No Choice But You // Ominis Gaunt x Reader

Chapter 40

I left the dorm room after talking to Anne and decided to try and find Ominis. The common room was a bust, so I started up the stairs to head toward The Undercroft, to see if he was still lingering around there. On my way, I was stopped by a rather annoying-looking Leander. Though, I guess he always looked annoying. I tried to brush past him, but he had decided to take it upon himself to get on my nerves as much as possible. I sighed, not having the time for his antics as he cornered me in an empty hallway. 

"Hello, you," he drawled, in that annoying ass voice. I sighed and focused on his abnormally large forehead, trying not to focus too hard on his facial expressions. If I did that, I'd end up insulting him, and I didn't have the time for that bullshit right now. 

"What do you want, Leander?" I sighed, leaning back against the stone wall. 

"I have a question for you."

"The answer is most likely no, but go ahead." I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. 

"You should go to The Ball with me," he said. "You're lucky enough that I asked you, saying no would just be rude." 

"It's this close to The Ball and you still don't have a date? Pity." I gave him a mocking pout face and tried to push past him again, but he boxed me in with his arms. 

"You shouldn't be so rude, you know. It's not a good look. Ruins that pretty face of yours, that deep scowl you wear all the time."

"You don't even need a scowl to ruin your face. Your poor mum popped you out looking like that," I said, motioning to his face. 

"Keep your insults to yourself." He was starting to get annoyed, but he still didn't back away. I looked over his shoulder, seeing if there was anyone who could save me from his stupidity, but that corridor was still empty, unfortunately. "You're lucky anyone even wants you." 

I rolled my eyes to that, but it only seemed to push him further. He grabbed my chin rather roughly and forced me to look at him. I yanked my face away and shoved at his chest, causing him to stumble back a bit. "Do not touch me," I ordered sharply. 

"Someone's in a mood," he said. He didn't come near me again as I pushed past him and headed down the hall. I needed to ensure he wasn't tailing me if I was heading to The Undercroft, so I made my way down the corridor rather quickly. He called after me, but I tuned him out and kept going. He never failed to make my skin crawl, and he'd even dared to touch me. My face still tingled in an awful way from where he'd grabbed me, but I tried to force it out of my mind. I wouldn't say I liked being manhandled by others. 

Well... Only one person was allowed to handle me like that--and it certainly wasn't Leander Fucking Prewett. 

After I was sure he wasn't following me, I changed my course and started for The Undercroft. Leander was the last person I'd want to reveal that place to, so I'd taken it upon myself to head in a bogus direction to escape him. I sighed, not liking the extra walking. 

My bones had been aching recently--something to do with the stupid dark magic. I knew I was due for another episode soon, so I shouldn't be exerting so much energy. But I had to find Ominis and talk to him. 

I still hadn't completely made up my mind on apologizing. I wasn't sure what I'd even be sorry for. I knew I'd been a little mean, but I felt it was justified. Maybe not the running off part, but he shouldn't have done what he did without asking me first. I knew I was a cagey person and that was something I needed to change if I was going to be with Ominis fully, but it was going to take longer than a couple of days for me to get over that. 

Once I reached The Undercroft's entrance, I made my way inside, listening as I walked down the little tunnel leading from the entrance to the room to see if anyone was inside. I hadn't seen Sebastian in the commons, and I wasn't sure if he'd shown the space to Poppy, and the last thing I wanted right now was to walk in on something that would force me to obliviate myself. I'm sure Sebastian would ask Ominis and Anne before doing something like that--but I also wouldn't put it past him to not do so if he was feeling horny enough. 

I shivered and pushed that thought away, not wanting to think about either of my friends in that regard, and instead focused on my current task. 

When I was finally inside, the room seemed empty. I looked over to where Ominis and I had been sitting, but he wasn't there anymore. But on the other side of the room, near Isadora's pensieve, he leaned on the edge of it, seemingly looking off somewhere else. Well--I supposed he was always looking at nothing, but it was more the expression he had on his face that told me his thoughts. 

"Who is it?" he asked, likely having heard me walk in. 

"It's me," I said, not bothering to say my name. I'd known him long enough o know he recognized me by my voice. He didn't respond though, instead continuing to swim in whatever train of thought he was having. "I came to talk. About earlier." He finally turned around and faced me. "I wanted to--apologize." 

I cringed a bit at that, still not completely feeling in the wrong, but I didn't want this argument to keep going. He sighed and took a few steps closer to me. 

"I should be the one finding you to apologize," he finally said after a second. "I know what I did was an overstep. I won't do anything like that again. You have my word."

"I hope so," I said. "If you were concerned about me, you should have asked."

He pressed his eyebrows together. "And if I did ask, what would you have said?"

I didn't have a response for that. I knew the type of person I was. I didn't like to air out my feelings. 

"I just want to know what's going on with you," he said, his tone softening. "I care about you, and sometimes you make it extremely difficult for me." 

"I know," I said, my voice quiet. There was so much more I wanted to say, but it stuck like a lump in my throat, and I was afraid of how it would come out if I forced it. "I'm sorry. I- I'm trying to do better." 

"It's fine, y/n, I don't want you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable." 

I came closer to him, close enough to reach out and touch him if I wanted, but I didn't. "No, it's not fine. I know that if this is going to work, there needs to be honesty. And I'm going to do my best from now on to give that to you." 

Ominis leaned forward slightly, close enough that I could feel his breath on my face, but he didn't come any closer or reach out--almost as if he was waiting for me to do something. Still, I was frozen in place, not sure if I should do anything. This was a sensitive moment, and the last thing I wanted to do was screw up this little bit of progress we were having. 

Despite my silent protests, Ominis suddenly reached out and pressed his thumb to my lips. "I'm not mad at you if that's what you think," he finally said. "Well--a bit frustrated, but not mad." His voice was low and soft, causing me to shiver a bit as he spoke. 

With his thumb still pressed up against my lips, I couldn't even form a reply if I wanted to. He'd completely shut me up with that one simple action. He pressed his thumb down harder against my lower lip, prying my mouth open slightly. I let out a soft exhale, and he took that as his cue to move even closer. I still didn't feel like our argument had been completely settled, but I wasn't going to stop him from whatever he was doing. I couldn't. I didn't want to. 

He pushed his thumb into my mouth slowly and gently, pressing the pad of his finger against my tongue. I pushed my tongue against his finger roughly, feeling a bit embarrassed by my body's reaction to his little touches when I let out a soft whimper. 

"So responsive," he purred, pushing his thumb farther into my mouth. I closed my lips around it and sucked on it gently, trying to ignore the subtle heat building in the pit of my stomach. He pulled his thumb back out, then rubbed it across my lips, wetting them with my own saliva. I reached out and grabbed the front of his shirt, clutching the fabric tightly as I gently pulled him closer.