Chapter Text
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Eleanor had never felt more at peace in her life.
Saul’s arms wrapped around her body, his hands leisurely resting at her waist as her biceps rested on either side of his neck, wrists dangling past his shoulders. One of her hands softly brushed against his hair as the other hovered lightly over the nape of his neck, lightly dragging fingers up and down the space to make him shiver. The warmth and comfort of his body so close to hers made her smile slightly, drunkenly happily, as she snuggled further into his arms, trapped between the wall and his wonderful figure. They were leaning against the stark blue wallpaper of her office, sure to be on the side of the room that couldn’t be seen through the small window of the door. They had made sure to keep what they had under wraps, not wanting others finding out they were together only to ask her numerous questions about who he was, where he worked, and more.
Those weren’t exactly details she could give out freely. And so, that meant that they kept this world of theirs, this life, to themselves.
If O’Hara was being honest, she kind of preferred it that way. Away from prying eyes, from nosy ears and chatty mouths, she could enjoy moments like these, where they were able to just hold each other and she could melt into the man she had begrudgingly but quickly fallen for, in peace. Moments where she could simply close her eyes and lean into her lover’s arms as he pressed soft kisses to her lips.
“Mmmm,” she sighed as he moved his hand up and down the small of her back, his movements set at a slow and relaxed pace. It was bliss.
She tilted her head to the side when she heard the click of the door opening, the movement too fast for them to comprehend it and move away in time.
“Hey, Zoey told me to get you for room twe-“ Jackie called to her as she entered the room, only to stop short in the middle of her sentence as she was frozen still by the sight in front of her.
The opening of the door may have not given Eleanor and Saul enough time to separate before she had entered, but they had now jumped apart, limbs dropping and hands subtly trying to fix themselves up again. Jackie was too focused on looking at the face of this stranger who had just been kissing one of her closest friends to notice Eleanor subtly wiping smudged lipstick from the corner of her mouth.
She gaped at the two of them until O’Hara cleared her throat, clearly trying to process what had just happened and how she should proceed. She shared a quick glance with Saul, whose eyes looked at her with an understanding, and gave him a questioning look which he responded to with a nod of the head.
By this point, Jackie had gotten over her shock and blinked twice, “Oh-okay, I-uh, see you’re busy. I’ll just get you later,” she pointed to the entrance and smiled slightly awkwardly as she moved backwards towards the door, letting herself out.
When she was halfway out the door, O’Hara stepped forward, moving into action, and shared one last look with Saul before following her friend out, “Jackie,” she called as she grabbed the door.
“Jacks, wait,” her heels clicked as she tried to catch up with the woman. She noticed that her steps had slowed and took hold of her arm so she would turn around.
“Jackie, I need to talk to you,” she let out a sigh as she looked upon the face of her friend, who’s facial expression held a mix of too many emotions to decipher.
Jackie gave her a weird smile, slight shock from the unexpected sight she laid eyes on a few moments ago still present, and let out a light laugh, “No, no. It’s fine! I just-“ she gestured to nothing in particular, “wasn’t expecting that, you know? I mean, you know about Kevin and the girls, and you knew about Eddie, so,” she shrugged as she tried to keep her demeanor relaxed, even though the slight hurt was clear to Eleanor, “I thought you would tell me if there was something going on.” Jackie looked up at her, “I know this isn’t some one-time thing or just a guy because you wouldn’t have taken him into your office, let alone during the day. You don’t have to hide things from me, you know. My life may be falling apart, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be happy for you,” she laughed slightly, employing the twisted humor they shared. As disconcerting as it might’ve been for anyone else but them, this let Eleanor know that they were okay and that Jackie was being honest with her.
Eleanor shared a soft smile with her friend, glad that she hadn’t taken it too close to heart, but still needing to speak with her. She regarded the woman as a sister and knew that she’d be able to trust her with her secret.
O’Hara grabbed both of Jackie’s hands in hers, “I know, my darling, and I’m sorry. In fact, that’s what I want to talk to you about.” She glanced around at their surroundings, the hall too public for the sensitive information she was about to share, and added, “Can we go back to my office?” Her eyes pleaded with her friend to say yes.
After a few moments, Jackie relented, albeit slightly hesitant, “Alright,” and followed her down the hall and into the room.
As they entered the rather large space, Eleanor let go of her hands to walk towards the man who had been left to wait, his appearance looking significantly more put together than earlier.
O’Hara subtly locked the fingers of her left hand with the fingers of his right one as she quickly stepped to face him and spoke in a hushed tone, “Are you sure it’s okay?”
Saul smiled at her, his adoration for her always shining through and always putting her at ease, “Do you trust her?” His voice was loud enough that Jackie was able to overhear his question.
Eleanor locked eyes with Jackie, the closest thing she’d had to kin since her move to New York, and held her gaze, “With my life,” she answered him, eyes turning back to gaze into his as he stood mere inches from her face.
His smile grew into a large, relaxed grin, “Well, then, it’s alright with me.”
Eleanor beamed at him before stepping back from their lazy embrace and moved towards Jackie, gesturing for her to sit on the sofa in front of them as she sat next to her and Saul sat behind her towards the corner.
Eleanor took a deep breath and looked around, shoulders rising for a few seconds then dropping as O’Hara tried to find the words to explain to her friend the bizarre turn of events that had turned her life into something else entirely.
She turned back to Jackie, offering her a genuine, caring smile, as she softly clasped her hands before starting, “Jacks…” she looked down before gazing back up at her, eyes squinting at the madness of the story and hoping her friend wouldn’t want to throw her in the loony bin just for telling her, “my life…has taken a turn” she gestured with one hand, opening her palm in front of her, “and much of what I will say will probably not make any sense at all, but please,” she gave her an earnest look, “please wait until the end to ask me – us –“ she turned her head around slightly to gesture she meant Saul, “any and all questions you have. I ask that you also keep an open mind. Much of what I tell you might seem like it’s out of a fairy tale, but I assure you, my darling, it is very real and very serious.”
Jackie took a moment to process everything she was saying, expression on her face thoughtful, though not unkind. After a few moments, she nodded, “Okay,” she said softly, “tell me.”
And so, Eleanor told her.
Told her off how she had met Saul one day when she had treated him, and he thought she was a ghost. How the man who had been nothing but a patient to her to patch up turned into a curiosity, then a nuisance, and eventually became her husband. How the moment she stepped into his life, his world, hers was forever changed. How the fairies and witches and creatures that lived only in the storybooks of her childhood and in the imaginations of that young girl were very real and very dangerous, roaming in a different world not very distant from theirs.