Booked
Pairing: Billy Knight x You
Summary: Billy Knight didn't like to read... until he met you.
Contains: Way-back flashback, fluff, nerves, nerds in love.
Word Count: 1k
Billy Knight loved to read.
However, he did not discover this until he met you.
When he was a child, reading was something he had to do in school. He only read the books he was assigned, and they did not excite him. He went through the motions to get a passing grade - or else - and thought no more of it. The only books left in the Knights' cottage, after his father burned everything that reminded him of his wife, were either instructional or political, and those did not interest young Billy.
The first time he visited your home, he couldn't take his eyes away from your bookshelf. You'd noticed it and tried not to say anything, but eventually, you just couldn't help yourself.
"See something you like?" you asked with a smile, tilting your head into his eyeline from your place beside him on the couch.
"No… sorry." He glanced into your eyes and then down at his hands.
"It's alright. I know they're a mess, but organizing tends to be an all-day project, and I just haven't had the time," you explained, suddenly very self-conscious. Why hadn't you cleaned up more?
"S'not that. It's just… you read all those?"
You laughed softly. "That's the dream. I'd like to read everything, but somehow, I just keep reading the same ones over and over again. Y'know?"
He didn't. He looked up nervously. He did everything nervously in those days.
"Do you have a favorite book?" you asked, hoping to find some common ground. He shook his head, a blush spreading across his face and down his neck.
"That's alright. I had to read so many awful books in school, sometimes I thought I'd never voluntarily pick one up again."
"M'not very good at it," he said quickly.
"Good at what?"
"Reading."
You paused, not entirely sure what to say to that. His fingers picked at a loose thread on the sleeve of his sweater.
"You don't have to be good at it to enjoy it," you said gently. "I suppose that's true for just about everything."
He looked thoughtful, like he was considering it.
"Have you ever read a book you liked?"
He chewed his bottom lip as his eyes drifted around the room. After a moment, he spoke slowly, not meeting your eye. "My mum used to read me stories about animals."
Your face lit up. "I love stories about animals."
"These were for kids." He shifted nervously. "It was a long time ago."
"There's no age limit on a good book. I still have most of my childhood favorites. Just finished re-reading one last night."
"You still read kid books?" He stared at you with a mildly surprised look. If it had been anyone else, your face would have been burning at this point. But you could sense that Billy wasn't judging you for reading children's books. He was genuinely curious. You nodded.
"Sometimes when things aren't going great, diving back into one of those helps. Suddenly, I'm not a grown-up struggling to exist. I'm a kid who's learning how to use magic, or sailing the high seas, or sneaking into a secret garden. I've lived on the prairie, in castles, on a deserted island, in…" Suddenly aware that you were very close to getting carried away, you decided to cut your rambling short, before he invented an appointment he simply couldn't be late for. "Sometimes I just need to be anywhere but here."
He stared, and after a moment, asked, "You get all that from books?"
"Yeah," you admitted with your eyes on the rug, fearing you'd scared him off with your nerdy little tangent. Well done, loser, hope your books are a great source of comfort for you as you die alone.
"I think I've been reading the wrong books." Your head snapped up. You thought he'd be running for the door by now, but he's still there, giving you a shy smile. Your heart felt like it was about to burst.
"Shall we fix that?" Please say yes, you thought, trying to keep your face from showing just how happy you were to share this with him. He gave you a nod, barely containing his own excitement. "Come on," you said, beaming as you got off the couch.
He followed you over to the section where most of your childhood favorites lived. You never let anyone borrow your books - a water-damaged copy of Eragon returned without so much as a "sorry" had been the last straw - but you trusted him. You didn't know why, but you trusted Billy Knight immediately, more than all the lifelong friends and family who were now on the Banned from Borrowing list.
He wasn't a strong reader, at first. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd opened a book. But he started small and worked his way up, and found that he genuinely enjoyed losing himself between the pages of a good book. You welcomed him into fantastic worlds he never would have discovered on his own. And when you talked about them afterwards, it was almost like you were living in those wonderful worlds together. That was his favorite part.
He didn't know it at the time, but when you realized he'd be making his way through all your old favorites, you read them again. You wanted to be able to answer questions and discuss the details with him. Billy was a very observant person, and you didn't want to let him down. He'd been so impressed at how much you'd remembered about those books from your childhood, not knowing that after he left each night, you had stayed up 'til the early hours of the morning to re-read your next recommendation. Years later, when you finally admitted this, he laughed and felt himself falling a little more in love with the person he wanted by his side in his favorite world of all.
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Have you read any harrymort that you enjoy? any you can recommend?
Bestie i'm going to be completely honest. I have read a lot. I have read so many from authors who are massively praised on tumblr and random one-shots with hardly any kudos, I've read fics with over 100k words and i've read microfics. Honestly?
No one gets him. Don't get me wrong some of them are beautifully written stories with exceptional prose, but all of them try to change the basis of his character too much. I know fanfic can be whatever we want and they're more into it for the trope but they're changing the general basis of who Voldemort is as a character to ship him with Harry. All of them try their absolute best to make him this complete simp to Harry and its just too OOC for me.
I'm not saying this as a Bellamort stan, believe me because I ship Bella with loads of other people but seriously - no one gets him. I understand interpreting the text is individual to the person but like...did we read the same books? Are you sure? Because I've noticed one of the main things with harry/mort writers is that they're mostly basing stories on their interpretation of the films. Because of this I can not think of any story I've read that I genuinely enjoy. I thought at first it was because I really really don't like mxm ships and find them (to be perfectly honest) gross. I love mxf/fxf but I can't do mxm and genderbent (don't even start me on Harr!et Potter.....) so I figured ok lets not read one with smut. Nope, even then, I didn't like it.
Now i'm all for AU, and fanfics can be whatever they want, but I know for certain Harry/mort is NOT a ship I enjoy at all. Tom/arry is fun because its (obviously) AU, its a fun little tidbit. AU's for me are like 'what ifs' and I love those. I have a hundred of those so they're fine. But to sum it up?
I don't like it.
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— ocs as literary archetypes
tagged by my beloved @corvosattano @cptcassian @leviiackrman @roofgeese @jendoe @adelaidedrubman @chuckhansen @shellibisshe and @nightbloodraelle to take this uquiz to read some kids for filth, and well. yeah.
tagging @queennymeria @confidentandgood @loriane-elmuerto @unholymilf @florbelles @risingsh0t @marivenah and anyone else who wants to play!
— THE INNOCENT
this doesn't necessarily mean you're childish or naive! i think you're more of a hopeful person, maybe even a bit of an idealist. you might be the one who always looks for a silver lining, or tries their best to comfort and cheer other people up when they feel like shit. dont get stuck in a happy personality though, you're allowed to feel other things besides constant
— THE JESTER
i can guarantee you've said "the trauma made me funny" at least once. out of all the archetypes, you're the easiest to read. your emotions, thoughts, and feelings are so obvious to see, but somehow no one sees it, right? you're too independent for your own good. you have a tendency to overshare or vent unwittingly, but you always backtrack and cover it up with some kind of flimsy excuse or joke. you want someone to see that you are hurting too, but that can't happen until you stop brushing everything off and letting yourself feel it. but you're probably scared of being vulnerable, aren't you?
— THE HERO
i think you're pretty stubborn, which isnt always a bad thing. you probably tend to attach your value to your ability to help out; you feel worthless if you're not of use. you cant be strong all the time
— THE REBEL
you were probably made painfully aware of the reality of the world at an early age. this might have left you a bit jaded, but it mostly has made you angry. why do things have to be this way? is there really no way to change things, or are people just afraid to do so? you’re very stubborn and determined, sometimes too stubborn for your own good. don’t forget that your way isn’t the only way, be open to discussion. your heart’s in the right place though, and i admire your spirit. the world always needs more people like you, that’s how the course of history keeps on rolling. remember, even small changes can do so much for the lives of others.
— THE MAGICIAN
well, aren’t you detached from reality. i dont mean in a delusional sense, i mean you purposefully distance yourself from everything and everyone. you have people you're close to, of course, but they're always kept at arms length. you're incredibly driven though, achieving your goals is extremely important to you. you feel trapped in the life you have now, it's not enough for you. you need more, always more. you are so hungry, and if you’re not careful, you’ll only end up consuming yourself.
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