i need to ask (before i'm alone)

Lockwood Thorn

Avery Byrde

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this is a ship fic!

A sweet song played throughout the town square as the moon shined overhead, the chatter and cheering of the townsfolk drowning out my thoughts - and, helpfully, my pounding heart - as I hid behind a building.

There he stood, that handsome devil. His hands were in the pockets of his handmade robe, his scarred and patchwork face smiling wide as he spoke to another townie, eyes glittering as the two chattered. I couldn't make out the conversation, but clearly he was enjoying himself - as was his conversation partner, who laughed a sweet melodious laugh before running back into the crowd. He turned his head, nearly catching a glimpse of me before turning towards the gallows, his hair flowing behind him like waves as he chuckled to himself.

I took a few steps forward, still obscured by the building I was behind, watching as other people came up to him. One of them, a short girl with brown hair, wearing a cute purple dress and a mask on her forehead, tugged on his arm to drag him into the crowd. He shook his head, and she sighed.

"Come on, Lockwood, you're missing out - the Mayor's assistant has the Monarch's bodyguard in a headlock." She pleaded, laughing. "C'mon, I know you like watching 'em when they're shirt--"

"Nah, sorry Glinda - I'm waiting for someone." He chuckled, brushing her hand off of his arm. "You haven't seen Avery around, have you? I wanted to ask him something."

"Oh... no, I don't think I have. D'ya think Liric might've?" She replied, tilting her head. I shrunk behind the building, hoping neither of them saw me.

She relented after a moment, jogging into the crowd, whooping about the outcome of whatever scuffle was happening. He turned his head, pausing for a moment before stepping into the alleyway. I froze, hoping my dark suit and darker mask would keep me obscured.

Wishful thinking was not my friend, though. He turned his head, face softening as he spotted me. I sighed, peeling myself off of the wall and looking at him.

"You're awfully far from the festivities, Avery." He said softly, looking at me with concern. "Everything all right?"

"I-um. Y-Yeah." I spluttered, fidgeting with my hands. I felt so vulnerable, especially without my support buddy in my falcon. "J-just. Um. I just..."

"Looking for someone?" He asked, and I jumped, freezing.

"I-- no! Not at all, actually. I just... well, you know, gotta get in the right position to do my job, and..." My voice trailed off, and he folded his arms playfully.

"Well, good thing I found you, because I was looking for you." He grinned, sharp teeth glittering in the moonlight. My face burned, and I hoped I wasn't as red as I felt. "Wanted to ask you about something, since you said you were at my house last night."

"U-uhm... yeah! Sure, what's up?" I babbled, smoothing my hair and putting my hands on my hips to feign confidence. "I can help with whatever."

"Who all went there?" He asked, and I put a hand on my chin while I thought about it.

"Glinda, and.... I f-forget their name. The one that looks like Artemys's cousin, or whatever."

"Huh... I had company over before I left, you didn't see him go?"

"Company...?" I asked, face flushing. "N-No, I guess I didn't. Who was it?"

"Oh, just John - he said he left that brat of his with Mary so we could have a talk about stuff." He explained, eyes taking on a mischievous glint at the mention of 'stuff', and I gulped.

"I-I see. I must have missed him, I'm sorry. I promise you everything else I saw was real, though." I fumbled with my cuffs, and he laughed softly.

"Don't worry about it." He said, gently taking my hand. "You wanna walk with me? You look like you've got a lot on your mind."

"S-Sure." I beeped, fingers subconsciously interlocking with his as he led me further away from the party, into the forests that surrounded the town. "Where are we going exactly...?"

"Not too far. Little clearing a few hundred feet ahead. I come here when I need to think." He purred, looking down at me with a grin. "Seemed like you needed to get out of your head for a bit."

"I guess so..." I turned my head, watching Salem disappear into the darkness as he lead us into the clearing. The moon seemed to shine brighter here, the music barely audible over the bugs and night-time creatures that called the forest home. "Oh, wow..."

"Beautiful, isn't it?" He mused, sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree that cut across the clearing. I sat on the ground next to it, looking up at him and the stars above us both. "It's nice to get away from it all."

"Y-Yeah." I laughed nervously. "...You weren't going to ask about last night,were you? Not originally, I mean."

"Yes and no. I wanted to ask something else but... I thought better of it. When I saw you getting all anxious though, I thought I'd take you out here, help you relax." He admitted, laying down on the bark and putting his hands behind his head. "Plus, you seem like you need someone to talk to."

It's not so much someone to talk to... I thought to myself as I leaned against the tree. "Not that I-I'm really worth talking to." I said softly. He laughed, brushing his gloved hand against my head.

"Nonsense, Avery - you're a delight to be around." He said reassuringly, and I smiled softly.

"Um, actually... Can I ask you something?" I whispered after a moment. He paused, before looking at me with a gentle smile.

"Of course, what's up?"

"...Have you ever had a friend that you felt should be... m-more than that?" I asked, words falling out of my mouth at an alarming rate. He sat up, blinking slowly at me.

"Huh? You're talking a mile a minute."

"I-I... um..." I fumbled with my cuffs again. "Have you ever, I mean, had a friend that, you thought... you should -- you thought should be more than that?"

"Sometimes, yes." He looked up at the stars again. "I had an apprentice, before all of this began - he was quite the handsome fellow, a brilliant student, a master of the arts, yet... something was off about him." He sighed, looking away from the sky and towards town. "Eventually, they found him strung up in the rafters of his own home, next to some screed about purging Salem of its evil."

"Oh." I blinked. "I'm sorry..."

"It's all right. He turned out to be a lot more than I had initially bargained for." He laughed dryly. "Stupid idiot had everyone doubting my allegiances."

"I see. What if the person you like isn't anything like you, though?"

"Well... it'd depend on their personality, I guess. " He mused, tapping his foot in the air. "Someone sweet, who isn't afraid to put themselves in danger to keep others safe."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I mean, if they looked cute too, that's definitely a bonus..." he chuckled. "I think, honestly, there's a... rather attractive aspect to being a hero like that..."

My face was burning as I was putting the pieces together in my head. "B-But I mean... are they actually a hero...?" I asked, scratching the back of my neck. "Or do they just stalk people and people assume its heroic..."

"Well, I mean, they have their fair share of detractors." He laughed, rolling around so he was laying on his stomach, front half dangling next to me. "But I've seen that he-- they -- don't pay the critics any mind, especially since at least two of them have been witches." He said with a wink, and I blushed brighter. "Tell me, Avery, you know any fine people like that?"

"I could think of a few, maybe." I shrugged. "Kinda sounds like Nevermore." I said, half-joking. A lot of traits lined up; we both knew who he was really talking about, though.

"Please, I think you and I both know where his eyes are laying." Lockwood replied with a laugh, covering his mouth with his hands. "Surely you know the rumors, right?"

I rolled my eyes, playfully slugging his arm. "Humor me."

"I mean, you work for him - is he courting the Mayor or not?" He laughed, and I shook my head.

"I can't say one way or another; he doesn't exactly share his personal life with us." I replied, rolling my eyes as I leaned against the bark, looking at him as he looked at me. "It wouldn't surprise me though. There was this Cleric he used to be seen with, but... I dunno, I guess something happened. Nobody's seen them in weeks, and well - I mean, you've heard the rumors."

"You think he had something done to them?" Lockwood asked abruptly, and I laughed.

"Lord, no, he's not that sort of man. Maybe if they were seeing the Mayor, or like maybe the Jailor, I'd get it. They're both kinda scary."

"Suppose so. I wonder where they went, then?" He put a hand on his chin, and I grinned. "I mean, they can't have just up and left town over a breakup, right?"

"They're probably just in their house; I'm sure someone's seen them." I shook my head. It was nice when I could talk to someone and not worry about it. "B-But, um, I mean... about what you said earlier..."

He raised an eyebrow, tilting his head. "What about it?"

"...Are you, um... ugh, I need to ask but I don't know how." I mumbled, fidgeting again. He gently took my hands, and I blushed.

"Does that help?" He asked softly, and I nodded.

"...I... We should... spend some more time together. Are you doing anything, say, uhh... tomorrow night?" I babbled, looking away. He grinned, looking at me with a sweet, almost loving smile.

"I hadn't planned on doing anything unless they needed me to, so... I should have time." He replied with a grin, "just make sure you show up as you and not as this... handsomely dapper rogue I see in front of me."

My face burned as he laughed, letting go of my hands and putting his own behind his head. "You'd think you'd never gotten a compliment in your life with how flushed you are right now."

"I-I mean... I haven't, not on that level..." I mumbled, burying my face in my hands. "Look, um... Thank you, for this. For tonight, I..."

"Avery," He said softly, and I peeled my hands from my face to look at him. His expression was warm, eyes full of appreciation. "Don't stress so much about it. You're fine, okay?"

"If you say so." I replied, a grin creeping across my face. "I just... You're..." My babbling devolved into a warm laugh as i rested my head against his chest, his head resting on mine as we both laughed. "I really like you, Lockwood." I finally managed to blurt out amidst all the giggling.

"You too, Avery." He replied with a grin, smiling against my chest. My heart felt full, my body encompassed by a warm glow -

I really hoped that tomorrow would go the way I wanted it to.

---

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