A/N: Hello, dear readers! This is my first fanfic for the amazing fandom of Winx Club. I saw an episode yesterday and a few days ago, and it made me want to write this little story. Please let me know whether you like it or not. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. And let me know whether you would like for me to write more Faragonda/Griffin, or challenge me by telling me your favorite pairing!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. And I'm afraid I never will. (Okay, I do own Althea…)

1

Althea walked through the rubble. The battle with the Trix had ruined the school. All of the widows had been broken, the wooden doors were nothing more than a bunch of splinters and some of the walls were severaly damaged. One of them had even come down.

But she was not paying much attention to any of that. Headmistress Faragonda needed her help. Just a few moments ago, she had seen her all but run away from the battlefield. There had been tears on her face, though she had tried very hard to keep them hidden.

Faragonda had been a very big part of Althea's life for a very long time. The fairy had lost her parents when she was thirteen, and the headmistress had been the one to inform her. They had bounded in the months afterwards, talking over how much it hurt to lose those you cared about. That summer, she had stayed at Faragonda's, as her parents had been the only family she'd had left. Apparently, the time had now come for Althea to comfort Faragonda as she had done during that trying period four years ago.

"Please, wait!" she called out as she rounded a corner.

But Faragonda continued to walk, disappearing from view again. Damned, Althea silently cursed. This is not good!

She refrained for breaking into a run, though, be it barely. She would find her anyway. There were not a lot of places left to run to. Taking a deep breath, she shook off the fatigue that was gripping at her.

In the next hallway there were only three classrooms. Knowing Faragonda would be in one of them, she walked towards the first door. She was not as lucky as she had been during the battle, because the room was empty. Sighing, she continued on to the second room.

As soon as Althea opened the door, she heard soft sobs coming from the corner farthest away from her. She walked towards the hunched figure of Faragonda slowly so she wouldn't spook her in any way.

She sank down onto her knees, pulling Faragonda towards her. She did this slowly so she could decide to pull away if she wanted to. But she didn't, she simply laid her head against Althea's shoulder. The tears soaked the material of her favorite blue shirt , which she had worn before changing into a fairy.

"What are you crying about, Fara?" she asked, using the pet name she had given Faragonda when the older fairy had given her permission to do so after nearly a year of knowing each other as more than student and headmistress.

Faragonda pushed Althea at arm's length so she could look her right into the eyes.

"It's nothing. Some old memories, emotions I thought I'd dealt with a long time ago. Apparently, I was wrong. But it doesn't matter anymore," Faragonda said.

Althea shook her head vehemently.

"It does matter if it is affecting you. What makes you say that?"

There was a long silence then. Faragonda wiped away the tears still running down her cheeks, composing herself in the process so there wouldn't be any new ones.

"Long ago, I… I fell in love. With a woman," Faragonda whispered.

Althea nodded, making it clear to Faragonda that she could continue. She was a little surprised at the admission, though she had never expected there had never been love in her life.

"This woman… She was, and is, the most precious woman I've ever met. But this war, and previously some other disputes, weighed heavy on us. We have always been in contact with one another, but much less than before. She is still the same, I saw that today. And I realized I still love her. I'm still in love with her. But I think she is no longer in love with me," Faragonda whispered.

Althea somehow doubted that. Faragonda was an amazing woman, independent, strong and ready to do what needed to be done. She would fight when she needed to, but was intelligent enough to solve an issue with words before violence was due. She would tell her that later, but first there was a more pressing matter.

"You are speaking of Griffin," she said.

Faragonda nodded, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. She hadn't thought Althea would figure out whom she was speaking of, that much was obvious.

"I saw the way she was looking at you when you nearly ran from the grounds. She was very concerned. More concerned than even a best friend would have been. I think you might be wrong," Althea said.

Faragonda blinked rapidly a few times. There was doubt in her eyes, accompanied by the smallest glimmer of hope.

"Go talk to her. Tell her what's on your mind. She might surprise you," Althea said.

Before Faragonda had a chance to respond to that, the younger fairy had gotten up, turned around and left the room.

It had taken Faragonda several more hours to leave the room. She had thought of what she needed to say, of how she needed to say it and every possible way Griffin might respond to what she needed to say.

She had considered not talking to her, being afraid of making her angry. But she been had hurting over losing Griffin for so long that the weight that pressed down on her chest every day had finally become too much. She needed to know once and for all if they could be more than friends, and she would deal with whatever answer she got. So when she got up, she tried to figure out where Griffin might be at that point in time.

If the tower where her rooms were had not been destroyed, Griffin would have been there. With that no longer being an option, there were few other places left. The tree at the border of the ground on which Alfea rested and where they had often retreated when they were younger, the unused storage room at the farthest part of the school where no-one ever went because it meant solitude, and back to Cloud Tower. Cloud Tower was out of the question, as neither the students not Griffin had the power at this moment to transport all of them back. The storage room was unlikely, as every part of the school was being searched to make sure all of the creatures of evil that had attacked them under orders of Icy, Darcy and Stormy had disappeared.

Faragonda pushed herself upright, heading for the sad remnants of the once proud door. She was glad she had made the decision to finally do something, after all these years. She had been behaving like a coward, and it was time to change that.

As soon as she set foot onto the grass outside the building, she turned right. Walking alongside the wall, she followed the path they had often travelled together when Griffin had come to visit when she had been a teacher and young headmistress.

They had shared much in those days, sitting in the shadow of that ancient oak tree. Stories of the past, the present and the future they hoped to have one day. Tales that spoke of what they feared, of what they loved and what was important to them. Faragonda had missed the loser, less angry and withdrawn Griffin. She could only hope now that she would get her back.

By that time, she saw the tree she was heading for. At first sight, there was no-one there, but Faragonda could feel the energy that was unique to Griffin radiate from behind the tree. Her heels made virtually no sound as she walked across the grass, but she knew Griffin already knew she was there.

"Hey there,"' she said as she stepped pas the tree.

Griffin didn't immediately say anything, but gestured for Faragonda to sit down next to her before speaking. Faragonda did so immediately, ending up barely an inch from the witch.

"Hello to you too," Griffin said.

Her voice was sad, Faragonda noticed. And she was somewhat hoarse, as she was, after screaming so much during the battle.

"Why are you here on your own? Are you okay?" Faragonda asked.

Griffin sighed, something Faragonda knew she almost never did. Before she could help herself, she had placed her hand on top of Griffin's. But the witch did not pull away. On the contrary, she grabbed a hold of the hand.

"I needed to think. I was feeling terribly sorry for myself, and for everything that happened. And then, there was you," she said.

"Me?" Faragonda asked in barely more than a whisper.

Griffin nodded, squeezing Faragonda's hand tighter than she had so far. Faragonda moved closer to her, closing the distance between them. Griffin's other hand came up, making Faragonda rest her head against the witch's shoulder.

"I saw you cry, and I realized I was to blame for this. If I'd seen through the façade those witches were putting up sooner, if I'd been stronger and had been able to stop them, if I hadn't been so utterly dumb all those years ago and now, you wouldn't have had to cry," Griffin whispered.

Faragonda turned her head slightly, so she was now looking at Griffin without having to break away from her.

"Those witches were simply too strong. You could not have changed a thing, the powers they used compared in nothing to what you teach at Cloud Tower. They chose their path, and would allow for nothing to distract them from it. And we were both rather dumb back then," Faragonda said.

Griffin shook her head, which caused Faragonda to shake slightly as well.

"I pushed you away. I screamed, I threatened and I pushed until you took enough distance from me to make me feel like I wouldn't drag you down with me when I fell. But it hurt me, and it hurt you. It took a battle to make me see I couldn't live without you. How dense is that?" Griffin spoke, the self-loathing clear in her voice.

Faragonda pushed herself upright, shaking her head. She lifted Griffin's chin with her hand, forcing pools of light brown to meet pools of dark blue.

"You know how stubborn I am. I could have forced you to listen, I could have stayed put and not turned my back on you. I could have refused to be pushed away. I gave up. I was wrong too," Faragonda said.

Faragonda saw tears glittering in the brown eyes. Slowly she lifted her hand to brush them away the moment they fell.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you being so nice? Why are you forgiving me?" Griffin asked.

Faragonda shifted positions yet again, bending forward so she could rest her forehead against Griffin's.

"Because I know you were scared at that time. Scared that you would turn evil, as your whole family had before you. I know you wanted to spare me the pain of losing you to evil, and you found no other way than putting distance between us, emotionally and physically. And because I love you. Always have and always will," she said.

Griffin's eyes closed at hearing that. Faragonda did not move, giving the witch the time to take in the meaning of the words.

"I love you too. I know how much you cried when I refused to talk anymore, how much it pained you when I began writing back again but without telling you anything about what I was feeling, or what was going on in my life. I took a part of you with me, and I know you never got it back," she whispered.

Faragonda waited patiently for Griffin to look at her again. It was only after two full minutes that the witch did so.

"Griff, you are trying to give me back what I los right now. You are succeeding in doing that," Faragonda said, using the pet name she had given Griffin not long after they had met.

"It's so long since you've called me that…," Griffin whispered.

Faragonda nodded, it was the truth. She could even tell exactly how long it had been. Ten years, two months and five days.

"It was torture not being able to call you Griff every time we were together. I've had to bite my tongue on more than one occasion. But there's nothing that's going to make me stop now," Faragonda said.

She leaned even closer to Griffin, their lips less than an inch apart. She could feel the witch breathing against her lips, quicker than normal because of the proximity of the one she loved.

Faragonda was at odds with herself. She wanted to kiss Griffin, but it was important that the witch knew nothing would happen without the consent of the other. Griffin had suffered, had lost her faith in people because Faragonda had not immediately seen through the mask she had been wearing.

"I think I should move," Faragonda whispered.

When she began to pull back, however, Griffin grabbed her other hand as well and kept her in place.

"Why?" she asked, the fear she was feeling obvious.

Faragonda smiled reassuringly to let Griffin know nothing bad was happening.

"Because being this close to you makes me want to kiss you. And I'm too close to keep myself from doing that," she said.

Griffin gave her first real smile in years at hearing Faragonda say that, which warmed the fairy's heart. Griffin was warmer, gentler and more loving than she was giving herself credit for.

"Then don't keep yourself from doing it. I want you to kiss me," Griffin admitted.

Faragonda's heart was beating very rapidly, her breathing sped up.

"Ask me. Ask me to kiss you so you know it's your decision, and I will," Faragonda whispered.

Griffin looked at her, obviously happy with what she saw because she smiled.

"Fara, will you please kiss me?" she asked, using her self-designed pet name for the one she loved.

Faragonda nodded. Bringing her head down whilst closing her eyes, she connected her lips to Griffin's in the softest, sweetest kiss imaginable. There was no obligation, just the pliable warmth of the lips of the witch and the sigh of happiness that escaped the both of them.

Faragonda brought her hand up, placing it against Griffin's cheek and sliding her fingers along her jaw line. The witch shuddered, making the fairy smile.

"You're beautiful, Griff. Don't let anyone ever tell you different," Faragonda whispered into Griffin's ear as soon as they parted.

She knew Griffin had been called many things throughout the years, but beautiful was not one of them.

"So are you, Fara," Griffin said.

Faragonda started pulling away again, but this time she did not let go of Griffin's hands. She pulled her up with her, stepping close enough to rest her head against her as soon as they were both on their feet.

"Let's get out of here," Faragonda said. "Let's go home."

"I think that would be best. We are both injured, and tired. And if I look even half as bad as you do, it must be quite the sight," Griffin joked.

Faragonda smiled and took her hand, transporting them to her home with the help of her magic.