Ever After

Reunion

Author's Note:

This is the first fanfic I wrote on Ao3 which I finally got around to uploading on here as well!

I love good fluff as much as anyone, but there's also something delicious about the little awkward moments on the way to full-fledged relationship. Here's what I imagine to be a more realistic look at our favourite couple's Swiss reunion.

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Seri had imagined this reunion so many, many times.

Her visits to Switzerland over the last years were littered with little moments of anticipation, turning each corner expecting Fate to usher him into her sight, only to be let down again. Seri-ya, she would tell herself, What else did you expect? Lower your expectations. If not this moment, then the next one.

She didn't know whether to feel mad or glad that the moment had snuck up on her when she was least prepared for it. Part of her had relished the build-up, the hope, the longing. And yet now, before she was even aware of it, she was in his arms. The solidness of his broad shoulders encircled (just barely) within her arms was real. The smell of him – of no-nonsense soap and clean sheets, still familiar after all this time – was real. That voice, those soft eyes, the reassuring cradle of his hand against the back of her neck. This kiss. All of it was real, no matter how much it felt like one of her lived-in daydreams.

Seri drew back, eyes still closed. She took a breath, a small part of her frightened to open her eyes and find just an empty field before her. But there he was, looking down at her with that almost-smile she had tried desperately to keep a faithful memory of. "Jeong-hyeok ssi," she whispered, uncertain of what to follow with. She had written a dozen different scripts for a dozen different scenarios, but all of it had somehow vanished from her mind. Instead – "How is it that you are always the perfect amount of cheesy?"

They locked eyes. There was a pause before Jeong-hyeok let out a quiet huff of a smile. Seri found herself grinning in relief, too. Relieved that she hadn't misread him, that he was as overjoyed as she was. She felt the gentle squeeze of his hand behind her neck one more time before he let go, took a small step back from her personal space and clasped his arms behind his back, ever the polite gentleman.

"Well," Jeong-jyeok started, looking back towards where her paraglider was still lying in a heap. "This seems somehow familiar." It was said with that same casual cheerfulness he had greeted her descent with. She wondered if they were both thinking of that joint paraglider-jump off a cliff from what seemed like a lifetime away from these serene Swiss mountains. Though Seri found herself attracted to this unfamiliar new suaveness in him, it also led to a conflicting feeling of hesitation. After all, it had been Jeong-hyeok's unabashed sincerity, his simple self-possession and contrasting shyness, which had first drawn her in. Who was this polished man with the slicked-back hair and the carefree smile? She wondered what he was thinking, what he had gone through.

"Ah..." Seri just muttered, turning around to where her equipment was. She'd have to fold that up.

His long legs flashed next to hers as she walked towards the harness and glider, and it was his tall frame bending down to gather it all up before she could begin to do so herself.

Except that he was just willy-nilly rolling the glider up in a bunch. Seri briefly considered allowing him this act of chivalry before just as quickly dismissing the thought. "Not like that!" she batted his arm away. The boyish, startled glance he shot up at her was worth it. There was the Jeong-hyeok she knew. Seri fought to hide a smile as she knelt and began to fold the edges. "Kind of like a dumpling," she explained. The pure, uninterrupted attention that he devoted to her demonstration was the same. It really was him – Ri Jeong-hyeok ssi. Seri couldn't stop smiling.

"Push the air out too," she said. Even while focused on her task, she could feel the weight of his stare on her. Finally, she had to say it: "Stop looking at me, Jeong-hyeok ssi."

"Alright," he said, simply. Yes, this was the Jeong-hyeok she remembered.

Seri stood up to tuck the properly folded glider between her legs for the final step. Using her legs to hold it in place, she rolled up the glider and tried as best as she could to compress it. She wanted to look at him, to note down all the ways he had changed. To cherish all the little things that were the same. Thinking that she could now safely observe him without his answering stare, Seri lifted her eyes only to meet his in return. Her heart jumped. "Ya Jeong-hyeok ssi, stop it with those eyes!"

"These are just my eyes," Jeong-hyeok was smiling properly now as he stood to take the glider from her. It struck her anew how tall he was.

"Well, I hope that's not how you stare at everyone then," she said huffily, though her heart was properly racing now. They started walking up the hill, the silence between them heavy with unsaid thoughts and questions waiting to be asked.

The mundaneness of it all was such a sharp contrast to their last farewell that it felt a little bit absurd.

"How did you get here? I mean... transportation-wise?" she asked, lamely. "Are you staying at Grindelwald?" They were the least important questions she could ask, but they had to start somewhere.

He was still sending her little glances as they reached the top of the slope. "I'm staying at Sigriswil. At my old school. And you...?"

"Grindelwald. Just for a night."

"Ah –"

"– but I have a car. I'll drive you back."

They were at the edge of the parking lot now. Jeong-hyeok stopped and Seri automatically followed his lead. Again, he simply looked at her for a drawn-out moment, his smile soft and his eyes gentle, her glider still tucked under his arm. "Alright. I'd like that, Yoon Seri."

It was the first time he'd said her name out loud. Seri's heart gave another extra-loud thud.

She tried to put on a calm front as she gestured towards where her car was parked. This time, he walked slightly behind her as they walked across the parking lot. Together, they put her equipment away in the boot of the car. Again, he trailed behind her as she circled towards the driver's side, and again, their eyes met as he reached around to open the door for her. Seri felt as though she was suspended in time. She wanted to be suspended in time. It felt like a new beginning, when she had held so tightly onto the past all this time. She didn't want to start again. She didn't want it all to end again.

But his eyes. They were telling her what words could not. Trust me, Yoon Seri.

And suddenly, his hand on her back. The solidity of his touch snapped her back to the present. "Shall we?"