January 9th, 1892 - Morning of the Greengrass-Swann Wedding
Noble Greengrass

Daffy had, probably unintentionally (probably) put a little more effort into Miss Verity's wedding than she normally did. That wasn't to say the rest of her customers didn't receive her utmost diligence, but for some reason she just could not do anything less than perfect today

The vision hadn't been as clear as she would have liked, but Daffy was able to hopefully surpass everyone's expectations today. Not that anyone would be wondering who did them today, as that was not the focus at all, but Daffy would know and Noble would know and she supposed that was what had her in a tizzy.

Dressed in something understated, but new, in a soft green, Daff had been let in the back of the house by a staff member so she could bring in all of the arrangements. Everything was tastefully done in subtle winter hues, in a variety of cohesive arrangements for the whole house. To say she was proud of herself was a little much, but she was pleased with how the flowers had come out

Unfortunately it was not enough of a distraction from her thoughts to simply be mindlessly putting everything in place and double checking the designs. Not much could really pull her away from the underlying awe and sadness at finally being inside this house. Try as she might, Daffy struggled not to think of what could have been and how differently she would feel being here. Thankfully it was still early and she hadn't yet seen anyone other than the staff. She was nearly done, just setting out the last garland on a mantle in the sitting room, when she couldn't help but let her fingers slide gently along the wood as if she was reminiscing. On a sigh, she turned to go, only a couple of things left to do, when she found herself face-to-face with Noble. Smiling sadly, she tucked a stray stand of hair behind her ear and adjusted the tiny lily bloom perched there that had fallen from an arrangement. "I'm almost done, I'll be out soon." She assured him quickly.

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Noble was dreading the wedding nearly as much as he wanted it to be over, because once it was over at least Verity would be secure and he could stop worrying about it. He was fairly certain these were selfish reasons to want the wedding to be over, but as long as he didn't voice them they were fine.

He didn't have his suit jacket on yet, but was otherwise dressed for the wedding, tie done and everything. Noble followed the trail of flower arrangements through the house, hoping to have avoided her — except of course then he found her in the sitting room, where he'd been half-hoping to get a drink.

She looked beautiful in green. She'd done these flowers for him, or for his sister — it felt like they were for him. A constable had found him outside her house. Noble didn't know what to say; he was so speechless at the sight of her. (When would he stop being drawn to her like this?)

He cleared his throat. "It looks beautiful," Noble said.

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   Elsie Kirke

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set by Bee

There was something about the way he was looking at her that had her breath catching in her throat. This was never going to get easier was it? Of course, she had put herself in the thick of it this time, but it would likely be the last time as well. There was so little connecting them anymore and she was sure the next time one of his sisters wed she would not be holding out hope for something to change.

"I hope Miss Verity likes it," Was all she could manage, looking away at the flowers briefly. "I hope it suits the day." What else could she say? Daff had done this because she wanted to, but that didn't make it any easier to be here. Maybe it was selfish of her, to keep finding ways to see him even when it wasn't guaranteed, but she couldn't stop herself either.

"I um, left the bouquet and boutonnieres in the kitchen for whenever they're needed." There was only a couple of more things to handle before she could be satisfied and take her leave. "Just a couple things left and I'll be out of the way." There was no reason to linger; she wasn't invited, she was the hired for a service and when that was complete she was no longer needed.

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The thing was, Noble didn't even really know why she was here. He'd indulged her request because he had to indulge her request; he didn't know any way to refuse her. But he didn't understand why she'd chosen to be here, when any interaction they had was elaborate torment for them both.

"Alright," Noble said, because he didn't know what else to say. He ought to leave the room, but he couldn't bring himself to do that either. So after a beat he said, "You still need to invoice us."

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set by Bee

That was it then, wasn't it? Daff really hadn't know what to expect or what she even wanted to get out of this, but now what it was done, she didn't see any good in prolonging the torment.

"It's all taken care of." Was all she had in reply. There was no invoice, she hadn't kept track of the volume of flowers or her time or anything else she would for a normal order. It wasn't like she had expected them to pay. Daffy had done all of the work herself, on her own time, after all with minimal supplies from the shop itself, which she could account for with no qualms. "I'll just finish up then."

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Noble's eyebrows rose with his surprise. "Da —" shit, no, his family was around "— Miss Daffodil." He couldn't let her do this for free. He couldn't owe her, more, again.

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set by Bee

He started to say her name and she found herself hanging on half of a syllable; Merlin she was just a little pathetic. "I took care of it." She tried for a nonchalant shrug, but it probably wound up being more of a further droop to her shoulders.

Had he expected otherwise? They had never paid one another for anything, she wasn't about to start now, even with the way things stood.

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Noble frowned. He glanced over his shoulder out the empty parlor door, and after ascertaining that he couldn't see anyone, caught her wrist in one hand. "Daffodil."

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set by Bee

Daff really didn't know what to expect here, but as he caught her wrist, she felt an altogether familiar shiver run up her spine. She had to suppress the urge to move and so she simply stood there, looking at him with wide eyes. "Noble," She prompted in a whisper, unsure of how much he was going to protest here, but decided not to give him much of a chance.

"Just consider it a wedding present, please." Had their lives not gone horribly off track she would have been doing it anyway, this needn't be any different. He didn't have to make a big deal out of it. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary; she would do it for any one of her friends.

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He shouldn't have touched her, and after her please Noble dropped her wrist, feeling self-conscious about it. He had an impulse to catch her wrist again, to plant a kiss to her mouth, to fix the strand of hair that had come loose again. He swallowed. "Fine," he said, sounding miserable about it. What difference did owing her one more thing make, in the end?

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set by Bee

"I won't—" it pained her to say it, but he looked miserable and she felt miserable and maybe she shouldn't have offered in the first place. That look on this face was making her feel guilty and selfish. Color flooded her cheeks in response and she stammered out, "I'm sorry, it was selfish of me to ask... I-I just wanted to, I always thought I would..." But she had lost the privilege that night in his workshop all those months ago and she had known that, but she was all kinds of mixed up. His letters after the attack, the run-in at the park, she just never knew what she was doing. What she needed to do now was stop talking.

"I should go," she decided finally after a moment of silence. The last thing she wanted to do today was hang a cloud over the festivities; this was supposed to be a happy day. He just needed to let her by and she would grab her things and leave.

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Noble's mouth felt dry. He hated seeing her embarrassed, and he wanted to talk her out of it. But he'd lost that right, and this was just another way for them to engage in self-torment.

"Why?" he asked.

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set by Bee

It was a simple question, yet Daffy couldn't exactly tell what he meant by it. Why what? Why had she thought she would? Why had she thought she still could? He should know the answer to that. Until things had gone horribly wrong in his workshop that night almost as year ago, hadn't the plan been to get married? If things had stayed the course, his sisters would have been family and it would have made perfect sense.

Before she spiraled too far, she had to ask, "Why what?" Jumping to conclusions was not in Daffy's nature, but that didn't stop her thoughts from racing in a hundred different directions.

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He shouldn't be asking her this. Actually, he shouldn't be talking to her at all, because any of his family members could be looming and waiting to find out his secrets. But instead of letting his common sense take over, Noble's traitor tongue provided: "Why did you still want to be here?"

She'd left him. Sometimes when they talked, Noble thought she forgot that. But he hadn't.

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set by Bee

Maybe she wasn't as transparent as she thought. Maybe this was a bad idea, but Daffy had never been very good at guarding her heart, obviously. She fell hard and pretty fast both... times... Oh. She hadn't realized until just now, amidst the chaos of emotions that anyways surrounded Noble, that he wasn't the only one she cared about. Not anymore.

And so the words that had immediately come to mind had far more weight than normal. They were almost too heavy to say; how could she say she still loved him when her heart was no longer solely his? How would she know if she didn't try? Was it worth trying at this point? All they did was make each other miserable. Things with Elias, though obviously not nearly as serious, were easy and light. She looked forward to his pattern of visits at the shop that he'd started, enjoyed writing letters to him, enjoyed him and his company. She thought he might feel the same, otherwise why would he go out of his way? But she hadn't let herself hope for much just yet.

"Isn't it obvious?" She breathed out, glancing up at his face before back down to the hem of her skirts, fidgeting with the small ring on her right hand. Daff kept her voice low, so it wouldn't catch and hopefully nobody would hear them. "I still love you, even if..." it was still the truth, "Even though it's not as easy or anywhere near the same as it once was. She chanced another glance, eyes finding his. "I know it's not fair and I'm sorry." This felt like that night last year ago over again. She was just going in circles, best to get to the point and stop the misery. He hadn't helped either though. He'd written after the attack, Jack had said he'd been outside the house that one time too. He had to still care on some level, right?

This was beyond difficult and Daffy had no idea what she was doing. "So I wanted to do this, but..." Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, but none fell. She'd regretted saying goodbye last time and are was going to regret this even more, but they didn't want the same things out of life anymore it seemed and so what were they supposed to do? 

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   Noble Greengrass

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Of course Noble had known, on some level, that he wasn't the only one suffering like this. But it was another thing to hear it out loud. He felt — and looked, a bit — like she had hexed him. (He would have preferred that she hex him.)

He stood still, looking strained. Every muscle in his body was tense. "I —" Noble started. He could not finish. I still love you was an option, technically. So was it's not fair of you to tell me this. He did not quite muster either. He had to get through his sister's wedding today — a wedding that none of them were entirely sure about. He had to ensure that there were no visible family imperfections at the ceremony. He could not tip Swann — or Ford — off to the potion he'd brewed for Verity in September. He could not be distracted all day.

He still loved her. He did. He stared at her, at the tears welling in her eyes, and swallowed. His jaw was pressed tight and he had to loosen it to speak.

"I have to go," Noble said, and fled.

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   Daffodil Grimstone

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set by Bee