Could I pretty please get some headcannons about Occtis x gender neutral reader? Maybe where they were childhood friends, and he sees them as the only one who really cared about him?
Occtis with childhood friend reader--
Maybe your parents knew his parents, and your friendship was an arranged thing. Your parents introduced the two of you at a young age, and you hit it off immediately.
Occtis has always been a shy boy, even more so as a child, so it was likely you were more outgoing than him.
If you are, occtis is happy to have someone he can talk to, he's glad that you befriended him. He takes comfort in how different you are from him. To him, you’re so outgoing and bright, and he’s so gloomy and dark, but he can’t help but want to be around you.
Occtis gets somewhat jealous when you spend time with others- not the angry type of jealous, but the sad kind. The kind that makes him wonder if he's losing you. He always feels like he’s not good enough for you, and seeing you interact with others furthers that feeling immensely- because why would you ever choose him?
But he could never lose you- he's your best friend, you'd never leave him behind. No matter who your friends with or how many friends you have, occtis is always your best friend. He’s dear to your heart, the one person you hold closer than anyone.
And if you're more shy than him, he doesn't mind. It's nice to be understood, and he's always a little proud when he can stand up for you or help you. If you're both mild types, you can find comfort in each other, knowing someone understands you.
Either way, it's likely you went to the penteveral too, and you were his only source of comfort there before he had pin. He’s never been close with his family- they think he’s weak, a disappointment, a mistake- but you look at him and really see him. You care for him even when his own family wont, and he loves you for it. Occtis doesn't have many friends other than you, but finds he minds that less and less with age. You're someone who truly understands him, and he knows that's no small thing.
He isn't a very clingy friend, but he's secretly grateful if you are. He'd hate to look needy, but he does enjoy your company and feels lonely without you. He can’t help but want you near, but he won't say so, which could potentially make you feel like you care for him more than he does for you- if you somehow fail to notice how gentle he is with you. He can be witty and biting with others, but with you he’s always so gentle and relaxed, closer to happy than he’s ever felt.
If you're a spellcaster like him, you have that in common and he loves to help you with magic. While magic isn't innate to him, he has a good understanding of it and would be an amazing teacher or study partner. If you have a spellbook, he loves to compare books with you- gently turning through the pages and seeing what your magic looks like on paper. If you have a familiar, your familiar and pincushion have little play-dates. If you cast spells through some kind of focus, occtis can’t help but think of it as precious; a symbol of you.
If you’re more martial combat focused, trained with weapons and armor, occtis is silently amazed by you, amazed how you can be his best friend in the entire world and still be so different from him. He’ll watch you train, and while he doesn’t have much input to give, he finds it makes his heart race to see you move. You’re so amazing, so strong, so fast.
No matter what, it’s inevitable that he starts to fall in love with you.
How could he not, when you’re so perfect and dear to him, always at his side and always there for him and always caring about him when no one else does. He’s not stupid- he knows you're too good for him, and he’d never risk your friendship by telling you how he feels, but day by day he finds himself falling deeper and deeper in love, loving everything you do and everything you say. You understand him like no one else ever has, like you were cut from the same cloth.
Sometimes when you’re together, with no one else around, he finds himself almost considering the possibility of telling you how he feels about you.
He’s content to just be close to you- even if he never gets to hold you, or call you his own, just being by your side is enough. It has to be.
