For the prompt thing. Comparing hand sizes - Brella <3
AUTHORS NOTE: This story is set in an alternative season 1 where Brandon and Sky didn't switch places.
Despite her sometimes less-than-stellar relationship with her mother, Stella loved the Day of the Rose. She loved the festivities and traditions. She loved the crowds overflowing with joy and love. Most of all, she loved the markets and vendors that filled the streets of downtown Magix. This year, she particularly loved the company she had.
A series of instances – that is, Riven storming off after Bloom rightfully dropped a bucket of water on his pig-headed ass, then Bloom going off to try to find him to apologise and Sky going off after Bloom so that she wasn’t left alone with Riven and his temper – left her and Brandon alone. Figuring that either Sky or Bloom would call one of them when they’d found Riven, she and Brandon decided to wander the market stalls.
Brandon immediately started pointing out things he thought she’d be interested in. And, oh did he have a great eye. He pointed out beautiful scarves, iconic jackets, sparkly rings and stunning dresses. She ooh-ed and ah-ed at the beautiful items, but all she really wanted was to spend as much time as possible with him.
Stella followed behind as he led the way through the crowd, wondering how she could make it obvious that she was basically in love with him. Her mother had always said that men should do the chasing, but besides some very overt flirting, Brandon wasn’t doing much chasing. Not that he needed to, Stella was wrapped around his finger and basically desperate for his attention. She knew it, her friends knew it, but she refused to let him know it. He would be lucky to get her and that was all he needed to know.
But then again, she knew she’d be lucky to have him too. Brandon wasn’t only drop dead gorgeous, he was kind, optimistic, loyal, intelligent. And yeah, fucking gorgeous. Rich dark eyes, a jaw chiseled by the world’s greatest artists, silky brown hair, broad shoulders, arms that made her swoon, and height. Such height. Stella was tall and she loved heels, her man needed to be taller than her. She liked having to reach up when they hugged.
If ever they would hug. No matter how much flirting they did, the physical was severely lacking. He’d kissed her cheek a month ago and ever since, she’d wanted nothing but to be close to him. She would “accidentally” brush her arm against his when they walked, but everything else seemed too desperate unless it was done with exaggerated flirtatiousness which cheapened the thrill of touching him.
“I think that stand is selling jewelry made with awxinite” Brandon pointed out, drawing Stella’s attention away from the silk dress she was looking over.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a gemstone” Brandon replied, leading her over to the stand. “My grandmother had a necklace made of it. It’s a silverish colour in daylight, but it glitters in the dark.”
“You mean it glows in the dark?”
“No, it glitters. Yeah, see, they’ve got a box so you can see the glittering.”
Stella peered into the show box, gasping in awe as she watched this otherwise unassuming stone sparkle like it had been hit by direct sunlight. “That’s beautiful.”
“Would you like to try one on, ma’am?” the vendor asked, pulling out a small tray of beautifully crafted rings. Stella picked out a ring and the vendor, having impressively guessed that her ring size was a 6, handed it over. She slid it on her finger, admiring it, then cupping it to watch how it shimmered in the dark.
“And for you, sir” the man said, pulling out a selection of mens rings. “An 11?”
“I have no idea” Brandon replied, admitting that he’d never measured his ring size.
The man pulled out a ring and instructed Brandon to try it on. It fit a bit tight, so the man pulled out the next size. “A 12, then.”
“Wow, I never realised your hands were so big” Stella commented, watching as Brandon’s calloused fingers slipped on the ring.
“Are they?” Brandon held up his hand, turning it over to inspect it.
“A bit yeah” Stella laughed as she held up her hand to Brandon. She grabbed his wrist, holding his hand up to hers. He pressed the palm of his hand against hers. The bottoms of their palms lined up, but Brandon’s hands were significantly larger. He could even fold the tips of his fingers to cover hers without disaligning the bottoms of their palms.
“Maybe you’ve got really small hands.”
“Oh no” the vendor piped in. “Your girlfriend has perfectly average hands for a woman.”
“Oh, I’m not -”
“She does have perfect hands” Brandon agreed with a laugh. Stella knew she had turned tomato red – not a flattering colour on her – but she laughed anyways. Brandon’s smile was just so infectious that she couldn’t help it.
She braved a glance at him and turned a brighter red when she realised he was smiling at her. Not one of those silly smiles he had when he joked around, either. Brandon smiled at her with the softest, sincerest smile she’d ever seen on him. She returned the smile as she tried not to melt at the way he looked at her – like she was the most beautiful sight (but how could she be when he was?).
“So then?” the salesman asked, ruining Stella’s favourite moment of the school year so far.
Brandon pulled his hand away from hers and started to remove the ring. “Not for me, thanks.”
“I’ll take mine” Stella smiled.
Later that night, she turned the ring over in her hands, remembering the way Brandon’s hand felt in hers and wishing she could feel him again. When she started to feel sleepy, she put the ring back in its box and placed it in a charmed jewelry box with the Ring of Solaria. Gods knew it was just as, if not more, precious than the family ring.
