WHO: Terry & Willow WHEN: backdated to 5 December WHERE:the Tree Lighting WHAT: Terry notices someone watching them so he introduces himself. WARNINGS: N/A
The tree lighting ceremony seemed something from a story; one that had been read to Willow in her girlhood, that she saw through some dimly lit haze of warmth and security. Terry, Rolf, and the rest of their extended alternate universe family seemed like they belonged together. Like even perhaps they belonged within a snow globe.
She attempted to keep her distance. Likewise did she attempt to stick to the periphery but when the lights began to twinkle so sweetly, she stepped from her place in the crowd and let her eyes rest on the lights. Within the rebellion they had little but shared it equally much like this; it was, however, this richness of beauty that stopped her.
She pressed her hands together tightly against the cold and smiled.
So far, the evening had been everything Terry had hoped it would be: a little chaotic, but overflowing with love. It was exactly what Terry thought Christmas should be. He hadn’t felt that kind of Christmas spirit since before his final year at Hogwarts. Even when part of him said he should be cautious and not rush headlong into the future laid out in front of him, all he had to do was look at Rolf’s joy-filled smile, and Terry knew he couldn’t resist.
There was only one thing that kept distracting him: the young woman who’d been watching them.
Terry slipped away from Rolf with a kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek, and found his way over to where the young woman stood, entranced by the lights. He hadn’t really thought it through, though, so once he was there, he wasn’t sure what to say. “Is it your first time?”
As Terry spoke, shaking Willow from her observation, she turned and could not help the tears that sprang immediately to her eyes. Here was her adoptive father; young, bright, hale. At the beginning of his life. She smiled crookedly.
“I’ve never seen such unselfish beauty.”
Her description made Terry pull his gaze away from her to look back at the lights, to see if he could see what she did. What he saw wasn’t just the lights; it was the warm glow on all the faces gathered there. It made him smile, too.
“I see what you mean,” he answered, looking back at her again. He held out a hand. “I’m Terry.”
Willow turned and looked at his hand, then looked up and locked eyes with him. It felt so out of kilter to shake hands with her adoptive father. “Uh …” Tempest would be watching, she was sure. Tempest and Cassie and Leif. Just do it. That’s what they would tell her. There really wasn’t any gentle way to do it.
“You’re my dad,” she blurted out. “Well, my adopted dad. I adopted you, Michael, and Rolf. My parents died and I started running with the resistance. You all were too. So, I just stayed with you.” Her eyes widened and she couldn’t make herself breathe deeply. It was all out there now. It was all on the line.
Terry’s eyes widened as soon as she started talking, surprised even though he didn’t think he should be. He’d stepped away from Rolf and the rest of the family because he’d caught her staring, after all, and he’d been curious. That she might be family had crossed his mind, but mostly he thought she’d looked lost and he wanted to be able to help.
Her confession explained everything. “You’re --” Terry felt breathless in a way he hadn’t expected. “You’re ours.” But not just his and Rolf’s, he noted. They could get to that later, though. “I had a feeling -- I saw you watching us,” he explained, “and I thought there was something I should know. This has to be it. You’re ours.”
She smiled crookedly. “I know that you’ve been presented with so much. I didn’t want to bring you more …” I didn’t want you to say no. The truth was that she knew (intrinsically) her adoptive fathers would not deny her. But she was altogether ill prepared for anything less than immediate love. “But yes. I chose you and you let me choose you.”
Terry shook his head emphatically, “this isn’t too much,” he insisted. “I wouldn’t want you to be alone here. We wouldn’t want that.” Terry knew he could say that with certainty without talking to Rolf first; he was sure he could knew exactly what Rolf’s reaction was going to be. “You don’t have to worry about us not choosing you here, too. Okay?”
Terry’s words were an instant balm that smoothed the half-wild worried expression pinching Willow’s features. She leaned in, offering him her hand. “Thanks. I really mean that. The others will tell you … I was worried.” Terry in the future knew the ins and outs of Willow’s idiosyncratic behavior. Theirs, in a way, seemed to match.
“Not that you wouldn’t. But …” that you wouldn’t.
“I’m sure I would have been too, in your shoes,” Terry answered, giving her hand a squeeze. It must have been terrifying, to not know what they would say or think of her. Especially given her loss.
“I’m sorry about your parents. I — well, I’m sure you already know about my father.” Terry hadn’t been able to stop thinking about his own father and how much he would have loved to meet his grandchildren. “It never really goes away, I don’t think.”
Encircled by Terry’s hand, Willow visibly relaxed and stepped forward. She had (of course) heard stories of Mr. Boot and knew how keenly his loss was felt even years after this day.
She looked over to the group of Scamander-Boots and gave a minute smile. “There are some faces I’m missing. And some I don’t recognise.”
Terry followed her gaze, taking in his family - all the futures, all the children. He still couldn’t believe how lucky he was.
“Who’s missing?” he asked. “I can fill in some gaps for you. If you do the same for me. Like,” he nudged her gently with an elbow, grinning, “you’d mentioned Michael? Corner?”
She jumped slightly (ticklish) as she pushed back at him with her elbow. “Yes.” One brow flattened. “You, him, Rolf Scamander. You’re together in my future. You don’t have any other kids. Just me.”
“Huh.” Terry hadn’t considered that as a possibility, but … it made sense. He and Michael had been close since they were eleven years old. He didn’t think it was a stretch to say they were closer than a lot of other best friends he knew; there was a level of intimacy that a person could share only with someone they’d lived with for years and with whom they’d been … well, tortured. Michael was a part of his soul in a way no one else could be.
He smiled gently, hoping to reassure her that it was okay - that he wasn’t upset or put off by the news. “I can see it.” He lifted his other hand to point out her siblings - “Ronan and Alma. Rolf and I adopted them in another life. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to meet you.”
“I don’t know the how you got there story. You were there when I came.” But Willow was distracted by the small group Terry referenced. There was an entire world awaiting her. She took a deep breath to allay the happy tears threatening to gather in the corners of her eyes. “Do you think it’s okay to meet them? I don’t want to complicate their happiness.”
Terry wasn’t sure he could plain how they got there, either, but it wasn’t the most important thing. However he and Michael figured it out -- he assumed they’d only take that step if they were very serious about it.
“You’re not a complication,” Terry insisted, frowning slightly. “From where I’m standing, this has just… brought more happiness to our lives. I don’t think any of you could take that away.”
“I’ll think about it. I’m just …” How could she explain the worry, the anxiety, the fear? How it could all just melt away? “I’m just careful.” She smiled briefly, hugging her arms around her waist. “Is that okay?”
It was disappointing to hear, because Terry wanted nothing more than to have all of them under one roof. He knew Rolf would feel the same. But they didn’t know all of what she’d been through, either, so Terry knew he had to try to trust her to know what was best for herself. He knew what it was like to lose a parent, at least. He knew how hard that was. Even if someone had a new family… those wounds still existed.
He hugged her tightly. “We’ll be here when you’re ready.”
She melted into his embrace, her chin finding purchase on his shoulder as she took a deep and steadying breath. “That isn’t to say … I couldn’t spend some time with you. To get accustomed to things.”
Terry nodded in understanding. She was skittish - like a stray cat - and if she needed some one-on-one time to get more comfortable, he could do that for her. “Maybe we could have breakfast tomorrow?” he suggested. “Just the two of us?”
Smiling widely (longer, joy now consistent on her face), she nodded. “I would like that. We do pancakes for the Resistance sometimes.”
“Do we?” Terry’s own smile matched hers. He could feel her relaxing already, which was encouraging. “Okay, we’ll have pancakes. My flat’s at Ferry Flats, number 409. Do you think you can find it? I’d like to hear more about this resistance, too, if that’s all right. Everyone’s been … well, no one’s told me much.”
“I know where that’s at and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. You’ve been at the Scamander place for a while … I’m glad we’ll have the space.” She nodded. “I will try and find some maple syrup.” Clearly what she couldn’t make, she could scavenge. And what she wouldn’t scavenge, she’d surely just buy.
Terry’s cheeks flushed. He had been at Rolf’s house for a bit now. At some point, he’d have to talk to Rolf about that, but in the meantime, he was grateful he hadn’t given it up yet.
“Thank you for trusting me. I know… this must be so hard.”
“It’s easier to trust you than you think,” she admitted, wondering if he could sense the depth of the relationship between her and him in their future. “But you should get back to the others. I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?” Terry glanced back at his family and friends. He was reluctant to leave her, even though he knew that the longer he was gone, the more questions he’d have to answer. “Do you have friends here?”
“There are others from the Resistance.” She could feel (even now) Tempest’s gaze upon her. “I’m not alone. But they are pushing me to spend more time with you. They’ll be proud.”
“I am, too,” Terry told her, giving her shoulder a squeeze. He knew the kinds of friendships that a resistance could bring; he hoped she had someone in her life like he’d had Michael and Anthony in his.
He leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow. And thank you, again. For letting me know.”
She looked down, smiling. “See you tomorrow, Terry.” Willow maintained eye contact with Terry as she backed away, finally turning after a few people were between them. The warmth (and the smile) stayed on her face. It went so much better than she had expected.