prompt: pain in my heart for your dying wish, i’ll kiss your lips again
prompted by @escanons 💕
ship: marcie x reed | playlist
notes: they’ve been in texas a week, pretending to be in a relationship so that reed doesn’t have to answer questions about being single / being set up by friends and family at a wedding. he asked marcie to be his date/girlfriend in exchange for shouting her out on his very successful tiktok account. i missed these two.
Out of respect, and maybe a tiny bit of affection for Reed, Marcie decides not to drink at the reception.
The ginger ale tickles the back of her throat, and she wishes it was a whiskey sour.
“Having fun?” Reed asks, sliding into the seat next to her. His arm slips around her bare shoulders, scarred fingertips tracing light patterns over her freckled bicep.
She hates to admit it but he’s a fantastic fake boyfriend.
“I am, actually,” she replies, turning to him to place a kiss on his cheek as his mother walks by. Reed grins at her, reaching for his own glass of soda.
“I’m glad,” he says, “I’m also glad you agreed to come here with me,” he adds, lowering his voice, “I know you’re only doing it for the TikTok cloud you’ll get from me but-”
“Reed,” she interrupts, “The clout is great, but I agreed to come here with you because you’re my friend and I care about you.”
His eyes meet hers, wide and blue, and Marcie realizes what she’s just confessed. Reed’s smile broadens, and he pulls her a bit closer, mischief dancing in his eyes.
“So you do care about me,” he says slyly, waggling his eyebrows, “Why Bouchard I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Don’t get used to it,” she grumbles, rolling her eyes while she ignores the butterflies in her stomach, fluttering under his teasing gaze.
He laughs at her, turning to the dance floor.
“C’mon, this is a party after all,” he says lightly, “Let’s go dance.”
Reed smiles as he stands, extending his hand. She returns the smile, placing her hand in his, not because she’s his fake girlfriend, but because she finds she does want to dance with him.
His hand is warm as he leads her to the floor, spinning her out with a laugh as the song ends, a familiar throwback starting up.
Marcie finds herself laughing and dancing in a large circle of Reed’s family and high school friends, jumping and singing along, throwing her head back in delight. Across the circle Reed is bouncing with his friends, but his eyes find hers and he grins at her.
“Y’all make such a cute couple,” one of the girls says drunkenly, as Marcie bends to hear her better, “I’ve like, not seen Reed so happy with a partner like, ever!”
Marcie doesn’t have to force a smile, looking back at Reed across the circle, fist pumping with his friends.
“He makes me happy,” Marcie replies, and she feels her own words deeply in her bones.
Her fake boyfriend bumps shoulders with one of his friends, bouncing along as he glances over at her. Reed grins, shooting a pair of finger guns at her as the song ends, transitioning to a slow, familiar love song.
“This one’s for our newlyweds and all the happy couples,” the DJ says over the mic.
Marcie’s heart skips a beat as Reed makes his way over to her, his cheeks flushed.
“Uh, refreshment time?” he asks, gesturing to their table.
“I thought we’d dance one more,” she replies quickly, taking his hand in hers, leading him back onto the dance floor. She takes his other hand, placing it on her waist, feeling the heat of his palm through her dress.
“Oh,” Reed replies intelligently, meeting her gaze with guarded eyes. Marcie smiles at him, putting one hand on his shoulder, inching closer to his neck to toy with his curls.
His cheeks flush a deeper pink, but his gaze doesn’t shy away from hers.
“You don’t have to do this,” Reed says, his hand shifting and flexing on the small of her back. “I think everyone believes us.”
“I have been an exceptional girlfriend for the past week,” Marcie agrees, “And doesn’t a girlfriend get a slow dance?”
She watches his Adam’s apple bob, her gaze resting on his mouth briefly as her gaze travels up to meet his.
“I mean, you’re not-” he says as she rests her head on his shoulder.
“I am right now,” she says softly, still playing with his curls with one hand.
Reed doesn’t say anything to that, and she bites her lip as they sway together. His hand doesn’t stray from the small of her back, the other clasped in her hand.
The song ends, breaking the spell, and Marcie pulls back slowly from him.
“You’re not a bad dancer,” she says with a smile, as the next song starts up. “I might even be convinced to dance another with you.”
Reed’s expression is unreadable, but she keeps her gaze steady, pulling away from him slowly. Almost involuntarily, he follows her.
“I don’t think I’d need a particularly strong argument,” he says, suddenly close to her, his mouth near her ear, and Marcie’s heart flutters at the smile he’s giving her.
“Probably not,” she fires back, a smirk on her lips as she lifts a hand to fiddle with her jewelry, trying not to focus on how breathless she sounds.
Reed’s hand touches the small of her back lightly as they leave the dance floor before finding her own hand, tangling their fingers together familiarly as they have been all week. They pass their table and the bar, making for the exit of the ballroom.
“Fresh air?” she asks, glancing at him as they leave the ballroom, headed through the empty hallways of the hotel.
“Something like that,” Reed agrees, and Marcie swallows, pulling on his hand. He pauses and turns, and with a quick step she’s in front of him, her hand in his and the other cupping his face.
They’ve kissed a few times this week, light pecks of affection, to make their ruse more believable, but they haven’t kissed like this before.
so in this au i see marcie as some kind of upper-noble in a seelie court, and reed is also a noble, but known for his trickster ways (think puck, midsummer’s night’s dream) and he especially loves pranking nobles however he can. also has mastered the art of twisting truth to lie
reed’s favourite target is marcie because she’s usually so mild mannered, holding her court under a sunny meadow, sitting under a tree, he can’t help himself but make the tree lose its fruit and no matter where they are on the tree they will all fal on marcie and she loses her composure and he is CACKLING
eventually, several centuries later, she starts to prank back and he is DELIGHTED and they become as good as friends faeries can be and they work together to climb the weirdass hierarchy system that faeries have an along the way are like love??? what are love??? we love???
somehow they organize a coup or something and name themselves the new summer royals and it’s just a fun time and she’s playing instruments all hours of the day and ehe’s going off to hang out with mortals and comes back with a skateboard and is Llike LOOK AT THIS MY LOVE MORTALS HAVE THE COOLEST SHIT and she’s like oh my god no what
he’s like ariel with humans - fascinated and keeps bringing them home like “LOOK THIS IS JULES AND HE IS VERY PRETTY AND FUN I’M KEEPING HIM” and “THIS IS TRENT HS IS VERY SMART AND I LIKE TO PRANK HIM AND I’M KEEPING HIM” and “THIS IS ROBBIE AND HIS HUMAN FAM IS NOT NICE SO WE ARE THE FAM NOW” and “KAI MADE ME BRING HIS GIRLFRIEND” and now they are weird faerie parents to these random kids and reed is so pleased and marcie is doing the faery equivalent of hitting herself in the head on a brick wall
