RF Wally Darling x Reader || "Inside the Factory"

~ Ch.15: Stockholm Syndrome ~

He hugs you back and holds you tightly. His touch feels so warm and comforting. This man made your heart soar. You felt your heart beat like a drum in your body and heard his heartbeat while you leaned your head on his chest.

"I am more than willing to be close to you. I want to bond with you; to be your friend. I want to be with you." You caught yourself at the last minute before saying anything too embarrassing. He looked down at you, raising an eyebrow. He got closer to your face and pressed his hand against your waist.

"I want to be with you too, [name]." He spoke so sincerely. He had a playful smirk on his face like he knew you felt embarrassed saying that. He was your boss, after all.

But you were more than willing to drop the formalities and enjoy your time with him as friends.

You both pulled away from the hug and looked into each other's eyes. "So..you'll stay here with me? Even if it's just for the week?" You asked, your eyes glowing. He scoffed playfully and nodded. "If you want to return to the factory, it's all up to you." He said, caressing your shoulder.

Right.

The factory.

You didn't know if it was right to be free while there were so many other beings at the factory, suffering.

You decided to wait a while. Wait until you can be close enough to Wally to convince him to shut down his operation. It wouldn't be easy; however. That factory had been in his family for three generations. He wouldn't let his measly assistant stop him.

But maybe he was just as unhappy as you. Maybe he felt trapped. Maybe he despised the factory just as much as you did.

"[name]?" Wally tilted his head slightly. You snapped out of your zoned state. "Ah! Yes, Wally?" You tucked a string of your hair behind your ear. He stared at you for a moment in confusion before he spoke. "I need to run back to the factory to pack. I'll be back tonight, alright?" He explained. You nod your head. "Go. I'll be here." You smile.

Wally smiles before walking away from the cottage. You watch him as he goes, not out of untrust, but only to look at him for a moment longer.

Once he's out of your sight, you walk back into the cottage to face your parents. You opened the door to see them both looking out the window. They were watching you both.

Once they both saw you, they quickly tried to abandon the bay window. "[name]! Are you alright, hon?!" Your dad cupped your jaw into his hands. He must've noticed the tears on your face.

"I'm alright, Dad! Really! Although, I do have a teensy favor to ask." You wince, trying to avoid eye contact. 

🌈~🌈~🌈~🌈~🌈~🌈~🌈~🌈~🌈~🌈~🌈

"Let me get this straight." Your father sighed, setting down his cup of coffee as your Dad set down his margarita.

Sweat rolled down your forehead as you braced yourself for what they would say next. "You want us to not only let your kidnapper stay here with us...but stay in the same room as you..?" Your father had a confused expression plastered on his face.

"W-Well..where else would we put him..?" You smiled sheepishly.

"In the ground??" Father shrugged. Sarcastically, you hoped.

"Father, I'm serious! We've talked things over. He's...he's not as bad as you think." You clutched your hand to your chest. "..He's my friend. He's special to me. I know it sounds insane after what he did to me, but I know him personally. He's lonely, just like I was. We've become too close for me to want to let him go. Please, understand."

Your fathers exchanged a share of looks at one another as if they were having a conversation of their own.

[stare conversation translation]

Magnus: 'They're in love.'

Fred: 'Don't say that! They said they're friends.'

Magnus: 'Seriously? They want to stay in the same room as him. You're trying to tell me they don't want his a-'

Fred: 'I actively want to eat a microwave.'

[end of stare conversation, hope you enjoyed it. I sure didn't]

Your dad cleared his throat and rubbed his neck. "Alright. I can learn to like him." He admitted, shrugging his shoulders. His expression quickly formed into surprise. "The spring festival is tonight!! You should bring him!!" He snapped his fingers, excited.

You and your father were surprised by this sudden turnaround.

"Ooh! And I can renovate your old spring outfit! You'll look adorbs!" He seemed so enthusiastic. You and your father didn't have the heart to crush his dreams, so you let him rant about fashion and ideas for your appearance.

You smile, realizing how much you missed this. You stood from your seat, picking up your plate to clean it off. "So..who told you I was in town?" You looked over to your father. He sighed, smiling lightly.

"Flin. Remember them? They helped you transport produce, remember?" He jogged your memory. You did remember Flin, in fact, they were one of your closest friends. "Yes! I do! I assume they called the moment they saw Wally?" You giggled at the thought of it.

You didn't hear your father reply when you brought up Wally.

You let out a sigh and walked back to the table. You sat across from your father, seeing the sad expression on his face. "Father.." You caressed his hand as it rested on the table. "We didn't see you for eleven years, [name]...we thought you were gone." He sniffed. Your father was crying. He had never cried before. You could only imagine how many times he and your dad did cry when you disappeared.

"How can you expect us to trust him in our home? With our child, we haven't seen in over a decade because of him?" He sounded like he was on the verge of a panic attack. You realized how he was right, it wasn't okay to expect your parents to accept Wally. Especially after what he's done.

"Father, I don't expect you to like him. If you want, I can arrange a room for him at the inn. But please, hear me when I say I know him personally." You tried your best to save Wally's reputation. You knew that small-town rumors would drive him away, and you couldn't bare the thought of that.

Your father pushed his hand away from you and stood up. "You've changed, [name]. I can't tell if it's Stockholm syndrome or just insanity." He scowled at you. He walked out of the dining room, and into his office.

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