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Fitz was just finishing a check-over of one of his newer breeds when Penelope finally returned.
She’d been out for nearly the past month, another of her long trips away from Tangle Tower. She’d been on a couple, especially frequent in the past few months, often for a week or so before returning. Usually, she’d try to convince Fitz to come with her, but she hadn’t this time, which was... fine by him, really. He wasn’t really built for travel, not any longer than it took to gather gardening supplies. So it was for the best that Penelope hadn’t tried to convince him this time.
Still, he could admit, in the privacy of his greenhouse, to being worried. Penelope had been on edge for a long time, nervous and irritable, and their relationship was... fine. It was alright. Penelope simply didn’t come to the greenhouse as much, and maybe they weren’t speaking quite as often anymore. It was fine. Fitz just hoped this trip might make her feel better.
The day she returned, Fitz was checking over a new breed of his. A shimmery plant with a golden-orange fruit, it was growing nicely.
Maybe he’d show it off to Penelope. She was found of brighter colors, anyway. Always complained that Fitz was too drab.
He’d just finished adjusting the pH levels of the soil when Penelope wandered in. And she looked bad.
The yellow outfit, the one she preferred to wear while traveling, was ripped along her left arm, matted with blood. Her hair erratic and tangled, and though it was hard to see through the red of her hair, almost certainly slick with blood. She stumbled in, favoring her right leg as she collapsed in the general direction of the greenhouse’s bench.
Fitz could only stare for a moment, startled. Hesitantly, “Penelope? Are you... alright?”
Penelope took a moment to readjust herself on the bench, before turning to give Fitz a glare. “Fitz, dear, what does it look like?”
Okay. Awkward.
She huffed out a breath and looked away again. “Well, anyway, I know you have a first aid kit somewhere in here... go get that. Dear.”
Quickly, Fitz turned away and headed for the back of the greenhouse, where he kept his supplies. Sorting through the piles of gardening equipment and various fertilizers, Fitz gave himself a moment to breathe. And think. So, Penelope was back, and Penelope was hurt. For some reason, she returned hurt instead of getting treatment while on the trip, and on that thought, how did she get hurt, anyway? Not for the first time, Fitz wondered if he was supposed to ask her about these trips. Is that what a boyfriend does?
Finding the first aid kit under one of his old watering cans, Fitz hurried back to where Penelope sat, poking cautiously at the wound on her arm. On closer inspection, it was clear Penelope had at least attempted some rudimentary first aid on her own. The sleeve of her left, while clearly somewhat mangled previously, had also been torn off entirely and wound around the worst of the injury. It wasn’t very good, of course, but it probably slowed the bleeding, at the very least.
He hoped she hadn’t lost too much blood. The Tower didn’t exactly have a medical facility. It worried him somewhat to think that he might be the closest thing the island had to a medical professional.
Sitting down next to Penelope, Fitz began to unpack the first aid kit, picking out the antiseptic and bandages and setting them on the bench. Penelope steadfastly avoided looking at him, fixating her gaze on some point within the mass of plants.
“Penelope.” Despite starting slightly at the sound of his voice, she continued to stare at the plants. “May I... ask what happened?”
Instead of answering, she turned and lightly pulled his hand back over the bandages. “I think I’d prefer to stop bleeding first, dear.”
Point taken.
Ever so carefully, Fitz tugged at the fabric tied around her arm, wincing as she hissed tightly through her teeth. Sticky with blood and ragged with tears, it took a few minutes to unwind the binding as cautiously as possible. Finally pulling the fabric free from the wound, Fitz dropped the bloodied mass off the side as he picked up a piece of bandage and poured some antiseptic over it.
Cleaning the wound took less time, thankfully, though Fitz still worried it wasn’t enough. Still, it was the beat he could do, under the circumstances.
Tossing the now similarly bloodied banged in the same direction as the torn price of shirt, Fitz unrolled the rest of the bandage and considered how best to broach the rather awkward topic again.
“Penelope-“
“Oh, Fitz, dear! I forgot to tell you, I saw the most gorgeous birds during this trip, it was lovely. I almost wished I could take some home to show you, but, well. Birds do best when allowed to fly free, most cases.”
Penelope looked far more animated now, a new color in her cheeks and a shine to her eyes, as she raised her arm to her face in a familiar gesture. She looked better already.
It was somewhat disconcerting.
Fitz began to wind the bandage around her arm. “Penelope, I think-“
“And! Fitz, dear, you absolutely must tell me how your plants have been doing! You can’t tell me they haven’t grown in a month’s time, I’d think something interesting must have sprouted. Right, dear?”
He tied the bandage off.
He didn’t reply, but very carefully put his arm around Penelope and pulled her closer. It was kind of awkward.
They sat in silence, for a while. Eventually Penelope leaned into him and relaxed somewhat, angling her injured arm slightly. It felt better.
Maybe they were better.
“Fitz, dear?”
He glanced over at her, her face both brighter and somehow emptier, like she’d gone through and meticulously scrubbed it clear of emotion.
“I think we should get married. Don’t you?”