vinnie hacker blurbs

22. i see you, i hear you

hi everyone! i hope you're well when you read this

a quick update for you all, something a little dark but sweet, and came naturally to me

enjoy!!

"where's this coming from?" vinnie breathed out, one hand held to his forehead in distress, the other thrown in the air. you winced at the tone in his voice, not harsh, but dripping with disappointment.

"i don't– it's not like that–"

"y/n, look at me," he said, much more collected than a second ago. you shook your head and stared down at your interlocked fingers instead. "y/n, c'mon now. look at me."

you knew the moment he'd asked to talk with you it wouldn't end well. feelings and emotions and speaking about such things made you physically ill to think about, so you strayed from it as much as you could. you knew vinnie deserved better than what he was getting, and that's where your thoughts began to eat at you about this entire situation.

this could've been completely prevented if you knew how to talk-

why did i have to end up like this? who gave me the privilege?

you absolute waste of space–

"-hey," vinnie broke your thoughts, suddenly much closer and gently holding the side of your forearm to keep you there. "babe, why can't we talk?" his eyes searched for an answer in your own, trying to figure out why you couldn't just trust him and say what was going on.

it hadn't been complicated like this for very long, and that was what puzzled vinnie on why this was happening at all. you'd always been private about handling things, sure, but never a so-obviously-uncomfortable-in-his-presence type of private, and it broke his heart to think about. standing here, having to beg you to stay and listen to him– as your boyfriend– frustrated him to no end, but his pure concern outweighed everything else.

why do i have to corner her to get anything out of her? he wondered, feeling just as uncomfortable as you looked in this situation, but he didn't really have much of a choice at this point.

he knew there was a chance that this wouldn't work– he knew you struggled with healing from past relationship damage, but that wasn't any reason to give up in his eyes. he knew he had to work a little bit harder for you and him to be together, but that never bothered him, and he didn't give it a second thought. you were you, and that was more than enough.

but, as most people do, he'd hit what felt like a breaking point, and he didn't know how to go about it without everything crashing around him. you'd been off for the past week, and the first time he tried to bring it up, you escaped the question and filled it with useless answers, so he took a step back and let you have your space.

the more he watched you act the way you did, closing off on friends, on family, on him, of course he was worried. he knew you didn't do it on purpose, it was a protection your old habits constructed that you hadn't fully worked through yet, but god did he wish he could do something to make you feel more at home than he felt you did.

"vinnie, please," you sighed, scrunching your eyes shut and tensing your muscles at his touch on your skin. "i know, i know this isn't how– i know it's not, not what we're, what i'm, supposed to do but i can't–" you took in a breath, and vinnie gently caressed his thumb over your skin.

"y/n, look at me," he whispered, staring at the top of your head, waiting for you to meet his eyes. "you're not supposed to do anything, baby. that's not what this is." he tentatively wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you against him, feeling your body shiver lightly at the movement. "i'm not mad at you. i'm not mad at you in the slightest, i promise."