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He had tried so many times. Victor had seen you, but you hadn’t seen him. He was embarrassed of how many times he had walked over to your house to talk to you and had run away before you could notice him. It wasn’t that easy. How could he let you see him like that? You would scream in horror, and he hated the thought of you being afraid of him like that.
Victor sighed, standing before your building once more. He missed you. He missed your long talks, your flustered smiles and your kind gaze. He missed your heart of gold and your sense of humor, the way you would blush whenever he flirted with you. He missed all of you. But those days were in the past, he could never return to them. After all, he wasn’t even the same person. Victor wasn’t sure he was still a person anymore.
“Who’s there?” You exclaimed, startling him out of his thoughts. This time he hadn’t left in time to be invisible. Had he really stood there long enough for you to exit the building?
“Y/N” He accidentally called out your name. Even pronouncing it brought a mixture of pain and longing that made him ache.
“What… You…” You made an effort to see in the darkness of the night. “That voice…”
“It’s me” Victor piped up, holding his breath as he waited for the inevitable to occur.
“V-Victor? Is it really you?” You turned several shades paler, standing there in shock. “But you were… you had an accident…”
“I’m here” He said, gulping as he wished you would do something else. Scream or run, do whatever, but do it now. He couldn’t take that torture.
“Oh my god!” You threw yourself to hug him, sobbing as you held him tight and began rambling. “You’re alive, I can’t believe it! I’ve missed you so much, you have no idea of…”
Victor froze when you suddenly stopped speaking. He hadn’t allowed himself to hug you back in fear that it would scare you, but you stepped back yourself anyway.
“What’s wrong with you?” You observed him, trying to make out his features under his hood. “You feel… different… What happened?”
“This was a mistake” Victor muttered, making to turn and leave.
“No, wait!” You held on to his arm, realizing how hard it was under your fingers. “Let me look at you”
You reached out to put his hood down, but his hand held you by the wrist before you could. A gasp escaped you when you felt the incredible strength of his grip.
“Let’s get it over with, but I should warn you… you might not like it”
“Don’t say that”
As soon as he released you, he put the hood down himself. A strangled sound escaped your throat as you watched him. Most of his face was covered with metalic parts, making him look more machine than human.
“Victor…” You sobbed, grazing your fingers against his cheek.
He gawked at you, seeing how your watery eyes produced tears that cascaded down your face. What could he do? He had expected you to call for help, to try to hit him, to even faint, but… you were crying. He wasn’t expecting you to cry.
“It’s a long story” Victor urgently said, needing to break the silence. “I just wanted to see you, but I’ll understand if you want me to leave. In fact, I’ll just…”
“No!” You stopped him again, still finding the sensation of his body under your fingers strange. “Please stay”
“What?” He stuttered for a bit, utterly astonished. “Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“I’m not… I mean, it’s going to be hard to get used to but…” You sighed, feeling like that missing part of you had finally returned. “You’re still you, and I’ve missed you”
Without saying another word, you took a step forward again. Your arms reclaimed their position around him once more. It would definitely take some time to get used to him, but you were willing to have patience.
Victor exhaled something that sounded like a surprised chuckle as, this time, he let himself wonder in your warmth as he gingerly put his arms around you too.