Hi guys! So this is my first story on here :) I'm completely head over heels for this couple ahhh, so I thought it'd be fun to write this. Do people even keep up with this fandom anymore? Also, this is super hard without emojis… Anyways, this is a songfic of "What You Mean to Me" from the Broadway musical "Finding Neverland." The song is super cute, (update: I had to take the actual song lyrics out of the story due to copyright reasons) so I suggest listening to it before reading this. The horizontal line in the middle basically means that we fast forwarded to when Milori broke his wing :'(. This is a one shot for now, but depending on how things go, I may continue with it or just write a new story for them (I have a new story in the works that I may publish). I hope you enjoy! (Sorry if this is awful, I wrote it at like 2am last night and it's my first story… anyways… I'll stop rambling now.)
Milori and Clarion sat in their familiar spots at the border, content with just holding each other. Clarion lay her head on the strong sparrow-man's chest while Milori hummed a tune softly. "You know I have a weak spot for your singing," Clarion said, letting out a soft giggle and looked up at him.
"And you, my dear, know I have a weak spot for your giggles," Milori winked at her.
Clarion just blushed and looked down at the river below them, her heart beating a little faster. 'After all this time we've spent together, he still has the capability to give me butterflies,' Clarion thought to herself. 'Maybe even more than when we first met.' Not that she'd ever admit it to him. She wondered if he felt the same.
Clarion let herself get lost in thought, her mind turning back to a conversation she had with the Queen earlier that day. "Clarion, darling, I know you two care for each other very much, but you must consider the risks. You are going to be queen soon, you need to realize that you will never truly be able to be together," the Queen spoke calmly. "One of you could end up hurt." She paused. "I'm just trying to look out for your safety."
"Oh, but don't you see?! I love him!" Clarion yelled a little louder than she intended. She blushed after those words came out, she had never said it out loud before. The Queen just sighed.
"I trust you'll do the right thing in time, even if it's the opposite of what you think is right." With that, the Queen flew out and shut Clarion's door.
"What is it, Clarion?" Milori asked, breaking Clarion from her thoughts.
"Huh? Oh, uh, nothing," Clarion tried, knowing he'd see right through her.
"Clarion. I know you. What's upsetting you?" Milori whispered softly, stroking the back of her hand.
Clarion sighed. "Well. I had a conversation with the Queen today. About us," Clarion started, never taking her eyes off of the river below. "She told me that she 'trusts me to do the right thing, even if it's saying goodbye,'" Clarion mimicked her.
"My dear, you'll never have to say goodbye to me. I promise." Milori pulled her close and kissed her gently.
Clarion smiled into the kiss, then continued. "I know what we're doing isn't the smartest thing but-" Clarion grew frustrated remembering the conversation and buried her face in her hands. "But- I just- Ugh, I love you! And you drive me crazy and I can't be without y-" Clarion paused, realizing what she just blurted out, including the three words.
"Um, wow, I- I better get going, it's getting la-" She was interrupted by Milori's lips on hers. Clarion relaxed into him, letting her arms wrap around his neck. Milori rested his forehead on hers and smiled. "Glad I'm not the only crazy one in this relationship," he smirked. "I love you too. So much."
"Words cannot describe how much you mean to me," Clarion whispered in a sing-song voice.
The two lovers went to bed that night feeling like they were floating on clouds. Without a care in the world, they fell asleep dancing with each other in their dreams.
Queen Clarion awoke to find herself in her own bed with her head pounding and foggy memory of the night before. Thoughts started racing through the fairy's mind. 'I was at the border… With Milori… There was yelling and screami.. And a hawk… An accident...' Clarion shot up in her bed, grabbing her winter coat, and flew off towards the border.
When Clarion arrived, she spotted Milori sitting at their spot. "Milori!" Clarion practically screamed as she flew straight into him, embracing him. One of Clarion's guards had followed her, but stayed out of earshot to give her Queen privacy.
"I thought- I thought you might've been d-dead, you scared me half to death!" She yelled, half punching his chest with her fists - not that her punches would hurt him - and burying her face in his shoulder. Milori just held onto her tightly, knowing what was coming next.
"I love you so much," he whispered sadly, and kissed the top of her head. Clarion noticed the tone and pulled back.
"Milori… What is it?"
He hesitated. He knew that she was going to forever blame herself after this. "Clarion, you're not going to want to hear this. Last night… The hawk was about to hurt you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you… So I flew across the border and pushed you out of the way. You hit your head and your guards flew you back to your room…" A tear slipped down Milori's face. "The hawk eventually flew off, but when I got back to winter… It was too late. My wing broke, Clarion."
The Queen just stood there, her wings drooping, staring at him as tears built up, threatening to fall. "No…" She whispered. "No, no… This is all my fault, Milori, I'm so sorry," Clarion cried, covering her face with her hands.
Milori just pulled her into an embrace. "Clarion, don't you dare think for a second that this is your fault. I'd do it all over again for you if I had to." Clarion hardly had herself together at this point. "My love, look at me." Milori lifted her chin so she had nowhere else to look. "Do not blame yourself."
"I'm so sorry," was all she could manage to say.
After a few moments, Milori spoke up. "Clarion… I think you know what we need to do," Milori whispered. He didn't want to have to say those words. Clarion winced at hearing them outloud.
"No," Clarion replied firmly. "I'm not saying goodbye to you."
"Clarion-"
"No! I'm not throwing what we have away! Weren't you the one who told me all those seasons ago that I'd never have to say goodbye to you?!" She hit him on the chest again. "I have my coat, I can still cross over to winter with you," Clarion exclaimed.
"And I cannot risk putting you through what I just went through!" Milori shouted back. "This is hurting me too, Clarion! But it will be good for Pixie Hollow."
Clarion was in shock. "I can't imagine any 'good' coming from goodbye," she whispered and looked down, wiping a tear from her cheek.
"Clarion… Please. I don't want this to end in a fight." He hesitated on the word "end."
"We shouldn't have to end this at all!" her anger rising again. "You're not the only one who gets to make these decisions, Milori!"
"I know that, Clarion, but when you're too blinded by your emotions to see that you're in danger, I have to!"
"I don't care if I'm in danger! I'd rather lose both of my wings than say goodbye to you, don't you see that?" Clarion didn't try to fight the tears anymore. A few moments of silence passed.
"My love, I never thought I'd be the one to cause you this pain. It kills me to see it. But I hope that one day you'll understand." He paused. "This-this is only going to get harder. We should be going soon…" There was no answer. Clarion didn't even blink her eyes. They were red and puffy and she looked exhausted. It was now Milori's turn to let the tears fall. "I love you so much, Clarion. I always will." With that, Milori stood up and waited a moment to see if she'd acknowledge him for one last time.
He sighed and started to walk away, right as Clarion shot up. "Wait! No!" She flew towards him as fast as she could and kissed him with all her might. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her back. "I love you so much," she whispered before she turned and flew into the trees.
"I will see you again, Clarion! I promise you that!" Milori practically screamed after her. Milori's tears didn't stop as he took one last look at the border that started it all, turned, and walked deeper into the Winter Woods. Little did he know, that Clarion didn't actually fly away. The Queen flew down from her perch in a tree and landed on the log, barely touching winter. "Viola," Clarion said, her voice hardening. Her guard flew up and sensed all of Clarion's walls shooting up around her. "Yes, your highness?"
"Please make an announcement informing the fairies of a new law." Clarion said coldly, as she stared deeply into winter.
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