Angel found herself staring straight at a bright translucent blue younger version of herself. She couldn't remember the exact age but she knew it was at least in fifth or sixth grade at the time. A phantom door was in front of her and on her left. Angel's mother was holding the front one closed against someone banging on it. The door next to Angel was a closet and in it were her sisters.
Mini Angel was holding a flip phone that was already dialed to 911. All she had to do was hit call. She couldn't bear to remember the actual words said during that time. She only knew that her step-father was the one beating on the door simply because he lost his shoe and drunk.
Angel remembered how tense she was, how angry, how afraid for her sisters and mother's safety. How everything was a straw that broke him when he was that way. For God's sake, just because she wasn't a damn mind reader-
"You gonna cry?!" She heard from behind her. Immediately, she shut her eyes and held Douxie's necklace close to her chest. This wasn't real and that happened years ago. She didn't have to go through this alone, no one did.
No one...
"Douxie," she breathed and opened her eyes as she ran to him and immediately held him close. He was sniffling and his breathe broke with his sobs. But after he realized it was her, he fell into her embrace. They fell to the floor as he let out a few more sobs. "I'm here. You'll be ok."
It was quiet, nothing but the faint sounds of Angel's memories playing back to her. It was just more of the same as before- flipping her sister off of a table and all her mother thought to do was take them to Walmart in the middle of the night. A flashlight thrown at Angel's that got lodged in the drywall. A stupid non-apology for all his crap.
But she ignored it like she always did, because Douxie needed her more. He never mentioned his past much other than Merlin, even in passing and short little bursts like she did with her own past. But it was apparently bad enough to make his magic go haywire.
"T- thank you," he muttered as he buried his head in her neck, just breathing her in. Angel smiled softly as she leaned her head on his for a a moment.
"Of course. One, you've done the exact same thing for me." Douxie chuckled quietly. Angel gently pulled away from him and moved his face so he would look at her, leaving her hand on his cheek. "And two, I- I- I really care about you, Douxie. I would do anything to make you happy. Within reason," she added quickly.
"And what's within reason?" Douxie chuckled, and Angel glared at him playfully. Then she sighed with over exasperation, too much to be real.
"Well, I guess I could steal the world's biggest diamond for you, if you truly needed it to be happy." Her words were dripping with sarcasm and she was clearly struggling to keep a straight face. Douxie began laughing however which made Angel break. Archie came up to snuggle with Douxie as they pulled away. He nuzzled against Archie's forehead and sighed contentedly.
"Love, I only need you, and Archie and our friends to feel happy." He glanced at the memories around them, having calmed down to little memories that went away before they could take full form or even say anything.
They were happy ones it seemed; Angel playing with her sisters, at a sleepover, creating illusion bubbles for a class of little kids, hanging out with the trollhunters and the band, and a few nights that she had spent with Douxie.
"How did you even get into this situation, Doux?" Angel asked as he put Arch on his shoulder and stood, reaching out a hand to help Angel up. She took it and let herself be pulled up.
"I uh, didn't account for the spell following my train of thought all the way through, well-" he chuckled nervously, Archie nuzzling him for support. Angel refrained from noting that a memory spell would obviously affect the one who triggered it- that was a response Merlin likely would have given and Douxie didn't need that right now.
She opted for no words, simply wrapping her arms around his waist. He immediately hugged back, both staying silent and just enjoying each other's embrace. Then Douxie fully realized what was going on around them, and that the memories weren't his.
"How are your memories-"
"Oh, I grabbed your necklace," Angel interrupted, pulling away just enough to open her hand and reveal the white skull. "I really didn't think much, I just grabbed it. And I think it worked because it's yours, so it means a lot to me because, well, you do." She answered the question Arch was going to ask next, so he only nodded. He was likely still gathering himself after the rush of emotion that had been amplified tenfold. Angel reached out to pet him and he purred.
"I'm alright," Archie said before nuzzling against Douxie again. "But if it's ok with you both, I'm going to go to bed."
"Of course," the two said together. Douxie gave his familiar a hug, apologizing for what happened only to be told it wasn't his fault. Archie joined Flapjack in the bedroom, leaving the two wizards alone.
"I'm gonna get you! I'm gonna get you!" Angel's old 18 year old self called as she chased a little girl, no older than two, around. "I've got you!" She said as she grabbed the kid, hanging her upsidedown and tickling her. Douxie chuckled at the scene, causing Angel to follow suit as more visions of her playing with different kids. The spell must just be showing more of her happier memories now that she was calm.
"You know," Douxie said, glancing between her and the vision of her letting kids play with her hair. "You'd be a pretty good mum." To that, Angel snorted. "What?"
"The only reason I was that good with them was because I didn't have to do it 24/7," Angel countered. "And that I pretty consistently had an hour break in the middle of the day. Even then, it was a struggle to not lose my temper."
"I'm not saying you'd be perfect." Douxie carefully grabbed the string of the necklace and placed it around her neck, fingers lingering which sent shivers down Angel's spine. "But, based on what I've heard you do with your sisters and how you cared for the kids in your daycare, I'd say you'd be a pretty great."
"Well, if I'd be a great mom, then you'd be a great dad." It was his turn to snort. "It's true."
"I'm not even a good son. I doubt I'd make a good dad."
"Doux, as far as I've heard from the snip bits you tell me, your bio father is a real dick."
"That's one way to put it," Douxie muttered.
"The only way I put it." Douxie let out a small chuckle before giving her a half smile before pulling her into a kiss. It was deep and tender, and they found they couldn't be close enough. Angel soon traded her hands position on his waist to around his neck. Eventually, they needed air and pulled away just enough to lean their foreheads together.
Embarrassingly for Angel, a certain song began playing in her memory. A side glance showed that she was watching Breaking Dawn Part 2 credits and enjoying the song. Douxie sent her a smirk that made Angel squirm for a couple reasons.
"Ok, so I had a Twilight phase," she said with a deep red blush. "Blame my mother- she loved the book series and I couldn't help but watch the movies when they came out-" Angel gave a sharp intake of breath when Douxie twirled her around and pulled her close, slipping a leg between hers.
"You were upset we couldn't go to Mrs. D's dance lesson and this- well, it's a perfect song to dance to." While he seemed to revel in the way she was breathing and blushing heavily at what he was doing (the cheeky little jerk), there was something he was trying to hide that for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what.
"Are- are you sure?" She asked and for a split second, he hesitated. But then he moved his hand to her waist and pulled her other up to match a waltz, but much more intimate and close, as he smiled again.
"Positive." And with that, the dance began. It was clear Douxie was following the same steps as a waltz but was slowing it down to match the music at the moment.
As Douxie led them around in a small circle, he couldn't help but study her features. Her smile was soft but unsure and she kept watching her feet, likely to make sure she didn't step on his feet. He chuckled and twirled her around and let her get her bearings at arms length.
With one both exasperated sigh and small bemused smile, Angel took it upon herself to spin back. She was a bit dizzy as Douxie wrapped his arms around her, dipping her slightly.
Instead of going back to their original position, Douxie held her close like one would at prom. Angel immediately wrapped her hands around his neck and in his hair. It was always so silky soft. Whatever conditioner he used worked wonders.
She studied his face, noting little tiny freckles that she normally couldn't see from afar, whereas hers were splattered across her face; noting the small wrinkles in his smile where hers only showed childish dimples; noting the beautiful way his hazel eyes reflected the blue images around them; noting everything that made Douxie, Douxie.
The scenes around them didn't matter anymore as their eyes trained on each other. If Merlin came in that door, asking for Douxie's help with something, the old man would just have to wait. He didn't even notice that he was messing with the hem of her shirt, or that she was suddenly closer than before.
"Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years," he sang softly with the song, letting one hand move to her face and brushing his thumb over her cheek.
"I'll love you for a thousand more," Angel sang as well, hardly noticing that she was leaning forward. He gave one glance to her lips and she quickly closed the distance, undoing the spell and stopping the music before pulling away.
When he slid his hand down her side, she squirmed a little but tried to hide it. Douxie smirked and she smiled nervously at the mischief in his eyes. "Are you-?"
"No! No, I'm not. Don't even- hey!" Angel tried her best to keep from laughing, but once he started attacking both sides, she failed. Her laughter echoed in his ears, making him forget everything but that sound.
"I've known you for ten years, darling," He said around her fits of laughter. "And yet, I never knew this."
"Be- beca- because... I didn't- Please, stooopp...."
"Why should I? You were the one who said you'd do anything to make me happy."
"You l-little- Just- Please- I can't breath!" Tears were forming in her eyes and her breaths were indeed getting shallow, so he deemed it time to end the torture. Douxie stepped back, to let her catch her breath. However, the moment she felt better, she attacked him back.
At first, nothing happened. Then, right under his shoulder, was the magic spot that got him laughing. It wasn't until a few minutes had passed that he was able to break through his laughter enough to grab her arms and stop the attack.
"Alright," he sighed, the laughter not completely gone. "I think you've proven your point, love."
Angel chuckled with a tilted head. "And what's that?"
Douxie kissed her forehead. "That you aren't one to be messed with."
. . .
"So, what should we do for our first song?" Darci asked excitedly, pen and paper in hand.
"Uh, didn't you two write a couple songs with Claire?" Angel questioned. When Mary and Darci shared a glance, she understood completely. "You two want to keep those for y'all and Claire. I get it. So, where do we start?"
"Aren't you the one with the boyfriend who has had a band for, what, centuries?" Mary asked, both for real and teasing her. Angel rolled her eyes with a smirk.
"Two to be exact, and keep the centuries talk to a minimum so your parents don't hear; and yes. I may have a boyfriend who is amazing at writing songs and has the most harmonic voice ever and beautiful hazel eyes that I-"
"Swoon on your own time, Angel."
"Oh, like you do when you talk about Krel." Mary's eyes widened as her cheeks turned red and Darci tried (and failed) to keep her sniggering to a minimum as Angel continued. "Anyway, yes I have a boyfriend like that, but I absolutely suck at writing songs."
"Back up just a minute! I don't talk about- Karl- that way."
"You kinda do, Mare," Darci added. "The fact you had to put effort into messing up his name proves that."
"That's not his real name?"
"Uh uh, don't try and hide it," Angel interrupted. "Everytime he's brought up, if he isn't around, you always get his name right." Mary was very suddenly interested in her guitar, which she was getting better at but that wasn't the point, and giving them a silent order to change the subject or she'd stop talking.
"Oh, by the way Angel," Darci said, both to cater to Mary and because she truly needed to tell her something. "My dad is investigating some thefts and burns. Doesn't that sound like those hellheeties Toby mentioned?"
"Heetlings. And yeah, it does. I guess-"
"So far Coach Lawrence, Mrs. Janeth, and, the Lieutenant lost, what they said, were their most prized possession. As you'd guess, they think it's the same people from a couple months ago that were the cause of all those thefts and destroyed gas station." Angel winced and decided she was thirsty, heading to the mini fridge right next to the garage door. "You know, there's a lot that goes into police and detective work that you wouldn't think about at first.
"Like getting people to actually open up about what really happened, deciding who's reliable or not, getting to the bottom of everything, they get to put bad people in jail- it's just so.... So..."
"You really like this stuff, huh?" Mary observed, stopping strumming to give Darci a small smile.
"At first, I was only asking to keep Angel from having to follow my dad again," Angel was about to ask something, but Darci raised her hand to stop her. "I figured it out. Anyway, that's why I first asked. But after awhile, I started getting into it."
"Yeah, it can be pretty cool," Angel agreed. "It's why I love Criminal Minds and stuff like that. A lot of my family were in the police force, army, stuff like that."
"Ok, ok," Mary interrupted. "Are we gonna write a song about being in the army or being a police officier or are we gonna write something fun?" Angel and Darci chuckled at the change of subject but followed anyway.
. . .
"Will you slow down?" Zoe called as Douxie jogged down the alley beside HexTech without giving her so much as a warning. It was time for her lunch hour and Douxie decided to join her for it because his happened to be at the same time. However, something seemed to draw him away.
She followed him, wondering why he would just run off like that. After a minute of running and getting to a darker, more covered area of the back doors of the buildings, a cold wind fell around her. It felt like it was swirling around her, and she suddenly her chest was filled with water. It was like she was drowning and now she was looking at river on a bright sunny day.
"Oh no," Zoe muttered.
She was in a crowd of people with various ages and looks. However, if memory served, she was the one of the only elders there. The reason for her entire town to be congregating by the river on one of the hottest days of the season...
"Thou is accused of the most vile crime," a man announced from the water. He was next to three people, two men flanking a blonde and pale girl, thin and frail as were most people in this time period. Zoe had nearly forgotten about that. "Consorting the devil and his demon minions."
"Tis a lie! Agatha covets my family's land!"
"It is you who doth deceive us!" The brunette, Agatha, shouted back. Of course she was in front of the crowd.
"We shall find out soon enough who is the deceiver amongst us," the first man, the priest of the town, said. "We shall throw her into the river. If she sinks, the she be innocent. If she floats, she doth be a witch." Terror flooded the girl's face as she was pulled backwards, deeper into the water.
"But- I cannot swim! Please, don't! I promise, I be not a-" she was thrown back into the depths, the splashing clear as day despite Zoe's hearing having been going for a good few years. And as suddenly as it began, it was silent again.
"Pull Emily up!" Someone yelled.
"She's sinking!"
"No, she's floating!"
"She's dead you fool!"
"Zoe!" Hisirdoux yelled, putting a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, refocusing on reality. "Breathe. Just breathe." Zoe did as told, slowly but surely she remembered where she was.
After that incident, to spite the town for killing her granddaughter, she looked into magic. A year passed before she found anything useful. Zoe turned from a seventy-one year old lady to a twenty-one year old hedge wizard. That path led her to meet Douxie two years later, who somehow convinced her to stop researching the curse she planned to put on the town.
Which led to her life in Arcadia.
Zoe quickly hugged Douxie, who was confused at the affection but returned it all the same. She sniffed and buried her face in his chest.
"Thank you," she muttered.
"For what?" He asked, confused.
"For everything."
The wind attacked a the dumpster a few feet in front of them. Despite Douxie looking at it curiously and trying to figure out what was causing it, he didn't notice the familiar dark green fog hidden behind it.
. . .
"Hey, Dr- I mean, Barbara?" Angel asked as she entered the kitchen with some takeout from a place from the town over. It was her and Barbara's favorite dishes from there, plus a burger from the next place over for NotEnrique. "I uh, got y'all some dinner."
"Oh, you didn't have to go that far for dinner," Barbara said, getting some baby bottles ready. "I was going to cook after I fed the babies." Angel made sure to hide her grimace as she set the stuff down.
"Well, I was in the forge (we should really get one in this town) and wanted to do something nice. You work too hard."
"Well, thank you." She finished with the five bottles of regular formula, two of a hypoallergenic one. Angel grabbed four of them and followed Barbara upstairs. Jim had given them permission to turn his bedroom into a nursery, thankfully.
They had talked for a bit about the knife Angel had made that day, but they soon lapsed into quiet. Silence was usually comfortable with Barbara. Angel never fully felt like she had to converse with Barbara, it was just something that happened naturally in between caring for the babies. It actually reminded her of her daycare days.
But still, Barbara seemed a bit distracted as she continued the normal routine. The way she moved was robotic, becoming more so the longer the silence loomed.
The little imp finished changing a baby and just finished laying him down when Angel spoke. "Hey, NotEnrique?" Angel said as she laid down a sleeping baby. He looked up curiously. "Your burger is in the microwave, if you-"
"Ah ah," He said as he hopped down and practically ran to the door. "Say no more."
"Only grab the one on the left! The other one's mine!" He left without giving her a second thought. She followed him as far as the door. "I mean it mister!"
"Yeah, yeah," he called back to her. Angel groaned.
"Ok, you wanna tell me what that was about?" Barbara asked, making Angel jump. She honestly had almost forgotten why she had sent him away in the first place.
Then-
"I know you miss him," Angel said softly. Barbara blanched for a second. Then she pushed up her glasses and made to protest. Angel raised her to stop her. "He hasn't called in a few weeks and you're worried. I know that look. I've, regretably, given it to Douxie."
Jim knew his mother would worry if he didn't at least text, so he was either really busy or- Well, Barbara's own fears were what she was going to deal with at the moment.
"I'm his mother. Of course I'm going to worry." She led Angel out of the room as she laid down the last baby. "Now, come on- I'm-"
"Barbara," Angel said, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her decent downstairs. "It's ok to be as scared as you are. After all, this isn't a collage experiance or summer roadtrip." She sighed but didn't look back. "But you've seen him in action. He's a great fighter- Take it from me, I've actually fought him."
That got Barbara to look back at her with wide eyes. "What?"
"Gravesand incident- I drank it and it made me more like a crazed troll: It wasn't that bad, I swear."
Barbara didn't look convinced. None of this was going to plan- Angel just wanted to cheer her up and calm her worries, but it all came out wrong. Douxie would be better at this, he'd know exactly what to say.
With a dejected sigh, Angel suggeted they go eat before the babies woke up. Reaching the kitchen, Angel pulled open the microwave door to grab her food as Barbara did the same with the fridge since hers was a pasta from a neighboring restaurant she liked better than the buger joint.
"NotEnrique!"