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One night as you sat by the fire in your manor’s library, there was a raging snow storm outside, rudely reminding you of your father’s death. His ship had gotten stuck in the icy ocean a few winters ago and before anyone could save him or his men, they froze to death within a day, officially passing his manor down to you. When you had gotten news of his death, it crushed you, causing you to lock yourself in your bedroom for days while you cried. After all, he was all that you had since your mother had died not long after she gave birth to you. He’d raised you on his own, never letting some governess or servant do it for him.
Ever since then, you had been completely alone except for the loving company of your cat, Fred, who your father had given you as a birthday present a few years before his death. Fred was your only friend and your greatest companion, but as much as you loved him, you longed for more than just a cat as your friend. And due to the fact that your father was no longer alive, your servants left long ago to work for other people after you assured them that you’d be fine on your own. The only person who would visit you nowadays was your father’s greatest friend, Laszlo, he would stop by once a week to check on you and bring you anything you needed. Nevertheless, you wanted someone to talk to who wasn’t your father’s friend.
As the storm continued on outside, you suddenly heard someone pounding on the front door of your manor, startling you from where you watched the snow fall in your comfortable armchair. Curious to see who could possibly be at your door in the midst of a storm this bad, you went downstairs to investigate while Fred remained curled up in front of the fire. Before you opened the door, you quickly checked to see who it was through a nearby window on the first floor, wondering if Laszlo had been in the area and needed a safe place to stay for the night.
But instead of seeing Laszlo, there was a very tall man on your doorstep where you’d expected Laszlo to be. He looked so cold as he stood there hunched over, his skin was almost blue. Deciding to take a risk, you opened the door, “Hello, how may I help you?” you asked, trying to ignore the way the cold air irritated your skin.
Once you got a good look at his face under the moonlight, you were afraid for a moment but the second he started to speak, this fear easily melted away and you began to feel sympathy instead. He removed his hood, completely showing you his face, “Good evening, I am Adam. I am sorry for bothering you, my lady, but could you possibly offer me a place to stay for the night? I will leave at dawn and pay you for your hospitality.” he pleaded, it seemed as if his skin was becoming grey the longer he was outside.
Your eyes scanned over him for a moment, it looked as if he had been badly hurt, there was blood that stained his shirt he was wearing underneath the layers of clothes he wore and his coat had been ripped up as though he had been attacked.
“Yes, of course.” you replied and let him in, immediately shutting the door behind him and guiding him to your father’s study down the hall. As soon as you reached the large room a few moments later, you started a fire in the fireplace as quickly as you could.
“Please get comfortable, I will be right back,” you told him as you started to walk backwards toward the doorway before you stopped in your tracks. “I apologize, I have forgotten myself. I am (y/n).” you made known with a quick laugh, causing Adam to quietly repeat your name to himself, liking the way it sounded falling from his lips.
You then went upstairs to your father’s bedroom and retrieved some dry clothes as well as a pillow, blanket and bandages that you could use to dress his wound. When you returned, he spoke again, “Thank you for letting me stay here, you are kind.” he said while he looked into your worried eyes.
“It is my pleasure,” you replied as you set the clothes down and started to unroll the bandages until you stopped for a moment. “But if you don’t mind me asking, who did this to you?” you asked, referring to his wound, a concerned tone to your voice as you looked up at him.
He stood from the chair he had settled in and took a few steps toward you, “My wound does not need to be dressed, my lady, I am not injured anymore.” he explained, nervous about how you’d react to what he was planning to say next.
A confused expression rolled out across your face, “What do you mean?” you inquired, the amount of blood on his shirt made it look like this wound was fatal.
“I am not a normal man.” he made known, confusing you even more. In this moment, he decided to be upfront about his story and sat back down in his chair, encouraging you to sit next to him while he started to tell you his story and you set the bandages down. If you weren’t scared of him before then telling you his story wouldn’t hurt, right?
By the time he finished telling you everything that had happened to him up until he stumbled upon your manor, a few tears had fallen down your cheeks and there was a sad look in your eyes. A look of concern took over Adam’s features, fearing that he scared you, “I am so sorry that this happened to you, Adam. But I promise that you are safe here and you may stay as long as you would like.” you told him, making his tense shoulders relax.
“Are you sure? You know how dangerous I am now, I could hurt you.” he reminded you as he furrowed his brow bones.
“I am sure. You deserve to be shown the kindness and love that Elizabeth and the old man are no longer able to show you.” you proclaimed, causing tears to prick at Adam’s eyes.
He nodded, “Thank you.” he said once more and you shook your head.
“You needn’t thank me, you deserve a safe, warm place to live,” you reminded him, making him softly smile at you. “I will let you rest now but if you need me, my bedroom is the third door on the left upstairs. Goodnight, Adam.” you said as you stood up, a soft smile of your own now on your face.
“Goodnight, (y/n).” he replied before you exited the room, leaving him alone to change into your father’s clothes and sleep.
The moment he was alone, he got up and started to look around the room. He quickly found a few paintings of a younger looking you and a man he hadn’t yet seen here on the walls. He wondered if this man was your father and if you had lost him like how he had lost the old man and Elizabeth. And if that was the case, he soon started to wonder who took care of you and loved you now that he was gone. It saddened him to think that you might possibly be entirely alone like he was and he wondered if you’d let him be your companion. He’d ask you in the morning, he decided.
—----------------------------------------------------
The following morning when you came downstairs and went into the kitchen to feed Fred, you found Adam already there, still wearing your fathers clothes while he poked around while he observed all of the cooking supplies like he’d never seen these items before. But to be fair, neither had you until the servants left and Laszlo’s wife had to teach you how to cook. “Good morning.” you greeted as you briefly reached over him to grab the pitcher of water that sat on the counter, your arm brushing up against his as you did so, causing him to back away.
You slowly set the pitcher back down, “Are you alright? I did not mean to scare you.” you promised, prompting him to nod in response.
“Forgive me,” he began slowly. “I am still getting used to people not being afraid of me.” he explained.
“I understand but I hope you know that I do not fear you,” you reassured him as Fred entered the room and loudly meowed at you, causing Adam to tense up once more. He had never seen this kind of creature before. You scooped Fred up into your arms and showed him to Adam, “This is Fred, my cat. He is completely harmless, just hungry, I promise,” you told him, eliciting another nod from him. “Would you like to hold him?” you offered, wanting to do everything you could to lessen his fear of Fred.
He hesitantly held his hands out and you placed Fred in them. He awkwardly held the cat at first, his legs dangling beneath him, but you swiftly helped him hold Fred in a position that would be more comfortable. Fred then meowed again and pawed at his nose, making Adam smile, “See he likes you.” you said as you placed your hands on your hips, causing his smile to become brighter.
While Adam happily continued to hold Fred, you prepared a plate of meat scraps for him and placed it on the floor, wordlessly encouraging him to spring out of Adam’s arms in the direction of the meat, making Adam gasp before he quickly started to laugh at how Fred scarfed all of the meat down and you shook your head at the cat. “And he wonders why he gets the hiccups every morning.” you commented with a laugh, the most musical sound Adam had ever heard.
While Fred disappeared from the room after finishing his breakfast, Adam turned to face you, “What happened to the man in the paintings?” he asked, causing you to stop moving and frown as your eyes met his.
You let out a soft sigh, expecting him to ask about the man who took up the walls in the room he’d slept in at some point, “That man was my father, he died a few years ago.” you explained, tears now flowing down your face as you finished speaking.
A strong pang of guilt hit Adam as he rushed to your side, “I am sorry for asking, please do not cry.” he said as inched closer to you.
“It is okay, I know you did not mean it.” you assured him. Adam nervously reached out and gently wiped your tears away with his thumb, making that soft smile return to your face.
“Who takes care of you now that he is gone?” he inquired, informing you of more of his curiosity surrounding you and your father. “His friend, Laszlo visits me once a week but other than that I am alone with Fred and take care of myself.” you explained, saddening Adam once more.
“I understand, I am often alone as well. Maybe we could be each other’s companions?” he shyly suggested. You nodded, “Yes, Adam, I will be your companion. I would like nothing more.” you answered, prompting Adam to hug you.
“Friend.” he murmured into your hair, making you softly chuckle. “Yes, friends.” you replied, tightly hugging him back.
—----------------------------------------------------
A month had easily passed and it was now a couple days before Christmas. “I have never celebrated Christmas before.” Adam confessed one afternoon as you sat together in front of the fire in the library’s fireplace, shocking you a little.
“Then we must go out and chop down a Christmas tree for us to decorate.” you insisted before you soon started to explain the holiday more as a confused look appeared on his pale face. With that, the two of you got bundled up and ventured out into the snowy forest of evergreen trees just beyond your manor. It didn’t take long before you found the perfect tree and Adam chopped it down for you with one of the grounds keepers axes.
He carried it back and placed it where you instructed him to in the downstairs parlor next to one of the windows. Once that was settled, he helped you get out a few trunks that were filled to the brim with ornaments and decorations and you showed him how to decorate the tree, happily watching as he placed ornaments on a few branches. Before you knew it, the areas that you could reach were fully decorated so you grabbed another ornament and stood on your tippy toes, trying your best to reach the branch almost a foot above your head but it wasn’t long before you started to struggle to reach it.
And without you having to ask, Adam scooped you up into his arms and helped you sit on his broad shoulders so that you could now reach the branch, making heat flood your cheeks while butterflies flew around your stomach. “Thank you, Adam.” you said once you got the ornament onto the branch you had in mind as you pressed a light kiss to the top of his head, making him smile as bright as the sun.
He then slowly crouched down, placed you back on the ground and planted a kiss on your forehead as a way of thanking you for teaching him more about the holidays. This gesture alone made your cheeks blush while your heart beat rapidly. You had to admit, you felt so much happier with Adam here, no longer sad and alone after years of almost complete solitude.
—----------------------------------------------------
A couple more days passed and it was now Christmas morning. Ever since you’d decorated the tree, you both had been secretly creating a gift for each other and now it was finally time to exchange them. You sat together on the floor in front of the tree with Fred curled up in Adam’s lap and gave each other the gifts you had made. Adam had made you a small wreath of leaves from the nearby evergreen trees, making you beam brightly, “Thank you, Adam. I love it.” you told him as you kept smiling.
Now it was time for him to open your gift, you had simply written him a short, sweet letter a few days before. Which read,
Adam,
I am extremely grateful that you are with me. Thanks to you, the loneliness that once ruled any other emotion has disappeared and I am no longer plagued by nightmares that remind me of my father’s death. You make me happier than I have ever been but there is something I must tell you. Over the past month, I have fallen in love with you. I understand if you do not share these feelings but I cannot keep pretending that I do not love you.
Love,
(y/n)
It took Adam a moment to get to your confession but once he did, his eyes widened before they then started to tear up, making you fear the absolute worst. Had you just ruined your friendship forever? “You truly love me?” he asked slowly. You nodded right away, “Yes, I do. It is so easy to love you.” you confirmed as Adam started to gently place Fred and the letter on the floor then surged toward you.
In the blink of an eye, he picked you up, placed you in his lap and wrapped his arms around you. “I love you too, (y/n), I burn for you.” he admitted then pressed a gentle kiss before your lips before you had the chance to respond. But instead of responding, you kissed him back, simply deepening the kiss.
“Stay here with me forever, please.” you begged. “You are all that I need, I will stay for as long as you will have me.” he replied, prompting you to kiss him once more.