Work Text:
"Hold on, the edge of your collar is stuck in your tie." Familiar sound of her wife’s voice broke the semi-silent routine Stephanie had formed since moving to the farmer's house.
It had been a year since they tied the knot in one of the most mysterious and majestic ways Stephanie could fathom. She still wasn't sure how Holly had managed to do it, but the mystery was part of the fun, wasn't it? The two of them held hands and privately sealed their union miles above the ground in a hot air balloon, wearing dresses meant for a high-end budget fairytale play.
Stephanie laughed as Holly fretted over her neckline. "Thanks a million, hon." She loved her job, but it was a lot nicer being in the spotlight for someone she loved. "You sure do know how to put me at ease this early."
Blue eyes met Stephanie's amber ones, unwavering in the connection between. "What's the gig?"
"Eh, it's......" Stephanie hesitated to say the name. It had been awhile since she heard it herself. She had emceed for the event before the two got together, and then they didn't invite her back, for evident reasons: she had messed up announcing the winner, and the mayor had to correct her. What made it even worse was there were a bunch of kids in the competition. Holly knew very well about the event, because it had been the one that drew the two of them together in the first place. If it wasn't for her mistake, she wouldn't have been at the waterfall with Holly confessing her feelings. If it weren't for her mistake, would she even be in this region?
"The Tiny Tots Cooking Competition," she finally admitted. Though she had to make a mental note to herself to pep up the next time she uttered that event name, it sounded more like the call to a patient waiting for the doctor's office at the moment. That wouldn't make a good impression. This event would be a chance to prove herself again as an MC, and she couldn’t afford any distractions.
Holly smiled wide, and then drew Stephanie in for a close hug. "It may be early...and you might be really nervous, but you're gonna do great, Stephanie. What happened last time...you were under a lot of stress, so it was understandable. You'll have everyone feeling the energy for sure this time."
The warm welcoming feeling of being hugged close and being encouraged by her wife made her smile wide. This was where she wanted to be. Every time she had to leave for an event, the best feeling was having a home full of love to come back to. A place she could call home. "Thanks, Holly. With you wishing me the best, I'll be A-okay, I know it."
"Yep, that's how it'll go. Now, I have to go take care of the animals..." The farmer pulled away, giving Stephanie's hand a reassuring squeeze before she broke the connection entirely. This rendezvous in the early morning was the only way she could make sure to see Stephanie before she was off on days with events, but she was pretty sure the animals didn't mind being fed earlier.
The rose-haired MC returned the squeeze as their fingers parted. "I would've thought becoming a pro MC would have been the happiest day of my life...but the happiest moment of my life changes every minute I'm with you. See you tonight, hon."
The two gave farewell half waves to one another in parting. While Stephanie handled the time apart in strides and busied herself with thoughts of her next event en route, Holly always found herself dwelling on the noticeable absence of the other. It inspired her to work harder in order to make the time fly by, filling her thoughts of when Stephanie returned.
✿
Holly had grown accustomed to having many days of the year being spent in Stephanie's absence. It must have been true that the heart would grow fonder of someone the longer they were gone, because every additional day they spent apart felt longer and longer.
It never seemed to dim the excitement of Stephanie's return, though. Every time the other walked in the door, she had the same energy as if she were starting her day and getting ready for a competition. It gave Holly something to look forward to, even if it was just preparing for bed after a hard day's work on the farm.
With a smile, she gently swept some powder off the dresser where Stephanie's make-up application had gone awry. It gave her the idea that maybe she should have spent this rainy afternoon inside cleaning up the house. The blonde armed herself with a broom, a cleaning towel and a bucket of warm soapy water and started the long fight against the dirt and grime inside.
As she moved from room to room, she found more things that she didn’t know existed. Maybe they were things Stephanie brought in? In the bedroom, a lot of it was clothing she hadn't seen Stephanie wear before. Some even had tags. Were they gifts from her family? Holly pursed her lips together as she looked at a shirt with a stain. Was Stephanie hiding that underneath her vest? That surely gave her something to stress about, it could easily be seen if her hands were extended too far above her head.
And so it went, one task led her to another. The clothing led her to washing, then mending, and before she knew it, a whole afternoon inside was spent wallowing in the smells of cleaner and accompanied by the sound of cleaning tools being utilized to the lonesome raindrops. Due to her occupied hands, her mind hadn't had the time to miss Stephanie, which was a bonus from her cleaning spree.
By the time she reached the dresser to stow away some folded garments, she noticed a small book. The cover was well-loved and the binding was worn, tattered pages stuck out beyond one another as if it was barely holding the contents in. It should’ve remained in its careful hiding place beneath some socks, but she felt her hand graze the leatherbound cover. Before she knew what she was doing, she had opened it.
It wasn’t until a few lines in she was sure her first instincts were on point. This definitely was a creative journal, one Stephanie had tucked away because the thoughts stored inside weren’t ready for the world. There were a lot of side notes, some scribbles she couldn’t decipher, and silly stick figure drawings. There was a stage and arrows for a couple pages in boxes - perhaps Stephanie was working on new choreography for a performance? It was all dated, however, and Holly’s eyes widened at the sight of the date. Why, this was so far back…Stephanie would’ve been a young child if this was correct. How did she organize her thoughts so eloquently? The age of the journal should have told her the date, but the contents were far too advanced for a child. It surely would explain the contents being chicken scratch.
“I should probably….not look any further,” Holly said out loud, to no one in particular. Their old beagle sighed nearby the fireplace, where he had parked himself. Sometimes Holly forgot he was even there until he disturbed the peace - they had adopted him a month after being together, because Stephanie loved beagles and he didn’t have a home. “Yeah, buddy. You’re right.”
A sentence caught her eye - ‘wait in the wings’. It reminded Holly of a skit long ago, one she had viewed as a child in early springtime. Apparently it was part of some talent show that they held in the town she used to live in, and children joined in from towns around them for the competition. The winner just received recognition, but there were rumors that talent scouts hung around the event and recruited people for roles in films, plays and for the music industry.
“Wait…I think I remember this. She must’ve competed that year.” The farmer wandered to their freshly made bed, and sat on the edge as she flipped through and perused the contents. It was a lot more organized than most parts of the workbook. Something mauve caught her eye as it slipped from between the pages and drifted gracefully to the wooden floor below.
There sat the remnants of an old memory, a dried flower aged by time and kept pressed in the old book. “Is that…?”
✿
There wasn’t much that deterred Stephanie from going after what she wanted in life. Her mother often described her as a force of nature; no one could compete with her stubborn energy when she had her sights set on something. From a very young age, Stephanie knew what she wanted to be: the center of the stage of life. Whatever it was, she would have eyes on her. Performance was her passion. Regardless of how far-fetched it was to become a star of the stage, she would definitely do it.
By the time she was seven, she had taken a few beginner courses in dance, performed in a few informal plays with her peers, and joined the local choir group that traveled around to sing at different seasonal events. She knew it wasn’t enough to stand out, she’d need to start doing things solo. It meant deviating from the group, and she would have to stand out from those around her. Talent shows would be her next focus. Any she heard of, she attended, even if she was exhausted from her other extracurriculars.
The pink haired supercharged child wowed judges in every surrounding town, but it wasn’t enough to grab first place. She really was a Jill of all trades in the talent department, which meant her skills were at best amateur. The tiny dreamer pored over her previous works, trying to pick out where she went wrong. Why wasn’t she getting into the top three in these shows? What did the other contestants have that she didn’t? She had learned from her grandmother and mother all the techniques she could to construct her own outfits and received high praise for her creativity in that department. It couldn’t be her ensemble, then. It had to be in her performance.
When she wanted to learn something new, she put her heart and soul into it. It was quite frustrating to her as to why this was happening. She always perfected a dance or a magic act, and at times, she even sang. All of these things were key to entertaining, she thought. But her fear of failure to reach the top of the charts had made her entrance onto the stage almost robotic and stiff, and her introductions were formulaic and lacked personality. The judges usually didn’t give insightful hints to youngsters, especially no one as young as Stephanie, for fear they’d ruin their dreams and be too harsh. Or, forbid, bring the wrath of angry parents on them for criticizing such a young person.
Stephanie wasn’t just another child signed up for something to fill time, though. She wanted to know what she was doing wrong. And after a particularly disheartening placement in a competition, she politely beelined to the MC and asked what she had done wrong.
The woman seemed a bit surprised at first that Stephanie had the gall to ask on her own, without her parents around. It was even more surprising when Stephanie refused to take “you’ll get it next time, I’m sure!” as an appeasing response. The short rose haired and rosy cheeked girl had a clear but determined pout as she waited for objective criticism. Like an adult would.
“You seem uncomfortable on stage,” was the life-changing response she received. “You need to make sure you’re channeling the energy of excitement into the crowd by being excited yourself.”
That was it. It was all she needed to redirect her energy to where she needed it. She just wasn’t convincing enough, and she wasn’t dedicating enough time to what she needed to - capturing the audience’s attention and retaining it.
Stephanie didn’t sit on it long, and by the next performance, she decided she would go onto stage like she was about to put on a performance for a group of her best friends. In fact, the overly energetic girl decided she would befriend everyone in the competition so she would feel more comfortable presenting. And with that, she won first place for a combination of talents one fateful evening, when the competition was held in Holly’s hometown. Dressed in an abundance of tulle and equipped with a mic, she worked her way into the hearts of the judges and made a lot of friends, too. Once she realized her mood was transferable, she wanted to make sure everyone who viewed her performance on stage left with a smile and had at least a single laugh. Jokes abound and followed by an original song and short dance.
The crowd that night seemed like a gathering of her friends by the end of her performance. She noticed a small blonde girl in the crowd who was so entranced with Stephanie’s performance that she swore she hadn’t moved an inch, seemingly frozen in place. It was hard to read if the other was admiring her or just wasn’t having a good time. This individual really stood out in a crowd of people who seemed like they were very pleased with her performance. Stephanie should’ve been content because the judges were clapping by the end, but she still hadn’t spied the girl smiling by the end of her time on stage.
“Thank you,” A dazzling grin was unavoidable. Out of breath, but happy, she waved at everyone as she exited off the stage with the rest of the contestants.
At the bottom of the stage, she spotted that familiar small face in the crowd. Off stage, she was able to have a closer look at her - the girl was indeed around her age with a hat too large for her head and flowers that looked like local blooming weeds peeking out of her overalls pocket. She smiled as she approached the blond haired child and offered her one of the roses she was given for winning. It was a simple bouquet provided by a local flower shop, but it was still a prize. The real award was acknowledgement, everyone knew that.
“B-but that’s yours!” The other exclaimed, moving to wave the offered botanical away. “I couldn’t!”
“Aw….” Stephanie looked at the weeds in the other’s overall pocket, and then gestured. “Wanna do a trade? I want to share!”
“Oh…” The girl fell quiet, blushing fiercely.
This quiet girl was strange. She had just stared wide-eyed at her the entire time, and that was why she stood out to the young performer. Stephanie was determined to have made everyone smile on the day she won first place, for the very first time. It seemed like a childish goal, but she wanted the memory to be perfect.
Plus, this girl reminded her of her younger siblings - she adored those two, and she would be heartbroken if the other went home without having enjoyed the event. Being the loudest one among all of her siblings, her siblings were inevitably always more quiet and reserved than she was. They always joked with her that hide and seek would never be a game she was good at - everyone always knew where Stephanie was with her noise-making talents and astonishingly loud voice for a child. Because her siblings’ trust in her, they had confided in her that her natural extroverted nature and skill of stealing the spotlight sometimes meant they felt left out and in the shadows when fun things were going on. It gave her a drive to make sure even the quiet individuals around her seemed like they were having a good time, because she was very diligent in the role of being a good older sister.
“I got these on the way here,” Holly explained, and pulled the less-than-perfect flowers out of her pocket. With a blush, she held it up and traded a single rose for her forager’s bouquet.
“Thanks!” Stephanie declared, “These look even better with variety! Now my roses don’t look so plain. I like the pink wildflowers better, anyways.” She gathered the flower stems together, holding them next to the roses. Holly smiled at her, and then the two parted ways as Holly’s mother caught her in the crowd. Stephanie waved her newfound friend off, and then went to find her own mother in the crowd.
✿
“So that was you,” Holly muttered, bending down to pick up the dried flower. It was definitely the wildflower she had plucked on the way to the competition. They bloomed in very early spring, and since it was the first wildflower she had seen that year, she had picked a bunch on the way to the competition. She didn’t have the heart at the time to compete herself - she never felt comfortable in the spotlight. But something about that event made her love gardening. Maybe it was how happy Stephanie seemed with a variety of flowers in her bouquet - maybe it was knowing that her hard work paid off in a way she found favorable. After all, making friends was a hard task for young Holly. She wasn’t very outgoing and her family tended to stay inside a lot.
And then, she had decided to go on her adventure out to the farm. It seemed almost logical to combine her love for gardening and greenery into something that would bring in money, no matter how slow that income was. This life brought her a steady peace of mind, which wasn’t something someone could put a price on. The added bonus of being able to do the other farming tasks made life on the farm even more appealing to her, especially tasks with the animals. The farm was far enough to be comfortable from groups of people, so she could choose when she wanted to socialize. It was an introvert’s paradise.
But now… a memory from the past, linking the two together. Had they been fated to meet that day, to influence one another? Did Stephanie remember? Holly believed that it was very likely she had. After all, Stephanie remembered every single step of her choreography after only a few practices, and her timing for singing was so on point she didn’t need to use a metronome. It was like the rhythm was part of her soul. The other had so many things she remembered, she surely didn’t forget the event she collected a flower from. Holly couldn’t even remember if this book was one she saw the other stow away before when she was moving in. It was a lot like the other things she had found tonight - a lot of it she wasn’t aware was in the house, she just had focused on the fact that her solitary farm life now had a companion and that was enough to keep her mind occupied.
“Aw,” Holly frowned, the sound of the rain hitting the window pane filling the air. Somehow, she felt dizzy from her own disappointment for not recognizing Stephanie sooner. After all, her hair was such an unusual color - naturally pink, like her mother’s - and it would’ve been hard to forget. But Holly hadn’t been so good with faces… she wasn’t really a people person. Hence the moving out to a farm in the first place, to avoid having to deal with people. “Am I a bad wife for not recognizing…?” She sure felt like it.
The thought made her heart sink, and she quietly tucked the flower back in the journal. “Time to put this back… I don’t want her to know I was snooping.” She knew deep down she probably should say something, but now there was the added embarrassment of forgetting running into her future wife as a kid. It was right up there as if she had forgotten Stephanie’s birthday, or their anniversary, which Holly remembered quicker than her own age.
“I better get started on dinner…” Stephanie would be coming home late, but Holly really wanted her to arrive home and be greeted by a home cooked meal. It took a bit of effort on the farm to whip something up from scratch from ingredients she had put away after she grew or obtained them from a lengthy trip to town. She even made her own flour, which wasn’t something she ever thought she’d do. Everything on the farm was more effort, but far more rewarding. Part of her, however, hoped that the guilt she felt for forgetting what probably should have been an event she remembered didn’t end up as another identifiable ingredient in the food she prepared.
Her eyes drifted out the window, and she realized the rain was letting up. Well, at least Stephanie wouldn’t have to hold an umbrella for the entire venture home. “Hope it’s not too muddy.”
✿
The smell of freshly baked pizza, definitely without mushrooms, bellowed out of the farmhouse the second Stephanie opened the door. It surprised her to smell something so delicious this late at night - why would Holly stay up past her bedtime to make her a late dinner? It wasn’t a special day. Usually they only met after hours if it was a holiday, and then they were always doing something around town. Tonight was just a run of the mill evening, where Stephanie came home after a job. “Hon?”
“In the kitchen,” Holly said loudly from the other room. “Go ahead and hop in your pajamas, we’re not doing formal attire!”
“Phew, I thought you’d say something nuts like I had to have a formal suit and tie for this,” Stephanie called back, laughing. “Got it, lemme get out of this then!”
It was startling how clean it was inside. It made her acutely aware her boots were covered in mud, so she slipped them off and carried them to the closet. Every inch of the farmhouse had been thoroughly cleaned, and it was almost as if she were on tour of a house by the time she reached the bathroom. Somehow Holly had made their humble abode near unrecognizable after she finished tidying up. Stephanie’s eyes wandered over her make up spot where she was sure she had left a bit of a mess. At the time, it had made her feel a bit bad to leave their space in the state she had. Even with all of her anxiety about the earlier event, her mind kept drifting back to making sure she tidied up when she returned home. It was almost as if Holly had read her mind, and everything she had thought of putting back in place and the task of wiping everything down had been checked off her list before she even set foot back into their residence.
She was truly blessed to have such an amazing partner.
It only took her a little while to get ready for bed, as she had it down to a near art form of quickness. Like a firefighter getting ready for a job. And she was rather proud of how quiet she was too - Holly had never complained about being woken up. Not that it mattered tonight, but Stephanie always wanted to make Holly’s life a bit easier. After all, the other did a labor-intensive job, and sleep was essential to staying healthy.
“Coming!” she sang out as she rounded the corner. Holly was at the table, wearing her bedtime outfit as well, accompanied by a robe. “It’s a pajama party, how did you know I wanted one of these? It’s like I’m getting rewarded for doing something I’m supposed to do every day!” Stephanie gleefully seated herself at the table. The two enjoyed a late night meal of pizza, one that Stephanie was sure she would regret eating so late tomorrow. For now, zero regrets - it was a lovely surprise.
After they were done, Holly got up to clear the dishes, and then paused near the sink. “Hey Steph?”
Stephanie turned towards Holly, curious at the others’ tone. “Yeah? What’s up, buttercup?”
Holly was quiet again before she offered an idea. “Do you want to go outside and watch the spring fireflies? They’re out tonight. It’s late, but….they’ll go away in an hour or two, we should catch them now. We never stay up this late at the same time this time of year, you know?”
The performer was clearly down for a fun outing, because she was on her feet before she responded with an energetic, “Oh, that sounds fun! Let’s go!”
✿
The two had ventured out a ways into the fields, where Holly had started clearing the soil of impurities and debris from the long winter. The rain had soaked the ground a bit, and their boots sunk down into the soft soil as they ambled along, hand in hand.
Amidst the floating fireflies, Holly turned to Stephanie and asked, “Did it go well?”
“Oh yeah! I emceed like I was being evaluated for my craft! The mayor even congratulated me later on how well I did, and said they understood the last time was just an off-day. They even invited me back next year! I’m gonna be the go-to MC around here pretty soon, I think.” She gave Holly a reassuring grin, and then squeezed her hand. “What’s up, by the way? You’re pretty quiet tonight. Did you accidentally throw out something you wanted to keep? We could probably go shake a few trash cans and find it if that’s it.”
Holly smiled at the offer to go rummaging for lost items like two raccoons. Clearly Stephanie picked up on her vibes, and she should’ve guessed it - somehow, Stephanie was extra perceptive of her emotions, even when she thought she was a master at hiding them. It was probably why no one ever hated Stephanie - she had contacts all around the world, friends new and old who still kept in touch years later. “It’s not that… I just… … wonder about something.”
It was at that moment, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted an extra bright firefly drifting peacefully towards a flower on the ground. It joined another firefly already seated on the plant. That wildflower was mighty familiar, and Holly’s heart skipped a beat at seeing it there, inches away from where they stood holding hands. It wasn’t the faded mauve the other had been, but bright pink; the same wildflowers she had picked so many years before and traded a younger Stephanie for a single rose from the winner’s bouquet.
“Wow,” Holly said, seemingly at random as she let her fingers slip from Stephanie’s. The action of plucking the flower from the stem seemed to come instinctively, and then she turned to Stephanie and quietly tucked it behind her ear. “There.”
“Awww…” Stephanie reached up to feel the flower, beaming. “Wow, this is sweet. What did I do to deserve this?”
“You don’t remember?” Holly asked, wondering if Stephanie was pulling her leg. Did she really not remember?
The MC extraordinaire clearly was bewildered, and confirmed Holly’s suspicion when she quietly added, “Remember what?” as if the secret was one she wasn’t privy to but was very interested in finding out.
“I was at one of the events you won first place, and I traded you a bunch of those flowers for a single rose from the winner’s bouquet,” Holly explained, her hand drifting back into Stephanie’s. “I thought for sure you remembered…I found your book when I was cleaning and the flower fell out. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snoop around…”
Stephanie didn’t respond right away. For a moment, the two of them stood with hands linked once more as the fireflies rotated around them. Stephanie finally laughed, and broke the silence.
“I can’t believe…all these years, neither of us remembered. But sometimes I forget to introduce myself right away, so…I have a very selective memory, I’m sorry.”
The relief washed over Holly as she realized they both had forgotten. Finally she shared a smile with Stephanie. “I thought for sure I was the one who forgot and you remembered all this time…”
“Nope, I didn’t realize it was you, even if I did remember…I’ve been to a lot of places. I’m not always the best with names and faces, especially when I’m feeling a really big emotion. That was the first time I won first place - it was kind of like when I forgot the names at the Tiny Tots Cooking Competition. I was so worked up over maybe leaving this place I forgot what order the kids’ names were supposed to go in. I think that’s why I kept the flower, because it reminded me of how happy I was. No wonder I felt the same way when I met you…”
Holly felt the other’s hand squeeze hers again. The farmer looked over, realizing Stephanie was gazing back at her and not the magical bugs dancing about.
“It’s funny, I’ve always wanted to be on stage,” Stephanie mused out loud, “But really, I’m happiest when I’m alone, and the only audience I have is you.”
“I guess I’ve been waiting in the wings, then,” Holly replied. “It was worth it, though. The wait.”
“I’m glad you did. It took me a while.” Another laugh, and then a quiet hum. “We should probably go to bed, though. I don’t want you to be exhausted during your chores tomorrow. It’s another early morning, right?”
“We can probably sleep in a little, but yeah, a farmer’s chores are never ending.”
The two started the walk back towards the farmhouse, hands never separating as they were guided back home by the light of bugs surrounded by the sound of crickets.
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