mistletoe / @flcksin ( for that celeb baby plot )
‘ i already told you, francois. ’ and she’d huff as though she were annoyed and fed up with all the attention he’s been paying her as of late. ‘ you don’t have to look after me all the time. go live your life. ’ and maybe she says it less because his presence is bothersome and more because they both have their own significant others to worry about. well, maybe it’s just her. but she doesn’t fail to notice the way francois has women clinging to his arm everywhere he goes. it’s unintentional most of the time. he’s the antithesis of most men in the city. men of small iqs and shallow lifestyles. they’d rate a woman based on her looks before asking her what she thinks about anything going on in the world. but then she supposes it’s hard for a typical man to ask that question when it seems they have no thoughts to conjure up themselves. francois isn’t like that and maybe it’s the reason why he’s got women longing to date him. maybe that was why willow had initially sought after him too. she’d been fed up with finding herself caught in the same routine and hurt by the same kinda of men. it was mere attraction at first and she’d be telling the truth by saying that she hadn’t expected to like him the way she does now. that an impulsive hook up wasn’t meant to bring out such feelings from within. it surely wasn’t meant to bring about the complications of pregnancy either.
not when she’s got boring, basic ed hanging off her back. he’d just about flipped when she revealed that she was pregnant. ‘ but, babe! i’ve been bagging up little ed for a reason! ’ it made for a very awkward conversation about how it’d been someone else’s child. how she had wound up sleeping with francois as they filmed their movie together. she’d hoped that such news would mean a break up. they’d be done and over for good. willow would stop being the laughing stock of the media. ‘ ed cheats on willow for the third time this year. what could possibly be wrong with her? ’ because no one ever questions whether it may just be, that america’s walking bicep isn’t actually as sweet and charismatic as he may seem. she hates california. hates the people and the culture. she hates the way they all punish her and all others who come here for wanting to live out their biggest dreams. she hates that it doesn’t snow on the holidays and that she’s got no one to come home to even for christmas break. it’s why she doesn’t hesitate to say yes when francois asks her to celebrate with him.
ed had taken it upon himself to declare that he’d be coming around shortly after christmas, despite not having been invited by francois himself. and willow agrees in her usual reluctant fashion if only because the media has scrutinized her enough for having ‘ cheated on poor ed. ’ fingers fiddle around with the twinkling christmas tree ornaments. she’d begged francois to buy one of thos miniature ones for them to decorate together. they’re friends. they’re having a baby together soon. willow doesn’t want to let her crush on him get the best of her. “ what do you like better, francois? red or green? ” she dangles them in front of his face, allowing her gaze to waver momentarily. she is first to notice the plant hanging above them in front of the cabin’s door. they’d been driving about all through and now they’re ready to get working on the tree. but willow can’t help but stop in her tracks. “ hey, ” she says quietly, lowering her hands slowly. “ that’s that kissing plant. ” mistletoe. willow doesn’t know the names of those kinds of things. she hasn’t celebrated christmas properly in nearly thirteen years. “ you know what they say, ” and now she’s looking towards him suggestively, as though saying all there is to say with the expression on her face. “ it’s bad luck if you don’t kiss the pregnant blonde. ”
pregnant. he recalls hearing her say such a thing to him. ‘ i’m pregnant ’ and he had heard the words, making his heart skip in such a way that was unfounded by him. they were not meant to be more than co-stars. co-workers who just act. who smile and laugh on cue. who argue on cue. who do what they’re paid to do on cue. but it seemed that one thing led to another and undoubtedly it appeared that things escalated until francois was in her presence. until francois’ lips were against hers unsuspectingly. and he’s a religious man. a well-regarded man in society and by his peers. he’s polite. self-aware. conscious of others outside of himself. selfless. and somehow he’d found himself with willow in a night of passion. his lips against her flesh and the two of them communicating in ways that only the two of them could comprehend. and he had not imagined his life to prevail in such a way. he hadn’t imagined it to unravel with a woman saying she was pregnant who was not his girlfriend, nor his wife. a child out of wedlock. something so traditional and yet so personal and important to francois.
he knows willow is with ed. manly ed. masculine and muscular ed. a man who flexes his arms in every single photograph that is taken of him and wears tight tops to show off his pectorals. a man who seems to pout and show off how long he can do a workout with a protein shake in his hand. he is surprised when willow agrees to come with him; when she agrees to stay at his home - a minimalist space that he’s made his home. it’s not as self-aware as other celebrities. francois is more minimalist. more homely. he’s bought a christmas tree - he thinks it’s the ugliest one in the lot but he bought it because he felt sorry for it. as though it had feelings. as though it would feel upset if it didn’t get picked. he looks towards willow as she dangles ornaments in his face making him blink, a soft smile coming across his face. she’s always been this invasive. he recalls how taken aback the crew had been at times by her invasive behaviour. “ red ” he responds, but as always, he isn’t opposed to her saying no to him. he’s quite gotten used to her asking something and then doing the opposite to his answer.
he looks up towards the mistletoe hanging above them - between the two of them. a pregnant blonde. he knows he isn’t quite sure as to what to do. his feelings for willow are still rising within him despite the time they’ve had apart. and knowing she’s pregnant has brought alongside a different kind of affection he has for her. “ who says that? ” he hums. “ i haven’t heard that saying before ” he finds himself to look towards her and he can already feel the blush across his chest, to his neck, and to his cheeks causing his golden skin to glow in a rosy way. “ willow, do you think i... ” he trails off a little before he finds himself to swallow thickly. his mouth, feels dry. he soon nods his head, stiffly. " okay, just a...okay ” he doesn’t know why he’s nervous. he wasn’t nervous before when he’d kissed her. when he’d embraced her. he now lets himself to kiss her softly - gently. quickly.