Title: Brown Paper Packages, Tied Up with String
Author: Erin (
erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Adora, Wyatt, and a delivery boy
Rating: G
Summary: Every day, a delivery arrives...
Warning: pre-series *Written for Tin Man's sixth anniversary, at the prompting of
lionille Prompt: brown paper packages.
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The OCs are mine.
At the knock on the door, Adora lowered the book slightly, glanced up at the wall and rolled her eyes. With a sigh, she closed the book and set it aside, then pushed up from the sidechair and moved across the small sitting room.
Sitting next to the door, on a small table, was a plate with a few ginger cookies. Adora picked up the plate with one hand, while she opened the door with the other. She forced a smile to the young delivery man in the store uniform. "Miss," he nodded to her, holding out a medium-sized brown box, wrapped simply with a piece of string.
"Thank you, Anthony," she nodded, holding up the plate for the young man to take a cookie.
"Thank you, Miss," he nodded, knowing well enough to not argue with her. After all, this wasn't the first cookie she'd offered, just as it wasn't the first package he delivered. Once he'd taken the sweet treat, Adora set the plate down and took the box he was offering.
"I'm thinking of trying mint, tomorrow," she told Anthony, watching his expression for a moment. Anthony glanced sideways for a moment, contemplating the idea, then glanced up and nodded.
"Mint could be good," he smiled.
"Then mint it is," Adora nodded. Raising the package slightly, she nodded a silent thanks to him, then stepped back to close the door. She leaned back against the closed door and looked at the gift. She smiled for a moment then shook her head. On the other side of the door stood another table, this one holding a stack of differently-shaped packages, all wrapped with the same plain wrapper and tied with the same single string.
"Wyatt Cain..." she sighed, before setting the package down with the others. Adora really wasn't certain what he was trying to prove with all the gifts; she'd told him half a dozen times that she didn't want gifts.
Still, every day, a package came.
Adora had made it all the way back to the chair, and was just starting to sit when there was another knock at the door. Closing her eyes, Adora took a deep breath and pushed up again.
When she opened the door, an eyebrow went up as Wyatt Cain was standing in the hallway, smile on his face. "Hello," he offered, giving her a slight bow.
"Hello," Adora replied, leaning against the door.
"You're mad at me," Wyatt stated, fighting a smile.
"Why would I be mad at you?" Adora asked plainly. That only seemed to make Wyatt smile more.
"I guess you didn't like your gifts?" he guessed.
"They are all lovely, but I-"
"Didn't even open them," Wyatt finished for her. With a sigh, Adora stepped back and glanced at the pile of unopened packages.
"How do you know if I opened them or not?" she asked, raising her eyebrow again.
Wyatt smiled and took a step toward her. "Because," he started in a low tone, "if you opened them-" He stepped closer, his nose nearly against her cheek. "-you would know there was nothing in them," he whispered into her ear.
Adora leaned away and watched him for a moment, then glanced toward the table again. Wyatt followed her gaze and clicked his tongue. "I was right," he told her, then stepped around her and into the sitting room.
Adora closed the door and watched as he moved toward the table and inspected the pile. "Why would you spend all that money to send empty boxes?" She asked, trying to figure out what the blue-eyed blonde was up to.
"What money?" Wyatt asked, picking up the box that had been delivered two days ago and flipping it over in his hands. "Maybe I simply made a deal with the delivery boy," he suggested, then set the box down and put his hands behind his back.
"What purpose would that serve?" she asked. "Did you catch him breaking the law? Delivering fake packages to avoid jail?"
Wyatt smiled and shook his head. "In return for doing me a small favor, I might be speaking highly of him to a Central City judge." At the confused look on Adora's face, Wyatt smiled. "He's in love, and her father needs a little convincing."
"Sounds like he's the one bribing you," she muttered. "And why do you need this favor?" Adora asked, motioning to the table. "What purpose does delivering empty boxes to me serve?"
"Maybe I wanted to see just how much you like me," Wyatt replied with a smirk. "You keep accepting them," he waved to the table, "and yet you haven't told me to take a long walk off Central City's supply dock."
Adora gave him a smile and crossed her arms. "Somehow, I imagine the packages would continue to arrive," she replied.
Wyatt made a face and stepped closer. Turning slightly, to indicate the table, he nodded. "That was the last one."
"Convince the judge, did you?" she asked with a bite.
"As a matter of fact," he nodded, stepping closer, "I did. But, I was also buying myself some time." He took another step toward her and smiled, as she hadn't moved away.
"Time?" Adora asked, trying not to react to his proximity.
"Time," Wyatt nodded, then raised his hand between the both of them, presenting a small box wrapped with a red ribbon. "To make sure I had enough saved up." Adora looked between Wyatt and the box and swallowed.
"What is that?" she asked, though the size of the box meant it could only be one thing. Her heart fluttered for a moment, but she managed to hold a straight face.
Wyatt looked at the box, turned it slightly and then shrugged. "Guess you'll just have to open it up and find out."