Work Text:
Fiona sighed as a flash of green registered out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t turn towards it, she already knew what it was.
Instead, Fiona turned away, staunchly placing her back to the mirror, and hung her head, dropping it into her hands. Her big, green, hideous hands.
Between the hope, terror, and euphoria of last night, she hadn’t had any time to think, not about her new body, not about her new life, not about what any of it meant. Exhausted and still over the moon with happiness, she and Shrekesha had fallen, giggling, into bed, paying no mind to what tomorrow held.
It didn’t last.
Despite how exhausted Fiona had been, she hadn’t been able to stay asleep. After hours of tossing and turning, she rose before dawn, leaving Shrekesha snoring peacefully in bed.
She sat now, at the dining table, watching as the first rays of dawn began to creep over the horizon, illuminating her verdant skin.
Fiona wasn’t used to being an ogre in the daylight. Her entire life had been spent hiding her nightly transformations under the cover of darkness, waiting for the day when she would finally unburden herself from the curse.
She never thought ridding herself of the curse would mean staying this way for the rest of her life.
She felt as heat collected behind her eyes and a lump formed in her throat. Fiona jammed a thumbnail into the meat of her palm, trying to prevent the inevitable, but it didn’t work, it never did.
Hot, shameful tears dripped down her face, and she shoved her fist against her mouth to stifle a whimper, but it crept out regardless, high and pitiful.
“Fiona?” Shrekesha asked, her voice gravelly with sleep. And now Fiona could add guilt to the self-loathing— she hadn’t meant to wake her love.
“I’m fine,” she said, voice thick with tears, “you can go back to sleep.”
Shrekesha didn’t, of course she didn’t. She was far too kind, too loving to let Fiona cry to herself alone.
Instead, she approached, dropping to her knees before Fiona’s despondent form, and took her face in her hands, wiping away Fiona’s tears.
“What’s wrong, my love?” Shrekesha asked, voice soft and gentle.
Fiona closed her eyes and turned her face away. How could she ever admit her feelings to Shrekesha, Shrekesha who had spent her entire life as an ogre, who had never been able to hide it, how could she explain that it had well and truly sunk in that her body would stay this way forever, and how painful that was to her.
But it turned out— she didn’t have to.
Gently, so gently, Shrekesha took her hand, and pulled her up from the chair. She led them both out the door, and into the blooming light of day. They settled together, side by side on a fallen log, facing out towards the still quiet swamp.
“I know it’s difficult,” Shrekesha admitted, staring down at her feet, “to live like this. As an ogre.”
Fiona said nothing. She could have denied it, but she didn’t want to. Not to the one person who really mattered.
Shrekesha took her hand in hers, still looking down,
“But I want you to know,” Shrekesha stuttered for a moment with emotion, before she found her words again, “you are the most beautiful creature in the world to me,” finally she turned to meet Fiona’s eyes, “not because of how you look, though you make an absolutely ravishing ogre, but because of who you are. I would love you no matter what form you take, because I love you .”
The tears had begun falling down Fiona’s cheeks again in earnest, and she tucked her face into Shrekesha’s neck.
“It may take some time for me to get used to this,” she admitted, “it’s… a lot.”
Shrekesha’s arm came up to wrap around Fiona’s shoulders, and she squeezed her tightly.
“I know,” she said plainly, before pulling away so that she could look Fiona in the eyes, “but I will be here to remind you, every second of every day, how beautiful you are.”
The tears, originally tears of distress, had become tears of joy. Fiona didn’t know that she could love this deeply, never mind that she would find love with another woman, an ogre, but here she was, filled with an all-consuming love like she had never felt before.
“I love you,” she whispered into the space between them. Shrekesha grinned.
“I love you too.”
Together, they sat and watched as the sun rose, bathing the swamp in a lovely golden glow.
The prospect of the future suddenly didn’t feel so terrifying.