Pizza and Promises
(Balthazar X Veronica)
(A/N: okay just a one shot drabble about what I think happened after the movie and a long awaited reunion. This takes place before Dave and Becky fly off to France. XD.)
The steel eagle landed on the roof of Dave's lab at Balthazar's command, lowering a wing to help the group of humans slide off. The girls slid off first and waited for the boys, just in case Dave needed help getting Balthazar down.
Dave placed an arm around the older sorcerer's back to help him to his feet and gave him a teasing smile.
"Last stop, old man."
Balthazar grinned back but said nothing as the young wizard steadied him. In the old days, he would have been ashamed to have to rely on another's help but at the moment he was exhausted and far from caring about his reputation.
Once on the concrete roof, Veronica immediately took Dave's place and gave him a grateful smile.
Dave stepped back, appraising the older sorcerers with reluctance.
"Are you sure you don't mind us…I mean with your..."
"Go on, Dave.' Balthazar said in his tired rough voice, glancing at Veronica, "We can look after ourselves while you're gone. We can surely keep out of trouble for a few days."
Dave nodded. "right. Well there's a bed in the back room like I said and you know where the…"
"We'll be fine, dad." Balthazar said with a dry sardonic growl, "besides I think you're ride's getting impatient."
Dave, who had gone stand with Becky, turned to see the steel eagle flapping its enormous metallic wings eager for flight once more and turned back with a smile.
"I guess we'd better go." Dave said to Becky and turned and tossed the keys to Balthazar.
"Be careful, Dave." Balthazar called after the boy as he and the girl crawled up onto the eagle's back.
Dave smirked and gave a short wave before calling to the eagle with a hesitant voice, "Uh, let's go."
The metal bird shot off like a bullet without a sound save for Becky's abrupt scream of surprise and slowly disappeared into the night sky above New York's lights.
Balthazar and Veronica watched the young couple disappear for a minute more before Balthazar gestured to the door.
"Shall we retire?"
She smiled that radiant smile he had fallen for a thousand years ago and felt his breath catch somewhere in his throat.
" I'd love to."
Going downstairs was no easy task as slow as they needed to go but eventually they made it to the stone cellar and collapsed into chairs.
They sat for a few moments in silence, neither able to talk about past or present, neither sure of how to start.
There was so much they wanted to say to each other but how to say everything. How to begin a conversation that had waited a thousand years?
"hungry?" Balthazar asked softly.
Veronica who had been lost in thought looked up and nodded vigorously, adding with a smile, "I feel like I haven't ate in ages."
The exhausted sorcerer had to smile at that.
He used the phone in the corner of the lab, calling a pizzeria's number that Dave had called during his training sessions and paid for the delivery with some cash Dave hid in a lock up box on the table.
For a short time nothing was said again, just the sound of their eating in famished gulps. But after a while, an attempt at conversation was started again.
"This is interesting…' Veronica stated simply, chewing slower than before deliberately focusing on each bite of pizza.
Balthazar smiled, "yes, pizza is far different from what we dined on at court but still not too bad."
"well I didn't just mean the food but yes, it too is good. I was referring to this." and she waved a hand leisurely at nothing in general. "your apprentice has an interesting idea in décor. Do all the humans of this time live this way?" her eyes traveled the room of scientific tools and electrical equipment.
And much to his own surprise, Balthazar uttered a quick but honest laugh, something he didn't think he had done for a long while.
"No, Dave is very different. Thank Merlin."
They both laughed at that.
After a while they sought after the bed Dave had promised in the back room of the lab, grateful to find blankets and pillows too. Slowly, Veronica helped Balthazar remove his coat before asking in a grave tone.
"How badly do you hurt?"
"Barely at all." he lied quickly looking around to avoid her gaze.
Her brown eyes held him still when he chanced a glance back at her face haloed by her long dark hair.
"Very well, let me see." her voice was even and warm as she reached for his shirt. He gently took her hand to stop her but after a moment looking into the endless warm pools of brown he surrendered.
He removed his shirt for her and before he could see her face again he heard her gasp quietly. She took the shirt from him when he had it off and she threw it to the chair where his coat was laid.
"In heaven's name." she whispered and gingerly let her fingers brush against the top of his shoulder where a large pale scar laid. "a thousand years have not been kind to you."
The majority of his body was covered in scars from other magical duels, some thin small lines and others were large choppy patches. Some scars were deep enough they looked like wounds that would never heal.
As for the damage of the night, his chest was covered in dark deep bruises where the force of the magic had struck earlier and along his rib cage it looked like someone had splashed black and purple paint on the skin, but all in all, not too bad. Far better than what it could have been. What it had been, he thought and shuddered slightly.
"You look like you've been at war with dragons."
He smiled sheepishly but more so at the fact that her hand rested on his bare shoulder and he wanted more than just that.
She helped him to lie down as comfortably as could be managed before laying down beside him.
"You should sleep Balthazar." her voice was like warm velvet, soft like a lullaby.
He nodded, feeling the edge of sleep coming to take him down like a beast in the night but first he needed to tell her something.
"Veronica, I need to tell you something. Or rather ask you something?" he was unsure how to start.
"yes?"
"I… I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"
"What?"
"what I did, that night. You were dying and I had no idea how to save you and because I couldn't think of anything better you had to waste a thousand years in a jar with that monster and…'
"stop." her eyes were filled with shiny unshed tears and a thousand years of agony. It broke his heart because what he had feared all this time was written in her eyes. She had suffered. And it was his fault.
"no." her voice was firm.
"What?"
"No. It was not your fault. I did what I did because there was no other way I could protect you. I would do it again if I had to. The only thing I can blame on you is you not protecting yourself better while I wasn't here to do it for you." she finished with a dry grin and he thought he might faint with relief.
"so there's still a chance you…' he couldn't bring himself to voice the other thing in his fears.
"What?' she sat up abruptly, "You think a thousand years was enough time to make me stop loving you. To make me blame you, so that I would stop loving you?"
He felt his heart race to hear her say the words he had been aching to hear for so many long years.
"Well, one would think a thousand years of reflection time would help you decide loving an undeserving fool like me is madness." he gave her his best teasing grin.
She gave his good shoulder a playful slap and with a smile answered, "Afraid not, you're stuck with me."
"forever, I hope." his endless blue-gray eyes locked with her warm brown gaze.
She leaned in and kissed him on the lips, a sweet, gentle touch that warmed them both to the bone, healed every wound on their hearts. A thousand years of waiting was done.
And as if their hearts hadn't been truly beating till this moment, they both began again together with every beat in time with one another.
They were both alive, two dying halves had been put together tonight, fused into a strong whole once more.
"Forever. Whatever fate may bring us. I love you, my Balthazar."
"As I love you, my Veronica." his voice was a fervent oath.
They shared the night in each other's arms. When they woke, they would share the world together.
(A/N: alright well that was it. I know someone must have done it already by now but still I couldn't resist such a fascinating love story. Thanks for reading. Hope you all liked it. Ciao.)
Wolflover7 howls at moon