#we got some smiles at the end too that invoked some gay panic

[mer-se]

Prima facie round two. 5/17 🎭🤍

[helisol]

:)

again not a finished fic but very extensive notes, this one’s a chonker, 4k words

tl;dr: take it a ds9 but make it into high fantasy wizards. garashir, kiradax and quodo. we’ve got it all here folks.

SO BASICALLY 

I read a book about a young witch apprentice in a world where every magician has a ~special name~ based on an object/plant/animal they’re spiritually connected to.

then I watched ds9 and got introduced to the concept of cardassians being lizards.

the result- wizard lizard.

So Garak “The Lizard” is a mage that got exiled from his home country and ended up taking a pretty neat job in a rural area of a larger empire where being a wizard is Cool and Widely Accepted. 

his duties include keeping the villages around his tower safe, looking for young mages to turn into apprentices, and sometimes making clothes because he’s Still A Tailor.

however, because of his chronic “i no wanna work” disease, this lizard has not actually been looking around the villages near him for magically gifted children. shame on him. 

because through his negligence Julian Bashir, young village doctor, grew up without even knowing that he can do ~magic~

but he soon finds out when his town gets attacked by a Big Evil Magic Monster. The Lizard is taking his sweet time to come to their rescue and Julian can’t just sit by and watch innocent people get mauled by a Chimera or Giant Mantis.

So Julian does the heroic thing and jumps inbetween a wounded child and the monster in the exact second Garak shows up.

And he gets to watch as Julian unleashes some Magic for the first time.

Then Garak Kind Of Abducts Julian So He Can Teach Him Magic

Garak is contractually obligated and allowed to take on anyone who is capable of magic as an apprentice, and he finds Julian’s magic interesting enough to invoke that contract now. Not Julian himself though. Only his magic. for now.

Julian- for like, the first week- is NOT OKAY with being teleported into a tower fortress by a wizard he finds intimidating and scary, and he loudly protests when Garak actually starts to teach him magic spells.

However, this is Julian, and he *is* intrigued by the thought of being able to use magic For Doing Good.

So one night he admits defeat and slinks up to the tower and goes “Okay. Compromise. Teach me healing magic.”

To which Garak is like 👀 “Okay.”

They start having regular magic lessons mostly focused on healing, which Julian is just naturally good at. So they move on to other things. Which Julian is Not naturally good at.

And he becomes very frustrated.

Garak tries to assuage him and says that he doesn’t have to be accomplished in every single field and discipline- which is logically true- but Julian is having none of it since Garak is accomplished in every field.

In a fit of anger Julian unleashes emotional magic again and breaks some of Garak’s things. Books, vials, a desk, nothing super major. But Julian is still surprised and shocked at himself for causing trouble like this and he Runs Away. Straight up exits stage left.

And Garak, who just got flung against the wall by his little apprentice, just rushes to the window and looks as Julian runs away and he is. Disappointed.

Next we have Julian returning home and everyone is like "Doctor!!! You were gone for half a year???" And Julian is like "I thought I was only gone for a month at most-"

Yeah the joke is time flies when you’re having fun because Julian *did* have fun living with Garak. He doesn’t regret leaving though, after all Garak was probably furious after he wrecked his study he wasn’t.

So Julian says to himself "Hmph. I'll just stay home for a week. Garak will hardly notice I'm gone. And then I can make it up to him."

But Then He Stays For A Whole Month

He has to instruct a new doctor to take over the nearby villages, do some paperwork, help some sick people, practice some magic on his own- and at the end of the month He Doesn’t Want To Stay Any Longer.

He’s always been different from the other village people, and now he finally got a taste of what it’s like to have someone help you to achieve your potential and widen your horizon and he *doesn’t* want to give that up for a boring but busy country life.

So back to the tower it is. Julian arrives, the place is kind of messy, and when he finds Garak he is in his study. on the floor. a little drunk, definitely sad, and Very Surprised To See Him.

Here we get a scene where Garak tipsily tells Julian how much he’s grown to appreciate him, not just for his magic talent, but as a person- and that he’s missed him.

But The Next Morning Garak Does Not Remember

And he's just like "Oh Julian. Youre back. I'd almost forgotten about you."

For a second Julian wants to punch a wall because *Yesterday You Told Me You Missed Me*, but then he just Smiles. settles for what they have right now. and asks Garak to continue teaching him magic.

so they go on. and have. so many gay moments.

And then Garak gets told to attend some kind of magic council meeting/banquet.

Julian says something along the lines of "Oh well, guess I'll stay home. You know, protect the fort. Practice magic." but he's a little sad about it.

But garak just goes "Hmm No. I'm taking you with me"

"What-" "I'm introducing you as my apprentice to the magic council." "W h a t-" "Oh also you need pretty clothes for this so I'm gonna make you some. Since you’re a commoner with no actual taste." "W H A T-"

So garak makes a really nice suit for Julian and for himself they match and they go to the Cool Wizard Banquet.

At which Julian meets a lot of wizards and witches and he's like "Wow this is so exciting!" but he also realises he is a Total Country Bumpkin And Noob compared to these people and their apprentices.

He also hears that Apparently the Local Wizard of every region is supposed to do a 5-yearly sweep of the surrounding towns to check for kids that have magic potential and then send them to Magic School/take them in as their apprentice directly.

And Garak. Did not do that.

He was Lazy and Angery. Exile will do that to you.

Julian isn’t too happy when he learns about this and he walks out of the banquet hall into the garden- to where Garak follows him.

"So just because you were all bitchy about having to follow this country's rules about magic you let me grow up not knowing my full potential? How many of my childhood friends might be able to do magic if they tried?"

“I was in a really bad place back then."

"SO WHAT? Things are okay now because you found me? If you had been two minutes early during that attack you wouldnt even know I could use magic!"

"...but I *wasn’t* early!"

So Julian just throws up his hands in frustration and leaves to get away from Garak for a while.

The next day he mingles more with the other apprentices and they exchange Ideas and Skills and also Gossip about their teachers.

Some of the apprentices suggest that Julian could go to magic school for a while before applying for a *new* teacher, since obviously Garak did him wrong.

This doesn’t sound like a bad idea, so he talks with some older mages and most of them are friendly and are like “Oh yeah, sure, we’d love to take you in.”

But then it turns out a lot of people are talking behind his back about how much of an outlier he is.

(wizard culture is like 50% magic and 50% gossip)

So Julian is standing on a balcony and down below he hears a group of Douche Wizards discussing his inadequacies.

And it kinda makes Julian feel like absolute shit, so his powers go wobbly again. But then enter stage right: Garak

Who properly puts those wizards into their rightful place like "Say one more bad thing about my apprentice and I’ll blast your punk ass back to Romulus. You should KNOW the reason why I dont usually take apprentices, but here you are anyway saying he has no power. He has more power in his pinky than all of you combined."

Turns out there’s an extra layer to Why Garak didn’t do the "Check for Magicians in your Area" thing- it’s because he openly has no interest in training or working with anyone who isnt Special or Powerful.

Which means Julians happens to be. very special. and very powerful.

And hearing that from Garak makes him go 😳

His emotions are running high and he starts *floating*. Probably the worst thing to do on a first floor balcony out of All The Things To Do On A First Floor Balcony.

So he’s Floating and he doesnt know how to make that Stop.

He panics, starts falling and basically crashes right into Garaks arms.

"Oh great, youre right on time. We're leaving."

"What? But the banquet lasts for a week?" also I'm still a little mad but also a little in love with you?

But Garak has already teleported them back to the tower before he can really argue.

Anyway Julian is upset about many things overall, but mostly that he didnt get to dance. He practiced a lot in his off time.

Thank God Garak Knows This 

"...I know how to make magic music. Let’s have a little fun at least."

They dance and Julian starts floating *again*.

Garak 👀’s @ Julian floating "Okay I’ve been recording most of your emotion based powers. This is new."

Julian just Floats Higher out of embarrassment, so garak is like ‘well I'll just join him up there.’

So he does and Julian is like “WHY CAN YOU DO THAT. SHOW ME HOW TO DO THAT. HOW CAN I CONTROL THIS."

Turns out his emotions are too unclear, which makes his magic unbalanced, so really all they have to do is get him some Clarity.

Garak is like "Well one very easy way to do that is-" and then they kiss in the air. Floating. because I’m gay and I will use gay magic tropes as I see fit.

so that’s the garashir side of things, on to kiradax

There's Some Slow Burn In There

Basically Kira is a mage, but instead of using magic to fight she just Enchants Swords/Arrows/Other Weapons.

Because she fought in a wizard war and when there's not a lot of mana potions to go around you have to get creative.

She didn’t get a proper magician name because she was actually never anyone’s apprentice, but people still call her The Blade because she is just so cool.

Anyway in this universe mages age very slowly, and Kira is probably around 60 years old when she meets Jadzia. Which is not a lot in wizard years.

She does feels a little inadequate about being so Young and Inexperienced she didn’t really expect nor wanted to run into the legendary Jadzia Dax who everyone thinks is like 300 years old, maybe more.

So meeting someone who is her complete opposite just makes her go "Hmph. I dont wanna associate with you." 

But Jadzia keeps popping in randomly around her almost every day until Kira snaps like "WHAT is your problem???"

“I never learned how to enchant tools."

"What."

"Can you teach me?"

"The great Dax has never enchanted a single tool or weapon?"

"I took care of everything with other types of magic. Will you teach me?"

So Kira Nerys, The Blade, the person everyone looked down on because she uses enchanted tools instead of magic for everything- is being asked by this legendary mage to teach her something. What an honor. What an incredible thing.

But She Says No

So Jadzia keeps bothering her every day.

But eventually bothering her turned into "Hey wanna get some coffee? Wanna go to the library with me? Can I look at you while youre in the smithy? Do you wanna look at me while I come up with new magic formulas? Wanna get drunk together and maybe kiss but definitely have no recollection of it in the morning?"

- over a span of 10 years.

But at the end of those 10 years Jadzia still hasnt learned how to enchant tools.

And it takes One day at the magic banquet for Nerys to actually realise the Implications of that.

It’s the third banquet they've been to- together, as each other’s plus one.

They color coordinate their robes and wear matching accessoires. The works.

And Kira decides that now is the day to grill her Totally-Not-Girlfriend about the reason why she sticks around.

"You could have just gotten someone else to teach you how to enchant things."

"Why would I need anyone to teach me, I have you to enchant things *for me*."

"No but before I started doing it for you. Like the whole first five years of knowing me."

"Oh well I didn’t want anyone else because I was very much infatuated with you."

And Kira just bluescreens. Error 404 nerys.exe not found.

Until she catches herself.

"You...*were* infatuated with me?"

"Yes? You obviously never saw me that way though. So I stuck around for the good company and the coffee."

Now you see over the course of 10 years Kira’s irritation about Jadzia slowly turned into Something Else. But she thought Jadzia only saw her as a friend.

On the other hand Jadzia definitely had feelings from the start, but because kira was in Denial she didnt act on those feelings.

If I were a shitty writer or- god foirbid- *Straight*, I would have there be a miscommunication right about now and prolong their useless lesbian suffering.

But I’m not.

Basically Kira just goes 

"Okay but when you say *were* attracted to me does that mean you *stopped*?"

"Uh. No?"

"Cool. Excuse me, I need a moment."

So she tries to hide from this sudden revelation and her feelings in a hedge maze, but there’s no use hiding from Jadzia.

 Who, instead of just walking around the labyrinth to find her like a normal person, basically whacks down the bushes in a straight line until she reaches Kira.

"THERE YOU ARE! I used this completely unenchanted sword to get to you and tell you I definitely still like you. Now will you PLEASE teach me how to enchant tools as your first courting gift?"

And Kira is like "God yes you dumbass-" and they kiss.

now wizard quodo is funny because I kind of started this part as a joke but then it all got Serious

First of all Quark is Actually A Really Powerful Magician.

But what does he do with his great power?

Move from his home country to the city of wizards and open a bar.

Because he is still fundamentally *Quark*.

And Odo is still fundamentally Odo, because he is a Shapeshifting Alien From Actual Outer Space You Know.

He still went through the whole "I was studied by scientists (wizards) and couldnt let them know I was sentient for a long time which made me very grouchy and lonely" thing.

So Odo spends like ~100 years going from captivity/being an object of scientific study to living as a guard in the city of wizards.

Basically everyone thinks that Odo cant use magic- including Odo- because, well, he’s a bunch of slime that came from a meteor.

Then he meets Quark, powerful wizard and bartender.

And he has *no* idea who he is.

Only that he’s the guy who runs that one shady gambling bar and is involved in some illegal business.

And Quark is like "Ah finally. A worthy opponent."

So he and Quark have the same vibe as on DS9- where Quark keeps doing illegal stuff and Odo tries to stop him and the universe decides to say enemies to lovers 400k words slowburn.

And one day Quark gets into some Seriously shady business with some people who are now very aggressively demanding Quark give them their money back

and they're. you know. threatening violence.

Odo shows up and right before this one dude is about to straight up sucker punch Quark he's like "HALT!" and Wow He Made A Magic Happen.

Now. Because Quark is Indebted to Odo. He is expected to take him on as his magic apprentice.

At first he is Not Down For That. They both aren’t. So even though technically they are teacher and apprentice they both just refuse to work together.

Until Odo goes to check up on Quark one day- because as we all know he makes it a point to drop by his bar four times a day just to let him know he's thinking about him- and Quark is in trouble again.

Only this time Odo is like "I'm not gonna help him. I dont even know how I *could* help him. Since he hasn’t taught me any magic, the bastard."

So he wants to just pass by and leave when Quark basically starts to just Demolish these people with magic in a frightening and totally not impressive display.

MIND YOU Quark is still generally incompetent. If this was D&D he'd have like, very low skill points but unlimited spell slots.

Anyway Odo goes 👀

Because him being unable to use magic in a country/city where everyone he *knows* can use magic has always made him feel bad.

So he goes to Quark like "Okay. I changed my mind. Please teach me magic."

And Quark tries to teach Odo magic, earnestly. 

And Odo tries to learn magic from Quark, for real. 

But the key word here is *try*.

Because neither is very good at what theyre *trying* to do.

Odo didn’t Really want to learn from Quark and that's pretty much the reason why Quark doesnt Really want to teach Odo. But They Try.

There’s a lot of fights and arguments and "You’re not doing it right" vs "You’re not explaining it right"

But hey, at least Odo can now do some magic, which makes his guard job a lot easier.

He also gets to socialise more with other wizards and their apprentices, and he becomes a generally happier pile of humanoid goo!

Meanwhile Quark slowly but surely turns into a more Respected wizard. And his bar also becomes a bit more respectable as well.

it's almost like,,they both wanna be,,,,their best selves,,

and learning to work together has Somehow set them on the right path,,,

idk man sounds kinda gay,,,,

But then the banquet rolls around.

Quark is like "Oh fuck I Have to take Odo to this social function because hes my apprentice and thems are the rules."

and Odo is like "Oh fuck I Have to attend this social function with Quark because thems the rules."

The vibe they’re both getting is- "It's all fun and games when we're by ourselves but Somehow acting friendly in public feels Wrong." 

So they agree to Arrive together and then split up and spend as little time as possible together lest they fall victim to some kind of *feeling*.

And like all plans that Odo and Quark make it works out brilliantly for Exactly 5 Minutes.

Because while Quark is talking to his accomplished and very boring wizard acquaintances he kinda realises "God I wish Odo were here-"

And as Odo is talking to all these annoying ass apprentices he kinda realises "God I wish Quark was here-"

So that's what they do on the first day of the banquet. and the second. and the third. 

They just keep only seeing each other from the corner of their eyes but dont really get to talk/argue about anything and it's making them feel Not So Good, Actually

Now the fourth day is the kicker.

Because while Odo is talking to some people he gets tapped on the shoulder and there he is! The worst father on this side of the galaxy! Doctor Mora- but like, as a wizard scientist.

"Oh my god Odo? You’re here? How did you manage that? You can’t use magic dont be silly! *I* studied you and who would know you better than me? What? *you* know yourself better? Nonsense, now walk with me- how have you been :)?"

Obviously Odo is getting Very distressed but he can't exactly say No, so he walks around with Mora.

They sit down near a fountain and his ‘father’ just starts grilling Odo about what he's been up to.

And eventually they start talking about Quark

"Wait, *Quark*? The absolute magic failure who runs that disgusting establishment? That Quark?"

"Well I wouldnt put it like that, he’s not-"

But Mora goes on- "Oh no my dear boy that won't do! You have to learn from a *good* wizard. Like me! Dont you want that? Oh I'm sure you want that. That nasty good for nothing will resign as your teacher first thing tomorrow!"

And Odo is like "Now wait a minute, Quark might have his flaws, but-"

"There! See, you admitted it. He's flawed. He can't possibly be a good teacher for you. But I would be! I *raised* you."

But Odo is getting Rather Angy right about now.

"Well you did a pretty bad job raising me considering you didnt even know I could do magic until now."

"I can’t believe it. Quark is such a bad influence on you. You never used to talk back at me. This is what happens when you hang around with people who dont know you like I do."

Then something in him snaps and Odo just goes Off on Mora.

"MAYBE *YOU* DONT KNOW *HIM* LIKE I DO!"

And he basically breaks the fountain theyre sitting at with some accidental emotional magic.

So after Mora goes "...I better get someone to fix that-" and runs off, Odo is standing in front of this broken fountain and thinks about how this might be a cruel metaphor for his life. And then the worst possible thing happens.

He Spots Quark Badly Hidden Behind A Pillar

Internally he just goes 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA' 

Externally though it’s more like "How much of that did you hear???"

Quark’s trying to lighten the mood with a "Haha well it's hard to avoid hearing things with lobes as big as mine!" 

But Odo is not playing, so he breaks the fountain some more. As intimidation.

So Quark goes "Okay. Alright. I heard all the parts where you defended my honor. Now move aside."

And Odo goes 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAA' inside again, so he doesnt really move but just gets nudged aside by Quark.

Who returns the fountain back to its previous state.

Things are nice and silent for a second but then Quark disturbs the moment by saying "Okay now, real talk- you want another teacher, is that right?"

So Odos head whips up and he goes "No??? What the fuck quark. I thought you listened to that conversation. Youre the only one I want-"

and he Immediately slaps a hand over his mouth because Oh God That Came Out Wrong-

But Quark is just Laughing and being his usual little shit self like "Haha good one, let's go back inside now. (where the social conventions will force us to remain apart so we dont have to confront what you just said.)"

on the inside though- Quark is just as 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA' as Odo

"I absolutely Cannot go inside and socialise right now, I’ve had Quite enough of that." 

"Oh...well then...i'll leave you be?"

"No don’t-"

So Odo quickly grabs Quark’s hand (and Quark just fuckin uh dies on the spot) but he's not very communicative at the moment. So Quark kinda has to just interpret that for himself.

"Aaaaalright- let’s just take a walk then."

So they walk through the rose garden. holding *hands*. and Quark points out nice or interesting things while Odo just nods or hums in agreement.

Until they’ve come full circle and end up back at the fountain, where Quark is like "Okay. Wanna go back inside *now*?" 

Because he swears if they spend one more second like this he will HAVE to kiss this pile of space goo and he’d rather Odo make that decision for him.

And Odo is like "I just want to stay with you."

So Quark is like ‘Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool’, pulls them behind a hedge and kisses Odo.

because on GOD I enjoy the “going from an argument straight into kissing” trope, but that one is actually too on brand for quodo so I HAD to change it up.

[troiings]

Babe for the kisses I want hackle and 15 but not established relationship pls and ty love u!!!!

I’m sorry this took so long babe but i reckon the fact that this is 1800 words long oughtta tell you why lmfao (this got seriously out of control)

have some gay panic hecate and some ‘it took you long enough’ ada

They’re in the conservatory when the rain starts. It’s not entirely unexpected, but Hecate had thought it might hold off another half-hour or so, at the least.

She glances up through the glass ceiling and grunts her discontent, only to receive Ada’s quiet hum of a laugh in response. “Something wrong, Hecate?”

Hecate stiffens at the question; Ada has been with her the whole time, but it still somehow catches her off-guard. “I was… looking forward to the walk back,” Hecate says slowly, haltingly, pointedly examining the plant in front of her rather than looking at Ada. She manages to adopt something closer to her usual cadence, simultaneously lilting and clipped, when she speaks again. “It is nice to stretch one’s legs outside of the castle, from time to time.” This isn’t untrue, but she fears that looking at the other witch will reveal the sentiment behind it. It is nice to stretch her legs outside of the castle, certainly, but she treasures her walks along the castle grounds at Ada’s side more than she cares to admit.

The truth is, Hecate wants to devour every possible moment with Ada Cackle. Ada, who had given her a posting at one of the finest witching schools there is, made Hecate her right hand, who trains up young witches with softness and light, but who had proven just last year that she wasn’t all fluff. A terrible two-year-long attempt at cooperation with Agatha as co-headmistress had ended rather abruptly with a short-lived duel. Agatha’s attack had been unannounced, a flagrant breach of the Code, but Ada had handled herself well; Agatha’s transformation into a snail, had not only been entirely warranted, but executed with what appeared to be incredible ease.

“She underestimates anyone who lacks aggression,” Ada had explained softly, giving Hecate’s arm a squeeze. “One must never underestimate kindness. Had she been wise, she might have invoked Section Seven; I rather think she wasn’t planning that far ahead.”

Hecate doesn’t like the thought of witnessing a well-planned Section Seven duel between the two witches, keeps it from her mind as much as possible.

“Who’s to say we can’t still walk back, Miss Hardbroom?” Ada asks, coming up alongside her.

Hecate’s nostrils flare with her surprise at the statement. She turns to meet Ada’s gaze, but Ada too is steadfastly examining a plant, giving Hecate a view of nothing but the shorter woman’s silver-streaked hair, grown down to her shoulders again and frizzed up to half-again its volume by the humidity. Hecate loves Ada’s hair, the heavy curls, the way it silvers as she ages…

She does not love the idea of walking back to the castle in the rain.

“You’re joking,” she says flatly.

“What makes you say that?”

“You don’t honestly expect—”

“Oh, Hecate, we have drying spells for a reason,” Ada says amicably, finally turning to face Hecate. Her eyes glimmer with challenge.

Hecate’s heart thunders in her ears at that look, but she refuses to bite. “No.”

Ada arches an eyebrow, frowns slightly, and then shrugs, reaches to pat Hecate gently on the arm. “Suit yourself,” she says in the same soft, amiable tone.

She withdraws, moves for the door. Hecate watches, waiting for the penny to drop.

Ada steps into the rain.

“Really, Ada,” Hecate calls, following her to the door.

Ada turns, smiles back, rain pattering against her head and shoulders. “I’ll see you inside,” she says, easy as you please. “My office for tea?”

If Ada thinks turning around and continuing her casual stroll through the rain is going to convince Hecate to follow her, she is absolutely wrong. Hecate is more than aware enough of these silly tactics, though she can sometimes be goaded by them, if only, only by Ada, because she can be as persuasive as she is soft.

She finds herself wondering, after transferring away from the greenhouse, if Ada turned around, found herself disappointed that Hecate did not follow.

But when Ada arrives at the doors of the school, Hecate is waiting with a warm, dry cardigan outstretched in her hands.  A drying spell may be effective indeed at removing water from clothes and body, but it can’t quite negate the damp chill that seems to settle into bones after exposure, so she waits patiently, an eyebrow quirked as Ada approaches the already-opened door, raising a hand to block the pattering rain from obscuring her gaze. She’s soaked through: magenta cardigan hanging heavily against her body, hair plastered against her cheeks. Hecate can’t decide if the sight is ridiculous or pitiful.

Or captivating. (Absurd, she tells herself, but her rational mind does not own her emotions, cannot quell the attraction she feels to this wise and bright and carefree and bone-soaked, outrageous woman.)

But Ada glances up the steps and into Hecate’s face, smiles broadly, fondly, and Hecate feels her heart stutter.

They stand there for a span, Ada evidently unperturbed by the pattering rain, Hecate poised in the doorway. It takes a long moment for Hecate to find her voice. “Well come inside, then,” she says, swallowing heavily against the lump she suddenly finds in her throat.

Ada gives her one of those looks, brows raised over the rim of her spectacles, and lifts the hem of her skirt to traverse the few steps up to the doorway. She pauses at the entry, blinking back at Hecate’s carefully-schooled, disapproving expression. “Oh, come, Hecate. It’s not so bad.”

“Yes, I have been in the rain before,” Hecate replies with a sniff, profering the cardigan.

Ada, however, has not so much as attempted a drying spell. “And have you considered that it is one of the simplest, purest ways to commune with the nature we so revere?” she asks in that tone: mellow and gentle, a sweet sing-song, impossible to mount a proper argument against because when she uses it she is most assuredly right. “Come.”

I don’t want to would be enough for Ada, Hecate knows, but when Ada wraps her fingers ever so gently around Hecate’s wrists and tilts her head back toward the open door, I don’t want to seems absurdly petty.

It doesn’t help that Hecate would go to the very ends of the earth for Ada.

Hecate manages a dramatic sigh. Rolls her eyes. Watches as Ada’s smile twitches on her lips (she knows Hecate too well). She succumbs without much hesitation, magics the cardigan away and lets Ada lead her by the wrist down the steps and into the weather.

It’s not a hard rain, really, but the drops fall heavy on her skin, sending a chill down her spine despite the otherwise mild weather. Ada hovers close, radiating far too much warmth. Hecate watches her for a moment, breathless. Closes her eyes, tries to find that communion, tries to inundate herself in the rainfall and the gusting wind and the warm summer air, but all she can think about is Ada’s soft blue eyes, the twist and curl of Ada’s lips into a knowing smile. She stands there, blows a drop of water off of the tip of her nose, hears Ada’s low chuckle in response.

Before she has even begun to think it through, she’s bent over, lips pressed firmly to Ada’s. For the briefest moment, all that exists is the cool softness of Ada’s mouth and that faintest buzz of her lips and the warm exhale through her nose when she hums in response to the touch.

And then she realises, with a surge of panic, that she is kissing Ada. Ada, Miss Cackle, the Headmistress, her superior. She pulls back as if she’s been burned, stuttering out an apology, and lifts her hands—or tries to—all but ready to transfer immediately away.

But Ada still has her fingers wrapped gently around one of Hecate’s wrists, and Hecate glances down, wild-eyed, when her grip tightens. Just slightly. Just enough. Enough to keep Hecate rooted where she stands, staring, as Ada reaches forward to soothe her fingers against Hecate’s other arm. She releases then, still touching but not holding on anymore, but any thought Hecate had of fleeing is overruled by the softness of Ada’s touch, by the warmth of her nearness.

Hecate opens her mouth to speak, swallows. Tries again.

“Hecate,” Ada says softly.

“I’m sorry,” Hecate finds herself repeating. “I shouldn’t have—I don’t know—I’m so—”

“Hecate” Ada repeats almost sternly. Hecate finds herself silenced, searching Ada’s face as the other woman’s expression breaks into a fond smile. Hecate could swear there’s mischief behind her eyes. “It’s about time, really.”

“I—it’s—?”

Before she can finish the thought, she’s silenced by the insistent press of Ada’s mouth against her own, the heat of Ada’s palms cupping her face. She squeals in surprise, freezes for the barest moment. In the next, her hands fumble up to Ada’s neck and she bends into the kiss, into the urgent but chaste press of their lips. They move in tandem, shifting, and Hecate tastes rain on Ada’s wet skin, whimpers at the sensation of raindrops disturbed by the friction of their mouths, by the tickling trickle of water on lips.

When the kiss ends, Hecate’s breath is ragged. She parts her lips, tries counting breaths—in five, out five—eyes darting across Ada’s features, searching eyes and softly smiling mouth, her own hands at Ada’s neck. Ada’s thumbs brush her cheekbones, and she can feel everything, the burning heat of her own cheeks, the warmth of Ada’s hands, the chill of the rain. The sensations are foreign and strange, do nothing to quell the thundering of her heart.

“You’re shivering,” Ada says gently, voice just carrying over the rain and the blood pounding in Hecate’s ears. “Let’s get you inside.”

Hecate’s hands go searching, down Ada’s neck to rest atop her shoulders. She clings, nods, and they appear in Ada’s study, body and clothes dry, stood by the warm hearth. Ada guides her back and she takes a seat, eyes focused now on Ada’s lapel.

“How—how long?” she stammers roughly. How long has Ada felt for her, how long has Ada suspected that Hecate felt something? Had she, before? About time rings through Hecate’s ears like a mantra.

“Long enough.”

“I—”

But Ada bends, presses a soft kiss to the crown of Hecate’s head, and a cup of tea appears in front of her—conjured, not good for any qualities of caffeine or herbs, but sufficient enough to warm from the inside.

“Drink,” Ada urges softly, and Hecate wants to sink into her, into the softness and warmth of her presence, to disappear in her lilting voice and her blue blue blue eyes and— “Then we’ll talk.”