Tragic Kingdom (80s/90s imagines)

104: Edward Norton

For moonwalker655543

If your life was a room, it was windowless. Four walls with no illumination. It was suffocating you in thick, damp sadness, and you weren't sure how much more you could take.

You could hardly remember the last time you didn't feel like your smile was forced. Or when you could wake up without dreading the day ahead of you. Or going to sleep without tossing and turning. Or being plagued by your losses, the ones you missed more and more every day.

You walked around hurting. You felt so out place here.

But then you met him.

You'd seen him around—living in the same building, you tended to see the same people again and again—but then you started to see him regularly.

"Hello," he greeted you one day in the elevator.

You lifted your lips slightly in something resembling a smile. "Hi."

This became a routine. Your daily lives seemed to line up with each other.

After a month of exchanging pleasantries, and even some light conversation, he skipped his usual "Hello."

"I'm Edward, by the way," he informed you instead.

"Luna," you replied.

"Well, hello, Luna."

"Hello, Edward."

As time went on, the polite small talk in the elevator turned into genuine, friendly conversation.

And it was like someone had finally put a lightbulb in the room. You enjoyed bumping into him in the elevator or catching each other at the door of the building at the end of the day.

It had been a long day. You came home drained, and even seeing Edward on your way up to your apartment didn't quite subdue your mood. Entering your apartment, you immediately laid down in the small living room and fell asleep.

You came to at the sound of knocking at your door. Gathering your bearings, you attempted to wipe the sleep from your eyes enough to answer the door. "Hello?" you said groggily, as you pulled the door open.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," the brown-haired man apologized. "I'll leave you alone if you'd like."

You shook your head vigorously, blinking a little longer at the light coming in from the hallway. "No, no. You're fine. It was just... Never mind. Did you need something?"

He held up a container of food that you hadn't even noticed he had. "I made too much, and I figured I could be neighborly."

An uncontrollable grin spread across your face. "Oh, thank you." You took the food from him. "I didn't really feel like cooking tonight, so this worked out. Thank you." You blinked again and felt blood rush to your face. "I already said that."

He gave an amused breath. "Good, and it's fine. You're welcome, twice." He started to turn away, back towards his own apartment, but stopped. "Oh, and if you don't like it, it won't hurt my feelings if you chuck it."

"I wouldn't dare do that," you replied. It came out like a laugh, but you were serious.

This became a new regular occurrence too. He'd knock and say he cooked "too much" for just himself and hand you a container of food. You washed the containers, taking them back to him in the morning.

One night, instead of a container, he was holding two plates of food.

"I figured we could actually share a meal since we've been, you know, sharing meals."

You let him in, mumbling apologies about the clutter. "I don't have guests over, well, ever."

"You haven't seen my place yet," he laughed. "Now that's a mess."

You were unused to having company during meals, but he seemed to be a master of keeping up conversation.

"Oh jeez," he said suddenly, practically in the middle of his previous sentence. "I've just been babbling on and on. You're probably tired of me."

"Of course not," you assured him. You bit your lip a little in thought. "If I'm honest, you're the first real friend I've had in a while. I-" You took a deep breath. "I lost a couple of people that were very important to me, and I haven't really been able to get back on my feet."

He leaned forward, cautiously patting your hand. "I can't imagine..." He didn't have to finish, his intention was clear.

These things were sad and awkward, and you were starting to regret bringing it up.

"Sorry about being a buzz kill."

He grabbed ahold of your hand, making you look at him. "Don't apologize. If there's anything I can do, you let me know. Whatever it is. I'll be there."

"That's all I want from you. I like having you around."

His smile shone bright into the dim room of your life. It was the sunshine coming through an opened window. "I like being around."

Jdjajdjejs I hope this is even vaguely what you wanted. Please let me know if I was just waaay off or if I was close. Thank you so much for requesting!! And I'm sorry it's so short.

I can't lie, despite how unreasonably short this is, I kinda like it. M'kay.

~Mariah