If You Must

All That We Are Is Languid

Baz

Simon tastes like chocolate when I kiss him. The day is warm, the air heavy and perfumed with the smells of flowers and ice cream. Liquid, golden sunlight reflects off of the low wood ceiling, setting Si's skin afire-- soft, amber fire. Conversations float lethargically through the air, mixing like so many symphonies.

In this moment, with Simon's lips sultry and sweet against mine, with the music of the warm afternoon drifting around us, the reality of our lives hits me full-force.

We're going to get married. I'm going to marry Simon bloody Snow.

My mother died in front of my eyes. I got bitten by a fucking vampire. I've wished I was dead since I was fifteen-- when I was eighteen, I nearly burnt down an entire forest just to get that wish. And then Simon happened. And now I get moments like these; moments I never even thought I would be alive to witness. I get golden afternoons. I get to marry the love of my life. I get to live with him until we're too old and grey to remember our own names. I get to live. In all my years of wrongdoing, I must've done something right to deserve all this.

"I love you, Simon," I tell him, pulling away to look into those pretty blue eyes. He smiles at me, and my heart pounds wildly against my ribcage. Slowly, softly, he drags one knuckle down my jaw, then brushes it along my arm, right over my scar.

"You know, I'm not actually miffed about paying for the ice cream, if that's what you're playing at," he teases. The corner of my lips quirk up, laughter rumbling in my chest.

"Here I was, trying to be all romantic... and you're just focused on your food."

"As usual," he confirms, leaning forward to kiss my cheek.

"As usual," I agree, turning my head to catch those chocolate-flavoured lips once more.

Before the kiss can grow into anything but a chaste peck, my mobile rings. Stifling a groan (and opting for a sneer), I pick it up.

"Bunce," I say into the receiver.

"You don't sound very happy for someone who just finished physical therapy. Did they hold you back for bad behaviour?" Bunce chirrups back at me.

"Ha-bloody-ha, very funny. What do you want, Bunce?"

"You know, Baz, I can make this whole 'sister-in-law' thing easy or hard--" Snow is shaking with silent laughter, clutching onto my good arm for support.

"Bunce!" I cut her off, repressing laughter of my own.

"Fine, fine! You're no fun, BP." My brow wrinkles in confusion. I know I shouldn't rise to the bait, but... fuck it all, she knows I won't be able to resist asking.

"...BP?" I ask reluctantly. I can hear Penelope laughing. It sounds muffled, like she's got her hand over the mouthpiece.

"Short for Baz Pitch, dumbass." Simon howls, doubling over. I press my face into my palm.

"I am going to set you on fire, Bunce."

"Killjoy."

"What do you want?" It's difficult to sound properly exasperated when I'm trying so hard not to laugh (I have a reputation to upkeep).

"Nothing! I have a surprise for you boys at home. That's all. Once you've finished mucking about or whatever it is you're doing, you should come by the flat."

"Fuck off Bunce," I tell her (lovingly, of course).

"See you there, then!" I can practically hear her grinning as she hangs up. Rolling my eyes, I drop the mobile into my lap, turning to face Simon. He beams at me, mirth still dancing in his eyes.

"What are you grinning at, you traitor?" I tease, smiling back at him. He bats his eyelashes at me mockingly.

"I'm going to call you BP for the rest of your life," comes his singsong reply. Groaning, I drop my face into my hands.

"I'm going to pack my bags and skip country. But first, I'm setting fire to Bunce," I grumble. My ridiculous fiancé wraps his arms tightly around my shoulders, pressing kisses to the crown of my head.

"Aw, don't do that. I'd miss your pretty face," he says between kisses. I uncover one eye to look up at him.

"Anything else you'd miss?" I ask. Si smirks at me (I'm so proud-- I'm the one who taught him how to properly smirk).

"A few things..." His voice drops to a deep whisper, sending shivers up my spine. I quirk an eyebrow at him.

"Such as?" Playing dumb is fun with Simon. It draws him out of his shell and makes him say things that could make a vampire blush (and I should know). He knows I'm only playing-- this is just him joining in the game.

"For one--"

"Are you using this chair?" Someone asks from behind me, interrupting Simon. We both look up, more than a little surprised.

A woman and her child stand behind me, each holding drippy, sloppy ice cream cones. They look at us expectantly. Shaking myself out of my Snow-induced haze, I smile at them, carefully hiding my eyeteeth.

"No, we're not using it. Go ahead." With a nod, the woman takes the empty chair at our table and drags it to a different one. I watch her go, making sure she's out of earshot before I turn back to Si. Dying to know what he was about to say.

He's smiling softly in the direction of the woman and her child. Those nimble, golden fingers fiddle subconsciously with the ring on his left hand. Part of me wonders what he's thinking about. The other part of me is content to sit and look at him, regardless of his thoughts.

Slowly, those eyes drag back to mine, the smile never faltering. I can't help but offer up a smile of my own in return. Leaning forward, Simon presses a gentle kiss to my forehead.

"We should get back to the flat before Penny has an aneurysm. I'll go pay."

Before I can object, he's gone. Walking towards the register with long, lazy strides. Hips loose and easy. Broad shoulders back and perfect. Beautiful, in every sense of the word. Smiling, I watch him walk, wondering what in the world he was thinking about. What in the world changed the conversation from racy to utterly loving in a matter of seconds. Then again, I don't completely care; I love both (and all) sides of him. My sexy, amorous Simon. My gentle, caressing Simon.

My Simon.

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A/N:

This chapter is fluffy nothingness. I apologize for the relative lack of plot, but I'm a sucker for Snowbaz fluff and couldn't resist (I also had a weirdly vivid dream about this ice cream shop a while back, and I couldn't resist giving it to Simon and Baz). I promise to actually go somewhere with the story in the next chapters!

Stay tuned!

-Lefty