#joan chang hunt | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lola-lightwood · 6 months

Text

Time for me to post some Aaron Oliver quotes to pass the time till Book 3

SPOILERS for Never a Hero by Vanessa Len below

"I guess you'd changed your mind, because you told me that if I managed to undo the massacre, I could never meet you. I could never trust you. You said..." I won't remember what you mean to me. Joan heard her own voice crack. "You--you said you'd hate me in this new timeline."

Aaron's expression was hard. “Well your fictional me was right about that.”

STOP HE’S SO SASSY. Let's have a moment of silence for Joan’s heart:

"You gave me a brooch just before I left. You found it in a cupboard at the safe house. A brown bird in a cage."

"What?" Aaron sounded truly shocked now...He was staring at her as if he were seeing her for the first time.

Aaron after Joan mentioned his mother's brooch:

"Why do the Nightingales think that you informed on her?" Joan whispered. "I know you didn't."

"Why do you keep saying that?" Aaron said. He sounded wary, but there was a new vulnerable note in his voice as well.

"You just wouldn't. You wouldn't do that. If anyone had informed on her, it would have been--" She cut herself off as the truth finally clicked. "Your father," she said slowly. In response Aaron made a soft sound.

I WANT AN AUDIO RECORDING OF THAT SOFT SOUND. I love that Joan just knows him. And that's huge for a boy that was never seen. Who is constantly discarded and insulted by those who are supposed to love him. Joan to Aaron:

"Your name is Joan, right?

Joan:

It cut with the same knife jab as when Nick had asked for her name.

Aaron's eyes flickered over her face; he'd caught the emotion. His voice gentled. "It's Joan?"

Joan nodded. "Okay, Joan," he said.

"Okay what?" "Okay, I believe you."

Joan's throat felt thick with tears suddenly. She hadn't expected him to say that. Not so quickly.

"You believe we knew each other?" she said.

"I believe everything you said."

me after this scene:

"I missed you," Joan managed. "In this timeline." It came out with so much emotion that Aaron looked surprised.

"Sorry," Joan said. "I know you don't remember me. We just...We went through a lot of things together that no one else did. And I missed you. A lot."

Joan confessing:

Aaron was silent long enough that Joan could feel herself reddening.

It was too much to tell him--that she missed him when he'd barely met her.

"You're right. I don't know you," he said finally. Joan tried not to feel the blunt ache of it. He didn't remember her, and that was just the truth. "I do know, though," Aaron said, his gray eyes serious, "that if I gave you that brooch, I must have--" He hesitated.

"I must have trusted you very much."

What were you gonna say Aaron? what were you going to say?

Let's speculate - I think he was going to say 'cared' so "I must have cared for you very much."

If we're going crazy and if you're a lovesick fool like me then "I must have loved you very much." But that's not realistic, Lauryn.

a girl can only dream.

and that's all for part 1 💜 thanks for reading my current obsession!

#aaron oliver #never a hero #vanessa len #aaron x joan #joan chang hunt

23 notes · View notes

ofstarsandmoonlightt · 7 months

Text

guys this reminds me of that time in Lord of Shadows when Emma and Julian were discussing family mottos lol:

(📖: only a monster: vanessa len)

20 notes · View notes

aaronjoannick · 3 months

Text

The way Joanick has both the 'kill the one you love to save the world' and the 'destroy the world to save the one you love.' And it's even better that killing the one you love to save the world (and in Joan's case save her family) is coming from the monster. And the saving the one you love even if it means destroying the world (by making it monster run) is coming from the hero. This series is SO good.

#monsters trilogy #joan chang hunt #nick ward #vanessa len #joan x nick #never a hero #joanick #joannick #joannick parallels

8 notes · View notes

lesbianamalvada · 4 months

Text

why is joan so impressed with nick for doing the bare minimum of thinking. like "oh he realizes all the strange-looking people attacking us are strangle looking." "after I told him we traveled in time because of that monster he put together that monsters can travel in time." "gotta watch out for this one." like??? how does this impress you?? then again we are talking about the girl who, despite being told at a young age that her and her family are monsters and seeing displays of their unnatural powers, is shocked when she finds out her and her family are monsters with unnatural powers.

#only a monster #never a hero #joan chang hunt #nick ward #aaron oliver #joan hunt

10 notes · View notes

mightydragoon · 5 months

Text

Nick Ward and Joan Chang Hunt

The tragedy of Nick Ward and Joan Chang Hunt's romance in Vanessa Len's Monsters Series just gets to me, man. A lot of people prefer Aaron Oliver and Joan together and I get it I really do, Aaron has some of the funniest lines in the series and a really investing backstory.

But there is just something so intriguing and captivating about Nick and Joan. These are two people who have hurt each other one way or another and yet can't bring themselves to kill the other.

Nick was broken by his trauma he was kept in a time loop for possibly years, forcibly conditioned and forged into becoming a hero and the the thing is he isn't exactly wrong. Monsters steal time from people, a day, a lifetime it all adds up and even Joan recognises Monsters can use it for trivial shit.

Yet Nick never hurts Joan. He even starts the attacks on the Olivers specifically because they try to kill her. Even with their relationship at their worse, he can't kill her and Joan can't kill him despite trying to.

“I mean it,” she said. “You’re dead.” He gave her his familiar solemn smile, the one that he’d given her all the time at the house. “Aren’t we all,” he said. “Somewhere on the timeline.”

And it hurts how both of them recognise this is sides they must choose. Until Joan manages to restart everything and give Nick his family back.

I think things really got more to me once we got to Never a Hero and Nick forgot everything and we get to see him and Joan interact with each other and how he's already falling for her again. With Joan trying to keep him at arm's length but can't.

This isn't a Nick who was traumatised by seeing the deaths of his family over and over again, this is a Nick who was happy with his life until his life got uprooted again. And the way he tries to look out for Joan and Joan understandably be conflicted over the whole thing is great. Plus his reactions to the other timelines is just....It kills me. He's horrified at himself, man but also struck that there was a Nick and Joan happy with the other.

His eyes were still on the walkway too. And … Joan’s breath caught. He looked cracked open and raw. It lasted for just a moment. By the time he turned to meet her eyes, his expression was closed again.

It's the story of two people who know they probably shouldn't love the other and yet their hearts refuse to tell them so, two nerds who love history and worked together at a historical house, two kids who hunted the other. Two people who will remake and reforge the entire world just to protect the other for better or worse.

They were just two teens who wanted to be together and just wanted to be happy as a couple and help create peace for Monsters and Humans.

16 notes · View notes

emci123 · 1 month

Text

"I do know, though," Aaron said, his gray eyes serious, "that if I gave you that brooch, I must have--" He hesitated.

You must have what Aaron? Just admit you are in love with her so I can live in peace.

#never a hero #only a monster #aaron oliver #aaron x joan #joan chang hunt #Vanessa len

6 notes · View notes

bookcentral · 3 months

Text

Joan Chang Hunt and Nick Ward

Only a Monster by Vanessa Len

#only a monster #joannick #nickjoan #nick x joan #joan x nick #nick ward #joan chang hunt #only a monster edit #vanessa len #book edit #fan video #nickjoan edit #joannick edit #fantasy books #enemies to lovers #soulmates #betrayal #time travel #book ships

1 note · View note

hiloedits · 1 year

Text

— aaronjoan headers

like or reblog if you use/save.

#book headers #book header #romance headers #romance header #only a monster #only a monster headers #joan chang hunt #aaronjoan #aaronjoan header #aaronjoan headers

14 notes · View notes

pessimistic-hedgehog · 7 months

Text

i finished reading this in like one day and it was so so amazing

enemies to lovers (sort of lovers to enemies to lovers to enemies??lol it's a cycle)

blurred lines between good and evil

main character is a villain (sort of)

amazing plot

a whole hidden world

time travel

rivalling families

monster court heist

biracial asian representation

a love triangle that isn't annoying (it ends by the end of the book anyway) (edit: it gets annoying in book 2 actually because I hate Nick now) (I love Aaron because who doesn't love a blonde, gentlemen-like, soft boy who doesn't really touch anyone but the girl he has feelings for...)

highly recommend for ya fantasy book lovers

#ya books #vanessa len #only a monster #joan chang-hunt #aaron oliver #nick hunt #fantasy

10 notes · View notes

renegadestrash · 8 months

Text

Minor spoilers for never a hero by Vanessa Len

Currently reading never a hero by Vanessa Len and it’s already making me anxious and sad like I knew this book was going to be sad but I’m only like 20 pages in and I am SCARED!!! I am not prepared for this 😭😭😭

#Only a monster was one of my favorite books last year so I’ve been eagerly awaiting the sequel and it’s finally out BUT AT WHAT COST???#I want to give Joan a hugggggg #and I’m very scared for when we see Aaron again #Vanessa len #only a monster #never a hero #Joan Chang-hunt #Aaron Oliver #Nick ward

13 notes · View notes

nellasbookplanet · 4 months

Text

Book recs: alien intelligences

Intelligent spiders, octupi, plants, bacteria, and even entire oceans, intelligence without sentience, extra terrestrials and strange intelligences evolved right here on Earth - alien minds can take many forms. Allow me to share with you some books featuring the most alien and fascinating ones.

Previous book rec posts:

Really cool fantasy worldbuilding, really cool sci-fi worldbuilding, dark sapphic romances, mermaid books, vampire books, many worlds: portal fantasies, many worlds: alternate timelines, robots and artificial intelligences, post- and transhumanism

For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!

The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky*

The Doors of Eden is something of an experiment in speculative biology, featuring versions of Earth in which various different species were the one to rise to sentience, from dinosaurs to neanderthals. Now, something is threatening the existence of all timelines, dragging multiple different people and species into the struggle, among those a pair of cryptid hunting girlfriends and a transgender scientist.

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky*

Millenia and generation spanning scifi. After the collapse of an empire, a planet once part of a project to uplift other species to sentience is left to develop on its own, resulting not in the intelligent monkeys once intended but in sentient giant spiders. Millenia later, what remains of humanity arrives looking for a new home, only to be met by the artificial remains of the ancient woman who once led the uplift project - and she is not willing to let them on her planet.

Semiosis (Semiosis duology) by Sue Burke

A generational story following a group of humans trying to survive on a new planet, where a strange and unkowable intelligence is finding ways to use them to its whims. As the humans come across an abandoned city wrapped in the roots of a strange plant, they slowly come to the realization that mutual communication is the only path to peace and survival.

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

While I felt the characters could’ve been better developed, this is undeniably a well-written novel featuring an alien race and culture developed on a planet vastly different from ours. Firmly in the realm of hard scifi, this is a realistic, fascinating and slightly terrifying look at how first contact may look.

Brain Plague (The Elysium Cycle) by Joan Sloncewski*

Chrys, a struggling artist, agrees to become a carrier for a sentient strain of microbes. With their help, Chrys breathes new life into her career. But every microbe society is different - some function as friends and brain enhancers to their carrier, while others become a literal brain plague, a living addiction taking over the life of their carrier. And like every society, the microbe community is in constant flux - inluding the one inside Chrys's head.

Rosewater (The Wormwood trilogy) by Tade Thompson

In Nigeria lies Rosewater, a city bordering on a strange, alien biodome. Its motives are unknown, but it’s having an undeniable effect on the surrounding life. Kaaro, former criminal and current psychic agent for the government, is one of the people changed by it. When other psychics like him begin getting killed, Kaaro must take it upon himself to find out the truth about the biodome and its intentions.

Dawn (Xenogenesis trilogy) by Octavia E. Butler*

After a devestating war leaves humanity on the brink of extinction, survivor Lilith finds herself waking up naked and alone in a strange room. She’s been rescued by the Oankali, who have arrived just in time to save the human race. But there’s a price to survival, and it might be humanity itself. Absolutely fucked up I love it I once had to drop the book mid read to stare at the ceiling and exclaim in horror at what was going on.

Blindsight by Peter Watts*

Vampires and aliens and questions of the nature of consciousnesses, oh my. A ship is sent to investigate the sudden appearance of an alien vessel at the edge of the solar system, but the crew, a group of various level of transhumanism, isn’t prepared for the horrors awaiting them. No, seriously, this book will fuck you up, highly recommend if you’re okay with a lot of techno babble and existential horror.

Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson*

Utterly unique in world-building, story, and prose, Midnight Robber follows young Tan-Tan and her father, inhabitants of the Carribean-colonized planet of Toussaint. When her father commits a terrible crime, he’s exiled to a parallel version of the same planet, home to strange aliens and other human exiles. Tan-Tan, not wanting to lose her father, follows with him. Trapped on this new planet, he becomes her worst nightmare. Enter this book with caution, as it contains graphic child sexual abuse.

Fragment (Fragment duology) by Warren Fahy*

The reality TV show Sealife is having a rough time - as it turns out, a ship full of scientist doesn’t make for the kind of drama they hoped for. Hoping for some excitement, they reach Hender's Island, a fragment of a lost continent that may contain an interesting new ecosystem. But as they step foot on the island, they quickly come to realize the ecosystem isn’t just new, it’s highly dangerous and very hungry. Among all this life is one single species that may be more dangerous than any other, but which may also be the salvation of the scientists on the island. A bit wonky, but genuinely one of the most fun books I have read, I love it so much.

Axiom's End (Noumena trilogy) by Lindsay Ellis

It’s 2007, and a leak has just confirmed that the US has reached alien contact. Cora wants nothing to do with it, but as her absent father is the whistleblower who dropped the news the media won’t leave her alone. Even worse, she soon finds herself meeting and being pursued by the alien presence itself as it tries to remain in hiding - and discovering that there is a much larger threat on the horizon.

The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis*

Francie has just traveled to Roswell to attend her college friend's wedding to a UFO conspirasist. Not a believer herself, Francie is shocked when she finds herself abducted by an alien. Her abductor is not much what popular media would have you believe, looking more like a tumbleweed than a grey alien, and is clearly on some kind of mission it isn’t willing to put on hold for the sake of Francie attending to her duties as a bridesmaid. As more people get roped along - among those a conman, an old lady, a ufo conspirasist, and a retiree with an RV - Francie finds herself getting closer to the alien and wanting to help it succeed.

Bonus rec: if you like this book, you may also enjoy the movie Paul, which has a similarly humorous tone and similar plot.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir*

Ryland Grace just woke up up from a coma, unable to remember anything. He finds himself alone on a space ship, and as his memories slowly trickle back, he realizes he's been sent on a mission: to find a solution to the impending doom of the earth. Still struggling with holes in his memories, Ryland tries to fulfill his mission, but as he gets closer to his goal, he discovers someone else got there first. And they aren't anything close to human. Funny, heartfelt, and heavy on the science.

Survival by Julie E. Czerneda

Mac, a biologist studying salmon on Earth, has little interest in life beyond her own planet. Despite this, she’s sought out by Brymn, an alien archaeologist hoping her expertise as a biologist can help him solve the secret behind the Chasm, a region of space completely devoid of life. Trying as she might not to get incolved, Mac has little choice as she and her colleagues come under attack by the mysterious Ro, the species Brymn's people suspect to be the cause of the Chasm.

Translation State by Ann Leckie*

An exploration of the alien as filtered through the human. At what point does the human become something else? When does something else become human? Is it a question of biology or culture, nature or nurture? Can we choose it? Can it be forced upon us? Set in the Imperial Radch universe, Translation State follows three different characters embroiled in the question of what makes a human. The alien Presger can only communicate with humans using their translators - people they’ve created that are not quite human and not quite alien. But as news of a translator fugitive arises, conflict brews regarding what right they have to choose their own identity and home.

Exo (Exo duology) by Fonda Lee*

Young adult. Earth has long since been under the control of an alien presence. Donovan Reyes is an exo, a human enhanced with alien technology, working to keep the colony and its people safe. The biggest enemy is Sapience, a terrorist organisation opposing alien rule by any means necessary. When a mission goes awry, Donovan finds himself abducted by Sapiance, something that risks a war. While it took until the second book for me to be fully sold on this series, it features a genuinely nuanced take on oppression and resistance rarely seen in YA genre.

Needle by Hal Clement

1950s classic. A small island in the pacific ocean and a fourteen-year-old boy have just become the center of an interstellar chase between an alien Hunter and the criminal he's pursuing. Robert is a regular boy, but he has a very special passenger: an alien symbiont hiding inside his body. The alien became stranded on Earth as he pursued a criminal of his own species, and now they are both trapped on the same island, playing a game of cat and mouse as Robert and the Hunter struggle to find their prey before it finds them.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers series) by Becky Chambers

Rosemary Harper just got a job on the motley crew of the Wayfarer, a spaceship that works with tunneling new wormholes through space. With a past she wants to leave behind, Rosemary is happy to travel the far reaches of the universe with the chaotic crew, but when they land the job of a life time, things suddenly get a lot more dangerous. A bit of a tumblr classic in its day, this is a cozy space opera with an episodic feel and vividly realized characters and cultures.

Under the Skin by Michel Faber

A dark allegory of alienation and dehumanization, Under the Skin follows Isserley, a woman traveling along the roads of England and picking up hitchhikers. Little does her passengers know, she’s an alien hiding her true self, and they are her prey and a delicacy for her species.

Solaris by Stanislaw Lem

1960s Polish classic. Arriving on a station orbiting the planet Solaris, Kris Kelvin is meant to study the strange, possibly sentient ocean that covers its entire surface. But the effects of the ocean are far reaching - Kelvin finds the crew of the station secretive and unstable, and is shocked to wake one day to the embodiement of a long dead lover. Was it created by the brain-like ocean, and if so, why?

West of Eden (West of Eden trilogy) by Harry Harrison

65 million years ago, the meteor that killed the dinosaurs never arrived. Without it, the dinosaurs lived and thrived, allowing a the complex society of the matriarchal Yilanè to arise. Meanwhile, in the new world, humans still evolve, and when an impending ice age forces the Yilanè across the ocean in search for a new home, the two are destined to clash. A bleak story of the cycle of violence and hate leading to war, West of Eden is a marvel of world-building.

Bonus AKA I haven't read these yet but they seem really cool

Triptych by J.M. Frey

Kalp is a widower and alien refugee newly arrived on Earth; Gwen is a language expert secretly recruited by the United Nations to help integrate a ship of alien refugees; Basil is an engineer who loves them both. Together they must defend their relationship against a violently intolerant world.

The Sparrow (The Sparrow duology) by Mary Doria Russell

When proof of alien life is found, the United Nations are too slow in their plans for a first contact mission. Instead, the Society of Jesus overtake them and send their own ship, but the crew could never have been prepared for what they will find.

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

Something massive and alien crashes into the ocean off the coast of Nigeria. Three people, a marine biologist, a rapper, and a soldier, find themselves encountering this presence, and have to race to save humanity before it's too late.

Honorary mentions AKA these didn't really work for me but maybe you guys will like them: Salvaged by Madeleine Roux, Exodus by Nicky Drayden, The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull, Embassytown by China Miéville

#nella talks books #the doors of eden #children of time #semiosis #the three-body problem #brain plague #rosewater #xenogenesis #blindsight #midnight robber #fragment #axioms end #the road to roswell #project hail mary #species imperative #translation state #exo #needle #the long way to a small angry planet #under the skin #solaris #west of eden #there are more alien centric books that I love #but this list is pretty focused on books where the truly alien unkowable and inhuman is central #so anything featuring human looking or acting aliens got disqualified #same as books where the aliens themselves weren’t very central #also i need you all to know that i have had official art of the 'alien' from Fragment as my screensaver for a decade #that book is so silly goofy dialogue and absolute gory slaughter i love it so much #i still have one of these rec posts in my drafts but! will soon post a new poll in preparation for more

384 notes · View notes

aaronjoannick · 3 months

Text

Joan Chang Hunt, Aaron Oliver, and Nick Ward

Monsters Trilogy by Vanessa Len

#monsters trilogy edit #aaronjoannick edit #aaronjoannick #joaaronick #joan chang hunt #aaron oliver #nick ward #aaron x joan x nick #photo edit #only a monster #never a hero #vanessa len

7 notes · View notes

lesbianamalvada · 4 months

Text

"joan hadn't felt a glimmer of her power since last summer" I LITERALLY JUST READ ABOUT YOU USING IT ACCIDENTLY A FEW CHAPTERS AGO GRRR oh my god guys she's so stupid sometimes I can't-

#only a monster #never a hero #joan hunt #joan chang hunt

5 notes · View notes

copperbadge · 22 days

Text

The Shivadh Romances: Volume II is now available for sale!

This book collects the fourth, fifth, and sixth books in the series, and is available in epub, paperback, and special-edition hardback.

Askazer-Shivadlakia is “the little country by the sea” — a coastal micronation perched between France and Italy, with Europe’s only Jewish royal family and a distinctly queer-friendly culture. The irreverent but earnest Shivadh people have recently elected a new king, and there are a lot of changes afoot for the country and its rulers.

The Twelve Points of Caleb Canto introduces Caleb, a young trans music teacher who accidentally enters Eurovision on behalf of The Ask, and his rival and new friend -- or maybe more -- Buck Haverd, the ambitious bad-boy competitor from the UK. Dinner At The Palace is the first collection of Shivadh short stories, spanning everything from Michaelis meeting his destiny in 1978 to Gregory and Eddie going cryptid-hunting in 2022. The Royals and the Ramblers tells the story of Gregory and Eddie's three royal weddings, and introduces Eddie's sister Monday, who is helping the kings have a royal heir and may or may not have a thing going on with Georgie, the palace head of security. And then there's Joan, the headstrong orphan who could use a couple of dads....

Read all three in a single volume!

Buy in ePub | Buy in Paperback | Buy in Hardback

Or if you’re interested in reading each novel individually, you can learn more about them and find purchase links here.

#shivadhverse #self-publishing #romance #queer romance

64 notes · View notes

ddejavvu · 1 year

Note

hello! could I please request dbf!hotch walking in on reader upset because she thinks she isn't pretty enough (maybe she hasn't ever been asked on a date or smthn?) and he just folds :( ty if u do or don't <3 love jade

today is multiverse monday! send me an au you can think of :)

also requested: dbf!aaron comforts you after your friends say that you're not the type of girl boys like

ladies i'd date you both in a heartbeat <3

He figures you're just doing your makeup. Maybe adjusting your hair. Putting on lotion? Something that ladies do. He hasn't been with one for a while, and he's forgotten your pre-dinner routines. The last thing he expects to walk in on when he's asked to call you down to eat is you crying, hunched over on the desk with your head in your hands.

He stops dead in the doorway, lips parted as he tries figuring out what to say. A particularly wretched sob wracks your body, shaking your shoulders and sending a shudder down your spine that he has the urge to smooth away.

"Y/N..." He makes you aware of his presence, hating the way that your shoulders tighten at the sound of his voice, "Honey, what's the matter?"

You're staying frozen, probably hoping that he'll walk away and let you stew in not only despair, but awkwardness now. But he doesn't, he steps inside and shuts the door behind him with a soft click.

"You can tell me," He promises you in a low murmur, smoothing a large, gentle hand down your back. He takes a loose strand of hair that's itching at your neck and tucks it into place, his hand resting finally at the base of your neck, spreading out over your shoulder blades.

"I'm just sad," You supply pitifully, your voice thick with tears. You don't bother raising it to look at him, but he doesn't want to push you.

He stands there for a minute, hoping that the comfort he's trying to radiate will seep through your bones and cure you. The shake of your shoulders doesn't seem as terrible now that his hand is in its place, but you're still sniffling, and it tugs at his heartstrings.

He catches movement from the screen of your phone out of the corner of his eye. He doesn't mean to snoop, but when he sees an ongoing message thread between a group chat labeled as 'lomls' (which he can only decode because Penelope had written it all on their birthday cards for the year, and he'd asked about it), he decides to hunt for answers.

He feels guilty going through your phone. It's a private conversation, one that doesn't concern him, but technically speaking, it does concern him to see your friends talking the way they are to you.

mary <3: idk he stayed over last night. i'm not sure if i really want a thing with him though, yk?

Aaron has to admit, he's forgotten about hookup culture. He continues rubbing your back, eyes flitting to your response.

i don't think i'd be able to let a man go after a hookup - i'd get too attached 😭

joan <3: i guess you should just be thankful you don't have to worry about that, y/n.

His heart sinks at the implication, and he assumes yours did too as you'd typed: about.. what?

joan <3: hookups, duh when's the last time a guy tried to get with you?

Though the conversation continues on, your messages don't. Evidently you'd taken Joan's words to heart, and Aaron has a strong urge to copy her number down, give it to Garcia, and tell her to dig up anything they could find on her. He doesn't, though, he's more worried about you.

"Sweetheart," He sinks to his knees, hand still outstretched over your back. He catches your eye from where your forehead is braced against the desk, peering under your arm to look at your face, "You need new friends."

Your face, still tear-stained and pitiful, crumples again. You bite the backs of your lips to try to keep them together but a sob slips through, and he lets out a sympathetic hum as you break.

"I- I just want," You choke, babbling around your tears, "I want to be loved. I know I shouldn't have to- to change to get boys to like me. But.. but why don't they like me how I am? I don't think I'm bad," You sniffle, "Or- or ugly, or dumb. I like me, I want to like me, but," You gush, and Aaron reaches a hand out to smear a tear away from your undereye, "Why doesn't anyone else?"

Aaron doesn't think he could find the answer in a million years. He thinks that he could study human behavior, psychology, puberty, hormones, sex, love, and everything in between, and never come up with the answer as to why boys aren't falling at your feet. He only admits to himself that he does in this moment, wanting so desperately to tell you that he'd spend the rest of his life telling you how perfect you are if you'll only let him.

He thinks that would be taking advantage of you, though. He doesn't want you to like him because he's your only option, because you're scared you'll never find anyone else. He wants you to like him because you love him.

He realizes he's stayed silent, and your eyes are welled with terrified tears as you wait for his answer. He lets out a long exhale, eyes slipping shut as he keeps his hand around your cheek.

"I don't know." He admits, defeated.

You look like you're expecting that. Your shoulders slump and before you can cry again, he speaks.

"I.. I think that you deserve someone to like you, to- to love you. And I know they will," He knows he does. You blink imploringly at him, lashes wet, "I know you'll find someone."

"Yeah," You mutter, sounding resigned, "Maybe."

"Hey," He redirects your gaze to his face, keeping your cheek cupped in his palm, "I mean it, honey. You're sweet, you're kind, you're smart," He wills himself to say it, knowing that you'll take it as a compliment rather than a confession, "And you're beautiful. I mean it," He only lets himself smile when he sees your watery, bashful one, "You've got those gorgeous eyes, even when they're teary. Someone's going to be very lucky to look into them for the rest of their life." He muses, something akin to sadness weighing on his chest when he realizes he probably won't be the lucky man.

"Thank you, Aaron." You sniffle, finally standing from your chair. You don't realize how hunched over he's been until you stand and he follows suit, knees cracking as he straightens. He knows you'll both be late to dinner by now, but accepts the sheepish hug you offer him, face-planting into his chest.

"Listen," He starts tentatively, "If you're ever sad again, you know that you can talk to me, right? You have my number," He verifies, feeling you nod against his chest, "Anytime you want to talk, I'm here, honey."

"I'm always sad about something or another," You let out a teary chuckle into his shirt, arms slung lazily around his middle, "You'll regret offering."

"Never," He teases, pulling back to look you in the eyes when he speaks, "I mean it, sweetheart. Anytime, okay?"

"Okay," You finally nod, after a brief moment of eye contact. He suspects you're trying to see if he's lying or not. You wipe one last time at your eyes, sending him a sweet smile as he leads you back out to the dining room with a hand on the small of your back, "Love you, Aaron."

When he responds the words nearly catch in his throat, far more meaningful than you think they are, "I love you too, honey."

900 notes · View notes