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There was something about Miss Sarah Brown. Something he could never forget, no matter how hard he tried. Something that he had been trying to deny himself ever since they first locked eyes on each other. She was of the virtuous kind, not at all the type Sky would usually try to woo. Pure, strong, intelligent, adorable and lovely, as well as being obviously beautiful. Sky had never viewed the fairer sex in such a way before. Dolls were a luxury, not a necessity. Miss Sarah Brown, on the other hand, had very quickly become an unexpected necessity. As a result, he wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to knock Nathan Detroit out or thank him. Either way, he had ultimately won the bet both literally and then some.
Last night, the plan was to make good on his marker and to be on a plane out of New York before he could change his mind. So he would never have to see the mission doll again, bother her, ruin her even more than he felt he already had, but also to avoid his own embarrassment and heartbreak. At least, that was the plan until he found Sister Sarah looking somewhat helpless as she sobbed in the distance. He had told her a few days ago that he had fallen in love with her, but now he truly understood what that meant, and how he felt seeing her in such a state.
So the gambler carefully made his way over to the mission doll. Sarah was stood against the wall, eyes closed, mascara stained cheeks, her breathing shallow. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that she’d been inside the bar she was now leaning against. He’d realised that he had been rather cold with her when he had announced his departure to everyone. It hadn’t been intentional, and now here she was crying outside of a bar. Had she come looking for him? There was only one way to find out.
“Sister Sarah?” He asked, softly. Not trying to startle her, he gently put his hand on her arm, approaching her with enough distance that he wasn’t overstepping, but enough closeness that she knew he was there for her.
The sound of his voice briefly caused her to pause, as she looked at him through wide, watery, blue eyes. Her breathing was still frantic, but his presence seemed to have shocked her slightly.
“Sarah.” He tried again.
Sarah blinked at him, seemingly speechless, before she threw herself into his arms and held him tight. With her standing outside of the bar and the slight scent of Bacardi mixed with her usual florally perfume, he had realised what she had been up to. Though, he couldn’t blame her, he almost had the same idea.
“I’m sorry.” She had repeated over and over. Sky held her close, relishing in the fact that he could hold her in his arms again. He would always make sure she never had a reason to question her trust for him again, even if he was the innocent party in this specific situation.
After a long makeup session, she had told him that it was him telling her that he was leaving and Miss Adelaide’s romantic advice that she knew she had to stop being so stubborn when it came to how she felt about him. Miss Adelaide had a funny way of saying intelligent things sometimes. Sky knew he would have to express his gratitude towards her at the next appropriate moment.
With her mascara smudged under her eyes and her breathing returning to a somewhat normal rhythm, Sky pulled back slightly so she could face him.
“I love you, Sarah. I will always love you.” His statement was barely above a whisper as he felt himself choke up at the confession.
In response, Sarah stood on the tips of her toes and smiled as she pressed her lips to his. The contact elicited quiet hum of relief from her. How he had missed the soft, gentle feeling of her lips against his. As she slowly pulled away, she had yawned. Sky chuckled softly and reached for her hand. Entangling his fingers with hers, he began to lead her back down the street towards the mission. It was late, after all. That’s when she stumbled slightly, bracing herself by holding onto both Sky and the wall beside her. Her face went bright pink in embarrassment as she regained coordination. Sister Sarah Brown had only been drunk twice in her life, and Sky had been the sole witness to both occasions.
Taking her back to the mission was a little more complicated this time around. Sarah had been sobering up the last time he had escorted her back after drinking. This time, however, she hadn’t had the cold air hit her for as long and didn’t have a nap on a plane to help her out a bit. She sometimes struggled to keep her balance as they walked along the pavement, and she had to pause a few times out of fear she was going to vomit. Not that Sky had minded at all. Whilst he knew how rough she was going to feel in the morning, it was now appropriate for him to make sure she was alright and look after her should she need it. And, with her lack of experience with alcohol, he knew she would definitely need it. He loved her an absurd amount and delighted at the thought of domesticity and taking care of her. It was all very new to him.
“Thank you for bringing me home.” She said, quietly, once they had arrived. Her own mortification slowly creeping up on her. “You really are a gentleman.”
That caused Sky to blush, against his better judgement. Thankfully it was dark enough for her not to notice. She would tease him mercilessly if she had realised.
“I just want to apologise aga-” She had started, before he gently placed a finger to her lips, a signal for her to stop talking.
“Sarah, my love, all is well. Drink lots of water and get plenty of sleep. You are going to feel worse in the morning, compared to last time.” Sky smiled at her and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Trust me.”
Sarah had smiled back, eyes sparkling with happiness. A much more welcome sight than the heartbreak that overwhelmed them previously. Her arms were still draped around him, hands cradling his jaw, thumb gently ghosting his lips. It was clear she did not want to let him go. Whilst he didn’t want to leave her either, it was the best thing to do.
“Will I see you tomorrow?” She pouted at him.
“I suppose I could swing by.” He gave her a teasing look. “Water and sleep. Alright?” Sarah nodded in response. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” And with that, he kissed her cheek and waited until she had locked the door after reentering the mission, before he made his way back to the hotel.
Sky had tried his best not to bother Sister Sarah Brown too early this morning. From the events of last night, he knew she was going to be exhausted from all her crying. He also knew she was going to be irritable from the notorious headache, as well as how loud and bright everything seemed. Here was hoping she wasn’t suffering too badly and still wanted to see him.
As he walked through the door to the mission, Sky was met by Arvide. He appeared to be tidying up from what ever it was they were hosting before.
“Good afternoon, Brother Sky.” Greeted the older gentleman. Sky looked distracted as he looked around the room.
“Afternoon, Arvide. Is Sar-”
“She’s just making cups of coffee. I’ll let her know you’re here.” Arvide interrupted, patting the younger man’s arm as he walked to where his granddaughter currently was. “It’s good to see you.”
“And you.”
“Sarah, dear? There is someone here for you.”
“How’s she doing?” Sky quietly asked as concern crept into his tone. The older man looked at him from the other side of the room with a knowing smile.
“She’ll be alright. She’s just feeling a bit sorry for herself.” He rolled his eyes jokingly at Sky.
The clicking of heels could be heard coming from the kitchen and into the main room of the mission. Miss Sarah Brown emerged sans jacket with her hair tied up, a cup of coffee in one hand and her other cradling the side of her head from what he had detected was a headache.
“Heavy night?” Her grandfather quipped, earning him an icy glare from the younger woman.
The blonde woman sighed deeply and groaned as she made her way over to where Sky was now stood. Whilst Sky enjoyed the company of Arvide, he appreciated it when the older man gave them time alone sometimes.
“I suppose you have come to gloat.” She looked at him through squinted eyes. Far too sensitive for the beautiful, bright sun shining on the other side of the window.
“Not at all.” He chuckled. She was adorable, even when she clearly wasn’t feeling her best.
The sight of the slightly dishevelled, tired looking Sister Brown had inflicted those pesky butterflies in his stomach again. Somehow, she still managed to look beautiful. Sky knew he was in trouble when he had first kissed her, but seeing her in such a natural state made him realise even more just how much he had fallen for her.
“How are you feeling?” He stroked her arm and kissed her forehead. Sarah leaned into the embrace.
“Terrible. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so awful in my life.” She mumbled into his shoulder.
“Well, alcohol will do that to you.” Sarah sighed in frustration. “And from the way I’ve seen you sip rum, its a miracle that you are standing right now.” He was actively teasing her until he saw her look a little green from nausea. Sky took her hand and led her through the common room of the mission.
“Here let me help you. Where is your bedroom?”
“Sky!” She hissed, scandalised.
“What?” The gambler looked at her confused, before he realised what she thought he had meant. “No. I’m going to take care of you. I’ve had many a hangover in my time.”
“I’m sure I’ll survive.” She retorted, standing still. At least until she held her head again and made sure he wrapped his arms around her in comfort. Sky then raised an eyebrow at her. “Fine. Just stop the room from spinning, please.” Sky pressed a gentle kiss to her temple before he let her lead him to her room.
“I’ll try my best.”
It had never occurred to him to wonder about what Sarah Brown’s bedroom would look like. Their time together had been such a whirlwind, there hadn’t been time to wonder about how she lived when she wasn’t around him. The dainty, light pink duvet and rather sparse vanity table by the window had made so much sense. Around the vanity, there were a few photographs, which upon further inspection he had concluded was a very young Sarah with her parents, along with a simple looking pot of rouge and mascara. It was all very Sarah.
He turned around and Sarah had sat herself on the edge of the bed, Sky had crouched to kiss her on the nose for comfort before announcing his plans.
“Darling, change out of your uniform into something much more comfortable. I promise you it will start feeling even just a little bit better.” Sarah looked ready to protest before he ran his hand up and down her arm. “I’ll just be out here getting you some water and something to soothe that headache of yours. Let me know when you’re ready for me to come back in.”
The mission doll finally conceded with a tired, but grateful smile.
After only a few minutes, he’d been summoned back and found her curled up in her night dress above the duvet. The curtains had been closed and her hair pins splayed on the vanity. With a cold flannel in one hand and the corner of her bedding in the other, he made sure to tuck her in and place the cool object on her head. Beside her bed, he had placed a large glass of water and had moved the stool from her vanity to sit close to her. With her eyes shut, her hand poked out from the covers in search of his.
“I promise, I’ll be right here.” Sky reassured her, as he gently pulled their entangled hands to his lips so he could kiss her knuckles.
“You are wonderful, Sky.” She had murmured against her pillow.
It wasn’t long before her breathing evened out and he could tell that she had finally fallen asleep. Sarah Brown was a headstrong girl and it was one of the many things about her that he had admired. She had spent her entire life looking after herself, he understood why she was reticent at first.
After an hour, not that Sky was really paying attention to the time, came a voice calling for Sarah. The gambler was crouched beside her bed as he ran a hand through her hair as she dozed. He hadn’t noticed the noise until he saw Arvide stood at Sarah’s door. Sky immediately moved to stand up, but the older gentleman just winked at him and quietly left them to it. It was this moment when Sky realised just how much he craved domesticity with the lovely mission doll.