Sweet Confections - pinklily8 - The Sisters Grimm (2024)

Chapter 1: Dragon Scales

Chapter Text

Sabrina can proudly say that she is the reason why Puck learned to cook. Even if he would deny it and retort that, no, he would never listen to anything she ever said. Regardless of his flimsy arguments, his culinary endeavors had started at the age of fourteen, two years after the Red Hand fiasco.

Sabrina found herself sneaking into the kitchen in the middle of the night, her stomach growling almost loud enough to wake Daphne. Almost-you'd need a turbo jet to jolt her awake.

The girl looked through the contents of the fridge, mumbling annoyed things about fairy boys and visiting uncles. Yes, she was happy that the two had finally come to visit for a prolonged amount of time-but seriously, why did Puck have to stay obnoxious and steal all of her food? And not just some of Relda's weird concoctions, real, honest food that she had to beg her well-meaning Granny to make.

So yes, Sabrina felt like she had every right to grumble mean things about Puck, all of it fueled by rage at her imbecilic crush. Sabrina felt a blush come to her face at the thought, hands stilling on a shelf.

Great.

Two years of wholeheartedly mashing down her feelings and she still slipped up within her inner monologue. She shrugged off the feeling and kept looking. She was only fourteen. She was young and still had time to pull herself away from the edge-especially if he kept up this laughably small amount of communication. It was only the tiniest feeling of limerence, after all.

Honestly, how big could those feelings grow?

She had just pulled out some sad looking tomatoes when the light flicked on. Sabrina turned, thinking that Granny Relda was coming down to start one of her more time-consuming breakfasts.

"Grimm?"

Well. That wasn't the face or the voice that she'd been expecting.

"Puck?" she said quietly, her tone much more sensitive towards the people sleeping upstairs. She was rather startled by his appearance, and her brow furrowed. She hastily spoke before he could. "Why are you up?" she whispered fiercely, hoping to high heaven that her cheeks weren't still red from she'd been thinking of earlier.

"I could ask you the same thing." he returned, voice low, picking up on why she was so quiet.

Sabrina huffed, placing the dilapidated fruit down then crossed her arms over her chest. "Gee, maybe because someone ate almost all of my dinner?"

Puck tilted his head in a questioning manner, and Sabrina had to kick the small corner of her mind that couldn't help but find the action cute.

"You eat?" he blinked at the foreign thought. "I thought you hated the old lady's food."

Sabrina let out an annoyed groan, unbelieving. Really, was Puck that dense?

"Of course I eat. I'm just not a fan of her, well, exotic dishes." Sabrina gave him a well practiced scowl. "But of course the day that I convince Granny to make me something normal, you had to get your grimy paws on it." Puck laughed a little too loudly and shifted his hands into tiger paws.

"Very funny." she muttered as he turned them back to normal. Sabrina's stomach let out a painful, empty growl. She grimaced, turning back to the food.

Sabrina loved seeing Relda, she really did. But right now she just wanted to cut their visit short and return to New York where she knew the pantry was full of sugary snacks.

She rummaged around for a minute before Puck spoke again. "Wait," he said, making her jump and spin to face him. He had come right up behind her, studying her like some sort of rare specimen that he had never seen. "You're actually hungry?"

The girl sighed, "yes, I thought we covered this already, pus-brain."

The two considered the other for a few moments, and Sabrina couldn't help but think of how Puck had changed. He still had the same trouble maker grin and rotten taste in jokes, but he seemed like a bigger person.

Literally.

Puck was still growing.

This, of course, was a confusing concept for Sabrina. Why was he still growing up, especially after he had acted so vehemently against the very idea? ...Alright, so maybe she knew the answer.

But that didn't mean that she wanted to face it, no matter how excited it made that stupid girly part of her mind.

Sabrina was dragged out of her thoughts when she thought she saw a glimmer of remorse in his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as he blinked, his expression turning lax once more.

She slid away from him and picked up some recipe cards and thumbed through them, getting more and more discouraged the longer she looked at them. The cards were all beautiful and handwritten, most with descriptions. Unfortunately, they all came from crazy parts of the planet and many were taken straight out of fairy tales.

White Snake Broil-

While these snakes can be hard to come by, the results are worth it. (Side effects include talking to animals)

Wolf Haggis-

A new take on an old classic, served with Mediterranean spices. (Mr. Canis hates this dish)

Red's Bread-

I got this years ago, said to be the recipe from Red Riding Hood's mother-the secret is in the added troll saliva. (According to Red it's just as good)

Finally, Sabrina came across one that looked salvageable.

"Dragon Scale Pancakes," she muttered aloud with a yawn. She rubbed her hand over her eyes as she examined the ingredients. Luckily for her, everything seemed normal except the dragon scales, which she could just leave out. ("But, liebling," she could practically her grandmother intone, "the dragon scales are the best part!")

Sabrina turned to the unusually quiet boy, noting his odd expression.

"Could you go get the flour? I need the all-purpose kind, I know that Granny keeps it some somewhere."

Puck muttered something under his breath about the fact that he wasn't a slave, but still went off to find the desired item.

With Puck's help, Sabrina gathered all of the ingredients in a fraction of the time. She selected a bowl from the cabinet while Puck hovered over her shoulder in distinct fascination.

"What? Never cooked something before?" she said snidely, but instantly remembered who she was talking to. Her hands paused for a moment.

Had Puck ever had to cook any food for himself as a prince?

It had never occurred to her.

For some reason that made her sad, and it seemed a little depressing to have lived such a long life without ever having to work for it.

"Not really." he said to her rhetorical question, sounding a bit uncomfortable. "I've seen plenty of others do it-I know the basic concept of how it works and how to do it, but it's never been important to me. Plus," he added on superiorly, "cooking is a woman's art."

She had half a mind to slap him, but she was busy measuring out the flour. Instead she pressed, "You've never cooked anything?"

He shrugged noncommittally, not looking her in the eyes. "Jake showed me a couple of things, but we've mostly been eating out since it would take too long to do anything for ourselves."

Sabrina would've taken the conversation further, but a dull ache started behind her eyes. "Great," she groaned, rubbing at her temples even though it rarely helped. She'd had this problem before whenever she got too tired, the lack of sleep causing her to get a headache that lasted for hours if she didn't rest soon after getting it.

"You alright, Grimm?" Puck asked, leaning his elbows on the counter, eyes bright. How could he be so alert?

"Ugh. I'm getting a headache. I'm going to have to sleep it off." She made a move to go to her bedroom, but instead of walking she only made a vague stumbling motion.

Puck chuckled at her difficulty. "Wow Ugly, you look like a baby horse trying to walk for the first time."

Sabrina's cheeks burned and she snapped, "Just get over here and help me, fairy boy!" The world was starting to sway around her, and she tried not to show her panic.

With a dramatic sigh, Puck pushed off of the counter and scooped her right off of her feet.

"Gah!" Sabrina clutched his neck, her equilibrium offset from suddenly being carried bridal style. "You know, you could've just supported my side!" she squeaked, dizzy.

Puck laughed once again, mirth thick in his green eyes. "Nah, that reaction was worth it. Plus, picking you up like this means that later I get to drop you."

"You wouldn't dare." she growled, but held tighter to him, head still pounding.

He sensed her displeasure and assured her, "Calm down, dogface. I'm strong enough to carry even you, so no worries." he grinned down at her, eyes twinkling. "Yet."

Sabrina didn't respond as he walked over to the living room couch, which, thankfully, no longer had volumes and volumes of books choking the area. As Puck placed her down much more gently than he had implied, she yawned, and for bleary moment, she thought the corner of his mouth quirked into a smile.

"Thanks." she whispered, offering only the smallest gratitude to the egotistical boy.

He crouched down to her level and gave her a smile that she could see this time. "I'll just add this rescue to your bill. Really, you're getting yourself into some impressive debt." He himself sounded almost impressed. Sabrina shook her head at him, not willing to argue the topic.

As he rose to his full height, she mumbled, "What're you doing up anyways? It's like," a yawn, "way late."

He gave her a dubious look, humor in his expression. "When I heard you creeping down the stairs I had to go check because every other time you've done that it usually ended with you sneaking away." he then added arrogantly, "And who else is going to save your sorry behind if I don't?"

She accepted the explanation, watching hazily as he strode off, presumably to his room. But he left her wondering, one more question on her blurry mind.

Then why did you stay?

.-.-.-.

Sabrina awoke to the smell of something decidedly good. She sat up and stretched, grateful to find that her headache was gone. She glanced up at the clock, noting the early hour. The first few shimmers of dawn were only just arriving through the windows. The girl got off of the couch and wandered over the kitchen, once again expecting Granny Relda and a kind, "Good morning, liebling."

Instead, she was met with a nervous looking Puck and a stack of pancakes.

Sabrina co*cked her head, trying to unsee the mirage in front of her. She scrutinized the apparition. He certainly looked real, sitting there drumming his fingers on the table.

But since when did Puck ever have food in front of him and didn't eat it?

Her bare feet made some noise as she walked over to him, and his head snapped up, hand stilling.

He sounded exasperated as he exclaimed, "Finally! I thought you were going to sleep forever."

A random voice in her head wanted to remind him that, in fact, it had been he who had eaten a poisoned apple of eternal sleep, not her.

"Puck? What is this?" she asked, confused.

He rolled his eyes at her as she sat down across from him, pushing the plate in front of her. "What does it look like, peasant? I made you breakfast."

Sabrina stared at him.

Then promptly burst into laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, sure." she managed after she'd calmed marginally, wiping a tear from her eye.

Puck looked offended. "Come on," he said, his voice just shy of whining, "I did."

Sabrina squinted at him, mood shifting to apprehensive. "You finished making the pancakes?"

He rolled his eyes again. "Obviously."

"But why?" she inquired, prodding the fluffy food. Her stomach announced its' presence and she grimaced.

He waved his hand dismissively. "Just eat the stupid food already, Grimm."

She gave him an uneasy glance and grabbed the fork that had been laid out for her. Tentatively, she cut off a piece and put it in her mouth.

She blinked.

Sabrina wasn't sure what she'd expected, perhaps that it would taste horrible or bland, but she certainly hadn't thought that they'd be good. Maybe it was just because of how hungry she was, but it tasted not just good, but great. She polished off three before he even handed her the syrup muttering that she ate like a starving wolf. She was almost through half of them before she looked up at him apologetically, coughing as she forced herself to swallow. "Did you want some?" she asked sheepishly, but Puck shook his head and looked down.

She held out her fork. "C'mon, I'm not pulling a prank on you, honest. They really are good. Unless..." she looked down at the plate. "...there's something in these that'll turn me green!" she shoved the pancakes away with an expression somewhere between betrayal and horror.

Puck nudged the plate back, holding up his hands in a sign of surrender. "There's no trick. Promise."

She poked at the food wearily then looked up at him. "Then why don't you want any? You're always hungry."

Puck ran his hand down his face with a groan. "I know, it's weird. But for some reason it's...satisfying to watch you eat what I made." He looked at the ground like he was ashamed of himself, ashamed of doing anything that wasn't completely selfish.

Sabrina bit her lip, fighting a smile. "Wow, Puck. That's almost nice of you."

Puck quickly lunged forward, surprising her. He clamped his floury hand onto her mouth. It smelled distractingly like cinnamon.

"How could you say that?" he hissed, gaze frantically darting around, looking for anyone who might've overheard her statement. "Are you trying to ruin my reputation?" Sabrina rolled her eyes and swatted his hand away.

"Says the fairy boy who made me awesome pancakes to say sorry."

Puck blushed, and Sabrina smirked. Now, making Puck blush, that was satisfying.

He hastily grappled back his usual persona, giving her a haughty look down his nose. "This," he pointed to the pancakes in front of her, "is not an apology. I am royalty. I do not have to apologize to the likes of you."

Sabrina grinned. "Then, pray tell, what is this?"

Puck opened his mouth, but for once, the boy had nothing to say. Finally, he found his voice and grumbled, "just eat them before I do slip in something that'll make you grow a beard."

Sabrina snorted, taking another bite. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw him smile.

But of course not, Puck would never truly enjoy her presence.

"Mmm," she hummed stuffing more into her mouth, "Wait til Daphne has some of this, she'll melt into a puddle."

"Don't tell Daphne."

Sabrina glanced up at him, unbelieving. His face was completely serious. "What? Why not?"

His fingers started to drum on the table again. "The rest of the family doesn't have to know about this little...incident."

"But these are amazing!"

"Of course," he crowed, grinning at her, "anything I do is amazing." He paused, mellowing, "but I want to keep this between us. I don't need any of them expecting me to do stuff like this for them."

She thought about his words for a moment and gave him a sly grin. "Oh? But you'd do something like this for me?"

Puck choked, face turning rather red. "This is a one time thing, Grimm. One time! Understand?"

Sabrina gave him a sickly sweet smile as she ate another bite. "Of course. Just a one time thing."

For some reason however, Sabrina felt undeniably like a liar.

.-.-.-.

Chapter 2: Stone Soup

Chapter Text

Sabrina's head hurt. A lot, actually. The pain was tremendous, catastrophic, Pucktastically...Sabrina giggled at her own inane thoughts as she stared up at the sky. Stars glimmered above her. Fifteen stood out clearly, the rest turned into a haze of silvery light. Fifteen stars for fifteen years of looking up at them, but they too were soon covered by rough and roiling clouds, gray as dust.

How had she gotten here again?

She started to laugh even harder and felt something warm and wet roll down her cheeks. Sabrina touched her face and chuckled at herself.

Silly, she thought, you're not supposed to cry when you're laughing.

For whatever reason, she cried harder, sobbing for some situation she wasn't sure about.

Why laugh, why cry, why anything? Sabrina couldn't help but think that all of this emotion was just too taxing, too tiring. If she could just fall asleep despite her throbbing head...

"I found her!"

"Ow," she mumbled, covering her ears from the sharp sound as red dripped into her vision. What was something red and wet that came from her head? She wheezed out another snicker. She sounded like a game show host.

"Grimm!" Someone landed beside her.

"Go 'way." she grumbled as something shook her shoulders. The voice kept saying that same word, but, luckily for her, she became accustomed to it and she slipped back into an easy bliss, just a few ticks away from drowning in the oblivion. Unfortunately for her, the voice wasn't going to let her to her peace. It was rapidly becoming a shrill falsetto, but they paused and took a deep breath, gathering them self.

"Sabrina, please."

Sabrina frowned. Those two words should never be said by that voice. It was so against her mind's unspoken rules that she had to open her bleary eyes and catch a glimpse.

She began to laugh anew, throwing her arms around his neck. "Ha, I must be dreaming, because the real Puck is halfway across the world ignoring me."

He looked down worriedly at her, his face the only thing in focus. The rest of the world's ambiance blurred into a rainy smudge.

"You've really got yourself into something this time." His tone held a discordant note of anger that didn't fit with the way he pulled her against him, one hand tight around her waist, the other pressing against her shoulder blades.

"Mhm." she agreed, tracing a nonsensical pattern on his back, crimson dripping onto the fabric.

"I don't think you can stand." Puck said, taking out a handkerchief to sop up the sticky mess on her forehead despite her efforts to wave him off.

"'Course I can." she slurred, rising abruptly to stop him from tying that bandage over her head. Couldn't he see it wouldn't go with her clothes?

He quickly stood up to meet her, and she giggled as she wobbled back into his arms. "Whoops, looks like you were right."

Puck stilled her and finally tied the handkerchief around her injury. "Alright," he said, getting under her shoulder to support her weight. "Come on, Grimm." he ushered, moving them at a relatively fast clip for the wounded girl.

"Where are we going?" she murmured, glancing around at the forest scenery that was fading with her consciousness.

"Home." Puck asserted, trying to hide his concern.

"Why don't we just fly?" The girl made a fluttering motion with her hand, that in her state, looked more like a fish out of water.

"We're going to meet with your family soon." Puck looked at the sky, wishing that the heavy downpour would cease.

Sabrina started to shiver with cold, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Funny, if this is a dream, then why do I want to sleep so badly?" she grinned, "Irony, am I right?"

Puck tensed beneath her. "Stay awake or you'll be sorry, dogface."

Sabrina laughed distractedly, snatching a piece of Puck's blonde hair away from the other plastered strands.

"I don't understand why everyone thinks we're so different. If anything, we're too similar."

Puck looked at her like she was crazy. "What are you talking about?" he inquired, tugging her away from a pit in the ground, wondering how her sluggish mind had switched gears so fast. Sabrina started humming a string of random tunes.

After a few minutes, Puck assumed that she'd forgotten what she'd said in the first place. Suddenly she fixed him with her blue eyes, and he wouldn't dare let himself romanticize them with some old-fashioned soliloquy, but-dear heavens-were they azure.

"We're the same, ya know? Both stubborn, for starters, and we share an aspiration for freedom. But most of all," she paused, giving him a conspiratorial smile, like they were sharing a joke, "We both have to do stupid things to get the others' attention. You have to pull dumb pranks and I have to almost get killed." she grinned lazily, "Not that I try or anything."

Puck turned away from her and muttered something under his breath in a different language that sounded distinctly like a curse. "Sometimes I wonder if you do try." Any subsequent conversation they could've had was cut short as a man ran to them.

"Sabrina!" he called, relief so tangible she winced. Jake, she was sure of it in that instinctual part of her brain. The girl was traded over to her blood family from Puck, her mind absently reflecting and refracting on the relationships that connected and intertwined people.

Who was your real family in the end? The ones who raised you, or the one that made your heart raise in tempo, the one you give that helpless piece of anatomy to?

Sabrina's reality collapsed inward, flashing black, weaving in and out of a wakeful perception of the world.

So cold.

"We have to heal her!"

Well, well. Who knew you cared.

"And how do you propose we do that?"

If I die I won't even get engaged. Is that supposed to be sad?

"We could take her to New York, fairy cocoons can heal almost anything."

No, don't bring that up.

"Too far. I'm sure I have something."

Poor Jake. So unorganized.

"Why is this taking so long? She could die."

Nah. Not just yet, fairy boy.

"I get it! Believe me-"

I believe you, please stop yelling.

"Yeah? Well, guess what! The last time you took too long with that stupid coat of yours, Briar Rose was killed!"

No, no, definitely do not bring that up.

There was a loaded silence and Sabrina saw that both shadows outside of her senses had stiffened.

One snapped out of it faster than the other and muttered while looking through the pockets on their person, "I know. I know. I'm not going to let that ever happen again." Jake paused, then added haltingly, "I know the feeling you're getting right now, really I do-that's why I'm not going to hold you to what you just said. That emotion is the most sick, twisted, desired emotion out there. Tell me, do you know what its' stage name is?"

Puck stumbled back, aware of the line that he'd crossed, but too proud to give any remittance to the wounded man. He glanced at the prone form of a girl at his side. She didn't look peaceful like dead people were often described to be. He could only hope that that meant that she was fighting with all the ferocity in her soul. He let his eyes meet the fractured gaze of Jake as he found the vial he had been searching for.

Puck grimaced as he whispered, "I know the name."

.-.-.-.

"Daphne!" came a stunted gasp as Sabrina shot up in her bed. She had messed up, she knew that. But she would give out apologies later, for now she just wanted her little sister.

She glanced around, breathing heavily, sure she was still there-still screaming for Daphne to get away. Her surroundings became apparent to her and she blinked. She was in her room, the only sounds that of a clock ticking somewhere and breathing. But not her own.

Sabrina stared down at the slumbering form of Puck, whose head was resting on her bed, the rest of him in an old chair. The boy's hair was ruffled wildly like he had run his hand through it over and over. They were close enough that, if this were some cheesy romance novel, they could've been holding hands, but they weren't.

So she did it for him, grabbing one of his care worn hands, needing to grasp something that was solid and warm and alive.

Sabrina wanted to wake him up and get some answers, but she needed a moment to collect herself so that she didn't burst into tears and blubber a nonsensical question.

Puck stirred for a second, and Sabrina tensed. However, he settled back, his hand muscles twitching for an instant, tightening around her own, then relaxing.

The girl's heart raced like she had just gotten out of some immense trouble. She took in a deep breath and let his hand go, pulling her arms to her sides, tucking the moment into a corner of her mind that was overflowing with memories.

"Puck," she said rather quietly, shaking his shoulder. (Were they broader than she had remembered?)

"Mmfph. I'm awake, Jake. I don't need your help."

"Puck!" she snapped impatiently, her need for answers overruling her instinctual manners. His head snapped up, knocking into her nose.

"Ow!" Sabrina yelped, holding her offended extremity.

He rubbed his red eyes, he squinted at her like he wasn't quite sure if she was real. "You're awake." He almost sounded reproachful, and Sabrina was pretty sure that he'd left a part of himself in dreamland because he sounded relieved to see her.

"Where's Daphne?" she asked quickly, her voice giving an annoyed croak in protest of being used. Sabrina clasped a hand at her throat, clearing it forcibly several times.

"Calm down," Puck said in a sating voice, eyes raking over her in a skeptical way. He was convinced that she was going to pass out again.

She ignored his borderline kind behavior, saying, "Where is she? Please, please." Sabrina looked like she was only two seconds away from hysteria, sitting up farther, ready to jump off the bed and pound away after her little sister.

"She's okay, Sabrina!" Puck had to yell to get her to look at him fully. "The Marshmallow is just with your parents, unharmed."

At this, Sabrina wasn't ashamed to admit that she cried. Her only regret that Puck was there to watch-there to hold this tender moment over her head on a sunnier day.

Surprisingly, he was quiet, letting her channel the emotion through the tears.

"Come on," she finally said, wiping at her red eyes. "I want to go see Daphne." She tried to get up, but Puck pushed her back down.

"Uh, no you're not. You are way worse off than she was-the Marshmallow was mostly just shaken. She was up here a while ago, but they took her out to get some ice cream so that she wouldn't pace a rut into the floor." Sabrina glared at him, knowing that she really didn't want to move, but would never to be the one who admitted that he was right.

She returned, "Well, I better be at the door to meet her-and tell everyone what happened."

Puck folded his arms over his chest. "You can have your reunion with them just as well here as there."

Sabrina huffed and didn't move, unwilling to admit that the prospect of going down the stairs was about as appealing as getting hit by a glop grenade.

"Here," Puck said after the stuffy silence. "You should eat something." Puck got up and grabbed a covered plate from the side table and passed it to her. Sabrina's mouth started to salivate before she even knew what it was, she was so hungry.

Sabrina tore off the covering and found a steaming plate of spaghetti and meatballs-regular, not squid ink. Sabrina's lip tipped towards a smile, realizing how strange her life was that she had to specify that fact in her mind. That, however, brought a new thought to her mind. "Who made this, Puck?"

The boy have gave her a sidelong look. "Who d'you think?"

She stared at him for a long moment, sure she knew the answer, but also sure that it couldn't be true.

"You?"

Puck let out a breath like he'd been holding it. He thrummed his fingers on the bed, and even though they didn't make any noise, Sabrina thought she could still hear the rhythmic drumming.

"How?" she inquired.

Puck snorted, sitting back in his chair, his usual humor replacing the strange mood he had slipped into. "I cooked it, how else?"

She glared at him halfheartedly. "That's not what I meant."

Puck grinned and leaned forward in his chair to flick her in the forehead, causing her to let out an indignant noise.

"Ah, you meant why-which happens to mean a very different thing altogether than 'how'."

"Fine. Why?"

"Well," he sighed dramatically as she tucked into the warm meal. "Here I was, practically staring at a vegetable, bored out of my mind, so I decided, what the heck-I'll make the invalid something good for when she wakes up. And, because I'm feeling generous, I'm not even going to charge you."

"But how do you know how to make spaghetti?"

Puck sighed through his nose. "You're just full of questions, aren't you?"

"You could always leave." she said irritably, though she felt infinitely better from eating. He waved his hand dismissively.

"Nah, you have a bit of a rebellious streak. You'd probably try to crawl out the window to escape and find your family."

They were quiet with each other now, Sabrina noting that he still hadn't answered her question.

"So," Puck began before Sabrina could reassert herself around a mouthful of spaghetti, "Want to tell me why you were with your sister in the middle of the woods?"

Sabrina choked and spluttered. "I-It's not what you guys think." she said after she'd finally stopped coughing.

"'Not what you think'?" he mocked. "Do you know how much grief you caused? Your family was ready to flip freaking mountains to find you two again."

"Well, it wasn't like we just sneaked out to spite all of you. We were on a mission for Granny."

Puck scowled. "Yeah, she mentioned that. But she also said it was in town."

He always managed to do this to her, made her feel like she had to justify herself. "It was, but we heard something in the woods-"

Puck snorted. "Haven't you learned anything from our horror movie nights? You never go after the creepy noise." Sabrina's cheeks blazed.

"It wasn't creepy! We just thought..." She shut her mouth so fast her teeth clacked. She folded her arms and looked away from his aggravating, albeit handsome face.

"What's it to you? You haven't been here for months. Why are you even here?"

Puck's face seemed to fill with shadows, bouncing off the sharp, elfish planes in a way that made him seem older. Which, of course, he actually was.

Inversely, he spoke breezily. "It's a funny story, really. I was awoken by a call at three in the morning from halfway across the world-from some little town named 'Ferryport Landing'." Sabrina bit her lip, but she met his eyes defiantly. He stared back just as strongly.

Puck slammed his fist down on the side table, the abruptness scaring her a little. "And what do I get on this phone call? A pleasant hello and then-'oh by the way, Sabrina's been kidnapped, just thought you ought to know that your fiancée is in imminent peril again.'"

Sabrina was very off put from the genuine anger and hurt in his voice, but, as always, it wasn't very long before his inner nature returned-for Puck was many things, but angry wasn't one of them.

He threw up his hands. "I can't just keep doing this! This whole run and save the girl routine, I'm getting gray hairs just thinking about it!" A silence shrouded the room, sharp as a scythe.

"You're unbelievable." she finally muttered. "I didn't even need your help. Not this time. I would've been fine." Why did it sound like she was trying to fully convince herself?

"Please, Grimm. You were bleeding out in the cold rain in the middle of the forest, probably with whatever creature that Daphne said was following you guys about to make you into mincemeat."

Sabrina tightened her grip on her arm and turned to meet his gaze, a strange sort of triumph lit in the depths. He loved being right, even now.

In an almost imperceptible movement, she reached down and undid a hidden side pocket on her loose jeans and produced a long, steady knife. With shaking fingers, she tossed it so it landed in front of him. Puck stared uncertainly down at it, unsure of what it meant.

"That creature following us was a Wolf, and I killed it." Sabrina's eyes were as heavy as granite.

Puck recoiled, eyes wide. "But the Wolf is being kept by Red Riding Hood, right?"

Sabrina pursed her lips. "Our Wolf isn't the only wolf recorded in the Grimm fairy tale accounts, haven't you read any? There's at least three or four of them spread throughout the stories." Puck opened his mouth to retort that-no-of course he hadn't read them, but Sabrina beat him to it and covered his mouth with her hand before he could say a word. She went on with her explanation.

"None of the other Wolves are as powerful as our Wolf, and all of them used to be...used to be in the Hall of Wonders." She took a deep breath, ignoring the stone that had ironically settled in her stomach.

"This Wolf was from one called "The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids". In it, the seven kids are dumb enough to be deceived by the Wolf putting dough on his paws and six of them got devoured. The seventh waited for his mother, and after they rescued the others and filled the Wolf with rocks and sank him to the bottom of the river." Puck finally swatted her hand off of his face crossly.

"You know, just because your family's last name is 'Grimm', that doesn't mean that all of your stories have to be so messed up."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "You would say that, coming from a comedy."

Puck shrugged. "Life's better when you can laugh at everything."

Sabrina muttered under her breath. "Well, you've made that abundantly clear."

Puck shook his head as if to clear it. "So wait a minute, you mean to tell me you killed that Wolf?"

Sabrina winced. "Perhaps 'killed' is a strong word. After I got Daphne to run away, I lured it to the cliff and got it to jump off."

"So why were you bleeding, for Pete's sake?" he pressed, glancing at the spot where magic must have healed the wound. She touched the smooth skin superstitiously and grinned wryly. "I guess he felt that he had to get even after I cut his face."

Puck gaped at her, speechless for once.

"That's not all though." Sabrina's voice had taken a sudden turn, now sounding miserable. "The Wolf didn't die. I know because when I looked over the edge, it was limping away like what happened had barely phased it. It can still go hurt more people."

Puck sighed, leaning back. "That's Everafters for you, we've been clinging to life for so long it's really hard to let go."

Sabrina went into a brooding silence as Puck grabbed the knife and scrutinized it for a moment before handing it back to her. "Don't worry. You'll have another chance to use this yet, I guarantee it."

She smiled thinly at him, tucking the blade back into the thigh sheath.

Puck stood up and stretched, joints popping.

"Well, I'm going to go contact your family and tell them that you are indeed, very not dead." He then scoffed and gave her a conspiratorial grin. "As if. Your snores were way too loud for a dead person."

A flicker of a true smile fluttered across her lips.

Puck left her room and closed the door so that she could rest in peace. He then fully intended to immediately do as he had said, but when he tried to move, his knees felt weak.

Puck couldn't help but look behind himself at her door as if he could see her through the thick panels, his mind whirling.

Puck thought of what she'd said while her head was bleeding out in the rain, that they were too much of the same. She'd said some compelling thoughts out there where the world had been varying shades of gray scale.

How could she have possibly said that they were too similar?

Was that really what she believed?

No, no, she was delirious.

...But was she?

Yes! Yes! She was! Bad brain! Stop thinking traitorous thoughts!

His introspection was spinning sickly around his head, making it hard to stumble downstairs to the kitchen. He arrived right as the phone started to ring. He took the call and cradled it to his face. A worried voice on the other side spoke, "Puck? Puck, has anything changed?"

It was Veronica, and he could tell that she wasn't alone. In the background he could hear the soft mummering of the rest of the family. They wanted the news that only he could give them. He took in a deep, relieved breath-gathering himself-but quickly got on with it.

After all, five days was a long time to wait.

"She's awake."

.-.-.-.

Chapter 3: Fighting Laughter

Chapter Text

"I don't care if it's your sweet sixteen, you insolent child! The enemy will not let you off easy just because he smells ice cream cake on your breath!"

I parried just in time, the stress of a hard fight pounding and throbbing harshly beneath my fraught skin. William Charming was being inexcusably horrid today, charging 30 second fight sequences over and over. My heart was beginning to scream for reprieve, hammering against my rib cage like an animal that wanted to escape. But like he and Snow often said, there is no rest for the wicked. I'm still not quite sure if they mean me or the enemy.

He's not training me to be a warrior of steel, I thought wretchedly, keeping my teeth securely clamped shut to prevent myself from biting my tongue, he's trying to work me into a pile of slag.

I leaped back, eyes narrowed and searching for where he should strike, but all I saw was a hardened fighter whose breath was an even pendulum.

Stupid Everafters and their advanced respiratory systems.

I jumped back in with a piercing cry, hoping to unnerve him, but there were few tricks that I knew that he did not, and he met my throaty scream with a snarl of his own, sounding like a great tiger on the hunt. I felt myself pale under her own helmet, but the misty heat haze surely kept my cheeks red as the blood that coursed just under the surface. I viciously attacked his defense, over the head, side-side, but only nicked his shoulder. Charming's actions were controlled and bordered on serene.

Stupid Everafters and their high stress threshold.

He clipped my shoulder, and right as I was about to counter, he called time.

"Stop."

I ripped my head gear off, storming over to my water, barely remembering to only sip the cold liquid so that I didn't give myself a stomachache. Charming also went to his water and drank it with that same grace he did everything. I only gave myself a second more to gulp down oxygen before I faced my instructor once more.

"Take me on again." I said, throwing my sweat towel off to the side.

He pursed his lips, already shaking his head.

"I'm not sure about that. You're distracted."

I gritted my teeth.

"One more time," I begged, lifting my sparring sword to ready position. He still looked unsure, but indulged me nonetheless.

"Begin."

My blood began pounding anew, sweat dripping down my face.

-Oh! Blood, sweat, and tears got me to where I am now, with fear as the secretive puppeteer. I'd always been a hot-tempered but learning the nuances of fighting had never been on my life plan-

I manged to time my jump correctly and cleared his blade only to stumble when I landed.

-But what else can you do when you still feel weak and helpless?-

I caught his strike to my usually slower left, but in my moment of satisfaction he came around to execute a strike over the top of my head.

-Never again would he looked at me like only someone to save, because against what everyone said, I was good at fighting despite my impulsive behavior-

My defense was much too weak and his barely muted strike hit me on the top of my head. I went down, landing sharply on my lower back, falling flat. I looked up in defiance, but upon seeing the tip of his blade, I let my head fall back.

-But I may never be good enough.

"You didn't look up, Sabrina."

With that, Charming didn't even call the official kill. He just turned stiffly on his heel and walked to his gear bag, pulling the securing knots of his chest gear lose. I struggled to my feet, trying to evaluate the condition of my back. Finding it more or less manageable, I reached down for my sword, letting out a small gasp when my lumbar vertebrae smarted.

Upon hearing this, Charming didn't even turn.

"Go home."

"What?" I said, leaning on the wall. "Our time isn't spent."

He kept right on packing his things, the calm actions infuriating me to no end.

"True, but you are."

I opened my mouth to object, but he sighed and turned his head to face me, his usually perfectly pomaded hair in disarray.

"You've gotten worse, not better over this session." He pinched the bridge of his nose and and went back to putting things away, disappointment for me oozing off of him. "Just consider it a happy birthday gift. Don't expect anything else."

I snapped my jaw shut to keep it from trembling, wresting off my things into my bag. Usually I would smile at his attempt at a veiled gift, but I just wasn't feeling it today. He let me leave, as always without a goodbye, the pig. (How the lovely and kind Snow White managed to fall in love with that troll, I'll never understand.)

The cooling evening air was good for me however, giving me time to cool off mentally and physically.

My quote on quote "sweet sixteen" hadn't gone that well.

My day began like you might think, with that feeling of Saturday sunshine and birds singing in the trees. But the apartment soon seemed lonely, accounting to the fact that no one else was home. My mother, father, Daphne, and Granny had all been gone for about a week and a half on a mission that involved coming in contact with many powerful magical items. For obvious reasons, they left me to hold down the home fort. Even Basil, too young to stay alone for too long (as I was gone most of the time at school), was sent away to stay with Cinderella and Tom.

Of course, that did seem a bit convenient, and I wondered if they all thought that I wanted to spend some time alone. (Perhaps because I would sometimes tell them all to 'just leave me alone' when I was in one of my angry moods.) It had been nice at first, but a sad*stic part of myself started to miss stepping on every stray Lego that Basil would leave about.

For once, however, I'd been optimistic, as I had plans to spend most of the day with three of my close friends from school. They didn't even know that it was my birthday because it wasn't exactly something that I broadcasted to everybody. This was accompanied by the fact that the day previous, Friday, had been another friend's birthday. I had been content to stay quiet and celebrate for them, because really, it would seem childish if I tried to put my birthday up like some banner in front of hers.

I spent my morning in peace, trying to pretend that I wasn't sick of the emptiness by now. Then, an hour before my friends were supposed to arrive, I got a call from one of them apologizing that they were feeling too sick to walk. My optimism was still in full force, but once the second called in to say that they were grounded for staying out late, it began to wilt. Then, because the Universe hates me, the last also called with an excuse.

No wonder I'm never optimistic.

After that, since I was dressed and ready, I still went out to walk aimlessly around New York. This, as it turned out, was a mistake as after half an hour, a homeless man started to follow me around talking gibberish about fairies in the sewers. (I mean, honestly, they live in the park, for goodness sake.) It took me another quarter of an hour to lose my tail, and by that time I decided that staying inside would be a better idea. After that fiasco, I didn't do much other than prepare for my fighting lesson.

For the past year, after deciding that I didn't trust my safety, I started learning how to fight from Snow and William Charming. Snow had been the one to offer their services when I had offhandedly mentioned my concerns to her. At first the drag of sitting in uncomfortable stances and punching the air over and over was boring as all else, but after sticking with it for a few weeks, they finally geared me out and slowly weaned me into free fighting. It turned out to be exhilarating-I was hooked before I even knew what hit me.

Snow clapped for me the first time I 'won', and when I proved fatal to Charming he gave me a compliment that wasn't covered in countless layers of sarcasm.

I was more often than not taught by only one of them at a time because the two had extremely differing thoughts on fighting. Snow was all about doing whatever you needed to survive a fight, and Charming held steadfastly to fighting with honor. I can still remember him walking in once when Snow and I had wrestled to the floor and I was pulling her hair to get her to give in. Even better was his face when Snow praised me for my quick thinking. ("But your beautiful ebony hair!" he had cried, running his fingers through her silky locks. Snow had responded with a flat voice, "So are you saying that all I'm good for is my hair?")

The one problem with learning from them was that they lived in Ferryport and I lived in New York City most of the time. Thus, I was lent a tele-orb, a very simple magic ball that could take one person to and from very specific areas. One side was set to a remote alley nearby our apartment and the other side was set to the area beside Granny Relda's house. We had to be careful where we put the portals as we wouldn't want anyone to die of fright because somebody suddenly appeared or disappeared, but it also wouldn't be good to put them in our houses in the case that someone stole the orb.

At about 5:45 I had locked up the apartment and went with my equipment to the alleyway, checking carefully for any random undesirables who might be lurking around. After deeming it safe, I used the orb to travel to Ferryport with the same strange feeling of getting all of your matter blinked into another location. I had been optimistic then, (oh, hadn't I learned anything?) because my fighting lessons were always a good way to brighten my day.

In the present time, I dragged my feet as I approached Relda's house. Mechanically, I pulled out the orb. It was a lucky find, as the magic was so simple that even I could use it without any adverse effects. I traveled back to New York City and got back to my family's apartment without a hitch, but I paused when I found that the door was already unlocked. I opened the door carefully and peered into the opening room, spotting a figure in the kitchen. They must have sensed the door opening, but my fears were alleviated when the figure called out, "Sabrina? Is that you?"

"Mom?" I called back, kicking off my shoes, trying to keep my voice from sounding too excited.

"In here!"

I ran into the kitchen and met my mother in a hug. I could instantly discern the tension in her muscles and I could practically feel fatigue coming off of her in waves.

Despite this, I couldn't help but smile.

"How are you home early mom? Is it just you?"

My mother spoke tiredly. "We found the artifacts that we were looking for and Relda and I decided to come back home so that I could pick up Basil. He doesn't like being away from us."

I felt hot, raw irony building in my throat.

"So when is everyone else coming back?"

Instead of answering, my mother waved her hand dismissively and said, "I'll tell you all about it later. Right now I need to sleep, I've been up for a long time."

My smile inexorably fell.

"But mom it's my..." I cut myself off to see if she would fill in the blank. She just stared back blankly, eyes blurry.

"Never mind." I muttered, and I abruptly clamped my mouth shut and turned on my heel to the staircase. My mind promptly turned aloof as I walked up the stairs, throat burning. So what? She didn't remember-she was busy and tired.

It'll just be one crummy birthday of thousands, considering my immortality.

What about turning sixteen even means that much anyways? Sure most kids are opened up to getting a license, but with all of the activities that I'd been pursuing, there hadn't been much time for me to learn anything in the way of driving. (Not to mention that flying magic carpet rides are way faster and require less skill.)

So what gives? It's not really much more than a marker for my physical growth-something that I did everyday.

And yet my heart still felt heavy with an emotion that manifested as anger.

By the time I got to my room, I was steaming. Thus, it took me a while to notice the discrepancy, as I was too busy putting my gear away in a red haze-viciously mentally lashing out at anything that I could think of to blame.

What had I done, huh, Universe? When did I offend you so badly Lady Luck? Was it when I asked for a normal life where people remembered simple events like the anniversary of my birth? Heaven knows that if we missed something for Daphne or Basil that no one would stand for it.

Part of me knew that I was being extremely dramatic, but the louder part of my mind didn't care.

When people saw me like this, they all told me the same thing, 'Just calm down, it's just your raging teenage hormones.' Ouch. Just because I'm a teenager doesn't make my feelings any less real. In fact, it made them more real, more intense.

I'm not an adult yet, part of me wailed, I'm still trying to figure this stuff out.

Couldn't my family and Charming understand that?

I huffed and sat heavily on the floor, crossing my arms across my chest. It was then that I finally noticed the little parcel out of the corner of my eye. I slowly rose and examined the fancy plastic bag. Inside about half a dozen snickerdoodles glittered with sugar and sparked with cinnamon.

I picked up the bag to get a closer look, turning it over and over, looking for some sort of indication of who had made them. There wasn't any telltale card, but for some things in life, you don't need an explanation-you just know. My stomach did this funny little flip, overturning the cage of butterflies and setting them lose to wreck havoc.

Puck. This stunt just reeked of Puck. (Not literally, as Uncle Jack had made him swear an oath to bathing or no traveling.)

Foolishly, I glanced around my room as if he was still there. Nothing; I was all alone with my pounding cardiovascular muscle. I stood in silence for a few moments more.

As suddenly as the reprieve from my anger had come, it all rushed back, and I strode over to my window and pulled it all of the way open.

Our apartment is on the top floor of our building which gives you easy access to the roof along with a great view of the city, but I wasn't in the mood for sightseeing.

I stuck my head and most of my upper torso out of the opening and looked to both sides and towards the ground. With another pang of disappointment, I leaned forwards to throw the offending gift away-hoping that I'd get some satisfaction watching it burst apart on the ground. Serves him right for not even coming to meet me in person.

Stupid Everafter, I'll show you how much you mean to me.

However, before I could, I was suddenly lifted out of my window by my arms with a jolt in my stomach, the sound of barely contained laughter echoing around me.

My breath was forcibly stolen from my chest, and all I could do for a second was process what had happened.

Oh. I thought dizzily, you didn't look up, Sabrina.

"Puck!" I yelled, after I regained my senses, struggling in his grasp. I craned my neck to see his pompous face.

He let go of one of my arms to salute me with a roguish grin, letting me dangle precariously from only one of his hands.

"How are you doing, Stinky?"

"This isn't funny, Puck. Get me down!"

"Well, milady, your wish is my command. And I don't disappoint!"

He let go of me and I let out a startled shout that was muffled by the fact that I knew it was coming from the second I spoke the word 'down'.

Puck lead me on with this falling routine for a couple of frantic heartbeats before he dived down and caught me in a maiden hold. I let out a groan, my injured back protesting. Puck, on the other hand, was still laughing like this was all good fun. I let out another groan, clutching his neck to steady myself.

"Have I ever told you how much I hate you?"

He smiled cheekily, "Maybe once or twice."

I glanced down at the buildings below us and quickly lost track of where we were.

"Puck!" I roared over the freezing wind, "Where are you taking me?"

Puck didn't say a single word in answer, he just looked down at me and smirked before setting his eyes on the sky once again.

Realizing that I was in for a ride to wherever Puck was taking me, I huddled as close as I could to his chest, the wind whipping my hair. Perhaps this is why fairies have a resistance to the cold-for I, on the other hand, as a poor human, was shivering.

After another minute or two, Puck slowed and I took my head off of his shoulder, trying to figure out where he was going to land. I blinked, confused, as we were still far from the ground. He angled himself to land on a building that stuck out above all of the rest around it. I squinted at it. From this high up, it looked like a green smudge amongst the grays.

When he lighted down, placing me down on my feet, I realized that I still had the parcel of cookies; clenched in my hand as if I had never really wanted to get rid of it.

I took in the surrounding area, a bit mystified. Where concrete should've been under my bare feet, there was thick grass and wild flowers, and around the perimeter, hedges lined the roof. It was easily recognizable as one of those 'go green' rooftop gardens-just more geared to a rural backyard instead of growing food. Puck noticed my admiration and spread out his arms, gesturing to the space.

"Nice, huh? With all those Everafters getting new jobs-and as some of them are pretty successful at it-Faerie now owns this building. I asked if they could turn this roof into a field. Maybe someday start a garden." He grinned self-indulgently, "Quite the revolutionary idea, don't you think?"

He managed to make me snicker in that moment at his expense, but I decided to leave his precious ego at peace. Instead I focused on my surroundings.

"It's so serene." I breathed, inhaling to get a lungful of the air that smelled sweet and thick with the scent of exotic flowers. "It's amazing."

It was one of those places that made you forget that just a few stories down, urbanization was in full swing.

He picked a delicate blue flower out of the grass and twirled it around with his fingers. He then nodded in a agreement with my statement and said, "When it's so high up, you can't even hear the cars. Good for the soul or something."

Puck was quiet for a few seconds before he added nonchalantly, throwing me the flower, "Happy birthday, Grimm."

I caught the bloom deftly, speechless for a moment.

He remembered.

Well, that much was obvious because of the cookies, but him saying it made me unbelievably happy.

Surprising even myself, I threw my arms around his neck. And because I felt so giddy, I kissed him soundly on the cheek.

"Thank you, Puck. It means a lot."

As soon as I moved off of him, he made a big show of vigorously rubbing his cheek like I'd marked him or something. With his face turning steadily redder, he mumbled a 'you're welcome'. I covered my mouth with a hand to hide my giggles. Making Puck blush was still one of my favorite things, it seemed.

"Yeah, well," he said, clearing his throat, "You seemed lonely." His teasing didn't match his eyes that were full of empathy-an unfamiliar emotion to see in him.

But then again, loneliness seemed to be something that Puck had always known, following him like his own personal shadow. The epiphany hit me like a whole ton of bricks. No wonder he did so much to get attention. After I processed his words, however, I frowned for a moment.

"Wait, how would you know that?" I asked, sure that I hadn't seen him for months.

"I was going through the city around the same time you were out." he explained, bringing to mind my solitary stroll.

"Why didn't you come over to see me then, pus-brain?" I said, punching his shoulder junction lightly, annoyed but still reeling from my revelation about his personality. He held his hands up in a calming gesture.

"I was actually in a hurry-not to mention being escorted by a pair of the coolest goblins, you wouldn't believe how many disgusting places they've been! Like the bottom of an eternal dumpster-" he cut himself off, noticing the estranged look I was giving him. He cleared his throat and finished his original thought, "Yeah, anyways, just passing through. Oh! Also, this funky homeless dude started to tag along and kept muttering 'fairy boy' at me. People were starting to give me weird looks."

"You too?" I gasped, and we both cracked up at the thought of the crazy beggar.

"So," I said, wiping away a stray tear, "What brings you to the city then, if not to harass me?"

Puck's smile turned into a brooding expression and he sat heavily onto the ground. I joined him after a moment of hesitation.

"It's my mother. She's been wanting me to visit. Especially once she learned that I would turn sixteen physically soon."

I got a sharp stab of guilt.

"Wait, when is your birthday? Did we miss it?"

Puck looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable.

"No. Everafters don't really have birthdays because the calendars change for you mortals so much. We only really keep track of the years."

I knitted my eyebrows together and inquired of him, "So then how would you know if you're going to turn sixteen soon?"

Puck assumed a strange satirical countenance to cover his discomfort.

"Put it together, horseface." He flicked me on the forehead much to my chagrin. "I'm aging with you now. Today is my birthday because of you."

A blush spread across my cheeks. "Oh. I guess that'd be true... Happy birthday then." My statement came out more like a question.

He just snorted in response, picking at the grass. I observed him and I felt a spark of electricity under my skin. It had barely occurred to me before, but Puck had been aging still. In fact, although I hadn't thought about it, when we were standing, he had had a couple of inches on me.

When did that happen?

"I've missed you." I suddenly blurted out.

Puck gave me a sidelong look that guaranteed that he didn't miss my sudden change of subject, but his following smirk promised that he didn't mind.

"Obviously. You should've seen your face when you thought I wasn't going to appear. Hi-larious."

"Ha ha." I shoved his arm, embarrassed. "You sad*st. You live to torment me, don't you?"

He grinned lazily, "Guilty as charged."

Wanting to get away from the warm feeling that his smile gave me, I took out the parcel of cookies and set them on my lap.

"So," I gave him a languid smile to match his own, "Cookies now?"

"I bought those." he said quickly, the tips of his pointy ears turning red.

I laughed heartily, "As if."

He huffed, "Fine, fine. The kitchens are the last place that mother would ever look for me, alright? She's such a pain." He made his voice go high pitched and irritated to imitate Titania, "'Puck, you need to try on this robe,' and 'Puck go get a haircut. It's a mess.'" I bit my lip to keep from laughing too hard at this.

He paused for a breath, then added, "And also I knew it was your birthday so...so I did something, something..." He looked sick, as if saying the word 'kind' would brand him.

I shook my head good-naturedly, finding that I wasn't in the mood to beguile him into saying it. If he wanted to cling to his immaturity, who was I to tell him to grow up? Maybe we all spent too much time telling people to grow up when we should be telling them to enjoy their young years while they have them. Heaven knows that I would do anything to have those years of innocence back.

"Any particular reason for snickerdoodles?" I asked conversationally, opening the plastic and getting wreathed with a sweet, sugary scent. I picked one out and admired the heat cracks in the top before taking a bite. It tasted heavenly. All sweet with the salty touch of butter topped off with that spicy tang of cinnamon, I let myself take small bites, savoring the flavor and the way it broke apart in my mouth.

Puck shrugged at my question, plucking the blue flower from my grasp.

"Not really," he said as he leaned in close to put the flower behind my ear, brushing my hair behind my shoulder thoughtlessly. "I just thought that the name was funny. Also they it just felt right, I guess."

With that comment, so simply and so undeniably Puck, I couldn't help but smile at him. He tentatively smiled back, giving my shoulder a squeeze. Then, because Puck's mind never was able to stay in one place-especially when that place is kind or serious-his face fell into confusion and he began to prod at my arm. For the moment, I was just as confused as him.

"Um, why-?"

"When," he started, trying to poke my arm again, but missing because I moved it out of the way, "When in the world did you get muscles?"

I stared at him like he had grown a second vestigial head.

"Excuse me?"

"No seriously," he said, sounding truly and honestly puzzled.

I rubbed my arm where he had struck a sore spot. "I guess it would probably be around the same time I started learning to fight."

He gaped at me, blinking.

"You're learning to fight?"

"Well," I said, feeling self-conscious, "My family doesn't have a great track record for staying out of trouble."

He rubbed the back of his neck and said uncomfortably, "That's...that's interesting."

I gave him a withering look before turning away and growled defensively, "I'm not going to stop just because you don't approve."

He waved his arms, backtracking. "No, no! I think that it's a good thing. Guess you're finding out how much better it is to save yourself, huh?"

I looked back at him carefully. He looked almost upset. But that didn't make any sense.

"As if," I sniffed, carefully brushing his comment off to see how he would react, "Mostly I just get beat up by Charming. Or worse, Snow."

He laughed a little too hard at this but then took on a comical musing look, a fist under his chin.

"Hm. At least now you should know how to make a proper fist."

He ducked at just the right moment to dodge my punch. He chuckled lightly, catching my hand at the wrist. He examined my form, looking pleased.

"See? Very pretty." I couldn't help but notice that he looked up to meet my eyes when he said this. Like a switch was hit, I started to feel my heart in my wrists, and I was certain he could too. I swallowed, pulling my gaze away.

"I'm glad that you're learning." he reaffirmed out of nowhere. I turned my eyes back.

"Yeah. Me too. It makes me feel better...more empowered."

He nodded. "Good." He then rose to his feet, stretching. I watched him for a moment, appreciating this strange boy and all that he had done for me.

"We should get you home," he said, extending his hand to help me up, green eyes bright. I took it, and in one fluid movement he picked me up bridal style. He got a thoughtful look on his face.

"I hope I can remember how to get to your apartment."

I glared at him until his face cracked into a grin.

"Kidding! Honestly, when will you learn not to take me seriously, Grimm?"

"Maybe when you learn how to be serious." I muttered as he took flight.

In an all too short amount of time, I was already back in my room, yelling goodbye to the fading form of Puck. I stayed at my sill a bit too long for someone who was only bidding a friend farewell. I finally turned and deposited the cookies on my nightstand. Still full of that heady feeling that being with Puck gave me, I went down the stairs to get a glass of water.

When I came into the kitchen, I was surprised by my mother crushing me in a hug.

"I was so worried!" she exclaimed before I could ask what was wrong. She brushed a lock a hair from my face, examining me closely. "I went to go check on you, but you weren't there, and-where were you?"

I hugged her as a placating action and pulled back.

"Mom, it's alright. I was just on the roof." Technically true. I saw her gaze sweep over my hair, and if she saw the flower, she didn't mention it.

"I'm glad that you're okay. I just came to say that I was sorry. I completely forgot that it was your birthday today because of all of the craziness. I promise that we'll have a proper celebration once everyone gets back. I promise."

I smiled and hugged my mother once again, telling her that she should go rest-thanking her and saying that I'd be fine for the night and would just be sleeping.

My mother yawned and smiled gratefully at me.

"You've been so good even though you haven't needed to be."

Her praise warmed me to my core.

"Did you have a good birthday?" she asked, smoothing back my hair.

I hesitated for only a moment before I smiled and honestly answered back, "I did, one of the best."

.-.-.-.

Chapter 4: Velvet Lining

Chapter Text

Puck was a character of action, that much was apparent to Sabrina. He went into fights with his sword unsheathed and his tongue sharp as flint. Honestly, Sabrina often wondered if he ever thought anything through before he did them.

It was obvious that he didn't operate around mind games and mental trickery.

So then how in the world was he able to so easily get into her thoughts and rearrange everything as he saw fit?

Even worse, his sins went further than that-he didn't just invade her mind but her actions as well. He made her angry just by smirking in her direction, made her want to scratch and punch just because he would look away.

He was absolutely snug against her skin, and not planning on leaving anytime soon. When did she invite him?

It was troubling that she couldn't figure him out because it did not fit with her twelve-year-old view that Puck was just a simple-minded creature that she could easily navigate around. Now, however, at seventeen, he was giving her more problems and heart ache than ever. It was troubling that she couldn't figure out why she always had to fight from letting him closer while he could sometimes seem so in control. It did not fit that she was the one who didn't know what she was doing.

Because the boy using her as a pillow knew exactly what he was doing. When he teased her, when he left but came back-

And she hated it.

Sabrina let out a long-suffering sigh as she absentmindedly ran her fingers through his wild hair. The movement threatened to split the barely sealed skin over her knuckles.

How did he manage to get himself into this state? Why couldn't he stay out of trouble? Why did she let herself care so much about his well being?

From somewhere deep within the house, something creaked and sighed. Puck shifted in his sleep, eyebrows creasing. Sabrina glanced nervously to the door, feeling stretched thin over which situation would be worse: Puck's waking, or her family suddenly making an appearance.

She was supposed to move now, supposed to move off of the couch with a groan, mumbling to herself that he was a vexatious courtier, and return the place in her emotions that was familiar and deathly cold: denial.

She was supposed to get up and take care of her own pain: wrap her knuckles, assess bruises. Watch out for rouge magical creatures.

But one does not simply move when the love of their life is resting on their lap.

Sabrina didn't even have the energy to mentally reprimand herself, finding that these past five to six years that she'd know him had all simply been the slow process of resignation to her fate.

You're too young to be in love, had been the war cry of many-including herself-as to why she couldn't possibly care for him that much. And perhaps, she mused, she did not love him, but if there was a gray area between being infatuated and being in love, Sabrina most certainly fell into that shrouded category.

She had once compared her attraction to him as being near a cliff side; one that she felt no pull to, her mind for a while content to let sleeping dogs lie. But surely, her curiosity had lead her too close-now that brink of the cliff that had seemed inexorably far away was now intoxicating close, and now, close enough to look down, she realized that in the black abyss Puck was flying lazily, grinning at her with eyes that had never lied or softened any blows about all of her shortcomings. Eyes that, despite this, still held allure and affection for her. There he was, ready to save her when (nonono-if) she jumped.

Just as he always had.

She traced one finger around a bruise that had bloomed on his bare shoulder. This fool, this fae who always seemed to think that he was indestructible, had finally found a situation where it was she who had to save him. It was a strange feeling, and Sabrina suddenly understood why he always complained, albeit jokingly, about how much he hated saving her. Saving him left her with this weird feeling in her chest, like she couldn't breathe because she was worried that he would somehow get in trouble again if he wasn't in her watchful care. It made her lungs hurt-her heart-her sword arm. Is that what it feels like to truly and wholly care about someone more than one's self?

Was this how he felt about her?

Her tortured mind couldn't help but be enticed by that idea. If he did indeed feel that fear for her safety, why couldn't he out and say it? Was he afraid of others seeing how much he cared? Maybe he truly felt that if he stopped his routine of bravo and false villainy that he would lose his sense of self.

After all, if it was hard enough for a thirty-year-old mortal to change habits, then how much harder must it be to change the habits of thousands of years?

Regardless if he felt how she did as a hero, she recognized that something in her heart was forever changed towards him.

She was most surprised by how little she had known about how deeply her care for him ran. Seeing him hurt and more or less defenseless had awakened a protective demon inside of her and-Almighty above-she had never felt that way about anyone. Well, perhaps for her darling sister Daphne, but Daphne was smart enough (not to mention not nearly as impulsive as she or Puck) to keep herself out of truly dangerous situations without solid backup.

She looked down at Puck and let her eyes trace down his bare and bandaged torso. She wasn't an expert, but she was sure that he'd broken at least two ribs along with all of the lacerations that twisted up and down his body.

Her eyes trailed up to his untouched face that no longer matched the rest of his wounded flesh. His cheeks looked like they were carved from his face, from both growing and constant exercise (AKA running from various monsters and other things that call for blood). He had crinkles around his finely shaped eyes from laughing almost incessantly, even in the face of danger. And there, his collar bones swept the curve of his chest and-

He was so heart achingly beautiful.

Sometimes she wondered if she was turning soft, but, oh yes, in the world outside of her harshly guarded mind, she would still snarl and bite at anyone who got too close to her secrets, most notably the perpetrator of her grief: that lowlife in her lap, Puck.

Sabrina shook her head to clear it, pushing the heels of her hands into her eyes. She could just imagine what everyone would think if they came in now, all alone in Granny's house with her shirtless crush passed out on her lap while she was practically consuming him with her gaze.

Henry would have her head if he knew...well, Puck's head actually, regardless of the fact that she was the one who had put them in their current position.

Puck started shifting again, and Sabrina was sure that this time he would come back to his consciousness. With a jolt, she realized that of the two aforementioned evils, Puck waking was what scared her more. Terror worse than the fear created by the beast who had injured him gripped her heart.

With the decision already made for her, she gently eased herself off of the couch, taking special care to keep his head from being jostled.

She let out a small sigh of relief once she was standing on her own two feet, no longer subject to any incrimination for her previous actions. The sun slanted through the window as it set, highlighting her almost-adult-but-not-quite face, causing her eyes to narrow.

From this vantage point, she could easily see everyplace where she'd bound his harrowed wounds. Her narrowed gaze turned into a full out glare.

"Fool," she muttered.

She wanted to leave, she really did, but instead she found herself kneeling before his face one more time. Then, with an infinite tenderness that she didn't know that she possessed, she brushed her lips on his forehead and ran from the scene of her confusion and fear.

.-.-.-.

The mess all began when Sabrina decided to do something nice for Granny Relda.

Guess that's what I get, she thought wryly, for doing nice things for people.

She'd just risen from bed and her newly updated journal entries, as she hadn't been taking enough time on them lately. She'd then gotten dressed for a regular day (jeans, t-shirt, reliable short sword) when her aging grandma asked her for her assistance.

"Sabrina, liebling, I could use your help."

Sabrina looked up from her late lunch of exotic spotted leopard greens and quail eggs to see Relda fussing with her apron.

"Sure, Granny. What's up?"

The old woman looked strangely upset, moving to wring her hands.

"Well, I'm supposed to bring a set of enchanted bridles to the equestrian stables across town, but I'm afraid I have to meet with Bo Peep in just a small while, and, well, I'd usually do it, but I've gotten...it's just harder for me to get to all of the places that I need to as of late." She put an end to her words, not adding the part that Sabrina could easily assume.

Relda Grimm was getting old.

It was obvious in how her cheeks looked less rosy these days, and her hair had transitioned from gray to a snowy white in most places. Capable hands fumbled with the simplest of tasks, and her skin was taking on a papery quality that worried Sabrina infinitely. Even though Relda got the chance that explorers and Kings alike had searched ages for, the chance to live forever, the woman had decided to keep aging so that she could once again join her eternal love, Basil.

Despite the sadness that this caused Sabrina, she couldn't help but think fondly that only her granny would admit that she was too ancient to run across town, but believe that she still wasn't too old to get into a new mystery. (Even if said mystery was just where one of Bo's prized sheep got off to.)

"I don't mean to cause you any trouble, I know that you were all planning that excursion..."

Her grandma was referring to the tour of town that her parents and her siblings were planning to take around the new renovations of Ferryport Landing. Unlike Sabrina who had traveled to the expanding town every week, the others hadn't been around for years, effectively missing all that was happening to the sleepy outpost.

"Nah, don't worry. It shouldn't take me that long."

Relda gave her a relieved smile and a pat on the cheek.

"Oh, Sabrina, thank you."

The girl gave her grandma a grin as the woman grabbed her purse and started rifling through it, on the lookout for the bridles. As Sabrina watched, her expression fell into a frown at the sight of how much her granny's hands shook. When Relda produced the needed item with a satisfied look, she turned back to Sabrina who was frantically trying to revert her face back to a carefree one.

"Hey, um," she began, giving a false smile, "I could take care of Bo Peep too for you. You could take my place with the rest of the family, show them stuff that you remember about everything."

Relda was already shaking her head, as the girl had expected.

"My, my, no. I couldn't ask that of you, I don't mind working while all of you go out."

Sabrina forced the smile wider, lying through her teeth, keeping up the guise of the unconcerned grandchild.

"Oh, it's no trouble. You guys have fun, I'll be here to meet with Jake, Puck, Red, and Tobias tomorrow. I wasn't planning on staying to see that movie afterwards anyway." she said, tone airy.

Relda didn't look completely convinced, and Sabrina laughed breezily while grabbing the bridles from Relda's hands.

"Don't worry. They'll love having you. You'll get time with..." her throat tightened in a way that contradicted her easy words, "Time with Basil."

Relda still looked unsure, and she spoke slowly, "Only if this is what you want, liebling."

"Yes," she said firmly, already on her way to the door while grabbing a backpack from a coat hook, "Tell them that I'll join you if I can, but you know how Bo Peep is."

Sabrina felt a small pang of disappointment in her chest despite her reassurances. She had been planning to escort her family while retelling dramatic stories of hasty escapes with Daphne to Basil. However, she swallowed that feeling and gave her hopeful granny a smile as she stuffed the bridles into the bag, swinging it over her shoulder.

"See you later!" she called, exiting.

Committing to her tasks, Sabrina grabbed one of the spare bikes from the garage and started in the direction of Bo Peep's house. It didn't take her very long, and soon she was knocking on the door of the shepherdess.

The woman was very distressed, weeping for her prized striped sheep. After Sabrina calmed her enough so that she could speak coherently Bo Peep was nice enough, and she pointed out where she thought her sheep went. Even with her good intentions, she sent Sabrina on a wild goose (well, sheep) chase, as every time she came back to tell her that her sheep wasn't anywhere to be found, Bo Peep changed the direction which she remembered her sheep running off to.

Finally, Sabrina stumbled upon the sheep sniffing around Geppetto's old toy shop. By then, the girl was too tired to get mad at it and hauled the fluffy mammal back to Bo Peep.

To her credit, the woman was very grateful and gave Sabrina a bar of sheep scented soap. And to Sabrina's credit, she waited until she was a polite distance from the house before she tossed it into a random field.

Now well into the afternoon, Sabrina boarded her bike and peddled to the stables as fast as she could get her legs to take her through the rural underbelly of Ferryport. Before long she came upon a large hill and with barely any hesitation, she flew down the decline, basking in the freedom of it all. She rarely rode any kind of bicycle in New York if ever. Considering the bad traffic and even worse drivers, walking was generally safer.

Near the bottom, she let out a whoop of joy, laughing as the wind swept her hair into impossible knots. As the back road flattened out, she let herself get caught up in the feeling of independence-

"Grimm? What're you doing?"

She barely held in a shriek when she heard the familiar voice, her bike swerving, almost taking her to the ground. She only needed one hasty look up to confirm her theory as she balanced herself.

"Puck! Maybe a warning next time?" she gasped, straightening her path. The fairy snorted while lying on his back in the air and folded his arms as his wings let him easily keep up with the speed of the bike.

"That was my warning."

Sabrina gritted her teeth and withheld a growl, trying in vain to ride fast enough to outpace the annoying fairy.

"What are you even doing here?" Sabrina panted, looking ahead to make sure that she was still on course.

Puck shrugged like his appearance wasn't a big deal.

"Jake and I got here a little early for the reunion. When we saw that the house was empty, we couldn't get a hold of any of you. I got bored and went looking for you guys."

"Well," Sabrina muttered, "you found the wrong person. I'm working."

He said chuckled incredulously, "Ha, as if. You want me to believe that giggling down a hill is work?"

Sabrina couldn't help the smirk that came to her face.

"Yes. In fact," she said snidely, "I've just arrived."

Before he could figure out what she meant, Sabrina hit her brakes to slow down as quickly as humanly possible without throwing herself off.

Puck, who was still flying at full speed and not expecting the sudden change in velocity, shot past her and ran into the wooden wall of the stables. The boy let out a groan as he picked himself up, and he glared full force at Sabrina while she failed to hold back a laugh.

"Alright," she said, calming, "Wanna come with me? I have to give them these enchanted bridles." she patted her backpack to indicate where they were.

He let out a large sigh and rolled his shoulders and muttered, "Sure, sure. Just gloss over trying to kill me." He grumbled something else to himself but then looked up. "Let's get this over with."

With that, the pair walked into the opening of the stables and made their way over to the small shack that served as the business office. Puck was the first one to notice that something was wrong.

"It's so...quiet," he said apprehensively, glancing from side to side, "and what's up with the horses?"

Sure enough, the horses all looked anxious, their eyes nervous while their shuffling back hooves kicked up little clouds of dust.

Sabrina shrugged noncommittally and they both stayed silent as they went deeper into the compound.

It was Sabrina who noticed the danger first.

"Hey-!" Puck tried to get out as Sabrina pulled them down behind a stack of corn sacks, covering his mouth.

"Shh! There's something over there!"

The two took a cautious look around the barrier to observe a large winged creature as it submerged its head in a bag of horse feed.

"Why's it eating horse feed? It has a bird head," Puck noted, puzzled, obviously not worried about being in any kind of danger as he tried to rise up and get a better look. Sabrina pulled him back down to safety.

The girl rolled her eyes while shushing yet another protest, wondering how he'd managed to make it four thousand years. She answered quietly, "Because it's part horse. See those back legs? It's a hippogriff."

The hippogriff was truly a beautiful creature, Sabrina couldn't help but admire it. The bird half was the rustic rusty-brown feathers and head of a golden eagle, and its back was the hindquarters of a sturdy Clydesdale.

Puck actually scratched his head, "A bird and a horse? How does that even work?"

She gave him a deadpan look.

"You're a winged boy that can turn into any animal on a whim and you breathe fire. Do you really think that this is the weirdest thing the world has to offer?"

The look on his face said that, yes, this was much, much, stranger.

Sabrina fought the urge to physically face palm and assessed the situation.

"I think we should go find someone who can handle this thing. The owner's are obviously gone, so the bridles will have to wait for another day." she intoned, watching the creature carefully as it let out a few small shrieks in between bites.

Puck looked like he was going to protest missing the action, but within a stable holding a panicked fox trotter, the horse got spooked by the new noises that the hippogriff was making. With a loud whiny, it hit its body into the wall in an attempt to escape that only served to knock over the corn bags that were leaning against it.

The hippogriff turned to investigate the racket just as the grain bags fell over, revealing the two teenagers. The trio could only stare at each other for a moment, considering one another. The bird took all of two seconds to decide that it hated them. It flared open its wings and screeched, rearing up.

Puck looked like he was about to do the same, but Sabrina grabbed his arm and shook him.

"Come on! We need to get out of here. Can you outfly that thing?"

Puck scoffed, wasting precious time to get away from the charging animal, "Of course. Who do you think I am?"

"Then do it!" Sabrina cried, terror playing gymnastics in her belly as she watched the beast get closer, "Puck!"

At what seemed to be the last possible moment, the fairy extended his wings and plucked Sabrina off of the earth under her arms.

Disoriented, Sabrina looked down to the ground and caught the genuinely surprised look on the hippogriff's face (beak?). Obviously, it had never had prey do that before. However, the surprise rapidly made way for rage, and it took off after them.

The boy let out a gleeful little laugh as they zipped through the sky, "You call this work? This is awesome!"

"Speak for yourself," Sabrina moaned, gut churning sickly as she watched how easily the hippogriff was gaining on them. Puck turned and noticed this as well, and his eyes got comically wide. He sped up appropriately, but all too soon he was dodging a razor sharp pair a talons. Once it tried to get at Sabrina, but she kicked it roughly on the head, eliciting a loud braying noise.

"We've got to land!" he yelled, barely swerving far enough to the right to avoid getting skewered by its beak, "I can't fight with-" His voice was cut off with a yelp as the bird scratched at his shoulders and upper back.

"Puck!" Sabrina shouted as they lost altitude, mind split between worry for herself and worry for the boy.

"Ugh," he hissed, his grip tight on her arms as he forced his wings to function once more, "That sucks. Note to self: don't get cut up by a hippogriff."

No longer concerned with using any particular landing spot, Puck flew straight down. Sabrina caught a glimpse of the Grimm estate and made note of the direction that they would need to go for help, or at the very least, protection.

Puck placed her unceremoniously into a forest clearing before shooting up to face the beast with his trademark mischievous grin.

The fairy heckled the creature, "Hey, bird brain! Ready for a real fight?" before swooping to its backside and shifting his hands into clawed paws, swiping a vicious score of red lines done its flank. It squealed in response, chasing him around the air. Puck started to laugh, as he always felt the most alive when facing the most terrifying things in life.

Sabrina drew her short sword while keeping her eyes on the sky and cursed herself for not bringing a full length one. Perhaps it would seem like overkill to go around town with one, but knowing her luck, she should have armed herself to the teeth before leaving the house.

The two fighters disappeared for a moment before coming back into view, with Puck zipping around the confused animal.

"Ha, ha!" he hollered, "I'll clip your wings, you over-sized chicken!"

Not if he gets to yours first, Sabrina thought warily, eyeing the wicked claws on its front legs as it flailed to catch him. She was itching for the fight to come to the ground. Didn't Puck see that he could use some backup?

"Bring it down here!" she yelled, trying to herald him to the ground. The boy glanced down for a moment, but then returned to his fight. If anything, he seemed to take the fight higher into the sky.

"I don't need your help! Get out of here, Grimm!" he answered back, voice granite.

Unable to take much more of this sit-and-be-saved routine, Sabrina looked down at her surroundings for anything that she could use. Nothing looked readily apparent, just immovable trees and a few rocks.

Abruptly, Puck let out a sharp cry of pain. Sabrina's head shot up to see Puck holding one of his hands to his chest. In a moment of hesitation, he hadn't moved back far enough to fully avoid the beast's raking claws, resulting in four shallow but long gashes on his chest. Blood rained down onto the ground near Sabrina. She swallowed thickly, holding back a nauseous upheaval that rose in her stomach.

The hippogriff cawed in triumph, but it wasn't prepared for the quick way Puck grappled onto its neck and subsequently, its back. It reared and flew in circles, but Puck stayed on like a stubborn fly. Sabrina wasn't entirely sure of what he did, but within moments one of the beast's magnificent wings stopped flapping, hanging uselessly as it plummeted.

Before they hit the ground, however, it succeeded in bucking Puck off, and its back legs-the horse half with bludgeoning hooves-hit him in the ribs, smashing him into a nearby tree. Sabrina held her breath, but he didn't get back up.

Imbecile! Foolish fae! Sabrina screamed in her mind since her vocal cords didn't seem to be working, You didn't need to take this fight on alone.

The hippogriff crashed into the ground, but it was only momentarily stunned and soon regained its footing. It shook its feathered head and stalked towards Puck, reveling in the well earned defeat. Then, without warning, a chorus of stones struck its already wounded flanks. It turned to find Sabrina, chucking the nearby rocks in its direction.

Forgetting about its previous prey, the hippogriff charged towards Sabrina, knocking her flat onto the ground before she could actually formulate a plan. Towering over her, it screeched right in her face, snapping its beak near her neck. She held back a throaty scream, not accepting death. Her mind raced, calculating.

She then did the only thing she could think of on such short notice to keep the two ton force of nature from ripping open her throat: she punched it in the face.

It let out a shrill cry and stumbled back slightly, not really that hurt, but the little human girl hit hard.

She surged upwards, slashing her sword through its shoulder, muscle and flesh yielding to the metal. It shook the offended appendage and tried to attack again, but she slipped to the side and her blade flashed, leaving a tear in the hippogriff's side. It went once more, but it had lost the sphere of offense that it had had in the sky.

The girl saw an opening and cut her blade across the beast's face, hitting one of its eyes squarely. It cried out shrilly, pawing at its newly ruined eye. She stumbled back, gripping the handle with two hands. Her arms shook, but not with fatigue or pain. Sabrina Grimm was trembling with raw, hot anger. Her gaze phased to Puck for a moment before hardening on the beast.

The two met eyes at the impasse, and Sabrina saw intelligence flashing in the whole black eye of the magical creature. It knew when prey was worth too much trouble. With one last screech, it turned tail and fled into the forest, its one good wing trying to lift it from gravity's grasp.

As the sound faded into the background, the girl fell to her knees, breathing heavily. She'd shook hands with death today, and it left her bravery depleted. A few strained tears dripped off of her face as she stood back up, and she all but ran to Puck's prone body.

He didn't react when she took his pulse, but the steady beat of his heart comforted her. Sabrina made quick work of his shirt, tearing it into temporary bandages. After binding his chest the best she could, she assessed the situation and decided that neither of them wanted to be around if the hippogriff changed its mind. She wasn't entirely sure where the strength came from, but she hefted him onto her back and shoulders, starting for home. Perhaps moving him wasn't the best idea, but she didn't know what else to do; she couldn't very well leave him out in the open for any stray forest animal to come across!

Sabrina was a shaky mess by the time she finally got him to the Ferryport house.

(And could you blame her? Covered in her beloved's blood and with her vision clouded with alternate endings to her fight.)

With muscles that would certainly ache later, she deposited Puck onto the living room couch, wincing at the thought of how hard it would be to get blood out of the fabric.

Her mind was drawing blank, but she forced herself to make a list for herself: find a first aid kit, call family, and take a shower. Easy enough.

While in shock. Sure.

After locating the first aid kit, she tried to find a phone before remembering that when they made the new house, they didn't install a land line. She got so frustrated she actually stomped her foot down. She had accidentally left her cell phone in New York. Jake, who had been with Puck at the house supposedly, was missing as well.

Deciding that the lack of support from the rest of her family couldn't be helped, she went to tend to Puck by herself. After propping his unconscious form up and removing his ruined shirt, she used a wet towel to sponge off his skin. To her relief, it looked much worse then it really was. The only gashes that she worried about were the ones on his shoulders. She wasn't sure, but she thought that he might need stitches. If Everafters even got stitches. She then wiped the wounds down with antibacterial cloths. If there was one upside to working on an unconscious patient, it was that they didn't react to the unfortunate stinging sensation of the cleaning wipes.

Once that was done, she pulled out a large roll of gauze and used it to bind the cuts properly. Sabrina found that once the raw cuts were covered in the sterile white, everything seemed a lot more manageable. Sure, he still looked weak and pale, but he seemed to breath easier.

Sabrina picked herself up and climbed the stairs for her promised shower. At first the warm water was pure bliss, but within a few seconds, the image of Puck getting his wings ripped out hit her like a hay maker to her lungs. She tried to ignore it, but a paranoid part of her brain refused to let up on her. Soon she wasn't able to take it and she left her shower, if you can call that three minute dowsing a shower, and changed into a clean set of clothes. She tripped down the stairs in her haste and fixed her wild gaze on the source of her worry.

Puck was sitting up now, looking groggy.

"Sabrina?" he said sluggishly, narrowing his eyes at her like he was having problems focusing on her. The girl in question smoothed down her dripping hair and walked over to him calmly like she hadn't just been freaking out.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, and sat on the couch next to him, suddenly stiff. Her moment of being close to him as a healer was over. Regardless, her eyes had a mind of their own, flickering about his form, looking for any sign of pain.

"Ugh. What even happened to me? I have the worst headache in the history of headaches," he moaned, oddly shivering. Sabrina scrutinized this, knowing that he was immune to cold.

She placed her hands gently on his shoulders, tense as all else because touching him was now something dangerous.

"Hey, you need to calm down. You're in shock."

"Bleh," he slurred, swatting her hands away, "I haven't been shocked by anything since I lost a bet with Petruchio that his wife couldn't eat an entire pheasant on her own. Now there," his eyes got distant and he yawned, "was a woman who could eat. I swear the only money he has is because of her. I had to give him...thirty bags of gold..." his head drooped, and he fell into Sabrina's lap, fast asleep. All the girl could do was stare down at him, rigid as a board and unsure of how to proceed.

Sabrina thought about leaving, but that ethereal demon reared its head again, forcing her down. Finally, she relaxed her muscles and gently patted his head awkwardly like a sleeping pet. She cringed at her own actions and settled back into the sofa. Sabrina Grimm couldn't remember a time where she had felt so tired.

I just want to make sure that he doesn't move in his sleep and undo all of my hard work, she reasoned. I won't stay long...

This means nothing.

.-.-.-.

Sabrina woke with a start and nearly slugged the person who was stupid enough to shake her awake. Who ever it was stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Who do you think-"

"Shh, Stinky. You'll wake your siblings, or worse, Veronica."

The girl sat up now, all of her abused muscles protesting just as she had guessed. Her room, to which she had fled and subsequently fallen asleep in, was near pitch black.

"What do you think you're doing here?" she growled to the shadows, barely making out the outline of Puck in the weak light of the new moon.

She caught a flash of a grin in the darkness, "Good to see you, too."

Sabrina pushed herself off of her bed to a standing position and stuck her finger blindly against his chest, voice going shrill in her distress despite trying to hide it..

"Don't get all jesty with me after nearly getting yourself killed-"

Suddenly he came forward, catching an arm around her waist as he brought his lips to her ear. She tried to twist away, because she didn't like it-she didn't want him near-she wanted to go back to when everything he did wasn't something to be analyzed-and she...she could die happy if the last feeling she felt was the way he made her blood boil in her veins when he touched her.

"C'mon, dogface. Hush."

Sabrina repressed a shiver and gave him a halfhearted glare even though he couldn't see it and muttered, "I could just elbow you on one of your fractures, you know." her invisible countenance paled, "Wait a second-last time I saw I checked you were incapacitated! Speaking gibberish about shock!" she whispered fiercely.

Puck's luminous eyes shined from above her, "Your mother didn't have an all-purpose healing salve, but she did find something that helps speed up healing. And," he started, filling with mirth, "I'm an Everafter, remember? It's hard to kill me, puke-breath."

"Why are only some of the family home? When did they get here?"

He didn't respond at first, instead he found one of her hands and pulled her from her room towards the stairs.

He whispered sounding more serious, "You've been passed out for a whole day," -Sabrina let out a disgruntled noise- "Daphne, Basil, and your mother got back here right before I woke up," his voice got steadily louder as they descended to the kitchen, "You really riled them up by hiding out in your room, they looked at me to explain what happened," he flicked the kitchen light switch, "But you see, I'm not even sure what happened. One moment I was fighting a hippogriff, and the next, I was on the couch getting interrogated by Marshmallow."

Sabrina had to blink to adjust even though the light fixture was missing most of the bulbs and it resulted in only a dim illumination of the scene. Puck looked at her expectantly. She let out a tired sigh and sank into a chair at the table, knowing that she was in for one of their late-night talk sessions. He sat down next to her.

It didn't take her long to fill him in, and he was quiet until the end where he promptly rolled his eyes rudely.

"Now, let me guess, you both stopped fighting and you gave it a hug and it carried us both home."

"No," she said, too tired to be angry, "I drove it off and I carried you back here and I bandaged you up. End of story."

He snorted and let out a small laugh, "Funny, really. But there's no way..." he cut himself off when he saw the look on her face, "Wait. You're serious? Look, no offense or anything, but I've got at least twenty to thirty pounds on you-all gorgeous muscle by the way," he frowned, "No way you got me back here on your own."

"Well," she said, leaning back, eyes closed, "I did. Deal with it, fairy boy."

Neither of them spoke for a moment before Sabrina remembered that she had questions of her own.

"Why are you even up? Couldn't just wait for morning?"

Puck turned his head away from her, and his fingers started tapping incessantly on the table top, an old habit flaring up.

"They weren't going to tell you."

Sabrina's brow furrowed.

"Not tell me what?"

He faced her once more and sighed.

"So your family was on that all day outing, right?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Well, turns out there was a problem. Henry and Jake stayed back but everyone else came here."

"What problem?" Sabrina asked, voice sharp, sitting up. He was dancing around the actual point.

Puck's face looked uncomfortable as he answered, "Apparently the Old Lady slipped on some idiot's stray popcorn and she got sent to the hospital."

She covered her mouth with one hand, choking on the air that she had previously been trying to breathe into her lungs.

"Oh heavens, is she-?"

Puck snorted and shook his head.

"She's just fine, just bruised something or other. Veronica told me that the old bird will be just fine by tomorrow morning."

Sabrina let out a sigh of relief, a knot of tension melting in her chest.

"That's good to hear."

His fingers kept tapping away.

"Yeah. It was kind of scary though," he paused, backtracking, "Not for me, of course."

Sabrina took her turn to roll her eyes, "Sure, whatever. Why are you up, anyways?"

A startled jolt ran up her spine. Deja vu hit her hard. She'd said something just like that to him in this kitchen, just a handful of years ago.

"I slept most of the evening-I couldn't go back to dreamland for the life of me. And I was...a little worried about the Old Lady, so..." his voice trailed off and Sabrina saw a red blush crawl up his neck.

She co*cked her head, intrigued.

"So what?"

He shook his head like words would fail him.

"Just, I'll show you."

He rose from his chair and walked over to the fridge and brought over a large plate covered in a metal protector. Sabrina watched as he removed the top with a flourish, revealing a round cake with two slices cut out and moved to the side.

She stared at him open mouthed and confused. "When did you ever learn how to make a red velvet cake?"

His expression took on a dreamy look as well as his voice. "The internet. It's a wonderful thing."

She turned back to the lovely dessert. It looked simple but elegant, comprised of two tender red layers with pure white cream cheese frosting between them and coating the sides. The slices were a perfect cross section, and her mouth watered unwittingly.

It was a sweet confection if she'd ever seen one.

After a few seconds of looking at the splendid cake, she understood what he hadn't been able to say.

"That's so sweet," she couldn't hold back a grin. "You cook when you're stressed."

Puck's face turned redder, but he didn't deny the statement.

His face then twisted up in a strange mix of emotions.

"Look, I'm not that good at this...stuff...but I wanted to thank the Old Lady. She's...she took me under her wing when she didn't have to. All she's ever done is give and give; you, your sister, me, Mr. Canis, Red-the list goes on and on. She gave us all a home, so I figured paying her back with some food would only be fair. Heaven knows she's fed me more times than I can count. I was really spooked when they told me that she got sent to the hospital. I had to do something with my hands. Call it stress or whatever, I just needed to be occupied." he laughed lightly, still awkward, "And I wanted to thank you too, I guess." his faced turned distant, "Who knew that scrawny twelve-year-old would ever save me?"

The smile he gave her was a little sad, but it only lasted a moment. He placed one of the slices before her.

Her throat felt tight at his confession, and she tried at a joke to alleviate the pressure, "And if I don't want any?"

Puck let out a loud, exaggerated sigh, "Just eat the stupid food already, Grimm."

Sabrina's deja vu came back as she looked around the table.

"What, no fork?"

He let out a groan and muttered, "So needy, horseface. Just use your hands."

A small grin found its way to her face and she picked off a few pieces to taste. Her pallet went from chocolate to tangy cream to something a little like happiness.

She was nearly nonplussed, "How do you even...it's..."

"Delicious, right?" he said, that old royal co*cky confidence ringing through as he used his fingers to get the frosting straight from the side of the cake.

"Oh, please." she laughed, waving her hand dismissively near his face. His eyes followed the movement like it was some kind of game until, suddenly, he reached out and caught her hand by the wrist. Sabrina was about to question him, but the words died in her throat as he leaned forward. Deliberately, with his eyes closed, he kissed the frosting off of her fingertips. Once done, he opened his brilliant fall-green eyes and stared at her dumbly like he couldn't believe what he'd just done either. Finally, his gaze flickered to her lips and then to her eyes again.

"There's, uh, some on your mouth, too."

Sabrina nearly laughed out loud at this. It was probably the cheesiest and most ridiculous reason for him to kiss her. Strangely, however, while her fear cropped up, she wasn't opposed to the idea.

She was just about to begin free falling into the abyss, even if part of her was still afraid that she would fall to far.

Well, it certainly wasn't the worst fear that she'd ever faced.

With that thought, Sabrina was the one to wrap her arm around his neck, pulling him in.

This kiss would be her undoing, the chase of youth was over in favor of confirmations. It was all kinds of sweet and new and familiar; they fit together with a unique kind of harmony. Was she in love?

The idea didn't feel quite as farfetched now. But if Sabrina ever made his life easier, she wouldn't be doing her job right.

She felt him encircle her with one of his arms, and they went flush together. She was certain that he could feel her heart beating out of her chest against his, but she couldn't find it in herself to be bothered by that fact.

Because, if she was being honest, she'd already given it to him a long time ago.

.-.-.-.

Chapter 5: Vanilla Blizzard

Chapter Text

Mornings were sacred to Sabrina. They were a great time to get up to read a neglected book and to clean her room while listening to the early morning sounds of her city-or, even better, a time to catch up on some much needed sleep.

So a call at eight o'clock in the freaking AM on a Monday holiday was not appreciated. Even more so once Sabrina saw the caller ID. She squinted at the awfully bright screen of her phone and rejected the call, and tucked back against her pillows, head still smarting from the past week of late nights of studying for important finals. Her Christmas break had just began and she fully intended on spending a healthy portion of it knocked out on her warm bed.

She got herself comfortable, snuggled up in the morning chill that crept through her faulty window, and right as she was beginning to drift off, mind quiet-her phone began to obnoxiously ring once more.

She gripped her blankets in exasperation. She should have expected this persistence from the moment she saw who it was.

That still didn't excuse his entitled pompous self from waking her up.

Sabrina let out a growl and cradled her phone to her ear, hoping that her irritation would carry over the sound waves.

"Listen here Puck-" she started, fully intending to knock him down a few pegs only to be interrupted.

"Ah, good. You're awake. I was worried when you didn't pick up the first time, dogface."

"When I said that you could start calling me after this semester finals week was over I did not mean-"

"Anyways," he easily forged on, like she hadn't begun to reprimand him, "I'm sure you're just thrilled to finally be conversing with yours truly again. I'm flattered, really, but there's no need to beg for the chance to come see me like I know you're dying to-it's your lucky day. I have a favor to ask of you."

"This better be good," she grumbled, taken off guard by just how quickly he had crafted such a self-absorbed sentence. Like he had been thinking of it for a while.

"Oh trust me, it is," he replied earnestly.

She could imagine his innocent, wide eyed look, one that had prompted her to listen to far too many ridiculous schemes.

"I need you to get something for me."

Sabrina took in a cleansing breath so that she wouldn't yell at the fool and tapped the speaker icon before gathering her hair into a rough ponytail. Deciding that she would at least humor him, she asked, "What is it?"

"I need vanilla extract."

Sabrina actually began to laugh before realizing that he wasn't joking. Her brow furrowed. "Wait, you're kidding right?"

She could imagine him pouting on the other end of the line.

"Of course not!" he cried, "Do you know how hard it is to some foods without that stuff? Well, I tried! It didn't taste very good-even though everything I make is wonderful!"

Sabrina got up and started rifling through her clothes for a suitable outfit, mostly ignoring his rant. After she was quiet for a few moments, Puck tried again, voice verging on a whine. "C'mon, Grimm. I can't finish without it."

She let out a long-suffering sigh. "Don't you have servants for this kind of thing?"

"Please," he scoffed, "these Everafters have barely learned how to live with each other, let alone go out to the supermarket to purchase commodities from humans."

She tried again, frowning. "But doesn't Faerie grow it's own food?"

"Mostly, yes." he went on with a serious tone, "But we don't cultivate vanilla ice cream here."

That comment caused her to raise an eyebrow and pause her preparations for the day. "What does ice cream have to do with this?"

"How else would you get vanilla extract?"

Sabrina let out a snort and smiled to herself.

"Alright," she weighed out playfully, "say I help. What's in it for me?"

"Duh, you get to bask in my presence."

"Remind me why I'm dating such a self-absorbed, egotistical-"

"-drop dead gorgeous, hilarious, kindhearted fae? I'm not sure how you deserve me, either," Puck interjected with a flourish.

"Yep," Sabrina muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "so boastful you could choke on it."

"As always, darling," he drawled, the image of him lounging on his desk chair so clear in Sabrina's mind that she would bet money on him being there-ignoring other more pressing matters to call her. In a twisted, juvenile way, it was his way of saying that he wanted to see her.

"Alright," she conceded, pulling on a pair of fuzzy jeans, "I've got some errands that I've got to run. While I'm out I'll pick up some vanilla. But," she emphasized, taking out a simple blouse from its hanger, "don't expect me before noon. There's some important stuff I've got to get to."

"Fine, fine," he said as she finished dressing, "I'll just-"

Sabrina interjected, grabbing her purse as she exited her room, "Know that I'm not just doing this to obey your will and pleasure. Faerie better be warm-all the snow we're getting was nice at first, but, honestly, I'm getting sick of it. Also," she added, "I want some of whatever you're planning on making."

Puck let out an annoyed sigh, "So needy, Grimm. Sure, whatever."

Sabrina grinned. "Says Mr. I-need-vanilla-extract-but-is-too-lazy-to-get-it-himself."

"I am King. I'm totally entitled to this kind of stuff," he sniffed condescendingly as Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, Stinkpot. See you."

She was about to hang up when Puck's voice came across the line, sounding breezy, "Just make sure to stay warm, yeah? You're no help to me frozen."

Sabrina laughed lightly, "I'll keep that in mind."

She hung up and placed her phone down on the table and snatched her coat from a hook in the entryway. Noting the early hour, she scribbled down a quick note explaining to her parents that she needed to get a few things, already thinking about getting a warm muffin from her favorite bakery down town.

...Be back by evening-

Love, Sabrina

Leaving the paper on the table, Sabrina took off, her stomach dreaming of her breakfast.

.-.-.-.

"You're late."

Sabrina rolled her eyes and passed Puck a small parcel. "I told you not to expect me until after noon," she quipped, stepping inside his room.

Puck followed behind her, brow furrowed in annoyance. He complained, "Yeah, but I thought that meant, I don't know, one or something. It's four thirty."

Sabrina pulled off her jacket, depositing it on his full length couch.

"Traffic was super slow. It's beginning to look like a blizzard out there. Every car is crawling down the road."

Puck didn't look satisfied with her answer but seemed to accept it nonetheless.

"Also," Sabrina muttered as she dusted snow off of her pants and shook her hair out, "I had to go to three different stores to get that vanilla extract, so you should be grateful."

"Oh, extremely," he said with a grin, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

"So," Sabrina said as she thawed, "what are you making?"

He shrugged, "I dunno. Something with cinnamon maybe."

She looked off dreamily, "Yeah, that would be nice and warming." She thought for a moment, "How about cinnamon rolls?"

Puck frowned thoughtfully, "I've never made those before."

Sabrina chuckled and punched him in the arm. "Ha, like that's ever stopped you before."

He smiled bashfully before realizing that that expression wasn't as prideful as he usually was. "Right," he said, squaring his shoulders with a smirk, "this should hardly test my talents."

Sabrina rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, taking them both back to the door. "Alright, whatever, Stinkpot. Lead the way."

After a few twists and turns, the couple arrived at the Faerie kitchens.

"After you, milady," Sabrina patronized, smiling slyly as she opened the door.

"But of course-hey!" he caught himself, nearly strolling right through the door, he glared at her. "Do you really have no respect for my title?"

Sabrina snorted and entered the quiet space-dinner had been prepared ahead of time, not to be bothered until Titania sent for it-and shoved Puck playfully, "Nope. That's a job for people like Moth."

He shuddered, "Ugh, did you have to bring her up? I want to be able to eat later without throwing up."

She gave him an apologetic look, not very happy about thinking about the power-crazy girl either.

Puck shook his head to clear it as they stopped at a cooking station. "Okay," he began, pulling out his phone to open a browser, "find a cookie sheet with a lip-it should be in one of the lower drawers."

Following his directions, Sabrina and Puck located all of the needed ingredients and hardware while he occasionally consulted with a recipe.

She helped him with the dough at first, but the longer that she assisted, the more she just felt like she was getting in the way. Soon she bowed out, letting him settle into his own routine of culinary rhythm.

And really, she didn't mind. Sabrina found that she liked watching him work with food-something that she realized that she didn't get to see very often. He was at ease with his craft, just as comfortable with measuring ingredients as he was with throwing himself recklessly into battle. While watching him mix sugar and butter with her carefully procured vanilla extract, she reflected on how strange and strangely right that it felt to be with him romantically. (Although Daphne would argue that from the very beginning they were together romantically.) They were still a fuse and a match, but she was quickly learning that the explosion was akin to a fireworks display as a opposed to an unstable bomb.

Oh yes, they still argued-but the process of discovering how they could work through disagreements and mesh their passionate dispositions was an art of sheer beauty.

Everything in their relationship was pretty much the same, and yet not-insults, pranks, and stubbornness were still their norm, but now there wasn't any misunderstandings why-they hated each other while caring for each other to utmost. She had tried for hours on end to figure out just why they seemed to work to no avail.

Perhaps a little too much.

She laughed as he joked about what the strange person who discovered drinking cow's milk was a good idea and let her introspection take a place on the back burner.

All that really mattered was that he made her feel more complete.

.-.-.-.

After a few hours, the two returned to Puck's room, warm cinnamon rolls in hand.

Sabrina took a bite out of the gooey, flaky confection and sighed in pleasure as they walked down the hall. "How do you manage to do this every time?"

"What?" Puck said with a smirk, tearing a generous portion off of his roll and popping it into his mouth.

"Oh, don't be asinine," Sabrina snickered, "I don't need to fill out your pompous ego any more than it already is. What you really need is a constant reminder of how obnoxious, fool-hardy, and over the top you are."

"Please, do go on."

"...You're hopeless."

"Hopelessly attractive," Puck laughed with his usual ease, waving his hand flippantly as they arrived at his door. He turned the handle and exposed the dark room.

"Geez," Sabrina noted as she flipped on the lights, "it's pitch black outside."

"It is winter," Puck reminded her, peering out his window while Sabrina brought her watch to her face.

"Oh man!" they both said at the same time, paling.

"I've got to go home," Sabrina yelped, seeing how late it was.

"Uh, I don't think so," Puck admonished, shaking his head.

Sabrina blinked in disbelief, "Excuse me?"

He continued to stare outside, trying to clear a frosty film from the glass.

Sabrina retrieved her coat. "Look, this has been a nice stay, but I've got to go," Sabrina said firmly, trying to make her way to the door only to be intercepted by Puck.

"Just look out the window-it has a view into New York-that storm is terrible."

Unable to resist, she walked over to the frosted window and opened it just enough to look out, only to instantly get pelted by thick, wet snow that stuck to her hair. After quickly shutting the opening, she sat down heavily on the natural seat made by the window, at a loss for a new argument.

"See?" Puck said convincingly while sitting next to her, "There's no way you're getting home in that."

"But I've got-" she fumbled for words, eyes wide in panic, "I've got to get my ratified scores tomorrow! I need to ship them off to colleges-then I've got to get my robes for graduation and..." she trailed off hopelessly.

Puck guffawed, incredulous, "As if they'll expect anyone to go anywhere tomorrow! If those gorgons that run the schools here expect you there than they really are the demons I expected them to be. So just, y'know, relax."

"You don't get it-school has been just one stressful day after another for the past month," Sabrina blurted out and ran a hand through her hair, "I don't think I'm capable of relaxing at this point."

Puck put a hand on the side of her face and gently shifted her head to face him.

"Honestly, Grimm," he said, pausing to kiss her softly, "you worry too much." He kissed her again, longer this time.

"Don't think that I don't know what you're doing," Sabrina muttered even as she lifted her chin slightly so that he could press a kiss against her pulse.

He chuckled lightly next to her ear. "I'm sure that I don't know what you could possibly be talking about."

"You," her breath caught as his fingertips brushed her jaw, "are just trying to distract me so that I can't leave before I'm snowed out."

He leaned back casually, giving her a moment to breathe normally, mischievous eyes sparkling.

"Pfft, you're already snowed out. This is just for fun."

Sabrina glanced outside once more, noting the whiteout conditions. The responsible thing to have done would have been to high tail it home before it had gotten this bad. However, at this point, watching the insane weather, she knew that the smart thing to do was to stay and ensure her own safety.

"C'mon," Puck encouraged, noting her conflicted countenance, "if you go out there all you're going to accomplish is getting pneumonia. Woo hoo," he added blandly, sitting back, "you'd've really shown me."

Sabrina started to laugh despite herself, weighing her options. It couldn't be that bad just to stay with him right? Her dad would probably throw a fit and Daphne would never stop embarrassing her-but, honestly, what else could she do at this point?

"Alright, fine. The weather is horrid," she sighed, and rose, redepositing herself onto the couch at the end of his bed.

Puck chuckled deviously to himself, rubbing his hands together, "Under the same roof, just like old times!"

Sabrina gave him a deadpan look as she shuffled through her backpack, perceiving his thoughts.

"Oh no, if I wake up with purple skin I will give you a goose egg you won't forget."

"Ha, that's a lame idea for a prank puke-breath. Leave the creative genius to me," Puck laughed heartily, transitioning to his own bed where he splayed out, hanging his head over the wood finish while she fished a book out of her bag.

Sabrina shook her head good-naturedly, cracking open the novel that she'd been meaning to read for ages.

Puck watched her for a few moments, which was generous by his standards before he poked her in the side, eliciting a yelp.

"Don't you have some taxes to file or gnomes to banish? Some other kingly duty?" Sabrina asked dryly once she calmed herself.

Puck pouted sitting up, "Aw, you're no fun."

Sabrina didn't lower her book and retorted, "I spent the better part of the afternoon with you. Sue me for wanting to relax before I go to sleep."

Puck rolled over to his side table and stole a paper from a tall pile of documents, muttering something about how he wished that there was a gnome that needed banishment.

The two entered a comfortable silence as time unconsciously ticked by.

Slowly, Sabrina let her worries melt off of her, just enjoying the idea of not having to do anything. While most of her life seemed to be spent at a fast pace, these slow moving times were treasured gifts that she often actively sought out.

Treasures like quiet mornings (and evenings).

She craned her neck lazily, overlooking her book. From that position, she caught a glance of Puck doodling something on a piece of paper, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth like a child. Settling back down, Sabrina rolled her shoulders comfortably, figuring that she could take a page from his walk of life-that maybe some things weren't worth stressing about.

.-.-.-.

Sabrina awoke to Puck hovering over her, looking tired and rumpled from sleep. He was holding a phone to her, and she squinted at the bright screen, noting the exceptionally early hour.

Seriously, again? She thought to herself.

"It's your family," he growled, his voice low from disuse.

Rubbing her eyes, Sabrina accepted Puck's phone, uttering a croaking, "Hello?"

All that came from the other end of the line was the disgruntled voice of her mother, "Sabrina! Why in the world haven't you contacted us? We've been worried sick!"

The louder tones of her father joined in, and Sabrina winced, holding the phone away from her ear until her parents paused long enough for her sleep addled brain to catch up with what was going on. She worked her eyes for a moment trying to formulate a response.

Weakly, she offered, "Uh, well, I did say that I was leaving to do some errands." The girl rose as she spoke, stretching out protesting muscles.

"Without your phone, Sabrina?" Veronica pressed.

Sabrina winced once again, this time at her own thoughtlessness.

"I'm sorry mom, it didn't seem important. And once the snow started piling down I figured it was best to just weather it out here in Faerie."

As Sabrina's parents began to settle down, she heard Daphne's groggy voice in the background, "So Sabrina stayed with Puck? Did they make out all night?"

Before Sabrina could reply to her little sister Puck stole the phone from her, sprawling out luxuriously on his bed.

"No, Marshmallow," he said. However, right as Sabrina let out a relieved breath, he winked at her.

"-only half of the night."

Daphne let out an excited squeal as Sabrina jumped onto the bed and desperately fought to get his phone back, Puck laughing all the while. Finally, between not so subtle threats from both Sabrina and Henry, she wrestled the phone back from Puck, pressing his face sideways into the comforter while he complained loudly.

"He's just joking! Ignore him. I slept just fine on the couch," Sabrina assured, but winced as soon as she voiced the last bit.

"In the same room?" Henry thundered, Veronica attempting to calm him in the background. "Does Faerie not have any extra beds? Sabrina, this is not acceptable!"

Puck snatched the phone from Sabrina once again, managing to almost sound civilized. "Listen, Hank. You need to-what do people say nowadays?-chill. She was reading and fell asleep. I didn't want to wake her up just to move ten feet to the guest room." He grinned, "Feel free to thank me for my chivalrous behavior."

Sabrina let out a relieved breath, way too frayed over what should have been a simple conversation.

Henry grumbled, more annoyed than angry now. "What would you even know about chivalry, kid?"

"Ha!" Puck exclaimed, sitting up, "I practically wrote the code of chivalry! Sure Arthur-mc-lame didn't take all-well any-of my suggestions..."

Sabrina took the phone back once more, shoving Puck off of his bed. Before he could recover, she wrapped up with her family, promising that she would return home as soon as she could get through the snow and that yes she would call them soon.

Disgruntled, Puck's head came into view, showing off his disheveled blonde hair. He scowled at a sweetly smiling Sabrina as he climbed back on to his bed, taking his phone back from her outstretched hand.

After placing his phone on a side table, Puck flopped back down on his bed and muttered something about it being too early to be this funny and perfect. Sabrina couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter at this and poked him in the side. He squawked, fixing her with a tired glare when she smirked.

"Serves you right, Your Highness. Now you know how I feel. Next time, leave my mornings alone."

Puck let out a groan and wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her close.

"So maybe I just wanted to see you. Sue me."

Sabrina rolled her eyes, enjoying his warmth nonetheless. Boys.

"Just say so then. You don't have to make up reasons to get me to come see you."

Flimsily, he argued back, "But I did need that vanilla stuff."

Sabrina laughed, propping herself up on her elbow, "As if. There's hundreds of things you could make without vanilla extract."

Puck huffed as she settled back down, refusing admit anything. Sabrina laughed lightly, snuggling against his chest.

The two were quiet for a while, taking in the pleasure of the calm morning-exactly what Sabrina had been hoping for the previous day.

But, of course, she was dating Puck, of all people.

Perking his head up, Puck couldn't help but jest, smirking "What if I needed almond extract?"

By the end of his sentence, he didn't have enough time to dodge the pillow aimed at his head.

.-.-.-.

Chapter 6: Melted Hearts

Chapter Text

"You there, Sabrina?"

"Huh?" she responded intelligently.

Daphne gave her a half concerned half amused look.

Sabrina realized that Daphne was waiting for a response and shook her head to clear it.

"Sorry, my mind's elsewhere, Daphne."

Daphne scrunched up her brown eyes and leaned in close to Sabrina's face before proclaiming, "I should've known the second you got the dopey lovey-dovey look in your eyes. You're thinking about Puck."

Cornered, the older woman glanced around the room, trying to find something on the old, trusty walls of the Ferryport house to deliver her from her sister's certain interrogation. However, there was no caveat or scapegoat to be found on the dusty finish. Out of options, she attempted to speak her way out of Daphne's scrutiny.

"I am not-not..." Sabrina floundered defensively, but couldn't manage to get the full lie out while looking at her sister's knowing face. "Sorry," she finally muttered, "He's just on my mind at the moment. Go back to what you were saying-house renovations, right?"

Daphne laughed heartily, "Oh yeah, right. I'm not going back to home improvement right after you brought up love." She rubbed her hands together conspiratorially.

"Alright, forget what I was saying-it wasn't important anyway. Let's get to the juicy stuff."

Slightly uncomfortable Sabrina began, staring down at her hands. "Daphne, I haven't seen him in the few weeks that I've been away from New York. I know-poor me-since so many long distance relationships don't usually get to see each other in person for years at a time...but I just, well, I miss him." Sabrina bit her lip after her mini speech, still not completely over her childhood fear of admitting affection. Daphne nodded kindly, motioning for her to go on by taking one of her hands in hers.

She took in a long breath and continued, "I want to see him because the longer we're apart, the more my mind second guesses what I feel. Ever since he was gone for those five years..." she sighed heavily, acquiescing, "I can't help it. My love life is a mess. I know that I love him more than any other man I've met, but that doesn't change the fact that he's full of flaws."

Daphne let out a sigh of relief, making a large show of wiping away sweat from her brow that wasn't there, "Phew! And here I was worrying that you were too far under his spell. I'd be way more worried if you didn't admit that he has flaws. Puck isn't perfect. But," she held up her index finger, "he is good match for you, even if it's hard to see sometimes. He's still adjusting to the idea of life changing. He takes things in slower because he's always been able to afford to."

Sabrina sat back in her chair, as always amazed by the wisdom of her supposedly younger sister who seemed much more like she was sixty something instead of twenty. Her words were correct-all immortals dealt with their inherited longevity in different ways, and for Puck, it meant a resistance to any personal change.

Lips twitching upwards in thanks Sabrina remarked, "I don't know if I'll ever understand how you manage to always say the right thing."

Daphne opened her mouth to reply back but halted as the sound of knocking echoed its way into the kitchen. Her brows furrowed together and she glanced at a clock near the ceiling.

"Huh. I wasn't expecting anyone. Could you get it Sabrina?"

Sabrina rolled her eyes but got up nonetheless. "Sure thing, lazybones," she said as she ruffled her sister's hair, much to her annoyance as Sabrina left the room.

"Make sure to give them a warm welcome!" Daphne called. "I don't want anyone scared away just because you're so icy and distrusting."

Sabrina rolled her eyes, taking her sister's humor with a grain of salt. She wasn't always unkind to those she didn't know...just most of them. (For good reason-she believed. She'd met far too many psychos who wanted nothing more than to stab her family in the back.)

Sabrina reached the entrance and gave the space behind her a quick once over. Ever since Granny Relda had died, the old, remodeled house had never felt the same-the interior no longer exuded the woman's warmth and hospitality and lacked her little idiosyncrasies. It had been Daphne's idea to make it her new home when she graduated high school. She had insisted that it had always been inhabited by their family and that some traditions were important. The young woman had been living there alone for about a year now, although one would never guess that by the dust on the floors. Daphne cared a lot, but cleanliness had never been her strong point-which was exactly why she had begged her older sister to come over and help.

Shaking memories from her head, Sabrina turned around, deeming the house good enough for guests to see. She smoothed her hair down and opened the door, with what she hoped was a kind smile on her face.

On the other side of the paneled mahogany, an attractive blonde man who was a little scruffy around the edges greeted her. He smirked and cajoled her within a moment of seeing her expression.

"Hello, Stinky."

Sabrina was so surprised to see Puck that she shut the door in his face. Somewhere between embarrassment and anger she spun around on her heel and gaped at her sister across the living room through the entrance of the kitchen.

"Puck. That was Puck! What in the world is he doing here?" she cried, frazzled.

Daphne shrugged, her long dark hair falling around her self-satisfied face, "Well, I did say that he's been around town, didn't I?"

The younger woman tried to hide it, but the grin that was traitorously sneaking its way onto her face was a dead giveaway. As was her raised hand, palm side up-nearly within biting distance.

Sabrina's jaw dropped, easily catching her sister's tick. "You never told me that he was around-wait. So you-you knew! You two planned this!" Oddly betrayed, she added in an unbelieving whisper, "You probably didn't even need to talk about anything!"

The grin was in full force now. "Maybe."

Sabrina glared at her sister, unsure of how to proceed. It was hard enough to figure out how she wanted to act around Puck now in their odd semi renewed dating situation when they planned to see each other, but seeing him on the fly-despite having just expressing that she wanted to see him-was a different matter all together.

Daphne, on the other hand, was back to being fourteen again, watching her sister tiptoe around her relationship with Puck.

"So, you know you should open the door, right?" Daphne encouraged, breaking the silence as Sabrina worried her lip with her teeth.

Sabrina blinked roughly at her sister and then at the door. She took a steadying breath and shook her head. Honestly-she was acting like a child. She knew Puck more than just about anyone else.

With one last quiet inhale, she opened the front door once again, where her disgruntled boyfriend glared at her halfheartedly.

"Geez, Grimm. Who spit in your durian pancakes this morning?"

She stared wordlessly at him from across the threshold, watching as he brushed a bit of dusty grass from his thin summer jacket.

Noting her silence, he glanced up, confused by her closed off attitude.

"What?" he asked, green eyes earnest yet somehow managing to maintain an irreparable glint of mischievousness, "What's wrong?"

She couldn't help but roll her eyes, unable to contain her disdain for his obliviousness. Swallowing her irritation for a moment, she called back to her sister who was trying-and failing-to hide her interest in what was going on.

"I think I'm going to be gone for a while, Daphne."

"Right, right, of course," she answered back casually, rising to 'clean' the kitchen, "take as much time as you need."

With that, Sabrina ushered herself and Puck out of the doorway and onto the porch where the setting sun streaked everything in varying shades of heady orange-red. It made a stunning scene over the landscape, highlighting the isolated nature of the house.

The woman, however, did not have it in her at that moment to appreciate the wondrous natural phenomenon. Instead she turned to Puck, hands on her hips, still not entirely sure why she was so annoyed with him. Perhaps it was his nonchalant way of showing up so randomly with no announcement, fitting in as an enigma of the moment where he shouldn't have been able to get to-yet, here he was. Taunting her with how easily he could find her while she had to hunt him down across worlds just to speak face to face.

Taking in her face, Puck held up his hands innocently.

"You're mad."

"Really," she replied, deadpan. "What an astute observation."

"Look, I know I've been in and out recently,"-Sabrina snorted at his understatement-"but I promise it's been for good reason."

"Good reason?" she couldn't help but growl, "What good? Some troll need a ping pong buddy? Or perhaps a brownie wanted to know what the best way to TP a house was?" Her repressed anger boiled to the surface, surprising her with the intensity when she trembled with emotion.

Inversely, however, Puck began to smile an odd little smile as he took her in.

(Because really, she didn't know how cute she looked when her nose scrunched up in anger.)

"What?" she snarled, really beginning to fume now, "Do you think this is a joke? I'm-"

Her words froze in her throat as her pulled her into a tight hug, the scent of pine woods and sunshine enveloping her.

"I missed you too, dogface."

Slowly, the anger eased out of her as she melted into his embrace. Oh, how she'd missed him.

(And that was it, wasn't it? Most of the sourcing of her rage directed towards him had been from simply missing him.)

After a few moments-or maybe it was a few minutes, Sabrina wasn't entirely sure-Puck pulled away from her and held out one of his hands.

"Do you trust me?" he inquired, his smile lopsided and positively rakish; a look that many would see as that of a trouble maker (though he was) but one that she'd learned to interpret as the hardly contained spirit of adventure.

"I," she frowned at his word choice but answered honestly nonetheless, "of course I trust you." She placed her hand in his, interlacing her weathered hand with his.

"Good," he said matter-of-factually with a childish grin that betrayed a youth that few could claim to hold on to as wings sprung from his back, still as beautiful as they were the first time she saw them. "You'll need that for what I've got planned."

A crease appeared in Sabrina's brow. "Are we going somewhere?"

"Astute observation," Puck quipped dryly as he retrieved a blindfold from his pocket.

Sabrina stared at the offering with narrowed eyes.

"A surprise then? This better not be like last time."

Puck laughed as she hesitantly put on the scrap of cloth.

"Oh, let that one go-I drop you into a polar bear exhibit at the zoo one time-"

"In broad daylight!"

"-and you'll never let it go."

"For good reason."

"It was hilarious!"

"Remind me why I left Bradley just so I could deal with this again?" Sabrina sighed, letting Puck scoop her up into his arms as he readied his flight.

Puck's wings started to flap strongly as he spoke again, grinning with reckless abandon since she could no longer see that he was drinking her in, "Duh, because I'm a million times hotter than him, rule an entire kingdom of adoring citizens, and," they lifted into the sky, "I know exactly what makes you tick."

Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to taunt someone who could control if you were going to fall two hundred feet, but Sabrina tried her luck anyways, "Everything, hmm?

"Yeah," he announced confidently, "like how you hate watermelon candy and think that your boss needs to lose his ridiculously strict attitude."

"Easy stuff," Sabrina chuckled as she felt the sun go down under the horizon, taking its warmth with it.

Puck frowned before smiling slyly, although she could not see it, "Well, there's the more personal stuff, like how you would blush whenever boys in high school would compliment your hair, and still do when I do now. Oh! Also there's the fact that you're only ticklish under your knees-and you used to call me strange."

"Alright," she admitted, a little lightheaded from flying blind and from how many facts he could list about her in a heartbeat, "so maybe you do know a lot."

Sabrina tucked in close to him, shivering slightly from the wind. Puck smiled cheekily as they slowed down, nearly at their destination.

"Here we are," he announced, placing her feet on solid ground before removing the blind fold. As soon as she could see, Sabrina was stunned by what she saw.

A warm breeze rustled through her hair as she took in the area. They were on top of the trees-literally-on a polished wooden platform with low fencing on the perimeter, with the only items on it a round table and two chairs.

All around, Puck's pixie servants hovered as a backdrop to the scene; twinkling stars that had fallen from the heavens, giving the space a mystical ambiance.

"Puck, I can't...this is just-wow," Sabrina whispered in awe, twirling in a circle to see every inch of the fantasy world around her.

"So do you like it then?" Puck said, nuzzling his face against her neck in an unusual display of affection-the kind of action that he left only for when they were alone.

"Like it?" she said incredulously, "This has to be one of the most impressive things that you've done."

He frowned slightly, pouting. "What? More impressive then standing up to a Jabberwocky?"

Sabrina guffawed, "I remember the 'standing' part not lasting all that long."

Puck rolled his eyes and stepped away from her side to pull out one of the chairs for her, gesturing expectantly.

Charmed, she took her seat and as she settled herself he sat across from her. Clapping his hands as an order to his servants, they waited a few moments until a cloud of pixies arrived and placed a large cloche covered platter and two tall glasses filled with fizzy liquid before them.

"Dinner?" she asked quizzically, lifting an eyebrow.

Puck waved his hand through the air expectantly, "See for yourself."

Sabrina lifted the cover from the plate. Underneath was several beautifully decorated chocolate strawberries. She blinked, entranced, and plucked one of the gems from the plate. Scrutinizing the small fruit, she could hardly believe the delicately intricate patterns that swirled along its surface. Puck must have seen her awestruck expression because he began to smirk as he picked one up to twirl between his fingers.

"Crazy, right? It's fae chocolate. It naturally crystallizes into fancy designs when it sets."

"But that-that doesn't make any sense. How can that possibly work?" she spluttered, trying to find a flaw in the smooth surface.

Puck snorted and took a bite, "It's magic, Stinkface. It doesn't have to make sense." He let out a dreamy sigh as he chewed, "And if you can believe it, it tastes better than it looks."

Curiosity overwhelmed her confusion, and she took a tentative bite from the treat. Her taste buds quickly thanked her and she felt like letting out a dreamy sigh of her own. The chocolate was rich like she'd never known, but still left room for the subtle notes of the fruit in a way that melded wonderfully.

"Oh...wow," she laughed, giddy with the taste, "never mind how fairy chocolate works. It's delicious. And these strawberries-did you get them from the Faerie gardens as well?"

Surprisingly, he shook his head. "They were growing wild in the forest behind the old house. It seemed more fitting."

The warmth of family-something like getting hugged by her now deceased granny-filled her, and quietly she asked, "What made you think of this?"

"Well," he said, almost nervous, glancing at the stars before looking back at her, his fingers drumming on the table, "I was looking through some of the Old Lady's cookbooks and stumbled upon a recipe card so simple, I could hardly believe that it was hers."

Sabrina promptly choked, suddenly not sure if she could trust what was in the confection in her hand.

She really did love her grandmother, but no matter how many years she ate her food, she never found much that she liked of it.

Puck saw her distress and laughed, grinning sardonically, "Don't worry, it wasn't one of her exotic dishes."

She let out a small sigh of relief and took another bite, settling back to enjoying the ruby sweetness.

"...She got it from Basil, actually. Her husband, not your brother or the plant. He used wild strawberries and fae chocolate too-since it's better than anything humans could possibly create-don't look so offended, it's true." He paused to examine his nails before continuing breezily, "Apparently it's what he gave her before he proposed to her."

For the second time in the past thirty seconds, Sabrina choked. She barely managed to swallow with several forceful coughs. Eyes watering, she could hardly see for a few moments. Or hear. Or think.

Was he implying...

"You can't possibly be-" she began, throat rough from her ordeal before she lost all ability to speak when he got down on one knee and presented a small box to her.

His eyes were as earnest as she'd ever seen them, but his trouble-maker grin that was purely his was still there, melting her heart. It was an odd gesture for him, she could tell, most likely a human made tradition that wasn't like what the fae did at all.

The moment was a complete merge of their worlds. Fae chocolate with strawberries from her (well, in a way their) granny's backyard.

"Sabrina, will you marry me?"

He hardly needed to ask.

.-.-.-.

"Food is community.

Food is family.

Food is kindness,

And grace, and warmth,

And refuge, and

POSSIBILITY.

Food brings us together

When the world

tears us apart."

-Life as a Strawberry (blog)

.-.-.-.

Some years later

"Mmmph-dad should cook more often." Emma said with her mouthful of half-chewed food. Alison was so caught up in it that she didn't even think to make a disgusted face at her annoying little sister.

"You're telling me," Sabrina said with a laugh, giving a pointed look at her husband.

Puck just let out a chuckle and sat down with his own plate. "Well, if I did, you'd be too spoiled for much of anything else."

"Pompous fool," Sabrina coughed, covering a smirk with a mouthful of lasagna. Emma giggled, nearly inhaling a piece of pasta.

"Ha!" Puck exclaimed, flicking sauce at his younger daughter and wife-to the former's delight and the latter's displeasure. "If you were half as foolish as me, even you could cook, wifey."

Sabrina shook her head good-naturedly, catching on to his teasing. "I cook just fine, thanks. Just because you're an amazing at making food doesn't mean you can undermine what I do."

"Did you hear that kids?" Puck laughed, chewing his food obnoxiously for Emma's benefit, continuing on with dramatic effect, "I think mom just gave me a compliment. Better write it down-this may never happen again."

"I'll gladly take it back."

Alison sighed to herself, rubbing her temples, muttering about having the weirdest parents in the universe as they continued to argue about whether quality or quantity was more important.

"Where'd you even learn to cook anyway?" Emma asked, using her napkin and knife to create a little fort over her food.

Puck turned, breaking off from his argument to smile at his youngest daughter.

"It's a really good story, actually." He intertwined his fingers with Sabrina's under the table. "You could even say that my cooking brought your mom and I together."

Alison faked a gag. "Ugh, could you guys get any cheesier?"

Emma snorted, amused by her sister's accidental food pun, but agreed nonetheless, "Yeah, there's no way you guys bonded over food."

Puck grinned, "Wanna bet?"

"Yeah! Five bucks mom hurled the first time you made something for her!" Emma exclaimed, puffing her chest out in pride.

Puck glanced at Alison who was hiding behind her phone-which she wasn't supposed to have at the table-and smirked expectantly.

"Same as Em. No one's first attempt at the culinary arts is any good."

Sabrina laughed behind her hand and couldn't help but find the look of triumph on her husband's face adorable. He rubbed his hands together in glee.

"Better get those green backs ready, girls, 'cause this story is gonna knock your socks clean off. It all began when we were fourteen and your mother didn't have the sense to eat dinner like a normal person..."

Thus he spun his tale-one so captivating that Emma stopped playing with her food and got Alison to forget out her precious cell phone for the extent of it.

And it's no surprise really-because dreamy fairy tales like that were often best told by men like Puck, for he truly believed in the impossible.

Like using sweet confections-and a little bit of his own sweet charm-to unify himself and the love of his life.

.-.-.-.