I cannot BELIEVE that this is the ultimate conclusion to my first ever fanfic! 11 chapters is shorter than the standard on this site, but I hope you were able to enjoy this story nonetheless. :) I have only gratitude for the time you spent reading, and your lovely comments!
As usual, quotes from both TID and the live-action B&B movie in this epilogue. :) Without further ado, here is the conclusion- gives me Christmas vibes! PLEASE let me know if you had a fun time reading- and thank you for sticking along this far! :p
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the TID or Beauty and the Beast characters, nor their stories. Happy reading!
Tale as Old as Time...
EPILOGUE: HOW DOES A MOMENT LAST FOREVER
1886, London, England
"Oh, how I do love the holiday season," Will said amiably, linking his arm with Tessa's as they walked past the heavy metal gates of the Institute. He had always felt most comfortable in winter, maybe because it reminded him of snowball fights with his family back in Wales, but having his friends back and by his side was even better.
Will turned his head towards the sounds of giggling, suppressing the urge to punch Gabriel in the face as he wrapped his arms around Cecily, who had come a week earlier at Charlotte's request for his Christmas present. Behind them strolled Sophie and Gideon, grinning and murmuring softly to each other.
"You only like it because ducks aren't swarming the frozen pond," Jem retorted, as he jogged to catch up to them. He smiled warmly at Tessa, then jostled Will and matched his stride.
Will gasped indignantly. "I do not!"
Tessa smirked and pat him on the shoulder. "Alright, then let's go." She didn't tell them what she had in mind, but she dragged the boys along with her, knowing that the couples behind them would subconsciously follow suit.
Christmas among the Shadowhunters was not Christmas as Tessa had come to know it, but she cherished it for its differences. She could hardly believe that it had been a year since she had come to the London Institute, falling for Will and his friends when she had come with entirely different intentions. There were no advent wreaths, no carols sung, no Christmas crackers; and yet, their traditions of festive family gatherings was all Tessa could ever hope for and more.
Will's gloved hand squeezed her own as she bounded off the park's path, towards the pond Will and Jem had never ceased to walk past on their first missions as parabatai in Hyde Park.
"Oh, by the Angel, Tessa, not this pond," Will groaned.
Cecily approached from behind and whacked him playfully. "Are you still afraid of ducks?" She chuckled in disbelief. "Some things never change."
Tessa laughed, hurrying to the nearby bush she had stashed several pairs of skates earlier that day during her friends' training sessions.
"Happy Christmas Eve!" She exclaimed, doling out the skates quickly. The shadowhunters eyed her with different expressions in their eyes: Jem with bemusement, Cecily with joy, and Will with a completely adverse scrunch.
"I'll have you know, I've never been skating before, so don't expect me to catch you when you slip, Tess," Will stated as he took the skates warily from her and bent to lace them.
She laughed, grabbing him by the hand and leading him towards the ice. "It's not like ducks are going to break through the ice and start waddling towards us."
"We better hope not, or he'll be jumping into your arms," Jem chuckled.
"Last one on is the ugly duckling!" Gabriel hollered, grabbing Cecily by the hand and dragging her out onto the ice.
Gideon, Sophie, Jem and Tessa followed closely behind, leaving Will standing on the bank. He sighed, shaking his head. "Jokes on them. I would never be the ugly one."
-O-o-O-
"Hey, you." Tessa feels strong arms wrap around her from behind, and she laughs and relishes in Will's warmth.
After a morning filled with slippery tumbles and snowball fights, the coziness of the kitchen was a nice contrast that evening. Will dusted his hands, flour flying into the air as he did so, and wiped them on the back of Tessa's apron.
"Are you already bored of cutting out the dough?" Tessa teased playfully, nodding towards Will's half-empty tray of Christmas cookies. She noticed that his fingers were long and nimble; Jem had always said they would have been perfect for piano-playing, but Tessa thought they were more inclined towards art. Will's artfully carved snowflake and tree cookies eased a chuckle out of her, when her gingerbread stars looked more like lopsided triangles.
Will shrugged, leaning to brush his lips behind her ear and across her neck. "Maybe. Why I am spending so much time on these, when yours look like a five-year old made them?"
He gracefully stepped aside before Tessa could toss a handful of flour in his face.
"Shadowhunters and their reflexes," Tessa muttered under her breath, but she smiled nonetheless as Will's hands on her waist guided her towards the library.
She and Will traded jokes and laughs, enjoying each other's company, until Will opened the balcony doors, the wind's cool kiss meeting her cheeks.
Something about the stars always made Tessa breathless. Maybe it was the way they twinkled and glittered, looking so close when really there were light years away. Or maybe it was the way in which she could just look up and get lost in the painting that was the sky, much like delving into a really good book.
Their proximity on the balcony brought her back to the night he broke her heart; but she didn't want to reflect on that, when they were in the present.
"I thought that perhaps when you told me you did not love me my own feelings would fall away and atrophy, but they have not," whispered Will, his voice gentle and low.
Tessa turned to face him as he continued, watching as his blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight. "Yet they have grown every day. I love you, Tess, now more desperately in this moment than I have ever loved you before, and in an hour I will love you more than that."
She grinned, and broke the seriousness of the moment by grabbing his hand in hers. "Then you'll give me all your cookies, won't you, love?"
He shoved her and rolled his eyes in response, a smile playing out on his lips.
The cookies now cool, everyone in the Institute gathered in the kitchen to decorate.
"Cookie contest?" Gabriel challenged. He then inched towards Cecily, tugging on her arm. "In pairs, of course."
"Disgusting," mumbled Will, but Tessa kicked him under the table, and the pairs split off: Cecily and Gabriel, Will and Tessa, Jem and Jessamine, Sophie and Gideon, Charlotte and Henry.
It was well past midnight by the time they finished, with laughing hearts and icing-covered clothes, but they were happy. It ended up that Sophie's careful attention to precision gave her the win- she leaned over to swipe the misplaced frosting on Gideon's nose, and then the shadowhunters grabbed their most unsightly cookies and began to dig into them.
"To Christmas cookies and frozen ponds," Will cheered, raising his gingerbread.
"To Christmas cookies and frozen ponds!"
-O-o-O-
2020, New York City
Tessa is perched on the beige leather couch, curled up beside Jem, with Church on his lap. She giggles as the cat leans over to licks her fingers, which are sticky from her favorite honey roasted chestnuts that Jem got from a street cart in New York. A Christmas movie is playing faintly on the TV, the bright scenes lighting the dim room, but Tessa is paying more attention to the memories projecting her own thoughts, a time when Christmas conjured memories of skating in Hyde Park; dancing on balconies; catching snowflakes on tongues.
"Here on the island of misfit toys," hums Jem, in time with the Rudolph movie on screen.
"Isn't this rather depressing for a children's movie?" Tessa wonders, and quickly pauses the DVD to switch to Disney+. Jem gasps in protest, but Tessa has control over the remote.
She flicks through the streaming service, clicking through the endless display of titles, until she finally finds what she is looking for: Beauty and the Beast. Tessa pauses, deciding between the stunning live-action remake, or the iconic classic animation.
"This, again?" Jem inquires, but the corners of his mouth lift up, and he leans across Church to wrap his arm around Tessa.
She just smiles, briefly flashing back to the moment when Jem approached Walt Disney Studios in the 1980s, pitching the tale lived a century before by her and Jem's closest friends to the directors and composers. Little did they know that the whimsical beauty of the story was true; it may not have taken place in France, and some names and songs were made up, but not a single part of the storyline was pretend.
The first few times, Tessa couldn't bear to watch the production that so perfectly resembled her life; but now, she watches it often, the movie a time capsule ensuring that her fond moments will last forever.
The two ultimately settle on the classic version. The opening prologue makes Jem shudder, but his sad expression recedes once Cogsworth appears, his grumpy attitude too similar to Gabriel's. Tessa's heart lurches at the ballroom scene and the lulling melody that accompanies it; Jem somehow snuck in sketches of her and Will's outfits that the on-screen characters wear with elegance. And when the credits roll, Tessa leans her head on Jem's soldier and sings softly.
Tale as old as time...
Song as old as rhyme...
Beauty and...the Beast...
And then, because they do not want their story to end yet, Tessa clicks on the live-action as well. She grins at Emma Watson, who does not quite look like Tessa but plays a beautiful Belle, and laughs at Gaston, Mortmain's character, and before she knows it she is frowning at Dan Stevens. His blue eyes are eerily similar to Will's, but that's where the resemblance ends; she misses black curls and tall and lanky form.
But Tessa turns towards Jem, who she now has beside her again, and grins. Jem is already breathing softly, eyes closed, and Tessa soon drifts off as well, dreaming of grandiose libraries and blooming roses.
How does a moment last forever?
How can a story never die?
It is love we must hold onto
Never easy, but we try
Sometimes our happiness is captured
Somehow, our time and place stand still
Love lives on inside our hearts and always will.
LA FIN!
For all of those who read until the very end, I am FOREVER grateful and appreciative of your support. I hope you were able to get a good laugh or smile out of this story- and if you did, it would mean a lot if you favorited! This is the end of Tale as Old as Time, but only the first of many fics to come...stick along for more reading very soon! ;)
xoxo