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Bigby handed Snow another basket for the stage as she continued her speech, “The idea is to auction off a picnic basket that you decorate to your own liking for someone to bid on and whoever won it gets to go on said picnic with you. It’s an important fundraising event for the Farm and it’s even more important for the Fables in higher power such as myself to participate, because it shows that we care too.”
“Who’re you trying to convince, me or you?”
She pouted. “Me.”
Snow sadly sat down on the edge of the stage and Bigby leaned on the space next to her and smirked. “What’s the long face for? I thought you’d be excited to contribute to your community.”
She scrunched up her nose. “Not if it means I’ll be stuck having lunch with whatever creep wins my basket.”
“Maybe you can get Pinocchio to buy it, I bet if you use those doe eyes of yours he’d sell Flycatcher for it.”
“Don’t tempt me.” Snow laughed.
It was then that the ballroom door gracefully swung open and Briar Rose and Cinderella walked in and immediately made their way over to Snow.
“Hey, we’re not interrupting anything, are we?” Cindy smirked.
Snow hopped off the stage. “Of course not, we were just chatting.”
“Obviously.”
Briar looked around at the decorations. “Is it insane that I’m actually looking forward to tomorrow?”
“According to Snow, yes.” Bigby said.
Snow gave him the gentlest of wacks on his arm. “Oh, hush”
“I don’t know,” Briar said. “I think it might be nice to bid on the basket of someone you like, or someone you think is cute. It’s kinda romantic, right?”
“I suppose, for those of us who are lucky enough.” Snow replied.
Cindy pulled Snow into a side hug and petted her hair. “Bigby, help us out here. We’ve been trying to tell Snow all week that the right guy will bid on her basket.”
“And if he doesn’t, she’ll force him to.” Briar added.
“Yeah, tell her we’re right.”
“Snow, they’re right.” He deadpanned as he lit a new cigarette.
“Oh yeah, that’s convincing.” Cindy said sarcastically.
Snow freed herself from Cindy’s hug. “I think we should get going, I still have a lot of work to do and I don’t have much time for brunch.”
“Yes you do, I’ll take care of it.”
“But Mr. Crane said--”
“Screw him, it’s just putting baskets on a stage.”
“I- All right. Thank you.” Snow smiled at him, and he couldn’t help the small smile he returned before she turned away and left with her friends.
As the trio was exiting, Boy Blue raced inside and skidded to a halt when he reached Bigby. He took a moment to catch his breath and stop wheezing. “Am I late? Please tell I’m not late!” He choked out.
“For what?”
“To drop my basket off, it got changed to one ‘o clock.”
“No it didn’t, who the hell told you that?”
“I-” Blue huffed. “I’m gonna kill Pinocchio.”
“You’re killing me, Snow!” Cindy exclaimed.
“Good, it’s your fault I realized I liked him.”
The three women were sat in a newly opened Fable owned diner just down the road from the Woodlands and together they were sharing a cake that was the width of a coaster.
“Honey, why are you giving up?” Briar asked Snow.
“Because the thought occurred to me this morning that Bigby is a good friend and I don’t want to ruin it.”
“We understand, Snow, but this is the perfect opportunity!”
“Aside from locking the two of you in a closet, which I’m still for.” Cindy added.
Briar continued. “The worse that’ll happen is that you’ll go out once or twice and find out you’re not compatible.”
Snow put her fork down. “Neither of you are listening to me, I could very well ruin our friendship the second he finds out I like him.”
“If that ruins your friendship then you two weren’t good friends anyway.” Cindy said. “But seriously, we keep talking about ruining friendships but I think we’re forgetting the obvious.”
“And what would that be?”
“Bigby likes you.” Cindy smiled at Snow.
Snow unsuccessfully fought to keep a grin off her own face. “You’re really sure, both of you?”
“God, of course.”
“He looks at you like you’re the reason the stars shine, honey.” Briar said.
Snow’s smile grew. “All right, so what’s the plan again?”
The rest of the brunch was spent with the three women quietly going over the, as Cindy named it, the plan of attack. Snow still believed that she was taking a huge risk but her two friends knew the full history of her awful love life, so she knew that she could trust them. She just hoped Bigby would get the hint.
The next day, before noon sharp, a few hundred Fables strolled in and picked their ideal spot on the floor to bid on baskets. The windows were open which meant that King Cole allowed Bigby to smoke indoors, so the Sheriff was savouring a cigarette as he slowly walked along the walls observing the crowd, hoping to intimidate them into behaving. He looked over at Snow and on the outside she was the picture of professionalism, but his wolf senses picked up on her nervousness. He didn’t pay too much mind to it since he already knew she’d be nervous today.
Boy Blue walked in with Flycatcher and Pinocchio but parted with his friends when he saw Briar and Cindy waving him over from their spot by one of the farthest walls.
“Afternoon, ladies, what’s up?”
“Well?” Cindy asked. “Is everything good or did we make a horrible mistake?”
Blue grinned. “Bigby’s still got it bad for her. And remember, I still claim full rights to bug him with that kissing in a tree song.”
Cindy barked a laugh. “Fine by me, it’s your funeral.”
“So, Blue, are you excited about your basket being bid on?” Briar asked him.
“Yes and no, I’m still a little worried about who might win it.”
“I wouldn’t be.” She smiled at him and walked off towards the growing crowd.
“Thanks for the info.” Cindy said to a now puzzled Blue.
Later the auction was in full swing. The ballroom was decorated with ribbon and wildflowers and the stage held a large amount of baskets which were dolled up to the nines. In the middle of the stage, with a microphone in hand, was King Cole. He was as jolly as ever, especially by the enthusiastic participation by the community. To his right was Snow and on his left stood his deputy, Crane. The latter looked suspiciously in a good mood.
Bigby hung out by the wall closest to Snow and silently smoked while he watched out for any roughhousing, as was his job as security. So far nothing. Beast thankfully didn’t fight anyone, though that was probably because everyone else was too afraid to bid on his wife’s basket. He bid a good hundred and now the pair had their arms lovingly linked together as they stood out in the crowd, watching the rest of the auction unfold.
Blue’s basket was up next and quite a few people whistled at him as he jumped up on the stage. In the middle of the betting, Pinocchio yelled over the crowd, “I got six dollars and a candy wrapper!”
Everyone laughed, especially Blue, and Bigby even caught Snow hiding her own laughter behind her hand. The betting continued until finally Briar Rose yelled out, “Five hundred!”. Unsurprisingly she won it and it was a good few minutes before Boy Blue managed to wipe the grin, and the blush, off his face.
Rose Red had showed up with Jack but apparently they were fighting again since Rose very obviously didn’t bet on his basket. And Bigby finally had a fight to break up when Rose bet on and won the next basket, which caused Jack to practically pounce on the guy who owned it. Bigby resolved it quickly and forced Jack and the other guy take their fight outside. Rose didn’t seem to care as she continued to stand in the crowd with her arms crossed, but Fly and Pinocchio watched the fight from a window.
But then the main event happened.
King Cole took one of the three remaining baskets from the pile. It was pale in colour and decorated with white spring flowers and a lace ribbon along the handle. “And this beautiful basket belongs to our very own and very lovely Assistant to the Deputy Mayor, Snow White!” He announced.
Snow was smiling but Bigby didn’t need enhanced wolf senses to see that she had stiffened somewhat. Though said enhanced wolf senses picked up on her heartbeat picking up speed. Probably nerves. He moved his eyes to the crowd next to him. He promised Snow beforehand that he’d take care of any creeps for her. So far he planned to arrest them for a non-existent unpaid parking ticket. Or an ugly shirt. Whatever suited him in the moment. There seemed to be a few men that looked like they were plucking up the courage to say something, but the first one who did surprised everyone.
“I’ll throw my hat in, one hundred dollars.” Ichabod Crane said loudly.
Snow snapped her head towards Crane, pure confusion covering her face.
Briar furrowed her eyebrows. “Why on earth would Crane bid on Snow’s basket?"
“I don’t know,” Blue said. “But Snow definitely doesn’t like it.”
Cindy proceeded to fight Crane’s bid and a few others joined in, even Rose Red. She saw Snow up on the stage trying to talk to King Cole over the noise and decided it was now or never, so she pushed through the crowd, which was hard, especially given that nobody clearly knew the urgency of the situation. Cindy broke through but her glimmer of hope was momentarily dashed when she saw that Bigby wasn’t by the wall anymore.
But she didn’t have to look far for him because he had made his way up on the stage. “Is there an issue?”
Snow, who had been in the middle of arguing with King Cole about how Crane shouldn’t be allowed to bid on the basket of his assistant of all people, whipped around at the sound of Bigby’s voice. “Oh, thank God!”
She hurried him off to the side of the stage before he could get a word in. “Bid on my basket.”
Bigby nearly choked on his cigarette. “What?”
“Bid on my basket.” She repeated.
He hoped he didn’t look the same way he felt, which, for lack of a better phrase, was a deer in the headlights. “Why?”
“I’m not going to bid on my own basket, it’s pathetic!”
“What? Why would anyone give a crap about--”
“I do! I care! So, please, go bid on my basket.”
Her hands are on his arms and she’s looking up at him with soft doe eyes that could give Bambi a run for his money. Damn him all to hell if she doesn’t have him wrapped around her perfect and beautiful and annoying little finger. Without saying a word he walked over to King Cole and began whispering in his ear. The silent conversation went on for thirty seconds tops and at the end of it the Mayor seemed to have a new skip in his step.
He brightly turned to the crowd, “Miss White’s basket is won by our Sheriff, Bigby Wolf!”
The Mayor brought everyone in on another round of applause as Bigby walked off the stage and Briar, Cindy, and Blue all sighed in relief.
The rest of the auction went by fine aside from Crane looking twice as sour as ever and having to buy his own basket since no one would go above five dollars and apparently he thought he was worth more. King Cole’s basket, which was the largest and most fancy of them all, had quite a few bids on it but Frau Totenkinder was the one who won it in the end. Ultimately the whole auction won far more money than anyone expected, so much so that King Cole said he would give some of the money to the witches on the 13th Floor to go towards glamours.
For the next week everyone went out on their platonic and romantic picnic dates. Beauty and Beast cuddled under the shade of a tree, Briar and Blue enjoyed a candlelit takeout dinner, King Cole and Frau Totenkinder had tea while discussing business. Rose Red went on a shopping trip with Jack’s date when both he and Rose’s date had beat each other up too much to even get out of bed.
It was at the end of that week when Snow White stood outside of Bigby’s office door, trying to work up the nerve to knock on it. Cindy helped her get ready that morning. Her hair was down and she's wearing a new and especially nice outfit with a skirt and stilettos combo that, Cindy insists, perfectly showcases her legs, and a blouse that hugs her in all the right places.
Snow takes a breath and knocks on the door. She doesn’t wait for a response like usual and opens it, stepping inside and greeting him. “Hey.”
Bigby looks up at her, she takes a little pride in seeing that he subtly checks her out, and he greets her back. “Hey, there.”
“I finally got away from work, you ready for a picnic lunch?”
“Yeah, of course,” He got up from his desk. “But we’re not eating what you bought.”
“Why not?”
“Because I got a better idea.”
“Which is?”
He winked at her. “You’ll see.”
Bigby’s better idea brought the pair to a secluded spot in central park. Spread out on the ground was the blue and white checkered blanket from Snow’s basket. There were chocolate croissants for her and a sandwich for him, and sparkling water for both. Guarding this scene was Briar Rose and Boy Blue, who quickly made their leave when the former pair arrived. As they did, Blue’s face flushed red when Bigby pointed out his poor job of hiding his hickey.
It was easy for Snow and Bigby to fall into long conversation given how long they’d known each other. The hard part was getting to the conversation they needed to have about how they ended up where they are now. Finally, it was Bigby who took the chance.
“I don’t think I told you this, but, King Cole was actually gonna give me the day off for the auction.”
“Really?” Snow asked.
“Yeah, he said he’d get Grimble to handle security.”
“Then why did you…?”
“‘Cause Blue insisted I go,” Bigby cleared his throat. “Speaking of which, why were you so insistent about me bidding on your basket?”
“No, no, no, I want to hear more about your story. Why did Blue insist you go?”
“I’ll tell you if you tell me yours.”
“I already told you, it’s because bidding on my own basket would be pathetic.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it, you would’ve ended that whole thing and bought your own basket without a second thought. So, why did you ask me?”
Snow took a sip of her water. “I was panicking and you were there. That’s it.”
Bigby laughed. “I still don’t believe you.”
She shoved his shoulder. “You get your wolf senses out of my business.”
“Are you admitting to lying?”
“Shut up!”
He laughed again. “Fine, fine. But I want the truth after I tell you why I was there.”
Snow didn’t say anything, she just sat there on the blanket next to him and tilted her head a little as she listened to him.
“Originally, I took King Cole up on his offer. But later that same day Blue comes barging into my office and gives me this whole speech about how he can’t just stand by and watch me waste a perfect opportunity, then I told him I had no damn idea what he was talking about. And then he laughed at me, that comment about his hickey was revenge by the way, and said that he knew a man…”
Snow raised an eyebrow.
“He,” Bigby coughed. “He said he knew a man in love when he saw one and insisted that I go to the auction. He didn’t tell me why I had to go but he said I needed to.”
A few seconds of silence passed between them.
“I think this is the part where you fill in the blanks, or we walk away and pretend I didn’t say anything.” Bigby said. He was laying on his side and refusing to look at her.
As it turns out, she was smiling. “Last winter, Cindy and I were window shopping when she started talking about her recent failings in romance, and then practically demanded I get myself out there when I said that my last romantic venture was our mutual ex-husband. She refused to believe me when I said there was no one I had in mind. But later I was laying in bed and it hit me that I did. It was you.
“So when the auction came up it was perfect. It took Briar and Cindy ages to convince me to go through with it because I was worried about ruining our friendship, but the plan was that when my basket was up, I’d look out into the crowd and lock eyes with you and somehow convey that I wanted you to bid on my basket. Of course, I hadn’t expected Crane to bid on it and I got too busy about trying to get King Cole to stop him that the plan flew out of my mind. So I wasn’t lying, I did panic, and when I saw you there I remembered and here we are.
“Cindy had an aftermath plan, which was this outfit,”
“Remind me to thank her.”
“I will. And I assume Blue’s was this private picnic?”
He nodded and sat up straighter. “Snow?”
“Yes, Bigby?”
“Is it part of your plan to kiss me now, or…?”
“That depends, is it part of yours?”
They were finally looking at each other now and silently they leaned in and met in the middle. On rare occasions Bigby would dare a thought about what it would be like to kiss Snow and somehow it was better than he ever imagined. Her lips were as soft as a flower petal and tasted sweet, but there was a warmth in them that he’d gladly lose himself to. Snow had never been a fan of Bigby’s excessive smoking but she couldn’t fathom why anymore after tasting it on him as it mixed with a faintness of whiskey. She also never thought she’d love rough lips and stubble but from him it was all she could ever ask for.
They took their time parting, and when they did, Bigby said, “I love our friends.”
Snow laughed and kissed him again.