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fortheglowingeyes · 3 months ago

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I might have gotten a little carried away, this ended up a bit over 2k words. Anyway, this is a gift for my dearest friend @lordofthesoups

Epsilon: Five Years Later

suggested listening:

Living with two archeologists, Florence Sharp heard on a daily basis that five years was comparatively insignificant in the scope of the universe. Five years was a breath among trillions, even more. Blink and you miss it.

Five years ago to this day, Florence Sharp had fled Egypt with her family in tow. The dead of night, after a week of absolute chaos on sight. The private investigator had disappeared, along with an artifact of immense power. Cultists were being dragged onto the gallows every hour. Men from all camps were found dead.

Five years ago to this day, Florence Sharp had received the orders to find and kill the cultist Gideon Hayes. She took her family and they left that very night.

They didn’t immediately make it to Dawlish- they took the first boat to Sicily, then across to Spain. The few months they stayed in Spain were quite nice- nobody knew their names, and they had the privacy to recuperate. But only Wolf knew Spanish, so the solution couldn’t be permanent. They didn’t go home, but they went close. Sebastian and Gabriel gave up their titles- and they faced backlash for months. First time back in the public, and people tore them to shreds.

But things had settled down, after five years. She took walks with her family on the beach, she volunteered time at the museum Gabriel and Sebastian worked at, she was… happy.

In all honesty, Florence didn’t think she’d make it this far. She wasn’t the type of girl to settle down, to find herself in a kitchen with an apron covered in flour.

But Wolf was trying to make Sebastian and Gabriel chocolate banana pancakes for the couple’s anniversary. Let it be known that Wolf Monroe should not be allowed in the kitchen. The kid was good at plenty of things, but cooking was not one of them.

“Looking sharp.” Gideon called from the doorway.

Florence shot her boyfriend a scathing look over her shoulder, blowing hair from her face. When they fled, she’d shaved her hair, once reaching the small of her back. She kept it short for a couple years, but was trying to grow it back out now. It was just long enough to get in the way, but still too short to get out of her face.

“I haven’t heard that one before.” Florence said, returning her attention to the bowl of batter. “When are they returning?”

“Probably soon. You know Seb’s leg is getting worse.”

Florence scowled. Pain medications and crutches weren’t enough as Sebastian got older. He was ready to accept that one day he’d lose mobility completely- just how it is, he told them. He could still get a wheelchair, but those weren’t very useful on sand.

“Okay. Wolf, do you want to flip the pancakes or clean the bowl?” Florence asked, not trusting the kid to do much of either.

“I can flip them.” Wolf said, arms crossed. Sometimes Florence forgot they were twenty one now. Five years. How could anyone think that was nothing? “Trust me.”

“Okay, kid.” Florence said, handing him the spatula. “Remember, don’t wait too long, but make sure the edges are a little more cooked so you can flip it without it falling apart.”

“I’ve got it, Florence!” Wolf said.

They’d figure it out.

“Gideon, can you help me with the dishes?” Florence said.

“Yes, love.” Gideon hummed, crossing the kitchen to hug her from behind. Florence laughed quietly and kissed his temple. “Am I helping?”

“No, dumbass.” Florence said fondly. “Seb and Gabriel will be back any second, and I need to get out of this apron.”

“Okay.” Gideon reluctantly let her go.

Florence escaped the kitchen and took the hall to her and Gideon’s room. She tossed the flour covered apron in the basket for their laundry and dug around her side of the closet for something acceptable to wear. The routine was as familiar as breathing, so she wasn’t paying attention as she reached for her comb and grabbed a box instead.

Right.

…right.

She slowly opened it, nudging the bathroom door closed. The ring she’d bought was on a whim nearly a month ago. A jewellery shop was having a sale on engagement rings and…

No. That was a dangerous line of thought.

Florence wasn’t the type of girl to give into forever.

Still, she pocketed the ring box. To return, she told herself. She had no need for it.

“Florence!” Gideon called down the hall. “They’re back!”

Florence bit her lip. “Yeah, I’m almost done.”

She’ll return the ring. Soon. Eventually.

Brunch was a hit. The pancakes were actually pretty damn good, so Florence had to rescind her statement about them being useless in the kitchen. Wolf always figured out to do whatever they put their mind to, the poster child for determination. It was an admirable quality, if not bemusing.

Later that night, Florence had escaped to the porch, watching the sky turn the gentle tide golden and pink. Peace.

“Florence?” Florence hummed at Gabriel’s voice, closing her eyes as the porch door shut and he sat beside her. “You’ve been quiet today.”

“I think Gideon and Wolf spoke enough for the lot of us.” Florence said. “Besides, it’s your day, not mine.”

“You do know what today is, right?”

“Your anniversary?” Florence guessed.

“Don’t be dense.”

Florence let her eyes open, but didn’t look at her friend. “The day we left Egypt. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Sebastian and I said it was our anniversary so the day wouldn’t have such negative connotations.” Gabriel explained. “Our actual anniversary? Who knows? Who cares? But it’s been five years.”

“Absolutely no time at all.”

“And yet an eternity.” Gabriel said sagely. “I was thinking about Charlie Dowd this morning.”

Florence laughed. “That bastard? Haven’t given his memory the time of day in ages. He’s not worth our time, Gabriel.”

“Maybe. But I wonder if he got his happy ending too.”

“Nobody gets happy endings.” Florence snapped. “Don’t you get it? Sebastian’s getting weaker every day and you’ll be alone, Wolf has been orphaned by their family without a second thought, and Gideon and I weren’t supposed to survive Egypt. Charlie Dowd is a fugitive and a criminal and has probably been killed by whatever the fuck was hunting him in the first place.”

“Happy middle, then.” Gabriel said quietly. “I love Sebastian. And one day, he will die. Yes. But that does not change the fact that I love him. Wolf has found a family here with us, and I know they’re happy here. You and Gideon survived. You have each other and a future ahead of you. Why are you fighting it?”

Florence stood, pacing away from Gabriel. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

“You deserve-”

“If you tell me I deserve to be happy I will make sure you die before Sebastian.” Florence snapped. Gabriel fell silent at that for a long time. Florence clenched her jaw, then turned to face him. He was studying the wrinkles on his hand, eyes cast down. “I- I’m sorry, Gabe. I shouldn’t have said that-”

“I just don’t understand why you believe yourself to be incapable of peace.” Gabriel said. “I’ll leave you to your thoughts, Florence.”

“Wait!” Florence said. “Gabriel, I’m sorry-”

“I know.”

“I’m scared.” Florence said, stopping him right before he opened the porch door. He didn’t turn around, but didn’t go inside either. Florence swallowed her pride and dug the engagement ring box from her pocket. “I’m scared that if I let myself rest, something will happen to us. I’m scared that if I… if I commit, that he’ll leave. And marriage didn’t work out between my parents, and I know it’s not a requirement but- but i think- well, maybe…”

Gabriel turned and saw the ring box in her hand, closed, useless. The weariness softened into something young and fond. “Oh, Florence.”

“And it sounds stupid,” Florence said, trying to swallow back childish tears. “But what if he says no?”

“Come here, Florence.” Gabriel said, opening his arms. Florence collapsed into his chest, and he let her cry. “It’s okay to be scared. It keeps us grounded. We have your back, and Gideon has your heart. It’s our turn to keep you safe.”

“Th- That’s my job.” Florence sniffled.

“And you did a fine job of it.” Gabriel said, combing his fingers through her hair. “Thank you.”

A week later, Gabriel was walking Florence around town for the entirety of the morning, rather energized. He treated her to breakfast, and they circled their small town twice by the time they ran into Wolf.

“Hi!” Wolf said. “Ready for lunch?”

“Why yes.” Gabriel said amiably.

“Okay, what is up with you two?” Florence asked. “You’re both oddly chipper today.”

Gabriel looped his arm in hers. “Today’s just a good day, my dear.”

Florence rolled her eyes and the three of them made their way back home. But they passed it instead, and took the dirt road down to the beach. “Uh, lunch?”

“Yes, a picnic.” Wolf said. “Just this way!”

Florence laughed. “What are you two doing?”

“Just wait.” Gabriel said. They followed Wolf down the beach to a small cove hidden by a rather large rock and some shrubbery. A few paces safe from the shore, a blanket was set out with flowers littered around the edges, along with a basket of food and a bottle of wine.

Gabriel nodded to Wolf, who squeezed her hand. “Go get ‘em.”

“Wh-” Florence started, but Wolf was already jogging off.

Gabriel handed her the ring box. She had given it to him for safekeeping, mainly so she wouldn’t toss it into the sea out of anxiety.

“Gabriel.” Florence warned.

“You don’t have to do anything.” Gabriel assured her. “But… think about it like a good luck charm. Not that you need it.”

Florence studied the rings inside. They were two simple gold bands, but one was carved to look like rope.

“Enjoy your lunch, Florence.” Gabriel said with a cheeky smile.

Florence rolled her eyes. “Okay. You win.”

Gabriel stepped away, nodding gently. Florence took a deep breath and made her way to the blanket. After a few minutes, Sebastian appeared with Gideon. His eyes widened, and he looked at Sebastian as if confirming what he was seeing.

Sebastian nodded and pushed him forward.

Gideon was blushing bright red when he sat beside Florence. “You know, you could have asked me out like normal.”

“Mm. Where’s the fun in that?” Florence asked. “Besides, I uh- I wasn’t aware of this either.”

“Was this why Sebastian and Wolf were acting weird this morning? Keeping me cooped up inside?”

“I think so.” Florence said. “But uh- since we’re here- might as well enjoy it, right?”

“Hey, I’ll take any chance to spend time with you.”

Florence leaned over to kiss him. “You flatter me.”

“Always the best for you. Let’s see what they made us, huh?”

An assortment of sandwiches, including some fancy cheese they didn’t really know what to do with, so they broke it into chunks. Wolf most likely made the menu, but their clueless pairing of food was quite endearing.

Gideon opened the wine- Wolf also forgot to pack them some glasses, so they passed the bottle back and forth.

“This is nice.” Gideon said with a content sigh. “We should do this more.”

Now would be a perfect time. They’d finished their meal, slowly getting warm on wine, the sea breeze feeling quite perfect on their faces.

“Florence?”

Florence realized just now that they were dressed in black and white. Gabriel had gotten the blouse for her, comfortable and subtly patterned. The perfect linen texture he knew she loved. Gideon was wearing a black button down, short sleeves, and the same fabric. The fuckers planned their outfits too.

“...Flo?”

“Hm?”

“You zoned out on me there.” Gideon said softly. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m getting married.” Florence blurted out.

“...What?”

“I-” Florence burned, pushing herself up and pacing away from Gideon. “Fuck, that’s not what I- Gid, I-”

“What are you trying to say?” Gideon asked, standing slowly. His expression was carefully shuttered.

“I.” Florence swallowed her pride. “I didn’t believe in marriage.”

Gideon raised an eyebrow. “Getting some strong mixed messages here.”

“But I want to get married.” Florence said. “To you.”

A short pause, and Gideon’s expression morphed from confusion to a hesitant brightness. Florence waited for an answer, but got nothing.

“So?” Florence asked meekly. The ocean was right there, wasn’t it? Trip and fall, don’t get up, die of shame before the water gets there.

Gideon’s grin was brighter than the goddamn sun. “Ask me properly, sweetheart, then I’ll think about it.”

“Dumbass.” Florence muttered. She took out the ring box and made her way back to the blanket. She met his eyes, which were brimming with more affection than she thought one man could carry.

“Gideon Hayes.” Florence said, lowering herself to one knee. “Will you marry me?”

Gideon bit his lip as if to tamp down his smile, but it was far too big to hide. “Yes, Florence. Yes.”

Gideon pulled her to her feet and drew her into a quick kiss. They were both smiling too wide to kiss properly, and Florence buried her face in his neck, feeling a laugh well up inside her.

“We’re getting married!” Gideon shouted, holding her tight. “I love you, Florence. I love you, I love you, I love-”

“I love you too, Gideon.” Florence interrupted. Five years ago she never thought she’d love someone as much as she did today. But hey, five years was a long time, and a lot could change. And in their case, she supposed it changed for the better.

#Wolf stumbles out of the bushes cheering btw #the man in the mirror #tmitm epsilon #florence sharp #gideon hayes #sebastian monroe #gabriel jenkins #wolf monroe #grayscale ocs #malevolent ocs #should I main tag this #Nah probably not

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