A Moment of Peace

The sounds of the carnival faded into a comfortable hum, a distant echo of laughter and music that wrapped around them like a warm breeze. Annie walked beside Malvor, the doll still tucked under her arm, her steps slow, steady.

For once, she wasn't calculating, wasn't anticipating what would be expected of her. She was just… here.

The realization crept up on her slowly.

She liked it here.

The bright colors, the ridiculous games, the absurdity of it all, it should have been overwhelming. But it wasn't. Not with Malvor beside her. Not with the space he had given her to simply exist.

The thought was almost enough to startle her.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" His voice was quieter than usual.

She nodded, her fingers brushing absently over the doll's simple fabric. "I think I like it here."

Malvor smiled. A real smile, not one of his usual cocky, mischievous smirks. It was rare to see him like this, unguarded, at ease.

"I'm glad you do. It's nice, isn't it?"

She didn't answer right away. She didn't need to.

They just walked, the world spinning and whirling around them, but somehow it all felt… distant. Like the carnival wasn't the important part anymore. Like maybe it never had been.

Annie wasn't sure when the exhaustion set in.

One moment, she was taking in the flashing lights, the swirling colors, the strange creatures that called this place home. The next, her legs felt heavy, her body slow. The warmth of the night, the steady rhythm of their steps, it all lulled her into something dangerously close to relaxation.

That was new.

She never let herself relax.

Her eyelids drooped, and before she could stop herself, she let out a small sigh, her feet faltering.

Malvor noticed. Of course he did.

"Annie?"

"Just tired," she mumbled, pressing the heel of her palm to her eye.

Before she could even think of what to do next, Malvor moved.

Strong arms wrapped around her, lifting her off her feet as if she weighed nothing.

Annie's breath hitched.

Not because she was startled, though she was, but because…

No one had ever done this before.

No one had ever carried her. No one had ever seen her stumble and just helped her without hesitation, without expectation.

She wanted to protest. She really, really did.

But gods, she was so tired.

She let her head rest against his shoulder, just for a moment. Just to breathe.

He smelled like sugar, spice, and mischief, like the chaos that surrounded him, but his grip was steady, strong.

She barely noticed when the carnival disappeared around them, the world shifting in a blink.

Gone were the flashing lights, the swirling colors, the distant laughter.

In their place stood his castle, that wild, untamed, ever-shifting thing that somehow felt more like a home than any temple she had ever known.

Malvor held her a little tighter, and for the first time in her life, Annie let herself be held.

With a soft kiss to her forehead, he tucked her into his bed. His bed.

Malvor had never been particularly attached to anything, not places, not people, not even possessions. His castle shifted and changed, reflecting his whims, his moods, his chaos. There was no constant in his world.

Until now.

Until her.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･✧･ﾟ: *　

He curled up beside her, not touching, but close enough that her warmth reached him. He didn't think. He didn't analyze it. He just… let himself exist beside her.

Two nights.

Two nights of sleeping with her beside him.

And it felt like home.

The thought would have sent him into a full-blown existential crisis if he weren't already too comfortable to care.

Instead, he let out a slow breath, eyes drifting shut as the steady rise and fall of Annie's breathing settled into the quiet of the room.

Peace.

For the first time in eons, Malvor knew peace.

He didn't remember falling asleep. He only remembered her warmth, her breath against his chest, and the quiet, unbelievable calm of being next to someone who didn't need him to be anything but Malvor.

Waking up next to Annie was a glorious experience.

In a way that was not creepy, or at least, he hoped it wasn't, Malvor watched her sleep. He didn't actually need sleep, so when his mind stirred back into awareness, his first instinct had been to move, to shift, to fill the silence with something chaotic.

But then, he saw her.

Soft, warm, and utterly unguarded, Annie lay curled beside him, her breath slow, her lips slightly parted.

It was fascinating.

She was fascinating.

Malvor had seen countless people sleep; mortals, gods, creatures of all kinds. But none had ever held his attention like this. There was no performance in her rest, no guarded tension in her face, no expectation of anything.

She was just Annie, existing in this moment, with him, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

That thought did something strange to him.

And he didn't like it.

No, he did not like it at all.

This was dangerous territory.

This was intimacy, the kind of thing that led to feelings, and Malvor was not built for feelings.

He could almost hear his own voice mocking him. Oh, Malvor, are we catching mortal emotions? How tragic! How predictable!

And yet… he didn't move.

Didn't break the moment.

Didn't ruin it.

Instead, he let himself watch a little longer, memorizing the way the morning light played against her skin, the way her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, the way her fingers twitched slightly as she dreamed.

It was glorious.

And it was terrifying.