#also no formatting bc i'm too lazy oof

[flcwerborne-a]

“ i… i would’ve liked for mr. hartley to be the one to walk me down the aisle, but he’s— he’s gone, of course. “    her gaze lowers to her phone as she grips it tightly in her lap. her knuckles are white. she didn’t know who else to ask. well, except for her dad. his name reads in big bold letters on the screen. she feels maren’s hand rubbing her back soothingly.

“ i know, songbird. i know he would’ve been happy to walk you down the aisle and see you get married. “

the little fae can picture it, the smile on his face, the tears of happiness pricking the corners of his eyes. the tight, warm hug he would’ve given her before taking a seat in the front pew. she can’t say she believes for sure in any sort of afterlife, but maybe he would be somewhere looking down at her, smiling, happy for her. melody hopes so. she wants to call her dad, too, at least to tell him that she’s getting married. she would of course be happy to bring him here to norway, money isn’t an issue, it’s just… what if she can’t even look at him? her lower jaw trembles. she hasn’t spoken to him since… well, since she moved out when she had enough money to do so. she was twenty-one then, now twenty-five. four years… it’s a long time to not even speak to someone, isn’t it? especially family, but they parted on such bad terms that melody didn’t even want to speak to him, much less see him again.

she felt that her father should know about his only daughter’s marriage to the woman she loves and plans to spend the rest of her life with, even if… even if he doesn’t want to come. he would still at least know and melody would be okay with that.

from the corner of her vision, she can see maren lean down to look at her wife. there’s a gentle, reassuring smile on her face.    “ you don’t have to call him if you don’t want to, mel. we could always walk down the aisle together. “

actually… melody would like that. she’d like a lot. it would be enough for her father to be in attendance, right? right there in the front with her mother. yeah, that would be good.    “ i— i think i’d like that. “    she says and looks up to maren, a smile forming on her own lips. her gaze returns to her phone.    “ even if he doesn’t walk me down the aisle, it’s enough for him to be there, right? “

“ whatever you want, songbird. “

she had hoped for something a little more sure, a yes or a no, but in the end, it’s all up to her. melody taps her phone screen and her dad’s name pops up again. although maren and melody changed phone numbers after their move to norway, she had kept his number for… what? she supposes maybe she would’ve gotten the urge to call him at some point. before now, she has, but still felt too hurt to follow through and actually call him. for a while, melody hated herself for wanting to call him, to update him on her life. i’ve made many friends. i own a flower shop now. i fell in love and i know in my heart that she’s the one. we adopted a little girl together, her name is ariel and i know you and mom would adore her. you always hoped for grandkids, y’know?

but she would always chicken out and wouldn’t call him. still, she kept his number in her contacts list.

melody’s thumb hovers over the call button. finally, as she presses it, she reaches for maren’s hand and holds it tight. she feels her wife give it a squeeze of acknowledgement and she looks up at her, lips pressed in a thin, worried smile. it rings a few times. static. a voice.

“ hello? “

recognizing her father’s voice, her heart drops into the pit of her stomach. she doesn’t speak immediately.

“ hello? is anyone there? “    his voice is as gruff and gravelly as she remembers. her hold on her wife’s hand tightens.    “ look, if this is a prank, i— “

“ dad? it’s— it’s me. it’s melody. “

there’s silence on the other end and for a moment the little fae worries he’ll hang up. he doesn’t want to talk to her, of course he doesn’t. he certainly doesn’t want to see her. why should he? they left on such bad terms and—

“ mel? is that— is it really you? “    in the background, she can hear her mother gasp and call her name. is that melody? she hears her father whisper almost shakily, yeah. melody chews the inside of her cheek, her heart pounding hard against her ribs.    “ your phone number, i didn’t recognize it at first. i would’ve… i didn’t mean to sound short. “

“ n-no, it’s— it’s fine. i had to change my number a while back, but i— i-i never— “     she takes a deep breath, soothed by the feeling of maren’s hand still on her back, rubbing soothing circles over it. nonetheless, tears well in her eyes. she quickly puts the conversation on speaker so maren can listen too.    “ yeah, it’s really me, dad. there’s, um, something important i have to tell you. “

she hears her mother’s voice again. her dad put melody’s voice on speaker.    “ is everything okay? are you hurt? “

“ hi mom. no, everything is… is great. in fact, i’m… i’m getting married, and i want you to be there. both of you. “

“ married? oh, honey i’m so proud of you. if only you could see your father’s face now. he’s beaming with pride. “

a small laugh leaves melody and she can’t help but smile.    “ really? “

her dad answers this time.    “ yeah, i’m real proud of you, mel. are you happy, does she make you happy? “

melody looks up at maren. her smile grows and she nods.    “ she does, yeah. we’re very happy. i’d love for you to meet her. it’s okay if you can’t afford to fly here, we’d be happy to cover the costs. “    she wants to mention ariel to them, but melody also wants to surprise them with her, too. it would be nice to see the looks on their faces when she introduces their daughter to her parents.

“ well, of course we’d love to attend! we wouldn’t miss your wedding for the world. just— call us again when you’re prepared to have us there, okay? “

“ okay, mom. i promise. “    melody pauses, her smile growing more.    “ i really can’t wait for you to meet my fiancée. i know you’ll love her. “

“ we look forward to meeting her and seeing you again, honey. “    and then the little fae hears her mother whispering to her father, urging him to say… something, she doesn’t catch what. her mother says goodbye, that she has something important to do. and the there’s silence for a little while.

“ dad? “    she calls softly, chewing the inside of her cheek.

“ i wanted to call you after… after you left, but i didn’t think you wanted to speak to me for a while or, well, ever again. so i didn’t. i beat myself up over it. whenever you called your mother, i wanted to ask you how you were doing, but i— i didn’t think you wanted to talk to me. “    he heaves a sigh. she hears the chair he sits in creak as his weight in it shifts.

“ we parted ways pretty badly, didn’t we? “    melody asks, voice quiet.

“ we did, but it was my fault. i thought— i thought i was protecting you. i didn’t want anyone to learn about your true nature because i didn’t want anything bad to happen to you. i didn’t want anyone to take advantage of your powers or for you to be shunned because of them. and, at the time, i didn’t think… i didn’t see how much you really loved what you were doing. i didn’t understand. i didn’t think you would really be happy being a florist for the rest of your life. at the time, it just seemed like a waste. “

“ dad, it’s— “

“ melody, please, i need to get this off of my chest. “

she gives a small nod.    “ okay, go on. “

“ over the years and all the phonecalls to and from your mother, she told me how happy you were with your life and that you even own a shop of your own now. she keeps saying how well you’ve done with your business and i— i couldn’t be more proud of you, melody. i’m so happy for you. i just— i hope you can forgive me for how i treated you and put you down for your dream. i’m so, so sorry, melody. “

tears spill down her cheeks and her hands tremble. she feels maren give her hand a squeeze and bring it up to her lips, pressing kisses to her knuckles. how long had she hoped he would apologize? how long had she felt bitter for what he did? it still hurts, but it hurts a little less. the sincerity of her father’s apology lifts another weight from her shoulders. she feels lighter again.

“ melody, are you still there? “

“ sorry, yeah, i-i'm still here. “    the little fae sniffles and wipes the tears from her cheeks and eyes. forgiveness. that’s a step, though a difficult one, toward healing, right? how does one forgive? do they just say it? i forgive you. or is there more to it? how does one actively forgive someone for the pain they caused? melody doesn’t know. no therapist could explain it to her. still, it’s important, right? it’s important to repairing their relationship.    “ i forgive you, dad. “

silence. she hears sniffling on the other end, then crying. she can’t help it when tears stream down her cheeks again. melody never could help herself when someone she loves cries around her.    “ oh, melody, i’ve waited so long to hear you say that. i’m so happy that you can forgive me. i’m so happy you called me. “

“ i-i— i’m glad you picked up the phone, dad. i… i’d like to do this again soon. but, y’know, t-talk more. “

“ i’d love to do that. just call, okay? any time for any reason. “

wiping the tears from her cheeks, she smiles again and nods.    “ of course. a-and the same goes for you, too. you have my number again, so— so just call when you want. “

“ hey, mel? i love you. “

“ i love you, too, dad. “