Meowriddler

Part one is here A/n: thanks so much for all the comments on part one!! Summary: Edward and reader start noticing each other more, and reader decides it's finally time to see if all the rumors are true or not

The next day starts just as you expected it. You wake up, get dressed, go to work.

You arrive, greeting the coworkers you had met the day before. You run a few errands and return to a note on your desk asking for some specific files. You recognize the messy handwriting, and just as you thought, you see a signature scrawled at the bottom.

– Edward

It would've been easier to just email what he needed, but whatever. You shrug it off and go do as you are told.

As you stall as you make your way to his cubicle, you couldn't help but look at him from afar. Zach was right, he was very quiet. He didn't seem to be interested in talking to you, or anyone else for that matter. Although maybe you were being judgemental. You had just met him yesterday. Maybe nobody ever really gave him a chance. But you could change that, right?

You approach his desk, gently placing the copies there so as to not startle him this time.

“Here you go Edward. You need anything else?”, you ask politely, looking down at him and offering him a small smile as you wait for his answer.

He looks up from his desk and blinks. You're there. You're there and you're smiling at him and he regrets not having fetched the files himself, cause now he needs to figure out how to answer.

“... thanks. Uh, no, I don't need anything else,” he responds. 

You nod and get back to your desk. The rest of the day goes by fast. People in the office were really taking advantage of having someone to run errands for them, but you don't mind. It keeps you busy. It keeps your mind off of the fact that this wasn't what you wanted to do for a living. Or at all, for that matter.

Either way, a few weeks pass, and you start to adjust to your new routine. Work doesn't totally drain you, and there are at least some decent people at the office. Of course, you never lose sight of the fact that they live a totally different life than you. They don't care about anything outside of their bubble. The budget cuts, the crime rates, the poverty, the corruption, the harrowing news– it doesn't get to them. It showed in every way. The way they moved, the way they dressed, the things they talked about, the way they talked about them.

If anything, there was only one person who seemed to be the exception, and you found yourself noticing him more. The things he did, or didn't do.

For instance, one day you were dealing with some weird comments from Zach. It happened from time to time. But, after all, who hasn't faced a little workplace harassment?

"Heyy, a few of us are doing happy hour after work today. Wanna come?"

The question comes pretty much out of the blue. You decline, several times, but he keeps insisting.

"I don't really drink. Besides, you guys know each other a lot better...", you say, and for some reason, he stops insisting and finally walks away. He mumbles something under his breath, and you see him glance sideways. That's when you see it; Edward is staring daggers at him. From his desk. You make eye contact for a few seconds, and he looks away.

That doesn't go unnoticed by you. You occasionally notice him sneaking glances at you, but you think it must be a coincidence.

— — —

Edward notices you too. Ever since you'd walked in, which was actually not too long ago.

But how couldn't he? It would only be natural to be drawn to you. To your figure, your eyes, your person.

And Edward wasn't stupid. He could see he wasn't the only one. He could see the way they looked at you. As something new, something different. Just different enough for it to be exciting and not overbearing. The complete opposite of his image among his peers.

But what drew him in wasn't your image. Well, yes, it drew him in, but that was not what had kept his attention. It was the way you treated him. As if you hadn't heard what was said about him, or as if you had ignored it.

Edward couldn't seem to get his mind off of that fact. Off of the way you'd greeted him warmly upon entering, or the way you'd say goodbye before leaving. Or how you'd give him a small smile every time you walked by him. As if you were happy to see him.

He felt selfish, asking you for things he knew he could get or do himself. Remorseful, even. But then you'd stop by his desk, smiling and saying his name; standing so close he could smell your perfume (he'd try to hold his breath in, to keep the scent with him for just a little longer). Then all his remorse would go away.

But it was all too sudden, and you were too nice to him. So, naturally, there must be a catch. Right?

Surely you'd gather with other coworkers after talking to him, and discuss all the ways in which he disgusted you. Edward knew about his reputation. And he knew you knew about it too. He could almost hear your voice–

“Oh my God you were right. He is a creep!”

That's why it took him by surprise when, a few days later, heading to the breakroom, he overheard a conversation.

It was between you and Hannah, from HR. It was all mundane, work related, until Hannah mentioned him.

"You're new, so I'm telling you in case no one else has, but be careful around him. He's weird", she says, and you cringe. Out of all the guys in the office, he's the one that worries you the least.

"That's not fair. He's nice to me," you reply.

"He's a creep. He doesn't talk to anyone!"

"Okay, yeah, he's... shy. But don't you think maybe he doesn't talk because you guys don't give him a chance?" You huff, annoyed. Hannah gives you a look, and you know what she's thinking. Maybe you were getting a little too defensive over a guy you met just a few weeks ago.

But Edward couldn't see that from where he was standing. Now he knew why you were nice: it was because you were naive. The only reason why you didn't believe them was because you were new. Still, Edward knew he couldn't trust you. That it was all a matter of time. Eventually what they say about him would all get to your head, and your waves and your smiles and your "good morning"s would all stop.

— — —

A few days later, you see him sitting alone on lunch break. You decide it's up to you to find out if what everyone says about him is true, so you grab your lunch and walk up to him.

"Can I sit here?", you ask politely.

Edward looks up at you, and then looks around, as if to check if it was actually him who you wanted to sit next to.

When he's finally sure you're talking to him, he gives you a small nod. He looks around once again. This must be a prank. Yeah, a prank everyone in the office knows about, except for him. Or maybe you just pitied him. Maybe sitting next to him was your equivalent of charity work.

Whatever it may be, you sit across from him, unpacking your lunch. He eats in silence. He didn't want to speak and upset you, or give you a reason to make fun of him, so he's quiet. 

But you were curious. You were curious ever since you'd first seen him, and you were also impatient. It was no surprise that you'd be the one to break the ice.

“So, Edward, how long have you been working at KTMJ?”

He looks up from his sandwich, like he didn't expect you to talk to him. Like he didn't understand why you'd even try to.

Still, he answers.

“Five years” he says dryly, and you nod.

“That's a long time. What made you wanna be an accountant?” you ask. You don't really know what else to ask him, but you figure this is the best way to get to know him. Or at least try to.

He shrugs. It's not like this was his dream. But what was? His dreams weren't goals or ambitions. If anything, they were more like fantasies. He fantasized about justice. About a city that was fair and friendly, or at the very least decent. He fantasized about power. About all the power he would never have. About every single thing he missed out on: a family, privilege, love…

“I like numbers,” he answers. He wasn’t lying. Numbers didn't lie. Numbers were precise. There were no grays, no ambiguity, no explanations needed, no reading in between the lines. 

“Oh, yeah. Everyone says you're like, a genius. You're great with them” you respond. Edward wonders if you didn't realize those comments were all ways of mocking him, or if you were just trying to be nice. He didn't know, but it seemed like you actually thought about him that way. He hoped so.

“Uh, thanks” he says. For a moment he feels bad for you. You were putting in the effort to talk to him and he couldn't bring himself to make decent conversation. So he tried asking you a question.

“... why did you, uh, start working here?” he tries, and he sees your face light up for a second.

“Well, it's not that interesting, really” –you say modestly, as if anything he had said so far was interesting– “I got laid off so I needed a job”.

If anything, that was more depressing than uninteresting.

“... what was your last job?” Edward asks. He couldn't really picture you getting fired. You seemed dedicated.

You lower your gaze, and Edward can tell you're not fond of this topic.

“I was a teacher”.

“Oh”.

Right. He could recall watching some news about this. Schools going underfunded, teachers going underpaid. He felt bad for you.

“I’m sorry”, he says, trying to fix the situation. You offer him a smile, shaking your head.

“No, no, it’s okay. It happens”, you respond, and silence falls over the both of you. Edward feels bad leaving the conversation on a sad topic, so he takes a deep breath and asks another question.

“Did you like it?” It’s simple, but it’s all he can think of. He figures you did, since no one really teaches for money. You sigh and smile melancholically.

“Yeah, more than anything. I really liked my classes. The kids were all really sweet. I just hope they liked me too”, you say. They probably did. You seemed understanding and sweet. At least you were with him.

“I’m sure they did”, Edward says, and he’s sure he’s done something right when you smile at him once again.

“Thanks, Ed, that means a lot to me” What did you call him? He’s sure no one at the office had ever called him that. Let alone someone like you. He freezes, and he’s sure you notice by the way your brows furrow and you ask:

“Sorry, sorry. Can I, uh, call you that?”

Yes. Call him that, please. In fact, call him anything you like. Anything will work as long as it comes from your lips. As long as it's said with your voice.

If Edward wasn’t dumbfounded by your question, he would’ve noticed just how nervous he was making you. He snaps out of it and answers. 

“... sure”. Have you always been this charming, Edward? He wants to bang his head against the wall, but his answer seems to work for you, because you give him a giddy smile, and just as you’re about to speak an alarm goes off on your phone.

“Shoot”, you mumble. Your lunch break was over. You gather your things, and right before you leave for your desk, you speak.

“I gotta go, but it was really nice talking to you, Ed. I’ll see you around”, you say, giving him a small smile and a wave as you head back to your desk.

A/n: yayyy first chapter done

Warnings: none. reader is/used to be a teacher bc this is lowkey a self insert. enjoy lol

This wasn't what you had envisioned.

You had quite the standard dream. Moving out and into a big city, where you'd get a master's degree in education and make new friends, surrounded by beautiful scenery. And that's what you'd expected coming to Gotham. A big city with lots of successful people. So when you were offered a chance to further your education there, you took it, not knowing what was to come.

Gotham wasn't what you expected in the slightest. Your shitty community college was severely underfunded. Whatever landscape you imagined was replaced by dark streets and grey, torn down buildings. And you happened to live in one of those. You realized no education would guarantee a job that would pay you enough to live in a minimally decent part of town. What hurt the most was realizing how naive you had been, thinking you could access privilege without being born amongst it.

You tried to remain positive. Surely there was some way you could change the system from the inside, right?

So you put your degrees to use, taking jobs at public schools and orphanages, ignoring your lousy wage in favor of helping those who needed it. You enjoyed your time there. Sort of. Sure, you weren't taken seriously when you went on strike, or protested about how underfunded the public school system was, but you were sure you'd helped out some of the kids there, and that was worth it. You were happy enough.

Until you were fired. Due to budget cuts, of course.

That's how you found yourself in your current position, looking to take any job whatsoever, as long as it guaranteed your survival. So when you found out the largest accounting firm in Gotham was hiring (a simple secretary position, but enough to pay your bills), you applied immediately.

Somehow, you got a call back. A monotone voice letting you know you were hired. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding.

This was a start.

— — —

Your first day went smoothly enough. Zach, one of your new coworkers, showed you around the office, introducing you to everyone.

You shook hands and exchanged polite smiles, but you could tell what they thought of you. You could tell by the look in their eyes.

Whatever. You'd be fake if that's what it took to get by. You didn't mind either way; you weren't here to make friends.

As you endured small talk with your new coworkers, something –or rather, someone– caught your eye. A lanky man, hunched over some paperwork, shaggy hair falling over his face.

“I think we missed someone,” you mention, turning to face Zach.

“Ah, right,” he says, like he didn't want things to come to this.

He makes his way to the man's desk. You walk behind him. Something tells you you shouldn't stand out in this place. Something tells you that if you did, you'd probably end up like–

“Edward”

He lifts his head, eyeing Zach, then standing up as he realizes you're there too.

“This is the new secretary, uh…”

Right, you weren't relevant here. Of course he forgot your name.

So you say it, introducing yourself and offering a handshake –which he reciprocates awkwardly– and a smile, realizing just how tall he is when you have to tilt your head up to fully look at him.

“Nice to meet you, Edward”

He clears his throat, nodding. He doesn't speak. You get the feeling that he doesn't really know how to. Not that you minded. You can't see any malice in his eyes, but maybe that's just because he's avoiding your gaze. Still, the silence is comfortable. At least for its short duration before Zach intervenes.

“Well, there's work to do, so we better get going”

You let go of Edward's hand, giving him a small nod as you trail behind Zach, who lets out a sigh. You barely notice, and, since you don't make any comments, he feels the need to speak.

“Don't waste your time with that one,” he warns.

You raise your eyebrows. “You mean Edward?”. It bothers you, the way he doesn't address him by his name. 

“Yeah, Edward,” he says, like saying his name pains him.

“Why? He seems nice,” you protest.

“I mean, don't get me wrong. He's great with numbers. Probably smarter than anyone here. But he's weird as fuck. Not like you or me,” he continues, and you cringe when you realize this guy probably expects you to be just like him.

But you weren't going to argue. It would only make things harder for you. So you kept your mouth shut and nodded.

The rest of your shift passed pretty quickly, and you got the hang of the sort of tasks you were supposed to do; print things out, archiving and organizing different reports, retrieving specific files, running errands or fetching things for your boss or coworkers, and even occasionally checking reports to make sure the numbers all added up (thankfully you didn't have to be all that skilled at math to get it done).

Your shift was over soon enough. You were the last one to leave. Or so you thought. But as you gathered your things you saw Edward still working, hunched over in his desk.

You walked up to him quietly, looking over his shoulder to see what he worked on. You didn't understand all that much, really. Just a bunch of numbers and messy scribbles on paper, the number 10.000 written here and there, and a few equations that didn't really add up.

Well, maybe he wasn't that good with numbers. Either way it didn't matter.

“Are you staying here much longer?”, you ask, startling him. He tries to smoothly cover up what he's working on. You let him believe you didn't see anything.

“Uh, yeah. You can go if you want,” he responds. And you nod, putting on your coat.

“Bye Edward,” you say, with a quick wave and smile. He nods in response, and you head out. 

sweet tooth - edward nashton x gn!reader

{contains: brief mentions of past trauma but mostly fluff/celebrating edward :-)}

So, I'm not sure how to request art, and I don't know if you want to be paid for it. (I'm dirt broke)

But, if you have time for it, I have a request?

I rlly love the backrooms, and one of my favorite levels is 974 (Mr. Kitty's House). I think it'd be really cool if you could draw Edward in that level. Like my profile picture is Mr. Kitty. If you could just draw exactly my pfp, but replace Mr. Kitty with Edward.

PLEASE DO NOT FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO DO THIS! I CAN'T PAY YOU AND I DON'T WANT TO EXPLOIT YOU! SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DRAW IT THAT'S PERFECTLY FINE AND I RESPECT THAT AS A FELLOW ARTIST!!! OKAY!? OKAY! <3

But regardless, thank you for taking the time to read this request! I hope you're having a great day/night and that you're really happy! <3

hihi!! i REALLY appreciate your message and thought why not and paint it fully <3 no need to pay at all thank u for requesting!

Edward Nashton x GN!Reader

A little ficlet about Edward's feelings for you. TW for stalking and voyeurism. Suggestive.

I’m in need for soft Eddie and just soft NSFW maybe fem reader takes care of him and just smothers him and just WOWBUWHE

BODYWORSHIP PLEASE I WANNA KISS THAR MANS THIGHS AND HIS CUTE TUMMY NEED HIN

ok sorry about that 😞

amour plastique - edward nashton x fem!reader headcanons (NSFW) ₊‧꒰ა❤︎໒꒱ ‧₊

{valentine's requests: three ♡}

{contains: anxiety/insecurity on edward's end, oral sex (male receiving), overall fluff and comfort. <3}