Title: until our stars align
Pairing(s): Claudia/Fargo, with mentions of Claudia/Todd and Fargo/Holly
Spoilers: W13 nothing specific post Season 3; Eureka up to and including the series finale 5.13 (Just Another Day...)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters; just playing in the sandbox.
A/N: written for the comment_fics prompt: any/any, The Five Year Engagement. Reviews are greatly appreciated! :-)
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2010
"Marry me."
It's said in a mixture of geek admiration, oh shit the machines are rising, and jest. Claudia likes Doug, a lot, but she's only known him for a few hours and she just started dating Todd and she really likes him too. She can't ignore the instant connection with Doug and the fact tht they just mesh and get each other on a level that she fears that she and Todd never will because he's not a tech geek, that's not his thing. But Todd lives in town while Doug is just there for the day and has a life and a high-ranking job hundreds of miles away.
If things were different, Claudia thinks that maybe they would have made a perfect match. Circumstances will at least allow them to be friends.
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2011
"I'm sorry. That wasn't my prototype. I mean, it was, but it wasn't."
"I'm already over it, Doug." She doesn't mean to be so short with him, but between the freckles and Dr. Michener, catharsis of not, she's still a little on edge and if not for that, if he hadn't just found out that she had been a patient in a psychiatric facility, it would be a prime opportunity for them to talk about everything that has and hasn't happened between them.
"Are you sure you're really ok?"
She knows that he's referring to her nightmare and fear that the past year has only been a figment of her imagination and that she is insane and still committed.
"Yeah, I'm good."
"I know we haven't talked much lately but if you ever need me, for anything, or if you just need to get away from-"
"Hey Claudielf, time to get movin', we've got a flight to catch."
So many words hang in the air between them, unsaid.
"You can always call me," is all that Doug says.
Claudia nods and gives him a small smile. She starts to move forward to give him a goodbye hug but she stops herself.
"See ya around, Dougie." She pauses by the door. She feels like she should say something else but she doesn't know what.
"Still friends?" Doug asks.
"Still friends."
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2012
"That's…fantastic news. I'm happy for you. And Holly," Claudia says with false cheer into the phone.
The look on Steve's face screams, 'LIE!'
"That's really great. Yeah, no, you should totally swing by when you're traveling across country. And I'd love to meet Holly."
Jinks scribbles out a message and slides it over to Claudia: How are your pants not on fire right now?
Claudia scowls at Jinks, balls up the paper and throws it at him. She frowns. She tries to sound flippant. "Oh, well, you know, another time when things aren't so crazy and your schedule's not so tight. We'll just keep playing phone tag. It's always a fun game." She chuckles. "I'll talk to you in a couple months."
She sets her phone down. "Don't."
"I didn't say anything."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Okay."
Claudia sighs. "I shouldn't be upset, should I? I mean, Doug is my friend and I want him to be happy and Holly makes him happy so I should be happy for him, right? Right. And I shouldn't be bothered by any of it because it's not like we ever actually dated or anything. I mean, it wasn't even really a fling, it was just this thing and it wasn't a thing. We just made out a few times, so whatever. I'm over it. Not that there was anything to be over because there-"
"Oh my God, Claudia, breathe." He looks a little overwhelmed by her rambling. "Okay, so, obviously, there was something between the two of you or you wouldn't be reacting this way to Fargo and Holly's relationship."
"They're so…serious. And he loves her and I guess it's more being jealous of what they have together and not me being jealous of Holly."
Jinks tilts his head and raises an eyebrow. "Uh—"
"That's my story and I'm sticking to it," Claudia says sharply.
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2013
"At first, everything was fine after the break-up but then things started getting tense, so, I decided that it would be best to get away for a little while. And I kind of gave Holly my letter of resignation."
"That sucks. I know you went through a lot to be with her. It must have been hard for things to end."
Fargo shrugs. There's regret in his voice. "Yeah. It wasn't the same though. I had been thinking that this was it and she was the one and then…then I didn't. I don't know what changed and I kind of wish that it hadn't but here we are."
"Here we are," Claudia echoes. "Well, there's still a chance that maybe you're just going through some weird phase and tomorrow morning you're going to wake up and be head over heels in love with Holly again."
He frowns. "I don't think that's going to happen. I mean, it would be great if it did. I'm pretty sure that it's over. And I'm okay with that." He takes a deep breath and nods, giving Claudia a small smile. "Yeah. I really am."
She returns his smile. "That's great! You know what? We should go do something to celebrate your newfound closure. Granted, there isn't much to do in Univille but we can make our own fun if we have to. What do you say?"
"Thanks for the offer but I think that I'd just like to have a nice quiet night in. Rain check?"
"Yeah, no, sure. Another night." Claudia rises. "Well, I'll leave you so that you can enjoy the silence."
"You could stay."
"Huh?"
"I just don't feel like going out tonight but if you wanted to hang out, we could."
"Yeah. There are some board games around here somewhere. And several decks of cards. I totally smoked Pete at Texas Hold 'em the other week but he's much more of a Go Fish guy anyway and…" she trails off when she notices Fargo staring at her. "What is it? Do I have something in my teeth?"
He shakes his head. "No, I was just wondering…nevermind. It's nothing."
She gives him a teasing smile. "Come on, Dougie, you tell me anything. Or ask me anything. What is it?"
"I know that it's a little soon after my break-up but I don't know how long I'm going to be in town, but do you," he clears his throat, "I mean, would you want to go out before I leave?"
Claudia's silent as she tries to process his query.
"Nevermind. It's too soon. And what we had was years ago and I'm rebounding."
She's still stuck on his question. "Like a date?"
He starts to open his mouth then closes it, slightly confused. "Well…maybe?"
"So, not like a date?"
"It…could be a date. If you wanted it to be."
"I like dates," Claudia says casually.
"Okay."
"Yeah."
"So, it's a date."
"It's a date."
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2014
"Let's get it on, aaaaaah, baby, let's get it on," Pete sings softly and off-key when hears the front door open and close . "Let's love—ow! Hey!" Pete rubs his side after Myka jabs her elbow into it.
She gives him a warning look. "Inappropriate."
"What? I'm in a Marvin Gaye kind of mood this morning."
"Liar," Jinks coughs into his hand.
"It's not like they heard me," Pete says defensively, shrugging.
"Don't embarrass them," Myka orders.
"They were gone for the weekend. We're all adults. We all know what couples do on weekend getaways."
"Pete," Artie says tightly, no longer able to ignore the conversation and finally looking up from his newspaper.
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
"'Kay."
Leena smiles at Claudia and Fargo when they enter the room and pours herself another glass of juice. "Welcome back. How was Eureka? Did you have fun at the wedding?"
"It was a lovely ceremony," Claudia says, pulling a chair out.
"Things were surprisingly uneventful," Fargo says. "Well, there was one little mishap but everything worked out."
"What is that?" Artie asks, his eyes focused on Claudia's hand.
Claudia balls her hand into a fist before flexing her fingers. "What's what? What was the mishap?"
"No, that. That ring – what is that?" Artie looks somewhat horrified. He glares at Fargo. "What did the two of you do? What did you do?"
Fargo titters. "It's a funny story really."
"You're gonna laugh," Claudia adds.
Fargo swallows nervously then clears his throat. "So, there was a little mishap and things were kind of crazy and the wedding almost didn't happen and at one point we may have stood in for Zane and Jo. It was no big deal. But then there was another little mishap." He looks at Claudia, shrugging. "Tiny, wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah. And so, technically, we're kind of married now," Claudia finishes.
Five shocked faces stare back at them.
"You're what?"
"How?"
"Wait a minute—"
"You couldn't call or text me—"
"Mazel tov!"
Everyone's eyes land on Pete.
"What? I'd say that congratulations are in order, wouldn't you?"
There is silence yet again before the room bursts into noise, Artie, Steve, Myka, and Leena speaking simultaneously.
"There is a proper way to go about doing certain things, like getting married. You don't just accidentally get married and not tell anyone," Artie growls.
Steve pouts. "Seriously, Claud, you couldn't send me a text? Not even after you got married? At least before you got back and told everyone else? Did you at least tell your brother?"
"Oh, are there pictures?" Myka asks. "I'm sure you were a beautiful bride, Claudia. And you probably looked very handsome as well, Fargo. What did you wear?"
"You know, we can talk later about the room arrangements," Leena says. "Have you thought about having a real ceremony?"
"Hey, guys, bring it down a notch," Pete yells. The room quiets. "Okay, then. Let's all just take a deep breath and let the newlyweds tell us exactly what happened. Now, before you two get started, I think we need to know the answer to the most important question first."
Claudia and Fargo exchange looks.
"We're not having it annulled," Claudia states.
Fargo nods. "Yeah, we're kind of past where that's an option."
Pete makes a face. "What? No, of course. That's not the most important question."
Everyone just stares at him again.
"Then what is?" Claudia asks, looking just as confused as everyone else.
"Are you taking his name? Because, let's be honest, Claudia Fargo just does not roll of the tongue. As a matter of fact, it sounds kind of awkward. No offense."
The others look at them expectantly. Claudia and Fargo look at each other and shrug.
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*** Finis ***