Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s the cool, crisp, autumn evening of Halloween when Erik asks you if you like to join him for a walk to go get a cup of coffee.

“Yeah, sure!” You agree. “I could go for a pumpkin spice latte.”

Erik chuckles. “No surprise there.”

You side eye him. “Hey, it’s the tail end of October. I am entitled to all things pumpkin flavored until this month officially ends, alright? Besides, it’s Halloween, I want pumpkin.”

Erik huffs a laugh. “Whatever you say, Angel.” He concedes.

You smile with triumph. “And what about you, luv?” You ask, reaching for his hand. “I know you pulled an all nighter last night; what caffeinated horror with no taste will you be ordering today?”

Erik smirks as he slots his hand into your and squeezes it lightly. “You’ll see.”

You roll your eyes with a smile and don’t push further, reasoning you’ll find out soon enough.

A few minutes later, just as the sun has set and night has begun to fall, you walk into your local Starbucks.

Erik tells you he’s going to use the restroom quickly, but for you to go ahead and place your order; he’ll order his once he gets back.

You agree, and soon reach the front of the line and place your order. 

You’re sitting at a table waiting for both your festive drink and your partner when you over hear the cashier greet her next customer. 

"Hello, sir! What can I get you, today?"

Your attention snaps over to the counter when you hear a very familiar voice answer with, “How much is it to fill a Venti with Espresso?"

Erik. What are you doing. 

The cashier looks visibly startled at the request. “I- I'm sorry?” She asks.

Erik calmly repeats himself. “A venti cup. How much to fill it with Espresso?"

"Oh. uh.” The poor cashier takes a moment to actually consider the odd request. “Well, it'd be... uh… I only have a button for a Quad. I don't have special pricing for twenty ounces of espresso in a single... drink."

Erik waves his hand dismissively. “Price is the furthest thing from my mind right now. How many ‘add shots' is that?"

The cashier is beginning to actually look a little fearful now. "It'd be a quad with," she clears her throat, "uh, sixteen additional shots of espresso. But, sir, I should tell you that the shots will start to get really bitter if they have to sit and wait for us to pull twenty of them-"

"Taste means nothing to me." Erik deadpans.

From look the cashier is giving Erik right now, you wouldn’t be surprised if she took him to be an ancient eldritch being come to her cash register asking for an unholy brew as an offering. 

"Oh. Well, okay." She responds, donning the most determined customer service smile you’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing. “We can certainly get that for you! The price will be…” and she rattles off the price.

You go, sweetheart, don’t let him get to you.

And just as you think her ordeal is over, Erik decides to go even further in his absolute bullshittery.

“Do you still have the 'Add Energy' packets?" He inquires mildly. 

Quietly, so that you can only just overhear her reply, the cashier says, “Yes, sir.”

Erik nods. “And how many can I add?"

The cashier is opening staring with disbelief at Erik. “Well, uh… for… for health reasons, we won't… add more than one per drink. And… we cannot sell the packets individually."

Erik hums noncommittally. “I’ll add the one, then."

The cashier quickly alters the order and tells Erik the new price. 

And then he makes it so much worse and so much better all at once.

Erik, ever the one with a flair for the dramatic, proceeds to pay with actual golden dollar coins, all with the most seriously stoic expression on his face.

The cashier’s mouth is moving, but no words are coming out. 

Your beloved eldritch demi-being is paying for his unholy elixer with golden coins. 

You’d feel worse for that poor girl if you weren’t so thoroughly amused at Erik’s antics. 

He after he pays, he waits at the counter. (There’s no line so no one objects).

The cashier turns to the barista and hands off the cup with the order written on it to them.

Her coworker takes the cup over to the coffee machines, and is about to pull a level when they suddenly pauses in their duties, obviously thinking this is a cruel prank as they proceed to start laughing. 

But the cashier’s not laughing. 

And slowly, the barista stops laughing. They stares at the cashier, uncomprehending. 

And then, with the dawning realization of what they’ve been asked to bring into existence, they slowly shake their head. 

And Erik, knowing damn well what he’s done, just crosses his arms calmly and watches the ensuing confusion.

The barista says something to the cashier, and you assume it’s them asking if this is really what the customer want, because the cashier turns to Erik, who only nods once. 

The cashier turns back to the barista and shrugs helplessly, unable to aid them in the plight. 

The barista pales before their task. However, credit where credit is due, they are dutiful and true their task, great though it may be. 

They sets about clearing the two brand new Matrena's of all distraction, and sets two tall cups in the ready position. The energy packet is emptied into the venti cup, and the shots begin pouring.

The barista was almost shaking. You knew from experience that Erik was watching them with a gaze that felt like the fire of the sun, all while being highly amused at their suffering.

Finally, the shots are pulled, the cup is filled, and the hand off takes place.

Erik thanks the barista and cashier, then proceeds to dump his change and an extra ten golden dollars into the tip box. 

Without another word, he takes his drink (if it can even be called that) to the milk bar and adds a dollop of cream. 

Seemingly satisfied, he then proceeds to down what must have been half the damn cup.

He then turns back to the two gobsmacked employees with a smile showing his enjoyment, while also allowing a hint of what is possibly insanity taint the grin.

He then turns to you, beckoning you to join him as he nods his head towards the door, ready to leave now. 

You don’t even look at the employees as you stand up with a smile and fall into step beside Erik. He puts an arm around you, and the two of you step back out into the cool air, leaving the coffee shop roiling in wake of what Erik just did to upend their entire status quo. 

Erik doesn’t go back to that particular Starbucks with you again, but you do. 

And every time you go, you hear whispers and rumors swirl instantly start swirling about the mysterious and frankly terrifying man(?) that came into this random Starbucks on a Halloween night with you as his apparent companion.

But they never ask you anything, and you never say anything. 

And Erik is entirely too delighted to now be the cryptid that once came to darken the door of that Starbucks, one that wore a black porcelain face mask, had blazing golden eyes, ordered the most deadly sounding brew that had ever been ordered in the history of orders, and paid in gold coins. 

He’s heavily considering whether or not he should make this his new Halloween night tradition.

Chapter Text

One of Reza’s closest friends just had to throw their birthday party at some back-alley ripoff Chuck-E-Cheese this year, didn’t they?

And Nadir just had to insist you came along for the ride, didn’t he? 

Well, hold on, you’re going to rephrase that. Nadir didn’t exactly insist you come. 

No, instead, he heavily implied that if you didn’t come, he’d find a way to send that picture he took of you with Erik straight to Roman. 

The one where both of you just so happened to be dead asleep.

Cuddling.

Smack dab in the middle of Nadir’s couch during a movie night.

So much for believing Nadir would be decent enough to give you the common courtesy of letting you sleep unmolested.

And you really don’t want that picture making its way to Roman, especially since you’d have a whole different problem on your hands. 

Yes, Roman knew you and Erik had been ‘dating’, but he knew very little about just how close the two of you had been getting in the past handful of months. 

Roman would tease you endlessly if he knew the two of you were holding hands, let alone falling asleep together on a couch curled up like house cats.

Stupid Nadir with his stupid blackmail. 

He had just smirked at your predicament and told you to blame Erik; he was the one who taught him to get digital evidence of everything. 

When you vowed to get ahold of his phone, Nadir had the gall to laugh and smugly reassure you that he had hard copies of everything.

You did not want to know what he meant by ‘everything’.

You hated him so much right now.

With any luck, that kangaroo animatronic staring vacantly at you from the ratty stage would come to life and mercifully put you out of your misery. It looked more than capable with that dead eyed stare and its busted ukulele. 

One good bonk to the back of your noggin…

Wishful thinking, you know.

Honestly, living through some horror video game nonsense seems like it would be much more preferable to hearing the dozens of kids’ shrieks and cries that are endlessly beating against your eardrums.

You slowly but surely feel a pressure building in the back of your skull that’s definitely going to turn into a full blown headache later.  

Ugh. Wonderful.

And usually, you love kids; really, you do. 

But there are very select moments where you dearly wish that kids didn’t have the ability to scream at a volume that rivaled a jet engine’s. 

At least you’re not suffering alone.

You can tell from the way Erik’s got his eyes closed and how his fists are balled tightly in his lap that he’s having just about as much fun as you are right now

Somehow, Nadir managed to rope him into coming to this event as well. And despite your gentle pestering, Erik stubbornly refuses to tell you just how his sibling managed that little miracle. 

Honestly, the blackmail Nadir must’ve dredged up on Erik has gotta be - at the very least - earth-shatteringly bad, because you know for a fact that Erik would rather be anywhere but here. 

And as much as the thought sends a pang of guilt through you; misery loves company is really ringing true for you right now. Knowing Erik is thoroughly hating this, but also knowing that he’s toughing it out with you despite his loathing every minute of it…it makes you feel a tiny bit better. 

And so there the two of you are, sitting at an otherwise empty table while most of the kids are screaming their heads off and the other adults sorta chat amongst themselves. 

You figure you’ll have to stay another hour or so more; just until Reza’s little buddy opens the gift he and Nadir brought, then you can hightail it back to Erik’s place. You’ve got a good book you’d like to finish and an insanely soft weighted blanket waiting for you on the couch, and you cannot wait to get reacquainted with them. 

The thought alone makes you huff impatiently. 

The sound draws Erik’s attention; his eyes opening and sliding over to meet yours. 

He sighs, sounding just as impatient about the situation as you are. But then the corner of his lip tugs up into a faint half-smile, and he tilts his head, inviting you to scoot closer.

You do so, and once you’ve settled beside him, you lean your head comfortably against Erik’s shoulder while you resign yourself to silently people-watch.

Erik’s arm comes up and gently wraps around your waist, and you sigh contentedly. He presses a chaste kiss to the top of your head, then quietly says, “We’ll be home soon enough. Nadir can’t keep us here much longer if he truly values keeping our friendship.”

You glance up at him with a light grin. “ Our friendship?”

Erik chuckles. “Oh, I’m sorry; your friendship.”

You hum, amused. “Well, if he values my friendship at all, he’ll let you leave with me. We did come in your car, after all; you’re my ride.”

“True, but I doubt he’ll let me off so easily. He’d get you some sort of rideshare if he’s feeling particularly vindictive.” Erik says.

“It’s not like I want to have a stranger drive me to a house I can already catch a ride to. I’ll make sure Nadir lets me stick with my current chauffeur. Besides,” you say teasingly, “my driver doesn’t charge me a cent.”

“Hmm. Maybe he should.”

You meet Erik’s eyes and give him a little smile. “Well, we could always just take my car, you know.”

You know for a fact that Erik absolutely hates your car. He’s never said anything directly to you about it, but he’s only ever ridden in it once. And ever since then, he’s consistently refused rides in it. 

And true to form, Erik grimaces and shakes his head adamantly. “Please don't make me get in that death trap.” 

“It’s not a death trap!” You pause. “It’s just… a little faulty… sometimes.”

A bark of a laugh escapes Erik. “A little faulty? In case you forgot, your car broke down in the middle of a busy street, (Y/n). I’m not getting anywhere near it.”

“Then it’s your car or bust.” You conclude, crossing your arms over your chest. “Or I could hitchhike on the side of the road if driving me around is such a hassle?”

Erik quirks a half smile. “I thought you said you didn’t want to get into a car with a stranger?” 

You sputter, trying to think of a good response, but Erik just chuckles.

“You need to work on your rebuttals, mon cher. Until you do, I’ll consider it my pleasure to continue being your chauffeur.”

You roll your eyes, but can’t help smiling at him. “Thanks, hun, you’re a sweetheart. But joking aside, I know gas is getting kinda pricey, so if you ever wanted, I could always help chip in.”

“You don’t have to,” Erik says, “I’ve got that covered fine. Besides, it’s not as if I’m driving you everywhere all the time.” A smile slowly spreads across Erik’s face. “Think of it as… dating privileges, of sorts.”

That startles a laugh out of you. “I’ve never heard of covering the price of gas as a dating privilege before! I’ll have to think of something to give you in return… but if you’re sure gas isn’t a problem, I’ll take you up on that for now.”

Erik smiles and looks as if he’s about to say something, but before he can, a chorus of piercing shrieks cut across the general loud chatter of the other children. The sound is startlingly close to where you’re sitting, and that sudden ear-splitting noise causes the headache you’d felt subsiding start to drum its way back to the forefront of your skull. 

Your eyes scrunch closed involuntarily as you feel dull pain in your head ramp up, and you raise your hands to rub at your temples in a feeble attempt to ward off the ache. 

“Are you alright?” Erik asks, sounding concerned. 

You nod as you take a breath to steady yourself. “Yeah… yeah, I’m okay.” You open your eyes and offer up a rueful smile. “It’s just getting loud in here, and my tolerance for large-scale social interaction is running pretty low."

Erik hums noncommittally as he looks out over the crowd of people. “Funny, my tolerance ran out twenty minutes ago. And while I congratulate you on your impressive social tolerance, perhaps now’s the time to get going.”

“But Nadir…” you start to say, thinking of the potential blackmail looming over you both.

“Nadir isn’t going to hold this against you, you know.” Erik gently interjects. “He’ll understand that your health comes first right now. I doubt he’s going to use that blackmail on you for leaving early due to a bad headache.”

You consider this, then give a half-hearted shrug. “Maybe. But I need to make sure he’s not going to try and pin this on you as a scheme that gets you out of this early.”

Erik huffs a laugh. “What you need right now is some water, an Ibuprofen, and possibly a nap in a quiet space.”

“That does sound really good right now…” you grudgingly admit. 

Erik gets up from his seat at the table, stretches, then turns to offer a hand to help you up. “Then it’s settled. You’re going home, and I’m coming with you.”

You smile as you take his hand. “Because you’re a sweetheart who’s looking out for me, or you desperately just want to get out of here?”

“Can’t it be some of both?” Erik counters.

You chuckle, then say, “You realize Nadir’s almost definitely going to still blackmail you, though.”

“Most likely.” Erik relents. “But,” he turns to you with a smirk, “perhaps we can get even before we go. If you’re up for it.”

“Always.” You say, grinning impishly. “What’ve you got in mind?”

And oh, the smile that crosses Erik’s face promises so much mischief.

You run into the play structure area of the building, moving quickly through the groups of adults and children alike as you search for Nadir.

Turns out, he spots you before you can pinpoint him, and in short order he’s made his way over to you.

“(Y/n)?” He asks, looking mildly concerned. “What’s going on?”

You grasp Nadir by the shoulders and look him dead in the eye. 

“Erik fell in the ball pit.”

Nadir stares at you blankly for a second, obviously processing what utter madness just came out of your mouth. “I’m sorry. He did what.”

“ Erik . Fell . Into the ball pit .”

Nadir’s mouth parts a little in shock for the briefest second, clearly imagining that gloriously hilarious mental image.

In almost no time at all, he shakes himself out of his stupor, then without a word, he takes off at a full sprint.

He ducks and weaves around all the kids and adults in his way, bolting straight for the ball pit. 

As he’s running, he fumbles to pull his phone out of his pocket so he can supposedly get more delicious blackmail on Erik. 

It’s going perfectly so far; all according to plan… 

As you follow rapidly behind Nadir, the two of you soon make your way to the edge of the ball pit.

Nadir glances across the expanse of colorful plastic balls filling the pit, and upon seeing absolutely no one in there, he turns so that he’s facing you.

And at the very edge of your peripheral vision, you happen to see Erik pop his head out from under the top layer of balls in the pit. Like a shark, he starts lurking towards the edge of the ball pit; right where Nadir’s standing. 

“(Y/n),” Nadir says, sounding confused, “what is… wait, why do you have your phone-”

And before he can finish his sentence, Erik is launching himself up and out of his hiding spot in the ball pit.

Nadir doesn’t even have a chance to turn around before Erik has his arms locked around his waist and pulls .

With a yelp, Nadir topples backwards into the ball pit, causing a shower of colorful plastic spheres to go exploding up into the air as he flails wildly in surprise, all while Erik laughs uproariously. 

After struggling a bit, Nadir does manage to wrench himself free of Erik’s grasp, but it’s already too late. 

He’s trapped out in the middle of the ball pit, scrambling uselessly to try and find purchase so he can escape from the terrifying fate of being consumed by the colorful spheres of evil. 

Erik slowly but surely manages to wade his way back over to you, and you stop the phone’s recording so you can reach down and offer him a hand up.

He smiles up at you, takes your hand, and your combined effort soon has him free from the falsely innocent death trap. 

In short order, there’s an arm wrapped securely around your waist and a kiss being pressed against your temple.

“Thank you for the assistance, love.” Erik says as he pulls back; his gold eyes sparking with mirth. “You didn’t happen to catch all of that on video, now, did you?”

You wave your phone in a teasing manner. “Oh, you better believe I got every single second of that on film, hun.”

By this point, Nadir has essentially swam over to the edge of the ball pit and hoisted himself out. “Oh, please… please tell me you’re bluffing.”

“Maybe,” you shrug with a smirk, “But then again, maybe I’m not! And I bet Rook would love to see this; don’t you think, Erik?”

He nods. “She’d never let him live it down.”

The panicked “oh no” expression that flits across Nadir’s face is absolutely priceless, but all too soon, he’s smiling sheepishly and splaying his hands out in a placating gesture. “(Y/n)... is there any way I could possibly get you to delete that?”

“Hmm… probably not.” You admit with a laugh. “But I’ll tell you what. You let Erik and I leave right now, and you promise not to use your blackmail on us, I swear to you that I won’t send this video to anyone.”

Nadir considers this, then glances skeptically over at Erik. “And you won’t send it to him, either?”

Erik smirks. “She doesn’t need to. I’m going to remember this until the day I die.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Nadir huffs. “But you’ll swear not to send yourself that video?”

“If that’s what it’s going to take to get us out of here?” Erik says. “Then yes, the video will stay on (Y/n)’s phone.”

Nadir nods. “Fine, we’ve got a deal. You guys are free to leave if you want.” He smiles a tad ruefully at you. “I probably shouldn’t have dragged you into this, huh?”

You sigh. “Nadir, you know I love you. And you know I’d do anything for Reza. But you really need to work on how to convince someone to come to a child’s birthday party.”

“Noted.” Nadir agrees. “I won’t use blackmail next time.”

“Oh, no, please do.” Erik chimes in. “It’ll give us an excellent excuse to collect some blackmail material of our own.”

Nadir rolls his eyes. “Yeah, definitely won’t be using blackmail next time.” He smiles at you. “Anyways, I hope you enjoy your quiet time, and that eventually, you’ll forgive and forget.”

“Oh, come on, we’re friends. Of course I forgive you!” 

Nadir lets out a small sigh of relief. 

“But,” you tack on with a mischievous smile, “I’m never going to forget this.” 

“And I don’t intend on forgiving you for this anytime soon , Daroga.” Erik adds, grinning.

Nadir buries his face in his hands. “Uuughhh… I have made so many bad decisions today.”

“Yup!” You helpfully chirp. “But don’t worry, you’ll be making up for ‘em!”

You reach out to take Erik’s hand, finally ready to leave.

His hand slots instantly into yours, and with that, the two of you make your way out of the hellish establishment.

Once you’re outside in the blissful quiet, Erik glances over at you. “So, you worked out a loophole so Rookheeya can watch that video, right?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely. I know I promised Nadir that I wouldn’t send this video to anyone.” You smile impishly. “But I made no such promise that I wouldn’t show this video to Rook at the first possible opportunity.”

Erik huffs a laugh. “Very clever. I new there was a reason I agreed to start dating you.”

“Wha- hold on- that…!” You sputter indignantly. “I was the one who agreed to date you! And you’d better keep that fact straight, or so help me, I’m going to find out exactly what kind of blackmail Nadir has on you!”

And being the entirely unapologetic man that he is, Erik only laughs harder.

Chapter Text

You love being able to attend college. 

Really.

You do. 

But damn it all if the workload wasn’t going to end up killing you one of these days. 

There’s so much to do in so little time, and you’ve had to start sacrificing some things for the sake of maintaining some semblance of a functional schedule.

It started off simply enough, deciding to spend a little less time out with your friends. Nadir, Erik, and Rook understood; of course they did.

Heck, they’re just as busy, if not more so than you, and they’d all agreed that putting their noses to the grindstone instead of hanging out for hours on end may benefit you all. 

Then came taking less hours at work. Just a handful less than usual, so you’re working closer to 16 hours a week instead of your normal 20.

That meant more time to study. More time to do your homework. 

More time to wonder if it’s all going to be worth it in the end; especially if there’s going to be three more years of this to go.

More than once you’ve found yourself wishing Roman were here to reassure you and give some much needed advice. The sporadic phone calls you get with him are nice, but you can’t help but want your brother home.

As it were, you’re at Erik’s place tonight. You’d managed to find a gap of free time in both your packed schedules, and some time in person together was long overdue. 

Granted, you texted back and forth regularly, and even called on occasion, so it’s not that you couldn’t talk to him. 

But… you know… you missed him. Especially after last year, with all the time you had spent together, either with Nadir and Rook, or just the two of you.

It was nice.

Too bad college decided to dump a never ending torrent of work on you this semester; it’s caused there to be less time for you and Erik to get together for nights like this.

After about a month or two of collaboration and planning, you’d both found that you had four straight days off from any kind of obligations.

Hallelujah, a miracle had been gifted to you both.

Graciously, Erik invited you to spend the time with him.

You still weren’t sure where you stood with Meg; Christine and Raoul were busy, and Nadir, Rook, and Reza had gone to visit the Khan family.

So… Erik’s invitation had been all too easy to accept.

And the past two days of spending time together had been great! 

You’d watched some movies, ones both of you’d never seen, some one of you insisted the other had to see, and some beloved and many times watched classics. 

You’d gone to a botanical garden Erik knew of. The day couldn’t have been more perfect; there were few people, and so many of the plants were in full bloom; beautiful colors and fragrant smells bursting forth everywhere you went. 

You’d played music together; you on your violin while Erik accompanied you on the piano. Or sometimes he’d play his own violin, if the fancy struck him. And at times, you’d play a song or two on your guitar while he sat, enraptured with the music.

Words could not express how much you loved Erik in those moments when you could share music with one another. It was as if it joined you together in a wordless harmony. 

The days you spent together were the perfect break you needed from your presently crushing life. 

The only problem was, on the third night of your stay, one of your professors had sent an email to the class stating that there was an assignment he forgot to post… which wouldn’t have been too much of an issue, if it weren’t for the fact that it was due early tomorrow morning. Talk about awful time management…

You suppose the perfection couldn’t last forever. But why now…?

With a deep sigh and an apology to Erik, you’d told him that you supposed you should probably head back to your place to get this stupid assignment done.

Erik had scoffed at the notion, instead proposing you simply write the paper here. You had brought your laptop, and you were already situated. Why leave?

Besides, he’d tactfully added that he’d miss you dreadfully if you had to leave so soon…

That last bit wasn’t what got you.

It wasn’t .

But aside from that, he did make some compelling points. So you’d busted out your laptop, set up at the little dining table, and begun working on your project. 

Though Erik was a bit put out that you did have to work, he insisted that he understood and could keep himself occupied while you worked. 

He’d grabbed a book, went into the living room, and plopped unceremoniously onto his chair to keep you company, albeit in comfortable silence. 

Though having to do class work on your ‘day off’ was not at all a high point, it wasn’t all bad. Erik kept in your line of sight while you worked, and would occasionally get up to bring you a drink or snack, or answer any questions you’d shoot his way if you got stuck on a thought or sentence. Though you had to write, you didn’t have to completely write the day off. 

Time and awareness of your surroundings blurred as you focused on your work, and before you knew it, it was 2:00 a.m. You’d started working on the project around 10:00 p.m. 

Shoot, you’d been at this for 4 hours??? You weren’t even finished yet; another hour or two to go before you’d finally be able to call it quits… 

Sighing, you crack your knuckles and readjust yourself in your seat to ward off any numbness that had been slowly creeping into your limbs. The chair shifts during your impromptu stretching section and scuffs against the floor, causing a startling loud sound in the dead silence of the dark room.

You pause and wait to see if the noise elicits any sort of response. Seconds pass with nothing happening, so you turn back to your computer, mentally psyching yourself up for the long push you’ll need to finally finish this stupid paper.

Before you can even start typing on the keyboard again, you suddenly sense a presence looming just behind you. 

Turning in your chair, you find Erik standing just over your shoulder, simply watching you. His white mask glints eerily in the darkness; your glowing computer screen reflecting light off the glassy porcelain. 

You startle a little, not having expected him to just… be there.

Erik only responds by tilting his head slightly, silently scrutinizing your face. 

“Oh…hey.” You greet, scrubbing a hand over your face as you regain your composure. “Shouldn’t you have gone to bed awhile ago?”

There’s a slight rasp in Erik’s voice as he answers with a pointed, “I should be asking you the same question.” 

That rasp in his voice heavily suggests that he’d just woken up… but hadn’t he just been on the chair? And he’d been reading when you’d last looked over at him… how long ago was that? You hadn’t even noticed him going to bed…

“Did you already go and get some sleep?” You ask.

Erik nods. “About an hour ago. I had figured you’d notice the time and follow my example, but it seems you’ve been engrossed in your work.”

You sigh. “Yeah… and I still need to finish.” You meet Erik’s gaze. “I’m sorry if I woke you-”

Erik shakes his head, cutting you off. “No, you didn’t. You know I don’t always sleep well; this is just one of those nights. I was just going to get some water, but when I heard your chair move, I realized you were still up. And since you haven’t figured it out for yourself yet, I’m telling you that you should get some rest. You’re going to burn yourself out, and your paper is going to suffer for it.”

With a faint chuckle, you turn back to your screen. “Thanks for the encouragement. But  much as I’d like to, I really can’t. This is due in the morning, and I can’t afford to not do this assignment.”

“What time is it due?”

“9 a.m.”

There’s a beat of silence, and you’re just about to assume that Erik’s accepted your fate and is about to slink off back to bed… but then you see him move to come stand beside you. 

“Erik?”

Without a word, Erik picks up your laptop, clicks a few keys, then closes the lid with a resolute *snap* .

You grumble and reach for your computer. “That’s not funny, Erik, I need to-“

“I saved your work. Now,” Erik’s tone brooks no argument, “you really need to get some sleep.”

You cross your arms. “You’re one to talk.” 

Erik huffs a laugh as he picks up your computer and stores it away in its bag. “Yes, I’m a terrible hypocrite. But as the saying goes; do as I say, not as I do.”

“But the paper’s due tomorrow!” You insist. “It’s important.”

Erik cocks his head to the side. “And taking care of yourself isn’t?”

That… that gets you to stop talking.

Erik continues. “Your well-being is significantly more important than completing some assignment you’ll forget about in a couple weeks.” 

His voice softens, and he gently places a hand on your cheek. “You need to remember that you come first, Angel.”

His gentle touch paired with the pet name immediately has your heart melting.

Erik has only ever called you ‘Angel’ once before, in a moment filled with pure affection and heartfelt vulnerability. That moment has come to be one of your fondest memories.

Apparently, Erik takes your silence as an agreement. 

“Look, would it be alright if I carried you?” He asks softly.

You nod, already feeling the adrenaline you’d been desperately drawing out to get this stupid assignment done waning. You feel so… tired… all of a sudden…

Gently, Erik manages to hook an arm under your legs while wrapping the other around your back to serve as support. You lean your head against his chest and try not to instantly conk out from exhaustion while you’re in his arms.

Carrying you bridal style, Erik takes you to the guest room and helps you get situated and comfortable under the sheets. 

You sigh in comfort and relief, snuggling deep into the soft covers and downy pillow. You admittedly really did need this.

You feel Erik softly brush some hair out of your face, then gently press a kiss to your forehead. “Goodnight.”

Before he can pull away, you groggily grasp for Erik’s hand. “Wait…”

Erik stops, then slots his hand into yours. Briefly, you note how cold his hand is, but the thought passes quickly. “Aren’t you going to sleep, too? You need it as much as I do.”

Erik chuckles lightly. “Soon, I promise. There’s something I need to do first.” He hushes you as you attempt to protest. “It won’t take me long. As soon as I finish, I’ll  go to sleep.”

You hum quietly in acknowledgment, accepting his promise.

He leaves silently, and before you know it, you’ve drifted off to sleep.

Some time later, you can’t begin to tell when; you feel the bed shift to the side of you. 

Odd, it feels too heavy to be Ayesha or Sasha… maybe your brain is still too tired… and it’s too dark to see anything in the room.

Turning over, you blindly reach your hand out to try and find the source, and you’re greeted by the feeling of… fabric? Clothing?

It takes you a second to process, but eventually, it clicks. 

“Erik?”

A hand reaches back and takes yours, holding it gently. “I’m sorry; I woke you.”

That’s not what’s got you concerned right now. “Hmm... s’okay. What time s’it?”

A soft chuckle. “It’s still very late. Or very early, I suppose.” 

“You okay?”

There’s a pause. “I’m fine. I just… didn’t want to be alone in my room.”

It’s dark, yes, but that doesn’t stop you from being able to hear a sort of soft sadness that’s tinging Erik’s voice. 

“I…lied…before,” he continues, “about getting up for water. I had…” He hesitates, and you wait patiently for him to continue. “I had a nightmare. I don’t get them as often as I used to, but they still hit me sometimes.”

His hand tightens around yours. “I just don’t want to be alone right now.”

Slowly, cautiously, you shift around in the bed, until you find Erik’s form sitting up on the edge of the bed. 

“Do… do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” He immediately answers. “No, I just… needed to know you were still here.”

You wrap your arms around his waist. “I’m still here.”

“I know that now.” He whispers.

You pull Erik gently, coaxing him the best you can. “Lay down. I’m not going anywhere, and you sound exhausted.” 

Trying to lighten the mood a little, you playfully add, “Follow your own advice, you hypocrite.”

Erik doesn’t answer right away, sitting still in the silence. But then, carefully, he proceeds to lay down next to you.

Once he’s comfortably situated, you  feel his hands hesitantly searching about in the darkness. 

You shift yourself once more, slowly and gently moving so you can curl up against Erik’s chest.

His breath hitches for the slightest moment, but just as quickly, his arms come and wrap around you in an embrace that threatens to never let you go. 

You can’t find it in yourself to mind.

His embrace feels… safe. Protective. Loving, even. 

As you cuddle closer, you feel something smooth and cool come to rest upon your face. 

Huh…

“Erik? Are you still wearing your mask?”

A pause. 

“Yes.”

“Why? It can’t be comfortable…” You ask, genuinely curious.

“I…” 

There’s a long silence. 

“I don’t want you to see my face…”

Oh. 

Oh, no.

Not tonight.

Erik may not want to share the details of his nightmare with you, but that comment gives you an idea of what sort of thing was tormenting Erik’s dreams tonight. 

“It’s dark, Erik.” You soothe. “I can’t see your face.”

“Yes,” he admits, “but-“

You cut in before he has a chance to spiral. “Not that that should matter, because you know I've seen you without your mask before.”

“…..once, yes.”

Dropping your voice to just above a whisper, “I know what you look like, Erik. I’ve known for awhile now. But I also know who you are as an individual .  And I think you’re beautiful, inside and out.”

There’s a shaky intake of breath, then a slight shifting of the sheets as you feel Erik move. It’s dark, so you can’t quite tell if he decided to remove his mask or not, but you’re not going to push him if he doesn't want to. 

Instead, you hesitantly reach out, find Erik’s hand, and grip it tightly. 

For a long moment, Erik says nothing as his thumb simply runs over the back of your hand. Then, he shifts so he’s moved closer to you, and you can just barely make out his face.

And the mask is gone.

Almost overwhelmed at this blatant display of trust, you throw an arm over Erik’s side, trying for a sleepy yet meaningful hug.

Erik immediately readjusts so that you can wrap your arm around him, and in return, he pulls you so close that you end up flush against his chest; your head tucked under his chin.

“I love you, Erik. All of you.” You say, soft and fierce and insistent in the dark.

You can feel him begin to tremble ever so slightly in your arms, assumedly from a sudden flood of almost overwhelming emotions. 

There’s a shaky breath, then, “And I you, my Angel.”

It doesn’t take much longer for the quiet of the night and the warmth from your embrace to lull you both into a calm, dreamless, restful sleep. 

Chapter Text

In the dead of night, you suddenly jolt awake, terrified of… something… something that lurks ominously in the realm of your previously deep sleep.

Whatever it was that woke you is dissipating fast, retreating into your rapidly fading nightmare.

And though you can’t remember what it was exactly that tore you from your slumber, you know all too well that whatever it is will wait patiently for you if you simply attempt to go right back sleep.

However, though the imminent terror will stay gone as long as you’re awake, the effects of this particular nightmare haven’t loosened their grip on your psyche just yet.

It still feels as though you’re trapped in the dark dream, even though you’re almost certain you’re wide awake.

You’re breathing too fast, and try as you might to regulate it, you can only manage short, sharp bursts of breath.

You have hot tears pricking at the corners of your eyes, but the moment you wipe them away, fresh ones come to take their place.

You feel as though walls are closing in all around you, slowly but surely getting tighter; an impending end that you can’t avoid no matter how hard you try to escape.

A whimper escapes your lips; you just want it all to end.

That’s when you hear something shift from the other side of the room.

The room… you’re in a room…

Right.

The hotel room.

You’re in a hotel room…

……in an unfamiliar bed…

………..in an unfamiliar place….

The knowledge doesn’t do much to ease your roiling mind.

That train of thought stalls, however, when a shadowy figure rises from the inky darkness on the other side of the room.

It starts moving towards you.

Your train of thought roars back to life with a passion.

“A monster.” The irrational part of your brain screams. “Our nightmare’s come true.”

You want to run. Or bury yourself deep under the covers and never emerge again.

But your body won’t respond; frozen in place.

You were going to have to face whatever terror this was.

Alone.

And then, suddenly, a single, clear, almost painfully sharp thought cuts across the terror-filled fog in your mind.

You weren’t alone.

That shape coming to stand at the end of your bed wasn’t a monster.

Erik could never be a monster.

You stretch you arms out, wordlessly pleading for him.

He responds without hesitation to your gesture, clambering up onto the bed and crawling over until he’s securely wrapped his arms around you.

Your body melts into his embrace, but you cling tightly to him as if he’d disappear if you dared to let him go.

He says nothing, but you feel him draw you even closer to his chest, setting his chin on top of your head in a way that make you feel surrounded by him; his presence a protective shield against everything else.

It’s in this moment that you finally are able to draw in a deep breath, exhaling shakily, but your breathing grows more and more steady by the moment.

Your tears eventually dry, and though you’re being held in an enveloping embrace, you’ve never felt so free after a nightmare had trapped you like this.

The two of you stay closely wrapped together for an undetermined amount of time, but eventually, you convince Erik to let you untangle yourself from him just long enough to lay back down.

Once you’re situated, you open your arms once again, inviting Erik to rejoin you.

Instantly, he does so.

Without a word, he simply slots himself back into your arms and encircles you with his own. 

You tuck your head back under his chin and cuddle close, and you can hear him sigh contentedly once you’re situated.

It doesn’t take long until Erik’s breathing evens out, a clear sign he’s managed to doze off.

You smile lightly, knowing just how susceptible he is to falling asleep when he’s curled up with you.

Honestly, the man is so dang sleep deprived…

Knowing he feels safe enough to sleep soundly while he’s with you, though?

It always warms your heart.

And with that warm feeling sinking in, along with the warmth of Erik’s continued embrace, you drowsily close your eyes.

Restful sleep soon comes to claim you, and not a single thing wakes you again until the morning light.

Chapter Text

Another day.

Same as any other, really.

Just going through the motions.

Get up, eat something, complete your tasks for the day, eat something again, go to sleep.

Day in.

Day out.

Occasionally you’d have someone or something drop in to spice up the monotony a little, but those distractions had been few and far between as of late.

Routine seemed to be, well, routine for you.

And for the absolute life of you, it was all so maddeningly mind-numbing at this point.

You felt an overwhelming urge to get out of your everyday rut, for even just a couple days.

So, during a break where both you and Erik have a bit of free time to spare, you’d approached him with the suggestion to go on a little camping getaway.

He’d been hesitant at first, trying to micromanage details and bring up constant reasons why a trip like that could potentially be a bad idea.

You told him that if he didn’t want to go with you, that was fine, you could always just go alone; it’s not like you’d really be in much danger if you did.

There was a hidden lake at the place you planned to go to that you were absolutely dying to go swimming in. And you knew year-round that place would be close to empty in terms of people visiting. And you were fairly certain that you could handle someone if they dared bother you.

Besides, it’d been much too long since you had the chance to swim somewhere that wasn’t someone’s backyard pool. Those things weren’t the worst option out there, but they came close. They were just so small, and chlorinated, ugh.

You were longing for a chance to swim in a place where you could feel unconfined. And if that weren’t enough, you hadn’t had the chance to change back to your ‘natural’ form in over a year. You were itching to swim freely, even if it were for just a single day.

You’d have preferred to go to the beach; get a chance to really spread your fins and play in the waves the way you used to. But as much as you loved the ocean dearly, you loved your partner more.

Your visits to the coast had slowly dwindled once you’d met Erik. He held little love for the sun, sand, or sea, which was pretty much everything you loved about it.

You could go on your own, but you knew he wouldn’t want to come with you, nor would he like having you so far away and out of his sight for so long, especially during the hours when he was virtually powerless to do anything if something went wrong.

And you understood this, of course. So you’d dialed back to visiting other bodies of water when you felt the urge to go, which worked fairly well. The ocean’s call was always there at the back of your mind, but it had gotten easier and easier to dismiss when you began to have higher priorities.

Still, you’d been feeling particularly restless as of late, so you saw this trip as something of a compromise. You’d get your chance to swim, and Erik could spend time with you without being terribly uncomfortable. You’d reasoned that he would be much more willing to come along to a solitary wooded lake than he was to the beach.

And Erik does eventually agree to come, though a little churlishly, on the condition that his more reasonable requests be granted.

That seemed fair to you, and once he laid them out, you were only too happy to agree to his terms.

“Oh, and one more thing.” He adds.

“Yes?” You ask, playfully exasperated.

“I require that you sing for me every night we’re there; by firelight if we can manage it.” He says, a wry smile crossing his face.

You roll your eyes, but you can’t keep a smile from playing on your lips. “Don’t I already sing for you whenever you ask?”

“You do.” He allows. “But I like having the reassurance.”

With an exaggerated sigh, you turn away from him. “I suppose if that’s what it’ll take to have you come with me…”

Erik chuckles lightly as he comes up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his head on your shoulder. “As if you could ever bear to be rid of me, Angel.”

You hum contentedly as you tilt your head to the side and make your best attempt at kissing his cheek. “I think it’s safe to say that statement goes both ways, love.”

“You make a fair point.” Erik concedes, tilting his head so it bumps affectionately against yours. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

He repositions himself so that you have to look up at him, and his golden eyes gaze lovingly down at you for a long moment. Then, as if breaking a spell, he gently leans down to press a kiss to your lips.

You’re all too happy to reciprocate.

With those, ahem, important details settled, you set about planning and packing for a weekend trip.

And soon enough, the two of you make the journey over to the campsite.

The driving distance from your house to the site takes you an entire day to cover, with you driving through the morning and afternoon while Erik sleeps like the dead in the passenger seat. Once the sun begins to set, Erik rouses to take the wheel throughout the late evening and into the night while you catch some z’s of your own.

Taking shifts kept you from having to stop, which is nice, especially since you’d like to get as much time out of this trip as possible; you know it’s going to fly by.

It was around 5 am when you’d finally made it to your campsite; later than you’d have liked, but you worked with the cards you’d been dealt.

And it’s not like you could complain overmuch; there was no sign of anyone around as far as you could see, and you hadn’t spotted anyone on your way in either. It felt nice to be secluded from the rest of the world.

After the tent was pitched, all the supplies were carefully stored away, and the sun was starting to poke over the mountain tops at around 7am, the two of you decided you should probably get some more sleep.

You’d planned on taking a hike that night to acclimate to the change in altitude, as well as show Erik one of your favorite lookout points, so being well rested for the trek would likely serve you both well.

So off to your cots you went, and within a few minutes, the two of you were out like lights.

You’d woken up again in the very late afternoon. Or was it early evening? Prevening, maybe? The sun hadn't set yet; it had a little ways to go before it touched the horizon, but it was clearly lower in the sky.

Getting up quietly so as not to disturb Erik, you changed into some fresh clothes and left the tent to see what was going on outside.

You were also making sure to be quiet as you left, and thanks to your efforts, Erik stayed dead asleep.

That didn’t surprise you; the sun was still up. And on top of that, he’d been feeling tired after all the driving, and what with that added on top of all his usual bad sleeping habits, you knew he almost certainly wouldn’t be up until the sun sunk entirely below the horizon.

No matter though. You’d figured you could go track down the freshwater spring you knew to be fairly close by. If memory served you right, that stream eventually connected to the lake. You can’t remember for sure how far away it is from where you set up camp, but that trip was on your agenda for tomorrow night, so you’d figure that detail out later.

The little trip you were making right now was just to secure a water source, as well as collect some firewood and kindling for later that evening if you wanted a hot meal, or if Erik happened to bring up the promise you made to him earlier.

You head out, but leave a battery powered lamp turned on outside your tent, making sure you can pinpoint where exactly the campsite is in case it gets too dark to see very well when you get back. Your night vision is alright, not as good as Erik’s but better than most, and you reason that having a light to guide you back isn’t going to hurt.

After finding the spring, which was only a short walk away from your campsite, you’d begun collecting decent pieces of kindling and carrying them back to the fire pit for later.

That had taken you around an hour or so, and once you’d finished, you decided you’d follow the stream for a while to pass the time while you waited for dark and for Erik to stir. Maybe you’d find where the spring met up with the river you know for a fact leads to the lake. If you could find that, you’d have a good heading for your trip tomorrow night.

Realizing you haven’t drunk anything since you woke up, you grab your insulated water bottle and head off.

You decide to only trek along for a short period of time, reasoning that you’d still have time to get back and get your gear together for the night hike and be ready to go once Erik was up.

The walk itself proved to be perfectly relaxing; a solitary trek through the woods with plenty of beautiful greenery to look at as you went along. You’d even found the river as you started to make your way back, which was a nice surprise.

And you hadn’t run into another human soul the entire time, though you hadn’t really expected to as the chill of the approaching evening air grew colder and the sky began to throw off brilliantly vibrant shades of orange, pink, and gold as the sun started to set.

Seeing the sun just starting to disappear over the horizon, you figure it’ll be around ten minutes or so until Erik rouses and starts getting ready to head out.

Content in this knowledge, you continue walking back in the direction of your camp.

The warm sense of peace that you’d been feeling as you walked turns into an icy pang of dread when you hear a branch snap sharply behind you.

Slowly, you turn, not wanting to spook whatever’s behind you, especially if it’s a mountain lion or bear. That probably wouldn’t end well for you.

You were a creature of myth and legend, sure, but that wouldn’t do anything to stop you from getting killed by a wild animal if the mauling mood happened to strike its fancy.

But all that steps out onto the path is a man.

And to you, that’s far worse than any wild animal.

You’re out here alone and you hadn’t seen other campsites earlier, so from your point of view, this man’s appeared out of nowhere.

You feel your hand reflexively grip your water bottle tighter; it’s a makeshift weapon if need be.

Your mind instinctively suggests you use your siren song, but you dismiss the thought. It’d be of little use without a body of water nearby. 

Sirens lured humans into lakes and oceans with their songs because they were stronger and deadlier there; water lent them abilities they didn’t have on land, ones that made it possible for them to drown mortals who fell for the trap.

So currently being a siren with no large bodies of water readily available? Your song was close to useless, unless you wanted the man to get closer. And at the moment, that is the furthest thing from what you wanted.

But it does make you wonder; what’s this man doing out here?

The man in question just smiles and slowly walks towards you, putting his hands out in a non-threatening gesture.

However, you also happen to notice the wickedly sharp hunting knife that’s hanging from his belt loop, the latch on the belt unfastened, and the blade’s handle getting ever closer to his hand as he very slowly reaches for it.

That seals it for you; this is not a safe situation to be in, no sir.

You feel a burst of adrenaline rapidly course its way through your body as your fight-or-flight response kicks into gear. In this situation, flight wins out, and you turn a full 180 degrees and absolutely bolt for the thicker woods, hoping fervently that you can lose the man in the dense trees and brush.

But though the trees are growing fairly close together and the brush is plentiful, they’re not quite enough to give you the adequate cover you’d need to fully hide yourself.

If only you could’ve gotten to the lake!

But you know instantly it’s much too far to run all the way to; you’d almost certainly get caught or exhaust yourself before you got there.

You just have to keep running.

You hear your pursuer behind you, who seems to have thrown any sort of pretense out the window; taking no care to hide the sound of his thundering footfalls as he crashes through the woods after you.

Ducking and dodging around trees, you gain your bearings enough to know you’re on the right path back to your campsite.

You may not be able to do much to fight this man off yourself right now, but if you could either lose him in the darkness or get back to camp and rouse Erik, you’ll be fine.

The longer you run, the more steadily your lungs begin to burn and limbs start to ache, and you long to stop and take a full breath.

But as the light from the lamp you left on at your campsite comes into view through the trees, you feel another surge of adrenaline course through your body, making it possible for you to make that last push for safety.

You’re not far from the camp when your foot falls into a deep divot into the ground that you entirely miss avoiding in the dark.

You throw out your hands to try and catch yourself as you fall, and in doing so your water bottle drops falls from your hand and thumps down beside you.

You land pretty hard on the ground and end up yelping more in surprise than pain when you feel something in your ankle snap as it bends in an odd way, seeing as it stayed stuck in the hole while the rest of your body fell forwards.

You don’t feel much in the way of pain, but you know that’s the adrenaline pumping through your veins that’s blocking most of it out in the moment. You know for a fact it’s going to hurt like the devil later; you’re not looking forward to that.

That is, if you manage to make it out of this situation first.

And to add insult to literal injury, you did happen to feel sharp rocks cut your hands and knees as they came in contact with the hard ground. From the very faint stinging you feel, you assume that there’s at least a little blood seeping from the scrapes.

You dearly hope there is; if there’s enough it would definitely get Erik out here pretty damn quick. He’s got a wickedly keen sense of smell, and freshly spilled blood does wonders when it comes to drawing his instant attention.

As you scrabble to try and pick yourself back up, you hear a laugh coming from behind you.

You twist around to see the man looming right beside you. He crouches down by your torso and gives you the creepiest looking smile you’ve ever seen. And that’s saying something, you know of some creatures out there whose grins would put the Cheshire Cat’s to shame.

As the man tries to get closer, you instinctively reach back and snatch up your water bottle, gripping it tightly in your hand. In one fluid motion, you’re swinging it around full force and clocking the man square in the kisser.

The bottle connects, making a satisfying “CLANG!” as it smashes into his face. The man instantly reels back, shouting in pain as he claps a hand over his nose, which does little to stop a steady stream of blood from beginning to leak from between his fingers.

Huh. Well, with the man seeming temporarily disabled and dripping all that blood, you’re hoping you’ve managed to kill two birds with one stone.

You’re about to take another crack at whacking the man for good measure, but he’s apparently ready for you as he catches the bottle when it flies towards him. He wrenches it from your grasp and angrily throws it off towards the woods.

The bottle clanks as it bounces and rolls off towards the trees. There’s a very brief moment of silence, then you hear something; something different than what you’ve been hearing before.

Or rather, you hear nothing. The woods have gone eerily quiet behind you. Even the rustling of the trees seems to have stopped. 

You also happen to notice that there's an eerily thick mist beginning to roll out from the edge of the woods.

The man doesn’t seem to notice any of this; his attention too focused on you.

“Heh. Almost thought you’d outrun me, bitch.” He says, sounding like he’s horribly congested… wonder how that happened. “But lucky me, it doesn’t look like you’re going anywhere now.”

There’s a flash of rage that races across his face as he pulls out his knife and viciously cuts at your face.

You manage to throw your arm up in time to protect yourself from lethal harm, but the blade still makes contact, and blood begins to well up from the long, narrow cut that traces from your wrist toward your elbow.

You don’t scream; there’s still enough adrenaline circling through you to keep you from feeling much of anything in the way of pain right now. Instead, you pull your arm close to your chest and lock eyes with the man.

“You’re going to regret that.” You bite out.

“Oh?” He laughs. “And how do you suppose you’re going to manage that, sweetheart?”

You say nothing, but your eyes dart towards the trees, looking for…

Ah.

There they are.

Hovering just above the rolling mist, two golden eyes reflect light faintly from the edge of the treeline, watching intently.

You blink, and they’re gone.

A tense beat passes as the man raises his knife again, looking at you as though you’re a piece of meat he’s about to butcher.

Then, without even the slightest hint of sound to warn you, a huge dark blur comes barreling out at top speed from the treeline, mist billowing out in all directions as it runs directly toward you. A wolf of massive size crashes bodily into the man, barking ferociously and snarling; its sharp white fangs managing to flash even in the low light.

The man topples backward, but though there’s a brief moment of shocked surprise, he recovers quickly and begins wildly grappling at the wolf that’s slammed him to the ground.

You see the knife in his hand flash for a moment, but it’s forcefully wrenched away from him in a matter of seconds and flung into the darkness.

Well, if that ain’t karma…

There’s a brief struggle, but soon enough the man is securely pinned to the ground by the wolf, its jaws mere inches away from his throat. The dim light of the lantern makes its bright amber eyes spark with a primal fury as they stare down at the man, unblinking.

But after a tension-filled moment, the wolf backs off. It still pins the man to the ground, but it’s not snarling directly in his face anymore. It instead considers the man, then it starts to...well, shift. The fur recedes, the digitigrade paws change into human limbs, and the wolf's head morphs and shrinks.

It whole process takes a few seconds, but soon enough, Erik (fully clothed, in case you were wondering) sits atop the man, straddling his legs and pinning his arms down so he has no chance of causing any more trouble.

During this, the man tries to thrash out of his predicament, but his efforts are nothing in the face of Erik’s supernatural strength. You relish the idea of how perfectly terrifying this process must be from the perspective of an unwitting mortal.

The enraged gaze subsides when Erik turns to look at you, but where anger once was quickly shifts to concern as he sees you wince when you try to free your leg. Guess the adrenaline is starting to wear off now that you’re safe.

“Hold there for just a moment, my dear,” he tells you, “I’ll be over to help you out as soon as I’m done taking care of this.” He says, gesturing carelessly down at the man.

Nodding, you remain sitting where you are and simply content yourself by watching Erik dole out his retribution.

His gaze returns to the man, who at this point has given up trying to fight him off. He seems to have realized just how unnervingly strong Erik is, and with this dawning realization, his expression morphs into one of dawning horror.

"You spilt her blood." Erik states in a cool, factual tone. "So I think it only fair," the next words coming out as a hiss, "that yours spill next."

Roughly grabbing the man's face, Erik wrenches it around so the man has no other choice but to look directly into Erik's eyes. They rapidly take on an eerie quality, glowing a molten gold as Erik speaks again. “You will not move.” He commands, forcing his will to overtake the man's.

Having seemingly no mental resistance of which to speak of, the man immediately goes rigid on the ground.

“What…” The man tries to squeak out.

“Silence.” Erik growls, the word spoken with a tone cold as ice.

The man instantly quiets as his jaws snap together. The only movement he seems capable of now is his eyes darting around frantically; he’s obviously terrified of the situation he’s gotten himself into.

Good. He should be.

It’s not every day you get enthralled by a vampire, and it’s not something to be taken lightly.

Erik gets up, dusts himself off, then makes his way over to you.

Kneeling down, he manages to free your ankle from the hole. Once it's out, you instinctively pull your leg close to your body, holding it still so you don’t jostle your ankle.

Blood still weeps steadily from the gash on your arm, trickling down to stain the fabric of where your arm rests on your pants leg.

Upon seeing this, Erik tells you to hold on just a moment, then hurries inside your tent and quickly returns with a tin. He gestures for you to give him your arm, and you do so without question. Opening the tin, Erik proceeds to smear its contents on and into the cut on your arm.

It smells awful, and it stings like all hell, but you trust Erik to know what he’s doing.

“It’s a poultice I made before we left and brought along just in case.” Erik distractedly explains as he focuses on dressing your wound. “Although I have to say, this isn’t exactly what I thought I’d have to use it for.”

When he’s done, your arm still hurts, but it’s more like a dull ache compared to what you’d begun to feel when your adrenaline dropped off.

Erik doesn’t pause after he’s finished with your arm, setting his materials aside before reaching out to touch your ankle.

However, he does pause halfway through the motion. He instead looks up at you, asking silently for permission to continue.

You nod your consent, and he proceeds to deftly prod at the injury, testing to see if he can tell how bad it is. And even though he’s being exceedingly gentle as he does so, you can’t help but hiss in pain when his fingers press down on one specific area.

He draws his hand away and hums in consideration. “From what I can tell, it’s likely fractured.” He reaches out again, his hand hovering just beside your cheek. “I’m sorry, dear heart, but…”

You lean in, accepting Erik’s offered touch before quietly cutting him off. “We’ll have to go home, won’t we?”

Erik caresses your cheek with his thumb in a comforting gesture. “I’m afraid so. I can help heal cuts and bruises, but not broken bones. You’re not going to be able to walk like this, let alone swim.”

You try to take a steadying breath, but it does nothing to stop tears from welling up and burning at the corners of your eyes. “We just got here.”

“I know,” Erik consoles as he bends down and carefully lifts you into his arms.

You wrap your arms around his neck and lean your head against his chest. “I didn’t get to show you the lake.”

“I’m sorry, love.” Erik says, his voice soft with understanding as he carries you into the tent. “I know how much you were looking forward to swimming again.”

“I didn’t... I didn't get to sing for you.” You whisper, curling in on yourself as feelings of defeat and disappointment coalesce as a heavy weight that settles on your heart.

Gently, Erik lays you down on your cot and presses a kiss to your forehead. “You mean more to me than any song ever sung, my Angel.” He insists, taking your hand as he sits down on the cot beside you. “And I would continue loving you even if you never sang again.”

You feel tears silently roll down the sides of your face as you reach out for Erik. He responds to your gesture immediately; leaning over to wrap you in an enveloping embrace. You cry into his shoulder for a time while he holds you, steadfastly being your rock as you slowly calm back down.

Once you let him go, Erik nudges you into a sitting position, then comes around and sits behind you, urging you to lay your head in his lap. You do so, and he begins to hum softly while he cards his fingers through your hair; both gestures of affection he knows you’re particularly fond of.

His presence, along with the sound of his humming and the repetitive motion of his hands, works in tandem to ground you, feeling yourself calm down enough to the point of actually being able to relax.

There’s just one thing you know you need to address before you can allow the lull of sleep to claim you.

“Erik?”

He hums in acknowledgment but doesn’t stop gently pulling his fingers through your hair.

“The man…” You begin to say.

The fingers lightly grazing your scalp abruptly come to a halt for just the briefest second, then resume their work. “What about him?”

“What do you think we should do with him?”

Erik hums again, this time in consideration. “Well. That depends.” He muses. “Would you like me to take care of it, or,” his next words come out strained, “would you prefer to deal with him yourself?"

You can hear from the bite in his voice just how much he hates the idea of letting you go near that man again. So while you’re grateful he took your potential wants into consideration, you’re quick to assuage his fears.

“No.” You answer plainly. “I don’t want to see him again.”

There’s a quiet sigh of relief, and then a dry chuckle from Erik. “That can be easily taken care of.”

You reach a hand up to cup Erik’s face. “Tell me, love.”

Erik leans into your touch and meets your gaze, waiting for you to finish your thought.

“You haven’t fed recently, have you?”

“No…” Erik says, his eyes searching your face for an expression. “Are you saying you wouldn’t mind?”

You smile knowingly at him. “Have I minded before?” Your smile softens. “You need to feed frequently, and I know you don’t get to as often as you’d like. But it seems to me like a perfect opportunity’s been dropped in your lap. I don't mind at all; enjoy yourself for me.”

Erik’s smile turns wolfish, his canine teeth elongating as his ever-present hunger rears its head at the thought. He presses a chaste kiss to your forehead, then gets up and begins to make his way to the entrance of the tent.

“Thank you, love of mine." He says, pushing back the flap of the tent entrance. "I’ll be back soon.”  

You hum happily in acknowledgment, and then he’s gone.

You wait patiently during the pregnant pause that follows, and soon you’re graced with the sound you’d been waiting for; a deliciously blood-curdling shriek that rents the night air.

Upon hearing your tormentor face their deserved demise, you allow yourself to relax once again, listening as the sounds of screams abruptly cut off and the night goes blessedly quiet once more.

Exhausted from the previous events, you soon drop off into a dreamless sleep.

You don’t know how long you’re out for, but it’s still dark when you eventually open your eyes.

Looking over, you notice that Erik’s returned, his eyes glowing so bright they cast a faint yellow light over anything he turns to look at.

Smiling faintly, you recall that unique little trait of Erik’s only really appears in a couple of specific circumstances.

The first being when he experiences intensely strong emotions, though the light he throws off in those moments is usually a few shades dimmer than it is now.

No, this kind of luminosity is even rarer. It only really happens when Erik’s fully sated his hunger.

You shift on the cot to observe him, and Erik overhears, turning his gaze from his task over to you.

"How're you feeling?" You inquire lightly.

“Satisfied." He responds, a half-smile creeping across his lips. "How’re you feeling?"

“Better now that you’re back.” You respond, feeling a slight trill of joy go through you when Erik’s eyes glow just a tad bit brighter at your comment. 

“As pleased as I am to hear that,” he says, chuckling softly, “I doubt my presence has done much to change how you’re feeling physically. Has the pain improved at all?”

You take a moment to sit up and take stock of yourself.

Your ankle has a persistent ache that tips into painful territory when you try to move it, and your arm is still very much sore, but you do note that they both seem better off than they were earlier.

You shrug. “I still hurt, but it’s gotten to the point of being manageable, I suppose."

Erik huffs in acknowledgment. “Just take it easy. I know you think you heal relatively fast, but it’ll probably still take a few weeks. And may I remind you,” he says, giving you a pointed look, “it hasn’t even been a full day yet.”

“I know, but I’d like to at least test how my ankle’s coming along. I’ll be careful.” You say, waving off Erik’s concerned expression as you make slow movements to stand up, bracing yourself with the side of the cot.

While you’re doing this, Erik eyes the whole situation warily. To his credit though, he doesn’t try to stop you; simply keeping a vigilant watch.

You gingerly try to put a little weight on your bad ankle, and it holds, but as soon as you let go of the cot and try to take a step forward, your leg decides you’re stupid for trying this in the first place and promptly buckles underneath you.

Apparently not having anticipated this result, the glow in Erik’s eyes winks out the instant he sees you start to fall. 

Despite a slightly delayed reaction from him, he still manages to get across the tent in time to catch you; vampiric speed giving him an extra boost to reach you in time. His hands are there supporting your weight before you even have a chance to hit the floor.

He holds you securely as you regain your balance, then anchors himself beside the cot so you can settle back down.

“Thanks.” You sigh, scrubbing a hand over your face. “I guess I’m not going to be much help in clearing out.”

“That’s not something I’m overly concerned about.” Erik says dismissively, coming over and pressing his forehead to yours. His voice is markedly softer as he speaks again. “But I do make it my business to concern myself with you, you know.”

You sigh. “I know. I just feel bad; I wish I could help out in one way or another.”

There’s a contemplative pause as Erik pulls away. “Well.” He says after a moment. “There is one thing I can think of.”

You look over, and there’s the barest hint of a smile playing on Erik’s lips as he says, “That is, of course, if you’re willing to indulge me.”

That piques your curiosity. “Oh? And what did you have in mind?”

“Sing for me while I work?”

You laugh, happily surprised by his request. “Well now, I think that’s something I can manage.” You say, settling into a more comfortable position on the cot. “Any preference?”

“Not today.” He answers, gazing at you fondly. “I’d just like to hear your voice.”

Your heart melts, just a little, but you try not to let it show.

“You’re easily contented, aren’t you?” You tease.

He huffs a laugh. “Only when it’s you, Angel.”

Oh, and now your heart’s turned into a hopelessly romantic little puddle of goo. Funny how it seems these reactions are pulled from you so often whenever you’re with Erik.

But as he begins to busy himself with packing away your trip items, you start to sing for him as he works. And after you’ve sung a couple songs, Erik sporadically joins in on some of the tunes. He sings softly so as not to overtake your own voice, but you’re still able to hear his occasionally mix with yours in brief but beautiful harmonies.

This continues until he’s fully packed everything away, and you’re finally ready to depart.

Or at least, everything but you is ready to depart.

Instead of being in the car, where you’re technically supposed to be, you’re sitting in the spot where your tent was, simply gazing out into the woods in the general direction of the lake.

There’s a sense of longing tugging at your heart, but you’ve resigned yourself to accept the reality of the situation. There’ll be other opportunities to visit again in the future.

Having closed the car up, Erik comes over and settles himself down beside you, looking out in the same direction.

The two of you sit there for a while, listening to the sounds of the forest break through the silent night air.

While you can’t say for sure what Erik’s thinking about, you’re currently contemplating what’s happened in the last few days, as well as what might come in next few. It’s a lot to process, and if you’re honest with yourself, you’re probably not going to get through all that… well, that…tonight. So you simply take a deep breath and let the thoughts go for the time being. Problems for another day.

Instead, you let your focus shift over to Erik, and you try to parse out what he might be thinking about. He has a steady expression on his face, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

You watch him for a little while, simply feeling grateful he’s here with you.

Between one moment and the next, it seems like the trance Erik was in ends. He shakes his head as if clearing his thoughts, then looks over at you.

He smiles softly when he meets your eyes, then gets to his feet and comes to stand in front of you, offering a hand to help you up.

You smile back faintly, accepting the proffered hand while gingerly getting to your feet.

Once you’re up, Erik gently pulls you towards him into an enveloping hug.

You’re a little surprised, but you don’t question it and melt into his arms all the same.

“This doesn’t have to end just yet.” Erik says, sounding determined in a decision you haven’t been made aware of yet. He pulls back and holds your shoulders as he asks, “Would you still like to visit the lake before we leave?”

“Wha… I mean, of course I would,” you all too readily agree, “but I thought we weren’t going to try getting there…”

“Change of plans.” Erik says, breaking from the hug so he can turn around and kneel down, presenting his back for you to climb up on.

You hesitate. “Erik, it’s not a short trip over there, and the sun will be up in a couple hours, are you sure….”

Turning to look at you, Erik gives you a knowing half-smile. “As long as it’s still dark out, distance and endurance are not going to impede me. And we won’t stay too long, I promise. Now,” he says, looking determined, “are you coming with me, or are we going home? Your choice.”

You don’t hesitate a second longer, clambering onto Erik’s waiting back and getting situated. He shifts you a little for a better grip, then turns once more to look at you from over his shoulder.

“Ready?”

“Do you even have to ask?” You reply with ramping excitement, feeling happier than you’ve been since you first started this trip.

With a quick grin thrown your way, Erik turns and takes off into the woods with you clinging to him as he covers the terrain with ease. His pace never slows and his grip on you never wavers.

With you giving him directions to follow, he quickly comes upon the river you’d discovered earlier and follows it for a little under an hour until you reach your destination. If you’d been hiking, the trek would’ve taken a handful of hours at least, but a vampire running at full tilt without needing breaks gets you where you want to go incredibly fast. 

When you do actually get there, the river broadens out as it flows into the huge lake. It stands perfectly pristine in the middle of the forest, its deep blue waters calling to you with their own irresistible siren song.

Erik sets you down at the edge of the lake’s sandy shore and takes a small step back as you simply marvel at the beauty of it all.

This is what you’d been waiting for; all you’d longed for from the beginning.

And it was right there; you were so close you could touch it…

You take a step forward.

Or at least, you try to.

As soon as you attempt that first step, reality kicks back in with a cruel reminder as a sharp stab of pain shoots through your ankle.

You hiss, instinctively shifting to take the weight off your injury.

And then you stand there for a moment, looking out over the water that laps unaffected and unconcerned on the shores of the lake.

And then you sit down.

You know deep down that you won’t be able to go into the water today. At least, not in the way you’d hoped.

And though that pains you more than words can truly express, you do your best to let that pain go.

You’re still able to be here, getting to appreciate the beauty of the lake you love.

And much, much more than that, you’re here with a man who you love more than anything, and who you know in return loves you more than life itself.

And when that man sits down beside you in the sand, which you know he loathes but does anyways for your sake, you feel a dam inside yourself break.

The way it breaks isn’t necessarily bad, per se, but the overwhelming feeling of love you have for this man in this moment pushes you past your breaking point.

All the other emotions you’ve been bottling up decide this is the moment to mesh with your overarching feeling of love for Erik, and they’ve decided to express themselves all at once in a display of tears that start streaming unimpeded down your cheeks.

Erik, to his unending credit, just rolls with the punches and draws you into his arms as he patiently waits for you to cry everything out.

It didn’t take long; a minute or two at most, and then you’re feeling better.

You sigh and wipe your eyes. “Thanks for bringing me here, Erik. I think I really needed it.”

Erik hums contentedly. “Anything for you, Angel.”

You smile gratefully at him, then turn so you can lean back against his chest. Once you’re comfortable, you then very carefully start removing your shoes and socks. Setting them aside, you scoot over to the shore of the lake and let the water lap at your feet. Nothing more than that, but in this moment, it’s enough.

Erik stays where he is, sitting in the sand and watching you; soaking in the moment.

You’re content. Not exactly happy, but you’re not upset anymore either.

And in that simple contentment, you close your eyes and begin to sing an old song you know Erik is particularly fond of.

It’s not one you sing all too often; it's somewhat challenging even for you, a creature whose kind exists and revolves around the ability to sing entrancingly beautiful songs that lure countless people to their doom.

And not to toot your own horn about it, but you took great pride in your singing, especially nowadays. Many a mortal had fallen under the spell of your song when you’d lived out in the ocean’s depths.

And it even caught the attention of a vampire once, long ago. You were still particularly proud of that feat, considering how that particular vampire just so happens to be immune to siren songs’ alluring effects. At least, in a manner of speaking; your situation was a little bit different than you were used to. A story to dwell on another day.

But all that aside, you happen to know his favorite type of music to listen to is classic pieces he’s discovered over the course of history, ones that he’s introduced you to. Those are beautiful in their own right, but they weren’t what you were used to.

Your siren songs were meant solely to ensnare people, and you perfected that craft over decades. But that was all you’d known in terms of songs, aside from the occasional sea shanties you’d heard sailors sing.

It’d taken Erik coming along to show you there was so much more.

And it'd taken a while to manage it, but you’d put in the time to learn every song he showed particular interest in over the years. More often than not, you’d end up asking him to teach the songs to you, knowing he’d love seeing the effort you were put in, hearing you practice, and getting to witness the resulting song you’d sing for him once you’d finished practicing.

And it didn’t hurt that most of the time he’d sing for you in return. He has a singing voice that far surpasses any you’ve heard before, siren or otherwise. You may be biased, but you think that if he’d been a siren himself,  he would have been the envy of the entire ocean; every siren would’ve wanted to choose him as their partner.

You could never get over the fact that he had chosen to be yours.

And so you sing out over the stillness of the lake, singing a song for Erik and for yourself.

And when your song ends, you look back at Erik, who’s been watching you with his head settled on his crossed arms which rest on his legs; fully enraptured with your impromptu performance.

As the silence begins to reign over the lake once more, he blinks rapidly as if the spell you cast over him suddenly broke, and then his face splits into a wide smile as he makes eye contact with you.

“You never cease to amaze me, my Angel.” He expresses reverently.

“Thank you, love.” You humbly reply. “Now please, help me up.”  You say as you reach your arms out, gesturing for him to come over.

He chuckles lightly as he picks himself up out of the sand and comes over to you. Grasping your outstretched hands, he pulls you up and you towards him, steadying you as you get to your feet.

“How are you feeling now?” He inquires, shifting as he wraps an arm around your waist to both support you and keep you close.

You gaze out over the lake that glimmers ever so slightly in the moonlight, considering the question.

On the one hand, you’d been attacked in a place you thought was safe, and ended up hurt both physically and mentally. Though the physical threat had been very thoroughly dealt with, the injuries you sustained to your body and mind marred your experience in ways that couldn’t be instantly remedied. This trip was most likely going to leave some kind of scar.

But on the flip side of that; you’ve received scars before and had lived to tell the tales, becoming stronger for having survived your ordeals. And this trip was one of those times. It was unpleasant now, but you’d move past it.

In fact, you feel as though you’ve already begun that process, from the moment you decided not to let this whole debacle ruin your entire reason for coming here in the first place.

You’d still gotten to spend time with the one you loved, and you’ve enjoyed every single moment of that, both good and bad alike.

So when you finally answer, all you can say is, “I feel… better. Like things are going to be alright.”

Erik rests his head on top of yours while he hums in agreement. “Yes… that sounds right.”

“But if it’s all the same to you, I think I’m ready to leave now.” You say, shifting to turn around in Erik’s arms. “If I’m being honest, familiarity sounds nice.”

“What, being around me isn’t familiar enough for you?” Erik teases lightly.

You gently thump your hand against his chest. “Hush, you know what I meant.”

All you get is an unapologetic chuckle in reply.

Sighing, you say, “Well, what do you think, are you ready to wrap this disastrous little outing up; head back home?”

“I suppose so. But I wouldn’t count it as a total wash.” Erik says, pulling back to look at you.

You raise an eyebrow skeptically. “Oh? How so?”

“Well, let’s see,” Erik responds, counting on his fingers as he gives you his list, “I was able to thoroughly terrify a mortal; I haven’t done that in ages, and afterward, I had a very satisfying meal. Oh! And best of all….” He pauses for just a moment to bend down and scoop you up into his arms, suddenly carrying you bridal-style and pressing a chaste kiss to your lips. “I was here with you the whole time. That’s always going to be something I deeply cherish.”

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you pull his head back down to give him a deep kiss of your own, making sure this one lasts just a bit longer.

You feel his whole body relax as he reciprocates, kissing back with a tender yet passionate fervor. You get the distinct impression that he’d be holding your face in his hands if he weren’t preoccupied with holding you.

When you do finally disengage, you give him a wry smile. “Charmer. Bet you say that to all the pretty sirens.”

He blinks a few times at you, apparently needing a second to process what you said; his immediate thoughts seem to be wrapped up in the kiss you’d just given him.

Once he’s processed your teasing remark, he simply gives you a sincere smile. “No. Because I’ve only ever seen one truly beautiful siren in all my years, dear-heart. And all that I have; my words, my devotion, my heart, my everything, is hers alone.”

At his heartfelt words, you start to feel tears prick at the corners of your eyes. You reach up and place a hand on the side of Erik’s face, meeting his eyes. “You mean everything to me, Erik. I love you so much.”

Erik leans in to press his forehead to yours. “And I you, Angel.”

The two of you share a long moment together in the silence, simply basking in the feeling of each other’s declarations.

“Now then,” Erik says after the moment had passed, “let’s go home.”

As Erik turns and starts striding off back towards your camp with you held securely in his arms, you cast one last glance at the lake.

It’ll still be there when you inevitably return.

Right now, it’s time to go.

Time to make some new memories.

Chapter Text

You’d like to think that you’d had a pretty fun night out, all things considered.

Rook and Nadir had called you up one evening, asking if you wanted to come join them in visiting the new nightclub that had just opened up downtown.

Now, usually, that kind of thing was very specifically not your scene; all the noise and people and lights being just a tad bit too loud and overwhelming for a happy homebody like yourself.

But they both sounded so excited over the phone, both to check it out and to potentially have you go with them…. and if you were honest with yourself, you hadn’t seen them for quite a bit longer than you’d of liked….

So you supposed that just this once, for this one night, you could indulge in something a little different than your comfortable norm for some hopefully good times with your friends.

Nadir had assured you when you got there that Erik had also been invited, but that had been more as a courtesy than anything.

Apparently, the moment the word “nightclub” had left Nadir’s lips, Erik had just laughed and gave a very flippant “no, thanks”.

Typical, Nadir had told you. Erik certainly wasn’t one for most social outings.

Ah, well. It’s not like you’d expected him to come anyhow; if this wasn’t going to be your scene to begin with, it definitely wasn’t going to be Erik’s.

But regardless, you were going to have fun with the friends who’d invited you, and you weren’t going to let anything stop you!

And that’s how you’d now assumedly gotten to where you currently are; essentially waltzing down the street back towards your place at 1:00 in the morning.

There’s a song in your head and a dance in your step, and you couldn’t care less about what any (unlikely) passerby may think of your impromptu dance session out here in the overhead lamplight.

You’re so glad you decided to go out tonight; you can’t even remember the last time you felt so lighthearted and carefree and… and just happy to be alive!

Joie de vivre runs through your veins and you don’t care who knows it!

Though that doesn’t mean you’re suddenly willing to explain that to whoever is suddenly, (yet oddly gently?), putting their hands on your shoulders.

You yelp in alarm and go to try and to whip around on whoever’s dared to touch you.

And to your surprise, your possible assailant allows you to whirl on him, and—

Oh.

Oh!

“Erik!” you chirp, surprise and relief washing over you at the sight of that familiar white mask tilted down at you. “Hey! Hi. Where’d you come from???”

“Nowhere important.” He replies, watching you with golden eyes that plainly reflect his amusement at your antics. “And just where do you think you’re dancing off to?”

“Home,” you say, as if your answer should’ve be obvious.

“Mhm,” Erik nods, and there’s a faint smile playing at his lips. “Did you happen to tell Rook or Nadir that you were leaving?”

“‘Course I did!” Then you pause, trying to recall if, in fact, you did. “I mean…I think I did? I’m pretty…pretty sure I did, yeah.”

Erik, however, shakes his head.

“Well, if the panicked call I got from Rook was anything to go by, you didn’t. That, or she and Nadir indulged tonight even more than you did and promptly forgot anything you told them in the last half an hour.”

At that, you scoff.

“Hey, look, I’m not drunk!”

You can essentially feel Erik’s eyebrow raise behind his mask as he crosses his arms over his chest and gives you a pointed look.

You scramble a little to explain. “I mean… maybe I am, just a little…”

At that, Erik huffs a laugh.

“But, hey, I’m fine,” you say, suddenly feeling defensive, “I’m not… I’m not that … Nadir and Rook are overreacting, I’m just a little tired! That’s why I’m headed home!”

To you, this is exceedingly obvious.

To Erik, it seems like it must be funny, because he can’t seem to stop himself from laughing at your expense.

“Angel,” he says, tamping down his laughter and trying very hard not to smile at you, “tell me, do you happen to know where your shoes are?”

………

You look down.

Somehow, some way, you do indeed appear to be without shoes… and you hadn’t noticed in the slightest as you’d been dancing barefoot down the sidewalk.

When…

When did you take your shoes off?

“……I had them,” is all you can think to say.

Erik just shakes his head and chuckles.

“Honestly, you’re worse than Nadir… you said you were headed home?”

You nod.

“Well then, I think that’s something I can help with. But you’ll have to make a choice for me.”

You eye him skeptically. “That being….?”

Erik simply smiles back at you. “Seeing as you’re without proper footwear, I’ve decided I’m going to have to carry you back. But you get to choose if I’m to carry you like a princess or a sack of potatoes.”

Ooh…potatoes…

You wondered if you still had some of those frozen French fries in your freezer back home; they sound amazing right about now…

But then your eyes meet Erik’s expectant ones, and with a little smile, he gently prompts you. “Go on. Make your choice.”

You… don’t think you’re terribly drunk, but being carried bridal/princess style doesn’t sound great to you right about now, and a shoulder digging into your stomach doesn’t sound very good either.

Not to mention it’d be really rude to have an accident occur on Erik’s back when he’s trying to do you a favor…

As if sensing your indecision, Erik sighs good-naturedly. “I’d also be willing to accommodate a piggyback ride.”

Your head shoots up, your eyes going wide and hopeful.

Erik simply huffs a laugh and looks skyward, as if wondering how he on Earth he allowed himself to be brought into this situation, but he dutifully turns and bends a little for you to clamber up.

You happily wrap yourself around him, setting your chin on his shoulder as he hooks his arms under your knees, getting a good, solid grip on you.

You often forget that for such a lean guy, Erik’s got some serious strength going on. You can’t help but appreciate his willingness to cart you back in such a manner.

“Alright.” He says once you’re both situated. “Let’s get you home.”

You close your eyes as you feel Erik start to move down the street, feeling sleepily satisfied with your lot tonight.

“You know,” Erik casually say, “you’re going to be feeling this in the morning; you are decidedly not a heavyweight.”

You may be drunk, but that doesn’t stop your brain from being able to give as good as you get. “Hey, be grateful I’m a lightweight,” you playfully jab back, “cause I know you’re enjoying carrying me, and I wouldn’t want to weigh you down.”

That gets a bark of laughter from Erik, and he shifts you up a bit so as to get a better grip under your legs. “That you could never do, Angel. You’ve only ever given me strength.”

Happily content with his answer, you allow yourself to doze off as he carries you towards home.