Charles / Alive!reader - Getting Older And Going To College

charles x alive reader w a sprinkle of angst? established relationship pls? maybe the reader is going off to college (american reader) and like the reader is getting older but charles is not and maybe there’s a little sprinkle of fear with that? happy ending tho pls!! tysm i love ur writing!

tysm for the request !! hope i didnt keep you waiting too long and this is what you had in mind

charles / alive!reader - getting older and going to college

a/n: for the purposes of this fic reader is going to college early at around 17

wc: 1027

tags: gender neutral reader, alive reader, american reader

your fingers trembled as you moved the cursor to the email from the college you had applied to. standing above you, charles guided your hand, keeping it steady. "whatever happens, i love you, yeah?"

you huffed a laugh. "i know that, silly."

"just trying to reassure my awesome, genius [boy/girlfriend/partner]."

rolling your eyes, you clicked on the email. your gaze zeroed in on the word at the top, in big bold letters: CONGRATULATIONS.

"holy shit," you breathed. you stood up to look at charles incredulously.

"HOLY SHIT!" charles yelled, grabbing you by the shoulders and shaking you excitedly. "i TOLD you!" he tugged you into a hug, jumping up and down. you pulled apart, only for him to kiss you and draw your bodies together again. you grinned into his lips.

"you." charles punctured his worlds with kisses to your cheek. "are. amazing."

you laughed at his antics. this was your dream college, and you would be happy about it. you wouldn't think about how, when you inevitably left, charles might not be there to cheer you on like he was right now.

no - what mattered was that he was here, and you were together in this moment, at least.

you kissed him again.

⌦ ---

edwin and crystal were on your right, and charles was on your left, rubbing circles into your hand. jenny had closed down her butcher shop for the night, because 'it's your birthday. it's a special occasion.' you had smiled then, and hugged her tight to show your gratitude.

the lights were dimmed, and niko's decor expertise meant fairy lights draped across every available surface, including the moose taxidermy head. she had also tied pink ribbons to its antlers.

jenny and niko emerged from the back room - jenny held a cake, lit with 17 candles. niko animatedly followed her. "jenny was scared i'd drop the cake," she informed everyone. "but i placed the candles - that's why they're in a heart! and i wrote the message in frosting."

"aww, they do make a heart," you said. "that's so cute."

jenny carefully put down the cake in front of you. you leaned forward and grinned at what niko wrote on it - 'WE LOVE YOU!!' in impeccable cursive, and then a small 'happy birthday' underneath it. niko hurried to stand next to charles, and jenny went to stand across from you all.

jenny pulled out her phone and held it up to record a video (even if ghosts couldn't show up on recordings). "sing happy birthday, guys!" she said.

everyone sang - even edwin. you smiled sincerely at all your friends, and mouthed a 'thank you' to jenny behind the camera.

"presents time!" niko squealed.

"ooh, me first," crystal said. she held out to you a box that had materialised from seemingly from nowhere. it was a simple brown, with a dark purple bow. you opened the box to find a novel you had been searching for for ages now - you were touched she remembered - and a soft sweater. you 'aww'ed' at her and gave her a hug.

edwin handed you a leather-bound notebook and a fancy pen - both of which were engraved with your name on it. "i happened to know a person who did custom engravements," he said simply, when you tried to thank him.

jenny gave you a pair of headphones from a brand you knew was not cheap. you gaped at her. "seriously?" you squealed.

"what? isn't it what teenagers like nowadays?"

you tackled her into a hug.

niko gifted you a very detailed drawing of you, her, crystal, edwin, and charles. "i wanted you to have a picture of all of us for when you go to college, but we can't exactly photograph the boys."

you smiled at her sincerely, even as something anxious twisted in your chest. charles was last to give you your present, and your forced smile barely concealed the sadness welling up inside you. from the pockets of his jacket, he pulled out a metal... contraption about the size of a phone.

"it's a music box kind of thing," he explained. "i got it at tragic mick's, and it's got all your favourite songs in it, plus a few others that reminded me of you."

you kissed him in lieu of a ‘thanks’, cradling the gift gently in your hands.

even with all the celebration and presents, though, you couldn't shake the underlying fear in you at the thought of getting older, and having to move on - move away - to other things.

⌦ ---

after cake and good-natured banter around the table, everyone returned to their rooms - crystal went to bed, but you could hear the soft sound of scooby doo and edwin's inquiring voice from niko's room. charles had followed you to yours, not that you were complaining.

"i know we still have a lot of time till i leave," you said immediately after you shut the door. "but i'm gonna miss you a lot."

"hey, listen," charles said, taking your face in his hands. "i promise, [name], that i will mirror travel to you no matter what, at least once a week. although we both know it'll be more than that, yeah? cause i could never be away from you for that long."

you laughed. "yeah."

"and that's why i'm giving this to you." charles reached into his pocket again, this time withdrawing a cloth satchet. "open it," he said as he placed it into your hands.

you complied, gasping in surprise as you found a gorgeously crafted pocket mirror.

"i'll mirror travel through it. it works - i've already tried." he said. "i know you're scared about what might happen, and i am too. but let's just take things day by day, yeah?" his hands moved from your face to your shoulders, then down your arms - you shivered at his gentle touch - eventually coming to intertwine your fingers.

"cause right now," he continued. "you're my [boy/girlfiend/partner] and i'll put in all the needed effort to keep it this way. that sound good?"

you laughed in relief, a huge weight having been lifted off your shoulders and a bit teary-eyed. "yeah. that sounds brills."