Better Love

Chapter Five

It took hours for Felix to leave his room, hair wet and freshly cleaned with new clothes on. He still had that little feathered hair accessory tied to his hair, though. Seemingly refusing to part with it. Honestly, it was a little bit charming.

Jessa thought it was strange seeing him in normal clothes. His hair was an even brighter blonde when it wasn't filled with dirt and grease and he looked lankier without all those layers. She would say he looked good... at least in her opinion.

"You took a while." She said, pretending she hadn't just been thinking about how attractive he was as she typed away at her computer. Regina was letting her work from home for the next few days while she got Felix used to life in Storybrooke.

"It took a while to learn how to use the shower." He admitted, still standing cautiously. Switching his body weight from one foot to another.

"You could have asked for help."

"I figured it out."

She just nodded, trying to hide a smile at his obvious defensiveness at any comment about his abilities. "I made lunch." Was all she said in reply, gesturing to the seat and the plate across from her.

Jessa watched him sit down gingerly. He kept his eyes on her like he thought she would attack him across the table. She was about to open her mouth, to say something about it, but...

"What's that?" He pointed to her laptop, startling out of her thoughts.

"Oh, umm... It's a laptop." She realized that he had no idea what technology even was. "It's like, a really smart machine, I guess. You can send messages, learn any information, play games. I don't really know how to explain it that well."

Some of the suspicious disappeared from his eyes, replaced with simple curiosity. She made a mental note to ask someone tech-savvy to give her a rundown on computers so she could help with Felix's intrigue. "Any information? What are you doing on it?" He asked.

"Working. I'm a secretary for Regina, I-"

"The Queen?"

"Yep. I organize her schedule, answer calls, let her know about meetings. That kind of stuff."

"So you're her second in command?" The suspicion returned when he realized she worked for Regina. But she just laughed.

"More like an assistant. But essentially, yeah." She grinned at him. "You were second in command, right? For Pan?"

As soon as she had said that name, she regretted it.

Felix straightened up, the fork he was holding grasped tightly. "What does it matter to you?" His tone was colder than it had been all day.

"It doesn't, I just..." She knew she shouldn't have mentioned Peter Pan. "Sorry, sometimes I don't think before I speak. You were finally making conversation and I just..." she trailed off, gesturing at nothing.

She could have said more, but Felix seemed to calm down at her explanation. "It's all right. Yes. I was second in command." He muttered, sounding bitter. "And now I'm nothing."

Jessa felt a twinge of sympathy for the boy. "You're not nothing." She said, her tone gentle but scolding.

She paused, leaning back as a coy smile grew on her lips. "You can be my second in command if you want." She offered. "I've been planning on growing my army."

"How big is your army right now?"

"Well, if you accept second in command... just you and me." He seemed perturbed for a second, before he realized she was joking.

She began to giggle as she watched that realization hit him. Felix sighed, an almost exasperated sound, but he couldn't hide the smile beginning to tug on his lips as well. A genuine one, not like the cold smirks he had been using since he had been jailed.

Once again, Jessa continued her habit of speaking before speaking. "You have a nice smile." Jessa told him.

Felix seemed caught off guard by that comment, furrowing his brow. "Really?"

She nodded as a blush began to form on his cheeks. She could feel the same warmth in her cheeks.

"Th-thank you." He muttered, finishing his food without looking at her and pushing away the empty plate. Jessa stood up, taking the plate and putting it in the dishwasher. Anything to hide her face.

"So, how's your room? Everything you need?" She asked, getting back to business. Still facing away from him. Felix just nodded, so she continued. "Well, let me know if you need me to get anything. Clothes, entertainment, whatever. You're gonna be in the apartment a lot until we can get you used to modern life and to acclimatize everyone in Storybrooke to you."

The boy let out a scoff. "So this is just another prison?"

"If you wanna think about it like that, sure. It's a much confier and larger prison. But it's a lot better than what you were planning to do to me if you and Pam had won." She could hear the tense tone to her voice. She had tried to keep her words light, but this boy was beginning to stretch her patience.

Which, apparently worked. "I..." Felix tried to respond, knowing she was telling the truth. If Pan had won, she would be a powerless slave to  the immortal boy. And he wouldn't have treated her with any mercy. "Alright." He finally spoke. "I'll stay here. The jail cell would be worse."

He watched her let out a quiet laugh. Finally facing him again, just glad that he wasn't going to fight her about this anymore. "That's the worse compliment I've ever gotten about my apartment."

"I mean..."

"Better that jail, that's it?" But they were both grinning now. Even though she was trying to have some air of dignity, she couldn't help herself.

***

Tossing and turning in her bed, Jessa was trying to sleep. Trying not to think of the tall blond in the bedroom across from hers. He was going to be a challenge, of course. She had known that from the moment she had first seen him. But she had expected to make more progress with him than she had.

He was no longer threatening to kill her, or acting like she was going to lunge at him. He was even willing to smile at her jokes and indignant replies to his sarcastic comments. But that was surface level, and she worried that she hadn't even scratched the surface with him.

The sound of footsteps on the other side of her door broke her out of her thoughts. Listening to them walk down the staircase as she silently got out of bed. Opening her door to peer down the stairs.

Squinting in the dark, she spotted Felix on the main floor. His recognizably thin frame standing in front of one of the large window.

Jessa knew that he was looking at immediate. When she had gotten this apartment, one of the perks was its proximity to the docks. The view of the ocean was dampened by darkness at this time of night, but still visible by the light of the moon.

Jessa felt a pain in her chest as she watched the boy stare, unmoving, at the water. She remembered all the times when she had stood in that exact stop, imagining stealing a boat and exploring this world.

However, she expected that the world he wanted to see while looking into the water wasn't this one, but the one he was taken from.