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You're awake in bed and are having the most obnoxious fever of your life. Every other second you're sneezing into space. At first, you were making "choo!" sounds. But now you're making "AHHHH-CHOooooOo" sounds. Partly to torment Isabeau.
But Isabeau isn't here right now and you're left to suffer with the chills. At least this wasn't during one of your guys' monthly travels?
You'd send a letter to Mirabelle asking for whatever their cure magic is in a tonic, but mailing takes almost a week. And the tonics in Jouvente are pretty crab. No offense to Isabeau.
Supposedly Bonnie and their sister will be visiting some time this week. But you don't know, and doubt that a preteen or their equally minded sister is going to absolve you of this wretched burden. Now you're starting to sound like Odile.
You sit up. Laying down is draining you of your energy and you can't waste today. Part of you wonders what Isabeau leaves around his house after having done a deep clean. But, as expected, his old habits die hard.
You wander around until you totally unintentionally stumble over to the 'Isabeau Designing Station'. Your head is raised as your eye attempts to stare down and see anything valuables.
A journal---no, a diary. They look just like the ones from the House.
Your hand hovers softly over the book. Snatched. You scurry up the stairs back into the bedroom and plop back onto the mattress. You cross your legs and punch your pillow a few times before getting comfortable.
Opening the first page...
This is the property of Isabeau and if you are not Isabeau, then DO NOT READ THIS!!!!!! Especially if your name is Siffrin, Sif, Frin, Siff, Rin, Si, In, or Iffrin!
Oh stars. You've struck a gold mine. You continue reading.
'Niffris gets a Flower | Dormont'
Wait--Isabeau wrote stories about you?
I woke up in a grassy field and my friend Mirabeau told me Nif was waiting for me by the Favor Tree. Apparently I took a long nap! So I got up and searched for the closest flower cause I wanted to show Nif how much I appreciated them. I was really happy when I found one at this house. But the guy was so weird cause he gave me a flower and told me to only give it to people I have crushes on. But I don't have a crush on Nif. Besides, I know they like this kind of flower. So it's just an honorary gift. I met Nif by the tree and I said the tree looked tree-mendous. They fell back and were laughing for a good minute. Then I gathered the courage to give him the flower. It was weird how scared I was to give it to him. But he loved it. Then he hugged me and I was shocked cause he never gives hugs!! Naturally I hugged him back and we stuck there for who knows how long! I started wondering if he liked me or something cause friends don't normally hug this long. We finally let go of each other and he stared me in the eyes, "Beau, I have to tell you something." Who knew a single eye could be so alluring? I made his eyepatch after all. I asked him what was up and he started blushing really hard before mumbling something I couldn't hear. He was always known for that. So I asked him to speak up and he said, "I like you, okay!? And I've always liked you since I met you???" I was utterly shocked. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I can't believe NIf confessed his feelings to me. So the flower worked??? I didn't think it'd be true. But anyways, I opened my arms again and accepted him into, not a hug, but an embrace. Then I heard clapping nearby and it was our friends and the villagers! -S-Nif was totally embarrassed but I told them everything was fine. Our friends Nobnob and Edilo were 100% accepting, and of course Mira cause she's awesome. Then Nif revealed they had a gift for me all this time. They pulled some bonding earrings out of their pocket!??? Holy crab!! I was starting to tear up. I removed my one earring and gave it to him in trade for his. I now had a massive black star earring which made me feel so pretty. And he looked so cute with my earring on! Now I see why he got his ears pierced the other week. He was doing it for this confession. I was so proud of him. But then... everyone could hear a familiar creaking nearby. It was a wagon. I already read something about these creaking wagons. We all took a look and my fears were realized. It was the Down with the Cis wagon!!! They've come for us! --- I didn't know how to end it, I'm just coping at this point
TAGS: #fixit #comfort #isafrin #oneshot #hugging #siffrin
Amused. That's all you feel right now. Then a snort and you're kicking your feet in the air. But you quickly start coughing and hacking up saliva to spit in the bin next to the bed. Cursed fever.
What did you just read? No, what were those words you just saw strung together?
And you believed your feelings were unhinged. This wasn't Isabeau. There's just no way. Were you that dense? Or was he just that blatantly obvious? You can't believe this. You so wish Odile could be here just to hear her laugh at this---he wrote this? He seriously spent a part of his day on this? This? And what is 'Down with the Cis'?? Too many questions. All questions that'll never be answered.
The part you're thrown off by the most is the 'tags' section. 'Fix-it', 'Isafrin', 'Oneshot'. Hello, dictionary? What genre even is this story? Fiction, autobiography? He literally just swapped you and him.
...this is the loop, or life, where you hurt your family. AND HE WROTE THIS?????? Stars, no wonder he seems to conveniently forget the "apology tour" every time you mention it. Whatever, you just found some of the greatest... fiction of your life. He is sooooo going to be upset when he finds out about this.
You read some more of Isabeau's diary and have plenty of laughs, chuckles, and giggles. Admittedly, if he were this unhinged in person, you probably would've never liked him. This is just chaotic.
In one of the stories, this Niffris character made a small-sized statue for the "Edilo" character and the narrator got very jealous. And apparently Nif says "Good. You will wait for your statue, mister." ???? And the narrator found that really attractive for some reason??? That was strange.
No, the one that takes the cake is the one that's a clear replication of the other night you and him spent under the stars.
You felt a sense of unease as you started reading about his more personal life details being dumped onto "Niffris". Something about a transition process, a name that sounds similar to his, and... you did your best to zone out through this scene. And then *that*. A mood breaker that has forever planted itself into your brain seconds after reading it.
The narrator, it's not Isabeau it's not him it's not him, takes a deep breath. He... says, "Can we kiss?" It happens and it's the most awkward thing you've ever read and just the thought of it alone makes you cringe so hard that you have to close the book to catch a breath.
You guys did have your "second" kiss that night. Nothing else needs to mentioned.
You're reading a bit more when you hear a familiar sound beneath you. No.
Your head shoots around until you stuff the diary into your cushion, leaning back and posing as a corpse in a casket.
"Sifffff?" You hear his voice approaching the stairs.
Just relax.
His figure reveals and you see him in his usual outfit. He's carrying a brown bag towards you, "Sif... I brought this for you!" He takes a chair and sits beside you. He is way too close to your pillow.
"Hi, Isa," You say while caressing his cheek.
He chuckles briefly while pulling something out of the bag--it's medicine. Oh golly gee. Actually, this current scenario reminds you of one of his stories. His hand rests over your wrist, "I was told this uhh... helps fevers?"
"Great, give it to me."
He laughs, "Haha, okay."
You remain in your position. Moving your head once is going to dispel the illusion. He shakes the bottle briefly before filling a small cup and slowly inching it towards your mouth. You open wide and wait for the liquid to spill.
"Uhh... you okay, Sif?"
You swallow before answering, "What?"
"You, like... totally just looked like a fish."
You want to ask if you look like Niffris soooooooooooo bad. If you were still looping, you'd do it just for the sake of a priceless reaction. "What... I looked... fish-y?"
He erupts into laughter, "HAHAHAHAHAHA YES HAHAHA!!!" You do as well. And he ruffles your hair for a moment, causing your eye to roll back into your skull. That's your weakness you've realized. And fiction Isabeau has figured this out too because he's ended many stories with him combing your hair.
He stops, "Oh---before I forget." He ponders for a moment, "Uhh... have you seen a journal around here? I thought I left it at my desk?"
You shake your head while tilting slightly, "No, did you look hard enough?"
"I guess not... I'll go check again." He stands and glances at you for a moment, "If you find it... don't. read. it."
"I would never!" You try acting shocked that he would feel the need to say that.
He heads downstairs and you're given enough time to struggle with getting the book out of the stupid pillow and frantically looking around and pacing over to the closet on your tippy toes and swiftly sliding the book on the top shelf using the convenient stool. You hurry back over and bunny hop back into your original position. You raise a knee and set the back of your hand atop your forehead, acting as though you've seen a ghastly sight. Wow, you're hot.
You hear Isabeau's loud steps up the stairs and he's got a massive frown on his lips. "I can't find it..." He's also got puppy eyes, "Sif... please be honest... did you find it?"
You shake your head, "I didn't even know you had a di--journal." Phew, you barely recovered that one. Wasn't there another story where he potentially found out you were reading his fictional diary? And it was in a way that you could never fathom doing? There was.
"Siffff...." He whines while approaching you. "You would tell meeeee, right?"
"Yessss," You hold.
He looms over you, "...even if I mercilessly tickle you?"
Oh... yes. "Be gentle, nooooo...."
He giggles before his fingers hover over your torso and you feel your impending doom. Soft, plush cushions explore your belly. You instinctively feel what seems like a flinch, but you're laughing so much as you feel feathers in your stomach. He's also laughing, trying to beat your volume. You're kicking your legs around until you suddenly burst into a coughing fit and he suddenly stops.
"COUGH COUGH COUGHH" You gather saliva before spitting in the bin again.
Isabeau slides a hand through your ear, "You good?"
You retain a smile, "I'm fine." Other than the fact you can feel a sneeze approaching every millisecond you breathe.
“Okay…” His thumb slowly roams your cheek as he whispers, “So you didn't find it?”
You match his whisper, “No.”
“Ahhh crab…”
“What's in it?”
His face is darkening, “Uhhh… really embarrassing stuff that no one should ever read except me!”
“Well, what's the least likely spot you’d put it?”
He looks away from you for a moment before responding, “I wouldn't tell you!!” The air goes silent, prompting him to continue, “The closet.”
Oh son of a sheep… you may have been blessed by the Change God after all. Unless this is his way of saying he knows you were hiding it in plain sight of the stairs. He is tall after all. You blink a couple times as he's staring at you, “Go check there?”
Now his face is scrunching up, “Why should I? Hmmm???”
You glare at him with a blank expression. Are you supposed to say something here? Wait—
“Are you saying I should go in the closet?? That’s so not awesome, y’know.”
You sit up as a sneer forms on your lips, “I can go in and look then.”
“N-NO!!! You shouldn't!! I got it!” He hastily steps over to the closet, searching every shelf. After a couple seconds, he calls out to you, “Sif—could you help me? I can see it but I can't reach it…”
Ugh, you can't make this up. The stool makes you about as tall as Isabeau. But you relent, he actually doesn't even know you bought a stool. Unless he's just weaponizing incompetence. You come to his aid and see him attempting something on the very top shelf, way past either of your guys’ heights. You stare at it bewildered, how did that happen?
“Do you see it? Here—get on my shoulders and reach it.” He's about to crouch for you when he suddenly adds on, “And DON’T read it!!!”
You snicker, “I swear upon the Change God that I will never read Isabeau’s journal.” He glares at you, making you finish, “And I will continue making fun punni-licious jokes so he can laugh.”
A bright smile morphs on his lips, “Good!” He crouches again, allowing you to hop onto his shoulders and his hands grasp your feet that rest over his chest.
You can't help but feel a sense of deja vu being held up like this. Was this in his stories or is this a repressed memory of yours? Who knows, you already gained a ‘Memory of Diary’ for Isabeau.
The diary is, indeed, on the very top shelf. You know you didn't put it there. And neither could have Isabeau since he looked in the closet for too short of a time to have moved it—what is this witchcraft? Would that even be a thing?
You can feel the tension in your hands as you reach for the book. Isabeau doesn't know this, but—anytime you pick up a book(and off a shelf especially)... you must skim the pages immediately. Whether this is a habit you ‘earned’ from your previous journey or not doesn't matter. You have to skin the pages. YOU HAVE TO.
“Isa?”
“Sif?”
“Isa, Isa, Isa… ummm, would it be okay if I slid the book out?”
“Sif, Sif, Sif… what do you mean, buddy?”
Your finger pokes at the leather cover, making the urge stronger. “Because I’m going to read it.”
“What.” He’s silent for a second before he aggressively trembles, causing your upper half to shake like a pinhead and swipe the book, “NOOOO!!!! DON’T DO IT!!!!”
You look for where the book is at, “Isa. ISA,” You raise your voice uncharacteristically.
He's sniffling, “Y-yes?”
“The book. I can't find it. Did it fall?”
You feel his head moving against your thighs… it feels thick and warm. There's another sniffle, “I don't see it…”
Drama queen. You groan as you focus in the dark closet. Something tells you… you pushed the book. You clutch onto the shelf, pushing your head far enough to allow your iris to enlarge and artificially illuminate the narrow space.
Mhm, there it is. But there's something else? Is that a ring box? …
“Sif? Do you see it?”
“Yes—”
He suddenly interrupts, “Anything else???!??”
Uhhh!!! “Yeah! A box?”
“Pu–Pull it out??”
Oh stars. This better not be what you think it is. You did NOT sign up for this. But you comply, wrapping your arms around the book and box. You slide it out until it's at the edge. Grabbing the box, you feel a velvet plush pushing against your gloves. Maybe Isabeau’s been looking for it. You set it on top of the book to repel your impulses.
You bring it down and Isabeau gently takes it from you…? You don't know why you expected a different outcome. But he lowers you back onto the bed and the feeling of the comforter eases your stress… except that box. That dreadful box.
Isabeau hovers over you after a while, “So… uhh… I. I got this box for you.”
STARS.
He holds his hands up in defense while backing off, “Wh-what’s that face for???!?”
You pull off a fake smile, “Nothing! What’d you get me?”
He blinks a couple times until a realization strikes him, “Oh, OH!!! NO, THIS ISN’T WHAT YOU THINK IT IS!!” His face turns dark as he suddenly drops the box onto your belly, making a plop noise upon impact. “I–It’s for you to open!! I'm not proposing, I swear!!”
Is it really? Whatever, you refuse to wear rings. They would just slide off your gloves anyway.
You sit up, and Isabeau steps back slightly while clasping his hands together like he's about to pray to the Change God. You huff a sigh as you examine the box further. It actually doesn't look like a typical ring box. It’s a lot wider and feels more like a gift box.
You hold the top part as your other hand lurks below, waiting for the bottom half to fall. Another faint plop later, your eye gazes at the treasure.
That’s a pair of earrings. They're shaped like crescent moons with a dangling star in the middle. It's coated in a platinum gray finish that glimmers when you tilt the box. It leaves you in awe.
“D-Do you like them?” He's got a shaky smile, “I mean, I can take them back if you don't like them…”
But you do like them. You wish he could've given this to someone that deserves them. “Isa… I don't have piercings.”
“Oh! I knew that!” He steps forward, taking one of the earrings and showing something off, “They're clip-on earrings! You don't need a piercing for these.”
Clip-on earrings? There's different kinds of earrings??? Or is this a Vaugardian thing? This is the only country with a weird focus on earrings anyway.
You grip the other piece, examining how the moon and star dangle differently. The sound it makes when the two clash is a tiny click !
Isabeau chuckles as he's fascinated by your curiosity, “Y’know Sif…”
You can tell where this is going as your lips slowly rise, “What?”
“You look star-ry eyed!” This prompts your snort and he follows up with his usual bombastic laughter. “Oh… that was irresistible. I had to…”
“That was a good one… but uhh, how do you put it on?” You start jabbing around your ear.
He snickers, “Definitely not like that. Here.” He leisurely gets a soft, faint grasp of your ear and takes his time to insert the earring. It doesn't feel tight, but it doesn't feel light. It's just there, an indescribable feeling in your lobe. He also gently takes the one in your hand and puts it on your other side.
He pulls back slightly and he covers his mouth as his cheeks turn tomato gray. He says while muffled by his fingers, “Oh my Change… you look so crabbin’ cute.”
You do? Isn't it just jewelry? But you can't help the grin on your face as most Isabeau compliments do.
“Hold on—I need a mirror A-S-A-P,” He giggles while rising and frantically searching for one in the bathroom. He rushes back out with a trembling smile as he holds the portable mirror in your direction.
A sparkle glows in your eye as you see the earrings on yourself for the first time. They look pretty, they dangle, and they make the funny sound.
You could never doubt Isabeau’s taste in fashion, especially when it comes to you. He always seems to craft exquisite outfits for you. Granted, your cloak is your home but you occasionally wear your handcrafted clothes to small events. Of course Isabeau brags about you being his model and such, but you’ve become accustomed to receiving praises.
He comments, “Crab, I am so in love with this look.” He's tearing up???
“I love them, Isa. Thank you.” He opens his arms while raising his brows a few times. You chuckle while holding your hands out, “Go ahead.”
Isabeau approaches you and slowly wraps his broad body around you. You’re confined in his chest, it being incredibly sweaty. Your hands rub his back and his jaw tickles your hair. You hear him, “I love you so so so so so so much.”
You snicker as your voice is slightly muffled, “I love you so so so much more.” You could stay in this embrace for eternity. You just know Loop would choke you to death if they were still around.
So you know that he knows that you know about the diary. Whether you know that he knows that you know of the contents in such magnum opus is beyond you.
You bought your own journal—because writing fiction based on real events sounds interesting. Based on your interpretation of “fix-it”, you think you got a story to fix.
Hi my name is Siffrin Light’ness Forgotten Phoenix Star and I have short star-like hair (that's how I got my name) with ash streaks and dark tips that reaches my neck and shadow dark eyes like limpid tears and a lot of people tell me I look like a Homestuck character (author’s note: if you don't know what that is get the hell out of here!). I'm not related to Odile but I wish I was because she’s a major crabbing baddie. I’ma vampire but my teeth are straight and white. I have pale light skin. I'm also a witch, and I go to a magic school called Dormont High in Vaugarde where I'm in the seventh year (I'm seventeen). I'm a smol bean (in case you couldn't tell) and I wear mostly darkless. I love Isabeau’s Workshop and I get all my clothes from there. For example today I was wearing a light corset with matching lace around it and a light leather miniskirt, flamingo gray fishnets and dark combat boots. I was wearing snowflake light lipstick, light foundation, dark eyeliner and tomato gray eye shadow. I was walking outside Dormont High. It was snowing and raining so there was no sun, which I was very depressed about. A lot of housemaidens stared at me. I put up my middle finger at them.
“Hey Siffrin!” shouted a voice. I looked up. It was… Isabeau!
“What's up Isabeau?” I asked.
“Nothing.” he said shyly.
But then, I heard my friends call me and I had to go away.
Author’s Note: I can't wait to write the rest of this, hopefully Isa doesn't find this