Ever After

Jade

When I was little, I used to believe in fairy tales, magic, true love. Maybe it was just a defense mechanism, just a way for me to convince myself there was a way out, that someone, someday, would save me from the hell I was living in. And maybe I should have been looking to save myself, instead of waiting for that. But I didn't know how to do that, back then, and I believed in fairy tales because it was something I could do. Because believing in something was the one thing they couldn't take from me.

I don't think I've ever felt quite as anxious as I do right now, sitting in the visitation room of the Steel City Rehabilitation Clinic. It's been two whole weeks since I've seen him. Feels like a lifetime.

Roy steps through the door, in jeans and a t-shirt and those same boots he always wears, looking the same as ever but somehow I'm stills struck by his appearance, how handsome he is. Time away from a person can do that, I guess. He smiles at me and my heart flutters.

"Hey, babe," he says. He pulls me into an embrace, kisses me and it feels like coming home. God, I've missed him.

"Hi," I say. "How are you?"

"Good," he replies. And then, "Well, better."

"Better is progress," I tell him. He just smiles and shrugs.

"And how are you?" he asks.

"I'm good," I answer. "Adjusting. It'll be easier once you're back home."

He nods. "In-patient's a minimum of four weeks, but my therapist thinks I'll get the ok to go to out-patient right after, since it was just the one relapse."

I smile. "I'm happy to hear that."

He smiles back, and touches my stomach. "And how's this little girl doing?"

I giggle. "Roy, I'm only five weeks, they won't know the gender until I'm at least four months along, maybe more."

He grins. "Well, I still say she's a girl," he insists. "And she'll look just like you."

"Mmm, I dunno, I hope she gets your hair."

He brushes a lock of hair out of my face. "Well I hope she gets those beautiful eyes."

That makes me smile. And then I kiss him again. And in a silly way it feels like a fairy tale ending.

Here's what I've learned, about fairy tale endings:

It's okay for the prince to save you.

But sometimes he needs saving too.

And Snow White and The Huntsman lived happily ever after.

To ever ever after
Forever could even start today
Ever ever after
Maybe it's just one wish away
Your ever ever after

Author's Notes:

My gosh, I can't believe I just finished this thing. I'm not sure how to feel. On one hand I'm proud of myself, and on the other hand it's kind of like "awww, I miss it already." XD

Um, I don't have a whole lot of say about this that I haven't said before. I always struggle to write happy endings but I think I like how this one came out. I guess it's kind of interesting that I chose to end this on a fairy tale not- I'm not really sure why I did, but there was just no other way to do it. I've been calling this a "neo-noir western superhero romance", and up until now I've mostly been referencing the noir and the western part of that. But I think I might need to add "fairy tale" to that too. It's a little of all three.

Title and lyrics from "Ever After" by Carrie Underwood. And for the curious, a few songs that were integral to the making of this story but that I never got to use (if I ever made a Trainspotting mixtape of something, these would be, like, the bonus tracks XD and note that a lot of these don't really fit the story as it is anymore, because they were songs I came up with for the earlier, grittier version of the outline XD but even most of those still sort of "sound like" this story, even if the lyrics aren't perfectly fitting): "Hell on Heels" by Pistol Annies, "Mr. Colson" by Cassie Steele (one of the original three songs I came up with), "Broken" Seether featuring Amy Lee (one of the original three songs), "Like Toy Soliders" Eminem, "'97 Bonnie and Clyde" Eminem, "Demolition Lovers" My Chemical Romance, "Summer Shudder" A.F.I., "If It Means a Lot to You" A Day to Remember featuring Sierra Kustabank, "White Horse" Taylor Swift, "Ready 4 Love" Cascada, and "Because the Night", which wasn't originally by Cascada but that's the version I know.

So now that this is done I have a few oneshots to write (well, just one for sure, which is the one muddie requested, but there's a few more I'm playing with. And it you want me to write anything in particular, now's the time to ask- no gaurentees or anything, but you never know, you're idea might just spark my interest!). And after that I'm going to move on to the follow up to my Flinx fics. So if you're interested please check them out!

Lastly, I want to thank all of you guys for being super amazing! Thank you for reading, reviewing, and just supporting me in general! I'm constantly impressed by your willingness to stick with me, especially during delays. And I'm even more impressed with the genuine kindness you've all shown me when I've expressed problems in my personal life. It really does means so much me. You guys are amazing and I love you!

And special thanks to my super awesome best friend, who did all of the above mentioned things and also listened to me rant for hours on end about this. You are seriously fantastic. I love you!