Helloo. This is just a short one-shot I wrote, mainly to get my brain running. This is told in Garry's POV, and I'm not very good with first person (as you can tell when you read it) so I apologize if anything seems OOC.

Also, this was written kind of in a desperate attempt to make my friends realize that Ib x Garry is NOT wrong. If you love Ib x Garry as much as I do and have friends who know you love it, and judge you pretty badly because of that, then you know what I'm talking about...But they're my friends so I have to love them as much as I hate them, ha.

It gets me frustrated when people judge relationships based on appearance. JUST BECAUSE THEY HAVE A LARGE AGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MAKE IT PEDOPHILIA, I MEAN, COMON.

...Struggles are so real.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ib. If I did...my ship would be so alive right now, it's not even funny.

*Amethyst

Pedophilia

I am completely and totally against pedophilia. Let me just make that fact clear. So obviously, when I went to Guertena's art gallery to enjoy the lovely art, the last thing I expected to do was to fight an internal battle in order to not fall in love with my young companion. That, and escape the gallery trying to kill us.

When I met her, I would have never dreamed that I would fall in love, let alone in a situation where we have to constantly watch our backs so as to not be killed. She was so much younger than me, almost half my age, so naturally, I felt as if I had to be responsible, in order to protect her.

We traveled together, for company and protection, for clearly, traveling in a pair was much safer than traveling alone, especially in that gallery better known as a nightmare.

Why protect her with such passion? It was because she was so much younger, she had so much to see and live for. I was barely scraping to get by, with no more than a few relatives. It was one thing for the gallery to take a lost cause like me away, but to take a little girl with her whole life ahead of her? That was low and unforgivable, and practically called for my protection of her.

And eventually, in this horror, I began to develop feelings for the crimson eyed girl. Why? I almost have no idea. My feelings of protection transformed into those of love, and I may as well never understand why. She was quiet, reserved, and polite, but with a flame of curiosity in her heart. Although those traits arguably could have been found in any average introverted teenage girl, there was one thing about her that stood out: her ability to stay calm and neutral in a life threatening situation and her impressive maturity and cleverness for her age. In fact, when I met her, her manner had made me think of her as an equal, and I had forgotten that she was merely a little girl.

Until, we encountered the painting of her parents, however. In that ominous mannequin hallway, when she had collapsed, the facts had come rushing at me like a tidal wave, and in that moment, I felt more defensive than ever. To be honest, that moment might have been the start of my developing feelings. After that, she looked more and more amazing in my eyes, and more and more like a lady, though, I know, she was only a girl.

But her attitude and personality was that of a woman's, a woman that I couldn't help falling in love with. They saw that when you fall in love with someone's personality, everything about them becomes beautiful. Well, that was true in my case, at least.

As I fell more and more for this girl with such small hands, holding my own, it became more and more difficult to refuse my feelings. Despite this, I kept pushing it back, for the reality was, she was only a little girl. She was years younger than me, and our relationship even as it is now would already look wrong.

So, as we trudged through the dungeons together, there was a tiny part of me that wished that I could forget about these emotions, facing death instead. Unfortunately, the arrival of our blonde, slightly insane, friend did nothing but make me more defensive.

And when we were looking death right in her azure eyes, I was nothing but ready to sacrifice myself for the mahogany haired girl behind me. Of course, when she threw her slim and short arms around my back and buried her face in my stomach, it didn't help at all either.

When we held hands and jumped back into the painting together, it almost felt as if this was a love story rather than a horror, something that gave me immense joy, yet scared me at the same time.

And to think that I might have forgotten it all….

When I found that bloodied handkerchief in my pocket with her name engraved, everything came rushing back and it stirred my heart.

The fact that I almost forgot about these feelings should have disappointed me, for it was the only chance I would probably ever get to try and let go. But, the reality was, I wasn't disappointed at all. No, in fact, I was happy. I was so incredibly relieved, to know that these feelings still remained. In that moment, I couldn't refuse anymore. I had to face my own feelings that I was in love with this girl.

And as time staggered on relentlessly, as she gradually opened up and replicated my feelings, it almost made me burst with joy. Even though I would have been just as content with holding her hand and protecting her, just being someone she could place her faith in, she went above and beyond my wishes.

To this day, even after I had gotten her parents' approval after a long struggle, with her dad at least, I was still slightly afraid.

Wary of what people would think when they looked at us, a lovely young lady and a grown adult man holding hands down the street. But even with all the judgment, as she gives my hand a reassuring squeeze, and I turn to look down into her mesmerizing crimson eyes, I know everything will be just fine.

And to all of those people who may still judge and criticize, I will only tell them this:

Yes, I am against pedophilia. I am against fully grown men lusting after much younger girls for their body. So there is no reason that you should not be against it too. However, I am not against two people loving each other despite their differences. Whether they are of the same gender, or come from different religions, or even have a ridiculously large age gap between them, I believe that any person should be able to love another, regardless of any differences. So, I ask you, are you against two people loving each other? Are you against a couple leading a happy life just because they are different?

And, well, even if you say yes, there's really nothing you can do about it, or at least about our relationship. Because no matter what anybody says or does, no matter what the world may throw, as long as I have her by my side, with her flowing dark brown hair and her faithful crimson eyes, we'll always be forever happy. Nothing will tear us apart, especially after everything we've been through. Until death do us part, we'll walk on this unpredictable road together, hand in hand.

In the face of everything horrible or bad around us, I'm finally not afraid to say,

"I love you. My dear Ib."

Honestly, this story's name could have just easily have been "My Dear Ib", but I went for Pedophilia because it was more eye-catching and kind of the point I wanted to expand on in this story looool.

Review so I can have a permanent smiley face on my face ;)

That sounded weird, I'm sorry.

But yeah, still, review and make my day c: