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Sabrina had been eighteen for three years. It started as a defiance thing, and then turned into something she enjoyed. Puck, of course, stayed eighteen with her. Those three years were some of the best years of her life. Jake and Puck came to her high school graduation. They stayed for a few weeks, and Jake wanted to go back on the road. Without the threat of being forced to school, Puck stayed.
Sabrina didn’t want to go to college yet. Henry had wanted her to go to college right away. Sabrina knew she had time. The deal was that she would go at nineteen. Her father forgot she could choose to stop aging.
So Sabrina and Puck did exactly what everyone believed they would do. Fall in love. When they were twelve, they were almost there. But then Puck left, and Sabrina stayed. They never lost those feelings, of course, but they didn’t grow as they should’ve. It took almost a year of small adventures and longing looks before they finally started dating. What followed was two years of more of the same, but with kissing thrown into the mix.
Today was Sabrina’s nineteenth birthday, finally. She had talked to Puck about it, and decided she should finally go to college. She settled on NYU, and Puck would start helping out more in Faerie. He had put it off long enough.
Sabrina enters the dining room to see a spread of breakfast food. And all of it was… normal? Whilst this occurrence wasn’t unheard of, it was rare. Granny Relda was known for crazy foods. Several people swarmed her from the door into the kitchen.
“Happy Birthday Sabrina” could be heard from several of her family member’s voices. After receiving several hugs, she’s ushered into a chair and starts eating. Her family can be pushy. Sometimes it was best just to comply. I wonder where Puck is? She continues eating anyways, knowing he’d come as soon as he smelled food. And sure enough, the front door opens and a few seconds later puck was in the kitchen, leaning over Sabrina and stealing bacon off her plate as he kissed the top of her head. Henry glared at Puck, although Sabrina was the only one that noticed. Henry still didn’t approve of the relationship, but he had given up on trying to stop them.
“Hey!” She smacked his arm. There’s a whole mountain of unclaimed bacon and he took hers. She wasn’t too upset, but she would be guarding her bacon the rest of the meal. The family chatted around her and she joined in. She felt Puck’s hand on her knee, and tried to ignore it. Ever since they started dating, he always had to be touching her. She attributed it to the years he spent alone in Ferryport before. Jake had also mentioned his borderline clingy behavior, but it was nowhere near Sabrina’s experience. After breakfast, Puck dragged her outside, covering her eyes and guiding her to the spot he wanted her at.
She heard a gasp from behind, and the unmistakable squeal of Daphne. It seems her family followed her out here. Puck lifts his hands from Sabrina's eyes and she sees a van. To be more specific, it was a light blue 70s Volkswagen van. The side door was open, revealing a bed and small kitchen.
“Ta da!” He did adorable little jazz hands, and she kissed him.
“You are not taking my daughter anywhere in that.” Henry announces. Sabrina notices Puck’s smile falter. She squeezes his hand.
“With all due respect, Hank, she’s nineteen, and according to her birth certificate, twenty-one, so you really have no control over that.” Sabrina tried not to laugh. It was very on brand for Puck, as well as a totally true statement.
Henry groans and looks at his wife for help, but quickly realizes he wouldn’t get it due to her and Daphne looking into the van and getting excited about it.
“So I assume you guys are going to do a road trip before Sabrina goes off to college in the fall?” Veronica asks.
“That’s the idea.” Puck answers, looking at Sabrina with a hopeful look.
“Hell yeah I'm going.” Sabrina says, knowing what he was about to ask. He pumps his fist in triumph. “When do we leave?”
“Anytime we want.”
Sabrina wanted to leave right then and there, but she decided to at least finish her birthday with her family. That night she was too tired to leave, and then the next day Henry gave her some chores that took most of the day. And then an everafter came over, seeking help for a mystery. Of course, Henry thought that Sabrina would be perfect for solving it. Her father had effectively postponed her leaving for two weeks.
When she was sure he was asleep, she threw everything she needed in a duffel bag and climbed out her window and down a nearby tree. Puck was already in the car. She tossed her bag in the back as she slid into the passenger seat.
“Where to?” He asked her.
“Anywhere we want.”
He smiles as he pulls out of the driveway.
…
The first few weeks were wonderful. They went to a diner after the first day of driving and mapped out their path. The goal was to visit all 48 lower states in three months. The two teens would stop for the night, giggling and cuddling on the mattress in the back till they fell asleep. The past two years of the relationship had been a lot like this, actually. They still teased each other and a couple minor pranks passed back and forth. But largely the two got along well, they knew so much about each other it was hard not to. The end of the first month was when the honeymoon phase ended.
Sabrina had gotten an acceptance letter to Harvard. She applied only to see if she could get in, and now she had. Her initial reaction was pride, and the idea of turning down an
Ivy sounded like a badass move. But then she looked into their programs more. They had a killer sociology program. And after her degree she could go into law school and wouldn’t even have to relocate. She was starting to get excited about the possibilities. The downside was the fact it was four hours away from Faerie, from Puck. It was a few days after she decided to tell him that she actually went through with it,
“I got accepted into Harvard.”
“What’s that?” Of course Puck wouldn’t know what Harvard was, he blocked out anything school related.
“A college that’s really hard to get into. They only accept around three and a half percent of people who apply.”
“Wow. And you got in?” He teased.
Sabrina rolls her eyes. “What, like it’s hard?” She chuckles to herself at the reference.
“You literally just said it was.”
“You’ve never seen Legally Blonde?!”
“No, what’s that?”
“A movie that was very important in 21st century feminism.”
“Does a main character die a gruesome and terrible death?”
“No.”
“Then that’s why I haven’t seen it.” She smacks his arm.
“We’re watching it tonight.”
“Whatever you say, Grimm.” He takes her hand and presses a kiss to the back of it. Even after over two years of this, he still made her blush.
An hour passed before either of them spoke again.
“Are you going to go?” Puck asks a half asleep Sabrina.
“Go where?”
“Harvard.”
Sabrina woke up a bit more.
“I haven’t decided yet. It's a really good school, but it’s four hours away from the city, so I would only be able to visit on weekends and breaks.”
“Oh.” He falls silent again. Several minutes pass before he speaks up again. “So you’ve thought a lot about it then?”
“Yeah, Puck, I think it’d be good for me. And it’s not set in stone yet so don’t freak out, please.”
Puck glances at his phone. “You should call your family.”
And just like that, topic changed. Sabrina had noticed he was pretty good at that, sometimes it was appreciated, but other times it frustrated her. She looked over at his phone screen, seeing all the missed calls. She’d been ignoring their calls for a while, and now they were trying to get to her through Puck.
An exhausting conversation with her family ensued, mostly consisting of her reassuring all of them she was alive and well. Henry had tried to convince her to come back, something he mentioned every time she called them. It was part of the reason she had avoided their calls. After she hung up, Puck pulled into their stop to get some much needed sleep, and they got ready to settle in for the night. When they got into their shared bed, there were a few extra inches separating them than usual.
…
“How attached are you to me going back to Faerie?” Puck asks out of the blue while it was Sabrina's turn to drive.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if you’re going to your smart people school then maybe I could go back to travelling with Jake?”
Sabrina wasn’t sure her feelings on this, she would need to think longer before forming an opinion, but spoke anyway. “Isn't it time you go back to Faerie though? You spent years messing around with Jake. You're their king.”
“Me and Jake weren't messing around.”
“Jake and I.” Sabrina corrected. She wasn't sure why, it's not like she always has perfect grammar.
“When did you become the word police?” Puck asked, he meant it to be playful teasing, but it came out sounding more annoyed than anything.
Sabrina turned the volume on the speakers up, effectively ending the conversation. Her phone was connected to the Bluetooth system Puck had installed.
“I swear to God she reads my mind.” Sabrina says, referring to the singer. Puck was more focused on the music behind the lyrics, especially the bass.
…
Puck had been looking at billboards while driving, despite numerous reminders from Sabrina to keep his eyes on the road. One of them claimed to be “the hike of a lifetime”. They had both been a bit stir crazy from being in the car and decided to pull over for a few hours. As they were exploring the trails, Puck tripped and fell. Sabrina helped him up, noticing the small cut on his hand. He glanced at it, then stuck that side of his palm in his mouth to suck the blood.
“That's disgusting, Puck.” She grimaces.
“Oh please, you've never done this with an injury before?”
“Occasionally, but it's usually a papercut, not falling on dirt and practically sucking the dirt and bugs off.”
“Yeah yeah whatever, clean freak.”
“I’m not kissing you till you brush your teeth.”
“Fine with me.” He shrugs, Puck hides his disappointment well.
Later that day Sabrina herself fell, but onto a rock. She managed to get a cut on the same spot Puck did. Sabrina just pressed the wound down with her other hand, waiting for the bleeding to stop before going inside to wash her hands. They decided to call it a day after that. Puck drove them to the nearest truck stop to spend the night.
…
The next evening, Sabrina was driving again. Her hands gripped the wheels tighter than normal. She was frustrated with her dad, who had been trying to call her all day. She didn't want to talk to him and he should've figured that out by now. She had talked to her mom and siblings a few days ago, she had hoped that would suffice. He was trying to get her back, even though she's been gone for over six weeks. He had wanted her to leave for college, but the second she decides to actually leave, he can’t handle it.
Puck was asleep when he called next, the ringtone blaring through the speakers. Puck shot up, reaching for his sword even though it wasn't there. Sabrina hung up, forcing it to voicemail.
“He's going to keep calling till you answer, Brina.” Puck said sleepily.
“If I answer he'll do the same thing.” She takes a turn, a little wider than she normally would, her hands still gripping the wheel tight.
Sabrina could feel Puck's eyes on her. He was trying to read her, something they had both gotten good at over the years together. “What's so bad about talking to dad?”
“He's not your dad, Puck.”
“He will be eventually. You should get used to me calling him that. And you should call him. Or at least text.”
“Fuck off.”
Puck quiets down, staring ahead like nothing is wrong between them. Sabrina does the same.
…
“When are you coming back?" Henry Grimm’s voice echos through the phone.
“We have about a month left on the trip, Dad.”
“We miss you.”
“I know.” Sabrina sighs. “I miss you guys too.”
“So cut the trip short, come home.” Henry suggests.
“I’m finishing this trip. It might be the last time me and puck are together for a while.”
“What do you mean?” Veronica asked. Dad must’ve been on speakerphone.
“He’s thinking about joining Jake again.”
"Shouldn't he be running his kingdom?” Henry prompted.
“I think he’s scared he won’t be good enough. And the biggest enticement for him to go was me being in the city too, but if i go to Harvard then that changes a lot. It’s easier to be with Jake because there’s adventure and excitement that Faerie wouldn’t be able to compare to. I just don’t want to hold him back if it’s really what he wants to do.”
“Maybe it’s time he grows up a bit more. Handle his responsibility instead of running off gallivanting with my brother.” Henry sighs, Sabrina knew he disapproved of Uncle Jake’s tendency to run from his problems.
“Dad, he’s grown a lot. He just needs more time..” She pauses. “I’m not even sure I want to go to Harvard.” Her voice was quieter than before.
“Honey, do what’s best for you.” Veronica says kindly.
“Don’t go down a path that isn’t right for you just because of a boy.”
“He’s not just a boy dad. He’s… Well, he’s Puck.” She felt that summed it up pretty well. “And besides, it’s not for Puck. I’ve wanted to go to NYU for as long as I can remember.”
“Dreams change, liebling.” The sweet sound of Relda’s voice rings through the line.
“Hi, Granny.”
“You’ll know what to do soon. Just follow your heart.”
“Thanks Granny, I love you guys.”
“We love you too.” Henry says before they end the call. Sabrina sighs heavily.
“She got into Harvard, man.” Puck told Jake. He had decided that while Sabrina was calling her family, he'd call the closest thing to family he's got.
“Congratulate her for me, will you?” Jake asks, not waiting for an answer before continuing. “It’s only, what, four hours from Fairie? And you can fly there in half the time a car would take. It wouldn't be so bad.”
“I’m just worried that she’ll choose NYU just to be near me. I don’t want her to hold herself back.”
“Kid, listen, You care about her a lot. Everyone with working eyes can see that. If anyone can make long distance work, it’s you two.”
“I’m just not sure if I'm ready to run Faerie yet. And if I go back to travelling with you, me and her will see each other even less than we would with me in the city. I just- We had a plan, and I could've done faerie with her around, but now.. I don’t think I can.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, kid. You were fine for the four-thousand-whatever years before her, you’ll be fine without her for a few months.”
“The past two years have just been so amazing and I don’t want it to change but it’s changing already and I hate it.”
“What do you mean it’s changing already?” He prompts.
“She’s kind of distant. Ever since she mentioned Harvard and it only got worse when I told her I might go with you again. I feel like she’s slipping away and I can’t pull her back to me.”
“Then maybe a break would be beneficial. You guys spend a lot of time together, especially in that cramped car. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or so they say.”
“Where’d you read that, a fortune cookie?”
“For your information it was a poster at someone's house.”
“A lady someone?” Puck asks suggestively.
“Shut up kid. Go kiss your girlfriend.” Puck was about to hang up when Jake rushed out. “But don’t do anything gross, she’s still my niece.”
“Okay, Jake. Bye” Puck laughs as he hangs up.
…
“Puck, it’s not working.”
“The car?” Puck asks cluelessly.
“No. Us. We’re not working.”
“Of course we are. Why would you say that?”
“Puck. We’ve barely talked for three days, and when one of us does it’s just reminding the other to look out for cops.”
“We’re talking now. We can start talking again, for real.”
“I just don’t think dating is going to work. We’re going in different directions.”
“Is this because of your dad? Did he put you up to this?”
“What? No. I make my own decisions Puck, and if you think I’d let anything my dad says affect what I do then maybe you don't know me as well as I thought.”
…
They were back at the Grimm house, and tensions had been high. Sabrina had decided to break it off with Puck, they
“Why do we have to be over, Sabrina? I'll come to Harvard as much as I can and on breaks you can join me and Jake. It would work.” Puck pleaded.
“You know it wouldn't work. We tried when we were younger and you would lose track of time and it'd be months or even years in between seeing you.”
“Sabrina, I grew up for you! I gave up being eternally eleven. I went through puberty! I- Was it all for nothing? We're you always going to end it this way?” Puck was on the verge of tears, she could tell.
“I can't tell the future, Puck.” Sabrina remained calm.
“Yes you can. We're supposed to be married.” This was quieter than when he last spoke, and it hurt Sabrina greatly.
“And maybe we will be, eventually. But I need to go to school and not be worried about what you're doing and where you are. I can't spend my life worrying about a boy.”
“Fine, I'll agree if you answer one question.” Sabrina nods, signalling him to continue. “Are you still in love with me?” He asks softly.
Sabrina is speechless. “I- of course I do.” but it was too late.
“You hesitated. And your eyes widened just a little, like you do before you lie.”
Sabrina was taken aback. She's always shocked with how well he knows her. She didn't think she was lying when she had said it, but part of her hadn't believed what she had said, no matter how much she wanted it to be true. “Puck-”
“Enjoy Harvard, Grimm. You deserve it.”
…
Sabrina Grimm was going to Harvard. Correction, She was already at Harvard, with a map in one hand and her schedule in the other. She was walking towards her first class when she bumps into someone.
“Watch where you’re walking.” Sabrina wasn’t known for being polite.
“Oh god, I’m so so sorry.” She hears a deep voice say as she looks up at him. He was a little under a foot taller than her, and incredibly handsome with dark hair and glasses. “Uhm, I’m Bradley.”
“Sabrina.” She shakes his outstretched hand. “You wouldn't happen to know where Sociology 2202 is, would you?”
“What a coincidence, I’m heading there too. C’mon, it’s just this way”
Turns out Bradley was a year above her in the same degree, and TA’ing for some extra cash. And he also turned out to be a great friend in her years at school.
…
Sabrina checked her PO box at college every day, as Daphne had a habit of magically delivering meals to the girl, and she didn't want to stink up the whole mail room. Today, there was no Tupperware with leftovers. She picked up the pile of miscellaneous credit card offers and other junk mail, and walked mindlessly to her dorm as she flipped through the envelopes. She landed on a letter with handwriting. Vaguely familiar handwriting. She couldn't place it. Then, she unfolded the paper inside the envelope. She dropped her stack of mail just outside her dorm. The letter was from Puck.
“Shit.” She picked everything up and unlocked her door, tossing the pile onto her desk before sitting gingerly on her bed.
Grimm,
I know we aren't exactly pen pals, but this is something I couldn't say to your face.
I understand now why we broke up. I'm glad you're at Harvard, doing what's best for you. I'm sorry I couldn't have been better back then. I hope we can move forward as friends, since I don't think I'll ever stop loving you, and I have no doubt you feel the same, even though the way we love each other has changed.
I think about you a lot. I'm sorry for my deep misunderstanding of your life and what you were going through back then. I know it was hard to keep it all inside. I finally realized how shitty and unfair it was to pretend nothing was wrong.
And I wish I could've known you were going to fade away from me, that you would end up in a place I wasn't brave enough to go.
I hope you settle down. I hope you meet someone who isn't scared to ask how you're feeling, and doesn't give up when you're being stubborn and cagey. I hope that you're not losing sleep about what's next. Most of all I hope you still throw bricks at windows when you're trying to save those you love.
stay stinky,
Puck
(p.s. marrying rich is always a good idea)
A tear dropped onto the page, and she set the letter on her bed and wiped her eyes. That trip was some of the worst months of her life, and she had led a war at twelve. She had inched herself across a great divide, and when Puck tried to bring her back she pushed him away. But this letter felt like closure. And closure was exactly what she needed.
…
“Oh. My. God!” Daphne screams, seeing the ring on her sister's left hand not two seconds after seeing her. “You and Puck made up? Is he here?”
Sabrina hid a grimace. “Not exactly. Can you gather everyone in the living room?” Daphne scurried off to wake everyone up for the big announcement. Sabrina and her fiance had showed up late last night after everyone was asleep. She went downstairs, telling him to hold back a few minutes.
“What’s this all about, liebling?” Granny asks Daphne, then everyone sees Sabrina as she enters the room.
“Hey. Uhm, I’m not sure how I want to do this but-”
“She’s engaged!” Daphne interrupts, biting her palm.
Veronica rushes over and looks at the ring on her finger. “It’s beautiful, but-”
“Is there something wrong with it?”
“It’s not a fae ring. I would’ve thought Titania would give Puck a ring for you.”
“It’s- It’s not Puck.” Gasps echoed around the living room. Bradley steps into the room, his timing perfect. “Guys, meet Bradley, my fiance.” Bradley took her hand, and Sabrina looked around the room. The only person who seemed excited about him was her dad. Which made her frown a bit, after all, he had hated Puck, but a stranger was good enough for his little girl? It was unsettling. Not that she still had feelings for Puck, those had been gone long before she met Bradley. She caught an encouraging smile from Pinocchio. He usually trusted her judgement, so at least he was on her side.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Bradley. Please forgive us our reactions, it’s a bit of a shock as I'm sure you’re aware.” Granny Relda was the first to speak up.
“Bradley, this is Daphne, Mom, Dad, Basil, Granny, Pinocchio-”
Daphne interrupts. “That’s just his nickname, his name is-”
“Relax, Daph. He knows.” Sabrina reassures.
“Oh.”
“Red, as in Little Red Riding Hood, And that’s Mr. Canis. He used to be the Big Bad Wolf.”
“Nice to meet everyone.” Bradley says politely. A little unsettled by the presence of the everafters.
Elvis bounds into the room. Scouting out the new person. He licks Bradley’s hand and would probably lick all over if there hadn’t been a knock on the door.
“Oh, and that’s Elvis.”
“I wonder who that could be. We’re all here.” Veronica says as she goes to unlock the door.
“Not all of us.” Daphne says sullenly.
“Well, look who showed up.” Veronica says as she reenters the room, followed by Uncle Jake and Puck. Daphne runs to Puck and gives him a hug. She was twenty years old and still acting like a kid. Sabrina was glad she hadn’t lost her spark all those years ago.
“Marshmallow!” Puck exclaimed as they hugged. “It’s been what, a year?”
“Puck, it’s been five.” Daphne says sadly, then she looks at him closer. He hadn’t aged a day since she last saw him. She looked between the fairy and Sabrina.
Sabrina was twenty-four
And Puck was still nineteen.