Sequel to PART 1 . Philly figures out a gift, though he’s real uncertain about it.
Philly had spent the better part of the week (read: every day) since the first night of Hanukkah panicking over what to get Wendy. He would go to her place, and relax a bit except for that damn pit in his stomach. She seemed happier each night that he was still there celebrating with her. It made him melt a little inside.
But now it was the last day and he still didn't have anything. Shit.
He'd gone to more stores and gift shops and holiday markets than he could count, with every spare minute of his time. He was distracted at work trying to figure out what to do. Every suggestion anyone made pissed him off, because it wasn't good enough. She deserved the perfect gift, and he was determined to bring it to her. She meant everything to him, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to prove it to her.
However, he was swiftly running out of time.
As he was finishing up at work, he had an idea. Maybe the reason nothing had seemed right was because the gift had to come from him. Would he have time to make it before he had to go over to her place? Well, he'd make it work.
It was for her, after all.
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Wendy opened the door to find Philly, looking out of breath.
"I'm so sorry I'm late, I just, some stuff, you know-" He stepped inside, carelessly kicking his shoes off, holding a small box close to his chest. He saw Wendy look curiously at it, and shoved it into his jacket pocket.
"It's alright, Philly." She smiled. "I mean, I was a little worried that I didn't hear from you..." She clasped her hands together a bit nervously.
"Aw fuck, I meant to text you, I- oh, look, here's the unsent text saying I was on my way. Great. Good job me." He held up his phone to show her, putting his other hand on his face with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay! Stop apologizing. We can still do candles and everything." She laughed a little, taking his jacket from him and putting it on a hanger.
"Alright..." He still looked sheepish, waiting until she started to walk away before grabbing the box from his jacket and shoving it into his back pocket.
Wendy lit the shamash, said the prayers, and they lit the candles together, hand on hand. Feeling soft in the candle light, Wendy wrapped her arms around Philly's waist, burying her head in his shoulder. He looked at her with a smile, even as his nerves started up again. This was it. The moment to present his gift. He was suddenly filled with doubts that she would like it. But it was too late, and he'd thought a lot about this. And it would be worse not to give her a gift, right?
"Um, I've got something for you." Philly put his hand on the back of his neck anxiously, smiling weakly. Wendy looked up at him, eyes practically sparkling. This only made him more nervous. "Don't look at me like that, you don't even know what it is yet! Come on..." He grabbed her hand, pulling her to the couch to sit next to him. He pulled the box out, putting it on his lap.
He cringed at his own presentation. It was a tiny cardboard box, held shut with packing tape. It was, frankly, a mess. He was finding himself embarrassed about it now.
"Do I need scissors to open this?" Wendy joked, snatching it off his lap, holding it up, feeling it's weight, pressing it against her face and sticking her tongue out him-
He laughed. "Yeah, sorry, give it here, I'll get it with my keys."
She handed it back, watching as he ripped open the taped up edges with his car keys. He handed it back, and she bit her lip, holding it in her hands for a moment. She looked at him, noticing how stiff he'd gone.
"Are you...nervous?" She asked, tilting her head, looking surprised.
"..." There was no point in denying it. "Well, yeah, I...your gift was so perfect I'm just not sure if...mine is...you know. I made it though, so..."
"You know I'll love it no matter what, right?" She replied, putting a hand on his cheek.
"I...I suppose." His eyes darted away.
She turned her attention to the present, figuring there was no need to delay it further. She opened the box, pulling out the colored tissue paper and putting it on her head. Philly watched intently, unable to stop himself from smiling at her silliness.
When she saw the gift itself, she put a hand over her mouth. "Philly...you made these?!" She asked in awe, pulling the earrings out of the box with great care. Each earring had a thin gold triangle and a thin silver triangle. "These are...amazing."
He nodded, blushing a bit. "I'm glad you like them."
"I adore them." She held them to her chest, leaning towards him suddenly, grinning. He was taken aback for a moment. "It's even more special to me that you made them..." Her eyes lit up suddenly. "I'll be right back!" She dashed upstairs, leaving him looking startled.
With her out of the room, he felt his stomach twist in knots despite the happy reception of the gift. He needed to correct his lie. He had promised himself he'd do that, and more importantly, he owed it to her. He had to stop with the casual lying. Lying to her was unbearable.
She came back into the room, almost tripping over her feet.
"Ta-da!" She gestured to her ears, where the earrings were already dangling.
Philly stared at her. "You put them on already?" He asked, despite the obvious answer. He stood up, walking up to her, tucking her hair behind her ears, leaving his hands cupping her cheeks. "You look radiant." A thumb grazed her lips before he pressed his lips to hers. When he pulled away, he couldn't help but snicker at her red face and dazed look. "Cat got your tongue?"
"N-no, you did though." She stammered out, breaking into a wide grin. He blinked, before cracking up.
"Shit, you're right. That was fucking perfect." He grabbed her hands, holding them up between the two of them. He darted his gaze away from her's. "Hey, uh, can I tell you something?" His heart was pounding in his chest.
"Of course you can. What's up?" She squeezed his hands reassuringly.
"Well, I...I maybe...didn't know what I was gonna get you until today." His shoulders sagged and he pouted, unwilling to meet her gaze. "I shouldn't have lied about it."
"Aw, Philly." She pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "It's okay. You ended up getting me a really great gift and I'm really happy! And even if you hadn't, it'd be okay."
"...dammit." He pressed his forehead against hers, eyes closed. "You're too nice to me."
"Absolutely not. I'm going to show you all the kindness in the world." She paused, thinking. "And anyway, I, um...I kinda knew."
"Y-you what?!" Philly pulled back, jerking his hands out of hers in surprise.
"Well, yeah, you get kinda...nervous? I could just tell."
"And you didn't say anything?!" He looked aghast.
She giggled. "I didn't need to. I knew you'd follow through on it."
He turned his head to the side, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's a lot of confidence, you know...even I wasn't that sure."
She gently put a hand on his face, pushing him to look at her. "But I was."
He looked confused, before softening. "Guess you were right, too." He laughed a little, pulling her to him, wrapping his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head.
She smiled up at him. "You're the one who made it happen, though. Don't forget that." She got on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms over his shoulders, pulling him into a long kiss.
“You’re cold. Come here.” for your self ship with Hatori [robotarmjokes]
@robotarmjokes this was such a good one ;w; thank you D
Hatori wasn't sure where Wendy had gotten off to. He was worried as the hours ticked later and later and she still wasn't home. He'd finished an entire pot of tea by himself. And then he'd picked up a book. He read, with one lamp lighting the room, listening to the sounds of the rain, waiting for her. She would show up. He was sure of it. And she would probably need him when she did, judging by how long she'd been gone for.
Lightning flashed, and for a moment he saw her silhouette in the doorway, with large wings spread behind her, a flicker of a halo. But when she came within range of the light, she was simply human, and dripping wet. She looked exhausted, her shoulders sagging, her eyes red rimmed.
"Hatori." She said weakly, apologetically, her voice more of a croak than a clear sound. "I-"
"You're cold. Come here." He interrupted gently, setting his book down and getting to his feet. He brought a blanket from the couch, wrapping it over her shoulders as she shivered and looked down at her feet. She was ill dressed for the weather, in a short sleeved button down and a pencil skirt. He kept his sigh internal, reading the guilt on her face as easy as the words in his book.
He led her to the bedroom, pulling out clean, dry pajamas for her to change into. "Here. Get changed while I heat up the tea."
To the average onlooker, perhaps this didn't seem so affectionate. Perhaps it seemed business like. But these were gestures from Hatori. Staying up late to wait for her was huge, and not immediately scolding her took a great deal of restraint. He forced his hands to steady as picked up the tea pot, noticing the way it shook for a moment. He reminded himself that she didn't appear hurt from first glances. He poured the tea, water coming out steady and without a hint of the shaking from before. Doctor's hands. Had to be steady.
When he brought the tray to the living room with the tea, she was there, still wrapped in the blanket, but in dry clothes now, though still shivering. He set the tray on the table and sat down on the couch, pulling her against him. Her skin was so cold. How long has she been out in the rain?
"Drink." He suggested, squeezing her gently. She nodded, cupping the teacup in her hands before bringing it up to her face to sip.
They sat in silence for some time, aside from Wendy's quiet drinking.
"You're not going to ask what happened?" Wendy asked nervously, barely meeting Hatori's intense gaze.
"I assume you'll tell me, if you think I should know." Hatori replied bluntly. His face softened. "I was worried, though."
"I'm sorry for worrying you." She mumbled, staring into her tea. "Thank you, Hatori."
I’m working on a soft pic of Viren and I and I HAD TO STOP cause I got too soft and emotional 😭 I just love him??? and somehow I drew him with the most loving expression I almost CRIED? HELP!!! I’m soft I love him I want him to be happy ;w;
I’m not done with season 3 BUT Viren is fucking off the rails right now I cannot believe what he did to Ezran!!!
and that, “no...I’m not” omg...you fucking bastard...I’m gonna kill you...
And poor Soren!!! I can’t believe Viren just fucking LIED to Claudia like that and made Soren feel like shit!!!! At least he defended Claudia when Aaravos said she was an “asset” but like...god...Viren the power has gone to your head...fjslkjsfdka ;wwwwww; how are you gonna come back from this
I will probably write some more drabbles of inserting my si into this mess because I gotta but fdaskjhdjsf geez this is big ow I’m crying
(there’s also the alt scenario where Callum and Rayla run into my SI near the Xadian border with the idea that that’s where I went but adsjfhsdjkasdk I think I’m needed in the fucking disaster that is home, and Viren’s so far gone I’m not sure my presence would change things much...which was why my SI had to be away for the prior seasons)
i hope nobody minds how frequently i’ve been posting!!! i dont want to flood anybody’s dashboards with liverpepper nonsense but i’ve gone on and off hiatus so often and am now finally going through so many good asks that i can’t help myself ( ॣ•͈૦•͈ ॣ) also, i hope everyone’s been having a wonderful june so far!!! how has everyone been doing *__*!!!
