WHERE Barns Kitchen WHEN Morning after the Deathloop Mansion WHAT Blue’s back, Gansey is making her a no-meat breakfast and gives her a gift. It’s cute. STATUS Complete! WARNINGS Talking about the murder mansion. Also refuses to give a puppy some pancakes which makes Gansey a monster.
Blue woke up alone. This wasn't new, and it wasn't anything to be concerned over—not immediately. Gansey often kept strange insomniac hours that had him more vertical than horizontal, but, but. Blue did not do her usual, which was pull the covers back over her head and steal away five more minutes before getting up. She had been on high alert for days, scanning every room, looking for something to help them break the loop, that it was difficult to turn that off. Going back to sleep wasn't an option.
On the nightstand were Gansey's notes that she insisted on reading and a slab. She scooped both of them up, and scrambled downstairs. This was a familiar place. She knew what was in rooms and down hallways. She wasn't going to find a meat grinder in the basement. Or a severed hand on an altar. Or dead bodies in their fridge.
Noise drew her to the kitchen, and while she wasn't surprised to find Gansey there cooking breakfast (another familiar staple to a routine she sorely missed), she was pleasantly charmed not to see a slab of bacon or sausage or any other staple to feeding a house full of 20-somethings in the morning. Blue knew she wouldn't be able to stomach it for a while.
She slid into a seat at the kitchen table, a perfect line of sight to watch Gansey uninterrupted, but she felt weird hovering, lingering, not seeing his face after wishing she could for days. She cleared her throat, and sat up straighter, like she was about to conduct a business deal.
"You can keep the notes, I've decided not to burn them."
The meat had been gone before Blue had even gotten back, the boys having made that executive decision after the meat grinder incident, just in case. They could always shop again later when she was feeling more up to it, but the last thing Gansey had wanted was to send Blue to the bathroom after one glance in the fridge.
So instead now he was making heart shaped pancakes, though the hearts were-- well, some required artistic interpretation. Chorizo was nearby eyeing those hopefully, to which Gansey already had to whisper “No pancakes for puppies.” right before he figured out Blue had settled in behind him.
With her throat clearing, he turned sharply, spatula in hand. “Are you sure? They’re not important, really, it was just in case they managed to open chat communication with everyone. So I kept track of things.”
Blue smiled, cheeky but genuine, overly happy to see him looking comfortable and domestic. She missed this. She missed him. Even when everything was chaotic, dire, and grossly assholish, Gansey was her anchor in all that mess. It was hard to admit, but it was evident in her expression, she liked this the most. Just them, in the kitchen. And Chorizo, who she was bound to sneak some kind of treat to when Gansey wasn't looking.
"I figured as much," Blue said, walking her fingers across the cover of the notebook. "You were always better at escape rooms. I didn't even think to take notes while I was in there." Blue thought she was prepared for anything, could potentially stomp her way through every problem, but that wasn't going to work when death was not just a possibility but an inevitability in a cursed mansion.
"But I'm sure. Nothing I didn't already know, or figure out. And you just kind of got really scribbly around the time I—" Blue gestured, an all encompassing thing. They both knew what she meant without having to say it plainly. "Sorry you saw that. I was getting desperate. And angry."
Gansey couldn’t spend too much time looking away from the pancakes, or they might end up with a burnt batch (wouldn’t be the first time in this kitchen), but he still wanted to give Blue his undivided attention and ended up glancing at her over his shoulder frequently while she talked. When this batch was done, he took the opportunity to pause, and slid a plate of mostly heart-shaped pancakes across the table to her.
“Hey,” He was soft, but sincere. “I wasn’t joking when I said I was proud. You did amazingly well, and you also did what you had to do. There’s nothing for you to apologize for, okay?” And because he wasn’t one to resist the lure of kissing her, Gansey leaned in for a quick one. “I’m sorry I had to be here watching instead of helping, but I have the most capable girlfriend in the entire universe and I’m not afraid to brag about it, thank you very much.”
Heart-shaped pancakes. A swift little kiss. Blue would think that Gansey was warming her up to something, like a bribe. But she also wanted these things, no-strings-attached, and kissed him back before she started to cut into her pancakes. They were more suitable than the pint of ice cream she had for "dinner" last night when she got back. If she was inexplicably focused on the food on her plate, it was only because she was hiding the blush of Gansey saying he was proud.
"I'm not sorry you were here. I wouldn't want you there," Blue said, around a mouthful of pancakes that were halfway gone before she even realized she dug in. "But now everyone knows not to mess with me. Or you, because then I'll take them out too." Maybe not with the meat grinder, but…
Realization dawned on her; she almost forgot. Abandoning her plate for a moment,, she grabbed for the slab she brought down from their room, and slid that on the table over to Gansey. "This was on our nightstand. Figured you might want to take notes on that. I didn't know what it did until I put it on. There's a chance it could be the rats."
“I’m glad everyone knows, because I already knew.” Though he wasn’t sorry they got to all witness just how capable she was, especially under duress. Soulmate aside, Blue had been a valuable asset in his own search for Glendower and their quest back home.
Thankfully that hadn’t involved things like that, and Gansey truly hoped she’d never have to go through anything like that again, but it was still good to know and see just how remarkable she was, time and time again.
When she presented the slab, he looked it over with a curious gaze. “Sydney got one too, so did a few other people. A reminder of what happened? At least the good news is, you only have to use it if you want to.” He did look a little worried at the mention of rats, however. “Uh-- if it is rats, will they um- devour anything nearby?” He was half-tempted to scoop Chorizo up, just in case.
Blue's face screwed up in a wince, and considered. "I'm not really sure. But you can usually feel it. Something, kind of, overcomes you when you put it on. Like if I focused on a spot, I could teleport there. Or when I had the one that—" The one she had successfully and then unsuccessfully used on Aleksis Dorsey, but bringing it up felt awkward and heavy on her tongue. She redirected. "You just know. If it's the rats, we can take it off immediately."
Her attention went to Chorizo, then her half-eaten pancakes. "Maybe we can wait though, until we can try it outside?" Or at least until she had finished her breakfast. No use in messing around with magic on a half-empty stomach.
She continued eating, quieter than before, less ravenous. But Blue was obviously still working through something, and when she looked up at Gansey, her expression was strangely neutral. "I don't remember much after I shot him." Blue knew why, in the abstract sense, and it's probably better she didn't. There was only so much trauma a person could take, but that didn't mean she wanted Gansey shouldering it either.
"I didn't see it in your notes. You looked away?" Blue asked, though she knew the answer.
“It’s remarkable,” Gansey touched the edge of it and felt that pull, that power, but it didn’t belong to him and that much was clear just being this close. His primary interest came from the academic nerd part of his brain that wanted to immediately put Blue to testing, but that could come later, when she was ready. “Outside later works well. That would be good for a number of the other ones I saw. The teleporting? And that ability you used there in the end on the second loop--”
When everything really had gone to shit, but he had still been unbelievably impressed with how she’d pulled it off. He nodded, though, in response, and went back to the pancake making counter to start the next batch. “Even if I hadn’t, I don’t think I would have written any of it down, that wasn’t--”
Useful. He had also been almost positive that five minutes had passed in the blink of an eye, as he had held his breath, waiting for her to show up in that void area they could see. It had happened to others already over a dozen times, but this was Blue. “Anyway we could uh- see your chats. Which helped.”
Blue understood that poignant way he trailed off. All the jumble of words that was building up between them, but neither needed to speak them outloud. No, she supposed, writing any of it down wouldn't haven't done either of them good. What would have told her? Or him? People were armed to the teeth in that house? That wasn't surprising, considering the number of weapons and explosives that were casually hidden.
"I wish we could have talked back," Blue said, dragging her bite of pancake around the plate, unconcerned with actually eating it. "I missed you. I missed being able to ask you questions, wait for you to puzzle out what to do and where to do it. I know you say that I'm capable, and I'm not denying that, but sometimes, sometimes—" Okay, a lot of the time, "— having you with me makes things more concrete. No reason to doubt. You would have known not to touch the picture in the gallery at all, I think."
She grinned at him, watching as he maneuvered through making pancakes. "Floating in a random dark void was not all it's cracked up to be."
“Funny you say that,” it wasn’t actually funny, but Gansey still kept glancing at her over his shoulder with the most fond expression plastered on his face. “But having you with me makes things fall together easier. Things just make more sense.” It was the marker of a perfect pairing, no doubt, which made sense given everything but still sometimes made him feel a little unsure.
“I can’t imagine there’s much appealing about a dark void, though, so I wouldn’t doubt you.” There wasn’t much appealing about watching any of it, and being inside had to have been a thousand times worse. Blue had more resilience than anyone he’d ever met in his life, and that still didn’t make it any easier to stomach. “I don’t know that he’ll admit this out loud, but I do think you impressed Ronan with your music mixing skills, for the record.”
Blue rose from the kitchen table, deciding that all of Gansey's words were making her feel floaty and fuzzy, and pretending that she didn't want to be physically close to him was silly. She knew what Gansey was saying meant more than just closeness, more than just a product of their relationship. She had seen the edges of his anxiety and quiet contemplation where nerves and self doubt got the best of him. Blue was more than willing to smooth them away, and stay close.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, her cheek pressed into his back. He could still cook, she left his arms free, but Blue thought this was much better. Even Chorizo, waiting eagerly for someone to drop a piece of breakfast, settled up against both of their legs.
"He might start to feel threatened," Blue said after a long moment of just holding Gansey from behind. "First the art, then the music, it's almost like—" Her eyes went wide and she was thankful that her face was hidden from Gansey, because she almost said we're the same. Horrible, terrible, no way.
Gansey let out a deep breath the moment Blue’s arms wrapped around him. He paused in the pancake making to just rest a hand on her arm, taking a tremendous amount of comfort in this hold. Blue being that close made everything quiet, the world muffled around him in the complete opposite as what it did for others she was near. He’d slept last night, and knew he’d be able to sleep again tonight, now that she was back.
“Like you two have more in common than either of you likes to admit?” Gansey knew it, and he knew neither of them liked saying as much. But that was too bad, and she got to miss his satisfied smile that came with the ease in. It was for the best, she was in a prime place to pinch him right now.
Still, he paused, and stroked a hand down her arm. “I love you. I’m very, very glad you’re back.”
"You're not supposed to say that part out loud," Blue said, absolutely taking the opportunity to pinch him with one hand, and keep the other snuggly around him so he couldn't squirm away. But she was quick to stop her teasing and settle right back into their comforting embrace she was going for. She sighed with him, soft and content.
Blue should have been surprised by the intensity of his words, and how plainly they were said. She had heard them plenty of times before, but they never ceased to make her gut curl up in that pleasant way. She was thankful that he couldn't see the stupid giddy expression—so unlike her normally fierce judgmental one—and she nosed at his spine, to hide more.
"I love you too," Blue said, simple, just like that. "I'd say we need to promise never to be apart again, but the sensible part of me says that's just invoking some really bad luck, so I will keep that to myself for now." She waited a beat, sniffed, then asked, "I hope that next batch of pancakes is for you."
“Sorry,” He wasn’t, not in the least, even when the pinch came, and even when he was yelping and jumping lightly, but not trying to get away. He let her keep holding him, in no hurry for that rush of escapism. It felt just as right to be teased a little as it did for her to hug him, and Gansey went back to squeezing her arm.
“I don’t think Vallo will take that into consideration, but I did get you a gift. I don’t know if it’ll help, but I’m hoping we might get some use out of it. Caleb and Essek did the hard work.” Well, the enchantment, which was more than Gansey could do, but he’d at least picked out the rings. “It’s on the counter behind you.” In a little gift box, because that was how it came. Gansey had already gone through the process of overthinking about it looking like a wedding ring box, but hopefully Blue wouldn’t reach that conclusion before he could get the pancakes onto his plate.
Chorizo stepped on his foot as if to echo Blue’s question. “Next batch is mine, that’s the plan. Not for puppies.”
Blue perked up at the word gift, her genuine curiosity getting the better of her. She didn't particularly believe she deserved anything outside of a good night's sleep (which she had) and a solid meal with no meat (which was being currently consumed) but without knowing what it was, it was hard to find a reason to say no thank you, not necessary. Doubly difficult when the gift was coming from Gansey.
She peeled herself away from him and stepped quickly over to where he pointed.The box was small, and the box inside was smaller. It felt like a trick, and Blue half expected a piece of pineapple and not a ring—something to tease her for getting worked up. But the rational part of her knew that Gansey would never do something this major without discussing every avenue possible first, making sure they were on the same page, aggressively and sensitively confirming consent because Blue still was squirmy about things like marriage.
Figuring she was safe, Blue lifted the lid without preamble. The ring inside was gorgeous, elegantly simple and blindingly pretty. Unquestionably one of the nicest things she owned. Blue slipped it out of the box and put it on because waiting longer meant she expected something else to go with it.
"You said Caleb and Essex helped?" Blue asked, nonchalantly, like she hadn't just minorly freaked. "Are you going to tell me what it does or should I just let it surprise me?"
Gansey finished up the batch of pancakes and flipped off the skillet for now, until the others started waking up, before he turned his attention back to her. He lifted his own hand, and twirled his thumb over his middle finger that was now adorned with a similar silver band, stars and moons scattered around the band.
“Ideally, it’s supposed to be what they called a sending stone. Magically send a message between the two, no matter where you are.” So they could hope, anyway. “It might not work when Vallo does it’s thing, but I was feeling at a loss of what to do at the time and coming up with any idea that sounded good. I didn’t think you’d be one to keep a journal on you constantly.” As much as he could dream, but even he had been pulled away from his journal from Vallo’s nonsense.
He tried to not let his insecurity push through as Gansey glanced down at the ring and leaned casually against the counter behind him. “If you don’t like it, I think they can move the enchantment over to something you pick, if you want.”
Some of the worry that had built up inside Blue had started to seep out. Maybe this was a sign that she needed to chill out if she was getting worked up over things like rings. And she could see the apprehension in Gansey's face, the one he was trying to hide. Blue was rather good at picking out those moments when he was getting too much in his head, and she did not want to be the cause of it.
She made a beckoning gesture at him, come closer, even as she did the same, shrinking the distance between them. Blue grabbed his hand to inspect his ring, his matching ring. "No, I don't want you to change it," Blue said, stroking her index finger over his palm, across the ring, before looking up at him. Her expression was soft, and a little awed.
"And it's a good idea. You're right about the journal. Too bulky, too difficult to keep track of. But if it was the only way to talk to you, I'd do it." Blue went up on her toes to kiss his cheek, and then another one, to the corner of his mouth. "Thank you."
“Okay.” His voice was raw when he said it, but glad he’d done that right. Relieved she liked it. A little pleased she hadn’t stabbed him for potentially proposing. Not that he would have done that right after something like this anyway, and not without her knowing it was coming. Gansey valued his third chance at life and had too much respect for Blue for that.
“You’re welcome.” He was soft and pliable under her touch, his head tilting down towards her kisses, something he tried to always let her initiate, given their particular curse. But once she started, he was more than happy to crowd her against the counter, hand going under a leg to support her as he lifted her up slightly so neither of them had to stretch much to reach.
Gansey could have easily gotten lost like this, kissing her deeply in the kitchen of their home, all too happy to let distractions sweep them away for a little while.
Blue made a low noise, both surprised and pleased by the turn of the morning. She was quick to cling back to Gansey for support, her hands roaming over his chest, up his arms, along his shoulders, combing fingers through his hair, messing it up in the most delicious way. She was unsure of where to go or to relay through touch that she was okay with more. Who cared how early it was? Who cared if it was in the kitchen? The both of them had walked in on similar situations from other people who lived here.
Kissing him was easy. When there was no fear of killing him by doing it, Blue found herself wanting to do it more than she ever let on. And when Gansey took the reins, and didn't hold back, Blue was weak against the tidal of emotion. She would simply pull him closer, hook her leg around his waist, tip her chin up to get better access to his soft mouth, and—
Chorizo yipped, encouragingly, and it was the only thing that actually pulled her out of the dizzying rush Gansey had dragged her into. Blue ducked her head away, with a gentle laugh, her cheeks a little red. She pressed her fingers delicately against his lips, to keep him from saying anything first. "Do you want to cover the pancakes and continue this upstairs?"
Gansey often cared about such things, and often pushed hard at trying to be respectable around their housemates, but-- well, that didn’t hold true in this case, and he was just as receptive as she was with a hand guiding that leg around his waist, supporting her.
There was a blush on his cheeks when they did part, but he didn’t put her down. Instead, he nodded and leaned back in, but not for a kiss, instead to nuzzle at her neck adoringly. When he finally did make a move away from the counter, he brought her with him, intent on making it to the stairs without having to put her down. “They’ll keep. Let’s.”