#pickman x reader

“Wait here,” he said, his voice strained. “Do not come inside, no matter what you hear.”

You frowned but obeyed, pressing your back against the wall while he unlatched the door and stepped down the stairs. The air changed, damp and heavy, and then you heard it.

A growl, low and guttural, reverberated up from the darkness.

Your heart stopped.

At first, you thought it must be a dog, some great beast he kept for protection, but then Richard’s voice rose, frantic and urgent.

“Back. Whoa! No! She is my lover. No, get down! Back!”

There was another growl, sharper this time, followed by the scrape of claws against stone.

You clutched the frame of the door, frozen, until he shouted again, “No! She is mine, do you hear? Mine!”

And then, absolute silence, broken only by the sound of his unsteady breathing.

Then, slowly, something climbed into view.

It was no dog.

Pale skin stretched over bones, eyes hollow and unblinking, claws curling at the ends of too-long fingers. The creature hunched on the stairwell, shoulders moving sharply, and its lips peeled back to reveal crooked teeth. You gasped, stumbling back until your shoulder struck the wall.

Richard spun, racing up the steps to reach you. His hand found yours instantly, holding it with desperate force.

“Do not fear,” he whispered fiercely. “Stay behind me. Please, love, do not be afraid.”

You pressed yourself to his back, clutching at his sleeve, eyes wide on the thing that crouched in the doorway. It shifted its head, watching you.

Your voice trembled as you whispered, “What is it?”

“It is family,” he said. “Of a kind. The things I paint... they are not just visions. They live. They are mine, and I am theirs.”

The creature made a low noise, like a rasping sigh, and your grip on his hand tightened. “Can it… can it understand us?”

Richard glanced over his shoulder at you, his face pale but earnest.

“Yes. In its own way. It knows who you are to me.” His voice broke as he added, “It will not touch you.”

The creature edged a step closer, crouched low, but Richard snapped his fingers sharply.

“Back,” he said. “She is not for you to harm. She is my heart. You will respect that.”

A strange pause followed.

The creature tilted its head once, then retreated slowly into the shadows below. The growling ceased. Only silence remained.

You realised then that your fear had shifted into something else, something tangled with curiosity.

Your chest heaved as you whispered, “So this is your truth. This is what lives inside your paintings.”

He turned to you fully, gripping your face in his paint-stained hands. His eyes brimmed with desperation.

“Yes. This is me, all of me. I wanted to keep you far from it, but I could not. I could never hide from you. If you leave me now, I will not survive it.”

Your pulse still raced, but looking into his pleading eyes, you felt clarity settle over you. “Richard,” you said softly, “I did not love only part of you. I love you, even with this darkness. Even with them.”

For a moment he only stared, as if the words had broken something open inside him. Then he pulled you against him, his arms tight enough to steal your breath. His voice was rough in your ear. “Mine. You are mine, and nothing in this world, not even them, will ever take you from me.”

You clung to him in return, heart still thundering, yet sure of your choice.

The cellar might have been filled with shadows and monsters, but wrapped in his arms, you felt nothing but love. And you knew you could live with all sides of him, even the darkest ones, because he was yours.

~Masterlist~

ˇAO3ˇ

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