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miss-tc-nova · 4 years

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Priorities - Hermod x Reader

Hey! I finally finished it! I’m kinda iffy but it was fun. I chose Hermod because I’ve had this concept in my head for a while and I didn’t think Bragi, Eraqus, or Xehanort fit the story.

As for the Christmas zine, It’ll probably be posted well after Christmas and after the Christmas zine when the mods give the green light. But I will probably post a different Christmas related one beforehand.

Anyway, enjoy a little Halloween mayhem with out sweet boy.

~~~~~

The grip around my shoulders tightens and his body goes rigid. Slate eyes closely follow the shambler but tension lets up only the slightest when they pass.

“Hey, you okay?”

Feeble is the attempted cover-up. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

Halloween is fast approaching and the citizens of Scala Ad Caelum do what they always do: celebrate. Jack-o-lanterns line the streets, fake spiders and ghosts hang from all heights, and there’s a skeleton on every block. As for the more extreme, there’s a group of people who rent the town hall every year to put on a haunted house. Seeing as this is my favorite time of the year, this annual attraction is always a must-see for me. But this year, I’ve been invited by the keyblade warriors-in-training to tag along with them. There was one person who didn’t seem quite as thrilled though—he’s my boyfriend and he’s not exactly excited to be here.

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” I tell him, trying to reaffirm my words by drawing gentle circles against his hip. “We can go home if you want; I don’t mind.” I actually do but forcing him into something that makes him this anxious is borderline bullying.

There’s a little more sincerity in this smile. “No, it’s alright. Besides, you’ve been looking forward to this for weeks.”

The corner of my lips pulls back. Oh what this boy wouldn’t do for me.

This is where Smarmy Fluffcoat makes his entrance. “What are you lovebirds talkin’ about?”

“Just talking about how amazing that kettle corn smells,” I answer. It’s actually my friendship with the redhead that led me to meeting the rest of the key kids, so I know full well that he’ll never shut up about it if he learns about Hermod’s unease.

“Uh, right,” Hermod agrees. A peck lands on my temple. “I’ll go get some.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.” I watch him amble towards the stall with kettle corn, giving a wide berth to the walking dead doing their thing.

My boy re-joins the line, treat in hand, and the group screws around waiting for our chance to experience the fright. My brain keeps careful track of his behavior while also diverting the attention of our friends away from said behavior. But then the time comes: we’re next to enter the haunted house. At the front waits a woman who greets the visitors and runs through her spiel.

“And just remember, don’t touch the actors; they won’t touch you.

“I’m sorry, what?” A trace of fear belies Hermod’s feelings. “There are people in there?”

I tug on his arm. “It’s okay. They’re not allowed to touch us,” I murmur. “Last chance to back out,” I whisper.

There’s a nervous gulp but no answer. Pulling back the curtain, the woman coos, “Have fun guys.”

Without waiting for any of the guys, Urd and Vor charge ahead. Bragi follows with a shrug and I take one last look at Hermod before leading him in, leaving Xehanort and Eraqus to bring up the rear. Only a few steps into the darkness, we hear Urd stumble.

“Watch your step guys,” she calls back.

Bragi follows with, “What is this?”

My foot suddenly sinks, causing me to teeter. Hermod immediately pulls me back, putting a steadying arm around my waist. “Are you okay?!”

“Yeah,” I laugh. “It’s a mattress.” Hermod wobbles but follows me across.

Just as he steps off the obstacle, a light flashes on beside us, revealing a rotting face. The zombie screams and my boyfriend leaps back, stumbling into Xehanort who trips back onto the mattress. Eraqus helps his buddy back onto his feet and I manage to pull Hermod away from the terror.

As we go through halls of dim light, spooky props, and loud noises, actors continue to vex us. Shocks and surprises earn shouts from everyone but most of us laugh it off. Unfortunately, Hermod’s obvious anxiety earns him quite a bit of heckling and it takes stepping between him and the actor or dragging him into the next room to de-escalate the situation. Nevertheless, his stress levels are visibly climbing—each encounter becomes more and more dramatic and I’m not exactly sure what he’s going to do when he hits his breaking point.

“What’s the hold up?” Bragi asks, addressing our pause.

“There’s a wall here,” Urd answers.

Vor adds, “It’s squishy.”

“Squishy?” Eraqus wonders out loud.

“Yeah, it—woah!” Suspenseful silence overtakes us while we wait for Vor to explain her exclamation. “Hey, there’s a hole in this wall.”

“Oh, it’s probably one of those squishy walls you have to push through,” I explain.

“Oh yeah,” hums Bragi.

One by one, we squeeze our way through, but the other side isn’t very welcoming to nervous visitors. When I finally escape the squishing trap, I find a very dim light at the far end of the hall. As we go, I can’t help thinking that this hall is suspiciously dark and even more suspiciously empty.

Hermod’s hand disappears from my grasp and I’m jerked back sharply. Blinding light fills the room along with half a dozen screams but I recognize the back facing me. Worried these fight-or-flight instincts will end badly, I dart around him, throwing my arms around his waist. The erratic movements in his chest cease but I can still feel the chaos in his heart.

“Keep moving!” Xehanort urges.

Both his clammy hands remain clasped in mine while we move forward.

There are only a couple rooms after that yet Hermod keeps his tension under control. Finally, we make it out of the haunted house with little more than a slightly dusty Xehanort and an abashed Hermod.

The group wanders out of the path of the attraction exit, but I sneak my sweetheart off to the side.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Again, with the forced smile. “Yeah. Thank gods it’s over though.” A hand starts in my hair, sliding down to my cheek. Remnant trembling mars his fingers. “Did you have fun?”

“I did.” Wrapping him in another hug, I nuzzle against his chest. “Thank you.”

Suddenly, Bragi bursts out in a fit of laughter.

“What in the world?” I murmur.

“Not good if Bragi’s laughing,” grumbles Hermod.

A little stall is stationed, with strings webbed along the top, perfectly displaying newly developed photos. These are images of that suspicious hallway and it clicks: the bright flash was a camera. That’s when I notice the picture all my friends are laughing at. Yes, Urd and Vor are surprised and Bragi is nearly choking Vor while Eraqus and Xehanort at the back look like deer in headlights, but it’s Hermod front and center. He looks ready to fight while I’m barely visible behind his arm.

“Dude, what the hell were you doing?!” Bragi cackles, pointing at battle-ready Hermod.

“Looks like he was ready to kick some ass,” snickers Xehanort.

Glancing to my boyfriend, I see him wear an uncomfortable shade of red across his cheeks.

Vor turns on him. “You’re a keyblade wielder-in-training. Why are you freaking out?”

His shame is getting the better of him. “Th-That’s different; these are ghosts and zombies and demons and I’m not allowed to do anything about it!”

His friends pick and poke at him, only agitating his ego.

Loudly cutting in, I announce, “Well I’m flattered.” Various eyes watch as I pull the picture from the line and give the vendor a handful of munny.

Smarmy retorts, “I’m sorry, did you happen to notice your boyfriend is a scaredy cat?”

“Did you happen to notice, so are you?” I say, pointing at his murder attempt on Vor. “Besides, he acted on instinct to protect me.” Meeting Hermod’s gaze, I can’t help but smile. “That makes me feel pretty special.” His surprise turns to a sheepish smile. The photo whaps Fluffcoat. “At any rate, I’d hate to be your date to a haunted house. I’m surprised Vor’s still breathing to be honest.”

Urd takes the photo from me and suddenly, everyone is ganging up on the redhead. I take this opportunity to slip away, Hermod in tow. A beautiful autumn tree hides us from bystanders.

“Did you really mean that?” the boy whispers.

“Yeah. Did you see the death grip he had on her?”

He frowns. “No, the part about me…”

My touch proves much softer and smoother against his calloused fingers. “Of course I did. It’s nice to know that you’re looking out for me.”

Now that is a real smile. “You’re too important for me to let something happen to you.” Foreheads bump together. “You’ll always be my top priority—even if the others tease me.”

Around his neck slink my arms. “Even if I do?”

It’s a sigh, but also a smile. “Even if you do.”

“My hero.”

His lips, like his hands, are a bit rougher than mine but Hermod’s kisses are always gentle and sweet. My stomach squirms, leaving me with a happy high.

Before he kisses me a second time, I tack on, “And I’m not teasing.”

#hermod #kh hermod #khdr hermod #hermod x reader #xeha-non #novas requests #gender neutral reader

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