Oh my God. I didn't believe it would be possible. But it has happened. Almost 24k views?! You guys are kidding me! This has to be some glitch in wattpad. If it is..... I wish it would be forever a glitch. Thank you so much. I feel like crap for not updating when I said I would but I have a life outside wattpad too so.... Anyway this has been requested a looonnnnnnggg time ago in a galaxy far far away. Sorry wrong fandom.
I had a hard time thinking it up because I was on writers block and school is being a female dog. But here it is.
VAL SIGHED NERVOUSLY AND PLAYED WITH HER FINGERS
The atmosphere was thick and pindrop silent. Snow elegantly fell down from the sky and embraced the earth with cold. The wind howled swishing the branches of trees back and forth. The hum of the car engine and the swiping back and forth of the windshield swipers were disguised under all this silent noise.
The sound of her ragged and shaky breathing was almost rhythmic as it had been going on for hours. She continued to fiddle with her fingers and the ends of her red sweater long sleeves nervously. Then it progressed to her biting her lip and the insides of her cheek simultaenously. She let out a deep heavy sigh that couldn't even express half her emotions at the moment. Her face was plastered with worry and slight fear as she slouched in her seat. Soon, her right leg started bouncing up and down and she gulped nervously.
She couldn't believe it. She was a secret agent, that had been to dangerous missions and saved the world a couple of times and yet right now she was cowering with fear at one mere fact. Meeting Tequila's parents.
Her boyfriend spared a glance at her and saw her nervousness. He smirked at her a bit and let out a small chuckle. Val hears this and turns to give him a small glare.
"Well, I don't see what's so funny Tequila" she hissed out a bit too harshly. This however didn't phase Tequila as he knew she wasn't really all that mad at him. She was just really really really nervous.
Her glare softened as he gave her a small smile and put one hand on top of hers while the other remained on the steering wheel.
"Hey" he said making her look up at him. He spared her a small glance before returning his eyes to the road. "You'll be fine. I'm sure they will love you" he reaasured her with a small smile and a soothing voice.
Val just sighed once more and held onto his hand tightly. "I sure hope so"
"No I'm serious. They will love you and wonder why a sweetheart like you will stay with me" Tequila replied.
To that, the worried expression on Val's face finally yielded and she gave a small laugh. Tequila smiled seeing her lighten up a bit. Before they knew it, they arrived at their destination.
His parents lived in an isolated area in the hills. Isolated enough that they wouldn't need a gate and most of their worries were just wild cats and a few snakes. It was a well forested area with the pine trees standing proud and tall providing a good amount of shade and making the area cool like a natural airconditioning. Their leaves were powdered white by the snow. A few daisies popped out of the dirt and mossy ground covered in white by the snowfall thriving and bouncing along with the wind beautifully.
They parked their car just at the start of the white pebbled path overgrown with grass and beautiful flowers leading to a humble little white cabin with smoke coming from the chimney. Light emitted from inside the house like a small yellow sun and Val could already feel the warmth of the hearth against the cold December snow.
They closed their car doors shut and stood side by side looking at the beautiful frozen lake West of the cabin not too far off. The lake reflected the beautiful pastel pink and bright orange sunset slightly covered by grey snow clouds.
Val puffed out a breath seeing cold mist coming from her mouth. She nervously adjusted the white cotton scarf around her neck. Tequila held out a hand to her which she held as they made their way to the house.
Whoever was inside must have heard the car coming as a woman stepped out to the porch to greet them. The woman was petite in figure and just a bit shorter than Val. She had her brown hair in a neat bun and wore a comfortable red knitted sweater and jeans along with winter boots. Her matured yet pretty face adorned a warm smile making wrinkles around her soft emerald eyes that looked a lot like Tequila's.
"Finally you're here! We were wondering when you would arrive. You're a tad bit late" she greeted them as they arrived.
Tequila smiled and embraced the woman tightly who returned the embrace.
"Nice to see you again Ma" he said as he broke the hug.
"Missed you too my boy" she replied. Her gaze then fell on Val who shuffled and fidgeted awkwardly looking at her boots with such interest. It wasn't until her name was called that she lifted her head.
"And you must be the Val I've heard so much about! Im Sarah his mother" The woman said smiling widely at the shy redhead.
"U-uh, er, yes. Pleasure to meet you ma'am" she said extending her hand to offer a handshake which was met instead by a warm hug.
Val was a bit taken aback at first and looked at Tequila with wide eyes. The Statesman only chuckled at her predicament. She hesitantly returned the hug.
"Please dear, you can drop the ma'am. That's too formal. We're all going to be family soon anyway so call me Mom" she said.
"Ah of course ma- I-I-I mean uh, M-Mom" she embarassingly stuttered.
Tequila's mother merely laughed this off. "Come on. Let's go inside, its chilly out here"
They went inside. The house was brightly lit. The stairs to the second floor was to the right of the door and at the left was a shoe rack stacked with boots, sandals, and sneakers. The corridor went on to the living room with two couches, one plushy seat, a table in between, and a wide screen tv placed on top of a long low shelf filled with picture frames, and medals and other trinkets.
At the far end of the living room was a door which led to the island style kitchen connected to the dining room which had a long rectangular table good for sitting atleast 10 people. There were already 3 other people sitting there. Two men, one was evidently more advanced in age, the other looked like he was middle aged a couple years younger than Tequila. And a teenage girl of about 13 years old.
They all stood up and greeted their new arrivals.
The the men went to embrace Tequila with a brotherly hug and a pat on the back.
"Nice to see you again" they said.
"Good to be back" Tequila replied.
The girl came over and greeted Tequila with a fist bump instead.
"What's up Short Stack?" Tequila teased her. The girl playfully pouted and crossed her arms.
"You're lucky its Christmas. I have a bit more mercy" she replied threatingly. Tequila was of course unfazed and laughed her off.
They soon noticed Val.
"Bro, who's she?" The younger male asked.
Tequila put his arm around a shy Val with her eyes shifting around nervously.
"Everyone this is my girlfriend. Valentine Hart" he says.
"U-Uh hello. Its nice to meet you all" Val squeaked out waving to them shyly. She was nervous so her accent got a bit more heavy.
"Its nice to meet you too. Im Eric. His stepfather" the older man said smiling warmly at Val.
"And Im Jason his stepbrother" the younger one said.
The girl introduced herself last. "I'm Lily. Stepsister. Nice to meet you too Val. I never really thought ol' big bro here would ever have a serious relationship" she says giggling.
"Yes. And with a British sweetheart too nonetheless. How on Earth did you stick with this real piece of work all this time?" Jason asked playfully teasing his stepbrother who rolled his eyes.
"Yes I also ask Valentine, how?" Eric said.
"Well I love him unconditionally. Faults, annoying habits and all. It can be tough sometimes as all relationships but by the end of the day I still love him" Val replied smiling. From her peripheral vision, she could see her boyfriend smiling down on her.
"And please call me Val"
"Well Val, he's very lucky to have you. I admire your endurance and strength really. And that's coming from the woman who raised him!" Sarah replied getting a good laugh out of Val.
Dinner was festive and full of funny stories. Tequila's family were rather fond of embarassing him with stories of when he was little. He would turn a bit red and covered his face. Val couldn't remember the last time she laughed so hard until she cried.
They dined with red wine, salad, ham and delicious cake and chocolates. The conversation mostly revolved around funny stories to embarass Tequila and questions about Val and their relationship.
"So how long have you two been dating?" Sarah asked.
Val hummed in thought. "About a year and a half now right?" She said turning to Tequila for confirmation. Said man just nodded his head as he was taking a sip of his drink.
"And you only brought her here now? I can't believe you!" Sarah said turning to her son who smiled sheepishly.
"So how did you two meet?" Jason asked.
"We didn't exactly start off at the right foot" Val answered wincing slightly.
"You met on a mission?" His family already knew all about he secret spy stuff. Hence getting a cabin in the woods as a safe house. Val learnt they had several others.
"Well I was along with two of my colleagues. We accidentally stumbled upon their base and tried to break in. Tequila caught us. He pointed a gun to our faces and a brawl broke out. Me and the others got knocked out--"
Val was cut off by a shocked gasp from Sarah who turned to Tequila horrified. "You pulled a gun to your future girlfriend and her friends' face and knocked her out on first meeting?!" She exclaimed.
Tequila shrugged. "To be fair Ma, I didn't know she was going to be my girlfriend in the far future"
"And he didnt knock me out. My colleague did on accident. I was being a bit clumsy I admit" Val continued laughing shyly remembering her clumsy mistake.
"Then what happened?" Eric asked gesturing for her to continue.
"When I woke up I was tied to a chair and Tequila interrogated us and" she paused for a bit sparing her boyfriend a mischievous smirk. Tequila gulped knowing what she was going to say. "He may or may not have poured alcohol on my skirt and my partners' pants and threatened to set it on fire if we didn't tell the truth"
Now Sarah was even more horrified. "Tequila!"
"Ma I didn't actually set them on fire!"
"But you were about too!"
Val laughed a bit and cut off their quarrel saying "It was fine really. I understood he was just doing his job. I myself had to do interrogations in a bit of unfriendly way"
"So he pulled a gun to your head, a brawl broke out, your colleague accidentally knocked you out during said brawl and he threatened to set you on fire. I've never heard of a more romantic first meeting really" Lily said.
That got out a good amount of laughs.
After dinner, Tequila and Val sat on a blanket on the ground by the frozen lake admiring the few stars they could see that twinkled amidst the grey snow clouds. He had his arms wrapped around her waist as she sat on lap with her legs folded in a fetus like way as she rested her back on his chest and laid her head on his shoulder.
She sighed in content seeing a cold mist escape from her mouth and nose.
"I told you they would love you" Tequila said.
"Yeah. It turned out better than I expected. You're family's great. I honestly was a bit overwhelmed at first though" Val replied.
Tequila raised an eyebrow at her. "Overwhelmed?" He asked.
Val shrugged. "Well, my defintion of family was always well, small consisting of two members only. Me and my Dad. To see one that consists of a mom, dad, two brothers, and a sister, I already feel like its a huge family"
Tequila nuzzled into her red hair that smelt like roses. "I mean, stepfather, stepbrother, and stepsister" he replied.
Val turned to face him. "If you dont mind me asking, where's your biological dad?"
Tequila's face visibly darkened and his shoulders drooped showing it was a taboo topic. Val noticed and immediately said "You dont have to answer of course I was just wondering. You dont have to answer"
Tequila sighed once more. "Valentine, I trust you with my life. I will tell you, its just that no one else knows about it apart from my Mom and Eric and I never really talked about it"
"I know it makes you uncomfortable so once again Im telling you you dont have to talk about it" Val whispered placing her hand on his cheek.
His eyes met hers as he said "Valentine I love you and I cant imagine not telling you this so here goes nothing" he took in a deep breath and held the hand Val placed on his cheek holding it close to his chest and grasping it tightly.
"My father was an abusive man. He got drunk every night and would beat me and my mother. He would gamble a lot too. He would beat my mom until the sun would rise and threaten her so she would lend him some money. And at the time we already had little from Ma's job as a waitress"
"He would also take different girls home every night not caring that Mom and I were there to watch him and the random girl he picked up at the bar eat each others faces out. This went on as far as I could remember from the day I was born til I was 7. That was when Ma decided she had enough. She looked for a lawyer despite the fact she couldn't afford one. Fortunately the lawyer didn't ask much money from us and was eager to help. Soon the lawyer married Ma and had two kids with her after the case was close"
"Eric was that lawyer" Val interjected.
Tequila nodded. "Thats right. Ma filed for a divorce. My so called father is set to have a life long prison sentence for domestic abuse and involvement in prostitution. I wont be seeing him ever again and I dont plan to"
Tequila grit his teeth and scowled at the mere thought of the man. Val looked at him and without a second thought, wrapped her arms around him. Tequila relaxed in her embrace.
"Tequila, as hard as it can be, you have to forgive him" Val said slowly and soothingly.
Tequila jolted with a start at what she said. He looked at her with unbelieving eyes as he tore himself away from her embrace. "What?" He hissed out in a hostile manner. Val winced. She didnt want to have to fight with Tequila on Christmas.
"Val, after all he's done to me? To my mom? That son of a b*tch ruined our lives! You expect me to just forgive him than what you wanna invite him for Christmas dinner too and let him play with Lily?!" He said now crossing his arms with a cold glare that could put the winter chill to shame. Val sighed and asked "Please, hear me out"
Tequila huffed and beckoned her to talk with a nod. "Talk then"
"Look, I know he did awful and unspeakable things to you and your mom. I'm infuriated at him myself for doing that to you. But love, forgiving him doesn't mean you form a relationship with him and invite him over and be all good chums with him. Forgiving him is just letting go of his throat" she held his hands tightly. Tequila's face softened a bit as he looked into her baby blue eyes.
"So that you could wrap your hands around more important things in life. Tequila listen to me. Long as, you hold a grudge at him you're not helping yourself. You'll only drown in a pit of anger and misery and desperately try to cover it all up. If you don't forgive him, you're only hurting yourself. So please, let go of him"
"So he could just run free?" Tequila asked still a bit angered.
Val sighed. "Tequila, if there's anyone running free when you forgive him, its going to be you. Long as you don't forgive him you wont be able to move on. You'll be stuck in that one moment in your life and you'll never be able to enjoy the blessings right in front of you in the present and the blessings to come in the future. If you don't forgive him, you're preventing yourself from fully enjoying life because you're stuck. Stuck in a cage of a grudge, anger, and bitterness. I'm not asking you to forgive him for him. Im asking you to forgive him for you"
"My love, he's not running free anytime soon. Everyone reaps what they sowed. He sowed a plenty of not so good things. He will surely reap the same. No one plants an apple tree and expects to harvest mangoes. The consequences of his actions are sure to bite him hard in the ass that's for sure"
"Tequila" she puts her hand on his cheek. "Look where you are now and where you started. Look around and see how lucky you are to be alive right now"
"You have so many blessings. I can't watch you not fully be happy because you're stuck in a cage called a grudge. I mean, look all of these great things are around you and more are to come your way. You have food in your stomach and a roof over your head and a bed to sleep in. You already have a safe and comfortable life. You have a good job. You're one of the best agents out there. You have a good family. You--"
Tequila cut her off with a small kiss on her lips. His arms were around her waist once more holding her tightly and pulling her close enough to have her sitting on his lap again.
"And I have you. Dont forget that" he said.
To this, Val blushes furiously but makes no effort to hide it nor the stupid smile on her face.
"You've convinced me, but I dont know how to start forgiving him. It sounds easy yet its difficult crap" he says laying his head on her chest listening to her heartbeat and sighing.
Val sighed with him as she stroked his hair.
"Believe me its not easy. I know from experience. Its not easy to forgive a woman who practically almost killed you and many others with her poisons and killed off many of my beloved Kingsmen" she said.
Tequila looked up at her still laying his head on her chest. "How did you forgive her then?" He asked.
"Well, there's power in words. So I just said, 'I forgive you'. It sounds simple to say, but its not easy to say it sincerely. In fact, I had to say it a thousand more times until I finally got the gist of it. Even today, when I remember Poppy and feel my blood boil, I chant again and again, 'I forgive you'. So you could start with saying as such"
Tequila took a deep breath and opened his mouth to start to speak. "I, I-----" he couldnt get it out as he choked on his own words. His face scrunched up in a frown as he struggled inside with himself.
"Hey" Val soothed him with a whisper and a stroke on his cheek. "Its okay if you sound like you dont feel it at first. I was the same. There's no rush here. Take your time"
Tequila removed his head from Val's chest and sat upright tensely. He clenched his fists and glared down on his lap as he growled like a wolf his breathing fast and ragged.
"I-I, I---" he tensed up even more looking like he was about to blow up. Val looked at him unfazed. She was worse when she did this.
With a long sigh, Tequila untensed and his shoulders drooped. His upper body weight fell limp on Val and he cried onto her shoulder. He started to shake and sob violently and Val could feel his tears drip down like a waterfall on her shoulder.
She's never seen him this emotional and vunerable before but she doesnt judge him. In fact, she's glad he trusts her enough to show this side of him to her. As he sobbed his heart out, she wrapped her arms him holding him tight.
"I-I forgive you" he choked out between sobs. He started to sob more and more and chant the words out hesitantly at first. "I" a long pause "forgive you"
Until it was repitative. "I forgive you. I forgive you. I forgive you"
After what felt like an hour of sobbing in his sweetheart's arms and painfully and hesitantly sobbing the words out, he felt as thought a large weight was removed from his chest. He ran out of tears. He stopped sobbing. He sighed deeply. He felt like he was weightless. Floating. And Val was the only one preventing him from flying off.
He sighed again relieved to feel the massive weight being taken off from his chest. Val was right. It is freeing.
He took her face into his hands, cupping her cheeks. He was surprised to see tears in her own eyes. She cupped his cheeks in her hands as well.
"You must think of me as too much of a softie now. Crying on your shoulder like that" he said, a bit ashamed of his crying fit.
Val just playfully rolled her eyes at him. "Love, men have feelings and men can cry too. You don't have to act like you're strong all the time. I dont look down on you for what you did. In fact, Im proud of you" she replied smiling at him.
Without another word, she pulled him into a slow and passionate kiss. They both felt at peace where they are now. In each other's arms. Tequila tasted her lips, sweet like the chocolate and red wine they had earlier. He wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer and she wrapped her arms around his neck playing with his hair digging her hands into it, pulling and tugging at the roots.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and he slid his tongue into her mouth pulling them closer and deeper into each other. They could feel the warmth radiate between them as they made out amidst the cold chill.
Their tongues didn't fight for dominance this time as they had set the pace to be slow and sweet. Instead their tongues danced together in a slow and passionate waltz while his hands gripped her sweater.
A low moan couldn't help but escape Val and she could almost feel Tequila mentally smirk as more of the sound came from her. They soon break apart as there was a need for oxygen. They rest their foreheads together panting and breathless.
Tequila smirked. "I just realized I'm dating an angel" he whispered once he caught his breath.
Val smirked at him. "Well this angel happens to have a tranquilizer dart in her watch so watch your back"
They laughed a bit before he pulled her into another kiss a bit faster and more needy. It was sadly interrupted by someone coughing behind them and the flash of a camera.
They pull apart, Val evidently flustered quickly gets off Tequila's lap. They look to see Jason and Lily standing there smirking. Lily had the camera in her hands.
"This one's going in the album" she snickered.
"Pardon the intrusion but we just came here to say, your shared room is upstairs next to mine. You can continue. We'll be off now" Jason said a smirk plastered on his face as he and Lily walk off. Tequila then laughs at Val's red face. He held his hand out to her and pulled her up.
They retired to their room for the night. As they went in the house though, they couldn't escape the endless teasing of Jason and Lily. Both changed into their night clothes and lied down in their bed with Tequila on top of Val and his arms wrapped around her waist. He layed his head on her chest and she played with his hair.
He kissed her goodnight. "Goodnight Angel. Merry Christmas, I love you"
"Goodnight and Merry Christmas. I love you too bad boy"