R4R.23
*-*-*
[21:38] Paige:
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa???
[21:39] homobipboa:
Yes?
[21:39] Paige:
do u ever just feel like (*'ω`*) but with more blushing for over an hour straight
pls help???
[21:40] homobipboa:
whatd ur bf do
[21:40] Paige:
1) not my bf (yet?????? did we skip the "bf" stage, we are engaged??????)
2) HE KISSED THE TOP OF MY HEAD EARLIER AND IM STILL THINKING ABT IT
3) also we spent the evening cuddling and im going to implode pls help
[21:41] homobipboa:
L L
[21:41] Paige:
??
[21:41] homobipboa:
+-(✿ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) -+
L L
[21:42] Paige:
oh my god Bela no
[21:42] homobipboa:
/ \
+-(✿ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) -+
L L
[21:42] Paige:
Bela
[21:43] homobipboa:
/\
/ \
+-(✿ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) -+ hello
L L
[21:43] Paige:
sldjfklsjd Bela WHAT THE FUCK
[21:43] homobipboa:
W H A T H A V E W E H E R E
Paige. Paige my sweet precious ridiculous child.
[21:43] Paige:
im older than you
[21:44] homobipboa:
THIS CALLS FOR MORE THAN JUST A LENNY
do i look like i care. you are my child. shhh. shhhhhhhh. its okay.
[21:44] Paige:
im!!!!!!
i don't even know what to say aaaaaa
[21:44] homobipboa:
too full of warm fuzzies to be able to talk???? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
[21:44] Paige:
y e s??? ??? ?? ?? ????? ?? ? help me
[21:45] homobipboa:
i demand a play-by-play of everything that happened here. Go
[21:45] Paige:
iiiii wassss having a kinda bad day with anxiety and stuff and i told him and then like
he came over and made tea for me and then we got a bunch of pillows and blankets and sat on the bed and watched Aladdin
hes gonna be back any minute now he just went to his room to get a change of clothes and stuff
but yeah he's staying over tonight bc like we were saying we might watch another movie and he said he wanted to stay so he could make sure im ok
Beeeelllllaaaaaaaaaaaa
Aaaaaaaaaa
[21:46] homobipboa:
omg omg this is so cute omg omg omg
im so happy hes taking care of u also, hes getting points in my book
this is SO cute Paige holy heck
smooch that boy he smooched u its only fair
[21:47] Paige:
??!?!!??!?!??!?!???!!!??!???!???
[21:47] homobipboa:
u don't even have to start with a full on smoochy smooch u can just like
nose kisses!!
smooch his snoot Paige
[21:47] Paige:
that's!!!!! too forward!!!!!!!!
[21:48] homobipboa:
smooch! the!! Snoot!!!
[21:48] Paige:
aaaaaaaaa???????????????
what if i go with forehead or cheeks or something i feel like that's safer???
[21:48] homobipboa:
i mean you COULD but i still think u should go for the snoot
he tttoooootally likes u Paige
how often does he kiss people who arent u on the head or otherwise
[21:49] Paige:
um.....................
oh my god i never paid attention to that i just kind of assumed hes like this
but now that i think about it?????
he DOESNT normally greet people with hand kisses except if theyre friends or like other royalty
oh my god?????
[21:50] homobipboa:
NOW WHAT MIGHT THIS MEAN ¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯
[21:50] Paige:
BELA HOW DO I PROCESS THIS INFORMATION
WHAT IF HE ACTUALLY DOES
YOU KNOW
[21:50] homobipboa:
you mean what if he actually does like you?
[21:51] Paige:
YES THAT!!!!!!!!
[21:51] homobipboa:
well you first step back and admit that you are a great, wonderful, likable person and that hes lucky to have you in his life to begin with, let alone to be marrying you,
and then you smooch the snoot.
[21:51] Paige:
OH MY GOD HES BACK AT MY DOOR I GTG BYE AAAAAA
[21:52] homobipboa:
( ͡°з ͡°)
***
*Sam's P.O.V.*
Paige looks a lot more relaxed now than she did earlier. Sam is glad—more than glad—to see the contrast when he opens the door; this time, Paige looks like she can breathe easier, even smiles at him as he settles back into the pillows. Sam deposits his extra clothes on the nightstand, for now, plugs his phone into the wall, and then joins her. There isn't a ton of space, what with the pillows and laptop and extra blankets all crammed onto the bed, but the upside is that so long as they sit cuddled up close together, it's quite comfortable and snug.
"Hi again," he says, holding out his arm again, and Paige nestles against his side easily. She's still wearing Sam's jacket, and oh boy is that doing funny things to his heart or what? It's a bit too big on her, because Sam is broader in the shoulders, and the way Paige is wearing it just makes her look even smaller. Overall, Sam has the urge to scoop her up and protect her, and also quite possibly to kiss her a few times to boot, but that doesn't seem like particularly appropriate behaviour for the moment, so he has to abstain.
Still, though.
He gives in just enough to kiss Paige's hair again, because seeing Paige when she's hurting and vulnerable really makes him want to protect and take care of her, and generally when Sam thinks of emotional comfort, he thinks about affection.
"I'm glad you're feeling better," he adds. Paige lets out a soft sound and turns slightly, wrapping her arm loosely around Sam's waist and settling against him snugly. Sam's eyebrows shoot up, and he grins to himself, because being this close to Paige makes him really, really happy, and having Paige hold onto him like this makes him feel even happier.
Paige lifts her head, and in the dimness of the lamplit bedroom, she almost looks like she's blushing, funnily enough. "I have you to thank for that," she says softly, and she drops her gaze for a moment, then lets go of Sam, and oh, that's too bad, she only just hugged him—
But then Paige's hand tentatively cups his cheek, and then Paige leans closer, and holy shit wait what is happening here, and then Paige plants a shy little kiss to the tip of his nose before she squeaks, ducks away, and quickly tucks her head under Sam's chin, and if she wasn't before, she's definitely blushing now.
As for Sam, well...
Sam is pretty sure he could die the happiest man on the planet now.
"Ah," he manages, unable to keep himself from grinning giddily (and besides, what's the point of trying to pretend he's not over the moon right now, when the person who's only just barely not in his lap is an empath?) as he shifts, leaning back against the headboard with Paige still tucked in against his side. "You're welcome, anytime, really..."
Could Paige maybe do that again? For scientific purposes, of course, so Sam can figure out precisely how thrilled and happy it made him? Experiments need repetition for credibility, though, so maybe she'd need to do it once or twice or another five hundred times over...?
"Um, okay, yeah, I'll... try to remember that?" Paige manages, sounding a little bit strangled. What would it be like to kiss her? The thought is enough to make Sam's heart swell—he would love nothing more than to kiss Paige Mains until neither of them can catch their breath, to see if he can get her weak in the knees, to whisper the I love yous he's never managed to say before into Paige's lips.
That sounds nice. That sounds very nice. He's getting ahead of himself, but wow.
Paige breaks the silence, keeping her face hidden, and Sam really has to wonder how precise empathic perceptions are, anyway. Does Paige know that Sam was just thinking about how much he would like to kiss her?
Probably not, given how obtuse his dear Paige seems to be when it comes to matters of the heart. Nonetheless, let it be stated for the record that Sam definitely wants to kiss her a lot.
"A-anyway," Paige is saying, and she still sounds a little flustered, "um, do you... do you want to start the next movie?"
"Oh," Sam says. That's right, he came back because they said they'd watch another movie. Right. He kind of forgot, with the whole Paige just kissed my nose and she's adorable thing. "Yes, of course. Your choice."
"Right," Paige says faintly and makes no move to reach for the laptop.
Even when they eventually do manage to get it started, Sam has a niggling feeling that neither of them is thinking about the movie very much. This might have something to do with how he keeps mentally replaying that little kiss every few seconds.
(Wow.)
*-*-*
[09:39] Sam:
So I just had the best night ever.
[09:40] Garth Fitzgerald:
Oh? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I have to say I'm a little surprised! I didn't think you were gonna get in her pants that fast.
[09:40] Sam:
Garth, please
[09:41] Garth Fitzgerald:
I know, I know. Unrealistic expectations.
So, what DID happen? More "unfairly attractive" dancing with you?
[09:41] Sam:
She KISSED ME on the NOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ♡^▽^♡
[09:42] Garth Fitzgerald:
...Wow, you really do have it bad.
[09:42] Sam:
She's just so beautiful, Garth
♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
[09:43] Garth Fitzgerald:
Yes, I remember you mentioning that before.
I can't wait for the wedding, I want to meet her!
[09:43] Sam:
Yes!! The wedding!!! I can't wait either!!!!!! ♡♡♡♡♡
***
*Paige's P.O.V.*
Court is exhausting.
Mentally, physically, emotionally. Okay—maybe not physically, but the overall exertion of having to juggle so much information and to use magic for so long on top of keeping up façades and careful pretences and masks still leaves Paige as tired as a workout Marya might have given her, so it might as well be physical, too.
And even though court is officially over, the pretending isn't. She keeps her chin high and back straight, walking with grace and purpose as she exits the chamber; she can't even show her tiredness until she's in private, among good company. Any sign of weakness can get pounced on, here more than ever. The court of Queen Winchester is a dangerous place.
Frankly, more than a little of her wants to go to Sam's rooms, to settle down and snuggle up with him like they did last night, but she can't. For one thing, Sam isn't in his rooms anyway, considering that he's accompanying his mother to her study to talk business for a while, and for another, it's just—it's embarrassing, being so clingy and needy. Really, what must Sam think of her, the way she was all over him last night?
...And then she remembers the burst of excitement and giddy happiness when she kissed Sam (even though it wasn't even a real kiss, just a quick peck on his nose), the way it was like a firework just went off inside Sam's chest, setting his heart on fire with singing gold—
What must Sam think of her, indeed?
Anyway, the biggest reason she can't go find Sam, aside from those other two pretty big reasons, is that she has other things to do right now. It's not that late in Pandora right now—about an hour before midnight—and she has a call to make, one that she doesn't really want to do from within the castle.
Which is why she's not heading back to her rooms for a nap, either. No, instead she's taking an umbrella and glaring a little bit at the darkening, grey, windy sky (honestly, there are days when she really wishes she'd learned elemental magic instead, just so this wouldn't happen) as she gathers her robes in front of her to keep them from getting muddy as she hurries across the main courtyard. The umbrella only seems to be keeping her head dry, thanks to the wind, but at least her glasses remain water-free, which is probably the most important thing.
By the time she gets to Donna's apartment, she's feeling a little disgruntled and more than a little soggy. But the apartment holds the promise of a hot cup of cocoa or tea within, ready and waiting for her as of two minutes ago, according to Donna's text.
Honestly, Donna is a lifesaver. What would Paige do without her?
...Paige thinks she might be turning into Marya, but at this point, she's starting to feel that she wouldn't know what to do without tea to get her through the day.
When she finally smiles, shows a quick flash of identification to the guards posted around the Pandorian Embassy compound—a formality, really, because she's made sure to know all the Pandorians here by face if not by name, and they're all familiar enough with her—and presses the buzzer outside the door labeled Donna Hanscum, Ambassador, she's ready to collapse, preferably with a blanket. Donna opens the door almost instantly.
"Hi, Paige!" she says with her usual warm cheer, waving Paige inside quickly and closing the door against the blustery rainstorm. Vaguely, Paige remembers it being overwhelming when they first met—Donna was just so chipper!—and wonders at herself for having changed so much that Donna's constant stream of lively Pandorian chatter is a comfort now. "Gosh, you're all wet! If you want to hang up those robes by the heater, there's a coat rack nearby, and, um... you're taller than me, so I don't know if anything I have will fit you, but..."
Touched, Paige shakes her head. "It's alright," she assures Donna quickly, smiling at her fellow countryman with a rush of fondness. "It's mostly just my outer robe, anyway. Thank you for the offer, though, Donna; I appreciate it."
"Oh, of course!" Donna says, practically bouncing on her feet. "Here, I can take your robe to the coatrack—there is tea and hot chocolate on the table in the kitchen if you want to go get it in the meantime!"
She's already reaching for a mug, so Paige really has no option other than to shrug the robe off and hand it over with a slightly bewildered "Thank you," letting Donna scamper off to hang it by the heater while she heads to the kitchen in search of the promised cocoa. There are two cups waiting by a lovely porcelain teapot and pitcher of hot chocolate, all four covered in matching delicate floral swirls, and Paige pauses to admire how lovely they are before she pours herself a cup. Scented steam drifts up, and she breathes it in deeply, closing her eyes. It's calming.
She's barely taken a careful sip when Donna breezes in, humming cheerfully, and pours her own cup. "So," she says. "You want to call Crown Princess Mains and Lady Steele? I can give you my most secure channel—do you want me to stay or should I leave, once we get the call going?"
"You should probably stay," Paige says after a moment of thought. "It's not a personal call; I could make that from the castle without much problem. I... mostly need advice from Marya about what I told you about, last week, and depending on what she tells me, I might have to talk to you about it anyway, so it's probably just going to be easiest if you're there from the start."
"Okay!" Donna chirps. "No problem! Do you want to start now, or finish our drinks first? Are they expecting us?"
Paige glances at her phone to get the time—three minutes before when she told Maddy she'd try to call. "We can start now," she decides. "I told Madison I'd be in touch around now, so she should be ready. She would have told me if she's running late."
"Alright!" Donna agrees. She takes her tea and gestures for Paige to follow her. "We can sit in the study, I usually do calls in there. It's where I've set up the video camera, anyway."
"Sure," Paige says, taking her own beverage and leaving the kitchen after Donna.
They settle down in Donna's study, a cozy affair covered in bright colors and traditional prints. A plush throw is draped over the back of the upholstered sofa opposite the desk, and Paige wraps it around herself as she settles into the corner of the couch while Donna sets up the call.
Pretty soon, it's ringing. Luckily, Madison doesn't leave them to awkwardly languish in silence as it drones on and on, instead answering on the second ring. She's in her own private sitting room, sharing her couch and computer with Marya, and as always when she video-calls home, Paige feels a pang at the familiar outlines. After the wedding, she's going to go home for a visit. And she'll bring Sam along, too, if she can. Maybe even Dean, if he allows it.
"Hey, squirt," Madison greets with a wave of her hand. "And Ambassador Hanscum. It's a pleasure to see you."
"You can't go all formal on her after calling me squirt," Paige complains lightly, already feeling more at ease just seeing her face.
"I outrank you, so I can do what I want," Madison answers, her favourite childhood refrain, and she cracks a little grin at her before adding, "Babe."
Donna very politely hides a laugh by sipping her tea and doing her best not to choke on it too loudly instead.
"Why are you like this," Paige sighs, but she's fighting a losing battle against a smile, borne of the comfort from simple, familiar routines like playful bickering with her sister. Familiarity gets her in the worst way.
"It's what older siblings are for," Madison answers, droll as ever, and she just snorts. Marya, however, nudges Madison.
"Hey, kids, not to disrupt the touching name-calling going on here," she says dryly, "but we're on business right now, aren't we?"
Both Paige and Madison sober immediately. Paige bites her lip nervously, then sighs.
"Ah," she says. "Well. Sort of. Nothing official. I just—I need advice, Marya, and I didn't know where to turn..."
"Advice, huh?" Marya says, raising her eyebrows, and Madison snickers.
"What I'm wondering is why you're so paranoid you're using official private channels to ask about your love life," she grins. "Are you that worried about Prince Sam finding out that—"
"What?!" It's not a screech, Paige tells herself, but even she has to admit it came pretty close. "No, no no no no no, that is not what I'm calling about—who even told—wait—I'm not admitting to—"
Madison sighs a fake-disappointed sigh and then grins a very genuinely unrepentant grin. "Paige, please," she says. "We practically raised Bela for a few years there. You think Mom isn't still calling her to make sure she eats?"
Paige stares at her, horrified, and fervently ignores the way her face is getting hotter. "She told you?"
"I'm missing something," Donna whispers. Paige ignores her for the moment.
Madison shrugs. "To be fair," she says, "you never made her promise not to tell anyone, and also she was a little drunk. And I asked."
Paige gapes. "You did what? But Madison—okay. Okay. You know what? That's—that's fine, I don't—it's fine, it doesn't matter, I'm—it isn't—I don't mind. Okay. Cool. Whatever. You know. Okay. Anyway, that's actually not what I called to talk to you about..."
Madison's eyebrows shoot up. "It's not? For real?"
"You look worried," Marya interjects. She looks tired, which is probably why she's not saying that much—it must have been a long day. A twinge of guilt tugs at Paige for keeping her up late, even though she knows she usually is up later than this anyway. "What's wrong?"
Pushing all embarrassing thoughts of Sam and cuddling and blanket forts and kisses aside, Paige presses her lips together and takes a deep breath, smelling Donna's jasmine tea steam again. Right. The entire point of this call.
"Something feels... off," she says carefully. "In court. I don't know how to describe it. It's like—Marya, you know when you can feel someone has bad intentions toward you, it's like that malicious feeling in the pit of your stomach and it grows when they are close to you or they're thinking about it or whatever?"
Marya nods, her eyes narrowing. "Do you think someone has bad intentions toward you?" she asks sharply. "Have you told anyone? Your Sam, or the Queen, or the head of security or the head of the spies, anyone—it's serious, Paige, I don't want you disregarding threats—"
But Paige is shaking her head. "No, no, that's not what I'm saying," she interjects, glancing at Donna, but she's quiet, just watching the exchange with rapt attention. "It's like that feeling, but a lot broader and a lot... I don't know how to describe it. It's constant. There are none of the fluctuations in it, it just feels bad. I don't know what would make that happen, Marya, I don't understand! Is it a lot of people all having generally bad intentions? I don't understand, but it's scaring me. I—I feel like there's something big happening, but I don't have any actual evidence for it, and I just—I don't know."
Marya is leaning forward, frowning, her fingers tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Tell me what you feel, in as much detail as you can. This is not good, Paige."
"I—you think so?" Paige asks anxiously. "I was worried it was just me being paranoid all the time. I've never felt anything like it before. It's like... um, okay. How should I describe it, ah... It's like—I almost feel sick from it, it's really similar to anxiety honestly? But I know it's not, it's different, because it goes away if I shut off my magic, plus it doesn't feel like my own anxiety. But it just—it makes me feel like something awful is hanging over my head and I don't know what."
Marya's frown deepens. "When and where does it happen?"
"In court, the most," Paige answers immediately. "I feel like it—it gets worse, around some people, maybe? But there's always so many people so close together in court that I can't really pin down who, exactly. And sometimes I get it outside of court, too, and I have no idea if it's just... me? Or if there's someone nearby I shouldn't trust? But I haven't been able to figure out a pattern, and Marya, it's so frustrating, it feels like there's this huge puzzle right in front of me and I can't turn on the lights to let me see enough to put the pieces together, and I just—"
She breaks off, shaking her head, and takes a long, slow sip of her cocoa to calm down. Marya, shaking her head on the screen, purses her lips, then sighs.
"I don't like the sound of this," she says. "How much do you trust what you feel?"
Paige bites her lip. "I've been feeling it for a while," she admits. "Pretty much since I got here, I think, but I've only now started realizing that this is what I've been feeling, and it wasn't just really bad anxiety all the time."
She glances at Donna again, unsure how much about her anxiety she can or should say in front of her, but Donna is still sitting, quiet and respectful, letting them talk without making any of her own interjections. Paige wonders if she knows how much she appreciates that.
"Something might be going on in the heart of Ruritania's court," Marya muses. "You should talk to the Queen about this."
Paige hesitates. "You... think so? What do I even tell her, though? 'Hi, Queen Winchester, I have absolutely no evidence and no clues indicating where to start investigating anything, but there's something bad going on, just thought I'd let you know' doesn't sound particularly... credible. Encouraging. Useful. Any of that."
"You should let her be the judge of that," Madison speaks up. The teasing levity is gone from her eyes, replaced by solemn concern. "Just give her all the facts you have, just tell her you think she and everyone else on her side should be on their guard. And you should be careful, too, Paige. Don't go places alone, make sure you're protected at all times, and make sure you can trust the people who you surround yourself with. I don't want anything to happen to you, little sister."
"I'm being careful," Paige promises immediately. "I won't do anything reckless, I promise—I mean, would I ever? Me?" She laughs, but it comes out a little hollow, because this is all real and something big is at play, and it's not just her own fears like she'd kind of been hoping it was. "...What if," she starts, and then hesitates because is this even a thought that's worth voicing? But Madison and Marya are staring at her now, curious, so she has no choice other than to finish it out. "What if I waited too long? Thinking it had to be nothing and dismissing it and thinking it was just—just all in my head? What if it's already too late to stop whatever 'it' is?"
"I don't think it's too late," Madison offers. When Paige still looks unconvinced, she sighs, running a hand through her hair. "But if it is, then it's simple, Paige. If it's too late to stop the building or whatever from crumbling, then we just do what we can to pick up the pieces."
Paige bites her lip, nods, and drops her gaze. That answer is realistic and pragmatic and makes sense, but it's—it's not that reassuring, because she just—she has to keep the "building or whatever" from crumbling in the first place, it's what she's supposed to do, that's why she's here and it's just—that's what the Queen herself asked of her, and—
"Um, Crown Princess Mains? Lady Steele?" It's Donna, piping up for the first time in the call, and that's enough of a surprise to get Paige to raise her head. "I know we're all talking about being careful, but, um, if I may ask? What kinds of concrete things should I do to support Princess Paige, and to help her with all of this? Is there anything I need to know or do? I just want to help, if there's anything I can do..."
"Keep your eyes open," Marya advises. "Paige is like our canary in the coal mine here—"
"—But without any injury of any sort coming to her," Maddy interjects quickly.
"Yes, she's our immortal, immune canary," Marya agrees. "What we basically have here is a warning that something is wrong, and also a hint that it's a really damn big something, but we don't know what. So the best thing any of us can do for now, but especially you two is to keep your eyes open and try and figure out what's happening. But be careful, you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, yes ma'am!" Donna chirps, firing off a quick salute.
"And Paige," Madison adds, levelling a flat look into the camera. "Talk to Prince Sam and the Queen. I'm serious. They should know about this, too."
"Okay," Paige says softly. "I don't think I can tell them in the palace, though—you know the saying about walls and ears. And especially with all the secret passages here, I just... I don't know how much I trust the security of anything like this, not in that palace, not when I don't know who's making me feel this way."
"Mm," Madison sighs. "Well, you can get Prince Sam out of the grounds easily enough, from what you've told me—maybe even invite him over there, to Donna's? I don't know. But if you can get to him, I'm sure he's got private ways of talking to his mother."
"Let yourself rely on others," Marya advises. "You don't have to do everything alone, Paige. You just have to find the people you can trust."
Paige sighs. "Right," she mumbles. "I'll ... try to do that."
"It'll be okay," Maddy says, doing her best to reassure her, and Paige attempts to smile for her sake. She doesn't want to make her worry about her unduly; she's got enough on her plate as it is. So she just has to hide that sinking feeling in her stomach, that's all.
She just can't tell her that she doesn't quite believe her.
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