Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It starts, as it always does, with a boy.

In this case, however, the boy is wearing a heavily embellished tunic, tights, and a cape. This boy has also climbed up the ladder to a billboard, apparently, and appears to be banging on it.

Dex doesn’t even notice, not at first, until Bridget screams, “Daddy, look !” and the taxi driver’s foot slips off the brake for a moment. Dex moves quickly, hands covering Bridget out of instinct, and he hisses when he hits his head against the seat in front of him. The taxi driver turns to glare at him from the rear view mirror. Dex glares back.

“Sweetheart, we talked about the volume when we’re in taxicabs, we have to be courteous—” he tries to say, but Bridget smacks his arms and cuts him off.

“Yes, but Daddy look ,” she insists impatiently. So he follows to where her small fingers are pointing and his eyes trail up the billboard sign which is advertising some mattress company that plays on the word king and he doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary until, of course, he sees the boy.

Drunk, clearly, is the assumption Dex makes, and he would leave it at that if he didn’t get distracted by how pretty the guy was even in his ridiculous get up. And maybe he could have even left it at finding the guy attractive if Bridget hadn’t said, “Daddy, he’s a prince. We have to meet him.”

“What? Bridgey, no.” He does not want to take his daughter out of this car and expose her to drunken New Yorkers at such a young age. Sometimes he really disliked living in New York (read: all the time ) but tonight, he extra loathed it. “It’s late, sweetheart. We should be getting you to bed.”

Bridget harrumphs angrily and Dex knows he’s not going to win this argument.

“Dad,” she says, in her best grown-up voice. He sighs. “What if he’s in distress?”

“What?”

“Like a damsel in distress. In the movies, Daddy. Duh .”

Duh. Obviously.

“Sweetheart, he’s not a damsel.”

Bridget looks at him like he’s the biggest dummy in the world. Sometimes Dex wonders how he got stuck with the smartest six year old ever for a daughter. “But Auntie Lardo said last week that princes can need rescuing too and he —” Bridget points firmly out the window again, “—needs rescuing.”

Dex’s mouth drops open in surprise. He’s going to have a chat with Auntie Lardo about the things she’s teaching his daughter and how she’s using them against him. Dex sighs again.

“Bridgey, we need to get home— Bridget! Stop, where are you going ?!”

Bridget, far too smart at six years old, opens the door of the taxi and darts off before Dex can grab hold of her and put her back in her seat. After a hastily arranged deal with the taxi driver—“Fuck, fine, I’ll pay you double, just please stay here!”—he gets out after her and hurries so he can grab her hand and pull her closer to him.

“Bridget Rowan Sidney Poindexter, you can not —”

“Daddy, I told you he needs rescuing!”

The rest of his lecture dies off in his throat as he looks up at the billboard for Royale Mattresses and—inevitably—the boy who started it all. The guy is completely oblivious to them down below; Dex is pretty sure he’s banging on the fake door and asking to be let in.

“P-please! It’s raining—and cold,” he adds, unnecessarily, to the wood and paper that cannot hear him.

“Sir?” Dex calls up. Bridget looks at the guy in wonder and shit, yeah, maybe Dex needs to take her to literally anything Disney so she doesn’t think random guys off the street are princes. “Uh, dude? Are you okay, do you need help?”

The guy, apparently startled by the appearance of two sane New Yorkers below him, turns and peers down at them. “Hi! Do either of you perhaps—”

Which is approximately all the guy gets out before he loses his footing and catches his fall on Dex’s chest.

Dex is strong, he knows that; stronger than an average person here, definitely. But this guy is probably about his height and falls suddenly and Dex kind of shrieks as he catches the guy’s fall. He’s pretty sure he doesn’t break anything. Can’t say the same for Prince Clumsy, though.

“Christ God,” he wheezes.

“I’m so sorry!” the guy cries. He clambers so quickly to his feet that Dex deduces he also did not break anything on his rather unexpected fall. “My, I’ve always been a klutz. Are you alright?”

Without a 6’2” fake prince on his chest, yes, Dex is perfectly fine. A little sore, probably, but nothing a morning run and a hot shower won’t fix. “Yep,” he grunts. “I’m peachy. Bridget?”

“That wasn’t a very good rescue, Daddy,” Bridget tells him. Dex wheezes out a laugh.

“You’re right, it wasn’t,” he admits. He climbs carefully to his feet and accepts the hand the other guy offers to help him up. To Dex’s surprise, this guy doesn’t look drunk at all. “What were you doing up there?”

Prince Clumsy looks up at the castle like he can’t believe the nerve of it. Dex can’t believe he fell from that height and bounced back totally okay.

“Oh,” the guy says. “Well, I was looking for some help. I’ve been wandering for quite a long time and I have no clue where I am or how to get to where I need to be. And no one here is being all that friendly.”

“Yeah, well, welcome to New York,” Dex mutters. He takes Bridget’s hand again, just for the reassurance that she’s there with him.

The guy grins, like Dex just said the greatest thing ever to him. “Thanks a lot.”

It doesn’t even sound remotely sarcastic.

What the fuck.

This guy must be a character actor, Dex decides. He’s freaky good at his job, though. He needs to tone it down about twelve notches. Or maybe the guy actually hit his head on the way down. Dex wouldn’t be surprised if either of them was concussed.

“Uh. Right. Okay. Are you sure you’re okay?”

This guy’s smile is seriously something else. Dex has honest to god butterflies, like he’s not a twenty-six year old man. “Oh, I’m quite well, thank you.”

Dex blinks. “Okay? Do you want me to call someone for you?”

“I don’t think they’d hear you from here.”

Bridget tugs harshly on Dex’s arm, so he has to bend down to talk to her before he can continue this insane conversation with Prince Clumsy. “Dad,” she says, in a tone of voice that implies she’s pretty sure she’s got the patience of a saint. “He’s a real prince. He doesn’t know what a phone call is.”

“Ah,” he says to Bridget. Then he sighs—again. It’s becoming increasingly obvious that he’s going to have to take this guy back to their apartment, especially if he’s going to get Bridget to sleep on time. Maybe he can hand the guy a phone once they get there and they can sort it out from there. And as much as Dex does not want some random-ass guy in a fairytale costume parading through his house, he needs to get his daughter to bed. This is not what he had in mind for tonight. “Ugh. Okay. I’m gonna take you to our place, okay? We’ll show you how to use a telephone, we can find you somewhere to stay for the night.”

“Can’t he stay with us?” Bridget asks.

“No. Hard no. Absolutely not.”

“You’re very kind to take me to your home,” the guy says, following happily behind Dex as he starts tugging Bridget back to the car. His cloak billows behind him as he walks. Dex hates this guy, a little bit.

“Do you have a name?”

“Oh, yes. It’s Derek.”

Bridget doesn’t even whine when Dex scoots into the middle so she’s by the window. Derek climbs into the cab slowly, looking slightly dazed. This guy is way too good at his job.

“Derek. Do you have a last name?” Dex asks.

Derek considers, like it’s a question he’s never been asked before. Dex wants to sigh again but he thinks that might be overkill.

“I believe my mother was called Nurse, before she passed. That would be considered a last name, yes?”

Shit, is this guy for real? Dex gapes at him.

“Uh, okay. Derek Nurse. It has a nice ring to it.”

Conspiringly, Bridget leans over Dex as much as she can, and whispers, “My mama passed away too.”

Derek looks stricken. “Oh, so young! I’m so sorry for your loss, and for you, the loss of your fair maiden,” Derek says. He puts his hand on Dex’s shoulder, then blatantly ignores Dex’s shocked spluttering as he tries to explain. “You have the makings of a real princess then, so you know.”

Bridget grins. “I know. I’ve been telling Daddy that for a long, long time.”

Derek looks pleased as lunch at Bridget and her snarky little attitude. Dex loves this kid, he seriously does, but he’s starting to regret raising her with any kind of attitude at all. Oh, the situations they could have avoided without this.

“Derek, where are you from?” Dex presses.

The smile that splits Derek’s face is so romantic and genuine that Dex almost forgets all his hold-ups. Holy hell, this guy is beautiful. “Andalasia.”

Which is the most made up thing Dex has ever heard.

“Uh, okay. How did you get here ?”

“Was it magic?” Bridget asks. Her voice is filled with wonder and it really tugs at Dex’s heartstrings. Maybe this guy’s act isn’t all bad, if it means Dex’s kid gets to believe in the magic of fairy tales a little bit longer.

“Very bad magic,” Derek says grimly. “You see, I was on my way to the wedding when I was stopped by an old witch. She insisted I go to the wishing well so that I could have my heart’s desire. So I looked and looked but I must have lost my balance, because the next thing I knew I was falling and then I was here! And I climbed out of the ground and then I found that caste but I lost my balance again and—well, you know the rest.”

The guy talks like he’s an advertisement for a Disney movie and Dex thinks, we’re gonna have to show this guy how to act like a regular fucking human before he realizes that he basically just accepted this guy’s whole story—magic and all.

Damn. Derek is good.

“Is this a habit you have, losing your balance?” Dex manages to ask.

Derek winks. “Usually someone is there to catch me.”

And like. Dex can’t even handle this.

He sends Bridget straight to her bedroom when they get to his apartment with instructions for her to change into pajamas and brush her teeth for bed. She looks positively heartbroken that she won’t get to spend anymore time with a prince, but she goes.

“You don’t need to worry about me,” Derek tells him, from wherever he’s wandered off to exploring. Dex sighs. “I’m sure the princess is already looking for me. My bet is she’ll find me by tomorrow then we’ll return to Andalasia.”

“Your princess,” Dex replies flatly, because of course. Even in the land of fairy tales and magic wells, Derek would have a princess. Dex is always attracted to the ones who won’t like him back.

But Derek looks odd when Dex finds him, and he’s frowning and Dex wonders if this guy has ever frowned before in his life. It’s an unhappy look, and Dex doesn’t like it on this guy’s face.

“I suppose,” he says quietly. “As I was meant to marry her before I was sent away to this strange land. I suppose that does make her… my princess.”

Dex says softly, “You’re supposed to be excited about a marriage, buddy.”

Derek’s entire expression changes in a second. Dex doesn’t know him, not even a little bit, but he can still see lines of tension in the corners of Derek’s eyes even as he starts to smile again. “I am excited,” he says, reassuringly, and he pats Dex’s arm to prove his point.

Dex makes it a habit not to fall for straight guys, especially straight guys in a relationship and straight guys that might be a little bit weird. But damn if Derek isn’t doing everything to test Dex’s limits.

“You have a very nice place,” Derek comments. “It’s more tidy that I would have expected, with you raising a child on your own.”

Dex laughs. “Yeah, well. NHL salary is pretty nice. The apartment is a perk. And I like to keep things clean.”

Derek looks blankly at Dex like all the words he just said make no sense.

“Daddy plays hockey,” says Bridget, in her pajamas and with her hair out of her braids. She raises her arms and Dex picks her up easily. “That’s a sport on ice. He’s famous.”

Derek’s eyes glint. “Hockey,” he repeats. “And fame. What a very nice life you have here. You must be happy.”

Dex holds Bridget a little bit closer. It isn’t the life he expected, not by a long shot, but he is. And he’s still trying to get used to it. “It’s not a bad life,” he agrees. “Okay, Carrot Top, it’s time to get you to bed.”

“Dad!” she protests, like she isn’t nuzzling into Dex’s neck and blinking hard to stay awake. “We haven’t helped Prince Derek yet.”

Derek says, “Oh, don’t worry about me, Bridget. All I need to do is find a place to rest my head. I’m sure there are plenty of hospitable places nearby where I may go.”

“There’s a hospitable place here ,” she insists, and Dex would be really damn proud of his girl saying a big word like that if her using that word wasn’t an attempt to undermine him. “Daddy, can he really not stay?”

“Soft no, sweetheart. You’ve got to get to bed anyway.”

He’s so distracted by keeping his daughter from crying about a prince not staying that he forgets to keep an eye on Derek. The next time he looks up, Derek has made his way over to the couch and has sunk into the cushions.

“You won’t really make him leave, will you?” Bridget whispers. “He’s so tired. And it’s late, where else would he stay?”

And—shit, maybe Dex is getting soft as he gets older. Maybe he’s taken too many hits to the head on the ice. But Derek looks so peaceful on the couch, and Dex can’t even imagine trying to send this guy back out to the real world with the way he’s acting. In the morning, he’ll do some research on Andalasia. But for now?

“You’re sleeping in my bed tonight, Carrot Top. Go get under the covers, I’ll be there soon.”

And if he covers Derek with two of the thickest and softest blankets he owns, and if he makes sure there’s enough pillows on the couch for him—well. Who has to know?

He wakes up to Bridget bouncing on his chest and his first thought is fuck, there’s still a stranger in our apartment.

“Dad, wake up!” she insists. He sits up so fast she topples off his chest and onto the blankets. “Dad, you have to see this!”

“Bridget, what’s wrong?”

“No, you have to come see , come on!”

So he's legitimately pulled out of bed by his six year old daughter's hand, like he's not a professional athlete, and he manages to only run into one wall on his way out. He's half expecting to walk out and find the apartment in total disarray, or maybe even a magical princess in the living room embracing her soon-to-be-Prince Derek.

He’s not expecting to see Derek sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by pigeons and Dex’s curtains sewing a dress.

“What the hell,” Dex says.

“Good morning!” Derek responds, smiling from ear to ear. “I woke early and decided to create a thank you gift for allowing me to stay in your home last night. I thought this pattern would make a lovely dress for Bridget. Did you both have nice dreams?”

“I think I’m still in one,” Dex chokes out. Bridget shrieks in delight at the prospect of a dress, and hurries over to Derek like he’s her new best friend.

“It’s so pretty! Dad, can I wear it to school today?”

“What the hell ,” Dex says again.

And Derek frowns. “You’re unhappy.”

“No! I’m not unhappy, I’m pissed! Derek, you made a dress out of my curtains. We need curtains! And Bridget already has clothes!”

“I wanted to say thank you—” Derek starts to say.

“There are other ways,” Dex snaps. He rubs at his eyes; god, this really must be a dream or something. “Like with words . Bridge, we’ve got to get you ready for school. Bath time.”

“Can I wear the dress though?” Bridget insists.

Dex sighs. “Fine, whatever. Yes. Let’s just go get you in the bath.”

So while Bridget gets ready for school, Dex collapses hard and heavy on the couch and wipes at his face. He can hear the creak of the floor as Derek tentatively walks in.

“I’m really sorry,” he starts. “I didn’t think a dress could make someone unhappy.”

Dex just gapes at him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Derek asks, looking almost grumpy. If that word's even in this guy's vocabulary. Dex doesn’t know what to make of this.

“It’s like you escaped from a Hallmark card, Jesus Christ. But not like a regular one, because you’re kind of sarcastic. Like a Disney prince gone rogue.”

“Is that bad?”

Dex sighs. “No. It’s not bad.”

Derek comes and sits tentatively on the other edge of the couch. “Were the curtains important?” he asks. “It seems I’ve made you upset by using them.”

“They’re just curtains,” Dex grumbles. “I can buy new ones.”

But then the words are spilling out of him before he can stop them, things he hasn't spoken about in years or even wanted to say out loud before now. “I mean. My brother picked them out for me. Right after I moved in, I was trying to decorate. Didn’t know shit about interior design. He and his wife came over and showed me all kinds of tricks, bought me a whole bunch of stuff. Specifically those curtains.”

His breath is shaky. He’s not looking at Derek, but he can feel Derek’s eyes on him. “It was one of the last things they did,” he admits. “Before they—before they died. That’s how I got Bridget. I was the godfather. And now she’s my daughter. Legally and everything.”

“Oh,” Derek says. Dex finally looks at him. “I’m so sorry. What a sad past you have.”

Dex shrugs. “It was four years ago. I miss them constantly but… I have a job doing what I love. I have my daughter. And it’s. It’s good.”

Derek smiles at him. “You know, your face looks a lot better when it doesn’t default to grumpy .”

Dex snorts. He supposes the word is in this guy's vocabulary. It's a pleasant surprise. “Fuck off. But… thanks.”

It’s a nice moment, the two of them sitting on the couch and smiling at one another. And it’s nice to be chirped by someone who isn’t on his team. Dex doesn’t consider himself a lonely person, not usually, but a moment like this could almost make him want—

Bridget comes out wearing the dress and her backpack and looks at Dex expectantly. “Shit! School! Bridge, we haven’t even done your hair yet!”

Chapter Text

“Brah, did I see you sneak a fucking beaut of a man into our fine training facility this morning, or do my eyes deceive me?”

They’re supposed to be stretching. Coach is giving Dex the side eye, like it’s somehow his fault Shitty leaned over mid-fucking-stretch to hound him about something completely irrelevant. Dex elbows him in the shoulder, hard , then goes back to touching his toes.

“I didn’t sneak him in.”

Shitty grins, like this is the best thing Dex could have possibly said to him. “But you admit that he is a ten out of ten babe and that he was with you and that he is currently residing somewhere in this building in an undisclosed location.”

Dex scowls. “You should have just stayed in law school.”

“You know I’m going back .”

“Glutes,” Coach instructs, and the team shifts out of their hamstring shift. Dex hopes it’s enough to get Shitty to relent, and he thinks he’s gotten away with it for about twenty seconds until Chowder leans over.

“Did I hear something about Dex and a ten out of ten babe?”

“There is no babe!”

Which, is probably one of the biggest lies Dex has ever told. Right up there with I could probably be into girls and No Bridget I’m serious it was Chowder who ate all of your cookies last night . Because even objectively speaking, Derek is really attractive. He had that whole get-up yesterday, which kind of limited Dex’s ability to appreciate how gorgeous he was. But today he borrowed some of Dex’s clothes, and without the limitations of a fucking tunic, Dex had no choice but to face the undeniable fact that this stranger who literally fell into his life was quite honestly the hottest person Dex had ever seen.

His face is red, which means approximately no one in this room would believe anything he tried to say right now. Dex sighs.

“I can’t believe you snuck someone into practice, brah, like mad respect for the sheer bravery. But why are you sneaking a booty call into your pro sport training facility? Wait, fuck , my dude. Dex. Dex . Are you… showing off?” Shitty’s eyes go wide.

“You guys are the worst.”

“On your skates!” the defense coach shouts, and Dex has never felt more thankful for a morning skate in his life.

He manages to avoid any more questions from Shitty but he doesn’t see Shitty telling Chow all about the guy he snuck in until it’s too late to reverse the damage. The coaches run them through skate after skate, and it’s a little bit of a punishment since they lost to the fucking Devils last week so no one complains. After their third round of suicides, everyone is panting and skating to the box for water.

Dex is in the middle of practically drowning in his water bottle when he catches sight of Derek on the other side of the boards. Derek waves, looking pleased as punch when Dex catches his eye. Dex chokes.

The back of his neck is burning as he skates hastily over to where Derek is. “What are you doing?” he hisses. “I told you to stay in the kitchens!”

Derek rolls his eyes. “And I stayed for quite some time. I even tried to make food, but that ended badly. I wanted to see what your hockey was.”

“This isn’t—Derek, this isn’t hockey, it’s just practice. And this practice is extra gruesome because the coaches are basically just running us. We won’t run drills until tomorrow, and that’s more of what our games look like. Okay? Uh. When we get home, I can show you a game if you want, but you can’t be here .”

Derek frowns. “Why not?”

“I’ll get in trouble—”

“Poindexter!” Coach shouts. Dex flinches. He shoots Derek a guilty look, as if to say see?  “Did you get promoted to GM while I wasn’t paying attention, or are you wasting practice time to talk to your little pal?”

“Sorry, coach,” Dex mutters. He starts to skate back towards his team, turning back long enough to say, “ Go , I’ll come find you later!” to Derek. He’s sure his entire face is red by the time he reaches his team. By the way they’re all looking at him, he knows he’s gonna get chirped so bad for this when they’re back in the locker room.

Coach harrumphs at him, looking unhappy by the time Dex rejoins them. Dex is pretty sure he’s earned the team another five minutes of intense skating. But Coach’s eyes just narrow once before he turns to face the team and says, “Well, we used up drill time in the skates. Ice is yours for individuals. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Dex has barely five seconds before he’s got at least five hockey players leaning over him and demanding details about the gorgeous boy who interrupted their morning skate.

“Stop,” he whines. “There’s no details.”

“Which is another way of saying there are so many details .”

“I hate you all.”

Dex scheduled individual skills training with Chowder, trying to improve his point stats. As defense, he doesn’t have as much of a chance to score as the forwards. But he isn’t a rookie anymore and he’s got to start getting better if he’s going to negotiate contracts.

Plus, there’s rumors of trades coming up. He wants to make himself as valuable to this team as he can; he doesn’t want to go anywhere.

Chowder stops his first shot easily. The puck clatters helplessly to the floor, and Chowder charitably passes it back to Dex. “What’s his name?”

Dex sighs. The puck feels weird against his stick, like he can’t quite get the hang of it today. Maybe he can use the element of surprise to score a point off Chowder. It won’t help him in the games, but it might help him convince his friend to stop talking about his love life during practice.

“His name is Derek,” Dex says, and he shoots again.

Chowder is not surprised. He still stops the puck. “That’s cute! Derek. Where did you meet him? Are you guys, like, a thing? Is that why you brought him to practice? Oh my god, how long have you known him for?”

Dex skates around the goal, keeping the puck near him. His control has definitely gotten better, especially compared to his college days. Then again, it’s not really easy to keep control of a hockey puck.

“Jesus, Chow, breathe. “We just met yesterday. We aren’t a thing. I’m just helping him out. I don’t know, dude, it’s weird and complicated. He made Bridget a dress.”

The puck hits the tape perfectly this time, when Dex shoots. And maybe the element of surprise does work, because Chowder’s jaw drops open and the shot goes in right past his glove. “Sorry,” he says, completely unfazed by the scored point. Behind them, Dex can hear Ransom burst into applause for Dex’s shot. “He met Bridget?”

“Well, yes. She’s the reason we met him last night.”

“Oh my god,” Chowder breathes. He passes the puck back to Dex. “Oh my god. Bridget set you up. This is so cute. We trained her so well. Oh my god, Bitty is going to cry when I tell him that your daughter found you your soulmate.”

“Chris ,” Dex snaps. “It’s not like that. He’s engaged, I think.”

Chowder visibly deflates. “Oh,” he says. “Well. Someone should probably remind him of that, then. He was making some serious eyes at you earlier, dude. That’s the only reason I was asking so much about this.”

“What?”

Ransom grabs him by the shoulder, and whatever else Dex wanted to say dies on his tongue. “Hey, you should practice that shot off of an assist. Skate the whole rink. Want me to pass it?”

Dex has never been more grateful for a distraction in his life.

It’s later, much later, when all the guys have gone home and Dex knows the rink is empty, that he helps Derek lace on a pair of skates and eases him out onto the ice. They’re holding hands, but it’s necessary, because Derek looks like he’s one misstep away from falling flat on his ice. Dex is skating backwards, anyway, so the hand-holding doesn’t really count.

It’s kind of magical, to watch Derek step onto the ice for the first time. Dex remembers the feeling. He waits, letting Derek hold onto him. They aren’t to the real magic yet, when Derek feels confident. That’s the moment something profound will split open his expression, like it’s bursting out of him. Dex still gets that feeling sometimes, stepping on the ice.

“Do they not have ice in Andalasia?” he asks.

Derek’s skate wobbles, so his grip tightens around Dex’s hand. “I suppose our ponds freeze over. I’ve just never had the idea to go crossing one before. What, with my habit of losing my balance.”

As if to punctuate his point, Derek moves forward too confidently and ends up sprawling backwards onto the ice. He takes Dex down with him. Dex hits his chest with a grunt, but it only takes a few seconds for them to both start giggling.

“It’s been a long time since I fell on the ice when I wasn’t playing a game,” Dex groans. His face is really close to Derek’s. This would almost be romantic, if this were a date, Dex thinks. He rolls off Derek in a panic. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Derek tells him. “It was my fault.”

“Yeah, well,” grunts Dex. He has years of practice behind him that ease him up to his feet, and he extends a hand to Derek again. Derek twines their fingers; Dex pointedly doesn’t think about it. “That’s what I get for putting Bambi on ice, I guess.”

“Who is Bambi?”

Fuck. Dex almost forgot this guy is like, not from here. Or whatever. Dex is still kind of shocked that he believes this guy’s story at all. Derek feels real , solid and warm under Dex’s hand. Something extraordinary, no doubt, but real nonetheless.

“Not important,” Dex mutters. “Where the hell is Andalasia, anyway?”

Derek’s expression goes almost starstruck, and it’s so shockingly beautiful that for a second Dex almost trips over his own skates. God, Derek really is breathtaking. Dex has got to pull himself together before this stupid crush gets out of hand.

Shit . He has a crush.

But then Derek sighs, “Andalasia is just beyond the Meadows of Joy, and the Valley of Contentment,” and his voice sounds so wistful that Dex’s jaw honestly drops open in shock. He takes back what he was thinking earlier, this guy can not be real.

“Are you serious?”

“No.” Fuck, Derek is grinning . He looks so damn pleased with himself, too. “I just wanted to mess with you.”

“Are you—holy shit, you were chirping me! Oh my god. We have to get you out of this rink right now, who taught you about chirping, oh my god, this was a terrible idea.” Dex groans, and maybe he’s being a little over-dramatic for the sake of getting Derek to laugh, but he thinks it’s worth it.

He smiles.

Derek falls on the ice again. And Dex doesn’t dwell on the way that Derek’s hand tightened around his as he started to fall. So what if Dex hits the ice more today than he has in the past few months of his professional hockey career? Maybe it’s worth it.

It’s the rational part of Dex’s head that ruins it.

It always is. He’s been annoyingly rational about things since he was a teenager, a habit no teenage boy should have but one he hasn’t been able to kick even as an adult. Reason wins out in favor of emotion, and Dex rarely lets himself have the things he wants unless he’s sure he can justify it.

He can’t justify this.

He shouldn’t even want to. Derek is supposedly getting married, to a princess nonetheless.

So this has to stop.

“What’s the deal with this princess of yours?” Dex asks. He almost has to spit the words out to get them over the lump in his throat that he can’t seem to swallow. He’s being so stupid —he can’t want this. “How long have you been together?”

Derek frowns. “We haven’t really,” he murmurs. His fingers twitch against Dex’s. “I believe this is more of a marriage of convenience. Her step-mother insisted upon it.”

Dex almost laughs. “Aren’t the step-mothers supposed to be the evil ones in stories?”

“Queen Narissa cares very deeply for her step-daughter’s well-being.”

“Dude, her name is Narissa . That sounds evil. You have to see that. Maybe she’s a witch, and she turned into the evil old hag who sent you here so that her step-daughter couldn’t be married and she could become queen.”

Derek abruptly stops, pulling his hand out of Dex’s. “You’re making fun of me.”

Which is absolutely the last thing Dex expected him to say. “What? No! Derek .” He realizes it now, how much it sounds like a joke. And maybe he was blowing it out of proportion, a little bit. He forgets sometimes that not everyone is accustomed to his particular brand of friendliness. “Derek. I’m sorry. I promise I wasn’t.”

“Narissa sought me out,” Derek says flatly. “She told me that I was a fit match for her step-daughter and she whisked me away to the palace. Why would she seek me out just to send me away? Why bother at all?”

Something about it seems fishy to Dex, in a way he can’t really put his finger on. There’s definitely a part to this story that they’re missing. But Derek looks earnest, if not a little put out, and Dex feels like crap for putting a frown on Derek’s face.

“You’re right,” Dex agrees. He extends his hand tentatively, in case Derek wants to try to skate more. An offer he doesn’t have to accept. Dex hopes he does. “I think there’s something missing there, I won’t lie to you. But I do believe you. God help me. I fucking believe you.”

Derek beams. There’s quite possibly no other word for it. His smile is so bright and infectious and beautiful that for a moment, the rink seems glorious. It’s an even better sight that the sun rising on the ice, through the windows on the days of their earliest morning skates. Dex’s heart skips a beat in his chest.

“I’m glad,” Derek whispers, and his hand slides into Dex’s again.

Chapter Text

“Why are people looking at us?”

Dex groans and pulls his ballcap further over his face. Damn those passed-through-generations Poindexter ears and their tendency to give him away. Hockey isn’t a huge sport, and most the time he can get away with going out in public and not being recognized. But this is New York—and whether he likes it or not, it still happens.

“Remember how Bridget told you I play hockey and I’m famous?” he mutters. “Well. She wasn’t kidding. There’s some people here who know who I am, so now they wanna know who you are, too.”

Derek frowns. “Is it bad, being seen with me?”

“No! Of course not.” Dex exhales through his nose. God, this is going to be so embarrassing. There’s really no way to get through this without it being embarrassing. “They probably just think we’re on a date, is all.”

“A date?”

“Yeah, a date,” Dex whispers. He tugs on Derek’s arm to steer them into a more secluded place in the park. Derek stumbles when Dex pushes him forward, then gives Dex a blank idea like he’s got no idea what Dex just said. “A date, dude, shit . You telling me you’re engaged and you don’t even know what a date is?”

Derek’s bitch, really face is startlingly on point for a guy who probably has never even said bitch in his land of mystical Disney-ness. “Arranged marriage, Dex.”

Dex sighs. “A date. You know, you go someplace special with someone. A nice restaurant, for example. A museum, a movie, a game. You hang out, you talk about the things you like and dislike and you find things in common and you tease each other sometimes. A date. You get to know someone and you—you fall in love.”

This, at least, Derek is familiar with. He takes the sandwich Dex presses into his hand and smiles softly. “Have you ever been in love, Dex?”

Flashes of a person Dex used to know ages ago flit through his head, rapid and angry, before he can even think to stop it. The one time he was young enough to believe that this was love, and the one time he loved deeply and it wasn’t enough. There was a reason, after all, that Dex became a self-appointed cynic when it came to matters of the heart. His mouth tightens into a thin line.

“Yes,” he mutters. He takes a long sip of his lemonade to stall. Derek just watched and waits, eyes wide and intrigued and taking in everything Dex has to say. These are the eyes of someone who hasn’t been marred by the expression on someone’s face when they tell you they don’t love you back—eyes of someone who can believe in things like happily ever after. “It didn’t end well.”

“How can it not end well?” Derek presses. He frowns down at his sandwich, like the thought genuinely baffles him. God, Dex’s heart is swelling just looking at this guy. He’s totally fucked.

“I don’t know, it’s love. It’s complicated.”

“It doesn’t have to be!”

Dex blinks slowly. “No, that’s what I’m telling you, Derek. Love in the real world, it’s complicated. Outside of arranged marriages and fairy tale endings, real love is messy and—and sometimes heartbreaking, and… Complicated.”

Derek takes a bite of his sandwich, chewing thoughtfully. Dex didn’t even know it was possible for someone to chew thoughtfully. He hates that he thinks it’s a cute look on Derek. Christ. He’s got to get himself together.

“Not if they know,” Derek says finally, sounding determined and pleased with his answer.

“Know what?”

“How much you love them.”

Dex laughs around a bite of his food. “Well, here we don’t go around telling people every second of every day how much we love another, but that doesn’t mean people don’t know .”

Derek just levels him with questioning eyes and an upturned mouth. “How do they know?”

“What?”

Then—to Dex’s absolute horror—Derek starts to sing, low and quiet. “How do they know you love them?”

“Stop, what the fuck—we’re in public!”

That doesn’t seem to phase Derek. One of his hands drops to Dex’s shoulder and curls around the sleeve of his shirt. Still fucking singing , Derek asks, “How do they know they’re yours?”

His ears are red. There’s no doubt about it. His ears are burning and probably his whole face is flushed too, and he tugs his hat over his eyes more with one hand and tries halfheartedly to cover Derek’s mouth with the other. It’s a shame, really, because Derek does have a lovely voice when he’s not using it to embarrass the hell out of Dex.

“Please stop,” Dex begs. “Don’t sing. Please, god, this is already Disney enough.”

There’s a glint in Derek’s eyes that’s intoxicating, overtaking, and with a jolt Dex realizes this is Derek chirping him. Sure enough, when Dex moves his hand, he’s greeted with the sight of Derek’s delighted grin. “Did you think I had a whole song prepared?” he asks.

Dex’s heart is pounding in his chest. It’s absurd, he knows that , because nothing is even going to happen from this and he’d be fine if it weren’t to do with this stupid crush he apparently can’t pretend he doesn’t have. Get a grip , he thinks, ‘cause whether you like it or not, this guy has someone else he has to go home to.

“I don’t know, it wouldn’t surprise me,” Dex grumbles. He takes another bite and eyes Derek critically. “Did you? Have a whole song prepared, I mean?”

Derek shrugs. “I’m sure I could have. I’m a poet, you know, so I’m very good at coming up with wondrous things on the spot.”

“Humble, too, I see.”

Derek’s grin is lazy and beautiful. “I’ve got the real makings for one of those—what's that word again? Disney princes?”

“And a little mermaid, too, apparently.”

The blank stare Derek gives him makes him feel breathless and giddy, fond for reasons he can’t explain.

“We’ll have to have a marathon, or something, I guess. Get you acquainted with what Disney means. Figure out which one is your favorite.” Dex thinks over his hockey schedule for the next few days, comparing it to Bridget’s school and after school commitments. He thinks they could find the time, easy enough. As long as Derek was still here with him.

His heart sinks when he realizes Derek might not be here in a few days. And shit— why isn’t he making more of an effort to get Derek home?

“I would enjoy that,” Derek says earnestly. Dex forces himself to look away. They sit in silence for a bit, enjoying their sandwiches and lemonades, and in a few minutes Dex will walk him around Knollwood and probably end up buying him popcorn or an ice cream. He’s in the middle of deciding whether or not he wants to do the whole tourist-in-New-York experience with Derek when Derek looks up suddenly and says, “We’re in a nice park.”

Dex blinks. “Yeah, buddy, we are.”

“We’re eating a nice meal.”

Dex wouldn’t exactly call peanut butter and jelly sandwiches nice , but Bitty did make them so they are better than what’s typical. “Um, yeah?”

Derek sits back, looking content and somewhat pleased. “This is a date.”

“No!” Dex’s stomach leaps into his chest. Panic rises hot and fast, and he’s blushing before he can help it. “No, no. This is just—friends. Hanging out.”

Derek’s smile falters. “Oh.”

“Derek,” Dex says desperately, “dates are like—it’s romantic intentions. It’s a thing with romantic intentions, usually. And you’re—you’re engaged , so your intentions aren’t romantic.”

But Derek has already looked away, over the hills, and his mouth is set in a tight line. “I understand,” he says, so under his breath that Dex almost doesn’t hear it. “I understand what a date is, Will.”

And— shit. Dex doesn’t know what to make of that.

Bridget’s dress isn’t torn at all when Dex and Derek show up to pick her up from school, and her hair is still immaculate in the braided style Derek did this morning. Dex’s heart swells thinking about how beautiful she looks, and how obvious it is that she loves this dress. She throws herself into his arms, as she always does, and breathes heavy on his neck.

Then, to his surprise, she extends her arms away from him until Derek takes her and hugs her close.

“How was your day, Derek?” she asks, half of her sentence lost as she mumbles into Derek’s neck. Beside them, a mother readjusts her toddler in the stroller and looks between Dex and Derek with curious eyes. She smiles when she catches Dex looking at her. He adjusts his hat and gives her a short wave.

“I had a wonderful day with your dad, Bridget,” Derek tells her earnestly. Dex puts a hand on Derek’s back, nudging him forward and towards a taxi. “He took good care of me.”

Bridget raises her head to stare at Dex, nodding in approval. “Good, that’s how I raised him.”

A startled laugh breaks out of Dex’s chest. Derek gives him a fond look. “I don’t know where she gets this stuff, honestly,” he mutters. He opens the door to the taxi. “Come on, Carrot Top, into the car you go.”

She only whines a little bit that she has to let go of Derek, but once they’re in the taxi she curls up against his side and is out in a second. Derek laughs breathlessly, looking kind of shell-shocked, and puts a gentle hand on her shoulders.

“She likes you, you know,” Dex murmurs. “You should take that as a compliment.”

“I do.”

Dex smiles. Asleep, Bridget looks even smaller than she is. Sometimes it’s overwhelming how much he loves this little girl. He brushes a fly piece of hair off of her forehead. “She doesn’t get close to a lot of adults. There’s a lot of people in her life who love her. The whole team, god. They adore her. And she loves them… but it’s not like this.”

“Does she miss them?”

“Hm?” Dex slowly drags his gaze away from Bridget and catches Derek’s eye.

“Her parents,” Derek clarifies. “Your brother and his wife.”

Bridget’s hand curls helplessly around the shirt Derek wears. Dex swallows thickly. “I think so,” he murmurs. “I try my best, you know? And I think I do okay. She seems happy. She knows she’s loved. But sometimes I… I wonder. If she’d be better, with them. Or with other people. She was young, though, when it happened. This is all she knows.”

Derek smiles. “You’re the best thing that could have happened to her,” Derek tells him.

It’s the greatest compliment Dex could ever receive. “I just don’t want to disappoint her,” he whispers. His voice is smaller than he’s let it be in a long time. “I know what it’s like when someone disappoints you.”

The car goes quiet, for a bit. There’s at least ten minutes left in their drive, depending on traffic. Plenty of time for Bridget to get in a decent afternoon nap. It’s gentle, in this atmosphere. Comforting and familiar. It dawns on Dex without warning that twenty-four hours ago, he hadn’t even known Derek. God, Dex has never been one to believe in love at first sight. There wasn’t enough willingness to compromise in this world and too many people who just wished things would happen instead of making efforts. But this—the familiarity, the longing. The way his heart swells when he looks at his daughter and the easy way she trusts Derek. The flutters he gets in his stomach when Derek smiles at him.

He didn’t believe in love at first sight. But god help him , if he wasn’t being persuaded to believe in love again.

“She adores you, Will,” Derek murmurs. “More than you see. And she admires you. I think that’s very important, keep that in mind. She loves you. And that, my friend, will never be a disappointment.”

Dex sighs, settling back into his seat. He can’t keep the soft smile off his face. “Derek,” he whispers. Derek’s eyes snap to his face. “If it doesn’t work out… if we can’t get you back to Andalasia. If you have to stay in New York… I want to help you. I’d like to be here for you.”

Derek takes his hand off of Bridget’s shoulder and grips Dex’s forearm. His hands are firm and steady; Dex feels level in a way he doesn’t understand. “That’s very kind of you to offer,” Derek says. His eyes are gentle but his smile seems forced. Dex tries not to dwell on the way his chest aches when Derek looks away.

For whatever reason, Derek doesn’t say what he’s thinking.

Chapter Text

His morning starts off with the smell of pancakes and coffee, and with the heavy weight of Bridget still asleep on his chest. It’s a rare morning that he wakes up before she does; the days of waking up with the sun to work on boats are long gone, now, and parenthood has made him apt to sleep in as long as possible. It has been even longer since he woke up to the smells of freshly cooked food in his own apartment.

For a moment, he lets himself lie there and feel the reassurance of Bridget’s even breathes as she continues to sleep heavy. This is a perfect morning , he thinks. Sunlight streams in from the windows and the room is cast in pale yellow, and Bridget’s hair is soft even though it tickles his nose. He knows that out in the kitchen, he’ll find Derek looking strangely at home among the cabinets and the counters, and that Derek will greet them both with a grin when they stumble out there. Dex knows he should be alarmed at how easy it is for him to accept Derek into their house—into their lives. He knows that there shouldn’t be anything familiar about a man they’ve known for two days cooking in their apartment like he’s been there all along.

But it feels right. It feels…

Like a goddamn fairy-tale.

Bridget stirs slightly, and against Dex’s chest lets out a yawn so huge he’s surprised it doesn’t wake her up. Dex runs his fingers through her hair, moving the flyaways away from tickling his nose. He sighs.

Perhaps he can let himself have this. He can imagine that out in the kitchen is a life he built for himself; he can imagine that he would go out there and press a sleepy kiss to Derek’s cheek. Derek would wordlessly pass him a cup of coffee—just the right amount of creamer, though probably slightly watered down. Dex would pull plates down from the cabinet and Bridget would stumble in, sleep-rumbled and clingy. They’d eat breakfast together and Derek would do Bridget’s hair and they’d exchange soft kisses and teasing remarks.

A family. Like Dex has always wanted.

His heart clenches. God, how stupid it seems. How is it possible for him to feel so deeply for this clumsy, sarcastic prince after only knowing him a short time? Dex used to loathe the fairy tale stories he’d read or watch, used to believe it was unrealistic for someone to fall so head over heels with barely any time at all.

Now?

He’d give anything if it meant Derek stayed here.

It takes some gentle maneuvering to get Bridget off his chest so she’s still asleep under the covers, and Dex pads quietly out of the room once he’s out of bed. The smell of coffee, ultimately, is what allures him into the kitchen and out of his thoughts.

There’s a perfectly beautiful boy in his apartment and Dex isn’t going to let that go to waste.

Derek smiles at him, when Dex stumbles through the doorway. His hair is sleep-mussed and the corner of his eyes are tight. Dex wonders if he slept at all during the night. Dex doesn’t kiss his cheek, like he’s tempted to, but Derek presses a mug into his hands and Dex looks up in surprise and Derek just blushes and murmurs something under his breath.

Dex feels warm in ways he can’t understand; he thinks he might start believing in magic.

There is something in the air, at least, that feels magical. Unexplainable. It’s potential, he thinks, and hope. The chance for something. Dex hasn’t wanted like this in a long time.

“Thank you,” he whispers, just to see Derek smile.

There isn’t much to say, when Derek joins him at the table with his own heaping plate of pancakes and fruit. Dex doesn’t ask where Derek learned to make pancakes; there’s an open cookbook on his counter with several bookmarked pages. His stomach feels warm when he realizes that this is Derek finding more things to try while he’s here.

“This is delicious,” Dex says, and he revels in the soft, sheepish smile that overtakes Derek’s face. “But—Derek. I hope you don’t feel like you… like you have to do this, for us. You’re a guest. And—fuck, if we’ve done anything to make you feel like—”

“You haven’t,” Derek interrupts, but it’s when he reaches over the table and covers Dex’s hand with his own that the rest of the sentence dies on Dex’s tongue. “Will. I promise. You and Bridget have been wonderful. I just had an early start this morning. Thought I’d make the best of it.”

Dex’s heart is pounding in his chest; he can’t stop looking at Derek’s hand over his own. He’s lost for words, unsure what he wants to say or how to phrase it.

“Daddy? Did you make pancakes?”

He pulls his hand, maybe too quickly, away from Derek’s and turns to find Bridget staring scrutinizingly at the counter.  “No, Carrot Top, Derek make pancakes for us. Wasn’t that nice of him?”

Bridget turns her head sharply. “Is Derek staying forever?” she demands. Next to him, Derek barks out a short, startled laugh.

Dex hopes his blush isn’t too obvious. He stands quickly, moving to make a plate for Bridget. It’s probably obvious that he wants the answer to her question to be yes. He focuses on the plate; Bridget is picky about what she eats nowadays, as most six-year-olds are. Pancakes are safe. A few strawberries too, but not too many. Steer clear of the bananas. He sets her plate down at her normal spot and goes to fill a cup with water for her while she clambers up into her seat.

“Well?” she asks again. Clearly she isn’t pleased with the lack of response.

“It depends on how much I am needed in Andalasia,” Derek reassures her. Dex stiffens.

“Are you really that needed?” Bridget mutters, sounding disappointed. “You aren’t even the prince yet. They could find another prince. And I like having you here.”

“Bridge,” Dex snaps. Her jaw closes decisively. She at least looks a little guilty when she turns to look at her dad. “If he has to go, we have to let him go. Okay?”

Her lip wobbles. She’s outgrown the tantrums, mostly, and she considers herself too old for pouting. But she’s still young. And Dex knows she doesn’t like the answer he gave her. “He’s my friend,” she says stubbornly, but she turns in her chair and eats her pancakes without another word.

Hell on fire. Dex really fucked this one up. His kid is attached now, and so is he, shit .

“I’d like to stay,” Derek says, and Dex’s entire world shifts on its axis. “I think I could be quite happy. Here.”

God, it’s…

It’s the way Derek hesitates. It’s the way he emphasizes here. It’s the way his eyes look more serious than Dex has ever seen and it’s the way that Dex’s hand is still tingling from that one touch and it’s the way Derek’s fingers curl now, like they’re looking for something. Reaching for someone.

It’s everything.

“I think you’d be happy here, too,” Dex whispers.

Derek catches his eye. And—it’s everything.

So they sit, all of them, together, and they eat with the sounds of Bridget’s chatter. Dex gets caught one too many times staring at Derek, but he catches the coy glances Derek gives to him and it feels right.

Dex smiles at his plate. For the first time in his life, he feels like he’s going to get everything he wants.

The doorbell rings.

“I’ll get it!” Bridget yells, tumbling out of her chair and bounding towards the door before Dex can even think to stop her. He laughs with Derek, mostly under his breath, shaking his head.

“Unstoppable, I swear,” Dex mutters.

“Precious,” Derek corrects. Dex grins at him.

“Uh, Daddy?” Bridget calls. Her voice is small and nervous, and Dex is on his feet in a second. Derek isn’t far behind him.

“Bridge,” he says, and his hand is on her shoulder before he even sees who is at the door. She moves easily enough back to him, wrapping her fingers around the bottom of his t-shirt. At the door stands a woman, regal even in jeans and a button-up shirt. He blinks at her. “Can I help you?”

Her smile is stern. “Hello. I am Queen Narissa from Andalasia. I believe you’ve been housing the future prince of my land in your quarters.”

Dex’s blood runs cold.

“Narissa?” Derek says. He sounds smaller than Dex has ever heard him sound. “How did you—”

She steps easily into the apartment. Bridget’s grip tightens on Dex’s shirt and he tugs her quickly into his arms. Narissa seems strangely out of place in his apartment, and it strikes him now how clear it is that she isn’t from this universe. He wonders, then, how it’s so simple for Derek to feel like he belongs.

“It was dark, dark magic that brought you here, Derek, and I’ve been working tirelessly to find you ever since you disappeared mere hours before your wedding. The princess has been beside herself, worried sick,” Narissa tells him. She puts a hand on his arm. Her expression looks worried, and Dex almost believes her. But—

“Do you know who it was?” Derek asks.

Dex can’t breathe.

This is the end, he realizes, and he stands there quietly and watched as it happens. Derek is going to leave now and go be a prince in a place Dex will never be able to reach him again.

They’ll have to go back to their lives without this boy, this clumsy and beautiful boy—who learned to skate and chirp in the messiest way possible, who changed Dex’s entire outlook of the world and who made Bridget happy—

“I have my theories,” Narissa says. “If they prove correct, the witch will be punished accordingly. But darling, I don’t want you to worry your head with that. We must return you home, we must get you married.”

“Daddy,” Bridget whisper. She’s heartbroken and Dex doesn’t know how to make it better.

“Shh, Bridge, it’s okay,” he whispers.

Derek’s eyes snap to them.

“Narissa,” he starts. She follows his gaze until she’s looking at Dex and Bridget. He wonders what she sees, looking at them. In flannel pajama bottoms and holey t-shirts, with hair that hasn’t been combed yet and strawberry juice on chins. He wonders what she sees, and more importantly he wonders what Derek sees.

“Apologies,” she says, but it sounds insincere to Dex’s ears. “Thank you for housing Derek during this time as we were searching for him. Our debt to you is great—”

“Narissa,” Derek repeats. “I… I’m grateful you found me. And I am ready to take on the responsibilities of a kingdom. But—this place. These people . I owe them. They took me in, when I thought no one would. They taught me things. They… William, and Bridget. They were kind to me. And I want to spend one more evening with them. Please?”

Narissa takes in the scene—takes in a wide-eyed and hopeful little girl, a half-heartbroken father, and a determined prince. Whatever conclusion she reaches sets her face into something thoughtful. “One night won’t hurt,” she allows. “But Derek—take this very seriously. We must leave right after midnight. We don’t belong in this universe.”

Bridget presses her forehead to Dex’s neck. “Like Cinderella,” she whispers.

Yeah, Dex thinks. He doesn’t take his eyes off of Narissa. Suspiciously like Cinderella.

Something is wrong; of this, he’s almost certain. There’s something fishy going on here and Dex hates that he can’t place it. He hates that the rational part of his brain is trying to convince him that his doubt is just a desire for Derek to stay. It’s a probable cause, and he does have to wonder how much of this is gut instinct and how much of it is longing more intense than he’s ever felt.

He has to face it here; he’s in love with a guy from a fairy-tale, and he’s going to do everything he can to protect Derek.

Even if that means watching him leave.

Chapter Text

Bridget Rowan Sidney Poindexter is the smartest six year old in the world, thank you very much.

Even if her daddy didn’t tell her nearly daily that she was a genius, she’d still know this. She’s very clever. She’s only in the first grade, but she’s the smartest kid in her class. So when Prince Derek asks for one more night with her and her daddy, Bridget knows she has to do something spectacular.

It’s a big word. She’s proud of it.

“There’s a ball,” Prince Derek says. He blushes. It’s not nearly as obvious as it is on Daddy or Bridget when they blush, but Bridget thinks it’s very pretty all the same. Prince Derek continues, “Or rather, a gala. The theme is a royal ball. I would like to attend it. Perhaps we can even bring the princess out. We could —this could be a date, for the princess and myself.”

“A date?” Queen Narissa repeats.

Bridget knows this one. “A date!” she agrees quickly. The adults all turn to look at her. “It’s where two people go out and get to know each other and it’s romantic! Daddy used to go on those sometimes.”

Her daddy blushes now. Prince Derek looks at him.

Queen Narissa laughs. “Derek, you’re already set to be wed. Is there a need for more romance?”

Prince Derek looks unhappy at that, but he doesn’t say anything. “Your Highness, we needn’t pretend that there’s been much romance in this arrangement,” he responds. Narissa’s eyes look dangerous. Bridget, feeling particularly brave, steps forward and grabs onto Derek’s hand.

His eyes are soft and surprised when he looks down at her. Bridget feels warm and happy. Prince Derek looks at her like her daddy does, sometimes. “If there’s a ball,” she says seriously, “then you’re going to need something to wear. We’re gonna need a serious makeover.”

“She’s right,” Daddy says. “Derek, why don’t you let her take you shopping? Find something for me, too, while you’re out. I can treat Narissa to lunch while you’re out, show her some of the better parts of our city here.”

Bridget looks at Prince Derek again, and she gives him her best and biggest puppy dog eyes. “ Please , Prince Derek?” she asks.

He squeezes her hand. “I’d love to go shopping with you, Miss Bridget.”

Shopping with her daddy is always perfunctory (her daddy taught her that word the last time they went shopping). Daddy knows what he likes, and he knows what Bridget likes, and they are usually in and out of the store pretty fast.

Shopping with Prince Derek is fun .

He wants to try on everything. Bridget giggles as she hands him shirt after shirt, and Prince Derek just happily takes all of them and he models for her when he tries them on and Bridget can’t stop giggling. He even lets her try on things. She feels like she’s in a fashion show.

Prince Derek looks super pretty when he’s smiling like this. Bridget decides to tell him when they’re returning shirts to the rack.

“You are the handsomest prince I’ve ever seen,” she tells him. Prince Derek beams at her. “And I’ve seen all the prince movies. You beat them all. And you don’t even need makeup for this ball because you’re already going to be the prettiest person there.”

“Thank you, Bridget,” Prince Derek says. His voice sounds more genuine than most of the other adults who talk to her. Bridget smiles. “Can I be honest with you? I’m very nervous about this ball.”

“Why?”

Prince Derek shrugs. “Your dad has been very kind to me over the last few days, and I don’t know how to repay him. This ball feels like our last hurrah. I don’t think I can say goodbye to him… Without, um, properly thanking him.”

Bridget grabs his hand again. “Is this what it’s like?” she asks quietly.

He squats down so he’s eye-level with her. Bridget loves him, she thinks. “Is this what what’s like?” he prompts.

Prince Derek is the only grown-up she’s ever met that doesn’t treat her like she’s a baby. Besides her daddy, of course. Prince Derek talks to her like he knows she’s clever; he doesn’t roll her eyes at some of her comments and he always looks interested in what she has to say. Bridget feels very lucky to have met him. She likes being taken seriously. Especially right now— she feels kind of silly, for what she’s about to say.

“Having two parents,” she whispers.

She’s young but she is clever and she isn’t naive. She loves her daddy with all her heart and she’s never wanted anything other than him. And she’s known all her life that she wouldn’t have a mama like most of the other kids in her grade, because Daddy liked boys but really all that meant was that maybe one day she’d get a papa. Bridget is clever and she knows all of these things. And she has never once felt like her daddy wasn’t enough.

But then Prince Derek came into their lives.

He fits.

“Having two parents is a wonderful gift,” Prince Derek tells her. He’s still holding her hand but with his free hand he reaches up to brush a stray piece of hair away from her eyes. “Even having just one parent is a gift. There are always going to be people in your life who love you, Bridget, and I hope you always remember that.”

She frowns. “I wish you could stay,” she says.

There’s a sad look on Prince Derek’s face. She hugs him to make it go away. “I would,” he responds. His voice is firm. “I would stay in a heartbeat if it were up to me.”

Eventually Prince Derek lets her go, and when she looks at him again his eyes are all misty in the same way Daddy’s get sometimes when she asks about her other mama and daddy. Bridget makes sure to hold his hand as they keep walking through the store. Prince Derek doesn’t say anything about it, but he’s smiling even though his eyes still look kind of foggy and Bridget knows she’s doing what she’s supposed to.

They don’t find anything worthy of a ball at the first store, so Prince Derek keeps ahold of her hand as she leads him to a different store that seems like it should work better. He’s quiet as they’re walking, but Bridget doesn’t mind. Sometimes her daddy gets quiet like this and she knows it doesn’t mean anything is wrong, sometimes it just means he’s thinking.

He does start talking when they’re looking at more clothes though, as he explains the difference between a cravat and a tie and why a prince should wear a cravat to a ball. Bridget sits on a plush chair so high off the ground that her feet don’t touch so she kicks aimlessly and listens happily to Prince Derek.

“Have you been a prince your whole life?” she asks.

“Not my whole life,” he tells her. “Queen Narissa gave me the title right after I was engaged to her step-daughter. And I won’t really be a prince until I’m married to the princess.”

“What’s your princess like?”

Prince Derek hesitates. He’s holding a green cravat in his hands and Bridget wants to tell him to get it because it matches his eyes and makes him look really pretty. “Princess Caitlin is amazing. She is powerful and smart and funny and she is going to make an amazing queen.”

Bridget nods. “Do you love her?”

“Do you know what an arranged marriage is, Bridget?”

“Sure, I’ve seen the movies. But the people in those movies fall in love sometimes.”

Prince Derek puts the cravat down. “They do,” he agrees. “They do fall in love sometimes.” He sits down next to Bridget and doesn’t even complain when she climbs into his lap. “My mom and dad are a wonderful example of that, you know. They weren’t royalty, but their marriage was still arranged. It didn’t take them long to actually fall in love with one another.”

“So do you think you’ll fall in love with Princess Caitlin?” Bridget asks.

Prince Derek presses a kiss to the top of her head. “Can you keep a secret, Miss Bridget?”

She nods solemnly.

Prince Derek closes his eyes. “I don’t think I’ll fall in love with Princess Caitlin. I think my heart might already belong to someone else.”

Bridget thinks the whole thing is terribly sad, if she’s being honest. She doesn’t say anything. She just lays her head against Prince Derek’s chest and enjoys being close to him. She can’t imagine loving someone and marrying someone else. Which, she supposes, makes it a good thing she isn’t a princess.

“I love you, Derek,” she whispers. She thinks he needs to know, before he goes back to Andalasia and marries a princess he might not love. She doesn’t want him to leave but she won’t ask him to stay. She is clever and far too wise for her age.

He kisses her head again. “I love you , Bridget.”

She thinks she could fall asleep here, curled against Prince Derek. Some of her best naps are taken with her daddy, after all. But they’ve still got an outfit to buy for Prince Derek and for her daddy, and time is running out. Or at least, she thinks it might be— she heard it on TV once.

That’s when it catches her eye.

“Prince Derek! I found it, it’s perfect!” Bridget scrambles off his lap. She points determinedly back at where he put down the green cravat. “You’re going to need that, it matches. It’s perfect .”

She darts off without waiting to hear his response. When he catches up to her, he’ll probably reprimand her for running off in public without him. That’s what Daddy normally does. But she doesn’t care, because she found the perfect attire for Prince Derek at this ball. Something to catch everyone’s eye — even Daddy’s, if Bridget is right about this.

“Bridget, you can’t just run off — oh, ” Prince Derek stops suddenly. She turns to give him a proud smile. She knew it was perfect. “Bridget. This is amazing.”

“I know,” she says smugly.

Prince Derek ruffles her hair. “Nice work, Princess-in-training,” he tells her.

Bridget beams .

Chapter Text

Chowder agrees to watch Bridget thirty seconds into the phone call, and Dex barely even has a second to be disgruntled when Chowder starts chirping him.

“It’s not a date,” Dex grumbles. He’s pacing back and forth about his room; Bridget and Derek got back not long ago, and Bridget has already laid out the outfit she expects Dex to wear. To his chagrin, she’d insisted she help Derek get ready for the ball.

Chowder sighs. “Dude, this whole thing is layers of complicated I’m not even sure I want to delve into. As much as I want you to be happy…”

“Chris,” Dex warns. He sits down heavy on his bed.

“Is he engaged?” Chowder asks.

Dex hangs his head. “It’s complicated.”

“ Will .”

“I’m not doing anything about it, okay?” Dex snaps. “Even if there are —my feelings don’t change anything. He’s going back home after the ball tonight and he’ll get married and Bridget and I will still be here and. And we’ll move on.”

Chowder is quiet on the other line.

“I know it’s fucked up,” Dex whispers.

“That’s not what I was going to say,” Chowder says quickly. “You’re my best friend, dude, I’m always gonna be on your side.”

“Even when I fall for guys I can’t have and involve them in my daughter’s life then make everything more complicated?” Dex asks dryly.

Chowder doesn’t humor him. “You can’t help who you love.”

Dex thinks of his brother and sister-in-law, who he misses daily. He thinks of Bridget, who he never expected. He thinks of his team, and of Chowder, and every person in his life he didn’t think he’d get to have close to him.

Chowder said the same thing to him once, forever ago. When Dex had come out to him with shaky hands and tears in his eyes. They were just in juniors then, barely learning what hope to play major felt like. Chowder was the first person Dex ever told.

“Will,” Chowder starts. Dex rubs his hand across his eyes. “I don’t want to poke the bruise but… You don’t do this. And now you’ve known this guy for, what, three days? And you’re already in love with him?”

Dex laughs wetly. It sounds hollow, even to his own ears. “Yeah, well. He’s something special, Chris.”

Chowder sighs. “I’ll swing by and pick up Bridget. You enjoy your night, okay? And… if you need to. Afterwards. You can spend the night at my place. You and Bridget. You know I’ve got the room. And—if you need company.”

Relief is sharp and warm in Dex’s abdomen. “Thanks, man.”

Dex hangs up and looks back at the outfit Bridget found for him while she was out with Derek. It’s definitely fit for a royal ball. Derek will probably be wearing something similar. He’ll look right at home in it, too. He’s a prince , for Christ’s sake, and Dex feels so dumb for getting caught up in how it felt to have another person in the home—

He sighs. He’s screwed, quite frankly.

*

Bridget doesn’t protest when Dex knocks on her door and tells her she’ll be spending the evening with Uncle Chris. She holds Dex’s hand on the elevator ride down to the lobby and chatters happily about how handsome Prince Derek looks.

“It’s too bad his princess won’t be able to see,” Dex comments.

Bridget isn’t fazed. “He doesn’t care if the princess sees him all dressed up.”

Dex blinks. “Bridgey, they’re getting married.”

“Yeah,” Bridget agrees. “If he goes back.”

And Dex—

He doesn’t know what to make of that.

Chowder is leaning against his car on the curb when Dex and Bridget make their way out. She breaks free of his grasp and sprints at Chowder, giggling when he bends down to swoop her up and tickle her once she’s in his arms.

“Thanks again for playing babysitter,” Dex says. He accepts the hug Chowder offers without any grumbling.

“Aw, anytime!” Chowder says cheerfully. “Who would ever turn down a night with the delightful Bridget Poindexter?”

“No one smart,” Bridget says matter-of-factly. Dex kisses the top of her head.

“You’re too sassy for your own good,” he tells her. He ruffles her hair. “Behave for Uncle Chris, okay? I know he acts like a big five year old but he’s the boss tonight. I’ll meet you later tonight at his place.”

Bridget smacks a big and wet kiss on his cheek.

Dex tries not to feel like he’s going to break her heart when Derek leaves tonight.

The thing is, he never planned for this. For any of it. He went off to college thinking he’d have four good years of hockey and education and that he’d walk off that stage on graduation day with a diploma and job offers that were reliable, if not a little boring. He thought he’d be the fun uncle to his brother’s kids, adorable redheads with more energy than Dex could ever imagine.

He didn’t expect the job offers to be NHL contracts. He didn’t expect upscale apartments and he didn’t expect trade deals in the middle of the night and he didn’t expect moving to New York. He didn’t plan to become an only child one night and a father six months later.

He thought that maybe one day he’d meet a boy and they’d fall in love in a normal, ordinary way. There would be struggles that arose with Dex being a single father and an athlete and there would be complacency but they would be happy.

Derek is the opposite of all that he expected. Derek is loud and beautiful and intoxicating. The room belongs to him no matter where he goes. Dex never knew someone could live so confidently in their own skin. And Derek falls in love with every person he sees—he finds beauty in everything, and Dex is enchanted by it. He has spent so long in a world that has handed him hardship after hardship that he genuinely forgot what it could be like to stop and be amazed by the life surrounding him. Nothing about Derek promised complacency. Everything about Derek promised happiness.

Dex fidgets with his dress jacket. He feels nervous for reasons he doesn’t really care to dissect; he feels like he could be sixteen again, waiting for his best friend to descend the stairs and accompany him to the prom.

It’s different now. Something feels more important.

The elevator doors open and Derek steps out.

Dex, for a moment, forgets how to breathe.

Derek has always been beautiful; Dex has never for a moment thought otherwise. He looks beautiful in a wedding tunic or in jeans and a t-shirt or in borrowed pajama bottoms.

Derek, right now, looks heartbreaking.

Dex is not going to survive this.

“Wow,” he chokes out, when Derek is finally standing in front of him. Derek looks shy. Dex can’t stop himself from reaching out to touch the smooth fabric of Derek’s jacket. “The floral—Derek. You look great.”

Derek’s smile is bright and distracting. Dex swallows thickly.

“As do you,” Derek compliments. “Grey and green was a good call for your dresswear. You’ll have to tell Bridget the green cravat worked just as well as she’d thought.”

Half-hysterically, Dex has the fleeting realization that the green cravat matches Derek’s eyes and the green undertones of the floral tunic and belt. He has a halfhearted thought to stop allowing his daughter to spend so much time with meddlers.

“I didn’t even know they made floral… tunic-things,” Dex manages to say. He’s trying resolutely to not blush from head to toe. “It suits you.”

There’s so much more he wants to say. The words weigh heavy on his tongue.

Derek’s voice is soft when he asks, “Shall we?”

They take a taxi, because it’s most convenient. They sit with a seat between them and it still doesn’t feel like enough distance. Dex wants to reach out again and trace the patterns in Derek’s tunic. He wants to see if Derek’s chin is as smooth as he thinks it is, freshly shaven. He wants to see if Derek’s fingers feel like they fit between his fingers.

“Are you excited?” Dex asks, instead of touching. His voice is more even than he feels.

Derek has a soft smile. “I am,” he reassures Dex. “This will be a wonderful way to end my time here in New York.”

Dex’s stomach clenches.

“Will,” Derek whispers. Dex knows Derek is looking at him but he’s scared to turn. He’s scared to find something in Derek’s eyes that he’s going to have to say goodbye to. “ Will …”

“I’m glad you were sent here,” Dex blurts out. His neck flushes but it’s too late, it’s too late and he has to say it before he never gets a chance to. “I know it was some fucked up magic or whatever and I know it delayed your wedding or prince-hood or whatever but. I’m glad you arrived in New York. I’m glad you met my daughter. And I’m glad—”

Derek’s hand covers his and the rest of Dex’s sentence gets lost when he looks up in shock. “I’m glad, too,” Derek whispers. The look in his eyes is fierce. Dex believes him, god, he’ll believe every word Derek says right now. “I’m sorry my circumstances aren’t different.”

He could stay in this moment forever.

Dex clears his throat and pulls his hand away from Derek’s. He doesn’t wait to see what Derek’s face does in response. “Is the queen meeting us there?” he asks, focusing his gaze out the window.

“I believe so,” Derek says. His voice sounds tired and Dex aches . “We’ll be leaving right after midnight, she says. The longer I stay in this universe, the more at risk we all are.”

“What?” Dex turns back, brows furrowed. “How?”

Derek shrugs. “She handles the magic in our realm. I don’t ask questions.”

Dex frowns. It’s suspicious, he thinks, like this whole thing has been from the start. He wishes he had more time to figure it out.

“It wasn’t her magic that sent me here,” Derek says firmly. Dex wants to ask what makes him so sure. “She’s been very insistent about getting me back on time.”

Magic, Dex thinks, is more complex than either of them understand.

Dex is going to figure it out before Derek leaves tonight. He has to keep Derek safe.

*

The gala is in full swing when they arrive, couples already flooding the dance floor and swaying around the orchestra. Dex has never been to this building before, but it’s been adorned with corny royal decor. The people dancing are all in costume. Derek stands at the balcony, taking it all in. His smile stretches from ear to ear.

“This is beautiful,” Derek says, awestruck.

You’re beautiful , the dangerous, traitorous part of Dex’s head says back.

“There was to be a ball after my wedding,” Derek continues. Dex doesn’t look away from him, even though Derek doesn’t turn to face him. “For Princess Caitlin and I. An initiation ceremony, that’s what Queen Narissa called it. We’d receive the blessings of the kingdom.”

Dex’s mouth feels thick when he says, “You’ll get all that when you go back, yeah?”

Derek doesn’t look away from the crowd below. “There are better things in life than the blessings of a kingdom you felt you lived on the outside of.”

“Derek,” says a voice from behind them. Queen Narissa, looking every bit of her title in a fitted purple dress, stands behind them with a tight smile on her face. “Don’t you look dashing. Perhaps we should incorporate more flowers into your wedding when you return, hm? They certainly suit you.”

Derek takes her proffered and kisses it, sinking into a bow. “Queen Narissa,” he greets. “You look extravagant.”

Her smile is cold. Instinctively, Dex steps closer to Derek. “Well, you gentlemen have a short time together at the ball. Go make the most of it, yes? Join the dance down below. I’ll come collect Derek when it’s time for us to make our leave.”

“Would you dance with me, Derek?” Dex asks. He doesn’t take his eyes off of Narissa. Her smile goes tight as she takes him in. It’s a challenge, and it’s dangerous, Dex knows. But she only watches as Derek grabs onto Dex’s arm and follows him happily.

They descend down the ridiculously large staircase, and all eyes are on them. Derek seems unfazed by it, stealing glances at Dex and failing to keep the grin off his face. A new song begins as they reach a free spot on the floor. Dex feels nervous when Derek turns to face him. Derek puts one hand on his waist and grabs onto Dex’s hand with his other.

Dex has never cared for dancing.

Tonight, however, he never wants to stop.

Derek is an excellent dancer, making up where Dex feels nervous or unconfident in his steps, leading them both across the floor in a beautiful pattern. It feels easy, dancing with Derek, and it feels right where Derek holds him. Dex gets the feeling that they’ve taken over the dance floor, as they move in broad circles. The people around them part, some applaud when Derek spins Dex out. Everyone watches. Dex feels vibrant under it, in a way he’s never felt before with people’s eyes on him. He is used to wanting to hide, to shying away from the spotlight, to letting others take charge so he could slink away unnoticed. Derek changes that in him. Derek sees him in a way, perhaps, that Dex has never been seen in before.

Derek looks into his eyes and Dex feels like nothing else in the world could possibly matter.

“Derek,” Dex whispers.

The song shifts to something slower, something romantic. Derek matches the pace easily. They could be dancing for hours, or perhaps only seconds have passed. It’s been long enough, Dex has come to the conclusion that perhaps he’ll be ruined for love once Derek leaves.

“Don’t you find it suspicious?” Dex asks, because he can’t help himself. There’s something desperate in him trying to claw its way out, to find any way to get Derek to stay near him. It’s a selfish monster, and Dex can’t tell it no. “How you got here? How now that Narissa has found you, you’re suddenly out of time in our universe?”

Derek’s face does something complicated. “Magic isn’t simple,” Derek tells him. He sounds tired. “There are layers and implications and requirements and consequences. There are parts that even the most trained magician in our universe wouldn’t be able to understand. And it was complicated magic that sent me here.”

“Do you think there was a reason you were sent here?” Dex says desperately. His hand tightens subconsciously around Derek’s. “This universe, specifically. Where you found a billboard less than a block from my apartment on the same road my daughter and I take home after every home game. Do you think there’s a reason you found us?”

Dex stumbles over his feet in the next turn, and Derek’s grip tightens on him. Derek pulls him closer until they’re almost chest to chest, dancing. “I think I want there to be a reason,” Derek admits.

Dex’s heart soars .

“So let’s figure this out,” Dex says quickly. “Derek, there’s something shady going on here. With Queen Narissa. I get the feeling she has some kind of plan, something she’s going to do to—to you and your princess, once you’re married. So she can keep the crown or something, I don’t know—”

“Narissa isn’t behind this,” Derek interrupts. “I already told you—”

“Derek, I don’t trust her!”

“You don’t know her,” Derek says fiercely. “It wasn’t her magic that sent me here, Will. I’d recognize it if it was. It wasn’t her .”

“You don’t have to go back,” Dex whispers. It feels like begging. “You can stay here, with Bridget and me. There’s a place for you here. Derek, I know you’re being promised a kingdom but there’s something going on and I can’t figure it out yet but there’s a place for you here —”

“Derek,” says Queen Narissa, and Dex’s blood runs cold. She stands a few feet away from them, and nothing in her expression is telling of whether or not she heard their conversation. “It’s almost midnight. We should start making our leave. The portal will take a moment to conjure.”

Dex’s hand tightens again. “Derek,” he murmurs.

“I should go,” Derek says, and Dex’s heart breaks. “I’m needed in Andalasia.”

You’re needed here, Dex thinks.

“Okay,” Dex says.

He lets go of Derek’s hand.

Chapter Text

He doesn’t wait around to watch Derek as he leaves.

Dex wonders now, how the hell people in movies do it. The thought of watching Derek walk away from him is just as unbearable as the fact that he is. He gives himself five seconds to watch before panic grips something in his chest and he has to tear his eyes away.

There’s a bar, a couple steps away from where he’s ended up.

Dex moves without thinking.

It’s probably stupid, he knows, to flag down the bartender and order the first drink he sees. It’s probably stupid to think that alcohol can fix this. He’ll probably go to Chowder’s after this and he sad and mopey and halfway tipsy and it won’t actually solve anything.

But he’s not really looking for a solution right now. He’s looking for a distraction.

Because, god—Christ, the idea of looking up and seeing that Derek is gone…

Dex can’t fucking do it.

He’s done the whole falling-in-love thing twice now. Both times, someone walked away from him. He’s spent years guarding his heart and not letting anyone in, and for what? For eight seconds of bliss with a guy who probably did love him back but couldn’t stay in this universe?

It’s mightily unfair, he thinks, that Derek found his way through the one chink in Dex’s armor.

The bartender slides a drink over and Dex picks it up slowly. The glass is cool and heavy in his hands. He runs his fingers along the edge of the rim. Dex tells himself not to do anything he’ll regret tomorrow. He raises the glass to his lips.

Someone screams.

His blood runs cold. In an instance, there is shouting all throughout the ballroom and hands pointing to the top of the stairwell.

Dex turns to the stairwell. Someone is lying on their side at the top, motionless. He can’t see who else is causing the commotion. Then his eye catches it.

Derek’s floral tunic.

Three inches from his extended hand is an apple, blood red, with one bite taken out of it.

Time slows.

Dex thinks he might drop the glass in his hand. He moves too fast and too slow to be sure. People part for him like they know where he’s going but he can’t get to Derek fast enough, can’t get up the stairs, can’t see him, can’t tell—

Derek is pale and lifeless. Dex’s heart is hammering in his chest. Hysterically, Dex wonders if it’s trying to beat for the both of them.

He isn’t sure when he fell to his knees, but one second he feels like he’s hardly breathing then the next he’s pulling Derek into his lap and cradling his face. Derek’s skin is cold to the touch. Dex doesn’t know anything about magic, but even he can tell that something powerful has happened here.

“Derek, Derek, hey, wake up—” his voice is half-hysterical.

Faintly, he can hear people standing by, someone calling emergency services, nervous chatter. None of it matters.

“A hospital won’t help,” says a voice from above him, and Dex slowly raises his head.

“You did this,” he whispers. He tightens his grip around Derek.

“You have to believe I have very good reasons,” she tells him. She wears a black robe and underneath it is a dark gown. There isn’t one on her, but Dex knows a crown belongs on her head.

“You're the princess. Caitlin.”

Her eyes light up. “Yes, William,” she says quickly. “We are short on time but soon I will explain it all. This has always been my plan.”

Rage swells, thick and heavy, in Dex’s chest. “To kill him?” he snarls. “He trusted you! He trusted Narissa! You pulled him from his lonely home and promised him everything and fed him—fed him lies about how he had a duty now, and. And for what, to get him here, to kill him? Like a fucking lamb to the slaughter? Why him? ”

“He’s not dead,” Caitlin snaps. “He’s poisoned. And we’re running out of time. But you can help him, William.”

Dex looks down. Derek’s cheek is still cold when he touches it. Poisoned, Dex thinks. “How do you know my name?” he croaks out.

“My prophecy has known of you for as long as I’ve been alive,” Caitlin tells him. Her voice is soft. Around them, the rest of the party seems to fall away. “You are Derek’s true love. You always have been.”

His head is swimming. “Caitlin, I—”

“I know it’s a lot,” she says. She seems skittish and rushed. Dex doesn’t look up from Derek’s face. “But we are running out of time. It’s almost midnight—”

“And by then, it will be too late.”

A hush falls across the room. Caitlin straightens and turns. Queen Narissa stands tall behind her. Her eyes survey them quietly. “Poison, Caitlin, really?” Narissa asks. “Doesn’t that seem a bit juvenile?”

“It proves a point,” Caitlin says.

“And I suppose it was you who sent him here in the first place?”

Caitlin’s eyes flash bright and dangerous. “I told you before you found him, Mother, that he was not my beloved. He and I belong to the others.”

Narissa frowns sharply. “It won’t matter much longer, my dear. When we arrive back in Andalasia, you will be tried for treason. Murdering your own betrothed, oh, do you know what a scandal you'll have caused? These people relied on you as their princess, and now you'll have shown them you aren't fit for the throne. And Derek, well…”

Above them, the large, old clock begins to chime as the hand strikes midnight.

“It seems he’s out of time,” Narissa finishes. Her eyes are sad.

“No!” Dex yells, desperately. “No, please—there has to be something we can—no, Derek—”

Narissa seizes Caitlin. Behind them, a portal opens.

“No!” Dex shouts again.

Caitlin catches his gaze. “You’re his true love, William,” she says again. Her voice is urgent. “You are his one true love. Out of all of the worlds we come from, it’s you. Can’t you see the power in that?”

True love’s kiss.

“I’ve only known him for a few days,” Dex whispers. It can’t be.

“Do you think that truly matters?”

They’ve only known each other for a few days. And yet—in such a short span, Derek helped Dex forget all his hang-ups. He made Dex smile, he made Dex laugh, he was kind to Bridget. He incorporated himself seamlessly into their lives and he looked like he’d walked straight out of Dex’s most secret fantasies and he was everything. Hell, Chowder had called him out just a few hours prior. Dex doesn’t just fall in love with people in three days. But Derek…

Derek was different. Is different.

Dex gets it. He understands what Caitlin means.

There are countless universes and endless worlds and places so far away that Dex could have never dreamed of ever encountering Derek. But they met in his and he fell in love, and there is unknowable power in that. Two worlds coming together—

“Derek, please,” Dex whispers. They are almost out of time. He cradles Derek’s head gently in his hands. “Don’t leave me.”

He kisses Derek as the final bell tolls.

It isn’t what he expected it would be. Magic doesn’t swell, smoke doesn’t engulf them, there’s no glitter that rains from the sky. Just Derek and Dex, as he holds him, and the terrified breath that Dex draws.

“It didn’t work,” Narissa says, and her voice is shocked.

“No,” Caitlin whispers. “That can’t be possible…”

Dex rests his forehead against Derek’s. He was too late, perhaps, or maybe magic doesn’t exist at all. He doubts he’ll ever know for sure. “It’s okay,” he murmurs. He doesn’t open his eyes. “It’s okay, Derek. I will always love you.”

There is a shaky breath, and a flood of warmth underneath Dex’s hands. There are startled gasps and exclamations and then there are hands grabbing at the front of Dex’s tunic and then—

There is Derek and his wonderful, beautiful eyes looking at Dex. Shocked and elated and beautiful and alive. Dex can’t breathe.

“I knew it was you,” Derek says reverently, and he pulls Dex down to kiss him again.

Derek’s arms wind around his neck and Dex can’t let go, isn’t sure when they stop kissing and when they begin clinging to each other, but relief courses through his veins stronger than almost anything he’s felt before. Derek is warm and alive and vibrant under Dex’s hands.

“It’s not possible,” he hears from behind.

“Your Majesty, this ending has always been prophesied.”

Derek stirs in Dex’s arms. His gaze is hard and confused as he turns to Caitlin and Narissa. “What are you talking about?” he asks slowly. Caitlin steps out of Narissa’s grip, and moves towards Derek.

“For as long as I have been living, there has been a prophecy that has followed me,” Caitlin says. She crouches down next to Dex and Derek. “I have always been destined to be the one who unites these two worlds. There was fear that was born after this prophecy, fear that was abated by the prospect of an arranged marriage. Our arranged marriage. But our loves come from this world, Derek. You and I are the ones who fulfill this prophecy.”

“I was never meant to be prince?” Derek repeats. He is shell-shocked, but he clings to Dex as he speaks. “I can stay here?”

Caitlin smiles. She touches his hand softly. “You were never meant to be prince.”

“Narissa…” Derek struggles to say. He leans back against Dex’s chest.

“I didn’t believe in the prophecy,” she states. She hasn’t moved from her position at the front of the portal. She looks as surprised as the rest of them. “I didn’t believe that someone from this land would ever be fit to take the throne. When Caitlin told me of her prophecy, I was afraid… You have to understand, I thought I was doing what was right for the kingdom—”

Caitlin stands. “It is the old way of the kingdom. But there is power in bringing our two worlds together, Narissa, and it will strengthen both of our homes.”

“So your soulmate… is here?” Dex asks.

Caitlin nods. Her smile is soft and lovely. “Yes. My Chris. Though it isn’t our time yet. I’m afraid I had no choice but to hastily set my plan into motion when Mother brought Derek to the castle and began preparing for our wedding. There were a few kinks.”

“A few?” Derek and Dex  say together.

She laughs. “I’m sorry for throwing you into this world with no explanation, Derek,” she tells him. Her face is sincere. “And I am sorry for poisoning you. Not very subtle of me, I’m afraid, but I had no other choices. The point had to be proven.”

Derek’s fingers tighten again around Dex’s shirt. “I guess I can forgive you.”

“Just don’t send him away again,” Dex says quickly.

“He is free to stay here, with you and your sweet daughter, William,” Caitlin promises. She turns to Narissa once again. “Narissa, there is no threat to the throne or the kingdom. There never was. When it is time, I will return to this land for my Chris. For now, there is much we have to do to prepare our kingdom for this new change.”

Narissa blinks. “I—” she starts. She looks back over to Dex and Derek, still on the ground holding tightly to each other. Caitlin doesn’t waver. She must come to a decision, because she straightens suddenly and looks back at her stepdaughter. “Yes. I suppose we do.”

The portal closes rather anticlimactically after that, with Narissa and Caitlin stepping through. Derek watches with baited breath. Caitlin promises she’ll be back soon, and like that, they are gone.

Around them, the people at the ball burst into applause.

“Incredible show,” one bystander says.

“Much better than last year’s,” her companion agrees.

It all fades away when Dex finally looks at Derek again and finds Derek staring back. Dex touches his face, awestruck, relieved, thrilled that he can. “Hey, you,” he says. Derek’s smile is blinding.

“Hey, yourself,” Derek says. “Thanks for bringing me back.”

“Yeah,” Dex mutters. “About that. Don’t ever pull that shit again, you hear me? No more apples for you ever. Not even if Bitty offers you some of his best apple pie. You’re cut off.”

Derek laughs. “Oh, am I?”

“Mm-hm.”

“You must think you’re something special, telling me what to do.”

Dex’s laugh is breathless. “Yeah, well. I am something special. Your true love, as proven a few minutes ago.”

Derek cups his face. “Prove it again.”

Dex kisses him.

Maybe literal glitter doesn’t rain from the sky like Dex would expect it to in a kiss as magical as this, but it feels pretty damn close.

“So, about that whole ‘you’ll always love me’ thing…” Derek murmurs. There’s a teasing lilt in his voice but Dex groans all the same.

“God, you heard that?”

Derek kisses him desperately, insistently. Dex can’t get enough of him. He wonders how he went this long in his life without Derek—and he’s thrilled, inevitably so, that he’ll never have to carry on without him again.

As far as happily ever afters go, Dex is pretty sure the start of his is the best there ever was.

Chapter Text

three years later

“I’m just saying that blue was the obvious choice here, Dad.”

“The lady at the hardware store said that green would look just fine!”

“Yeah, and clearly she was wrong. This isn’t forest-y. It’s barf-y. Now we have to repaint and that’s so annoying .”

“Bridget Rowan —”

“Are you giving your papa a hard time, gingersnap?” Dex interrupts, swinging into the room with a large box in his hands. Derek stands immediately to take it from him, placing it on the dresser on the other side of the room. Dex places an absent-minded kiss on his cheek.

Bridget crosses her arms defiantly. “I told you both that this green was going to look yucky on the walls and neither of you believed me.”

Derek sighs. “She has your sass,” he tells Dex.

“And her mother’s eye for interior design, clearly,” Dex says back. He sits cross-legged on the floor. Bridget is nine years old, now, but she still can’t resist sitting on her dad’s lap. Her tiny arms twine around his neck. “Der, I hate to say it, but she’s right. It’s yucky.”

“I wanted it to look like the forests in Andalasia!” Derek whines. His gaze is critical when he turns to glare at the wall. Dex and Bridget wait, patiently, for him to relent. “Ugh. Fine. Bridgey, you’re right. It is yucky. We have to repaint.”

Her smile is smug. “I told you.”

Derek ruffles her hair as he sits down next to them both. “Yeah, yeah, don’t push your luck, Carrot Top. I can still take away your dessert tonight.”

“You wouldn’t ever.”

Dex laughs. “She has a point.”

Derek’s lower lip juts out in a pout. Dex can’t resist it; he leans forward and kisses him square on the mouth. Bridget makes a noise of protest from where she’s caught in the middle of them. “Don’t, don’t ,” she whines.

Derek tickles her sides until she’s shrieking with laughter and he pulls her into his lap. “Your daddy and your papa are in love, why are you complaining?”

“Ungrateful,” Dex agrees. He pokes her in the stomach. Her peels of laughter fill the room and his heart feels light. “Hate to say it though, babe, I think I love Bridgey the most.”

Bridget curls gently into Derek’s chest and her fingers twine in the collar of his shirt. Her smile is soft but breathtaking, mirroring Derek’s. Dex thinks it’s beautiful, the way she started to take after him too.

Derek presses a kiss to the top of her head. “Agreed,” he whispers. He takes Dex’s hand in his and squeezes.

“You guys are so sappy,” she sighs, but Dex knows his daughter. She’s happy, he can tell, and more content than he’s ever seen her. They’ve settled beautifully into their little family. Everything he wanted to give her, he has.

His phone rings, breaking the quiet moment. Bridget detangles herself and clambers out of Derek’s lap, shouting that she has to pee as she takes off towards the bathroom. Derek stares after her, amused.

“She used to be so innocent and so not gross,” Dex sighs. Derek laughs. As Dex answers the phone, he and Derek shift until Derek’s back is pressed against Dex’s chest. Dex twines his arms around Derek’s torso.

“Scale of one to ten, how indecent are you and Derek right now?” Chowder asks in lieu of a regular human greeting.

Dex tightens his grip. “Solid two on a scale of indecency, but he looks really hot in his green henley so there’s a chance that’s gonna shoot up to a twelve soon.”

Derek laughs and the feel of it rumbles against Dex’s chest.

“Gross, I didn’t really want to know,” Chowder complains. “I literally only asked because I’m standing outside the door and didn’t want to walk in on you two christening the place.”

“Chow, I love you deeply, but why the fuck would I answer the phone if I was in the middle of having sex with Derek?” Dex asks. He shakes his head quickly. “You know what, no, please don’t answer that. I don’t want to know your answer.”

Chowder’s laugh is so loud that Dex can hear it through the phone speakers and through the front door a few feet to their left. Derek glances at Dex.

“Christ god. You really are right outside. Hang on, Derek’ll answer the door.”

Derek presses a sloppy kiss to Dex’s cheek as he moves to stand up, loud enough that Chowder hears it and starts to groan again. Dex doesn’t stop smiling as he opens the door.

“Welcome to Design by Andalasia, we are currently under construction,” Dex deadpans. Chowder rolls his eyes and pulls him into a hug.

“Tell me the green is going away,” he stage-whispers. Behind them, Derek makes a wounded noise. “Oh, no. Don’t tell me you voluntarily painted your walls this color.”

“The sales lady was very insistent! ”

Chowder pulls Derek up off the ground and gives him a hug, too. “You’re just easy,” he chirps, and joins in when Dex starts laughing. “Hey, really though. This is a cool space you got here. I’m glad your dream is seeing the light of day.”

“Yeah, I’m just lucky Will here brings in the big bucks so I can have a chance at a failing business,” Derek says honestly. His eyes are soft when they fall on Dex’s face.

“It’s not gonna fail,” Dex reassures him.

“Yeah, your famous boyfriend is gonna advertise the hell out of your little shop,” Chowder agrees.

There’s a smirk on Derek’s face that is maddening; Dex is so in love with him sometimes that it aches . “Famous fiancé,” Derek corrects. He turns on his heel and moves towards a box before Chowder can respond.

Dex makes a valiant attempt to keep his laughter in.

Chowder rolls his eyes. “Derek, my dude, I’ve told you this before. You can’t call him your fiancé until one of you actually pops the question.”

“Nah, he can call me his fiancé,” Dex says.

Chowder looks between the two of them.

“You’re kidding,” he breathes.

Derek holds up his hand, where the engagement band Dex has had for over a year finally adorns his finger.

“ You’re not kidding! ” Chowder shrieks. He lunges at Derek and wraps him in a hug. “Oh my god! It’s about time! Oh my god, I can’t breathe, I’m so excited. Holy shit, I want to know everything. Dex, why the hell didn’t you tell me ? Oh my god! ”

“I told you he’d take the news well,” Dex says dryly. Derek laughs even as he flips him off.

“I’ve been waiting for this day for literally like three years, back off.”

“Me, too,” Dex and Derek agree. Dex tries resolutely to not blush when Derek winks at him.

They have an impromptu pizza party; after all, they have a lot to celebrate. Derek’s new business, an engagement, and Bridget scoring one hundred percent on her spelling test, to name a few. They sit on the floor of Derek’s unfinished store and tease him mercilessly when he finally pulls up the hardware store’s website to order new paint. He snuggles against Dex’s side for the majority of the night and Dex wonders how on earth he got so lucky.

“You still talk to Caitlin sometimes, right?” Dex murmurs.

Derek blinks sleepily at him. Just because he can, Dex presses a gentle kiss to the corner of Derek’s mouth. Derek’s tired smile is almost the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. “Yeah, sometimes,” he says finally. “Inter-universe communication is tricky though.”

“Yeah,” Dex agrees. His arms tighten subconsciously around Derek. “We should invite her to the wedding.”

A laugh bubbles out of Derek’s chest. “I was already planning on it,” he reassures Dex. He kisses Dex firmly, like he’s proving a point. “We owe her for all of this, after all. Plus she still hasn’t gone after her Chris , and I’m still convinced her Chris is our Chris.”

Dex rolls his eyes. “There’s no way our universes are that small.”

“I’m a romantic, babe, what can I say?”

Dex glances over at Chowder, who plays with Bridget like there’s nowhere else he’d rather be. He thinks about how lonely Chowder must be sometimes; he thinks about all the times Chowder has confessed he wants a family just like Dex’s.

“Maybe you’re right,” he relents. Derek’s smug look is so aggravating that Dex has no choice but to kiss him again. “Okay. We’ll invite her to the wedding as a thank you but also to play matchmaker. It’s about time that both of them got their happy ending, even if it isn’t with each other.”

“They’d make a cute couple.”

“Baby, you say that about literally everyone.”

Derek shifts closer to Dex until his head is resting right over Dex’s heart. Dex wonders sometimes if Derek knows he’s the reason that Dex’s heart keeps beating. Sometimes Dex thinks the magic that saved Derek’s life saved him as well.

He owes Caitlin like, a thousand thank yous.

“I was right about us, though,” Derek murmurs. Dex’s heart clenches. It’s been three years and he still gets butterflies.

He hopes they never go away.