A/N: Welcome back guys?! This is the second chapter of Honor Amongst Thieves! The story is still picking up and I'm still feeling it out. I hope you guys like it.
Sabrina hoisted herself up and brushed off her pants. She looked around at the training room and saw that mop Puck was still floating. She punched it angrily and recalled her conversation with Briar earlier that week.
~~Thursday~~
"Hey Briar?" Sabrina approached the counter at the coffee shop. A young woman smiled back at Sabrina as she walked toward a coffee machine that was further down the counter.
"What can I do for you Sabrina?" Briar smiled, as she poured a cup of coffee, and set it down on the table as she wiped her hands on her apron.
"Uh, I just had a few questions, do you have time to talk?"
"Yeah of course! Anything for my favorite Grimm! Let me just get someone to cover for me real quick," She took the coffee she prepared, put it on a saucer and handed it to a gentleman seated at the end of the counter. Then she walked over to one of her godmothers and whispered in her ear. Her godmother turned and looked at Sabrina, and she gave her a wide smile, probably because she saw that the Grimm Briar was going to talk to was not Jake. Briar wiped down a table at a booth and waved to Sabrina. Sabrina hopped off the stool and slid into the booth across from Briar.
"So Sabrina, what can I help you with?" Sabrina sent Briar a nervous smile and began picking at the sleeves of her shirt.
"I have some questions," she started, unable to look Briar in the face.
"Is everything okay?" The older woman asked. I've never seen Sabrina look so unsure. What in the world could be going on? She saw Sabrina give a huff, her hair fluttering a bit, and then screwed her face up.
"I had questions about boys," Sabrina muttered. Briar's eyes lit up. So that's whats got her so nervous. Then a smile played on her lips as she feigned deafness.
"I'm sorry Sabrina, I couldn't hear you. Could you repeat that?" she asked, trying to keep her smile from growing too big. Sabrina gave a large groan.
"I said—I had some questions related to boys," she said flatly. Her eyebrows twisted into a slight frown at Briar's smile. "Why are you laughing?" Briar couldn't contain a giggle at this point and smoothed the apron on her lap to distract her.
"Does Mrs. Sabrina Grimm have a crush?" Briar asked, the mirth clearly reaching her eyes. Sabrina's eyes, in turn, widened to the size of saucers.
"Excuse me?" she practically squeaked. A flush climbed her cheeks remarkably fast, and she looked away, annoyed at her body's reaction to the accusation. "I certainly do not have a crush on anyone!" she insisted. But she looked back at Briar and gave a shy smile. "Its that obvious huh?" Briar gave a small nod. Then she excitedly reached over the table and clasped her hands over Sabrina's.
"Tell me everything!" Briar gushed, her wavy hair falling in her eyes as she nodded encouragingly. Sabrina bit her lip and hesitated. This was the very reason she didn't want to get into this mess. Talking about her feelings was not her strong suit, but she'd been feeling quite different around Puck lately. More aware of his existence. She'd been wary of going to Briar about all this but she didn't really have too many options.
Daphne would just squeal, bite her hand and make a really big deal out of something Sabrina wasn't even sure was a big deal. Granny Relda would be nice, but it'd been a while since she experienced teenage hormones. Snow White was too motherly and innocent, plus she'd found her one true love and was too happy with Mayor Charming. Whereas Sabrina just needed to figure things out, preferably with someone who was a little more understanding. Which left her with Briar.
Since Briar started dating her Uncle Jake, Sabrina had never seen him, or anyone happier. She figured that Briar was still freshly in love with her uncle, and that meant that she knew the signs of a crush. So Sabrina steeled herself and her pride and tried asking for "guy advice."
"So…there's a boy that I know. I've known him for a while, and every time I see him I get all, I don't know," Sabrina paused, trying to find the best explanation. She looked up at Briar and furrowed her eyebrows "Um, has Uncle Jake told you my deal with magic?"
Briar looked confused. "Your magic addiction you mean?" Sabrina nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"
"It feels like that. Like I'm using magic. It feels like I'm losing control of my body and mind and I get all jittery like I had 47 cups of coffee," Sabrina continued. "How do I make it stop?" At this Briar looked a bit taken aback.
"What do you mean make it stop?"
"I don't like this feeling. No—I hate it. I don't feel like myself and I feel like a wuss. I can't talk properly and I feel stupid all of the time. I don't like feeling like I don't have control of myself. It freaking sucks," Briar laughed. She had a hand in front of mouth but you could clearly hear her chuckles.
"Sabrina, you can't just make it go away! Clearly whatever feelings you have for Puck—" This time Sabrina was the one who was taken aback "Oh please Sabrina, who else could you possibly be talking about? Anyways, whatever feelings you have for him aren't necessarily bad. So why on Earth do you want them to go away? You do like him, right?" she asked bluntly.
"No—yes—I don't know?!"
"Well, we know he likes you at least—"
"We do?"
"Sabrina honey, how old are you?"
"Sixteen"
"How about Puck?" At this Sabrina paused and gasped.
"Okay, but that can be explained right? Like he's supposed to protect us and stuff, how is he supposed to do that if he's a scrawny twelve-year-old looking kid?"
"He doesn't have to protect you. He stuck around because he wanted to. Plus if it was really to protect you, he could have aged to be much stronger and older, so why is he your age?"
"To protect me during school, we take all of our classes together" Sabrina said matter-of-factly.
"Why wouldn't he take classes with Daphne? She needs protecting too, doesn't she?Does he smell good?" Briar asked suddenly.
"Yeah," she responded automatically. "He bathes now…" And with that revelation, Sabrina's heart fluttered and she thought she was going to puke. Okay… Puck might like me. He might actually like me.
"Although—I mean, does he know he's aging? Does he realize it?"
"I don't know. If he does, he sure doesn't show it."
"Either way, the evidence is in your favor 'brina, and I think that you should go for it." Briar smiled at her. "Actually—I dare you to go for it," she challenged. "After all, what's the worst that could happen? It'll be awkward for a little bit and then you'll both get over it? That doesn't sound so bad. And if you don't go for it you'll spend all that time wondering, what if?"
"But it'll never work in the long run! He's an Everafter and I'm a Grimm!" At this Briar frowned. "Ok, you and Uncle Jake are obviously an exception—"
"Good save, but seriously, why the heck not? Just try and see what happens. You owe it to yourself to give it a chance, OK?" Briar smiled at her, then walked over to the counter. She reached into the glass pastry display, pulled out a few doughnuts and stuffed them into a brown paper bag.
"Be sure to share Sabrina, I know Daphne won't be happy to know you kept all of them." She handed the bag to Sabrina and walked her to the front of the coffee shop. "If anything you have my number, right?" Sabrina nodded and smiled, and started to make her way back to Granny's house. "Make sure you text me you got home safely!" she shouted after her, watching until Sabrina was no longer in sight. Briar went back into the coffee shop, and walked to the small office in the back.
The office was charmed to bigger than what any human thought could fit into the back of the shop. She walked over to a chair and small table she had situated in the corner of the room and plopped herself down. Picking up the phone that was on the table she dialed an all too familiar phone number and waited for a response.
"Hello, am I speaking to the most beautiful girl in this universe?" a smooth voice spoke down the line.
"Oh shut up Jake!" Briar laughed, and she could feel herself practically swooning. She had almost forgotten why she called, but quickly remembered. "So…you were totally right."
"About what? That you're the most beautiful woman I've ever met? Yeah I knew that already, babe."
"No, about your niece."
"Daphne?"
"I love you Jake, but you're literally the densest person I know," Briar teased. "I'm talking about Sabrina, and how you totally guessed it. She likes Puck."
"Woah wait, how do you know?"
"She came to me for guy advice, I'll have you know,"
"You're telling me that Sabrina 'I-have-no-feelings-whatsoever-for-that-stupid-fairy' Grimm came to you and asked you for guy advice?" Jake asked.
"Yep! That's exactly what I'm telling you."
"So do you think that he's going to tell her?"
"Tell her what he told you? Not for another 2000 years, at least." Jake guessed. They continued to talk about their day and Briar smiled. She knew that she was the luckiest girl on the planet, having found Jake, and she hoped that Sabrina and Puck would get over their stubbornness so that they too could be as happy as her.
If it were only that easy.
A/N: And that concludes the second chapter! Thanks again for reading. I love love love getting reviews, and it inspires fanfiction writers everywhere to update faster! I also love getting ideas, so please don't be shy! Fanfiction is a collaborative process :) So read and review and I will see you again next week with another chapter-maybe even sooner if you review ;) Constructive criticism encouraged.
Much love, Dani
P.S. This story is unbeta'd and I try to do my best to proofread and ensure consistent tenses and spelling, but if you see any mistakes, I'll appreciate your correction, honest :)