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dulcesiabits · 3 months

Text

each dream of ours.

summary: when you make the grim reaper fall in love with you, you better be prepared for the consequences, no matter what happens.

notes: 3.6k words, author's notes, angst and fluff, SPOILERS for every ending of the game including the dlc ending, casper going crazy and pretending you're still alive and living with your corpse in the first section (every other section is tame i promise <3), suggestive jokes + kissing

i. Untrustworthy

What most people didn’t realize about the human body was that it was surprisingly fragile. Organs ceased to function at a whim. Flesh rotted, and fell off bones. Joints snapped as ligaments failed.

And you? Well, you were as careless as so many others of your kind, if not more so. Death avoided you easily, so your sense of caution was severely lacking, as if you thought you could live forever. Still, now that you were living with him, it was obvious that you needed to be more careful. What was he to do if you collapsed when he wasn’t around?

When Casper was out on his job, all he could do was think of you, sitting back at home. What if something happened? Not to mention how lonely you might get, waiting for him.

“Sunshine, you need to be careful,” Casper chided. He kneeled at your feet, taking your hand gently in his. Your flesh was cool, and he slid his hands up to your arms, rubbing them for any semblance of warmth.

You didn’t respond. Your eyes were closed, lips sealed tightly like you were waiting for someone to kiss you awake.

It was hard, taking care of you sometimes. When your body was so fragile, so mortal, and he knew just how easy it was for flesh to bruise and blood to spill. You were so prone to getting hurt, and humans could die from just the smallest injuries.

But that was before you had him. Now, Casper would take care of you, and nothing would hurt you again, not when he was here.

His hands trailed to your shoulders, and then up towards your face to cup your cheeks. Over the weeks, your skin had lost its warmth, and now touching you felt like touching a doll.

“Sunshine,” he said again. You didn’t respond, but you always enjoyed your little games, didn’t you? You were always seeking his attention through methods like this, even though you pretended like you didn’t care whether he reacted or not. Well, fine. He could play along for now.

Casper, still kneeling, laid his head down on your lap. Your arms hung at your sides, neither of your hands lifting to slide through his hair, as he wished they would.

When would you open your eyes again? When would he get to hear the sound of your voice, teasing him? Perhaps this was his punishment. For failing to protect you. For failing to gain your trust. For having to watch your mind shatter into pieces, unable to bear the weight of the connection between the two of you.

The moment it had happened, he had ended the call in which he had been trying to connect with you, rushing straight to your apartment. He barely remembered the journey there, his heart pounding in his throat, or how he got in. All he remembered was the way he had lifted your body in his arms, cradling you close to his chest. No matter how many times he called your name, you never responded.

It hadn’t taken much work to bring you back to his room, where he could keep watch over you. Now, you were safe and sound, right where he could reach. In the underworld, where nothing ever changed, your body would stay the same. Eternally young, eternally beautiful. Eternally protected, in his arms.

“Sunshine, I have a present for you,” Casper said. He gently took one of your hands, lifting it over his head, and slid a ring along your fourth finger. It was simple gold, and sparkled in the dim light of his room. He entwined your fingers together, kissing the ring where it laid, a simple blessing. It was proof you were his.

In this world, it was just the two of you. From the beginning, that was how it should have been. But it was okay. He knew better now. Casper would never let anything separate the two of you ever again.

ii. Take My Soul

Touching your soul had been like touching something holy. Your soul had been warm and strange and formless, a kaleidoscope of colors that shifted with each breath you took.

When Casper told you your soul was like sunlight, what he wanted to say was that holding your soul felt like holding something sacred. Something luminous that should have burned him just to behold, that swirled around his hands like a prayer.

Your soul was beautiful. You were beautiful. He had never seen someone so beautiful before. It was unfair, so unfair. Maybe you were the sort of person that human poets dreamed about, that men fought wars for, the sort of person everyone craved to hold.

But you weren’t theirs.

You had promised. You would be his if you lost your bet. And now that you were his, he would not lose you, ever again.

“Sunshine, how are you feeling?” he murmured. “I’m sorry. It must be uncomfortable to stay in my pocket for so long.”

Caper held up your soul– or what remained of your soul, a fragile wisp that still glowed like a firefly, and warmed his cold fingers. He cupped it carefully in his hands, and in its shifting surface, he could see a wavering image of his face, the dark circles under his puffy eyes.

He pressed you close to his cheek like a kiss. “What, no talking back to me? That’s a first from you. Come on, I know you want to complain. You’re gonna say I smell, even though I tell you, I bathe everyday. Or what? You’re gonna say I work too hard? Well, what can I do? They need me out there. I’m the best reaper in their ranks.”

He closed his eyes, letting the faint warmth emanating from your soul wash over him like you were attempting to heal him by giving him pieces of yourself, even now. But you couldn’t. You already gave too much of yourself away, despite his repeated warnings not to, and now this was all that was left. With the faintest breeze, you would be blown away. You once had enough light to fill an ocean; now, you could only pool in his palms.

There was not enough of you to be human again. Not enough to reincarnate, to inhabit a body, to retain anything other than a shard of you once were.

“Sunshine…” he whispered. “Sorry for making you worry. I promise I’ll get home soon. It’s not fun for you when I’m out all the time, right? You’re always so needy.”

Casper slowly brought you to his lips, his kiss sending ripples across the surface of your soul. You were foolish, and impatient, and stupid. Why did you give away so much of yourself, so willingly? You should have been more selfish. You should have grabbed a tighter hold of it, so that people like him would never be able to take it.

But that was fine, because now Casper would protect you forever. You were his, and nothing would part the two of you ever again. Not death. Not heaven. Not hell. He would cling on to you with bloody fingers until the end of the world, because the only place you were meant to be was by his side.

“I love you, Sunshine,” Casper said, your soul flickering like a candle in the breeze.

Tears pooled at the corner of his eyes, a familiar motion to him these days. His coworkers were whispering behind his back about his weeping, saying he had lost his mind, but it no longer mattered what others said. Let them talk.

If you were still here, you would have never have let him cry for so long. You would have teased him, then get flustered when he didn’t snap back, and then kiss all his tears away, one by one, until he forgot why he was so sad in the first place.

His tears fell on the shimmering reflection of your soul. But you didn’t respond. You no longer could.

iii. Sealed with a Kiss

“You need to pay rent.”

“What?”

You stood in front of Casper, hand on your hips, your lips pursed in a faux pout. It had been a few weeks since he had moved in and, as you were learning, you never tired of his reactions. Honestly, if he didn’t want to be teased, he shouldn’t have reacted in such cute ways. “I said you need to pay rent. It’s not fair that you’re living with me, and I’m the only one contributing to the finances around here. It’s unfair, I say. Unfair!”

“Sunshine,” Casper said. He was lounging on your shared bed, Azarael resting in the crook of his arm, as he flipped through one of your books. His legs were crossed, and it was unfair how pretty he looked, with his long hair spilling across the blankets. It sent your mind wandering to places that were probably better not to mention. “Did you forget the part where I was on the run from my old job?”

“Come on, Casper.” The bed creaked as you sat right next to him, snatching the book out of his hands. “Don’t you know there are other ways to make rent?”

“I swear, if this is a set-up to one of your jokes again–”

“It’s not a joke at all,” you interrupted. “I’m taking this very seriously.”

Casper let out an unimpressed sigh. You shifted so he was caged between the shelter of your arms, one on either side of him. His face flushed a familiar pretty pink as you hovered over him.

“What– what are you thinking…?”

“Well…” You wiggled your eyebrows, and Casper snorted. “I was thinking. I won the bet, right? So you’re mine. And there is one asset you have…” You picked up one of his hands, fiddling with the edge of his glove, fingers dancing along his pale wrist.

Casper’s mouth parted, eyelashes shading his cheeks. It was refreshing to see how much your presence affected him. “What… kind…?”

Your fingers slipped under his glove, slowly sliding it off his hand, until you could touch his cool skin, interlacing your fingers together, hands pressed palm to palm.

“You know…” You leaned in closer, voice trickling to a whisper as your lips brushed his ear. “With your body.”

Casper yelped as you kissed the shell of his ear. “Wh-what?”

“I mean… look at you, Casper.” With your other hand, you skated it along his torso. He shuddered, chasing your touch, like a sunflower following the sun. “You have such a nice body… You ought to put it to use…”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Well…” You blew a puff of air into his ear, and he squeaked. Cute. Your voice lowered as you whispered directly in his reddened ear. “You should… help me… clean the fridge.” You leaned back, holding up your hands, spreading out your fingers, an innocent smile on your face.

“What? That was not what you were insinuating. You– you’re doing this on purpose!” he accused. His chest was heaving, his face flushed, and his eyes kept chasing your lips as you grinned.

“What do you mean? All I suggested was a way for you to help me out,” you said. “It’s not my fault if your mind is in the gutter. Wow, what were you thinking I was implying? Honestly, Casper, it’s a problem if you want me so badly you keep taking my words in the wrong w–” You screeched as Casper surged towards you and wrapped his arms around your waist, bringing you back down with him to bed. The two of you bounced on the surface from your sudden landing. Casper snuggled his head into the crook of your shoulder. Was this his idea of revenge? If so, maybe you needed to play more pranks on him.

“You are such the worst roommate ever,” he huffed. You could hear the frown in his voice.

“You love me,” you accused, leaning back into his chest.

“I would not… put it in such a way…”

“Can’t deny it because you can’t lie, huh?”

“...Be quiet.”

He was so cute! It was unfair how cute he was. And no one else would have the privilege to know that. Because Casper was yours, and you never planned to let him go.

iv. Duo

Was it wrong to think your partner looked hot when he was covered in blood?

Because, wow, you could not look away when Casper leaned against the stone alley wall, scythe hung loosely at his side, wiping his hand along his cheek, smearing blood across his gloves.

“Can’t look away, Sunshine? Am I that attractive?” he asked casually, and you stuck your tongue out at him. You had to be careful so that you didn’t inflate his ego to a bigger size than it already was, even if what he said was true.

“I was just thinking about all the blood you’re covered in,” you said. “For the self-proclaimed greatest reaper in our department, you’re awfully messy.”

“We were assigned a tough job,” he said. “Not that you would understand how hard it can be.”

“You’re the one who told me to stay back and handle the small fry,” you protested. “I could easily have done what you did.”

“Sureeee. Give it a couple centuries, Sunshine.”

As much as you hated the smugness in his voice, it was irrefutably true that Casper did have an edge over you when it came to reaping souls. It didn’t help that you only started a few months ago, and that Casper had laughed when you first swung your own scythe and missed your target by a few feet. It took you a few weeks to get a hang of wielding that thing (it was so much heavier than Casper made it seem), but it did make you feel ridiculously cool when you did, so at least you had that going for you.

There’s a heaviness to the way Casper leans against the wall, a weight to his shoulders that wasn’t there before this recent mission. The taint, you realized. Luckily, that was one area where you excelled over Casper.

You walked over to where he stood, not pausing your pace until you were directly in front of him. You cupped your hands around his cheeks, bringing his face to yours. You were probably getting all the blood from his face onto your gloves, but who cared? Again, Casper covered in blood was hot as hell (pun intended).

Your face wavered in the reflection of Casper’s eyes. “Sunshine?” he asked.

You ran a thumb along his bottom lip, and Casper’s breath hitched. There was an easier way to do this, but why would you take the boring and easy route when you could have some fun? Without another word, you brought your lips together. It was only supposed to be a gentle kiss, but Casper’s lips were soft and plump and glacial, and super biteable, and the way he leaned into your touch like he wanted to feel every inch of you, well… It was irresistible. You slipped your tongue into the opening of his mouth provided by his kiss, flicking it teasingly across his own, pulling back before he could react.

“That was… unnecessary…” Casper said, panting. There was a faint blush across his cheeks like a dusting of stars. You grinned as you licked your bottom lip, as if you could still feel his taste.

“Not at all,” you chirped. “I mean, I was just helping you out. Don’t you feel a lot better now? No more taint, right?”

“You don’t need to get rid of the taint through direct skin to skin contact–”

“But it’s more fun that way, right?” You leaned in closer, watching as Casper tensed as your presence, his throat bobbing up and down as he swallowed. “You can’t lie. You like it when I kiss you, right?”

“I…”

“Casper,” you teased. “You know, you’re irresistible when you look like this.”

“Covered in blood? Fresh off a mission? You are ridiculous. And strange. And you have odd taste. Your shamelessness knows no bounds.”

“Hm… You know, I’m not sure the taint is quite gone,” you said, pouting. “Just to be safe, we should kiss again.”

You sealed his lips with yours just as Casper’s lips parted in protest. But he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you flush against him. How cute. Casper simply couldn’t be honest with his feelings whatsoever.

But that was okay. He was your partner, your lover, the other half of your soul, quite literally. Where did you begin, and where did he end? It no longer mattered. You were bound in such a way that meant the two of you could never be parted.

It would just be you, and your adorable little reaper, for the rest of eternity.

v. Our Wedding

“What would you like first? Dinner? Bath? Or maybe… me?”

You batted your eyelashes at Casper, who covered his reddened face with his hands, letting out a deep groan. “By the nine hells, why are you like this?”

You struck a pose, sticking your hip out as you winked. “I was just asking. My cute little husband has worked so hard today, and I wanted to make sure he was well taken care of when he came back.”

“...Just let me in.”

You pouted, but willingly stepped out of the doorway to give Casper entry into your apartment. It had only been a few weeks since your wedding, but the two of you had struck up a nice little routine. You left the apartment for work before Casper did, kissing his forehead as he grumbled sleepily before you headed out. Casper got home after you did, which meant you had an hour or two to prepare little pranks like this for when he got back.

In those few hours in which you waited for him to return home, your mind drifted to him more often than you wanted to admit. How could you tell him that you missed him when he was gone? It would have been embarrassing, and more than that, made Casper insufferable.

“You’re the one who loved me enough to marry me,” you said, closing the door softly as you stepped in after him.

“Which was… perhaps a hasty decision,” he grumbled.

“Well, too bad. I’m yours now. Forever!” You grinned triumphantly, holding up your hand, pointing to your finger on which a golden ring gleamed. The ring was set with two sparkling white stones and a slightly larger red gem. You had always thought this, but… “The colors are sort of cliche, don’t you think?”

“What do you mean?” Casper protested. “White and red are really good colors. A perfect combination!”

“Well… They’re your colors, aren’t they?” you said coyly. “It’s kinda like you wanted to mark me in some kinda way. Possessive, aren’t we?”

Casper cleared his throat, unable to meet your probing gaze. “W-well, what is wrong with that? I don’t want anyone to flirt with you. Or try to take you away from me. Or think that you didn’t have anyone waiting for you at home.”

“I doubt anyone is going to flirt with me,” you said. “Do you know how hard it is to meet people in our modern society? With the economy the way it is? No one has the time to flirt with strangers.”

“Well, that’s better for me, then,” he muttered.

“Oooh, you’re jealous,” you said. “You love me so much.”

“Nine hells…”

“You love me to death. You love me so much it’s embarrassing!”

“You’re the one who proposed to me,” Casper accused. “So you have no room to talk.”

“Well, yeah…” You really didn’t have a comeback for that. “I wouldn’t marry someone I didn’t love, you know?”

Casper took a step forward, a smug expression on his face as he advanced. “Oho? So maybe you’re the one who loves me so much it’s embarrassing.”

“Oh, get your own jokes,” you grumbled.

“It’s no joke at all, Sunshine.” He was close. Way too close. Close enough that he took your hand and reverentially brought it to his lips, kissing each finger. His lips lingered on your ring finger, and he kissed it again. “So you can get flustered, too, I see.”

Your ears burned. What sort of face were you making? One that made Casper look at you with a self-satisfied expression, that was for sure. “Hey!”

“Hey, you know what. I changed my mind,” Casper said.

“Changed your mind?” you asked.

Casper looped an arm around your waist, pulling you closer. “What you asked earlier. I changed my mind. I do want something from you, after all.”

Without warning, he kissed you on the lips. Gently, tenderly. Like he was offering prayers to you, each kiss so sweet and thoughtful it made your heart burst. You tangled your fingers in his hair, pulling him closer, angling your head. Casper let out a little moan as you yanked the strands, and your eyebrows raised. Interesting. Very interesting. This was definitely something you were going to use later.

“I love you,” you murmured against his lips.

“I… love you, too,” he breathed.

Maybe in the future, the two of you would annoy each other. You would fight. Get angry. Then, you would make up. Maybe you would cry. But you would have happiness, too. He would make you laugh, and smile, and feel a love so deep you would never be able to love anyone else in that way again. But it didn’t matter. What mattered was here and now. What mattered was that you chose him, and as long as Casper was by your side, you could do anything. Go anywhere. Be anyone.

Luckily, all you wanted to be was to be his.

#liya writes #a date with death #casper #adwd casper #a date with death casper #casper x reader #a date with death x reader #adwd grim #a date with death grim #grim x reader #CASPER U HAVE ME FUCKED UP WITH UR NAME IDK HOW TO TAG THIS!!#anyways. hi guys. my bad for being insane over casper lol (tucks hair behind ear)#ive never wanted to devour a man more in my life.

513 notes · View notes

dulcesiabits · 3 months

Text

how to let you go.

summary: in every life, casper is sent to take your soul as punishment.

notes: 2.4k words, author's notes, angst, casper calls reader beautiful if anyone doesn't like that descriptive term

You were still as beautiful as the day Casper lost you.

This was his punishment, born for centuries. It was also his salvation, to see you again, as radiant as life itself, your mouth crinkling into a smile, and your easy, effortless movements. To you, this was just another day, where you were young and careless and so sure of your own life, as if not even jealous death could steal you away.

Before Casper had undergone his mission, his coworkers had asked if he would be able to recognize you. Their eyes crinkled in that familiar gesture of pity, apprehension, and slight condescension, as they had looked at him for the past hundreds of years since his initial sin.

“Even if their soul is the same, they’re going to look different. They won’t even remember you,” one had said. “They might not even love you again. What’s the point?”

“I still love them,” he said shortly, standing abruptly. “And their soul is mine to take. That’s the point.”

His coworkers had shook their heads. A hopeless case, they called him. “He used to be the best, and look what happened. He went and fell for his own target.”

Let them talk. The gossip had never abated no matter how many years passed. No one would understand, and he didn’t need them to.

Now, Casper watched you walk below from his perch on a nearby roof. You were so beautiful. Where were you off to? Perhaps to see a friend. Or back off to your apartment. There was a drink in your hand, which made his mission that much easier if he had an excuse to talk to you. He absorbed the sight of you for only a few seconds more. Time to start.

He leapt down softly, just a few paces in front of you, and unveiled his glamor. With no room to maneuver around him, you bumped into him, your drink sloshing onto his shirt. Tea soaked into his clothes, and you stumbled backwards– though he grabbed your arm before you could fall.

“Oh shit! I’m so sorry,” you said. “Are you okay? I should have been more careful.”

“I’m fine,” he said. “It’s not like I got burnt.”

“Let me make it up to you. I think there’s a laundromat nearby– uh, how much did your shirt cost? I think stains don’t show that much on black fabric, but I could pay if you needed me to.”

“Are you sure you could afford it?” he said, eyebrows raising.

You chuckled nervously. “Well… maybe not… Still! I’d like to make it up to you! Here, let me give you my number.” You fished a pen out from your bag, but groaned. “Shit, I don’t have any paper in here.”

“Just write it on my hand,” he said, holding out his hand, palm out.

“Okay. Okay, let me do it.” You pressed the pen lightly to his skin, scribbling your number on his palm. “I live close by, so if you ever want to meet up to talk about this some more…”

“So do I,” Casper said. “In fact, I live in that building over there.” He pointed to a squat apartment building on the block, and your eyes widened.

“No way! I live there, too. We’re neighbors,” you said admiringly. “What a coincidence.”

Casper smiled, as if he hadn’t arranged to live in your building himself. “I suppose so.”

You nodded. “It’s like fate. Like we were meant to meet, or something.” You flushed. “Oh, I’m not trying to hit on you or anything– unless, you’d like that? Ah– Sorry. I literally just knocked my drink all over you.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” he murmured, his own ears turning pink. “If it was from you.”

“How flirtatious,” you said, fanning yourself with your hand. Cute.

“I’m not normally this forward with strangers. Maybe it’s just you,” he said.

You wiggled your eyebrows. “So I’m special? That’s really nice to hear. You know how to charm a person.”

Ah, here it was again: your smile. Your laughter. Your teasing. This was what his coworkers didn’t understand; Casper would have plunged into despair, again and again, if only for your touch to lift him right back out of it.

—

The next few weeks passed in a haze of happiness. This was his respite: the moments between meeting you and taking your soul, when he could just bask in your warmth like the sun. After the initial meeting, you opened up to him like a flower. Though he had to initiate the first few meetings, after a while, it was you who badgered him constantly to come over to watch a new show, or just to have dinner together.

“This is like, weird, but sometimes I feel like I’ve known you for a long time,” you confided in him once. “I know we didn’t even meet that long ago, but you feel familiar to me. Is that crazy to say?”

“I think you’re just hitting on me,” he accused. “Just say you were captivated by my endless charm.”

“Charm?” you scoffed, batting a pillow at him. “What charm? You’re so full of yourself.”

“You’re into it,” he said.

You stuck your tongue out at him. “You wish. I just put up with you so I can hang out with Azrael!” To emphasize your point, you picked up his plushie, hugging him tight to your chest.

“Hey! Azrael is mine,” he complained, and you burst into laughter as he tried to gently tug the plushie out of your grip.

For a beautiful few weeks, he could exist by your side, like an ordinary mortal man would do for the one he loved. Casper drank in your smile, the easy way the two of you fell into routine. He had done this a thousand times, and each time, it was as effortless as two puzzle pieces slotting in together. The only place he truly belonged was by your side, and each time, though your body didn’t remember, your soul did.

“Casper!” He heard you before he saw you. You ran and tackled him in a hug, arms wrapping his waist. He staggered under your weight, before effortlessly wrapping his arms around you and righting himself. His heart pounded under the proximity of your warmth and nearness.

“You almost killed me,” he said.

“You survived!”

“What’s with the rush?” he asked, raising a hand to stroke circles on your back. You were in the apartment hallway, and he lowered his voice in case someone could hear.

“Eh… I can’t just hug you because I like you?”

“There’s always another motive with you,” he said.

“Well…” you pulled back, batting your eyelashes at him mischievously. “I can’t just miss you?”

“Ah, now we’re talking sense. You just couldn’t stay away from me.”

Your eyes turned serious. “Well, what if I couldn’t? What if I liked being by your side?”

His hands stilled. Your gaze stirred a storm in his heart. As it had before, and as it would in the future. “Then I would say that… I wouldn’t dislike that.”

“You should just be honest and say that you like spending time with me,” you teased.

He let out a little sigh, heat rising to his face. “Maybe I do.”

What was he to do? Was there any way to prolong this moment, to stretch it into infinity, so he could hold you for the rest of time?

—

Like any dream, his time with you had to come to an end. And like with every dream, Casper had to shatter it to pieces with his own hands.

On a starlit night, after you had convinced him to sneak onto the roof with you (“It’s easy! They leave the rooftop door unlatched!”), your face remained immobile in the darkness as he confessed his sins to you.

“I was sent to take your soul,” he explained calmly. “I’ve always been sent to kill you, to reap your soul, in every life. It’s my punishment, you could say.”

Your lips parted, unbelieving. “Punishment? For what?”

“For loving you,” he said. “And for you returning my affections.”

“That’s not fair.”

“There’s no fairness in life. The only fairness is in death.”

In the darkness, he can’t make out your expression, but the light reflects in your eyes like miniature suns.

“So you’ve had to kill me, just because we fell in love? That’s not okay,” you protested. “How… how many times have you and I…?”

Casper looked up at the sky, as if the stars could tell him the answer. They only winked down coldly at him. “I’ve lost count. It’s been hundreds of years.”

“Hundreds...” you said. “And you… you say you’ve loved me all that time? Why? I mean, I can’t be the same person as you first fell for. Why would you do all of this for me?”

“Because it’s you,” he said simply. “I’ll always fall in love with you, even if I try to stay away. In every life, in every time, I’ll make that decision.”

“You must have been lonely,” you said. You hugged him, pulling him into your arms. You felt like a lighthouse, mooring him in the dark waters of the night.

“Aren’t you mad at me? I just confessed to killing you in every life.”

“I don’t know,” you said honestly. “I’m just thinking that this sucks. This sucks so fucking much, but I… I’ve always felt like I’ve known you, ever since we met. I guess that feeling makes a lot more sense now.” You took a breath, as if you were steeling yourself. “And, you know what, this is crazy, but I think something in me has always been waiting for you. It’s like something just clicked when you showed up. But even if it wasn’t for our freaky soul connection, I chose this, you know?” You ran a hand lovingly through his hair, delicately kissing a strand. “I chose to love you.”

“Then what do you want to do?” he whispered. Here it was again, the choice he offered you in every life.

“Let’s run away,” you said resolutely. “Let’s run away for as long as we can. I want to stay with you. I mean, you’ve been waiting for me forever, right? Then we have to make the most of this time.”

And there it was, the answer that never wavered, no matter how many times he asked you this question. Your answer glittered like a precious gem which Casper held reverentially. No matter who you became, or what happened, your soul remained the same. You always chose him.

“You’ll still die in the end,” he warned. “No one lives forever. They will send people after us.”

“Then let them. I mean…” you pulled the lapels of his jacket, so you could stare into his eyes. “You know what, Casper? Being loved so much by death is kinda romantic. Besides, if I’m gonna die anyways, I might as well enjoy myself. If someone has to take my soul, then I want it to be you, okay? No one else.”

“Okay,” he breathed, and then you kissed him, and it felt like a thousand galaxies bursting to life in his heart. Overhead, a star streaked across the sky like a tear.

Casper already knew how your story would end. It would end as it had done a thousand times before, with the two of you being caught, upon which he would be forced to take your soul yet again. But in this endlessly repeating cycle, all that truly mattered was this moment: your lips on his, and a kiss that burned brighter than the sun.

—

In the first life, in your final moments, you had looked at him so tenderly, even though he had been the one who doomed you. You, who had been loved by death, had paid the price for it.

“I’m going to curse you,” you whispered. You held his hands in a way he had never deserved, clutching them close to you like a lifeline.

“Sunshine…” he said. You were the ones clinging on to his hands, but he was the one who tightened his grip, because this was the only road that led to you. Tears fell, against his will, splattering onto your face.

“My cute little reaper…” you said weakly. “You’re not allowed to forget me, do you understand? No matter who else you kill. No matter who you met. Even if you fall in love again. You have to remember me. Carry me with you everywhere, do you understand?”

“Why are you saying this to me?” Casper whispered. His voice shook, as fragile as a spring bud which had sprouted during the winter, with no protection from the frost. A sprout, always reaching for the sky above, even as its roots numbed and its leaves blackened, because what else was there to do, but long for what one couldn’t have?

You smiled like the sun, even when your life was draining out of you. “Because I’m cursing you, silly. If you kill me now, then I’m going to haunt you for the rest of your life. You’re mine.”

You let out a strangled breath, and it was time for you to go. Casper tugged the last of your soul out of your body. There was a slight resistance, as if your soul was still clinging to its home, before like strings snapping, your soul slipped pliantly into his hands. You jerked, eyes shuttering closed, your mouth slack, like an empty house with no one to warm its halls any longer.

Still, Casper tugged your body closer to him, arms wrapping around you, as if his cold skin could somehow prevent your skin from cooling. As if, with enough force, he could tether you to him again.

“I’m yours,” he whispered, even as your head lolled back. “I’m yours, Sunshine. I promise. So haunt me. Don’t let me forget you. Curse me, again and again. You’re so selfish. So, so selfish.” His hands trembled, and he placed a feather light kiss on your lips. “You’ve claimed me, so you better make good on your words. You– you have to come back. No matter what.”

A kiss, then another. He would be punished. He knew this. You would be punished, too. But no matter if a hundred years passed, or a thousand, Casper would never forget you. Even if your bones turned to dust. Even if your name was lost to history. Even if no one remembered that you existed, and the earth forgot the touch of your steps, he would love you. He would love you, and chase you to the ends of eternity.

For he was death, and you were his mortal, and this was how death loved best.

#liya writes #a date with death #a date with death x reader #casper #casper x reader #a date with death casper #a date with death grim #adwd #adwd x eader #adwd grim #grim x reader #a date with death fic

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