#shade reader

Divider creds to @/strangergraphics. More Tyler Galpin! I love him.

Tyler Galpin x Shade!Reader. I have elaborated on Shades in a different post if you're curious, but basically an outcast with Umbrakinesis/Shadow Manipulation. Not explicitly stated, but story takes place before season 1. So, he's relatively untraumatized. Sorta meet-cute?

WC: 1,120. No beta or proofreading, I die like Isaac Night.

His dad didn’t like outcasts; that was abundantly clear. But that didn’t stop Tyler from accidentally befriending one, a really nice and attractive one... With some self-admitted creepy powers.

It had started when you came into the Weathervane during the weekend, a few Nevermore outcasts dotted around the cafe quietened and tensed. You didn’t notice, or you did and didn’t care; he couldn’t tell. You simply looked around the cafe in interest, before looking over the menu.

“Could I have a banana nut muffin and a hot chocolate to go?” You had requested, finally meeting his gaze. You’d tilted your head as he briefly stammered before finishing your order and taking payment. You thanked him quietly, gloved hands unintentionally brushing his as you grabbed your to-go bag, and then you even put some cash in the tip jar before leaving.

Once the door closed, the outcasts in the cafe seemed to let out a breath, returning to normal quickly.

You popped up more at the Weathervane, usually on weekends, sometimes on a weekday. You always wore gloves: black or brown leather, dark suede, white fabric occasionally, and purple once. And you almost always ordered the same thing, a banana nut muffin and a hot chocolate.

And even though Tyler had a feeling from the way a few outcast customers reacted to you, the first time you visited during a weekday, you wore a Nevermore uniform, somehow appearing before most other regular students were even near the cafe. The only response to his small talk attempt about it was a hum.

Then he started to see you around town, usually observing everything and keeping to yourself. And whenever he looked away, you seemed to vanish into thin air, though whatever dark places you were near always looked strange just for a few moments.

It wasn’t until he ran into you in the forest that you two actually talked, not typical customer service small talk, a real conversation.

Tyler had found you, gloves on as always, picking through trinkets you’d found. Small bones and skulls, pins, broken pendants, a pretty rock, feathers, and even an interesting little flower. You looked up when a branch snapped under his boot, curious but not scared, as if you already knew he was there.

“… You’re the Weathervane barista, Tyler, yes?” You noted, head slightly tilted in intrigue.

“Yeah, and, uh, you’re the Nevermore student that always wears gloves,” Tyler replied, watching as your attention returned to your items.

“Most likely. I don’t know of any other students who wear them as often as I do,” You said, glancing at him for a second before telling him your name.

“Um… What are you doing out here?” He asked, hands resting in his jacket out of awkwardness.

“I could ask you the same.” You started, a small smile quirking at your lips. “I come out here to forage, I collect things.”

“Anything specific?” Tyler questioned, tentatively stepping closer to look at your things.

“Not really, just anything I consider… Neat,” You shrugged softly, your gaze following him as he approached, sending a shiver down his spine. But it didn’t feel horrid, and you didn’t move away.

You two continued talking for a while, the longest he’d ever been in conversation with you, about anything and everything. It was easy, comfortable. It wasn’t until the sun was starting to set that Tyler realized how long both of you had been out there.

And upon noticing the same as him, you offer the pretty little flower you had scavenged to him, the petals stark against the black leather of your gloves. “For you, until next time.” You said, observing as he carefully accepted the gift, quietly admiring it.

“Thank you, I—” He cut himself off when he looked at where you were just a second ago, to see it empty. A tree’s shadow warps ambiguously and faintly. “… ‘Til next time,” Tyler muttered to thin air, gaze returning to the flower.

You popped up a lot more often, in favor of him instead of the Weathervane’s treats. He’d accompany you on your foraging trips to the forest, sit down at your table near closing time, and even manage to sneak you into his house, though that hangout was cut short due to his dad coming home early.

You became unlikely but good friends, and you even procured a book on Shades as a gift for him when he got curious about your outcast type and abilities, warning him that they could be ‘creepy’ to some… Well, to most.

Which is why he wasn’t the most surprised when the shadows at his window started writhing like something straight out of a Lovecraft tale, something you do to make your presence known and a request for entrance, so as not to scare him.

When he steps over to the window, he watches the shadows reveal you, crouched on the branch near his window. You softly smile and wave at him through the glass, hands devoid of your usual gloves, an increasingly common occurrence he finds.

A smile overtakes his lips and he opens his window. "Bold, coming over when my dad's home. Makes me feel a bit like Juliet," Tyler jokes, helping you climb in.

"And I'm supposed to be Romeo in this example?" You play along, dusting yourself off once you're on solid, carpeted ground.

"I could see it," He shrugs, returning to his seat at his desk.

"Being tragic star-crossed lovers?" You chuckle softly, leaning against the edge of his desk, idly watching over his shoulder. He tries to ignore the way his heart does a weird little thing at your words and proximity.

"More you fighting valiantly for someone's honor and heart, but a lot less tragic," Tyler says, glancing over at you, noticing the way some shadows curl around his legs unconsciously, a habit of yours.

"Well, thank you for the vote of confidence" You smile, your gaze meeting his for a few moments, the slight flush of the tips of his ears doesn't go unseen.

"Yeah, of course" He swallows, "So… Is there a particular reason for your risky visit?" He asks, leaning back in his chair.

"No. I simply wished to see you" You answer, inky fingertips fiddling with a trinket on his desk.

"Miss me?" Tyler teases, smiling when he makes you laugh.

"I did, yes" You say, the words leaving your lips easily, like they didn't make his heart skip a beat.

It's something he'd been noticing a lot recently, the way you affected him, seemingly unintentionally. You say things so sincerely, almost blunt, and you're always making sure he's alright, be it around your abilities or just in general.

Oh, he's so down bad.