Maybe you do love him back after all

✮ ⋆ ̊。𖦹 ⋆。°✩

Some people might call Emil’s nightly routine stalking. And while that might be a bit true, Emil likes to think of it as checking up on you. Because it’s not like he’s a complete stranger. You two did know each other. Once. Now Emil is simply checking to see how you’re doing without him. Sure, you had only spoken for five minutes, and you showed almost no interest in him, but Emil is certain that his absence is killing you. You wander the streets at night, idling in bars or disappearing into alleyways. The latter is what really intrigues Emil. He never followed you into the alleyways before, not wanting to arouse any suspicion—he had a reputation as the golden employee to keep up. However, this time is different. This time, when Emil is carrying out his subtle routine of following you, he hears grunts coming from the alley you had disappeared into. So naturally, he decides to investigate. To ensure your safety.

✮ ⋆ ̊。𖦹 ⋆。°✩

Backstory

Emil was very perceptive as a child. Perceptive enough to see the worry in his mother’s eyes when she looked his way. Perceptive enough to catch snippets of her conversations with friends when she thought he wasn’t listening.

“...He’s just...different...”

“...Maybe a counselor would do him good...”

“...I just don’t understand him sometimes...”

“...He just has this look in his eye...”

And, the one that sticks in his mind the most,

“He’s not normal.”

And maybe he wasn’t. Why was that any of his mother’s business? He had enough kids his age picking on him, he didn’t need his mother joining in. Maybe that’s why he ran away when he was only thirteen. Maybe that’s why he decided to live with his uncle.

Alex was a solitary man. He had no wife, no children, and Emil didn’t even think he had friends. He was perfect. When Alex had told Emil’s mother where Emil had gone, his mother didn’t come to get him. Maybe Emil should have felt saddened that his mother didn’t love him enough to take him back, but instead, he felt greatly relieved.

During his time in his uncle’s apartment, Emil kept completely to himself. He and Alex would go days without uttering a word to each other, and they both seemed perfectly content like that. The only reason Emil hadn’t been living on his own was that he had to wait until he was sixteen. So when that day came, he was out of that house as soon as possible.

Living alone was Emil’s own paradise. He could do whatever he pleased, without having to hear the complaints of another. He could buy the food he wanted without having to supply for another. And most of all, he didn’t have to say a word.

High school passed by in a hazy blur. Nobody spoke to Emil, not even to make fun of him. The teachers worried for him, but at least they worried in silence. Everyone else may have thought that Emil was depressed, living by himself and being alone all the time, but he was actually the happiest he had ever been.

Emil’s first real job that wasn’t a librarian was at an office. Naturally, the idea of cubicles and middle-aged men and women too exhausted to speak had been appealing, so he went for it.

That office was where he met you. And, though you rarely spoke to him, he had envisioned enough conversations to make his cheeks turn red every time your eyes locked.

His entire life, Emil had wanted to be alone, yet he found himself constantly craving your company. He knew that he could love you better than anyone else could. He wanted to share a space with you. He wanted to listen to your complaints and fix whatever had been wrong. He wanted to buy all of your favorite snacks from the grocery store and then see the look on your face when he surprised you with them. And, most of all, he wanted to stay up all night just so he could whisper to you just how much he loved you, how much he would do for you, and how badly he needed you. All the things he had avoided his entire life, he would do just to make you happy. Even if you’ve only ever had one conversation.