A Tale of Two Angels

Take my hand

"Where are you two going?" Sophie asked, separating Tessa's hair into two parts.

"I don't know. Will's insisting on making it a surprise. It is rather annoying." Tessa winced as the comb snagged on a tangle.

Sophie was doing Tessa's hair- a favour, because Tessa needed to "look her best" for Will- as she was going somewhere with Will today. He hadn't told her where it was, only to meet him in the library at eleven o'clock, exactly.

Once Tessa's hair was all ready, she thanked Sophie and ran down to the library.

Tessa screamed as Will surprised her by shouting "Ha!" like Cecily always did and picked up the book she had dropped.

Will smirked. "Stunned by my beauty?"

Tessa rolled her eyes, hiding the fact that she actually was. He was wearing a dress suit, and he looked enchanting.

His eyes- those beautiful blue eyes, Tessa thought- studied her as she walked to him at the doorway.

"Where are we going?" She asked, blushing.

Will smiled. "It's still a surprise."

Will helped her into the carriage and closed the curtains.

Tessa raised an eyebrow, and opened her mouth to make a comment but was interrupted by Will, pressing his lips to hers, gentle and soft, until she pressed harder. He had her against the carriage door, and her hat was probably crumpled like it was on the carriage ride with Jem to visit Jessamine, but Tessa pushed all thoughts of Jem away, not wanting to cry in front of Will today.

The carriage suddenly came to a halt, throwing them both down on the floor. Tessa turned red. She had landed on top of Will.

Will smiled and got up. "Can't get enough of me?"

Tessa smacked his arm playfully. "Where are we?"

Will pulled the curtains back.

"Woosley Scott's house? By the Angel, Will-" Tessa said, exasperated.

Will silence her with a grin. "He's not expecting us."

They got out, and Will whispered for her to be quiet when she demanded for the seventh time what in the Angel's name they were doing.

Once they were at the side of his house, Will pulled out a jar from his jacket.

"What's that?" Tessa asked, careful to keep her voice low.

He smirked. "Gideon's attempt at cooking."

Tessa's eyes widened as Will's intent became clear, and she felt a sudden rush of sympathy for Woosley. Cooking was not Gideon's specialty, as Sophie had put it gently.

They covered the windows, door and roof in it, then Will wrote a small note: yours truly, Gabriel Lightworm.

Tessa couldn't hold it back any longer; a giggle escaped her lips. What they were doing was just so ridiculous and random and Will-like. Will was just about to laugh along with her when someone started running to them. It was Woosley Scott, arriving home.

They sprinted back to the carriage and were off before Woosley could get to them. Tessa let out a sigh of relief and before they knew it they were in hysterics, and Will threw the jar out the window.

"Where to now?" Tessa asked once she had recovered enough to breathe again.

The carriage stopped and Will stepped out, offering her his hand. He told the carriage driver to leave them now, and Tessa suspected he was going to make them walk back to the institute. She didn't mind, though she hoped they weren't too far away.

She followed Will to a bookstore, mostly empty. The owner greeted them gruffly before returning to the thick novel in his hands.

They picked a few up and read to each other in hushed voices, and the owner didn't seem to mind them treating his store as a library.

Will's voice was beautiful and soft, and occasionally he would stop to make a joke about the book to Tessa, and she noticed that some of the other customers were listening too. Tessa relaxed, and found herself drifting off to sleep, only to be suddenly woken up by a sound on the roof.

She looked outside and saw it was raining; not just raining, but pouring, as people rushed to get inside. Will grinned suddenly, and put the books back. Then he headed towards the door with Tessa.

"Will! What are you doing?" Tessa said, already soaked from the rain.

Will smiled. "It's more interesting this way."

And he started walking to the direction of the institute.

"Will! This is ridiculous!" Tessa ran to catch up with him. He kissed her cheek, then moved his mouth lower to where her mouth was. He kissed her in the rain, and Tessa kissed him back, even though she was soaked and freezing.

Eventually they started walking again, Will helping Tessa when she occasionally slipped. She shivered, and Will whispered "Take my hand" when she fell again. They weren't as far away as Tessa had thought, and soon reached the institute. They were greeted by a stunned Charlotte.

"Tessa! Will! What were you thinking?" She exclaimed.

Tessa pointed at Will, as if that was all the explanation needed. Charlotte rushed them in then sat them by the fireside. Sophie came with blankets and hot tea.

"That was interesting." Will stated after a while. Tessa made a small, exasperated noise.

Soon they were ushered into bed by Charlotte, and a few minutes later Tessa heard a knock at her door. It was Will, smiling scandalously. He closed the door behind him.

He didn't even wait for her to speak before he took his shirt off. Tessa blushed.

Will undid her dripping wet hair and sat on the bed next to her. "What do you want to do now?"