Stalked by a Ghost Owl (Barnaby x Reader)

Ch. 28: Fantoccio Gives Billie Away

Three months pass. This is the month you and Barnaby will be married. Cindy is three months old. Luckily, you happen to fit in your wedding dress. You tried it on three weeks after having Cindy. Your mom picked it out for you and you love it. You and Barnaby are getting married tomorrow.

You've got Cindy in your arms right now. You're rocking her a little as you sit on the couch. She begins to cry and you hold her close. You say, "Shh shh. Mommy's got you, baby.~" She clings her little wings on you and she calms down. Sitting across from you is Billie. Barnaby went to have a meeting with his Barnaboos.

You've noticed something for a couple of months now. Billie was visiting you more than ever. Like every day. You didn't mind. You liked her company. She just wanted to be around you more than she usually did, before. Whenever you would get a closer look at her and your face was close to hers, she'd feel flustered.

She would stutter as she spoke to you. She had been acting like this for a few months now. You wondered what was wrong with her, lately. Or why she would come to the manor more often than before just to see you. She loves Cindy, but something about the way she is around YOU seems different.

Billie looks at you as you hold Cindy. She blushes as she looks at you and she looks away. You say, "Billie." Billie looks at you and says, "Yeah?" You say, "I appreciate you accepting being my new maid of honor. It would've been Regina, but... you know." She says, "Yeah. I know. I'm actually happy you chose ME to be just that, (Y/N). I'll do anything for you." 

You smile and you say, "Thanks, Billie." Cindy lets out a sneeze and she turns into a ghost. The same ghostly owl figure Barnaby is. You say, "Gesundheit.~" Billie says, "Oh right. I forget that every time she sneezes, she reverts from ghost to lively." 

You say, "Yeah. She's just gotta sneeze again to get back to her normal form. We all figured that out the day she was born." You look at Cindy and you say, "Her just has her daddy's ghostly powers.~" Billie looks at you after you say that in a baby voice. 

Your daughter coos and looks at you. You smile and you say, "Mommy just loves her so much. Yes she does. My baby girl.~" Cindy smiles. Billie blushes at your voice and looks away. Cindy sneezes again and goes back to being a normal owl baby. You say, "Gesundheit, again.~" She smiles and coos at you. You lean in and you kiss her on the cheek. She makes an 'aahh' sound.

You look at Billie and you say, "Hey. Can I ask you something, Billie?" She says, "W-what is it?" You ask, "Is everything alright with you, recently? You've been acting... odd. I just worry about you, hon." She says, "I'm fine. Really." 

You say, "Okay. But it's been like this for the past few months, Billie. I don't mind you visiting me, at all. I love your company. But you seem to do it quite a bit now. More than you usually did. Way more. You text me every day and night asking if I'm alright or how my day went or how Cindy's doing. I don't mind all of these... You just seem to do this quite a lot, now. You can tell me what's on your mind, Billie." 

She looks away with a red face. She says, "R-really. It's... it's okay." You say, "Billie." She looks at you. You notice the fluster once more. You say, "I'll be right back. You wait here." You get up. She says, "Y-yeah. Okay. That's, ahem... That's fine. I'll be here." You walk off with Cindy in your arms.

You say, "Seriously. What's going on with Billie? She's been acting strange around me, recently. I wonder why, though." You hear stifled laughing. You look over and you see the familiar puppet guy. He says, "Oh, you're so oblivious miss bride-to-be of Barnaby's." 

You look at him and you say, "What do you mean by that, Fantoccio?" He chuckles and he looks at you as he floats in the air. He says, "I mean, no offense." You say, "I'm just worried about Billie is all." He looks back to where you came from and he looks at you saying, "You mean you haven't noticed the signs? I have." You say, "What signs?" He says, "Billie had fallen head over heels for you, lady." 

You say, "What?" He says, "Yeah. She's just too scared to tell you. Why do you think the goat acts the way she does around you? I'm sure this is all due to seeing your huge boobs while feeding Cindy there." You say, "Come on. She doesn't see me like that. Besides, if she did then she's just a teenage girl going through changes." 

Fantoccio says, "That's why she stutters when she talks to you, (Y/N). Why she constantly texts you and asks how you're doing. That part would be normal, but she does it quite a bit. I've seen your phone." 

You say, "You went through my phone?! Dammit, Fanty!" He chuckles and says, "Relax. I didn't read any parts where you and Barnaby sexted back and forth." You say, "How did you know that?" He smirks and says, "Well... I may have taken... a little peek at the sex talk." You say, "Ugh. I like you, Fanty. But sometimes, I want to knock you the fuck out." 

He chuckles and he says, "That's also why the goat blushes like fucking crazy when she looks at you. She had developed a crush on you since you had the kid." Cindy coos and looks at Fantoccio. He smiles and he leans in saying, "Don't get me wrong, kid. You're cute." 

She smiles and coos. He says, "Yes you are.~" In a higher pitch he says, "Who's the silly baby, huh? Coochie coo.~" She giggles. You smile at how nice Fantoccio is to Cindy. Mostly because she's also Barnaby's child.

Fantoccio pulls away and looks at you saying, "But yeah. The truth is out. At least I told you, myself. Billie's got a major crush on you. Ha! And you find this out the day before you get married. How funny is that?" 

You say, "My god. So that's why she acts that way, recently." You were convinced now that Fantoccio was right. Now that you think about it, those were signs that Billie had developed a crush on you. Fantoccio says, "Yep. I gave her away. Welp, I'll be back. I'm hungry." He takes off. You say, "No wonder she's been acting strange, lately. That's why." 

You look at Cindy and you say, "It's time for your nap, baby girl.~" You kiss her on the cheek and you say, "That way, you don't get too cranky~" You pat her on the back and she coos. You head upstairs to feed her and put her down for a nap before heading back downstairs to talk to Billie.