#catalyst x reader

Tressa seriously has the hibernating instincts of a bear in winter, but she actually just hibernates all year round. You’ll never see eyebags under her eyes unless she’s dedicated to a project she absolutely cannot put down. 

She’s a little puzzled about the bed situation at first. She trusts you enough to sleep in her bed, but she doesn’t know how to actually... manage the positions part of the sleeping situation. 

In short, she’s used to taking up the entire bed and all the covers. Good luck with THAT. 

Safe to say, Tressa really values her personal space. 

Thankfully, her blanket is huge, not to mention soft. A lot of her payouts go towards her own comfort, besides her efforts to rehabilitate Cleo.  

Her room is also reallllyyyy cozy. Candles, soft lighting, and a whole lot of her own trinkets. She has full shelves of books and different crystals she uses for different rituals of hers. Both of her nightstands are messy with different tarot boxes and a few books she puts to the side.  

If you’re living with her, she’ll clear a side out for you. She’ll let you pick a side if she’s feeling nice that day. 

She’ll be attached to a side to sleep on, so don’t bother trying to change it up. She’s already mildly annoyed with having to share her bed in the first place, but it isn’t the malicious kind of annoyed. 

She likes to read right before bed and has dropped a book on her face a few times. She’s actually pretty used to it. 

She likes quiet, but the comfortable kind of quiet, when you’re both doing something, but it isn’t an awkward silence. 

She’ll let you clean off her makeup. 

If you prefer tea... she’ll offer it to you before she goes on with her nightly routine. She has a coffee machine as well, but she doesn’t use it. 

She has a dedicated tea cabinet. You can literally find any blend you want if you look for it. It’s gotta be there somewhere. 

After longer competition days, she likes to start a bath before bed, and she makes that water steaming and scalding before she gets in. She tosses a few oils in it, some candles, and then pops some bubbles in that tub. She doesn’t get out for a while. 

How does she handle that kind of heat but not the cuddling heat? You’ll never know. 

Not a big cuddler. She’s okay if you want to lean on her side while she’s reading or doing something else, but otherwise doesn’t like being held in place. Not because she doesn’t care about you, she’ll adjust slightly if you’re a physical affection kind of person, but she isn’t used to sharing her space so much with another person, much less a partner. 

You’ll have to ask to cuddle at first, or at least give her enough of a cue. She’ll always let you in, but she really appreciates the ask. She’ll lift her arm and let you slip under it if she’s lying on her back. 

She’s awkward the first few times. Very awkward. Yes, Tressa is introverted, but she’s more awkward than she is shy. She has no romantic experience or cuddling experience. 

She is observant, however. She remembers small things about you that you like or makes you more comfortable.  

Tressa is really... REALLY good (trust me on this one) with her fingers from her terraforming work. If you like scalp massages, you’re in heaven. She doesn’t have much experience with giving massages, but if she does it absentmindedly while propping a book, she can make someone fall asleep quick. 

She won’t really notice either. Unless she’s planning on going to sleep as well.  

She likes to keep her hands busy to keep herself focused, but if you benefit from it, that’s just a plus.  

If she’s not reading, she’ll offer to show you around her tarot if you’re interested. Referring back to her fingers, she can do impressive card tricks, but she likes to use an older deck for that to not ruin newer ones. 

It warms her up a bit to impress you. 

When she finally sleeps, she leans into her side of the bed and drags most of the blanket with her. You’ll have to lean into the center of the bed if you want even a sliver of blanket. 

If you put cold feet on her even one time, you’re risking a literal hex. 

Both a light and a hard sleeper. It depends on the kind of day she had. It also determines if she curls up or splays herself out to conveniently take up the entire mattress. 

Takes a bunch of naps during the day. Even at the most random times, don’t be surprised to see her snuggled into those covers. She’ll let you in if you nudge her, and she’ll very slowly roll over like she’s hauling five bags of potatoes. Adds a groan in there too for extra effect to make sure you know that you’ve annoyed her. 

She sleeps like she’s dead.  

She really likes sleeping on her stomach and propping her chin on a pillow if she doesn’t want to move. She’s lazy like that. 

She doesn’t like cuddling in the middle of the night. She gets too hot. 

If you wake up due to a nightmare, she doesn’t mind staying up to help you fall back asleep. She’ll offer a cup if you want, and maybe a tea leaf reading to comfort and distract you. After all, she’s been doing it for so long. 

She also doesn’t get up for just anyone. 

Rarely, she’ll have nightmares herself. She gets hot and squirms around for a while until she finally wakes up and tosses the blanket away from herself. If she feels comfortable enough to talk, it’s often about the same thing, relating to her childhood, when one of her best friends had died. A girl named Margo. 

If she or you can’t sleep, she resorts to sitting out on the balcony with a hot cup. She’ll go on a talk about different stars and constellations if you let her. Astrology is her whole thing. 

She’ll get fun with it if you know absolutely nothing. She’ll point to a few stars and tell you to connect the dots and tell her what you see. She’s not above teasing either.

“One.” 

Tressa points to a prominent dot in the sky. She raises her finger towards another. 

“Two. Three. Four...” 

The witch points to them all, totaling to about... seventeen, as she sets her hands back down, cradling a warm cup of earl grey instead. She takes a sip as she gestures for you to tell her what you see. You lean in as if the stars would grow any larger, squinting through your exhaustion to verify the amount of dots and trying to see the shape of them combined. This was way more entertaining than sleeping anyway.  

“It... sort of... resembles a guy lying down. I’m not seeing anything special here, Tressa...” 

The witch places down her cup on the small, ornate table, side eyeing you for a moment before explaining it. She won’t shame you for not being as knowledgeable as she was. Besides, astrology isn’t always someone’s cup of tea. 

“It represents the Maiden. It means to analyze and adapt whenever conflict arises.” 

“Huh. But it does kind of look like a guy lying down.” 

Tressa narrows her eyes before fixating back at the beautiful arrangement of specks. The night sky was awfully bright tonight. The witch hummed, before returning her gaze to your own. 

Now, you were getting ready for a night in with her in her home, as she had invited you to come over after the games were through. From what she had told you about her past, she seemed to always love cozy hangouts with her friends, and you were honored to be apart of it now.

After arriving, you instantly felt welcomed by Catalyst and her home. Softly lit lamps illuminated most of her living room, along with some multi-colored salt-rock lamps placed on small tables. She had posters and pictures decorating the walls, with a nice little couch and television center in the room. You admired her interior design skills and became comfortable very quickly.

With just some small talk, it was if you two had been best friends for all your lives. Catalyst made quite the host; always having a story to tell and being a great listener when you did the same. The two of you shared jokes, laughing up a storm that never seemed to clear. And what kind of hang out would it be without food? Catalyst ordered takeout for the two of you and, surprisingly, it was one of the best meals you've ever gotten.

The night was getting close to an end, and you and Catalyst decided to play a game of truth or dare before the near finish of the hangout. The two of you sat on the couch facing each other, cross-legged and thinking of ideas with grins on your faces.

"Okay," Catalyst started, "I'll go first."

You smirked, nodding your head. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

You let out a snicker. "Ooh! Picking dare on the first round? I admire your bravery. Let's see..."

Catalyst held an upright smirk, waiting for you to continue.

"Ah! I dare you to to show me the last text you sent someone."

She scoffed with a confident smile, pulling her phone out from somewhere behind her and keeping it up so you could see the screen. "That's too easy. Pretty sure it was with Octavio. He was asking for a reading."

Your eyes widened and you burst out into giggles, shocked by this new and profound knowledge. "Noho way! So what did you say?"

Catalyst laughed too, pressing on the conversation and showing you her latest reply, which read "I can do a reading for you! It might help you make better decisions ;)"

You put a hand to your mouth with a gasp and let out a loud laugh, Catalyst following suit. "Oho my gosh, and he didn't even reply! Do you think you hurt his feelings?"

She shook her head. "He better have tougher skin than that. I'm sure he'll respond tomorrow."

"You have to tell me how it goes. That's hilarious." Catalyst grinned and nodded, laying her phone back on the couch beside her.

"Okay, truth or dare, huh?"

You thought for a moment before choosing truth. She deadpanned at you and tilted her head to the side. "Truth, really? I don't think cowardice is very admirable." You rolled your eyes and leaned forward to playfully shove her shoulder, making her snicker.

"Yeah, yeah. Go on now!"

"Hmm," she paused for a brief second, "what are your biggest red flags in someone?"

You titled your head up and squinted your eyes, a smirk appearing on your face before looking back at Catalyst. "Oh, definitely someone who's into witchcraft, someone who doesn't like to cook, and has dyed blue h-"

Catalyst lunged towards you with a growl, bringing her hand up to cover your mouth and shake her head with playful, narrowed eyes. You giggled behind her hand and leaned back with your hands out in front of you defensively. "Wow," she exaggerated, "I see how it is now."

You moved her hand and stuck your tongue out playfully, a snicker sneaking past your lips. "You know I would never mean that towards my new friend!" She shushed you and shook her head, feigning a huff of sadness.

"Nope, my new friend just admitted I'm a huge red flag. I get it." You laughed and rolled your eyes at her silliness, and she gave you a smile.

"Alright, truth or dare?"

"I'll go truth this time." Catalyst leaned back against the arm of the couch, bringing her knees up to her chest.

"What's the most embarrassing thing that happened to you when you were younger?"

Catalyst stared down at the couch in silence, recalling what seemed to be every single memory of her early life as she was like this for almost a full minute. Eventually, her eyes went wide and she scrunched her nose with a disgusted frown. "Oh my god."

You egged her on with an expectant smile, excited to hear her story from her distasteful reaction. "What is it?!"

"It's so bad," she drawled out, bringing her hands up to cover her eyes in embarrassment. You giggled, shaking your head with sympathy.

"It can't be that bad! Let me hear it!"

She sighed and uncovered her eyes before bringing her hands down to her lap and continuing. "Okay, I was probably about fifteen when I invited a few of my friends to come over. I told them they could all just come in without knocking. I was picking music and my favorite song came on, so of course I broke out into song and dance. Whether it was the fate of the universe or just luck, they all had come in at the same time and watched as I terribly danced to that song. I didn't even notice them standing there and recording me until the song was over. Haven't been able to live it down since."

You sat there stunned with wide eyes, hand covering your mouth in shock before bursting into loud laughter. "Ohoho my god, I need to see that video!"

A small blush formed on Catalyst's cheeks before shaking her head with an embarrassed chuckle. "Absolutely not! I don't need to be reminded of it by you as well! We're changing the subject now. Truth or dare?"

You let out a few more giggles before clearing your throat and reforming your behavior. "I'll do dare this time."

Immediately, Catalyst smirked and leaned forward a bit. "I dare you to admit to me that you have a crush on Elliott."

Once again, your eyes went wide, but at your own expense. You choked out a cough and felt your entire face go red. Stuttering over your own words, you shook your head and waved your hands out in front of you. "W-what?!"

"Admit you like Elliott!"

"I do not l-like him!"

Catalyst scoffed, raising her eyebrows at your blatant denial. "Oh c'mon. You don't need witchcraft to see it."

You stared at her in shock, cheeks flushing a pink hue. "I absolutely am not admitting anything to you! There's nothing to admit!"

"It's a dare! You have to tell me!"

You shook your head, pointing your finger towards her. "I'm ending the game now."

She laughed, "that's not how it works. It's not over until you say you like the Elliott Witt. I've seen the way you look at him!"

You were at a loss for words, too flustered to even try stuttering out any false claims. Catalyst took your silence as an answer and lurched forward, landing a poke on your side. You gasped, bringing a hand down to your side to fend her off. She grinned at your reaction, a mysterious glint shining in her eyes.

"Ooh, don't tell me you're ticklish."

She didn't let you retort before placing more rapid pokes to your torso, resulting in giggles spewing out of you and hands grasping onto her wrists. "W-wahait! Noho!"

"Okay, enough of truth or dare. You can either tell me you like Elliott willingly, or I'll tickle it out of you myself."

Her fingers switched from pokes to squeezes on your sides, bringing your high-pitched giggles to squeals in between fits of laughter. "I dohon't like hihim!"

Catalyst grinned at you, abruptly halting her squeezes to grab your wrists and hold them down on the couch. This forced you to lay flat on the cushions with your head upright against the armrest. She took this as the perfect opportunity to sit on your legs and seize any chances of escape, narrowing her eyes at you playfully and giving your wrists a gentle squeeze.

"I saw this coming. You're gonna wish it didn't."

"CATALYST! Nohoho!"

Using her free hand, she scribbled her nails all along your left side above your thin t-shirt, the fabric failing to grant you any kind of protection from her onslaught. You let out a tiny squeal and threw your head back, squirming underneath the weight of her. She gave you a wry smile, reveling in the noises you were making just because of a few light touches.

"Aww, does that tickle? I'm barely doing anything."

Her teases made that faint blush from earlier appear again, and you shook your head tenaciously. Her fingers travelled across your middle and you sucked in with a gasp, legs banging against the soft couch.

"Nahaha! P-plehehease!"

"Please what, huh?"

You knew it wasn't going to be easy to get her to quit her ticklish attack, and she made it known by moving her hand towards your ribs. They landed in the middle of your right side, fingers hastily bestowing quick pinches to the bones. A deep laugh emerged from your throat and you pulled on your detained hands.

"Ooh, such a bad spot," Catalyst teased, "just wait until the trickster hears about this."

Your eyes widened and you lifted your head to stare at her, meeting her mischievous gaze.

"NOHO!"

She smiled warmly, not letting up on her pinches as she spoke. "Aww, but wouldn't you love having his hands all over you?"

You felt the heat in your cheeks increase, shaking your head with vigor and yelling out an appeal in between fits of laughter.

"AHAbolutely nohot!"

Catalyst chuckled, making a 'tsk' noise and shaking her head disapprovingly. "It's not good to lie to a witch, you know."

"I'M NOT lyhihing!"

"Yeah, and you aren't super ticklish either," she deadpanned.

At a loss for words again, you just succumbed to laughter and continued your efforts of squirming against the couch. Her fingers climbed higher and tweaked at your upper ribs, making you bark out a laugh and twist on your side, blocking her efforts.

Catalyst snickered and simply removed her hand from underneath you, bringing it to your other side of ribs and continuing on with her pokes and tweaks. You squealed and tried turning on your other side, but the back of the couch deterred you movement. Forced to lie on your back again, you arched upwards and fell into deep laughter.

"You wanna give in and admit yet?"

You shook your head, mouth open and nose scrunched up in mirth. She smirked and paused her ticklish assault on your ribs, allowing you to catch your breath and sink into the couch.

After a few seconds, Catalyst looked down at you expectantly, flexing her fingers against your t-shirt as warning if you didn't speak. You emitted a small yelp and a giggle, taking in deep breaths.

"Well?"

"Ihihi," you paused, obtaining more air before continuing, "I dohon't like Witt."

Catalyst looked shocked, scoffing in disbelief at your obvious lie. She brought her hand down give a sharp poke to your navel. "That's such bullshit! You are a terrible liar."

"There are no lies coming from my lips!"

She grinned. "I guess not, only thing from your lips is laughter."

With that, she redoubled her efforts in making you squeal, taking your captured wrists and bringing them above your head. You barely got out half a "no" before letting out a scream as her free hand slowly descended into your underarm. Her fingers skittered gently on the skin, making you buck your hips and pull on your arms, going silent for a mere second before letting out cackles.

"The way you look at him is so cute! I noticed the way you lit up when you saw he was joining our team in the games."

The way she was practically bringing you to your near end while casually engaging in a conversation blew your mind. You felt your whole body go rigid and heat up in a flustered mess; endlessly denying what was clearly the truth, given the way your cheeks glowed pink.

Catalyst kept on with her teases and tickles, driving you insane. "You always seemed to do your hair a little nicer after that, and I also saw that same blush on your face right now whenever he complimented you on a kill!"

"EHEHENOUGH!"

She laughed and switched underarms, digging her fingers in instead of wiggling them gently. Your feet pounded against the soft cushioning of the couch and your fell to silent laughter again, the pulling of your hands weakening with every second she drilled her thumbs into the skin.

"Ooh, how about we invite him over? Maybe I can help you confess your fe-"

"OKAYHAY! OKAY!"

Catalyst grinned down at you, ceasing her attack on your underarm. She held onto your wrists still and kept her hand on the skin, ready to strike again if she so needed. Your body relaxed into the couch, chest heaving up and down for much needed breaths. You stared up at her through an exhausted haze and nodded your head.

"Okay, I admit it. I like him."

Catalyst released your wrists, jumping up off your legs and onto the carpeted floor with a victorious smile. She gave a cheer and reached down to put her hands on your shoulders, giving you an excited shake. "YES! I knew it!"

You groaned, covering your eyes in embarrassment before gazing back up at her with a shy smile. "You cannot tell him, or anybody for that matter."

She nodded her head and sat back on the opposite side of the couch, giving you space to sit back up and get in a comfortable position again. You gave her a disappointed look, shrugging your shoulders and staring at your fidgeting hands. "I'm not even sure he likes me back."

Catalyst threw her hands up and reached for yours, taking them in her hold and giving you a gentle squeeze. "Uh, have you seen the way he looks at you?"

You looked back up at her with a raised brow, mouth agape in confusion. "What?"

"And the way he stumbles over his words whenever you're around?" she gave a chuckle, "almost as bad as you. Those compliments only go towards you, you know."

You stared at her for what felt like almost a full minute before a small grin overtook your confused expression. "R-really?"

Catalyst nodded enthusiastically and nodded, giving a small laugh before continuing. "Yes! I'm surprised you haven't noticed it."

A small hue of pink clouded your cheeks and you let out a tiny giggle.

"You need to invite him over, perhaps things can go forward from there." She gave you a wink and you leaned over to playfully shove her arm with a laugh.

"Okay, okay! Maybe I'll ask him tomorrow!" You leaned back against the couch and grabbed your phone, eyes widening as you saw the time was way past midnight. You looked over to Catalyst and jumped off the couch. "Oh my god it's already almost two in the morning! I hope I didn't overstay my welcome."

Catalyst shook her head, giving you a warm smile and also standing up. "Of course not. You're always welcome over any time."

The two of you exchanged hugs and goodbyes and you grabbed your belongings, making your way towards the front door. Catalyst called your name and you turned back towards her.

"Let me know if you need a witch to help you confess your loooove for Elliott."

You groaned and opened the door, walking out and shutting the door behind you without a word. You grinned as you heard her laugh from inside.