Chapter Text
After the success of the party he had organized last year, Saul had been eager to do it again for their third year at Alfea. Maybe it would become a tradition, somehow. He had Andreas helping him spread the word and sneak a pretty decent amount of beer and alcohol in, and here they were three days later, in an overcrowded room full of excited (and mostly drunk) teenagers.
The music was so loud that everyone either had to shout or talk directly into their friend's ear to make conversation, which was exactly what Andreas was doing when Saul noticed Farah in the crowd. His face instantly lit up at the sight of the mind fairy; the party had been going for hours now, and he had given up the idea of spending some time with her. She was listening to a fairy whose name he did not remember, but he was a little too tipsy already to consider it rude to interrupt. He dumped his best friend there and made his way to her, not even glancing back.
"Dowling!" he exclaimed, "I didn't think I'd see you!"
She excused herself to the other fairy and cast him an amused glance.
"Well, I've been here for a while, but you were busy being a social butterfly," she shouted.
He got closer to her and yelled, "What?", the music muffling their words.
Farah rolled her eyes and grabbed his jacket, "Come on, let's get a beer", she said loudly, leading him to the makeshift bar.
They spent the rest of the evening mingling with other students, but never losing sight of each other. They laughed and danced and had way too much to drink, as was expected in such festivities. After the chugging contest in which Saul had enrolled, Farah thought it best to slow down a little. He was in a pretty advanced state of inebriation and her head was spinning a little. She asked him to accompany her outside to get some fresh air, and they now found themselves half slumped on a bench in the park.
"I'm never drinking again," Saul moaned, both hands covering his face.
She chuckled, "Well, you did chug an impressive amount of beer."
He groaned in response and she looked at him in silence for a moment. She had hesitated to come tonight because she knew Rosalind would not approve. She had been so focused on her training that she had forgotten what it felt like to let loose. It scared her a little, in a way. Control was all she could think about these days.
"Thank you for doing this," she breathed.
"Oh well, I needed to get some fresh air, anyway."
"No, I mean the party. I needed that more than you'd know," she added with a sad smile.
"Is everything alright?" he frowned. He straightened on the bench and grabbed both her hands before he added, "You can tell me anything, Farah."
The sincerity in his words pierced through her and she did not need to think about it twice to know with a fierce certainty that she could always rely on him.
"I know", she nodded, locking eyes with him.
Her head reeled a little then, but she was not convinced it was caused by the alcohol and not by his hands squeezing hers and his eyes staring into her soul. Also, she was pretty sure that too many beers did not give you butterflies in the pit of your stomach.
Saul moved forward, a little hesitant. As much as he wanted to kiss her, he sure as hell did not want to ruin the relationship they had. It was too special to risk it.
"There you are!" a voice exclaimed behind them. They started a little and let go of each other when they saw Andreas stumbling forward. "Come one man, everyone's ready for round two of the chugging contest, and you, mister, are the designated referee!"
Saul glanced at the mind fairy, silently apologizing. Maybe next time, they would leave no room to hesitation.