#author Rio try not to give up when a wip passes 2+ days in the works challenge (impossible)

[riostwsty]

" I'll make up to you... "

Summary: Jamil does nothing but work all day, everyday. Luckily he can always rely on his partner at times when he feels beyond exausted. word count 1.6k + Keywords: fluff, scenario, romance, third person narrator, g/n reader (you/yours), established relationship, reader not implied Yuu/MC Characters: Jamil x reader CWs: none, just comfort I think

Your footsteps echoes in the halls of Scarabia, moonlight and the shimmer of a thousand stars illuminated your path by the windows beside. Kalim had asked for help with a big project for Astrology class, and there you were, only managing to finish a little before 1 am struck, and as you were heading back to your room, decided to pay a visit to the dorm's kitchen for a cup of water and a (post) midnight snack.

There was a strange sight however, upon arriving there, of a Jamil Viper standing unmoving behind the counter, staring expressionless at his feet.

—"Jamil! I haven't seen you all day, where have you been?"— you asked. He didn't even flinch at the sound of your voice, but you continued regardless —"You didn't read any of my messages, I was actually starting to get worried, haha... Jamil?"—

The lack of response made you reluctantly approach, getting nearer, you made sense of the situation at hand... more or less.

He stared at four pieces of bread fallen face down on the floor. Stared as if they had insulted him in seven different languages. Glancing back and forth to the floor and his face, all you could muster was a "Wha..."

—"I wanted toast"— he muttered to himself —"why."—

You picked up the bread, hopefully to break the weird trance your boyfriend was in, and looked for a garbage bin to discard them. He furrowed his brows, at last truly acknowledging your presence. You imitaded his expression back —"It's way past the five second rule, come on."—

He sighed, leaning on the counter with arms crossed and resting his head on them like a makeshift pillow, face down. It was fairly obvious what it meant, and a bit unease, you already knew what to do in situations like it.

—"wanna talk about your day?"—

—"hm."— Jamil grunted quietly, taking in a deep breath as he counted on his fingers —"Final history test. Didn't submit Crewel's project in time. Laundry. Dishes. Cancelled Basketball practice."—

—"That's quite the list..."—

—" 's only half of it"—

You leaned on the counter next to him, with a half embrace, rubbing circles on his back with one hand. —"I came here for a midnight snack before going to bed, but I can also make you some hot chocolate while I'm at it. How's that sound?"—

His posture changed to the offering, looking up at the ceiling as if carefully calculating his response, but then slowly shaking his head in hesitant disapproval —"...Must consume milk under three days... once opened.... Such a waste."— His speech was slurred from the sheer exaustion, stumbling over his words while you tried to make sense of the conversation —"... don' worry... I eat the floor toast. thanks."— he then let all the weight of his head fall at once on the counter with a comically loud thud to end the discussion right then and there.

Needless to say, this has happened a fair amount of times before. The vice housewarden often gets too caught up in his responsabilities to even remember taking breaks, and when his partner is not around to give reminders, well... the situation only escalates to the worst. In comparison to his usual serious, responsible and ever flawless image, he'd become completely out of touch due to the fatigue accumulated througout the day, walking and speaking as if his conciousness hang by a thread, threatening to give in at every second passed.

Jamil constantly fought to keep the solemn demeanor, but one can only go so far, after all, he's human too. He'd rather dissappear than ever be caught acting as anything but the picture perfect mask he held in front of others, and that drained ridiculous amounts of energy the longer he kept up the performance.

You took his face on your hands and brought him closer to inspect his drowsy state. He struggled to keep his vision focused, and it gave the impression of the bags under his eyes to be darker than usual. He noticed you press your lips in a thin line and squint your eyes as you observed with worry. Jamil hadn't even begun to lose himself in the tender moment, of your warm hands caressing his skin so affectionately, when you rapidly turned your attention to the kitchen cabinets to take all the ingredients for that previously mentioned hot chocolate offer, making him click his tongue in annoyance.

—"[name], I told you I-"—

—"Jamil, stop worrying about wasting ingredients from the pantry, and allow yourself to enjoy a well deserved treat for once"— you interrupted —"you're tense. you should relax before heading to bed, or else you won't get a good night's rest"—

He scoffed, approaching from behind and shutting with both hands another cabinet you were about to open, like that consequently closing the space between you two, as he glared as best as he could at your surprised expression now centimeters away from his face.

It was an embarrassing position to be in, between the cabinet and Jamil you couldn't move, caged between his arms so he was sure you'd look at him the eye. Yes, it would be almost intimidating, that is, if his mind hadn't gone blank from his sleep deprived state, only managing to muster a single "ssstop." accompanied by a tired pout.

—"Nop"— you pushed him back gently —"You go sit down somewhere. I'll take care of things now"—

==

Both of your hands were occupied as you made your way around the dorm. One holding Jamil's mug and the other holding his hand, guiding him like a lost puppy. By the time you reached the boy's room, he seemed to have finally given up complaining, and was resting his head on your shoulder, barely keeping himself up. You instructed him to sit at the edge of the bed, handing him the hot beverage, while you took a seat behind, and began to undo his messy braids and ponytail with care.

The quietness between interactions was by no means uncomfortable anymore, at this stage of the relationship, they were reassuruing moments that told words weren't needed when you two understood each other so well. It was true, reading a person like Jamil was no easy task, yet you did it so effortlessly. Still, that didn't mean he was a completely open book in any way.

After undoing the braids, you took a brush to untangle any knots left in his hair. Once you noticed the tension on his shoulders was beggining to dissipate, you decided to gather a bit of courage to ask something that had been bothering you for quite some time.

—"Why are you always so eager to refuse any help from me?"— you broke the silence —"You're barely managing to keep yourself up by the end of the week, yet you still..."—

You sighed, not feeling the need to complete the sentence. Jamil didn't respond right away, only tapping his fingers on the mug in hand as if counting the seconds passed from the unanswered question.

—"I'm used to... doing that"— he took a sip from the hot chocolate —"you feel bothered by it?"—

—"It's just that you do so much for everyone. You do so much for me and-"— you interrupted youself, wondering what words to use to accurately describe your thoughts on the matter —"and it feels like the efforts are unbalanced, you know? It's unfair."—

His eyes darted across the room, seeking to be fixed anywhere but to your direction.

—"...can't say I feel the same way"— he mumbled.

You sighed softly, letting the quiet atmosphere to sink in once more.

Growing up as a servant for the Asim family, constantly having to look after others and never prioritizing himself, barely taking any breaks- for sure these responsabilities took deep roots on his subconscious, wether he noticed it or not, no matter how much he believed he deserved better, there was always a voice in the back of his mind, telling the exact contrary. Ordering him to hold the act for just a little while longer, to work a bit more, and above all, to do it all alone. It was HIS duty and no one else's.

But among crowds you only had eyes on him. And among layers of deception you knew what he really felt. Saw the burden he'd much prefer for you to ignore it.

—"well, you know I love you very much"— you added weakly, taking the now empty cup from his hands and placing it on the drawer beside the bed, along with the hairbrush you had just finished using —"maybe we can talk about this tomorrow, once you're well rested?"—

In no time Jamil turned around from his spot on the bed and tackled you down on the matresses with him, hugging your frame like a body pillow.

—"promise to remind me-"— he added drowsy as he finally allowed his heavy eyelids to shut —"I'll make up to you tomorrow"—

—"yeah, promise."— in no hesitation, you lied. As you had done times before, in this scenario you felt no guilt in doing so. For there was no need to have your favor ever be payed back by Jamil. Taking care of him was no task, much less one to be returned in feeling of obligation.

It was something he couldn't wrap his head around. The fact that someone would do such things, all purely out of love for him. There was still a long way to go until he could even begin to truly understand, your adoration for him was not a matter of exchange, but one of heart.

You ran your fingers through his hair until he was fast asleep, and prepared yourself to join in soon, waiting for morning to wake you to another busy day, that by the end of it, you'd be willing to repeat the same nightly routine over and over again, if so needed, and if he would allow it.

#[english works] #give this man a break #author Rio try not to give up when a wip passes 2+ days in the works challenge (impossible) #I say yes to writing creatively with no sense of obligation to put me on a rush. #and yes in the same breath I say ''my god I NEED to post this today for NO good reason'' #twst x reader #twst writing #twst fanfic #twst #twisted wonderland #jamil viper #jamil viper x reader #scarabia #finished writing this while baisically starving but I hope this didn't affect the quality of this fic overrall HAHA (sound of crying) #dw I'm fine dw dw