer. A soft piano duet accompanied the violins, and the beautiful tune played as they got closer and closer to each other. They were right about to…

“What the hell are you doing.”

The CD player switched off, the sparkles disappeared, and Slen and Rose quickly stepped away from each other, nervously. In the doorway stood a horrified-yet-amused Bogey.

Chapter Text

“YOU LITTLE-” Slen began.

“How long have you been standing here?” Rose demanded coldly.

“Long enough to see Slenderman almost actually KISS a human while a cringey romance song was playing in the background with actual and literal sparkles surrounding them.” He slithered into the room, inspecting her.

“No wonder you didn’t die like the rest of your pathetic kind,” he spat. “You’re one of them. Allegra would be proud.” He was mocking her.

“Bogey, what are you DOING here?” Slen said.

“Making sure that our little protector over here was actually deceased, as SOMEONE claimed her to be,” he replied. “You traitor. I should have known.” His eyes flashed dangerously, and Rose took a step back. Slen seemed to sense her worry, so he quickly put himself between the two.

“Get out,” he said softly, but didn’t meet Bogey’s threatening face.

“How do you know?” Rose demanded. “That I’m a protector.”

“You are supposed to be dead. I killed every single human with my power. And you are not a human. You are, in all accounts, a protector.”

“I SAID, GET OUT!” Slen thundered, and his dark tendrils shot out of his back menacingly. She glanced at him in surprise, for she didn’t know he was capable of being so terrifying.

“Oh, you LIKE her, don’t you?” he sneered, his voice a sickly sweet. “No, worse. You love her. You’re OBSESSED WITH HER. Human and beast. What a forbidden romance.”

“I-” Slen began, utterly speechless. To Rose’s surprise, he wasn’t denying it. Well…

“OH, IF YOU CAN’T DO THIS, I’LL DO IT MYSELF!” Bogey screamed. Oh no. Slen was tall, but he was clearly taller and stronger. He roughly tackled Slen, and both of them hit the floor with a BOOM. Bogey’s tendrils wrapped around his neck and began to squeeze. Then, with an incredible force, Bogey used his tendrils to pick him up and pin him to the wall, being held up by the tendrils at his throat. A strangled noise escaped Slen’s mouth.

“NO! STOP! Bogey, STOP! LET GO OF HIM!” She fumbled in her desk drawer and pulled out her pocket-knife, the sharp blade pointed to Bogey’s tendrils. “Let. Him. Go.” It was a pathetic weapon, but it would have to do. Bogey actually laughed out loud.

“You think a tiny knife is going to stop ME?” While choking Slen up against the wall, Bogey began to advance on Rose.

“Rose,” Slen managed to croak. “Run, Rose-” Bogey’s tendrils tightened around his throat.

“I’m not leaving without you,” Rose snapped. “Now release him, or else.”

“Or else what, girl? You’ll try and stab me? I’m terrifying. I am everyone’s worst nightmare. And I’m about to become yours.” Bogey lunged at her, his cold hands about to crunch her neck. She heard Slen’s weak protests as the tried to fight against the strong tendrils.

“Stop, you- you’re hurting him,” Rose whispered.

“Oh, my dear, that was the idea.” She couldn't even use her magic to save them. So just as he was about to break her neck, she used their last hope.

“Bella,” she said so quietly she could have imagined it. Something flickered over Bogey’s face.

“What?” he hissed.

“Bella, is this what she would have wanted?” Bogey’s grip faltered on Slen, and he fell to the ground, choking and coughing. Relief poured into her. She would have ran to him if she could, but first she needed him to let go.

“Of course this is what she would have wanted,” Bogey sneered. “I’m doing this FOR HER. Once I kill you, we will finally be able to rule the world together.”

“She left you b- because she was s- scared,” Slen said weakly from the floor, but his voice confident. Rose’s pride ballooned. “She was scared that you were changing into something you’re not- a monster.”

“I’m not a- I’m doing this for the two of us! Don’t you see? I’m killing you all because I love her!”

“She said that you used to be different,” Rose continued. “And that was the Bogey she fell for. But ever since you became so POWER HUNGRY, she was scared that you had changed forever, and left you.” He released her neck to clamp his hands over his ears.

“It’s all true,” a quiet voice said from the doorway. Bella was standing there with her arms crossed, positively livid- and glaring harshly at Bogey. “What have you done?”

“B- Bella, I didn’t-” He stammered, never taking his eyes off her.

She ran to Slen’s side, and helped him sit up. He was still in a fit of coughing, but it seemed to slow down once he drank the water Bella had brought.

“Thank you,” he said hoarsely.

“What are you doing here?” Bogey asked nervously.

“Well, I thought about what you said,” she looked over at Rose, who smiled. “And I realized that I still love you, Bogey.”

Bogey actually dropped to his knees. “You… you…”

“But you’ve been scaring me. You almost willingly killed Slenderman and Rose. I can’t trust you.” She pulled some of her silver hair in front of her eyes self consciously.

“You can, you can trust me,” he begged. “Please, Maga.” She tensed at her nickname. (But then again, what kind of a nickname was MAGA?)

“I’m sorry, love,” she said coldly. She turned on her heel and the skirt of her gown flowed with her. With that, Bella left just as she had appeared… all at once, leaving everyone in silence.

Bogey took one look at them and fled, unable to live with what he had almost done. He clearly needed some time to be alone.

Chapter Text

“Well,” said Rose. “That worked… I suppose.” Slen went into another coughing fit, and she rushed to his side. “Hey, are you okay?”

“F- fine,” he whispered roughly, his voice weak. She cringed and looked examined the bruises on his neck.

“No, you obviously aren’t fine. I’m so sorry Slen, this is all my fault. I should have been more careful with hiding my tracks.” He waved her apology aside, snorting.

“This- is not- your- fault-” he managed.

“Shhhh.” It was a bruised windpipe, she realized. He needed to rest. Silently, she helped him stand and guided him to the bed. It was almost sunset, and he deserved to sleep. “If I could heal you, I would.” She felt his forehead with the back of her hand and pulled back in shock. He was burning up FAST. Did demons get fevers?

She soaked a towel in cool water and gently placed it on his forehead, and he seemed to relax a bit. Then, thinking that he was asleep, she locked her door with multiple locks a numerous amount of times, flicked off the lights, and climbed in bed next to him. He was quite warm, but she didn’t mind, and nuzzled into him.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Stop apologizing,” he whispered in reply. She was surprised and sat up.

“Slen, you have a bruised windpipe and an awful fever. You should get some rest.”

“We will discuss this in the morning,” he whispered, for it was the only talking he could do. Rolling her eyes, she nuzzled back into him arms and sank into a dreamless sleep.

Rose woke up the next morning next to a very sound and safe Slen. She smiled and tried to pry his arms off of her without waking him up. Once she escaped his grasp however, he stirred.

“Rose?” he asked, his voice tainted with sleep. He sounded a lot better, and the bruises on his neck were quickly fading. His fever had ended as well.

“I’m here,” she said.

As they ate their typical expired cereal breakfast, Slen sighed.

“Did he hurt you?” This startled Rose. She didn’t expect him to…

“No. He hurt you, though. How do you feel?”

“I’m fine. Besides, you should be more concerned about yourself.”

“Could have told you the same thing.”

“I told you to run. Why didn’t you?” For some reason, he sounded so angry when he asked this question, at her, at Bogey, at himself.

“I couldn’t leave you there with him. He would’ve killed you.”

“But he could’ve killed you if you stayed.”

“But he didn’t,” she protested.

“Do you know how scared that made me? To see him approaching you like that, and I couldn’t even protect you… my heart actually stopped, Rose. I thought that he was going to break your neck.”

“Well, it’s all over now. I’m okay. You’re okay. Bella’s okay. I don't think Bogey's okay, but who cares?"

“Fine,” he said in defeat, while choking down some expired Cheery-O’s. “But don’t ever scare me like that again, you hear?”

“It’s a deal… only if you promise the same.”

“Done.”

Chapter Text

Rose smiled. “I knew it.”

Slen cocked his head. “Knew what?”

“Bogey and Bella… I think getting them back together will be good for them.” Rose whipped away the empty bowls of cereal that they had forced down and cleaned them. Slen wiped off the coffee table and straightened the picture of Rose and her family.

“I agree,” he said, amd she could hear his smile. “Bogey… he used to be better, believe it or not. We used to be friends- Bogey, Bella, Mare and I. But Bogey eventually drifted away and became very hungry for power. Banshee was absolutely heartbroken. We could tell that she still loved him, but… well, you know…”

“Wait… who is MARE? Is she some crazy horse demon?” They were sitting on the couch now, and Rose was practicing her magic. She could levitate small objects like pencils.

Slen burst out laughing.

“No, she’s a pretty famous demon. I think you humans know her as… Bloody Mary, or something ridiculous like that…”

“Oh, I definitely know her. But if her name is Mary, why not call her Mary? Why do you call her Mare? And Bella and Bogey and YOU… Why don’t you use your demon names?”

“Well, we were grown to be ashamed of our demon-ness in hell,” he said. “First Bogey changed his name, then Mare, then me, and finally Bella. She really liked her name, and hasn’t exactly gotten used to it yet… she still calls me Slenderman, obviously.”

“That’s… nice. Suppose I’ll ever get to meet Mare?”

Slen chuckled. “I have no idea. The minute Bogey got us out of our prison she immediately went on an exploring spree- I think she’s traveling the world right now. One day, our group will reunite. If Bogey ever goes back to normal.”

“He will,” Rose said confidently. “He’ll learn. And if he doesn’t… well, we’re gonna bring the humans back, so he’s gonna have to get used to them.”

“Speaking of which,” he added as the coffee table began to levitate. “What were our steps again? To bring them back?” A small piece of paper caught her eye, and she snatched it up. It was in a loopy handwriting, and seemed to be a list. The steps from Bella.

“Step one- create an artifact that resembles my relationship with my favorite demon.” She glanced at him and he scratched the back of his head bashfully. She blushed and looked back to the paper. “Step two- suck some SOULS into the artifact… and step three: Offer the souls as a sacrifice.”

“Great. Where are we supposed to find SOULS? I mean-” Slen asked incredulously. A roar of some giant demon shook the room in response. Without thinking, Rose flinched and hopped off her side of the couch into Slen’s arms, nuzzling into him. His breath caught and he suddenly grew a bit tense. Sensing it, she awkwardly crawled out of his arms, giggling nervously.

“Sorry, involuntary response,” she said quickly. He didn’t seem to be paying attention. In fact, he was staring at his arms, where she had nuzzled into him.

“I didn’t mean-” he began.

“No, it’s my fault-”

“I shouldn’t have-”

“I’m sorry,” the finished at the same time. Then they looked at each other and laughed.

“So,” he said, desperately trying to change the subject. Rose had butterflies in her stomach, and wasn’t thinking clearly. She couldn’t even TOUCH him without feeling strange…

“Time to create an artifact.”

“Right,” she replied standing up, and twisted her hands thinking about forging something… and it actually was working.

“You- you’re doing it! Rose, you’re making something!” He shouted. He rose to his feet and watched her, elated.

“I know!” she cheered as she carefully crafted the round sides and pointy edges. Finally, she had made it… a small, stone-

“You made a…” Slen said softly, staring at it.

“A heart-shaped rock,” she said. “So that we’ll always be best friends.” Although he didn’t speak it was clear that he was touched by the artifact. He walked to her and she dropped the stone heart into his pale hand. He traced the edges of it, speechless.

“Best friends,” he whispered. He was so unused to kindness, she realized. He sniffed, and she noticed that he was crying. She smiled.

“I assume you like it, then?”

“I love it,” he said, and hugged her tightly. “I haven’t had a best friend in a really long time,” he added into her dark hair. Then she took the opportunity to nuzzle into his chest again, and this time he didn’t tense. They melted into each other. Rose closed her eyes, breathing in his wonderful Slen-ness. Finally she pulled away from him, but he seemed to be pained by the simple move. In fact, any loss of contact from her made him look… disappointed?

Oh.

Oh my.

Just to make sure, she place a cautious hand on his forearm and he practically leaned into her touch.

She almost fell back in realization. Slen… liked her.

As in… LIKE-LIKED her.

And she LIKE-LIKED him back.

“Well!” she breathed. Suddenly she could feel his strong arms wrapped around her waist, and was hyper-aware of every time he touched her. It all made sense now. How protective he was over her- how they WILLINGLY SLEPT WITH EACH OTHER- She glanced over to the family picture on the coffee table, and her eyes landed on her little brother, James. Oh dear God. She could only imagine the TEASING when he would return. Having a crush was enough. But having feelings that felt like MORE than a crush on a freaking DEMON?

Still a better love story than Twilight... dispite all the simillarities.

“Are you okay?” Slen asked gently, interrupting her racing thoughts and heart.

“Fine,” she replied breathlessly. “I’m fine.” She froze. She could actually HEAR his racing heart through his permanent demon suit. “Are… are YOU okay?” For a very brief moment his gaze seemed to flicker down to his chest, then to her lips. But it happened so fast, and it was so hard to tell because he had no face.

“Never better,” he said, and she could hear his smile through his words.

Chapter Text

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they stepped away from each other. Rose averted her eyes from… him and their FREAKING HEART SHAPED ROCK to the list Bella had written them. There was a post script scribbled at the bottom:

Use your magic, Rose. You will be able to see him.

She thought hard about how she had been able to use her magic before. She just… imagined what she wanted to happen, and it happened. Could she give him what he needed

So, she tried to perform her magic. She imagined Slen having a face, and squeezed her eyes shut. Come on, Rose. You’re a protector. You can do this.

“What are you DOING?” She heard him laugh. She opened her eyes… and actually fell.

HE HAD A FACE.

SHE HAD ACTUALLY GIVEN HIM HIS FACE BACK.

And boy, was he FINE.

His skin was still the pale white it had always been. His eyes were a brilliant bright blue, and they were the most beautiful eyes Rose had ever seen. His smile was perfect. He was perfect.

Except for one teensy problem. Now she was on the floor staring up at him in shock. There was something different about it- every demon she had met had a somewhat creepy face, even Bella. But he was so warm and kind, and his smiling eyes were so inviting she could just- Slen was totally unfazed by what had happened to his face. He was staring at her in confusion a smile playing at his lips. She couldn’t help but smile back, and for the first time ever, she gazed into his actual eyes. Slen quickly realized that something had happened to HIM, because she was staring directly at him. Normally, he thought it to be strange when people looked him in the eyes because he had no face.

“I- I-” Rose stammered, and her breath hitched.

He offered her a hand. “Alright, now I KNOW that something’s up. What is it?” She accepted his hand and stood to her feet, still not quite believing what she was seeing. She didn’t even know that she was teary-eyed until her vision started to blur. She couldn’t even speak, so she just threw her arms around him, overwhelmed with a happiness she couldn’t name.

“Rose?” he asked, and reluctantly pulled her closer to him.

She pulled back to look as his wonderful face. You can kiss him now, the barbaric part of her cheered. She turned red. Not like she had thought about kissing him.

Not really.

Well, she did a few times before she truly accepted her feelings-

“Look,” she said so happily that he laughed. She grabbed his hand (to their delight) and dragged him to the mirror on her wall.

“Oh,” he breathed. Tears filled his eyes now as he looked at himself. “Did you do this?” he whispered, to which she nodded, a small tear of happiness rolling down her cheek.

“How did you-” He covered his mouth with a hand, and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Oh, Slen,” she said fondly as she hugged him again.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou,” he practically shouted, and he picked her up and swung her around. The joy on his face was everything.

“I can finally see you!” she exclaimed. She gave him a final squeeze before letting go. “Ah, there he is, my partner in crime.” He grinned so mischievously that her heart fluttered.

“You ready to bring them back?” he asked finally.

“I’ve been ready for four years,” she replied. “But one more thing. She used her magic again, this time imagining him in different clothes. POP! His suit and tie was replaced with dark blue jeans, sneakers, and a black hoodie.

“Ha HA!” he shouted joyfully. “SO LONG, SUIT!” Then he turned serious and faced her. “No, really. Thank you, Rose. I- I haven’t seen my face in 3,000 years.”

“I’ve never seen it before at all,” she said, “and I think it’s lovely.” He blushed and looked away smiling, as the butterflies in her stomach flipped.

Chapter Text

“We need souls,” Rose said two hours later. They had taken their packed bags and went outside to collect some souls for sacrifice.

“Well, you are luckily talking to the frenemy of the greatest soul-snatcher in the world!”

“Not Bogey.”

His smile turned more into a grimace.

“Do NOT tell me that BOGEY is the greatest soul-snatcher in the world.”

“That’s what makes him so scary,” he offered. Rose threw her hands in the air, exasperated.

“Well then, what are we supposed to do? We need souls to sacrifice, and we both don’t know how to snatch them.”

Slen stared at her, sighed, and broke into a small smile.“I hate you.” She shrugged half-apologetically, grinning.

“Sorry.”

“BOGEY! I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE! GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW, YOU-” Slen began at the entrance of Bogey’s cave. Suddenly, Bogey’s face appeared at the entrance out of nowhere, scaring the daylights out of both of them.

“What could you possibly want, you- OH MY GOD, YOU HAVE A FACE!”

Slen, who had practically fallen over in surprise steadied himself and actually rolled his eyes. Rose couldn’t help but smile. Even THAT was adorable. “Very good, Bogey!” he said sarcastically, clapping his hands. “Obviously I have a face, genius. It’s just been invisible this whole time. Plus I lost the suit!” Bogey seemed to examine him, and some spark of recognition flickered in his eyes.

“I remember that face,” he said simply. Slen nearly smiled and averted his attention to the floor. Then it passed, and their stares both returned to their original cold selves. “Now what do you want?”

“We need your help,” Rose cut in urgently. He laughed, but it lacked humor, and crawled out of his cave. Yep, creepy old Bogey who spent most of his time in the shadows.

“What, is this all a part of your little charade to bring the humans back?” He waved his hands around sarcastically. “Well, here’s some news to you: I genuinely do NOT care.” Looking exhausted, he massaged his temples, frowning.

“It’s not a charade. We’re going to bring them back!” she protested. “But we need you.”

“Do you now?” he hissed. “Listen, girl. I could kill you at any time, and unfortunately, so could Slen. You are RUINING my plans, and I’m still sparing you. But eventually, I’m gonna run out of mercy.”

“Is that actually a THREAT?” Slen snapped, putting a hand on her shoulder protectively. She flushed.

“I don’t need your pity,” she spat. “I just want to see my family again. Please.” For a split second, something flashed across his face. Maybe regret, pity, or even empathy. Then he turned his back to them.

“I don’t care,” he bit out.

“Bella does.”

He whirled around, looming over them menacingly. “I am NOT discussing this with you again.”

“Why not?” Slen asked. “”Too ASHAMED to accept that she still has feelings for you?” He covered his ears.

“Stop!”

“Bella would want you to do the right thing,” Rose added. “THIS is the right thing. Helping us! Make her proud.”

“This is not about what BELLA would want me to do,” he said weakly.

“You’re right, it’s not. It’s about YOU making a decision. A very important decision, one I failed many years ago.” Slen said softly. Rose gently nudged him, as if to say, it’s okay.

“And what’s that?” Bogey finally said after a few moments of hesitating.

“You can either be a villain or a hero to many. Your choice will tell.”

Bogey looked at him, cautiously. “Does she know?”

“Yes. I told her.” Slen replied quietly.

“He hasn’t talked about that in YEARS,” he stage-whispered to Rose, who raised an eyebrow. “You must really matter to him.” Her heart leapt. He… really cared about her, then. She couldn’t help but blush. Then he turned back to Slen.

“Hey, technically what you did didn’t make you the villain, per say…” Bogey said. Slen stared at him, and smile daring to show.

“Did you just… stand up for me?” he asked.

“I’m just saying.”

“Well, killing that man was not the answer. It wasn’t the right thing.”

“It still sounded pretty badass,” Rose offered.

“It was. I witnessed the whole thing firsthand,” Bogey replied coolly.

“Bogey…” Slen hissed through gritted teeth.

“No, really. Everybody saw it. He released his tendrils and had at it.” He was nearly smiling.

“So, is that a yes?” Slen asked, desperate to change the subject. Bogey looked for some excuse, but it was too late. Rose even did her best puppy-dog eyes, hoping that she looked vulnerable enough to a demon.

“Oh… FINE!” he said in defeat. “But just one thing. I’m not doing this whole rescue mission, okay?”

“YAY!” Rose cheered, just as he groaned. “You will not regret this.”

“Try telling that to my gut.”

Chapter Text

It was late afternoon when they arrived at the forest. Rose hadn’t actually been to the forest since the apocalypse in fear of seeing demons. To her surprise, it looked even better than it did when the humans lived there.

“This forest is wonderful!” she said, running a hand against the firm bark of a tree.

“It’s truly been thriving without the humans,” Slen agreed.

“I hate wildlife,” Bogey muttered under his breath.

“Why? It’s beautiful.” Rose giggled as a curious squirrel inspected her to make sure she was safe. Then it climbed onto Slen’s head.

“Hello,” he told the squirrel, trying not to laugh. He finally jumped from Slen’s head to Bogey’s shoulder.

“GET OFF OF ME, RAT,” he hissed. The squirrel happily perched on his shoulder, and Rose and Slen burst out laughing.

“That’s not a rat, it’s a squirrel,” Rose said. “And he likes you.”

“Well I DESPISE IT! Would you leave me alone?!” He shot them a helpless look as the squirrel didn’t budge from his shoulder.

“Come on. The demons live further into the forest,” Slen said. Bogey scoffed.

“Well, what am I supposed to do with this?”

Rose shrugged. “I don’t know. Keep it?” He snorted, scooped up the squirrel, and tossed it carelessly into a tree.

They traveled farther into the bramble. “Okay, here’s the plan- steal the souls of 10 wild demons, and place them in this stone heart,” Rose began. She avoided looking at Slen when she mentioned the artifact to control her racing heart. “Then, we-”

CRACK.

Everyone’s heads shot up at once. There was a demon behind them, hiding. Slen subconsciously stepped in front of Rose protectively.

“Who’s there?” His voice was so sharp that even Bogey looked at him in surprise.

“Me,” came a soft Irish voice.

“Bella,” Bogey breathed.

She emerged from the trees, pulling twigs and leaves out of her long hair. Although she was flushed, she still looked effortlessly beautiful.

She smiled when she saw Slen’s face. “You took my advice,” she said happily. Then to him, “lovely, as always, Slenderman.”

He smiled. “What are you DOING here?”

She glanced over to Bogey, who opened his mouth, but nothing came out. She totally had him paralyzed. “Well, I went to… apologize to someone,” she said carefully. Bogey choked on air.

Slen and Rose shared an oh, dear look.

“... And I found someone else.”

A demon who looked to be about her little brother James’s age emerged from the trees. She had long, black hair, about the same length as Bella’s, pale white skin like Slen and Bogey, and completely black eyes. She was wearing a nice red sundress, probably from her travels. At first, everyone was staring at her. Thinking it was the dress, she blushed and snapped to change to a white, flowy gown. But it wasn't the dress they were staring at.

“Hey,” she said.

“MARE!” Slen and Bogey shouted in unison as they ran over to her, crushing her with bear hugs.

“Ow… OW, yeesh, I missed you guys too!” she was laughing, trying to pry herself out of their crushing grips.

“Don’t kill her already, she just got here!” Bella called. She smiled, shaking her head. “Mare is like the little sister of the group. If there’s truly anyone who can bring us back together, it’s her.”

“Bella, help me,” a strangled Mare screeched through laughter. Bella stood up to free her poor friend.

The more Rose studied them tackling each other and falling over laughing made her heart swell. They were like a strange, dysfunctional family. But it was clear that they had a sibling-like relationship. She thought of her own brother, James, and a pang filled her heart. She’d see him soon. But yet, seeing them together made her feel like she was looking like a family again. It filled her up. For a second, she forgot that Bogey and Slen were currently angry with each other as Bogey playfully punched his arm. Bella looked like the older sister, trying to maintain order when there was none.

Her eyes rested on Slen. Handsome, perfect Slen who made her feel like somebody after four years.

Then, they all looked up to see Rose watching them, a sad smile on her face. They quickly got up.

“Hi, my name is Mare,” Mare said, quickly introducing herself.

“Rose,” she replied blankly. Mare offered her a smile, before they all seemed to understand the sadness in her eyes. Slen walked over to her.

“We’ll bring them back,” he whispered to her. “I promise.”

“You all are so old, now,” Mare said. “And Bogey and Bella, I didn’t know that you two got back together.”

As Bogey and Bella quickly tried to explain themselves, Mare examined Slen and Rose.

“And Slen, I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”

“I TOLD YOU!” Bogey called. “I KNEW THAT YOU TWO WERE A DESTINED COUPLE!”

Damn it.

“Oh, actually, we’re not an actual thing,” Rose said, wincing at how many times she used the word actually.

“She’s just a friend,” Slen stammered quickly. They locked eyes and a sudden warmth filled her body. “A very good friend.”

Mare sent a very knowing and annoying look to Bogey and Bella, who nodded in return.

“Anyway, why on EARTH are you out here in the middle of the forest?” Bella asked, brushing dirt out of her and Mare’s hair.

“We need help snatching souls to sacrifice so we can bring back the humans,” Slen explained. “Demon souls. So, Bogey promised to help us snatch some wild ones.”

“You’re bringing the humans back? Sweet. I’d like to compliment them on their architecture. I’ll help.” Mare replied.

“I will help as well,” Bella said. “After all, I was taught how to snatch souls from the best.” She and Bogey actually gazed at each other for a ridiculous amount of time.

“Aww,” Mare whispered. “They still love each other after all.” It wasn't the sentance that made Rose burst out laughing- it was the way Bogey started choking on air.

Chapter Text

“AHEM,” Slen said gently. They couple quickly looked away, laughing nervously. She looked at Slen, and they grinned at each other. Seemed too familiar.

“Right,” Bogey said. “So, what are we gonna do with the souls once we snatch them?”

“Oh, right! Put them in here,” Rose said. She pulled the heart-shaped rock out of her bag. Bella stared at the rock.

“Okay,” they replied.

“Catch as many as you can in three hours!” Rose called as they ran into the forest. Bella stayed behind.

“THIS described your relationship with your favorite demon?” she asked.

“Shush and go get the souls,” she said, grinning. Then they both took off in different directions- Rose heading towards Slen. She finally spotted him behind a tree, his slender body able to hide behind it. His tendrils were twirling menacingly, but he was grinning as he locked eyes on his target- HER.

“No!” Rose said, laughing as his tendrils scooped her up and carried her to him. As much as she squirmed, she couldn’t escape his grip. “Put me down, you!”

He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Nope, I like you here with me.” She saw him cringe as he said the words. They sounded very cheesy, but she just rolled her eyes, smiling.

“You’re supposed to be catching souls,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“But I’ve already caught the most wonderful soul of all,” he said softly as they got lost in each other’s eyes. She blushed, and they slowly began to close the gap between them.

“Slen?” she asked, her voice barley above a whisper. He was cradling her in his arms now, not his tendrils. Their foreheads were nearly touching, and she could smell the wonderful spices on his breath. But all she could look at were his brilliant blue eyes, staring back at her.

“Yeah?” he asked, and pulled her body up against his.

They were so close. She could feel her face getting hot, and the butterflies in her stomach were in hysterics. Hands trembling, she released his neck and cupped his face. Her heart was racing now.

And finally, FINALLY she closed the gap between them. Her lips gently pressed up against his, and he breathed a sigh of pure happiness against her. The kiss escalated, and soon they were sweaty and panting.

“Slen,” Rose said breathlessly against his lips. He hummed in response, kissing her again. He truly could not get enough of her, and it was clear that he had wanted to do this for a very long time. Finally she pulled away, but he sighed at the loss of her contact.

“You,” he whispered, “are perfect.”

“How long have you wanted to do this?” she asked, giggling as he kissed her again, harder this time.

“A very long time,” he admitted through kisses.

By the time she pulled away again, he couldn’t stand it any longer, obviously getting weak. He gently set her down and leaned on the tree for support, but grabbed her face desperately.

“You’re going to just about be the death of me,” he said.

“I need you,” she said. Finally, he released her face, and just stared at her, smiling. Then he took a deep breath.

“I love you,” he said quietly. “I am in love with you, Rose. I know it might be awful because you’re a human and I’m a demon, but you… I can’t get enough of you-” She silenced him with a kiss, her heart pounding.

“I’m in love with you, too,” she said gently. “You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met. These past few days… I thought that I was gonna be alone forever. You have truly saved me, Slen. And I love you so much.”

“Our time together has undoubtedly been the best of my life. You saved me. I hated myself and you saved me. Just… promise me one thing?” She grabbed his hands and leaned against him, shutting her eyes.

“Anything.”

“Well… when we bring the humans back… just don’t forget, okay? I don’t think I can ever live without you.” Something in her jolted, and she quickly pulled away.

“What do you mean?” she asked slowly. “It’s not like anyone’s ever showed any interest in me except YOU. I’m yours, and you’re mine. How could I ever forget you?”

“Not like that,” he rolled his eyes. “I don’t think the humans will accept us. Us demons, us as a couple, you know… people just can’t live with their fears.” Something in her swelled. Us as a couple. But it all melted when she realized that he was right.

“Where are you going to go?” she whispered fearfully.

He sighed. “I don’t- I don’t know yet. But we’ll figure something out. And anyway, I don’t want you care about me, okay? We’re going to be just fine.”

“I’m going to be caring about you until the day I die,” she laughed. “I love you SO much.”

“And I love you too, Rose,” he said quietly, and they stood together for a very long time. Finally, when he assumed that she wasn’t listening, he added a soft, “forever and always.” But she heard, and just nuzzled into his chest even more.

Chapter Text

Bella and Bogey returned to their spot holding hands and laughing. In his other hand, Bogey was clenched onto multiple shining blue lights. Rose held out the heart and let the souls absorb into it, without casting a second glace to the two. Mare kept casting suggestive looks to them, but they didn’t seem to care. Mare had done well- 14 souls in total. And Bogey and Bella had caught 6.

For some strange reason, Slen and Rose only caught three.

“We just couldn’t find any,” he explained, although his slightly pink face and frequent glances at Rose obviously proved otherwise. She smiled unconvincingly.

“Anyway, twenty-three souls should totally be enough,” she said, desperate to change the subject. “Right?”

“I believe so,” Bogey said. “Now you just need to offer them as a sacrifice.”

“To whom?” she asked. Slen squirmed uncomfortably, and Mare coughed. Even scary old BOGEY looked downright nervous.

“Well,” Bella said, clearly trying to make the news sound… better, “the demon king, who hypothetically killed them.”

Slen shot Bogey a look. “I thought you killed them.”

“I most certainly did NOT," he snapped. "If the demon king told you I did, I swear to god...” Rose’s hard feelings for Bogey softened, but she became more tense about facing the whole freaking demon king.

“You- you didn't?” Bella whispered, and she took a closer step to him.

“We’ll be happy to help you,” Mare interrupted. Rose smiled gratefully, but shook her head.

“As helpful as you guys have been, we need to do this alone. Why don’t you guys… find a cave to live in? The humans aren’t good at living with their fears.” They all laughed at this, knowing well that they could never show their faces after the humans returned.

“Goodbye, Slenderman,” Bella said, embracing him. “You’d better surprise that awful demon king.”

“I will,” he said confidently. Then Bella gently embraced Rose.

“Come visit,” she said.

“Every day,” she promised.

Mare ran to them, squeezing both of them in a giant bear hug. “GOOD LUCK! And please be careful. Please.”

“We’ll be back before you know it,” Slen replied with a grin.

Bogey walked up to both of them. “Don’t die.”

“We’ll try not to,” Rose said.

He stuck out his hand to Slen. “Come back soon.” Slen’s face lit up, and he happily shook Bogey’s hand.

“Stay safe!” Rose wished them, as Slen and her walked out of the woods. They finally reached Rose’s house. The sun was sinking now, and all they wanted to do was sleep.

“Tomorrow,” Slen said. “We’ll save them tomorrow.” She smiled, and kissed him as he fumbled to open the door.

As they climbed into bed, Slen looked quite crestfallen.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“This is our last night together,” he said softly. “Ever. I’ll never be able to just come over… nevertheless sleep with you.” She squeezed her eyes shut, and just put her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“You’ll never know how much I love you,” he said while gently stroking her hair. That just made her hold him closer. And together, they drifted off into a final, peaceful sleep.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Rose woke up with a rush of excitement pulsing through her body. Four long years she had gone without seeing her family. The planet was in an awful condition, but they could fix that. Then her glance directed to Slen, who was still asleep. Typical. She kissed him, and he opened an eye groggily.

“Whattimeisit?” he slurred. She giggled.

“It’s time to save the humans, sleepyhead,” she replied. He sat up straight, abruptly.

“So it’s time,” he repeated.

They ate the very expired Cheery-Os, like always.

“This can’t be goodbye forever,” Rose finally said. He stared at her, incredulously.

“It’s not,” he said. “You can always visit me. We just can’t… be together.” He finished flatly.

“My father should let you stay,” she said quickly. “He loves guests, and you all would be no different-”

“Rose-”

“And my brother James, he loves demons and monsters. He’ll surely welcome you immediately…”

“Yes, but-”

“You can stay with us,” she half pleaded. He looked at her and sighed.

“We can’t,” he said, his voice raw. “They’ll never accept us. They’ll kill us for science. You know I’m right. I love you so much, but I can’t hurt you, Rose. This is for our own good.”

“I- I know,” she said, her voice wavering. “Fine. Then I’m visiting you every single day, no acceptions. And we’re still making up a birthday for you.”

His eyes shone.

An hour later, they walked outside, heart-shaped rock in hand. “How on Earth do I-?” Rose asked. Slen held up a hand.

“Allow me.” He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, “KING GARY, ALL MIGHTY KING OF DEMONS AND RULER OF EARTH, WE PRESENT A SACRIFICE IN ORDER TO BRING THE HUMANS BACK!” Rose couldn’t help but burst out laughing. The king’s name was Gary?

“WHO DARES DISTURB MY SLUMBER- oh, it’s you,” a voice said from underground. He had been asleep that whole time? A hand shot up from the ground. Then another. With a loud rumble, a red demon pulled his way out of the ground. He was gigantic. Godzilla gigantic. She paled and stepped away.

“Your majesty,” Slen said, bowing deeply, but it was laced with sarcasm. He nudged Rose, who self-consciously did a small curtsy. “We uh, the sacrifice-”

He was interrupted by a loud yawn that erupted from the lazy king. “Hmm? Sacrifices?”

“We were told that if we sacrifice souls, you’d bring the humans back,” Rose explained. She offered him the stone, but he waved it away.

“Why on EARTH would you want to bring those buffoons back? We’re doing so well without them.”

“It's my duty to, your majesty,” she replied quietly. He looked down, and his red eyes grew wide.

“A PROTECTOR,” he hissed coldly. “I thought that you all died. Well, I’m still not bringing them back.”

“My name is Rose, and it is my duty as a protector to avenge and summon my people back,” she said courageously. Gary’s eyes flashed dangerously, but Slen looked at her proudly, a huge smile on his face. “I know you can. Here are your sacrifices. Now do it.”

He uttered one word without andy remorse: “No.”

“You can’t do that! We’ve come all this way-” Slen started.

“I WILL NOT tolerate any arguments against my word,” he snapped. “I said, NO.” Red beams of electricity flashed dangerously around his face, and Slen backed away, thinking she had done the same.

“Well, I say YES,” Rose replied. Slen stared at her, realized that she had apparently not backed up to be safe.

“Rose. What are you doing?”

“I have power. And if you won’t bring them back, I’ll figure out HOW.”

Gary had clearly had enough. He reached a gigantic hand down and scooped her up, squeezing her. She choked and coughed, nearly suffocating. He was going to crush her in his grasp.

“NO!” Slen shouted. His tendrils wrapped around the king’s fingers, prying them off her. “LET HER GO! LET- HER- GO!” Rose’s vision was starting to blur. She started seeing black dots, and Slen’s screams grew more and more quiet.

The last thing she heard was Slen’s broken cries, shouting her name. Her heart broke. Then she tried to use her magic for the last time. She imagined Gary dropping down, dead, his grip retracting, and being FREE-

And he plummeted to the ground right as she was about to black out. Then at the last minute she could breathe. She was on the ground and manages to scurry out of the dead demon’s hand, choking and coughing. Tears were streaming down her face from the pain. Finally, she collapsed in a heap, her eyes squeezing shut.

Chapter Text

“Please be alright,” Slen said, his voice cracking. He was at her side immediately, gathering her in his long arms. “Please please please please please.”

She took a trembling hand and cupped half his face. A sigh of relief escaped him, and he leaned into her touch.

“I’m- fine,” she whispered, finally able to breathe. “But I don’t think GARY is.”

“Screw him,” he said, laughing as he hugged her tightly. “You scared the life out of me. Don’t you ever do that again, understand?”

“I love you,” she said half apologetically. He grinned.

“Love you too,” he said, then glanced over at the fallen king. “You killed him.” She glanced down to the enormous corpse on the ground.

“What are we gonna do? I killed him. I… oh, no.”

“It’s fine. We’ll… think of some other way to bring them back.”

“I don’t even think my magic can bring them back.”

“Well, surly your magic can do SOMETHING.” Just then, a deep, rumbling groan arose from the floor. Their blood ran cold as Gary sat straight up, his demon eyes RED. Rose paled. Her magic hadn’t been strong enough to kill him... Yay. She wasn't a murderer after all.

“Stay back,” Slen warned. “We don’t want any trouble. We just want to bring them back.”

“Why?” he said weakly.

“Earth is dying without them,” Rose pleaded.

“It was dying with them, too.”

“Please.”

Gary sighed a too-final last breath and fell to the ground again. As his hand hit the grass, a large stand appeared from nowhere. They gasped. He… was allowing them to bring the humans back! And he was also dead. So that was unfortunate.

“He-” Slen said, staring at the stand. The stand was made of pure, shining gold with a heart-shaped indent in the middle. Rose glanced at their sacrificial artifact.

“It says something,” Rose said. Around the dent were words carved into the gold. “Si illis est quod desiderabis, valete revertentur.”

“It’s Latin,” Slen said, tracing a white finger over the letters. “But I have no idea what it means.”

“Look!” Rose pointed to the bottom of the stand. “Amor verus semper triumphat- Allegra et Rome.”

“What?” He whispered, his voice suddenly thick. “Allegra and Rome…”

“They left you a message,” she said softly. “I wish we knew what it meant.” His eyes lingered a bit too long on the message, welling with a few tears.

“I think it means that they aren’t mad at me anymore,” he admitted. She smiled at how happy he seemed, like a huge weight had been lifted off of his chest. Then his face fell slightly. “Well… this is it, Rose.”

“Together?”

“Together.”

They both gingerly placed the stone into it’s place on the stand, they’re fingers entwining.

“Whatever happens, I love you,” he stated, leaning down to meet her eyes. She smiled.

“You’re perfect just the way you are,” she said. “Never forget that.” Then they were kissing as a light overtook the Earth, blinding everyone. He held her closer to him and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. If it was possible, the light got even brighter. Then it went away… but a wind started. A horrible, calming wind. A horrible awful feeling overtook them and they pulled back, alarmed at the strong gusts. Dark clouds blanketed them, swirling above everyone.

Then Rose’s breath hitched. Slen was… dissolving.

The wind was blowing off pieces of him- his clothes, his skin… HIM. And it was turning into ash and blowing away. He looked into her eyes, pure regret on his face.

“Slen?” she asked, her voice rising. “Slen, what are you- Slen. SLEN, STOP!” He looked so helpless and smiled at her sadly as he started to waist away faster and faster. He was getting so thin- soon he would be gone-

“WHAT’S HAPPENING TO YOU?” She couldn’t tell if she was screaming as tears began to streak down her face. “Please, don’t go! I can’t- I NEED YOU, SLEN… Stop, please!” Tears filled his eyes and he bit his lip, obviously trying not to break. His eyes flickered behind her, and she turned around to see Mare, Bella and Bogey.

They were almost gone. They’re bodies were so thin that they were nearly invisible, and yet they were still disintegrating, their ash blowing away in the strong wind. Bogey and Bella were holding hands, and Mare had her arms around them. They were all smiling the same, sad smile.

"You did it!” Bella’s nearly inaudible voice cheered. Finally, they were just a pile of ash… nothing but ash… and the wind blew them away.

“NO! NO!” Rose screamed. She turned back to her one and only Slen, who looked so… heartbroken. “Slen, please don’t go. What’s happening?” He was so small, almost completely gone. She knew damn well what was happening. All the demons needed to die in order to bring them back.

“Humans can never live with their fears,” he said so quietly that she cried even harder. Finally, with his so thin, very weak arms, he pulled her close to him.

“What? I was never afraid of you,” she sobbed into his fragile chest. “Stay with me, please… Don’t go, I need you, I love you so much.”

“I’m… never… gone,” he whispered roughly, placing his hand over her heart, smiling sadly. She squeezed her eyes shut as Slenderman blew away with the wind. He was no more.

Chapter Text

Ash.

She cried so hard, the pain unbearable as the wind stopped, the Earth was calm, and he was gone. She fell to the ground, screaming.

He’s gone. Slen’s gone.

Her one and only. Her true love. His name was written on her heart. She cried even HARDER and pulled at her hair, trying to stop the underlying pain in her heart.

Then something wavered her sobs for a split second. She opened her eyes just a crack to see a man walking towards her.

A human.

Broken, tired Rose sat up. She was still outside her house. It was raining. And there were people. Everywhere.

But there was one outlier- no, two- A man and a boy, both oddly familiar. They were running towards her. She wiped away tears and stood up to face them.

“ROSIE! ROSE!”

Her brother James got there first. He looked exactly as she had remembered him, four years ago. No... he was a bit older. He launched himself into her, pulling her into a giant bear hug. More tears spilled out of her eyes, just as her father reached them, joining the hug.

“Oh, Rose,” he was saying over and over.

After a very long time, they pulled back. James stared at her in shock.

“You’re OLD,” he said. She tried to smile.

“You look just like your mother,” her father told her.

They exchanged more hugs, more tears, but Rose still seemed the same. Happy, but somehow… not. Overjoyed… but heartbroken.

And she refused to explain anything. When her father asked about the rest of her house, she didn’t say anything about demons. When people asked her what happened, she shrugged. She didn’t know how they came back. She didn’t know why she didn’t die. She didn’t know why Ms. Sylvia’s garden was in perfect condition (probably just the bees). She didn’t know why there were large claw marks all over Mr. Fletcher’s shed, or why the city looked like there was a zombie apocalypse. She didn’t know why half of the Earth was falling apart, or what had inhabited it.

She didn’t say anything when Ms. McChesney questioned all the ash scattered around the ground everywhere. She didn’t say anything when Mrs. and Mr. Keaton discovered, in the remains of their crumbling city, that the movie theater was still in pristine condition- well, one room. She especially didn’t say anything when James picked up half a rock- it looked like a broken heart- and placed it down gently again.

Although everyone thought she should be so happy, she wasn’t. She was so… sad. And refused to tell anyone WHY.

A few days passed. It would definitely take many years to get the world back to normal. So many people were homeless. Every town looked like an earthquake/tornado passed through. And Rose was in the middle of it.

Finally, after a few days, she excused herself from the table. They had turned her bedroom into a house for her family and a few of their neighbors for the time being.

“Are you alright, Rosebud?” Her father asked. She smiled weakly at the name.

“I’m fine. Just… having everyone back is a little overwhelming. I’m gonna get some air.”

“Of course.”

She ran outside into the fresh night air, walking down the abandoned streets. Finally, she reached the place where a part of her died. In the place of the stand with the Latin messages was a stone grave.

She had never seen it before.

In bold letters, it read:

NEVER FORGET. - B, B, M, & S

“I won’t,” she promised, her voice cracking. “I won’t.”

Then she considered something.

But she couldn’t. Wouldn’t.

But perhaps…

“Allegra,” she began softly. “I don’t even know if you’re listening. I’m just so, so…” Her voice caught. “So lost without him. I've already lost my mom, and then my dad and my brother, and now him. I can't take it anymore."

“I know that I shouldn’t be talking to you about this, but… I need him. I know that you know how it feels. To lose someone so… important to you.”

“I just want to see him, one more time. I just want to tell him…” She was nearly crying. “To tell him that I love him.”

She couldn’t cry anymore. No more tears would fall. She’d spent them already.

“Slen…” she choked. “I’m so, so sorry.” She could almost see his blue eyes still, so full of love and understanding. She knelt down, burying her face in her hands.

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder, a very comforting touch.

“Dad?”

No answer. Confused, she stood up and spun around, but no one was there.

“Slen?”

Still no answer.

It was dark and very hard to see, but she could have SWORN that there was someone standing in the shadows, watching her. Her heart leaped. But when she ran into the shadows, there was no one there. She could have hit herself.

“He’s gone,” she reminded herself sadly as she walked back home.

Chapter Text

That night, she was in bed. Her room was her closet, while her dad and brother shared the bathroom as their bedroom. The neighbors took the main bedroom. It was dark, but she couldn’t sleep. Mainly because there was CLEARLY someone standing in her room, watching her. She could only see a silhouette, but it felt and looked so strangely… RIGHT.

Something in her jolted. “Hello?” she called.

A quiet sigh could be heard from the corner.

This was how she first met him, she realized.

So scared to ruin the moment, she nervously said, “Slen?”

But then she blinked, and the silhouette was gone.

Mentally scolding herself, she sadly drifted off to sleep.

The next night, she woke up at midnight.

There was no silhouette in her room to her disappointment, and everyone was asleep. She reached for her battery powered radio and turned it on as the instrumental bluegrass tune she and Slen had danced to turned on. God, she missed him so much. She curled up on her mattress, the empty bed practically mocking her. She was so depressed she couldn’t even CRY anymore.

“This is all my fault,” she said aloud. “I shouldn’t have… I had no idea it would kill you.”

Every bleak day was the exact same. Get up, help the community recover. Sometimes she would have time to go sit by their grave in silence, but most of the time she was working. At this point, she liked work. It helped take her mind off… things. Two whole months passed. She began to regain her relationship with her family, but still acted somewhat distant.

Her family was very concerned about her. Finally, her brother sat her down.

“Something’s wrong,” he said.

“No, I’m fine,” she replied blankly.

“You’re not acting like Rosie,” he stated. She shrugged.

“Just tired is all,” she sighed. He glared at her.

“That’s not true! I haven’t seen you this sad since Mommy died. What happened?!”

“Nothing happened, James! I’m fine, okay? Just… I need some space.”

She stormed off into the forest, wiping beads of sweat of her head. What was WITH her lately?

That night, she nuzzled into something that felt and smelled a lot like Slen. She heard breathing. She even felt the mattress shift from the extra weight. But she was far too scared to say anything or open her eyes. So she nuzzled into the Slen-like thing, and smiled in her sleep.

Somehow, when she woke up, it was still there. She couldn’t let herself open her eyes. She was probably hallucinating from grief. And yet she could feel his arm around her, and she was hugging him close.

It had to be him.

She could hear him freaking BREATHING.

Cautiously, she opened an eye.

There was nothing there. The breathing seemed to stop. She didn’t feel anything anymore, and felt the same cold emptiness.

“WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO ME?!” she whisper-screamed.

The next night, she woke up at midnight to see not one, but FOUR silhouettes standing in her room. Her heart started pounding. A tall, skinny one. An even TALLER skinny one. One with long hair. A shorter one with long hair. She hadn’t seen them in TWO MONTHS.

She didn’t dare speak. She just stared at them. And they stared back. It was so dark that she could keep her eyes open without anyone noticing.

“This feels very… not okay,” said a smooth, female Irish voice.

Her heart practically stopped.

“It’s fine. She’s asleep.” Bogey’s voice said.

“Exactly.” Bella again.

Rose’s heart was pounding in her chest. They were HERE. Somehow, they were HERE. And they were OKAY.

“Would you shush? It’s not as bad as what SLEN did last night,” Mare giggled. “And you thought THIS was weird.”

Slen was here. Her love was here.

“I really missed her, alright?” Slen’s voice. So he HAD crawled into bed with her last night. She wanted to call out to him, and tell him she loved him. She wanted him to hold her. She wanted to kiss him.

But she couldn’t. They might disappear again. Tears filled her eyes. She hadn’t been able to cry in days, but now she was truly happy.

“Maybe we should wake her up,” Bogey said loudly.

“No!” Bella hissed, obviously clamping a hand over his mouth. “Let her sleep.”

“I’m awake,” Rose said. She cringed, realizing what she had done. But they didn’t disappear. They stayed.

“You-” Slen began, but she jumped out of bed, flicked on her battery-lamp, and launched herself at him. He made some sort of laughing/choking/crying noise and they were hugging. She ran into his arms with such force that they both fell over. Both were obviously crying.

“Hi,” he said shakily. They refused to let go of each other. It had been two whole months. She finally could breath, and everything around her was perfect. Slen was here. He was somehow HERE. After what seemed like hours, she finally let him go. He looked the exact same- even the same CLOTHES. Her eyes drifted to the others, who were staring at them with amused expressions. She was absolutely speechless. They were…

“You- you’re okay,” she breathed, smiling genuinely for the first time in a very long time. “How are you… am I dreaming?”

Everyone laughed. “You’re awake, and of course we’re okay. We had to stick around and annoy you.” Bogey grinned. He helped her up. “Missed you, human-girl.” She smirked before she was yanked away by Bella.

“You did it! You brought them back!” she exclaimed. “I am very proud of you!”

“Thanks, Bella,” she replied, hugging her friend.

“WE MISSED YOU!” Mare screeched. “Especially that one.” (She motioned to Slen, who was now back on his feet… and blushing MADLY.) “He’s been practically beside himself since the whole dying-ash thing.”

“I’m standing RIGHT HERE,” he added flatly.

“He really loves you,” Bogey stage-whispered. “I swear all he ever did was fuss and worry and talk about YOU.”

“Yeah, he’s fallen hard,” Bella agreed. Rose flushed and turned to him.

“Is that so?” she asked, definitely flirting with him. IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. He raised an eyebrow suggestively.

“What? You aren’t willing to accept my dashing good looks?”

“You look great,” she giggled. The others looked at each other with THAT look. Then she turned serious. “But really, I think you all gave me a long lasting depression. I WANT DETAILS.”

“We died,” Bogey stated calmly.

“Bogey!” Bella gasped. “We were going to break the news to her slowly, remember?”

“I’m well aware you DIED. Do you know how SAD I’ve been for the past two months?” Slen’s jaw dropped.

“I haven’t seen you in… two months…” he said.

“Well, when we died, we went back to that stupid hell-thing. Same old same old, dumb hell dimension for demons.” Mare rolled her eyes. “I hate that place so much.”

“Allegra came to visit us, blabbing abut how heartbroken you were that we… (HE) was gone, so she gave us another chance.” Bogey added.

Rose stared at them. “She- what?”

“She said that it wasn’t our fault that we died. And that you really missed uh, HIM. So she eventually let us go, except we’ve been too weak adjusting until… now.” Mare smiled. Rose turned a bright shade of red and twirled a curl self-consciously. Slen caught her eye and blushed, but both of them were smiling.

“It was very frustrating. Slen was the strongest out of all of us because he REALLY wanted to see you again.” Bella said, and Slen choked on air. “But even that wasn’t enough. You’d notice him and call out to him, and then he’d just disappear.”

Rose couldn’t take her eyes off him, still not entirely believing that he was alive. “It really was you,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” Slen said shyly. “I just… missed you.”

“So yeah, that’s about it,” Bogey said quickly. “How’s life been?”

“Awful,” she sighed. “I’ve tried to be happy, but I just couldn’t. Not after what happened.”

“Slen has been acting so DEPRESSED ever since,” Mare piped up. Slen laughed nervously.

“I have? Well, that’s funny-”

Mare ignored his desperate attempts to get her to shut up. “He wouldn’t even say more than a few words A DAY. Now that you two are back together, he seems to be getting better.” Finally, his eyes drifted to her and he gazed at her fondly. Her heart pounded.

“Like I said- DESTINED COUPLE,” Bogey fake-coughed.

“YOUR ARTIFACT WAS A LITERAL HEART,” Bella added.

“That’s not important!” Slen and Rose snapped. They looked at each other and chuckled.

“Besides, Bella and Bogey, what happened between you two?” They both paled.

“THEY GOT BACK TOGETHER!!” Slen and Mare squealed like annoying teenage girls.

“REALLY?!” Rose screeched.

“It’s not that deep,” Bogey groaned, but he was HOLDING HER HAND.

“Sure, whatever you say,” Rose replied. “Say, Mare, how old are you supposed to be in demon years?”

“YOUNG,” Bella said.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably like ten-ish.”

“If you’re feeling single, I have a twelve-year-old brother,” Rose said. Everyone burst out laughing.

“We are going to give you some space,” Bella finally said. “If you need anything, we’ll be outside.” The three left the closet/room, careful not to wake the others.

Rose looked at Slen.

Slen looked at Rose.

Then she was running to him. Before they knew it, they were kissing. Like, really passionately kissing. They sat down on her bed and she was in his arms, kissing all the while. Finally, when she tasted salt, she pulled away to notice they were both crying.

She couldn’t even say a word. She was actually crying that hard. “Hey, it’s okay.” She just leaned into him, all of her sadness pouring out from the last two months. But these were happy/sad tears. She held on to him as tight as she could. He hugged her tightly.

“I’m so sorry,” she gasped. “I had no idea it would- and we were so happy- and-”

“It’s okay,” he said again as tears streamed down his cheeks.. “I’m here. We’re together again, Rose.”

“I’m so so sorry, Slen,” she said softly. “I shouldn’t have…”

“Rose, you listen to me. Don’t you DARE think that any of that was your fault. You had no way of knowing. And I knew the risks, as did we all.”

“But you- you-”

“I know,” he sighed, stroking her hair. “I’m sorry.”

They sat like that for a while, both of them crying silently. Finally when they both ran out of tears and their sobs turned to sniffles to silence, she kissed him again.

“I love you, Slen,” she said.

He smiled. “And I’ll always love you, Rose.”

They sat back in her bed nuzzling into each other. A few minutes passed.

“They’ll never accept us,” he said.

“I know,” she sighed. “But they’re gonna have to.”

“It’s okay. We have all the time we need.”

She popped an eye open, cracking a small smile. “We’re gonna have to get up in a few hours.”

He groaned. “Metaphorically, genius.” She burst out laughing.

“Slen?”

“Yeah?”

“Happy 3,023 birthday.”

“I’m old,” he admitted quietly, and that sent them both back into laughter. Finally, after staying up a little bit longer talking, they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Outside, Bogey, Bella, and Mare stood at the door of the closet. They had been careful not to wake her neighbors asleep in her old room. It had been half an hour. As complete silence filled the house, they looked at each other, shaking their heads.

A simple knowing smile said it all as they left the house to Bogey’s cave. It was clear that the two were NOT leaving each other.

“The humans are never going to let them do this,” Bella sighed.

“Yes, but is that really going to stop them?” Bogey asked.

The three of them looked at each other and laughed, because really everyone knew the answer.

Chapter Text

Twenty-year-old Rose stood on her new front porch, staring fondly at her family.

It had been one year. One year since the humans had come back, one year since Slen returned, one year since Mare finished traveling the world, Bogey turned good and Bella stopped screaming.

One year of Slen forgiving himself and believing in himself, and one year of Rose being reunited with her brother and father.

And one year of the humans and demons living together in somewhat harmony. They were still learning about how to drive, how to use money, and for some- how to speak English.

They were pretty scared in the beginning. How Rose had introduced her town to four of her best friends. But… something changed after a few days. The humans started helping the demons. Then ALL the demons crawled out of the forest, scaring the people even more. But everyone was helping everyone, and eventually, it was one big community. Slen and Rose had been the first human/demon couple. Some people doubted them, but once they saw how much they truly loved each other, all was well.

The town rebuilt. Her house became… well, a real house again. And now here they were.

“Okay guys, let’s give Uncle Slen a break,” Bogey said. “I’m sure he’ll love to play ‘Killer Zombie War’ later.” The twins Medusa and Dorian giggled and scrambled off of Slen, who was laughing.

“They’re obsessed with you,” Bella told him, helping him up. He shrugged.

“What can I say? I always told you that I’d be the world’s best uncle.” She gave him a playful shove back into the grass.

“WELL, I’M THE WORLD’S BEST AUNT!” Mare called from the tire swing with James.

“I doubt it,” Slen said, casting a goofy grin in Rose’s direction.

Mare crossed her arms. “No fair. Technically, she’s not their aunt yet.” Slen coughed at the word YET.

“And technically, we aren’t related,” Bogey chuckled. She sighed in defeat.

“I still don’t understand how they are less than a year old, and already walking and talking,” Rose’s father said, shaking his head.

“I already told you, Dad. Demons age weird. Mare taught me.” James said.

Rose smiled and walked outside to see her family.

“AUNTIE ROSIE!” the twins screeched, hurdling themselves in her direction. “CAN YOU DO IT?” She laughed and created sparkles out of the air, while everyone smiled. Slen looked especially happy. They were his favorite, too.

“Give your aunts and uncles some space,” their mother laughed. She shot a helpless look to Rose, who just grinned. The twins ran off with James and Mare, the two best friends who refused to leave each other’s side.

They totally liked each other.

Rose giggled and stood over by Slen’s side. He was still towering over her, so she just leaned against his arm.

“Tired out already?” she teased.

“Try playing ‘Killer Zombie War’ for three hours straight,” he said breathlessly. Everyone burst out laughing.

“You think MY KIDS are a handful,” Bogey said. “Imagine YOURS.”

“Ooh la LA,” Bella said.

Rose smiled. “I’m gonna take a quick walk. Be back in a second.”

“I’ll come,” Slen offered.

The second that they left the porch they took off running on the street, not a care in the world. They were laughing and holding hands. Then one of them tripped sending them flying into the grass nearby.

She giggled and kissed him briefly.

He laughed, picked her up, and twirled her around. “You’re literally the best.”

She grinned. “I take my job as the first human to ever cheer you up VERY seriously.” Their eyes locked like many times before, and they were lost in each other’s gazes.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured. She flushed. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Slen,” she said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

They hugged each other, and when he thought she wasn’t listening, he added “Forever and always.”

But she heard.

And she held him tighter.

Far up above in the sky, the first protector Allegra and her true love Rome looked down and watched Slenderman finally get his happy ending with his true love. They were meant for each other. They smiled at each other and watched the happiest couple on Earth.

“Amor verus semper triumphat.”
“True love always triumphs.”
Allegra and Rome

The End