Unspoken Bonds - Mattheo Riddle x Reader

Though the conversation had given Y/N hope, the days that followed were not easy. Mattheo was trying—she could see that—but the walls he had built around himself were not easily torn down. Their exchanges were no longer icy, but they weren't exactly warm either. There was a fragility in their interactions, like walking on thin ice, where one wrong move could send them both tumbling back into the cold abyss they had just started to crawl out of.

Y/N found herself yearning for the moments when she and Mattheo could be together without all the tension hanging over their heads. She wanted to laugh with him, to feel the ease she had felt when they were first discovering the depth of their connection. But every time they started to get close again, Mattheo would pull away—like he was afraid of letting himself be happy.

And it broke her heart.

A few days after their conversation, Y/N and Mattheo found themselves sitting together in the living room once more. The fire crackled softly in the hearth, casting a warm glow over the room, but the atmosphere between them remained charged with unspoken words.

Mattheo sat on the edge of the couch, his elbows resting on his knees, staring into the flames as if they held the answers to all his problems. Y/N sat beside him, her fingers nervously toying with the fabric of her sleeve. She wanted to say something—anything—to break the silence, but she didn't know where to start.

Finally, it was Mattheo who spoke, his voice quiet and hesitant.

"I've been thinking about what you said," he began, his gaze still fixed on the fire.

Y/N's heart skipped a beat. She had been waiting for him to bring it up again, but the uncertainty in his voice made her nervous. "And?"

Mattheo let out a slow breath, his shoulders slumping slightly. "I don't know how to do this, Y/N. I don't know how to be what you need me to be."

Y/N's chest tightened, and she reached out to gently touch his arm. "I don't need you to be anything other than yourself, Mattheo. I just need you to be here. With me."

Mattheo finally turned to look at her, his dark eyes filled with a mixture of fear and uncertainty. "What if I can't? What if I keep screwing this up?"

Y/N shook her head, her heart aching at the vulnerability in his voice. "You won't. We'll figure it out together. But you have to stop running away from me. I need you to stay."

Mattheo's jaw clenched, and he looked away again, his fingers tightening into fists. "It's not that simple. I keep thinking about Theo... about how close you two are. Every time I see you with him, I—" He stopped, his voice catching in his throat.

Y/N's heart sank. She had known this was coming—she had felt the tension between them every time Theo's name came up—but hearing Mattheo admit it aloud still hit her like a punch to the gut.

"He's just a friend, Mattheo," she said softly, trying to keep her voice steady. "He means nothing to me compared to you."

Mattheo let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. "I wish I could believe that. But you didn't see the way he looks at you. You didn't hear the way he talked about you."

Y/N frowned, confusion flooding her. "What do you mean?"

Mattheo stood up abruptly, pacing the room like a caged animal. "He's in love with you, Y/N. And you're too blind to see it. He doesn't care that you're married to me—he's just waiting for his chance."

Y/N stared at him, her chest tightening with frustration. "I know he has feelings for me, Mattheo. He told me. But that doesn't change anything. I told him I don't feel the same way, and that's the end of it."

Mattheo stopped pacing and turned to face her, his expression filled with disbelief. "How can you be so sure? How can you be so sure that he won't keep trying?"

"Because I trust him," Y/N said firmly, meeting his gaze. "And because I trust myself. I love you, Mattheo. Not Theo. I don't know how many times I have to say it before you'll believe me."

Mattheo's expression softened, but the doubt still lingered in his eyes. "It's not that I don't believe you," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "It's just... I don't trust myself. I don't trust that I won't mess this up."

Y/N's heart ached at the pain in his voice. She had known Mattheo struggled with his insecurities, but she hadn't realized how deep they ran. He wasn't just afraid of losing her—he was afraid of losing himself in the process.

"I'm not going anywhere," Y/N whispered, standing up and taking a step toward him. "But you have to stop doubting yourself. You're not going to lose me, Mattheo. Not unless you keep pushing me away."

Mattheo looked at her, his eyes filled with a mixture of longing and fear. For a moment, Y/N thought he might finally let her in, that he might finally take the leap and trust her with the part of himself he kept hidden from everyone else.

But then, just as quickly, the walls came back up.

"I can't do this right now," he muttered, his voice strained as he turned away from her. "I need some time to think."

Y/N's heart sank as she watched him walk away once more, the distance between them growing even wider. She had thought they were making progress, but now it felt like they were back at square one.

The following days were a blur of cold silences and brief, awkward conversations. Mattheo withdrew further, spending more time locked in his study, buried in work, while Y/N tried to distract herself with anything that could take her mind off the growing chasm between them.

But it wasn't working.

She could feel Mattheo slipping away from her, and no matter how hard she tried to reach him, he kept pulling further back into the shadows of his own doubts and fears.

Theo had noticed the change in her, too, though Y/N had made a point of distancing herself from him after their last conversation. She didn't want to give Mattheo any more reasons to doubt her, even though she knew she had done nothing wrong.

But one afternoon, as Y/N was walking through the streets of Hogsmead, she ran into Theo again. He greeted her with a concerned smile, his eyes searching hers for some sign of what was going on.

"You look tired," he said gently, his voice filled with concern.

Y/N let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through her hair. "I am. Things with Mattheo... they're not getting any better."

Theo frowned, his brow furrowing in concern. "What's going on?"

Y/N hesitated, unsure of how much to share. She didn't want to drag Theo into the middle of her and Mattheo's issues, but she also couldn't keep everything bottled up inside.

"It's complicated," she admitted, her voice heavy with exhaustion. "He's... struggling. With us. With everything."

Theo's frown deepened, and he reached out to gently touch her arm. "I'm sorry, Y/N. I wish I could help."

Y/N offered him a weak smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I know. But this is something I have to figure out with Mattheo."

Theo nodded, his expression somber. "I understand. But if you ever need to talk..."

Y/N's heart clenched as she looked at him, her guilt weighing heavier than ever. She knew Theo's feelings for her hadn't changed, despite everything she had told him. And she couldn't shake the feeling that her closeness with him was part of the reason Mattheo was pulling away.

"I appreciate that, Theo," she said softly, pulling her arm away. "But I need to focus on Mattheo right now."

Theo gave her a sad, understanding smile. "I get it. Just... take care of yourself, okay?"

Y/N nodded, offering him one last, fleeting smile before turning and walking away. She didn't see the way Theo's expression darkened as he watched her leave, nor did she notice the shadowed figure lurking nearby.

But Mattheo had seen everything.

And the jealousy that had been simmering inside him for days finally boiled over.