#sgss

Rae (beginning): Yup you are definitely that blond twink Quincy was talking about. I was not expecting the moth eyes though.

Rae (ending): I am so fucking glad you got to relax and do things you actively enjoy. You deserve those giant, stupid moth slippers. I respect the absolute hell out of you.

Quincy (beginning): Oh honey, oh darling, oh sweetie. You're a mess.

Quincy (ending): You are probably one of the most important people I have ever met, and I'm glad to have met you.

Bee (beginning): Bitch (derogatory) immediately followed by Bitch (affectionate).

Bee (ending): Bitch (that's my little brother)

Beauregard (beginning): You have so much on your plate, kid, and damn if I don't relate.

Beauregard (ending): This is my little sibling and they will bite you.

Frederick (beginning): *eyes emoji* Man?

Frederick (ending): We are perhaps the only two people here who know what it's like being adults in worlds that are dying, having grown up into a world we know we can't save but now have the chance to. You get me on such a fundamental level that it's hard to describe, and I'm glad we can just bond over tubs of ice cream

Heidi (beginning): Oh aren't you a sweet thing

---

There were kids in the town square. About twelve of them, passing a ball around in a game they called Wake the Sun. Even after watching them for a full hour, Frederick still had no actual idea how you won the game, but they seemed to be having fun. Heidi especially, playing with the other kids who didn't fully seem to understand just how important their playmate was.

Laughter filled the air, and he was nine again, and there were kids calling him Freddie and asking him to play soccer in the yard. Abbie and Nickie, Little Josh and Kathy, dragging him away from his studies to chase each other in the woods, getting lost on a Saturday afternoon as they pretended to be bandits or princesses. Often times it was both, and Abbie was always the knight and Nickie was always the bandit king, and he was always the dragon.

They were his people.

They were all important kids. But out there, they weren't important kids.

In the woods of his youth, they were just people.

With a jolt, he yanked himself back to reality, one hand on his head. He was used to the strange, dream-like memories of Kasvilla, pulling him back into places he had been a long time ago. Part of him thought they would've stopped once he found their merry band of misfits. These 'keepers', as they tended to call themselves.

Part of him should've known better. That planet changed him mind and body. He'd known that for a long time.

Frederick sighed, going back to his woodworking. It had been months by this point, and he still couldn't get used to the stars. The night sky had been full of them when he was a kid, beautiful and ever blinking. And then one by one, he watched them go out, snuffed out with as much care and thought as someone putting out a candle.

They were all dead. All of them, snuffed out with those stars.

Didn't mean he didn't miss them.

"Mr. Frederick?"

In that way only Heidi could muster, she had snuck up to him, peering over his knee and looking at the bit of carved wood in his hands.

"Hey kiddo," he said, picking her up like she weighed less than air and setting her on his lap. "Having fun out there?"

She giggled, smoothing her large skirts out and settling comfortably against his chest. "I am! You should come play with us."

He snorted, delicately carving out the eyes on his figurine. "Hm, well, I could, but I think I'm too tall. And if I played, I'd lose every single time. And that isn't very fun."

"But everyone likes Wake the Sun," Heidi said, face pouting in a way that was absolutely weaponized. "We can all be on the same team. Then you can play, we can teach you, and everyone wins!"

"I don't know, I haven't played with anyone in a long time." Ears and nose were next, clean shavings gently falling on Heidi's dress. "I might mess it up."

She thought for a moment, eyes going distant in a way that could only be described as oracular. Heidi had always been a special kid from what it sounded like, dreaming visions and strangely wiser than her years. "You were alone back home, right?"

"Yeah." Kid was observant. Almost scarily so.

"That must've been hard," she said, looking up at him with a somber expression. "Because you cared about the people you knew before, right? No one is born alone."

Tail next, long and curly. "You're right, I wasn't. There were other people, but we all had jobs to do out in space, up in the stars. And then, well..."

"The Angel Came."

"Yeah. Yeah she did," he said with a slow nod.

Heidi kicked her feet, taking one hand and reaching up to his face. Her fingertips brushed his chin, and her eyes went lost and distant again, as if she was looking deep beyond his soul. In anyone else, it would've been deeply disturbing. In her, though, it was almost calming.

"I don't think they're all gone," she finally said, face brightening in the way only a child can know hope.

Another shave, another notch. "What makes you say that?"

"Your world sounds really big," she replied, pointing out to the stars. "Even if a lot of places are gone, there's probably more out there than we can see. That's what the astronomer says. And even if the Angel is really big, you'd have to be even bigger to destroy everything."

He chuckled. "That's a pretty big if."

"Maybe. But I like believing that," she said, hopping down and tugging on his hand. "It's no fun thinking you're alone."

Well damn. He couldn't argue with that.

"You're not going to stop until I play with you, are you?"

She grinned like a cat that had eaten an entire fish. "No."

He set aside his tools and the carved wood, the piece slowly taking the shape of a small cat curled around in sleep. Ah well, he could finish it another day. His own little cat wanted to play.

for @lilyeivans, sorry it took so long but thank you for being so great and understanding!! I loved having you! Happy New Year and I hope you enjoy!

The year was 1950. Cindy Reau, or as she was immortally known, Cinderella, was living out her life in the small town of Ferryport Landing. Her immortally long, Everafter life, that was. Time passes slow, but also unbelievably fast for Everafters, though Cindy’s long blonde hair and perfect blue eyes, remained unchanged throughout the decades. Style was the only thing that affected her. Currently her golden locks were swung high into a pony tail, the end curling without any products needed. She was a rare beauty, but sweat clung to her forehead as she heaved a heavy box onto the counter in front of her.

Cindy got to work unpacking the heavy glass vases that lined the thin cardboard. The glass she had purchased was slightly thicker than the last order, a sign of the changing times she supposed. It had been five years since the end of the war after all, things were bound to get back to normal sooner or later. If the world of Everafters moved slowly, then Ferryport Landing- the town they inhabited- moved even slower. It still seemed like everyday soldiers returned from war. It hadn’t bothered Cindy much though. Not much did when you couldn’t leave town, and you didn’t even age. It was a static existence, but, as she lined the shelves above her with the vases, she thought it was a fair enough one.

It was July the first time the uniformed man walked through the door. He was young, and had thick brown hair that framed bright green eyes, but Cindy hadn’t paid much attention as he removed his hat and looked around her flower shop. She was pouring cool water for the flowers, and had barely turned her head when he came in, calling a pleasant hello. In fact, she couldn’t even remember if he had bought something that day, she assumed he had, most people don’t go into a flower shop just to browse. The only thing that stood out about him was his piercing eyes and his arm in a sling. Military men came in the shop regularly, to buy flowers for wives, sweethearts, or unfortunately, fallen friends. When he paid for a simple bouquet he lingered longer than necessary but Cindy wasn’t new to men staring. She didn’t think twice about it.

1951

“Excuse me miss, can you help me with an arrangement?” Cindy heard a voice call behind her. It was soft, but crisp at the same time, a mark of a military man, she realized before even turning around. When she did, her blue eyes met with the man’s bright green and she smiled. Something tickled at the back of her mind but none the less she couldn’t place the man, she just had a lingering sense of familiarity. Cindy fixed his desired order quickly, her steady hands arranged the flowers with ease into a beautiful red, white, and blue bouquet. She hadn’t thought to ask what the flowers are for, but when she was finished, and glanced up at the man in an ageing uniform, she could guess at the subject matter.

The man thanked her kindly, and stole another glance before shutting the door behind him. He had paid with a check and Cindy had noted his neatly printed name with a smile before putting it in the drawer. Tom Baxter.

1952

July was hot this year. Hopelessly hot. Cindy’s flowers wilted before she could fix them. Every time a costumer opened the door, another hot breeze flew in and she could practically see her flowers wilting. Around noon she pulled off her apron, revealing a dress that hugged her perfectly and fit the fashion of the time even better, and turned the little sign on the window. It isn’t worth staying open in this heat. She thought to herself as she pulled the door closed behind her. She thought about locking it but decided not to. If you didn’t have magic in this town, it wasn’t worth locking up your shop. Cindy strolled down the street s at a leisurely pace. It was too hot to walk any faster and she could already feel the sweat dripping down her back. She passed Basil Grimm, already 20 now, and he winked at her, running at a full clip, surely off to solve something he thought was a miss. She shook her head slightly and threw a smile towards him as she opened the door to the already crowded ice cream parlor.

The bell dinged loudly as she pulled the door tight behind her, trying not to let the heat follow her in. She smiled brightly at the owner, who pulled boxes from the freezer. She was pretty sure it was the Snow Queen’s son who ran the parlor, but it was just a rumor, people in Ferryport Landing were notorious for enjoying their privacy. It wasn’t hard to change a face, with so much magic lying around in attics and basements. The parlor was small and quaint, with a menu on one side of the room, framed by a large mirror. Cindy sat on the only open stool, swinging her skirt around and tucking it under her as she sat. The parlor was loud but over the din she ordered a soda pop, wiping a bead a sweat off her brow as she did.

“wouldn’t you like an ice cream with that?” A soft voice called next to her. Cindy turned with a questioning glance. It was the soldier. The one from her store. She smiled shyly and shook her head.

               “I really don’t need one, a soda will do.” She said, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. He laughed and smiled too.

               “Well, I didn’t ask if you needed one, I asked if you’d like one.” He said with a smile, leaning in closer to her. This time he wasn’t in uniform, but a light button up.

               “You want to buy me an ice cream without me even knowing your name?” She asked, though she recalled it being Tom.

               “Thomas Baxter.”

1952-October

               It had been going on for four months. To an Everafter, it was a blink of an eye, it was even short in a human’s memory. But it was four months to the date and Cindy was putting in her earrings when there was a strong knock on the front door. She finished her task and twirled in front of her mirror, her blue dress swinging out around her. She smoothed it out as she went to the door quickly and opened it to the smiling face of Tom Baxter.

               “You look lovely.” He said, taking her hand and handing her flowers with the other one. She laughed and took them, inviting him inside while she put them in a vase.

               “Giving flowers to a florist still seems unnecessary but I couldn’t have properly shown up without them.” He said, taking off his hat.

               “They’re lovely. Trust me.” Cindy said, placing them on the mantle above the fireplace and moving to take his hand again.

               “Shall we?” He asked, gesturing to the front door. Cindy nodded and pulled it closed behind them.

               They walked the quiet streets of Ferryport Landing. It was only October but a chill cut through the air and Tom gave her his jacket like a proper gentleman. Among the human community in the town, it looked like a perfectly normal and sweet relationship. But Cindy could occasionally feel the eyes of Evertafters, wondering how this would play out. Would Tom learn the secret? Would she keep it hidden and grow old with him? Or would this end in heartbreak, him to question how she always looked so young eternally, without having the foggiest idea of what lay below the surface of this quiet town. Cindy was contemplating this but tuned back in to the evening when she realized Tom had been talking.

               “-Only a couple of months, I know. And everyone will think I’m-and you-are crazy, but good golly, Cindy, I just have to do this.” She instantly regretted not hearing the beginning of his speech but the thought was quickly swept out of her mind when they stopped in the evening light and he turned to her, getting on one knee. Her hands flew to her mouth in surprise before he was even all the way down.

               “Cindy Reau, I know it’s only been a little while, but I want to spend the rest of time with you, I’m anxious for every moment and I don’t want to start any later than we already are. Cindy, will you marry me?” He asked, tears already glistening in the corner of his eyes. She stopped breathing and looked down at him. Worry clouded her mind as her need to make a decision plagued her. She had only ever married one man before- Charming. And oddly enough, that seemed a lot less complicated.

               With this decision there was a lot more attached. All of the options of which path to take about her immortality clouded her mind but she could see Tom was getting anxious. She laughed and threw all caution to the wind-they would figure it out. Right?

“Yes.”

That’s true. We’re shown that he’s really good with Red through the trouble she has so I’d like to think that after solving his own issues, he would be open to helping others. I really think it would be cool if Mr. Canis and Sabrina got closer after everything, because I think he would understand the things she has been through, manipulation, abuse in the foster care system, and of course anger issues. I’d love to see them get closer.