Work Text:
After many restless nights of working, it was finally ready. He held the exploding arrow carefully, delicate yet lethal. Fragile like that grenade he once made. The main difference from normal arrows was that the second the arrow found flesh, it would explode. He grazed it with care, making sure it wouldn't harm her in any way while she shot an arrow, for the third time that hour. He had been working on a batch of them nonstop for the past week, barely sleeping to get them ready for next week, when they had been hired to sneak into a fortress in the mountains, in case something went wrong.
Also, because the little gifting game he had proposed had grown into something much, much bigger.
It had started as a dumb, fun thing. Each of them would be secretly assigned a team member and would have to buy them a gift. Easy, fun, something to see how well everyone knew the other, right? Well, it would have been if he hadn't been assigned Vex. He was certain that she would be able to know the arrows were his, and that he had worked a little too much for such a silly gift, but he only knew how to express affection by gifting people things, and he wouldn't forgive himself if he gifted her something under what she deserved.
He was fully certain they were going to work; he repeated himself, tracing its form with uncertainty. He had a slight ability with the bow, and he had tried the prototypes himself. The workshop had almost been set on fire multiple times, but it was a good sign. The mechanism worked. With a sigh, he carefully set the seven arrows together with a blue ribbon and a lily and put them inside his bag.
Days went by, and Winter's Crest approached, and with that, the day he was going to have to give her the arrows. The only person who knew he got Vex was Keyleth, who was equally as nervous as he was. She, of course, had gotten Vax and had the misfortune to be an awful overthinker, just like him. In between endless conversations with his best friend, where they both tried to reassure each other, he mentally prepared himself for actually giving her the arrows.
And finally, the day came, because of course it did.
They all sat around the room. He and Keyleth were sharing the sofa, while Pike and Scanlan sat on Grog's lap. The twins chatted with each other, both sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch.
Pike's gift was first. A couple of pine cones were painted gold and made into earrings. Then, Scanlan's gift was a brand new flute. One by one, they each opened their own packages. Grog got s kid's toy he focused greatly on for the rest of the evening, Keyleth received a book about potions and how to make them, something she had been trying to work on for a long time, he himself got a scroll to enchant his glasses and stop loosing them during battle, Vax, courtesy of Of Keyleth, received a beautifully crafted raven figurine she had made herself. And then, last but not least, it was Vex's turn.
He kept his gaze straight onto the floor as she grabbed the last package. Wrapping it had been hard, to not say impossible, but he had resorted to simply putting the arrows on a box and not complicating further. He only looked up when he heard her gasp, as she finally took the arrows into her hand.
"Careful with that!" He intervened, not even thinking about how that would essentially reveal he was the one who had gifted her that.
She looked up at him, smirking, but there was a soft blush on her cheeks. "I will be, don't worry."
The day went by uneventfully. Scanlan revealed himself to be the one who had bought him the scroll and helped him enchant his glasses, just a little spell that kept them fairly stuck to his face. Helpful, but he insisted that an eyewear retainer would have done the job.
Pike immediately put on her brand new earrings, Scanlan tried his new flute, Grog was completely stuck to the kid's toy, and Vax's attention was fully on the figurine, to Keyleth's relief. With all of the group focused on themselves, or their gifts, he took the opportunity to go talk to Vex. While he stood up, he caught Keyleth's attention. He looked at her like an animal caught by a hunter, but she just smirked, catching his intentions, and gave him a reassuring look. He sighed, attempting to ignore her, but he secretly appreciated it.
He found Vex in the garden, practicing her aim. The arrows were set along with the other ones in her quiver. She was practicing with her usual ones, unsure of what the new ones did. The target, painted on a nearby tree, was full of arrows that had hit it, some of them even splitting in half the ones that were already stuck. Impressive, of course, but it was Vex. He knew from experience that it wasn't near her maximum.
“Excuse me, Vex, can I steal you for a moment?" He asked, stepping behind her. She released the arrow and nailed it just in the center of the target.
"Oh, sure," she answered, turning to face him. "Is there anything you need?"
With her attention focused on him, Percy rummaged through his bag, and after a few seconds in which he couldn't seem to find what he was looking for, fearing he had forgotten them in his workshop, he felt them and pulled out several more arrows tied together. He handed them to her, and when she had them in her hands, he began to explain. "They're explosive arrows. Basically, they'll explode as soon as they hit an enemy. They're dangerous, so be careful with them."
"I knew it was you," she chuckled, examining the arrows with care. She clearly knew far more than he did about the subject, but he still hoped he had done a good job.
"W-what? No!" He defended himself, taking a step back as if he had been dealt a blow. "I would-I didn't-I just know those are complicated, not because I made them, but because I can tell!" He defended himself the best he could, but Vex just raised a brow, not even buying it for a second."It was obvious, wasn't it?" He sighed, defeated, but still putting on a bright smile. "Anyways. I was here to give you the technical specifications of, well, everything. These aren't the most complicated things I've ever done, but they can be unstable and—"
"Explode?"
"Exactly."
Vex's face lit up as she ran her hands delicately over the gift, taking in all the beautifully crafted details, along with the inscriptions on Celestial she couldn't understand and the feathers decorating the shaft. “This is... wonderful, Percy. They're beautiful.” She didn't take her eyes off the arrows, missing the look of complete adoration on Percy's face. “Thank you so much,” she said. She took a step back, ready to resume her aim practice, but then a soft grin appeared on her face, turning again.
Percy was still processing how absolutely stunning she looked, and it took him even more to realize that her lips were on his cheek. It was nothing, a quick peck on the cheek, but whereas she seemed to recompose pretty quickly, walking off to find another practicing spot that she hadn't already destroyed, he stood there, frozen and fully red, like a teenager having received his first kiss.
She had kissed him. On the cheek, but she had kissed him. It had been a quick, insignificant gesture. Something as simple as a wink or a giggle, without any romantic implications, especially coming from someone like Vex. She was a woman who flirted a lot. She was charming, no doubt, and she both knew it and took advantage of that to get what she wanted. Her silver tongue, along with her love for gold and reluctance to spend money, had granted their group a handful of discounts from various merchants they had encountered, and no one in the team was immune to her, either.
He was the one who was least.
From the moment he first saw her, her figure illuminated only by the dim light of a candle in that prison, he knew she would be his end. She looked like an angel leading him to paradise, the signal he had been praying for. And in a way, she did. Vox Machina had saved his life.
He knew he wasn't worthy of her. She was far too perfect for a broken creature like him, but he had been unable to get her out of his head while working on the arrows, trying to convince himself that it wasn't a romantic gesture, that she was just a close friend, that he could never have a chance with her. That the only thing he would get in return for that gift would be a grateful smile and, perhaps, a “darling.” But he certainly didn't expect a kiss.
He realized that, actually, the eight hours of sleep he had gotten that week had been worth it.
It snowed outside. And there was no one near, so he did something he hadn't done since he was a child. He dropped to the snow, feeling the cold around his body. It felt nice; it reminded him of his house. Of Whitestone, and the snow that seemed to always cover its streets. It was probably because of the kiss, but he's feeling so, so happy right now. So light, like he could fly away.
A few minutes passed before he heard footsteps by his side, but he recognized and stayed in place. With that, Keyleth dropped next to him, looking at the sky, clear of any clouds. It's cold nonetheless, but neither of them care.
"How long have you been here?" She asked, going fully limp and letting out a sigh.
"I don't know. Did you talk to Vax?" He questioned, turning to face her.
"It went well! He also gave me this little gift, a wooden rabbit, and it was so cute..." She sighed, already trailing off, before turning to face him too with a big smile. "I assume you talked to Vex? How did it go?" She wanted to hear everything.
"She kissed me. On the cheek," he chuckled, letting out a breathless laugh. He still can't believe it, really.
"Whoa, lucky you."
"It's the best gift she could have ever given me."
"You're smitten."
"I know I am."