liv. Beauty and Her Beast
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Shirayuki had had occasion in the past to strike out alone, to walk a solitary road with a singular purpose.
Generally, her motive had been to escape the notice of someone, to prevent a meeting — in effect, to become a missing person herself.
Now for the first time she set out to do the opposite: not to lose herself, but to find someone else.
...
She knew how to pack, where to find shelter and food, but she did not know where to find one man amidst vast lands of wood, sea and mountains.
To escape, to hide, meant infinite possibilities; to seek and find meant one chance in a million.
At first, Shirayuki reasoned that multiplying her attempts meant multiplying her odds — in other words, to inquire in places with more eyes meant a greater chance that Obi had been seen.
She began her search in the largest town nearest the Haruka estate, in a square bustling with merchants, traders, and townspeople.
There she encountered another problem: How to describe Obi?
...
“Tall and dark?” a fishwife repeated, rubbing her chin. “Covers his face, does he?”
“S-sometimes,” Shirayuki agreed, hesitating as she tried to picture him.
She had most often seen Obi working — dressed in livery and uniforms, or perhaps field gear for navigating through a forest swiftly.
What would he wear for traveling the town roads?
...
She remembered him at their cottage together — soft, loose tunics open at his neck with the sleeves pulled up, until the weather had chilled.
Then he bundled into long sweaters with sleeves down to his fingertips and wrapped her up with him in warm wool when they rested together before the fire…
...
Shirayuki wrenched her thoughts back to the present.
The fishwife was watching her with an odd expression, mouth creased at one side, sun-weathered brow wrinkled.
“Don’t know where you found a type like that, missus,” she said gruffly, “but I wouldn’t hope for too much, myself. Once they’re gone, men like that, they don’t come back.”
...
Shirayuki’s cheeks lost their color, but she nodded politely before turning away.
It was only as she was walking across the square to inquire at a cartwright that it came to her.
The look on the woman’s face had been pity.
...
Shirayuki drew her cloak tighter and sighed to herself.
The fishwife had meant well, but she didn’t know Obi.
Shirayuki wouldn’t give up until she found him.
...
By afternoon, however, she felt that it was time for a change in tactics.
Hours of pushing through the tightly packed crowd, raising her voice to shout questions over the din, and standing in the bitter wind had worn down her reserves.
She was pale and drawn by the time she presented herself at the post office.
...
“Mail coach sold out for the day, ma’am,” the coachmaster said at once.
“No, no, thank you…” She realized she was swaying on her feet and set a hand against the counter to steady herself. “I’d like to hire a horse.”
The man peered down at her. “Beg your pardon?”
“A horse – I’m traveling in the open…” Shirayuki gestured vaguely, hoping he would understand.
...
He regarded her in silence for a moment then shook his head. “There’s a spare bed upstairs and stew in the common room. Next seat available in the morning.”
“Not a coach,” Shirayuki protested earnestly. “It’s too–I won’t see anything. I’m looking for—”
“Nothing to see in the winter, ma’am,” said the implacable coachmaster.
Her words were water, washing up against the rocks.
...
Shirayuki had decided to cast her net wider, not in the thickly populated town but further afield.
It was too easy for one man to vanish in crowds like these — that was the trouble.
On the long winding roads that threaded through the forests, a lone traveler might be more easily remembered.
...
Besides, the towns were bright, noisy places, even as winter swept over them – somehow she thought Obi would not feel at ease in them, would not linger in them or make anyone’s acquaintance.
She would look elsewhere, somewhere off the beaten track, somewhere solitary.
Somewhere one might go if he did not wish to be found.
...
In making these arrangements, Shirayuki was taking refuge in her practical side. Truth be told, she was not just weary but frightened, not of being alone herself but of the increasing hopelessness of her task.
So she bent her mind to mundane practicalities, burying panic in the details.
A coach would not suit her purpose, she thought. She would have a better chance outside in the open air, attentive to anywhere he might have stopped to rest, than she would enclosed in four walls, rushing from place to place.
...
She leaned towards the counter, intent on convincing the coachmaster, but he was already looking past her.
“Next!”
Another customer edged forward, jostling her aside.
...
As Shirayuki stumbled back, her eye fell on a man swathed in a thick traveling cloak. He caught her look and beckoned with one finger.
“Wanting a horse, are you?”
Shirayuki nodded, drawing closer.
He gave her a friendly grin. “Got just the thing for you, little lady. Follow me.”
...
He led her outside the stableyard and down the cobbled streets. Shirayuki kept her eyes fixed on his back and thought of Obi, alone in the cold somewhere.
They passed from the main roads towards narrow alleys, then dirt tracks as they neared the outskirts of the town.
“Got a nice pony tied up by the stream, not far from here,” the man said over his shoulder, as if he had sensed her hesitate.
...
Shirayuki nodded and pressed on.
Her feet were aching, and her vision swam. The uneasy thought came that she might not get far once she had hired the horse, but she pushed it away.
She had herbs in her satchel for wakefulness; she would chew a bunch of them before setting off.
...
They were in the woods now, the trees closing around them.
As they reached a clearing, the man raised his voice. “Here we are!”
Shirayuki looked around, but there was no stream.
There was no pony.
...
She stopped short, but the man turned — quick as a whip — and seized her arm.
Dread washed over her.
“Come on now,” he whispered, dragging her closer. “What have you got under that hood?”
Shirayuki tried to shake him off, but his fingers dug into her skin.
...
Two more men had emerged from the woods, one holding a length of rope.
“What have we got here, eh?”
“Pretty little thing, isn’t she?” the first replied. “Makes you wonder… why’s a lovely lady like you keeping herself all wrapped up?”
...
“Let go!” Her voice came out too thin — her vision swam.
Shirayuki swung her travel pack at his head, but her aim was clumsy. He shrugged it off and shook her.
“None of that now,” said one of his friends, circling behind her. “There, hold her still.”
“Let’s have a look first. What are you hiding under there?”
He reached for her face.
...
“Stop!”
The shout rang out, freezing them all in place. Shirayuki raised her head to see a horse silhouetted against the setting sun.
On its back a man, impossibly tall in the saddle, gazed down on them with anger in his eyes.
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The Midnight Train (Going Anywhere) • [AO3]
Teen | 1.3K+ (WIP) | Malvil | Romantic Fluff, Humour, Dating, Travel
A/N: This was inspired by the travel vlogs from Solo Solo Travel (on Youtube) which I like watching a normal amount and a bounty of excellent conversations with my beloved @villainsnest, who is the primary audience for this fic, why lie... but I hope y'all like it, too. ;)
CW: The only thing of note thus far is Vil's anxious thought processes and implied self-worth issues.
Chapter One: Prologue
Tonight, the moon looks twice as full as it should be. Maybe it’s just that Vil’s mind is full to bursting and he feels so small in the face of the question of, Should I? Should I ask him? He holds tense, with his arms around him, knees to his chest as he lays on his bed, staring out through the glass doors to his empty, moonlit balcony—
There is no one there, but any minute now, there might be.
“Malleus,” he murmurs—says the name like practice, like the start to a question, but there is nothing else. How will he ask what he wants when he can’t even say it—not even here alone? He’s so choked up.
With a groan of frustration, he rolls onto his stomach and stretches his limbs out, pounding fists into his mattress in a silent tantrum.
His cat, white and long-furred, on the ledge of a window across the room, turns her head to regard him with a judgemental stare. Mrow, she remarks, and when that is not acknowledged, she stands with an arched back, fur fluffed in indignation, and leaps down onto the rug.
Vil lifts his head from where he had buried it amidst the folds of his duvet. He cracks a smile to see his cat there on the edge of the bed, posturing proudly but clearly seeking attention. He clicks his tongue for her to come and offers a hand, which she draws nearer to sniff at; finally, she relents and indulges her desire, pushing into Vil’s palm and purring loud with contentment—
“You’re beautiful,” Vil whispers as he strokes her down her spine.
They lay like that a while in the dark and quiet, peaceful enough to simply drift into dreams—if Vil were tired at all, or at least his mind were quiet, too. He might stand a chance, then, but not like this—
He is haunted by the question. That, and whether he’ll even ask.
Again, he buries his face into the folds of his duvet. He sighs in a way that seems to empty his lungs. Still, his fingers weave slowly through the silk of his cat’s fur and he finds comfort enough there that he doesn’t despair long. No, instead, an idea strikes him—
“Prada,” he whispers, looking up into his cat’s eye��s. They are slits when he finds them, but he repeats her name and she blinks them partly open, showing slivers of emerald. “I need your opinion on something.” His voice is soft but serious. “Will you be honest?”
Prada opens her mouth—then simply yawns.
Unfazed, Vil presses on: “Meow once if you agree to be honest.”
Mrow, comes the delicate answer, just as quiet as Vil is speaking.
He nods and pushes up onto his elbows, glancing out to the balcony beyond the glass doors before he leans down into Prada’s face, their noses touching, conspiratorially close now—
“I want to ask Malleus on a date,” Vil confesses to the cat, who slow blinks as she listens. “I mean, a real date, off campus—as far as we can go, just the two of us.” I hope. He won’t insist on it, of course.
“I was thinking…” He trails off, biting his lip before remembering himself against the impulse. It’s an ugly habit and he won’t excuse it, even alone in his room like this. “There’s a train with private cabins that goes down the coast. No one would bother us…”
He sounds wistful, even to himself, like it’s just a daydream and not a real possibility—not a trip that he’s researched and budgeted for, not a trip that he’s ready to pack for if Malleus will just say yes—
Well, but he has to ask first. That’s the problem.
And should he ask at all, or is this too much, too soon—too unreal to even consider that Malleus would want this, that he wouldn’t just…
“Ugh,” Vil groans, his frustration mounting along with his nerves.
He’s not one for divination, but this isn’t the same, he’s certain—
“Meow once if you think I should ask Malleus on this trip with me.”
Prada stares at him coolly, flicking her tail tip.
“No, you’re right, that was rude of me.” Vil scratches under the cat’s chin in apology. She purrs in response, closing her eyes contentedly. “Prada, please meow once if you think I should ask Malleus on—”
He’s interrupted by two meows in quick succession, at which he withdraws his hand with a scowl. “Now you’re being rude, miss.”
Prada bats at his hand on the bed, claws half-unsheathed.
“Listen, this is serious.” Vil moves to sit up, one hand braced against the mattress as he shifts into a relaxed, cross-legged position in front of Prada. “You like Malleus, don’t you?” Prada chirrups agreement and Vil smiles softly, reaching out to stroke her neck. “Well… I do, too,” he tells her, “so it’s important I make the right choice, princess. You understand, don’t you?” He looks searchingly into green eyes.
Prada chirrups again and bumps her head against Vil’s wrist, then rolls onto her back to expose her belly, blinking up at him sweetly.
Chuckling, Vil just shakes his head. “You know I’m not so foolish.”
A coy little mrow is aborted as Prada’s pupils go suddenly wider and her ears flick toward the balcony. She rolls quickly back around and leaps right off the bed, tail swishing madly once she hits the rug—
Vil straightens where he sits, heart thudding in his chest. Malleus is here—or will be in a minute. He fists at his duvet, holding tension all over. He needs to relax. He needs to make a decision. His thoughts are like wild birds locked up in a cage, all fluttering and screeching—
Breathe, he thinks, inhaling deeply and closing his eyes. Just breathe. He exhales and unclenches his fingers, moves his hands to his lap.
When he opens his eyes, there’s a figure on the balcony, silhouetted by the moonlight. Prada is pacing and frantically vocal. She looks to Vil, then outside, to Vil again, then back outside. Invite him in already.
The door is open, but he needs this. He needs to feel wanted.
Vil understands.
He slides one leg off toward the edge of the bed, moves slowly with a mind to grace. Not just that. He doesn’t want to look desperate, or like he was waiting. But of course he was. Of course he always does, every night.
Vil steps into his slippers and crosses over the rug, into the reach of moonlight streaming in through the glass doors. He takes the handle and turns it, still not sure what he’ll do—though he’s sure what he wants, yes. He’s always known what he’s wanted, especially since…
“Mal,” he greets, looking up into green eyes, faintly aglow.
Malleus seems to appraise him, taking in his dark blue leggings and oversized t-shirt. “Did I wake you, Schoenheit?” he asks with a faint smile. His face is in shadows with the moon just behind him, but Vil has known him long enough know to hear a smile in his words—
Not just any smile either. He’s teasing, the bastard.
Vil scowls and turns his nose up, placing one hand on his hip. He’s about to retort when a loud yowl at his feet has them both looking down.
“Oh,” says Malleus with a chuckle, low and rumbling in his throat.
It’s not so unlike a cat’s purr, Vil thinks not for the first time. He watches Malleus stoop and murmur greetings to Prada, easily coaxing out a purr and other happy vocalizations—
Vil’s not jealous of his cat, or the fact she likes Malleus better than him, but he does clear his throat and say, because it must be now, because he cannot waste this courage: “Mal, I was wondering…”
Thank you for reading! Reblogs are always appreciated. If you’d like to leave a kudos or comment on AO3, I’d really love that, as well! ♥
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