Winx oneshots

It's ok to cry

Prompt Request: I need vulnerable Farah. a prompt where Saul discovers Farah crying and tries to comfort her when she puts on a brave face, an "it's okay to cry" thing. After Farah becomes headmistress.

He could feel the strong emotions running through their bond. Anger and grief, each clashing for dominance, signs of erratic magic running a rampage. Hurrying, he started to walk as fast as he dared to allow himself. It wouldn't do for any of the summer students to see their new headmaster running, panicked, through the halls. Making his way up the stairs, he burst into his former headmistress', and now his friend's office.

She stood in the middle of the room, her back to him, surrounded by what looked like debris from a small explosion.

"Farah, are you ok?"

"Yes."

"Ok, stupid question, stupid answer."

Carefully, he made his way towards her, knowing if he moved too fast her magic could flare up and send him flying.

She turned to face him at the sound of his voice. Even from where he was standing, he could see the tears tracks that ran down her face. He raised an eyebrow and looked around the room.

"It's fine. I just... lost control momentarily. There's nothing of importance here that I cannot fix."

We both know you're lying, so why don't you tell me what set you of?"

"Saul I'm..."

"Don't care. What set you of?"

She sighed and gestured towards Rosalind's old desk, miraculously still in one piece. He moved passed her to approach the desk.

"Oh."

Lying on it was an old, beaten, leather photo album. It had been a group effort during their school years and then later when they had joined to army. It was lying open at a page that had two pictures on it. He knew immediately why they had caused her such grief. On one of the pictures, he and Andreas had their arms wrapped around a thoroughly annoyed looking Farah; Andreas had ruffled her hair as though she were his little sister and it hung down across her face, as the Saul in the picture laughed. The other was a photograph of Farah and Rosalind. They stood side by side, each in an identical outfit and pose. It had been the day Rosalind had announced Farah as her protégé; Farah had been so happy, so proud.

These had been taken before the war had destroyed their smiles, before Andreas had betrayed them, before Rose had died, before they had seen Rosalind for what she really was, before Aster dell, and before they had been handed an entire school full of students to teach.

"I thought we had lost this."

"She left it for me to find. She knew I would find it."

She sighed and ran her hand through her hair, it was as though she had shaken herself mentally. She began rummaging through the broken items, picking out the pieces that weren't broken or smashed and placing them in a pile on the other side of the room with her magic.

He watched her do this for a while as she found a quiet rhythm in her work, forgetting that he was there. Her movements were slow and resigned, it looked as though each motion sapped any residual energy she had left.

"Farah... Farah stop, you're exhausted."

She shook her head and continued to sort the items that lay around her.

"I need to clear up, what sort of precedent would it set to the students if they saw this."

"It's the middle of the night, no student will be coming by. No student comes by this office now anyway, the memory of Rosalind is still too strong."

"It needs to be tidy."

"You need sleep. Have you even relaxed once, let alone taken a short nap?"

"I need to be prepared for when school starts up again."

"Being prepared won't help if you're too tired to sleep."

"I won't be. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail."

"Stop quoting her."

"We weren't prepared and look at what happened."

"Aster dell. I know."

"It won't happen again. Our students won't have to go through what we did."

Her hands shook and she dropped a glass vase she was holding. Hissing through her teeth, she reached for a cloth that lay near her. He was by her side in an instant, taking her away from the smashed fragments and grabbing a dressing from a nearby first aid kit.

"I'm fine."

She tugged away from him, but he tightened his grip, making her stay steady as he wrapped the dressing around her hand.

"We are going to be fine. You are going to be fine."

He dropped the wrapper on the floor and ran his hands up and down his arms slowly. He traced each of her scars with his fingers before pulling her closer to him. She struggled at first, but he held her tighter, muttering quietly to her. She stopped fighting him and leant against him heavily, wrapping her arms around his torso, hands gripping his shirt.

"It's all going to be ok love."

She took shuddering breaths, her hands gripping even tighter.

"Let it go Fa, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."

Her legs buckled and he lowered them both to the ground, rubbing her back. Her body shook with her sobs, and he felt his shirt dampen with tears. He rocked her, allowing her to cry as much as she needed.

At some point she calmed, and her body stilled, she had fallen asleep. Finally.

The next morning, the mind fairy awoke, wrapped in her specialists arms. She reached out and fiddled with the corner of the blanket that covered them. Her partner shifted beside her and pulled her closer to his chest.

"Go back to sleep sweetheart, it's the weekend."

She leant her head against his, listening to his steady heartbeat and closing her eyes.

"Have I ever told you how much I appreciate what you do for me?"

"Mm. I love you too Dowling."