More Than Words

Death to the heart-full fool

"Hey Douxie, Archie," you greeted, watching as Archie hopped up onto the counter. 

"Greetings, (y/n)," Archie said, purring as you gently pet under his chin. 

"What sad bloke walked out before I showed up?" Douxie asked, sitting on the stool right in front of you with a charming smile. 

"Huh? Oh, you mean Steve," you said, raising a brow at him. "How did you even-"

"Your brow is all scrunched and you still had a serious frown on your face before you noticed me, like you were contemplating something. Last time I saw that look, it was when we'd run into the beggar on the streets who told you his life story and you nearly broke down crying," Douxie shrugged. You sputtered for a moment before sighing, massaging your nose-bridge for a moment. 

"Okay, yeah, there was this kid that was here before you named Steve and he... well, he seems to be going through a bit of a rough patch. I just don't know what to do," you admitted, shaking your head, your free hand still petting Archie, who was making himself perfectly comfortable on your counter. 

"Who said you had to do anything?" Douxie asked, but from the smile on his face, you knew he already knew what you were going to say.

You decided to answer him anyway. 

"No one said I had to," you said, pressing a gentle kiss to Archie's forehead, Douxie's eyes following the movement with wide eyes, an odd look in his hazel irises as you did so, "but that doesn't matter, because-"

"Because you're going to anyway, cause that's who you are," Douxie finished, shaking his head at you with a smile. "You really haven't changed a bit, have you?"

"We all have inherent traits we can't shake no matter how hard we try," you replied with a shrug, finally pulling your hand away from Archie, who whined in protest for only a split second, composing himself quickly. You and Douxie laughed. When you both finally calmed down, you offered Douxie a small smile, raising a brow. "So, you said coffee, right?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Since when do you know how to fence?" Jim and Toby gasped, staring at you in awe as you and Claire sparred, both of you using brooms as your weapons. 

"Since I was a little girl," you smirked, sending Claire's broom straight to the floor. Both boys gasped as Claire groaned in frustration.

"How are you so good!" she complained. You laughed.

"Darling, I have had way more practice than you have," you reassured her, patting her head affectionately as you casually leaned against your broom. 

"You're not that much older!" Claire huffed and you had to hide a snicker. Oh, fair Claire, if only you knew.

"Do it again, do it again!" Toby cheered, whispering something to Jim about 'awesome sauce'. 

"Happily," you grinned, standing back up and facing Claire with a competitive smirk. 

"Nope, I think Jim should do it," Claire said, sitting on one of the chairs you'd pulled out of the back and giving Jim a light shove in your direction. 

"Alright, I'll try," he said, standing up and grabbing the broom Claire handed to him. You raised a brow at him with a smirk.

"You ready, Lake?" you challenged. He grinned.

"You bet," he agreed, and the clash began. You sparred for what felt like ages; his style was not traditional for the kind of 'blades' you were using, but you handled that just fine. You had lived in Camelot, after all. You knew that fighting style well enough. The wood handles thunked together, both of you traveling throughout the shelves and dodging swings and parrying disarms with practiced expertise.