We've talked about this before and I need to see it written in your beautiful words
Henry with a pregnant reader! Like him decorating the nursery and just being clingy and cute and obsessed with her <3
There's a mention of stereotypical 50s style "feminine" roles. Over protective, controlling Henry
He leaned against the wall next to the stained glass window, watching you doing something you weren't supposed to be doing. You always were a bit hard headed, and he couldn't help but adore you.
He slid open the window, reaching out his hand, slowly putting together the little playset for your little one. You looked up at him, unimpressed.
"I could've done that!" You yelled up at him. He looked at you from the baby's half painted nursery.
"You weren't supposed to! You know you need to be resting! I'm supposed to be doing everything for you."
"You know how to cook and clean?"
"Yes, actually, now go lay down and let me make you lunch."
You waddled around the house from the little garden you had planted during the early stages of your pregnancy. Your hand rested on your belly, feeling the little Creel press his hand to yours.
Henry rushed from the house, helping you up the stairs, muttering to himself how you shouldn't be walking up and down stairs at all, let alone by yourself.
"You're too protective, we'll be just fine, Henry."
"That won't stop me from doing everything for you, and worshipping you for as long as we live."
Tags/Warnings: Rylesha & ARC Trooper Echo, Rylesha & CT-1409, Rylesha & Captain Rex, Rylesha & CT-7567, Rylesha & Master Even Piell, dreams, night terrors, prophetic dreams, use of sedatives, grief, loss of loved ones, dark imagery, vague descriptions of canon injuries, canon compliant, no beta we die like men
( I'm new to tagging my writing so I'm happy to learn!)
Rylesha (my OC) wanted to answer this herself, so here goes my first real attempt at writing a... ficlet, I guess? Be kind and enjoy!
My sleep had been blissfully deep and dreamless since my medic gave me the sedative. Thank the Force for that man and his ability to deal with me with a level head and an iron fist. Without sedation my days had blurred together into a haze of grief and breakdowns the likes of which I'd never experienced.
My Master was gone, killed during his escape from the Citadel. I'd felt it as soon as it had happened and knew he had joined the Force again. My only answer for why I hadn't felt the next loss was that I was so consumed with the first that it hadn't registered at all. Or so I'd thought.
Captain Rex and ARC Trooper Fives had told me of the loss of Echo -- my vod and one of my closest friends in the galaxy. My thoughts kept returning to why I hadn't sensed it. Why hadn't I felt him join the Force? Between the waves of crushing grief I felt something keep bringing me back to that thought.
The dreams were worse than all of it, though.
Inky blackness always seemed to surround me, hiding everything from view. A voice called my name, but it was faint. So far away I doubted I'd truly heard it at all.
More than once I found myself waking to the sound of panicked screams and a metal door slamming shut. It felt too real, too close. My racing heart and labored breathing sending me into a panic that would last until my medic would inevitably sedate me again.
Not my finest or most dignified hour.
~*~*~*~*~
The dreams had eventually faded away and I returned to my duties without incident, but occasionally my thoughts drifted back to them again. I'd shake the reminder from my thoughts and carry on, because I wasn't sure what else to do.
A night came where that same inky haze drifted at the edges of my dreams again and I listened. I waited.
I heard my name being called again from far away, but this time I searched for its source. I ran until there was nowhere left and found myself before a metal door. A glass porthole at its center frosted over with ice. I knew a crude cyrochamber when I saw one and felt fear tangle itself like vines in my chest.
I couldn't see anything in the chamber, but I could hear something from within its frigid recess.
CT-1409, CT-1409, CT-1409...
My breath caught in my chest and I couldn't believe what I'd heard.
"E-Echo?" I dared to ask and the repetition ceased.
"Ry? No. You aren't real." he spoke lowly, his voice like gravel and he sounded so tired it made my chest ache bitterly.
"I am real, Echo. Tell me where you are! Let me help you!"
"You can't help me now. Just go. Before they take you too."
I wanted to ask what he meant, but a door slammed behind me just as the repetition of his CT number began again.
I was pulled away from the chamber. Not by Echo. The Force. I was dropped back into my own body and mind unceremoniously and the shock of the feeling sent me toppling from my bed and onto the cold durasteel floor.
I scrambled for the private comm Rex had given me after we'd lost Echo.
"Just in case..." He'd told me quietly, but the meaning wasn't at all lost on me.
In case I needed to talk. In case I needed a friend. Just... in case.
I pressed the button and watched as its light flashed while it connected. I tried with all I had to steady my breathing and my heart that felt like it might jump from my body and run for it at any moment, but it was no use.
"General? It's late. Is everything okay?"
I could hear the concern in his voice, as evident as the fear in mine was no doubt about to be.
"No, Captain. I need you to listen to me. I know what I'm about to say is going to sound completely insane, but I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"
It only took a moment for him to agree and then I let everything I saw and heard spill out of me. He was silent as he listened and when I finished that same silence took over.
"If you find any intel that may lead to Echo I need to you to chase it. I need you to promise me this, Rex." I told him and tried to put any amount of strength I had into those words.
"I will, Rylesha. I promise."
I thanked him and let myself fall back against the side of the bed with a heaving sigh. I'd done what the Force asked and relayed the message to one of the only people I trusted enough to follow through on his promise.
All I could do from that point was trust and wait.
Thank you so much for reading! Please be kind as this is the very first of my writing I'm sharing with the Tumblr-verse!
Tagging: @crosshairs-dumb-pimp-gf and @just-here-with-my-thoughts (because I'm sure you'll be interested lol)
If you'd like to be tagged in the future, please let me know!
Could I please make a request for 🦾 Bucky (who else?)
Something really fluffy where you're sitting in his lap, holding hands and kissing. I don't mind what you do with it, I just need this in my life pronto 😂💝
Congratulations again 💙💙💙
A movie long forgotten played softly on the TV screen. Movie nights always ended like this. Your constant attempts to catch Bucky up to date on media were always thwarted by his pillowy lips.
Tonight's movie had been The Princess Bride, and you hadn't even gotten to Buttercup's opening dream before his lips were trailing along your neck.
"Would you ever love again if I disappeared?" He asked jokingly, but looking into his eyes you could tell that at least some part of him was serious. If he disappeared tomorrow, vanished into thin air, would you truly never find love or happiness like you had found with him again?
You turned your head to face him, leaning back to rest your head on his shoulder, "Never."
"Never?"
"Never ever." Your eyes sparkled, looking into his soft blue eyes adoringly.
His frows furrowed, "I wouldn't want you to never find love again," he smiled coyly, "maybe only be miserable for 30 years, then you can get with Steve."
"Steve?!" You smiled, surprised by his pick of who you should be with were he to ever disappear.
"Yeah! You two would get close, go on missions to find me, and after 30 years or so, you'd realize that you had fallen in love with him. You'd feel guilty about it," he smiled, and then got a bit more serious, "But if I were to vanish, I want you to be happy, just remember that."
Your entire face scrunched in the way he loved so much, "Hmmmmm... Nope. Nope. Never again. I'd never love again."
He rolled his eyes, bright smile spreading across his face, even in death you'd still be a pain in his ass. He pulled you close, nuzzling his face into your neck, leaving licks and kisses in his wake.
"I love you," he whispered against your skin. You trailed your fingers along his jawline, pulling him up to your lips.
So just a heads up, I'm rusty with Bucky so this may be terrible
He stared up at the ceiling in the dark, your voice floating into his room from beyond the wall. The sound of the shower creating a peaceful atmosphere, like a rainstorm without the thunder and lightning.
He could smell you using his soap from beyond the tiles and plaster, sense the electricity pumping through the walls. He could almost feel your voice vibrating through him, a peaceful end to a stressful day.
After the stressful last few weeks, all you wanted was to get back to normalcy with Bucky. Distract you from the pain of your fallen comrades just for a night, to hold onto Bucky and just let his scent overwhelm and calm you.
The towel wrapped around you absorbing the water droplets that rolled down, stepping out of the bathroom for a moment into Bucky's room.
"Do you have some clothes I could borrow?"
He rolls from the bed, picking up yesterday's gym shorts and handing them to you with a shy smile. Your eyes lingered on him, trapped in his dreamy blue eyes.
He felt levels of confidence he hadn't felt since the 40s. Pieces of him that had been lost, he desperately wanting to chase the feeling.
He stripped his own shirt off, chasing the feeling, feeling comfortable in his own skin for the first time in over 70 years. Your eyes widened as you took the shirt from him.
He wasn't quite sure what came over him, and he regretted his actions as soon as you scurried off into the bathroom again. He looked in his closet, wanting to cover up, confidence draining from him the way blood drains from someone's face in fear.
You came out of the bathroom as he pulled a thick sweater over his head, even though it was hot as fuck in his room. His thin Beatles shirt engulfed you, falling to your knees, his basketball shorts still in your hand.
He kept his back turned for a moment, letting you pull lacy underwear out of your go bag on his floor. Only turning back when he heard you bounce from jumping into his bed.
You cozied up under his covers, breathing in his musky ambrosial woodsy scent. Watching as he kept tugging the thick sweater down. Steam from your shower still rolled into the room, making it muggier than before.
"Bucky?" You asked as he settled on top of the covers, not looking at you.
He hummed in response, fiddling with the remote, trying to push the right buttons to take him where he wanted to be.
"Are you comfortable in the sweater? It's really hot and humid in here... I wouldn't be uncomfortable if you took it off..." You could already see the beads of sweat forming along his hairline.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course Buck, I just want to make sure you're comfortable." He stood for a moment, pulling dark blue thickly hand knitted sweater off, sighing with relief as cooler air touched his sticky skin.
You tapped on your phone, turning on the air conditioner in the room, and he moaned with appreciation before falling into bed next to you.
"You're too good to me, Doll." He dreamy blue eyes once again capturing you, pulling you into the abyss.
"I never want you to feel uncomfortable around me Bucky, that's um... that's why I ran off into the bathroom..."
"What do you mean?"
"I... like you, Buck."
He smiled, "I like you too, Doll."
"No, Bucky, I mean that, oh this is way harder than I thought it would be when I first started talking. I love you, James."
He was silent for a moment, "Say it again?"
"I love you, James."
A smile overtook his face, "What took you so long?"
I'm thinking reader loves reading on bed while laying on their stomach (plus size reader of you will) and just some domestic fluff with Eddie like napping on her butt or thighs because you know he'd worship her curves every moment possible... Maybe even reader reading to him while he falls asleep ehe~
Okay so we've jumped forward to the late 90s here, the book Reader is reading to our beloved Eddie is Stardust by Neil Gaiman.
You stood at the stove, stirring the giant pot of hot chocolate. The wind whipped against the windows as the snow fell, quickly piling up on the ground, trapping everyone inside for the next few days as the storm raged on.
Eddie wrapped his arms around you, new tattoos covering his skin. He rested his chin on your shoulder and almost moaned.
"That smells so good princess, you're too good to me."
He leaves kisses all over your shoulder, holding you tight, pulling your hips back against him.
"Hot chocolate first, and then you can do whatever you want."
His brows shot up, "Whatever I want?"
"Mhmmm," you hummed as you stirred, the dark liquid reflecting his surprised but giddy expression.
His eyes then turned soft, "Could you read to me? That new book you got?"
You flicked off the burner before turning in his arms, "Have you been having trouble sleeping again baby?"
He nodded, resting his forehead against yours. You wrapped your arms around his neck, carding your fingers through his hair.
"Of course I'll read to you baby, will you have some of my homemade hot chocolate first? It's my granddad's recipe, it's like drinking a melted chocolate bar."
He had three cups before he was satisfied, pulling you into bed, before handing the white and gray book to you.
You laid on your stomach as Eddie settled in behind you, squeezing and patting your ass.
"I thought you were trying to sleep," you giggled.
"Just fluffing my pillow."
You cracked open the book, laying it on the pillow in front of you, "There was once a young man who wished to gain his Heart's Desire..."
You had been awake for hours, staring up at the white popcorn ceiling in the dark. Alone, you were left to your own thoughts as the others slept soundly, piled on top of each other.
Eddie's soft snores filling the room in comfortable white noise. Robin babbling incomprehensibly, her arms and legs twitching every now and then under the weight of Steve. Your eyes cast over them and to the table.
You couldn't even read the bright red numbers on Steve's bedside clock anymore, eyes too bleary and heavy.
You needed to get up, tip toe around and just contemplate every decision you had made up until this moment. How had it all come here?
Were you simply this poor of a decision maker, or like Rome, did all roads lead here? Roads to an inevitable demise, started with you.
You knew deep down that they all blamed you for everything, the walls whispering the words in the silence.
You didn't give the old floorboards the chance to whine, as your sock clad feet almost floated over them. The Harrington house was so silent that the lock on the front door being turned sounded like a gunshot. You took a deep breath before pulling open the door.
In your sleepy confusion you didn't understand at first that beyond the now open door was misty daylight, and pouring rain outside of Hawkins Lab. Looking behind you back into the house it was still pitch black.
You left the door open as you moved to a window. Beyond the window was Steve's street, no rain, and dark enough that the stars and moon alone illuminated the street.
Looking out the door once more, you decided to go out.
You're kinda cute but it's raining harder
My shoes are now full of water
Lovely to be rained on with you
Stepping out the door, you were immediately drenched. You felt sad and disappointed but could not remember why.
Behind you was no longer Steve's house, but the front door of Hawkins Lab. Inside the glass doors, nurses rushed around, a receptionist sat at a front desk, nothing like how you remembered it. This looked more like a hospital than your personal hell.
The walls inside were not stark white, there were messy rainbow circles taking up an entire wall. Clearly painted by young children. The Lab now had a lobby, and comfortable waiting room chairs.
Turning back to the parking lot and looking out at all the people running to their cars in the rain, you shivered.
The rain pounded against you as bounded down the steps, your arms wrapping around yourself, head down to keep the rain out of your eyes.
It finally clicked, why had you walked to work on today of all days. Your memory was no longer foggy, completely clear, like coming out of a drunken haze.
You had walked to work in the golden and pink light of the early morning, breathing in air so crisp and cold it almost felt sharp in your lungs.
How hadn't you seen the rain coming? How hadn't you smelled it in the air? You could feel that you were forgetting something, multiple things, it didn't make sense.
You looked down, Hawkins Lab had never given you real clothes. Or had they? It was becoming increasingly fuzzy as you walked further and further away from the door.
The rain pounded almost painfully hard against your skin, but then it stopped, and you were left with just the sound of heavy rain hitting fabric.
You looked up and there he was. Beautiful, angelic, almost ethereal in the foggy light.
"Walk to work again, Y/N?"
The words came out without thinking, shouting over the pounding rain, echoing underneath the canvas fabric of his jacket, "I didn't think it would rain!"
He smiles, "We never do! Do you want a ride home?"
It's kinda cute but it's so short
Then you're drivin' me home
And I don't wanna leave
But I have to go
His car is warm, even in the bitter cold outside, the inside feels heated and cozy. The seats so soft and comfortable they almost reminded you of your bed and nearly pulled you into a blissful sleep.
Your favorite music was playing softly, but something was clawing at the back of your brain, telling you that something was wrong.
But how could something be wrong when he was right there, so close you could smell his Vanilla Bourbon cologne. A scent you could faintly recall from long ago, but now it consumed you and held you in it's embrace.
You looked at him and felt those same feelings you felt years ago, he was even more beautiful than you remembered. Though, your memory of him was tinted blood red, those memories were fading just as quickly as you could recall them. The fearful anxiety that filled your chest faded and faded so quickly you were left at a loss for words why you had been scared in the first place.
The silence was peaceful, but your favorite song still scratched in your head, but the uneasy feeling faded away like waves being pulled back into the sparkling ocean.
"Are you okay?" He asked suddenly.
You turned towards him, wondering how you'd found yourself in a fuzzy black blanket, "What?"
"Its just... You haven't said anything in a while, I wanted to check in on you. I know thunderstorms can be scary sometimes-"
"I love thunderstorms," you injected, "it's my favorite kind of weather."
The corners of his lips twitched up into a sweet smile, "Thunderstorms, huh? What is it about them?"
"I like the way the rain sounds from inside, and the rolling of the thunder, like a tidal wave of relief and peace rolling over. The light filling up a dark room for a moment, I love it all."
His smile was bigger now, "I'll remember that."
You kiss me in your car
And it feels like the start of a movie I've seen before
Before
He pulled up to the front of your house, putting his old beat up car, possibly a relic from his father's time, in park.
You turned to him, heart pounding in your chest just as hard as the rain pounded against the exterior of the car, almost deafeningly loud.
Your lips parted but no words came out, how on earth would you speak? It was like you had forgotten how to. You could feel it in the back of your throat, but it almost strangled you.
Say something! Anything! Anything at all! Just make a single sound come out!
He was experiencing the same, god he wanted to talk, he wanted to hear you talk, he'd listen to you for ages upon ages if he could. Your voice a sweet melody that has run though his head for as long as he could remember.
The sound of your voice taking over every memory he has, even the ones he'd rather keep locked away inside, he closed his eyes for a moment, and put those memories back into their blood stained boxes.
You snuggled further into the dark warm fuzzy blanket, Henry dripped, the heat on high and turning the car into a sauna.
His hair dripped and soaked into his already drenched shirt. Rivulets coating his body, water drip drip dripping off his nose in a way only romcoms correctly portrayed.
Before you knew what was happening, his sweet lips were on yours. His hand cradling the back of your head, keeping you exactly where he wanted you.
His lips were soft and warm and all you could think about, fireworks were going off behind your eyelids, this was perfect. Everything was perfect.
You stumbled backwards out of the car, him quickly following suit, his hand cupping your face as your back hit your front door.
His hands drifted down your body, his hands gripping at your hips and butt. You moaned into his mouth as he pulled your leg up to sit on his hip.
You fell back into your house as he opened the door.
Bedsheets, no clothes
Touch me like nobody else does
Lovely to just lay here with you
Golden light streamed in through slightly sheer curtains, illuminating his completely peaceful sculpted face.
You laid there, just looking at him, eyes tracing his nose and lips, counting his eyelashes and the little freckles and "imperfections" that dotted his perfect skin.
The golden light made him look even more angelic than normal, you could get used to this.
You're kinda cute and I would say all of this
But I don't wanna ruin the moment
Lovely to sit between comfort and chaos
The bright white lights of the Lab shone down on you, bathing you in their ugly florescence but you looked angelic all the same.
He watched from the rainbow room, hands full of the children's drawings just for you. In all of them, the two of you were depicted as parents. Him in a suit, and you in, what seemed to be, a 1950s style red dress. Of course all the kinds clothed you in red, they all knew it was your favorite color.
It was a dream of his, to have a family with you, but this was the closest the two of you could currently get.
He could feel himself slipping, but looking at you brought him back. The way your eyes shone and sparkled with pure adoration of him.
His did the same, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turning up at the sight of your smile. He could swear that no one could ever be as perfect as you.
He wrapped his arms around your waist, letting you fall back into his embrace as he kissed at your neck, you giggling the whole time.
But it's over
Then you're drivin' me home
And it kinda comes out as I get up to go
You kiss me in your car
And it feels like the start of a movie I've seen before
Your favorite band played softly in the background. The car the same cozy warm blanket that wrapped you in the smell of him.
A sweet vanilla bourbon, that got you drunk and dazed. Lately you hadn't needed alcohol to get you drunk, only the idea of him.
You couldn't tell when the gray clouds had rolled over, and the rain, thunder, and lightning had started, but inside the warm cozy car, you couldn't help but be completely relaxed.
Like the way your body relaxes and drops all tension whilst falling asleep. Like a baby kitten being picked up by its mother by the scruff of its neck.
He smiled, the rain blurring the shapes outside, making it feel more like a watercolor painting than like real life.
But it's not real
And you don't exist
And I can't recall the last time I was kissed
He took your hand, pulling back your sweater sleeve to rub his thumb over your number tattoo. His striking blue eyes staring up at you for a moment, "We're just the same."
His shifting in the car's seat causing his stark white sleeve to shift up, revealing his own tattoo. Your stomach dropped seeing the numbers inked on his skin. It all came flooding back.
Your blood soaked memories staining the leather seats. Blood drip drip dripping down off everything like rain.
The sky rolling over red, lightning cracking loudly above head, followed quickly by deafening thunder.
Looking out of the old car window, everything was stained red, like the sky was a red piece of glass that made everything tinted.
You looked back at him, catching faint glimpses of the monster he's become.
Your chest tightening again, remembering all that had happened, and what it all meant.
It hits me in the car
And it feels like the end of a movie I've seen before
Before
Your back hit the car door, the window crank digging into your back. His hand came up to cradle your face, long claws appearing and disappearing almost faster than the eye could see.
"There's no need to be afraid, darling." His face almost glitching from angelic, to blood spattered, to demonic.
You cringed away from his hand, but he only followed, his voice becoming deeper, raspier, more demonic, "You loved me once, you can love me again."
Your breath hitched as tears rolled down your cheeks and coated his palms. He licked blood and tears off his fingers, smiling at you so sweetly.
~~~~~~~~~~
Steve rubbed his eyes, the morning light shining in through the blinds. Robin's legs tangled with his as they both dog piled on Eddie.
It took him a few moments to realize that you were not wrapped up in the pile as well, tattoo on your wrist, a symbol of protection.
He shook Robin awake, her drool leaving a wet patch on his shirt.
"Guys, guys, has anyone seen Y/N?" Robin shook her head, trying to snuggle into Steve's shoulder. Eddie threw his body off the bed, landing roughly on the floor to wake himself up.
Eddie's hair a wild tangled mess as he stood up, "Where's Y/N?"
Steve rolled his eyes, "That's what I woke you up for. I woke up and she was gone. Robin. Robin! Time to get up! We have to look for Y/N."
"Where'd Y/N go?"
"This is literally the entire point Robin." Steve dragged Robin out of bed, Eddie following suit. Robin stopped suddenly in front of Steve and Eddie, a horrible screech ripping through her throat.
"Oh my god." Robin's voice cracking as she fell to the carpeted floor, the downstairs hardwood stained red, your body twisted and bent, gaunt and gray.
~~~~~~~~~~
Henry's old blue car with the white top rolled up the driveway. A recreation of his old memory, one that previously angered and upset him, but now he was in his father's shoes.
He held the door open for you as you stepped out, willingly falling into his arms completely enamored by him. Clothed in a cute red 1950s style dress.
His old home in the background, a pretty yard with rose bushes, a tree with a perfect branch to hang a swing from. The perfect tree for a tree house. The perfect house with a perfect yard for a little family to keep you occupied in the prison of your mind.
He had you right where he wanted you, and now he was never letting you go. You would be with him forever.
bby can you write me a Henry/001 fic where he’s trying to tell a fellow lab worker that he has a crush on them? just a lot of 001 fluff 🥺
- @jcbbby 💖
I...I lost your req. I tried to save and it was queued instead. Luckily I had bits of it written in a doc, here is your fic my love
His nails were bitten back to the skin, the anticipation of your response making his throat tight and his heart heavy. He almost couldn't breathe with the anxiety, waiting not so patiently to see how your face would light up upon seeing the little hearts with secret messages hidden within your desk.
His little love notes scrawled messily in red ink, whether it be ballpoint pen or fancy red ink from a cute little bottle. The love notes carefully folded into hearts and decorated with little pink and red heart suckers that it seemed you could only get around valentines day.
He always gave you two heart suckers, and almost as if you knew it was him, you would sneak away to share them with him in the back room. The one without the constant red blinking light, letting you know that the camera was always watching. Nothing was secret, nothing was private, not with Brenner around.
This was one of the many things that caused his deep hatred of Dr. Brenner. He didn't want to hide. He wanted to show his love and adoration of you to the world. He wanted to rule the world by your side, the loving queen to the merciless king.
He let himself think that you adored him too. Sneaking off in the middle of the night to share your suckers in the dark cramped closet. Giggling like little kids as you lapped up the strawberry and cherry-flavored sweets. Cheeks warm and hearts fluttering, filled with sugar and adrenaline from the fear of getting caught by Brenner, but knowing this was worth it all the same.
His sky blue eyes flitted over to you as his heart pounded in his chest so loudly he was scared you would hear. You soaked in the ruby red words, eyes scanning over the creased page repeatedly, as you always did. Almost as if you were trying to see who he was.
It almost made him feel naked, and in a way he was. His entire soul was completely bared to you, but you didn't seem to mind, it even seemed like you treasured the little pieces of his soul. The ones that seemingly always belonged to you, even far before he had known of you.
He truly believed that his soul was made for yours. If he believed in any god, he believed that he was him, and that you were always meant to be his. That at some point in his youth he had crafted you specifically for him out of all the things he adored.
The other nurses giggled obnoxiously, cooing at your lovesick expression, batting their lashes and whispering to each other that they wish they had someone who liked them so much.
"I wonder if it's Dr. Brenner!" One of them squeaked out excitedly.
"Yeah!" One of the older nurses chimed in, "He looks at you all the time! Especially when you stand next to that other guy. The cute blonde one? What's his name? Harrison?"
The annoyance burnt in your chest, they were teasing, they knew you had a crush on him, they knew his name, "Henry."
"Yeah! He looks at you guys a lot! Maybe he's jealous, you'd probably get paid more if you slept with the boss."
You shivered, face curling in disgust at the thought of Brenner being into you. You looked down at the note again, reading it once more before carefully pulling off the suckers, taking extra care to not rip the paper.
You carefully folded the note, trying but failing, to fold it back into its original heart shape. You huffed a bit, but walked up to Henry, who pretended to not be paying attention, and instead consumed by his work.
"Hi Henry," you smiled sweetly, eyes bright with devotion, "could you put this in your pocket please?"
In your outstretched hand was his little love note, he smiled down at you, "Of course," He plucked the deformed heart straight from your palm before unfolding and refolding it and then dropping it into his breast pocket.
He turned to you as you both started to walk down the hallway, "Dr. Brenner still sending you love notes then?"
"Oh god," you gasped, whipping your head to him, "you heard that? Ugh! Please never never say that again. I'd die of embarrassment if he were the one writing them."
He held his huge hands up in defense, "Okay, okay! I'll never say it again, promise. So if it's not Brenner, who do you think it is?"
He was setting himself up for failure with this question, but his curiosity got the best of him. He had been eloquent his whole life, except for when he was next to you, every sentence from his mouth felt like it took forever. Now he worried that he would hear the answer he had been dreading. What if you had someone in mind? What if you liked someone else here? Were you putting his sweet words between someone else's lips?
"Honestly, I have no idea who it is. It seems like every possible answer is wrong. It's like these notes came from another dimension, there's someone I'd like them to be from, but I'm not sure he likes me the same way I like him..."
He stopped suddenly in the hallway, snapping his head in your direction, his heart was in his stomach. Beating fast, his hands were getting sweaty and his chest tight, but your wide eyes looked up at him innocently.
"If he doesn't feel the same way about you, then he's an idiot. Anyone would be lucky to have you."
"Really?" Your heart began to race, his bright sky blue eyes burning into yours with an intensity you had never seen before.
"Of course," he started walking again, mostly to hide his cheeks, tinged the same bright red as the cherry suckers he enjoyed with you.
He wanted to confess. To hold you tight and kiss you until your eyes became unfocused and you fell into him. But, now wasn't the time. Now couldn't be the time. He wanted to be free, to be able to love you without restrictions, to not hide his kisses and affectionate touches. He wanted to leave this god-forsaken lab with its unnaturally bright white lights, and he wanted you with him.
He wanted to bring you to his old home, he wanted to watch as you made the garden blossom with roses as he built a nursery for the little baby growing within you. He wanted a life with you, and there was no such thing as long as you were trapped in these thick concrete walls.
