#monsterromance

Monsters under the bed couldn’t hurt you because they were silly made up fears children made up in the dark…at least that’s what you thought 15 seconds ago before you were staring at two amber glowing eyes under your bed staring back. You quickly tore your eyes away and laid back down on the bed breathing heavily trying to catch your breath. 

Thud, thud, thud! What was that? Whatever was under your bed must be crawling out from under it probably with claws and sharp teeth and- oh, it was just your heart pounding in your chest. 

“Get a grip!” you told yourself, “Monsters under the bed aren’t real! Start acting like an adult.” You had been lying awake in bed unable to sleep for the whole night. Insomnia has plagued you since you were little. You were used to it, not that it made it any less annoying, but tonight was one of the worst nights of your life. It was the wide eyed that was so wide your eyes hurt while your exhaustion tried to pull you under into the dream world, something else seemed to pull you up away from it, only leaving you with the crushing weight of your fatigue. Sometimes insomnia felt like being a fish floating just on the water's surface; being so within reach of where you belong at the moment but unable to reach it. 

Surprisingly, the worst part of insomnia was boredom. So in your boredom you had decided to look under your bed for what reason? You didn’t know. It felt like something had pulled you, almost called you to suddenly look under your bed, and that’s when you saw him. 

Everyone knew monsters under the bed weren’t real. Parents always told their children that. To ease your worries and maybe get a little sleep, you decided to look under the bed again. 

“8, 9…10!” you counted then peaked your head over the bed again looking under.

Parents lied. Just like they did about a lot of things.

The two amber eyes, like two full harvest moons, were still staring back at you.

You screamed. The thing under the bed screamed back. You then screamed more, which made the monster scream even louder. You grabbed a pillow and tossed it at the monster’s face. 

“Ow!” he hissed, “That hurt you know!” The bed lifted slightly as he bumped his head on the underside of it, shifting slightly. The momentum sent you sprawling off onto the floor, and you landed on your stomach face to face with him. 

He threw the pillow back, but you dodged it still staring in shock. The monster met your gaze and his glowing eyes went wide with fear, “H-Human?” he said in a deep, but calming voice while covering his face with his hands, “I didn’t realize a human was the owner of this bed.”

Was the monster scared of you? Judging by the way he was covering his face and peaking out with scared eyes. Not sure what to say, you blurted out the first thing that came to your mind, “Why are you under my bed?”

The sound of your voice caused the monster to jump again, bumping his head on the bed again. Small, soft whimpering came from under the bed like a crying puppy. You were surprised to realize a part of you felt sorry for the monster of all things. 

“If you keep doing that you’ll hurt yourself,” you retorted. The monster nearly jumped again, but stopped himself a split second before hitting his head again.

“You scared me was all,” the monster whispered, “Humans are dangerous to monsters.”

“I scared YOU?” you asked bewildered and then laughed, “You’re the monster under my bed.” 

“You’re still human,” he said unconvinced. Even if it was the stupidest thing you had ever thought, you had a feeling you could trust the monster and that he was more scared of you than you were of him. Just like a spider. A very, very large spider. 

You moved a little closer to the monster, making him sink further back into the shadows.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” you said reassuringly, trying to use the tone you reserved for street cats often found in your neighborhood. 

The monster seemed more at ease, but asked suspiciously, “How can I trust you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe the fact that I’m talking to a monster is enough proof.”

He shifted, then uncovered his face a little more and asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m Y/N. Who are you?” you asked curiously. Did monsters even have names?

“I’m Corvus,” he muttered with a hint of a smile revealing fangs gleaming from the shadows. 

“Do you want to come out from under there, Corvus? It must be really cramped,” you said. Another probably stupid decision. 

“My body can shift into the shadows beyond physical matter or time and space,” Corvus replied as if that were the most normal thing in the world. 

“That doesn’t help me any,” you scoffed. “Basically, I can shift to wherever or whenever I want through shadows and adjust my form to accommodate the space I’m in by melding with the darkness around me,” he explained, “That’s why monsters like me often choose beds to hide out under. They’re plenty dark and can be very comfy,” 

That explanation still didn’t make much sense, but you shrugged it off not wanting to question it any further.

“Well, I would prefer if a monster wasn’t under my bed,” you grumbled, “And I would like to get a look of what’s been under my bed while I sleep.” 

“I still don’t know if I can trust you,” Corvus murmured, sounding scared again. 

You didn’t like seeing him scared like this, even if you barely know him. He reminded you too much of some sort of tiny frightened animal, even if that was the oxymoron of the century. 

“Let me prove it to you,” you slowly brought your hand palm facing him towards him. 

The monster backed up more. A low rumbling sound came from the back of his throat, and you pulled your hand back in fear.

“I promise I’m not going to hurt you,” you swore soothingly while bringing your palm closer to Corvus again, “you can trust me.” The monster growled again, but you moved a little closer. He suddenly snapped, grazing his teeth barely over your fingers giving you a clear look at them from the darkness for the first time. Two long sharp fangs and rows of teeth larger and more menacing than you had ever seen before. You brought your hand back to yourself and felt the thudding heartbeat in your chest just like when you had first seen Corvus moments ago. Realizing how dangerous and serious the predicament you were in was, you second guess yourself for a moment considering calling the police or maybe a priest, but something about the way he was looking back at you, so afraid and vulnerable stirred something strange in your heart. Stubborn had always been your strong suit, and you weren’t giving up.

“I’m not going to hurt you, I promise,” you repeated and brought your hand closer and closer to the monster. Corvus growled a little and shifted, as if he was fighting off his own fear. Finally, your hand met his head and patted it lightly. He closed his eyes and made a contented noise you’ve never heard before in the back of his throat. 

“See? I told you I wasn’t going to hurt you,” you assured him.

“I guess you were right,” Corvus admitted while you gave him a head pat. You tried pulling your hand away, but he snatched it right back, pressing his head back into your palm. 

“Do you want to come out now?” you asked. Corvus hesitated, then answered in a quavering tone, “I suppose it would be better than the bed.”

You smiled victoriously, hoping to finally satisfy your curiosity of whatever the thing under your bed could look like. Knowing what you were dealing with could help you rest better considering you already had enough to worry about with your insomnia, but you had a feeling you didn’t have to worry since Corvus seemed so timid and shy. You expected him to be some sort of small fluffy creature with how he had been acting around you.

“Come on out,” you coaxed, motioning your hand towards yourself, “I won’t bite.” 

  “But I bite.” 

 Huh? That didn’t sound right. 

There was a scuffling sound from under the bed as he moved closer. Scraping and scratching rang across the wooden floor as two clawed hands dug into the floor leaving jagged claw marks across the surface as they pulled themself out. You scrambled off your seated position on the floor and backed up to your wall to get away. A dark shadow cast over you as you looked up, realizing that the shadow was coming from Corvus. 

Oh boy, were you wrong thinking he wasn’t going to be big. He was huge! 

The monster stood before you pulling himself to his full height. He had to be nearly 7ft tall making him tower over you. His hands were clawed, sharp and menacing while he smiled down at you revealing the fangs you had noticed earlier. Even his ears were sharp and pointed, reminding you of an elf. The two amber eyes you had seen in the first place still stared never wavering. 

At least he was human looking enough, his form was that of a human except his skin tone was almost purple-ish, and he was made much stronger and more muscular than any normal person. His hair was a raven black, long and falling past his shoulders. The expression on his face was soft and shy despite his terrifying features, and his smile was genuine and toothy. Luckily he was wearing some sort of loose pants made of a material you didn’t recognize, but his top was bare. Dealing with a monster in your room was hard enough, but at least you didn’t have to find clothes for him.

“You’re so big!” you exclaimed without thinking again. Stupid. Why did you always have to say the worst things at the worst times? It wasn’t time to offend the monster that had probably tricked you into thinking he was harmless so he could eat you.

“And you’re small,” Corvus declared, pointing at you. “Anyone would be small compared to you!” you snapped back. 

“The wall is blue,” he said nonchalantly, pointing again now at the wall.

“What does that have to do with anything?!” you asked confused and exasperated. This monster had gone from scaring you to being straight up annoying. 

“I thought we were just stating facts,” he answered and smiled again. 

You facepalmed, “No we’re not- ugh! Nevermind.” You looked back at him not sure what to say or do in this situation. “What sort of monster are you?” “I’m a shadow shifter,” he explained, “We can move around and change our form in the shadows.”

“Are there other kinds of monsters?” you inquired.

“Yes, we’re a very diverse population,” Corvus answered, “There’s many different kinds of us.”

Wow…you weren’t going to question any further. Your whole world had shifted enough tonight knowing monsters existed at all, you didn’t need to know if vampires or bigfoot existed for now. 

Corvus’s deep, but shy voice interrupted your thoughts, “I’m sorry about staying under your bed. It was just a nice looking place to stay at night, and I could sense your presence. Something about you made me feel at ease.”

“I make you feel at ease?”

“You’re different from other humans. Most have strange or scary dreams all night that make my head feel all fuzzy, but you don’t.” 

“Insomnia,” you muttered, sounding dejected. As if it couldn’t make your life any worse, it now attracted monsters to your room. 

“What’s Insomnia?” Corvus asked, looking bewildered. “It’s just-” you sighed, “It’s a thing that keeps you from sleeping at night.”

“Oh, you can’t sleep, little human?” Corvus said, sounding concerned, “That explains why I felt so drawn to you, but that isn’t healthy.”

“I’m fully aware,” you huffed sitting down on the bed. Surprisingly, Corvus sat down as well, making the mattress sink immensely. You were suddenly very aware of the close proximity.

You forced yourself to face him, getting a good look at his features. Both eyes somehow managed to keep a dim glow even out of the darkness, but you noticed something else glowing too. Scattered across his face were small dots twinkling faintly that looked like stars in the night sky contrasted against his purply skin tone, barely perceptible until one looked close.

“You look like starlight,” you whispered in wonder, all fear of him fading away and turning to magic. A gentle smile spread across his face, making his stars shine more. 

“You mean these?” Corvus asked in a teasing tone pointing at the dots, “Those help as see in the dark, and can help as sense our surroundings. They also express our emotions and help us feel others when we’re close to them.” 

“They’re so amazing,” you said leaning closer to his face, prompting Corvus to smile more, but in the nervous way he had under the bed. 

“But you have stars too,” Corvus laughed, “Why are you so interested in mine?”

“No I don’t. I don’t have anything like those. I’m not special like you,” you murmured. 

“You do have stars, little human. See?” he said brushing his fingers over a mark on your skin. It was an odd sensation, touching him for the first time, but it wasn’t a bad thing. You had never really considered the mark anything more than something along the lines of freckles. 

“Mine aren’t like yours. They don’t glow or do anything. They aren’t starlight.”

“Everyone has a little bit of stardust in them. Monsters or humans.” he said gently rubbing his thumb over the mark, “You have the exact combination of materials found in stars within you. So yes, you are made of starlight.”

For once, you smiled back at the monster sitting across from you unable to find words.

“Can I call you my Star?” Corvus quivered more afraid of you than ever, “If you don’t mind of course, I just-” 

“I would like to be your Star,” you whispered back, interrupting him feeling like your sleepless nights would be a lot less lonely.

Weeks and weeks had passed since you had first met Corvus, but you and him had fallen into a nightly routine. Even on your most restful nights, you still managed to have a few hours spent wide awake, so you kept each other company. It was fun having a friend for once when your insomnia had made for long, boring nights. The monster was still somewhat timid at times, but he had grown much closer to you and seemed to be fascinated by everything human he could get his clawed hands on. Currently, he was flipping through a book from your shelf with interest after he had just been through the old stuffies he had found in your closet much to your embarrassment. He didn’t seem to mind though, and liked them a lot, especially the cow one.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” you asked, stifling a giggle as he bumped into your shelf for the hundredth time since rooms weren’t made to accommodate his large size. Corvus shook it off and replied sounding offended, “You know the moving box confuses me. And the horror movies portray monsters completely inaccurately. Nothing but stereotypes.” 

You groaned and laid back on the bed with a fake dramatic flair making him rumble a laugh. He set the book back on the shelf and walked over to you staring down at you.

“Besides, you need sleep. You’ve been up long enough,” Corvus scolded, but you knew he was just concerned.

“You know I have insomnia,” you huffed looking back up at him annoyed.

“I could help you sleep,” he grinned and a million thoughts flashed through your mind at once wondering what he could mean. “How?” you wondered aloud. 

He grinned and his face illuminated with the glow from his “stars”- you had begun to notice they glowed brighter around you for some reason. 

“I already mentioned that we can sense the feelings of those around us with these, well, when we’re close to someone emotionally we can affect how they feel.” he explained, “We’ve grown to be close friends over the past few moons, haven’t we, little human?”

“But how would that even work?” you asked.

“If I could just stay beside you while you fall asleep, then I could help you.” Corvus insisted.

“You mean sleep in the bed?” you sputtered surprised at how uncomfortable and comfortable you were with the idea all at once. Which feeling was worse to feel towards your monster companion, you weren’t sure, “I thought you would feel more comfortable under the bed.”

The monster’s face glimmered even more as he laughed, “I think it’s time I quit hiding under the bed and stayed on top for once. I’ve hid in the shadows far too long.” Suddenly, the room felt smaller pushing the both of you together with the only light shining in the dark room coming from Corvus’s “stars” and deep amber eyes. Despite the knots twisting in your stomach and bundle of nerves you had never felt around the monster before, you scooted over making room for him in the bed inviting him in.

The mattress sank considerably adjusting for his large size, pushing you closer to Corvus involuntarily making you breath in his scent; the smell of pine and something strangely familiar to sea salt. You would have to ask him if he lived near an ocean tomorrow night. It took a few times for him to adjust in bed since it was definitely not made to hold 7ft tall monsters. Eventually, he curled up and tilted his head lower to face you making room for himself.

He took the opportunity to wrap his arms around you gently, pulling you into him, as you could feel for once how truly strong the monster was as his muscles tensed from the simple action. All of this didn’t seem to bother you, if anything, it felt like home.

A gentle glow cast over you, blanketing you in starlight as you heard Corvus whisper, “Let’s get you to sleep now, my Star.” He ran a hand over your back, being careful to be gentle as you felt yourself drift off easier than ever before in your entire life. It was easy with nothing but your friend’s soothing voice and the repetitive, gentle lull of Corvus’s breathing. The sink into darkness was easier with stars to guide your way.

Amber eyes glowed staring back at you thoughtfully as they took in your sleeping form.

“You’re my Star. You have to be a star since you were the one who answered my wish. I’m not alone in the shadows anymore,” he reached down and kissed your forehead, “And that’s why you’re the brightest Star of them all. My Star.”

Both you and Corvus fell into a deep sleep for the rest of the night. You now are able to find uninterrupted slumber for the first time in your life, and Corvus able to sleep peacefully without the pain of sensing a person’s restless dream - experiencing and sharing your calm ones. 

The two stayed that way until morning, finding that their hands had found each other during the night just as the stars had helped them find each other as well.