Actions

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warning:
Category:
Fandoms:
Relationships:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
Language:
English
Stats:
Published:
2024-02-16
Updated:
2024-05-03
Words:
8,852
Chapters:
8/?
Comments:
3,967
Kudos:
120
Bookmarks:
8
Hits:
2,371

Aphmau SMP + My Inner Demons Oneshots (Closed to Requests for now)

Summary:

What the title says lol
Just a bunch of oneshots of the Aphmau SMP and MID
(I still have yet to watch my street, give me time 😔)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

HELLO :D

 

i finally got an account on here so yay!

 

I crossposted this on wattpad and a bit on tumblr so ye

 

also I am open to suggestions/requests 

BUT.

I will NOT write smut, x reader stuff, anything proship (so generally nothing of that sort(and this might be silly, but this includes the ship Asch x Noi because I headcanon them as brothers and don’t wanna write any of that)

 

besides that, I’m all open and will also write my own kinda thing in here

Chapter 2: IS THAT THE GRIM REAPER?!?! (Zane x Noi)

Summary:

Remember that one video where some of the Aphcrew stays up until 3 am? Yeah, this is kinda the aftermath between Noi and Zane. (If you don’t wanna watch the vid, what basically happened was that Noi kinda became the grim reaper and creeped the fuck outta Zane and the others, that’s all tbh)

Notes:

According to former me, I was half-asleep while writing this and didn’t wanna finish/edit it, and tbh I’m too lazy to so here y’all are

Chapter Text

“…Well. I’ll probably never be able to sleep again,” Zane sighed as he shifted deeper into his sheets for warmth. 

 

It was 4:03 am, way too early for anyone in the Hub to be as awake as he currently was. And yet, he still had that feeling that his troublesome friends were still up, also tossing and turning and having a dance with their stuffed animals under their blankets. Honestly, Zane at least hoped so, he didn’t exactly want to feel alone at the moment.

 

Well, he wasn’t alone physically, but the person sleeping beside him was the last person he wanted physically close to him, no matter how long they had already been dating. After all, if you saw your boyfriend standing over your friend’s body (that had somehow turned 2D) threatening to take her and your soul into the afterlife with an unfamiliar scowl, you’d be a bit scared too. Zane brought his attention to his boyfriend, Noi, who was peacefully sleeping beside him, his chest rising and falling in a slow and deep manner. 

 

That whole night had left Zane quite frankly, horrified, and his boyfriend pulling up as the literal Grim Reaper was nothing but the cherry on top of the fever dream nightmare adventure he had just escaped from not too long ago, or rather caused for that matter. As if he needed another instance, Zane’s curiosity had gotten the best of him and caused him and his friends to stay up at 3 in the morning to…see weird stuff. Well, he definitely thought that seeing Ein’s head on the body of a cat was weird, so he got what he wanted. 

 

Zane wasn’t sure if the Noi he was being threatened by truly was his boyfriend until Aph made the Hub return to normal. Once she did, Noi’s eyes seemed to flash with awareness and slowly descended to look down at Zane, who was fighting off Ein’s apparent cat offspring before they all vanished from thin air. Before Zane could call out to him, Noi’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell off the well and into the bushes surrounding most of its sides, now sleeping peacefully and covered in Nana’s pink roses that were made to add calm decor to the scenery. Zane rushed over to Noi’s side and thought about waking him up before realizing how scared he was of his lover at that moment, that fear causing him to take a few hesitant steps back. Noi’s dark robe and scythe also disappeared, leaving the Daemon in his orange pj’s covered with puppies, a bright alternative compared to his previous attire. After a sudden mental debate, Zane lifted his boyfriend from the shrubs and carried him into his house before settling down beside him in bed, or at least trying to. 

 

Noi had never told Zane about his…job? Zane wasn’t sure what to label what he had witnessed, but it definitely wasn’t something he knew about. Was it something that he should have known about? There were so many unanswered questions spinning inside his head and he didn’t know which ones were better left unanswered. A low grunt of annoyance left his throat as Zane shifted position again. Before he could fully shut his eyes, his grunt was meant with a sleepy mumble. “..Zane? Are you up?”

 

Zane slowly turned around to find Noi slowly forcing himself to sit up, groaning a bit in confusion while adjusting his hair. “When did I get here? I remember I went to bed at my pla-“ Noi suddenly stopped himself and straightened himself up against the bed board, his eyes now wide and his tired expression switching to full alertness in an instant. Once the silence became too deafening for him, he turned over to Zane with a near forced smile. “What’s got you up so late at night? You’re always saying you’ll fix your sleep schedule, and yet here you are, awake at this hour.”

 

“I could be asking you the same question, babe,” Zane replied in the best nonchalant voice he could muster, his grip on his sheets tightening slightly to hide his small tremble.

 

“Oh, I uhh, just woke up.” Noi was never a good liar, that much was true. The way his  voice wavered, the sudden direct eye contact, the unconventional and uneven giggle that followed every sentence he spoke were all dead giveaways. 

 

“Ahh, uhh, why am I in your house, huh? That’s a very fair question, ha. You can’t just, uh, take people from their hom-“

 

“You weren’t at home,” Zane interrupted as he also straightened himself up. “You were outside, standing on top of the well, with a scythe and a dark robe while making vague comments about how we were “running out of time”. Not in your house.”

 

Noi blinked at Zane from his bluntness before his shoulders slumped and a breathy sigh escaped his lips, his legs now folding up to his chest. Noi rested his chin atop his knees while he spoke in a much weaker voice, “You saw that, huh?”

 

Zane immediately got a gut feeling of regret for how his language presented himself as angry when in fact, he wasn't sure he even had the mental energy to do so at the moment. He wanted to swallow the words that had spilled but it seemed a bit late for that. He reached out his hand and placed it on top of Noi’s while nodding. “Yeah, I saw. I didn’t, um, expect to see that from you.”

 

“It wasn’t something I wanted you to see.”

 

“Oh-“

 

“Please don’t say sorry, you don’t have to be. It’s just that, it’s a bit hard to explain.”

 

“…Well, I have all the time in the world.”

Chapter 3: Unspoken Gratefulness (Rhys x Asch hurt/comfort)

Summary:

Rhys never expected a “thank you” from Prince Asch.

Oh yeah, the fire loser gets hurt

Womp womp

Notes:

Fun fact, there’s no beta read for this one :3

Also this one was recommended by someone on Wattpad

Chapter Text

“Thank you once more for the lesson, Lady Grandma,” Rhys gratefully stated while bowing to the elderly woman, his mentor in front of her chamber door after studying magic by her side. She slightly bowed her own head in response. “You’re a good student, Rhys. I am sure you will continue to do great things within this palace.”

 

Rhys’s face brightened and his posture adjusted itself at the compliment. He had been doing well as not only Lady Grandma’s student, but also as Asch’s royal advisor, something that he took great pride in. Nearly every minute, Rhys would spend his time wondering how to assist and please his prince, hoping that Asch appreciated his devotion. However, he didn’t expect Asch to ever explicitly state such a thing, the hot-head could hardly apologize to anyone without snarkiness slipping into his tone, let alone display gratefulness for Rhys simply doing his job properly. This never bothered Rhys, not to a great extent at least. He knew not to expect too much praise from him, so his hopes were never high.

 

Rhys eloped deeper into the palace, his mind pondering what he should do in his free time. Asch was currently in a “summit” of sorts that was designated for the sons and their father only, so he couldn’t stay by Asch and monitor his safety, leaving him with time for himself. This was a rare occasion, and quite honestly not all that pleasant. Without anything to truly do, Rhys felt rather, as childish as it was to admit, bored and lonely. He decided it may be best to catch up on some reading within the royal library, so he turned himself in the direction of the large assortment of literature.

 

Before Rhys could get far, a low grumble and shuffling echoed in the opposite direction, startling the mage. He whipped his head around, ready to arm himself with a spell, before immediately dropping his guard in concern and confusion.

 

Asch was dragging his feet along the castle tiles, holding his seemingly burnt arm while wiping away warm tears from his face. His face was painted in shame and anger and even a splash of fear, occasionally wincing at his burnt arm. His near blank eyes focused on Rhys, who stood opposite of the long hall and was now rushing to his side.

 

“Prince Asch!” Rhys nearly shouted in worry before Asch put a hand up to silence his knight. “Sil-silence Rhys.”

 

Needless to say, Rhys was taken aback at this sudden protest. He knew that Asch was a stubborn man, but this was simply reckless. He quickly shook his head and tried to support Asch, only to be batted off by the prince, who now had a harsh scowl on his face. “Don’t touch me!” Asch shouted, despite his clear exhaustion and pain. 

 

Rhys took very clear notice of one thing about Asch, and that was the primal fear in his eyes. The visual display of fear transferred to his breath that now shook, and reached his full body that now trembled and stepped away from him. Something happened during that “summit” and Rhys wasn’t a fan of it by any capacity. After a deep breath to appear less panicked, Rhys calmly spoke to Asch. “Prince Asch, please, let me help you. I can even find Leif for you, if that’s what you’d like.”

 

Asch’s mouth opened to dismiss the attempts to assist, but shut as he stumbled onto Rhys’s shoulder, a weak grunt escaping his throat. “..don’t get Leif. I-I don’t want to-to be seen like this by anyone else,” Asch weakly murmured through his quivering voice. 

 

Rhys nodded at Asch’s request and gently put his arm under Asch’s arms to lead him to his royal chambers. Asch’s body seemed to slightly relax at Rhys’s touch, his chilling body a nice contrast to that of his own burning one. Eventually, the two of them reached Asch’s chambers and Rhys sat Asch down on his bed.

 

“Do you mind me touching your burns? I can’t exactly heal them, but I can cool them down and make them less painful,” Rhys questioned with concern still laced in his voice.

 

Asch hesitantly nodded and allowed Rhys to use his magic on him. Rhys’s eyes danced between the burns on the prince’s body and his face itself, which now possessed tightly shut eyes and a tense jaw, almost bracing himself for pain. This filled the advisor with sadness and anger, now feeling a fire within his gut to punish whoever harmed Asch in the first place. His Asch.

 

Rhys’s hands started to turn an icy white before his hands placed themselves on Asch’s main burn that sat on his arm. A near silent cry managed to make itself known to Rhys, causing him to whisper an apology while continuing his spell. After a few painful, eternal seconds, Asch seemed to have calmed from his panicked state and untenced himself. Rhys smiled up at Asch, causing Asch’s eyes to soften at the sight. 

 

Once Rhys was finished, he removed his hands to examine the scars, which were a lot less visibly painful. He sighed with relief and slight proudness at his own abilities. After a few moments of silence, he tried to question what happened at the “summit”, but was interrupted by Asch.

 

“I’m sorry I’m such a failure of a prince,” Asch pitifully choked out, hot tears now slipping from his bloodshot eyes.

 

Rhys physically recoiled at this sudden statement of self-loathing. This was extremely out of character, not to mention worrying. Asch was a man with a lot of self-confidence, borderline egotistic at worst, but still very confident. To hear such a pitiful “apology” was baffling to Rhys. After sitting in shock for too long, he scooted himself closer to Asch. “Prince Asch, you’re not a failure. I don’t understand where this is coming from, but you’re simply just wrong.”

 

“You’re lying to me. I know you are. You're just kissing my feet to stay on my good side, but I don’t need any pity points, I have enough within myself,” Asch brutally exclaimed to Rhys.

 

“Prince Asch. I don’t dare do such a thing, if you’re in the wrong, I have simply stated that. Even though I want to please you, I don’t condone lying to you and leading you into a false direction. That is why I am disagreeing with you. What happened at the summit today? Be honest, Asch.”

 

Asch’s gaze fell to the floor before speaking, “The summit wasn’t an ordinary meeting like usual. It took place in the arena, where father wanted me and Rhal to battle. I don’t know what he wanted out of it, but we did it anyway. And I lost. After I was humiliated, my father…had a talk with me. A long, eye-opening talk.”

 

“Your father is nothing short of a fool,” Rhys spoke out of turn.

 

Asch froze at the attack on his father. He remained frozen before he stifled a chuckle, which slowly evolved to a giggle, and escalated to full-out laughter. Rhys was confused, he was being dead serious, after all. He observed the prince as he continued to laugh, but couldn’t hide a smile as he gazed upon Asch’s face. Rhys found it beautiful when Asch smiled and laughed, he wished he saw it more often, or at all besides today. Rhys took a moment to breathe and cool his face, which had suddenly grown warm.

 

Once Asch had gathered his bearings, he commented, “I didn’t know you had such strong feelings.”

 

“Anyone who could say things that would lead you to feel such a way is a clear buffoon, by all means,” Rhys commented.

 

“…you mean that?” Asch questioned with a softer tone than he usually had.

 

Rhys’s face suddenly heated up once more at Asch’s voice, but he still responded as calmly as he could. “Of course I mean it, you’re a wonderful prince. I should know, I’ve seen you at your worst moments and your best.”

 

Asch chuckled a bit at the statement. “Yeah, I guess this moment would go in one of the worst, huh?” Asch joked slightly, though his joke had an air of genuinity to it.

 

“Actually, I’d consider this a high moment, in its own way. It takes a lot to be vulnerable, especially in your situation,” Rhys responded.

 

Asch nodded as he thought about Rhys’s words, taking them to heart. He slowly lowered his head onto Rhys’s shoulder again, shifting his position to be more comfortable. His own cheeks couldn’t be anymore red than they already were as he muttered, “Thank you for that, I guess. And for helping me and dealing with me all the time,” Asch crossed his arms and avoided eye contact while he spoke.

 

Rhys smiled and rested his head on Asch’s, his hand slowly wandering to the prince’s before they interlocked fingers. He never expected to hear a thank you from Asch, so he didn’t have an actual verbal response to say back to Asch, and instead relied on body language to answer for him. They both slowly entered an embrace with one another, in mutual contemptment. They didn’t need words to know how much they cared about each other at that moment, their shared embrace was enough.

Chapter 4: Powerless (Noi x Pierce Hurt/Comfort)

Summary:

Noi doesn’t have magic anymore. Or does he? (He doesn’t but he’s in denial)

Notes:

Yoooo finally wrote this >:)

Also again, no beta read cus it’s 6:20 am when I’m posting this and I’m not gonna wake up a friend for it

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

‘Okay.’

 

‘It’s going to work this time, I know it.’

 

‘Just focus.’

 

Noi was sitting on the chilling marble floor of the pocket dimension within Ava’s apartment and had his seemingly charred hands cupped close to his chest, with his usual fingerless gloves thrown to the side. ’All I have to do is focus, right?’ He thought to himself. Noi stared down at his hands and strained himself while keeping his hands as still as he could. After a few seconds, a light spark appeared for a flash and then shocked him before disappearing again.

 

He flinched and winced at the electricity’s attack, holding his hands against his chest. He tried to look down and observe the damage, but hid them against his chest once again in slight shame and disgust. He knew he had to do this, but it was really starting to hurt. The fearful thought had settled into his mind that maybe he really was powerless now, ever since he got himself and the other guys to Earth. Noi tried repeatedly for the last few days to regain his powers, even if they were weak, only to be met with burnt fingers and disappointment. 

 

Noi released a shaky sigh and rolled his eyes upward to prevent tears from falling out of his eyes. He continued to have trembling breaths for a while but eventually regained enough of his composure to bring his attention to his gloves. He swallowed before slowly reaching out to his gloves and tried slipping one on, but immediately was sent into excruciating pain and threw it off as quickly as he could. The tears he had worked hard to prevent shedding slipped from his eyes and a whimper escaped his throat. 

 

He hated this. He hated all of it, the pain of his burns, the shameful tearshed, the overwhelming feeling of self-hatred that crawled under his skin like fire ants in the sand. Noi had nothing now, he was nothing now. It’s not as if he was ever much of any value, he was always weak and stupid and worthless , only now, he was worse. He at least had his magic, but now with even that gone he was just a liability . 

 

Noi wanted to cry, but he knew that he shouldn’t. Not just because of how gross he felt being even more vulnerable than he already was, but because someone was in the apartment with him for the time being and he wasn’t going to embarrass himself more than he already had. Noi took the back of his hands and wiped his eyes before carefully placing them in the pockets of his jeans to hide the burns. He stood up from the floor and walked out with the best smile he could muster onto his face. He hoped his face wasn’t red enough for anyone to know he was crying.

 

When Noi walked out of the pocket dimension, he was surprised to find no one there beside himself and Johnny the cat. He remembered Ava shouting about how she was going to the store with some of the guys and one of them was staying with him to help with the cat. He made the assumption that he possibly heard Ava wrong and was actually just alone. Johnny purred and Noi’s feet, asking to be pet. Noi’s smile became a little more genuine as he looked down at the cat and unconsciously reached a hand down to pet him. Once his skin came into contact with the cat’s fur, Noi quickly recoiled back and shouted out, causing Johnny to get startled and run off into Ava’s room. 

 

Noi mumbled a curse under his breath while gritting his teeth, attempting to distract himself from the mind-numbing pain on his hand. Just when he thought things couldn’t get worse, the front door handle jiggled a bit before opening, revealing Pierce. Noi quickly ducked his hand back into his pocket and brought his fake smile to the surface once more. He mentally prayed to every god he knew that he would be okay. 

 

——————————————————————————————————————————————

 

Earlier that day, Ava told the guys she was going out to get groceries. This led to Rhys asking if he could tag along and get some ice cream with her, to which she agreed. Such an agreement prompted Asch and Leif to start bickering about also wanting to go outside, eventually forcing Ava to reluctantly bring the two troublemakers with her to the store. She then figured to ask Pierce, to which he declined, wanting to help care for Johnny after growing quite attached to the cat. Noi also declined the offer and insisted he had to do something private for the day. Pierce couldn’t help but be slightly curious at Noi’s hesitance, but dropped the topic due to it not being too much on his mind. 

 

He had just come back from taking out the garbage to see Noi standing in the center of the apartment with a clearly phony smile. His face was also noticeably red and his eyes were slightly puffed, leading Pierce to the conclusion that Noi had cried a bit during his absence. “H-hiya Pierce,” Noi laughed out while rocking on his own feet.

 

Pierce gave him a nod in response as he slowly walked towards him in an attempt to close the distance. However, Noi backed up a few steps rather abruptly and borderline desperately, awkwardly laughing while doing so. “What are you doing?” Noi questioned.

 

“Walking. What’s wrong?” Pierce bluntly asked, not bothering to dance around the topic. 

 

His sudden question made Noi start to stammer and murmur about nothing being wrong and “not knowing” what he was referring to because he was perfectly fine. Pierce wasn’t paying attention to Noi’s dismissal and instead was drawn to the fact that Noi had kept his hands in his pockets, which was unusually stiff for Noi. He walked closer to Noi once more and grabbed his arm out of his jeans before noticing the wounds that we covered on his hand. Portions of Noi’s hand were blistered and other parts were fully colored black in clearly horrible burns. Pierce’s head lifted to look at Noi’s face, which now was sickly pale and had watery eyes.

 

“What happened? What have you been doing?” Pierce asked this with a serious tone, though he was also very concerned. 

 

Noi avoided looking at Pierce and yanked his arm back. “It’s nothing serious,” Noi mumbled while staring at the floor under his feet and swallowing back some sobs.

 

“Noi, those burns are third-degree and look untreated. You are seriously hurting yourself for not telling anyone. How did this even happen?”

 

Pierce’s question was matched with silence. “Noi. What happened? I’m not asking again.”

 

Noi’s voice was now just as shaky as his whole body while he spoke. “I..was trying to regain my magic.”

 

Pierce paused at the explanation for a few seconds before snapping out of his daze and speaking once more with his typical monotone voice, “Noi, you know that your magic is gone and you’re not getting it back anytime soon, if ever-“

 

“I’m still going to try. I need my magic and I know I can get it back, I just need more time,” Noi interrupted with a slight edge in his voice.

 

“What difference would it make if you did have your powers again? Not much would change at all, at this rate you’re just hurting yourse-“

 

“BECAUSE IT’S THE ONLY THING I HAD THAT MAKES ME WORTH ANYTHING!” Noi snapped like an old rope that’s held something too big for too long.

 

“ YOU wouldn’t understand because you actually mean something! But me? A-All I am is a weak and USELESS waste of a knight! I’m not st-strong, I’m not smart, and now I’m literally powerless! Without my magic, there was ba-basically NO POINT in Asch sparing m-me, because all I’ve done is humiliate him and you and everyone else! I am nothing more than a waste and an idiot!” Noi continued to shout, his voice choked with tears and yet still shaking the apartment. 

 

Noi carelessly rubbed his hands on his face, no longer worrying about his pain, if anything it became a relief. Relief in his knowledge that he was powerless and pathetic against everything, even his skin. He stumbled onto the couch and watched the tears from his eyes fall into his lap. “I-I don’t s-see why Asch spared me in the first p-place. It’s no-It’s not like I have a-any value to him or our missions. He should have just stood and watched me be executed, that would have been better for him.” Noi and Pierce were both shocked at the words that left Noi’s mouth. 

 

Pierce took a seat next to Noi and pulled him into an embrace, something that neither of them really had experience with. Noi looked up at Pierce’s face, which seemed to be threatening to also shed its own tears. “There’s more to your value than what you can do for him.” Pierce wasn’t sure what he was saying, but he was going to let everything in his head flow out for the sake of Noi.

 

“So why do you care about being exploitable? There’s more to you than that. You have a heart and are kind. I know it’s usually seen as a weakness, but it’s not. There’s more to Asch than his prince position, right? So what’s the difference?” Pierce’s tone adopted a new sense of gentleness as well as his touch. “Listen. The fact is that what you can or can’t do doesn’t change how valuable you are. And it definitely doesn’t change how much you deserve to live. Because you do.”

 

Noi avoided eye contact while he listened, not wanting to show Pierce how much his words were affecting him. “..I don’t think I matter,” he whispered with honesty. 

 

“Well, you do.” Pierce had no idea how to respond to Noi with anything, so he gave him the simple truth. 

 

“Why?”

 

“Why not? If you didn’t, I’d tell you, right?”

 

“….I guess.”

 

“Are you okay?” 

 

Noi didn’t respond verbally, instead he shook his head a very clear ‘no’. Pierce held Noi a bit tighter and started to pat his head, it was his own way of showing affection since he couldn’t bring himself to say it verbally. Luckly, Noi got the message and placed his arms around Pierce while burying his face into his shoulder.

 

“Is it enough that I think you matter?” Pierce wasn’t sure if he even spoke the words loud enough, but hoped that he was heard by Noi.

 

“….for now, it is. Thank you.”

 

Noi felt a bit startled when he felt water drip onto his neck, but quickly realized that Pierce was also crying. This oddly made him feel more at ease, knowing that he wasn’t the only one letting his emotions out. His throat started to choke up as he started sobbing again into Pierce, them both holding onto each other with all they had. Pierce mumbled something along the lines of ‘you matter to me’, utterly shattering whatever barriers they had left of being vulnerable for the time being as they cried into each other. 

 

After around two hours, the rest of the group returned from their grocery trip and saw Pierce and Noi crying together while hugging on the couch. Before Asch could interrupt them, Rhys put a hand on his shoulder and gestured to the kitchen, suggesting they give them some time to themselves. Asch sighed and rolled his eyes but agreed to give the crying couple some space. Ava went to her room to find Johnny and Leif took notice of the burns on Noi’s hand. 

 

He wanted to ask about what happened, but Pierce lifted his head and shook it, not wanting the other guys to know about Noi’s ‘training sessions’ that caused the injuries. Leif managed to subtly heal his wounds with his magic before leaving the two of them. 

 

Pierce didn’t know how long Noi wanted to stay with him, but he was okay with that. In all honesty, he felt comfortable with him in his arms, though he didn’t understand why. Generally, he couldn’t care any less why, and at this point he only cared about the man he was holding. He hoped that one day, he could be fully honest and say how much Noi meant to him, but unfortunately didn’t have the words or courage to say it. But, right now, he was happy with just this. Luckily, he knew that Noi was happy too. 

Notes:

Agh

I didn't know how to end it ngl

Also this was a request from a lovely guest :p

Chapter 5: Plot my Demise and See if I Care (Noi x Pierce(?) hurt/comfort)

Summary:

Uhhh so this is a fic I wrote yesterday but didn’t finish cus I didn’t know how to word the ending and I didn’t think it was “shippy” enough so yeah, it’s an unfinished work but i know I’m not going to go back to it so ye :p

Asch, Rhys, Leif, and Pierce have a meeting about a certain Daemos

Notes:

Also, I think I’ve given up on beta reading so we die like men here

I forgot to mention TW for mentions of hanging (execution)

Chapter Text

Pierce’s leg bounced lightly as he sank into the cheap couch within the apartment. It was 11:26 pm when Asch summoned them for a meeting, a few minutes after Ava went to bed herself. He rubbed the light exhaustion out of his eyes before focusing on the three other men sitting around him. Leif was idly toying with his sickles on the floor, Rhys was sitting beside Pierce on the couch, and Asch was sitting in the large chair across from them. Before the sudden meeting, all of them were told to keep quiet from a specific knight, for reasons they were still unaware about. Asch cleared his throat and straightened up in his seat, prompting the other knights to do the same as they focused on him. 

 

“We have a very important discussion about someone in this apartment. Before we start, Rhys,” Asch turned his head to face Rhys with a serious expression.

 

“Has Noi been properly distracted?” Asch questioned.

 

“Yes, Prince Asch,” Rhys confirmed with a nod. “He is currently within the pocket realm, practicing his defense maneuvers.”

 

“Perfect.” Asch leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Now, we may begi-“

 

“Why the Hell does Noi need to be distracted? You haven’t explained anything about this meeting’s purpose,” Leif interrupted while crossing his arms, aggravating Asch in the process. 

 

“Don’t interrupt me. I’m explaining right now. Understood, Leif?” Asch asked while gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes. Leif sighed before nodding and rested his back against the wall. 

 

Asch took a deep breath before continuing. “Anyways, allow me to cut to the chase since some of us can’t be patient . We need to discuss the usefulness of Noi, and whether or not he is an asset or a liability.” Asch’s words seemed to stun the room as everyone’s breaths collectively stilled and their subconscious motions came to a halt.

 

Noi’s usefulness was a subject that had been lightly touched on many times within the past amongst many other guards back on Daemos, but Prince Asch bringing it up made it all the more serious. Noi wasn’t the strongest or smartest Daemos by any means, and that alone sparked a lot of discussion amongst people of lower position to him, mostly stating how ridiculous it was that someone like him surpassed them, all because of pity.

 

Rhys’s hand slowly raised above his head, calling Asch’s attention. “May I provide my insight on the situation?” Rhys’s overly formal tone would have caused an eye roll and a snarky comment from Leif, but even he was shocked to silence. 

 

“You may.”

 

“As far as I’ve seen, you have worked with Noi for the past four years, attempting to mold him into a knight with honor and strength. Unfortunately, there’s only so far you could go with him until he reaches a point of no improvement. Not to undermine your teaching, Prince Asch, but Noi simply hasn’t and won’t reach the expectation you set for him to reach.” When Rhys finished speaking, he put his hand down and his shoulders slumped a slight bit, enough for Pierce to notice.

 

Pierce’s brow furrowed as his eyes danced between Rhys and Asch, analyzing the unspoken words hidden between their own gazes and near silent breaths. Asch nodded with indifference before speaking “I understand. Leif, do you have an opinion on this?” 

 

Leif muttered a singular “um” while shifting on the wooden floor, thinking up a response for the Prince. “Well, I don’t disagree so much, but you have to admit, there’s strength in numbers,” Leif said in a voice slightly quieter than normal. 

 

“Leif, you are well aware of how Noi is, you have seen it first hand. You know how he hesitates and how often that he has put us in vulnerable positions because of it,” Rhys commented quite harshly. The topic of Noi’s position was always something that got under his skin, so being able to state his mind wasn’t something he was willing to pass up.

 

 He almost seemed too eager as he continued, “I understand why you’d want to spare his position out of pity, however we are not a charity for lost boys, we are Asch’s royal guards. And if one can’t fit a certain standard, then such a position isn’t worthy of them.”

 

Leif’s mouth opened and shut repeatedly until he surrendered his stance on the debate and lowered his head, unable to argue with Rhys’s logic. Pierce, however, was very different. He turned himself to face Rhys before speaking with a subtle hint of near aggression. “You are well aware of what will become of him if he loses this ranking, right? Do you really think he’s deserving of execution?”

 

That question made the tension within the living room multiply by ten. Four years ago, Noi was sent to be executed for his magic, due to his weakness. The royal family was steadily growing desperate and were starting to resort to using the weakest Daemos they had for magic supply. The young boy was to be hung beside a few other Daemos, though only he hadn’t committed a war crime like the ones beside him. Asch was present that day due to the rule of the royal executioners needing consent before ending the life of someone. The execution went Daemos by Daemos before Noi’s turn had inevitably arrived and then abruptly stopped by the prince himself. 

 

Right then and there, Noi was knighted by Asch and the terms had been set by the king himself, either Noi proves himself worthy of knighthood, or he would be executed. If Noi was to be deemed unworthy, that would mean he would have to be killed. Pierce wasn’t willing to allow that to happen, he didn’t think Noi deserved such a punishment.

 

Pierce stood up from the couch before addressing Asch. “I know Noi isn’t perfect, but he still has value to us her-“ A single hiccup was enough to silence Pierce’s testimony.

 

 Everyone’s head whipped around to see Noi trembling in front of the portal, his skin a pasty white and his cheeks tear-stained and continuing to spill. His shaky hand covered his mouth but slowly dropped to his side. “I under-underst-stand what you w-want from me,” Noi could barely finish his sentence before erupting into a fit of sobs.

 

Leif stood up and tried to speak to Noi, but he quickly ran off back into the pocket dimension. Pierce spent no time going after him, abandoning the other guys in the apartment. It didn’t take long for him to find Noi, the young man having cornered himself by a large pillar. He pointed his daggers outwards, as if he was ready to attack if provoked, however there was no sense of danger due to his sobbing, fearful face. “I’m not ready to die..” Noi weakly squeaked out.

 

Pierce quickly grabbed Noi and pulled him into a tight embrace. “I’m sorry. You’re not going to die, Noi. I promise. And again, I’m sorry you had to hear any of that bull.”

 

Noi’s body started to frantically squirm and shift, but stopped once they realized Pierce wasn’t strangling him to death. His arms hung limply at his sides as he dropped his daggers onto the tile, a light clanging noise sounding from them once they reached the floor. His body was still shaking tremendously and he couldn’t bring himself to do anything but sob into Pierce’s shoulder. 

 

“Will I b-be okay?”

 

“Yes. I’ll make sure of it.”

Chapter 6: Incorrect quotes cus I be too lazy to write

Summary:

So. I’m working on some of the fics but life is life and I wanna keep updating here so here r some incorrect quotes for MID that I copy-pasted and replaced the names from the internet :3

Chapter Text

Ava: So I’m the only one around here who can clean up, huh? You can't even lift a finger? 

Leif: Do I get to pick the finger?

 

Leif: You’re jealous. 

Asch: Jealous? 

Leif: That’s why you were being so negative about this. 

Asch: That’s absurd. I’m always negative.

 

Pierce:  Oh man, you have any shaving cream? 

Leif: No, I don't like the way that it tastes. 

Pierce: Wait... you eat shaving cream? 

Leif: No. Why would I eat it if I don't like the taste.

 

*The squad has just arrived in a new city. Leif looks around at the wanted posters to see if they’re on any of them.* 

Rhys: Leif, are you a criminal? 

Leif: Not here, I’m not!

 

Ava: Why can't any of you ever clean up after yourselves? 

Leif: I have a person who does that for me. 

Ava: Yeah, ME. 

Leif: I'm glad you agree.

 

Rhys: Stressed. 

Ava: Depressed. 

Leif: Possessed. 

Pierce: Obsessed. 

Asch: Impressed. 

Noi: Chicken breast. 

Everyone: ...What? 

Noi: I just wanted to join in.

 

Leif: *standing on a balcony and sneezes* 

Pierce: *standing on the roof* Bless you. 

Leif: God?!

 

Noi: Okay, two person huddle. 

Asch: You can't huddle with two people. This is just a hug.

 

Leif: You can take away my rights, but can you take away my lefts?

 

Rhys: Asch, I rebuke thee! I rebuke thee! 

Leif: Rebuke? Is that a word? 

Rhys: You have all invoked my fury! You will all pay recompense for your transgressions! 

Leif: What, you got like a word-a-day calendar or something?

 

Asch: Are you coming to bed? 

Rhys: I can't. This is important. 

Asch: What? 

Rhys: Someone is wrong on the internet.

 

Noi: Leif is okay. 

Rhys: They're okay? They said they were going to break my legs! And don't tell me they didn't mean it, okay?! 'Cause they gave me the mackerel eyes, they meant it! 

Noi: Rhys, Leif threatened me. They threaten Asch every day. They probably threatened Pierce before breakfast this morning. It's what they do.

 

Noi: Hey, what’s your Netflix password? 

Asch: ihopeyoudie 

Noi: Thank you!

 

Ava: Unfortunately, due to several experiences in my youth, I cannot just 'walk up and join a circle of people talking', but it does sound lovely, thank you.

 

Leif: The Ocean is a soup. 

Asch: 

Asch: Do elaborate. 

Leif: What are needed for something to be a soup? 

Asch: Erm... Water, salt, some form of vegetation, and personally I prefer some meat in mine.  

Leif: *Tilts head* 

Asch: The Ocean is a Soup. 

Leif: The Ocean is a Soup.

 

Rhys: Would you like something to drink? *They open the fridge* We have water, milk, juice, spiders, Dr. Pepper- 

Ava: Spiders? 

Rhys: Spiders it is then. 

Ava: No, that wasn’t- 

*But they were already pouring them a brimming glass of spiders…*

 

Asch: Not gonna lie, I'm kind of afraid of Leif... 

Rhys: As you should be. 

Asch: No, for real, they're kind of- 

Rhys: As. You. Should. Be.

 

*Squad is playing Among Us* 

Noi: I believe Rhys is innocent, I was with them the whole time. Leif, what were you doing? 

Leif: Oh, I was just murdering… I mean, nothing!

 

Noi: Everyone thinks I'm this soft cute person but I'm not! 

Ava: Noi, you cried for an hour after stepping on a bug yesterday. 

Noi: It had feelings! It was probably going home to dinner and I killed it! 

Rhys: ...It was a bug. 

Noi: It was a BEETLE, and its wife is definitely worried sick, wondering where it is, and I really don't get why you all think I'm so sentimental because I'm not! 

Ava: ... 

Rhys: ... 

Noi: Stop looking at me like that!

 

Noi: Jail is no fun. I’ll tell you that much. 

Rhys: Oh, you’ve been? 

Noi: Once. In Monopoly.

 

Leif: FIGHT ME, YOU NERD ASS SHIT! 

Rhys: At least try to sound slightly more sophisticated when you threaten someone. 

Leif: Oh, I'm sorry. I should ask; dost thou want to engage in a duel, my good bitch? 

Rhys: Somehow that's worse.

 

Rhys: Leif... 

Leif: Oh no, 'Leif' in B flat. 

Leif: You're disappointed.

 

Asch: What the hell is wrong with you? 

Ava: I have this weird self-esteem issue where I hate myself but still think I’m better than everyone else.

 

Ava: Rhys, what do you value about Noi? 

Rhys: They’re thoughtful. They pick flowers and bring them to me. Often they’re ones I’ve just planted, but... 

Noi: That’s how I know they’re fresh!

 

Rhys: How do you connect with a fictional character? 

Leif: What? 

Pierce: What? 

Asch: What? 

Ava: *pulls up a 500 slide presentation* I'm glad you asked.

 

Asch: Rhys, can I ask you a question? 

Rhys: You just did. 

Asch: Okay, can I ask you two questions? 

Rhys: You just did. 

Asch, frustrated: OKAY, CAN I ASK YOU FOUR QUESTIONS?! 

Rhys: You just did. 

Asch: When?! 

Rhys: Just now.

 

Leif: Why are you like this?? 

Pierce: I used too much "No More Tears" shampoo as a kid and I haven't felt a single emotion since.

 

Rhys: What is the one thing I told you not to do? 

Leif: Burn the house down. 

Rhys: And what did you do? 

Leif: I made dinner. 

Rhys: 

Leif: 

Rhys: 

Leif: And burnt the house down.

 

Ava, to Noi: You have room temperature IQ. 

Noi: What's room temperature IQ? 

Rhys: 73°. 

Noi: Oh, okay. 

Noi: How much is that in IQ?

 

Ava, laying in bed: Get out of my room. 

Leif, standing just outside of the door frame: I’m not in your room.

 

Ava: Noi learned how to fold origami penguins from Rhys the other day. I told them, “I feel a little bad for the penguins, it’s hot here”, and the next day they put them in the fridge.

 

Noi: Last night, I had a dream about sandwich pizza. 

Rhys: What? 

Noi: It was pizza with bread on the top and the bottom. 

Rhys: So a calzone? 

Noi: You can’t just name things I dream up.

 

Rhys (brainstorming ideas for pranking Asch): How much could a serial killer mask possibly cost? 

Ava: Well it’s hard to find a high-quality one made out of leather or silicone, but if you did find a good one like that it’d be a couple thousands of dollars. I can try to hook you up with one but I don’t know if I’d be very successful. 

Rhys: Huh, that’s pretty interesting actually- Wait, how the hell do you know that? 

Ava: …I am very passionate about Halloween, Rhys.

 

Ava: I’m not mad, I just need to know why you two had a fake ID. 

Noi: *Incoherent mumbling* 

Ava: Huh? 

Leif: …You need to be 18 to hold the puppies at PetCo.

 

*While the Squad is in a battle* 

Rhys, trying to warn about the location of an enemy: To the left! 

Leif: Take it back now y'all!

Chapter 7: Didn’t mean it (Ein x Noi)(Hurt/Comfort)

Summary:

Ein feels guilt for a prank he pulled and Noi comforts his insecurity of being hated.

Also, you know the drill, ain’t no beta reads again, we die like men >:)

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Ein’s brain pounded within his skull and his eyes grew puffy and red as he laid alone in his dark bedroom. The curtains were drawn, miscellaneous objects were carelessly thrown around and a sense of dread seemed to loom in the air like a dark fog made from storm clouds. Ein grumbled incoherently to himself while he stared at the ceiling, the tears from his eyes finally running dry. He then turned to face his phone that laid screen-down against his sheets. He contemplated whether or not to check his phone, ultimately choosing the former. No new messages. Ein threw the phone back onto his bed before shifting back to face the ceiling, the feeling of his throat closing creeping up on him once more.

 

Ein hadn’t left his room that day. He hadn’t left his room in a couple of days, actually. He couldn’t bring himself to get up considering how he saw no reason to. Over the course of months, Ein was a constant nuisance to the other members of the server, constantly pranking them for his own amusement. Eventually, he noticed that he had started to cross a certain line, which eventually became clear when he accidentally sent one of his friends into a sort of panic attack due to him. An overwhelming feeling of guilt coiled around him like a snake and tightened his chest. 

 

After that day, Ein didn’t feel all right. Well, in full honestly, there was never truly a time where he completely felt “all right”, just fine enough. But, this was worse than before. This was guilt that he was feeling, and boy, was it sickening. He didn’t mean to hurt anyone, not like that at least. He didn’t want anyone to get so upset, he just wanted to laugh. Laugh and carry on. That’s all he wanted.

 

Instead, all he did was annoy everyone else, like always. He didn’t want to be hated, but he didn’t know how to live in any other way. The idea of someone caring about him, especially now, was something dancing on the line of impossible. Ein wasn’t surprised by no one caring about him, or by anyone not checking up on him. He didn’t deserve that kind of love, not someone as rude and reckless and careless as him. If he couldn’t bring himself to care about his own well-being, how could anyone else? The thoughts that spiraled into Ein’s head caused more tears to slip from his eyes, bringing him to curse under his raspy breath.

 

Before he could continue sulking, a sudden knock at the door made him startle, his body finally moving beyond a shift in position on his messy bed. This confused Ein, he wasn’t expecting anyone to come into the vicinity of his home (due to possible pranks he’s done in the past), let alone anyone visit him. A small flicker of something similar to hope lightened his head before it fleeted as quickly as it came. It was probably just Aphmau at the door after all, wanting to give him another lecture about how bad of a “friend” he was, as if the people on the server even considered him as one. 

 

Another rasp at the door caused Ein to hurry himself off the bed, though he was still moving at a turtle's pace due to how sluggish he was feeling. He hadn’t eaten anything more than a leftover box of Chinese food he had gotten two days prior to the accident. Despite his self-attacking body that was wrestling with the cold noodles from the box, he managed to pull a blanket over his shoulders and walked to the front door, the light from his blinds making him feel like a vampire stepping into the Sun.

 

To Ein’s surprise, Aphmau wasn’t the one standing at the door when he opened it, it was Noi. He had his signature smile on his face while he rocked on his feet and waved at him excitedly. “Heya, Ein! I just came in to…oh, oh no,” Noi’s voice significantly lowered at the sight of Ein, his sunken face and disheveled hair making Noi nothing short of concerned, another thing that surprised Ein quite a bit.

 

“Hey, what’s wrong? Can I come in so we can talk? It’s okay if no, but uh, please?” Noi asked with worry weaved into his rushing tone.

 

“Uh yeah, sure. I haven’t cleaned in a umm hot minute, so ignore the um, everything, I guess,” Ein replied with a voice that didn’t sound like his own, but much more melancholy and overall dreadful.

 

He moved out the way so Noi could step into the Hell that was known as Ein’s living room. Even though Ein hadn’t been downstairs in a few days, it was still very unorganized and groveling to behold with dirty dishes on every surface and blankets and clothes scattered across his house, not exactly filling Ein with any sense of self-pride. Noi didn’t comment on the mess and sat himself on the dark blue couch, waiting to be joined by Ein before he started speaking. “So, how have you been?” Noi asked his question as if it wasn’t a difficult question to answer.

 

Ein wanted to avoid talking about how he was feeling, not exactly ready to be honest. He decided to respond with “Why not you answer your own question?”

 

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ein feared that he sounded rude and wanted to reword his statement, only for Noi to answer before he could. “I’m better than before, so that’s good.” Noi gave Ein a smile that Ein didn’t think he deserved to see, not after what he did to Noi a few days ago. What felt slightly worse was that he could tell the smile wasn’t out of pity or mockery, but a genuine smile. 

 

Ein released a sharp sigh before speaking with a tremble in his voice. “Y-…you know t-that I’m sorry, right? I didn't mean to make you get all…bad, you know?” Ein faced Noi on the couch, studying his expression for any signs of resentment. 

 

Noi’s gaze softened slightly at his words, though his brow furrowed in concern. “Yeah, I know. And you know that I forgive you, right?” 

 

Ein swallowed a sob and sat in silence before speaking again. “I don’t understand why you do. Or why you even came here.”

 

“Why I forgive you? Why wouldn’t I, you didn’t mean to make me panic or anything. You meant for it to be a joke, so I’m not really mad.” 

 

Noi stopped talking when he noticed the blanket over Ein’s shoulders started to shudder as small cries shook his body. He hid his face into his blanket while he spoke in a somewhat loud voice. “But, I’m a jerk to you all the time! I’m a jerk to everyone and they all hate me and you should hate me! I’m terrible and annoying and the sever is better when I’m gone!” Ein sobbed into his blue blanket in shame of what he was admitting, which to him was the painful truth.

 

Noi stared at Ein with disbelief at what he spoke about. Without saying a word, he tapped his shoulder and pulled him into a gentle hug. They both felt their hearts stop, not familiar with the comforting physical contact. After a moment, Ein brought his arms around Noi as well and they both remained in silence till Noi spoke up once more. “Ein, you’re not terrible. You make mistakes and are a bit loud, sure, but not terrible,” Noi softly voiced.

 

“Yes I am,” Ein argued and sniffled, “I hurt you. I hurt the server. I hurt you. ”

 

“And you feel bad, I can tell. That means you aren’t evil, right? You clearly seem to care, which is something,” Noi commented with a slight smile on his face. 

 

“But the others still don’t like me, and I know why and I get why they wouldn’t.”

 

“Ein. Who do you think asked me to check up on you? I mean, yeah, I was going to come here on my own, but the others wanted me to keep them updated about you. I wouldn’t be surprised if Aph and the rest of the group are watching the door as we speak to question me as soon as I leave.” Noi chuckled at the end of his sentence, and yet was serious about what he was stating.

 

Ein pulled back a bit and stared at Noi while still in his arms, hoping that he could see the truth in his statement. It didn’t think too long for a tiny playful smile to appear on his face and a light chuckle to escape his lips. Ein could see the genuine kindness and honesty in Noi’s smile, filling him with a small sense of joy and hope out of this previously dark situation. This made Noi’s eyes brighter and his embrace a bit more solid. “Um, thanks Noi. You’re not too bad yourself, I guess,” Ein spoke with a bit of embarrassment since he wasn’t accustomed to giving compliments. 

 

Noi nodded and attempted to speak but was interrupted by the loud rumbling of Ein’s stomach. They both looked down and then looked back up at each other before sharing a quick laugh. “Well, you seem like you need to eat. I’ll make you something to eat, okay? Maybe some broth? It’s easier on the stomach.” Noi tried to let go of Ein but noticed he was still clinging onto him while burying his head into his shoulder. 

 

“….or. I can stay here for just a bit longer,” Noi suggested.

 

“Yeah. Please.”

 

’A bit longer’ became for a few hours of holding each other on the indigo couch till they both relaxed into each other, dozing off into the others arms contently. Despite being asleep, Ein still felt a bit warmer than usual while he rested against Noi, but it wasn’t uncomfortable by any means. It was almost calming to lay beside him and enjoy the shared warmth between them. The faintest smile was painted on his face as they rested together.

Notes:

I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG! Schools been handing me my own butt and burnout is just playing with me. But, I’m glad that I finally wrote this. I definitely don’t hate this chapter, so that’s good! Anyways, imma probably take a short break from writing, though the next Pierce x Noi will be written soon! I already have the idea and will get onto it when I can! Have a good day/ night!

Chapter 8: A/N

Chapter Text

Hello, everyone! I just wanted to say that I’m going to be taking a break from this fic for the sake of my mental health and my time. Life has been life and I just needed to officially state this. Thanks to everyone who’s read this fic, or left kudos and such. I love you all! (Ps, I’m not planing on stopping this fic, just taking a rest)