I Didn't Think It Would Happen Like This

[Tree]

"Well. The young lass downstairs is going to be fun to dodge is all. Maybe you want to take a nice bath while I get your nuggets? "

[Sushi]

"are we not allowed to have food in here?"

She didn't understand why the lady was a problem.

[Tree]

"Eh, that is perfectly allowed. "

He opted to see if he child avoid disaster. If not he'd send for help. He shifted to kiss her.

"If I need rescued, I'll call ya."

[Sushi]

"I don't know if I'd be much help, but okay."

Willow burrowed into the bedding and stole his pillow.

[Tree]

Ansel was squeeking mentally a few times and he had the vibes of a mouse trying to flee a cat. Still he returned, looking a bit mused, large bag of nuggets in hand. He held out a cup.

"Your normally thirsty, too."

She would find he got her a 32oz chocolate milk. Don't ask how?

[Sushi]

"what's so bad out there?"

Willow accepted the food and was surprised by the chocolate milk but didn't complain.

[Tree]

Ansel glanced back behind himself.

"Listen. .... I'm.... uh.... I'm gonna need a female escort to get out of here again. "

He offered, embarrassed and sheepish as he slowly sat down.

[Sushi]

"... I'm a girl."

Willow ate another chicken nugget, fatigue prohibiting her from worrying as much as she should.

"What's wrong?"

[Tree]

"I'm not entirely sure which sort of Fae the temp at the front desk is .... but I'm physically needing a female shield to get her but to bug me....."

If he passed by with a woman, he was unharmed. He'd paid another room occupant fifty bucks just to walk him through the lobby to buy your nuggets.

[Sushi]

"I'm small, so I don't know how good of a shield I'd be... But I can try."

Willow couldn't drink that much milk, but she did put a dent in the chicken nugget supply. Throughout the meal she had been slowly melting into the bed and was now laying down with the box on her stomach.

[Tree]

Ansel chuckled

"I don't think you need to be big. From what I can tell, must female. "

He inched slowly over towards her ..... and stole a kiss after she had a drink, grinning.

"That's amazing. "

[Sushi]

Willow offered up an exhausted smile.

"Chocolate usually is."

After a minute she forced herself to sit back up, and a bout of vertigo made her head swim. She rubbed at her face. It hadn't been that long. She didn't understand why she felt like she was running on empty. Her blood pressure wobbled for a moment, making her feel a little faint before her heart squeezed with a painful thump. The woman went into a coughing fit as she clutched at her chest. With little prickles all over her skin, the haze in her head started to clear as it took on a steady rhythm.

"Ugh. I don't like that."

[Tree]

Ansel looked at her, puzzled.

"That's weird. What's happening? "

He asked,, blinking aa he focused on separation of her feelings from his.

[Sushi]

"I don't know."

Willow took a few more steadying breaths and cleared her throat before her hands fell back to her lap. They landed on the box of nuggets and she realized that she was still hungry.

"My heart started again. That's all I know," she told him as she resumed eating.

She was fine now, though.

[Tree]

Ansel eyed her curiously, wondering what to think of that as he offered her more to drink as he watched more nuggets go down..

" I dunno much about the hybrid scene for our two breeds...."

For all he knew it was normal? But the feeling in his chest was.... weird.

[Sushi]

"there's no way you could. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one."

Except her daughters, but even that wasn't entirely the same. Willow shrugged. It didn't feel weird to her. She'd already stopped noticing it.

"It hadn't stopped before and I feel okay. Maybe it was just a temporary side effect of the binding?"

[Tree]

"Maybe..... I suppose..... it still is peculiar. "

He decided, stretching as he glanced over his wife.

"So I asked Taylor if she might wanna change of scenery for a bit. It might be nice to have her around a bit longer, but I wanted to get your full feelings on it..... please? "

Before she shrugged and offered something like "whatever".

[Sushi]

Willow shrugged anyway.

"I don't really have any feelings on it."

And it was true. She was ambivalent about him bringing whoever home. It wasn't that she was squishing down feelings - she just didn't care either way. She did pause after a thought, though.

"You might not want to get too attached, though. I'll try to eliminate my involvement, but I don't know if it's too late to stop it from going up in flames because of my curse."

[Tree]

Ansel arched an eyebrow.

"I can not help how my feelings develop towards people? "

He shrugged now, feeling a bit bummed at her indifference . Dang it, now it was squarely....

"If this pans well, it's not just for me. She'd be coming for both of us. No distance or worries in those regards? "

He ignored the curse.

[Sushi]

Willow tucked her hair behind her ear, thinking about it.

"What are you expecting it to be for me?"

[Tree]

"Companionship at minimum? A friend? Maybe a lover or partner if that's something you'll find happiness and pleasure in? "

He ventured suggestively

[Sushi]

Willow sighed softly, eating a few more chicken nuggets while she processed that.

"And if I can't or it goes bad? What then?"

[Tree]

"Can't continue to be their friend? It's alright. Sometimes friendships aren't a forever type thing?... if the relapsing goes bad between her and you? It's alright for her to go her separate ways if that's what is needed...."

He shrugged as he thought it through.

"Or if things are going well with you two but her and I were to fall apart? It is alright. Assuming that she isn't intentionally like trying to infuriate me, I'm sure we could live amicably with effort. If she and I were to be serious but you two fall apart?.... I dunno. That's the only one where I'm not sure, because it would depend on where you're at. I don't want to continue another relationship if you're hurt from it..... so it would depend on some extra factors...."

He leaned over to kiss her.

" But given the facts that she's said I'm not going to like her half the time but we haven't talked about why? Yeah. It's most likely you two will be fine."

Speaking of which, he was now texting Taylor.

~So, Temptress. Why do you suspect I'm not going to like you part of the time? ~

[Sushi]

Willow slowly closed the empty box, and despite her voice seeming indifferent, her insides were tiny and insecure in the face of one particular outcome.

"Would you rather keep her than me in that case?"



-Good morning to you too. It's Willow alright? What was a lot of booze.-

[Tree]

~Nothing that insane amounts of chicken nuggets and chocolate milk aren't squaring away. I'm glad she let her hair down. I did notice the side step on the question, lovely. It's one I'm going to have to insist on. ~

He didn't have much choice given the fact he was bringing her into his home.

He shifted and put his phone down, looking over Willow's question sank in.

"Never. Darling. I pick you. If it's ever between you and anyone else? It's you. .... if I picked someone else, Nora would be an effortless choice, she's sired to me. She'd give me anything if it made me happy, even if she wasn't. It's most men's dream. I don't want a relationship that way, though.

I pick you. No matter who else comes along, no matter whom else my heart grows to hold? It's yours. You'll always be the most precious. The most wanted. You are the one, Willow. You're the other half of my soul. "

[Sushi]

-you can't blame me for trying. I have some errands, but I can meet you later for dinner if you want.-

It was followed by a pin to a local restaurant.


Comforted a little, Willow slid her feet onto his lap.

"I always knew your fascination with me was temporary and that I would be replaced eventually."

It wasn't that she didn't believe him now so much as an expression of what had led her to feel so confused now.

[Tree]

"That's not going to happen. I'm foolish, sometimes a straight idiot. But I will always pick you. It will always be you."

Ansel considered the pin. He would text back a time and a question mark before gently starting to massage her feet.

[Sushi]

He got a handshake emoji back in response.

Him petting her was helping Willow stay steady.

"I never would have asked that of you," she told him.

"I don't know if I would have even wanted it if you offered."

She curled her toes down against his thigh as she realized what made this kind of hard.

"I don't know how to be important to somebody."

[Tree]

Ansel smiled now, a small underlining current of sympathy and something akin to sympathy was Ansel's baseline as he leaned over to kiss her.

"You just keep being you. If you feel the same you'll eventually feel safe, comfortable, and start to grow into this space that's just for you. I'll be here along the way if it's difficult or confusing. "

He reassured.

[Sushi]

Willow took the kiss and slid her arms around his middle.

"I don't know if that's what I'll become - I think I might be broken in a way that can never be fixed... But I do feel the same about you. Haven't I proven it yet?"

[Tree]

Ansel smiled, nodding as he considered her.

"There's no need to prove anything. I know you're just as mine and precious as I am yours. "

He answered perfectly happy to love her and soothe her.

[Sushi]

Willow looked up at him, her fingers slowly closing around the fabric of his shirt.

"No," she pressed.

"I have proved it. I have. No matter how I was tested."

It was important to her that he stopped to actually think about it.

[Tree]

Ansel was baffled, but after a moment he would give her a nod. The thing was, his examples were probably different than hers. When she'd listened or trusted in him. When he'd crossed unforgivable boundaries, or moved her about all the time or when he'd been too ....

"Yes. My love. You've proven it over and over. "

[Sushi]

Willow rested her head against him then, finally easing.

"Thank you."

[Tree]

"There's nothing to thank me for. You've done all the hard work to get here. "

He answered, hugging her tight.

"Well. I've done a tiny bit, but too little too late. "

[Sushi]

Willow shook her head a little, simply cuddling him for a couple minutes.

"I feel like I'm covered in bar grime. Do we have time for a quick shower?"

[Tree]

"Oh yeah. Absolutely. "

He encouraged her to go ahead, intending to tidy up their things while she relaxed and cleaned up.

"Take your time. As far as I'm aware neither of us have any plans anytime soon. My first and only plan other than you, is a dinner chat with Taylor at 6:30 to work out her concerns and my intents and stuff. "

[Sushi]

One shower later, Willow loitered by the window, looking down at the street of people even as she went over the night before in her head.

"I wonder how many of the people down there are actually just wearing human masks," she murmured thoughtfully.

[Tree]

"Oh, probably at least half."

He answered with a brief glance to what she watching.

[Sushi]

Willow smiled brightly.

"They live in an amazing world."