Smiling Man - Tumblr Posts
As a Smiling Man prompt:
Your friend smiled at you.
"If you could wish for anything, what would it be?"
"I wouldn't wish for anything. What is the guarantee that my life wouldn't be worse after it?"
Title: Inclinations [Smiling Man x Reader]
Synopsis: You're careful what you wish for. But are you careful enough?
Word Count: 1379
notes: nothing except smiling man is bastard man but that's why we love him
Your friend smiled at you.
"If you could wish for anything, what would it be?"
"I wouldn't wish for anything. What is the guarantee that my life wouldn't be worse after it?"
She rolled her eyes and waved a French fry at you. It was normal for the two of you to get into these type of hypothetical discussions over your lunch dates. And yes, she usually got annoyed when you found yourself unable to answer these supposedly fun hypothetical without first considering all possibilities.
“Fine,” she said, voice more determined. “Let’s say that in this hypothetical wish scenario, your life would not be worse after it . The wish would be perfectly fulfilled and you would get everything you want from the wish. What would you wish for?” She dipped the end of her half-eaten fry in ketchup and chewed while she watched, waiting for your response.
You mulled it over. You hated these types of questions simply because of the potential outliers and possibilities and all of the ways it could go wrong. Sure, you might get your wish, but there would be some terrible catch. Like a woman who tells a genie she wishes to be the most beautiful woman in the world, and finds herself turned into a famous, admired painting.
But if there were no catch…
“I guess…”
You sighed, and leaned your cheek against the palm of your hand. What would you wish for? It’s not exactly something you thought about often. Wishes don’t come true. Wishing on stars doesn’t work, there is no such thing as a genie lamp, and no fairy godmother was ever going to float down in a bubble and grant your dreams.
But… if they did come true. And there was no catch?
“I’d want the life I imagined for myself when I was a kid.” You leaned forward and took the straw of your milkshake into your mouth, sucking up a thin stream of half-melted chocolate milkshake into your mouth. “I’d be a successful writer who makes enough from their writing not to worry about bills or anything at all. I’d be married to somebody that loves me.”
The dream-wish became something a little more concrete as you built it, like a child stacking block-upon-block.
“I’d have at least one kid. My family would be alive to annoy me and come over every Sunday for dinner. We’d live close together, but not so close that they drive me nuts. My house would be old and beautiful--”
Your friend jabbed another ketchup-covered fry at you. “With servants stairs still intact?”
You bit back a grin. It was exactly the sort of thing you gushed about when you sent your friend Zillow listings of old houses in town that you would never, ever be able to afford. “Exactly.”
You stretched your arms, and in that moment couldn’t help but notice a pair of eyes were on you from across the cafe, watching as you spoke. It was a man, sipping a coffee in one hand and picking out a plate of fries and another. He had blonde hair that fell just a bit over his face and large, thin glasses that made him look a bit like a barn owl. When he caught you staring at him staring, he offered a sheepish smile. You couldn’t help but smile back. Something about the expression was a little infectious.
And then you turned back to your friend, shrugging a little as the dream began to dissipate. Your body even sagged a little, like a deflated balloon. “I guess that’s what I’d wish for. If it could come true and actually make me happy.” But you knew it could never come true, and would never come true.
Not unless some magical fairy godmother or genie or wish-granting troll was listening.
--
The fastest way home to your cramped apartment cut through a patch of woods. A scraggly little remnant of the forest that used to be in the area before it was cut down to make room for apartment blocks and abandoned shopping malls. You liked it, and so the teenagers in your area, who often used it for smoking.
That fact is why you didn’t feel particularly unnerved when you got the sense that somebody else was walking in the woods. When you heard footsteps crunching leaves and branches underneath from behind you.
“Would the house be Edwardian or Victorian era? Or perhaps you’re looking for something even older? I do warn you, the staircases can be deadly.”
It took you a few moments to understand what was just said and it made you turn around fast, a feeling of irritation and anxiety washing over you. It was the stranger from the cafe who was staring at you. He was still wearing a smile, but it was confident rather than sheepish, and something about that raised red flags in your mind.
“You were eavesdropping,” is what you say, when words finally come to your mind. “At the cafe.”
The man shrugged and didn’t look very apologetic. “It’s in my line of work. Now, about that house?”
You crossed your arms over your chest. Your pepper spray was at home, exactly where it didn’t do you any good. You weren’t a great runner, but if you needed to, you thought you could run fast enough to get out of the woods in case he tried something. What else would a stranger following you into this remote area want?
“I want you to leave.” You stood your ground. You hoped you looked like a threat. Or like too much trouble to deal with.
“I thought you wanted the perfect life you dreamed of as a child?” He said, and there was something wistful in his tone that made you want to listen to him. It was something you couldn’t exactly shake, and you didn’t know why. Like he was an old friend. Someone who would listen to you and not mock you. Someone who cared.
You shook your head. You didn’t know this man. What were you thinking?
“There’s no such thing.” You took a step away as you said it, hoping to edge far enough that you could leap into a sprint when the time was right. “Like I told my friend, which you should know since you were eavesdropping, there’s no guarantee I would ever be happy even if I got what I wanted.”
The man spread his arms out wide, and smiled so kindly that you got the impression he knew exactly what you wanted as a child and what you want now and that he wasn’t judging you. Someone else might click their tongue and shake their head at your childish dream, still there in your mind even though you knew it would never come true. But not him.
“I can give you that life. Everything would be perfect. You would be so happy.” And then his smile turned sympathetic. “I can even bring back your parents, too. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Your mom and dad were dead. Buried. Bones, dust, by now. You visit their grave less and less as the years go on, but the pain never stopped.
“You’re sick.” You turned, thinking to leave. But when you did he was suddenly there in front of you. Like he appeared out of thin air. And now you were scared and not just annoyed and not just hurt.
“What the hell?” There was a lump in your throat and your heart pounded fast. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
He pursed his lips. “Manners, please.” And It was then that you noticed the mist surrounding you. When did it get so foggy? It wasn’t even that late in the day. Not the proper time for miss at all. But there was, and there you were. And you have the sinking feeling that nothing would ever be the same.
“Now,” he continued, a smile back on his lips. It scared you, how kind that smiled looked.
“Let’s discuss the finer points of your wish, my dear…”
(via bigdicksboxinggym, bigdicksboxinggym)
Baseball Macho
