Hatchet × Ember

FLUFF

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"Why are we doing this again.." Ember grumbled frustratingly, not seeing the point of this stupid game while her team sat in a circle with her. Rebel chuckled, looking to the agitated girl with amusement. "Well with this being a break day, we all got bored and didn't want to leave the rookie out of the fun." Rolling her pinpricks, she crossed her arms and finally gave in. "Fine, but don't do anything stupid." Blitx started first, looking over to Onyx. "Truth or Dare onyx." Humming for a moment, he shut his eye with a bit of annoyance. "Truth.." He mumbled as Blitx's grin widened, leaning his head into one palm. "Alright, Why did you recruit a female to an all male gang?"

Ember rolled her eyes, knowing he was talking about her since she was the only girl of the group. "I didn't, i asked her if she wanted to leave her universe for a while and she eventually joined herself. I know how to work an alliance unlike you blasted idiots." Looking to Ember for confirmation, she nodded to what he said. The turns went around from Onyx to Paris, to Deisel, to Hatchet and as it landed as Rebels turn. His mischievous grin turned to Ember, who had been lost in thought until she heard him say his name. "Alright Ember, Truth or Dare?" She thought on her options, but before she could fully think of the consequences, she blurted out. "Dare."

A few of her team mates began chuckling over the choice but they all shut up from what left Rebel mouth next. "I dare you to let someone of the team hold you for a full thirty minutes." A dark glare set in Embers eyes while the others were silent, they knew about her extreme distaste for physical contact. They had seen her kill or break the hands of those who dared to lay their hands on her. Yet they also knew she wouldn't back out of a dare, so as she stood and slowly went around the groups circle. Some shown dread of her choosing them for the dare but as she crouched down by Hatchet, their silent prayers had been answered. Well other than hatchet's as he began to sweat slightly in panic.

She snarled lowly while setting herself by his side, crossing her arms with clear discomfort while he slowly set his arm around her shoulders. Flinching everytime she growled at him but made no move to strike him for it, her tail twitching in restraint. "See, being physical isn't so bad ember~" Rebel joked, getting a threatening snarl in return. "Shut your fucking mouth, you don't know anything you piece of shit so unless you want that fucking scarf you care so much about in a blender, don't talk to me." She snapped, which he immediately clasped a hand on his scarf and glared. After the silence set in she huffed and looked back to the group, flinching as hatchet's hold shifted slightly. "...Blitz Truth or Dare."

She mumbled and the game continued on under two minutes it was back to her, this time from Paris. "Ember, Truth or Dare." Glancing up, she was slightly caught off guard. Focused on not freaking out due to hunters gentle hold on her but after hearing the faint rattle from her shaking, she quickly forced herself to stop. "T-Truth.." She gritted her teeth, holding her arms tightly to the point she was leaving scratches. "Why do you hate being touched so much?" Onyx quickly glared at him. "Paris!!" He scolded, which in retaliation Paris spoke. "What? We all deserve to know! She's been apart of this team for over a year and she's the only one who hasn't spilled any information of herself. You guys know why i despise being touched but i'm not as bad as that one!"

Motioning to Ember with his arm, he glared back at Onyx. "Why should she be allowed to keep her life hidden when you forced the rest of us to tell each other our past and secrets!" Rebel spoke up slightly. "Paris does have a point." Hatchet snarled suddenly. "All of you shut it!! If she doesn't want to speak about it then don't press her for it! Your just gonna run her off!" Turning their attention over to him, ember had tried to turn and leave but with his arm around her, she didn't get far.

She held his arm tightly with her back facing them, the soft rattle of her bones being the only sound as she trembled. "I-I.." Hatchet sighed, glaring at Paris before looking down to her. "You don't-" She had cut him off, snarling lowly as she tightened her grip on his arm. Flinching at the pressure, Hatchet hissed lightly. "E-Everytime.. I came in physical contact with another being. I would always end up hurt.. I'd rather live without it then have more damage on my bones.. To were no one could betray the simplest trust i'd given them.." She muttered, shaking her head as she shoved his arm away.

"Its been long enough, call me a coward if you want Rebel." Standing up, she quickly retreated back down the halls to the dorms as the faint slam of a door soon followed. "Way to go Paris." Deisel yawned, leaning back casually as he looked over to the glitching skeleton. "Just because we all know each others secrets doesn't mean we have to force someone to tell their's when they aren't fully in the team." Hunter glared turning back to look at the god. "What are you going on about?" Onyx growled frustrated. "I said it earlier, she brought herself to the team. I never recruited her because I know she hates authority. If I put my self above her, she will leave because she won't listen to me as a leader. Acting as an equal gets me lucky with some request of our missions but I've never given her a direct order."

He glared at Paris and Rebel, clear anger and disappointment in his eye socket. "Because of both your foolishness, she might be through a portal on her way to her universe right at this moment!!" The two glare, but stay silent knowing they have no right to snap back. "Hatchet." Flinching from onyx's tone, he looked up a bit startled. "Go check on her, now." He glared confused. "Wait, why me?" He didn't care but there was about four other skeletons he could have asked, hell onyx could have went himself. "Because your the closest asshole to her, she at least has made YOU an acquaintance and your similar feeding habits may make it easier. She chose you out of everyone to sit by for that damn dare so that has to mean something."

Hatchet grumbled angrily as he got up, going off to find ember's door as he continued muttering about how much bullshit this was. She was her own person, she didn't need to be checked up on like a child. Scratching at the back of his neck, he rounded the corner to see one of the decorations toppled over as the vase spilled the dark water from the flowers out. Raising an eyebrow as he walked past it, he stopped close to her door. Looking inside to see ember curled up against her bed, breathing heavily while clutching the blanket around her shoulders tightly. "Ember...?" Her eyes shot open with a snarl, her wide pupils staring at her intruder. Hatchet took a step back to try and calm her down, staring at her slightly surprised of her twitchy behavior. "W-What do you want now..."

She hissed, pulling on the sheets to the point of tearing. He turns his heel on the ground, looking to the side while his hands clutch old wrappers in his pockets. "Er...You doin alright..? I know paris and rebel can be idiotic and pushy but uh.. Hope they didn't make ya think of leaving, wouldn't be the same without ya here.." He mutters, not sure what to tell the feral skeleton who was currently shelled in her blankets. She glared out, seeming to be searching for something in hatchet as her deadly gaze bore holes through him. Trying to stand as still as possible, he looked from the floor, to the door way then quickly glancing at her before he looked away again. He heard a shuffle, keeping his gaze down as she slowly circled him with a quiet growl.

Keeping her distance as he could faintly tell she was still trembling, the soft clink of her bones making a rattling noise. Stopping in front of him, she stood to her fullest height which hardly reached to his shoulders and proceeded to glare at him. Eyes searching his gaze with suspicion, she silently growled in frustration before looking to her hands. "Move out of line and i'll break you." She threatened, making him oblige as she snatched his wrist to hold his hand up to her. Hesitating, her hand slowly inched closer to his in curiosity. He straightened his hand out slowly and watched as she mirrored his actions. Once their hand made contact, she gasped and retracted herself.

Seeming to wait for a moment before returning back to compare their hands, intrested in the smallest differences of textures and shapes. Her hands where smaller and bore claws at the end of her finger tips, her hands were a lot rougher in texture which caught him of guard as it felt like he was touching sandpaper. When her fingers slipped between his own to hold his hand, he hesitated to follow suit just incase she got angry. Glancing up to him when he began to curl his fingers, she observed their hands that intertwined with each other. Her voice barely a soft mumble as she spoke. "This feels.... nice. What.. is this?" He furrowed his brows in confusion as her gaze lifted up to meet his.

"What..?" She motioned to their hands with a tilt of her head, glancing to them before she looked back at his pupil. "O-Oh, its called 'Holding hands' or 'Hand-holding'.. err, people do it sometimes i guess." She hums a bit, her grip gently squeezing his hand but it wasn't enough to hurt. "I've never seen the rest of the team do it." Holding back his choked laugh, he refrained from lifting his hand to cover his mouth. "Hah, well its mostly because hand holding is for like couples or kids.... uh." His eyes widen at the realization, why is she holding his hand anyways. "What's a couple..?" She questioned while standing a little closer to him, making him gulp as she's never stood this close before.

"U-Uh.. a couple is two people who um.. are more then friends and stuff." She noticed his arm moving in the corner of her eye, looking to it with a snarl as he froze in place. His hand halfway into his pocket as she reached in to search for any possible weapons, only to feel something squishy and slightly moist. Confused as she pulled it out, it was a strip of meat that she sniffed instinctively. "Why where you reaching for this?" She questioned, which he shrugged. "Dunno... needed something to chew on i guess." He answered shortly, watching as she sniffed it once more before holding out for him to take back. "Hm, fat is more chewy if your simply wanting something to chew. Especially human or pork fat. If its for the flavor or to eat i'd suggest something more bloody like cow or deer meat."

She informed while he took the bit of meat back, returning it to his pocket. "Is that so?" He asked, trying to keep her distracted long enough until she relaxed fully. He could see her shoulders starting to loosen as her trembling had stopped a while ago. "Mhm, bones are also good for chewing. I'd advise something small like fish or chicken bones since those can actually fit in your mouth. If you don't mind holding what your chewing, cow bones are fun to chew as well." He nodded along before very carefully taking a step back, yet she refused to release his hand. "Why don't we go eat somethin..? There's a corpse or two down in the basement that are still rather fresh." Tilting her head, she nodded slowly as he led her by the hand.

He could feel that she was still staring at him, almost like she was deciphering him quietly. Once they got to the basement, she finally allowed him to have his hand back as the two sat at the corpses and began stripping off flesh to eat. Passing the time with small talk that mostly involved insulting paris and rebel while he also answered her random questions of the other team mates. He paused from eating to watch her, she was relaxed now and less twitchy from being in her feral defensive mode. "Hey ember..?" He called slightly, hearing her slight hum of response to him. "I don't want to push you like the others but.. i would like to know you better on your terms." This made her freeze, causing him to freeze up as well incase she lunged.

"...why, i'm not intresting in anyway. Why do you want to know me." Rubbing the back of his skull, he ignored her gaze once again. "Well, i know how it feels.. to be an outsider to the team. They avoided me because of my eating habit, yet since you came along they passed that avoidance to you.. i just don't want you to feel alone. I've got your back if you need help.. when you want it that is." He could feel her shifting closer hesitant to advance while he was still. He felt her gently lean against his arm, holding the sleeve of his jacket. "Thank you..." he heard her take a deep breath, preparing herself to share what she could manage to sputter out.

"I...i don't know if my names even ember. I just picked it up from my past after so many people referred to me as that." Hatchet nods, a little caught of guard in his silence. "I uh, also don't know the exact age i am... i know i'm an adult, that's easy but i lost count after 15.. i'm positive i'm in my mid twenties or older.." He tensed, glancing down to her while she continued to speak. "But... i don't know much of myself either. Being who i am and what i was... it never mattered to others, they just forced me to be how they wanted me to be. A perfect little fucking pet. I don't know much of my own self other then i eat a lot and i can sort of play guitar.. i'm nothing more then a feral skeleton with a possibly fake name. I don't know if anyone is looking for me.. like a friend or.. something."

She mumbled, searching for the words she needed before hatchet filled in the gaps. "Like a family..?" She looked up to him lost, she wasn't familiar with that and she was quick to ask what it was. Ribcage pressed against his shoulder while he stayed frozen, he didn't want to startle her with her being so close willingly. "A family are those your closest too, the ones who made you and possibly ones that are related to you other ways. They share your blood and bones.. They take care of you and protect you when you can't protect yourself." She went quiet, pulling herself away while gripping the front of her shirt. "...This...is my only family. You and... the rest of them are my family."

She spoke honestly, this team was the closest thing to her. Unlike the other team, they treated her like another being and didn't flinch away from her. They wheren't scared of her for what she was and let her stay without hesitation and trusted her not to do anything bad without constantly checking on her to see if she was up to no good. "Ember..?" Hatchets voice made her blink back from her thoughts, looking up to him as he had a surprisingly warm smile. "Come here..?" He asked gently, holding his arms out as she cautiously shuffled closer. Looking at his arms suspiciously as she sat right in front of him, legs brushed against each other.

"Is it alright if i wrap my arms around you?" She glared slightly, watching his arms slowly come closer before they stopped. "Why...? She questioned, looking back to him as he kept his smile. "Its a kind gesture i want you to learn. Wanna try?" She huffs slightly, nodding her head as his arms reach around to engulf her carefully into his hold and just barely using force to pull her closer. She willingly leaned into him, mouth pressed to his shoulder while he settled to a stop before she could lift her head up. "W-What... is this...?" Reaching up shakily, she clutched onto the sides of his jacket as this feeling felt pleasant and warm. It didn't hurt and made her feel safer then normal.

"Its a hug.. a way to show you care." He responded, careful as she leaned her head to rest against his shoulder again. "...a hug.." she repeated softly, unaware of the quiet purr rising from her chest before she felt hatchet shift in attempt to hold back his laughter. She looked at him confused, not quite hearing herself as she questioned him. "What? What's so funny?" His quiet laughter made her even more confused before he motioned to her. "Your purring, its cute." Her mouth shut while looking down to her ribcage when she heard it, the sound abruptly stopping as she looked at him panicked. "Purring? Is it bad?" He shook his head, still smiling while leaning back.

Releasing her from the hug which made her hold back a whine of protest, she wouldn't admit it felt nice. "No, purring is a happy noise some creatures make. I'm surprised that you haven't purred before now." Shrugging as she set a hand on her chest, still curious of the noise while hatchet stood. "Well.. i'm just glad you didn't leave alright? Want to go body slam rebel with a door as pay back?" Looking up to him, her fangs shined from her growing grin.

"Hell yes."