I always thought it was a little sad when after you got married and you befriended your rival that Wizard's fortunes would say this about your hubby. So this popped into my head. And I dunno, Luna always kinda struck me as the pushy type that didn't let anything get in her way if she wanted something. I didn't and still don't mean to make her a flat out villain though (so SO many fics make her out to be this complete bitch augh) but I don't know if that came across properly. But let me know!
Also, I would have published this under Gilligan Files but this didn't focus on Gill so much as Wizard. So...yeah. And Gilligan Files is more happy happy family/spouse funtime with a dash of angstmush while this is...not. 8D;;
Secrets
He knew it was her even before she knocked. It wasn't that Wizard was particularly psychic or anything, even if he had become more attune to Molly's unique "aura" in the past ten years he had known her. No, it had become a sort of weekly visit; while her husband came to town to visit his father, she would tag along with her children to visit everyone else. She always came by at exactly noon.
"Sorry I'm late!" she said cheerily as she entered.
A small smile graced his lips as he looked up from the book he was reading. "Most people…wouldn't consider two minutes to be extremely late," he responded, amused.
She just stuck out her tongue in return. "Yes, but still."
Wizard let out a soft chuckle before his eyes glanced towards the door. "The children…?" he asked curiously. Though she didn't always bring her son and daughter to visit, they had accompanied her for the past few weeks.
"They're with their grandpa," she replied. "He'd been complaining that he doesn't get to see them enough so he took them to the beach for the day. Gill's at the Town Hall right now filling in for him.
"I see…"
Molly looked at him curiously before her face broke into a wide grin. "You miss them?"
Wizard chuckled again and closed his book. "I suppose so…or I have simply grown used to having them around."
She giggled and took a seat at the table in the middle of the room. "Oh, you would hurt Ciel's feelings if he heard you say that. You know he adores you."
His lips curved into a tiny frown as his mind wandered to her youngest son. It was true, he supposed; the three year old boy liked to follow him around wherever he went whenever he decided to tag along with his mother t town during the week. While his older sister often came along as well, she seemed to prefer spending her time at the clinic or with their grandpa. "That…was not my intention."
Molly's smile softened and she nodded. "I know. I was only teasing you. Though…Gill does get a little jealous sometimes of how much Ciel is attached to you. He doesn't want to admit it though," she added, bringing a hand to her mouth to suppress another giggle.
Wizard couldn't help but smile again; hers were contagious. And yet…he couldn't shake off the weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something had felt off for the past few months but he couldn't pinpoint where the feeling was coming from.
"Oh, so Luna's invited me over for lunch this Tuesday," Molly was saying, and Wizard forced himself to shake off the thoughts so he could pay attention. "I mean…I know she finally started talking to me again after Emma was born but I knew she was still mad because to her, I took away Gill…" she trailed off, biting her lip a little sadly.
"But this is progress now, is it not…?"
At his words, her expression brightened once more (causing him to inwardly sigh in relief; he hated it when she was upset) and she nodded. "It only took eight years! I guess she's finally forgiven me. Gill says that I didn't do anything that needs to be forgiven though." She chuckled a little sheepishly.
There it was again. That feeling. Wizard could sense it coiling around in his stomach like a snake waiting to strike and he still couldn't uncover the source.
"Wizard?" he snapped to upon hearing her concerned voice considerably closer than he expected. He was somewhat startled to find that she had risen from her chair to stand in front of him, her eyes filled with worry. "Are you alright?"
He blinked, his multicolored eyes focusing on her auburn ones before he relaxed and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring look. "I'm fine…I just remembered something," he lied.
Though Molly didn't quite look like she believed him, her face eventually smoothed back into that gentle smile he had grown fond of. "Was it important?" she asked teasingly, returning to her seat.
He was thankful that she didn't seem to have any real inclination to press him further. "Not really…it was simply bothering me that I couldn't remember."
She laughed. "I know how that goes. Sometimes I can't remember something all day and then it'll come to me in the middle of the night." Wizard chuckled along with her before she suddenly snapped her fingers. "Oh, speaking of remembering…could you do a reading for me today? Pretty please?"
He cocked a brow, slightly confused at her sudden request. "I don't mind but…"
Her cheeks warmed to a rosy pink and she suddenly looked rather bashful. "Our ten year anniversary is coming up and I want to get Gill something really special. Something he'd love but wouldn't expect."
Though that horrid feeling was back, Wizard still forced a tiny smile. "Of course." He rose from his seat at his desk and moved to the small table where the crystal ball was located, right across from Molly. She twisted around in her seat to sit forward and looked at him expectantly, her cheeks still slightly flushed.
Wizard didn't know why, but something was telling him to stop. Somehow, he felt that doing the reading for her would be a horrible idea. It kept nagging at the back of his mind like a constant whisper in his ear, just begging for him to stop. However, after a moment of deliberation he pushed his apprehension aside and placed his hands above the crystal. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the Town Hall, where he knew her husband was located. Sure enough, when he opened his eyes to look at the crystal, Gill sat in his seat behind the front desk, working diligently on a small stack of paperwork in front of him. Upon further inspection, Wizard found that he was thinking idly about his upcoming anniversary. Heart filled with nostalgia, his thoughts lingered on his mother and how she would sometimes make Ratatouille for dinner since it was both his and his father's favorite cooked dish. Wizard couldn't help the tiny smile that ever so slightly curved his lips and he opened his mouth to relay the good information to Molly. However, to his mild surprise, he found that Gill wasn't alone. Another figure suddenly entered into his field of "vision." After a few short moments however, eyes widened and he was so startled that his concentration over the crystal ball broke and the image vanished. The snake had struck.
Wizard didn't quite know what to do for a few moments. Now that things were so plainly obvious, he supposed that he had an inkling about it all along, in a way. He just didn't want to believe it. He knew that Molly loved her husband with all her heart and he wasn't about to do anything to break that. He didn't want to break her heart or her family. Emma, he knew, especially loved her father. Even when she came to visit, she would always cheerfully chatter on about Gill, about something he taught her or things they did together.
"Wizard?" Molly asked softly, her eyebrows slightly furrowed in concern. He almost flinched at the sound of her voice but he managed to keep his composure and he nodded.
"Ah, it seems…" he hesitated, risking a glance at her. A small smile curved her lips upwards once more now that she was sure he was okay and her entire body tilted ever so slightly forward in anticipation. Her auburn eyes were bright and she just looked so…content. No, happy. She was happy.
He couldn't break that.
"Gill considers you a very important person," he said almost robotically before heaving a tiny sigh. "A good choice of gift would be…Ratatouille."
Her eyes widened. She seemed to know the meaning behind it. Really…? But I don't know how to make it." She fell silent for a few moments, biting her lip thoughtfully. "But…I'll see if Yolanda or Chase can teach me." She brightened once more and her eyes gained a fervent sort of determination. "Well…there's only two weeks left so I need to get all the practice I can get! I think Yolanda is still at the inn…and I can ask Chase tomorrow too when I take Emma to see Matt and Ciel to see Dakota."
Wizard nodded. "Good luck."
Molly giggled and stood up. "Thank you! I'll bring you back some dinner and coffee later this afternoon before we leave, okay?"
He only nodded once more and gave a small wave as she left. As soon as he was alone again, he leaned back in his chair and stared blankly at the door. Wizard didn't know how many minutes—or hours—had passed before he heaved a sigh and slowly lowered his gaze back towards his crystal ball. After a small pause of deliberation, he sat back up and began to concentrate once more. He just hoped he wouldn't see a repeat of before.
Luna had been there with Gill as well. While at first Wizard wasn't all that surprised that she had had been there; after all, it was the Town Hall and she more than likely had business to attend to. But the way she acted…told a different story. She just seemed to be idly wandering around the room, playfully bantering with Gill, before she skipped up to him with a teasing look on her face and peered at the papers he was so diligently working on. After a moment she moved behind the desk and sidled up to Gill and said something to which he chuckled at but Wizard wasn't paying any attention. It was when she leaned forward and kissed Gill's cheek—causing his eyes to widen in surprise and his emotions to go haywire—that Wizard had been so startled as to break his concentration completely. He couldn't believe it.
But this time Gill was alone and Luna was nowhere to be seen. Though he initially appeared to be focusing on the papers in front of him once more, a closer inspection said otherwise. His eyes were blank, his expression was unreadable, and the pen he was holding was in danger of slipping out of his almost nonexistent grip. Even when peering into his heart Wizard couldn't get a clear reading. Gill's emotions were too jumbled up, jumping around in too many different directions and moving too fast to read.
If Wizard was correct in his assumption that the bad feeling he had been experiencing was due to this, then it had been going on for a while. But what Wizard didn't understand was…why? He might not have known much about love (although people always came in asking for love fortunes) and he couldn't really remember the experience of having people to call family but he knew enough. And he knew that if he told Molly, it would break her heart.
Aside from you, there is someone.
Can you tell I don't have a good grasp on Wizard's character? Ahaha. So anyway, like I said, this can end up being a two-shot if you guys want! I have ideas—Wizard confronting Gill or Gill/Luna's side of the story for example. Or both. So just review and let me know!
Oh, and I know all of the rival kids are supposed to be the same age but I took some liberties since in my game everyone got married at WAY different times. It's as thus:
Van is 9; Angie is 8; Matt and Lucy are 7; Roy is 5; Dakota and Heath are 3. Then Emma is 8 and Ciel is 3.