guard dog
3am drabble about majima and haruka. very short, very sweet. wanted to get this down somewhere because ive been thinking about this scene all day.
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The voice is so soft he doesn't hear it the first time. He's too occupied with scrolling, the light from his phone the only illumination in the room, brain locked in that tired haze where sleep escapes you but you have no energy to do anything more. It's only when he hears the sniffle that he picks up on the presence lingering in the doorway.
‘Haru-chan?’ Majima squints, tilting the harsh blue of the phone screen away from his eye. He props himself up on his elbows. ‘That you?’
‘Oji-san…’
Oh no. Her voice quivers and immediately, Majima knows something is wrong. He sits upright, glad that the darkness hides his worry. Fuck- Kiryu wouldn't be home until tomorrow. He was good enough at babysitting Haruka when he had to, but this was new- what was he supposed to do now?
‘Hey, hey- Haru-chan…’ He mumbles, sitting up. ‘Whassup? What's wrong?’
Tiny feet pad against the hardwood floor and he feels the bed creak- then all at once, she's on top of him. Little arms wrap around his chest and he hears the muffled sob and-
Oh, shit. Majima’s hugging her, now. Pulls her close to his chest and holds her tight. She's crying.
‘Hey… s'alright. It's gonna be okay.’ He says, words uncertain. ‘Did ya… have a nightmare?’
She nods against him, grip tightening.
‘Okay… okay, I get it. Shh, c'mere-’ He leans back and pulls her next to him to lie down more comfortably, tugs the blanket back over himself and nestles her in. Okay, no need to panic- just comfort her. It can't be that hard- fuck, he wishes Kiryu was here.
‘Do ya’ wanna talk about it?’ He ventures. She shakes her head, burying it further into his collarbone. Her voice wavers up from beside him.
‘I want Uncle Kaz…'
Oh.
‘Yeah- yeah. You too, huh? Shh- s'okay.’
He rests his chin atop her head, shutting his eye. It must be even worse for her, he thought. She'd been through so much, and at such a young age… Kiryu must have been her entire world. To wake up, scared and alone, without the one person you knew could protect you…
Majima hugged her tighter.
‘S'okay. He'll be back tomorrow. But until then, I gotcha. I gotcha…’ He sniffed, the warmth against his chest making him feel… something. Something he hadn't felt in a long time.
‘I'd never let anythin’ happen to ya. Okay? I'll scare off all the bad dreams.’ He hushed her again, felt her shaking slow down and sniffles quiet. ‘No monsters or ghouls or nothin’ is gonna getcha when I'm around. They gotta get through me first.’
She hiccuped, a noise that might have been a tearful laugh.
‘Yeah. Yeah.’ He whispered. ‘Y'know, uh- th’ tattoo I got. The scary lady, right?’
There was a pause. Then, in the quietest voice-
‘I don’ think she's scary…’
Majima smiled.
‘Yeah, you don't, cause you're braver than anyone. But monsters, they're all real scared of her. She helps keep ‘em away. Even when I'm asleep.’ He whispered, almost conspiratorially- like he was sharing a big secret.
‘See… she's nice…’ Haruka mumbled, and Majima nodded in agreement.
‘Yeah, exactly. Means you can sleep here an’ you'll be safe and sound. I promise.’
He shuffled, arms hooked around the girl clinging to his chest as she released him to get more comfortable. He could, in the light of his phone screen still laying upright on the bed, faintly see her eyes. Still glistening with tears, but looking at him. Looking at him, like…
Like how she looks at Kiryu, he thought.
‘Thanks, Oji-san…’
Her voice was thick with sleep- must have been tuckered out from the crying, he thought. She buried her face back into his arm, nestled up next to him. Something soft and warm felt like it had crawled into his chest.
‘No prob, Haru-chan.’ He chanced it, and leant down to give her a kiss on the forehead. Felt the way, even in the darkness, her face creased with a smile.
‘Sleep tight, kid.’
--
When Kiryu crept in the house early the next morning, the sight of Haruka's empty bed made his heart jump into his throat.
Only after he peered into his bedroom did he see the familiar sprawl of Majima, coiled protectively around his soundly sleeping daughter. One of her hands was resting on his head, fingers tangled in his hair.
As he turned away to prepare the kitchen for breakfast, Kiryu was glad they weren't awake to see the smile on his face and the tear that snuck down his cheek.
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I'm gonna be real... I don't think I can hate Mammon. Like, not because I particularly like him as a character, I think he's funny but I'm overall pretty neutral on him tbh, but because he kind of. Can't help being the way he is. Like. Being greedy is literally his job. He HAS to be that way because he's literally the PHYSICAL EMBODIMENT OF GREED. It'd be like hating a hurricane for all the damage it causes, y'know? He isn't human, and shouldn't be held to the same standards as humans. The same also applies to all the other sins tbh, and maybe even Sera? They aren't human, they are not obligated to care about humans OR mortal demons, they are entities beyond our comprehension with specific purposes that they're just fulfilling. It's like how Greek Gods were all assholes but the Greeks still worshipped them anyway, because hey who are we to argue with nature? You can't change a hurricane, you can just hunker down and hope for the best.
I actually don't know if that's the intended interpretation tbh I just like the concept of viewing the sins and stuff as forces of nature rather then people, makes everything feel more ✨grandious✨
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More pre-Victorian 1830s (from top to bottom) -
ca. 1830 Evening or wedding dress (location ?). From tumblr.com/andrayblue 1080X1350.
1831 Marquise Chasseloup-Laubat (probably Marie Augustine Antoinette Le Boucher des Fontaines) by Joseph-Désiré Court (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen - Rouen, Normandie, France). From their Web site' enlarged by half 845X1181.
1830-1832 María Cristina de Borbón, Queen of Spain by José de Madrazo y Aguado (Prado). From their Web site 1280X1745.
1832 Marie Franziska von Freytag by ? (Salzburg Museum - Salzburg, Salzburgland, Austria). From tumblr.com/history-of-fashion 766X963.
1832 Amalie Klein by Friedrich von Amerling (Österreichische Galerie Belvedere - Wien, Austria). From tumblr.com/history-of-fashion; fixed spots & cracks throughout w Pshop 2893X3508.
1835 Illustration from La Mode by Paul Gavarni. From tumblr.com/clove-pinks 1650X2048.
1836 Marriage Portrait of Charlotte de Rothschild by Moritz Daniel Oppenheim (Israel Museum - Jerusalem, Jerusalem District, Israel). From Google Art Project.
Lady with Pink Sash by Camille Joseph Etienne Roqueplan (Sotheby's - 29Jan22 auction Lot 703) 1583X2000.
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