Work Text:
“Come on Jack. You can drink a little,” Brezziana encouraged me, “we just defeated your mother! We gotta celebrate!”
“I would rather not at this moment. Just not feeling it.” She just shrugged, “that’s fair.” A mischievous smile formed on her face. “Don’t you think-“
“Hey Wander! Wanna drink till we drop?” She yelled as she ran over to Wanderlust, my words not even getting a chance to reach her. Wanderlust looked over at her from the kitchen island as Discoball zipped away, leaving him alone with Brezziana and her shenanigans. I let out a sigh as I looked out the windows as the seed of worry continued blossoming in the pit of my stomach. How can I celebrate knowing that my mother is still out there. I wish I could have just been able to defeat her… That would have been the only thing that could put my mind at ease.
I saw a shooting star light up the night sky before noticing Mihaly sitting outside on the balcony.
I walked over to them as they turned around to face me. I was about to talk before they spoke up first, “still thinking about your mother?” How did they? “Is it that obvious?”
“Yeah. You’re usually the reckless one when it comes to alcohol,”
“I used to be. I was young and dumb… listen, I just don’t want to celebrate too early. She’s still out there. Who knows what she will do next?”
“Well. Whatever she does, I’m sure we will be prepared. We have defeated her once. We will defeat her again.” I sat down beside them and sighed, “I guess you’re right. But that feeling just… doesn't go away easily.”
There was an air of silence before I heard them chuckle. “Want a rosé?” They asked with a mischievous smirk. “What?”
“Does Rose want a rosé?” I awkwardly looked around them as if answers would just air out of thin air. “Are you saying that because rosé sounds like my name?” I asked while raising an eyebrow. They let out a chuckle, “well. I think it would be pretty appropriate for you Rosie,”
“I’m not going to drink something just because it has sounds like my name,”
“Well then. I guess you won’t want this,”
“Want what?”
They reached into their pocket before presenting a small box to me. They looked at me through nervous eyes as I took the box from them. “Didn’t know I was getting engaged today,” I joked. They let out a laugh, “no. It’s just a gift for you. Open it up.”
I eyed the box. It was a black velvet that was soft to the touch. I gently opened it, inside was the same red as my suit. There was an earring inside. It was a golden rose with a stem that was meant to cuff the ear. I looked up at them as they gave a cheeky smile, “It reminded me of you. Thought you would like to have it.” I didn’t know how to respond before they gently held my hands with their own, “would you like to help you put it on?”
I felt my face warm up a bit in the winter chill, “oh, sure thing.” I handed them the box as they quickly got to work. I heard their gentle breath as they got closer. They removed my right earring and handed it to me as they put on the one they just gifted.
They gently caressed my ear as they put on the ear cuff. They seemed to be in deep focus before they seemed to have found the perfect place for it to go. They hummed in satisfaction before backing away, “how does that feel?” I felt a fuzzy feeling in my heart as their touch lingered on my ear. I moved my hand to hold their lingering touch, “it feels okay… Thank you.” They smiled softly. Their eyes conveyed their delight at my, admittedly, lackluster statement, “glad to hear that.”
~*~
I put on the earring. Practically feeling Mihaly’s gentle touch as I gently caressed the ear cuff. I wish I had been able to save them. All of them. I threw my feather boa to the ground out of frustration. If only…
I let out a sigh before looking towards my door. Maybe I should help Scotty with unpacking for a bit. It could help us both with taking our minds off of what’s been happening.