and there goes bo. he's slow to start his mornings, which she'd forgotten about and consequently learned she adored the fact that she'd forgotten about it. after all this time, part of her had worried that whatever this is between them now might go stale? like all the wanting should have stayed wanting. 

it's not the case. for her, at least. 

her fond look for bo withers back into concern for her friend, though she can't help but think that, whoever it was, it's probably better than penny. 

"what do you mean shouldn't have?" her brows furrow. "did you kiss...one of penny's sisters or something?" does she even have sisters?

ollie morales boruta maher

☉

she has a cider in hand. she needed one, and quickly. coming here had been a reminder of everything that had happened at last year's grand holiday party. she had thrown her champagne all over bo and left him to his depression while she chased after her asshat of a date.

she grips bo's arm. she hasn't worn heels in years, but tonight she's a little taller. tonight she even has makeup on. tonight she did her hair. the straight locks are somewhat wavy and tickle her cheeks, poking out from a handmade flower crown of evergeens and elderberries. 

bo spends a good portion of the night catching up and she's content by his side. until, that is, she sees ollie. 

ollie and penny in their cute matching outfits. 

"barf," she mutters under her breath, three ciders in, audible enough for bo to hear. 

ollie and penny talking. 

and then...everything else.

she stares, slack-jawed, watching penny dance with someone else. someone she doesn't recognize. and gods, ollie hurts so bad. she can see it in his shoulders and his jaw and that horrible tightness around his eyes. 

"bo, i want to throw my drink on her this time," she seethes and starts walking.

she hesitates, but doesn't stop, when ollie grabs a face in the crowd and smashed their lips together. 

oh, for gods' sake.

boruta maher

☉

to see him so warped. to see him torturing himself over her makes her mad, but mostly it makes her sad. and it makes her reach out to comfort him in the only way she really knows how. it feels just like any other time, shoulder to shoulder, arms wrapping around one of his, content to remind him that she's here and she's listening and she's sorry. 

"ollie, stop it." she gives a light shake of her head. "how can i keep saying that? because you're selfless. because you're loyal. because you love wholeheartedly, without abandon. because you always mean well. because you're genuine. because you're you and like i said - you're the best person i know."

ollie morales

☉

when she notices him looking around and towards roman's room, she says, "it's early. he won't be up 'til noon." there's a chance he's up, really, and is just playing video games on his phone. he does that sometimes to get away with doing the early morning farm work she tasks him with. 

lately, considering bo, she's been letting him get away with it. 

she leans back against the bannister separating the top level from the stairs and looks concernedly at her friend. his eyes are wild, hair mussed, and something must be really wrong if he can't even stop to properly say hi. or give her that usual ollie smile. 

"ollie, come on. you'd never do anything bad. out with it."

ollie morales boruta maher

☉

the last time they'd been here, she had felt much the same way she does now. warm after a nice meal, clumsy with anticipation and the squirrely anxiety that comes along with doing something you know you're not supposed to do, but doing it anyway because it feels right with the person you love, where nothing about the after matters, only the present. 

when she looked back on it, as she often had these last few years, it had been easy to chalk up her behavior to teenage hormones and lust, but now, close to him as she is, laughing while the years fall away, now she thinks it's just him. 

she looks up at the trees and they don't look taller at all. in fact, it all feels so much smaller. but she doesn't mind. all of those paths gone, cut away in lieu of motherhood, trapping her in fallarbor, keeping her close and just out of arm's reach from bo, close enough to find him again. 

close enough to smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling, and to reach up and cradle his jaw, tucking her thumb against his chin to ask, without words, will you kiss me again?

boruta maher

☉

it's been really nice having bo around. like, really nice. they've been taking it slow. by most accounts, they've been taking it slow - years of bottled emotions have all coalesced at once. bo hasn't exactly moved in, per se, but he spends a lot of his time around. 

he's stayed the night the past few nights. and she's been slow to wake, too pleased to lounge in bed curled up in his arms. 

she's half-dozing when ollie knocks, but sits straight up, moving off bo's heavy arm. she wriggles out of bed and jumps into her jeans, tosses on one of bo's shirts (which hangs more like a dress on her), and breezes down the hallway, down the stairs, and opens the door to one very panicked looking ollie. 

"ols? what - is everything okay?"

ollie morales boruta maher

☉

"don't tell me you're still drunk from last night," she says with a chuckle. it couldn't possibly be...maybe before the pizza, sure, but now?

either way, the flowers get tossed in the car and she's more able to slip her arm around bo's. he has to slow down to match her stride, but she knows he doesn't mind and anyway, she walks fast! fast enough that they get to the arboretum quickly  before the cold can set in. 

she takes them around the sides. of course they're not going to waltz right through the visitor center. they have their own way in, if she can remember where it is...

"ha! still here." in retrospect, it's kind of sad that the loose flats of part of the outer fence are still loose. or maybe it's not. maybe they weren't the first or the last unruly teens to sneak into this place after dark, alone among the flowers.

"come on," she whispers. and then simpers, "cowboy."

boruta maher

☉

they clear off away from the area. she leaves foxglove seated well enough away, but with clear instructions to ward off any of the other curious residents. 

when greyson approaches, her mouth flattens. 

"yeah," she says and holds out the shadow-touched venom comb on the flannel. "you got the queen?" and then, with a stern frown, "this wasn't supposed to be dangerous."

Greyson Connors

☉

with quite a bit of coaxing, nacho does what willow needs him to do. she's teasingly argued with boruta maher before that he listens to her way more, but this definitely seals the deal. foxglove does her best to quiet down the rest of the denizens; some of the deer had been spooked off, but she lends a soothing tie of energy with helping hand to draw them back.

above the treeline that sky still lingers, an oppressive force against the backdrop of the otherwise sleepy flower farm. and then it dissipates. the mid-afternoon sun shines back through. relief floods through her. 

with more light, she picks through the flooded patch of field to admire nacho's handiwork. 

'hazelnut, what did you find there?" she squats down next to the greedent. he clicks his tongue and holds out a battered piece of comb. it's stained black through and through. 

willow shakes off her flannel and wraps the piece in it and pats the squirrel on the head. 

"come on, all of you. we'll have the greyson and the league deal with the rest of this."

Greyson Connors

☉

he looks out for her. this is what a member of the elite four does. this is what the league does. she feels a low pang of guilt for what bo's lost - he helped people, he helped so many people like greyson - but that too fades away in the face of terror. 

the sky darkens.

willow's face pales and she nods tersely to greyson - what else can she do? he takes off after the battling vespiquen and willow sticks her fingers in her mouth to whistle. foxglove joins her with a squirrelly cry and nacho lopes from the side of the barn, mermaid tail fluttering behind him. 

"nacho, no, not play time," she says, exasperated and runs her tongue along the roof of her mouth. her cheeks tingle. a pleasant shiver goes down her spine and her nose crinkles, brows furrowing with worry immediately after when she realizes she must still have had honey on her hands from before. 

"i need you to wash down that area with the wood. but be careful."

Greyson Connors

☉