Identity V x Reader

Norton x depressed!reader || fluff

Requested by: Ephxmerral

It was oddly silent around the manor. You just returned from the last match of the day after performing a more than impressive "detention kite" continuing long after everyone had escaped. You were tired and ready to be alone, but you were unsettled by the lack of activity normally occurring at this hour. You expected to be met with someone yelling at someone else for their poor performance earlier in the day, you stepping aside and silently heading to your room, or the unlikely option of deciding to get between the two parties and shut them up for the sake of everyone, but there was nothing but silence.

"Looking for someone?" A voice behind you interrogated, though friendly enough not to startle you. You turned to face Norton, a survivor you could consider your friend. You sighed, shaking your head and stifling a yawn with the back of your hand. Your legs could barely hold yourself up, and you were ready to get to bed. Shaking your head, you replied.

"No," you had to hold back another yawn, "just wondering where everyone is." You began to walk to your room, Norton following beside you.

"You look tired." You glanced at him from the side, ignoring his comment, even if it was true. It was late. You had a long day; everyday was a long day at this point. Why wouldn't you be tired? Thinking about being not only tired from running but constantly mentally tired just made the fatigue worse. You stopped in front of Norton's room, a long way down from yours, but he kept going. Your eyebrows furrowed as he turned around and beckoned for you to follow him.

"Where are you going?" You stopped beside him. Without warning, he started walking again, sliding his hand into yours to lead you down the hall. You could not control your eyes glancing from his face to where your hands interlocked. Silence fell between you until he finally stopped again in front of your door.

"Goodnight, (y/n). Sleep well tonight." He didn't let you respond before he walked back up the hall to his room, leaving you stunned.

You tossed and turned for hours. Like most nights, you got in your bed after your nightly routine, which you half-assed more often than not, and laid there for hours. You remember hearing a fact somewhere a long time ago: if you lay still for 15 minutes, you'll fall asleep. You could prove that was a lie. 3 hours after freezing yourself in place, you were still awake, and your drifting thoughts were taking a toll on your mentality. Another 2 hours of shifting positions to be as comfortable as possible, and you still weren't completely asleep, but you could feel yourself beginning to doze off. Just before you fully fell asleep, you swore you heard a bird chirp.

What first woke you up was a mumble outside of your door.

"God, (y/n)'s so lazy, always sleeping in late." Then you groaned and rolled yourself out of bed when you heard a sharp knock. When you opened the door, there was no one to be seen, but down the hall you could make out the recognizable figure of the lawyer trailing away. You groaned and stumbled out of the door, late to breakfast again. The weight of the feeling of everyone's eyes on you made you drag your feet to your chair, though no one paid much attention to you in reality. You already wished you were back in bed, even restless sleep was better than experiencing the waking world. You were deep in your thoughts as someone tried to get your attention.

"Did you sleep well?" Norton tapped on your shoulder after asking you for the third time. You let your head flop to the side, staring at your interrogator lazily, before realizing what he was asking and straightening yourself to appear better than you felt.

"Yeah, how about you?"

"Did you really? You still look tired." Your head moved on it's own as you gave him a curt nod in response, not able to say anything else. He sighed. His sighs made you feel terrible. Why couldn't you be more for conversation? Why did you disappoint everyone every time you opened your mouth? You groaned, letting your head fall to the table as your overwhelming thoughts drained more and more energy from you. You couldn't focus; you couldn't hear; you couldn't see; what was happening? Your body didn't have the energy to get worked up, but you could feel yourself start to breath faster without being able to hear it. You almost fell out of your seat when a hand pressed against your back, making you even more panicked.