by wand or by knife
rated m (for a v short fade to black moment), <1k
[honestly idk i had this idea and i'm in the trenches due to a long fic that doesn't seem to want to end and this just happened! it's probably pure nonsense]
SIMON
When Baz asked me not to make any plans for today, I didn’t question it. There’s always something going on. A family dinner to celebrate a holiday I never even heard of, drinks with friends I forgot existed that he somehow keeps in touch with, sporting events I am pretty sure are made up until the moment we arrive. I never question it.
Baz could ask anything of me. I don’t know how to say no to him.
I wouldn’t want to, either.
BAZ
I have been doing weird things for Simon Snow for ages now. I’ve decided that at this point it would be weirder to stop.
The idea lodged itself into my brain last week. We were wrapped around each other like we always are: curled up on the sofa together like a creature that separates into two every morning but needs to return to its natural form at night to survive.
The film was rubbish, if you ask me. Simon would probably agree. But he’s easy to ready when it comes to mushy stuff. I always notice when his eyes get all bright and big like that.
I don’t know yet if I’m a grand gesture kind of guy, but I do care a whole lot about making him happy.
SIMON
There are scones for breakfast. When I ask where he got them, he avoids the question and starts talking about research with Penny. When I ask again, he tells me not to worry about it.
That’s not a very Baz thing to say. And they’re just scones. Nothing to be suspicious about, really. Except… they taste exactly like the ones back at Watford.
I put half a dozen away easily, and wash them down with tea he keeps refilling.
It’s a good morning.
BAZ
I tried to remember what I was wearing that day, but I can’t. It was winter, then, so it’s not like it matters, really. It’s too warm for jumpers.
Simon has told me before how much he likes the green shirt, so I go with that. This is not the kind of thing one dresses up for but I don’t know how to not make an effort.
SIMON
That fucking green shirt.
“Simon, come on, I wanna get going.”
I’ll get him going all right.
He’s got the top three buttons open. The green makes his eyes pop, his skin all lovely white marble, peppered with stark black hair. I want to lick all the way from his collarbone and down his sternum. I want to pop all the buttons off on that bloody shirt.
He wouldn’t forgive me for the latter, but I think I can get him on board with the former.
“Snow, for fuck’s sake, now?”
We’re always late when he wears that shirt. It’s not my fault.
“Si— oh, bloody hell, well, don’t stop now!”
Whatever it is we’re doing, we might be late.
BAZ
He’s a bloody demon.
I have to bribe him with food to get him in the car.
SIMON
He better not be joking about getting me more scones.
BAZ
This is all a bit of a silly plan. I consider turning the car back and taking him out for lunch.
I don’t, for the sake of romance.
SIMON
He’s fidgety. The soft kind, not the nervous kind. I’ve learnt how to tell those apart. There’s definitely something fishy going on.
The music is on quietly, and the windows are down. His hair is up but little wisps of it escape the bobble, flying around his face. It makes me want to reach over and tuck it behind his ear. He fed just this morning, so it should pull a blush out of him, too. I like it when he blushes.
BAZ
“Wait, are we going to…” he trails off.
Finally. I figured he’d get it like twenty minutes ago.
SIMON
My heart is hammering against my ribcage. I check Baz’s trousers for the potential shape of a velvet box through the fabric of his pockets. Nothing, though. Not one thing. No ring.
Why else do people bring their significant others to the spot of their first kiss?
BAZ
“Come on, Snow,” I say, trying to sound more confident than I feel.
SIMON
I find the place before he does. I didn’t think I’d remember it, but I do. I remember the flames, and the way his lips felt on mine. They feel just as good now, but it’s nice to be less confused about it. And less worried he’ll incinerate himself into a pile of ash, like an idiot.
BAZ
I pull my wand out of my pocket, and then his present. I pass it to him without a word.
SIMON
“I thought you said I was not allowed near knives,” I tell him.
I had a small accident in the kitchen, a few months back. I’ve not tried any knife tricks since then. I have no clue why he’s handing me a pocket knife now.
BAZ
“Come here,” I ask him. He does. I twist him around so he’s bracketed by my body, between the tree and I. “Step forward.”
“Is this a weird vampire thing? Wait, Baz, are you finally turning me?”
“Shut up, Snow.”
He’s still laughing, but it dies down when I mutter the spell and aim at the tree.
The carving is a little wonky, but I’d never used that spell before. His mouth is open and he looks vaguely like he may cry.
He traces the shapes with his fingers when I finish.
SIMON
S+B.
Baz is a romantic fool. I love him so much it hurts.
You’re ridiculous, I want to say. But I’m too scared I’ll cry if I open my mouth.
“Your turn,” he whispers, kissing behind my ear.
BAZ
He carves the heart around the letters like it’s the easiest thing he’s ever done.
Perfect, magical, incredible Simon Snow.
SIMON
“I love you,” he says.
And then he kisses me.
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Fundamentally, if the democrats lose the presidency in 2024, it will not be because of "voter apathy" or "the idealistic left" or Cornell West or whatever third party candidate the liberals end up blaming. It will be because the democrats have failed to meet the lowest standards of many Americans.
You can talk about strategic voting until you're blue in the face, but fundamentally, people need reasons to vote for a candidate. There are people in this country watching as their family members get slaughtered by American arms, sent to Israel by Joe Biden. The people watching their families get murdered in Palestine have no reason to support Joe Biden. How can you ask them to?
"Sorry your family got bombed, but I need you to vote for the man who is directly responsible, or *real* people are going to suffer too."
It was at this point While I was drafting this post that I heard he just started bombing Yemen. It's like he's doing everything in his power to sink his own fucking campaign, are you shitting me? This isn't a matter of "stupid commies not being realistic enough", he's not just working for the status quo; just about every action he has taken since October 7th has been an escalation of conflict in the Middle East and made it worse for everyone living there. This is exactly what I'm talking about.
You can scold people for voting wrong as much as you want, but fundamentally the way that democrats can win elections is by pursuing good policy. If the only argument you can come up with in favor of Joe Biden is that he won't do 1 or 2 of the terrible things that Trump wants to do, then that will simply not appeal to the people who are most intensely affected by Biden's failures (not to mention people who have moral objections to genocide, even when it doesn't affect them). You can scream and cry all you want, people are not going to just overlook his role in the ethnic cleansing of Gaza just because he is the Less Bad Genocider.
If a republican wins the presidency in November, you can blame the hundreds of thousands of voters/nonvoters who should've agreed with you and put aside every moral concern they ever had about the Biden administration... or you can blame the one fucking guy whose massive foreign policy failures are going to tank his re-election campaign.
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