Closed One Word; Two Consonants, Two Vowels

[Michael Watson]

Michael honestly hadn't been thinking when he'd signed off his note to Margo. Which was strange, because usually he overthought everything to a painful degree, usually to the point of inaction. But before he'd even realized it, he'd signed off with 'love', and when he'd gone to change it, thinking maybe that was too much, felt he couldn't find a better word to replace it with. It wasn't like he was well versed on the feeling, he was only seventeen and didn't really have any point of comparison to even confirm that yes, the best description for the way he felt was indeed love.

But why couldn't it be? Even Michael, chronically inclined to rationalize everything to the nth degree, couldn't really find a better rationale for his feelings. More to the point, he didn't want to. He knew Margo was going to graduate soon, he knew that realistically, continuing a relationship while he was still at school and she wasn't was not going to be easy and perhaps wouldn't work out at all, but he also knew that it had felt nice to use the word 'love' to sign his rose to Margo. However, it hadn't been the word she'd used, and perhaps, thought Michael, he had overstepped. Perhaps he'd need to ask her about it.

By the same token, he owed Margo a dance that didn't start outright with an uncomfortable and personal conversation, so he was definitely, totally, not going to bring it up and totally going to brush past it. Yes, that was absolutely what he was going to do. He'd just start by complimenting how beautiful she'd no doubt look, and then they could just go from there. He fiddled with his jacket some more, buttoning it, unbuttoning it, buttoning it again, while he waited.

 

[Margo Fox]

Margo felt a flurry of emotions as she made her way to the great hall. They were mostly good feelings. The dark cloud that had been hanging over her during the Yule Ball had faded significantly. It still lingered in the corners of her mind but only on her bad days did it ever cause her grief. Tonight was different and she was grateful for that, and for Michael and his endless patience. She wanted to enjoy her night with him more than anything. This would be their last dance together and she willed herself not to dwell on that fact. Instead she thought about the rose she had gotten earlier and the note that went along with it. It was perfect but one of the last words of the note was buzzing around her head like a persistent bee.

Michael had singed off his note with 'love'. It wasn't a full declaration of 'I love you' but it had been enough to make her palms sweat. Margo would be lying if she hadn't agonized over the wording in her own note to her boyfriend. In the end she had kept things close to her chest, like she tended to do, and had gone for a romantic but less declarative 'yours'. She had been too busy during the day to give it much thought but as she spotted Michael the wheels in her head were starting to spin. She took a moment to straighten her dress and fix her hair before coming up beside him and wrapping an arm around his waist to give it a squeeze. "Have you seen my handsome date anywhere around here?" she asked with a playful smile before reaching up to kiss him on the cheek.

 

[Michael Watson]

Michael somehow managed to stop fidgeting as Margo came into view (although he did wring his hands just a little bit, at least he was visually distracted). He sighed in relief, at least taking this as evidence she didn't feel completely put off by his note and never wanted to talk to her again. "Wow, well whoever he is, he's a pretty lucky guy. Happy to keep you company while you wait, though," he joked, leaning into the kiss and returning the gesture with one of his own. He offered his arm, hoping his palms were not in fact sweaty. "Shall we?"

He thought he was doing a pretty good job of not being fussed about it, acting totally normally as they started moving towards the dance floor. "Thank you for the rose, it was lovely. I hope mine wasn't...awkward..." Michael trailed off, realizing he'd immediately done the thing he said he wasn't going to do. "Ah."

 

[Margo Fox]

Margo grinned. "I'll have to remind him when I see him." she teased lightly before taking his hand and walking into the great hall. She took in the romantic flowery decorations and noticed the addition of some balloons floating around too. She was watching one bob along in the air when Michael brought up her rose and her heart did a little flip. She was about to interrupt him but before she could he said something about it being awkward. Margo stopped walking and hesitated. "Why would it be awkward?" she said before it clicked. Had he not meant to say 'love' in his note? That had to be what he was talking about. What else could it be. She was obviously thinking about it too. Did he write it by accident or because he felt he needed to and was now regretting it because she hadn't said the same? "Oh, I mean it's fine. It's just a thing people say in letters." she said shrugging, feeling embarrassed and hot in the face.