Dw Guys, I Swear That Red Stuff Is Just Ketchup He Got All Over Himself From Smashing Burgers In A Rage

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, [REDACTED]!!!!!!! <3

two sides of the same coin

I need to learn how to draw leaves urgently.

lol I wanted to put some meaning into it using flowers, like the red one which, in Japan (as far as I remember), means death. but I don't even know the name of the other flower 😭 I just draw it because I thought it was a pretty flower

i think im funny

ren burnout behavior vs ren dad issues behavior spot the differences

original

Taken (Part 4/5)

Unedited, as all of these are. If it seems like it ends abruptly that's because it does, I cut out the end to spare you my sad attempt at including sexual tension lol. Ren and above image belong to @14dayswithyou

Summary: Angel comes to terms with their new situation and Ren is a simp as per usual

2.2k words

14 Days With You is an 18+ Yandere Visual Novel. MINORS DNI

Warmth. It’s all I can process as I groggily wake in a bed with black sheets, clearly not my own, with sunshine falling almost spitefully directly on my eyes through a crack in the curtains nearby. As my memory slowly comes back to me, I shoot upright in the bed, Fuck I’m at Ren’s place. My hip flares in pain once again, stubbornly reminding me how I got here in the first place.

I don’t have much time to myself as Ren peeks in, timidly asking, “How are you doing, Angel? I made some pancakes if you want some?” I recall our second date, when we ended up stranded at his place due to an unexpected storm. He made pancakes then too, but the situation is vastly different now.

I stare at him incredulously, “What the fuck, Ren?”

He avoids my eyes, “What- What’s wrong, Angel?”

My eyes sharpen to a glare, “Drop the act. You know what’s wrong you piece of shit. You fucking kidnapped me?!”

He makes an uncertain gesture, “I wasn’t- I didn’t want to! You just wouldn’t listen to me, you were going to call someone. You have to listen to me first.”

My face could not possibly display the extent of disbelief I had at his audacity, “You’re insane. Get out of my room.”

I see his eyes light up just slightly and I guess why, “No- no. I’m not staying here, I’m not living here. It’s mine for now because I don’t want you in it, so I’m claiming it.”

He nods, “What’s mine is yours Angel, you can claim anything you want.”

Frustrated at his contradicting shifts between aggressive and passive, I throw a nearby plushie at his head, watching with some satisfaction as he makes no move to avoid it, and it nails him square in the face.

He tilts his head hopefully, “Do you feel better now?”

I turn to my uninjured side, pulling the covers over my head, “Fuck off.”

I hear his quiet response of, “Okay,” before the door gently clicks closed.

Only moments later, he reappears with a plate of pancakes and a glass water, which he sets down on the nightstand next to me. I glare at him, making full eye contact as I swipe the glass onto the floor like a petulant cat. I immediately regret doing so as the glass makes a loud shattering sound, spilling water, ice, and glass everywhere. I flinch and start shaking as less than pleasant memories from my childhood resurface, triggered by the breaking glass.

Ren reassures me as though I had not fully intentionally broken it, “It’s okay, I’ll clean it up, just don’t walk over here.”

I scrutinize his movements as he returns with a towel and broom, cleaning the mess. The worst part is that he doesn’t seem angry, not even irritated. When he catches me staring at him he just flashes a smile. I fully expected to die at his hands right then, and he’s smiling?

When he finishes, he asks, “Anything else I can do for you?”

Coming from anyone else, that would’ve sounded sarcastic as hell, but he genuinely meant it. I stare at him for a long moment before speaking, “I don’t understand you.”

He shifts his weight from side to side, “What do you mean?”

I pause, considering, “Take your contacts out.”

He picks at his cardigan sleeve, “What contacts?”

I glare, “Do you really think I’m that fucking stupid?”

He stutters, “N- No, sorry, I just- force of habit I guess.”

I nod, “We’re past this soft persona, aren’t we? All bets are off, you went far enough to kidnap me, so I imagine I won’t be leaving anytime soon. Might as well drop the act, yeah? Not like I can break up with you now.”

He shakes his head, “I still want you to be happy Angel, if dressing and acting like this makes you feel more comfortable, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

I glare, “It doesn’t, it sickens me. Stop it.”

He seems taken aback, “Wha- What would you rather have me to do?”

I shake my head, “Goddamnit Ren, just stop pretending. Stop pretending to be someone we both know you aren’t. Y’know, I always suspected, just never wanted to confront you. I didn’t think I could take the betrayal if I was right.” I scoff, “Turns out I don’t have to figure out whether I can or not since I don’t have a choice. Never did, right? This was the only possible conclusion, no matter what I did, the only difference was whether I was here willingly or not.”

Ren avoids my eyes, “I’m sorry.”

I smile at him, speaking in a saccharine voice, “Oh Ren, my love, no you’re not. We wouldn’t be here if you were. Now stop treating me like I’m dumb. You know me far better than you let on, right? If that’s really what you think of me, I’ll be hurt darling.”

Despite my biting, sarcastic tone, Ren’s face still reddens at the terms of endearment, “Angel, I really don’t know what you want me to do, I am who I am, but I’ll change what you want me to change. Just tell me what to change and I will.”

I sigh heavily, pinching the bridge of my nose, “Alright, since you keep acting like you have no fucking free will or personality beyond being obsessed with me, I’ll give you the orders you seem to want so desperately. 1. Take out your colored contacts, 2. Put your piercings back in, 3. Stop covering up your tattoos, I can obviously see them, you’re not slick. Oh and 4. Just fully get rid of the pounds of concealer you wear all the time, it makes me uncomfortable just seeing it, much less having it on. Those are currently the easiest things you’re using to manipulate my opinion of you, but I have plenty more theories.”

Ren hesitates, scratching his jaw uncomfortably, “But- but you prefer-”

I throw my hands in the air, “And stop stuttering, I find it incredibly hard to believe that you genuinely have a stutter. And if you do- well, guess I’m an asshole. The point is you’ve gone far beyond the point where pretending to be my type will appease me. If you start being honest with me now, you might be able to regain a sliver of my trust, but if you keep being deceptive and manipulative – keep in mind I acted oblivious for most of our relationship – all I’m going to do is make your life a living hell. I’m sure I can get you disillusioned with me pretty damn quick.”

Ren smiles fondly at me, “I assure you, you can’t. But feel free to try if that’s what you want.”

I scoff, “Sure, I’ll remind you of that when you snap on me. Only took two months last time, bet I can at least halve that this time around. Also remember that I have next to nothing I actually care about and have withstood psychological and physical harassment for years at a time, so you’re not special, and you will not fucking break me.”

I see anger build behind his eyes as I speak and feel the familiar dread rise in my chest equally, but steel myself against it. I’ve dealt with worse, and I’m tired of being the victim. I will die before I’m chained up again. I hold onto as much determination and righteous fury as I can muster, preparing for anything he can throw at me.

But then he steps toward me, and suddenly I can’t move. It’s like with him all over again, I talk big to get him to back off, but then it backfires, and I just freeze, cowering in a corner and waiting for it to be over. My fists clench the sheets as I will myself to do something, anything. But I don’t, I can’t, helplessly watching as the tall figure looms ever closer, somehow not any less intimidating despite the pastel persona.

He reaches out a hand towards my face and I watch it closely, heart beating faster the closer it gets. Fuck fuck fuck, what do I do? I could bite him, but that would just make him angrier, I could run away, but he’d catch me easily. All I can do is glare and try to hide my shaking as much as possible. So I just sit and wait for the inevitable.

But when his hand reaches me, it’s gentle. Barely grazing my cheek with his knuckles before carefully cupping my face in his hands and guiding it to face his. I see only warmth in his eyes, empathy and understanding combined with an all-encompassing devotion I had never experienced before. Or maybe I had, it felt so distantly familiar…

His voice is as gentle as his touch, but somehow carries more weight, “My angel, I have never, ever, wanted to break you. The only thing I have ever wanted is to be by your side, to support you and make you happy for as long as I am able. I’d sooner break myself than hurt you in the slightest. All I ask is to stay with you and I will become anything you could ever want. I am yours, completely and unconditionally, forever.”

I stare at him in shock as he plants a light kiss on the top of my head and leaves with one last lingering glance behind him. As soon as he closes the door I slump over, my heart racing. Holy fuck, what was that? He was… kind. Creepy and overly devoted, sure, but words don’t mean all that much anyway, I’m sure he won’t be able to keep that up for long. More importantly, he genuinely doesn’t seem to want to hurt me. I honestly can’t believe he didn’t hit me. Even after I broke the- ugh shit, and I was so rude too, now I feel bad.

Wait no- he literally kidnapped me. He’s crazy. Why would he even act so obsessed with me, I didn’t do anything? Does he think it’ll get me to drop my guard? Or maybe… what had he said before? I can’t let you go again, not now that I finally have you? Something like that, right? How long has he been stalking me? What happened before? No, it doesn’t matter, I need to figure out how to get out, or just contact someone. How closely is he monitoring me?

I look up and around the room, looking for cameras. I saw a few suspicious places, but it would probably be better if he didn’t know that I knew they were there, so I couldn’t directly inspect them. Instead, I walk over to the closet, stepping inside and closing the door behind me before crouching in the far corner. As usual, it was a very comforting sensation, the walls of the closet around me as I felt invisible in the dark. A helpful quality.

But it wasn’t long before I heard the door to my room open and footsteps immediately approach my hiding place. So there are cameras, knew it. Light floods the closet and I flinch away from it. Outlined in the light I see Ren, crouching to my level.

He looks concerned, “Why are you in here, Angel?”

I drop my head down to rest face-down on my knees that were drawn up to my chest, “Cause I can. You gonna drag me out like he did?”

His eyebrows lower dangerously, “Like who did?”

I scoff, “Surprised you don’t already know. Guess you didn’t stalk me until after I turned 16 then. Either that or you weren’t very good at it.”

Ren doesn’t respond to that, instead turning and sitting at the opposite end of the closet with me. As my eyes adjust to the light, I see that he actually listened to me. His eyes were the same as that night, and he had two sparkling silver spikes below his lips. He had changed from his usual jeans and double sweater combo to the grey sweatpants and dark green long-sleeve shirt he wore the first time I stayed over at his place. His hair was pulled back into a small ponytail, showing the piercings in his ears as well. He looked self-conscious… and hot. I shake my head, Shut up, no, not the goddamn time.

All of a sudden, I notice something on his neck, “Holy fuck.”

He immediately responds, “What? What’s wrong?”

I crawl slightly toward him, squinting to make sure I saw it properly, “…When on earth did you get my name tattooed on your throat?”

He hesitates, touching the tattoo, or perhaps trying to cover it, “Uh… I dunno, recently.” He sounds defensive, “You told me to get rid of the concealer.”

I shift within arm’s length, “I did, thank you. I do genuinely appreciate you listening to me. But define recently. It’s completely healed, so clearly not that recent.” I reach out, slightly brushing the skin with my thumb to check the texture, confirming, “Yeah, that’s gotta be at least two months old.” I smirk, pulling back slightly, “You’d think I’m the yandere, claiming you like that.”

⋆˚࿔ 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆?.. 𝜗𝜚˚⋆ redacted x GN!reader

•ଓ.° this baby is SO stiff, he looks like he’s in need of a massage, (posture is outrageous,) so you’re happy to give one to them!

[ REN BELONGS TO @14dayswithyou !!! ]

[ REVERSE comfort!! ] [ 18+ ] [ not proofread! per usual ]

———————————————————

you lay on your boyfriend's bed as you wait for them to detach from their computer.

you eye the man before you once more, hunched over and poker faced as he stares at the screen displaying some odd black and green code. you speak up for what seems to be the hundredth time,

“babe.” you say as deeply as possible, serious and concerned. you couldn't help it! you watched him hunch over his desk for a solid four hours without taking any break. it was worrying to see them strain themself so much without rest.

the man glances at you repeatedly —practically every two seconds— to which he’s met with the same disappointed look on your face every single time. as much as it broke him, he’d been working for so long, he didn’t really want to loose all the progress he’d made.

“ren, you need a break! im serious!” you exclaim, a hint of distress in your tone as you raise your voice slightly.

frowning, you watch as he /finally/ slips his hand underneath the screen. a button clicks as the display goes dark.

he rests his head on the back of his seat and takes a deep breath, pausing for a moment.

eyes on your lover, you hope they aren't upset with you.. it was just, the sight of him being invested for so long without stretching or standing worried you. the discomfort seemed to be taking a toll on him and—

practically snapping you out of your thoughts, they use their arms to push themself upward. finally standing on his feet, just like you’d asked.

you feel a sense of relief at the sight.

he turns to face you with an unreadable expression.

“‘m sorry love.. i was so distracted-” he speaks, gradually stepping closer to you, their eyes focused on yours. “— forgive me?” he pleads, taking notice of your furrowed brows. his hand moves to rest on your cheek, though it slowly falls.

you couldn't be upset. he did as you asked, even if you had to ask them several times.

“forgiven.. now, sit honey,” you speak, patting the cushion beside you.

calmly, they sit down, reading your expression to see if you'd really meant your forgiveness.

untangling yourself from the sheets beneath you, you expose your legs and get up to toss them on each side of your lover. as you straddle him, his breath gets caught in his throat at the sight of you, the pressure of your body finally dropping in his lap.

“all your pleas jus’ for you to have me sit again? you sure missed me, hm?” he teases, hands slowly sliding up and down your thighs. you can barely make out the hearts nearly form in his eyes between the shield of his dark bangs.

“of course..” you coo, gliding one hand up his tattooed arm, finally relaxing it on his shoulder. your other hand rests against their face. slightly moving their bangs out of the way, you reveal the glossy eyes underneath. “do you know how long you've been sitting?” you ask, noticing how his eye bags have suddenly grown darker.

“mmm.. dunno.” they hum, leaning into your touch.

suddenly, your warm hands find their way towards his neck, slightly rubbing circles around his collarbones with your thumbs. <REDACTED> closes his eyes at the relaxing touch, hands resting on both of your hips, pressing you even further down on their lap.

“feel good?” you whisper, not wanting to disrupt his peace.

“mhhmm..” he drifts off, head leaning forward a bit.

“shh..” you hush, “let me take care of you.”

placing a kiss on their forehead, you continue to run your hands gently up and down his neck, applying slight pressure.

over time, the tension being placed on his upper half begins to get more intense as you dig your palms into his neck with circular motions. the more you feel around, you can definitely feel the most tense areas.

<REDACTED> inhales sharply at the contact, hissing as you place even more pressure on his tense neck.

“you okay?” you ask, slightly removing your hands.

realization hits as their eyes shoot open. he softly takes a hold of your wrist to guide you. “‘m f-fine.. keep going angel..” he huffs, placing your hands back onto his textured skin.

“it feels good, yeah?” you smile, applying slight force once more.

“s’ good.. don’t stop.. please.”

they relax into your gentle touch once more, surrounding themself in your scent.

the aroma and situation suddenly becomes overstimulating..

he swiftly envelopes you in a hug. his face hidden away in the crook of your neck. his eyes begins to sting.

tears start to form as the realization of the scenario sets in. how could he get so lucky?

“so good to me.. i don’t deserve it, angel.”

vampire rendacted!!!! basically in time for his birthday too so happy birthday to them teehee :]

as always, close ups under the cut! sorry for the weird cropping i had to fix everything bc it fucked up the quality for some reason 😭

Taken (Part 5/5)

Unedited, as all of these are. Took the easy way out bc I wanted them to reconcile lmao, ignore the fact that Ren would be fighting this way more. Ren and above image belong to @14dayswithyou

Summary: Angel and Ren have a heart-to-heart

4.2k words

14 Days With You is an 18+ Yandere Visual Novel. MINORS DNI

I sit at the headboard of the bed, my chin resting on my knees as I consider the man anxiously perched at the opposite end. 

I let the silence simmer for a bit before breaking it, “Why did you drug me?”

Ren scratches at his jaw, “I didn’t want you to hurt yourself any further. Your stitches are still healing.”

I add, “Also it made it easier to transport me without having to deal with me struggling or alerting someone on the way back here, no?”

Ren shrugs, avoiding my eyes.

I roll my eyes, “Why didn’t you let me go into Violet’s apartment?”

He looks at me with a pout, “Like I said, you always take forever to talk to her, and I hadn’t seen you and was worried about you.”

I sigh, “That’s a great answer, Ren,” he seems to perk up a bit, “but now I want a truthful one,” and he slumps again.

He protests, “That is-!”

I hold a hand up, stopping him, “Ren, please, we’ve been over this. Are you really going to test the extent of my knowledge on every little thing? You’re great at gaslighting, but I’m not a canary in a mineshaft, I’m aware of what’s going on. And I swear to god if you say you’re not I’m going to throttle you.”

He looks at me, eyes welling with tears, “I- I don’t know what you want me to say, Angel. It’s like you already have this set idea of who I am and I don’t know how I’m supposed to convince you otherwise when you already think I’m a two-faced liar.”

He buries his face in his sleeves as his shoulders shake soundlessly. I watch with a blank expression, waiting for him to stop. He eventually does, sniffling and wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve, smearing his mascara in the process.

I tilt my head, still expressionless, “Damn, you’re really good at that. I probably would’ve caved if I didn’t have a whole file of evidence against you.”

He looks surprised, “You- you have a file?”

I scoff, “Of course not, why would I write that stuff down? The only thing I know for sure you can’t break into is my head. Well, metaphorically speaking at least, I’m sure you could crack my skull like an egg if you so chose, but that’s not the point. Why didn’t you let me go into Violet’s apartment? I don’t need your whole thought process, just a concise, truthful answer.”

Ren’s voice lowers, “I thought you were gonna call the police.”

I smile and nod, “Better answer. I was. Really thought I’d be able to throw you off long enough too, but alas.  I probably would’ve been better off insisting than trying to be honest, but oh well, I’ll still hazard my health to tell the truth. But what I’m really confused about is why I’m the one who’s trying to gain your trust right now.”

I pause, considering my last statement before adding, “Was the whole ‘pretend to be anyone but yourself’ decision your own idea, or did someone else instill that lesson?”

I see his eyes flash as I speak before returning to their carefully neutral state, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I sigh deeply, considering the man before me. Eventually I come to a decision, looking down and speaking hesitantly, “Y’know what, I’m gonna tell you about something you keep reminding me of. It’s an old, old memory, so it’s probably warped beyond all recognition at this point, and it’s from a point in my childhood I remember almost nothing from but- ugh, whatever, it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t need to be perfectly accurate.”

I glance up at Ren to make sure he’s still paying attention. Luckily he was, while also mimicking my pose and staring intently.

So I continue, “When I was a kid, I don’t remember how old, my home life got progressively worse and worse. It got to the point where I dreaded going home every night, so instead, I would spend time in this dingy little playground between school and my house. There was a little red plastic tunnel I would hide in, helpful for when it was raining. Anyway, there was this other kid that seemed to do the same thing, they- no- he. He hated when… yeah, well whatever- he would kinda lurk around the playground way later than was normal too. I thought he was neat, and I dunno, I guess I related to him. He would leave little presents in that tunnel for me sometimes, he even gave me a jacket for when it was cold. So I started doing the same.”

I pause, slightly surprised at the emerging memory, “I even gave him one of my favorite stuffies, damn. That was some devotion for like, six-year-old me, don’t think I would do that for anyone now. Anyway, ugh I’m rambling, this has a point I swear. So we became best friends, in my opinion at least. I mean, I had Leon too, but I never wanted to tell him anything about home, so I would just pretend to be happy around him all the time. This other kid-”

I go off on another tangent, trying to remember his name, “Shit if I just had any sort of fucking memory space for names- why do I keep associating him with that goddamn carpet in the school? I know his name wasn’t fucking rug or ground or flower or some shit, but it was like, associated with those? I think??? I’ll just call him- uhhhhh… I dunno, Redacted I guess, heh.

“So yeah, Redacted and I could just chill together, y’know? It seemed like he had some shit he was dealing with too, definitely worse than mine from the few things I could pick up on, even as a child. I swear there were multiple times he had blood on him, but whether it was his or not was hard to say. But he was a sweet kid. Even if he wouldn’t really talk about his situation, I didn’t wanna talk about mine either. We just sorta understood that shit was fucked up, and it was so nice just to have someone there who got it without having to explain or pretend.”

I lean against the backboard, looking at the ceiling, “But all good things have to come to an end, right? Well that happened for us when he gave me a ring – proposed even, I think. Problem was, Leon also happened to be around at the time- Oh yeah- I forgot to tell you- I’m already engaged.”

I giggle, raising the back of my hand and wiggling my fingers as though showing off a ring, before dropping my hand and ruefully staring at it. When I look up, I see Ren clutching the fabric of his long-sleeve shirt in the middle of his chest. Seems like he got emotionally invested, ha, all the better for me.

I continue my story, “Anyway, I think Leon thought Redacted was harassing me, so he threw away the ring and dragged me to school. I argued with him the whole way, hell, I might’ve even hit him, I was so mad. I went straight back to that playground once they let us out of school, and I scoured that entire place for hours that night. Every day after I hoped I would find the ring, just nestled under a toy or stair somewhere I hadn’t checked. But I never found it; and Redacted never showed up there again.”

I pause for a minute, closing my eyes and composing myself, “Sorry, I’ve never told anyone this before, guess I’m not as detached as I thought I was.”

I take a deep breath, “…So after that, the few times I did see Redacted in school he would run away. It’s my fault too obviously, we were both kids, I didn’t do everything I could to check on him and make sure he was okay, but I figured he hated me and didn’t want to see me after the first few times I tried and failed. Every time I saw him after that, he just looked worse and worse, and I don’t know when it happened, but eventually I saw him for the last time. I don’t even know if he even fucking survived that goddamn place. Given what I knew about his family, probably not.”

At this point, tears are streaming down my cheeks as I stay stony-faced, recounting the story of my childhood friend. Once I had finally gotten out of my house and had room to breathe, I remembered the one who helped get me through one of the toughest years. I realized he probably never made it past childhood soon after but shoved the realization deep down and tried to forget about it, not ready to process it.

I push on now, needing Ren to understand, “To this day, despite everything else that’s happened to me, that’s my biggest regret: not even being there for him when he deserved that and so much more. And I’m not going to let that happen to a friend again. You remind me of that kid so much, Ren, and I don’t know if it’s that similarity, or the three months we’ve spent together, but despite all your insane bullshit, I do still consider you a friend. So whatever the fuck you have going on, I need you to tell me honestly. I will do whatever I can to help and support a friend, but my patience is running thin and I’m not even entirely sure what you are to me anymore. I’ve been taken advantage of before, and I won’t be letting that happen again either.”

Once I finish saying all that needs to be said, I finally look back at Ren. He’s wearing an expression I’d never seen before, filled with more conflicting emotions than I could puzzle through. His eyes were filled with tears that had yet to fall, and the clenched fist on his chest, I realized, was not holding onto his shirt, but the necklace he always wore around his neck.

He speaks in a choked whisper, “Y’didn’t throw it away?”

I stare at him, confused and concerned, but also wary of another guilt trip, “Throw what away?”

“The ring?”

My eyebrows furrow in confusion, “Of course not, why would I do that? That would be horribly cruel, and he was the only person I could really trust at the time. I also might’ve had a crush on him, but emotions are weird and we were kids and it’s been so long I don’t really remember. But that’s not the point, did you even listen to the whole point of that story?”

He stumbles on his words, “Yeah- no- I- I heard. I just- m’having a hard time believing it.”

I bristle at his words, “Are you calling me a fucking liar?!”

His eyes widen and he jolts backwards, “NO! No no nono, that’s not what I meant at all! I just can’t believe you remembered… everything… like that. I thought you hated m- um, him?”

I glare at him, “Ren, what the fuck are you implying?”

He shakily opens his palm to reveal the ring necklace laying there, “I took it back after you left, that’s why you couldn’t find it.”

I shake my head warily, “That’s not funny, Ren, there’s no way. Don’t-”

He jumps up off the bed, “Hold on.”

I sit, bewildered, as he runs off, not waiting long before I hear the light thudding of his footsteps returning. He breathlessly holds out a well-loved brown teddy bear to me, “He’s one of my most treasured possessions.”

I cautiously take it into my hands, looking over it carefully. Its fur was stringy and far ashier than I remember, as well as slightly bald in some places, but still has the same eyes invariably covered by fur, same construction, and clearly over a decade old.

I looked between the bear and Ren in disbelief before slowly shifting to meet him at the side of the bed. He looks back at me anxiously, backing up a step to give me room to stand. I close the gap, wrapping both of my arms securely around his waist and pulling him into a tight hug, grabbing handfuls of the back of his shirt like he would disappear if I let go.

I whisper incredulously, “You’re alive???”

Ren leans into me, resting his chin on my head with a small chuckle, “Last I checked, yeah. ‘Preciate y’worrying about me though.”

My face crumbles as the tears I had finally got under control sprang free again, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

Ren pulls back slightly, confused, “F’what?”

I lean my forehead onto his chest, not wanting him to see my face as I speak, “For being a shitty friend, for letting you go, for not defending you better, for not being there for you, fuck, just- everything. I’m sorry, you deserved so much better.”

Ren shakes his head, pulling me back in and speaking vehemently, “No, Angel, y’have nothing t’be sorry about. Y’didn’t do anything wrong. You’re the only one who didn’t do anything wrong. M’sorry f’being a stupid kid and running away.”

I sniffle, “You weren’t a stupid kid, you were smart as fuck, even back then. Just insecure as fuck too, but I have a feeling I know the bastard who’s responsible for that.” My hands tighten as I remember the one time I followed him from the playground to a trailer park, only to watch as he waited for almost an hour, knocking intermittently on the locked door. When it finally opened, a man flecked with blood stepped out, already screaming, and yanked him inside by the arm. The horrible sounds I heard that night caused me to sprint all the way home, practically thankful for the father I had. A feeling I had never come close to experiencing before or since. Fury builds in me as I think of all that Ren probably dealt with at such a young age.

Until his voice pulls me out of my thoughts, “Are y’alright Angel? You’re shaking.”

I glance up in surprise and loosen my grip on him, “Oh, sorry, yeah, I’m fine just… plotting murder.”

Ren’s eyebrows raise, “Mine?”

I laugh, shaking my head, “Ha! No, no, its- just ignore me.”

His head tilts to the side with a loving smile, “I could never.”

I lightly punch him, embarrassed, “Shut up.”

He laughs and pulls me back into a tight hug which I reciprocate. Catching a glimpse of his hair from my position, I hold a piece out with the arm still around him.

“Wasn’t your hair black? Why’d you make it pink?”

I feel him stiffen slightly as he seems to consider his options before answering quietly, “Thought you’d like it better.”

I squint at him, “Do you like it pink?”

He fires back, “Do you?”

I glare, “It’s your hair.”

He hums, “Mhmm, do you like it?”

I roll my eyes, pulling back so I can squish his face in my hands, “I think you’d look hot with any hair color and should choose what you like best.” Fuck. I really am a simp.

His face immediately flushes red and he mumbles, “But you like Haruko…”

I look at him in disbelief, “You really made a whole persona based on an anime character I liked? I mean, that’s what it seemed like, but I thought I was crazy for thinking that.”

He once again misses the point and focuses on an insignificant detail, “Liked? You don’t like him anymore?”

I sigh, “Do I really need to go get bread slices? Make an idiot sandwich? Of course not, I have an absolutely fucking insane boyfriend now, why would I want an anime character?”

Ren pouts at me, “M’not insane.”

I laugh, “Oh I don’t believe that for a second. That much trauma doesn’t create a healthily functioning adult, I would know.” I then realize how abrupt and harsh my words might sound and quickly course correct, “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like- uh, let’s talk about something else for now. Though actually, that does bring me back to an important point.”

I pull away, sitting back on the bed and bringing him to sit opposite me. I look him dead in the eyes, “How many people have you killed, Ren?”

He answers immediately, “Just one.”

I keep my eyes on him, “Ren, I am giving you the opportunity to come clean now. I won’t be so forgiving if I find things out on my own.”

He avoids my eyes, “Why? What would you do if it was more than one?”

I maintain an even gaze, “That would depend on who, why, and how you killed.”

There’s a long silence before he speaks again, “…Two.”

I insist, “Are you sure? You seemed very comfortable using that sledgehammer.”

He internally curses his carelessness for the millionth time but responds, “I use it in rage rooms a lot.”

When I realize that is the only answer I’ll be getting out of him, I pivot my questioning, “Okay. Who was the other person and why did you kill them?”

He side-eyes me, “Would you care if you didn’t know them?”

My eyebrows furrow, “Obviously? The reason would be the main factor then.”

He pauses for a long moment, “You did know them.”

I almost laugh at the pivot, but realize he’s still manipulating his answers based on my cues, which is sobering enough to maintain a straight face, “Okay, are you going to tell me who it was? Or when it was?”

He stares intently at his fingernails, picking idly at various minor hangnails, “About six years ago.”

My eyes widen, “You were sixteen?!”

He looks defensive, “And a half.”

I smother a smile of amusement and frustration at the pointless addition and gesture for him to go on. But before he can, I come to another realization, “Wait, then I was seventeen almost eighteen. Holy shit did you kill my stepfather?!”

He doesn’t respond, which gives me my answer. I immediately slap a hand over my mouth to cover the grin that was growing on my face. When my stepfather left that night and never returned, I had assumed he drunk himself either to death, or to do something that caused him to die. I suppose now the fact that they never found a body was suspicious, especially since he apparently never made it to any of his regular bars.

Coincidentally, that was the night I had resolved to kill him myself. I remember waiting by the door for hours with a kitchen knife, aching all over from my bruises and with blood dripping from the many cuts caused by him shattering a bottle against the table I was taking cover under. In the end, I had to give up and go back to bed before my mother woke up and started to make excuses for him again.

Now, as my grin grew wider and laughter bubbled up my throat, I had to add another hand to my mouth to keep it all in. I didn’t want him to see how dementedly happy I was about that man’s death or encouraging him to continue to do such things in the future. But when he saw me shaking with wide eyes and covering my mouth, he must have assumed the worst.

“Angel, I’m sorry, I had to! He was a danger to everyone around him, especially you, he-”

I choke out a quick, “Shut up,” before returning to the increasingly impossible job of keeping my mirth in. Eventually I fail, as a violent snort comes out unbidden. After that I surrender entirely, shifting my grasp from my face to my stomach as I tip over and guffaw into the sheets of the bed. I lay there laughing for almost two minutes, probably sounding increasingly more insane, before it finally levels off and I begin to calm back down.

I continue laying face down until I have fully stopped and only then sit up with a straight face, “Okay, ignoring that, how did you kill- ugh no, don’t ask that. Violence isn’t the answer. Violence isn’t the answer, violence isn’t the answer.” I repeat the words over, trying to make them stick.

Ren seems confused, “Are you telling that to me or yourself?”

I temple my hands in front of my face with an expression of restraint, “Yes.”

Ren hesitantly asks, “So… are we good?”

I raise an eyebrow, “About the murder? Yeah, if you’ve told me the truth I don’t really care about either of those- well, you probably didn’t need to kill that other guy, but meh, I don’t really blame you. Glad you’re discerning about it at least.”

I see the corners of his mouth quirk upwards and I make a quick amendment, “That doesn’t mean I condone murder. It’s technically wrong most of the time, so you can only resort to that in life-or-death situations.”

His mouth turns downwards again and I scoff, “Hey, if I don’t get to murder then you don’t get to murder. Consider yourself lucky that you managed to get to that bastard of a man before I did, otherwise we’d be even right now.”

I sigh, bringing my fingers to massage my temples from the massive headache that had been building this whole time. Ren immediately perks up, “Are you okay? D’you need painkillers? Water? Food?”

I bring my hand up, “Quiet, preferably.”

I immediately regret my words as Ren falls quiet, not protesting or yelling as I was used to from others. I amend my words, “Sorry, that was mean, I’m just- ugh my fucking head.”

Ren nods and leaves the room. I watch him leave with widened eyes, not expecting them to just abandon me like that. I want to call out, but my pride seals my throat, choking me from voicing my desires as per usual. After all, that would just reveal my own weaknesses. So I sit and stare blankly as tears well up in my eyes, increasing the pressure in my head even more.

I furiously blink them back, cursing myself, whether for making Ren leave or wanting him to stay, I wasn’t sure. I pull the glossy sheets over my head and collapse back into the mattress, burying my face into the pillow in an attempt to beat back my headache. Only to have my hip spike in pain as well. Just my luck.

It doesn’t take long before I hear footsteps walk into the room, somehow spontaneously sounding at the entrance to the room as if he spawned in at the doorway. I don’t move, not wanting him to see the tears in my eyes. Stupid.

A soft, familiar voice inquires quietly, “Angel? I got you some water and advil.”

A hand gently rests on my shoulder blade, carefully sliding up and down in a comforting pattern. I stay still, enjoying the feeling I hadn’t felt since I was a very young child. Being cared for, safe. Crazy how this murderer was capable of making me feel more secure and loved than my “parents” ever did.

I groan, turning my head and bringing the sheets down enough to look at Ren blearily. Their eyes are full of sympathy as they hand me the painkillers. I take them, evaluating the pills to make sure they matched the container before downing two with a gulp of water. From the same type of glass I had shattered earlier, I notice with another twinge of guilt.

Ren gives me a soft smile, “Why don’t you go back t’sleep for now? It’s about bedtime anyway, and you’re recovering from a multitude of things.”

I mumble, “Mostly y’fault. We arn’ done talkin’.”

Their eyebrows furrow, “I know, m’sorry. But we can finish tomorrow, okay? I don’t think y’really in a state t’continue. I’ll leave the water here, just yell if y’need anything.”

As they stand to leave, I act without thinking, reaching out and grabbing their wrist. He turns, confused, but patiently waits for me to form my words.

“…Don’t…leave me.”

His eyes light up and he kneels next to the bed, getting to eye level with me and grasping my hand tightly, “I’ll never leave you, Angel. Never again.”

I pull them towards me, and after confirming my intention, they instantly succumb to my request, joining me under the covers. They pull me into their chest, both of our arms wrapped around the other securely, our legs tangling as we attempt to get as close as possible. I push all of the red flags out of my mind, I could deal with those in the morning. For now, we indulge in the feeling of comfort and safety we couldn’t find anywhere else in the world.

Ren bby🥺

Twitter saw it first but i post over here too just in case..

It's my first time to draw him haha

Kinda annoying because I forgot his tattoo and my ibis paint need to be reset.. I might redraw this.

Receiving a handmade gift for the first time. He won't take it off tho.

It's snowing outside rn, I wanted them to get cozy and stuff. Also I feel like I might be spamming too much? But I just love drawing him 🥀