FREDDY CARTER'S CHARACTERS PREFERENCES

THEM OPENING UP TO YOU

Characters: all of Freddy Carter's existing characters! So they are Kaz Brekker from Shadow and Bone, Pin Hawthorne from Free Rein, Ellis from The Convent, Jason Ripper from Pennyworth and Tom from 15 Days.

Warnings: mentions of trauma, death, domestic violence, rape, animal abuse, stalking, abandonment fears and insecurity, also Jason is kinda OOC but I explained what happened for him to become so OOC. I also used swear words in a few sentences in case that triggers someone.

Kaz, Tom and Jason have longer parts than the rest of them because I think they needed some backstory for how exactly did they end up opening up like that.

Also, just a note that Zoe doesn't exist in Pin's part, so that means Pin has never ridden for Holloway etc, he's been just a stable boy for the first and second season.

Pin: He was invisible to everyone for years, nobody saw any kind of potential in him for more than stable work. And on top of that, his mum abandoning him twice definitely didn't feel good, and it left its mark on him. He hadn't fallen in love with anyone before, but he met you shortly after becoming a Duke and immediately developed a crush on you, and you also showed interest in him.

But as he had been noticed only after becoming a Duke, he was doubtful if you really liked him for him or because he was a Duke. You didn't seem like it, but he also knew that he might look at you with so much love that it clouds your true intentions.

Despite that, you grew closer and kind of dated, even. You didn't kiss, sleep in same bed, cuddle or anything, but both of you felt like you belonged with each other and dreamed of a proper relationship. But as he still had his walls up, it didn't go anywhere. Eventually you carefully questioned him about it. That's when he told you about his thoughts and past, how he had been treated for years, how he's being appreciated only now when he's a Duke and he's kind of afraid that you're interested in him because of that too. He also told you that he had been afraid he'd hurt you with saying it and make you go away/distance yourself from him, but his father had instructed him to tell you about his feelings so he did.

And fortunately, you understood his fears perfectly and assured him that you're in for him, that you crushed on him when you first saw him at Bright Fields and didn't even know he's a Duke at that point or even the stable owner, that the second he had said hi left a giddy feeling inside you, and your friend had pointed out how "he's cute" and you had stuttered out "shut up".

That eased Pin's mind a lot, knowing you're being honest with him, and it took only a few days from that when he officially asked you to be his partner and you had your first kiss after that.

Kaz: Well, when Kaz first noticed having feelings for you (and Jesper implying you like him too), he immediately tried distancing himself from you, thinking he'd be selfish to drag you into his mess. You probably didn't even know what kind of a person he really was, you weren't one of the Dregs exactly, just helping around the house and the Club in exchange of a place to sleep and food. You were Jesper's old friend, who probably didn't have the full grasp on what they did. And especially not what he did, he was far more ruthless than the rest of them was. He was convincing himself how you would get scared of him if you'd find out what he did in the dark, how feared he was - and why he was feared. That Dirtyhands definitely lived up to his reputation, they weren't just made up horror stories.

You noticed the shift in him, suddenly he was clearly avoiding you. You wondered what was up to Jesper, and he told you that Kaz had difficulties to come into terms with his feelings. He knew fully well that Kaz had feelings for you too, so Jesper just told you to be patient.

But it went on for months, and even Jesper didn't expect it to go on for that long. So he urged Kaz to talk to you, telling him that you were confused why he's acting like that, that you thought you're friends with him. Kaz pretended to be annoyed, saying that Jesper should know by now that he didn't need friends, nor did he want friends. But still, Jesper saying you care enough to be confused why he's avoiding you, you noticing he's avoiding you kind of made his heart jump. So he silently decided to talk with you, sliding in to sit a stool apart from you at the bar counter at the Slat late at night after hearing you were still up.