The Musings of a Future Wandmaker

August W. Booth here. 21, third year Wandlore student at Storybrooke Academy. Self-proclaimed tinkerer extraordinaire, woodwork enthusiast and apple connoisseur. Tracked tag: #waynelore

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Monkey in the Middle

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Snow smiled to herself at Victor calling August her side-kick, more than a little far from the truth. She considered correcting him but decided against it, figuring August would enjoy that more than she would. “Nice to meet you too, Aurora. Snow White is my actual name,” she tilted her head toward’s August before continuing, “This is August W. Booth. The W stands for ‘Wow I really have to remind people I have a middle initial every time I introduce myself and I’m damn lucky its endearing. Long, I know, but what can you do?” She shrugged and gave a little smile to the girl.

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August hugged Ruby back tightly, glad to see her glowing. After Snow, she and Vic were the closest friends he had. "It was nice, but I'm glad to be back!" he said simply, a grin taking over his face. He ignored Vic's question about their whereabouts the previous night, figuring it best to leave that conversation for later. August himself chuckled at the position he'd been placed in. Amazing Snow's sidekick. Didn't sound half bad to him, in all honesty. "Yep, that's us. Studying trees and domesticating bowtruckles all day, every day," he quipped, a mock exasperated expression on his face. "Nice to meet you, Aurora," the man nodded at her, his previous smile back. He'd have extended a hand, only she was kind of on the opposite side of the table. At Snow's lengthy introduction he could only laugh. He really did that a lot, didn't he? "Yeah, well, that sums me up pretty well, miss smart mouth-"

Wait. Something was wrong here.. "I am such an idiot," he covered his mouth with his hand. "I left my wand in the dorm. I'll be right back," and he ran out of the Hall, mentally cursing himself along the way.

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Monkey in the Middle

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Snow arched and eyebrow as she slid into a chair next to Ruby, Aurora’s laughter quite covering up her approach. “Doll? Someone’s been watching too many classic movies again,” Snow observed as she tapped her wand, turning Ruby’s hair and Victor’s pants both the same deep crimson. “Do I even want to know how we got started playing with people’s hair and pants?” she said playfully. Her eyes widening over Aurora’s sudden bout of hiccups, she leaned over and rapped the girl’s cup, causing a bluish milk to spring up in it. “Anti-hiccoughing solution, sweetie, gets rid of even the most miserable hiccups.”

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August sauntered in shortly after Snow, a lazy smile on his lips as he took a seat by her side. "I don't care, I want in," he laughed at the remark about playing with pants. His smile softened as the woman helped Aurora out. That was Snow for you - ever the considerate marvel. He found her hand under the table and gave it a squeeze, before turning to Vic. "Pity, mate. The colour suited you. Same goes for you, Ruby." He'd missed their antics.. Although one-on-one time with Snow definitely had its perks.

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Just then, the rain started to pick up. Snow pulled away from August with a laugh and shoved the food back inside her bag. “Well I guess nature’s decided we’re going back inside huh?” She asked as she stood up and proffered her hand.

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Their moment abruptly ended, August was on the verge of having his mood ruined. But then Snow's laughter rang out, clear and sweet, and he was reminded of the most important thing. Yes, this moment was over, but they would have so many more now that everything was in the open. From here on, things would only get better.

He got up and took her hand with a smile. "Let's go check on the others."

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Early Start

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“I dunno, August,” Snow teased, “All that built up tension released itself pretty fantastically.” She ran her fingers through the hair on the back of his head, enjoying the feeling of his damn hair. “You know, we’re really going to have to do something about this rain,  August,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss him again.

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"You won't hear me complaining," the man grinned. He absently caressed her cheek with his thumb, his other arm still tight around her waist. "And what might that be?" He mused as he studied her. Apparently she hadn't minded the manhandling one bit, and he was only too happy to oblige. He was fortunately composed enough to be mindful of how gentle she was as he dug his fingers into her neck, lips pressing hungrily against hers.

He was kissing her. His best friend, Snow.. After all the years of hesitation, the certainty of the current situation was a breather.

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Early Start

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Snow knew, somewhere in the part of her mind that wasn’t completely focused on kissing August, that they were going to have to break apart soon, if only for oxygen’s sake. But for now, she was enjoying every microsecond of their perfect moment. She slid both her hands to brush over the sides of his face, still not quite believing that she and August were kissing. She had actually got everything she could hope for for once.

Eventually, more than a little short on breath, Snow pulled back from August. She smiled widely and let out a breathy laugh, “Wow…that was some kiss.”

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August was still finding it hard to process what was happening, but for once he wanted to make the most out of the moment rather than waste it away in his thoughts. He could overanalyse the hell out of it later. For now her warmth in his arms was all he could care about, and he was beyond happy with the way things were.

"It's been a long time coming," the man laughed as well, before his grin softened back into a complacent smile. He leaned in until his forehead was resting against hers, eyes closing again as he nuzzled his nose against hers. "I should've done this years ago," he sighed, more content than regretful.

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Early Start

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When August closed his eyes, Snow figured he was about to open them back up, sigh at her, and tell her she was being weird or something. She was not expecting whatever-the-hell the look he gave her was, whatever-the-hell quickly turned into oh-crap-I-totally-fell-asleep when he grabbed the back of her neck and kissed her. Kissing wasn’t exactly the best descriptor because this was certainly a hell of a lot rougher and more passionate than anything Snow had figured she’d get.

Without really knowing what she was doing, Snow slipped her hand from his jaw to the back of his head, teasing her fingers through his hair. Her other hand left his waist and landed on the side of his face, lightly brushing across his stubble and then her fingers stroked around his eye.

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He was so startled when she kissed him back that his eyes flew open, only to fall on her half-closed ones. It was a strangely reassuring sight, especially coupled with the fact that she wasn't running away or hexing him or... struggling in any way. She wasn't pushing him away. It took a second for his mind to comprehend the implications of that simple fact. His original rush somewhat quelled and suddenly afraid of hurting her, August slowed down a notch. His eyes drifted closed again as he turned to fully face her, before gently drawing her in until she was settled comfortably in his lap. Now he could fully wrap her in his arms and, with their lips still together, it made everything he'd ever experienced seem passionless by comparison.

A hint more careful, but definitely not less fervent, he deepened the kiss, his hand moving to cup her face as he melted into her touch. Every inch of skin under her fingers felt as though it were ablaze.

With perfection just a leap of faith away, he finally knew why no one had felt right for him.

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Early Start

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Snow’s entire mind seemed to have caught itself up in August’s eyes when their gazes met, she was all too aware of where his arm was, and when his gaze drifted downwards she felt her face growing a bit warm. Her eyes traced a line down his nose and to his lips, and then doing the only thing she could think to do right then short of pulling him to kiss him, she put one hand over his and her other drifted up to run her fingers across his jawline. Some small part of her brain telling her that she just royally fucked up when it came to concealing her feelings.

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How the fuck was he supposed not to kiss her?

Yet he was still holding it together, somehow. Ten years of happy memories were gnawing at the back of his mind, reminding him what he would be risking. He'd managed not to ruin it for so long, why give up now..? He'd been through all of this already, and so many times. All the arguments and internal struggles had been mulled over and over for literally years. And yet each time it felt as if his very being was splitting in two unreconcilable halves, and it had often left him tossing and turning night after night, sometimes for weeks on end. Every once in a while he'd even had to distance himself from her for a few days just to cool off.

But this time he could feel his resolve wearing down. He'd fought for so long, fought against something he knew was right for him, something he needed. It had poisoned any other attempt at love, made a wreck out of him... And the worst part? It was all crumbling to dust. He could sense it. All these years of struggling - in vain.

No. He wouldn't let it. He hadn't endured all of that just to mess up at the finish line. He'd kept this bottled so well, and she just meant too much..

Alas, the touch of her fingers was to be his undoing.

He closed his eyes, trying to block out the insane craving. Maybe if he just.. survived this moment.. Maybe things would fall into place again. But each beat of his racing heart proved him wrong, over and over again. If there was such a thing as a point of no return, he'd crossed it. The battle was long lost.

But, hell, if he was going to screw up, might as well do it right.

There was something dark to his eyes as he opened them to look at Snow. He only gave her a split second to back off before completely giving in. His free hand gripping her by the back of her neck, his hold around her waist tightened as he pulled her in. Lips crashed into hers with a force he'd normally never resort to, but could no longer control. Years and years of suppressed feelings flooded him as he held her flush against his chest, eyes closed and chills running up and down his whole body.

This felt much better than he could've ever imagined it. And even if he did end up regretting it...

It would still be worth it.

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Early Start

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“Oh, you know, heavy as usual. Complicated as always. I think we might actually kill ourselves studying this year,” Snow mused, her eyes lingering on August’s chin, or jaw, or nose, or eyes a bit longer than it probably should. She hoped he wouldn’t notice. Her heart had leaped when he volunteered to spend more time together, her and her stupid crush.

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"All is well in the world, then?" August chuckled as his arm dropped to her waist, somewhat of its own accord. It had been much easier to pull her in by her shoulders at first, but now that she was closer there were more comfortable options available, and so his arm settled in its usual place. As the two fell into silence, he found his eyes drawn to hers, and then her lips..

Thoughts started resurfacing in his mind; thoughts he'd been pushing back for years with no luck whatsoever. What would happen if he just kissed her? Because at that point he was pretty sure nothing could be worse than the constant struggle not to look at her that way, not to hold her a bit too close, not to.. want her.

We can laugh as we both pretend That we're not in love and that we're just good friends Well, I'm tired of pretending, But I'm terrified of it ending..

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Early Start

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Snow snorted out a little laugh, “No you actually didn’t, August.” She started giggling then, “I was messing with you, it was a really bad joke, I’m sorry, I’m not funny.” Snow regained her composure and pushed her hair back out of her eyes before answering him, “Well, there’s the woods around here, of course, and…well we’ve never gone to the Great Redwood or Giant Sequoya forests before. I can’t think of anywhere else specific, but we don’t really have to go anywhere specific.”

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August rolled his eyes as he realised she'd been kidding. Of course. It was so easy for her to fool him into believing stuff like that, given how freely he talked to her about everything... Well, almost everything. It was a pain not being able to tell her the one thing he desperately wanted to get off his chest, but then... Was he willing to risk losing her for good?

"Both sound good. We could flip a coin when the time comes, I guess," August smiled with a slight shrug. Indeed he would be fine with either destination so long as he had a chance to spend some extra time with Snow.

"So... What's our schedule like this semester?" He had no idea how he'd be able to manage without her, what with how disorganised he was naturally. He did have some extra subjects due to his major that he needed to check out, but for now anything she could share would be good.

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Early Start

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“Oh, right,” Snow mused, “That’s why you kept complaining about all the weight you put on while you were there.” She shrugged, pushing down the stab of jealousy she felt when he mentioned other women, of course there were other women. She caught herself gazing at him as he stroke his chin, she always paid way too much attention to the little things he did, and hoped he wouldn’t shave, she was a fan of the scruffy look. “Spring break. Oh and Easter, we get that Friday off and shouldn’t have much in the way of homework, so it should be a three day weekend.”

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"I did?" he cocked an eyebrow at her. French cuisine had been a delight indeed, but he hadn't realised he'd been complaining about the effects... Definitely not impossible, though. The things he told her without hesitation sometimes amazed him. "Well, I'll have you know that any and all weight has been properly redistributed since then." Spring break sounded good, but so far away in time.. Easter. Easter he could work with. "I think three days should suffice?" He directed a curious glance at her. "Now all we need to figure out is where we want to go."

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Early Start

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She tilted her head and eyed him, “You went to France for the food, August.” At his suggestion she brightened, although she was a bit curious since she was usually the one dragging him out into the woods, and nodded. “Sounds great. When?”

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"Ahem... No. I went to France for the wandlore traditions and the women." He couldn't help but tease a little. Maybe by pretending he could think of anyone but her he would get over his feelings more easily.. "Let's see... When's the next break?" And he stroked his chin with his free hand, absently noting that he needed a shave.

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Early Start

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“Oh come on, bowtruckles are amazing. You’re a Wandlore major, you’ve got to start caring more about them. And a lot of other magical creatures, actually. Wandcores, August,” she chided, carefully sidestepping the question about hiking. She hadn’t actually gotten out of the house much over winter break and she’d rather he didn’t have a chance to figure it out.

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Apparently the hiking topic was off-limits for some reason. He made a mental note to keep his ears open in case she let something slip. "I do care about creatures!" he protested. "I just.. didn't go on a trip to France for the sake of looking at them." His face broke into a grin as an idea occurred to him. "Hey, you know what we should do?" He made a small pause just to tickle her curiosity. "We should go on a hiking trip together!" Honestly, how hadn't he thought of it earlier.. Never mind, what mattered now was that they made it happen.

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Early Start

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“Oh, me? Just read and hiked some,” she lied easily, “Nothing noteworthy, really.” Hopefully she could actually keep this a secret from him, August may have known her inside and out, but she had kept this from him for years and she wasn’t about to stop. She pondered for a moment before continuing, “Yeah, we’ve got sycamores this year, so you’ve got a one up on the rest of the class. Did you see any of the bowtruckles there?”

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"Sounds good. Where'd you hike?" He really didn't want to let the conversation die out so quickly, and also he was sure she'd done some pretty amazing things. If he could get her to share a happy memory, then maybe she'd lighten up for good. "You and your bowtruckles..." August laughed a little, trying to disguise the adoring look that took over his features. The way she was so interested in the small creatures never failed to warm his heart, even if he didn't particularly care for them.

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Early Start

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She smiled as she looked into his handsome blue eyes, with his arm still around her she didn’t even feel the encroaching coolness of the rain. She was going to have to learn to live with being happy with August where she was again, but at least it was a damn good place to be.

“Nah,” she shook her head slightly, “It’s just a little rain. If it turns into anything more we can always head back, not like it’ll take us long.” She grinned mischievously and winked at him. “Besides, I didn’t get to see you pretty much at all during break, you have yet to tell me what you got up to.”

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Snow's dismissal of the rain made the man grin. She had always been so at ease with nature and all its whims; where other people would fuss, she merely shrugged and looked for the good sides to the situation. For all he knew she would probably always remain a hopeless optimist and a wild child, and he loved her that way.

He loved her. It was a fact he was comfortable with; one that had creeped up on him slowly, but eventually he'd stopped struggling against. All through his conscious life she'd been by his side, sharing his dreams, fears, successes and failures. Her patience for him seemed endless, for some unfathomable reason, and she'd slowly become an integral part of him.

Yet he'd be a liar if he said there wasn't something more, and that he had never stopped to consider it.

"The usual. Dad taught me some new techniques and we went on a little trip to Belfort to look at the sycamore trees there. They're really quite interesting, I think we'll be studying them this year," and he gave her a broad, proud smile. He knew she was a sucker for the odd bit of knowledge and he hoped she'd be happy with what he told her. "Now, about your adventures!"

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Early Start

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She leaned into his hug and remained silent, closing her eyes and bringing one hand to wrap around his dangling off her shoulder. Snow wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, but she only opened her eyes when she heard the soft plink of rain on her metallic thermos. Sighing lightly she just flicked the top of her bag over to cover up the opening, she’d already Imperviused the books and the bag and the sandwiches were wrapped, but their little moment of whatever this was officially ending.

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Familiar comfort mixed with a pang of dull longing as she wrapped a hand around his. They'd been like that more times than he could remember over the last ten years, and yet every time the feeling that washed over him caught him unprepared... This was no exception.

"Wanna head in?" August cocked his head to the side, blue eyes meeting hazel. They could always use a modified Impervius and spend some more time in the rain, or just get wet like regular folks, but he supposed she'd want to get back to Vic and Ruby, maybe get distracted from her worries..

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Early Start

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“I found this place our first semester here,” Snow started talking, staring off into the distance, “I was stressed and I just started walking. Once I found this place, I only ever apparated here. I never wanted anyone else to find it, it’s quiet and peaceful and comfortable and perfect. It’s mine…” She turned her head and finally looked at August, “Ours. I’m sorry, August. Sometimes I’m just a dumb girl who gets mixed up and doesn’t like herself very much. What you said…whatever you say, it always means more to me then what anyone else ever says, okay? And I just want you to know that I will always be here for you, no matter what happens in life. I just might need a few minutes to stop being a silly girl and remember.” She finished with a little smile, she wouldn’t do anything like this again. Being stupid and getting all flustered and whatever else that was over a crush on her best friend? Not happening again.

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When she started talking August let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. His expression changed, a soft, gentle smile tucking at his lips as he listened; the place really was very.. her. If he'd found it on his own, he'd immediately have thought of taking her there. His eyes were still fixed on her when she turned to face him and for a second, as she said the word ours, the strangest feeling of predestinate inevitability washed over him. And not for the first time he wondered if she could read minds..

"Hate to break it to you, Snowbird, but if you're a silly girl then we're all doomed." He'd wanted to say something.. deeper, more comforting, more... honest (not that this one wasn't true), but, not for the first time around her, the words had evaded him. "You know you can always rely on me, right?" His tone had taken on a more serious note, but it was still light, more reassuring than anything else. "And you don't really need to put up that tough girl façade around me. I know how strong you are," he finished as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug and resting his cheek against the top of her head.

God, why did they have to fit so perfectly..

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Early Start

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Snow kicked herself mentally as August took her hand, she was being an idiot and he had no idea why. So rather than make herself look dumber, she squeezed his hand tightly and spun between one step and the next, hauling August along with her.

They disapparated in the middle of a little clearing with a stream running through it. The canopy wasn’t very thick here compared to the rest of the forest and so it allowed plenty of light, when the sun was out that is. As it was there was still plenty of muted sunlight and so Snow pulled August along over to the little depression in the side of the knoll that had turned this into her favorite spot. It was about as wide as a couch and was curved so gently that you could sit or lay on it extremely comfortable. She settled down on the small moss covering and opened up her bag next to her, revealing a thermos and a few sandwiches packed inside with the books.

There we go, she thought, back to not being a complete, blundering idiot.

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In the blink of an eye, August was reminded of all the reasons why he hated side-along apparition. Still, this was Snow. If there was one person that would get away with this, it was her.

He trailed after her, glad of her hand still in his and utterly captivated by their surroundings. Judging by the stream and the sunlight and the assurance in her step, he could tell this place was a frequent haunt for his friend. How she'd managed to keep it to herself for two years was a mystery, but he was glad she'd finally felt she could trust him. He couldn't help the smile that graced his features when she started taking things out of her bag - first a thermos, then some sandwiches and, of course, books. That's my Snow, always prepared.

He ignored the fact he'd just subconsciously called her his (which he did more often than he realised, or was prepared to acknowledge), and focused on her instead. He was tempted to either poke fun or try to comfort her, and because of that insecurity, he kept quiet. Settling down next to her on the covering, he gave the place one last look before fixing a soft, patient gaze on her.

If you don't know what to say, just keep quiet. And so he did.