Dreams are made from White Strings [Kimblee x Reader]

9.: Reason for Self-confidence

"What do you even see in him?", Frank asked, with a little annoyance in his voice.

"What do you mean?", you retorted with a little confusion.

You had just been on your way to the room Kimblee had temporarily claimed as his 'office', because he had called for you, when Frank had stopped you.

"I'm talking about Kimblee", Frank said, his eyes darkening. "You obviously admire him."

"What?", you asked, taken aback.

"Just what do you see in him? He's a fucking psychopath!", he said. You didn't disagree, actually, but it still didn't sit quite right with you that he said that. But, because it seemed to be so obvious, you decided to answer honestly.

"You're right", you said. "I'm not sure if he is a good person, but I do admire his intelligence, skill and strength."

Somehow, saying that made you feel self-conscious. You pressed your documents to your chest.

"He's nothing but nuts...", Frank shook his head, then took a step closer to you and placed his hand on your shoulder to show he was supporting you. "Just be careful around him, ok?"

"I will. Thanks for the concern", you said with a smile and went on your way.

Leaving Frank behind you, you turned around the corner, to bump into the man you had just talked about.

"(Y/n)", Kimblee said with his usual kind smile, that you, by now, were sure was fake.

"Kimblee!", you exclaimed, surprised by his sudden appearance. Immediately you realised your impoliteness and added a "sir".

"It's good to see you, I wanted to talk to you", he said, ignoring the short pause between his name and the title.

"I know, I was just on my way to your office."

"Let's go together, then." With another polite smile, he turned around and walked next to you.

The silence on the way made it impossible for you not wonder about how much he had heard from the conversation you had just had with Frank. You hoped it would just be the last part, where Frank had told you to be careful around him, even though you under no circumstances wanted Kimblee to know that you were a bit scared of him. You wanted him to think you were strong. Because somehow, you could only feel strong yourself when you were not regarded weak by someone else, especially him.

Finally, you arrived at his office, and your thoughts were cut short.

"So, what did you need from me, sir?", you asked.

"I couldn't help but notice that you have made a mistake in one of your reports", Kimblee began, sitting down behind his desk and taking some documents.

"I did?", you asked, a bit shocked since you had tried so hard to be thorough. Would he scold you?

"Yes", he said, flicking through the sheets to find the right one.

"Here", he said after a while and pointed to a line you had written. You wanted to take the sheet from him, but he ignored your advances. There was no way you would be able to read it from the distance you were standing in, so you had no choice but to move over to his side of the desk. Kimblee scooted back on his chair, but only a few centimetres, so in order to read the line he was pointing at, you had to move closer to him and enter his personal space - though this seemed to be exactly what he wanted. He was still sitting, and you bent forward, your hands placed on the desk. You felt how close you were. It was more like he had invaded your personal space, he had just forced you to move so close to him. His breath grazed your shoulder and you couldn't suppress a shudder. You felt the blood rushing to your cheeks and your heart hammering in your chest.

It was hard to concentrate on reading and controlling your reactions to him at the same time. You forced yourself to do so anyway, and found your mistake.

"Oh", you said as you had identified your error. "I'm so sorry, that was a stupid mistake. I'll fix it and I won't do it again!"

You saved yourself by grabbing the sheet and retreating. As soon as you had entered a safe distance from him, you exhaled quietly, so he wouldn't notice. But it was Kimblee, after all, so none of your actions escaped his attention.

"I'll get to this immediately", you excused yourself to exit the room.

"(Y/n)", Kimblee stopped you just before you had closed the door behind you.

"Yes, sir?", you asked.

"I couldn't help but overhear the conversation you just had. I feel honoured by your opinion about me."

The blush that had just settled down came back with full force. Of course he had overheard you. Trying to seem as self-confident as possible, you answered with a simple: "Of course, sir", and finally escaped the room.