He goes to a wedding.

He's seen a few weddings during his time on Earth - couples taking pictures in Hyde Park and women fawning over bridal magazines at the corner coffee shop. Not to mention the obscene amount of dresses in store windows during the Chelsea Flower Show. Baltor knows enough of the culture now to recognize differences between Earth and Sparx. That was to say, weddings on Earth seemed to be a much bigger, more lavish ordeal - more like those from Solaria or Eraklyon. Sparx had always been more private, and Baltor never realized how much he appreciated that.

Until now.

"I still can't believe I let you talk me into this."

On his left, Roxy just smiles. "To be fair, part of this is so everyone can apologize to you for your harrowing first experience in the magic dimension. They figured out pretty quickly Selina didn't kidnap some unknown relative of Bloom's. You're here so the Winx can show you that you have no reason to hide, and you're welcome in the group."

"All of them said that?"

"...Four plus one for the sake of appearances?" She sighs. "Look, Stella's...Stella. But she might be more willing to put up with you then you think. She was the one who cleared this with Daphne, actually. Plus Bloom said their sit-down went well."

Baltor doesn't buy that for a second, but decides against saying anything. "So long as I can figure out a way to stay on her good side...or whatever my equivalent of Stella's good side can be."

"Well there is someone I know who has vast knowledge about that position." Without warning, Roxy loops her arm through his and walks them both towards a group near the edge of a banquet table. It takes Baltor a moment to recognize them, and when he does it takes everything in his power not to dig his heels into the grass.

"Roxy," he hisses.

"Well if it isn't my favorite group of former waiters!" Roxy pointedly ignores him, and Baltor forces his face to a neutral expression as the Specialists turn to face them. Riven isn't among them, replaced by a man with light hair Baltor doesn't recognize - Bloom's mentioned his name before, but he can't remember it. "Have you seen the girls? I'm delivering a surprise."

"I can see that," Helia smiles, and offers his hand. "You must be the not-really-second-cousin-but-actual-boyfriend."

He can't stop the roll of his eyes as he takes it. "I have no idea how she came up with that, for the record. William Free. Call me Will."

"Helia, good to meet you." The Specialist introduces the rest of the group, and Baltor feigns repeating their names as if it's his first time hearing them (except for Nex, who he truly hasn't met before).

"And last but not least, our esteemed -"

And then Helia stops talking, and it seems the entire group goes quiet at the same time. It's easy to see why, as Helia is gesturing to the only remaining member of the Specialists, the one Baltor's technically seen the most recently as he attempted to leap into the Vortex of Flames. He doesn't know why he's surprised it's his current girlfriend's ex-fiancé. It makes about as much sense as the rest of his life.

Baltor takes a deep breath and forces a smile. "There's no way to do this that's isn't incredibly awkward, is there?"

To his credit, Sky smiles too, while letting out an uncomfortable chuckle as they shake hands. "I don't think so, no. Hopefully we get past that."

"I…" he trails off, then shakes his head. "Thank you, but I really don't want to impose. This is your world, not mine."

"It's no imposition. Any friend - or more than a friend - of Bloom's is a friend of ours."

I seriously doubt that. "Thank you. Same to you."

"Glad to see you're up and walking. I heard the witches gave you some trouble."

"To put it mildly. I know Sibylla through the work I do for Tir Nan Og - she was able to patch me up without much trouble. Better than a regular hospital is all I can say."

"Magic has advantages," Sky nods, then points over to where the makeshift altar had been during the ceremony. "Last I saw the girls were with Daphne. Couldn't have gotten too far."

"Thanks Sky," Roxy says in a sing-song voice, and gives him a friendly peck on the cheek. "Don't start drinking without me."

"Oh we are way past that," Nex laughs, and raises the glass he's holding to Baltor. "Hope to see you around, man. It'd be nice not to be the only new guy."

"I'll...do my best. Nice meeting you all."

When they're out of earshot, Baltor gives her a glare that would be far more threatening without his disguise spell. "You are not as amusing as you think you are."

Roxy gives her best confused look, but even with it the corners of her mouth are lifted in a smile. "What? I didn't know where to find your girlfriend, so I asked the people most likely to know."

Baltor sighs as he catches a flash of red in a group of girls and hears a familiar laugh. "More like you enjoy seeing me squirm."

He feels her squeeze his shoulder. "Ready?"

A thought occurs to him. "Did...did you just throw me into a conversation with the Specialists as mental preparation?" Roxy says nothing, but raises a pointed eyebrow at him and smirks. "I...Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Flora is the first one to notice them approaching, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "Well hello there, you two. Nice of you to join us."

The others turn, and when Bloom sets her eyes on Baltor, her jaw drops. It closes after a moment, then opens again, then bursts into a genuine grin. "I-I...uh, hi!"

Her smile is dazzling, and a majority of his anxiety retreats at the sight of it. For the first time in a very long time he throws caution to the wind, and pulls Bloom into a kiss in the middle of the palace gardens, in front of the rest of the Winx and Arcadia knows who else.

Baltor's shocked at how little he cares about the consequences.

When they part, Bloom has a slightly bewildered look in her eyes. "You," she reaches up and runs a hand through his hair, stopping just short of where the disguise spell's brown locks ended. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?"

"Let's just say I was offered a last minute plus-one."

"Then" Bloom looks past him to the rest of the girls, standing nearby with various smirks on their faces. "You guys did this?"

"It was Layla's idea," Musa grins. "A sort of...secondary introduction to the magical universe."

"Without crazed witches or kidnappings." Tecna adds. "We're so pleased you agreed to come, Will."

"Guys!" Bloom pulls the six girls into a group hug before they can even register it happening. "This is one of the nicest things you've ever done for me, thank you so much!"

Baltor has to smirk when Stella's grin falters, but gets a neutral look back on his face by the time they all break apart. "I do appreciate you inviting me. And you should know that I, of course, don't blame any of you for Selina's actions."

Stella, at the back of the group, gives him a pointed look and an overly-sugared smile. "See girls? I told you he would get that we're better than some crazy, power hungry freak with terrible hair and bad clothes who hangs out with convicted felons all the time."

The one thing Baltor can say for the Princess of Solaria - she's a good actress. The other four girls chuckle politely in agreement, unaware of anything being wrong. It takes Bloom and Roxy a beat longer to follow suit. All Baltor manages is a polite smile. "Well, when you put it that way, it's a very low bar to beat."

"Oh, you'd be surprised at how low the bar can be around here."

"But it's okay because you won't be dealing with any more threats!" Roxy says, a bit too loudly and very pointedly. She loops her arm though Stella's, and from the angle Baltor sees Roxy's fingers digging into her forearm. "Ladies, why don't we all go say our congratulations to Daphne and Thoren and give these two a little time to themselves, okay?"

There are murmurs of agreement, and Roxy expertly shepherds the girls over to where Daphne and Thoren are standing, her grip on Stella never faltering. Just before they slip into the crowd Roxy turns, giving them a wink.

When the others are out of earshot, Baltor gives Bloom a look. "You know, I think you may have to wipe her memory entirely before she blows my cover."

Bloom hits his shoulder. "No! I am not messing with my best friend's mind. And she wouldn't do something like that."

"Did we both just witness the same conversation?"

Her arm wraps around his waist, and Bloom leans her head on his shoulder. "I know Stella seems...prickly, right now. It's a lot to get used to in a short amount of time. She won't go running to the Magix Council to tell them you're alive...but she may have some fun at your expense."

He sighs, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. "As long as that's all she does."

"The fact that she even helped the girls arrange this is huge." She turns to look at him. "Are you sure you're recovered enough to be here?"

Selina and Icy had done a number on him - it had taken Sibylla two days and multiple rounds of healing before she felt comfortable enough to let Baltor leave. His powers were more akin to what they'd been before the Vortex of Flames (though they would recover, she had also been insistent on reminding him), and beyond that his leg was still giving him a bit of trouble.

"I'm fine," Baltor said, and snorted when Bloom gave him a cautious look. "Would you like proof?"

She raises an eyebrow. "What kind of proof?"

"That depends...how much better has your dancing gotten?"

A beat, and Baltor feels her hand slip into his. "Why don't we find out together?"

That same warm feeling hits his chest, and while he really should dwell on it, Baltor pushes it aside as they head to the dance floor, finding a space near the outskirts of guests. He feels eyes on him, including some people he hasn't seen up close in twenty-one years. It doesn't bother him as much as it once would have. But he still takes precautions (and likely would be taking such precautions for the rest of his life). Baltor rattles off a spell in his head, and a sound blocker swirls unseen around them, dampening voices and music. While no one in the vicinity notices, he feels Bloom's shoulder relax under his left hand.

"I think I might get you a feature in a few tabloids," Baltor says lightly.

"Oh, don't you worry about that," she replies, though she sounds mildly annoyed. "Everyone has something to say about the now only eligible daughter of Sparx. The fact that you aren't a prince or a duke might actually make them leave me alone."

He unconsciously pulls her a bit closer. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's not your fault, it's just this world. I wonder if I'm right for it sometimes." Bloom trails off, her eyes on Baltor's face but her mind obviously somewhere else. She comes back a moment later, straightening her posture. "I caught the bouquet, you know."

Baltor gives her a curious look. "Does that matter?"

She sighs as though she expected his response. "Never mind; it's an Earth thing. You'll have to look it up sometime."

She seems unwilling to actually tell him what it means, so Baltor just nods. "All right. I certainly have space for new research books now."

The tension comes back to Bloom's shoulders, albeit briefly. "Yeah. If you want help redoing your place, I'm more than happy to lend a hand."

"Are you sure you can take time away from your studies?"

"Alfea's going on an extended break again, actually. Letting Cloud Tower do some rebuilding so all three schools can graduate students around the same time."

For a moment all Baltor can picture is Griffin, slumping defeated in her office while going over plans to rebuild her school for the second time. He pushes the thought aside before he can start chuckling. "I see. What are you going to do, then?"

"I...don't know actually. Daphne and my parents are going to be busy going over future queen things, leaving me…"

"On the outs?" Baltor supplies.

Bloom nods. "Not to mention I've only stayed on Sparx for a few weeks at one time. And it's nice - they're nice, but it doesn't quite feel like home like Gardenia does. Which I also feel weird about going back to - Mom's opening another location for her shop, which means she'll bounce between focusing on work, and feeling guilty that she's focusing on work while I'm home."

She leans her head on his shoulder again, ignoring that they're now out of step with the rest of the dancers. "I guess I'll be hopping around a lot - between here and Gardenia and the girls when there are a few days in their schedules I can stop by. Living out of a suitcase for three months isn't the worst thing to happen to me by far." Bloom pauses and laughs to herself. "It might actually be better than having things divided between two planets. I haven't had one place to stay for a while, now."

"Stay with me, then."

Bloom freezes in his arms. "What?"

What, the rational part of his brain yells as it catches up with what the impulsive part had just said. Baltor almost starts backpedaling, until he realizes he doesn't want to. Instead, he takes her hand and leads her off the dance floor so they're less likely to be observed.

"Stay with me," he repeats, almost unable to believe the words coming out of his own mouth. "You always talk about how you want to see more of the city, you're over often enough, even when you're at Alfea, some of your things are already there…"

The more he talks, the more he starts to believe what he's saying. Bloom is looking at him with an unreadable expression that makes Baltor's throat go dry, and he has to swallow. "You have a key to the flat, for Arcadia's sake. The invitation couldn't be more open. It could...be good for us. A span of time without some larger threat over your head or obligations to worry about. How many times has that stood in our way before?"

Bloom still doesn't say anything, and only then does the rational part of his brain regain control of his mouth. "If you want to think about it I understand -"

"Yes."

He blinks, eighty percent certain he's heard wrong. "...Yes?"

"Yes," Bloom repeats, and a smile slowly spreads across her face. "Yes, I...I would love to spend the summer with you. Yes." She lunges forward without warning, her arms wrapping around him in a tight hug that takes him a moment to reciprocate. Her lips brush his in a kiss, still smiling. "Yes."

"You could still travel -"

"I know," Bloom cuts him off, and the warmth in his chest returns tenfold at the giddiness of her voice. "And I will, probably, but I just...yes."

"Feel free to say something other than yes, Bloom."

Bloom pulls back, and Baltor's surprised to see her face almost frozen, as if she's caught herself before saying something. "Bloom?"

She shakes her head, and the look vanishes. "Nothing. Just...god, I'm acting like a teenager…"

"And for once, it's charming."

The look she gives him is much more familiar territory. "How are we going to fill up three months without some great evil taking up space?"

Baltor smiles and pulls her close again. "Oh, I think we'll manage."

Her arms slowly come up to wrap around him. "Yeah. I think so, too."

The fact that the Chelsea Flower Show was cancelled this year? Tragic (but understandable - wear your damn mask, kids).

I think there was a 'tossing the bouquet' scene in the actual episode, but you know what it's my story and if I want to retcon that I will. I've done waaay worse (and for those wondering; Kiko caught it)

Also: Please remember this story is crossposted on Archive of Our Own (Ao3). Ao3 is way more lax with explicit content (and I have strikes on this account so I can't risk anything - long story), which, uh, i dunno may come in handy soon.