#Coming of Age | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

writingsoftarnishedsilver · 3 months ago

Note

I just imagine the worst case senerio mc is very much in love with sebastian but is to much of a coward and ominis is just like date me and we will see if he does anything I imagine ominis just wanting to start some chaos for fun up to you if mc stays with ominis or goes to sebastian

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures | Sebastian Sallow x Reader

BAHAHA I love chaotic Ominis energy, thank you so much for this fun idea anon!!!

Words: ~2,900

Tags: Reader Insert, Female MC, No Y/N, Fluff, Fluff Again, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Romance

Beta: @newdreamlove95💚

You weren’t sure how the conversation had gotten to this point. One moment, you were lamenting to Ominis about your absolutely humiliating, all-consuming love for Sebastian Sallow—your best friend, the object of your affection, the man who would never actually see you as anything more than a friend. The next?

"Date me," Ominis said, far too casually for something that nearly made you choke on your tea.

You blinked. "I'm sorry—what?"

"Pretend to date me. Just for a little while," he repeated, smirking. "Let's see if it gets a reaction out of him."

You gawked at him. "Ominis. That’s—that’s ridiculous. That’s insane."

"It’s brilliant," he corrected smoothly. "You’re too much of a coward to confess, and Sebastian is too much of an idiot to realize he loves you. So, why not give him a little… motivation?"

You opened your mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "This is absurd," you muttered, but a traitorous part of you—the one that had suffered through years of unspoken feelings, of watching Sebastian flirt his way through half the bloody school without sparing you a second glance—was tempted.

Ominis, sensing your hesitance, leaned in. "Come now, darling," he drawled, his voice dripping with mischief. "Let's have some fun, shall we?"

And that was how you ended up fake-dating Ominis Gaunt.

At first, it was just small things—little gestures designed to sell the illusion. Ominis would walk you to class, hold doors open for you, lean in close when you spoke so it seemed like you were sharing something secret, something intimate.

It wasn’t bad. In fact, it was.. quite nice. Pleasant even.

Ominis was handsome—sharply so, with his angular features and regal posture. He was charming, too, undeniably a gentleman. He treated you well—better than well. If you hadn’t already been hopelessly in love with someone else, you might have been in danger of falling for him for real.

The first time he kissed your cheek, it was at breakfast.

The Great Hall was loud, buzzing with idle chatter and the clatter of silverware, but the moment Ominis leaned in and pressed his lips to your cheek—so soft and brief, like it was something he’d done a hundred times before—the world seemed to pause.

You heard the sharp inhale Sebastian took from across the table.

A beat of silence.

Then, chaos.

Gasping. Whispering. A sudden scraping of chairs as people leaned in to murmur, eyes darting to you, to Ominis, to Sebastian—who hadn’t moved, hadn’t spoken, but had gone very still, his knuckles white as he gripped his fork. The sound of your name mixed with Ominis’s swirled around you in frantic, excited voices.

"Are they together?"

"Since when?"

"They never said anything!"

The rumors spread like fiendfyre. By lunchtime, people were glancing at you with barely contained excitement, whispering whenever you and Ominis walked past. At dinner, Imelda raised an eyebrow and said, "Didn’t peg you for Gaunt’s type, but you two are sort of cute together, I suppose."

And all Sebastian did was sit there.

Not a word. Not a single comment. Just tense silence.

Ominis, for his part, was thoroughly enjoying himself. His theatrics only increased as the day went on—light touches on your arm, a hand resting at the small of your back when you walked, the occasional teasing whisper that made it look like he was saying something scandalous. But the longer it went on, the more painfully obvious it became:

There was a Sebastian-shaped void in your heart.

And no matter how much you enjoyed Ominis’s company, no matter how sweet and effortless it all felt—he wasn’t him.

He wasn’t the one you wanted to laugh with, to steal glances at when he wasn’t looking. His touch wasn’t the one you craved, his voice wasn’t the one you longed to hear first thing in the morning. It wasn’t Ominis who made your heart race with just a look, who made your pulse stutter every time he leaned in a little too close.

It was Sebastian.

And Sebastian, the idiot, was doing absolutely nothing.

Until the fifth day.

Until you were sitting in the common room, curled up on the couch with Ominis, his arm slung lazily over the back of the cushions behind you, when Sebastian finally—finally—snapped.

It started small, just a shift in the air, a tension that hadn’t been there a moment ago. You felt it before you saw it—before you looked up and found Sebastian standing over you, his expression unreadable, his jaw tight.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked.

Your breath caught. His voice was even, but there was something off about it. Something dangerous.

Ominis hummed beside you, amused. "She’s rather comfortable at the moment, Sallow. Surely it can wait?"

Sebastian’s eyes flickered to him, dark and sharp. "No, it can’t."

Ominis barely concealed his smirk. He made a show of shifting away from you, drawing his hand back, and you knew he was enjoying every second of this.

You let Sebastian pull you from the couch, his grip firm around your wrist as he all but dragged you out of the common room.

Only when you were alone—tucked away in a quiet corridor where no one else could hear—did he let go.

Your wrist tingled where his fingers had been. You swallowed, suddenly nervous under the weight of his stare.

Sebastian didn’t say anything at first. He just stood there, staring at you, his chest rising and falling with uneven breaths. His hands clenched into fists, like he was barely restraining himself.

"Since when?" His voice was rough, the words scraping against his throat.

You blinked. "Since when what?"

His expression darkened. "Don’t play dumb," he said, stepping closer. "Since when have you liked Ominis?"

You hesitated. There were a thousand ways you could answer, a thousand ways you could end this little charade—but you weren’t sure you were ready to.

"Why do you care?" you asked instead, your voice quieter than before.

His eyes flashed. "Why do I—" He exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair. "Are you serious?"

"You never cared before," you pointed out, tilting your chin up. "You're the one spending every waking moment with some girl or another. Why does it matter if I'm with Ominis?"

"Because he’s not right for you," Sebastian snapped. "He doesn’t—he’s not—" He broke off, frustrated, like the words were getting caught in his throat. "Do you even like him?" he asked suddenly, voice sharper now, accusing.

You swallowed. "Of course I do."

"Yeah?" Sebastian's lips curled, a flicker of something cruel in his expression. "Then say it."

Your stomach twisted. "Sebastian—"

"Say you love him," he challenged, stepping closer. "Tell me you love him."

For a long, aching moment, the two of you just stared at each other. The dim glow of the torches cast shadows across his face, highlighting the tension in his jaw, the storm raging in his dark eyes. You weren’t sure you’d ever seen him like this before—so desperate, so unguarded.

And maybe you should have ended it right there. Maybe you should have told him the truth—that it had all been fake, that Ominis had only done it to force his hand, that you had always wanted him. But after years of pining, years of watching him chase after other girls while you sat on the sidelines, something petty and reckless inside you wanted to push him just a little bit further.

You inhaled slowly, forcing yourself to meet his gaze with as much conviction as you could muster.

"I love Ominis," you said.

It was a lie, a flimsy, paper-thin thing, but you said it anyway.

Sebastian stilled.

For a moment, there was nothing—just the sound of your own heartbeat pounding in your ears, the way the candlelight flickered against the stone walls.

Then he laughed—a hollow, humorless sound.

"You're such a shit liar," he muttered.

He took another step forward, closing the remaining space between you, and suddenly, there was nowhere to go. Your back hit the cold stone wall, your hands clenched into fists at your sides, but Sebastian didn’t touch you. He just stood there, so close you could feel the heat of him, smell the faint scent of cedar and parchment and something distinctly him.

You had spent years longing for Sebastian Sallow, years waiting for even a fraction of this attention. And now? Now he was looking at you like he was one breath away from devouring you whole.

You swallowed hard, summoning every ounce of stubbornness you had left. "I'm not lying."

His lips twitched. Wrong answer

"Yeah?" he murmured. "Then say it again. Say it like you mean it."

You swallowed hard. "Alright fine," you admitted. "Maybe I don't love him, but—"

"But what?" His hand slammed against the wall beside your head, fingers curling into a fist as he exhaled sharply through his nose. "I don't get it. You don't even fucking like him that way, it's obvious, and yet suddenly you're dating?"

A lump formed in your throat. "Why does it matter?! You've never cared before!"

A muscle in his jaw ticked.

"You think I don't care?" His fingers twitched at his sides, his restraint fraying right before your eyes. "You think I could just sit there and watch you be with someone else and not lose my fucking mind?"

He scoffed.

"Do you have any idea what these last few days have been like for me?" he leaned even closer—so close now that his nose brushed yours. "Watching him touch you like that? Watching you smile at him like he hung the fucking stars?"

Your heart slammed against your ribs. "Sebastian—"

"No." His hands came up, fingers brushing against your jaw before gripping—not rough, not painful, but enough to hold you still. Enough to make sure you listened. "I have been hopelessly in love with you for years, and now you're dating my best fucking friend?"

You felt like the air had been knocked from your lungs.

Sebastian Sallow—your best friend, the man who had occupied every stolen thought, every quiet wish, every stupid, hopeless dream—was looking at you like you were his entire world. Like he couldn’t breathe without you.

You stared at him, lips parted, breath caught in your throat.

"You... you love me?"

"Of course I love you," he said, voice rough with frustration, with desperation. "How could you not know that?"

"Because you never said anything!" you shot back, your voice trembling. "Because you’ve spent years acting like I was just your friend while you flirted with every other girl in Hogwarts! Because you—"

Sebastian cursed under his breath. "None of them were you!"

Your breath hitched.

"None of them ever mattered," he continued. "Do you hear me? Not a single one of them."

His hands were trembling now, his jaw tight, his brows drawn in an expression that looked almost pained. His thumb brushed against your cheek, just barely, as if testing whether this was happening, whether he had already lost you.

Your resolve crumbled. Seeing him like this, you couldn’t lie anymore.

Not when you had spent years pretending you were fine being his friend. Not when he was right here, raw and desperate, telling you everything you had ever wanted to hear.

“I love you too,” you whispered.

Sebastian's eyes widened, his breath hitching like you had just knocked the wind out of him. His grip on you faltered for a split second—like he couldn’t believe he had actually heard the words.

"You do?" He breathed.

Your throat bobbed as you swallowed, your heart racing. "Of course I do, I always have."

Sebastian let out something between a laugh and a shuddering breath, like he had just been freed from something unbearable.

But then his fingers tensed against your cheek, his brows furrowing.

"Then why the hell are you dating Ominis?" he demanded, his voice still breathless but frustrated now, like his brain had just caught up with the situation.

You winced.

Well. This part was going to be awkward.

You hesitated, your hands reaching to grip the front of his robes as you avoided his piercing stare. “Uh… well—”

“Well?”

You cleared your throat. “Technically, I’m not… really… dating Ominis.”

Silence. Dead, suffocating silence.

"What?"

You winced again, gripping his robes tighter. “It isn’t real.”

“…Excuse me?”

You let out a nervous laugh. “Ominis—uh, may have suggested it, you see, and I may have agreed to—”

Sebastian pulled back, staring at you in disbelief. “You’re fake-dating my best friend?”

You nodded weakly. “Mmm. Just a bit.”

Sebastian opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. And then he groaned, dragging both hands down his face, his entire body practically vibrating with irritation. “I lost my fucking mind for five days over something that wasn’t even real?”

You bit your lip. “Well, when you say it like that—”

Sebastian cut you off by grabbing your face, tilting it up, his eyes blazing.

“You schemed with Ominis,” he growled, shaking his head, like he couldn’t believe this was happening. “You plotted against me.”

You gave him a sheepish smile. “Yes, but it worked, didn’t it?”

Sebastian inhaled sharply through his nose, his grip on you tightening. Before you could even think of saying anything more, he crashed his lips against yours.

You gasped into his mouth, but he didn’t give you a second to react. Didn't give you a second to tease him, to smirk about how well your little plan had worked, because he was done playing games.

His hands gripped your waist, pulling you flush against him, kissing you like he was staking his claim, like he was furious with you but couldn’t stop himself. And you—you melted instantly, hands threading through his hair, pressing yourself closer, deeper, letting him consume you whole.

It was heat and desperation and frustration, the kind of kiss that made your entire body feel weak, made you feel like Sebastian was the only thing keeping you upright, and fuck—

You were so gone for him.

When he finally pulled back, his forehead rested against yours, his breaths ragged.

“You conniving little minx,” he murmured, shaking his head, though there was something almost fond beneath the exasperation in his voice. “You really schemed against me.”

You shrugged, your fingers still tangled in his hair. “To be fair, it was Ominis’s idea.”

Sebastian pulled back just enough to glare at you. “Of course it was.”

“I just went along with it.”

He scoffed. “Oh, sure. Just an innocent bystander in your own elaborate scheme.”

“Well,” you tilted your head. “I didn’t know if it would work. I didn't even think you liked me that way.”

Sebastian groaned, dragging one hand through his hair before gripping your waist even tighter. “Merlin, you really don’t have a single clue, do you?”

You hesitated, chewing your lip. “I mean… no, but I was pretty hopeless, so... desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Sebastian let out a strangled laugh, his eyes narrowing. “Unbelievable.”

You gave him an innocent smile. “Are you saying you would’ve confessed if I hadn’t fake-dated Ominis?”

Sebastian let out a huff, tipping his head back like he was asking the ceiling for patience. Then he leveled you with a pointed stare. “I don’t know, maybe I would have! Eventually! I was getting there!”

You snorted. “Yeah? When? After I married someone else?”

Sebastian’s jaw clenched. “Not funny.”

You grinned, unable to stop yourself. “Kind of funny.”

His fingers flexed against your waist, like he was debating whether to throttle you or kiss you again.

“I should be furious with you,” he muttered.

You tilted your head, considering. “But you’re not.”

His jaw worked. “No. Because now I finally have you.”

A slow, deliberate clap echoed from down the corridor.

You both whipped around to see Ominis, leaning far too casually against the wall, looking deeply pleased with himself.

"Beautifully done," he said, smirking. "Truly magnificent."

Sebastian groaned, dragging both hands down his face. "Merlin’s bloody beard."

You, on the other hand, couldn’t help the way your lips twitched as you met Ominis’s self-satisfied gaze. He looked positively smug, arms crossed, head tilted slightly like he was enjoying every second of this.

“I hate you,” Sebastian muttered at him.

Ominis hummed, completely unbothered. “No, you don’t.” He pushed off the wall, taking a few slow steps toward the two of you. “In fact, I daresay you love me. Perhaps not as much as you love her, but still.”

Sebastian scowled, muttering something under his breath about “smarmy little bastards” while Ominis grinned like he’d just won the House Cup.

“I have to admit,” Ominis continued, tapping a finger against his chin, “I thought you’d crack after three days. Four, at the most. But no, you really dragged it out.”

Sebastian shot him a glare. "Piss off."

Ominis only grinned.

"Enjoy your night, lovebirds," he said, strolling away like he hadn’t just orchestrated your entire love life.

His footsteps retreated, and Sebastian let out a frustrated groan, burying his face in the crook of your neck.

You laughed breathlessly, still a little dazed, still reeling from everything that had just happened. "So… are you going to thank him later?"

Sebastian huffed against your skin. "I’m going to kill him later."

Then he pulled back just enough to kiss you again. And this time, neither of you stopped.

Banner Credit

594 notes · View notes