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rainbowfic2023-02-11 09:33 pm
bookblather) wrote in rainbowfic2023-02-11 09:33 pm
Sapphire 3: Rubies
Author: Kat
Title: Rubies
Story: In the Heart
Colors: Sapphire 3 (ruby) with this_blue_spirit's paint by numbers (Summer - kiss to save the day & rockband au)
Supplies and Materials: Graffiti (New Beginnings: rock star AU), novelty beads (a man kissing someone's hand), frame, eraser (rock star AU), brush (besotted)
Word Count: 1375
Rating: PG for minor swearing
Summary: Summer opens a package she shouldn't have.
Warning: none.
Notes: This didn't make it into the story, but fun fact: rubies are Summer's birthstone. Also, the sneaky West Wing joke is in fact a sneaky West Wing joke.
Summer was already awake and sitting at the kitchen table when Felipe came in, stretching and scratching his hands through his hair. She looked perfect as always, pretty and put-together with her morning tea at her elbow, but she was always up before the two of them; she had a normal day job, after all, while he and Zack routinely got home after midnight, when they got home at all. Even on a day off, she preferred not to sleep in. Summer liked her routines.
“Morning, querida,” he said, blew a kiss her way, and shuffled to the mug cabinet. He didn’t actually need coffee to function in the morning, but he liked the taste and the way the mug warmed the bones in his hands. Getting old, he thought, taking down his favorite mug, green and black with Basic Human Courtesy printed across it. One of their very first pieces of merch, from before Summer, before fame, when he was young and stupid and reckless. He was less reckless now, and less young.
Still about as stupid, though, because it had taken him this long to realize that Summer hadn’t moved.
“Summer?” He abandoned his mug on the counter and went over to her. “Are you okay?”
She was staring down at a cardboard mailer, her hands braced against the table. He couldn’t read her expression at all, so he craned his neck to look into the neatly-opened nest of cardboard, and… ah. A small velvet ring box. Of course.
He sighed. “Goddamnit.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, without looking up. “It had your name on it but I thought… I always open the mail, you never mind.”
“Please tell me they didn’t just leave it on the porch,” he said, pulling out a chair beside her. “That cost a lot of money.”
She shook her head. “No, I had to sign for it. I didn’t… really think about it, before.”
Felipe sat down, then reached over and took the ring box out of her line of sight. “We were going to do this together.”
Summer looked sharply up. “Not on stage.”
“Jesus Christ, no,” he said, and tried not to feel insulted. “We wouldn’t do that to you, querida.” To each other, sure, all the time- a certain amount of exhibitionism came with the job. But not to shy, introverted Summer, who hated attention from all but a very few.
Which might be the problem, really.
Zack wandered in fuzzy-eyed and bed-headed, said, “G’morning,” and stopped mid-yawn when he saw what Felipe was holding. Because Zack did need coffee to get started, all he produced was, “Uh.”
“I’m sorry,” Summer said again, miserably. She was looking back down at the opened package. Scene of the crime, Felipe thought, then firmly shoved aside the song that started to write itself in his head. Later.
Instead, he took her hand and squeezed. “It’s okay. You didn’t know.”
“Coffee,” Zack said. “I need coffee for this conversation.” On his way to the machine, he paused behind Summer to drop a kiss on top of her head. Her hand relaxed a little in Felipe’s.
In the bubbling and muttering-filled pause that followed, Felipe opened the ring box with his free hand. The ring shone up at him from its white satin cushion. Gold-worked vines spotted with tiny emeralds cradled a single oval ruby; small, unobtrusive, and elegant, nothing like the thick gold bands he and Zack preferred, but exactly like their Summer.
Zack clomped over with his mug, deliberately noisy, and dropped into a chair on Summer’s other side. Maybe mistake, they didn’t want her to feel surrounded-- but no, she reached out and took his free hand with her other one. Good.
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Summer said, still staring at the table. “Be married. I know we already talked about this and I do. I just…”
Felipe waited out the long pause that followed. The little wrinkle between her eyebrows said she was thinking, not done. Across from him, Zack drank his coffee and ran his thumb softly over Summer’s knuckles.
“It feels like a lot,” she said, finally. “What you do. What you are. I’m sorry. I know I do this every time we take a step.”
“’Cause it is a lot,” Zack said, and shrugged. “It’s okay, babe, you’re allowed to have feelings.”
“And you’re allowed to change your mind,” Felipe added, closing the box and setting it aside. “It can be too much for you, anytime. We talked about that too.”
She ducked her head, her hair falling over her face. “I know. I don’t want to change my mind. I want…” She trailed off.
Quiet settled down in the kitchen.
“The gems are all lab-grown,” Zack said, after a minute or two. “I know how you feel about blood diamonds.”
Summer laughed. It sounded a little wet. “I never thought they weren’t,” she said, and then, “I want you. I want this, I want us. I want to be married to you. I’m just scared, and the ring made it real.”
Felipe brought her hand to his lips and brushed his mouth across her knuckles. “I know, querida. I’m scared too.”
She looked at him, her blue eyes wide. “Of what?”
Good question. “Of… losing you,” he said, slowly, feeling his way through the words. “Either, both. Maybe this all overwhelms you, and you leave-- because you’re right, there’s going to be attention. More attention. Maybe Zack and I have a horrible blowup fight over something--” Zack snorted, but said nothing-- “and that’s it, no more band, no more him.”
“Maybe we have a horrible blowup fight and then talk it out like the adults we theoretically are,” Zack said. “You know, like the last time.”
Felipe kicked him under the table. “Shut up, I’m being vulnerable.”
Summer laughed again, which had been the idea, then pulled tentatively at her hand. He let go and watched her pull her hair back out of her face before she took his hand again. “Maybe I get used to it, like I did before. Maybe I’m just not very interesting.”
“Maybe we’re all of us boring as hell,” Zack said. “I will point out that nobody’s said anything about us off social media since… god, what, we moved in together? Even then nobody seemed interested. Except for the fan groups, but they’re, well, you know, fan groups.”
“I thought Alison told you to stay the hell off the fan groups,” Felipe said. “Something about shoving computer parts up your ass?” Zack had some kind of weird fascination with trolling the fans that neither Felipe nor Summer shared and that their PR manager loathed.
“She did,” Zack said. “And I did. That woman terrifies me.”
“I’m afraid of the fan groups,” Summer said, matter of fact. Then, “Wait, what about Zack’s ring?”
“It was easier to make, so it came earlier,” Felipe said. “Plain gold, no gems, nothing to get caught-- what?”
Zack was staring at them, mouth half-open, mug half-tilted. “You… wait, hang on, I thought… weren’t we just buying… what’s going on here?”
Summer giggled. Felipe sighed. “It was supposed to be a surprise for you. Idiot.”
“Asshole,” Zack said, and took his interrupted sip. “Okay. Surprise for both of us.”
“Does this mean neither of you bought a ring for me?” he asked, raising both eyebrows.
Zack rolled his eyes. “What kind of-- okay, never mind, you just called me an idiot, but I will have you know I am not one and it is hidden in a shoebox in that closet upstairs that you never go into.”
“Okay, then,” Felipe said, warmth curling around his heart. “So… surprise, Summer, we were going to propose to you this week. And surprise, Zack, same.”
“Did we have a plan?” Zack asked Summer.
She sniffed and lifted her chin. Her nose was a little red, her eyes a little watery still, but she was beautiful, always, forever. “I had a plan. I assumed you were just going to follow my lead.”
“Always and forever, wherever you go,” he said, and leaned over to kiss her. “Yes, by the way.”
“Yes,” Summer echoed, softly.
“Yes,” Felipe said, and grinned at them both.
Title: Rubies
Story: In the Heart
Colors: Sapphire 3 (ruby) with this_blue_spirit's paint by numbers (Summer - kiss to save the day & rockband au)
Supplies and Materials: Graffiti (New Beginnings: rock star AU), novelty beads (a man kissing someone's hand), frame, eraser (rock star AU), brush (besotted)
Word Count: 1375
Rating: PG for minor swearing
Summary: Summer opens a package she shouldn't have.
Warning: none.
Notes: This didn't make it into the story, but fun fact: rubies are Summer's birthstone. Also, the sneaky West Wing joke is in fact a sneaky West Wing joke.
Summer was already awake and sitting at the kitchen table when Felipe came in, stretching and scratching his hands through his hair. She looked perfect as always, pretty and put-together with her morning tea at her elbow, but she was always up before the two of them; she had a normal day job, after all, while he and Zack routinely got home after midnight, when they got home at all. Even on a day off, she preferred not to sleep in. Summer liked her routines.
“Morning, querida,” he said, blew a kiss her way, and shuffled to the mug cabinet. He didn’t actually need coffee to function in the morning, but he liked the taste and the way the mug warmed the bones in his hands. Getting old, he thought, taking down his favorite mug, green and black with Basic Human Courtesy printed across it. One of their very first pieces of merch, from before Summer, before fame, when he was young and stupid and reckless. He was less reckless now, and less young.
Still about as stupid, though, because it had taken him this long to realize that Summer hadn’t moved.
“Summer?” He abandoned his mug on the counter and went over to her. “Are you okay?”
She was staring down at a cardboard mailer, her hands braced against the table. He couldn’t read her expression at all, so he craned his neck to look into the neatly-opened nest of cardboard, and… ah. A small velvet ring box. Of course.
He sighed. “Goddamnit.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, without looking up. “It had your name on it but I thought… I always open the mail, you never mind.”
“Please tell me they didn’t just leave it on the porch,” he said, pulling out a chair beside her. “That cost a lot of money.”
She shook her head. “No, I had to sign for it. I didn’t… really think about it, before.”
Felipe sat down, then reached over and took the ring box out of her line of sight. “We were going to do this together.”
Summer looked sharply up. “Not on stage.”
“Jesus Christ, no,” he said, and tried not to feel insulted. “We wouldn’t do that to you, querida.” To each other, sure, all the time- a certain amount of exhibitionism came with the job. But not to shy, introverted Summer, who hated attention from all but a very few.
Which might be the problem, really.
Zack wandered in fuzzy-eyed and bed-headed, said, “G’morning,” and stopped mid-yawn when he saw what Felipe was holding. Because Zack did need coffee to get started, all he produced was, “Uh.”
“I’m sorry,” Summer said again, miserably. She was looking back down at the opened package. Scene of the crime, Felipe thought, then firmly shoved aside the song that started to write itself in his head. Later.
Instead, he took her hand and squeezed. “It’s okay. You didn’t know.”
“Coffee,” Zack said. “I need coffee for this conversation.” On his way to the machine, he paused behind Summer to drop a kiss on top of her head. Her hand relaxed a little in Felipe’s.
In the bubbling and muttering-filled pause that followed, Felipe opened the ring box with his free hand. The ring shone up at him from its white satin cushion. Gold-worked vines spotted with tiny emeralds cradled a single oval ruby; small, unobtrusive, and elegant, nothing like the thick gold bands he and Zack preferred, but exactly like their Summer.
Zack clomped over with his mug, deliberately noisy, and dropped into a chair on Summer’s other side. Maybe mistake, they didn’t want her to feel surrounded-- but no, she reached out and took his free hand with her other one. Good.
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Summer said, still staring at the table. “Be married. I know we already talked about this and I do. I just…”
Felipe waited out the long pause that followed. The little wrinkle between her eyebrows said she was thinking, not done. Across from him, Zack drank his coffee and ran his thumb softly over Summer’s knuckles.
“It feels like a lot,” she said, finally. “What you do. What you are. I’m sorry. I know I do this every time we take a step.”
“’Cause it is a lot,” Zack said, and shrugged. “It’s okay, babe, you’re allowed to have feelings.”
“And you’re allowed to change your mind,” Felipe added, closing the box and setting it aside. “It can be too much for you, anytime. We talked about that too.”
She ducked her head, her hair falling over her face. “I know. I don’t want to change my mind. I want…” She trailed off.
Quiet settled down in the kitchen.
“The gems are all lab-grown,” Zack said, after a minute or two. “I know how you feel about blood diamonds.”
Summer laughed. It sounded a little wet. “I never thought they weren’t,” she said, and then, “I want you. I want this, I want us. I want to be married to you. I’m just scared, and the ring made it real.”
Felipe brought her hand to his lips and brushed his mouth across her knuckles. “I know, querida. I’m scared too.”
She looked at him, her blue eyes wide. “Of what?”
Good question. “Of… losing you,” he said, slowly, feeling his way through the words. “Either, both. Maybe this all overwhelms you, and you leave-- because you’re right, there’s going to be attention. More attention. Maybe Zack and I have a horrible blowup fight over something--” Zack snorted, but said nothing-- “and that’s it, no more band, no more him.”
“Maybe we have a horrible blowup fight and then talk it out like the adults we theoretically are,” Zack said. “You know, like the last time.”
Felipe kicked him under the table. “Shut up, I’m being vulnerable.”
Summer laughed again, which had been the idea, then pulled tentatively at her hand. He let go and watched her pull her hair back out of her face before she took his hand again. “Maybe I get used to it, like I did before. Maybe I’m just not very interesting.”
“Maybe we’re all of us boring as hell,” Zack said. “I will point out that nobody’s said anything about us off social media since… god, what, we moved in together? Even then nobody seemed interested. Except for the fan groups, but they’re, well, you know, fan groups.”
“I thought Alison told you to stay the hell off the fan groups,” Felipe said. “Something about shoving computer parts up your ass?” Zack had some kind of weird fascination with trolling the fans that neither Felipe nor Summer shared and that their PR manager loathed.
“She did,” Zack said. “And I did. That woman terrifies me.”
“I’m afraid of the fan groups,” Summer said, matter of fact. Then, “Wait, what about Zack’s ring?”
“It was easier to make, so it came earlier,” Felipe said. “Plain gold, no gems, nothing to get caught-- what?”
Zack was staring at them, mouth half-open, mug half-tilted. “You… wait, hang on, I thought… weren’t we just buying… what’s going on here?”
Summer giggled. Felipe sighed. “It was supposed to be a surprise for you. Idiot.”
“Asshole,” Zack said, and took his interrupted sip. “Okay. Surprise for both of us.”
“Does this mean neither of you bought a ring for me?” he asked, raising both eyebrows.
Zack rolled his eyes. “What kind of-- okay, never mind, you just called me an idiot, but I will have you know I am not one and it is hidden in a shoebox in that closet upstairs that you never go into.”
“Okay, then,” Felipe said, warmth curling around his heart. “So… surprise, Summer, we were going to propose to you this week. And surprise, Zack, same.”
“Did we have a plan?” Zack asked Summer.
She sniffed and lifted her chin. Her nose was a little red, her eyes a little watery still, but she was beautiful, always, forever. “I had a plan. I assumed you were just going to follow my lead.”
“Always and forever, wherever you go,” he said, and leaned over to kiss her. “Yes, by the way.”
“Yes,” Summer echoed, softly.
“Yes,” Felipe said, and grinned at them both.