#Misshelved | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

foreverindreamlandd · 2 years

Text

Paddles and Purists

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Librarian!Reader

WC: 3.3k

Summary: Steve begrudgingly goes with Dustin to drop off severely overdue books, but when he sees you lingering between the shelves, he quickly realizes that libraries aren't as lame as he thought. But can he keep his favorite librarian safe when Hawkins is under attack a third time?

Warnings: Canon level violence, mentions of blood, takes place before and during season 3 (with a few plot points/timelines muddled about because fanfic lol).

Note: This fic was inspired by Nat's amazing prompt here! I am completely gone for this man it's ridiculous.

------

JANUARY

“Listen Henderson,” Steve started, getting out of the car and resting his arm on top as he waited for his friend to gather his things, “I know that we’re buddies and all now, but you do realize that being seen here is going to hurt my already fragile cool status at Hawkins?”

“Oh, cut the shit, Harrington. You’re literally hanging out with a thirteen year-old. Your cool status is on the floor buddy.” He pulled his backpack over his shoulder. “Besides, I need whatever smooth moves you have left to sweet talk Marissa into forgiving me for borrowing those books in the fall.”

Steve’s left eyebrow shot up. “You mean the ones you stole-”

“For the last time I did not steal them! I just needed them for the curiosity voyage! I needed my paddles, Steve! And now that we fought and defeated the Demodogs, I can return my paddles.”

He turned and headed toward the Hawkins Library, ignoring Steve as he rolled his eyes and followed behind.

“This kid,” he muttered, running his fingers through his hair.

Dustin’s steps slowed as he walked inside, hesitant to meet the wrath of Marissa. He kept his gaze on the books the two of them passed.

Steve didn’t care about the books, though. His attention was completely and unapologetically on you.

You were in the corner of the children’s section, handing a book to a young boy with a smile on your face that outshined the sun. The boy jumped to give you a hug and your laugh traveled all the way down Steve’s body.

“Marissa doesn’t seem so bad,” he whispered to Dustin with an awestruck smile.

Dustin looked over at you as you walked to the front desk. “Oh thank god,” he breathed, quickly walking over to you. “Y/n!” he called out.

Oh, Steve thought. This isn’t Marissa then.

You looked up when you heard Dustin called your name and glared.

It was the fiercest, cutest look Steve had ever seen.

“Henderson,” you said, looking around the open room and over your shoulder. “What the hell are you doing here? Marissa is going to be back from lunch any minute and she is out for your head after the shi- stuff you pulled in October.”

“But my paddles-”

“You know the lame paddles metaphor doesn’t work on me, bud.” You sighed, arms leaning on the desk as you whispered, “Look, if you have the books, I can try to say that they had been misshelved and this was all some big misunderstanding. Do you have them with you?”

Dustin nodded, pulling out his bag and digging for the various textbooks. “You’re a lifesaver, Y/n. I’m naming my firstborn after you.”

You giggled, and the sound was so amazing that Steve started chuckling himself.

Your eyes flashed to him and his laughter died on his throat, and his face suddenly burned.

“Who’s your friend, Henderson?” you asked, keeping your eyes on Steve.

Steve stood straight, clearing his throat and holding out a hand while giving you his best, swoonworthy smile.

“I’m Steve Harrington.”

Your brows shot up, and Steve watched as you bit the inside of your cheek and he suddenly wished that he could crawl into the Upside Down and never emerge because of how unimpressed you were by his moves.

Still, you took his hand and shook it. The feel of your skin against his was electric.

“Steve Harrington, I’m Y/n.” You looked over at Dustin. “Aren’t you too old for a babysitter?”

Both of them groaned. “He’s not my babysitter-”

“More like his chauffeur,” Steve muttered, and the corners of your lips twitched. He shrugged. “We’re buds.”

You softened at that, giving Steve a genuine smile that made him melt. “Well, nice to meet you, Steve. Are you a reader?”

His immediate reaction was to lie in order to impress you, but he had a feeling you’d be able to read through his bullshit.

“Only when forced, and even then, not really,” he replied sheepishly.

He braced himself for judgment from you, whether it be a disappointed scoff, or a you’re such a loser cackle.

Instead, your smile widened and you bit your bottom lip.

“I bet we can change that.”

MARCH

Dustin plopped his finished books on the counter, a satisfied grin on his face as Marissa scowled.

“See?” he said, gesturing at the pile. “All five safely returned! Again!”

“You’re not going to win me over that easily, Dustin,” she said, taking the pile.

“Someday,” Dustin said, then ran off to find his next round of tomes.

Steve, on the other hand, kept his one book in hand as he walked by the shelves, scanning the area for the other librarian.

He stopped short once he got to the history section, smiling as he watched you carrying a massive stack of books in one hand, balancing it under your chin as you shelved one of the books.

You were standing on your tiptoes, tongue sticking out as you reached up to one of the higher shelves. At first it seemed like you had everything under control.

Then, the stack in your hand wobbled, and your eyes widened as they started tipping over-

Steve jumped forward, grabbing the stack from you and securing it in his arms.

You gasped from the smooth, fluid motion, staring up at him in surprise.

“Harrington,” you breathed out a relieved laugh. “Good catch.”

He smiled and shrugged. “Yeah, well, after years of being the star athlete of Hawkins, I better have great reflexes.”

You rolled your eyes, still smiling. “Is that supposed to impress me?”

A chuckle. “Nah, if I really wanted to impress you,” he lifted up the stack of books, “I would go home and spend the weekend reading these bad boys.”

Your nose scrunched in disgust. “That would be quite the feat, even for me Harrington. I’m more of a fiction girl myself.”

You tried to make a move to grab the stack but Steve just shook his head, so instead you just grabbed the book at the top, turning to the shelves and running your fingers over the spines until you found its proper home.

It was such a small, seemingly insignificant gesture, but Steve found himself mesmerized by the tenderness of your fingertips as they touched each book, as if you were handing precious jewels.

“I finished Hitchhiker’s Guide, by the way,” he said after a few moments of silence.

Your eyes lit up as you turned to him. “And?”

He nodded. “It was good! Gotta admit I got lost during a few moments, but overall I liked it.”

“Totally fair. I had to reread it a few times to fully understand some parts. It sure gets wild.”

“I’d definitely read it again. Kind of wish it was a movie, too. That would be wild.”

“Well,” you said, taking another book to the shelf, “I don’t know about a movie, but they did make a tv show a few years back.”

Steve’s eyes widened. “What! How did I miss that?”

“Probably all that athlete stuff you were doing,” you said, smile widening.

He narrowed his eyes at you. “Alright, sassypants. Well, is it worth the watch?”

You shrugged. “Not sure, I never saw it.”

Steve barked out a laugh loud enough for you to whip your head around at him, clamping your hand over his mouth.

The two of you went wide-eyed at the sudden and unexpected contact and you pulled away as soon as the realization of what you had done sank in. Your eyes then averted from his as you looked around for any angry glares from the loud noise.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “I just can’t believe you just gave me shi- crap about not seeing it when you haven’t either!”

You scoffed. “What? Maybe I’m a purist who believes the book will always be better!”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” Steve’s lips turned downward. “We could….find out together?”

There was a pause as you shelved the next book, and Steve wondered if he had taken your witty banter too far, misreading the situation.

But when you turned to look at him, there was a light in your eyes that made his heart flutter.

“I’d be down for that.”

JUNE

“Well, well, well, look who we have here,” you said as you approached the kid’s section, crossing your arms at the man sitting on the U.S. map rug reading a picture book.

Steve looked up at you with feigned annoyance. “Can you wait a second, please? I gotta find out what the hell this brown bear sees.”

“Harrington, you know you’re welcome to join me at storytime any Saturday morning you’d like. I’m sure it’s been lonely since Dustin left for science camp.”

He frowned, closing the book and standing up. “I’m not lonely!” he lied. “How can I be lonely when I have a million books and a stellar librarian to keep me company?”

You shrugged. “Or maybe it’s that you’ve now found better things to do and more interesting people to hang out with?” Though you were joking, he could hear the hurt in your voice. “Maybe that’s why you haven’t been here in months.”

Steve’s eyes widened, guilt and shame washing through him. “What? No way! I just-” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair, “I’m sorry, Y/n. Shit- stuff with my parents haven’t been great and I had to get a job at the new mall and….” now I’m just some loser.

“Hey,” you said, resting a hand on his shoulder. He tried not to make a big deal about you touching him so as to not scare you off, and luckily, it worked. “It’s okay, Steve. Life happens. The books will always be here when you need them.”

He cocked an eyebrow up and smiled at the meaning behind your words. “Well, I’m grateful for the books’ support.”

A sudden boldness that Steve had not felt in months washed over him and he rested his hand over yours, squeezing it gently.

You smiled.

“Alright, Harrington, are you finished with the bear yet? I have a whole pile of books I’ve been saving for you…”

JULY

Steve’s eye felt like it was going to pop out of its socket.

When he first got beat to shit in the underground Russian lab, the pain as numbed due to the adrenaline rush, replaced quickly by the crazy truth serum shit they injected into him and Robin.

Now, as the drugs slowly left his system, he began to feel the pain pulsing through his body.

But he couldn’t focus on that right now. He needed to focus on keeping his legs moving as he, Robin, Dustin, and Erica ran full speed down the streets of Hawkins.

“We gotta hide somewhere!” Robin said in between curses.

“The library!” Dustin offered. “It’s not far-”

“No,” Steve growled, shooting a glare at his friend.

Henderson sighed. “Look, Harrington, it’s the closest thing we got! Besides, it closed hours ago. No one will be there.”

Steve read between the lines of what the twerp was saying. You wouldn’t be there.

It was still too dangerous. He didn’t want any of this to go anywhere near any part of your life if he could help it. “If it’s closed, that means it’s locked. So we can’t get in anyway!”

“Not a problem. I’ve broken in multiple times.”

Steve groaned. “What do you mean you’ve broken into the library-”

“PADDLES STEVE. FOR THE PADDLES!”

Steve didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t let his friends get hurt any more than they already had, and an the Mindflayer army was readying an invasion through Hawkins any moment.

His brain was going fuzzy again from exhaustion and pain, and he had no more strength to fight.

“Fine.”

They continued down the streets, keeping their eyes and ears peeled for any approaching danger. Luckily, the coast seemed clear.

Until they made it to the main road where the library was, and Steve felt his heart stop mid-beat as they all scrambled to hide behind one of the buildings.

He leaned over to look at the three figures on the other end of the street walking toward the library, bodies moving almost unnaturally, the expressions on their faces borderline lifeless.

Marissa was at the helm.

Panic rushed through him like a tidal wave.

Why would Marissa be heading towards a supposedly empty building?

Unless it wasn’t empty….

Steve turned to Dustin. “We need to get in there. Now.”

Dustin nodded. “Back door. Follow me.”

They crept behind the buildings until they reached the library. Dustin pulled out a key from his bag - because apparently he had a key to the library somehow- and unlocked it.

The door slowly opened with an aged creak to a dimly lit office space.

Steve stormed in, whipping his head around frantically as he looked for you.

“Stay in the office, run if shit goes down,” he said to the group before opening the office door.

He made his way into the library itself, jumping between shelves.

“Hello?” you called out, a hint of fear in your voice and Steve almost let out a whimper.

“Y/n!” he followed your voice to the classics section and didn’t stop until you were a foot in front of him.

“Steve, what the hell happened to you?” Your eyes widened and a hand reached up to his swollen eye.

He shook his head, hands grasping your arms as his eyes bore into yours.

“You need to go. Right now. It isn’t safe.”

“Steve we need to get you to a hospital-”

“We can’t-” the panic was unrelenting. “Please, Y/n. Please you can’t be here I need to get you out of here I need you to be safe-”

“Steve, breathe,” you whispered, caging his face in your hands. You took a deep breath in and out, wordlessly telling him to do the same.

He took one breath in-

BANG

The two of you jumped as the entrance door slammed open, Steve covering your mouth before you could scream. He pulled you deeper into the shelves.

“Ohhhhh Y/n,” Marissa called as if coaxing a cat from underneath the bed. “Where are you?”

You let out the tiniest cry, muffled by Steve’s hand. His other arm wrapped around your waist as he clung to you, ready to pull or push you wherever you needed to go in order to be safe.

Marissa’s voice echoed through the room as she continued, and Steve used it as a path to escape. As her voice went left, you went right. She came closer, you moved back.

“I just wanted to have a little chat. I just met the most interesting people. They’ve got some big ideas and dreams that you might really like. Doesn’t take that much to join.”

You and Steve were close to the entrance now. He looked over the corner of a shelf, his hand securely around yours.

Marissa was gone.

“All it costs is your soul,” the possessed librarian said from right behind him. He whirled around just as she wrapped her arm around your throat, you gasping while she ripped you away from him.

Steve moved to jump to your aid, but was suddenly restrained by the two large men Marissa had been walking with.

“Y/N!,” he screamed, using every ounce of strength to try and pull away. One of the guys punched him in the stomach and he keeled over.

“STEVE,” you screamed back, arm extending out toward him. Marissa slammed your body against one of the shelves, hand wrapping around your neck as she lifted you in the air with superhuman strength.

“Now, now, Y/n,” Marissa cooed, head cocking to the side as a smile crept up her face. “You know the rules. No. Yelling-”

The guys holding Steve back let out a simultaneous oof as their hold on him loosened and they fell to the ground. Steve looked at Robin, Erica, and Dustin, who were holding those large busts usually displayed at the desk.

And then, he launched himself at Marissa, slamming his body into hers. The momentum knocked her off her feet and onto the ground, and you fell back against the shelf, gasping for air.

Marissa growled, standing up and crashing her fist into Steve’s jaw. He fell onto his back with a groan and she took the opportunity to straddle his waist and wrap both hands around his neck and squeezing with all her might.

“Well if it isn’t Steve Harrington,” she hissed, her eyes nearly black. “You’ve caused a lot of trouble with the boss trying to keep these kids safe over the years. He’d love it if I took care of the problem by killing you now-”

A thunk echoed in the library as Marissa’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell to the side, unconscious.

Steve turned from her to see you standing over him, panting from adrenaline, a giant history book in your hand like a weapon.

He scrambled up to standing as you dropped the book. “Are you oka-”

His question was cut off as you lunged forward, crashing your lips to his.

Steve hissed in pain.

You pulled back in horror. “I’m sorry I’m sorry-”

His hands wrapped around your face and he smiled. “Nononowaitwaitwait,” he murmured as he pulled your mouth back till it connected with his.

A small sigh left your body as you leaned into him, and Steve felt like he was floating.

When he finally pulled back, his eyes opened slowly, expression dreamlike.

Your eyes, however, were still wide and you bit your bottom lip. “I’m sorry,” you said again, softly this time. “I just…nothing like an unexpected near death experience to make you finally have the balls to kiss the guy you like.”

Steve chuckled, forehead leaning against yours. “Well, I hope it won’t take another near death experience for you to do it again. You can kiss me anytime you like.”

You smiled. “Really?”

He kissed you again in response.

“Uh, guys?” Dustin whined from behind as he continued kissing you. “Can we go back to saving the world again?”

AUGUST

Steve strolled into the library, plastic bag in hand.

As per usual, instead of being at your station at the front desk, he found you helping a group of young students pick out their last summer reads before school started.

He leaned against the desk, arms crossed as he watched you with a content smile on his face. It never got old, the joy spread across your face doing the things you loved most.

Nothing beat the way your smile grew as you looked up to see him there, the brightness in your eyes somehow becoming brighter.

The way you scrunched your nose when he winked at you.

You handed the last student their book and patted them on the shoulder before walking over to him. He was about to say hello when you grabbed his arm and pulled him into the empty reference section, pushing him against the spines and leaning in for a deep, head spinning kiss.

“Man,” he said when you pulled away, the two of you a bit breathless. “I had no idea libraries were this much fun.”

You rolled your eyes, lightly slapping his chest. “Did you get the goods?”

He held up the plastic bag. “The first season of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Surprisingly easy to get my hands on, seeing that it apparently hasn’t been checked out in years.”

You shook your head. “Some people are such purists,” you muttered before pulling Steve’s smiling lips back to yours.

-------

Thank you for reading! :)

#steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #steve harrington imagine #librarian!reader #stranger things #stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fanfic #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fanfiction

2K notes · View notes

rollforjackass · 8 months

Text

do y'all remember the slew of headcanons back in 2019 about aziraphale and the library of alexandria and that one heart-rending comic where hastur burns it down and crowley's almost too late to rescue aziraphale? i'm having Strong emotions about it again

like i truly adore the idea of aziraphale getting all involved with the library of alexandria - setting off little bursts of divine inspiration every which way, translating texts that no one else would ever have been able to read - but i ALSO love the idea that it was one of the few projects that he and crowley could actually openly work on together, because crowley gets sent up from hell to immortalize typos, misshelve divine texts, and make the hardest working scholars indolent in their pursuits, what have you.

i like to think that they both finagled their way into the assignment because they both admire the way humans happily threw away their limited lifespans for the good of all future mankind. and maybe they even enjoyed their work for a change, since they really wouldn't have to Do Anything; the typos and fleeting bursts of inspiration and the dedication and burnout would all happen anyway. they could just hang out and read and reminisce and fantasize about future generations absorbing ancient knowledge.

and then the warehouses burn for some stupid war. all that hard work goes up in smoke, and in the end the only true testaments humanity has left to its infancy are aziraphale and crowley, who can do nothing about that.

the way the light would have died in aziraphale's eyes even as the embers reflected in them like sunlight off a blade.

the way rage would have melted the lenses off of crowley's face like scales falling from his eyes.

the way they might have spent drunken evenings tried to recreate the secrets of human innovation from memory, re-capture the inner thoughts of philosophers and alchemists and worshippers long dead. the way they would have always failed.

yeah i have feelings about that.

#i took someone's note and took it all out of the tags bc i've been hearing that a lot lately shdjk #but YEAH I GET EMOTIONAL ABOUT THEM AND THE LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA #the love and admiration they both have for humanity Must have been tested during times of war #and it's painful to think of all the steps they must have overcome to keep loving like that all the way to the present day #good omens #aziraphale #crowley #oxly hollers

125 notes · View notes

charliejaneanders · 1 year

Quote

Now, however, it is no longer enough to just love books. Readers are consumers. Readers are micro-influencers. Readers must network with their favorite authors and promote their books. Readers must create content. Readers must be engaging. It is not enough to read. You must read early, read often, push the next big thing. Forget about backlist. Nobody cares about backlist. Have you heard about this book coming out in two weeks? Preorder it, preorder it! That book that came out a month ago? It’s already old news—unless, of course, it hit the New York Times bestseller list. Keep up!

BookTok is dead. Long live BookTok. (Misshelved #12)

#books #publishing #booktok #money ruins everything #dystopia

72 notes · View notes

the-fae-folk · 3 months

Note

I found your post about librarian fae (from 2019), and I just so happen to be making a faerie librarian character. Do you have any helpful tips or information that I could use for him? Thank you for your time!

Hmm. Consider how such a being might view literature. Is history something they were around to see? And might they interpret it different than you or I? How about poetry? Faeries are well known for rhyming and singing, so they might have a special love for poetry of all kinds. Fantasy is just as enticing, for even if its truly fictitious, they might find joy and delight in the dancing of words used to weave such glorious and moving stories. Personally, I have always thought that a Librarian who is of the Folk might go out of their way to tell stories aloud. As their voice rises and falls in pitch and volume it entrances the listeners, causing them to dream while still awake. Seeing, living the world of the story as if they were there. Be careful about where you put books back. They might not be very pleased if you misshelve them, and a displeased faerie is a very dangerous thing. How long have you lingered in the books? Five minutes? Better check. Time does not exist here in the library.

#faerie #librarian #fae #character writing #character building #writing tips

11 notes · View notes

his-strange-eyes · 11 months

Text

Just a little Steddie thought, let me know if you want more. quick disclaimer, this has a dyslexic mc who has some internalized bullying for it. I am dyslexic and this was based off of my personal experience with dyslexia, though it’s different for everyone, by no means is this a universal truth or accurate description for the entire population of people who are dyslexic.

Steve wandered through the empty isles of Family Video, scanning the titles to make sure they were all in their correct places. He absently read the titles aloud under his breath as he went along.

“The G-od Fa-th-er.” He unscrambled the letters of the name in his mind, he barely noticed it anymore, though when he heard his own voice saying the titles aloud he stopped. A memory came to the front of his mind.

Nancy scanned the library shelves, the top of her head tucked under Steve’s chin. She gave a little sigh. “Steve? Don’t read the titles aloud, remember? It’s really distracting. It’ll go faster anyway if it’s in your head.” She turned her chin up at him to give a little smile.

“Sure, sorry Nance.” He knew that it would be harder to figure the words out without sounding them out, but it was fine. He was really just here for Nancy anyway.

Steve closed his mouth, chewing on his bottom lip as he continued to scan the titles, saying the words in his head like if he was speaking out loud.

“The Godfather.” Someone said beside him.

Steve nearly jumped out of his skin.

Eddie stood next to him, hands folded behind his back as he leaned on the balls of his feet toward the shelf. “That’s a good movie.” He continued down the line, reading the titles aloud. “The Goonies,” he kept up reading the titles out, making the odd comment about them. Eventually he came across one that was misshelved and Steve plucked it off.

Putting on his “King Steve” face, Steve turned toward Eddie. “Are you mocking me?” Could people just not leave him alone? He knew he wasn’t that bright, but did everyone have to keep reminding him? His face was heating up as he stood there.

Eddie’s head snapped up, looking at Steve with wide eyes. “What? No! Nope, no, no. I was just… I also read titles aloud and… well-“

“I looked like I needed help? Well, I don’t, thanks.” Steve shouldered past the other guy, making a b-line for the correct shelf. What an asshole.

“That’s not it. Wow, this is all going the wrong way.” He rocked his head up and down and absently brought his hands around his ears. “It’s stupid, but I thought it was cute- not in a condescending way! Just in a… normal way…” Eddie looked at Steve through his lashes.

“So you are making fun of me.” He slammed the VHS in its correct space, looking at Eddie with a face that screamed “I’m tired of your bullshit.”

“No! No, Steve. You’re taking this all wrong. I was reading the movie titles out loud because I was listening to you and following along to see which movie I wanted to watch, then you stopped and I just kind of… picked up where you left off. I wasn’t thinking about it, it was just kinda automatic. Sorry.” Eddie scratched the back of his neck and held one hand out toward Steve, it’s intention unclear.

“Oh. Okay.” Was all Steve could come up with as a response. “As far as movies go, have you seen Back the the Future?”

Eddie shook his head. “I have not.” He grinned at Steve.

“No way! You have to see it, it’s a great movie. I watch it, like, once a week.”

“It really must be good.” He dug the toe of his boot into the tile floor, looking down for a moment before putting on a devilish grin. “Wanna watch it with me? If you haven’t already seen it this week, that is.”

Steve tilted his face up, looking at Eddie down his nose in a considering manner. He rocked his head side to side. “Yeah, okay. My place tonight?”

“Yeah! Wait, I don’t know where you live.” Eddie pulled his hair in front of his mouth.

“You could hang around till the end of my shift if you want. You can follow me home.” Steve found the movie and walked up to the counter, sliding it over to Robin.

She groaned. “Not this movie again, Steve. How could you enjoy watching a movie so many times. Especially considering what happened the first time-“ Robin’s eye shot toward Eddie and she cut herself off.

“We’ll, Eddie hasn’t seen it.” Steve shot back. “I’m just going to educate him.” He snatched the movie away from his friend after she processed it.

Robin just rolled her eyes.

Eddie bounced on the balls of his feet behind Steve’s back. This was going to be the longest shift ever.

#steddie #steddie oneshot #just a random thought #we don’t hate nanacy wheeler in this house #dyslexic steve harrington #dyslexic #eddie munson is a sweetheart #steddie moments

29 notes · View notes

super-ion · 11 months

Text

Apple & Spindle

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Rose let out a breath and double checked her work. The last time she had tried a dream walking spell it failed spectacularly and she had nightmares for a week. She was fairly certain she knew what had gone wrong.

She was fifteen, a week shy of sixteen. To her bafflement, Briar was excited about the prospect of the upcoming party. He rambled on about all the planning during their free time between his tutoring sessions and various training. Another year closer to eighteen and it still didn't quell his enthusiasm for life. If it had been her, she would have been crushed under the sense of impending doom.

As it was, she had dedicated almost all of her spare time the past year researching sleeping and dreaming spells.

After taking on her position as Briar's handmaiden, her first order of business had been identifying spells and potions to halt puberty in its tracks for the two of them. After a few initial setbacks, she had managed to devise a regimen for both of them. Her body had begun softening and rounding in a way that made her feel like herself for the first time in her life.

The second order of business had been to tackle Briar's curse. He continued to insist that many had tried and it was likely a waste of time, but fueled by a teenager's conviction, she plowed headlong into the problem. Almost a year later, she finally conceded that there was little to do about the fae magic with the knowledge currently available in the palace library.

But she would not give up on her best friend so easily. In her research, she had realized that even in an endless sleep, Briar would still dream. If he dreamt then there was theoretically a way to communicate with him, hence her research into dreaming spells.

She inspected the open book on the table next to her. During one of her forays into the library stacks, she had chanced upon it - a primer on astral projection and dream walking, misshelved amongst dusty historical records. She had multiple uncanny experiences such as that, finding certain books in unlikely locations exactly when she needed them. She wasn't certain if it was her own budding magic guiding her or something else… perhaps she would look into that after she solved this problem.

Her spell circle matched the diagram in the book, including the rune she had inadvertently reversed in her last attempt. The circle wasn't technically necessary, but it would help focus the spell until she could manage it on her own.

Finally satisfied, she laid down on her bed and willed herself to sleep.

When her dreams did come, she was delighted to discover that the spell had succeeded. She found herself able to step out of her own dreams into a sort of in between place. The book had described it as a place where dreams touched the astral realm. To Rose's human mind, it appeared to her as a endless void, pinpricked with bright lights like stars that were individual sleepers.

She fixed Briar in her mind and felt herself being drawn to one light in particular. The dream resolved around her and she found herself standing atop a cliff that overlooked the sea. The sky and the water were impossibly blue, nothing at all like the holiday they had spent by the shore last summer when it had rained all week.

She was alarmed to find arms wrapped around her waist in a way that was far too intimate. She twisted around and found herself facing Briar. Even in the dream, she was several inches taller than him, and he looked up at her with a soft expression.

Oh no, what kind of dream had she accidentally wandered into?

They were far too close now. Her heart thrilled in mixed excitement and terror.

He leaned in closer and she panicked. She shoved him off the cliff and the dream unraveled around her as he woke up.

Briar awoke groggily to sunlight streaming in through the window. It had taken quite a while for him to fall back asleep after a dream in which Rose had apparently tried to murder him.

On cue, he heard the door to his suite open as Rose brought breakfast. She didn't knock on his bedroom door as she normally did. Something was clearly amiss.

He peeled himself out of bed and threw on a robe. As he emerged, Rose had already set the table and begun eating without him. She cast him a glance that was somehow simultaneously embarrassed and indignant and said nothing as she busied herself with her own breakfast.

He cautiously sat. She had been practically vibrating with excitement when she had bidden him good night the prior evening. Perhaps the spell had failed again?

Or perhaps she had been successful…

"So…" he began. "I had an interesting dream last night."

She blushed furiously.

"So it worked?" He said, excitement creeping into his voice.

"It worked," she replied, a small smile creeping onto her face. She never could keep her satisfaction from showing when she solved a particularly difficult problem.

"That's great!" he said. He nearly leapt to his feet to embrace her, but recalled the specifics of the dream.

Judging by the slight tension around her eyes, she was thinking the same things he was.

"This is weird," he said. "Can we just pretend that it worked and forget the specifics of it?"

She relaxed her shoulders, "yes… let's do that. And maybe we don't do that again… except in case of emergency."

"Oh yes, emergencies only," he agreed, chuckling nervously. Gods, what if she'd seen him with someone else? Would that have been better or worse? It wasn't like she was the only one he dreamed about.

She let out a small laugh and tension eased out of him that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Her friendship was something too valuable to mess up with romance. He'd already been through a few breakups and Rose had always been there to listen to his woes and tell him to snap out of his misery.

Speaking of…

"So…" he began. "I've seen you talking with Narissa during my sparring sessions."

She froze, eyes widening like some woodland creature.

"She and I have spoken," she said cautiously.

"Do you think there might be a spark there?"

Rose's face flushed, confirming his suspicions.

"Oh, I don't know…" she said, uncharacteristically bashfully.

"Rose, my friend," he sighed. "If she's interested you should act on it, get out of the library and enjoy something nice for once. "

"I like the library," she mumbled. "Besides, I think she's only talking to me to try to get close to you."

"Okay, what about Claude or Callum? They seem like they'd be inclined to spend long evenings in the library."

Her blush somehow deepened.

"Why are you so invested in my love life or lack thereof?"

He chewed his cheek. He had perhaps prodded too hard, but this conversation was bound to happen eventually, even before the encounter in his dream.

"Because I don't want you to be alone."

Her mouth dropped open and she blinked at him before making a choked, "What?"

"Two years," he said. "Plus a week, I guess. That's all I've got. It's not like I'm dying or anything, but it won't exactly be living either."

He reached out to take one of her hands.

"Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all the time you've invested in trying to figure this all out. The dream walking spell is a game changer. It's more than anyone's ever done for me and I am eternally grateful for that. I just don't want you spending your life trying to fix me. I want you to live for you."

She looked stricken.

"I'm not asking you to forget me, I just don't want you to forget you."

He walked to a chest and extracted a wrapped parcel.

"I know you don't really do birthdays," he said, walking back to her, "but I wanted to get you something special for being there for me… for being my friend."

She took the parcel somewhat reluctantly, but he did note the spark of curiosity in her eyes.

With quick precise motions, she undid the ribbon and neatly opened the wrapping. She peered inside and gasped slightly. With trembling hands she drew out the gown, running her fingers through the midnight blue silk. It had taken a considerable about of charm and discretion to extract Rose's measurements from the court tailor and commission the dress.

"It's a gown," he replied. "I was hoping you'd wear it to the birthday feast. I want you to enjoy yourself."

"Briar… what is this?"

Rose fidgeted in her seat. She smoothed her dress for the hundredth time and began reaching to touch her hair.

"The hair is fine," she reminded herself, jerking her hands back.

It wasn't like this was the first time she'd worn a dress in public, she wore one every day, but the one she wore every day was meant to be overlooked. When she wore her livery, she was just another palace staff member.

This was something else entirely. The gown Briar had given her was beautiful, fitting her perfectly, accenting certain proportions of her body and downplaying others. It was meant to be noticed. She'd agonized over whether or not to wear it for days, but it turned out that enough of Briar's boldness had rubbed off on her. A girl only turned sixteen once after all.

But one hurdle remained: Hilde. Her stepmother certainly knew about her by now, it hadn't exactly been practical or even possible to hide from her every day for the past two years. They'd pass in the hallways on occasion, Hilde's eyes would occasionally double take. And the witch certainly knew about the spells and potions that Rose had been using. Hilde had never said a word, just briefly regarded her with indifference bordering on disdain. As far as she knew, Hilde didn't even know her name.

The door to her stepmother's room opened and the witch swept out, graceful and breathtaking, perfectly composed as always.

Her gaze passed Rose and froze. She blanched and raised a hand to her heart. Her expression was something Rose had never seen. Seeing Rose had put her off balance.

After a moment Hilde cleared her throat and collected herself.

"F-"

"Rosamund," she interrupted. "My name, I mean… just call me Rosamund."

The woman arched an eyebrow.

"And you're wearing that?"

Rose couldn't tell if it was a question or an observation, so she nodded and averted her eyes from her stepmother's piercing gaze.

"Very well," she said without a second glance.

Hilde swept out of the room, Rose hurried to follow her. Parts of that interaction went over as she suspected they would, but Hilde's startlement at seeing her was completely unexpected. In Rose's experience, it took quite a lot to crack her chilly facade. She'd acted like she'd seen a ghost.

Rose was mulling those thoughts as the door to Anders' room opened. The court wizard gave them both respectful nods, not even really noticing Rose, before falling in with them. The three of them shared the table reserved for magicians at court functions. Occasionally a temp or two would join them, but the table was rarely more than half full. Rose supposed the table had filled regularly when Briar was younger and magicians by the dozen made the pilgrimage to attempt to break the curse.

She played over the conversation she had with Briar. He had all but asked her to give up on him. The worst part was he had been right. If the best magicians in the land couldn't break the curse, what hope did she have? At least they had the dream walking spell now, so she wouldn't lose him completely.

Her thoughts wandered back to the dream as they often had in the past week. None of it had been real, but her mind had conjured the feel of his arms around her, the thrill of the nearness of him. What would it be like to be held like that in truth?

But at some point in the last year, they had reached some unspoken agreement that that particular line shouldn't be crossed. Despite any shared attraction between them, he insisted on maintaining distance in that regard and she obliged him. Maybe it was for the best, judging by the way he had begun flitting in and out of relationships of late. It was as if he were determined to live as much life as possible.

And if she could have him, what then? He would fall into an endless sleep and all they would have would be shared dreams. She would never feel his real arms around her, or his real lips against hers. She knew in her heart that the dream would be enough, just as she knew he would never accept that life for her.

For now, she did promise Briar that she would try to have a good time tonight.

She sighed as they reached the ballroom. That was a problem that would need solving eventually. She could wait.

#transgender #trans fairy tale #fairy tale inspired #my writing #fantasy

15 notes · View notes