Danielle “Dani” Clayton is the main character from The Haunting of Bly Manor! She is canonically lesbian and has a wife named Jamie Taylor, as well as an ex-fiancé named Edmund O'Mara.
“The kids like us, like you and me and Flora, we’re special. We grow up faster than other kids. And even more special, we really get to choose the grown-ups that we keep in our life.”
description: you knew eventually you would lose dani to the lady of the lake, but it comes far quicker than you could’ve ever expected. now, you must sit and bare the events of the inevitable.
warning: character death, slight indications of suicide, mentions of death, angst, a sad little one
pairings: dani clayton x fem!reader
word count: 825
a/n: first dani clayton fic, made this quite fast and it fit the nightly, solemn mood i was in so just had to put it out! there’s not many dani fics out there so i’ll see how this does!
reblogging and liking is greatly appreciated!
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
she feels her near-like fingertips gliding slowly down her neck.
you don’t want to admit or think about what that means, because unfortunately you already know.
you have gotten years with dani, but you want more.
many more.
slowly, you feel too that dani is fading. her fits of dissociation have gotten longer and come in much shorter periods.
cigarettes no longer comforts her mind and drinking no longer eases the pain.
you try to be strong for her, strong for the both of you but it’s not easy.
each day of looking into dani’s eyes is a constant reminder of what once was and what the years have become.
one blue and one brown.
one dani and one viola.
“dani please.”
you whimper, sad and full of emotion.
your eyes begin to water as you uselessly beg for her to stay.
“i’m losing myself.”
dani states firmly, biting back tears that she struggles to hold down. her nose is a soft red, and her cheeks are full of color as well.
“no matter what i do, i feel her there. she’s only getting closer and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“we can try, we have to.”
dani simply sniffles at your pleading.
“i’ve had you for as long as she’ll let me.”
dani doesn’t have to admit that she’ll love you forever because you already know.
what dani is afraid of is that she won’t love you forever, because someday she might not have room, or she will no longer be there to love you.
“i love you, but you know that.”
dani smiles out of sadness, pressing her lips softly against yours as a heavy tear runs down her pale skin.
“i love you too.”
you know this means goodbye, a silent one at least. you hold dani like she’ll slither away because honestly, that is what is happening.
she’s been slithering away for a while now and you can no longer avoid it.
you curse the world for allowing her to go in this way, dani deserves to be happy.
to be happy with you for longer.
you don’t care how selfish you may sound but you aren’t ready to lose dani.
even if that means watching her slip away from you.
but it’s not your decision and you know this too.
you would keep dani, hold her, and continue to love her for the rest of your days if you could.
but it seems her days have run much shorter than yours.
there is no way around it, that is obvious when you look at dani. capturing a clear picture of her beautiful face in your mind, to keep it with all the others you’ve taken throughout your years.
ones of her smiling, laughing, the day the two of you finally moved into your apartment, and even the look on her face when she’d propose to you.
the two of you never did get to be married.
the tears don’t stop when you think about it, rather, they flow harder despite your efforts to stop it.
this only makes dani tearful, and soon you’re clutching her face to wipe away the wet tears.
you tuck her whispy blonde hair behind her cheek and pepper kisses on the face you’ve kissed many, many times.
not enough times.
you vow to dani that you’ll stay awake with her, to hold her throughout the night and keep her company for the last time.
you and dani will wake up and leave together because you refuse to leave her lonely.
as the night ages, you can no longer hold your slumber and in due time it’s overtaken you.
for a while, dani sits at the edge of the bed staring at you in sad adoration. she knows she must leave you but walking through the front door is way harder than she’d thought.
you can’t feel dani’s hand slip from yours, and you also don’t feel her kiss upon your cheek for this last time.
unknowingly, you snuggle up against a pillow thinking it is her but it’s not.
dani has gone away, slowly sinking without your knowledge.
you weren’t able to say goodbye, to keep her company during this frightening time and you’ll never be able to forgive yourself for it.
but dani does, and that is exactly why she had to let you go.
dani can’t allow you to bide on each threatening day of her life, you deserve to be free.
dani wouldn’t hold you back, she had promised herself long ago.
dani wouldn’t, dani would never.
so as she floats alone at the bottom of the lake, you’re fast asleep.
when you finally awaken, dani is no longer in bed. you don’t process the rational reason as to why she isn’t until you’ve read the letter she’d written.
you know immediately where she’s gone, and the tears start all over again.
