A/N: Griffin and Faragonda friendship with a healthy dose of angsting over Valtor.
Griffin rubbed her hands over her arms as she stood on the Alfea rooftop, trying to warm herself up. Last time she'd checked, it was supposed to be late spring. However, nature seemed to have forgotten about that if the temperature was anything to judge by. If she'd known it would be so cold, she would've declined Faragonda's proposition to stay after the celebration and do some stargazing now that the threat was eliminated.
"Are you okay?" Faragonda's voice behind her back startled her–she hadn't expected the question–even though she'd known she was there. The fairy hadn't let her out of her sight for a moment and, frankly, she was starting to feel a little suffocated. She knew Faragonda was just being protective but it was over. Everything was over. They had no reason to fear anything anymore.
"Peachy," she snipped. "You should have included a warning for extreme weather conditions in your invitation." She started pacing, hoping to chase away the chills that were having a field day running through her entire being.
"Griffin," Faragonda's hand on her shoulder nearly had her jump, for she'd left her at the other end of the rooftop with her casual stroll. And it felt more like she'd just gripped at her throat, the restless energy inside her piling up by the second now that she was forced to stop. "I remember seeing you shake this hard only once before." Faragonda was thoughtful enough to at least remove her hand now that the words were weighing her down and holding her in place. "Seventeen years ago."
Griffin shut her eyes as a sob left her mouth. It was as much a sound of despair as it was of relief. At least she didn't have to hold it in and pretend everything was okay now that Faragonda knew. Yet, that in no way changed the truth. And the truth was she should have never felt like that. Not seventeen years ago, and not now. And she didn't know how to handle any of that so she turned to Faragonda for help.
"You knew he was still out there?" Faragonda asked and even though the curtain of tears blocked her vision, Griffin knew the gentleness that would meet her from Faragonda's gaze if she could see. She'd never judged her before and no matter what the irrational fear whispered in her ears, she wouldn't start now. Griffin knew that as surely as she knew her own thoughts.
"I hoped that..." Another sob got in the way of her words and she took a deep breath because she needed to finish that sentence. Left like that it insinuated something so wrong, something insane. "I hoped that he was gone and I wouldn't feel anything this time." She hiccuped, and she had to hate him just for that, for she couldn't remember when was the last time she'd cried so hard. "After everything he's done..." She couldn't finish that thought. Couldn't admit out loud that he still had a place in her heart. Not after what he'd done to her friends and students.
"Shh," Faragonda soothed as she pulled her in her embrace, wrapping her arms around her and cradling her head with her hand just like she'd done seventeen years ago. And after all this time, it still worked. The warmth of their friendship was enough even against the cold of his absence and she held on to Faragonda like her life depended on it. Because it felt like it did. "He was filled with hatred and look where it got him." Well, neither of them knew exactly what had happened to him. Only that he was gone. She could feel it in her soul, and it was more than weird, for he wasn't any more lost to her now than he'd been when he'd been standing in front of her, and yet, the thought of his demise hurt. More than it was supposed to. Though, that wasn't really a good measure since she shouldn't have felt anything for him from the moment she'd learned what kind of demon she was dealing with. "Love is never a mistake in itself," Faragonda whispered with such conviction that it was hard not to believe it.
Love. She'd made the biggest mistakes in her life in its name. And she'd also done the right thing in spite of her feelings. So Faragonda had a point there. She always did, and Griffin could count on her to show her the truth that had her muscles relax and the shaking subside.
