#Aurora Writes

[sapphicdesiress]

Sitting at a bar but the only thing I can think about is how badly I want to go home and relentlessly tease a pretty girl. I would start soft, just tracing her folds with the tip of my tongue.

“I want you squirming and begging for more before I even think about doing anything else”

Finding her needy clit, I’d begin flicking my tongue at it relentlessly. Holding her thighs down as she’s tugging on my hair and squirming beneath me. Watching how she covers her gorgeous face all flustered, how her pretty hole is clenching around nothing, so desperate for mommy’s fingers to fill her up. How she’s having to bite back each moan and whimper to hide how needy and worked up she gets by simple teasing.

But Mommy knows that she’s a needy princess, who’s so easily affected by her touches. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to last long with all the teasing, I’d work my way down to her dripping hole. Just slowly sliding my fingers into her, curling up to hit that sweet spot that turns her into a gasping, moaning mess. I’ll keep going like that, slowly increasing my speed until she’s on the verge on cumming. Whines and cries echo through the room as I remove my fingers over and over again as she gets closer and closer. I want tears in her pretty, doe eyes as she’s whining

“M-mommy I can’t a-anymore”

“P-please slow down mommy”

All this pretty begging, only for mommy to tilt her head - forcing her to make eye contact and acknowledge what a submissive, vulnerable position she’s in and hush her with my fingers. I’d push my fingers into her drooling mouth to suck on, as I watch how her pretty tits bounce when I start to thrust my fingers faster. Seeing how her wetness drips everywhere and all over my hand would fuel my everlasting desires to turn her into my brainless mess. So perfect and needy for mommy

[watcheraurora]

A Promise Broken, A Promise Kept

Okay fine, brain. I give in (I got this idea and it wouldn't let me go until I finished it) (The idea for this kinda possessed me and I wrote this over the course of like four days. It's 43 Google Doc pages but I wrote it in Tumblr drafts lol) 15.8k words

—

"Where... where did my tissue box go?" Jimmy demanded, lifting up the novel off the end table as if he'd find a whole box of tissues hiding underneath it.

He texted his housemate—who was out with some friends—while he searched. You didn't happen to move my tissue box before you left, did you?

He doubted it. If Scott moved things in the house, he usually told Jimmy about it or asked if something was okay to be moved. But Jimmy always kept a box of tissues on this side table. They liked watching movies and Jimmy was a crier in a lot of them. So he kept the tissues next to where he sat on the sofa.

Except it was missing.

He scoured the living room, checking behind the sofa's throw pillows and underneath the sofa as if there was room in any of those places for a full tissue box to hide.

Nothing.

Jimmy stood with his hands on his hips in the middle of the room and looked around, confused and frustrated.

He stomped to the bathroom and grabbed a tissue from the other box to finally blow his nose in the hopes that his stupid springtime allergies would give him a rest.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out.

Scott: No... I haven't touched it. Why?

Jimmy replied quickly, It's just not there. I must have moved it and forgotten I did, I guess. Or maybe Norman snatched it

He didn't actually believe he forgot he moved it, but he didn't want Scott to get worried or irritated at him for losing something so silly.

He huffed in frustration, threw away the used tissue in the bathroom bin, and went to go check Norman's usual haunts (cat tree, litter box, bed, the back of Jimmy's closet) to see if there was a shredded tissue box at any of them.

There weren't. Jimmy huffed. He went back out to the living room to go back to spring cleaning. His mother had taught him, many years ago, how to oil the wood of the side tables once a year to keep them nice. In his old, worn out football uniform that was so tattered he only ever wore it to paint or clean these days.

As he sat next to the end table with his oily old washcloth—he'd been using the same rag with furniture oil that never got out for a few years, keeping it in a plastic bag in the back of the cleaning cupboard—he caught sight of the living room vent.

The slats were covered in dust.

He bent back and snatched up the duster from where he'd left it on the back of the loveseat. Then leaned closer to the vent.

He blew hard to get the initial layer of dust off.

"Achoo!"

"Bless you," Jimmy said automatically.

Then froze.

"Hello?" he called. "Is someone there?"

Silence.

"Hello?"

"Achoo!"

That was definitely a sneeze.

Followed by a skittering noise that sounded like quick footsteps of some sort of creature.

Inside the vent.

Most wall vents were bolted or screwed to said wall. But this house was so old that it was loosely clipped instead. Jimmy kept meaning to get some bolts and drill some holes but had yet to actually do so.

He popped the cover off and peered in.

There was nothing in there.

Jimmy scrunched his brows and pulled off his glasses. The lenses were a tad dusty but otherwise not terribly dirty. He dug into one ear with his pinky nail. No excessive amount of wax. He looked around. "Norman?"

The jingling of the cat's collar was audible from Jimmy's room.

Jimmy got up and grabbed his phone. He texted Scott.

Running to the store. I think we might have a mouse. Gonna grab some traps.

He got a thumbs-up emoji of acknowledgment from Scott.

He threw on a different outfit quickly and shoved his slip-on sandals onto his feet before heading to his car.

Forty-two minutes later, he made it back.

"—had to go to two different stores to find the humane kind," Jimmy was saying into his phone when he threw open the front door with a bag in his hand. "No, Joel—Joel—you know I don't have the heart for the other kind." He rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. "Oh, don't 'Jimmy, lad' me in that tone! I'm not gonna call the exterminator! That defeats the purpose of getting a humane trap to capture the mouse instead of kill it. This will be fine, I promise." He paused. "Yeah, yeah. You too. Bye." He tossed the phone carelessly onto the sofa and got some bait out of a cupboard to get the mouse traps ready.

—

Jimmy woke to the sound of skittering footsteps. He jolted and looked around his dark bedroom. It was blurry. He patted gently at his bedside table to find his glasses, which he shoved onto his face.

Something metallic creaked. Jimmy's head whipped to look at the vent in his room, between his dresser and his desk.

It was slowly tilting open. Jimmy watched with wide eyes.

A tiny human-shaped figure stepped out from behind the vent, slowly closing it behind themself. A pair of insectoid wings drooped down their back. One of them was bent at an angle Jimmy had to assume was unnatural. In the darkness, they had fire for hair that cast a gentle, soft candlelight glow on the area around them.

He watched the figure tiptoe over to his desk and jump up onto the handle of the bottom drawer with a tiny, quiet grunt. The non-bent wing wiggled. The bent one just twitched. The tiny person kicked their legs and scrambled to get up onto the handle. From there climbing up onto the drawer's ledge. Then the next handle. The next ledge. The next handle, then up onto the top of the desk. Every time, the tiny little person wiggled and kicked their legs to scramble up.

Once on the desk, the little person crept directly to the pencil cup. Jimmy watched them hop up with a flutter of the non-bent wing and snatch a pencil out of the cup. A short one Jimmy had been using to draw.

The little person inspected it and sat down on the desk in a shaft of moonlight, mixing the silvery moonlight with the golden firelight. They pulled something out of their pocket. Jimmy watched as the tiny person stuck their tongue out in concentration and began to carve the pencil. Specifically sheering off a small section of the wood from one side. The little person started muttering under their breath.

"And we do the carve-y carve-y. Make a nice little thin stick. Nice sturdy stick. Hehehehehe." The voice and figure seemed masculine, though with the tiny person's size it was hard to tell.

Jimmy watched as the rest of the pencil wood was broken off. The tiny winged person pulled a short loop of thread out of the pocket of his little red outfit and unwound it to get to the thinner fibers. He started to try to brace the piece of wood against his bent little wing. He winced as he tried to bend the wing back into a straighter position, hissing and baring his teeth like it hurt. He tried again to bend the wing back.

Then he whimpered and Jimmy couldn't stand to just watch anymore.

He sat up. "Can I help?" he asked.

The tiny guy screamed and scrambled—falling off the desk and scattering the bits and pieces he'd had in his hands.

"Whoa!" Jimmy lurched off his bed and managed to catch the little person before he could hit the floor, careful not to close his hand to crush the wings any more than they already were or burn his hand on the fire for hair. Which had gone out for just a moment to reveal normal gold hair beneath it in short waves, though it quickly sparked back up to its prior merrily-burning flame. Though the fire didn't burn around his hair. Rather, his hair became the fire.

Jimmy lifted him close to his face.

"Are you alright?"

The good wing fluttered fast as the little guy screamed again. "Human!" The word was an exclamation of fear as he tried to get to his feet and run away. But he had nowhere else to go on Jimmy's palm.

"Hey, heeey there, little guy. I'm not gonna hurt you," Jimmy said soothingly. "I want to help you."

The tiny person—the word fairy hit Jimmy in the face like a train when he finally put together why he had wings and those pointy ears—was still scrambling to try to get away. He was shorter than Jimmy's hand was long and as he screamed, he showed off little fangs as his good wing fluttered and the bent one twitched. Red dust fell from the movement of the wings, landing on Jimmy's palm.

"Ssshhh! You're gonna wake my housemate," Jimmy hissed. He brought his other hand up as flat as the first so there was more room to stand on. "I'm not trying to hurt you."

"Put me down, put me down, put me down!" the fairy pleaded.

Jimmy slowly lowered him down to the desktop and waited for him to climb off. Then returned the scattered thread, pencil shaving and sharp tiny piece of metal that the fairy had used to cut the pencil from the floor to the desk top. The fairy bundled the pieces up in his arms and looked around wildly for a way down.

"You can call me Jimmy," Jimmy said. "What's your name?"

The fairy regarded him with suspicious eyes. They were as red as his little outfit.

Jimmy took a step back and crouched on the floor so he could be closer to eye-level with the desk, rather than looming over it.

"You can call me T... Tango," the fairy said reluctantly.

"Hello Tango. Are you hurt? Your wing looks bent."

Tango still regarded him with suspicion. The bent wing twitched as the normal one flickered. Scattering more red dust. "I'm trying to fix it," Tango said, the slightest of pouts forming on his mouth as his pointy ears drooped a little. He tightened his grip on the small scraps.

"Can I help you fix it? I can hold the stick in place."

Tango's tiny red eyes narrowed. "No," he said. "I'll do it myself."

"You don't trust humans, do you?"

He took a few steps back over the desk top.

"Okay. I don't have to help. You just seemed to be struggling on your own and I wanted to offer if you needed it." Jimmy bounced a little and moved back a bit. "You're a fairy, right?"

Tango nodded. A tiny little nod, even for someone his size. Almost impossible to see if Jimmy hadn't been searching for a response.

"What happened to your wing?"

Tango glowered into the middle distance as his fire for hair flickered faster. "Stupid cat," he muttered. Almost like he didn't want Jimmy to hear.

Jimmy rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "Big fluffy cat? Kinda creamy-grey? Blue collar?"

Tango muttered something else that Jimmy couldn't quite make out.

"I'm sorry. That's my cat. Norman. He must've thought you were a bug. He likes bugs."

Tango mumbled something Jimmy couldn't hear.

"Is there any way I can help you that doesn't involve touching you? Can I get you something to drink? Some water? Or some milk?" Jimmy had heard a few stories about fairies. They liked gifts of cream or milk, didn't they? Jimmy and Scott didn't really keep cream in the house but...

Tango's normal wing perked up completely at the suggestion. "Milk?" A tiny smile seemed to be trying to form.

"Yeah. Can I get you some?"

Tango nodded. His fire hair grew a little brighter. "Yes please!"

Jimmy smiled. "Let me go get some. Don't go anywhere." He got up and tiptoed off to the kitchen.

—

Tango plopped back down onto the desk top, sitting and trying to re-fit the little stick and the threads to splint his wing. Maybe he should've asked for Impulse's help after all. Maybe if he wasn't so stubborn—he could have clenched Zed and Skizz's hands while Impulse realigned his wing. But no. He had to get caught by a human in the middle of the night. Idiot. Stupid Tango.

He put his knife back in its sheath in his pocket and pouted. This was going to hurt.

But a bit of milk... that would be quite the treat. A nice little reward for resetting his wing.

He quickly set up the splint and got it ready to brace against the ridge of his wing and tighten the threads. His small hands moved quickly. He ignored the fairy dust that fell from his wing, shaking some off his hand.

He bit down on a piece of wood that had come off the long pencil he'd carved the splint from. Humans would call it a shaving. But it was a perfect size for Tango to bite down on while he realigned his own wing. He'd balked before and he got caught by a human because of it. He couldn't allow that to happen this time.

Carefully, he positioned his hands on the ridge of his wing. His fire hair simmered low.

He couldn't count himself down and reset the wing on the wrong number to avoid tensing up. That wouldn't work when he was aware that he intended to do it.

So he just jerked his wing back into place.

He bit through the shaving with his fangs and his hair flared bright and hot as he screamed.

Quickly, he tightened the threads to splint the wing. Only once that was accomplished did he finally relax. Slumping to lie facedown on the human desk, all his limbs splayed out and the tears of pain mingling with the fallen fairy dust. Making it into a red paste.

The human—Jimmy—burst back into the room, trying to be quiet but there was a wild glint in his eyes behind his spectacles. Tango's head snapped up to look. "Are you okay?" Jimmy whispered loudly.

Tango nodded. "I'm fine." He twisted to look at his wing. The ridge was still a little wonky, but it would straighten out in time as it healed. "Just... Had to reset my wing." He shrugged, his good wing fluttering with the movement, though the bad one could still do no more than twitch.

Jimmy stepped over and placed what appeared to be the lid of some sort of small bottle on the desk beside Tango before crouching to be at eye-level. Or as close as a human could get, anyway. "We don't, er, have any cups meant for someone your size. I hope this is okay."

The lid was the same width and depth as a soup pot back home. Though it wasn't completely full of milk, it still had quite a bit in it. More than Tango thought he might be able to drink on his own. But that wouldn't stop him from trying. He loved milk. Most fairies did. "Oh this should be just fine!" He reached for it and took it up in both hands. The lid's white plastic was lighter than the metal pot Skizz and Gem used to make soup. Easier to lift to drink.

Tango surprised himself by drinking it all. Fairly quickly. He must have really needed the sweetness after fixing up his wing. He shuddered all the way down to the tip of his good wing after wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

"That was delicious! Thank you!"

Jimmy smiled. "You're welcome."

Tango's wings flittered as some sort of vibration hit them. He gasped and ran across the desk, diving behind the pencil cup to hide. He sucked in a deep breath and his fire hair went out, turning back into normal hair. Hiding the light just like he'd done in the vent earlier when he'd borrowed the tissue box to try and make a cast for his wing.

The door to the room creaked back open. "Jimmy?" another voice asked, with a different accent, around a yawn. "Who're you talking to?"

Jimmy had stood up when Tango moved. Tango couldn't see what either human was doing. Just listening and feeling the disturbances in the air to stay hidden. "I'm not talking to anyone," Jimmy said. Maybe too quickly.

"I heard voices. I thought I heard screaming. Like. Really quiet screams."

"Oh! Sorry. I was watching a movie on my phone. I thought I had the volume down enough. Earbuds were irritating my ears."

"You were asleep hours ago. I heard you snoring."

"Yeah... then I woke up. Had a messy, stressful dream. Woke up. Turned on a movie to try to quiet my mind. Got a bit of milk to try and sleep."

There was a long pause between Jimmy and whoever the housemate with the different accent was. Tango did his best to keep his shivering wing as still as possible so it didn't chime with magic like fairy wings often did. He crouched low, feeling his bad wing slide soundlessly over the somewhat bumpy woodgrain of the desk that the human would think was incredibly smooth.

"You're sure you're okay?" the housemate asked.

"Yeah. Scott, I'm fine. I promise."

Another silence stretched out.

"Okaaay," the housemate—Scott—said. "I'll see you in the morning."

"See you in the morning," Jimmy replied.

The door creaked. The heavy footsteps of a human retreated. Another door creaked.

The human house fell silent.

Jimmy was standing carefully positioned in front of the desk to hide the mangled pencil from the door.

"I should go," Tango whispered. He went over to the drawers he'd climbed up to get up onto the desk in the first place as his hair sparked back into fire. He sat on the edge of the desk and started to reach out with his tiptoes to reach the ledge of the drawer, holding onto the edges of the desk for stability.

"Can I help you down, at least?" Jimmy whispered, crouching again. Holding out a flat hand toward Tango.

Who shrunk away. Jimmy twitched back just a bit.

"Or I don't have to. Just don't want to risk you falling and hurting your wings."

Tango kicked his legs. "Promise you'll just set me on the floor?"

"Of course. I promise."

Jimmy wouldn't feel it—but Tango could. A twist in the fabric of the world that came with making a promise to a fairy. Magic. If Jimmy broke that promise, he would be left to the mercy of the Fae.

Carefully, Tango extended one bare foot toward Jimmy's waiting hand. Jimmy moved it closer and let Tango slide onto it. He stayed low so he wouldn't lose his balance and fall.

Jimmy moved his hand down slowly. "Is that how you got into the house? Through the vents?"

"Mmhmm. Lots of lovely little tubes and tunnels with these nice little ventificators to move around in." Tango wiggled playfully, and Jimmy smiled. He had a nice smile. Tango decided he liked it. Humans had such small canine teeth, compared to a fairy's fangs proportionally.

Jimmy hesitated before lowering his hand all the way to the ground. "Will you come back?" he asked. Tango's good wing began to bristle as the magic did. "I, er... I'd like to see you again."

"I gotta return your tissue box. It didn't work to help my wing. So... yeah. I'll come back. Just... don't try to catch me in a jar."

"No, I would never. I promise," Jimmy said.

Another twist of magic stretched between the two of them.

"Be careful making more than surface-level promises to fairies, Jimmy. Your folklore exists for a reason," Tango said, hopping the final distance off Jimmy's palm and onto the floor. That first twist of magic eased and disappeared. He stumbled a bit through the thick carpet and pried open the vent. "Sleep well."

Dodging into the unnaturally rectangular ductwork, Tango skittered out of the house, his way lit by his hair.

—

"Where have you been?!" a voice demanded. Tango squawked in surprise and whirled to see Skizz storming over, all seven inches of him, his dark blue wings fluttering fast behind him, buzzing and chiming with power.

Tango curled in on himself. "Just, y'know, out and about."

Skizz's thunderous expression didn't ease. He reached around Tango and grabbed at his good wing, pulling it up. The bad wing lifted slightly in tandem. "And what is that?!"

"A splint. To heal it."

"Tango!" Skizz exclaimed. "You can't go running around human areas by yourself!"

"What about humans?" another voice asked as Impulse poked his head out of his hole in the tree's hollow trunk. His black moth wings with their yellow eyes swept back and forth slower than Skizz's more traditional fairy wings.

"Tango was sneaking around human territory!" Skizz snapped.

"No, I was fine! I was safe!" Tango protested. "I just needed something sturdier and straighter than a normal twig to splint my wing!"

Impulse didn't look convinced either. "Tango, you know how dangerous humans are. Lizzie got too close and she was never heard from again. She disappeared."

"I know. I wasn't—look. I just have to return something I borrowed and then I'll never go back, okay? I just needed something to help me fix my wing. I have it now. And once I return what I borrowed, I'm done."

Lizzie had vanished years ago and no one else had turned up missing since. Tango didn't understand why the whole court was still so scared of getting too close to humans. Sure, humans were enormous and physically stronger than any fairy could ever hope to be, by the nature of their size, but fairies were the dangerous ones. Humans didn't have magic. They couldn't. Their blood simply couldn't conduct it the way a fairy's could. Fairies were the ones that held the true power over humans. Sure some humans were bad and there would always be stories of fairies getting their wings ripped off—but most of them were relatively harmless.

Skizz's grip tightened on Tango's shoulder. "Make sure you are."

—

Tango returned to the human house the next night, dragging the tissue box through the ductwork. For a human it probably weighed next to nothing. But it was no small feat for a fairy to drag it all the way through from the exhaust vent outside to the one in Jimmy's room. The weight wasn’t the problem so much as the size. It was unwieldy compared to Tango’s height. And while it was fairly heavy, he could still drag it.

He peered through the slats in the vent to confirm he was, in fact, in the vent that led to Jimmy’s room. He recognized the bed and the rest from the night before. Slowly, carefully, he pushed open the vent. The metal creaked.

The bedcovers rustled and Jimmy sat up, putting his spectacles on. Cub needed spectacles too.

“You’re back,” he whispered with a delighted smile.

Tango nodded and began to drag the tissue box out of the vent. “I told you I needed to return the tissue box,” he said.

“How’s your wing?” Jimmy got out of bed and tiptoed over to the vent, pulling it open more and pulling the tissue box out with one easy, effortless movement.

Tango shrugged. His good wing fluttered and the bad one twitched. "Doesn't hurt as bad now that it's got the brace-ificator."

"That's good." Jimmy bent down and offered a flat palm to Tango.

Who just stared at it for a few moments. "I have to walk everywhere. I can't fly," Tango pointed out, his eyes slowly traveling up Jimmy's muscular arm to meet his eyes. Which where warm brown in the firelight of Tango's hair. "That's not fun for a fairy."

"Sorry," Jimmy said sympathetically.

"It's fine. It'll heal soon enough." Tango hopped up onto Jimmy's palm and sat cross-legged in the center of it. Jimmy lifted him up to be almost eye-level. "Fairies tend to heal quickly."

"That's good, at least."

Tango nodded.

"Can you... can you stay? For a little bit? I just—gosh, I have so many questions! I didn't know fairies were real."

Tango fidgeted. The longer he was away from the tree, the more his family would think he'd been caught. And sure, technically, he had. He'd been seen. But he hadn't been trapped. And he didn't need the whole court swarming to try and save him. He took a deep breath. "I can stay for a bit," he said. "But not too long. And I might not be able to answer all your questions."

"That's fine, that's fine," Jimmy said with a nod.

Tango's ears flicked as his good wing wiggled. "What's your first question?"

"How do you hide from humans?"

Tango snickered. "Well. I don't mean to alarm you, but we're pretty small," he said, smiling. Jimmy smiled back and Tango's tiny heart thudded faster. "We're not too small to see, obviously. But being small helps us hide."

"Do you, like, have magic?"

Tango's gaze flicked up to where he could almost see the flames of his hair. "What do you think?"

"Does that help you hide?"

"The fire doesn't but the magic does."

"And the fire comes from the magic, right? I saw your hair turn back into hair and then into fire."

Tango nodded. "Yep! I'm a fire fairy!"

"Oh, I definitely couldn't've guessed that," Jimmy said, voice colored by playful sarcasm.

Tango giggled.

Something in the house creaked and Jimmy went utterly still, holding Tango closer to his chest and looking toward the door. Tango's good wing flitted and then rested. "Housemate?" he whispered.

Jimmy listened for a few long seconds. "I think it's just the house settling," he whispered back.

Tango nodded.

Jimmy perked up. "Oh. Come with me into the kitchen." Still carrying Tango on his palm but moving slow to not cause too much motion, he climbed out of bed and held his hand up to his opposite shoulder. "Care to hop over there? Might be easier."

Tango looked at where Jimmy's collarbone—exposed by the loose sleeveless shirt he had on—made a hollow below his shoulder.

Fluttering his good wing, Tango stepped onto the collarbone and braced his feet there to sit on Jimmy's shoulder, holding onto the edge of the sleeveless shirt.

Jimmy walked slowly to the kitchen. Creeping through the house. "How long can you stay tonight?" he whispered.

Tango shrugged. "Not too long. I need to get home."

"Will you come back?"

Tango didn't answer immediately. Jimmy was opening the fridge. He pulled out a large jug of milk.

"Here. I went to the shops today and bought these. They're meant for a little girl's dolls but I thought it might be a good size for you." He opened a drawer and pulled out a tiny plastic cup that he set on the counter. Blue and clear. Next to the cup in the drawer was some sort of dropper. That he stuck in the milk and squeezed the bulbous top. When he released the pressure, it sucked milk up the tube, which he then used to fill the little cup. "I think this was supposed to be used for medicine but we've never opened it from the plastic before," Jimmy added, indicating the dropper.

The cup was still a little too big for Tango, but after the lid the night before, Tango knew he could more than handle the cup. Jimmy held a hand out and let Tango hop onto it and lowered him down to the counter.

"I... might be able to come back," Tango said. "But it won't be easy. Fairies are supposed to hide from humans. My family will get mad if they know I got seen."

"Well, I certainly won't tell them."

"I know." Tango took a big drink of the milk. "That would require you seeing them and no one gets this close to humans besides me."

"Why?"

"I'm curious and they're scared. We lost a fairy who got too close to humans years ago. Never heard from her again. But I can't just... quit." Tango's bad wing twitched. "Even when stupid cats get me."

"Mm... you might be a little bit reckless."

Tango laughed, trying to stay quiet, as his wings tried to flutter in tandem. "You... are singing to the wind there, skippy," he said.

"I'm what?"

"Y'know. Telling me something I already know."

"O-oh."

“Is that not a human phrase?”

“Er… I don’t think so.”

Tango hummed in thought and took another sip of milk. "Any other questions?"

"Yeah—what did you mean last night when you told me to be careful and folklore exists for a reason?"

"Did you do any reading on Fae?"

"Er..."

"It's dangerous for a human to break a promise to any fairy. Just like it's dangerous to give one your name."

"I think I've heard of that."

"I'd hope you had."

"What about fairy rings? The mushrooms in the woods?"

"Be careful of them. Humans don't often survive well in Avalon. And if they do come back, they're forever changed."

"So it exists?!" Jimmy hissed.

"Of course. That's where we're born." Tango sipped his milk. "That's where we'll go when winter comes back. We're only living on the human plane because spring and summer here are delightful." His wings tried to flutter.

"What's it like to fly?"

Tango looked up at Jimmy. A small smile formed on his face. "There's nothing like it."

—

After doing his best to wash the Barbie doll cup and dropper, Jimmy hid them away and took Tango back to his bedroom. "I should probably go now," Tango said quietly. "I don't want to risk my family noticing I'm gone."

Jimmy nodded. "I get it."

Tango hopped into Jimmy's hand and let Jimmy lower him to the floor. He slipped nimbly into the vent.

"I hope to see you again," Jimmy said.

Tango's wings flickered and twitched. "I'll try to come back. No promises, though."

"I understand."

Tango pulled the vent shut. His footsteps were quiet in the ductwork and faded fast.

Jimmy pivoted and flopped onto his bed, climbing under the covers.

Sleep claimed him quickly and before he knew it, morning light was streaming through his bedroom window. He could hear Scott whistling in the kitchen, bustling about making himself some breakfast.

Slowly, Jimmy clambered out of bed and went out to the kitchen. Scott was standing in front of the stove with a frying pan on it, whistling as he cooked what smelled and looked like hash browns. He was in an Extravagant Breakfast mood, then. Not surprising for a Saturday.

Jimmy, making no move to be quiet and letting his footsteps make the floorboards creak, approached from behind and planted his face on the topmost curve of Scott's spine, groaning in complaint into the loose fabric of Scott's T-shirt. He and Scott had been close friends for years and knew he wouldn't mind Jimmy planting his face in his back to complain. Something Jimmy could really only do with Scott—Scott was one of very few people who was taller than Jimmy. That group also included Etho, next-door.

"Bad night again?" Scott asked.

"Yeah."

"Sorry." Scott turned off the stove and turned to wrap a comforting arm around Jimmy's shoulders. "Should we try getting you some sort of sleep aid?"

Jimmy took a deep breath and huffed a sigh. "No... not yet, anyway. If it persists, maybe." He wasn't sure how to explain that his lack of sleep was self-inflicted.

Scott pinched his chin in order to examine his face, tilting it around. "What's been keeping you up?"

Jimmy shrugged. "It's more like I've been waking up in the middle of the night and then struggling to get back to sleep."

"I'm sorry, Jimmy. You can always wake me if you need to."

Jimmy shook his head as best he could with his chin still pinched. "No. No reason for us both to be tired. I'd hate to make you share my suffering for no reason."

Scott sighed, affectionate and exasperated. "Helping you isn't suffering."

"Lack of sleep is."

Scott tutted. "How about this, if you're struggling to get back to sleep and you think it'll help, come crash with me. Just climb in and wake me up and I'll help you get back to sleep."

Jimmy was quiet for a few moments. "We'll see," he said.

"I have a good idea to tucker you out tonight."

"Do tell."

"Joel and Grian called this morning. Well. Grian called this morning on his and Joel's behalf."

"Mm."

"Ultimate Frisbee. They want to go to the park and play tonight."

Jimmy perked up. "Really?" A smile formed on his face. He blinked, trying to force his eyes to focus. He forgot to put his glasses on. Scott nodded. He wouldn't call himself an athlete compared to Jimmy, probably, but neither would Grian and Joel. Joel used to be an athlete before he'd wrecked his knee when they were kids. Now, they all just liked to all be bad at sports together. Messing around more than actually playing.

"Yeah."

"Did you tell them we're in?"

"I told them you would be in and that I'd think about it."

"I'll text them. Are Lizzie and Mumbo joining?"

"I think so. And I think they were considering extending the offer to Martyn and Pearl."

"Awesome!" Jimmy felt himself smiling, his fatigue forgotten. "We're gettin' the whole gang together!"

"Well. Enough for a four-on-four, anyway," Scott remarked.

Jimmy beamed. "Sounds fun."

—

In Jimmy's experience, getting eight adults together to hang out was nearly impossible. How Grian and Joel managed it, he had no idea. But he wasn't going to complain. He had all his friends from school in a park and they were playing Frisbee. What more could he ask for?

"Martyn, pass it!" Jimmy called, running and clapping to show he was ready to catch. Grian was tailing him hard, but Grian's legs were significantly shorter and Jimmy was quickly outpacing him.

Martyn was currently trying to throw it around a frantically-trying-to-intercept Pearl, waving her arms through the air.

"Timmy, go long!" Martyn shouted, hurling it as hard as he could at an angle.

Jimmy pivoted and took off. Laughing as Grian shouted in protest behind him that his long stride wasn't fair.

—

Tango lingered in the canopy, hiding amongst the leaves. Watching the humans play a game with a flying disc of some sort. Jimmy he recognized—though he hadn't been expecting to see him here. But he didn't know any of the others. Which he did expect.

Jimmy wasn't wearing his spectacles. Tango wondered if he could see okay.

He was playing with seven other humans. Two with long hair and feminine frames, five with shorter hair and more masculine frames. All of them seemed to be having a good time.

One of the feminine frame humans went running. She had long pink hair pulled back in a pair of pigtail braids.

One of the human men caught her around the waist. He had curly dark brown hair with a bit of green in his bangs. "I got her, Jim! Throw it!"

The woman squealed and laughed, kicking and writhing, smiling wide. "Joel!" she protested. "Let me go!"

Tango's entire body went rigid.

He knew that laugh.

He knew that smile.

He knew that voice.

"Lizzie?" he whispered.

His body kicked into motion all at once. He leapt for the next tree over and caught a branch, scrambling up onto it. He ran across it to the next branch, getting closer and closer to the big open field the humans were playing on at the edge of the woods. Trying to get a better, fuller view of the area. He cursed his stupid wing for not being able to fly. To move faster.

When he finally got to a clump of leaves he could hide in while still watching the humans, he slowed down to pant and then peek.

The woman had rounded ears. She was human-sized. She was wearing human clothes. The roots of her hair appeared to be a light brown, making the pink fake.

But, no doubt about it, that was Lizzie.

She was alive.

Tango reached for his magic and plucked at it, sending the vibration of it across the field to Lizzie—only to feel it dissipate before it could touch her.

She had no magic anymore. Nothing to resonate with his bid for connection. No way to reach back.

She wrenched out of Joel's grip and went running after that flying disc.

Tango grabbed at his magic again. But instead of gently directing it toward Lizzie, he formed it into a spear of words and hurled it in her direction.

She stumbled while trying to catch the disc and went completely rigid.

Lizzie, is that you?! It's Tango. Do you remember me? How are you human?

Her eyes—big and blue and oh-so-familiar—scanned the trees. Sweat clung to her brow, plastering a few pink strands of hair to her face. She panted.

Joel slowed to a stop beside her. "Love? You alright?" he asked, setting a hand on her lower back. Tango realized they were wearing colorful rings on matching fingers. Lizzie's was pink with flowers carved into it. Joel's was green with leaves carved into it. He glanced toward the trees she was peering at. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing," she replied. "Just tired."

Her eyes found Tango's and locked on.

"I'm gonna take a bit of a breather," she declared, straightening up and marching toward the trees. She sat at the base of the trunk of the tree Tango's branch was part of and leaned back. She waited for her human friends to stop looking at her and then knocked twice on the trunk, pulling her braids from her back to drape down her chest. Her gaze searched the canopy for Tango.

He was already running down the branch for the trunk, using the chunky bark to climb down, hiding away from the humans until he hit the grass and circled it.

Lizzie's hand was waiting in the grass for him, her body turned away from her friends to hide him.

Tango jumped onto her palm. "You're alive?" he hissed quietly.

"Ssshhh!" she whispered, bringing her hand up to her lap, body still angled to block him from sight of the other humans. "Tango, please—you can't tell the court!"

"What?! Why not?!"

"Because they'd never understand."

"Lizzie, we thought you were dead!" Tango whispered.

"I know. Well, I figured, anyway."

Tango's bad wing tried desperately to flutter in tandem with his good one. But the splint and the pain stopped it. "Lizzie—why did you—how could you leave us like that?" He grabbed onto her finger with his whole hand where he was kneeling on her palm.

She twisted, a fond expression on her face, as she watched Joel and a shorter man in a red knit sweater argue and bicker about something. "I love him, Tango," she said quietly.

Tango's heart thudded in his chest. "How could you leave us though? Your family? How did you... how did you become..." He looked her up and down. "One of them?" He didn't mean to sound disgusted, but his disbelief clouded his tone and might have come across that way.

"Magic."

"Obviously. But what kind of—"

"Lizzie? Everything alright?" Joel called.

"Fine, babe!" Lizzie shouted over her shoulder. She whipped back to look at Tango. "Listen—please don't tell the rest of the court. I don't—Skizz would lose his mind and I can't do that to Gem and the others. It's better if they think I disappeared. Please, Tango." The desperate pleading in her eyes made Tango's heart twist.

"N... no it's not," he whispered.

"Tango. I married a human. I can't go back to being a fairy even if I wanted to. Not anymore. And I don't want to anyway." She put the barest tip of her finger under his chin. "Tango, please. Promise me you won't tell the court."

Tango blinked up at her in disbelief. "You know I can't do that," he replied. "Fairies never make promises."

She sighed. "I know. But... please?"

Tango sat in silence for several long moments, listening for any other humans approaching.

"You... you loved him enough to give up your life and your court and your magic to be with him?" Tango's voice had gone small. "To be human?"

Lizzie nodded.

Tango took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay. I won't tell anyone."

She sagged a little. "Thank you."

His red gaze hardened. "But you should."

Not waiting for her response, he hopped off her hand and slid down her leg into the grass. His good wing flickered irritably.

He leapt up onto the trunk of the tree and climbed until he was up in the canopy's branches, catching glimpses of Lizzie's pink hair through the leaves.

"Lizzie?" Joel called.

"Coming!" Lizzie shouted back. She picked herself to her feet and ran toward him, kissing his cheek. He smiled softly at her. Fondly. Affectionately.

Tango's heart twisted. He wasn't sure whether to be happy for her or sad that the court lost her forever.

"Whoa—WHOA!" a familiar voice shouted. Jimmy tripped and spilled onto the ground, rolling over in the grass as the smaller human man in the red sweater dogpiled on top of him, cackling. Another tall man (this one with blue hair and dark brown roots showing it was fake like Lizzie's pink) draped himself over Jimmy's legs and the tall, willowy, brunette woman flopped over all of them. They were all laughing—even Jimmy as he shouted for them to get off of him. Despite the conflict tumbling around in Tango's heart, he couldn't help but smile.

It seemed humans and fairies weren't that much different when it came to friends.

—

Two weeks passed before Jimmy saw Tango again. He wasn't woken in the night by the vent cover creaking open. Nothing else went missing. Norman wasn't on alert. Jimmy was starting to convince himself that he wasn't going to see Tango ever again. And that would be fine. Tango said it would be difficult to get away and not make his family suspicious. Jimmy was disappointed—he found Tango fun and friendly and he enjoyed spending time with him—but he didn't want Tango to risk his own safety.

But Jimmy found himself leaving the Barbie cup with some water in it next to the vent on nights when Norman slept out on his cat tree in the living room instead of at the foot of Jimmy's bed. Just in case.

He was roused from his sleep by something irritating his nose. He twitched it and sucked in a deep breath, peeling his eyes open.

Tango was leaning sideways, his head tilted, to try to be parallel to Jimmy, his hair normal rather than burning so he wouldn't light the pillowcase on fire. He was holding onto Jimmy's nose and squishing it back and forth. "Jimmy! Jim-my!" he stage-whispered in time to the squishing of Jimmy's nose.

Jimmy jolted backward as clarity snapped to attention in his brain. "Whoa!" he hissed. "Tango! What're you...?"

Tango beamed and bounced on the pillow like a kid jumping on the couch. "I finally got to come visit!" Both of his wings flicked. The bad one was still splinted, but the splint wasn't as long, like it could move again but hadn't yet regained full mobility. "How have you been?" he asked quietly.

Jimmy rubbed his face and patted around his bedside table for his glasses. "Er... I've been alright. Just going through life, y'know?" He pushed his glasses onto his face.

Tango straightened up properly and his hair sparked back to life, burning merrily. "I guess," he said. "Human lives seem so boring. You just, like, clean things and go to work."

"Well what do you do?" Jimmy asked. "Do fairies not have jobs?"

"Pfft. No. Why would we need jobs? We gather our own livelihoods and we share when we don't have enough and someone else has excess. We dance and we play and we enjoy the world and her natural beauty as she gives it to us."

"Sounds nice."

Tango grinned. "It is!"

Jimmy grunted as he sat up properly. He offered a hand to Tango. Who hopped up onto his palm and knelt. Jimmy lifted him to his shoulder and Tango moved to perch there instead. "Did you see the cup I left next to the vent?"

"I did! Thank you. It was very much appreciated." Tango wiggled and smiled happily.

Jimmy got out of bed, Tango clinging to his tank top's collar to stay steady. "Want some milk?"

"I'd love some!"

"Let's go then." Jimmy went to the vent and picked up the small cup and took it with them out to the kitchen.

Partway there, Tango stood up on Jimmy's shoulder and clung to his ear to stabilize himself. "Guess what?" he whispered directly in Jimmy's ear.

"What?"

"A human fair is in town. And a small court of fairies hides among the fair's equipment when they travel around. Their court and mine are going to have a little party while they're here. I'm so excited."

"Fun," Jimmy said, opening the fridge. "Maybe I'll get my housemate to go with me. Keep an eye out for you."

"Oh, I won't be at the actual fair," Tango said dismissively. "That's too dangerous and my big brother would never let me be around a crowd that big while my wing is still busted. Our party will be in private, silly."

"Right, yeah. 'Course," Jimmy replied. "I knew that."

Tango giggled.

Jimmy lifted a hand and lowered Tango down onto the kitchen counter, where the cup had been filled with milk. Tango picked it up and lifted it in both hands toward Jimmy like a toast. "Cheers!" he chirped before taking a sip. Jimmy smiled. "I saw you playing the game with the throwing disc thing, by the way."

"Oh, did you?" Jimmy asked. "You saw us playing Frisbee?"

Tango nodded and drank more milk. "Mmhmm! It looked like fun."

"It is."

"I saw the smaller red man tackle you."

"Oh, Grian didn't tackle me. I tripped and he took advantage to just fall on top of me. He's a menace. But he's also my older brother and I love him."

Tango was quiet for a moment. "I have an older brother too," he said softly. "He's the main protector of our court. He keeps us safe. He's a good leader." He cleared his throat. "Which one was your housemate again?"

"The really tall one with blue hair."

Tango's chin dipped in a quick nod. "Got it." He looked around Scott and Jimmy's kitchen. Well, mostly Scott's kitchen. Jimmy didn't consider himself handy in the kitchen whatsoever—thankfully Scott preferred cooking for at least two or more.

"What were you doing at the park?" Jimmy asked.

Tango shrugged, his wings flicking a little. "I wasn't at the park: I was in the woods. But I heard humans shouting and got curious."

"Ohhhhh," Jimmy said, nodding sagely.

"My older brother would be really mad if I was actually in the park. Humans are likely to hurt fairies."

"Makes sense."

—

Tango slipped out of the exhaust vent of the house and climbed down the drainpipe. He snuck quietly across the small backyard and ducked through a diamond-shaped hole in the chain-link fence. Putting him solidly in the forest.

He headed back to the court's hollow tree. It was a long walk for a lone fairy and dawn wasn't far off. But he didn't dare reach out with his magic to see if someone was willing to come get him. The rest of the court would tattle to Skizz and Impulse if they knew Tango had snuck out of the tree again to visit a human.

Tango kicked a speck of dirt as he walked along with the sole of his bare foot.

He thought about Jimmy. Who would be quite the catch were he a fairy. He'd probably be a defender, like Skizz and Scar. Big and strong. Fairies didn't have jobs. They had roles. Skizz was the defender and the leader. Tango and Impulse were fixers. Bdubs was a maker. Gem was too, but specialized mostly in textiles. Fern kept the library. Scar and Cub were tricksters on top of being defenders—or semi-defender, in Cub's case. Cub was one of the thinkers. The wickedly smart one who mostly got put in charge of planning.

But Jimmy would probably be a defender, if he was a fairy. Dark blond and dark-eyed with that strong jaw—maybe he'd be another mothwing like Impulse...

No. He'd have a swallowtail butterfly pattern. Like Fern's. Except Jimmy's would be yellow—a tiger swallowtail rather than Fern's spicebush. Despite the fact that Tango almost exclusively saw Jimmy wearing blues and whites, he got the feeling that yellow wings would suit him nicely. A vibrant accent color.

If Jimmy were a fairy, Tango would have snatched him up years ago.

The thought pulled Tango up short. He stopped walking and leaned against a tree trunk. Where had that thought come from? Sure, Jimmy was handsome—but he was also human. Being attracted to him did Tango no favors. It was pointless. It could never be—

Lizzie.

She became human permanently.

Tango shook his head and went back to walking quickly through the woods. Lizzie might be willing to abandon her court, her family, her magic, her wings for the love of a human—but Tango wasn't.

Skizz would probably stop him if he tried even if he wanted to.

Plus, Tango wasn't that great at complicated magic and he couldn't imagine a ritual like that could be anything less than astronomically difficult.

No.

No handsome human for him.

That was fine.

He was almost to the tree when he heard a fairy's wings behind him. He ducked into a bramble, put out the fire in his hair, and looked back. It wasn't forbidden for him to wander the woods at night, but if Skizz was the one who caught him, he'd probably get lectured (again) for being reckless. Out in the dangerous woods alone at night.

Tango wasn't that worried. As a fire fairy with burning hair, most big creatures that could eat him—like owls and foxes—didn't get anywhere near him. Most of those creatures were afraid of fire.

But who else was heading back to the tree just before dawn?

Keeping low and quiet, he saw a familiar figure heading into the hollow knot in the tree that led to the court's homes. Insectoid wings shaped like a traditional fairy's like Tango's and Skizz's. The fairy was wearing a fluffy coat made of moss.

What was Bdubs—the king of hounding the court to get a good night's sleep—doing out and about in the woods in the middle of the night?

Tango watched him land gently and disappear into the hollow trunk before he ran at the trunk himself and leapt into the air, grabbing the bark as high up as he could and climbing it to get inside.

—

"Y'know, I've never had funnel cake before," Scott remarked as they wandered the fair, watching a family walk past with a funnel cake in hand.

Jimmy halted in his tracks, putting a hand on Scott's forearm to stop him too. "Shut up! You haven't?!"

Scott shook his head and brushed his blue curls off his forehead. "Never."

Jimmy squeezed Scott's arm. "We have to remedy that right now," he said, smiling. "C'mon. Let's find a vendor. My treat. We're splitting one—I think we'd both be sick if we tried to eat a full one on our own. And they're better when shared anyway." He smiled, and received a smile in return. His hand slid down Scott's arm to take his wrist and drag him through the fairground to find a place selling funnel cake. "I should warn you: the powdered sugar is messy. But it's so worth it."

Scott laughed. "I trust you," he said. "I don't mind a little sugar."

He pulled Scott along behind him until they found a vendor selling funnel cake and Jimmy dragged them in line. While they waited, he looked around. Trying to catch sight of any fairies sneaking around. Not that he expected to see any of them. But he still kept an eye out.

At one point, Oli and Eloise rushed past, giggling and throwing Jimmy and Scott a brief wave before falling into a line for one of the rides. A rickety-looking roller coaster Jimmy was not getting on, no matter what. The Ferris Wheel looked a little safer but still a bit sus—he was only getting on if Scott asked.

They made it through the line and got a funnel cake. Scott located a picnic table in the shade where they could sit down and try it without worrying about getting bumped into while walking.

Jimmy broke off a piece of the cake. "Wanna try it first or shall I?"

"You go first," Scott said. "You were the more excited."

Jimmy put it in his mouth. Sweet, soft, and slightly crunchy from being fried. He hummed in rapture. "Oh, that's good," he said around his mouthful. He broke off another piece and held it out for Scott. "Try it."

Scott leaned forward and took the piece between his teeth, smiling all the while.

Jimmy's eyes widened just a little. He'd expected Scott to take it from him with his fingers, not his mouth. He wasn't worried Scott would accidentally bite him, just surprised.

Scott chewed thoughtfully, eyes unfocused and nodding as he did so.

He swallowed. "That's delicious," he declared.

"Right?!" Jimmy agreed.

The two of them sat at the picnic table for a while, eating their treat piece by piece, sharing as equally as possible when they both wanted to just devour the whole thing on their own. Jimmy knew if he had that much sugar and oil all at once, he'd probably be sick and Scott agreed, but the taste was almost enough to make the idea worth it.

Partway through, Oli and Eloise collapsed at their same picnic table. "What a rush!" Oli exclaimed.

"That roller coaster doesn't look safe," Jimmy said.

"Didn't feel safe," Eloise agreed. "I could almost feel my brain rattling around in my skull."

"But it was fuuuuun!" Oli drawled.

Jimmy met Scott's eyes. Scott nodded with one small movement. They each broke off a piece of the funnel cake and offered it to their friends. Both turned it down, claiming their stomachs needed a moment to settle before they could try to put anything in it.

Jimmy and Scott didn't complain about getting the whole thing to themselves, but both of them would have felt remiss had they not at least offered to share with their friends.

They were just polishing off the last little bit when a shadow fell over them. "Well, well, well! Look who we found!" a voice said. Jimmy looked up.

"Etho! How are ya, man?" he asked. "I'd hug you or shake your hand, but..." He looked at the veritable mess the funnel cake had left behind. Etho just chuckled, one arm around his partner—a somewhat short guy with fluffy, curly black hair who was somehow braving the heat of a summer evening in a green jacket that appeared to be made of moss. He was holding a large bear plushie that was eye-achingly vibrant magenta.

"It's all good," Etho said. "We're fine, aren't we, Bdubs?"

"Uh-huh!" Bdubs nodded enthusiastically.

"Enjoying the fair?" Etho asked the four sitting at the picnic table, the corners of his eyes crinkled to show he was smiling behind his face mask.

"Yep!" Oli chirped.

"Lot of fun," Scott agreed. "Just tried funnel cake for the first time."

Bdubs perked up. "Funnel cake?" He spun to look at Etho, pressing his front to his side and wrapping both arms around him. "Can we get some, please, please, please, please, please!"

Etho gave Scott a playfully-chiding look. "Look what you've done." But he rested his chin in Bdubs' curls. "Yeeeaaahhh, I guess. Let's go find some."

"The nearest stall is right over there," Jimmy said, pointing toward the one they'd got theirs from.

"Thanks," Etho said as Bdubs began talking loudly and dragging Etho in the vendor's direction. Etho was smiling.

"I take it you know them?" Oli asked.

"Next-door neighbor," Jimmy said. "And his partner. Who I don't know as well but seems nice."

"Aaahhh, I see," Oli said in a goofy voice like he was a Film Noir detective.

"Look at that sunset," Eloise said quietly. Everyone turned to see the sun dipping toward the horizon, turning orange and painting the sky and its clouds golds, oranges, pinks, and almost reds.

"Ferris Wheel?" Oli said to Eloise.

"Ferris Wheel," she agreed. They got up and went to go get in line with a brief goodbye.

"Should we, too?" Scott asked. "Take some pictures?"

Jimmy smiled. "Sounds fun!"

They dusted themselves off—the powdered sugar got everywhere—cleaned their hands of the remnants of the funnel cake, threw away their trash, and went to follow their friends.

They got on right as the sun was touching the horizon, pausing every few degrees to let others board as well. It was an old, more traditional Ferris Wheel with benches big enough for two people, rather than a huge one with dangling baskets for six or more.

That suited them just fine.

Scott had his phone out, taking pictures of the sunset. He turned his camera toward Jimmy. "Smile," he said.

Jimmy did. Scott's camera shuttered.

"Ooh. That's a new profile pic right there," Scott said, showing the results to Jimmy. In the light of the setting sun, his early tan was bronzed and his hair had glints of gold. The whole picture was warm and glowy.

"Yeah—please send that to me."

"'Course," Scott said. But he switched his phone to selfie mode. "Bring it in, first." He leaned close. Jimmy leaned to match.

Scott took a couple selfies of the two of them. Including one where they turned around to let the half-sun silhouette them. Jimmy smiled and laughed.

When the pictures were done and Scott's phone tucked back in his pocket, he rested his head on Jimmy's shoulder. "Thanks for this," he said softly. "Thanks for telling me the fair was in town. It's been a long time since we did something just... out-of-the-norm."

Jimmy nodded. "Welcome. Happy to be here, having fun."

Scott hummed agreement as they watched the sunset continue to deepen. The highest points of the sky were already inky with stars poking out. The rising moon was bright opposite the sky from the sun. Jimmy took a deep breath and sighed, content and happy—and wondering where Tango was and whether he was having a good time.

—

"Sun's down! Time to paaaaarrrrrtyyyyy!" Zed exclaimed, falling off the mushroom of the fairy ring and catching himself with his pink-and-yellow wings. The fairies cheered. Someone broke out the wine, its distinct scent filling the air. Tango smiled, his wings wiggling. He still couldn’t fly, but at least he could move his bad wing just a bit.

The music started, and so too did the dancing. Tango was the only fairy stuck on the ground, but by Oberon that wasn't going to stop his friends from making him dance with them. Gem, Impulse, Skizz, and Zed all got their hands on him and lifted him into the air.

He laughed as his friends hauled him around through the sky, singing and dancing along to the music. At some point, someone shoved a hollowed-out seed full of wine into his hand.

Never one to avoid a bad time, Tango drank down the whole thing. There was nothing quite as delicious as fairy wine. It always left him feeling sparkly. His wings chimed as they fluttered, but his right one still couldn't hold him up. Gem laughed where she was mostly behind him. "Tango, that tickles!" Green fairy dust drifted down from her orange monarch butterfly wings, mingling with the pink-and-gold dust from Zed's.

He glanced around. Bdubs wasn't here. He'd claimed exhaustion and had gone to his room last night and hadn't emerged since. Fern was sitting on a mushroom, a seed in her hand that she'd probably only had a single sip of, talking to one of the fairies that had been traveling with the human fair. The fairy was taller than even Skizz with reddish, mechanical wings, curled horns, and green skin. An uncommon type of fairy, but not unheard of. The horns and skin, at least. The mechanical wings were almost unheard of. Fern's expression was one of sorrow as she talked to him.

But other than that, both courts seemed to be having the time of their lives. A Fae Revelry was a party like nothing mortals could even hold a candle to.

Tango took the next seed full of wine that had been handed to him and downed it too.

He wasn't going to remember most of this party in the morning, probably.

He was fine with that.

He let himself get lost in the moments and the wine as it went straight to his head. He danced with his friends and ate whatever food had been provided by the fair's court, enjoying his court's specialty wine with abandon. Fairies partied a lot, but it had been a while since they had a second court to enjoy partying with. The other court seemed to think the same because they were matching the same level of overdoing it that Tango's court was doing.

At some point he found himself back on the ground, holding both of Fern's hands as they jumped in circles. Gem's appeared at some point but left after a bit. Scar crashed into them both with Cub right behind. "Watch the wing, watch the wing, watch the wing!" Tango exclaimed as he crashed into the grass. Thankfully, both his wings were unharmed as he hit on his side.

He heard himself laughing, but he wasn't really fully present in his own mind. Addled by the wine and the food and the music.

He hoped, distantly, that Jimmy was having a good time.

—

Tango woke up in the lawn behind Jimmy's house, half-hidden by a flower bush. He'd heard of the concept of a hangover before but fairies didn't get them, so he was just tired.

He pushed himself upright and looked around. He had no idea how he got here. He had vague memories of Skizz and Impulse lugging him back to the tree, suspended between them as they flew. But at what point in the night had he stumbled through the woods to get here? Why had he come here? He couldn't remember. Another vague memory of him wanting to tell Jimmy "something important" was lingering just out of reach of his recollection.

A masculine voice on the other side of the fence shouted, "Aurora? Have you seen my trowel?"

Followed by a feminine voice shouting, "Check under the wheelbarrow!"

The shouts jarred Tango out of his thoughts as the neighbors started arguing. Lighthearted and friendly with no real bite to any of the words.

"Don't make me come out there, Etho!" the feminine voice called with a laugh.

Tango peered around, making sure the stupid cat who'd busted his wing wasn't outside and that the neighbors wouldn't see him. Once he confirmed, he took off running for the exhaust vent, leaping into the air and squeezing himself through the gaps to access the ductwork.

He snuck quietly through the ducts until he found the living room. Where he'd borrowed the tissue box from originally. It had been restored to its place, apparently. He could see it through the slats in the vent.

Jimmy was lounging on the sofa, holding one of the glowing rectangles. He'd called it a phone... right? Tango didn't remember. The stupid fluffy cat who'd busted his wing was on Jimmy's lap. Jimmy's free hand was idly petting him. The tomcat's ears twitched in the direction of the vent and his hair started to raise a little. Jimmy noticed.

Tango held his breath and turned his fire hair back into normal hair.

The cat was still bristling.

"What's wrong, Norman?" Jimmy asked, his hand stilling in the cat's fur.

Norman hissed toward the vent.

Tango hissed back, baring his fangs and flaring his wings.

The cat mewled pathetically, looking surprised, and buried his face in Jimmy's shirt.

Jimmy set his phone on the low table by the sofa and rolled off the sofa, landing on his knees on the floor, holding the cat in one arm. "Tango? Is that you?" he asked quietly. His voice sounded tired. He had a button-up shirt on over his sleeping sleeveless shirt.

Tango ignited his fire hair again. "It's me."

"Okay. Be quiet, my housemate's home, but..." Jimmy looked around. His free hand reached up and touched the pocket on the chest of his shirt. He lifted the flap and pulled it open. "Hop in."

Tango dodged out of the vent and creaked it shut before running across the floor, jumping up Jimmy's leg and climbing the loose overshirt before crawling in the pocket and pulling the flap down over the top so no one would be able to see him. The pocket was muffled and a little darker, but it was warm. Right over Jimmy's heart. Which he could feel in the vibrations of the fabric.

Tango couldn't help himself and Jimmy wouldn't see—he snuggled closer to Jimmy's chest. Closing his eyes.

"How was your party?" Jimmy whispered.

"Wild," Tango whispered back with delight and rapture. "How was the fair?"

"It was fun! I had a good time."

"That's good." Tango yawned.

"Tired?"

"I was awake for most of the night."

Jimmy hummed. "Sleep in my pocket. You're safe with me," he said.

"I don't think that's a good—"

"Tango. I promise: I will never hurt you."

Magic twisted between them.

Tango yawned again. "I warned you about making promises to fairies," he pointed out. But he was already burrowing down in the pocket, snuggling close to Jimmy's warm chest and eyelids growing heavy. "'S dangerous."

Jimmy's hand gently cupped his pocket. It was warm. "This one I think I can keep," he said softly.

"I promise not to hurt you either." Tango hummed and rested his head against Jimmy's beating heart. Drifting off.

—

Tango woke up from his unexpected nap disoriented. Where was he? Why was he surrounded by fabric on all sides? What was that rhythmic thumping?

Peeling his eyes open, memories came crashing back. Right. He had taken a nap in the chest pocket of Jimmy's shirt.

That rhythmic thumping was Jimmy's heartbeat.

He shuffled a little.

Jimmy was humming softly. A tune Tango didn't recognize. Occasionally singing some lyrics under his breath. There was quiet clatter accompanying him. "—I keep on hopin' we'll eat cake by the ocean..." Jimmy sang.

Tango managed to get to his feet in Jimmy's pocket and lift the flap covering it just enough to peek through.

Jimmy was cooking. There was a black metal frying pan on a stove and something yellowy in it that he was moving around with a black plastic spatula.

"—lose our minds and go crazy-crazy, ay-yayayayaya—"

"Whatcha makin'?" Tango asked, keeping his voice down in case Scott the housemate was nearby.

Jimmy jolted. "I didn't realize you'd woken up!" he hissed.

"Just now," Tango reassured. He twisted and moved the flap out of the way so he could look up at Jimmy's face. Laid back and relaxed—and really, really handsome. That strong jaw and nose and brow bones framing his face. Tango's heart was going about as fast as a hummingbird's wings and he forced himself to look away. "Whatcha makin'?"

"Eggs," Jimmy said. "I'm not good at making much else, but I can make eggs."

"Where's your housemate?"

"Out in the garden. He has a blood feud with the morning glories going."

"Why?"

"Morning glories twist around other plants and choke them out. They kill the flowers and the hedges and they grow back too fast. I guess. The garden is really more Scott's domain. I let him futz with the flowers and the hedges and I do my best to take care of the inside of the house. Which includes making us both some lunch while he weeds. You can talk normal volume for now. I'll warn you if I see him on his way back in."

Tango shuffled in the pocket a little bit. "Morning glories are good for being able to climb otherwise-unwieldy plant stalks," he said. "Which fairies really only care about when..." He released a long breath. "When their wings are busted." He looked down at the frying pan.

Jimmy reached up a free hand and cupped the pocket comfortingly. His hand was warm through the fabric. "It'll heal, right?"

"Yeah. It has been healing. It'll be fine soon enough. I just hate feeling useless and grounded." Tango rested his chin on his hand that was holding the top of the pocket.

"Is taking it easy not an option?" Jimmy asked.

"I get bored."

"Ohhh..." Jimmy's body rocked like he was nodding in understanding. "I get it."

Tango looked out the window nearby. The sun was past its zenith. Afternoon. "I need to get home before my court freaks out about where I've been," he said, starting to pull down the top of the pocket and push the covering flap up. "I've been gone too long already."

Jimmy turned off the stove. "Okay. I'm sorry to see you go. But I understand. Can I get you anything before you leave? Some water or some milk?"

"I wish I had time for that. But it's a bad idea. I gotta go."

Jimmy sighed. "Be safe." He moved over to the vent Tango had come in through and crouched low, opening his pocket and helping Tango out onto his hand. Which he then lowered to the floor as his other one popped open the vent.

"I will." Tango smiled as he hopped off Jimmy's hand and into the ductwork.

"Will you come back?" Jimmy asked quickly, before Tango could disappear into the ducts. Tango paused, his hair simmering lower, going from yellow to red.

He smiled, though. "I'll try," he said.

Before turning and running into the ducts, his bare feet making soft thunks against the metal.

He made it to the exhaust vent that led outside—and saw the blue-haired housemate bent over a bush, wearing gloves covered in dirt, ripping morning glory roots out of the ground. His back was currently to the exhaust vent, but there was a lot of open grass between Tango and the nearest hiding place.

Tango shifted back and forth on the balls of his feet, fidgeting with his fingernails nervously. He was already wasting time. Skizz was gonna be so mad at him for being missing for so long the morning after a revelry. Especially one as crazy as the one the night before.

"Scott! Lunch is ready!" Jimmy shouted.

"On my way!" Scott called back. He ripped out one final morning glory and got to his feet. He pulled off his gloves and headed for the back door.

Tango seized his chance to leap from the vent and bolt into the hedges. He wove between the bushes' stems, grabbing branches to lift himself up and swing his legs through gaps where the floor was obstructed.

Through a hole in the fence and into the trees.

The buzzing of wings met his ears.

Right as he got bowled over. A tangle of limbs and wings falling to the forest floor.

"Ack!"

"What the—?!" The loud voice was familiar.

"Bubbles?"

"Tango?"

Bdubs and Tango disentangled themselves from one another, brushing off dirt and shaking off their wings.

"What're you doing here?" Tango asked.

"I could ask you the same thing, mister!" Bdubs exclaimed.

Tango searched around for a good answer, and couldn't find one. "I, um... I..."

"Don't tell me you're in love with a human too!"

"I wouldn't say tha—wait. What do you mean, 'too'?"

"Rats," Bdubs cursed under his breath.

"Bdubs, are you... in love with a human?" Tango was fairly certain he already knew the answer considering Bdubs' shifting eyes and shrunken demeanor. Which was saying nothing about his prior response. But it seemed kinder to ask.

Bdubs shredded a piece of moss off the sleeve of his jacket. It started growing back immediately as Bdubs picked apart the bit he'd pulled off, making tiny little flakes fall to the ground. "Don't tell Skizz," he whispered. "Please. I know he's just trying to protect us while we're in the human world but—"

"No, I wouldn't." Tango shook his head.

"Are you..."

"I don't know," Tango admitted. "I... might be falling. But we're just friends. By accident."

"That's how me and Etho got started. Accidentally met."

Tango nodded. "If Skizz asks, we were out in the woods together." Fairies couldn't lie, and that was technically true. "He'll be less suspicious if we show up together."

Bdubs jumped on the excuse. "Yes!"

"Let's head back. Walk with me. We were together in the woods the whole time."

—

Are you in love with a human too? Bdubs words chased each other around and around in Tango's head. He laid on his bed in his room of the tree and put his arm behind his head, looking up at the woodgrain of the ceiling. Lost in thought.

Jimmy made his heart get faster. Jimmy was handsome and sweet.

On the way back, Bdubs had told Tango that there was a spell he used to make himself temporarily human-sized so he and Etho could spend time together in the human world. There was also a spell to make a human fairy-sized, but it was much trickier to accomplish and humans couldn't be disguised as fairies—no wings—as easily as fairies could disguise themselves as human.

Tango liked spending time with Jimmy. But it felt too soon to say for sure whether he was in love. "In love" seemed like a big step. Maybe the first initial pieces of a crush were falling into place. But he wouldn't go so far as to say he was in love with Jimmy. Handsome and sweet and kind as he was... It was too early for in love.

He rolled onto his side, listening to an owl hooting nearby, thinking too hard to fall asleep yet.

Maybe he'd get Bdubs to teach him the temporary spell. Maybe he'd... could he give it a shot? Outside of fire magic, Tango wasn't the best at magic. He wouldn't want to fail the spell and end up a tadpole or something. Which wouldn't surprise him.

He pursed his lips. Not yet. He wasn't in love yet. And he wasn't going to ask Bdubs for the spell yet. Maybe one day. But not yet.

He closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Trying to ignore the way Bdubs' words were still spiraling through his head.

—

A month passed, spring gradually warming up. The days getting a bit longer. Tango visited Jimmy about once a week, if he could swing it to get away. Though sometimes more time passed between. Ten days to two weeks. But Jimmy was always happy to be woken in the middle of the night to Tango poking him in the nose or pulling on his hair to wake him up.

"Jimmy?" Scott asked, snapping his fingers a few inches away from Jimmy's face to catch his attention.

Jimmy shook his head to clear it and smiled. "What's up?"

"I asked if you were interested in going to the shops with me. There are a few things I need to get for the garden and then I thought maybe we could grab some lunch while we were out, for once. If you wanted to join me."

Jimmy nodded. "Sounds fun! Let me go get some socks and shoes on." He got up from the table and went off for his room.

—

"Psst! Jimmy?" Tango crept around the house, darting between hiding places where the stupid cat couldn't paw at him and bust his other wing. "Jimmy, are you home?" The house was dark. None of the artificial lights were on. The only light was whatever sunlight could make it through closed blinds and curtains.

He found his way to Jimmy's room. It was both empty and messy. And dark. Unoccupied. "Jimmy?"

Silence.

Tango adjusted the threads on his splint and his wings fluttered. And then drooped.

He climbed up on Jimmy's desk and found the pencil he'd mangled to make his splint. Holding it in both arms, braced against his torso, he wrote a note on a little square pad of paper—that he put under Jimmy's pillow so he'd find it when he was in private.

Stopped by to say hi. Sorry I missed you. -T

—

The tiny independent café was pretty empty for lunchtime on a Saturday. Maybe the looming clouds were keeping people at home.

Jimmy had his mouth pressed against his thumbs where his hands were clasped and his elbows were on the table while he and Scott waited for their lunch to be ready. Scott was checking his shopping list and hadn't really even noticed Jimmy was watching him with a thoughtful expression on his face. He was ticking things off and muttering under his breath while Jimmy just watched.

"Scott?" Jimmy finally said.

Scott looked up. "What's up?" he asked.

Jimmy took a deep breath. "I was thinking about that fair we went to," he said.

Scott nodded. "It was fun. Thanks for telling me it was in town."

"Yeah. 'Course."

"There's something more you want to say, isn't there? You've got that face on."

Jimmy nodded. "There is."

"Alright. Out with it."

"It's about how I found out it was in town."

Scott put his elbows on the table and interlaced his fingers, phone discarded, screen down, off to the side. "I'm listening."

—

Tango scoured the court's library, deep in the roots of the tree. He had a little paper and some ink ready to write down everything he'd need.

"Whatcha doin', Tango?" Bdubs asked loudly.

Tango whirled. "Ssshhh!" he hissed. "I'm glad you made it. I need your help to find something."

"What?"

"You were right. And I need your help."

"Tell me what you need," Bdubs said.

—

“Jimmy! Jimmy! Jimmy!”

Jimmy woke up to Tango scrambling up the side of his bed, clutching at the sheets to pull himself to the top of the mattress. Fatigue vanished. He propped himself up on his elbow. “Tango! I’m glad you’re here. I have a big surprise!”

“Oh! I do too!”

“Ooh! I bet my surprise is bigger,” Jimmy whispered.

“I seriously doubt it,” Tango whispered back playfully.

“You go first.”

“No, you. I insist.”

"No, no. I want you to say yours first."

"Mm-mm. My lips are sealed until you tell me yours!" Tango beamed cheekily, shaking his head.

Jimmy grinned. “You remember my housemate, right? Scott? With the blue hair?” Tango nodded. “Well. He and I have been dancing around feelings for each other for ages now. Neither of us really wanting to ruin our friendship. But I thought about what you’d said about taking what life gives us and finally decided to tell him. And he felt the same and—he’s my partner now! We’re together! Tango, I love him so much. Thank you for helping me have the courage to say something.”

Tango’s wings dropped. “O-oh,” he said. “Yeah. That, uh… that certainly is big news.”

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy?”

“No, I am! Just… My news isn’t as big by comparison.”

“Well, what was your news?”

Tango’s wings lifted and fluttered in perfect unison. “My, uh, my wing is all better. I can fly again. Kinda, uh, paltry news compared to yours.”

“Oh, Tango, that’s amazing! I’m so happy you’ve got that part of your life back!” Jimmy smiled. He reached out as though to offer Tango a friendly touch with one fingertip, but Tango took a step away.

“Yeah. Me, uh, me too.” His wings trilled like a hummingbird's as he lifted off the bed. “I should… I should let you get back to sleep. I’m sure you’re busy now with a new romance.” He swooped over to the open window he must have come through, his wings trailing red dust. “Sleep well, Jimmy.”

"Do you not want to stay a few? Have some milk or water?"

Tango's wings glimmered in the shaft of moonlight. "No, thank you. I don't want to keep you. Some other night, maybe."

“Tango, are you sure you’re okay?”

Tango smiled. But his hair was simmering low and red, rather than big and yellow. “I’ve certainly been worse,” he said before ducking through the window and disappearing into the night.

—

The shock broke before Tango made it back to the court’s hollow tree. He plummeted into some soft-looking leaves and clung to the branch, sobbing. He’d found the spell Bdubs used to be human-sized temporarily to be with his… Etho. He’d found the ritual Lizzie used to become human permanently. He’d been all ready to square up and tell Jimmy his real feelings. Ask for a real chance as equals on a level playing field. Confess he’d been in love with Jimmy for awhile.

A sob wracked through him.

Not meant to be.

He wasn’t lying when he said he was happy for Jimmy. Of course he was. He loved Jimmy and wanted him to be happy. He was happy Jimmy found someone who made him happy. He just couldn’t ignore the overwhelming tidal wave of sorrow that crashed over him.

He pulled his little scroll of magic notes out of his pocket and began to lift it up to his hair.

He stopped.

He couldn't bring himself to do it.

His grip on the scroll was going to crease the paper, probably, but he couldn't quite bring himself to burn it.

He just let himself cry. Away from the court. Away from any prying eyes. In a tree where he could just release the emotions where no one would ask questions he didn't want to answer.

His heart broke and his chest felt both hollow and like he was caught in the vice-like grip of a human fist. Unable to escape. Pain gnawed at his chest and heart, spurring tears to fall, plopping on the bark of the tree branch.

Something else burned—and Tango cried out, clutching at his chest in surprise. "Wh... what?" he rasped out.

The burning—it was magic.

That twist in the fabric of magic that Tango had almost forgotten about over the past month.

A promise.

Which promise had Jimmy made? Why had it broken?

"J... Jimmy," he whispered as panic descended over him. He spilled himself off the side of the branch, his wings fluttering fast to catch him in the air. He twisted and shot back toward Jimmy's house. Trying desperately to remember which promise Jimmy had broken. Why was his memory so bad?

He got back to the house just in time to see a rather vacant-eyed Fern climbing over the fence from the house next-door. The one Bdubs often left.

"Fern! Fern!" Tango hissed, darting out of the trees to intercept his friend. Her eyes were glassy and empty, her black wings mostly blending into the night. "Fern, what's wrong? What's going on?" He knew, already, but he was hoping she would remind him which promise had broken.

"Someone broke a promise," Fern droned blankly.

The door to the neighbors' house opened. "Fern?!" a voice hissed. Tango turned to see a woman about the same age as Jimmy with brown hair that turned to purple toward the ends in a loose T-shirt and trousers leaning against the frame.

"Someone broke a promise," Fern repeated.

"Rora? Something wrong?" a voice Tango now recognized as Etho's called from deeper in the house.

"Everything's fine," Rora called back. Her eyes locking with Tango's for just a moment before she stepped back and nodded. The back door shut.

Fern moved around Tango and headed for the window to Jimmy's room. Somewhere distant, he could hear humming and buzzing.

Tango twisted just in time to see the rest of the court emerging from the trees.

"No, wait—wait!" Tango exclaimed, zipping to cut Fern off. He threw his arms out to stop her from being able to open the window. "Now wait, just listen to me—"

He got cut off by Fern waving a hand and the window flying open.

Skizz slammed into Tango and they both went tumbling into the room, landing on the desk. Skizz didn't even seem to realize he'd done it, getting up and flying over to the bed.

The court landed on the pillow around Jimmy's head.

All of them were muttering about broken promises, not seeming to really notice Tango at all. All of them were leaving colored fairy dust all over the pillow and bedding.

Jimmy's eyes were open but they were just as glassy as the court's. His mouth was slack and he seemed to be in a sort of fugue state.

"Stop—wait—Skizz—stop!" Tango pleaded. He flew over and hovered in front of Skizz, his wings fluttering madly, feet dangling an inch above the pillow to be level with Skizz's height. "Skizz, wait! Please!" He grabbed Skizz's shoulder and shook it.

"The human has broken a promise to the Fae," Skizz said, voice toneless. "He falls under Fae rules. Left to the mercy of Fae control." Skizz grabbed Tango by the shoulders and pushed him down.

Tango's bare feet slipped a little on the cotton pillowcase.

But it seemed to snap the court out of their drone state. Zed's mismatched wings flittered as he looked around. Impulse sneezed his own gold fairy dust off his face. Gem's brow was furrowed as she kept Bdubs from falling over. Scar and Cub were near one another, as always, shoulders pressed together for comfort.

"Tango?" Zed asked. "What's going on? Who is this? Why are we here?"

"What promise was broken?" Fern put in.

Tango ignored their questions. "Go home, all of you," he said firmly to the court. "This isn't any of your business."

Skizz's firm hand rested on his shoulder. "We can't leave yet, Tango. Not until the price for a broken promise is paid."

"Price..." Tango couldn't remember what the price was anymore.

Skizz bent to give him a gentle look. "The promise was made to you. You have to lay a geas on him. He's under your control. He can't be freed from this state until you give him a command."

"No," Tango insisted, pushing Skizz's hand off his shoulder, his wings fluttering madly, but not lifting him up in the air. "I made him a promise too. That I would never hurt him. I'm not going to curse him with a geas."

Bdubs' mouth fell a little slack. "This is the human you fell in love with," he whispered quietly.

A murmur rippled through the court.

Skizz's expression hardened. "You what now?"

Tango set his jaw. "It doesn't matter," he spat. "He doesn't feel the same. He has a partner he's in love with. But I'm not going to hurt him. Broken promise or not, he doesn't deserve that. I won't be the wicked trickster fairy who ruins his life. I'm not that spiteful. I can't do that to him."

"Then you confine him to this forever," Skizz retorted.

Tango stiffened. He thought quickly, looking around Jimmy's bedroom. "You said the geas was a task to fulfill?"

"Them's the rules, Tango-Top," Skizz agreed.

Tango fluttered over to Jimmy's ear and knelt next to it. He closed his eyes and thought. One of his hands curled into a fist in Jimmy's hair. Just to ground himself.

He took a deep breath. "Get rid of any evidence that we ever knew each other," he said. "That mangled pencil. The doll cups. Throw it all out."

Clarity sharpened in Jimmy's eyes as Tango stood up and took a few steps back. He took a deep breath and blinked several times, rousing. "What in the... Tango, hang on!" he protested quietly. Tango's shoulders were curled forward and his wings and pointed ears drooped.

"How much of that did you hear?" he asked quietly.

"All of it!"

A pang ricocheted through Tango's chest. "So... you know. How I really..." He shook his head. "It doesn't matter." He looked at the rest of the court. "Go home. The price is set to be paid. Leave," he said, a sharp edge to his voice.

Bdubs was the first to take wing toward the window. Gem followed. Then Scar and Cub. Fern looked wary but she lifted off the pillow and crossed the room. Zed, Impulse, and Skizz were quiet for several long moments, all looking at Tango. He narrowed his eyes, his fire hair flaring brighter and hotter.

"Go," he ordered.

For a moment, he thought they wouldn't. "Come on, guys," Impulse said, his moth wings sweeping through the air. Skizz and Zed took wing just after him and the three of them went through the open window.

Jimmy sat up. His body seeming to be moving without his conscious command. "Wait—Tango—hang on—why—" He stumbled a bit getting out of the covers, one foot getting caught in the bedding for a moment. "Why did you order me to get rid of the evidence that we've known each other?" He was already moving to his desk—which was covered in multi-colored fairy dust from the entire court's flight in and out of the room—and pulling the mangled pencil out of the cup.

Tango swallowed down the lump in his throat, flying alongside Jimmy's head. "Because with the evidence disposed of, it'll be easier for you to forget me."

"Forget?!" Jimmy demanded. "How do you mean forget? Are you going to magic away my memories?"

"No. I'm not good enough at magic for that. You're gonna forget eventually because you're human and that's how human memories work. Not too long from now, all I'll be is a recurring dream you had for a month and then never again."

"What?!"

"I'm never coming back here, Jimmy. I'm not putting you in this position again. Your broken promise wasn't even your fault. It was mine. And I won't do that to you again. You'll never see me again. I'll be a pleasant memory of a fuzzy, funny dream you once had. A silly fairy with fire for hair."

"Tango wait. That part that the moss-covered fairy said. About you being in love with me—"

"It doesn't matter. You're in love with your housemate. You should be with him. He makes you happy. I was just a friend and I have no right to any of your feelings. I, uh..." Tango rocked in the air. "I'm going back to Avalon for the rest of the year. Leave the rest of my court alone. They're not as forgiving as I am. You probably will never see them anyway." Tango stopped directly in front of Jimmy's face, making him halt in the hallway on his way to the kitchen where the doll cups were. "Jimmy, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I messed it all up."

"Wait, Tango, don't say that—"

"I was gonna tell you, earlier, that, uh... that I'd found some magic that could temporarily make me human-sized. I was gonna ask for a shot with you. But I'd rather you be happy with your human partner. It'd be much easier for you. So... thank you. For all the fun we did get to share. It was worth it, to me." He flew close to Jimmy's face, his fire hair turning back into normal hair to not burn him. "Be happy, Jimmy. That's your real geas from me. Your real command. Be happy and live a full, human life. Forget about me. Let me be just that pleasant, silly dream. Nothing more."

Tango leaned forward and pressed a warm kiss to the space between Jimmy's eyebrows.

"Be happy and love freely," he whispered.

He darted around Jimmy's head and flew for the open bedroom window, zipping out into the night as little more than a tiny ball of red light.

—

Jimmy's body moved of its own accord, taking the mangled pencil and the plastic Barbie cups to his neighbors' rubbish bin before delivering him back to his own bedroom and finally releasing him from whatever hold the magic had on him.

He ran out into his backyard. "Tango!" he whisper-shouted. "Tango?"

Silence. Nothing more than the crickets and other night bugs.

—

Tango packed up his room in the tree, making sure everything was neatly organized.

"Knock-knock," a voice said from the doorway. He turned to see Skizz, Bdubs, Zed, and Impulse lingering there. "What're you doing?"

"I, uh... I'm going back to Avalon for the rest of the year. I'll come back next spring. I just..." He shook his head. "I don't think it's a good idea for me to be here. Not with everything I messed up. I need to go home. Clear my head."

Zed was the first to step over the threshold. "We'll miss you," he said softly.

"I know," Tango said. "I'll miss you to. But I'll see you when autumn gets too cold."

"That's right, you will," Impulse said.

Zed wrapped his arms around Tango. "Come on, bring it in," he said. Tango clung to his friend tightly. Skizz and Impulse wrapped arms around the both of them in a crushing group hug, Bdubs draped outside them all as best he could.

"I'm sorry, Tango," Skizz said. "I was too harsh earlier."

"No. You were right. I got too close to the humans and I made a mistake and it almost hurt one. It won't happen again."

Skizz rested his chin in Tango's hair. "Be safe in Avalon, buddy."

"I will."

[auroras-fics]

𝐀 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬

pairing: alexei vronsky x reader

tw: sadness, fluff, tears, mention of adultery, internal conflict, feelings of guilt, self-doubt, feeling of shame

message: to the ones who hate themselves for feeling a certain way. 

5.4K words

The chandeliers dripped with candlelight, their glow colouring the vast ballroom in a shade of gold. Music in the air, but it was distant, muffled, as though you were submerged beneath water. The perfume of waltzing couples amplified the air, along with the scent of the strawberry pastries and champagne. 

There, in the middle of it all, in the middle of the ballroom. Him.

Your husband, your Count, wearing his white button up shirt with golden buttons. His hair glowing in the golden light of the chandeliers. His posture being the epitome of his nobility. But his hands — his hands were around another's waist. Leading her in the sensual waltz.

The woman's face lay against his shoulder, a smile adorning her face. He leaned in, his lips ghosting her ear, whispering something meant for her, only her. Something he had once whispered to you. 

What was once a sentimental moment for you and your husband was now shared with your husband and some other woman. 

The woman's laugh rang through the room, delicate and sultry. Her laugh had seemed to drain out any other sound of the ballroom. 

You felt your throat close up. You tried to call out for him, but no sound escaped your lips. The room felt stuffy, as if the walls were closing in on you. The walls stretching, the heavy fabric of your dress suddenly feeling as if it was strangling you. 

Your hands clenched around the silk of your dress, you swallowed hard. 

His gaze met your eyes as he spun her around. A glint of amusement, recognition, and something else, something sinister. His gaze left you right just as it met yours, as if you were easily dismissible. You, his wife, the woman he swore to protect, the woman bearing his child. 

Suddenly the ballroom chandelier was too bright, the smell of strawberries and champagne being all too much, the sound of the music turned from a sentimental, beautiful ballad to a mocking tone, as if it were telling you that you lost.

You were not enough for him to stick to you. Not enough for him to love. Even the fact that you were growing his child inside of you did not make him stay; you meant nothing to him. 

You felt your knees buck as you felt nauseous, feeling as if you were mere seconds away from fainting. Your eyes shut for a second and you embraced yourself for the impact with the floor — you gasped, your eyes shooting open, your chest heaving up and down, panting. 

You looked around the room, you were in your chambers, in your nightgown, a strong arm around your very pregnant stomach, a face nuzzled into your neck, snoring softly. The scent of your husband filling your nose. 

You shifted your head to look at his face, fast asleep. You let out a breath, still coming down from the gut wrenching feeling of betrayal you felt in your dream. It felt so real; so genuine, as if he would wake up and betray you like he did in real life. 

It made your dinner from last night want to escape you. You sat up slowly, leaning against the fancy headboard of the bed. Alexei's arm dropping from your waist to your lap. He stirred in his sleep, feeling you shift, he didn't wake from his slumber as he still felt your warmth near him. 

You let out a shaky breath, feeling tears well up in your eyes. You felt foolish, ridiculous even, for crying over such a thing. For being angry at him for such an act, an act he did not even commit. An act he would never so much as imagine committing. 

Your husband — your hardworking, devoted, uxorious husband — was right next you, lightly snoring, his chest heaving up and down slowly in a peaceful, rhythmic pattern — contrasting yours immensely — in a blissful state of tranquility. Completely unaware of the storm that raged inside you. 

The feeling clung to you, as if the dream had left a scar. Not Alexei — no, he would never allow for that dream to become reality; Count Vronsky might be many things, but unfaithful? Disloyal? Coldhearted? No, those words would never belong to him 

You were not unaware of how loyal your husband was, no, he made his intentions with you very clear, since the beginning of your courtship. He is to love and care for you, in sickness, in health, in happiness, in sorrow, in peace, in anger. Whatever it was; he was to love and care for you. 

He vowed to it. And everyone knew when the Vronsky's vowed to something — they would rather die than have that vow broken. 

You knew all of this, you knew, and yet you were still crying. What sort of wife doubts her husband? Even in the captivity of her own mind? 

Your oh so loving husband. The husband that goes riding with you when you feel like it, the husband that smiles at you adoringly as you speak about your daily activities, the husband that whispers sweet nothings to your unborn child before vanishing into a peaceful slumber every night. 

Natheless, the image of another woman in his arms, a content smile on his face, the look of love in his eyes as he stared at her. The thought haunted you, like a phantom, unwilling to leave you alone. 

You sniffled and wiped your tears with your hands, taking in a shaky breath. Ridding the tears that had no right to exist. Merely for more unjust tears to flow out of your waterline. Your heart burned in your chest, your stomach churned. It felt as if there was a pit in your stomach. 

Your baby came into your mind, all this unnecessary stress would be bad for the baby. His baby. You calmed yourself for the health of your baby. Though the calmness did not guarantee that the sorrow would dissolve. 

The light shone through the space in the curtains, softly whispering to you, telling you that it was morning. You hear soft noises from outside your chambers — the maid were already working. 

You looked back at your husband, the light softly hitting his face, making him look oh so beautiful. You were truly a lucky woman to have such a handsome Count as your husband. It made you insecure; he was so beautiful, he was adored by all the young debutantes'. Eyes filled with thirst to grab at him any chance they get, but he was a married man. 

You criticised yourself, comparing yourself to those debutante's, even though you yourself were one just a year and a half ago. 

You sighed softly as you slipped your legs off the bed, gently pushing yourself off the bed, waddling to the door, leaving Alexei in bed, fast asleep. You opened your door and peeked your head out, looking for one of the maids to help you change into your day gown. 

"Vanya!" You whispered as you caught a glimpse of her right before she put her foot down on the first step of the staircase to make her way downstairs. She furrowed her brows and looked for the source of the voice that had just called out her name. 

"Vanya" You whispered again, she looked at you, her face relaxing and a soft smile displaying on her lips. 

"Countess, you are awake, much earlier than expected" She smiled as she made her way to the door of your chambers. You smiled softly, a smile that did not quite reach your eyes.

"Well, the little one does not allow me to rest in comfort." You joked as you put a hand on your stomach and rubbed your swollen belly. Vanya smiled at you, looking down at your bump and then back at you. 

"I would like to get ready for the day" You smiled at her, and opened the door slightly more. She glanced inside to see the Count still in bed, deep in slumber. She looked back at you and furrowed her brows, you never wake before the Count, it was either the both woke at the same time, or the Count stayed in bed with you until you woke. 

"Uh yes, Countess, right away" Vanya shook her thought away and looked down at the floor as you opened the door slightly more for her to enter, closing the door after she entered. You guided her to your boudoir that was connected to the bedchamber.

Vanya's gaze on the floor until she reached the familiar tiles of the boudoir, to respect the Count's privacy. She headed straight to the dresses and chemises and petticoats, skipping the corsets because you were nearing your due date, meaning you were too big for corsets. 

She helped you dress, wearing a blue dress with fur lining around the collar of the dress and the sleeves of the dress. You had asked her to not put any jewelry on you, you felt overwhelmed enough. After changing you guided Vanya out of the bedchamber and she helped you down the staircase to the commons. 

You sat yourself at the loveseat near the big window, overlooking your beautiful garden, a book on your lap and your eyes still tired from the lack of sleep and the feeling of insecurity. You watched how the cold, Russian, autumn breeze made the trees sway, your flowers swaying in the process as well. 

"Countess, I must suggest that you breakfast" Polina, another house maid, said walking into the commons. You looked away from the window and looked at her. 

"Is it ready?" You asked putting a hand on your stomach and pushed off the loveseat with as much energy you could muster up. 

"Yes, ma'am, would you like for one of the men to wake the Count?" She asked as she held the door open for you to head out the commons and walk to the dining. 

"No, that is not necessary, I would much rather have him well rested" You said simply and walked to the table, allowing Polina to pull out a chair for you and help you sit down. 

"Very well" She said simply and left you alone to eat all by your lonesome. Leaving you alone with your thoughts. Not the best idea with the storm raging within you since even before you woke up. 

-

Alexei grumbled something under his breath as he stirred awake. His arm naturally going to feel you, touch you in some way, but he was met with a cold spot in the bed, and not your swollen belly. His eyes shot open, and he sat up, looking around the room to find you. 

He sighed and rubbed his face in his hands to wash away any feeling of fatigue so he could go on with his day. He removed the soft quilt off of him and got off the bed to get ready for his day. Slightly concerned about your whereabouts.

Since he had married you, he had never woken up in an empty bed, you were always beside him, but he did not worry his mind too much about it; he knew you'd be at home. 

He made his way downstairs, stopping at the end of the stairway, thinking about where you would be, that is until he saw Polina. 

"Ah Polina," He called out for her, Polina stopped in her tracks and turned to the Count. 

"Good morning Count" She greeted him with a smile. He nodded back as a greeting.

 "Would you know where my wife is?" He asked as he looked around the first floor of the house, as if in search of her. 

"She is in the dining, breaking her fast" Polina explained and nodded slightly towards the doors of the dining, down the hall. Alexei nodded, as if thanking her and walked away, walking with a purpose to see you and his child in the dining. 

He softly opened the doors and turned to the table to see you, poking your fork into your egg. He smiled softly and made his way to you, slowly, so as to not startle you. 

"Good morning, my dove" He said softly and kneeled down beside you, his hand already on your belly. You turned and smiled at him, a smile that you gave to Vanya when you woke that morning. 

"Good morning" You smiled at him and greeted him back. He kissed your cheek and then bent down slightly more to place a kiss on your belly. 

"Good morning to you too, kroshka" He mumbled against your belly as he planted his kiss. You smiled, your heart feeling heavy. This was the man you were doubting. The man that came straight to you after waking, to kiss you on the cheek, and to kiss your belly, to greet you with a sweet tone on his lips. 

You picked up your fork again and poked it into the sausage on your plate. Alexei stood properly and sat on the chair next to you, nodding at the servant who was in the dining hall to get him his food. He turned back to you, a soft look in his eyes. 

"You did not wake me, serdtse moyo" He said, watching you carefully as you ate. Making sure you had enough nutrients to carry on your day and carry his child. 

"You looked so peaceful, I did not want to interrupt" You said simply, not even sparing him a glance. Alexei raised a brow at your tone and your action, confused. 

"Very thoughtful of you," He said softly, trying to understand you. Ever since the doctor had told you that you were with child, he had been extra careful with his actions and words around you. Knowing how his brother's wife acted when she was with child, he learned his lesson. 

A maid had come in with a plate of food and placed it in front of him. He picked his fork up and started to eat, right after taking a sip of water to quench the dryness of his throat. Eating in silence, which would usually be calming but at this moment it felt as if tension would not leave you. 

"How did you spend your morning my love?" Alexei asked, trying to make conversation to ease the tension. 

"Just some light reading" You said simply, which wasn't technically a lie, you had tried to read but your thoughts were too loud for you to properly comprehend what was going on in your story. Alexei nodded at your answer, expecting you to continue speaking about your book, explain the plot and your side commentary.

But you just stopped speaking, eating your eggs. 

He looked at you, watching you deliberately. You didn't spare him a glance, making his heart hurt and his head think about everything he's done since yesterday to make you act so cold towards him. 

"Are you alright?" He asked softly, his hand reaching for your hand that was on the table. Softly rubbing your knuckle with his thumb. You finally looked at him, your eyes held a sadness he couldn't bear to see. You tried to hide the sadness with faulty joy. 

"I am fine, why?" You asked, masking the pain you feel in your heart and the pit in your stomach. 

"Are you tired? Did the little one not let you rest?" He asked, his hand going back to your stomach to feel his child. You shook your head, heart warming at his concern. The eggs taste bittersweet on your tongue. 

Your heart was warming up and crumbling all at the same time. You wanted to tell him that you were fine, that you were happy and content, to tell him about your dream and have him tell you he'd never do something so cruel to you. 

But shame filled you. The thought of telling him that you doubted him, the look of hurt on his face if you were to tell him, you feared that you could not handle it. 

"I am fine, Alexei, please calm your mind" You chuckled as you looked at him with a smile on your face. The smile on your face told him to not worry, but the look in your eyes told him that something was wrong. But he let it go, not wanting to make you uncomfortable. 

"Very well" He mumbled and continued to break his fast, his hand still on yours. You finished up your food and stood up from your seat, Alexei's gaze moving from his plate to you. 

"If you need me, I will be in the commons" You said simply and waddled out of the dining room, leaving Alexei in the dining by himself. The act made Alexei's heart crumble in his chest. You had never left him to eat alone, you had either waited until he finished eating to leave the dining together, or he would finish before you and do the same for you. 

Alexei watched you leave and once the door shut he turned to the servant who was in the corner of the room. The servant himself looked confused at your actions, it was very unlike you. 

"Do you reckon I did something that upset her?" Alexei asked the servant to see what anyone from an outside perspective had anything to say about it. The servant looked down to the floor before he spoke. 

"No Count, it is not in my recollection, perhaps it is the gloomy weather that has made the Countess act this way" The servant answered with proper thought. 

"Hmm perhaps" Alexei mumbled and looked down at his glass of water. He stood up abruptly and left the dining, leaving his food half finished. 

"Feed the remaining to Frou-Frou, will you please" He said to the servant as he made his way out the doors, wracking his mind as to what he could have done to make you act so cold towards him. He went to the commons, following you, and sitting on the seat opposite to the loveseat you were sat on. You were once again reading your book. 

Not really reading; you were stuck on the phrase ‘Was it a vision, or a waking dream? Fled is that music:—Do I wake or sleep?’ not fully able to comprehend or understand what the book was trying to say, for your mind was much too occupied from your dream.

It did however seem as if the world was telling you something, was it just a dream, or was it a vision? You had asked yourself, over analysing everything in your life. Was the world trying to tell you something by sending you signs? 

Don’t worry too much of it. It was just a visio- dream. Just a normal dream.

Alexei watched you closely as you were in reverie, hiding behind the newspaper, pretending to read and glancing ever so often at you to see the state that you were in. Trying to understand you and what was going on in your head. 

You had not turned your page for a while, and Alexei, knowing that you were quite a fast reader compared to the other ladies of the season, was worried. Were you not actually reading? 

“Milaya moya, what is that you think so deeply about?” He asked, breaking the silence and tension in the room. You jumped slightly, startled, putting a hand on your sternum as a reaction to the shock. 

“Ah, Alexei, you startled me, I did not notice you” You laughed slightly, looking at him. 

‘I did not noticed you’

But you always notice when he walks in the room. Your eyes always light up, your smile always deepens, and your shoulders relax knowing that he was there to take care of you. 

Your words upset him, he knew something was clogging your mind, he just did not know what exactly it was. He was determined to find out and rid you of those thoughts to make you happy, to see you happy. 

“I was rather silent, I suppose” Alexei said, pushing his thoughts of sadness away, trying to figure you out. 

“Now, my love, do tell, what is bothering you” He said, putting the newspaper down onto the seat and getting up, making his way to you, kneeling right in front of you so you would meet his eyes. 

“I have told you, I am f-” You started but Alexei cut you off, softly.

“And do not say that you are fine, because you seem very enervating” He said and softly placed one hand on your knee and the other on your stomach. 

“I do not wish for you to stress, my dove, it will only cause you and the child harm, so please do tell me what is causing you to be so burdened. Put it on me so I can carry that burden for you” He said softly, his eyes sincere and carrying a pain, and empathy, a mixture you never want to see in his eyes. 

You looked down, feeling your eyes start to water, your throat started to burn, your eyes stinging slightly. You did not want to meet his eye, you felt shameful. Felt disgusting for feeling the way you feel. 

You trusted him, you really did, but the dream, the vision, felt so real, so genuine, it was hard to not brood. 

He reached his hand up to your cheeks, cupping it right after pushing a stray strand fall from your beautifully plaited hair. 

“Darling,” He said softly, reminding you that he was still there. To listen, to hear, and understand you. You swallowed and licked your lips. You looked at him, through your eyelashes, his eyes boring into yours. His eyes, so blue and clear, every single feeling of concern and sadness engraved into them. 

You cleared your throat and shook your head. 

“I would like some time alone” You whispered and looked back down to your lap, watching his hand on your knee, his thumb rubbing the fabric of your dress. 

The hope in Alexei’s eyes left and he felt his shoulders slump. He licked his lips and stood up, lending out a hand to you to hold. You looked up at him when you saw him stretching his hand out for you to use to get back up on your feet. He had a soft smile on his face, calming your nerves. 

“Then time alone is what you shall get” He said and nodded to his stretched out hand for you to grab onto, to help you stand up. 

“That is with me at a safe distance” He quickly added as you closed your book, putting it to the side and putting your hand in his, allowing him to pull you up. He led you out of the commons and walked the hallway. 

“Where would you like to go for some time alone?” He asked, still holding onto your hand gently, taking smaller strides than normal to match your pace. 

“The garden” You whispered, looking around your home, as he nodded and led you to the doors to the garden. He held the door open for you and allowed you to head out first, you walked along the pathway, walking to the gazebo near the garden wall. He followed suit. 

- 

An hour passed, you had watched the leaves on the tree fall due to the weather; thinking to yourself that you’d have to ask one of the men to clean it up. You watched how your flowers were slowly decaying, some surviving due to the fact that winter was not that close. 

The Count had watched your every step, every content smile, everytime you put a hand on your stomach when you felt your baby kick. 

He watched as you threw two or three pebbles into the fountain, watched as you smelled your flowers, watched as you swung the leaves on your willow tree. He adored you, he yearned to be beside you, to help you; but he respected your wish to be alone for some time. 

But now that some time had gone by, he felt as if it was time to talk to you again. The once very pained look in your eyes had become less weary. You looked content, but something was still bothering you. He walked to the rose bushes, lined up beautifully near the fountain, picked up a red rose and walked towards you with a purpose. 

You sighed, feeling the feeling inside of you slowly dissipate, but somehow remnants of it remained. You were bathing in the cold-warm light of the sun when a rose appeared in front of you. You furrowed your brows and looked at the individual who had just offered you the rose. 

You tilted your head slightly to look past the rose to look at your husband who had a small, soft, smile on his face as he gazed at you lovingly. 

“A rose for your thoughts” He said and lowered the rose from right in front of your face, and handed it to you normally. You took the rose from him and inhaled the scent of the sweet rose. Your eyes closed peacefully. He admired you as you did so. 

You opened your eyes again and looked at him; the pain in your heart had lessened by now, your eyes now holding some form of happiness, a feeling of content. 

“Would you like to tell me what is bothering you?” He asked softly, his hands behind his back, enlocked with one another, waiting patiently for your answer. You sucked in your cheek and looked at the rose in your hands, feeling the texture of a petal between your thumb and index finger. 

You nodded softly and looked back up at him. He smiled and offered you his elbow to hold onto. You softly wrapped your arm around his elbow, the rose in your other hand as he led you to the gazebo. He pulled out a chair from a little tea table there. 

“Sit, you have been standing for long enough” He said and helped you sit down. Once you relaxed onto the chair, he kneeled down and put his hand on your knees, dirtying his nice dress pants. 

“Alexei, your trousers” You said watching him get on his knees in front of you to be on eye level with you. 

“Doesn’t matter, what matters is whatever that is bothering you” He said, cupping your face in his hands. You sighed softly and leaned into his hand. He looked at you attentively, ready for whatever it is you were about to say. 

“I had a dream” You started, looking straight into his eyes. It was time for you to be brave and swallow whatever bitter taste there was in your mouth. 

Alexei nodded, urging you to continue. You deep breath and continued,

“I had a dream where you were in another's arms” You said, your voice lowering as you spoke, the confidence dissipating as you admitted to him. Alexei’s brows furrowed and he tilted his head, utterly confused. He opened his mouth to say something but you cut him off.

“We were at a ball, perhaps it was Viscount Motka’s function — that is apart from the point —. You were dancing with another woman, it made me feel… feel rather strange” You said, taking a deep breath before continuing to tell him how your dream made you feel. Alexei looked pained. 

“Please do not be cross with me, I do not mean to doubt you, but it seems as if the dream has shaken me quite a bit” You said quickly, trying to comfort him. 

“I feel atrocious just feeling this way, I do not want to feel such a horrible emotion. I do not even know how to describe it —” You started, ranting slightly, he cut you off by placing his lips softly on yours. 

A kiss.

Your eyes fluttered close and you kissed him back. It was rather odd, you usually partake in such endeavours in the privacy of your bed chambers. His hands cupping your face had never left you. He pulled away and laid his forehead on yours, nose nudging one another. 

“My dove, now why on Earth would you be so perturbed over a dream?” He asked, slightly chuckling at your silly antiques. You pouted as he chuckled, and he stopped right away. 

“It felt real, Alexei. I was hurt” You pouted deeper and your eyes were sad. Alexei felt his heart crumble at the look on your face.

“My darling, I would never do something like that to you. They could torture me for days to do so, and I would not. My respect and love for you is ineffable” He said, a smile on his face, feeling a lot better about the whole situation. 

Not the issue of you being sad, but the fact that he can help you feel better. All this time he had thought he did something wrong, that he did something to hurt you — and if he did, he would never find a way to forgive himself. 

He could now do this favourite thing; to show you how much he loved you. 

You looked down at the rose on your lap, feeling abashed. Alexei moved one of his hands to your chin to tilt it up, making you look at him. 

“Do not doubt my love for you.” He said simply, his eyes so loving, so soft, so delicate. His touch on you is so intricate, as if he would touch you any harder, your skin would bruise, as if you would break into pieces. As if you would slip through his fingers like sand. 

He moved his hand to hold your cheek again, this time firmly as if it would prove anything. He started,

“From the moment I close my eyes to the second I open them again, you are there. You are in every single thought I have, in every single thing I look at. Your smell does not leave me, no matter how far I am from you. Your smile– engraved into my head and it brings me strength when you are absent from my side. 

So do not for a moment even consider that I do not love you because you are the better part of me. And if you ever so find yourself doubting the love I have for you, do tell me and I will spend every waking moment on this earth proving my love to you.” He said, looking so deeply into your eyes, his face mere millimetres away from yours, eyes holding so much love, so much adoration. 

You felt a tear escape your eye and he wiped it away. He removed his forehead from yours and tilted your head down slightly to set a kiss on your forehead. He stayed there, kissing your forehead for a bit and then moved to put his forehead on yours again.

Looking at you with the same look in his eyes. You smiled softly at home, you heart content, the pit in your stomach long gone, the pain in your heart and head, all gone. 

“I love you” You whispered, looking deeply into his eyes. His smiled deepened and he kissed the top of your nose, which was now cold from the chilly autumn breeze. 

“Apart from that, why would I want to dance with another, when I married the best dancer?” He asked, trying to make a joke to lighten the air. You let out a small laugh and shook your head, he laughed softly, his heart warming at the sound of your bubbly laugh. 

He let go of you and stood up, lending out a hand for you to hold. 

“It is getting colder outside, shall we go in, my Countess?” He asked sweetly. You smiled and put your hand in his, he pulled you up. You wrapped your arm around his bicep, your other hand gripping the rose he had given you.

“We shall, my Count” You said softly laying your head on his shoulder as he guided you back in the house. Leaving all your doubts and weariness outside. 

fin.

alexei vronsky masterlist: liked this? read more!

[infernafiresword]

Happy December everyone! Here’s a fic @watcheraurora and I have been calling The Silliest One-Shot xD

[aurorarose2112]

Sweet Possession (Anne x Challe short fic)

Sugar Apple Fairy Tale (Episode 18) - cheek kiss scene

So, after watching the new episode that came out, and positively dying, buried under all that fluff that was Challe’s rizz, I decided to do a lil narrating of that cheek kiss scene.

(PS, this is just my imagination; I never read the novel for this scene, so I don’t know how this actually plays out)

･: *₊ ⁎ ⁺˳ ✧ ༚ ♡ ༚ ✧ ˳ ⁺ ⁎ ₊ * :･

Challe let out a sigh — in both relief and annoyance — at Anne’s words, before reopening his eyes and leaning in.

“Challe?” She called in a questioning manner, not realising just how titillating the sound of his name on her lips was to him.

The sweet little thing had absolutely no idea what was about to come next.

He drank in the endearing sight of Anne’s widened eyes and flushed face, as he pressed his pale lips against her rosy cheek in a featherlight kiss.

Gazing adoringly at the lovely young lady before him, his thoughts floated back to the memory of the sight of that Opal fairy caressing her cheek with his fingertips. Challe’s eyes narrowed as the once gentle gleam sharpened into a hard, even possessive glare.

It is known he despised the idea of being oppressed or objectified after years of enslavement under humans, thus the irony of possessing the following thoughts was not lost on him.

‘How dare he try covet her. She is mine; I will never let anyone take her away from me.’

At that, he began to move, trailing his lips down the soft supple skin, mimicking the way he had seen that fairy stroke her cheek. Putting his mark over that insolent fairy’s touch.

Claiming what was rightfully his.

　　 ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ

Anne wasn’t sure what to think. How had they gone from talking about what Gladice had asked to… t-to this?!

To say that Challe kissing her cheek in reply being the last thing she had expected, was an understatement.

Her mind had gone blank at the sudden turn of events.

Abashed and flustered as she was, she felt — rather than saw — the silky sensation of his lips (she couldn’t emphasise this enough; CHALLE’S LIPS), moving down her cheek in a trail of open-mouthed butterfly kisses.

As though he were slowly taking his time, tasting her, savouring her, bit by bit with each kiss.

Right before he would devour her.

That train of thought snapped her back to reality.

“C-Challe?!” She exclaimed, managing to somehow will herself into taking a step back, enough to set the slightest of distance between them. Evidently needing that space to calm herself down and clear her mind.

Not that Challe was about to let her.

The hand that remained on her cheek kept her facing his way, while his other arm that had long wound around her waist prevented her from backing away any further.

“You’re too careless.” Challe supplied, his tone even and firm, as though he hadn’t effectively been nipping away at her sweet skin mere moments ago.

However, there was a hint of seriousness Anne detected, which managed to keep her focused on his words.

“Is Gladice dangerous?” She inquired, looking down to avoid his gaze. After all, if she kept staring at his gorgeous face and mesmerising eyes, there’s no way she would have any leeway to think straight, let alone remain standing.

Challe was having none of it.

The hand on her cheek trailed downwards to tip her chin up with his index and thumb, prompting her with no other choice but to gaze deep into his clear sharp eyes. Eyes that held a burning emotion, so raw and passionate, it seemed to pierce right through her heart as though it were molten sugar.

“I don’t know, so don’t let your guard down.”

“Okay…” Hearing her soft reply seemed to finally let him relax, releasing some of the tension that had built up within him. He then cupped her cheek and gently drew her face towards him, till his lips reached her ear.

“Good girl.”

If the rarely-used, smooth husky tone of his voice didn’t surprise her, his lips that found the small spot connecting her cheek and ear certainly did.

Challe couldn’t deny the masculine pride and satisfaction that arose in him, as he felt her jolt in his arms at his final kiss while gasping in what seemed to be both bashfulness and a tinge of pleasure.

Separating his lips from her, he studied her blushing face once more — which was red enough to rival a sugar apple at this point — and decided that it was enough for tonight.

Any further and she would surely combust.

As interesting as that may be, he would give her a reprieve for now. After all, a balance is needed between the candy and the whip *.

“Yesterday you didn’t sleep too well.” He stated softly, slowly pulling himself away from her alluringly lithe form. “Tonight, you may sleep in my room.”

Barely capable of any coherent thought at this point, it was all Anne could do to so much as nod in response. Challe felt a smile spread across his lips before he could stop it.

She was so acquiescent, it was adorable.

“I will look after Noah tonight. Go on ahead.” Giving his gentle reassurance, he smoothly retracted his hands from her cheek and waist, right before she limply slumped onto the bed in a sitting position.

“Okay…” Anne managed to breathe out, her ruby-red eyes never leaving the obsidian-black ones of the breathtaking warrior fairy before her.

* (A/N: Japan’s saying of ame to muchi, the Japanese equivalent of ‘carrot and stick’)

･: *₊ ⁎ ⁺˳ ✧ ༚ ♡ ༚ ✧ ˳ ⁺ ⁎ ₊ * :･

And that’s about it. Hope you enjoyed it; lemme know what you think?

[xauroraxborealisx]

Apparently, I'm back? Or at least trying? Just a few quick one-shots to get back into writing before diving back into longer projects! Enjoy and oh! Song suggestions are welcomed, if ever! 😉

[auroras-philosophicals]

❝𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞?❞

sirius black kinnie; tony stark kinnie; wolfstar shipper; aaron taylor johnson devotee; writer; dancer; slytherdor; pride and prejudice; harry potter; entp; romantic anarchist

welcome! this is where i come to express all the voices in my head, and reblog whatever my heart desires!

fic blog — @auroras-secrets

my names aurora, but you can call me rora .ᐟ

have fun .ᐟ

❝𝐢 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 — 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞❞

[dawnarowdite]

Lovely (What They Don’t Understand)

Chapter 2

—————

"Ayo Smii7y welcome back," a voice called out as a teen waltzed into the room.

"What up Wildcat," Smii7y smiled as he placed a bag on the table. The bag slumped to the side, weighted down by the number of items in the sack. Smii7y had a pretty good run tonight. The Millers are always gone so Smii7y never has to worry about getting caught. It’s an easy in-and-out heist, perfect for a casual day.

"You got anything good," the tall man asked, walking towards the bag Smii7y brought in. Wildcat, also known as Tyler, was Smii7y’s second in command. He has known Wildcat since Smii7y first started his record. They didn't have the best lives, but he was glad that Tyler had stuck by him throughout everything. The taller peered over the table, eyeing the new treasure that the shorter brought into the base.

"Of course, the fucking Millers are so fucking easy to steal from," he responded taking a diamond out of the bag. Smii7y felt Tyler playfully mess his hair around, before pushing his head away to get a better look inside the bag. Smii7y laughed at Tyler’s eagerness.

"Oooooh goodies," a voice cheerfully said as he saw the bag.

"Ah ah ah, Marcel you know you can't have anything I take," Smii7y said. Marcel, also known as Basically, was the newest member of his little gang. He was almost finished with his training, but Smii7y knew he wasn't ready to go out.

"But Smiiiitttty you hardly ever let me go out and steal," Marcel jokingly whined using a different version of his nickname. Smii7y rolled his eyes playfully.

"And the reason for that is that you're still the newest one here and you're not ready," Smii7y casually replied, making Marcel pout.

"Come on Marcel, maybe you'll go on a heist soon," someone added from behind the three. Evan walked closer to the group standing in the middle of the room. Smii7y smiled at the entrance of the familiar Asian man.

"Evan, you know that'll never happen," Marcel dramatically complained, making Evan chuckle. Smii7y knew Evan just as long as he knew Tyler. He's been there from the beginning and was probably his first friend in this business. He would consider Evan to be his best friend, but he wouldn't tell Tyler that.

"Anyways, I've been thinking of trying something bigger, something more grand if you will," Smii7y grinned.

"Oh do tell Smii7y," another person, who went by the name of Scotty, said joining the room. Scotty, also known as 407, was their hacker. He'd find out people's security and disable them as much as he could. He licked him up somewhere along last year.

"I want to steal from the Keyes residence," He revealed. Smii7y expected laughs and cheers however the room went completely silent.

"No," was the first thing that came out of Tyler's mouth.

"Wait what? Why," Smii7y laughed out in shock at his friend’s sudden disagreement.

"Because you know how dangerous their security can be," Tyler argued.

"So what I've dealt with is so much worse than that. I can definitely handle a few security cameras and alarms," He argued back. Smii7y was very confused. Usually, his friends would fully be on board with trying out a new venture. For them to suddenly shut down his plan was extremely out of nowhere.

"He's not ready to see you," Marcel mumbled softly.

"Wait, who's not ready?" Smii7y asked, Smii7y never heard of another person being at the Keyes residence. He thought there were only Mark and Angela Keyes who lived there, but there was another? Smii7y needed to know more about this mysterious boy.

"No one," Evan said, shooting a glare toward Marcel. Marcel avoided his gaze nervously. Smii7y raised an eyebrow at his friends. Smii7y knew his friends were hiding this person from him, something that only fueled his burning curiosity.

"Come on guys you can tell me," Smii7y said, getting excited about the possibility of meeting someone new, he was looking for someone new to mess around with.

"No, because we know what you'll do considering your past," Jay said, making Smii7y smirk.

Smii7y was prone to find someone, either male or female, to lead them on and leave them high and dry. It started when he was 15 and has been doing it for 2 years. He found it so much fun to manipulate them into falling for him, it was his favorite pastime, behind stealing of course. "Whaaaat me never," he denied, still wearing a smirk on his face.

"I'm serious Smii7y if you go to Keyes you'll regret it," Tyler threatened.

"Alright, alright I won't go to Keyes's residence, I promise." Smii7y rolled his eyes annoyed. He smiled sweetly and crossed his fingers behind his back, he was not going to give up that easily. His friends nodded in confirmation before diving into a conversation. Smii7y didn't miss the threatening glare that was thrown his way from Tyler, but he decided to ignore it. Smii7y ran his hand through his rough silver hair, fixing his messed-up hair into something neater. Smii7y smiled, Now he definitely has to meet this person whom his friends are oh so trying to protect.

—-

John hates school, but he hates staying home more than actually learning. Of course, he doesn't really learn anything. He's learned everything since he knew how to talk. It's a bit over-exaggerated but he still knew a lot of things. He wasn't even supposed to go to school either, but he managed to convince his parents that attending school would allow good publicity.

He even got to choose what school he went to, something that he never knew would ever happen. Of course, he chose a public school, much to the dismay of his parents. But he convinced them by reasoning that one day when he took over the business, he could scout out potential people to work for them at his school. They patted him on the back and said how proud they were that he was thinking of the business. But John wanted to make a life of his own, hoping no one would recognize him, but his parents insisted the limo driver take him.

He didn't make many friends, only a couple. His first friend was a guy named Cameron, but he calls himself Fitz. When he first stepped out of his limo Cameron approached him and said: "I am now your new best friend, oh rich person." Being Fitz's "new best friend" caused him to meet his other friends. There was Eric, or Swagger, who he has to admit is a bit crazy all the time. But he was high all the time so John couldn't blame him. If he could be high all the time, he would probably be happy. Then there was Mason, or Zuckles. He was the guy everyone made fun of but still is a cool guy. John then met someone named Tobi. She was very good friends with John’s group of friends, and she sometimes hung out with his friends. However, she was usually gone hanging out with her girlfriend instead, but she was always a blast to be around and was super funny. Lastly, there was Jay or McCreamy. Those are the main guys he hangs out with. Of course, he also has Tyler, Marcel, Scotty, and Evan but they hardly have time for him. He will always consider them close friends, but he likes the group he's with now.

"Hey hey John, watch me make this in Swagger's mouth," Fitz said excitedly as he held a piece of popcorn. Swagger was asleep with his mouth open, and they always took the opportunity to just throw random food in there. "And he shoots... and he misses," Fitz said pouting as the popcorn landed on his cheek.

"Alright, alright let a professional handle this," Zuckles said as he took aim.

"And he misses as well will anyone put their popcorn in Swagger's mouth," John said in an announcer voice making them chuckle.

"Clearly it's all up to me," McCreamy said as he took aim. He tossed the popcorn, and they all watched in anticipation to see if it would land or not.

"And it's good!" John cheered as it landed in Swagger's mouth. They watched Swagger blink awake. John found it comedic at Swagger’s delirious state of mind.

"What?" Swagger asked, sleepy as he chewed on the popcorn.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Fitz said dreamily.

"What year is it?" Swagger asked. He blinked slowly and turned his head around. John found it comedic, fighting the urge to laugh at the delirious man.

"It's still the same year dude," John laughed.

"Oh wake me up never then," Swagger mumbled, trying to go back to sleep. The boys all laughed at Swagger’s neediness to sleep.

"So, John, how are the rich parents?" Zuckles asked, turning over to the blond.

"You know the same, gotta act super posh and all that," John said, taking out his vape and taking a hit. A sweet watermelon taste filled his senses, and he felt the nicotine calm his nerves. Swagger peeked an eye open and held out his hand to John, asking for a hit. John laughed as he handed the sleepy man his vape. Swagger took a hit and lay down on his back, blowing the vapor into the air.

"It must be nice to have rich parents," Jay sighed and John slightly flinched; however, it went unnoticed. He focused intently on Swagger’s vape cloud floating into the air.

"Oh yeah, I get to do anything I want and have anything I want," John said sarcastically. Of course, John wanted to tell them his life was hell. That he was struggling to just pass by each day trying to be the perfect son his parents wanted him to be. Isn't it why they had personally selected their best genes just to be in him? He was supposedly the perfect son and yet he rather be anything than that. Maybe the doctors messed up and gave him the want for freedom. Swagger returned the borrowed vape back to John, seemingly finished with it. John grabbed it and stared at it in his hands, flipping the cartridge over and over again.

John must have had a distant expression on his face because Fitz noticed something was up with John. "Hey, are you okay dude?" Fitz asked softly. John looked over at him. He noticed Fitz wore a weird expression; it was different from his normal joking and fun personality. This was something out of curiosity, concern, and strangely enough, understanding. John was about to reply when a limo had pulled forward. He quickly stashed his vape and mumbled a small goodbye to his friends. They waved at him as he entered the car.

"You have an appointment with the Thompson's son and then later you have piano lessons. You'll be able to do your homework after the lessons and then you have a free day young sir," his limo driver said as John settled into the luxurious car.

"Alright thank you, Kevin," John replied in a monotone voice.

John noticed from the rearview mirror that his limo driver was frowning at him. He loves his staff; they take care of him. They always seem to worry about him; he considers them his real family, not the parents who quote on quote raise him. But every time he ever showed kindness towards the staff he was reprimanded with the words: "Don't be nice to the help. They get paid for what they do, that's why they're the help."

Overall he hates his family and their beliefs in everyone. They believe that anyone who isn't rich isn't an important person. That is why his parents didn't know his school friends. They only know Tyler, Evan, Scotty, and Marcel but that's because their parents are among the rich. They're pretty much the only friends he could have but he's glad to have this part of his life a secret.

"We'll be arriving in ten minutes young sir," his car driver said but John didn't respond. He might as well merely stare out the window for the rest of the ride. He knows he isn't going anywhere soon.

—————

[theoriginalsapphic]

death's other kingdom

For @flashfictionfridayofficial

Title: death's other kingdom

Word count: 543

She always show up at nine on the clock. She comes in, dressed in white as the rest of the orderly working there, but whereas the color make them look frigid and austere, on her it makes her appear like an angel coming to save him from this place. He doesn’t belong here; he knows that much.

He doesn’t know where he is, locked in a sterile and morose enclosure like a wild animal that was abducted from his habitat in some faraway land. Everyone either looks at him with a murky, tenebrous look in their glassy eyes, with just pure detachment and scientific curiosity, or with a fixed gaze that tints their irises with scarlet that reveal their subdued thirst for blood whenever they see him.

Everyone but her.

She is not like the rest of them, with her sweet, auburn eyes, and her delicate, diligent hands and the tired but determined look settled in her features. Anytime her coarse fingertips touches his knobby hands, he gets her message: trust me.

Every once in a while, the harsh, fluorescent lights overhead provoke greyish smudges in his vision and blur parts of the woman in front of her— her pleasant smile turns into a grimace stretched painfully in horror, and her friendly eyes become wide and lachrymose with dread.

It doesn’t matter because she is beautiful anyway, with the pronounced lines of a permanent frown between her brows and the tinges of white ash on her fingers from her early smoke breaks. Trust me.

The windows are barred as to forbid any natural light from coming in, the artificial lemon smell from the detergent used to wash his clothes burns his nostrils, and the constant squeak of sneakers on tiled-floor functions as the soundtrack of his daily life. He is trapped in here, and she is his only true ally in this inhumanity.

He taps his skeletal, gnarly hands, and he catches his reflection on the glass outside his room, looking pale as time-worn bones but he isn’t scared; he doesn’t feel fear anymore. He is a patient man; he can wait for her to break him out of here and save him.

—

The police sirens blare in the distance. He can only stare at his slender hands painted crimson and the blood-stained cleaver to testify for what he has done. He stares at his wife laying on the hardwood floor, with her mouth wide open in an aborted scream and the accusatory betrayal of her dilated pupils glaring at him.

He didn’t do it— he could never harm the woman he loves.

He didn’t do this. Someone must had walked in when he didn’t notice, murdered her, and then put the knife in his hand. That is the only way to explain it.

He didn’t do this. The Devil must have tricked him, manipulated him, and forced him to take away from him the one woman he ever loved.

He would never do this; he would never hurt anyone, let alone his wife.

He didn’t do this.

He didn’t do—

He didn’t—

He—

As the walls of the living room are casted in shaking hues of blue and red, he stops existing, leaving a hollow carcass to deal with the fallout.

[goddessofthedawn]

guillaume cover

 Hello hello! So Guillaume--my next book--it's coming out March 3rd--I'll let you know when I have a pre-order link I PROMISE--now has a cover! The cover is done! I'll post cover + synopsis below!

(Cover by Larisa Katz, by the way)

SIX YEARS AGO, FORTY-TWO BOYS CRASHED ON AN ISLAND IN THE CARIBBEAN. ONLY FIFTEEN OF THEM MADE IT BACK ALIVE.

            Now in his first year of college, Ashton Collins is trying to keep his life normal. But turning eighteen means that Guillaume Argot, the purported antagonist of the island, has been let out of the psychiatric ward he’s lived in since their rescue. And Guillaume getting set free means that Ashton has to confront some things he’d rather keep inside: for example, the fact that he was Guillaume’s right-hand man.

            When Guillaume shows up as Ashton’s college roommate, Ashton is faced with a decision: does he slip right back into his role at Guillaume’s side? Because Guillaume has a list—and he’s not resting until every boy who made it back from that island alive is dead.

[sapphicdesiress]

I’ve always been obsessed with the idea of leaving hickeys in the shape of my initials on my pretty sub. Just marking them up in a way that’s so subtle yet a constant reminder to them as to who they belong to. It’s simply perfect in my eyes

[watcheraurora]

Man from the Stars/Cod King

Fully, 100% inspired by This (<-Link) Cod King/Codfather Jimmy design by @goatedgreen (sorry to bother with my sort-of-shipping nonsense but I wanted to give credit) that I was physically incapable about being normal about, apparently. Like I literally dropped everything I was doing to slap this one down and get the brainrot out of my head 2.3k words

—

Tango scrambled through the swamp, barely able to find any purchase on the slick, muddy ground. His heavy boots sunk into the mud. He splashed through some deeper water. Panic and exertion made his breathing heavy. The veritable horde of zombies chasing him groaned, reaching toward him to strike. They didn't seem at all fazed by the environment that Tango was struggling so hard to navigate.

He only managed a quick glimpse behind him to gauge the distance he had between himself and the horde.

Too close. They were too close.

And this damn swamp had fully put his fire out. He couldn't conjure any when he was so soaked. It just fizzled out before it properly sparked to life.

He whipped back around and kept running. His boots were heavy, soaked in mud and waterlogged. He could barely lift his feet. They made disgusting sucking noises as he hauled them out of the mud.

His foot slipped, sending him spilling down into the mud.

"Wah-gak!" he exclaimed.

His hands slid and flailed as he tried to get back to his feet. His boots kicked through mud, gouging it out and flinging it everywhere. But didn't help him get upright again in order to run away.

The zombies groaned and snarled, bearing down. Getting closer. Passing through the water as if there was nothing in their way.

Tango made a noise that he was sure was manly and brave—who was he kidding—and tried again to get out of the mud.

The first zombie reached him, grabbing his ankle.

He shrieked.

"Look out!" a voice shouted. Almost inhumanly loud—and that was in Tango's opinion.

There was a flash of light and what sounded like thunder as a dark shape shot over Tango's head.

Multiple zombies went down in a single bolt of lightning. A trident spun in a pair of strong, tanned hands.

The newcomer destroyed the zombies with the teeth of the trident and more lightning, defeating the last one with a slash that sent him into stillness.

By the light above.

The newcomer was well over six-feet tall and one of the most muscular people Tango had ever seen. Barefoot in the mud wearing brown trousers that ended just below his knees to reveal there were fins on the sides of his calves. He had on a sleeveless, green jerkin of some sort to leave his muscled arms and fins on his forearms all exposed. There was a simple sash of frayed greenish fabric and fishing net around his waist, acting like a belt.

A strange, fish-shaped hat sat on his head, the tail of it dangling down his spine. Tango had eaten plenty enough cod to recognize its fin shape. Green fins for ears and dark gold hair poked out from beneath the hat, just long enough to brush his shoulders. The trident in his hand slowly lowered from its attack position.

The man turned around, spinning the trident into a holster along his back. "You okay?" he asked, reaching out to offer a hand.

Tango reached to take it—but stopped. "I'm covered in mud," he said.

The newcomer laughed, sucking in sharp breaths as he did so. "I live in the swamp. You think that bothers me? C'mon."

Tango took the hand.

The newcomer hauled him to his feet with ease. "You okay?"

"Well, I wasn't when I was being chased, but I am now. Thank you. I would have been cooked if you hadn't come along." Tango's gaze traveled up, up, up—this guy had to be a foot taller than him. At the very least. Tango's eyes barely came up to this guy's sternum. This guy would have to lean down to put his chin on the top of Tango's head.

Yikes he was tall.

"Oh it's no problem. I protect and rule over these swamps. So. Y'know. Gotta keep the mobs down." He had a bright, nice smile below the cod hat. Which fully covered his eyes.

There were also green scales on his shoulders and gills on his neck.

"What's your name?" the newcomer asked.

Tango blinked, straining his neck a little to look up at him. "Tango."

The newcomer's smile widened. He pulled the hat off. "Nice to meet you, Tango. I'm the Cod King. But you can call me Jimmy."

Be still Tango's beating heart. The Cod King was gorgeous under that hat.

Warm hazel-brown eyes glittered off the stars as he smiled. He had a strong jaw, defining nose, and thick hair.

"Let's get you back to my place. Get you cleaned up and safe before anything else spawns." The Cod King pulled his trident back out and looked around before gesturing toward a lit patch of land in the distance.

He kept vigilant watch as Tango stumbled through the swamp, though the Cod King seemed not to notice how difficult the terrain was to navigate. He just marched over it like he wasn't sinking in the mud or slowed by the water.

Tango slipped again—the Cod King caught him around the chest with one powerful arm. "Whoa there! Watch your step!"

"How are you barefoot?" Tango asked.

The Cod King shrugged. "Too much mud for shoes."

He waved with his trident as they passed through a patch of clearer water, soaking Tango down and rinsing off most of the mud. He began to shiver as steam rose from his head. "Warn a guy next time, maybe?" He screwed his eyes shut and began to stoke his internal fire, trying to warm himself back up. "Some of us can't be spontaneously soaked! We're not all fish, Your Majesty!"

The Cod King gagged. "Please don't call me that. That's horrendous. It's just Jimmy." He cleared his throat. "And I'm sorry."

Tango kept shaking as they continued moving. "It's fine," he muttered.

Eventually, they made it back to a house on stilts in the swamp.

"King, huh?"

"Not all kings want castles. Not all kings know how to build them. Nor live in an environment with a stable enough foundation for a structure like that. You should see my sister's palace," Jimmy remarked, mounting the steps and helping Tango up them. He set his trident against one wall just inside the doorway. "Let's get you warmed up and fed, yeah?"

"P-p-p-p-please," Tango said around his shivering.

Within moments, a fire crackled in the hearth and a pot was put over it to cook something. "Soup?"

"Great."

"So. Tango. How did you come across my lands?"

"I... don't know. I don't remember... anything from before this. I was falling for a long time through darkness. And then I crashed into the mud. I don't remember anything before that. Just my name, my Blaze blood, and my fire. Oh. And redstone. I'd never forget how to do that." He chuckled. "Well. Not the basics. After a warmup."

Jimmy smiled even as his eyes narrowed like he had no idea what Tango meant. "Alright, man from the stars. Well. I'm glad I ran into you. I don't get to host guests often, but better for me to find you than leave you at the mercy of the swamp at night. If those zombies had turned into Drowned, you could have ended up getting skewered if one shifted with a trident." He nodded toward his weapon next to the door as he scooped up a blanket and draped it over Tango's shoulders. "Huddle close to the fire. You said you were Blaze blood, right?"

"Yep."

"Should make you feel better, right? The heat?"

"Should." Tango didn't need to be invited twice. He crouched next to the hearth and plunged his hands directly into the flames.

"Whoa! Hey! Don't—"

"What? Burn myself?" Tango smiled slyly, looking at the Cod King over one shoulder. "I can't burn."

"Oh. Er... right." Jimmy cleared his throat. He waved a hand and the pot suspended over the fire filled with water. He went into a small kitchen and rooted through some barrels on shelves near the ceiling before returning and dumping some vegetables into the water, along with a cooked chicken that chopped itself as it fell in.

"You're very good at magic," Tango said.

Jimmy blushed. "Not really," he said. "It's just instinct for me. Force of will."

"Still good."

He shook his head. "Nah." He went back to the kitchen pulled out bowls. "I, er... I just seem like a natural at magic like that because... never mind."

Tango twisted to watch him as he hung up the cod hat on a hook and started wiping down the counter. "What?" Tango prompted gently. "What were you going to say?"

"Doesn't matter," Jimmy muttered.

"I get it. I'm a stranger. We don't know each other. Keep your secrets." Tango nodded and turned back to the fire. "Y'know, if you used a soul campfire instead of a regular one, you'd cook faster. And keep this place warmer." He shuddered, but he was warming up, with his hands directly in the flames.

"What do you mean?"

"Soul campfires give off less light, but more heat."

"Really?"

Fire finally sparked back to life in Tango's hair, licking up through his messy, gold-blond waves. "I know my way around fire pretty... intimately. Comes with Blaze blood," he replied with an easy shrug.

Jimmy hummed.

He came over with the bowls and some spoons—including a large one to stir the soup in his pot.

Tango fell into silence as he just watched Jimmy stir. For a while at least.

"You're very tall," he said after a bit.

"Six-eight," Jimmy said distractedly, gaze focused on the soup.

Tango whistled. "You got a whole foot on me."

"Have I? Huh."

"Yep. I'm five-eight."

"Huh. Comes with... the rest of it, I guess. Everything else I am. You should see my sister. She's ten-feet tall."

"Wow. Is it... a fish thing?"

"Sure. We can say that."

Tango raised one hand out of the flames, scooping some of the fire up with them. "Let me help." He set his palm on the bottom of the pot.

It grew warm.

"Thanks."

"Only magic I have is fire. Might as well make good use of it to help when I can, right?" Tango smiled.

"S'pose so."

They lapsed back into silence for a bit.

Jimmy cleared his throat. "You're welcome to stay the night here. You're welcome to stay more than one night, if you need to, after that ordeal. Get some rest. I don't have any magic that could restore your memories, but I have a friend I can reach out to. She's a wizard. She might have... something."

"I appreciate it, but one thing at a time, yeah?"

"Right, yeah."

Tango focused on keeping the fire around his hands burning. Barely noticing that Jimmy kept stealing glances at him.

Finally, the soup finished cooking. Jimmy ladled it into the bowls and passed one, with a spoon, to Tango. "Thank you," Tango said, drawing it close to let its warmth seep into him.

Jimmy sat on the floor opposite him. "I, er... I'm technically a god," he admitted quietly. "That's why I'm so tall. That's why magic seems so easy for me. I'm very much a lesser god. But I am still, technically, a god."

Tango looked up at him, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. "... Huh," he said.

"Don't worry! You're not in danger. I was raised... mostly like a mortal. I'm not... I'm not wrathful or anything. I'm not like... that kind of ocean god. I don't even have that kind of power. I'm... basically just the patron of cod, really. That's kind of it."

"Still impressive," Tango said, slurping a bit on his soup. Not bothering to blow on it to cool it off as Jimmy was doing. He couldn't burn.

"You'd... be the first to think that. The others... mostly think I'm pathetic."

"Have the 'others' seen you take out a whole horde of zombies with just a trident?"

Jimmy blinked several times. In the firelight, Tango realized he had slightly oblong pupils. Fish eyes. "Er... well... no," he admitted. "I don't... show off."

"Well, there you have it." Tango slurped more soup.

Jimmy ate his soup fast, not replying and obviously trying to hide a bit of a blush. Once his bowl was empty, he stood. "I'll... grab a spare bed," he said, shuffling off and disappearing through an archway. After a moment, Tango heard chests opening and shutting.

By the time Jimmy returned, Tango had finished his soup and was putting both bowls in the cauldron that seemed to be doubling as the kitchen sink.

Jimmy brought in a bed and set it down near the fire. "This okay?"

"It's perfect, thank you."

Jimmy waved his hand. The lingering mud and dirt melted off Tango's clothes and boots. "Get some rest. I'll see you in the morning."

"Thank you." Tango smiled.

"I'm gonna... go to... bed."

"You do that."

Jimmy retreated.

Tango took off his boots and climbed into the bed, snuggling down next to the fire to try and keep warm.

—

Jimmy flopped onto his bed on his back, staring up at the ceiling with one hand resting on his torso, the other behind his head.

Familiar? Was this Tango, Blaze blood guy... familiar? Had they met before? A brief encounter so long ago that Jimmy couldn't remember where or when, and neither could Tango?

No, whispered the ichor in his veins. Not really.

Jimmy scrunched his brows. Then what is it about him? he thought back at his divine blood.

He will be familiar to you. In the future. He will be as familiar to you as your own name. Bound. To your very soul.

Jimmy's hand moved up to rest over his heart, like he was already searching for the tie that would wrap around his soul.

Before he could figure out where that feeling came from or what it could possibly mean, he dropped into sleep.

[auroras-fics]

marauders as things my friends and i have said

James: What do you think I'd go to jail for?

Sirius: Harassing old people because you wanted to help them.

James: ...

Peter: Seems reasonable to me

Sirius: What would I go in for?

James: Assaulting an officer

Remus: I think I'd go to jail for something

Sirius: In for what? Following the rules too much?

James: Yea Remus, you would not go to jail, sorry.

Peter [confused]: Isn't that a good thing?

Remus: I don't know at this point.

[infernafiresword]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63185590/chapters/161827990

Told you today was gonna be fun :) Time for the sequel for Healing Light to begin!

(Thank you again, @watcheraurora, for being the best co-writer!)

[watcheraurora]

A'right SaYm. The art infected me. Have a **non-canon** (but still fun, hopefully) SkizzPulse one-shot in the King's Tide universe and if it sucks... sorry? never written skizzpulse before so idk i got nothin for ya 2.4k words

CW: blood, underwater violence

—

Impulse's ear fins flicked against the sides of his hair as he and Skizz patrolled in opposite directions. The rest of the glimmer—including Tango for once, while he was visiting for a whole week—was hunting on the reef. Gathering food and supplies now that spring was coming back and the winter's deficit was over. Skizz's powerful whale shark tail carried him easily through the water and Impulse couldn't help but sneak peeks whenever their opposite circles crossed one another.

Skizz knew it too. Of course he knew. Because every time Impulse came back into view, he'd show off just a little bit. Exaggerating the side-to-side motion of his tail and smiling wide. Usually throwing Impulse a cheeky wink. Which usually earned him an eye roll from Impulse that made him cackle.

They had a job to perform, and Impulse was doing his best to not get distracted. He and Skizz, at their cores, were both protectors. It was why they always volunteered to be on watch duty. Tango, Zed, and Pearl would hunt enough for Impulse and Skizz for the week too, to make up for them keeping an eye on the glimmer. They always did—especially when Tango was visiting. He didn't have the raw power Impulse and Skizz did that came from their builds, but he was slim and fast. Apart from Pearl, Tango was probably the fastest merperson in the whole glimmer and he hunted fast and efficiently.

Impulse wasn't particularly concerned about having enough.

He carried on with his watch, ear fins turning and rotating, listening. He could hear sperm whale clicking, but they never came this way, and their clicks could be heard from miles away.

On Skizz's circle, swimming a little deeper, he swished up into Impulse's path and caught Impulse by the shoulders. A quiet, entreating whalesong pitched in his throat.

Impulse rolled his eyes affectionately. "Needy, much?" he signed with a sarcastic brow raised higher than the other one.

Skizz just shrugged and smiled cheekily.

Impulse's ear fins wiggled. "Fine," he signed.

Skizz beamed. He cradled Impulse's head between his hands and pressed their foreheads together, along with the tips of their noses. Lingering there for several long moments. Impulse's gills lifted on his neck as he took a deep breath. Just inhaling the subtle scent of his lover in the seawater. Letting it comfort him.

"You're always tense on watch," Skizz signed when he let go of Impulse's face but didn't remove his forehead. "You need to unwind a little."

Impulse pulled back enough to raise his brow again. "I'll unwind in our grotto later," he retorted.

Skizz waggled his eyebrows. "Say less," he signed playfully.

"Down, lover," Impulse signed. "Later."

Skizz pouted. Impulse rolled his eyes and bumped their foreheads together with a flick of his caudal fin.

A high-pitched trill caught their attention and both their heads snapped to one side. Away from the reef, out toward open water. Impulse pivoted and shot to follow the noise.

He swore on his hands with a single, sharp movement. "Orcas!" he signed to Skizz. "Whole pod."

Skizz repeated the swear and began to sing. A low, thrumming whalesong of warning before chittering to the whole glimmer to take cover and seek shelter on the reef.

Tango was there with Pearl in moments. "How can we help?"

"Keep Pearl safe. Keep an eye on the frys and the elders," Impulse replied.

"No way! We want to help defend," Pearl retorted.

Impulse bared his teeth. "Go. Now! Skizz and I got this."

Pearl's upper lip curled up in a snarl.

Skizz shot out of the darker waters, grabbed both of them by the waists, and hauled them back to the reef before shoving them back, signing fast, and rejoining Impulse at the very edge. "They're not gonna be happy," he signed, using his body to block his hands so Impulse's sister and surrogate brother wouldn't see.

"Too bad. I'd rather them be safe than happy. They'll deal."

Skizz took Impulse's hand for just a moment. "Ready?" he signed with one hand.

"Stay close to me."

That earned him a small smile. "Always... lover."

They turned in sync and rushed away from the reef into deeper, colder waters to intercept the pod before it could get too close to their reef.

Shark gatherings were almost as common as whale or dolphin gatherings, but sharks were nowhere near as dangerous. Orcas were bastards.

But merfolk were even more dangerous. Humans spoke of mammalian intelligence—the reason orcas, whales, and dolphins could beat sharks in conflicts. But merfolk were at the same level of intelligence as humans, and had the limbs and hands necessary to make weapons.

That said, Skizz's claw-like nails were the longest and sharpest of the whole glimmer's and Impulse's teeth could rip through mammalian flesh with ease. They rarely used their spears. They didn't often really need them.

Skizz was big for a merperson. It came with being a whale shark type. Impulse was pretty big too, though nowhere near as long. They were the strongest of the glimmer.

So when they hit the pod of orcas, they hit.

Blood began to cloud the water almost immediately as Skizz's claws tore through the first orca he came into contact with. They didn't want to kill the pod, but they wanted to frighten. Usually that was met with one or two fatalities from the pod. The glimmer would have to clear the reef fast to avoid any sharks that smelled the blood nearby...

But Impulse would worry about that later.

He lifted up above an orca and grabbed it by the blowhole, yanking as though trying to steer it to turn around and clawing with his other hand.

He snarled.

The orcas were screaming.

Another one tried to bite at him, but Skizz grabbed its dorsal fin and pulled, hurling it through the water with the kind of titanic strength that only came from being shark-type. Whale sharks were gentle giants. Skizz was too.

Until he wasn't.

"Hot," Impulse signed quickly.

Skizz shot him a wink and zipped toward another orca.

Impulse did the same, his wide, bright yellow caudal fin churning the water around him.

He grabbed an orca that tried to bite at him by the jaws and held it still long enough to beat at its underbelly with his tail before gouging out some skin with his own long nails. Not quite Skizz's claws, but still sharp and useful. He beat his tail against the wounds and moved to attack another orca.

Skizz caught his hand and slung him forward to bite.

If there were fatalities, the glimmer would make use of the entire corpses. Food, yes, and bones for tools and weapons.

Impulse briefly thought of that as blood filled his mouth as he tore.

He lost track, a bit, after that, of what happened. His brain sunk into attack mode and he turned into the apex predator that merfolk were when their glimmers were threatened. His sister, parents, and brother were back there. His friends.

And he always worried about his lover when they defended their glimmer side-by-side. But he also trusted no one more to have his back.

He shot in a loop around three orcas, clawing and biting and tearing. He was pretty sure his own arm was bleeding—based on how it was burning from the sting of saltwater—but he ignored it. The pod was already in the process of fleeing.

He snarled and growled as the last of the orcas began to leave, baring his teeth and lashing his tail.

Skizz came up beside him, carefully taking his hand and beginning to examine where an orca's teeth had, in fact, cut him. Not quite a bite, but still pretty nasty.

"You need help," Skizz signed with one hand.

Impulse shook his head. "No help. Just you," he replied.

"Fine." Skizz gathered Impulse into his arms, pressing the injured arm to his chest to hold it steady and bumped their foreheads together. Then swam Impulse back to the reef, whistling and singing to catch the glimmer's attention.

Tango, Pearl, and Zed were the first to respond, swimming fast to meet up with them. Pearl's big blue eyes widened when she saw the trail of blood clouding the water.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Orcas are bastards," Impulse signed with one hand.

Tango snickered, but nodded agreement.

"I'm gonna take him home," Skizz signed, also with one hand. "Help him."

Tango and Pearl nodded while Zed just stared, looking a little nauseous.

"We'll get everyone back to the grottos," Tango promised. He tugged on one of Zed's pink arm fins. "Come on, Zed. Let's move."

Zed finally tore his eyes away and went to go gather the rest of the glimmer. Tango was barely a fin-length behind him. Pearl stared between her brother and Skizz for a few moments.

"I'm okay, Pearl," Impulse signed. "I promise. Go help."

She blinked a few times before turning tail. The occasional silver and gold scales in her creamy-white tail flashed off the sunbeams and she rushed after Zed and Tango to go fetch the others.

Skizz gently cradled Impulse closer to his chest and turned to head home.

Skizz chittered in inquiry once or twice. "You okay?"

Impulse nodded. He wasn't that hurt. The only reason he was letting Skizz carry him was to staunch the flow of blood by holding the wounds closed against Skizz's chest. He was a little tired from the fight, but he was plenty strong enough to make the swim home on his own.

Back in the grotto they shared—one of the largest grottos the reef could offer for a pair of lovers, rather than a family, considering Skizz's size—Skizz settled Impulse in their sleeping cubby on the bed of seaweed and rifled through a somewhat makeshift storage container for a wound up wrap of seaweed that was long and flat. Which he used to bind up Impulse's arm.

"Thank you," Impulse signed.

"Anything for you, lover. Always," Skizz replied, bumping his forehead into Impulse's shoulder. "I'll go clear the water a little. Get some of the blood out of here. You rest up."

"My fin is better for that." His was broader.

"It's fine. You rest." Skizz bumped his forehead to Impulse's again and went about cycling the water out of the grotto and the water surrounding it as best he could. Impulse, lying on his left, uninjured, side, just watched with a small smile lingering on his face.

If Tango asked, no, he was not "checking Skizz out" but... damn it was hard not to. Over nine feet long and powerful in a way that was entirely unique to him... Skizz was something else. And Impulse was really lucky. He had all that muscle and the biggest heart in the glimmer all to himself.

"What are you looking at?" Skizz asked gently as he returned to their grotto after clearing the blood out of the water a bit.

Impulse left their sleep cubby to hold Skizz in the larger main area, wrapping his tail around his lover's. His right arm was hurting and sore but he mostly ignored it. "I'm looking at you," he signed, movements small and one-handed as the other wrapped around Skizz.

Who raised a brow. "Why?"

"Because you always look your most handsome after you've been in a fight protecting the glimmer." Impulse nuzzled their foreheads together, just holding his lover close. He wrapped his black tail around Skizz's whale shark one. Skizz hummed low in his throat, content and relaxing as his own arms wrapped around Impulse.

Skizz, his range of motion limited by Impulse's tail, maneuvered them both back into the sleeping cubby and snuggled in close.

"You're not a hugger," Skizz pointed out with one hand and a playfully teasing expression on his face. "So what's gotten into you?"

Impulse shrugged with his uninjured shoulder. "Just want to hold you. You're okay. I'm okay. The fight wasn't that bad."

"Were... you scared?"

"I'm always worried when we get in a fight. I trust you to watch my back but that doesn't stop me from worrying about you."

"Why?"

"You're reckless." Impulse bumped their foreheads together. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Skizz's piercing blue eyes dropped to the seaweed wrapped around Impulse's arm. He raised his eyebrows pointedly and then met Impulse's yellow gaze. "I'm not the one bleeding," he pointed out.

Impulse just shrugged.

Skizz held him tighter with one arm. "It drives me crazy, seeing you hurt. You're mine. I wanna protect you too."

"I know." Impulse finally relaxed, snuggling in and resting his head against Skizz's chest. Skizz tucked him under his chin and buried his nose in Impulse's warm brown hair. Closing his own eyes. He could feel Impulse's heartbeat, the vibration of it traveling through the water easily.

Home. Safe. Loved.

Impulse drifted off to sleep, the gills on his neck lifting and lowering with his breaths, cradled in the arms of the merman who he knew loved him more than anyone else in all the vast oceans.

—

Skizz felt Impulse fall asleep and sighed with a stream of bubbles trailing out of his mouth toward the top of the grotto. He never told Impulse how badly it grated against his protector instincts to allow his lover to protect the glimmer and the reef alongside him. Impulse was stubborn and he'd do it anyway, even if he did know. Skizz just wanted the people he cared about—and especially his favorite person, currently wrapped in his arms and tail—to be safe.

He also knew Impulse was right. The two of them were the biggest and strongest in the whole glimmer. They were the best at protecting it and they worked together well. They always had each other's back.

That didn't mean Skizz enjoyed watching his lover get hurt.

He bumped his forehead to the top of Impulse's head.

Even in sleep, Impulse bumped his own forehead to Skizz's chest.

Smiling, Skizz closed his eyes and let himself finally relax. Not quite sleeping—he had to keep an ear open toward the glimmer's waters in case anyone else needed help—but beginning to doze in and out with his lover held close.

you know, im not sure ive ever drawn art for a fic, featuring a ship thats not even in said fic. However i was posessed by the skizzpulse demons and i just loved drawing @watcheraurora's kings tide designs so much i couldn't help myself 🤭

close up under the cut vv

[xauroraxborealisx]

#3 Slip up

Inspired by My Own Worst Enemy by Lit

Enjoy 😊