every little thing she does is magic || j.h.s
Summary: What is really the best way to tell someone you love them? At 7, Jake doesn't really know. All he knows is that Dani makes his heart flutter, and she's just - she's just magic.
Warnings: fluff, fluff, fluff
Word Count: 1.7k
Pairings: Jake Seresin x OC
Authors Note: This is for @roosterforme's '80s Rocktober challenge! Thank you Em for creating such a fun event! Also, thank you to @demxters and @hangmanssunnies for beta'ing and being a huge support!
Age 7
“Dad. How did you know you wanted to marry Ma?” Jake clambered up onto the couch next to his father, legs swinging back and forth as he sat on the edge. His dad put down the newspaper he was currently reading, pocketing his reading glasses as well.
Jake could tell that his dad was thinking really hard about his question because his eyebrows dipped and he rubbed his chin, something he always did when thinking. He waited patiently for an answer, picking at his shorts where a colourful plane bandaid was sat over a scrape he’d gotten falling off the monkey bars at school. It hadn’t hurt very much and Dani had shared her cookies with him, making him feel better instantly.
“Well, I love her more than I could explain, so I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.” Joseph said, leaning back in his airchair.
Jake hummed, biting his lower lip. “But how did you know you loved her then?”
His dad laughed, reaching over to tug Jake onto his lap and ruffle his hair, much to his dismay. “Whenever I was around her, I felt light. I felt happy, just seeing her. Her smile brightened up my entire day. Still does.”
Jake pondered his dad’s answer for a moment, small fingers toying with the wedding band adjourning Joseph’s ring finger.
“Dani always makes me feel better.” He admitted, once again thinking of how seeing his next door neighbour always brightened his mood.
His dad laughed. “Does she now?”
“Yup. She’s like.. um.. she’s like magic.” Jake was proud of himself for finding the perfect way to describe Dani.
His father oh’d, eyes sparkling. “Like magic? Well, then you gotta hold onto her. People like her are very special.”
Jake made an agreeing sound, nodding his head determinedly. “Do you think Dani would want to marry me?”
Joseph coughed, rattling Jake in his lap. “I think the two of you are a bit too young to be thinking about marriage, Jacob.”
“But dad, you married Ma because you loved her.” Jake whined, stubbornly crossing his arms across his chest.
Jake knew now that he did love Dani. She always made him smile, made him feel better and she was indeed magic. Everything she did was magical, Jake thought.
“You have to wait until you’re a bit older, son. Me and your mother was adults when we got married.” Joseph laughed, finding his son’s crush on their neighbour adorable.
He pondered for a moment, legs swinging back and forth. “But how will she know that I love her then?”
“Who do you love?” Claudia appeared in the doorway, flour dusted on her apron.
Father and son looked up at the interruption, watching as she leaned against the doorframe. “Well? Go on then.”
“Dani! Dad said he knew he loved you because you always made him smile and he was always happy to see you. When I see Dani, I always feel better,” Jake rambled, missing the look shared between his parents. “And she shared her cookies with me last week, after I scraped my knee and she’s just so pretty and I wanna make her laugh all the time -“
“Jake, slow down.” Joseph smiled, ruffling his son’s hair once again.
“Maybe you can pick some flowers from the garden?” Claudia suggested. Jake lit up, sliding off his fathers lap, almost tripping over the carpet on his way to the back door.
“Dani loves flowers! Thanks Ma!” Jake pushed the door open, hurrying out into the garden, excitement seeping into his veins. Flowers would be the perfect way to let Dani know how much she meant to him.
His mother had rows and rows of flowers in the garden. Jake wandered around for a while, trying to find the perfect ones. Dani deserved the best.
“Hi Jake! Whatcha doing?”
Dani was leaning over the fence, smiling widely at him. Jake felt his heart flutter and he quickly hid the flowers he’d picked behind his back. “Uh, I’m just -”
“What’s behind your back?” Dani asked as she climbed the fence, entering the Seresin backyard.
Jake felt the blush creeping up his cheeks, suddenly nervous about his gift. What if she didn’t like it? What if it wasn’t enough?
Dani was still smiling, bouncing on her feet as she watched him blush and stutter. Jake tried to find the right words but nothing came out. Eventually he just held out the small bouquet to her, hoping it would be enough.
“Um, I picked them for you..” Their hands brushed as Dani took the flowers from him, holding them up to her face to smell them. Jake waited nervously with a bated breath for her reaction.
Dani threw her arms around his middle, hugging him tight. Jake automatically wrapped his arms around her waist, heart thumping as her scent invaded his senses. “I love them so much! Thank you, Jake!”
Her words were muffled against his shoulder but it didn’t matter, Jake heard her. She loved them. She loved the flowers.
“Do you wanna come and feed the horses with me?” She asked, pulling back slightly. Jake nodded as they pulled apart, offering his hand. Dani laced their fingers together and Jake felt that rush again, the same one as he always felt when Dani was in the vicinity. It felt like magic.
Age 18
“I’m going to miss this,” Dani sighed as she leaned back into Jake’s arms, pulling the blanket tighter around them. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder, listening as the car radio played quietly in the background. The truck bed was filled with blankets and pillows. He’d opted against candles even though it would have been a nice touch. But he didn’t feel like tempting fate playing with fire so close to fabric.
He let his fingers trace mindless patterns up and down Dani’s arm, content to just hold her as they watched the stars and listened to old 80’s songs. He hummed along to every little thing she does is magic, enjoying the moment.
“What are you going to miss?” He asked, lacing their fingers together.
“Everything, I guess? This, us -”
“It’s not the end, baby. You don’t have to miss us, I’m right here.” Jake interrupted, squeezing the hand he was holding.
Dani twisted in his arms before sitting up. Jake instantly missed the warmth and tried to tug her back against his chest. “Dani -“
She frowned, trying to pull her hand from his. “Everything’s changing. In two months we’re going to be on the opposite sides of the country, you’ll be busy with flight school and I’ll -“
“Stop! Baby, listen to me,” Jake grabbed onto both of her hands, pulling her closer despite Dani’s attempts to keep a small distance between them. “Danielle, look at me.”
Dani sagged against his side, sniffing slightly. Jake rarely called her by her full name, so he knew she would listen.
He pulled her upright again and gently grabbed her chin. “I have loved you since I was seven years old. Maybe even longer. That’s not going to change anytime soon. So it won’t matter if we’re on opposite sides of the country, okay? We’re going to make things work.”
Dani huffed, smiling at him with watery eyes. “Since you were seven?”
Jake nodded, pulling her into his lap. “Yes ma’am. I think it was earlier but I remember asking my dad about love and stuff, and when he explained it, I knew.”
Dani stayed quiet, fiddling with the hem of her shirt as Jake continued to talk.
“I remember asking him if we could get married. He said we needed to be older but that I should hold onto you. I told him you were magic.”
Dani barked a laugh. “Magic?”
“Yeah. Every time I saw you, I instantly felt better. You always made things better, brighter. You made me feel warm, that fuzzy feeling in my chest whenever you smiled at me. And guess what?”
“What?” Dani mumbled, nose pressed to his pulse point.
Jake smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I still feel that warm, fuzzy feeling when you smile at me. That’s how I know we’re going to be fine.”
“I knew I loved you when you punched Micheal Pearson after he pushed me from the swings.”
Jake laughed, shaking his head. “He deserved it.” Dani joined him, laughing together as they remembered their childhood.
After a while their laughter died down and they sat in silence again, bodies intertwined tightly together.
“We’re good, you and me, right? We’re going to be fine.” Dani whispered, kissing his knuckles.
Jake smiled. “We’re better than good, baby. We’re magic.”
Five years later
“When Jake was seven years old, he asked me how I knew that I loved his mother. How I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.” Joseph laughed, adjusting his tie.
“At first, his questions caught me off guard. I hadn’t really expected to have that conversation with my seven year old.” The guests laughed, most of them turning to look at the blushing groom.
“After I answered him as truthfully as I could, Jake promptly asked me if I thought Dani would like to marry him.” The laughter rose, many of Jake’s squad members making kissing noises at the newlyweds.
“It definitely threw me, but I quickly told him that they needed to wait a little while longer. That they were too young. But me and his mother made sure to let him know that he should still let her know how much he liked her.”
Joseph paused and took a moment to study his son and his new wife.
“As we watched him trying to find her the perfect bouquet of flowers from our yard, I knew. I knew that one day I was going to have to speak at their wedding.”
Dani was crying, leaning into Jake’s side as they listened.
“I’m gonna wrap this up before I start crying. Jake, son. I am so proud of you, and what you have achieved so far. And most importantly, I am so proud of your choice of wife. Dani, keep him on his toes, he needs it.”
“I told you once as a kid and I’m telling you now again as a man. Don’t ever let go of her. Don’t ever let each other go. What you have is special. Like Jake once said, it’s magic.”
Taglist: @wildbornsiren @therebeccaw@imjess-themess@antiquitea@fuckyeahhangman@writercole@hederasgarden@yanna-banana@wkndwlff@bobfloydsbabe@hollandorks@anniesocsandgeneralstore@ereardon@luminousnotmatter@roosterscock@thedroneranger@fandomxpreferences@top-hhun@princessmisery666@bradshawsbitch @princessphilly@a-reader-and-a-writer@green-socks@angstybluejay@seresinhangmanjake@ayorooster@notroosterbradshaw @indynerdgirl@gigisimsonmars@girl-in-the-chairs-void@bradshawbabes@unhinged-btch@horseshoegirl@sadpetalsstuff@bradshawbaby@ahopelessromanticwritersworld@ummjustfics @septemberrie @somenamewithepineapple @seresinsweetie @crescentwolf @seresinhangmanjake @sylviebell @waklman @roosterforme @rosiahills22 @dempy @i0veless @ilovewriting06 @kmc1989 @demxters@amortentiadrops@teacupsandtopgun@hangmanscoming
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What are your headcanons about Marcille's mom if you have any? It's interesting that what drew Donato to her was cause she lived the history he studied, or that was said somewhere at least. She must've had an interesting life.
so this was going to be just a normal answer but then I realized I have a Lot of Things To Say. so here goes, a compilation of what we know for a fact from the canon, what I've extrapolated from the visual cues and details, and my theories based on all of that.
Things we know for a fact about Marcille's mother because they were explicitly stated in the manga and supplemental materials:
She was a court mage for a Tall-man kingdom at the southern part of the Northern Continent
Donato, a court historian, fell in love with her because she had lived through the history he was studying, and he courted her for 17 years (age 15 to 32) before getting married
She was a cheerful person who rarely showed extreme emotion and took things as they came
She always cooked a huge meal for Marcille on her birthdays
She remarried a gnome after Donato's death and a short distance away from Marcille's childhood home
Pipi, Marcille's pet bird, was actually older than Marcille and originally belonged to her mother (bird died at 62)
She was extremely heartbroken when Donato died and ultimately ended up instilling a deep fear of mortality in Marcille with her words
the only time she showed extreme emotion in front of her family was when Donato could no longer eat his favourite dish near the end of his life.
She scolded Marcille for being cruel to ants (implying she can have a stern side when needed)
Things that are explicitly shown but mostly through visual cues
She has a very distinctive style of dress always involving a ribbon choker (mirroring Marcille's habit of always wearing a matching choker with any of her outfits that don't cover her neck)
She was almost stereotypically good at housekeeping and traditionally "wifely" things (very frequently depicted wearing an apron or doing some domestic chore when not at work, seems to have been an avid cook).
She knits? (also, note the affectionate smile as she's looking at Donato and Marcille reading a book together in the full panel)
She was as excited for Marcille's milestones as Donato was.
She didn't tell Marcille much about elven food
(there are a couple things that this panel in particular implies:
She lived a good deal of her life (if not being born and raised) in a mainly elven country in the West, implied by her knowing enough of an elven region's cuisine to prefer Tall-man food over it
seems to have a pretty carefree and casual demeanour overall, if this is how she replied to Marcille asking her about it (sounds like she never gave her culinary preferences that much thought to begin with)
slightly related to number 2, it seems like she and Marcille had a fairly casual parent-child dynamic (especially in comparison to the Toudens' memory of their father)
(local elf tastes Italian food once and never goes back))
However, she seems a lot more... serious in most of the other times we see her? Almost like the very stereotypical archetype of a graceful elf.
Subsequent conclusions about her personality:
Usually pretty carefree and cheerful at home, has been a loving and attentive parent throughout Marcille's childhood (while not being so doting that she didn't discipline Marcille).
Slightly more conjectural theories on her personality:
Had a much more graceful and professional personality at work, which would explain the more serious portraits we see of her.
Given that both she and Donato had positions at the royal court, it seems a little odd that she'd go out of her way to do all the housework herself, so maybe she just enjoyed doing it?
Now taping all the evidence together and toeing the line between analysis and fanfiction:
It's clear that she loved Donato very much and was utterly devastated by losing him. But there's one thing that really stuck out to me in what little we see of her:
Doesn't she seem... angry? The way she's gritting her teeth, clutching the tablecloth, and how this is the first and only time we see her eyes opened that wide. In the following panel, you see her being quiet and dejected after her initial outburst. She's still crying very intensely, but her brows are furrowed, and she's not really responding to Donato's affection in her body language.
We're not told the details of how she felt about losing Donato other than that it upset her. But this, to me, implies that she was angry and resented that he was aging, that the end of his life was approaching. An "it's not fair" type of preemptive grief. And if this was the first and last time she cried like this in front of her family, she was either very good at coping in private... or very bad at letting herself feel unpleasant emotions until they become unavoidable and end up overwhelming her.
It's not too remarkable a detail on the surface. It's even reminiscent of what the audience has seen of Marcille. But... when it comes to the big picture, you'd think an elf who voluntarily chose to marry a tall-man and have a half-elf child would have been better prepared for this.
It kind of recontextualizes her cheerfulness to me.
"I'm sure everything's gonna be okay!" (or some variation thereof, depending on what translation you have).
And this is stated to contrast her extreme grief when finally confronting Donato's failing body and eventual death. But I'm wondering if... maybe this optimism was why she was so upset. What if she went into all of it thinking "everything's gonna be okay"? What if she was a little young by elven standards, and just followed her heart thinking that her own resilience would get her through anything?
Of course, only to get completely overwhelmed when she actually loses Donato. She turns into a completely different person. And that's heartbreaking on its own-- but what the audience sees is the effect it had on Marcille. Can you imagine being her, watching your invincible and upbeat mother suddenly lose all the light in her eyes in one go?
I've already made a huge post about how I think Marcille models her "work persona" off her mother, but another thing that stuck with me as I was looking for more details in the manga was this:
copy pasting from the other post i made about it lmao it's like... the second she resigns herself to lifelong pain and terror, there's another portrait of her mother facing her like this. with their heads bowed, in mirrored body language of resignation and despair and sorrow. Except it's posed like Marcille is still looking at her mother but her mother is looking away.
It took me a second to realize, but I think that it's a visual metaphor for the fact that Marcille's mother was the only long-lived role model she had-- and she failed to model healthy grief for her daughter. I don't say this as an accusation or to disparage her as a character, but just as a matter of fact. In her, Marcille was seeing herself older and losing a short-lived spouse or loved one of her own, and all she saw was hopelessness.
But her mother didn't mean to instill hopelessness and terror in her. She wasn't really thinking of how it would truly affect Marcille at all (at least, that's how I'm interpreting her looking down and away from Marcille in the metaphor), she was just sad. And she, in her own way, was trying to protect her daughter and help her prepare for future losses.
What she meant was "loss is inevitable, and you have to learn how to be in pain but live on anyway." What Marcille heard was "loss is inevitable, and you will be scared and hurt for the rest of your life."
Again. Marcille's mother doesn't feature explicitly in the story the way her father does -- but in so many ways, her shadow, her silhouette, her reflection is always hanging over Marcille.
All that to say... headcanon-wise (everything from here on is 100% without evidence lmao), I'd like to think that she matured and realized that she failed Marcille. I imagine her being regretful about it, wanting a chance to fix it but never finding a way to insert herself back into Marcille's life when Marcille is so so so busy becoming the most accomplished mage possible. I imagine her being herself again, now, so many years after her loss and after remarrying -- but with her cheerfulness tempered with a lot more wisdom and the pain of having gone through loss like that. I think the second Marcille actually tells her what happened in the dungeon, she'd want to go running to her daughter again -- if Marcille tells her the full truth instead of just being embarrassed she let things get that far. (oh, the tragedy of her wanting to be more like her mother and an accomplished adult who doesn't need to be babied... being embarrassed to actually tell her mother how much she fucked up...)
There's also the tension of her having remarried -- I know that there's at least a little bit of resentment that Marcille harbours about that, because she's childish like that at heart even if she makes an effort not to externalize it. I think that her mother would be aware of that, potentially adding to her sense of guilt and apprehension at trying to reappear/intrude on Marcille's life. I honestly don't think Marcille has met her stepfather -- or even considers him a stepfather rather than "mama's new husband" and kind of a total stranger. I think she and her mother actively don't talk about it in their correspondence, like an elephant in the room.
but, ultimately, I think her mother is on her side no matter what. Ancient magic? Dark necromancy? Sure, she'll feel guilty and like she was partially responsible for setting Marcille down such a painful path, but she wouldn't care. that's her daughter!! she would've moved back west and been petitioning for her at the court, buying a house right next to the Canaries barracks and visiting her every day that she wasn't on a mission. And if her husband had opinions on Marcille becoming a "dark arts user," he either gets over it or it's divorce with him. Yes, she might have had her optimism completely humbled by losing Donato like that -- but she's still headstrong and self-assured and she doesn't care what people think of her. It's her way or the highway and she's always going to be in Marcille's corner.
(She also needs a name lol. I went with Juno, just to be cute about "Marcille"s closest real life equivalent being Marcella, which is the female version of Marcellus, which in turn is a diminutive of Marcus, which was derived from Mars. Absolutely in love with Marcille potentially being named after Ares/Mars the fucking god of war btw)
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