#charles x camilla
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AI-generated King Charles III and Queen Camilla
It is funny but also so terrifying, I’m confused 😭
also Camilla’s hair is so… exaggerated
#british royal family#british royal fandom#brf#british empire#queen camilla#queen consort#camilla shand#camilla parker bowles#king charles#king charles iii#prince charles#charles x camilla#ai#ai art#ai generated#funny#meme
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Richard Papen winter
#space heaters: real or fake?#tsh#the secret history#richard papen#henry winter#donna tartt#dark academia#winter#camilla macaulay#charles macaulay#bunny corcoran#francis abernathy#book post#literature#books#richard x henry#my beloved
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one thing the tsh fandom will do is constantly overlook the significance and also implications of henry and bunny's friendship in favor of relationships like henry and camilla. (and these were all realizations i had while talking to a friend so-)
we never see Bunny directly break down. well, we never see anything period because we're looking through Richard's eyes, and Richard never sees Bunny upset. I don't mean the upset where he's being mean or being a drunk in his dorm, I mean the kind of upset where he's sobbing and yelling out insults and threats and wrestling with Henry on the floor of their palazzo. I'm talking the kind of upset where he's screaming at Henry to stop touching him while crying in his bed.
We only ever hear that fight, and the other one in Rome we just get to hear of it. None of the others ever saw Bunny in that state, and I doubt they knew how the situation even arose. Only Henry did.
Only you know the way that I break.
And matter of fact, nobody saw Henry genuinely angry too. Even when he was dealing with Charles, he wasn't pissed per se, he was just annoyed and more ready to commit his third murder. I can't remember a scene where Henry genuinely loses it with someone he knows well (so, none of his friends). We only hear of him losing his shit with Bunny EXCEPT for the scene with Judy.
You push my buttons in a way nobody else can.
You know that makes me think, again, that him losing his shit at the party had less to do with Judy and more to do with Bunny. Think about it. Why would they be at a party where Bunny is nowhere to be seen? Why wouldn't Bunny, a party animal, be there with them? You'd think he might have invited the others, or at least heard of their intent to go and wanted to join them- but he just wasn't there. Why? What made the perfectly composed, stoic Henry lose his shit over something that, characteristically, shouldn't even annoy him? Who was later established to be the only thing in Henry's life capable of making him snap to the point of losing all self-control and resorting to violence?
That's right.
Bunny.
In every other case of aggressive, intentional, sober violence displayed by Henry, Bunny is the cause, on the receiving end, both times.
Henry and Bunny knew each other too much, way too much, and I'm tired of pretending theirs was not perhaps the most significant relationship in this story. Put aside the fact that the story is literally DRIVEN by them, put aside even the fact that they both are the only ones to die at the end (too much symbolism here kms), but their relationship genuinely is so fucked up and heavy it leaves more questions the more you think about them. So no, I don't think "Camilla was the only one who saw Henry for who he was" just because she was the recipient of his occasional smiles, because Henry was not just the gentle-giant she got to see. Neither do I believe "Richard was on the same frequency as Henry" because they had a shitty childhood (tbh all of them probably did?) and because Henry saved his ass from freezing. Henry was more so his rage and the anger he tried to keep sealed with the rest of himself, a destructive force trying desperately to reign himself in. Yes, he was not a bad person per se, but he was, like Bunny, a ticking time bomb (albeit a much more destructive one).
But even despite the anger and bitterness that later poisoned their relationship, I sometimes like to think of them whilst keeping in mind the fact that Bunny was the only one who could make Henry laugh. And Henry was the only one Bunny directly told about his past/home life. I think of them as freshmen, with Bunny's hair catching the sunlight in his lazy curls as his eyes crinkle and his tone rears back in preparation for a joke Henry doesn't see coming. And Henry, awkward in his detachment, with his nose in a book, trying to keep his lips from quivering up as the awful, stupid joke registers, and then failing to keep the chuckle from slipping through when Bunny's stupidly expectant face wriggles its eyebrows at him.
They were soulmates before they were friends.
And they were friends before they were enemies
#meant to be (doomed version)#me when im tired of this fandom just refusing to acknowledge THE FACT#bro bro bro bro winterbunny is making me wanna kms rn!#wb clears <3#do u ever just#sigh#the secret history#edmund corcoran#winterhare#tsh#bunny corcoran#tsh donna tartt#richard papen#francis abernathy#winterbunny#edmund bunny corcoran#henry x bunny#camilla macaulay#henry winter#charles macaulay
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RIVERDALE (2017 - 2023) Season 6, Episode 14: Venomous
#riverdale#veronica lodge#camilla mendes#reggie mantle#charles melton#veronica x reggie#veggie#tv#by kraina#cinematvedit#riverdaleedit#veronicalodgeedit#reggiemantleedit#veggieedit#pocfiction#otpsource#userbru#userelsbeth#usersnat#usermorgan#userjessica#useralison#userbeckett#tuserjen#userzaynab#tuserlou#usersadie#usertiny#tuserheidi#singinprincess
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tsh characters after reading the song of achilles
Henry: pretends to dislike it, probably has three or four different editions in English and greek
Francis: just here for the gay boys, loved the representation
Richard: feels like he relates to achilles and patroclus (but I'm straight ((shut up no you're not)))
Bunny: reads like 30 pages at best then gets bored
Camilla: really likes the story, her favourite character is clearly briseis
Charles: probably cried at the end but plays it cool
#tsh#tsh donna tartt#the secret history#bunny corcoran#camilla macaulay#henry winter#charles macaulay#richard papen#francis abernathy#the secret history incorrect quotes#tsoa patrochilles#tsoa achilles#tsoa patroclus#tsoa#tsh x tsoa#crossover#toss incorrect quotes#the song of achilles#the song of achilles incorrect quotes
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To Indeed Be A God
The title has almost no bearing whatsoever on the writing, I'm just obsessed with the Dead Poets Society right now.
Pairing: Henry Winter (The Secret History)
Summary: A drowsy morning at the country house with Henry Winter involves a row around the lake, a breakfast picnic, and falling asleep in the boat.
Warnings: Google translated phrases, please let me know if these are wrong!
Check out my previous Henry Winter piece!
I awoke to a throbbing in my head, a contrasting harmony to the soft twittering of birds floating in through the open window. I couldn’t resist the groan that forced its way from my mouth. It felt as though my head was being split open repeatedly, like a misguided executioner was standing at the head of my bed and swinging an unsharpened axe.
It was several moments before I moved at all after I had rolled over, my body feeling scarily heavy yet weightless at the same time. I had little desire to so much as breathe manually, let alone open my eyes and face the merciless joy of the sunlight.
As I lay there, eyes closed firmly, hands grasping the thin silk duvet, flashes of the previous night came to me as though through a camera’s lens.
The dinner, a large affair to mourn the passing of the twin’s beloved dog. The wine sloshing in the Abernathy’s prized crystal wine glasses. Those same glasses raised in multiple toasts and clinking together like blood-soaked moths in the candlelight. Charles at the piano playing melodies of sweet summers past. The bottle of Bourbon passed between us without a care for tumblers. Francis plucking Camilla from the armchair she had curled herself up in to stumble around the library in a clunky dance. Bunny’s face, lined with confusion and acidity, watching us all through rolling eyes. Richard’s reflection, gaping at the chandelier-lit room through dazed eyes, as I stared out of the window, looking for stars but finding only my own distorted face.
And Henry, tall and proud and stoic and quiet. Him I could picture clearly, as sharp and focused as a still life portrait. He’d drank as much as us, more, yet he’d never fizzed over like we did. Only watched from the sofa as we exploded like fireworks, flashing reds and yellows reflected twofold in the whites of his eyes through his glasses.
Then, me falling into place beside him, head spinning in dizzying circles even as I laid it back on the plush sofa cushions with my eyes shut, light popping behind my eyelids.
Then, him whispering to me, the soft, cold anchoring of his deep voice, but either I couldn’t tell what he was saying, or I was not in tune enough to listen.
Then, I was there, waking up in bed.
I opened my eyes when the pounding in my head began to lessen, allowing the bird song to wash over me rather than suffocate me. The thick curtains were open, weak sunlight creeping across the oak floor and furnishings, lighting them up like whisky. It was cool, that early morning chill before the last of the lingering summer heat could settle in again.
I watched the floor for several minutes, praying for my headache to cease. Of course, praying never did anyone much good. Henry would be disappointed.
I didn’t have a clock in the room I stayed in during nights at the country house. Francis’s great aunt, whose room that used to be, couldn’t stand them. She felt they made her rush.
Still, I could guess it was early. There was no noise. Francis wasn’t singing in the kitchen as he made breakfast, Charles and Camilla weren’t bickering meaninglessly in the depths of the house, Bunny wasn’t honking his laugh at some ridiculous jibe. There was nothing except pure tranquillity.
I knew of one other person, for certain, who would be up so early. That was motivation enough to get out of bed. Still, it was a struggle. My body fought it as I sat up, pushed myself to my feet, scrabbled through my bag for clothes, and checked myself over in the mirror to make sure I looked presentable.
Finally, I exited the room, closing the door with a soft click behind me. The hallway was quiet, eerily so, and I paced down it, focusing on the soft, luxurious carpet against my bare feet over the pounding of my head.
On the stairs at the end of the hallway, Francis was curled up, still fully dressed, like a small child unable to stay conscious on a drive back from the beach, snoring obnoxiously and fiercely cuddling a near-empty bottle of whiskey. His overcoat tails were tangled between his bent legs, pale, slender ankles poking out conspicuously from his half pulled-off socks. In the country house, this was not an uncommon occurrence.
I clambered over him, trying not to catch his limbs or face with my foot. As though sensing my presence as he slumbered, Francis uncurled his body, spreading himself out across several steps and out of the way of my bare feet. Smiling, I leant down to pat him gently on the cheek, careful not to disturb him. He looked incredibly peaceful, for once.
I left Francis on the stairs, snoring in the shadows of the half-shuttered windows, and headed towards the library. There was a fair chance Henry would be there and, if not, I would likely spot him on my way over.
As expected, it did not take me long. Henry valued the morning hours, the weak light illuminating the thick pages of his books, the quietness of a dawn tainted only by the songs of the birds.
He was sat outside, of course, fully dressed, a suited silhouette through the ornate glass doors, a splatter of ink against the canvas of autumn. Although I pushed open the doors as softly as I could, his head shot up as soon as it began to squeak.
“Good morning,” he said, with a smile. “Drink up.” A slight gesture of his hand brought to my attention a full glass of water and a sleeve of ibuprofen sparkling in the cool, creeping light.
“Good morning,” I mumbled, fumbling with the package in my desperation to push out two of the pills. When I managed to do so, I swallowed them quickly with a large gulp of water, which I drained gladly straight after.
Once I’d swiped at my lips, I took the few steps to his seat. Standing behind him, I rested my hands on his broad shoulders and bent down to press a kiss to his cheek. I caught the smile on his face, which did little to lessen the furrow of his brow.
“How’s the translation going?”
This question elicited a heavy sigh from him. “It’s all wrong, unfortunately. The verbs won’t translate well, and these sentence structures are ridiculously tricky.”
“Boreís na to káneis éfkola agápi mou,” I breathed into his ear, bringing my fingertips to his sharp shoulder blades. You can do it easily, my love.
He laughed. “Óchi ótan eísai étsi, den boró.” Not when you’re like this, I can’t.
I hummed humorously, spreading my massaging fingertips along his taut shoulders. Spread out before us was the house’s garden, as pure and fierce as Eden, coming swiftly to life in front of my eyes. The sun was just emerging, lingering in the far east like God, watching His creations come to life as on the seventh day. Henry was watching it too, finally relieving himself of his books in favour of the glitter of the autumnal flowers, Gomphrena and Didiscus and Goldenrod.
It wasn’t often I was up early enough to catch Henry on mornings like this. Despite our circumstances, we never shared a bed during our stays at the country house, primarily because Henry didn’t want to disturb me during our short vacations, or so he said. But also, because, I believe, he was rather shy about our activities around the rest of the Greek class. They knew, of course – we were never as subtle as we thought - but, still, there was something prudish lying within Henry. Or perhaps it was possessive. Not that it matters now, I suppose.
“Let’s go to the lake,” he said, suddenly, startling me from my observance of a large bee bumbling its way drunkenly through a flowerbed.
“Now?” I questioned, surprised. Henry enjoyed the mornings because of the quiet solitude they offered him, the time to be alone with his books and his papers. Things he valued even more, I think, than me.
“Would you like to?”
I was still sleepy, even more so after taking the ibuprofen Henry had laid out. Still, I could picture how lovely it would be: the drowsy, sun-laced walk through the dandelions and uncut grasses, the heady smell of nature flourishing around us, the somniferous sound of waves lapping at the gently rocking boat, the mesmerizing feeling of floating on air.
“Yes,” I said, “I would, actually.” Henry was always confidently persuasive. Eerily so. Not that I would have needed much persuading, really. I just liked to think there was something magic about him.
He sighed, stretching out his aching limbs as he got to his feet. Pre-emptively, he removed his jacket and folded it meticulously, leaving it on the seat of his chair. “Good. Perhaps we should take breakfast with us?”
It was a wonderful idea, and we slipped back inside to prepare a breakfast picnic: a full bottle of orange juice, a half-full stoppered bottle of champagne left over from the previous night, a package of strawberries, a selection of pastries bought from Camilla’s favourite bakery on our way to the country house the previous morning, and a packet of large blueberry muffins.
With our breakfast packed in an old wicker basket, we set off into the morning sun, meandering through the budding flowers and tall grasses, clasped arm in arm. It wasn’t a particularly long walk to the lake, but we lingered meaninglessly on the way, I to admire the nature and wildlife, and Henry to momentarily relieve his arm of the picnic basket and watch me with a smile when he thought I couldn’t see him.
Eventually, we made it, and eagerly hopped into the lonesome boat oared at the makeshift jetty, picnic basket still in hand. Considering it was so early, Henry was alive with vigour, and rowed eagerly, pushing us quickly to the centre of the lake. He had been somewhat withdrawn over the last few weeks, particularly during our days at the country house, so seeing him come to life among the falling birch leaves was a gift.
We covered one lap of the lake at a fairly quick pace, talking about our latest classes, Julian’s theory of Dionysiac architects (which was, essentially, that the secret language they spoke was more akin to modern day English than any other language throughout history), and the startling resemblance that morning of the pond and surrounding countryside to Jan Brueghel the Elder’s ‘Odysseus and Calypso’ - one of my favourite paintings.
Henry slowed as we began our second lap of the lake, and I watched his concentrated expression in the water’s reflection.
“Aren’t you tired?” I was feeling a little peppier now, despite the rhythmic sound of the waves lapping gently at the boat, and I knew Henry had been up significantly longer than I had. “Can I take over?”
“No, you don’t have to do anything.” I was still watching him in the warped shine of the water, and he caught my eye through the fairy-dust covering of birch leaves. “Just sit right there and look like you do.” A smile flittered across his face briefly, and I shook my head, laughing.
“If you say so,” I said, still laughing. Henry rowed on and began to fill the silence with his stream of thoughts on Heraclitus’ ideas of opposites, and how the philosopher decreed Hades and Dionysus as the same God, a belief Henry was strongly against. Occasionally he’d break his speech to mumble a suggestion for his translation, which he no doubt tucked away into another corner of his mind for later.
At some point, I lay back across the seat of the boat, head coming to rest on the lip, one hand stretching over to trail in the lukewarm water. Francis had said once that one of the neighbours had seen leeches in the lake, and Bunny always swore blind that there were water snakes in there. Yet, still, we all went out on it as often as we could, swimming and fighting and trailing our hands through the ripples.
Listening to Henry speak tantrically and feeling the warm water kiss my fingertips was as delicious and satisfying as being carried in Charon’s boat across the rivers separating the worlds of the living and the dead. I wanted it to last forever. The best kind of purgatory. Psuche.
But eventually, we did come to a stop, once Henry, with some difficulty, had managed to turn the boat and situate it towards the centre of the lake. I sat up and stretched, groaning at the creak of my bones.
As I heaved the picnic basket up on to the seat, Henry balanced the oars properly, wiped at his brow, and rolled up his sleeves, eying the cutlery and plates I was laying out. He must have been starving.
I looked to him to ask if he had any preference for pastries as I began doling out them onto our plates, but the question died on my lips when I saw a constellation of bruises flowering in a strange pattern along his freshly revealed arm. They were fresh, a shocking purple tinted with red.
“Henry,” I exclaimed, croissant held in one frozen hand. “What in God’s name have you been doing?”
He furrowed his brows at me, following my eye line quickly. I saw him flounder for a moment, but in a flash, he was as composed as the Queen’s Guard.
“Don’t fuss, it’s nothing. I fell in the garden yesterday morning, those damn dogs left more garbage on my front path. Is that for me?”
I believed him, of course. It was a perfectly sensible answer, and certainly not the first time something like that had happened. If only I’d known...
I gave him the croissant, and finished plating up the food as he poured two Mimosas into the old teacups we’d packed, using far more champagne than orange juice. We ate in a comfortable silence, broken sporadically by random thoughts and anecdotes; we were both slipping into fatigue once more now the sun was fully risen, not too warm against our skin, and the inebriating smells of flowers and the birch trees were reaching out to us, woody and smoky like winter night’s gone by.
Four Mimosa’s later (between us), we had finished our breakfast, and were lying, nearly unconscious, in the boat, which was very slowly bobbing its own way around the lake once more. Henry was stretched out completely, arms acting as a pillow, and I was tucked in on my side next to him, resting my head on the broad stretch between his shoulder and chest.
God knows how long we stayed there in the boat, moving listlessly without direction or need, bumping lightly against the bank until one of us made the effort to lift a foot and push us away, listening to the birds' tweet and fly above us, feeling the gentle caress of the birch leaves across her skin, hearing the soft intermingling of our breaths just over the gently lapping water as it granted us passage, seeing the shades of light and dark through the shield of our eyelids. Zoe. The divine life of God.
When we were roused, the air, the very nature around us felt different, alive, charged. The sun was crawling towards the centre of the sky, but several dark clouds were on its heels. Hours must have passed.
I came back to life first, awaking as though from death’s sleep, drowsy and confused. What came to me, however, was the distant call of my name, the familiar cadence of the voice. Francis. It was Francis.
As his shouting got closer and slightly more frantic, I pushed myself up with one hand braced against the smooth wood of the boat’s sole, using the other to first wipe the sleep from my eyes and then shield them from the sun.
Francis was on the far bank, heading towards the small jetty, and waving his arms as though welcoming in a plane. He was, I noticed with some amusement, still wearing the same clothes he was in when I’d stepped over him that morning. I waved my free hand at him, and he shouted my name again. “Are you insane? We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Is Henry with you? It’s gone 12, you know.”
I couldn’t muster up the energy to respond to him, but I did lay a hand on Henry’s shoulder to shake him awake. With a bit of resistance, he came to, and sat up in the same sluggish manner as me, stretching out his arms, back, and neck.
Francis called to him now. “Henry? Henry! Bring the damn boat in, will you? Julian’s coming to dinner tonight, and I need everything to be ready.”
Henry waved his fingers at him, a dismissive acknowledgement, a king sending away a disobedient courtier. Finally, he opened his eyes, landing his gaze directly on me. He smiled, pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth so quickly I did not have time to respond. “Piso ston politismó,” he said lowly, a melancholy look setting in his features. Back to civilization.
He situated himself carefully on the seat while I stayed where I was watching him like I was at the feet of one the post-Socratics. He picked up the oars once more and started rowing us back to bios. Back to life.
#dead poets society#the secret history#tsh donna tartt#henry winter#camilla macaulay#bunny corcoran#richard papen#francis abernathy#charles macaulay#donna tartt#imagine#the secret history imagine#henry winter x reader#julian morrow#dark academia#charles and camilla#dark academia books#odysseus
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hi lovely! I come bearing a henry winter request
So maybe they are all in Francis’ house (reader and henry are dating) and henry gets one of his headaches and idk reader takes care of him (as he reluctantly lets her)
Im sorry that is all i came up with for now😭 thank you <333
uhm i literally love that idea so yes of course.
just let me help you//henry winter x reader
doing this in the way i wrote my last henry winter fanfic, instead of using “you” I write “i” and so forth. (don’t worry tho cause there will be plenty of “y/n”’s thrown in here:)
warnings: mention of alcohol, mention of migraines, swearing, drinking
(not proof read)
sitting in the hammock Reading my book at the country house is probably my all-time favorite thing to do. the fall air, the sounds of the twins bickering with Bunny as they all play croquet, Francis and Richard out on the boat, and my lovely Henry reading on the porch with a glass of scotch. However, this day is severely different. As my friends and I drive to the lake house, Henry is growing increasingly snappy. Bunny begins to go off on a rant about how “religion is a ploy to get all of the dumbasses who believe in that shit’s money.”. I listen to his rant, shaking my head slightly as the twins let their mouths hang open in disgust. “Bun, it’s not as if you could truly know that. No one knows if there’s a God or not. It’s all based on personal belief," I explain from the front seat. Being a devoted Catholic, it takes all my willpower to not wear the same face of horror that Camilla and Charles hold, but I know that’s precisely what Bunny wants. “Your joking right, y/n?” I watch him in the rearview mirror nudge Richard. “Old man, can you believe the bullshit she’s spewing?" Bunny says in his nasally voice with a chuckle. I see Richard simply shrug and continue to look out the window. “Bunny, please just change the topic; no one likes bickering about religion with you," I say a bit sharper than before as I continue to watch him from the rearview mirror. “Old gals on her period," he says as if it’s a fact. I turn my head to Henry as he drives, my expression angry and my gaze saying, “Your seriously going to let him speak to me like that?”. Henry glances over at me briefly before returning his gaze to the road silently. I let out a small scoff and voiced my thoughts aloud to him. “You’re going to let him speak about me like that?" I asked, irritated. Bunny chuckles behind me, which only angers me further. Henry only takes a deep breath and remains quiet. “Your attack dog is not barking for you, y/n?” Bunny asks amused. “Both of you, shut up," Henry says sharply and suddenly as he continues to face the road. My eyes grow wide, and I scoff in disbelief before looking out the window and shifting my knees towards the door away from him. Bunny remains chuckling in the back seat. I remain quiet for the rest of the drive, my face undeniably red with anger and embarrassment, both from Bunny speaking to me like he did and Henry not defending me. As we pull into the driveway of the country house, I practically swing open the door as soon as the car stops. I slam it shut, just so Henry can know how frustrated I am. Everyone piles out of the car stretching, except for Henry, who swiftly makes his way towards the front door. I follow behind him as he swings it open and walks up the stairs without a word to me, not even bothering to get his bag out of the car before going to his room. I stand at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, watching him in udder disbelief. Everyone piles in behind us, chatting loudly and heading for the kitchen. I walk away from the stairs, following the group to the kitchen. “Asshole," I mutter under my breath as I walk to the cabinets to get a bottle of wine out. “He’s more...irritable than usual," Charles says behind me as I grab the wine bottle and turn around to get a glass. “Yes, maybe he’s upset about us arriving so late," Camilla replies back as she scrunches her face the way Charles is—something that they always do when they’re thinking. I shake my head and nudge Bunny out of the way of the glasses, grabbing one and setting it on the counter. “He’s just in a pissy mood; he has been since this morning," I say, annoyed as I cork the wine and pour some into the glass. Francis looks up from the piece of mail he’s been studying since we walked in. “Did you see him as he got out of the car? He looked as if he was going to pass out," he says, running a hand through his hair. Camilla shrugs, “Perhaps he’s tired," to which Charles immediately nods, “Yes, perhaps he is.”. I scoff slightly and take a sip of my wine. “Tired? My god, I’ve never once seen him tired. He’s just being a supercilious jerk.”.
Richard shakes his head. "He looks ill," he says in an emotionless voice. slightly irritated that no one’s agreeing with me, I turn around and walk out of the kitchen with my wine in my hand. I find myself back in front of the stairs, staring up at them as I sip my wine. I place my foot on the first stair, and before I know it, I'm marching up the rest of them on a mission. I get to the top of the stairs and look down the left hallway, marching to the room Henry always stays in and slamming open the door. “How are you feeling, darling? Hopefully like a real lousy boyfriend," I say sharply as I see him sitting on the end of his bed with his face in his hands. “Out," he says without looking at me, his voice audibly shaking. My face softens slightly as I continue to study him and the state of his room, curtains closed, no lights on, his jacket off, and his tie loosened. I walk towards him slowly, setting my wine in the dresser as I do so. “Hey, what’s wrong?” I ask, placing my hand on his shoulder. He looks up at me; he's sweating and extremely pale. Any ounce of anger I have left in me immediately disappears. As I study his face, my own face drops. How could I have been so stupid? “Migraine," I whisper as he looks up at me. He flinches at my quiet word in pain, “Please, please just leave y/n.”. It absolutely breaks my heart whenever I see him like this. Henry is always so put together and independent, but when he has his migraines He becomes almost small-looking, desperate. I rub his shoulder gently and whisper, “Where’s your medication?” I ask softly. “Car," he says as he flinch’s from the pain of hearing his own word. I immediately turn around and jog out of his room, downstairs, out the front door, and to the car. I grab his bag from the trunk and jog all the way back into the house and up the stairs. When I get back into Henry’s room, I'm panting and trying my hardest to catch my breath quietly. After about ten seconds of standing like an idiot, breathing heavily in front of him, I place the bag on the floor, following it down, and sitting on my knees in front of it. I hear him let out a quiet gasp of pain as he hears me unzip the bag. I riffle through it, trying to be as quiet as possible, until I find the small orange bottle of his pills. I unscrew the lid as I stand back up and pour one out into my hand. I grab my wine off the dresser and walk to him, holding the pill and wine out to him. “Please, darling, I can take care of myself," he says quietly and desperately, his voice betraying his words. I move my hands towards him more as a way to say, “Just take it." He slowly reaches out and takes the small pill from my hand, putting it into his mouth before taking the wine from me and using it to wash down the pill. He still looks ghostly white; his eyes close instantly. I gently take off his glasses and lay him flat on the bed, climbing beside him as I cover his eyes with my hand gently to make the room darker for him. He lets out a soft sigh. “I wish you wouldn’t trouble yourself with this," he whispers. I shake my head as I continue to hold my hand gently over his eyes and lay on him. “I’ll do this all night if I need to," I whisper back, my thumb gently tracing his scar in a soothing manner. “Please, y/n, stop treating me like a child. I can take care of myself," he says unconvincingly. I shake my head again and whisper back, “Just sleep, hen.”. He finally falls asleep about five minutes later as I lay beside him for at least three hours, my hand never leaving his eyes. I watch his chest move up and down, his breathing as he sleeps much more even and natural compared to his breaths when he’s awake. I don’t notice at first when he wakes up. “How long has it been?” he asks in a raspy, mumbling voice. I take my hand off his eyes, and he turns on his side to look at me. “Just a few hours, are you still feeling ill?” I ask, running my fingers through his hair.
“You didn’t have to do that; I’m more than capable of taking care of myself," he replies, wrapping an arm around my waist as we lay on our sides facing each other. I nod. “Just let me take care of you from time to time, okay?” I say, moving my hand out for his hair and placing it under my cheek. He closes his eyes and nods slightly as he pulls me closer to him. “Sorry," he mumbles into my neck. I chuckle softly; he’s acting like a child right now, clingy and sleepy. “It’s okay, just get some more rest," I say back as I put my chin on top of his head. "I love you," he mutters into my neck. I kiss the top of his head gently. "I love you too, Hen.”.
A/N: hope this is what you were looking for:)) thank you for the request, i loved writing this!!
#the secret history#tsh#tsh donna tartt#the secret history donna tartt#the secret history fanfic#tsh fanfic#henry winter fanfic#henry winter x reader#henry winter imagine#henry winter image#henry winter smut#henry winter#henry winter tsh#camilla macaulay#francis abernathy#bunny corcoran#richard papen#julian morrow#charles macaulay#edmund corcoran#fanfic#henry winter request#request#reqs open
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THE SECRET HISTORY HEADCANNONS
⁃ Everyone in the class loved Camilla romantically at some point, Francis often used her as a way of denying his sexuality. ⁃ Henry’s roses bloomed every year after his death, despite not being taken care of very well, on the rare occasion Richard visited Vermont, specifically Hampden he looked at the roses and found peace in the fact that nature fulfilled Henry’s wish of immortality. ⁃ Julian died not long after Henry did, the shock and disparity of the situation led him to madness and heartbreak only cured by death. ⁃ By the time Bunny was found he should’ve been already rotting, his skin grey and shrivelled. Due to the weather his body had been preserved. I can’t remember whether it states what funeral type he had in the book but since his parents were rich it was probably open casket; The sight of bunny’s body in death disturbed the class deeply, haunting them and fearing that somehow, someday he might come back, they all had mild paranoia for weeks, Henry more so than the others. ⁃ Camilla adored ‘the picture of Dorian Grey’ she read it many times, she could practically recite the first few chapters by the time she was 19, yet after Henry’s death she couldn’t read it without thinking about the at the time insignificant link he made between beauty and terror, she tried many times to read it but couldn’t without feeling physically ill. ⁃ Camilla never fell in love again the same way, she picked her men carefully, based on their similarities to Henry, although it’s mentioned in the book and is therefore cannon; she never did fall in love again, she found it, but never accepted it.
#the secret history#donna tartt#henry winter#camilla macaulay#charles macaulay#henry winter x reader#richard papen#imagine#aesthetic#hampden#vermont#francis abernathy#judy poovey#books and reading#classics#fluff prompts#angst prompt#museums#angst#edmund corcoran#bunny corcoran#tsh donna tartt#books#studying#college#enemies to lovers#imagine your comfort character#dark academia#dark academia outfit#ancient greek
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graveyard meet-cute with henry winter
#hot take#giselle is actually the perfect ballet for spooky season#henry winter#the secret history#donna tartt#francis abernathy#charles macaulay#camilla macaulay#bunny corcoran#henry winter x reader
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Henry Winter x reader
chapter i
A/N here's the first chapter i have many more in my drafts i also would say that the next chapters are better. Enjoy and of course give me your thoughts and criticism on it.
Hampden was magnificent this time of the semester, the dorm's window overlooking the vast greenery- now in shades of reds and oranges below, the weather cold and dry, the grounds yet to be muddied by the fall of rain, allowing me to take the path over the fallen leaves. The walk to class was full of anticipation and excitement, on the way there I came across Bunny who- being his outgoing self - approached and linked his arm with mine leading us slower than I would've marched had I not been interrupted
as he held me he glanced in the direction that I came from, "hey"
"Hi"
“your dorms there?” he looked back at my building
I nodded “Uh yeah”, he turned to me,
“My girl stays there, second floor- Marion, quite the lady, she is studying to become a teacher loves children ’n’ all, very demure if you ask me, suitable for a respectable woman.” the last comment made me frown, something that'll become synonymous with bunny discussing women and any other subjects really.
I hum in response not knowing what else to say but that didn't stop him, he went on “You seem very ladylike y’know, quiet” he took a look at my attire, a cream pleated skirt that fell just below my knees, and a dusty pink cashmere sweater “and quite well dressed as well-”
“we're here” I cut him off before he can continue, pointing my fingers towards the building thankful to see its old bricks, a couple of feet away the fiery red of Francis’ hair approaches us, he greets us, and all three of us head toward the office.
Going up the stairs - me in front and both of the men behind me- approaching the white office door I knock before going in, my eyes first land on Henry his dark suit and relaxed figure -back leaned against the back of the couch, legs spread wide holding a book in his hand- demanding the attention, his eyes raked over me then behind me onto bunny, I turn to Julian and in a soft, almost weak voice sound a good morning to both him and henry, after id turned around I was pulled down by bunny, who was sat on one end of the couch, and now had me squished between him and henry on the other end. After ten minutes of Bunny leaning over me to talk to Henry, while I was chatting with Francis about his coat, the twins finally arrived along with Richard and Julian started with the class, starting with Plato as we had been previously informed he would.
“let us end with Plato's virtues as discussed in his book The Republic. For Plato virtue comes from the form of the good. Only in knowing the good, which is an independent self-subsisting entity, can one be virtuous. Virtue is only thought of as a characteristic of the person insomuch as come to know, the good.” he looked up at us “Do you agree with his definition?"
“I think this definition is quite unfair”
Henry turns to me and scoffs “Are you really saying that Plato's wrong?”
“I didn't say that he's wrong I just said that I don't agree entirely with his definition, and even if I was saying that he's wrong, it's not a crime” I try to stay calm to match his coldness but its proving to be very hard.
“it is a crime. He's Plato!”
“he's not a god!” our voices were now rising.
and Julian had to step in, “Henry please let her continue, go on please” he nodded to me and Henry leaned back in his seat clearly not happy.
“I was saying that, in defining virtue as something you only know is unfair, I'd say that it is more of a learning curve”
“So you think that an honest man and a man who’s a liar but is trying to become truthful are equal?” Henry arose again'
"I think, that someone who acknowledges their vices and is actively trying to better them is perhaps even better than someone who’s only known virtue because it is against their nature to be virtuous thus they master the virtue of wisdom and temperance, don't you think Henry?” I address him with a slight smirk barely noticeable, but I know he saw it from the way he clenches his jaw.
”very well, let's leave it here today, and next time we'll discuss vice and virtue more in depth”
after collecting our things we all leave the room and huddle at the bottom of the stairs. Standing there with Charles and Francis, we were talking about the best materials for winter days, Francis having quite an expertise regarding the matter, but that subject is cut short by Bunny -dragging along Richard, Camilla, and Henry.
“What do you all say we go grab a bite? There's a place in town they have the best pancakes, the one down the street from your house Henry.”
“I'd eat just about anything right now, to be honest” Francis chimed in looking At me,
“I am quite hungry, plus I need to go get some ink from the town square,” I said looking in my bag at the empty bottle of ink.
“Great so we'll go, Henry would you drive us” Bunny looks at Henry not asking but rather stating.
“Sure but my car only fits 5 people 6 if we push it, so I can't drive us all”, he stated staring me in the eyes, challenging, just for a second just intended for me to see. I open my bag reaching for a cigarette and lighting it, using the time to try and think of something clever to shoot back, but I didn't have the chance as Francis beat me to it, turns out he caught the look Henry shot me, taking my hand in his, pulling out car keys from his pocket looking at henry, “it's fine henry, we'll take mine, I want to get some ink too, we'll meet you at the restaurant after”
and with that he dragged me along with him, as we headed towards his car, my biggest relief was getting a break of bunny's blabbering, and Henry's- well Henry's everything, happy that from the looks of it, I'd already made a friend of Francis. As soon as we're out of earshot I turn to him a big sigh escaping me, “he's just unbelievable, you saw how annoyed he looked with me from the second he saw me? I don't get why he's this aggressive, and why only with me!”
we get to the car and he gets in before answering “Oh trust me everyone saw that, he never gets this agitated with anyone really, not even when Bunny's acting stupid”
“I didn't do anything to warrant such attitude from him, also you see his friend- bunny, while coming to class today randomly started talking about his girlfriend and how she is a proper ‘respectable’ woman because she likes kids and some shit, really weirded me out”
“I can't say that I'm surprised he just says stuff like that sometimes, which store do you get your ink from?”
“It's just to the left of the dry cleaners, he really doesn't seem like the kind of guy you'd expect to be studying classics y’know, I wonder how he and that old grump became friends”
“They've been friends for years and Bunny was Henry's only friend, before college, met at some all-boys boarding school in Europe and have been friends ever since for a good chunk of time you would never see Henry without Bunny. Is it this store?”
“Yes the one with the yellow sign, I wouldn't expect he'd have many friends with that attitude of his.” we both get out of the car and into the stationary shop, we greet the lady working there and get our ink mine brown and red, Francis's black, after that, we wander to the notebook section, ultimately getting distracted by all the pretty covers and different paper for about 20 minutes, chatting the brunch completely forgotten.
That's until Richard comes in looking for us, he stops by, “Where have you two been, we've been waiting for thirty minutes, bunny is getting really hangry” his hand wanders about the notebooks, looking at the different covers,
“Just a moment Richard we're almost done”.With that we grab our ink and notebooks we definitely don't need but were too pretty to leave on the shelf and I also grab a notebook that Richard was eying, as a gift and check out, heading towards the restaurant.
Not much occurs there, except for Bunny annoying Henry and Charles, i mainly just eat my food and chat with Francis, Richard, Charles, and Camilla, making a point of not participating when Henry is involved in the discussion until it all comes crumbling down when bunny, thought he was bored from torturing Charles, turned to me “say you-he pointed to me across the round table- are you religious?”
the question completely unexpected “I uhh…It's complicated” I answer trying to avoid getting into a discussion with him, but that didn't work of course
“Complicated how?”
“I mean I was raised catholic but that wasn't something I felt I belonged to, so as a teenager, I became very interested in paganism, and now it's harder to decide”
“And why do you not endorse Catholicism?” He pushed, all of them now staring at me with intensity and curiosity
“From my experience with the church, it seemed that most of those who belong to it and claim they are the men of god are morally corrupt money thirsty predatory assholes,” I say it so casually and only the looks on everyone's faces -except for bunny, who wore a smug expression- made me realize that maybe I had gone too far,
and Henry obviously wasn't gonna let it slide, he chuckles leaning over the table in my direction “My, my, little miss know it all feels she's way above religion now, how surprising” he mocked, voice high pitched not entirely believing what he said.
“I didn't say that Henry,” he isn't stupid and he knows what I meant but he just wants to get a reaction out of me
“Really? Then what did you say, because to all of us that's how it sounded.”
“You know what, fine. Interpret it as you want, I'm not going to justify my own beliefs to you.”
“Because you can't, can you?”
“No Henry trust me I'm more than capable but you don't deserve wasting my breath on you” I shoot back, and I could feel my ears becoming red, just as I was about to lose it,
Richard chimed in, “That's enough Henry don't you think. Let's just have the food and leave.”, and with everyone having already been done with their food we sat for five more minutes paying before we went back to college the same as we came.
Maybe that first class was what had drawn the outlines of my relationship with Henry, rivals always looking for something to jump down the other's throat about, and while it was mostly Henry who started with a scoff or chuckle or some offhanded comment, I never let it slide and more often than not I'd be the one escalating the situation. Our egos were far too big to admit that what we came to was childish.
#henry winter fanfic#henry winter x reader#henry winter#tsh#tsh donna tartt#the secret history#richard papen#camilla macaulay#camilla macauley#charles macaulay#francis abernathy#bunny corcoran#donna tartt
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Extremely disappointed by how disgracefully small amount of Henry Winter fanfics there are. What happened to being nothing in our souls if not obsessive?
#I accept fic recommendations#even the OCs and x readers#This man has a vice grip on me#the secret history#donna tartt#henry winter#henry marchbanks winter#richard papen#camilla macaulay#charles macaulay#bunny corcoran#edmund corcoran#julian morrow
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😏
pov your bottom bitch is loud as fuck
#how many times do yall think henrys said THAt before 😏😏😏😏😏😏😏#ok im ngl i think bunny would be a whimperer whiner loud ass moaner#as ceo of bunny i can say that wigth conifence#PLEASE#the secret history#bunny corcoran#tsh#henry winter#tsh donna tartt#winterbunny#charles macaulay#richard papen#camilla macaulay#francis abernathy#winterhare#henry x bunny#edmund bunny corcoran#edmund corcoran#donna tartt
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A message from King Charles III and Queen Camilla to King Frederik X and Queen Mary on their accession, 14.01.2024
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No Such Thing As Ghosts
Pairing: Henry Winter (The Secret History)
Summary: A secret meeting with Henry Winter in a graveyard at twilight. What can go wrong?
Warnings: None
Also would like to add - I know ventriloquism is spelt wrong in here. It's on purpose!
Other Henry Winter pieces: To Indeed Be A God, Omnia Redit Ad Pulverem
“Henry?” I whispered tentatively into the quiet, purple darkness. “Are you there?”
I always felt the need to whisper when we met on nights like that. To this day, I don’t know why. The only people I could wake there were the dead.
As I stepped through the foreboding arch, rising up like a gargoyle through the twilight, and into the graveyard, I heard the clicking of a light, the clapping of a book shutting, the rustle of a thick coat, the snapping of twigs.
“I’m here,” he said, from the right. I turned to the sound of his voice in time to see him, dot of a lantern in hand, emerging from behind a grave sculpture he was rather fond of, a weathered marble depiction of a cherub whose nose had long since eroded. When we were last there, that same cherub had been on its side in the dirt. Despite his admiration for it, Henry had refused to put it back in its place.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come. It’s supposed to snow tonight.” He looked tired, particularly in that incandescent light. This, however, was nothing new.
“I know. We’ve managed snow before.”
Henry and I had been secretly meeting for months, almost a year. Our clandestine trysts were well considered, in far-flung places that no one, not even Bunny Corcoran, would consider searching. Henry feared the scrutiny he and I would receive. I, after all, was majoring in medicine. It felt like a treachery to our separate kingdoms, I in medicine, he in Classics, that we were in love. A war on time. Romeo and Juliet, kept apart by the fog of the mountains and the turrets of Hampden College. But never by the snow, it seemed.
It was a funny night, illuminated by a bright moon but encroached with shadows, the threat of the oncoming storm. Still, it was just light enough to see the outlines of the graves around us, the one mausoleum of the tiny town, the eerie statues looming before us, faces turned piously in every direction as though we had recruited them as lookouts.
“Someone’s been here since August,” Henry said, coming to me finally and rubbing his gloved hands up my arms. I didn’t realise I'd crossed them over my chest. “The cherub’s back in place. You’re cold. Perhaps we should go to my car?”
He must have felt my quivering bones, even beneath the thickest coat I owned. I shook my head. Despite it all, I liked meeting at the graveyard. It was quiet, far away from the familiar, and, in a terrifying way, beautiful. Almost all old things were beautiful to me then. Henry taught me that, through the strange photographs in his books and his detailed monologues. He had a gift of bringing history to life.
“No, I’m fine. Have you seen anyone around?”
He scoffed. “Of course not.”
This was the main reason we met there so often. Who on Earth would hike through the woods at twilight to laugh among the tombstones? Well, we knew the answer to that. There had been the time we held a picnic in the height of summer, when fireflies had flew through from the nearby river and Henry had managed to catch one in his bare hand, the night we spent in the mausoleum to satisfy some maudlin craving of Henry’s, the evening we’d played hide and seek (somewhat begrudgingly, on one of our parts) among the gravestones. That had been the first time we'd claimed the graveyard as our own, mere days after Charles and Camilla had shown Henry through the place after hearing them speak about it.
The graveyard had belonged to a town, struck by disaster and long since deserted. Besides a looming church pyre and a few piles of rubble, it was the only indication that a town had once stood there at all.
“Here, sit down.” Of course, Henry had come prepared. Behind his grave of choice was spread out a meticulous picnic blanket, the host of his book, another thick blanket and matches and kerosene for the lamp. Gingerly, I arranged myself on the it, leaning partly on the gravestone for support. Once I was settled, Henry stretched out beside me, arm pressed against mine, hand resting on my leg.
“I missed you,” I mumbled, reaching over to take that same hand. He settled his thick fingers between mine and afforded me a small smile, nosing softly at my cheek. “How’s the new boy?”
Henry sighed, a warm exhalation that spread across my face. “Strange. I can’t read him very well. But he seems the silent type, so I don’t see why he won’t get along just fine. Charles and Camilla are particularly fond of him.”
“You’re not?”
“No. He's so... quiet, closed off. He walks around like a ghost.”
I didn’t say anything. I’d seen Richard, the new addition to the Greek class, fairly often around campus, floating to his classes and slipping into the rowdy parties. Ghost was certainly the best way to describe him. But I’d never said two words to him, so who was I to judge?
With that conversation abruptly dried up, I glanced around the cemetery that protected us from our lives, looking for snow. There was none yet, of course. Just gravestones, cool and still.
“Do you think this place is haunted?” I asked, ghosts on my mind now. Henry laughed scornfully.
“Of course not. There’s no such thing as ghosts.”
“How do you know?” I asked accusingly, with a teasing smile. Henry rolled his eyes, shaking his head.
“Because how could there be? There’s no conclusive evidence of a life after death, and there is certainly no conclusive evidence of spirits.”
“Didn’t the Ancient Greeks have a God of ghosts?”
“Oh yes, Melinoe. Also, the God of nightmares. Far too much of a coincidence, don’t you think?”
I stared at him, and he raised his eyebrows. “Come on, you don’t believe anything happens after death?”
He was silent for a moment, considering my question. “I believe... that our souls linger. Not on Earth, that’s far too ridiculous. But... somewhere. Julian once said...”
Before he could continue speaking, there was a creak out in the woods, echoing through the silence. Startled, we both whipped up to face the direction. A hunter stalking down its dinner? A bird flying past a bare tree? Or...
“Did you hear that?” I said, springing to my feet, holding back a laugh. “That sounds like a ghost to me.”
“Oh, for...” Henry’s head fell to his tented hand, but I could see the curve of his lips.
“No, no, listen, Henry.” I was smiling as I held my hand to my ear and nudged his leg with my toe. There was another noise. A rustle in the forest. Closer.
I looked down to him. “We’re not alone here.”
Henry chuckled. “There is no such thing as ghosts!”
“I don’t know, I think we could be about to capture your conclusive evidence.”
Another noise. Even closer. Twigs snapping, leaves rustling, insects buzzing, wind blowing.
“Really,” Henry huffed, shaking his head as he pushed himself to his feet. “How many times? There’s no such thing as...”
Suddenly, another noise, a crash, like an elephant marching through the forest edge, and Henry fell silent, peering beyond the gravestone. “See?” I said, gleefully. “No such thing as ghosts, indeed.”
Henry shushed me forcefully. “No, there is not.” Then, footsteps, not loud, necessarily, but obvious in the quiet that echoed between the gravestones. Very clearly human. It was only when I heard it getting closer that I realised my spectre, corporal or otherwise, could present a serious danger to us. Two college kids, out in a graveyard, in the dark. Good Lord.
“So, who the hell is that?” Henry finished, darting eyes staring uselessly into the darkness. His gaze flew to the lantern, still lit on the blanket.
But, before he could stoop to pick it up, there were more footsteps, the eerie sound of a mumbling voice getting closer, like a radio being turned up. Henry’s spine was stiff, assuring the stretch of his shoulders and each inch of his height was obvious. Then, a shout, “Is anyone there?”
I knew that voice. It was familiar, terribly so, but I couldn’t place it. A glance at Henry told me he knew it too, but seemingly better than me.
“Oh God.” He had gone white, all the colour sapped from his cheeks in the flutter of my eyelashes. Instantly, I was on edge.
“What?” I whispered. “What is it?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed listlessly as he swallowed. “It’s Bunny.”
Oh God. I knew Bunny, alright. There weren’t many on campus who didn’t. Loud, ferreting, damn near insufferable Bunny, whose obnoxious voice seemed to reach as far as Fairfax and twisted mind ensured acquaintances either adored him or loathed him. From what I had experienced and seen, and the stories Henry had hesitantly told me, I fell into the latter.
“Bunny?” I repeated incredulously. “What the hell is he doing here?”
Henry shushed me forcefully. “Get down,” he whispered, “on the blanket, behind the cherub. Stay down, don’t move.”
I followed his commands without delay, happy to be told what to do in the face of this unforeseen upheaval. My mind was frantic. Of all the people who had to happen upon us, it had to be him. Now curled up on the blanket, cradling my knees like a child, I looked up to Henry, his strong jaw set, calm hands cleaning his glasses on the tail-end of his shirt. As the footsteps came closer, through the archway, and the mumbling voice bounced off the gravestones in awe, he was tucking his ruffled shirt back neatly into his waistband.
And then...
“Henry,” Bunny honked, his voice carrying so harshly it made me wince. “Am I glad to see you, old boy, I just got so lost on one of my little walks. These damn Vermont nights, hm? Creepin’ up on me. What on Earth are you doing out here at this time of day? It’s supposed to snow tonight, you know.”
“Yes, I heard, Bun. I was –“
“You wouldn’t be hiding someone back there, would ya?” He knew. I could tell, just from his voice. “’Cause, y’know, I couldda sworn I heard ya talkin’ to someone.”
“No, not at all. I –“
Again, Bunny cut him off. “Naw, I know I heard you talking to someone. What you doin��, taking up ventriloqulism, or somethin’?” He laughed, the squawking of a flock of seagulls. “What you got behind there, hm? Is that where you’re hiding her?”
Henry protested uselessly, trying to mollify Bunny before he could get too close. I watched him step forward, presumably to meet his friend before he could get to me, then saw the red of Bunny’s hair and the glint of his glasses as he tried to see beyond Henry’s broad frame.
“You brought blankets, I see. And a lantern. And-“ I saw no point in avoiding it. Bunny was leaning so far around the grave, trying to poke his head around Henry’s large frame despite the latter’s protests and fidgeting, that he would see me one way or another. May as well save everyone’s blushes.
This time, it was Bunny that got cut off, by my face, no doubt paled and terrified-looking, rising up over the other side of the grave. “Hi, Bunny,” I said meekly.
“Well,” Bunny said, stopped in his tracks. I could see the surprise glinting behind his glasses, the few cogs turning slowly in his futile brain. Henry, his shoulders still braced but looking somewhat relieved, took the hand I reached out to him under the cover of the grave. “Well, well, well. I’ll be damned. Henry and his little doctor, is it? I must say, Henry, I never thought you’d get down with a pill pusher. Actually, now that I say it, it makes perfect sense.” He laughed again, but I looked at Henry without even a smile on my face. I saw, with little surprise, that Henry wasn’t sharing in our unexpected guest’s joy either. In fact, he looked angry. Startlingly so.
“Go on then. Doctor, doctor, give me the news. What’s the story between you two? Y’know, my father always says doctor’s are charlatans, a load of crooks.”
“Actually, Bun, I don’t want to be a doctor.” Henry squeezed my hand tight as I finished this sentence. A warning, I realised after, when it was too late. “I want to be a psychiatrist.”
“Oh, a shrink, hm?” Bunny’s eyes glinted maliciously, illuminating like hell fire in the cast of Henry’s lantern. He gestured to Henry. “He your first patient? There’s rules and regulations, y’know, codes of conduct. No mouth to mouth at those appointments.” He laughed again.
“Yes, very droll, Bunny,” Henry said disdainfully. “Do you need us to walk you back to Hampden?” His hint wasn’t even subtle, voice dripping with annoyance, but Bunny did not, or refused to, pick up on it.
“Me? Oh, no, I’m fine, I know the way. But I want to hear about you two. Has he tried to-?”
“Actually, Bun,” I jumped in, trying to think on my feet under his scrupulous gaze. “I don’t know if you’ll have time. I heard Marion was looking for you earlier. Something to do with Cloke Rayburn, and a tinfoil package?”
Bunny’s face, which had twisted into an aloof, non-caring expression at the mention of his girlfriend, fell instantly as I finished speaking.
He dithered for a moment, fisting the edge of his thick coat with one hand and scratching at his head with the other, mumbling vocal disfluencies, half-baked excuses and nonsensical reasons why he should or shouldn’t go. These fell out of his mouth in a torrent, almost unintelligible. I glanced at Henry, but he was only staring stonily at our unwanted visitor.
“Perhaps you’d better go find out what she wants?” I pushed as gently and indifferently as I could.
Bunny threw his hands up, a surrender to a decision finally made. “Doctor’s orders.” He laughed raucously, so shrilly it set me on edge. “Well, I’ll leave you two to your little love nest. I look forward to hearing all about this later, Henry.” It felt like a threat. From the look on Henry’s face, he took it like one.
“See you folks later.” And with a wave of his hand and a blur of sandy hair, Bunny was gone like the apparition I’d initially thought he was. Immediately, Henry sighed out a long, deep breath. Relief.
“Good God, I’m never going to hear the end of this now,” he said as he slid down the gravestone to rest on the blanket. “Of all the people who could’ve found us, it had to be him, didn’t it? Not Charles, not Francis, not even one of your friends... Bunny.”
“C’mon, he’s your friend, Henry, he would-” Henry shot me a glare, quickly broken by a smile as I stopped talking.
“Oh, he would do that to me. To us.” he said, sighing as he took my hand and coaxed me down beside him. “Well, I’d been meaning to introduce you to everyone, anyway. Camilla will adore you, I think.”
A spark of anxiety flared at the bottom of my stomach, but I refused to let this show in front of Henry. The Greek class always walked through the college grounds like royalty, simultaneously above and below everyone around them, who were awestruck by their ethereal presence or disdainful of the timeless coldness of their manner.
Still, I’d had the same misleading thoughts about Henry until I met him, when he spoke to me with an open air I had originally thought was beneath him. I knew meeting his classmates would have had to happen some day.
“Look,” Henry said, startling me out of my worry. I glanced at him, still, stoic, carved like a great Greek statue, staring up into the dark shadows of the trees swaying in the breeze. “It’s snowing.”
It was. Finally. Flakes as small and thin as dust were beginning to fall, catching in the sparse leaves and landing quietly on the headstones around us. The graveyard and the forest were completely silent once more, slowly sprinkling with snow.
“Come on,” Henry said. “Stay with me tonight.”
#dead poets society#the secret history#tsh donna tartt#henry winter#camilla macaulay#bunny corcoran#richard papen#francis abernathy#charles macaulay#donna tartt#imagine#the secret history imagine#henry winter x reader#julian morrow#dark academia#charles and camilla#dark academia books
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Idea for Henry Marchbanks Winter fanfic: He gets extremely jealous. Maybe even a break up? And getting back together … could be wrote in multiple parts!
love this idea
break//henry winter x reader fanfic
a prelude to my “phone sex” fanfic.
warnings: swearing, drinking, slight mention of being sick.
not proof read//reminder that english isn’t my first language, sorry if i mess up<33
lowercase intended
i wrote this at 4am so please bare with me.
henry is almost always jealous. Whether, I am helping Charles cook or helping Bunny with his literature assignments, just little harmless things really. He always has a “stern talk” with me about it afterwards, in which i explain myself and everything goes back to normal. it’s almost comedic how often it happens. let’s talk about what’s happening right now. i’m half drunk, holding henry’s arm as he and bunny bicker drunkenly over….well actually im not sure. all i’ve been doing is giggling and watching henry’s reactions to bunny’s words. we’re all at charles’s and camilla’s apartment as of right now. dinner went well but perusal, everyone has had too much to drink. i think camilla and charles are in the kitchen, i can hear francis and richard behind me on the couch, and of course bunny stands in front of henry and i. i’m watching them and giggling when i feel a hand on my shoulder. i turn around with a chuckle as i half expecting it to be camila coming to watch the quarrel with me. instead i turn to see a drunk richard stumbling on one foot down to the other. he’s smiling boyishly at me, “come dance with me.”, he says nodding to the open space in the living room. faintly from the record player i can hear Valerie Delaney’s, “Six Gnossiennes: Gnossienne No. 1”. i twist my mouth to the side before looking up at henry, who’s still bickering with bunny. i shrug and release my grip on henry’s arm as i turn back to richard, “why not.”, i say before stumbling to the open floor space in the living room. i giggle softly, (something i’m very prone to doing after having a few scotches), and stumble as i look at him. “what kind of dance are you suggesting?”, i ask. he stumbles back a bit and grabs my hands, interlocking his fingers with mine and shrugging as he gives me a drunken smile. he pulls me close as he moves our hands to the sides of us, allowing our bodies to press against eachother. we both stumble for a moment and laugh before we eventually find the rhythm and sway to the music. now listen and understand me, i am in no way attracted to richard papen; hell, i’m pretty sure he’s gay. so in my mind dancing with him, is not different then if i were to dance with francis or even camilla. it’s friendly. when his fingers disconnect from mine and his hands find there way to my hips i simply drape my arms around his neck and continue swaying to the music. not even a full minute later a sharp voice calls out from behind me, “that’s enough y/n. let’s go now.”. i look over my shoulder and see henry standing in the same spot he’s been standing, but now facing richard and me. i’ve always found it a bit eerie how fast he can sober up when it’s time to leave. i chuckle and disconnect my arms from around richard’s shoulders as his hands fall from my hips to his sides. i walk, correction, i stumble towards henry and call over my shoulder back to richard, “that was fun old man, let’s do it again sometime!”. fuck, i need to stop being around bunny so much. i’m beginning to adopt his vocabulary. when i approach henry’s side he drapes his arm around my waist tightly and turns us around. he walks, practically pulling me with him. as we get to the door he calls out his goodbyes and drags me out into the hall before anyone can even reply. i chuckle drunkenly as he walks us down the hall. his grip on my waist doesn’t wavier at all. he keeps his eyes forward as we walk and mutters something to himself. i look up at him, “huh?”, i ask as he continues to pull me along while i stumble. he keeps his eyes forward and his tone steady as he repeats himself, “i said, ‘there are two reasons for evil deeds, one is illness, the other is wickedness.’”. as we get on the elevator my face scrunches slightly as i think. i finally shift my eyes back up to his face as the elevator door closes, “Dante’s inferno. Canto 11, Dante discusses the nature of sin and the motivations behind evil deeds.”, i state realizing what he’s quoting. he keeps his eyes pointed towards the closed elevator doors and nods once.
when the elevator doors open my drunken mind is still confused, “why are you quoting Dante to me?”, i ask as he drags me out the building’s doors and into by the parking lot. he doesn’t answer. instead he continues to walk to his car, not even bothering to open my door for me when we get to it. i narrow my eyebrows before opening my own door and joining him in the car. as i sit and close the door his head snaps to me, his tone is calm but his eyes suggest he’s upset with me. “so which are you y/n? are you ill or simply wicked.”, he asks like he’s asking me the simplest question in the world. i sober up slightly from his words, my body almost flinching from the harshness of them, “excuse me?”, i ask baffled. he looks forward as he starts the car and backs it out of the parking space. he responds as we pull out of the parking lot, his eyes still on the road and his tone still calm, but his fists are clenching the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles have gone white; “i’m asking did you dance with richard and embarrass me because there’s something mentally wrong with you, or did you do it just to be wicked?”. my eyes widen as i look at him bewildered, “are you joking?”, i ask greatly offended. he only scoffs and continues to drive. i reply back angrily with my head still turned towards him, “he’s homosexual henry, good God.”, i say shaking my head. “so there is something mentally wrong with you then. you don’t see the way he looks at you all the time? y/n he practically salivates over you.”, he says with the slightest bit of either annoyance or anger in his voice. i furrow my eyebrows and shake my head in disbelief. i turn my head and look back out the windshield. we’re driving towards campus? why are we going to henry’s apartment? i turn my head back to look at him, “why are you driving to campus?”, i ask genuinely confused. his eyes stay focused on the road.
“i’m talking you to your dorm.”, he answers as if it’s obvious. my heart sinks, “why, why aren’t we going to your apartment?”, i ask with my anger wavering and a small feeling of dread in my stomach. to my surprise he sighs. he doesn’t answer until we pull into my dormitory buildings parking lot, “i need to not be around you right now y/n”, he says as he finally looks at me. he’s eyes are hard to read, but i see a flicker of something. anger? disgust? resentment? hurt? “i don’t want to go to my dorm…i want to go back to your apartment with you.”, i say in almost a whisper as my eyes meet him. he closes his eyes and rubs his temples, “i think it best if we spend some time apart. i cannot continue to be constantly worried about you going off with another man.”, he says in a sigh. immediately i feel my cheeks burn red and my eyes grow with tears, “what do you mean by ‘time apart’?”, i say back trying to keep my voice steady. “are you breaking up with me?”, i add on but this time not able to conceal the shakiness in my voice. he opens his eye quickly, “if that’s what you need me to call it than i suppose. though i would rather just call it a break for right now.”, he says in a calculated tone. my eyebrows furrow as i try to process his words. i feel a lump forming in my throat. don’t let him see you cry, don’t let him see you cry. i nod once, quickly wiping a small tear off my cheek that escaped my eye. “fine. if that’s what you want.”, i say trying my best to sound indifferent. he looks back to the front, “it is.”, he says matter-of-factly. i allow myself a momentary pained expression while his eyes aren’t on me, but i quickly wipe it away as i unbuckle my seatbelt. “fine then.”, is all i say before opening the car door, getting out, and slamming it shut. i don’t allow myself to look back at the car once im out, i simply walk forward towards my dorm building. i don’t even realize im full on sobbing until i get into my dorm room and look in my mirror. fuck fuck fuck fuck. i pace around for a moment before i feel utterly sick. does he truly think i would betray him? does he truly think i could ever love someone else? i throw myself on my bed, but i know, i wont be sleeping tonight.
A/N: thank you for the request! if you all want i can write a fic about how the week during the break<33
#the secret history fanfic#the secret history#the secret history donna tartt#henry winter#henry marchbanks winter#henry winter fanfic#henry winter smut#henry winter imagine#henry winter image#henry winter x reader#tsh#henry winter tsh#tsh fanfic#tsh donna tartt#edmund corcoran#bunny corcoran#camilla macaulay#charles macaulay#francis abernathy#richard papen#the secret history smut
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tomfoolery part ???
#the secret history#richard papen#henry winter#donna tartt#camilla macaulay#charles macaulay#francis abernathy#judy poovey#cloke rayburn#henry winter x richard papen#winterpapen#richard papen x camilla macaulay#richmilla#papenathy#francis abernathy x richard papen
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