Ex-V: I hope you like it! It's so good to see you again :D
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Me: I did miss you! I missed you a lot, I'm so glad to be back! I took a novel contract, so I've been real busy working on that, but I'm finishing it up now, and I'll be updating my stories again regularly!
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wanting to read: Thank you so much! I hope you like this chapter too!
Wanting toread: Yes, I'll get the next chapter chapter of habit done ASAP as well, that's been on my list to update for a long time!
Noirship: Thank you so much for taking the time to say this, reading this review made my whole day. Honestly, being told that I'm someone's favorite author, that's such a wonderful feeling that it reminds me why I love to write so much, and why I love fanfiction so much. Being able to put together stories that accelerate the process of two beloved Characters Getting Together is a delight, and I know how cathartic and heartwarming it can be, so when people tell me that I did well, and made them happy, it means the world to me. Personally, I've always thought that Maou and Emi are one of the all time greatest anime couples, and I simply adore this fandom. From a technical writing perspective, your feedback is Fantastic, and I really feel good about it, since I trreally hard to make sure my stories hold up, even though they're just fanfiction, and of course my editor doesn't help me write fanfiction. In my day job, as a writer, my work feels very much like work,but when I write fanfiction, it doesn't feel like work at all. I'm so thrilled that the prose I'm putting in my fanfiction is high enough quality that you like it more than some of books you've read! All keep trying my best, for you, to produce more material that you like!
Maou said nothing, for a moment, musing.
He stared over at her, transfixed, almost unable to believe what Rika claimed was happening in her heart… If it was true, the subtext of their entire relationship…
No, their entire lives, together…
He watched her turn away again, sniffing, and saw her turn her nose up, haughty.
Then again, if Rika was lying… If she was just messing around, he would probably die.
The King of Hell felt something strange, something incurable, stirring in his heart.
It wasn't like he had feelings for the Hero, of course.. Of course, he was just curious. He needed to know, obviously, He just…
Emilia was still muttering, darkly, under her breath, and feeding Alas = Rasmus.
"Emi." In something of a trance, Maou cleared his throat; rubbing the bridge of his nose. She twitched, ears pricking up, but didn't face him. Something, something in the tone of his voice was off, and she was instantly wary, heat beginning to rise in her face…
"What-?" she snapped, aggravated by the light blush that was already dusting her cheeks.
He paused, briefly silent. The space between them felt like a vacuum, like a universe of distance.
"Do you... love me?"
His words seemed to echo through the kitchen, hanging in the air, with the weight of an exploding star.
Silence.
Emilia shrieked, whipping back around to meet his eyes, horrified; bright red...
And Maou stared back at her, blinking; he tilted his head, after a moment, in the brief, echoing silence that had settled over them... The almost cosmic silence, like the silence of two planets, drifting past one another at a leisurely pace, in the spacial vacuum, millions of miles apart...
Suddenly, he was feeling very much like he was having second thoughts about all this...
Emilia just breathed, reeling, unable to sever their eye contact, unable to look away at all, unable to process her racing thoughts. Maou blinked again, beginning to feel cold panic creeping through him, gripping his heart and constricting his lungs; he jumped to his feet, terrified, blown away, as if realizing that this wasn't a dream, and he wouldn't wake up.
His words still hung, cleanly, plainly, In the air between them, defiantly. Do you love me?
Do you... Love me?
The hero felt like the world had been swept out from under her.
"W...Wh...?" She tried to speak, but failed, voice petering out, frail and tiny. She blushed, growing furiously red, and glanced down at the table between them, unable to bear his piercing gaze. "What...?"
She managed to pronounce, at last, trembling. She felt like she was spinning, she felt dizzy and winded. At some level, deep within her, she knew that Maou must be aware of her feelings for him...
The King of Hell was silent, strangled, struggling to make sense of what he had said, trying to figure out how he had thought it would be a good idea to ask if she loved him...
"Nothing." He exhaled, somewhat dazed, at last. "Nothing. I didn't say anything."
He had to know. He had to, it was eating him alive.
Despite that, he couldn't bear to repeat the question.
"You... Didn't say anything? " Emilia squeaked, voice cracking a bit; straining to keep her head on straight, as unbelievable heat surged through her, coursing through her, filling her face, her chest... "N-Nothing...? Because... I could have sworn-"
"No." He answered, coldly, and hastily, cutting her off; shifting in place, he hoped desperately to avoid a catastrophe. "I don't even know. I don't know what I said, if anything."
Emilia tried to control her breathing, bright crimson; she was pretty sure her face matched her hair. "O-Oh... Okay."
They were briefly quiet, staring across at one another, transfixed, unable to look away.
A moment of silence, over too quickly.
"Mommy loves Daddy? Mommy?" Alas = Rasmus giggled, clapping her hands. "Mommy Loves Daddy?"
Emilia shrieked again, quietly, under her breath, jumping; startled, she turned to face her daughter, feeling heat surge back Into her breast and face.
Maou just cursed himself, bitterly, in his mind; covering his face with one hand.
"Mommy loves Daddy? Daddy said... Daddy said, Mommy loves daddy?" the little girl wondered aloud, repeating herself, for her parents... Hoping to be helpful, realizing that they had apparently forgotten what Maou said, she reminded them.
The hero shivered, and her eyes drifted shut, for a moment. Oh, God...
Heartbeat hammering, she turned back around, to face Maou, unable to peer back Into his face. She could feel his eyes on her, his penetrating eyes...
Neither of them could speak for a moment.
Emi opened her eyes again, feeling somewhat faint, taking a slight breath, and met the Demon king's gaze.
She took a moment to try and compose herself, to try and fix her face and heartbeat. She touched her cheek, then adjusted her shirt, lamely, still staring the King of Hell straight In the eyes. Her breathing was suppressed, ragged. Maou watched, uncompromising, unblinking, with wide eyes.
"Fine." He almost whispered, at last, glaring at her. His pulse was wild, and his expression vivid but icy. "Fine, That's what I said."
Emi blinked, flustered, fiddling with her shirt; unable to look away from his face.
"You..." She tried to get a bearing on herself, feeling very lost in her own kitchen. "You Asked me... If I love you?"
She managed, in a small voice. She knew, of course, that everyone in the room was well aware of what Maou had asked.
"That's what I said." He snapped, growling lowly. Maou stared down at her, through his fingers of his right hand.
Emilia couldn't speak, choked. Alas = Rasmus giggled again.
"Does mommy love Daddy?" the little girl prodded, excitedly. "Yes, right? Yes, Daddy!"
"Of... Of course I love Daddy.. " Emilia snuck a quick glare at Maou, desperately and somewhat on tilt, who laughed, despite himself. "Now... It's bedtime, honey, go brush your teeth-"
Alas = Rasmus nodded jovially, obediently, and hopped down out of her chair, toddling out of the kitchen and heading for the bathroom.
The Hero and the Demon King met each others eyes again, with heat and tension boiling up in the atmosphere between them.
"Color me surprised..." Maou sneered, at last, eyeing her wickedly. "I didn't take you for the kind of girl to call her man 'daddy'."
Emilia squeaked something incomprehensible, furiously red and outraged, utterly humiliated. "What's that? Are you my 'man', now-?!"
"I don't know-" He fired back, coolly, also on tilt. "Am I?"
The hero fell silent again, strangled, glowing scarlet.
His eyes narrowed at her, and he took a seat at the table again, across from her; when she couldn't speak, a moment later, he started drumming his fingers along the hardwood.
She opened her mouth, quivering, but failed to speak, as the blush darkened on her cheeks. She screwed her mouth closed again, heart hammering in the silence.
"Tell me, Emilia-!"
The Demon King leaned towards her, over the table, just slightly; irritated, he watched her take a deep breath. Emilia set one hand over her heart, flushed.
Maou tilted his head, irritated and expectantly, at her. Somewhat confused, and internally horrified, he waited for her to answer, to scream, to explode violently in a fit a of rage... Something.
She didn't
"I..." She choked out, as he twitched. Her thoughts swirled uselessly around, and she could feel her body heating restlessly up. The hero felt herself panicking, overcome, before finally managing to find her nerve. "I heard you! I heard you the first time, Jackass!"
"Good, tell me then!"
Emi nearly lost it, blushing furiously, but managed to keep her head on straight. "T-Tell you?! Tell you what?! Tell you what, Devil?" She shrieked, pretending to be as offended as possible, despite her swimming thoughts and racing heart. "Tell you...?! Whether or not I'm in love with you?!"
Maou exhaled, highly aggravated and frightened; twirling a fork expertly between two fingers. He was briefly silent, watching her with piercing, calculating eyes. She struggled to breathe.
"Tell me now. " He managed, at last, to say, smoothly; eyes narrowing at her. "If you fell for me. Tell me...Something changed, in Ente Ilsa, and since then..."
Emilia took a deep, shaky breath, after a moment. She stared at him, furiously crimson, and held her heart; Her Instincts were screaming at her, wildly, to do something about this intolerable situation. How could he know? How could he possibly have found out?
Emilia opened her mouth, feeling somewhat faint, lightheaded And almost dizzy. The room was swimming around her, but she could see Maou so clearly...
"W-Why...?" She breathed, overcome, voice tiny and shaking. "Why do you want to know...?"
Maou seized faintly, sitting up. "That's..."
He fell silent, trailing off.
The King of Demons twitched, furious with himself, knowing the answer all too well. "That isn't important, is it?"
"It is important!" She squealed, clutching at her mouth with both hands, blushing violently, furiously red. She glared at him, unsteadily. "Obviously It's important! Do you... Do you want me to love you-?!"
He seethed, exhaling. The answer was so obvious, painfully obvious, in his heart... He was so afraid, so terrified, that it was obvious to her as well. "I... I can't tell you, of course."
"Typical! " She breathed, voice squeaky and cracking. "Typical, you can't tell me! Bullshit, you don't want to tell me! Why!"
"This isn't twenty questions, Emilia!"
"Why can't you tell me? Huh?" She hissed, halfway hysterical, almost hyperventilating. Bright red, she tugged her hair, glaring poignantly away, Into the far corners of the room. "Why!"
Maou was briefly silent, struggling to keep his cool, calculating demeanor. It was his only armor against her, against his feelings. "Why, Emi...? You'll change your answer, If I tell you " He answered, sharply, after a moment, cocking his head; exhaling, as if daring her to deny it.
Emilia froze, blushing, and stammered something, lamely.
He was right, of course. He was so right, she would change her answer in a heartbeat, and she was endlessly ashamed of it.
"Tell... Tell me anyway...?" She whimpered, weakly, half - hopeful.
"Not a chance." His voice was smooth, drawling, and terror bubbled underneath his words. Somehow, his tones were unbearably attractive to her, unbearably sexy. "You first."
"Why! Why me first?" She wailed, covering her Red face with both hands, unable to believe what was happening In their kitchen, what was happening between them, and happening in her heart...
"I asked first." He grinned, stiffly, at her.
Brief silence, again.
She sniffled, after a moment, utterly miserable.
"What is this, second grade...?" She muttered, darkly, under her breath, still blushing violently.
He tilted his chair back, coolly, irritated. "Do you love me, Emilia? Are you In love with me?"
She couldn't answer, glowing crimson and mortified, heart fluttering in her chest, choking on her breath; he stared at her, impatiently, leaning his chair back on two legs, balancing it coolly.
How could he know? How could he possibly have found out?
She panted, covering her face with both hands; steaming red, and staring out at him through her fingers. How could he have... ?
"T-That's... I..." She started, shaking faintly, eyes wide. "I..."
Ex-V: Did you like it? I hope so!
I'll put the next chapter up ASAP, after the next chapter of Mirror Goes up!
Please, tell me what you think, and I'll be eternally grateful!
