PROMPT: St. Patricks Day special: Your favourite pair traveling in Ireland, please, because SPD.
SETTING: Post-Community trilogy
GENRE: Romance
RATING: K+
Fandom: Community
Disclaimer: I do not own the wonderful Community trilogy, Jonathan Smalls, aka Ravenevermore, does.
Warning(s): Slash
Pairing(s): Jeffrey O'Cairn/Stephen Hildebrand
Rating: As mentioned already, K+
Title: Down By the Salley Gardens
Author: theChaplinfangirl
A/N: This is all thanks to J, aka Erynerys(Erika Villegram)'s CCT Partner, because I couldn't get the Salley Gardens tune out of my head and I just had to write this!
A/N 2: Another thing is, I'm not really a Jeffrey/Stephen shipper, since that pair is quite popular towards other Community fans. Hope I don't screw this up.
It has been thirty years since Jeffrey O'Cairn and Stephen Hildebrand trained with famed sorcerer, Alistair Vonnegut. Now as adults at last and without Cera Hildebrand, who was Stephen's sister, and Alistair worrying and fussing over them, Jeffrey went back to Ireland and Stephen volunteered to join in, before going back to Norfolk.
"Have you met your parents yet?" asked Stephen as he and Jeffrey strolled around the garden near the suburbs of Dublin. According to Jeff, it was almost time for St. Patricks Day, which was this Irish holiday where a family reunion is required.
"Not yet, I need some time off teaching," Jeffrey started working as a professor in a sorcery school around the suburbs, and never really had any more time like when they were young.
He didn't want to leave the UK, but he understood that he should, since he and Stephen stopped living with Alistair. Jeffrey's parents were delighted to see him back, but he always felt nearer in relation with the Hildebrand siblings than ever, until Cera got married with Lanvin.
"Can you believe the last time I've been here, it was prior to meeting Alistair?" he and Stephen stopped and looked at each other. "To say the truth, I don't want to leave Britain. I felt like I belonged there, with you, Cera, and Alistair."
Stephen saw that Jeffrey's hair was changing colors again. It always fascinated him, and that's why he and Jeffrey were never apart, since they first met Alistair.
"I know." he wanted to tell Jeffrey how much he adored him, but no, they only have a platonic relation, didn't they?
Stephen wasn't the same as well since Jeffrey got back to Ireland, where he belonged. He wanted to be with him, but their friendship was only there when they were under Alistair's care, wasn't it? And apparently it was Cera who saw through him so quickly.
"You have feelings towards Jeffrey, don't you?" she'd asked, right before she and Lanvin got married. They were going to France, to travel and be with each other before eventually going back to the UK. "I should've seen it earlier, you two were inseparable!"
Stephen had blushed and didn't answer. He and Jeffrey never had any romance between them, ever, and why was he upset about Jeffrey leaving the UK as well?
"We're…only friends," he'd said, suddenly feeling upset about his sister's marriage.
"Why don't you just tell him, Stephen?" she'd asked again, fussing with whatever her wedding consisted of, "you're in the Council and Jeff is going back to Ireland soon. Lanvin and I have to go to France before coming back here."
"By the way, how's Cera?" all of a sudden, Jeffrey asked again, dragging Stephen back to the present. They were walking again, but Stephen hardly noticed. There was an archway near a garden, and all the blossoms were blooming, despite the still chilly weather with sunlight seeping through the tree leaves, spreading shade all around them.
He shrugged. "She hasn't contacted me yet, since she's busy with her own post-wedding stuff," he replied, looking up and towards the archway, which had honeysuckles lining all around it. He looked over at Jeffrey, who was also gazing at the same place.
"So that's the infamous Salley Gardens," he suddenly remarked, looking around still, "interesting we should've strolled here. I really think I have to review my Irish locations — I'm thinking like you Brits now."
He smiled a casual smile at Stephen and Stephen felt his heart skip a beat. He couldn't really long for being with Jeff, could he?
According to Jeffrey, Salley Gardens was a place where many loving duos go when not knowing their true feelings. Again, Stephen wanted to tell him that he'd loved him ever since they first met, before even meeting Alistair.
Walking closer and under the archway, Jeffrey remarked, "I'm sure glad that Alistair and Ibis have tied the knot, despite the latter protesting that he never got any feelings for Alistair." He looked at Stephen, and he blushed. "The feeling was obviously mutual."
Stephen looked away. If only Jeff would stop prompting him on telling his true feelings.
"Wasn't there this story about this couple bidding farewell here?" he asked out of the blue, as Jeffrey decided to sit down under one of the trees. He always looked so oblivious to Stephen's pining, and said person has been pining ever since they met.
That prompted the Irish sorcerer to look up again.
"No, it's more of an urban legend," he said back, gesturing for Stephen to join him. "The river is just close enough from here."
Stephen sat down next to him and willed himself to keep just one more shred of dignity and not reveal his secret too soon, but still did. Jeffery was too perfect, and Cera loved him as a brother as well, despite the fact that it was her actual brother who was more of the mischief maker.
After some silence, he spoke again. "Why don't we go over to the river and back?"
Jeff looked up. "Please, Steph, no." he said back, closing his eyes. It was just beside the river did he witness the killing of most of Hamish Frye's extended family by the dark cult, just 4 years ago, when the cult decided to leave the UK and ravage through Ireland. "I've been meeting Hamish Frye and he never got over the fact that most of his extended family was killed by the dark cult near this river."
Stephen wasn't that familiar with Hamish, so he didn't pry any further. It has been so long, did he and Jeffrey reconcile their friendship, and neither knew that the lines were blurred a long time ago.
End ficlet
A/N: I'm totally terrible at writing romance, so please bear with me. But I think this ending is just as good as the original ending I intended to write.
A/N 2: I'm also not sure how this turned from a ficlet to a one-shot, so…yeah.
Ficlet/One-shot review: Stephen Hildebrand and Jeffrey O'Cairn meet again after 30 years since they trained with famed sorcerer Alistair Vonnegut. Stephen has hid a secret from Jeffrey all this time, and it's up to you to decide, whether Jeffrey will accept the truth or not.