londoncallingrpg

And so she had become the Forgotten Queen of the Trooping Fae. Her grandfather's passing had come at a price and now she was some sort of royalty she didn't quite understand and Fin had gone blind again. It was nearly too much to take but Pippa was carrying on. What else could she do? The facts were the facts and no amount of fuss would change it. And she'd tried. She had power coursing through her now, all the time she felt it, and she'd tried to restore Fin's sight. It didn't work. Of course not. Why would it?

And then the dumb twit had gone back to stay with his stupid boyfriend. Pippa was outraged about that and she'd told Fin so. And that didn't work, either. Of course not. And so on that front she bit her tongue. Fin knew how she felt. It had little to do with keeping him close and everything to do with keeping him out of the treacherous prince's arms.

Pippa sighed softly and looked at her mobile that had just chirped. He newest client wanting a progress report. She needed something more concrete and so she sat down at the cafe on one of the dwindling nice days of the London summer, and she texted her client back.

It was striking, just how much she looked like Fin. And, of course, she'd been all over the papers thanks to the paps hounding Fin about his drug use and his blindness. The gentleman at the next table actually had a copy of the daily rag and she smiled at the photo on the cover.

If only life could be as dramatic as the paper made it seem. If only being queen meant something...

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"I don't really enjoy cinema as much as I used to, Pip," Fin pointed out with a tired little smile. "Let's have dinner instead."

"I don't feel like cooking. Do you want to go out or get take away?" she asked. He phone chirped again and she looked at the screen before swiping the message away. She was capable of paying attention to Fin and work equally, though in this moment she was more focused on him no matter how distracted she seemed.

"We'll go out. My treat," he added with a faint smile, his magic showing him in broad strokes the way she checked her phone. ...At least he assumed that was a phone.

"Sushi, maybe?"

"You read my mind," she said warmly, looking at him with a broad smile. "Sushi sounds fantastic. And you can tell me just what a wanker Will is. You have been to see him again, haven't you?"

"Pippa, we'll be sleeping in separate rooms, but we are going to be sharing a flat. I'm seeing him now, because soon I'll be seeing him all the time," Fin sighed. "It's not ideal, but it is necessary."

She huffed softly and then reached across the table to rub his arm.

"I don't like it," she said. "I know it's no secret, but it bears saying. You don't have to rush back to him, you know. You can stay with me and we can work everything out and make sure he deserves you to come back to him."

"You don't understand, and I suppose it's unfair of me to ask you to. ...Being away from him, Pip- It hurts. It makes me ache, and I don't mean that in some abstract and melodramatic way. It's physical and very real," Fin sighed, slumping low in his seat as milky white eyes failed to focus on anything and the world became a swirl of colour again.

"I don't understand...but I believe you. I believe you when you say it. And I can see that being around him has brought your colour back. So I won't begrudge you happiness. I just want to make sure you're actually happy, Fin. I love you and I want your life to be as good as it can be," Pippa said as gently as she could manage.

"I have to find a way to be happy with him," Fin said softly. "It's making a go of it, or death."

"That's just not fair. I really don't think that's fair," she said. "How can you really be in love if in the back of your mind you always know you're trapped? What sort of relationship is that, Fin?" she pressed. Part of her knew she was only likely making things worse by pressing the issue but she really needed to know.

"The kind I agreed to before I fully understood!" Fin snapped. "I made a mistake, alright? I don't know how to undo it though, Pippa. So I have to do this. I have to hope he means it when he says he loves me. ...When he says he's changed."

"I'll believe it when I see it," she replied calmly. "I know what grandfather did to broker peace, but I'm not sure I trust either of the courts, really. Not just Will personally. All of them."

"I don't trust them either," Fin assured her. "Right now, this is more important to me though. I need to find out how to make things work with him."

"Then I'll keep my mouth shut. I won't say another word," Pippa said. Not that she'd ever need to breathe a word of it again. Fin would know she disapproved no matter what. She didn't need to keep nagging him.

"Do you want me to call a cab to go to sushi now or do you want to go home and get dressed? We could really do it. I have a cocktail dress, you could wear a suit," she said, teasing a little to try to lighten the mood.

"Yes, because what I want is more attention," Fin replied dryly, reaching down to scratch Keats gently behind the ears when the large dog rested its head on his knee.

"The right kind of attention. It could be a laugh, Fin," Pippa insisted. "Show you're carrying on. But fine, if you won't go for a cocktail dress to sushi then you're going to have to agree to go somewhere fancy with me just once," she said, absolutely not about to take no for an answer.

Fin sighed a bit, then nodded.

"Sure, alright, if that's what you'd like," he agreed, though it was clear he wasn't keen. He'd have been much happier in some hole in the wall wearing jeans and an old shirt.

"Oh, Fin," she sighed softly. She reached over to pat his arm. "I'm just trying to have a laugh. What's got you like this today?"

"Nothing," Fin sighed. "I'm just... I don't know. Tired, I suppose."

"Then maybe we should get sushi take away and go home and just have a quiet night," she suggested sympathetically. She really did think it would be good for him to push through and stretch himself, but she wasn't oblivious to his struggles and if he needed time or space or peace she was willing to do that for now.

"I'm sorry, Pip," Fin said softly. "I don't mean to let my mood ruin your day."

"As if I'd let your mood ruin my day," she replied with light affection. She reached over the table and took hold of his hand and gave a squeeze.

"You've always been like this, Fin. You and your moods. It's alright. Please don't apologize. Just promise me we can do something together. Sushi and maybe a radioplay?"

Fin was silent a moment, then squeezed her hand in return.

"Alright. That would be nice," he admitted.

Pippa smiled then and the warmth of it translated to her magic. She was still learning to control it and sometimes it just slipped out. Right now it tingled in her hand and spilled into Fin, nothing but love and affection.

"Good," she said. "Then let's go. It's too crowded here."

Fin's own magic reacted instantly, reaching out and entwining with hers.

"Let's," he agreed simply.

OTA

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