AN~ Same basic concept, still with alternate-future Grimms, but edited a lot.
Daphne raised her eyebrows at her almost-twenty-seven-year-old sister and her husband, who were currently pretending not to whisper loving things into each other's ears while they cuddled on the far side of their cabin and wished, again, for her own bedroom. It had been a long war, and was only looking to get longer, and being stuck in a one-room shack with two people so in love had gotten old years ago.
"What's wrong, Marshmallow?" Puck asked, looking up.
Huh. Apparently she'd sighed louder than she thought, if the noise had broken through Puck and Sabrina's snugglefest. "Nothing," she muttered, looking pointedly out the window at the muddy square in the center of the fort.
"Really," Puck said, sounding utterly unconvinced. There was a shifting noise that was probably Puck standing up.
Oh, wonderful. This was going to turn into another 'cheer up Daphne' session. Puck couldn't seem to get it through his head that she wasn't the naive little girl she'd been when they met. Nobody could afford to be that bubbly during a war. It hurt too much.
She ignored Puck as he came to stand next to her, still looking out the hole in the wall that passed for a window. You'd think that they'd be able to make their quarters a little nicer since they had magic and all, but the camp looked like an unfinished historical recreation. One full of weapons.
Puck poked her. "C'mon, tell me what's up," he wheedled.
Outside, the younger and very much still alive William Charming was doing some weapons training with Mr. Seven. Daphne fingered her scar as she watched him. William had been a surprise- a welcome one, if she was honest with herself- and he'd done good things for the morale of the camp. On a humid day like today before he showed up, nobody would have been doing anything. But there were other people in the square, looking busy and useful.
"Daphne."
She hadn't heard Sabrina come stand with her and Puck, but Daphne wasn't sure she'd heard her sister make a noise that wasn't for a purpose in ten years. She'd trained herself out of being surprised at Sabrina's ability to move without being noticed, so she didn't jump. Outside, that is. Internally, she squelched a squeak that was entirely beneath her dignity. She was twenty-two years old, for crying out loud, and she was a talented witch with a kill count higher than most snipers. Not knowing someone was right behind her was not something worth freaking out about.
"Just tell us what's wrong and we'll leave you alone," Puck promised.
Daphne let out a snort. As if.
"Please?" Sabrina said, putting a hand on Daphne's shoulder. "We're worried about you."
There it was again, that 'we.' Sabrina and Puck were a- a unit, now. Daphne sort of missed the feeling of being part of a we. She and Sabrina had been like that, once. And before Elvis- they'd been partners. For a while, back when Sabrina and Puck weren't actively enemies anymore, and before they'd moved on to being 'significantly more than friends,' Sabrina, Daphne, and Puck had been a team.
But being part of something like that just left you open to getting hurt. Look what happened to Charming when Snow died. Being alone was better.
Puck and Sabrina were still pushing, wheedling. Daphne tuned them out for the most part, watching Seven best William in two out of five sparring rounds.
Still, there was only so much she could be expected to take.
"I'm tired of your PDA, okay?" she exploded, rounding on them. "You two are always all on top of each other, and it's not even like you're making out, or anything! That I could maybe take! But no, you're just so- so- cute! It makes me wanna barf, and I can't get away from it!"
Puck and Sabrina stared at her for several seconds. The only noise was the sound of Charming and Seven's swords meeting and the squelch of mud outside, the sticky air hanging low and heavy in their cabin without even a breeze to move it.
"Oh," Puck said eventually.
"Sorry," Sabrina said. "We'll- we'll try to cut back on it. Maybe get our own room or something for some privacy."
Puck nodded. "Fighting's been kinda slow the past few days. We can probably spare someone to help us build it."
"We'll leave for a bit, okay?" Sabrina suggested. "Give you some space."
Daphne let out a sigh, this one of relief. "It's a freaking miracle."
Sabrina slapped her lightly, but she and Puck headed out without pushing her further.
Daphne turned back to watching Charming and Seven. Anyone watching wouldn't have noticed much difference. But if someone looked closely, they might have seen a small smile play at the corners of Daphne's mouth.
That might have been the real miracle.