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Tweak says, "Detention Mr.Potter! "

charlotte evans ❅ snow white (deputyprincess) wrote in thereincarnates,
@ 2010-08-21 20:24:00

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» previous character: charlotte evans 1, » previous character: tristan lewis

Who: Charlotte Evans and Tristan Lewis
What: Visiting Fabletown. Having a minor breakdown. You know, the usual.
Where: Bullfinch Street, NYC!
When: Saturday afternoon, August 21st.
Warnings: Mild to moderate hysteria? Or not so moderate...

Charlotte had never been particularly fond of her birthday. To her, it was just like any other day – and it was even less significant now that it was meaningless. The 21st of August was just another Saturday. It came between the 19th and the 20th, between Friday and Sunday, and nineteen years ago, her mother had just happened to give birth to her. It wasn't special. It absolutely wasn't. Charlotte was positive of that.

The universe, however, seemed to think differently. The universe, God, fate, – whatever it was, it wanted to make the 21st of August a big deal. Briar had found Fabletown today, and she was on her way to finding the Farm. That couldn't be coincidence, could it? It was too poetic. No, too ironic. And almost cruel. Charlotte had just wanted this day to pass as quickly and uneventfully as possible. Clearly, that wasn't going to happen. Maybe it could've, if Snow had let her be the hermit she wanted to be, hiding in the castle and ignoring everything outside of it, but Snow was stubborn, and worse, she was determined. She had to see her home, and she had to see it today.

But Charlotte wasn't going to see it alone. There were many reasons why she asked Tristan to go with her to New York (or why he'd offered when, distracted and definitely overthinking it, she forgot to ask), but the main one was that she felt safe with him. Not just because he was basically a soldier for Camelot, but also because it was incredibly easy to be around him. She didn't quite understand it, but he was the only person she wanted to do this with. He wouldn't judge her, or expect anything from her – he would just be there with her, and that was all she wanted.

It was a hot and humid day in New York City, but at least it was breezy. As they silently walked down Andersen Street, Charlotte had to keep brushing her hair behind her ears, pushing it away from her face, but it never took. Her hair was just as fickle as the universe, and the wind was too strong. It didn't take them very long to reach the corner of Andersen and Bullfinch, however, and she paused for a moment, hardly believing her eyes. There was the street sign, and there was the Tavern. Next to the Tavern would be the Glass Slipper, and next to that? The gate to the Woodlands. Charlotte took a deep breath and grabbed Tristan's hand, steeling herself before she could chicken out. It was so tempting to just turn around and walk the other way, to go home and ignore all of this. But she'd come this far, hadn't she? It wouldn't hurt to go a little father.

"Here we are," she said quietly and, offering Tristan a small, wavering smile, she turned the corner. And there they were.

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conjurings
2010-08-22 01:41 am UTC (link)

Tristan hadn't hesitated to offer his company when she'd seemed to broken up about the appearance of Fabletown. From past conversations with her he was somewhat familiar with her reservations about her head mate's world, and from his own research (he'd been reading Fables for a couple weeks now) he thought he could understand a little better from his own perspective as well. It couldn't be easy trying to live your own life when the life of your head mate's is always staring you in the face.

So, he'd assumed that she'd contacted him over the boards with the idea in mind to ask him to come along, and he felt strangely relieved that had been her actual intention. Someone had to be there for her if she was going to face this, and he was glad that she'd chosen him. The walk through the streets of Manhattan had been a pleasant one. Charlotte was visibly anxious and Tristan had tried to ease her nerves as best he could. Whether it was with (what he hoped was) a comforting smile or even a hand on her back, Tristan was surprised at just how comfortable he'd gotten with her over the course of a couple months.

When they'd finally arrived (even Tristan recognized some of the landmarks), he tried not to show how surprised he was when she took his hand. He quickly recovered though and squeezed her hand gently in response. "Would you like to go in?"

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deputyprincess
2010-08-22 02:24 am UTC (link)

Charlotte laughed out of pure nervousness, but at least her smile was a little less hesitant now. "No, not really, but..." She brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear for what felt like the hundredth time today, looking down for a moment and then peering around the street, almost curiously. "We might as well, I suppose." Glancing at him once more, she took a step, then another, then another. The street was eerily quiet, uncharacteristic for such a busy city, but that was something of a relief. Charlotte had had such a hard time separating herself from Snow over the past year; if one of Fabletown's residents recognized her, called out to her with the name that wasn't her name... well, she wasn't sure what she would do. Better that it was empty. Just her and Tristan.

She gripped his hand tighter the further they walked, and she could almost feel herself getting paler. Every step, every echo on the pavement caused a wave of déjà vu to wash over her. Made her feel like her steps were not her own, and that was more unsettling than anything else. Instinctively, she pulled herself closer to Tristan. If she hadn't been so distracted, she would've noticed that this was the closest she'd ever been to him – outside of training, of course, but that hardly counted. She was almost leaning on him now (leaning or trying to hide, depending on how you looked at it), and her free hand held on to the upper arm of the hand she was holding. No, she was definitely trying to hide. It wasn't really working. And she was cold. Why was she cold?

They came upon the Woodlands, and she paused again, taking a moment to look up and down the building. As she turned to face them, it was only then that she reluctantly let go of Tristan, crossing the short distance so she was directly in front of the iron gates. Hesitantly, she reached out and pushed one side; it swung open smoothly. "How is this even real?" she murmured, mostly to herself. She whispered to keep her voice from breaking. That didn't really work either.

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conjurings
2010-08-22 02:44 am UTC (link)

For his part, Tristan remained the silent companion. It was better that he didn't try to engage her conversation right now, he understood that whatever she was thinking about at that moment was important enough not to interrupt. She needed to come to terms with all of this on her own, without being helped by anybody, except when and if she needed another leg to stand on. He could be that for her, he was perfectly willing to be her foundation of support if she needed it. Her stronghold, even.

From day one of them meeting he'd always felt this incessant need to protect her, to be there for her. That feeling only increased now, along with the urge that grew every moment that passed to reach out and brush fingers through her hair that never seemed to stay out of her face. He could feel her holding onto his hand even tighter as they got closer and he put his free hand on top of hers briefly before she broke away from him. He stood back a few feet with his hands in his pockets until she finally swung the gate open and when her voice broke he stepped forward behind her, placing comforting hands on her shoulders.

"It's as real as you and me, Charlotte. Sometimes there just isn't an explanation for how something is, you just have to believe." She looked even paler then usual, and Tristan couldn't help feeling instantly more worried. Maybe this had been a bad idea... Too late to turn back now though, unless she wanted to, and then he would dutifully follow. There was no reason to rush this. Any of this. He had to keep reminding himself that too.

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deputyprincess
2010-08-22 03:35 am UTC (link)

Charlotte forced herself to swallow even though her mouth was dry, and she nearly looked back him when he touched her, but she couldn't. She knew she was moments away from completely breaking, and she was afraid that seeing the way he was looking at her, if it was anything like she was imagining, would be the straw that broke the camel's back. But his touch did calm her somewhat, and she stood up a little straighter before she started forward. Her steps were stronger now, which made them louder, and for a moment, walking down the familiar path almost felt right. Like she belonged there. Like she could just walk into the building, go into the office, and find Snow's (or Beauty's, rather) desk exactly how she left it, with Bufkin and Boy Blue and King Cole all waiting for her to come back to work, to do what she did best...

... And that's what stopped her short, a few mere feet from the steps that led into the lobby. No. No. That wasn't her. She did not belong here. She was not Snow White.

She couldn't hold it back any longer. She broke then, and stumbled even though for the past moment or two she'd been standing perfectly still. She abruptly turned to her right and practically ran into the garden, collapsing onto the nearest bench when she could no longer keep herself upright. It wasn't until after she was already sitting there that she realized that it was their bench, Snow and Bigby's, and she jumped up with a strangled gasp, as if she'd been electrocuted. It was then that she really broke down, and she couldn't keep herself from weakly sinking to the ground. She could never escape them. She could never escape this. God, she should've stayed at the castle. This had been a mistake.

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conjurings
2010-08-22 04:17 am UTC (link)

Tristan was fast to react once he realized what was going on and as soon as Charlotte sank to the ground he was there to partially catch her. If he couldn't stop her from falling, he could at least help make the impact a little easier on her. Arms encircled around her and he gently helped her to the ground, and without even thinking about it he drew her closer to his chest to hug her.

She needed comfort, she was in a completely foreign environment that was being somewhat forced on her because of the woman in her head. Tristan could only imagine how suffocating that must feel. And completely overwhelming. He honestly didn't think he'd mind if Fairyland appeared out of thin air but this wasn't about him, this was about Charlotte. And Charlotte was having a hard time dealing so he was determined to help her.

"It's okay, Charlotte," he murmured into her hair, resisting the urge to breathe it in pretty well once he reminded himself how completely inappropriate this was. The way he thought of her... It didn't matter how he tried to justify it, it was wrong, and he shouldn't be thinking about that right now. He should be focusing on making sure she was okay, so he did just that. He'd keep his arms where they were around her until she didn't want him to anymore. "You're okay. I'm here for you."

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deputyprincess
2010-08-22 05:51 am UTC (link)

Charlotte had been trying to hold back the tears as much as she could, but when Tristan caught her and eased her to the ground, held her close and tried to comfort her, she really lost it. Everything that she'd been holding back for a year suddenly came bursting through, like a flood breaking through a dam. Now that it was broken, it was unstoppable. She buried her face in his shoulder, sobbed until there was nothing left to sob. She couldn't remember ever crying this hard in her life – not when her mother died, not when Michael died, not ever. She had always been so good at repressing, keeping herself busy, not thinking about it, but how helpful was that really? It only made her more fragile in the long run, didn't it? More prone to moments like these. The weak moments she tried so hard to avoid.

"Tristan, I can't do this," she choked out finally. Her voice was hoarse, but at least the tears had stopped. Mostly. "Any of this. I can't do it! How am I supposed to be two people? I can't be Snow, I can't live her life, she doesn't want me to, but it's here, her life is here, so what am I – how am I supposed to do this? How am I supposed to live forever, pretend like she doesn't still love her husband, outlive – outlive my family? And Daniel... he's going to get himself killed, I know he is, just like Mi– just like Michael..."

She started crying again, but she was quieter this time. Her energy was all but spent, and suddenly she was more thankful for Tristan than she could ever possibly describe. He was the only thing keeping her from complete collapse right now, the only thing holding her up, and she let him. It was too much, everything was too much, and she cried silently into his shoulder and held onto him as tightly as she possibly could. Which was surprisingly tight, considering. "I don't know what I'd..." She trailed off, voice barely above a murmur. If he heard her at all, she didn't know, but the end of that sentence was clear. She'd said it before, and it was even more true now. She didn't know what she'd do without him.

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conjurings
2010-08-22 07:51 am UTC (link)

Tristan did nothing for a long time except hold her. Occasionally he whispered words of comfort close to her ear, telling her it would be fine and that she'd be fine. And that he was here for her, as soon as those words left his mouth he knew he'd never meant anything as much as he'd meant that in his entire life. Holding her like this felt like nothing else in the entire world, like he was holding someone so precious that if he let her go he'd never get her back. So he held her, and he stroked her hair, and when she was (mostly) done crying Tristan sighed quietly.

Maybe he couldn't make everything go away for her. That was impossible, he wasn't God, but he could at least try to make things better for her in any way that he could. For a woman of nineteen she'd already been through more then any one person usually goes through in their entire life time. And her life time would never end. It was selfish of Tristan to think this, but he couldn't be more grateful that she'd be living as long as him. It was still a difficult thing to come to terms with for her, but for Tristan... He had pretty much come to terms with never dying after the moment he'd first met her.

With that thought in mind, after a few more seconds he gently pulled away from her. Not by much, just enough so that he could get a hand in between them and tip her chin up so he could see her, and she could see him. He attempted a smile, though at the sight of those beautifully tear stained cheeks the smile faltered. He instead looked at her with an expression that he hoped conveyed what he was feeling right now, complete and total devotion. It scared him shitless, but he couldn't help the way he felt about her. He'd do anything for her. "You'll never have to know, Charlotte. No matter what, I'll always be here for you. Always."

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deputyprincess
2010-08-22 09:00 am UTC (link)

After he spoke, Charlotte briefly entertained the notion that she was delirious. That she imagined what he said, but no. No, she couldn't have. The way he was holding her was real, and so was that smile, but it was the look in his eyes that truly sold her. She couldn't have imagined that, not in her wildest dreams. He loved her. She could see that now, and he didn't even have to say it. Honestly, she didn't know why she hadn't seen it before – not much had changed between now and yesterday, except that she was something of a colossal trainwreck today, and yet here he was, looking at her like that, saying he would always be there for her. For her. Charlotte. Just her.

For a moment, her mouth hung open in a silent "oh." Her eyes were wide and red, shocked and still a little teary but also... happy. That's why she was so comfortable around him. He made her happy. Nobody else could do that – brighten her day, put her at ease, and not induce some sort of nervous affection all at once – just by being there. God, why hadn't she noticed before?

"I am the densest person on the face of the planet," she answered herself in an amazed whisper, like she was just realizing all of this for the very first time (which she was). Then, without thinking about it let alone overthinking it like she habitually did, she leaned forward and closed the space between them with a soft but assertive kiss. She was sure that this was the right thing to do – that all of it had been the right thing to do, really, because if she hadn't come here, if Briar hadn't accidentally stumbled upon Fabletown, if she hadn't been born on this exact day, then she never would known the feel of his lips against hers. Maybe it was fate. Maybe the universe wasn't so cruel after all. And maybe next year she would actually have a reason to celebrate her birthday. It wasn't all bad, was it? Not when she got presents like this...

She pulled away after a moment, but not very far. Just enough to murmur a simple heartfelt "thank you" before she went back to kissing him. Then, in between kisses, "Thank you, thank you, thank you." And she meant it more every time she said it. She couldn't have asked for anything – or anyone – better. Tristan was the one she was supposed to be with, from right now at this very moment until... well, who knew?

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conjurings
2010-08-22 07:42 pm UTC (link)

That... had definitely been the last thing Tristan had ever expected Charlotte to do. Kissing him? For a moment that seemed to last for an eternity, it felt entirely too surreal to actually be happening. It wasn't until he began to react himself that he really began to feel it. He whispered a soft "you're welcome" in return when she pulled away to thank him and then she was kissing him again and this time he was kissing her back.

It was probably the most amazing thing he'd ever felt, being this close to her. Being able to kiss her and bury his hands in her hair, and he did just that. He kept his kisses soft and gentle, not wanting to scare her off by just how much he felt like he needed her at this precise moment. All thoughts of how wrong and inappropriate this was flew out the window entirely once she'd really started kissing him, Tristan was powerless before this epically gorgeous, incredible woman and he couldn't find it in himself to care.

After another moment he pulled back to take a breath, one hand still caught in her hair and the other pulling back to cup her jaw line and thumb some of the tears away from her eye and down her cheeks. She looked like a total wreck and she was still the most beautiful woman on the face of this earth, that Tristan was sure of. He leaned forward again and placed gentle kisses along her forehead and her eyelids, even her nose before finding her lips and breathing in deep as he kissed her again. Intoxicating, he would never get enough of this. Ever.

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deputyprincess
2010-08-22 08:36 pm UTC (link)

Charlotte smiled happily and sighed as he was kissing her, feeling herself relax, like all her troubles were just melting away. She felt perfectly safe here with Tristan, and she was perfectly comfortable kissing him – this wasn't something she would regret later, or agonize about months from now, wondering if she made a mistake (or worse, knowing for sure). No, this was anything but a mistake. Their kisses were the same; he didn't want anything from her that she couldn't give, or wouldn't give willingly. She was extremely grateful for that. She was tired of being pulled in two separate directions, and as much as Snow wanted her to, she could not relive her life. All the pieces may have been in place, everything may have been exactly like it was before, but it wasn't the same, and it wasn't for her. This was for her. This was what she wanted.

Arms wrapping around his neck, she leaned against him again, but this time it wasn't for support. It was just to be close to him, to hold him close to her. She didn't mind if they stayed like this forever. Hm, forever. That made her smile widely, interrupting his kiss for a moment. Maybe forever wouldn't be so terrible after all. She sighed contently again, then kissed the corner of his mouth before resting her head on his shoulder. His shirt was still a little damp from her tears, but she didn't mind. She fit here perfectly. "Let's stay here. Just for a little while."

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conjurings
2010-08-22 09:20 pm UTC (link)

Tristan counted himself lucky that he'd never had much of a problem getting Oberon to let him live his own life, although it was entirely possible that the King of the Fairies was somehow less stubborn then a princess of fables. Anything was possible, he was simply grateful that he could be there for Charlotte however he wanted and there was little to no chance that his head mate would ever try and intervene. The King could be set in his ways when he really wanted something, but thankfully so far he seemed to show no interest in ruining whatever Tristan had with Charlotte. Tristan still wasn't entirely sure what that even was but things had become a little clearer since she'd started kissing him.

He accepted her into his arms again with all the ease of someone who'd become accustomed to holding her forever (as he very nearly caught himself hoping that he would) and took to brushing fingers leisurely through her hair as she leaned against him. Now Tristan was sure, he was sure beyond all reason and doubt that she was who he'd been waiting for. He'd never spent much time wondering why he'd never settled down with anyone before now, but as soon as her head hit his shoulder and said those sweet words, he knew. It's because he'd been waiting all this time for her. "We can stay here as long as you want, Charlotte. I'll happily stay with you anywhere."

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deputyprincess
2010-08-22 11:19 pm UTC (link)

Charlotte closed her eyes for a moment, still smiling, and started playing with the collar of his shirt idly. At first she was just touching it, gently brushing her fingers along the lines of the fabric, and then one of her fingers accidentally slipped and grazed his skin, which made her pause, but not for long. She abandoned the shirt and started touching his skin, just as gently but with more purpose now. He was warm and smooth, but a little rough as well, which was fascinating. She ran her fingers up and down his neck slowly, watching him breathe. She could do this forever, too.

But, soon enough, she raised her head and placed a kiss on one cheek as she touched the other. "Those are some awfully big words you're using, Tristan," she teased with a knowing smile, her voice a little lower than it normally was thanks to her crying. "Always. Anywhere." Another kiss, closer to his mouth. "I know you mean them." On the lips this time. "It'd be selfish of me not to reciprocate." She looked into his eyes for a long moment, saying what she needed to say without uttering a single word, and gave him a long, deep kiss.

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conjurings
2010-08-23 08:49 pm UTC (link)

Tristan smiled fondly down at the top of her head as she traced fingers along his skin, fighting the urge to squirm each time it tickled him. It felt nice, to be touched like this by her. Actually, nice was too small of a word to properly describe how it made him feel. Incredible didn't even do it much justice, it just... was. Whatever she was making him feel, he didn't have a name for it because he'd never felt like this in his entire life. Considering how long his life had just recently become, he couldn't be more grateful that he'd found it this early.

He let her explore the surface of his skin to her hearts content and he said nothing until long after the kiss had ended, having to take a moment to catch his breath and clear his throat. How was it possible that someone could make you this nervous after already pushing past so many of your boundaries? But Charlotte did. In a good way, of course. As long as she was the one making him nervous, he'd never mind for as long as he lived. Always.

"I've never meant anything more," was all he murmured as he looked into her eyes lovingly, grazing her cheek with the back of his band before sitting back a little to make things a little more comfortable for them where they were on the ground. Tristan was perfectly content where he was currently and he'd stay in this exact position until she wanted to go somewhere else. He did love her, and he knew now there was nothing on this earth that could stop him from being with her always. Starting right now.

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deputyprincess
2010-08-24 03:19 am UTC (link)

It suddenly occurred to Charlotte that she was being extremely bold, much bolder than she'd ever been with a man who, up until an hour or so ago, had been nothing more than a friend. Well. That wasn't true, strictly speaking. She realized now that he'd been much more than a friend for quite some time now – she was just too wrapped up in her own head to see it. He was always there for her. It had only taken her a few weeks to learn that she could go to him with absolutely anything, especially the things she couldn't go to anybody else with. If nothing else, that fact and that fact alone should've told her that he was more than a friend. He was someone she could trust with anything. With everything. And she needed that. She was tired of keeping everything locked away in her head; it wouldn't hurt to share the load with someone who cared, would it?

Stifling a yawn, Charlotte waited until Tristan settled before shifting her own position. She was more or less on his lap now, draped across his chest and settling there comfortably. She sighed contently, and it took a moment for her to realize that her eyes had closed again, completely on their own. Apparently, that small bout of hysterics had left her exhausted, and she hadn't even noticed. Tristan was sort of a magnificent distraction, but then, that had always been perfectly obvious to her.

"I think I'm going to fall asleep," she murmured into his shirt. Even though it was clear how sleepy she was, she still maintained some semblance of propriety; she was politely frank, despite being on the verge of drifting off. Typical Brit. "I hope you don't mind. It's very warm, and you're very comfortable..."

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conjurings
2010-08-24 06:12 pm UTC (link)

"Of course I don't mind," Tristan assured her. As if he would ever mind her falling asleep on him like that, this was almost too good to be true. As gently as he could, he moved them both back a little further so he was leaning against something solid and then he tightened his hold around her, kissing the corner of her forehead and sighing contently.

This right here, what he had in his arms right now was all he wanted, all he could ever hope to want. All he really needed too. Everything else, all the implications and complications that came with it, he could deal with the rest later. Right now, he was much too concerned with the present moment and making sure Charlotte was as comfortable as possible. "I'll be here when you wake up."

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