Archive of Our Own ^omega

Jericho, Vermont, 1892.

The scream filling the hallways of the mansion is glacial. Xavier sits up on the bed, the nightshirt is sticking to his skin and there’s a rivulet of blood going down his cheek and staining the cotton.

He must have hurt himself during his nightmare, scratching himself with his nails. No potion or remedy can help him bear this cross. It always ends up like this, with terrifying screams and scars.

He should feel used to it by now, but he never does.

The sound of steps running down the hallway fills the silence and there’s a knock on the door.

“Is everything alright, sir? May I come in?”

Xavier wipes out the blood with his hand, “You may,” he croaks.

The figure of a woman stands in front of him, her face is young, but signs of labor deeply mark her features.

“Would you like me to run you a bath, sir? Make you tea, perhaps?” she asks, softly.

“That’s alright, Sarah. I’m fine, go back to sleep. Thank you for checking up on me,” he replies, trying to keep at bay the tremble in his voice.

His face must show all the horror he has seen in his mind regardless, because the woman frowns even more.

“Are you sure, sir?”

Xavier feels sorry for her. In the two years working for them Sarah has seen him at his worst. One time she ran up to him, finding him on the floor vomiting all over himself and sobbing with scratches all over his face and arms.

His mind and his powers are a prison he’ll never be free of.

“I’m positive, thank you,” he gives a light smile, hoping it’ll be enough to reassure her.

Sarah nods then and walks out the room and Xavier goes back to being alone.

He lies awake until the sun comes up, he doesn’t dare try to fall asleep again.

The morning after, at breakfast, his father announces that Xavier is set to marry the Addams’s daughter. His tone is matched by severe eyes and a grimace.

Xavier is still shaken from the night before and almost chokes on his food.

His lovely eggs don’t seem appetizing anymore.

“Father, you know the stories people tell about her,” he manages to articulate, clearing his throat.

Vincent pours himself another cup of tea, “Her family is rich and that’s exactly what we need right now.”

“I wonder why,” Xavier scoffs. “I’m not marrying that woman, father.”

“You are, if you still want to have a roof over your head. It’s not up to discussion,” the newspaper he picks up from the table covers half of his face.

The few beats of silence are heavier than the stone Vincent Thorpe has instead of his heart.

“Why don’t you go and marry her yourself, then?” Xavier spits.

“This kind of defiance is unbecoming of you, Xavier. We’ll visit them soon and that’s final,” Vincent tells him.

“You can’t force me!”

“Did you have a good night of sleep last night, son? I wonder what they’ll think of you if I bring a doctor here to check on your health. Who knows if they’ll think you belong in an asylum.”

Silence falls again.

“What do you think, son?” Vincent urges him to answer.

Xavier doesn’t have the strength to reply.

Westfield, New Jersey, 1892.

There’s an owl shaped pendulum clock on the parlor’s wall ticking alongside Xavier’s heartbeat and he finds himself staring at it, wishing for time to go faster.

The tea in his hands is hot and sweet and the collar of his shirt is suddenly too stiff and uncomfortable despite having worn it countless times for years.

Vincent Thorpe is sitting beside him on the sofa and everything about him, from his posture to his choice of clothing, screams arrogance.

Xavier loathes him.

“I’m sure your daughter is just as delightful as you say, Mister Addams,” Vincent says, looking at the couple sitting across from him, his well maintained beard covering the thin lines of his lips.

“Oh, I wouldn’t use the term delightful to describe Wednesday, Mister Thorpe,” Morticia Addams comments with a light smirk.

Beside her, her husband Gomez stifles a laugh, “Our daughter is anything but delightful, but she has thousands of other qualities, I can assure you that, Mister Thorpe!”

The Addams are one of the oldest families of outcasts in America only rivaling Xavier’s family and a few others for prestige, but their reputation and their daughter’s certainly don't do them any favors and from the way they are dressed Xavier presumes they don’t care about it, either.

They both are in full evening attire in the middle of the day. Morticia Addams is wearing a sleeveless black silk ball gown with black gloves and her black hair is piled in a very loose bun with pinned up roses on her left side. Her husband doesn’t waste the opportunity to show off either in his black dress coat and shiny button boots.

Xavier is positive his father is having a conniption by looking at them, he’s obsessed with following etiquette.

“Is she going to join us eventually?” Xavier asks, forgetting his suffering for a moment.

Despite everything, he’s bursting with curiosity to finally put a face to the woman he has heard so much about.

Stories say that some time ago she performed a ritual during the darkest night of the year and in doing so accidentally bound herself to the devil forever.

Every man she has tried to settle down with since then has died soon after their marriage for mysterious causes and people have begun telling the story of the devil inflicting them punishment for daring to steal his wife away from him.

Xavier doesn’t know much about the husbands other than the fact that each one of them were of good status and had begged for her hand in marriage bewitched by her beauty and despite her bad temper.

After her second husband, they were all arrogant enough to believe that the ill fate inflicted upon the other ones wasn’t going to strike them.

She was at husband number five now and Vincent had dragged Xavier there to be her sixth.

His father has never cared for him and now that the situation was dire enough he didn’t care if he treated Xavier like a pig to the slaughter.

Mrs Addams sips her tea, “She’s…otherwise preoccupied with other matters at the moment, I’m afraid. We weren’t expecting you so soon after your letter.”

“I apologize, I didn’t mean for my question to be indiscreet,” he replies.

Curiosity has always been a curse to Xavier, he’s highly aware.

“A good idea should be put in motion as soon as possible, it’s what I always say!” Vincent interjects.

Gomez reaches for a pastry, “How long are you planning to stay in town?” he asks before taking a bite.

The clock is still ticking to Xavier’s heartbeat.

“Just a few days. I have other commitments to attend to, unfortunately.”

At his father’s words Xavier tries his best to hide his expression behind his tea cup.

His father is nothing but a liar.

He doesn’t have other commitments to attend, they just can’t afford to stay more than a few days since he has squandered almost all his fortune in gambling.

That’s why they are here, to secure Xavier’s marriage to Wednesday Addams and save them from a life of poverty.

Xavier suspects the Addams might have heard some rumors about their economic downfall, but they might be just as desperate to marry off their widowed daughter and try their luck.

It’s a match made in hell, he supposes.

“Well, why don’t you two stay here with us, then? Xavier and Wednesday will have more time to spend together and get to know each other!” Morticia suggests.

Gomez nods, taking another bite off his pastry.

Xavier drops his eyes and stares at the teapot at the center of the table, debating if he can excuse himself to take a breath of fresh air in the middle of the conversation. Suddenly, he realizes how real everything is.

They traveled all this way from Jericho to meet the Addams after Vincent got their letter agreeing to having Xavier meet their daughter and hopefully strike a match.

If things go as his father has planned Xavier will be married in a few months time and God knows what will happen to him then. The Devil might as well kill him as they all say.

Five men were already dead and Xavier isn’t one to believe in every story he hears, but he isn’t stupid enough to believe he’ll survive whatever has already killed others.

Vincent likes to think otherwise.

He’s one hundred percent sure the family and their daughter are hiding something bigger and if they find out what that is Xavier’s life will be spared.

“That’s a splendid idea, indeed, Mrs Addams!” Vincent comments, the fake lines of a smile adorning his face.

Xavier adjusts the collar of his shirt.

After tea, he hides away in the room he’s given for his stay until his mind has regained enough peace.

He lays in bed for a while and then opens the curtains to admire the view outside of his window. In the immensity of the garden in front of him he can spot a graveyard in the distance.

He wonders how many of Miss Addams’ husbands are buried there, he even finds the idea funny in its morbidity.

No matter how he looks at things, he’s a bird and the net ensnared him.

Everyone in town knows they will be as poor as church mice soon enough and the girl Xavier was engaged to, Bianca, left him after her family heard of their downfall. It’s been weeks since then and Bianca had already a string of suitors at her doorstep.

Vincent has threatened him to lock him up in an asylum if he refused to marry Wednesday Addams.

They are still a family of outcasts, no matter how successfully they have managed to insert themselves into high society and Xavier is still a psychic who dreams about people dying and wakes up in the middle of the night screaming bloody murder if he doesn’t take the right dose of laudanum.

If his father calls a doctor to visit him they’ll surely lock him up no questions asked and Xavier prefers death to a life locked up and tortured somewhere.

Moreover, his weak disposition would only cause him to end up on the streets and starve to death in a matter of days if he decided to run away.

Xavier doesn’t have people he can really trust in his circle, only strangers he exchanges a few words with at social events.

His life feels like a one way street.

He closes the curtains and decides to take a walk outside before dinner.

He walks around the garden losing himself in his thoughts, enjoying the quietness of it. The sky is full of heavy clouds and Xavier knows it will rain soon, he can even feel the smell of it if he breathes deep enough.

He has his head tilted when he notices a girl riding a black horse in the distance running towards him.

Dressed in black, on a black horse and with her black hair tied in one long braid floating in the wind, she looks like a demoness descended on earth.

The horse stops right in front of him and the girl gets down with ease and experty.

He knows who she is.

The tales of men bewitched by her beauty suddenly make sense; Xavier can’t look away and his eyes are burning.

“You must be the gentleman my parents want me to marry,” she says, staring at him, holding the reins of her horse.

Xavier feels self conscious about his attire all at once, he spent so much time choosing it only to feel completely inadequate in a matter of seconds.

“I’m Xavier Thorpe, Miss Addams. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he replies, bowing his head.

Wednesday doesn’t look impressed in the slightest.

“Are you aware I’ve been married five times already and all my husbands are now dead, Mister Thorpe?” she asks in a blunt manner.

Xavier fights off the instinct to blush, “I’ve been informed of your misfortunes, Miss Addams. I’m very sorry for your losses.”

“And you are still willing to marry me?”

Her dark eyes seem to swallow Xavier whole and her bluntness sets a fire in his malnourished heart.

“Shouldn’t we court first before thinking about marriage?” he blurts, not knowing exactly how to reply to the question.

Wednesday studies his face for a few seconds and then takes the reins of the horse and starts walking.

“You are a fool,” she says with no consideration, before she bypasses him.

Xavier suppresses yet another blush and his heart, already burnt to a crisp, feels somehow dislocated from his chest, too now.

They share the same sentiment at least, he really is a fool.

Xavier is in the Addams’ library with his father after his walk and he can’t help, but love it at first sight.

It’s located on the first floor of their mansion and takes up a huge amount of space with shelves and shelves of books and tomes. There’s a balcony overlooking the room with a spiral staircase on the side.

A massive rug covers the pavement and a statue of Edgar Allan Poe stands at the center of it.

Their collection is impressive and Xavier picks up a book, sits in one of the big chairs available and tries his best to focus his attention on it to no avail.

His brain is preoccupied with the images of his previous encounter.

Wednesday Addams is surely a woman of immense beauty and her indifference seems to pierce Xavier’s heart in a way he hasn’t anticipated.

He knows from the way Bianca first captured his attention that he’s typically enamored with women of strong character, but the coldness with which Miss Addams has treated him is completely new to him.

He can’t help but think how pathetic it was for his heart to constrict the way it did at her words and almost fall off his chest, how he would have kneeled in front of her with a little more convincing on her part and how he couldn’t stop feeling her eyes on his face even now.

It was a disaster on all fronts.

Vincent is standing in front of a shelf, flipping the pages of a book.

“You need to get as close as you can to that girl, as fast as possible and find out what she’s hiding, Xavier. I’ll do the same with her parents,” he comments without a trace of sentiment.

Xavier raises his head from the book, “I thought you didn’t care what happened to me, father.”

The words hang heavy between them.

Vincent turns to face him, “Of course I care! I wouldn’t ask this of you if we weren’t in such a dire situation, Xavier, but I’m confident everything will fall into place just fine!”

Xavier grips the book, “and whose fault is that we are in this situation to begin with, father?” he provokes him. He doesn’t have the patience to deal with his insolence at the moment.

Vincent closes his book with a tumph, putting it back on the shelf.

“I don’t believe the tales people tell about this girl, Xavier. There’s more behind them and this creepy mansion!” His father argues, looking around the room and pointing to a huge spider statue standing in a corner of the library with a sneer on his face.

Xavier secretly loves how eerie it is.

He sighs.

Without saying anything he gets up from his chair, puts the book back on the shelf and walks out the library.

“Xavier Thorpe, don’t you dare turn your back on me!” Vincent warns him.

Xavier turns again, “Five men are dead, father. Don’t you think they all thought they could survive, too?”

He doesn’t get another reply.

He sees her at dinner again and his traitor organ skips a beat.

Wednesday has changed into another modest black dress and tied her hair into a simple bun.

She looks as ethereal and powerful as she looked when Xavier saw her riding her horse, it’s almost painful.

The food is delicious and Mr and Mistress Addams try their very best to keep the conversation engaging and light until dessert arrives.

There’s another boy, too, at the table. Pugsley, their youngest. Xavier has yet to hear a word come out of his mouth.

“Do you like hunting, Mister Thorpe?” Morticia asks, when they are already eating dessert.

Their butler pours another glass for her.

Xavier is very much focused on the pie in front of him, indulging in the sin of gluttony, so he’s caught off guard by the question.

“Wednesday is an expert hunter, you could go together one of these days!” she adds.

Xavier notices Wednesday has barely eaten her slice and has already her eyes fixated on his face at the question.

“I prefer other hobbies, but I would love to see Miss Addams’ skills at work!” he forces himself to say and smiles, meeting Mrs Addams’ look.

He is not hungry anymore, suddenly; he places his fork down.

The truth is that Xavier sucks at hunting and if Wednesday is as good as they say he has no chance at not making a ridicule of himself and he would really love to keep some dignity, at least.

“My boy here is the picture of modesty, Mrs Addams! He can hold his own at a good hunting party, I taught him myself!” His father interjects the conversation, throwing a glare at him.

“What other hobbies do you have, my boy?” Mr Addams asks, ignoring Vincent’s comment.

“I spend most of my time painting, Mr Addams,” he shares with them, small, noticing how sour the expression on his father’s face has turned.

Xavier can still feel Wednesday’s eyes on his face and he fights the need to cover it with his hands very hard.

Mrs Addams smiles enthusiastically, “Oh, that’s wonderful! Wednesday is an artist herself, a writer!”

He turns to look at Wednesday, “What do you write, Miss Addams?” he asks.

“I’m currently writing a novel,” she says. “A crime one.”

Xavier keeps his eyes on her a second too long, studying the freckles peppering her cheekbones, and then drops them on his plate, suddenly self conscious.

He wants to ask more of her, a lover of arts like himself - his soul quivers! - but her expression seems to indicate she wouldn’t like him prying, so he doesn’t.

The conversation dies after a few more exchanges and sooner than later Wednesday excuses herself to go to sleep, not caring how rude it might be perceived.

He watches her leave without wishing her goodnight, words dying on his lips, and he loathes himself for having all these unwanted feelings for a woman he’s just met.

⚜️

A door opens, creaking slightly in the dark.

Wednesday enters the room in her nightgown, bare feet and holding a lamp.

“A deal is a deal. This is the last one,” she announces.

The low light of the lamp casts a shadow on the pavement and illuminates her parents’ faces.

“Oh Wednesday, you are already speaking like this isn’t gonna work out!” Morticia scolds her.

Wednesday stares straight into her face, “Because it isn’t! But like I said, a deal is a deal and I’m done after this!”

She turns on her spot and walks towards the door again without waiting to hear their reply. The door closes a few seconds later and Wednesday disappears in the dark just like a ghost.

It rains all night afterwards.

⚜️

In the morning Xavier wakes up in a much better mood.

The sky is cloudy, but when he opens the window he can still smell the rain and a shiver runs down his spine; he loves it.

There’s something about the earth when it’s wet and he can feel life hiding, but still pulsating all around him.

After having an awkward breakfast where they stare at each other without proffering a word, he invites Wednesday to take a walk with him in town and she refuses.

He did expect to be rejected, but not first thing in the morning.

“I don’t like going into town,” she states. “If you really wish to take a walk then I’m amenable to taking one in the woods.”

Xavier finds no reason to object so he agrees and they leave right after, accompanied by their family’s butler.

He’s a weird tall man, but he’s quiet and stands far enough from them that Xavier can easily pretend he and Wednesday are walking all alone.

“Last night I did not want to pry, but I must admit curiosity is eating me alive right now,” Xavier glances at Wednesday to gauge her reaction, “You mentioned that you are writing a crime novel. I would love to know more about it. What is it about?”

Wednesday turns to face him, “I don’t share details about my novel with anyone, Mister Thorpe.”

Xavier is disappointed by her answer, but he already imagined chances of her sharing anything with him were very slim.

The tales he heard copiously mentioned her bad temper as well.

“It’s nothing personal,” she states further.

One corner of his mouth goes up, “I won’t ask anymore, I apologize.”

Wednesday doesn’t comment and picks up the sides of her dress to help herself climb a particular steep slope. Xavier loves how the timid light of the day hits her features and curses himself for having such a weak heart.

They walk in complete silence after that, the only noise is their shoes against the soil.

“What do you like to paint the most?” Wednesday asks eventually, breaking the silence.

Xavier smirks, “Oh, so you are the only one who gets to ask questions, then?”

She glares at him, but doesn’t bite back. That’s hardly the reaction Xavier wanted to elicit from her.

After a few more seconds of silence he gives in.

“It depends. I paint whatever inspires me or haunts me in equal measure,” he replies. “I still have to acquire a muse.”

Xavier doesn’t have the time to explain himself more because as soon as they walk past yet another tree Wednesday looks like she’s hit by lightning.

Her body goes rigid and she violently throws her head back, wide eyed. Xavier grabs her just before she can hit the ground.

Their butler, Lurch, quickly runs to their side, ready to assist her, but Xavier stops him. “I got her,” he tells him, holding Wednesday’s body with care.

Lurch seems to trust his judgment and nods, removing himself from their space.

The moment is over as quickly as it started and Wednesday regains consciousness less than two minutes after.

“Are you alright, Miss Addams?”

After a moment of disorientation Wednesday realizes where she is and immediately detaches herself from his arms and their contact is lost.

She fixes her dress, “I’m alright,” she says. “And I wish to go back, now, Mister Thorpe.”

“You just had a vision, didn’t you?”

Wednesday frowns, “How could you possibly know I had a vision?”

“I’m a psychic, too, Miss Addams.”

“Do you get visions, then?”

He shakes his head, “I have dreams. Well, people would probably define them as nightmares.” He smirks, “I have another trick up my sleeve, additionally.”

For the first time Xavier notices he has piqued her interest.

“What is it?” she asks.

“Whatever I draw, I can choose to bring to life with my hands. I’ll show you someday, if you are willing,” he smiles.

Wednesday resumes her walk, “I don’t need a demonstration, I have no care for your powers,” she says. “I’m going to be frank with you, Mister Thorpe. I hardly think we are suitable as husband and wife. I’m only entertaining the idea of remarrying to appease my parents. They seem to think I desperately need a husband. I doubt you have pure intentions, either. I’ve heard about your recent economic struggles.” she stops walking and turns, “Am I not right in my assumptions?”

Well, at least they are both showing their cards now.

Xavier stops walking, too. What can he say to that? It’s all true. He wouldn’t be here if his father hadn’t coerced him.
And better yet, he would have married a different woman and never met Miss Addams if he wasn’t one step away from being penniless.

He swallows, “You are,” he says, confirming her suspicions.

Wednesday seems to appreciate his honesty to the very least and she nods and resumes walking.

At dinner it’s even worse than it was at breakfast and not even Mr Addams’ jokes can lift the mood.
Xavier catches Mrs Addams while she throws admonishing stares at her daughter, but Wednesday doesn’t seem to care at all and keeps eating her food without lifting her face from her plate once.

His father asks him the reason for their weird behavior after dinner and Xavier dismisses him by telling him he just had a bad night.

The next day Wednesday plays all of them a song on the cello and Xavier is so captivated by the scene that his hands itches to paint it.

She plays like a mad woman, her fingers move so expertly over the cords and her face almost looks possessed by the music.

It’s a fast, dark piece and he fights the urge to stare at her with his mouth wide open, but only for decorum, because he firmly believes Wednesday actually deserves the praise of having people watch her with their mouths hanging open.

When it’s over he walks towards her to compliment her skills, but she mysteriously disappears before he can.

His last day at the mansion he gets informed by her parents that Wednesday has caught a fever and wishes to see no one.

He has the feeling she’s purposely avoiding him, but doesn’t ask and leaves without telling her goodbye.

He leaves feeling like Wednesday has successfully bewitched him too, like all the other men before him and she has done so without even trying.

He’s a lost boy at sea.

⚜️

With his father nagging him about his marriage prospects, the journey back home is taxing. He doesn’t get any sleep or rest and nausea settles in his stomach in a relentless way.

Vincent spends the whole train ride blaming Xavier for Wednesday’s weird behavior and he’s so frustrated over it that he’s almost tempted to jump off the window and get it over with.

Xavier tries telling him he has no idea what has brought Wednesday to avoid him, but Vincent insists it’s his fault anyway.

It’s always his fault somehow. His father would blame him for war, too.

“If you were man enough that girl would be at your feet already” he mocks him. Xavier bites his tongue hard enough to draw blood in order not to respond to his provocations.

Vincent’s aquiline nose makes him look even more irritating when he judges him. “You need to write her a letter right away to fix whatever mess you have made, Xavier.”

Xavier is nauseous and exhausted so he just nods and promises to do so once they are home.

Jericho, Vermont.

He spends the first day back home sleeping and when he wakes up the moon is already high in the sky.

He sits on his desk, takes a sheet of paper and a pen and begins writing.

Dear Miss Addams,

I hope your health has improved by the time you receive this letter.

I had a few marvelous days in your company and I would love for us to keep a correspondence until we get to see each other again.

I eagerly wait for your response.

Sincerely,

Xavier Thorpe.

It’s short and to the point and with very little sentimentalism, he hopes she will appreciate it.

He sends the letter the very next day.

After a week Xavier has resigned himself to thinking Wednesday has no intention of ever responding to him and he’s ready to take on his father’s verbal leashes.

Vincent has slowly started to fire their servitude and his mood is worse each day.

After their visit to the Addams, the town has already started gossiping about them, once again. They secretly laugh at his father and pity Xavier. They say it’s a shame he will die so young and his soul will be eaten by the Devil, but it’s better than a life spent with a woman so terrible even saints would be on their knees begging for mercy.

He’s too tired to care.

One morning, during breakfast, their butler brings Xavier an envelope and he’s in quite a shock when he sees the name of the sender.

It’s Wednesday.

He opens the letter with quivering hands.

Dear Mr. Thorpe,

My health has never been better than as of right now. I would thank you for your well wishes, but I believe we all need suffering in our lives and I very much enjoy indulging in mine.

I’m afraid I don’t do well with correspondence, my life is quite busy and my preferred activities take up all of my time.

Moreover I loathe pleasantries and I hardly keep up with the latest news.

Therefore I must reject your proposition and invite you instead to have patience until we meet again.

Sincerely,

Wednesday Addams.

The smile that splits his face is pitiful and he holds the paper in his hands reading the words over and over again, hoping he’s not having a hallucination caused by his insomniac state.

When he fails to hear any noise beside him, Xavier raises his head to notice that his father has stopped eating all together to stare at him.

Heat threatens to spread on his cheeks and he clears his throat, faking composure.

“Miss Addams has responded to my letter,” he clarifies.

Vincent cuts a piece of his meat, “Good. You are not as hopeless as I thought, then.”

Xavier grips the envelope, suddenly he’s in a foul mood again.

He reads the letter millions of times during the day, tracing the words and contemplating his best course of action. He feels stupidly flattered by the idea of her taking the time to write down a few words for him that even her rejection doesn’t sting that much.

How miserable is it to think that he’s developing feelings for a woman that it’s clear doesn’t want to marry him (albeit she might do it out of obligation) and that will most likely lead him to his death?

Xavier has always known his willingness to be open would cause him more trouble than not.

Eventually, he sits on his desk again and writes.

Dear Miss Addams,

I’m glad to hear you feel better, although you seem to enjoy the pain of sickness.

I’m sitting here writing to you, hoping you will take some of your precious time to respond to me once again.

I don’t love pleasantries myself and it’s only my awful curiosity that keeps me interested in the latest news.

Pardon my bluntness when I say that I only wish to know more about you. I sense that you are reticent in sharing things about yourself, but even knowing what your favorite book is would satisfy my heart.

Always sincerely,

Xavier Thorpe.

He knows fairly well he’s pushing his luck with this letter, but he doesn’t know how else to quiet the image he has in his head of her long black hair floating in the wind.

He longs for her, painfully so.

Her response comes a few days later and he stares at the envelope for several minutes before opening it, scared of what might be written inside.

Dear Mr. Thorpe,

I believe bluntness is my specialty and I never blame others for using it.
If you must know, my favorite book is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

What is yours?

Sincerely,

Wednesday Addams.

Xavier is so elated that that night he doesn’t sleep.
He hides in his studio and paints like a crazy man, instead.

He paints Wednesday playing the cello, he paints her face full of freckles and her expert fingers moving across the strings, he paints her dark eyes and the way they get lost in the music.

He doesn’t stop until it’s complete and it’s an exhilarating feeling to watch her come alive in front of him.

She’s powerful and mysterious and so lovely that his heart aches.

He thinks he knows exactly what this is.

He has just found his muse.

They spend the rest of the month writing letters to each other and even though Wednesday is always very careful about what information she shares about herself Xavier feels he learns something new everyday.

She’s witty and morbidly funny and could easily kill him with her rifle and Xavier has never known someone like her so naturally he falls even more.

He never asks her about her previous husbands nor about the stories people say about her and they never acknowledge his precarious economic situation again or their wedding.

They enjoy living in the small universe they have created for themselves, where they seek nothing from each other but friendship and understanding.

It’s easy for Xavier to ignore his surroundings when he writes to her and pretend the house he has been living in all his life it’s not slowly changing.

One maid and the butler are all the personnel they have left at the end of the month to keep things up and running and his father starts selling some of his most expensive possessions, too.

It’s miserable and Vincent is too proud to give up appearances, so he keeps attending parties and social gatherings and drags Xavier through all of it.

The ladies at the parties look at him behind their fans with veiled surprise and concern.

His father puts pressure on him to visit the Addams again and start their period of courtship.

They don’t have time, Vincent tells him. He refuses to give up more than he already has and the wedding has to happen as quickly as possible if they wish to keep the rest of their possessions.

He feels like a brigand and a martyr in equal measure.

Miss Addams has been very clear on her feelings upon their first meeting and Xavier knows their marriage will not be one of love despite his festering crush. The fear that his destiny will be exactly like all of her previous husbands grips his stomach, too.

He doesn’t know what’s worse.

Before he can do it himself, at the end of fall, Wednesday writes that she plans to visit him soon with her family and so Xavier waits.

He draws her religiously in his sketchbook from memory and he never feels like he does her any justice. The lamp burns his eyes, but he keeps drawing until the sun is peeking out in the sky and then he falls asleep and when he doesn’t dream about people dying, he dreams of her. Dark, haunting dreams.

She’s the Devil’s wife in his scenarios. Devastating and beautiful.

She stands next to a dark beast with wings in a white dress and Xavier is never close enough to reach for her; he loses her and then he wakes up madid with sweat.

Sometimes, instead, the beast walks in his direction and tears his body apart while Wednesday watches without lifting a finger.

They are not prophetic dreams, he knows it. These ones are different. They are horrors of his creations.

It’s all fast and consuming and it’s hard for him to remember a time when he didn’t know her.

⚜️

Wednesday comes on a rainy day. Xavier sees her from his window and all his muscles tighten.

She’s as beautiful as he remembers her to be and unlike the last time he saw her there’s a clear fondness spreading all over his chest.

“I hope you had a pleasant journey, Miss Addams,” he says, bowing.

“It was horrible. My parents are irrepressible, being in their company is pure torture,” Wednesday replies.

“Shall we head to the parlor, then?” he asks her, extending his elbow for her to grab.

She doesn’t.

They have tea with their parents and then they take a walk in Xavier’s rose garden.

“I enjoyed our correspondence very much, Miss Addams. Your letters were always the highlight of my day,” he comments lightly.

“Flattery is something I despise, Mister Thorpe, I should tell you,” Wednesday warns him.

He smiles, “It’s not flattery if it is the honest truth, though.”

“Mister Thorpe, you know why I’m here today. My parents wish for us to begin courting,” she cuts to the chase, ignoring his ulterior comment.

Xavier turns, caught off guard.

He tries to think of something to say, witty in nature, but comes up empty.

She renders him speechless.

“Since we live quite far from each other they have suggested inviting you to stay at our place for a few months. That should give us plenty of time for courting before the marriage,” she continues.

“Is that something you wish as well, Miss Addams?”

“I had the impression to have been pretty upfront about what I thought about the situation, Mister Thorpe. Have you forgotten already?” Wednesday asks.

Her dark eyes all over his face look like bottomless pits.

What a fool Xavier is. Hoping for love in an arranged marriage organized by both of their parents, one that he is sure will lead to him being buried ten feet underground very soon.

“I have not, Miss Addams. However, in my heart I hope your opinion of me has changed after our correspondence,” he confesses.

Xavier hears the sound of her boots against the grass suddenly stop and Wednesday turns to him with her whole body and glares at him.

The smell of roses surrounds them and Xavier knows in his heart that he will always associate the smell of them with her now.

“If you agree to the circumstances, I will expect your presence in my house in no more than two weeks,” she replies, courtly.

Her voice seems to him like a well sharpened knife cutting his skin and bones. He wants to fight her, God knows he wants to fight her.

“I would love for us to court, Miss Addams. You can expect a visit in the next week,” he says instead, swallowing his stubbornness and his pride and the bitter taste of rejection.

They have dinner together once again and his father has the fakest smile Xavier has ever seen. He watches him play with his golden ring, one of the only possessions they have left.

“My son can’t seem to stop talking about your daughter, Mister Addams. She has him completely enamored already!” Vincent takes a sip of wine out of his glass.

Xavier grips his glass with his right hand and furiously tries not to blush and avoid Wednesday’s eyes.

Morticia Addams giggles, “Oh, my storm cloud has that effect on people! One can hardly escape her!”

“What my wife says is true indeed!” Mister Addams interjects, smiling proudly.

Pugsley nods with his mouth full of food.

Xavier wants to use the fork in front of him to stab himself, but the suit that he is wearing it’s one of his best ones and he can’t afford to spill blood on the shirt.

Sarah is the only one they have left and he doesn’t want to give her another thought to worry about.

“Is the ring you wear on your finger your wedding ring, Mister Thorpe? Your late wife must be glad you still hold her in such regards,” her dark dark eyes resemble the ones of a vulture. “Although, your rumored numerous affairs have people suggest otherwise.”

Silence falls in the room, only interrupted by clinking of the silverware.

Her mother turns to look at her, paler than usual, “Wednesday!” she hisses, mortified.

“I’m just complimenting an honorable trait such as faithfulness, mother. It tends to run in a family,” Wednesday says, wittily.

Xavier notices how his father is trying his best to hold his tongue.

“It is my wedding ring, you are right in your assumption. I loved my wife very much,” Vincent replies.

Xavier takes a full bite of his meat and swallows. He swallows resentment, too.

Wednesday performs for them again, Xavier can’t enjoy her performance this time, though.

Her words still hang heavy in the air, hurting him.

He’s quite alright with her insulting his father, in fact Xavier positively thrilled about it and he knows Vincent very well deserves it, but he can’t help feeling wounded by Wednesday’s insinuations against him.

When Wednesday goes to excuse herself, like she did the previous times, just before she turns the hallway to disappear in her room, he stops her.

“I wish to say something before you go, Miss Addams.”

Wednesday turns to stare at him.

“I do not enjoy being judged as harshly as my father is only because I have the misfortune of being related to him. If I had a wife, you could rest assured I would worship her day and night for the rest of my life. Even in the case of her death. I wish you a good night,” Xavier doesn’t give her any possibility to argue back and leaves right after.

⚜️

The next day The Addams are already preparing to leave.

“We expect you very soon, Mister Thorpe,” Morticia tells him when they are saying their goodbyes.

“We‘ll be reunited before you realize it,” he replies, holding her hand and bowing in respect.

When her parents are already walking away Xavier takes Wednesday’s hand and kisses it and bows just the same.

“I wish you a good journey back home, Miss Addams,” he says.

He ignores the grief in his chest. He knows he’s acting like a wounded creature and how ridiculous that is.

“I apologize for last night, Mister Thorpe. I’m aware not every child is quite like their parents. I'm proof of that and you are, too,” she bows her head.

Xavier can’t help the timid smile coloring his face.

“I’ll count the days until I see your face again, Miss Addams.”

⚜️

Xavier has frightening nightmares every day for the whole week.

He screams and screams and screams and Sarah runs to him to wake him up every time.

He sees death in every corner of his mind.

Cruel, bloody, deaths.

Accidents, murders, sickness. All of it.

He takes poison in incresealy doses. It’s the only thing that has the power to quiet his mind to give him peace for at least a couple of hours at night.

His father is surely right.

He can easily belong in an asylum at this point and death doesn’t sound as scary as it used to sound anymore.

The devil can take him, if he wants to.

And if death comes to get him, at least he has a few months left with a terrifying beautiful woman who makes his heart feel magically alive.

He leaves home a week after. The train ride without his father is much more enjoyable than he predicted and the scenery keeps him company.

The Addams’s mansion is just as enchanting as he remembers and their butler takes care of his bags right away upon his arrival and tells him to wait for Miss Addams in the parlor.

Wednesday walks in no more than twenty minutes later.

He stands up immediately like a little soldier.

“Miss Addams, it is a pleasure to see you,” he rushes to say, bowing.

She has her hair in a braid and wears a very modest black dress. She definitely has no plans to impress him and yet Xavier is very impressed indeed.

“My parents are visiting an old friend, they’ll be home in time for dinner,” she replies. “I was planning to read in the library, do you wish to join me as well?”

“I would love to, Miss Addams. However, I wish to say something first, if you let me.”

“Mister Thorpe, I must warn you. A repeat of our previous conversation would have you at gunpoint. I’m hardly lenient.”

Xavier hides the smile threatening to split his face, “I just wish you for you to be lenient enough to let me ask you one question and assolve my duties as a gentleman.”

“What is the question, then?” she asks, impatient.

“Do you wish for us to court, Miss Addams? I would love nothing more,” Xavier says, concealing his excitement.

“This question hardly requires an answer, you are here for a reason, Mister Thorpe.”

“Indulge me anyway. Please,” he murmurs, looking for truth in her eyes.

Wednesday glares at him and she seems to bite the next word that wants to come out of her mouth, “I agree to begin courting, Mister Thorpe,” she says, instead.

Her dark eyes are cold and Xavier can’t see how much truth there’s in them, but he’s weak and only has these cards to play with, so he smiles and nods.

The next two weeks are filled with activities.

They go hunting in the end.

Wednesday is every bit of a skillful hunter as her parents said.

She spots a hare and kills it right away with her rifle; they take it back home with them and Lurch cooks it for dinner.

His father would scold him for failing to hunt something, but he holds his rifle even tighter and fights the urge to vomit.

Wednesday is definitely not impressed by him. She for sure wants a husband as skillful and strong as she is and Xavier is very far from that.

They take walks everyday and as much as Xavier tries to find out more information about his future wife she’s a completely closed book.

The little bits of information he got in her letters seem a far away memory and Wednesday is even more closed off now.

He desperately wants to know her, if she lets him.

Are they supposed to get married, always dancing around each other like acquaintances do?

The question haunts him.

They read together in the library, but Wednesday refuses to engage in conversation afterwards and Xavier is always left quite disappointed.

He watches her leave like a shadow after the sun is gone.

He doesn’t know what to do with himself.

Nights at the Addams’s mansion are not better than they are in his bed.

He has every comfort he could possibly desire, even more now that they had started selling stuff to make ends meet, but the nightmares don’t stop and Xavier doesn’t want Wednesday to find out how sick and unstable he truly is.

He doesn’t want anyone to hear his screams.

So he takes more poison than he has ever had before and puts four drops of it in the herbal tea he asks Lurch to make for him in the evenings.

Somehow, it works.

He doesn’t know how long his body will be able to handle such dosage, but he figures that if the stories about Wednesday are true he’ll be dead before he can find out anyway.

The nightmares are always terrifying and they leave him restless and anxious, but at least he doesn’t wake up screaming and that’s enough for him.

The Addams never act like they are holding any secrets and it’s hard for Xavier to investigate like his father has ordered him to do.

He is always with Wednesday and she consumes his every thought.

Between her and his nightmares he has hardly any energy left to function.

By the third week of his stay something starts changing.

He’s taking a walk in the gardens when he sees Wednesday riding towards him.

She really looks like the Devil’s wife on her black horse with that haunted look on her face while her black hair blows in the wind.

The horse stops in front of him.

“I’m not quite as skillful as you are, but I have my tricks with horses. I would love for us to ride together sometime, if you like,” he proposes.

The low light of the sun hits her hair making it shine.

“We can go now, if you so wish, Mister Thorpe,” she replies.

Xavier wasn’t expecting that answer, but he tries to look as collected as possible and nods.

The Addams own four horses.

Wednesday’s one is called Muerte and she tells Xavier to take their most docile one for their ride.

Rain. An extraordinary black horse with white fur.

“Hello, Rain. It’s nice to make your acquaintance. You are the most beautiful lady I have seen in my life,” he giggles, caressing her head with his hand.

Wednesday glares at him, “When you are finished flirting we can go, Mister Thorpe.”

He turns, smirking, “Alright. I believe a gentleman has the duty to make a lady always feel cherished. Rain here deserves it as well, don’t you, beautiful?” He caresses her head again.

“Mister Thorpe, I cannot spend the whole day indulging your requests. If you are not ready to ride in five minutes I’ll simply leave you behind,” she tells him.

Xavier frowns, “Do you have other commitments today, Miss Addams? If so, I apologize for taking your time. I’m sure we can go riding another day.”

Xavier can’t exactly read her face, but she seems…jealous.

Her body is even stiffer than usual on her horse and she appears to throw death stares at Rain and at his hand on her head.

It’s a ridiculous idea to even entertain, but Xavier is nothing but ridiculous.

“I do not like people who waste my time, Mister Thorpe,” she says, gripping the reins.

Xavier feels even more motivated by her curt reply and he throws carefulness to the wind.

“Miss Addams,” he smirks, “I assure you there’s no need for you to be jealous. As my wife, I will only have eyes for you and nothing else.”

If stares could kill Xavier would be already gone and dead on the grass, he knows for certain.

“As your wife I will be pretty lucky if you use your brain before you speak your mind, Mister Thorpe.”

Xavier’s face falls immediately.

⚜️

They ride together anyway.

Wednesday takes it as a competition more than a way to enjoy time together and she runs pretty fast always surpassing him every time he reaches her.

It’s fun.

Xavier hasn’t had that much fun in a while, but by the time they are ready to go back he’s already quite tired and he can’t really keep up with her speed.

Her words still sting, but he tries not to think about it too much.

He wants to enjoy the moment.

“Are you already tired, Mister Thorpe?” Xavier hears her voice in the wind and looks up.

Wednesday is ahead and she turns to look at him while she addresses him.

Xavier is sure her shiny braid in the wind will haunt his dreams, too, that night.

“I have told you my skills would not be comparable to yours, Miss Addams!” He screams.

She runs even faster and leaves him behind for the rest of the journey.

When they are back at the stables and Xavier leads Rain to her postation, he caresses her between her eyes.

“You have been a beautiful companion today, Rain, thank you. I hope we can spend some time together soon, again,” he whispers lovingly.

He can feel Wednesday’s eyes on him, but when he turns she is quietly smirking.

It’s the first time Xavier sees such a open expression on her face, he loves it.

“I like riding at least two times a week. You are invited to join me next time as well, if you wish.”

His eyes sparkle, “I would love to.”

⚜️

That moment changes something invisible between them.

Somehow, the walks they take aren’t as silent anymore.

Wednesday starts sharing things about herself again.

Simple things, nothing really deep, but Xavier is grateful the same way.

“My brother is the one who has named Rain,” she shares with him once.

“I like it, it fits her.”

“He’s weak. Years ago, she got sick and we thought she wouldn’t survive and he spent every day and night at the stables crying over her and her possible death.”

“Oh,” he’s genuinely surprised Wednesday has shared with him so much without asking. “What was wrong with her?”

“We never knew for sure, but eventually she started getting better.”

“She’s a beautiful horse. What about Muerte?” He asks, feeling bold.

They spend the rest of their walk talking about Wednesday’s horses and at dinner Xavier is sure Wednesday keeps looking at him with a less threatening expression than she has before.

Xavier starts asking her reading recommendations and she leaves a list on the desk of his room after a few days.

He’s determined to read every book on her list so they can talk about it, too.

He’s obsessed.

At the one month mark of his stay, Wednesday has Lurch set up a painting room for him in the house after he casually mentions he misses painting at breakfast.

The room has everything an artist might need and more and has great lighting and huge windows, Xavier loves it immediately when Wednesday shows it to him.

“I didn’t know you had a painting room,” he comments.

“Lurch set it up for you under my request. I hope there’s everything to quiet the hunger of your artistic hands,” she replies.

That day Wednesday is still wearing a riding habit from enjoying a quick ride with Muerte outside.

Xavier turns, stunned.

“You set up this room for me?”

“Didn’t you say you missed painting? We have hundreds of rooms in this house, you can easily use one for painting,” she argues.

“Miss Addams- I don’t quite know what to say!” he blurts.

Every English word he knows dies on his tongue.

“A thank you is sufficient,” Wednesday tells him.

Xavier must hate being in Wednesday’s good graces cause for the hundredth time he throws caution to the wind and says, “May I ask why?” his voice falters.

“May I ask the reason behind this kindness? I am not sure I did anything different to deserve it,” he mutters.

“This isn’t kindness, Mister Thorpe. I’ve done nothing, Lurch took care of everything you see here. I’ve just realized that you are an artist as well, I couldn’t stand not writing for months,” she says, cold and leaves immediately after.

His thank you dies on his lips, too.

He spends his next few days hidden in the room, painting.

He paints the scenery outside his window, the face of his mom and her.

Then he hides the painting under his bed to keep it hidden from everyone.

He only comes out for lunch and dinner and he doesn’t even see Wednesday at the table with them.

He wonders where she is, but doesn’t ask.

His parents don’t mingle as much he thought they would have, it’s a relief.

On day four of his reclusion, when it’s already dark outside and he has already gone back to his private room, he hears a knock on the door.

“Come in,” he says, thinking it might be Lurch with his herbal tea.

He has already taken off his shirt, and he’s only wearing pants, the fatigue of the day catching up to him.

When he looks up, his immediate reaction is to blush.

Wednesday is standing in front of him in all of her glory and more.

“Miss Addams!” he blurts. “I apologize, I didn’t think it was you.”

“Do you usually go around without a shirt in your room, Mister Thorpe?” she inquires, raising her eyebrows.

Xavier blushes even more at that, “Please, turn around. I’ll put my shirt back on, it’ll only be a moment.”

“There’s no need. I don’t plan to stay long,” she says, her eyes trailing down his chest.

Admittedly, he doesn’t have the best physics compared to other men his age, he knows that.

He’s skin and bones.

“It’s improper,” he argues and takes the shirt on his bed and tries to cover himself up the best he can.

“And you should know I do not care about that, Mister Thorpe. I came here to ask if you want to join me tomorrow. I’m going to town.”

Xavier frowns, “I haven’t seen you in days and now you are here asking me if I want to join you tomorrow for a visit to town?”

“My parents tell me you have been enjoying your painting room these last few days,” she shares bluntly.

He blushes yet again, “I have. A lot. I thank you for your consideration, Miss Addams.”

“If I come when you are painting one day will you show me your trick?”

Xavier hugs the shirt closer to his chest.

They shouldn’t be having this conversation with him half naked in front of her.

“My trick?”

“Yes, your powers.”

“Oh, yeah,” he licks his lips. “I will gladly show you my powers if that’s what you wish.”

“And tomorrow? Can I expect your presence then?”

Xavier has never been more confused in his life before.

He was sure he had offended her, somehow, when he asked her about the painting room and yet here she is asking for his company.

Asking him if he can show her his powers.

Powers she has claimed wasn’t interested in before.

“Of course you can expect my presence, Miss Addams. What’s better than a day spent in your company?”

“Very well. I’ll see you tomorrow then,” she says and turns around to leave.

“I wish you a good night, Miss Addams.”

She nods.

⚜️

Their day in town flies away and when they get back Xavier asks her if she wants to join him in the library.

Xavier loves it, it’s his favorite place besides his painting room.

When they sit on the chairs with their respective books he doesn’t waste time engaging her in another conversation before he loses her attention.

“Do you enjoy Elizabeth Browning, Miss Addams?” he asks.

Wednesday looks up before she can open her book, “I do. Although I consider some of her poems to be too sentimental in nature.”

He smirks, “Her love poems are actually my favorite, I must admit.”

“Somehow I’m not surprised,” she says and lowers her eyes to focus her attention on the book on her lap.

“Is your judgment so severe for her husband, too, then?” he provokes her, hoping she’ll bite and talk to him just a bit longer.

Wednesday looks up again, giving him a death stare, “Robert Browning’s works are more close to my tastes.”

“Which one is your favorite?”

“You are spoiling my reading time, Mister Thorpe.”

Xavier grips the cover of his book and holds a sigh, defeated, “I apologize, Miss Addams. I’ll stop talking.”

Wednesday goes back to reading like she hasn’t shattered Xavier’s heart once again.

⚜️

Xavier thinks they won’t talk about it anymore, but the next day they are both in the library again and Wednesday is in one of the balconies searching for a book, while he’s already sitting in one of the chairs.

The Edgar Allan Poe statue they have keeps staring at him creepily.

“I particularly enjoy Porphyria’s lover,” Wednesday says.

Xavier looks up and sees her still standing on the little balcony of the library.

“You asked me yesterday which one of his works was my favorite. Porphyria’s lover is one of my favorites,” she adds.

He frowns, “The one where he strangles his lover wrapping her own hair around her neck?”

“Precisely that one.”

Xavier gets up from his chair and walks closer to where Wednesday is standing.

“I like Meeting at Night,” he says, taking the stairs leading to the balcony.

When he’s standing in front of her he glances down to the book in her hand and sees that it’s a collection of works by Robert Browning.

“Were you planning to read the monologue to me, Miss Addams?” he whispers, smirking, taking the book from her.

“Now you are not only a fool, you sound ridiculous,” she defends herself.

They are standing closer than they have ever before and Xavier is quite aware how improper it is, even in the prospect of their future marriage, but he can’t help himself.

Wednesday looks particularly beautiful that day and Xavier aches for her everyday.

He opens the book and prays that the poem is looking for it’s indeed in those pages.

Luckily the stars are his friends cause he finds it very easily and starts reading it.

“The grey sea and the long black land-,”

“I do know the poem,” she stops him, glacial.

He smirks, “Do you know he wrote it when he was courting his future wife?”

He’s even bolder than his words, shortening their distance even more and standing just mere inches from her face.

“Is this what you think you are doing now, Mister Thorpe?”

“You are the one who brought back the argument, Miss Addams. I’m not doing anything,” he murmurs.

In truth, he can hardly focus on anything other than her lips being so close to her for the first time ever.

She looks unimpressed and Xavier is not foolish enough to think his little poetry trick is in any way affecting her.

She pulls away from him then and the moment is gone.

Neither of them mentions it in the days after.

⚜️

A week later Xavier is walking to his room turning a hallway when he gets pulled by a hand.

He turns, confused.

It’s Wednesday.

“Miss Addams?”

Wednesday doesn’t turn but keeps dragging him by the hand towards her room. Her touch is incandescent.

“Miss Addams, is something wrong?”

Wednesday opens the door to her room and pushes his body inside.

“Miss Addams, I know we are courting, but I shouldn’t be here- if your parents see me here, in your room-,” he tries to keep his voice steady.

“You know what is wrong, Mister Thorpe,” she says.

She looks furious.

Xavier is confused once again.

“Did I do something that offended you?” he asks.

Wednesday glares at him, but says nothing. Instead she grabs him by the hair and pulls his face close to hers.

“You know very well what you have done,” she whispers madly on his lips and then kisses him.

Xavier is so surprised he doesn’t move for the first few seconds.

“Are you gonna act like a statue,” she asks, pulling away from him.

Xavier grabs Wednesday by her neck then takes her lips in his, forgetting all modesty.

Xavier is sure he has never had a more perfect kiss than this, nothing is comparable.

“Miss Addams, we should stop,” he mutters after a while, forcing himself to pull away from her.

“Why?” she asks, taking his hand and putting it on her breast. “Isn’t this exactly what you were suggesting with that poem? I’m far from naive, Mister Thorpe.”

Xavier kisses her lightly and bites back a moan. His hand on her breast feels far too intimate, but when he tries to take it off Wednesday stops his wrist.

“Don’t act all pure and innocent, now. You were fine acting like a Casanova with Rain.”

Xavier giggles on her lips, “So you were jealous!”

“If you reject me now then you can forget to touch me again. I’ll be careful in my decision if I were you, Mister Thorpe.”

Xavier is just a weak man with very low morals, of course he doesn’t waste time in kissing her again.

⚜️

Xavier knows that they shouldn’t be doing what they are doing and he shouldn’t encourage Wednesday in her plan of leading him to insanity, but he can’t stop.

When she comes to him at night, in only her nightgown and kisses him, Xavier forgets all reasons.

When she leads him to the library and instead of reading she puts her lips on his neck it takes everything in him not to undress her right there.

Not that she doesn’t try.

She always tries her best to convince him to take her to bed.

Xavier is very lucky they haven’t been caught yet, he would be a dead man if someone saw them.

“We can go to bed right now, we don’t need to wait for our wedding night,” she tells him, while he has his hand under her skirt and all over her tights.

He takes everything in him to refuse her.

“Miss Addams,” he breathes on her neck, pushing her more against the shelf and circling her waist with his other arm, “I care very much about our wedding night. You won’t make me change my mind.”

“A bolder man would let me take him right here,” she moans, her voice strained.

Xavier grips her tight under the dress, “How would you take me then? Would you ride me like you ride your horse?”

“I can show you,” she says, bold, meeting his eyes.

God, Xavier is so gone for her.

He would give her everything he asks of him.

“You know what they say, Miss Addams? Waiting is half the pleasure,” he mutters, leaving a sweet kiss on her cheek and letting go of his hold on her body. “I need to get ready for dinner, I’ll see you there.”

He leaves her there, heart beating out of his chest.

He runs to his room and rolls down his pants and touches himself until he comes biting back a moan.

He’s ruined for.

He wants to let Wednesday ride him like she has told him she would and he is not even sure she feels what he feels for her.

He invites her to his painting room and he asks her to pose for him and she agrees.

Once her parents discover the portrait they immediately have it hung on the parlor’s wall and Wednesday throws death stares at it every time she sees it.

He finds it funny.

One day Wednesday really asks him to show him his powers and he obliges.

He paints a spider on his canvas and with his hand it makes it come alive and walk slowly towards Wednesday’s hem’s dress.

She stares at it for several seconds while the spider circles around her and then she crashes it with her boot and the spider disappears.

“Well, I cannot say I’m not disappointed now,” he confesses. “You have asked me to show you just to crush it beneath your boot? I thought you would be impressed.”

“I’m afraid I’m not the person you think I am, Mister Thorpe,” she tells him.

Something in her inscrutable face tells him she’s mad. He doesn’t why.

“What do you mean?” he asks.

“Exactly what I said,” she replies walking away.

Xavier doesn’t know how to act around her for days after that.

She acts distant and he doesn’t feel he has any right to ask for her kisses.

Every time he feels like he’s close to her heart she pulls away and bites his hand like a wild horse.

⚜️

It’s only natural for Xavier to start thinking about her dead husbands then.

Lonely and deprived of her kisses and her body he starts getting jealous, too.

He starts wondering what they looked like and what kind of men they were and if Wednesday had ever loved at least one of them.

He doesn’t really want to know the answer. He kills him to think Wednesday could be anything but his.

In his sadness he’s never been more aware that there’s a curse looming over her and that he has spent months going along with the tide, letting it sweep him away and taking him places.

He has had no control over the recent events of his life. His father lost them all their fortune and has set up this union himself.

Xavier could very well be devoured by the Devil before summer comes and everything that he has done is pine over a woman, desperately.

He has never even asked her directly about it, too busy staring at her, too busy kissing her, too busy trying to earn her affection.

He’s never been more pathetic in his entire life.

On day three of Wednesday’s plan to ignore him he’s sick and tired of it.

Miss Addams might not want to talk to him, but he wants to talk to her and he will make her listen.

He finds her at the stables, freeing Muerte of her reins.

“I have something to ask of you, Miss Addams,” he tells her. He tries to sound determined.

Wednesday closes the stable and turns in his direction.

“You can ask me at dinner, I’m quite busy right now,” she cuts him short.

“It’s indiscreet,” he adds.

That makes her reconsider and stop her steps.

“Go on, then,” she says.

“I’ve heard quite a few stories about you, Miss Addams. You must be aware of them. In Jericho people say you have bound yourself to the Devil.”

“That is not a question, Mister Thorpe.”

They stand in front of each other, Xavier has never felt more bold in his life.

“Is there any truth to these stories? Did the Devil really kill all of your husbands, Miss Addams?” Xavier asks her, taking a step forward.

“Would you believe any of my answers? You seem pretty set into believing what you already believe. Are you scared of dying, Mister Thorpe?”

Xavier reaches to touch the necklace on her neck, “I am not. The Devil can take me, too, if he so wishes, I will still marry you.”

“Because your father is forcing you, too,” she says, looking down at his hand resting on her necklace.

Looking into her empty eyes Xavier can’t take her coldness anymore. He wants to see the passion back in those eyes, he needs to.

He brings his hands on her waist and pulls her body on his chest.

“Do you really believe that, Miss Addams? After all the kisses we have shared?” He whispers on her lips.

“This is what I believe, Mister Thorpe. We were both forced into this situation,” she spits, but doesn’t pull away from his hold.

“So I have imagined all the times you have begged me to take you to bed, Miss Addams?”

Wednesday pushes his hands away and takes a step back.

“Your new found confidence is laughable. I could shoot you in the chest right now and have you dead on the floor.”

Xavier doesn’t dare take a step forward, but still feels courageous enough, “Do it, then, Miss Addams. It’ll be a sweeter death than getting ripped apart by the Devil.”

Before he has any time to realize it, Wednesday is on him, kissing him voraciously.

The moment is gone soon and she pulls away quickly.

She stares at him for a few seconds and then turns to leave.

“I will marry you because I want to marry you, Miss Addams, be sure of that,” he tells her before she’s out of sight.

Wednesday ends up knocking on his door at night again. When Xavier opens the door she doesn’t even let him speak, but pushes his body into the bed and straddles him.

“Miss Addams!” He tries to push her body off him, very aware of the erection that is rapidly developing in his pants, but Wednesday tightens her legs around him.

“I won’t be the wife who will applaud your every move or accomplishment,” she says, her hair is loose and falls all over her shoulders and into his face.

“I’m sure we can talk about this while standing,” he tries once again to rise from the bed, but Wednesday puts a hand on his chest and pushes him down again.

“Miss Addams, please!” He says, strangled.

“I won’t be the wife you want me to be. I am my own priority and that will never change. Tell me you understand, Mister Thorpe.”

He blushes, feeling himself growing harder and harder under her body, “I will, if you let me go, Miss Addams.”

“I’m not sure your body agrees with you,” she tells him.

Xavier swears under his breath and grabbing her by the waist with both hands he pushes his body upward and forces Wednesday to let go of her hold and throws her body underneath him.

He grabs one of her legs to have it rested on his hip and pushes with his pelvis, “Miss Addams, I’m not sure where you got the notion that I want you to be someone different than you are. I can assure you that is not the case,” he inserts his other hand under her skirt, trying to push as many layers as possible and touch her skin, “Tell me you understand.”

“Your reaction the other day suggests otherwise,” she says.

He pouts, “Pardon me for being hurt over you crashing my spider, Miss Addams.”

Wednesday puts her hand on his hand and guides it even further, “Are we finally going to do it?”

“Oh, no, Miss Addams. I would never insult you like that. It was just the only way to make you listen.”

Xavier pulls his hand away and gets up from the bed, leaving Wednesday lying there on his sheets.

“I kindly ask you to leave, Miss Addams. You shouldn’t be here in the first place.”

“What if on our wedding night I’ll be the one to reject you?”

“Then you’ll reject me,” he replies, not showing any emotion on his face.

Wednesday fixes her dress and gets up from the bed; she stares at him.

“Prepare yourself for rejection, then,” she says and leaves his room.

When the door is closed and he is finally alone, Xavier sighs.

He’s pretty sure he is gonna die before his wedding night.

⚜️

His father sends him letters from time to time. They are very short and to the point and it’s very evident that he does not care at all about him.

He tells him to make haste with the wedding and they don’t have much left until he’s forced to sell everything to keep up appearances.

In one of the letters Vincent sends him the list of all Wednesday’s previous husbands with the hope that their names trigger some visions for Xavier.

“I tried triggering some visions myself, but it has revealed itself quite useless. Nothing I learned from people nor this list of names have given me any clarity on this curse that seems to be inflicted on Miss Addams and her husbands.”

In his next letter he tells Xavier to go to church and asks for God’s forgiveness just in case.

Xavier doubts the list of names is gonna trigger some visions, but he tries to memorize the names anyway, mostly out of anger and jealousy.

He’s sickly glad they are all dead now, he’s sickly glad he gets to be the one to marry Wednesday now.

Wednesday still acts cold towards him. They do the same activities they have done previously, but she makes a point in refusing to engage with him more than she has to.

Xavier suspects she is still fairly irritated for being openly rejected. If she only knew how many times Xavier dreams of undressing her and making her body his own.

They go hunting again, upon Wednesday’s insistence, and he can’t help but wonder if she has planned it out of spite.

“Have you ever skinned an animal, Mister Thorpe?” she asks while they are walking in the woods searching for prey.

Xavier holds his rifle closer to his chest, “I cannot say that I have.”

“My uncle taught me how to when I was five,” Wednesday shares. “You should learn, too.”

Xavier knits his brows, but doesn’t comment.

“I refuse to marry someone who doesn’t have certain skills, Mister Thorpe,” she comments further.

He smiles; he finds it funny albeit morbid.

“I’ll learn only if you are the one to teach me, Miss Addams,” he says, cheekily, even though he knows fairly well skinning an animal might end up with him vomiting all over himself.

Wednesday throws a death glare at him.

The next day on his desk he finds a skinner, with a simple note next to it, “for the next hunt,” it says.
He holds it in his hand and then puts it in one of the drawers. He doesn’t know whether to be happy or concerned about it.

He guesses he’ll take whatever chances he has to spend time with Wednesday and he’ll worry about skinning an animal when the time comes.

He ends up dreaming about her dead husbands, despite everything.
The visions are not clear and Xavier never actually sees what happens to them, though. He can feel a presence lingering in the room, but he never sees it.

Maybe the Devil is not the beast he imagines him to be. Maybe he’s an invisible creature that kills all of them before they have the time to realize what is actually happening to them.

He sees them dropping on the floor and some of them have blood gushing out of their mouth. He feels a thrill at every death, Xavier is sick and twisted like that. He’s so sick that he doesn’t even care he might end up on the floor gushing blood like them. The feeling of watching them die is greater than the fear of dying himself.

He really should be locked up in an asylum, he’s pretty sure of it.

It’s March when Xavier knows it’s time. The Addams have been pretty clear about their request of having a Spring wedding and he’s aware he can’t buy more time with his future wife.

Wednesday doesn’t sneak in his room anymore to kiss him and the one time he tries mentioning Robert Browning again she walks out of the library ignoring him altogether.

He wishes he could talk to her, but he doesn’t know how to. What could he possibly say?

He had some of her and now she’s slipping away and asking for her attention seems cheap and vulgar in a way it hadn’t before.

He doesn’t want just her kisses and her body, he wants her heart and he doubts Wednesday is willing to give it to him. Even just a chunk of it.

He knows it’s time.

⚜️

Of course they are in the library when he asks her.

She is sitting with a book on her lap, looking as ethereal as always and after feeling his guts twist for the hundredth time in his stomach, he closes his book and walks to her.

He drops on his knees with an easiness that surprises even himself, an easiness that makes it look like Xavier has spent his whole at Wednesday’s feet, worshiping her.

“Miss Addams,” he clears his voice, “I humbly ask you if you feel it in your heart to take me as your husband. Nothing would make me happier, you should know.”

He remains on his knees, staring at her with his heart on his throat, waiting for her to say something.

He knows it’s foolish to ask her, given their circumstances, but he can’t help but feel obliged to. Wednesday Addams might just be the woman of his wildest dreams and he refuses to act as if their marriage is nothing but a transaction for him.

“I ask you to stand up, Mister Thorpe,” she replies, out of all the things she could have said.

He swallows, “Why?”

“Our marriage has been decided long ago, the only thing left to do is to set a date. This spectacle is quite useless.”

She stares at him, rigid and composed as always. She seems so different from the girl who couldn’t keep her hands off him in the middle of the night.

“It is not a spectacle. It is just me and you in this room and you have yet to answer my question,” he challenges her, stubborn and hurt by her indifference.

Wednesday glares at him, “I will marry you, Mister Thorpe, you already know that.”

With recklessness in his heart he leans in and takes her hand on his, “Will you take me as your husband, then?” he asks.

He knows very well Wednesday could retract her hand and use it to slap him on the face.

“Why are you so adamant I answer you?” she asks, but doesn’t move her hand.

“Call me a romantic,” he whispers.

“Yes, I will take you as my husband, Mister Thorpe,” she replies, somehow defeated by his stubbornness.

He smiles, “I will feel blessed everyday of my life.” Fire expands in his chest and bolder than ever he adds, “Could I be blessed to get one of your kisses, too, today, Miss Addams?”

She retracts her hand from his hold, “My kisses must be earned, Mister Thorpe.”

He ignores the shame he feels and asks, “How can I earn one, then?”

“I’m positive there’s nothing you could do right now to earn it,” she replies, like she isn’t tearing down his whole soul.

He sighs, “I respect your wishes, Miss Addams.”

He stands up with as much grace as he can muster, trying to ignore how her rejection stings and turns around to go sit on his chair.

If he were a lesser man he would have bedded her when she asked him and he could have claimed her lips right now just as easily.

“Kill a fox for me,” she says when he is back on his chair.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Kill a fox for me and you will earn my kiss.”

His face falls, hurt spreads in his eyes.

“Miss Addams, you know how bad I am at hunting,” he blurts, hands sweating and gripping his knees.

“That’s exactly the point, Mister Thorpe. If you want my kiss so much you have to earn it. If I asked you to bring me a flower it would take no effort on your part,” she explains, staring at him.

“Alright,” he breathes.

Neither of them talk afterwards.

The next day they go hunting, obviously.

Xavier’s heart is as heavy as a stone.

“If you find a fox and kill it for me, you will earn my kiss. I’ll show you how to skin it after, like you asked. Do you have the skinner with you?”

Xavier swallows, somehow he is trying to hold back tears. He feels the skinner in his pocket weighing on him.

“I do,” he murmurs. Deep down he prays they don’t find any fox in the woods that day.

He wonders what will happen if he tells her he refuses to kill a fox for her, he wonders what will happen if he tells her he has no intention of skinning that poor fox, either.

Xavier is not a lucky creature by nature ( having a terrible father and a dead mother is proof of that) and so after a while Wednesday does spot a fox running around.

“Well, Mister Thorpe, your moment has finally arrived,” she comments in a low voice. Their steps are slow and careful in order not to scare the fox away.

Xavier stares at the fox and points his rifle at it, waiting for his heart to slow down in his chest.

“Aim a bit lower,” Wednesday advises.

Xavier swallows, he feels tears threatening to come out of his eyes and after a few moments of indecision, he shakes his head and says, “I can’t. I’m sorry, I can’t.”

At that moment the fox feels their presence and runs away.

“I apologize, Miss Addams. I can’t kill a fox for you,” Xavier tells her, still trying to hold back tears. “It appears I won’t earn your kiss after all,” he adds.

“You are weak,” she comments with cold eyes and starts walking faster leaving him behind.

Xavier doesn’t sleep that night, he lays awake thinking about the fox and Wednesday’s eyes.

⚜️

The morning brings rain with it. There’s a cold in the air that matches the coldness of Xavier’s bones. He plans to stay in bed and not show himself for breakfast, however those plans are wrecked the moment he hears a knock on the door, but before he has the time to reply the door opens already.

It’s Wednesday.

She’s already all dressed up and with her hair up in a bun and she stares at him with death in her eyes.

“Get up. We are taking Muerte and Rain for a walk,” she tells him.

“It’s raining.”

“I’m well aware, Mister Thorpe. If I don’t find you outside the stables in half an hour I’ll go without you,” Wednesday says.

She leaves right after.

Obviously Xavier is weak like Wednesday has said, so he quickly puts clothes on and walks to the stables, forgetting all about his plans of staying in bed.

Wednesday is already putting the sable on Muerte when Xavier gets there.

“Hi, my beautiful,” he says walking towards Rain and caressing her coat. “How are you this morning?”

Rain neighs at his words and Xavier giggles softly, “I’m glad you are this happy, my sweetheart.”

Very soon they are both riding down one of the many paths they have already taken many times. The rain seems to never stop and when they get back at the stables they are soaking wet and cold.

“I enjoyed this, Miss Addams. You were right, it’s actually the perfect time for a ride,” he smiles at her.

Wednesday barely acknowledges his words, but when he’s about to leave the stables to go back inside she stops him by the arm.

“Is there something wrong?” he asks.

Wednesday stares at him and then raises on the point of her feet and kisses him.

The kiss takes him off guard. They haven’t kissed in weeks and the softness of her lips makes Xavier want to die right there. He has missed her touch so much that he feels shivers running down his spine when she goes to grab his hair.

“I thought I had to earn your kisses now,” he murmurs when they stop kissing.

“I have decided to be merciful and that you don’t need to earn my kisses, after all.”

His face gets serious all of a sudden, “I’m afraid I’ll never be able to kill a fox for you, Miss Addams.”

“As I said, I have decided to be merciful, Mister Thorpe.”

“May I steal another kiss, then?” he smiles, showing his teeth.

“You may,” she replies and Xavier takes her lips again.

⚜️

Their wedding is on a beautiful day of April. The ceremony is held at their house and Wednesday wears an exquisite gray gown (as exquisite as she is) and holds Xavier’s hands while they recitate their vows.

His father has the proudest smile on his face that he has ever seen, but Xavier knows it’s because he won’t be poor anymore.

Still, he doesn’t mind.

Mrs. Addams hugs him like another one of her son and that’s quite eno for him.

They have a dinner feast afterwards and there’s dancing, a lot of people in town have been invited and they gossip among themselves while they watch them twirl at the center of the floor.

Xavier is as happy as he has ever been.

He holds her body against his while they dance like he would hold a little bird ready to escape from his grasp.

“It has occurred to me that I ought to call you Mistress Thorpe, now,” he says, guiding Wednesday’s steps. “And, if you let me, I could call you something else, too.”

“If you try to use terms of endearment with me, you’ll be the one I’ll skin, Mister Thorpe.”

Xavier giggles, “I would be just as glad if you let me use your given name.”

“That can be arranged,” she replies.

He smiles.

Having finally the freedom to claim Wednesday’s body doesn’t make Xavier any less nervous. For some reason, he is even more anxious.

He doesn’t know what to do, standing awkwardly in the room with her, so close to feeling incandescent and yet far enough to not feel the right to kiss her lips.

“Do you- ,” he coughs, “Once, you have told me you would have rejected me on our wedding night, does it still hold true?”

“What if it does?”

Xavier’s chest deflates, “Oh. I- Of course I would respect your wishes, Miss Add- Mistress Thorpe,” he blushes.

Lord, could he be more embarrassing? He needs to die now.

Wednesday stares at him and her eyes travel down his shirt, “Didn’t you say you wanted to call me by my name?”

“Can I?”

Wednesday arches one of her brows, still perfectly composed in her wedding dress.

“Alright, then. Wednesday,” he says, tasting her name on his tongue. It feels foreign and yet so incredibly right.

Wednesday takes a step closer, “I will kiss you now, Mister Thorpe,” she tells him and claws his shirt with both of her hands dragging him in a kiss.

All of his fears are suddenly forgotten.

Xavier cradles her face in his hands and kisses her back with intent. The anticipation of knowing their touches will finally lead to more sends tingles down his limbs. He feels euphoric.

Wednesday pulls away after a while and whispers, “Help me undress.”

He kisses her lips one more time and then nods, breathing in the smell of her skin and then makes her turn around to unbutton the back of the dress.

Very soon she is in her corset and she unclaps it from the front and stands in front of him in her undergarments.

She looks glorious.

Xavier draws her body against him by her waist and leads both of them to the bed.

“I want to see your body, too, ” she says, starting to unbutton his jacket and shirt.

Xavier giggles at that, but then he puts his mouth next to her ear and murmurs, “How do you want it?” he stops then, pondering his next words and then adds, “Do you want to show me like you said you would?”

Wednesday looks up, studies his face and blinks, “I do, yes. I plan to show you,” she tells him and helps him out of his shirt. Then her hands travel down his trousers and Xavier shivers.

Her hands seem very expert and before he has the time to fully realize it he is standing with his pants pulled down and his very hard erection in front of her.

“Do you enjoy being sucked?” she asks, staring at it.

Xavier swears under his breath, “I’m not sure I will survive this night if this is how it starts, Mis- Wednesday.”

“I will take it as confirmation, then,” she replies and puts her hand on his cock and starts pulling a few times. Very quickly she is on her knees and she is eagerly taking him all in her mouth.

Xavier can’t do much more than stand there and take everything that Wednesday is giving him, one step away from reaching heaven. When he feels himself getting close to reaching orgasm, he grabs her head with his hand and moans, “You should move, I’m about to- Jesus!” he swears before he can finish the sentence.

Wednesday decides to stop the lovely movements of her mouth and grip his cock with her hand, “Reach completion? I wouldn’t mind if you want to use my mouth,” she says, blunt. Her eyelashes are the only thing Xavier can focus on, lost how he is in the feeling of pleasure.

“I’d rather-,” he moans, “I’d rather finish in my hand for- for tonight,” he reaches his cock with his hand, Wednesday pulling away hers, and Xavier comes after a few strokes.

When his mind is less foggy, he looks at her still on her knees, smiles and pulls her body towards him, grabbing her face, making her stand up and kisses her lips, “Thank you,” he murmurs, “Can I help you reach completion, too, now?”

Wednesday nods.

Xavier makes her turn around, slowly guiding her until she is holding herself with her hands on the bed and he slithers his right one inside her undergarment to touch her core.

He uses his fingers to pleasure her and Wednesday bites her lips several times to stop her moans.

“Faster,” she orders him at some point.

Xavier stops his fingers all together.

“I said faster, not to stop.”

“Can I hear you say my name first?”

“Your name?”

“Yes, please. Can you say it just once for me?” he asks her, resuming his movements but still slowly enough to keep her on edge.

“Are you using pleasure to demand things from me, Mister Thorpe?”

He moves his fingers faster for a few seconds, but then slows down again, “That’s not my name, Wednesday.”

She bites back a moan, frustrated, “I can reach pleasure by myself, I don’t need your services.”

“That’s a very interesting thing to say, considering all of the times you have tried to lure me into bed.”

Wednesday reaches for his wrist, trying to pull away his hand, angry, but Xavier starts quickening his fingers and her arm falls to the side again.

“Please, I’m begging you. Just once. I want to know how my name sounds on your lips. Please,” he murmurs softly, going faster and faster like she has asked him to.

“Xavier,” she whispers, weak and crazy.

Xavier leaves a kiss on her cheek, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

His movements never stop and soon Wednesday is coming hard all over his hand.

Everything is quiet for a few moments and Xavier can hear his heart beating loud in his chest and Wednesday’s body go mellow against his.

“Will you please get on the bed, Miss Addams?” he asks and his voice almost cracks from the anticipation of what’s about to come.

Wednesday doesn’t show any feelings on her face, but does exactly what he has asked of her, getting on the bed, languidly.

“Hands and knees, please,” he adds.

Again, she does what he asks without questions and Xavier wonders if maybe the spirit of an angel has descended on her that night, but quickly forgets the thought when Wednesday herself grabs his arm and puts on her hip.

“Get on with it now, Mister Thorpe,” she says.

“And just like that you have killed all my new found hopes that you would call me Xavier now,” he giggles and aligns his groin against her, uncovering the cheeks of her butt with his hand.

He then guides his cock to her center and pushes slowly.

His movements gets more rapid and intense with each second and just before he reaches his peak he pulls Wednesday by the face and makes her stand up and starts kissing her cheeks and lips and murmuring between moans, “How do I love thee?” he sighs, “Let me count the ways.”

“I love thee to the dep-,” he can’t finish the sentence because Wednesday pulls a strand of his hair making him curse.

“If you don’t stop this nonsense right now I will mutilate you,” she says, with an annoyed tone.

Xavier keeps moving inside of her and smiles on the crook of her neck, whispering, “and breadth and height my soul can reac- ouch!”

Wednesday pulls another strand of his hair, this time even stronger.

“I don’t need poetry right now, Mister Thorpe. I need to come,” she says, glaring at him.

Xavier glides down his hand and touches her folds with his fingers, “Can’t a husband worship his wife during their wedding night?”

Wednesday screams when he plunges his fingers touching a particular spot inside of her.

“Are you close?”

“Yes,” her voice cracks.

“I’m close, too,” he mutters and seconds later they are coming at the same moment, closing their eyes in complete bliss.

It’s very easy after that to convince Wednesday to lay down next to him on the bed.

“Was I a good lover?” he asks, unable to refrain from his curiosity.

“Why do you wish to know?”

Wednesday looks devastating laying next to him, eyes still wide with bliss.

“We are husband and wife now, I wish to know if I am satisfying you,” Xavier replies, hiding the jealousy that wants to come out of him.

“I wish to try many more things after tonight,” she says.

“We’ll try everything you wish to try, but that’s not a reply to my question, is that?”

Wednesday turns to stare at his face, “Are you jealous, Mister Thorpe?”

“What?”

“Are you jealous of my previous lovers?”

He blushes, “And if I admit to it?”

She smirks, wicked, “I told you I wasn’t going to be the wife who praised you.”

He bites his lip, looking at the ceiling, “So your previous husbands were indeed better lovers than I am.”

Wednesday reaches for a strand of his hair and pulls it yet again, making him turn his head.

“I would love to keep my hair on my scalp as long as possible, Miss Addams,” he says, frowning.

“My previous husbands slept alone during the wedding night, Xavier.”

His eyes go big, “They- you mean! Wednesday!”

“I dare you to say another word, Mister Thorpe.”

He smiles, “You called me Xavier three seconds ago.”

⚜️

He wakes up during the night, screaming. In all his euphoric pleasure of the day and the night he forgets to take his tea with his poison in it and not even the tiredness settling in his bones helps him avoid his dreams.

Wednesday is of course already awake when he sits up on the bed sweaty and scared.

“I apologize for waking you up. I have nightmares sometimes and I forgot to take my tea tonight,” he murmurs. “Go back to sleep, I will be fine.”

“How many drops of poison do you take?” she asks him.

He freezes.

“How do you know I put poison in my tea?”

“There’s nothing that happens in this house that eludes me, Xavier.”

He smiles shyly, “I have been dreaming about you saying my name for an extremely long time and now you have said it three times in one night.”

She suddenly feels the need to fix the chemise she is wearing, “And I can as easily switch back, Mister Thorpe.”

Xavier reaches for her hand, “Please don’t,” he mutters.

Wednesday is quick to pull it away, “Poison isn’t going to fix your sleeping problem in the long run, you should know.”

“I have tried every solution possible, but nothing works. At least, with poison, I don’t wake up screaming.”

“I will brew a potion for you in the morning, it’s an ancient remedy my family has used for hundreds of years, it will work.”

A corner of Xavier’s mouth goes up, “I would take anything you give me regardless.”

Wednesday gives him a death stare.

⚜️

As it is custom, the wife is supposed to move in in her husband’s house, but Xavier loathes the idea.

He wishes to stay in Westfield, with Rain, reading books in the Addam’s library. That’s the first thing he asks her in the morning while he is helping her dress up.

“Would the idea of staying here, in Westfield, be terrible for you?”

“Why?” she asks, fixing her corset.

“I have everything I need here and more, I would rather for us to live here than go back home,” he explains.

He stomps on his fear of suddenly dying like all of the others and adds, “I couldn’t imagine not having Rain around anymore.”

“She could come with us, my parents wouldn’t mind.”

Xavier sighs.

“I thought you missed home,” Wednesday says.

“I have been happier than I have ever been these last few months, how can you think I miss home?” he frowns, “I thought you would be glad to stay here.”

Wednesday seems to ponder her next words, “I’m rather fond of this place, it is true. I’ll have to admit I was looking forward to getting away from my family, though. They have become quite unbearable.”

“Then we’ll leave as soon as possible,” Xavier says, helping her button the back of her dress.

She turns around, fierce, “You have just asked me to stay here. Aren’t you gonna fight for it?”

“Not if it will make you unhappy. Your happiness comes before anything else for me.”

Wednesday reaches for a strand of his hair and pulls it, “Selflessness is useless if it is not paired with intelligence, Mister Thorpe. And it is rather stupid to put the happiness of someone else above one’s self, it only festers resentment.”

“I’d rather you be happy than resent me.”

“I’m never happy, Mister Thorpe.”

“What do you suggest, then, Mistress Thorpe? I’m curious to know,” he takes her chin in his hand.

“My family has another house, a holiday one to be precise. It’s not far from here and I’m positive my father would be quite happy to know us there. We can come here whenever we wish.”

Xavier smiles showing his teeth, “Have I told you today how happy I am to be your husband?”

“If I hear another sweet word from you I might decide to hang myself.”

He laughs.

⚜️

Wednesday really brews him the potion the next night and Xavier is quite happy to take it.

After all, he really has nothing to lose. If the potion doesn’t work, he’ll go back to take his poison.

“It doesn’t work immediately, you need to take it for at least a week to see some effects.”

“I don’t want to wake you up with my screams,” he tells her.

“I love screams,” Wednesday confesses with a smirk.

Their passion, ignited even more by their marriage, doesn’t stop. Every occasion is the perfect occasion to kiss and have sex.

Wednesday is an insatiable lover and she takes every opportunity to drive Xavier to insanity.

He, obviously, doesn’t mind. He follows her as if she were a firefly in the night, full of wonder and excitement.

One afternoon, he is in the library, book in his lap, but mind completely elsewhere, when he feels Wednesday coming behind him.

“Has my wife gotten bored of reading?” he hides a giggle.

“I wish to go to bed,” she says.

He turns his head then.

“Are you feeling sick?”

“I want to partake in sexual pleasure.”

His mouth goes wide open, pink tinting his cheeks.

“Will you come with me, then?” she asks, bold and fierce as always.

“You know you don’t even need to ask,” Xavier replies and goes to stand up just before Wednesday stops him.

“Stay there for a moment. I wish to do something first,” she says, walking towards him.

“Alright,” he swallows.

Unexpectedly, Wednesday bends down behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder and he goes mellow.

Xavier can hear her unpin her hair quickly and before he can ask her about it she grabs a huge chunk of it and starts wrapping it around his neck.

“I found a thing to do,” she murmurs.

“What?”

“And all of her hair in one long yellow string I wound…”

Realization suddenly downs on him.

“Are you reciting poetry to me, Miss Addams? I thought it was nonsense,” he smiles.

“Three times her little throat around and strangled her,” Wednesday recites, making the pressure around his neck stronger by pulling her own hair.

“Maybe I should grow my hair even more, so next time you can use my own,” he moans.

He is embarrassingly growing hard from the little play Wednesday has subjected him to, he parts his legs uncontrollably.

“No pain felt she; I’m quite sure she felt no pain…” Wednesday twists her own hair around his neck even more, their faces impossibly close due to her action and Xavier shivers so much that he thinks a rainfall has just fallen down on him.

“Porphyria’s lover is one of my favorite monologues,” she tells him, keeping the same position.

“I remember, you have told me before,” he croaks, too desperate to think straight.

“I will free you now and then I’ll take you to bed and ride you.”

“Alright, yes. Your wish is my command, Mistress Thorpe.”

Suddenly his neck is free from her hair and when he looks up she looks like a ghost ready to trapass his body a million times.

She’s divine.

“I’m glad you see it, too.”

⚜️

The light of the lamp burns her eyes, but she’s too stubborn to stop what she has set herself to do.

The quill in her hand moves across the page feverishly and Wednesday breathes.

She reminds herself to breathe.

All the evidence she has written is laid out in front of her and it’s undeniable.

She can’t reject evidence, it goes against everything she stands for.

Suddenly, the door bursts open and Lurch is standing on the doorways with a very alarmed expression on his face.

“Lurch, is there something wrong?”

Lurch grunts something, panicked, gesturing for her to follow him.

“Slow down, please. Tell me what’s wrong first.”

In truth, Wednesday is not sure she has ever seen Lurch look so concerned over anything.

Lurch grunts something else.

“My husband has been shot?”

Lurch nods. “I found him outside, he’s bleeding and unconscious.”

Fear eats her.

“Take me to him,” she orders.

She runs, but she doesn’t remember running, all she knows is that when she stops Xavier is lying on the floor of their parlor bleeding from his stomach.

He’s pale like a sheet and unconscious.

“Xavier!” she says, kneeling in front of him and trying to wake him up, shaking him by the shoulders.

“I’m going to call a doctor,” Lurch grunts.

“No, we aren’t calling any doctors. I’ll take care of this, Lurch.”

“With all due respect, my lady, I don’t think this is the right decision.”

“I said no doctors. Are my parents still gone on that trip of theirs?”

Lurch nods.

“Good, the less they know the better. We are taking him down to the torture chambers, I’ll operate on him there.”

Taking the bullet from Xavier’s stomach is the hardest job of Wednesday’s life. She is used to dissecting bodies and animals, but this time is different. Fear clogs every veins and she tries her best to keep her hands steady as much as possible.

There’s a lot of blood on her hands and on the table where Xavier lies unconscious, but he never wakes up and when she’s done stitching him up, bone tired and sweating, Wednesday is grateful.

They take him back upstairs and settle him down on their bed and she puts on her nightgown and sits on a chair next to the bed, ready to stay awake all night to make sure he survives the night without getting an infection.

Xavier opens his eyes four days later and his green eyes never looked so green to her before.

“Wha-,” he blurts, then he turns his head and spots Wednesday. “Wednesday?”

Xavier hisses in pain immediately after.

She goes to take the glass full of water from the nightstand and stands up from the chair to walk to him.

“Here, you need water,” she says and puts the glass under his lips helping him drink.

“How- how am I alive? I should be dead.”

“Did you see who shot you?”

He frowns, “I thought…I thought your curse got me, too.”

“This is definitely human hand work.”

Xavier shakes his head, “It was dark, I just heard a gunshot and then I fell.”

Wednesday nods, “I’m gonna call Lurch, he’s gonna take care of you. I need to do something.”

The relief of knowing Xavier is alive doesn’t silence her need to seek revenge.

She needs to find out who did this and she needs to make them pay for it.

Fortunately for her it’s very easy to gather the evidence she needs with a clear mind and a lighter heart in her chest and when the sun comes down and comes back up for another day she ends up knocking on the Glicker’s door’s mansion just outside of town.

Their governess opens it.

“May I speak with Mister Glicker? It’s a matter of utmost importance,” she says.

Under her dress the cold metal of a gun keeps her company.

The governess nods, lets her in and tells her to wait in the parlor and Wednesday does.

Joel Glicker is a shy man of not too many words and black hair already peppered with white streaks.

When he sees her he welcomes Wednesday with a big smile and a bow.

“My lady, it is the most joyful event of the day to see you here,” he says.

Wednesday remembers the time she used to be fond of Joel. They used to be friends as kids, two birds of a feather, and his sweet disposition paired with his tendency to do exactly what she always ordered him to do made Wednesday grow a soft spot in her heart for him.

Not anymore, anyway.

Now his smile seems fake and his eyes hide secrets deep enough to look like graves.

“I wish for us to take a walk, away from strangers’ ears. The reason I’m here today is extremely delicate,” she informs him.

Joel seems very happy to oblige and they walk outside, following the path to the woods.

“I’m going to be straightforward with you, Mister Glicker. I know it was you who shot my husband.”

Joel stops in his tracks.

Wednesday can tell by the way his body tenses, but fakes tranquility that he knows very well he has been caught.

“My lady, I’m not sure what I have done to deserve such accusations from you. I have been your friend our entire life, my devotion to you knows no bounds,” he says in a sickly sweet tone.

“So you are denying it, then. I know nothing about your devotion, but it is for sure your cowardice that knows no bounds,” she spits.

Joel’s face suddenly drops, he seems to ponder what to say and then he sighs, “I did it for us, my lady. Please, understand.”

The gun under her skirt burns on her skin.

“All those years, I stood by your side. After you rejected my marriage proposal, I watched you marry one orribile man after the other. I felt insane glee every time each one of them died. I prayed for the Devil to take them all and he did. I prayed this time, too. Hoping in my heart that this final death would be the time you finally realize,” he turns to face her.

“But it’s been more than a month, longer than any other time. I prayed every day, but the Devil didn’t come this time. I knew then that he was sending me a message. I was the one needing to do the killing this time. He was agreeing to let me take his rightful place next to you, my lady,” he stares at her with crazy eyes. “We belong together, sweetheart. We always have.”

Wednesday sees red.

Suddenly she is taking out the gun hidden under her skirt and points it to Joel’s chest.

“My lady!” He screams.

“So you wanted to kill my husband because you couldn’t face rejection. You are a worse man than I ever thought you were, Mister Glicker.”

“You are not gonna shoot me, you love me! It is destiny. Even your curse cannot divide us! If you let me get rid of him, we will finally be eternally happy together.”

“If you were my husband I would pray to the Devil to take you, Mister Glicker,” she says, still pointing the gun to his chest.

“You don’t mean that, my lady. I know you,” he smiles. He still checks the gun in her hand.

It downs her that she didn’t think this through when she decided to show up at his house, blinded by rage.

She can’t kill him now, it would be too risky.

She wants a long life next to Xavier and she can’t risk jeopardizing it by being careless and ending up in prison.

Life with Xavier is too priceless for that.

She lowers the gun then.

“You never knew me, not for one second of your miserable life. And yet I’m going to let you walk away from this, now. Turn around and run,” she orders him.

“My lady, I beg you!” Joel screams.

“If you try killing my husband again, know that I’ll be coming for you and you are gonna wish the Devil took you, instead,” she warns him.

“Please, I beg you to see reason! The signs are all there to see!”

Wednesday points the gun to his chest again.

“So you wish for death, then,” she says, walking even closer to him. “You have five seconds to run or I will shoot you.”

Joel’s eyes widen and his face turns paler than it is already. What he sees in her eyes must scare him because he puts his hands up in the air.

“If you tell a soul what has happened today I will make you regret knowing me at all, Mister Glicker. Am I being sufficiently clear?”

“I- I will leave,” he blurts, while he starts walking backwards.

She smirks, “I will tell my other husband, my dear Devil, to pay you a visit since you are so fond of him.”

Joel runs.

⚜️

Xavier feels like a train has been running all over his body a million times and more. The first few weeks after the incident are the worst weeks of his life.

He feels useless and weak, always stuck in bed and in pain.

He doesn’t have the strength to go riding with Wednesday or paint or even read.

And his wife keeps rejecting him in bed and telling him he needs rest, he is done with every second of it.

But more than anything he is grateful.

He doesn’t know why the Devil hasn’t struck him yet and he’s definitely starting to question the veracity of all those tales, but he’s happy to still be alive.

He’s okay with not knowing after all, if he gets to keep this life.

At least that’s what he thinks while he’s stuck in bed in pain.

Then comes boredom and with boredom starts the wondering.

When he starts getting out of bed and being more active he starts seeking proof.

He doesn’t know what proof he is looking for exactly, he just knows he’s looking for something.

That’s how he ends up finding Wednesday’s studio, at least that’s what he thinks it is from all the things that are in there.

Papers are all over her desk.

He walks closer to it, thinking there are pages of her novel and waiting to read some of them, but the first words he reads make his blood freeze in his veins.

In all of the pages there’s his name scattered all over them.

He picks up one sheet.

“And so, for all evidence stated previously, I make the decision to step away from this case of unrestricted humanity…”

He feverishly takes all the papers from her desk and starts trying to make sense of them.

There’s an extensive list of things about him.

His routine, written down with utmost precision.

The food he seems to enjoy.

The hobbies he partakes in.

And then several ways in which she details how she could kill him.

The door opens suddenly.

“Nobody is allowed in this room, except me,” Wednesday announces walking into the studio.

His heart drops on the floor and he slowly turns around.

He thinks it’s the first time he fully sees her. In all her glory and beyond that.

He grips the paper sheets in his hand.

“There’s no pact with the Devil, is there? There are no rituals, no curses, no convoluted reasons for all your husbands’ death. It’s not bad luck, there are not even mysterious causes for their demise, are there? You just killed them all yourself!” Xavier shivers with anger.

His eyes are wide and crazy and he feels like a lunatic vomiting all those words, but it all makes sense now.

Wednesday blinks, “Those men were the exact example of a rotten society, I did the world a favor,” she defends herself.

Xavier stares at her in disbelief.

“Why marry them in the first place if you wanted to kill them?” he asks.

“Two birds with one stone. My parents are a thorn in my side. They kept pestering me about finding a husband even though I repeatedly told them I had no intention of ever getting married. We made a pact, then. I was going to try marriage and if it didn’t work out they would leave me alone. I begrudgingly promised them six tries. They had their marriage and in return I had the opportunity to practice my killing skills. I’m writing a crime novel, as you know. It was quite useful. There’s nothing like real life experience to draw inspiration from. I killed each one of them in different ways, no one ever suspected me.”

Wednesday takes a step towards him and he takes one back.

“Nobody has ever suspected you until now,” he spits, bitter.

“Are you scared?” She asks, eyes like black island filled with sand.

He giggles, hysterically, “How were you planning to kill me, then. Please, I’m dying to know.”

She blinks again, “You are weak, but you are soft,” she explains, as a matter of fact. “I wanted to spare you a painful death. I was going to poison you, but then I noticed you already take poison for your nightmares and you have definitely built up a tolerance of your own, it wasn’t the right method.”

His mouth opens into a crazy smile, “I guess I should be thankful I’m one step away from being locked up, then.”

She takes another step towards him, “I thought about killing you with my rifle. One quick shot to the death. I could have disposed of your body easily enough and you only have your father, he wouldn’t look for you.”

He shakes his head, “So what’s the verdict? How are you going to kill me now that I know your secret?”

“I’m not. I thought it was obvious,” she says.

“Obvious?”

“The papers you have in your hands. How much have you read?” Wednesday asks.

“I have read enough, there’s a list of ways to kill me!” he screams.

“I wrote it to convince myself to kill you. Every time I came up with a new way to get rid of you I kept finding an excuse, I kept telling myself it wasn’t the right way. I was then forced to accept I don’t want to kill you.”

“Am I supposed to believe I am the exception, then?” he smirks, sadly. “Is there any truth in what we had? How do I know you don’t have a knife hidden under your dress and you aren’t going to stab me with it the moment I turn my back?”

She walks towards him until she is just a few inches away from him. He longs for her even now. He loves her.

“You don’t and, in fact, I do have a knife hidden under my dress at all times,” she confesses.

“How do you know I’m not going to report your crimes?”

She smirks, “You are not. Of course you are not. Your heart belongs to me now. It has been mine since you laid eyes on me, even when you thought marrying me was going to bring you death.”

A laugh escapes his lips again, “God, I’m insane! I can’t even deny it!” He stares at her intently, “Why don’t you want to kill me?”

“You very well know why. I have been abundantly clear in my intentions. Don’t play dumb with me, Mister Thorpe.”

Wednesday looks like his wife and a spirit ready to consume him at the same time, but he sees truth in her like he has never seen in her before now.

His beautiful, beautiful temptress!

“I thought you only called me Xavier now,” he says, fear quickly dissipating from his heart.

She is annoyed at him, he can see it, and yet, this time, he’s the one holding the knife.

“Have you read the rest of the papers?” she asks again.

“You caught me before I could, haven’t you?”

“Read them then,” she orders him. “There’s a final letter I wrote a few weeks ago.”

“And then what?”

“It’s almost dinner time. We will have dinner,” Wednesday says.

Xavier shakes his head, “No. I don’t want to read it. I want you to tell me.”

“You are playing with fire, Mister Thorpe. I am warning you.”

“It’s Xavier. You scream it so well at night,” he smirks, capping her face.

“I can always change my mind and stab you right here, right now.”

“I beg of you, my wife. Have mercy on me. I’m only a weak weak man, who desperately loves you. Can I hear it from your lips just this once?”

Wednesday blinks several times, staring at him like she is not sure if she wants to kill him after all.

“I don’t want to kill you because I love you, Xavier. That’s the truth.”

His heart explodes and his smile is blinding, “I love you, too. Eternally.”

⚜️

They move into their holiday house soon after that and Xavier starts hearing new tales from town about his wife.

This time, he is in those tales as well.

They call him names, too. They make up the craziest stories about him.

He is quite happy about his new acquired reputation.

One night after they are lying in bed, spent and satisfied, Wednesday looks at him.

“I won’t ever bear your children,” she tells him.

“Alright.” His mind is already too foggy.

“I found a potion I can make that will stop me from ever getting pregnant. Are you sure you are alright with the idea?”

He smiles without opening his eyes, “I get to have you and that’s quite enough for me.”

She smirks, “I think we should start spreading the rumor that we sacrifice children to the Devil.”

“Wicked,” he murmurs and drags her in a kiss.

FIN.

.