Author's Note: This is a quick drabble I wrote for scumbaganarchy and as you'll see, I don't know how to write anything brief. Enjoy the fluff and angst fest!
**Disclaimer: I don't own Drop Dead Fred and am not making any money off of this, only grins, feels, and angst.
Witch's Brew
"I know what burns in your heart, Drop Dead Fred."
"Shut up, old woman," Fred snapped, stopping in his tracks within the dark corridors of his realm when he heard the graveled voice behind him. "Nothing's burnin'. Now go away."
"Tsk, tsk. No my eyes see clear," she replied, encroaching on him, her bent finger pointed at his chest. "No one wanders this way unless they're trying to hide something."
"Then your brain's broke cuz I'm only takin' a detour, old wit-" Fred took a step back as she followed him, visibly tense as if she held something foul in front of his face.
"What's inside you burns so brightly you're like a beacon in the dark. Beware you don't attract the moths." She chuckled, making Fred's skin crawl.
He should have known better than to come this way. The forgotten wandered these halls, but he'd been unable to face the other imaginary friends after leaving Snotface. Something hadn't felt right and this old woman's cryptic words made him want to run away even further.
"Right, have fun with your friends," he said, waving his fingers at her and sneering, but she snatched his wrist and pulled him down until they were face to face.
"Don't be so obnoxious, Fred!" she said back, a menace possessing her smile. "Or don't you want to see your precious human again? Your… Elizabeth Cronin?"
Fred flinched. Now she had his full attention. How does she know?
"No, no… That's not what you want. You want her to see you … I can make that happen." She smiled and Fred frowned.
"How stupid do you think I am? With you there's always a catch," he said, trying to hide his curiosity and the bubbling excitement inside him. The forgotten were bad news, he needed to remember that.
"I desire nothing," she said, letting go of his wrist.
Rolling his eyes, Fred stood straight and laughed. "Pfft! Yeah, right! Then why do you care so much what's burnin' or not?"
The old woman placed her hands together, a sadness flitting across her face. "I… once lost someone I loved when I was an imaginary friend. He was mortal, too."
"Hold up!" Fred said, raising his hand. "I never said this was love . She's-"
"Yes, I know. Just a friend." She smirked at the disgusted look on his face. "Who do you think you're fooling?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." He rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Did you nag your lover to death?"
The old woman mirrored his stance. "Do you want to see your friend again, or am I wasting my time?"
Fred bit the inside of his cheek. He shouldn't, he knew that, but what harm could hearing her plan do? "You really don't want anything?"
"What I want doesn't exist." She smiled.
Anticipation swelled inside him. "Okay… How exactly do you plan to help?"
She grinned. "You both have to drink this. It will reconnect the bond you shared, opening her eyes to you once more."
Fred eyed the potion held in a clear vial. Green liquid settled at the top and faded into purple at the base. It definitely looked suspicious, but still he found himself asking, "And it won't hurt her?"
"No!" She pulled it back, her eyes wide. "Don't you know the price for harming a human? I wouldn't want that on my head!"
"Is the effect… permanent?" he asked, wrinkling his brow. He couldn't take his eyes off the potion. Would it really make her see him again?
"No. You will need more over time, but this should last enough for now."
"How long?"
"Three days."
"Three days?! That's barely anything!" Fred paced, running a hand over his face.
"I can give you a stronger batch later, but there are… side effects on imaginary friends."
"Such as?" Fred asked, catching the way she glanced at him up and down.
"Come back in three days."
It was Halloween night and Lizzie had spent it babysitting Natalie Bunce as a favor for Mickey. He'd been invited last minute to a party with some old friends he hadn't seen in years. Lizzie had insisted that he go have fun, but it had taken a while to convince him since Natalie had scared off every babysitter in a three block radius. She hadn't had any special plans, so she'd jumped at the chance to break out of her routine, which some might call a rut.
Every night after coming home from work, she'd cook dinner, eat half of it, flip through some channels on her television, and finally fall asleep on her couch out of boredom. At first it had been nice, but now even she felt sad for herself. Life without Drop Dead Fred in it had certainly taken a dive and so maybe she had offered to babysit Natalie for some slightly selfish reasons, but was there really anything wrong with that?
Shaking her head, Lizzie laughed. "Probably so much wrong," she muttered, taking a sip of wine. Natalie had been put to bed an hour ago and Lizzie was glad for the quiet. Trick or treating and some pranks from Fred had worn her out. His stunt of scaring Natalie by getting her to play Bloody Mary in front of the mirror in the bathroom had not helped.
"Happy Halloween, Fred," she whispered, raising her glass. "Wherever you are." Lizzie wondered if he even heard her. A part of her wanted him to, but another part of her told her that was just silly. Someone like him had probably forgotten all about her because he was too distracted with having fun and smashing everything in sight. He'd probably forgotten all about their kiss…
Standing up, Lizzie sighed. Maybe it was the wine, or her dire need for some fun, but she decided to let her curiosity get the best of her and marched into the bathroom. Flicking on the light, she stared at her reflection in the mirror and shut the door behind her. She doubted this would work.
"I must really be crazy," she said, setting down her wine glass and taking a deep breath. "What if it doesn't work? No, don't say that. It will. It will, okay?"
Reaching out, Lizzie flicked off the light and said as quickly as she could, "Drop Dead Fred, Drop Dead Fred, Drop Dead Fred!"
Lizzie held her breath, afraid to turn on the light, afraid that he wouldn't be there when she did. Instead, she kept still, listening and trying to sense him in the dark. Her wide eyes searched for the green sparks that signaled her friend, her heartbeat wild as she barely breathed, and then she felt the drag of a finger down the side of her neck, followed by warm breath against her ear.
"Fred?" She gasped, but the touch vanished and he didn't respond. Footsteps shuffled on the other side of the room, making Lizzie gulp. "Fred, if that's you this isn't funny."
The light flicked on, making her scream, and cover her mouth. "Goddammit, Fred!" she cried, falling back against the door, her heart pounding. She still couldn't see him, but she knew he was in the room. "You're lucky I can't see you because if I could, I'd-"
Before she could finish her threat, her wine glass tipped over and spilled into the sink. "Ugh! You're the worst sometimes, you know that?" she cried, grabbing a washcloth and wiping the counter before it stained. "Poltergeists are less messy, I bet," she grumbled, but froze. To her right sat a glass vial of what looked like a potion. Around its neck was a tiny folded note.
Hesitant, Lizzie looked around her as if Fred might still pop of out the walls and scare the crap out of her. "What did I get myself into?" she breathed, but her heart pounded more from anticipation than from fear. Perhaps she had lost her mind, but she couldn't resist whatever this possible trap was from Fred. She missed him.
Snatching up the vial, she unfolded and read the misspelled note aloud, "Drink me. PS- taistes awFULL." At the end was a poorly drawn face with messy hair and x's for eyes. Lizzie couldn't help smiling and pulled the cork out of the vial, sniffing the strangely colorful liquid. "Oh, god!" she cried, coughing from the horrible smell. "You weren't kidding. What is this?" she asked. Part of her worried this might be revenge for the green pills, but she shook the thought out of her head. Fred would never hurt her.
Her oh-so-helpful brain supplied the memory of Fred smacking her right in the face with her mother's shovel. Okay, well he wouldn't poison me.
Lizzie stared at the liquid, still uncertain. Don't be silly. He wouldn't!
Plugging her nose and holding her breath, Lizzie downed the potion. Gagging, she slammed the vial onto the counter and turned on the sink, desperately drinking from the faucet.
"Took you long enough!" cried a familiar voice to her right.
Gasping, Lizzie shut off the water and straightened, finding herself face to face with Drop Dead Fred. "Oh my god. Is this- Are you really-" She couldn't get the words out, her hands stuck half-way to touching his face to test if he were real and not a hallucination.
"Really what?" he asked, smirking. "Great? Disgusting? So disgusting I'll make ya puke? Ooh, let's have a contest! You start. You look the greenest right now," he said, waving at her face.
"You're back!" she blurted out, tears in her eyes and still staring at him in shock. He only smiled at her in a way that made her heart warm. "What was in that drink?"
He shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care, really," he said, casually. "It worked is all I care 'bout."
"It did… I'd hoped-" Lizzie swallowed back the lump in her throat. She could have kissed him. "You found a way back to me," she managed, grinning at him in awe and unsure if she should hug him or not. "Does this mean you… that you're staying?" Lizzie lowered her gaze, hoping she hadn't crossed a line that would scare him away, but she'd spent so long dreaming about this moment that she couldn't help herself.
Fred's face fell and Lizzie sensed the hesitation in his voice when he said, "I guess we'll see."
"What does that mean?"
"Potion only works so long. We'll need more for that."
Lizzie shook her head. "Why would you need a potion to stay with me? I never had to drink anything before."
"Cuz it's different now. I don't make the rules," he said, rolling his eyes. "Our door's shut for good. I needed something that packed a bit more of a punch. Tastes like puke, don't it?" His nose crinkled.
"This feels like some strange fairytale." Lizzie leaned against the counter, holding her head. "How long will I see you?"
"Three days."
"Mickey will be back soon… Come home with me?" she asked.
"Lead the way," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets and smiling at her.
Fred and Lizzie spent the next few hours together, talking, laughing, and joking until finally Lizzie was too exhausted to keep her eyes open, but she didn't want Fred to leave her. Somehow she had talked him into lying beside her in bed, sharing a blanket and pillow, their faces inches from one another.
"Thanks for staying," she whispered, her breath tickling his lips and making them tingle in reminder of their kiss.
"Yeah, no big thing, Snotface," Fred said, his heart pounding as she stared into his eyes in a way he'd never seen her look at him until now. How had she talked him into this? He vaguely remembered a dare, chants of calling him a coward about hugs, and then her big, brown eyes getting all sad and girlie at him. Ugh, she's so obnoxious and beautiful… Fred thought and tilted his face every-so-slightly so he felt Lizzie's breath upon his lips again, but not enough to be noticed.
Lizzie smiled and reached up, dragging her fingers along his arm up to his face. "You don't have to be so nervous," she said, pulling his arm around her waist and cupping his face.
Fred scoffed, trying to ignore the inviting warmth of Lizzie's body. She felt so soft and small beside him. "I am not !"
"Uh huh. Liar," she said, grinning and putting her arm around him, too.
"I'm not!" Fred's entire body warmed at their closeness and he found himself leaning into her embrace. "Nothin' scares me."
"Sure," she teased. "Prove it."
"Prove it?" he cried, his voice hitching. "Woman! Isn't this weird slumber party snuggle fest enough for you?" His nose wrinkled as it touched Lizzie's.
"Nope," she said, keeping her lips parted and brushing her nose back against his. "Kiss me and prove it."
Fred was about to protest when he caught the serious look in Lizzie's eyes. This wasn't a dare, or a game; she really wanted to kiss him. Something fluttered in his chest and rolled down his whole body, all at once making him hot and cold. He held her tighter in his arms, staring back at her as he finally realized what had changed between them, why he couldn't let her go. They weren't just friends anymore. It both scared him and consumed him and he wanted to explore it.
Shutting his eyes, he tilted his head the rest of the way until their lips pressed together and changed everything.
Fred had kissed Lizzie until she'd been too tired to stay awake and then he'd found himself kissing her head as she nestled against him, smiling in her sleep. The next two nights ended the same, exchanging tender kisses and holding one another until morning. They didn't mention it when morning came, aside from grins and some soft brushes of their hands. Maybe they were both too afraid to say the words. Strangely, they talked and laughed as they always had and Fred made sure to make at least one mess in her apartment each day.
However, when morning came on the third day the potion did as the old witch had promised. Lizzie couldn't see him anymore and it broke something inside Fred watching Lizzie cry.
"I love you, Drop Dead Fred. Come back to me," she said in a broken whisper.
For what seemed like hours, Fred stood still in the forgotten corridors of his world, waiting for the old woman. He had to fix this, he couldn't deny that he belonged with Lizzie any longer.
"Drop Dead Fred."
He jumped, spinning around at the familiar voice.
"I knew you'd be back," the old woman said as she stepped toward him, a smile on her dry lips.
"Yeah, what're you here to rub it in?" he answered, crossing his arms. He might be a lovesick sop, but he was still Drop Dead Fred.
"Not at all. I'm here to offer you more. It's what you wanted, isn't it?"
Squinting at her, Fred felt a strange flutter in his stomach, hope and fear intertwining. "Hold up. Before I say yes, you mentioned side effects if I took more... What sort? Three heads? Toxic, flaming farts? Bad breath?"
"Ha! Imaginative, but nothing like that. No, the effects I speak of depends on you ."
"Whatcha on about?" Fred scoffed.
"My potion grants wishes. It takes what burns in the drinkers' hearts and makes them true. One drink is a taste, a sample; a second is forever." She played with a necklace worn around her neck, staring off into a distance like she forgot Fred even stood in front of her.
Scratching his head, Fred tried to untangle all the possibilities that the potion's side effects might have on him. "Sounds unpredictable, which I'd normally be all in for, but... this- I mean, what if Snotface wishes for somethin' else than I do? Huh? What then?"
The witch smiled, solemnly. "That's the risk. I said I lost my mortal, Fred. I won't lie to you. The heart can want so many things, but it's the truest, deepest wish the potion targets. Sometimes that deepest wish is so deep even you don't know it's there… I wasn't so lucky when we took the second drink. In the end, we didn't have the same wish." She let go of the necklace and took a deep breath. "A warning: first drink's gift isn't always the same the second time around."
Fred gulped. "What happened?"
The old woman sighed. "He wanted me to stay with him, but as a mortal. I wanted to stay, but I didn't want to stop being an IF. Our wishes clashed, and now I am what you see before you. A forgotten." She waved at herself. "I age like a mortal, but I am still an IF in every sense, including my immortality."
"An' what happened to him?" Fred asked, quietly, her story making him place Lizzie and him in the same scenario and he felt sick.
"He died over fifty years ago."
Fred's eyes widened, fear and heartache settling in his chest. Would that be them if they took the drink? Did Lizzie want him to be mortal somewhere deep down in her heart? His mind flashed to their kiss the night before, how sweetly she'd kept her lips on his, her arms wrapped around him tight. She hadn't stopped telling him how much she wanted him to stay with her and he couldn't deny he'd wanted to. He'd have done any disgusting grown up thing she'd wanted, but he didn't know about becoming mortal. He'd never wanted to be mortal a day in his life.
"Do you want another chance?" the old woman asked.
The next morning, Fred appeared in Lizzie's living room where he'd sensed her and clutched the green and purple concoction to his chest. Was he making the right choice? Lizzie's red-rimmed eyes and puffy face told him she'd been crying all night.
"Oh, look at you! You're a mess without me, aren't you?" he whispered, stepping toward her. "Can't say I'm feeling very Fred without you…"
Fred sat on the coffee table, still holding the potion. As long as he held it she wouldn't see it, and he'd yet to take a drink. Whatever happened would be forever, and even after imagining it all last night, Fred knew he didn't want to be mortal, and there wasn't a way for him to find out if that's what Lizzie wanted. It took a lot of energy for him to write notes and something so complicated wouldn't fit on a scrap.
"Snotface, you might very well be the end of me," he muttered, yanking the cork out and drinking his half of the potion before slamming it on the coffee table beside him. Gagging, Fred wretched. "Fuck, that's some awful piss of a drink!"
Lizzie squeaked and jumped as the vial suddenly appeared for her. "Fred?" she gasped, light returning to her eyes. He'd come back. Quickly, she snatched the potion and drank it, unknowing that Fred held his breath and crossed his fingers for this to work in their favor.
Shutting his eyes, Fred braced for the worst, but instead felt Lizzie's arms wrap around him and her body knocking him to the floor. She landed on top of him, covering his face in kisses before he had a chance to breathe.
"Sn-Snotface!" he gasped, trying to peel her off him so he could see the consequences of their actions.
"Shh, I've got a lot more kisses to give you," she breathed, but Fred planted his palm over her face, holding her still.
"Much as I love all the spit, hold still a moment, would ya!" he cried, pushing her off him and sitting up.
Hurt and confused, Lizzie scooted closer to him. "Something wrong?"
"That's what I'm tryin' t' find out," he said, patting himself. His suit looked the same, and he didn't feel any different. Fred shut his eyes and in a flash of green sparks, he reappeared standing behind Lizzie and let out a triumphant laugh. "It worked! I'm not human! I'm not human and you can see me! This is the best I could ever ask for!" He thrust his hips in victory and Lizzie almost went cross-eyed.
"Excuse me, what?" she asked, hopping up and feeling like she had been struck.
"Oh- um…" Fred's smile vanished as if he'd been caught. "Well, I wasn't exactly sure what you wanted. See, the potion grants the deepest wishes of the drinkers. Second drink makes whatever it is last forever."
"And you worried I wanted to make you human?" Lizzie arched a brow and Fred nodded.
"But it didn't, so all's great! I can stay and we get back to snoggin' and maybe play a game of I'll show you mine if you show me yours?" He bobbed his eyebrows at her, his smile crooked in a way that made Lizzie's stomach flutter with heat.
"I- uh… Wait, I need a sec," she said, shaking her head and sitting down on the couch. She had Fred back, but hearing him talk about not being human reminded her that she was. How long would he want her? She'd grow old and he'd probably get bored and leave her. Was this doomed? Was she crazy?
Eyes watering, Lizzie looked at Fred when she suddenly sneezed. Purple sparkles flew out from her mouth and she disappeared and reappeared in a flash behind the couch.
Fred's eyes widened. "Okay. Didn't see that one comin'!" he said, pointing at her and magicking over to her, holding her steady. "Snotface, you alright?"
"Um…" Lizzie looked down at herself and back at the couch. "How did- Oh my god, am I an imaginary friend?" she asked, holding onto him tight.
"Looks so." For a moment Fred was afraid Lizzie would start crying again, but instead the biggest grin he'd ever seen spread over her face.
"This is exactly what I always wanted! Now I can run away with you for real! We never have to be apart again!" Tears in her eyes, she hugged him tight. "I love you, Fred."
"I love you, too, but wait. This? You've always wanted this ?" he asked, surprised, but happier than he'd ever been.
"Yes, now kiss me."
Curling his lips into a grin, Fred leaned in and kissed Lizzie as deeply as he could, pouring every ounce of love for her he had into it and together they lived happily-ever-after.