A Dance With The Fatui (Il Dottore x reader)

26: Physical Touch

Warnings: Cussing

A little over a week had passed since the awkward proposal. Their interaction with one another had been limited. Zandik had stopped requesting her to eat meals with him, but Y/N had still joined him. At first, she tried to converse with him, and he would give her short responses. After a few meals he stopped coming, preferring to eat in his office.

She knew that she hurt his feelings, but she couldn't help not wanting marriage just yet. It was too soon, and she honestly wasn't too sure about his feelings towards her. He had only expressed his wish to marry her.

The isolation started to get to her. She noticed after how reliant she was on Zandik for human interaction. Y/N could even say she was missing him. In the absence of Zandik, she found herself spending a lot of time in the greenhouse, spending hours tending to the plants. It was the only thing she really could do. Little Zandik often visited her, coloring in the corner. She would tape his pictures to the wall of the greenhouse whenever he finished them. When she tried to talk to him, he never responded, only giving her a blank stare.

For some time Y/N was able to do things on her own, but there were just some things she needed assistance with. Inna was the one to assist her. She was surprised to find out that when Inna is not assisting her, she is free most of the time. Due to Inna being the only person she was able to talk to in days, she let all of her feelings out.

"I just don't understand." Y/N whined, trying to make reason of it all. "We didn't really confirm we were lovers. Why did he think I would want to marry him at this time?"

Inna pulled the massive pot off the table, Y/N was surprised at how strong she was. "Master Dottore is just old fashioned."

"What does being old fashioned have to do with anything?" Y/N asked, frustrated. Little Zandik, who was lying on the floor coloring, shrugged his shoulders. It was clear he was too young to understand any emotions that Y/N and Zandik were dealing with.

Inna stopped what she was doing, looking Y/N in the eye. "I mean that he believes that he has been courting you. The next step is marriage." Her voice was monotone like it always is.

"Why would I marry someone if I don't know if he even likes me back?" Y/N asked, genuinely confused. "If he wants me to say yes, he needs to show me that he cares. Holding my back and waist in public, calling me his future wife doesn't mean anything if he won't even do it in private."

Inna went silent for a moment, as if she was thinking. "You need to express these thoughts to him." She told Y/N as she went back to moving the pot. "You two don't talk about your emotions a lot, that is where the disconnect is coming from."

Y/N hated that Inna was correct. She had always had a hard time expressing love to another person. "How would I tell him if he has been actively avoiding me this whole time?"

"I will try to arrange dinner with the two of you." Inna suggested. Y/N was surprised she herself asked Inna for advice, but it was genuine.

Y/N finally got back to her work, feeling relieved after getting everything off her chest. "Would he even come if he knew I would be there as well?" She sulked a bit, Inna could tell that she was upset about being ignored.

"I will make sure he will be there." Inna confirmed, although her emotionless voice didn't give Y/N any comfort. Little Zandik nodded his head in agreement.

"Alright." Y/N sighed out, needing to push all the emotions aside to get her work done. She hated to admit that her feelings for Zandik had grown, even if he was ignoring her for the time being.