Work Text:
Baz
Simon Snow is laying in bed, wings spread out lazily. I love watching him like this, finally comfortable in his own skin. Freckles, scars and dragon parts on full display. I can read his skin like one would a book, following our story from the beginning.
I kiss a mole on his neck—the first place I remember wanting to kiss him, when I first realized I loved Simon Snow.
I kiss a burn scar on his shoulder—he got that in fifth year when we fought the chimera. I was so desperate to end Simon, my infatuation with him, that I was ready to throw everything away for him. I believed that was my destiny as much as Simon’s was to be the Greatest Mage. But my destiny was to love him through everything. I always will.
I kiss the ridge of one of his wings—wings that he summoned to escape the Humdrum. Wings that were his when he defeated the greatest threat to magic. Wings made of leather and hard edges. Wings to carry us both from certain death.
Simon shifts onto his side to look at me.
“Good morning, love.” My voice isn’t more than a whisper, a quiet thing for a quiet moment.
“G’mornin’,” he mumbles, still pulling himself from sleep. “Wha’time is it?”
“Early, even by your standards.” I have to drive up to Watford today. Headmistress Bunce has asked me to tutor several students in maths. It seems much of the upper levels are dreadfully inept at everything beyond simple additions and subtractions. I agreed to be a tutor in exchange for a guaranteed teaching position once I graduate LSE. Teaching at Watford is in my blood, it’s what my mother would have wanted.
“Would you care to drive up to Watford with me for the day?” I ask.
Simon mumbles something incoherent into his pillow before sitting up.
“Yeah, okay,” he mumbles. “But I’m driving.”
I groan. Snow will do anything if it means I let him drive.
SIMON
“I’ll be around the barn when you’re ready,” I tell Baz once we’ve reached the gates of Watford. “I want to check on Aggie’s baby.”
“When exactly did Agatha turn into a goat, Snow?” he asks. He’s still a sarcastic prat, but his insults no longer have the sting they used to. Not to me.
“Just come find me when you’re done with Professor Bunce, yeah?”
He nods and walks toward the Weeping Tower. I make my way for the barn, hoping Agatha still has the new kid there and hasn’t brought him to graze in the hills with the rest of the herd.
“Aggie!” I raise a hand over my head, calling out her name when I see her near the barn. A small creature is jumping excitedly around her.
“Simon! Thank Morgana,” she sighs in relief. “Will you be a love and watch Little Ebb for me? I need to check on his mum,"—she glances over toward the barn, where I'm sure the doe is still resting—"but he keeps trying to fly—and landing on his face. I’m afraid he’s going to hurt himself before his mum is well enough to teach him how to fly properly."
“Yeah, absolutely!” It feels good being back here with the goats. Different than when Ebb was here. I think she would be happy to know that the goats are being looked after. That life is still moving on after everything that happened.
“Just you and me, little guy.” I get down on my knees and give him a good scratch between the nubs where his horns are beginning to poke through. "Little Ebb." I smile at the name, happy to know that Ebb's name will continue to live on at Watford.
I watch him for a few moments, running and jumping—trying to coordinate his jumps with spreading out his wings.
“Like this,” I tell him as my wings stretch out behind me. Baz offered to fit a shirt around them for me, but it’s more comfortable like this, being able to spread them out through the slats in the back of my shirt. (Baz magicked a few of my shirts to have wing holes so I can move about freely when I want.)
I run a few paces, flapping my wings just enough to lift a few feet from the ground.
I watch as Ebb attempts the same, running a few bounding paces before awkwardly flapping his wings slightly out of sync while jumping into the air.
He lands with a small thud. I land beside him, giving his back a few loving strokes. “You were so close!” I coo at him.
After a few moments, he looks like he’s ready to try again, prancing in circles around me. “You ready?” I ask.
Again, I take a few running strides and let my wings catch the air just so, lifting me a few feet off the ground. I hover there, shouting encouragement to Ebb.
He bounds into the air, flapping his wings. He manages to get airbound for a few moments before crashing to the ground again. I land next to him, picking him up to cradle him to my chest. “You’re doing so well,” I whisper.
I don’t know how long I’m in the field with this little guy, teaching him to fly by example.
Before long, he really has it. He’s been doing touch-and-go landing patterns for the better part of the afternoon.
I check my watch and realize Baz should be finishing up with his last tutoring session at any moment. I let Aggie know that I’m leaving to go find Baz, and I give Ebb a final scratch on the head promising I’ll be back to fly again next week.
The library is on the other side of the grounds, so I decide to give my wings a proper workout and fly there. Everyone at Watford knows I have wings, it’s in the history books already. The defeat of the Insidious Humdrum and corruption of The Mage is being taught in Political Science. This is the only place I can truly be free to stretch my wings without needing to worry about a Normal seeing.
A tiny bleat nearly startles me out of the sky. I crane my head to check over my shoulder, and sure enough, there is Little Ebb trying his hardest to keep up with me. I slow down, giving him a chance to catch up, and then lead him the rest of the way to the library.
Baz is only a few feet out of the library when we touch down next to him.
“Find yourself a new travel companion, Snow?” Baz smirks at me.
“I taught Ebb how to fly!”
“Good, now I won’t have to worry about you getting bored and deciding to pick a fight with a nymph while I’m tutoring,” he drawls.
“Yeah yeah. That happened one time, Baz. One," I groan. "And she started it!"
"Alright, Goat Whisperer, let's get him home so we can get home."