There's A Girl Under There

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Everybody's trying to be the best
What about the girl with loneliness
I like your sundress
I like your sundress
What about the girl with loneliness
From the inside out
You're so beautiful
I want to hold you in my hand

--Ben Kweller, SundressShe had warned Liam that she was packing a few dresses and that he had best not laugh at her should she wear

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[marcusisaspaz]

And so he found her spinning when he came searching for her some time later. He watched with a smile, entranced by the little wood sprite dancing so carefree on his front lawn, looking like something out of a fairy tale. His Pixie Girl had decided to dress the part today, and suddenly Liam realized how he could complete the picture.

He had to travel a little ways for everything he needed, but that was no chore. Easy enough to switch to horse form once he was out of sight of everyone who might wonder why a chestnut stallion was carrying a basket in his teeth. He returned once he'd filled it with daisies and woodland star, buttercups and violets.

Chuck still spun and swayed on the grass. "Hey pretty girl," he hailed her, raising his voice to be heard over her music.

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She gave a bit of a start at the sound of his voice. Chuck had assumed she was alone out here. She smiled though and shrugged, this wasn't the first time he'd caught her dancing alone. "Hey, yourself...flower boy?"

Tugging one earbud free, she walked over to where he stood with his basket of flowers. "Whatcha doing?"

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"Nothing much." Liam slipped an arm around Chuck once she came within reach, dipping his head for a warm kiss that lingered for a little while. He finally tugged her over to the tree where they'd played with the kittens and sat down, not noticing the gloss smudged on his own lips.

"I just figured that the queen of the wood sprites needs a crown, right?" Snagging a handful of daisies from the basket, he started to braid their stems into a chain. Every so often he added a buttercup or a cluster of woodland star for variety. "So since we're fresh out of tiaras, I thought I'd make you one."

As the braid grew, he nodded at the basket. "Depending on how well I remember how to do this, there might be a necklace next."

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Chuck sat with him and smiled at the smear of shimmery gloss on his lips. She'd leave it there since she intended to give him more kisses anyhow. "Why do you know how to make braids anyway?"

She'd never taken him for the type of guy to do typically girly things--that was Marcus' domain. Liam's cousin could do hair and makeup as well, if not better, than some of the girls they went to school with.

Buttercups in the basket were too much of a temptation and Chuck picked up a handful of the yellow blossoms, holding them under her chin to smell them as well as reflect the warm glow against her skin. "I thought I was your pixie, when did I get promoted to Queen Wood Sprite?"

Not that she was complaining. The flowers were pretty and to be honest, this was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for her. Flowers. For her. While Liam worked, Chuck helped herself to his white cowboy hat instead, settling on her head and casting a shadow ever her face.

[marcusisaspaz]

Um. Probably not the best time to mention braiding horses' manes, but fortunately that was not where Liam learned this specific kind of braiding. "My grandfather taught me to make flower chains when I was way small. I think the last time I did this was to make a present for my Mam."

He remembered watching in fascination as Grandda braided flower charms into all kinds of shapes, weaving subtle magics into them as he went, though of course he couldn't mention that to Chuck. "Now who says you can't be both? Your Majesty Queen Pixie who looks better in my hat than I do."

With a barely-voiced chuckle, Liam reclaimed his hat long enough to hold the braid of blooms up to the little blonde's forehead, curving it to measure how much further he needed to go before twisting the ends together. "Almost done. Just a few more inches."

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"You're lucky I don't have a big head." Chuck flicked the brim of the hat to force it to sit back further on her head after getting it back from Liam. Grinning, "Are you jealous that I wear this better than you?"

She leans against the trunk of the tree and puts her bare feet in his lap. She's fairly certain she looks really stupid with the hat on while wearing a sundress and no shoes, but she's not going to argue with him.

"The only thing my grandfather ever taught me was to say 'fuck this shit'. He used to say it all the time...I got sent home from kindergarten once for saying it. Did I ever tell you that? It was nap time and I looked at the teacher and said well...that."

[marcusisaspaz]

Adorable was how she looked, and Liam kept glancing up at the delicate little lady wearing his hat. His own grin widened at Chuck's description of how her tiny self started early with the gutter language. "Hey, at least you got the context right."

After weaving the two ends together, he snagged his hat once more and carefully arranged the floral coronet on the tiny girl's head. "There you go, perfect." Admiring his handiwork wasn't enough, he decided. Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he snapped a picture of his Pixie Girl, her waves of blond hair topped with blossoms of creamy white and bright gold. "And recorded for posterity.

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Chuck gave him a bright smile and a very posed posture as he snapped the picture. "Are you going to post that online? I might have to hurt you if I look weird."

Then she grabbed his hand and held the phone up higher, "Quick, do a Myspace angle shot!" This one, she would not be letting him put online or even show anyone as it gave a nice view right down the front of her dress. Oops.

"Thanks you, Prince Charming." Hey, he called her a queen earlier. And now she was going to give his cheek a chaste kiss in return.

[marcusisaspaz]

No, Liam was not about to put that second shot on display anywhere other guys could see it. Keeping it for himself, though, was another matter. While Chuck was occupied kissing his cheek, he surreptitiously hit the button that would save the photo. At least he tried for surreptitious.

Calling up the first picture, Liam smiled at it before angling the phone towards his Pixie. "You don't look weird at all, you look beautiful." And he was not the slightest bit biased, so there.

He sifted through his basket, doing a quick inventory of the buttercups and violets it still held. "I should have enough for that necklace after all."

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Chuck smiled then nodded her approval of the picture before changing positions again. The little blonde decided that if Liam was going to paw through a basket of flowers, she could drape herself across his lap and watch him work.

The skirt of her dress was long enough to cover the backs of her thighs as she lay on her stomach, bare feet crossed at the ankles. "What if I end up covered in bees?"

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Liam laughed as he gave her backside a pat. "I will protect you from the bees, my Queen. Never fear." Fishing a double handful of blossoms out of the basket, he spread them out in front of him and set to work. "Bees don't want to sting you, really. Not if they can avoid it."

Humming softly, he twined stems and arranged flowers, angling his arms around the little sylph. The breeze was soft on his face, Chuck was warm in his lap, and Liam felt as content as he had in a long while.

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"How do you know, did you ask them? How many bees have you spoken to? Was it a casual chat or an in-depth interview?" Not that she's serious about any of her questions, but Chuck is Chuck and she has to exhaust all possibilities in order to be satisfied.

While he worked, she watched him carefully, wanting to know just how he was tying the stems together and why the blooms didn't fall off like they did when she tried. Besides, being this close meant she could dip her head and occasionally kiss the back of his hand or the inside of his wrist. It was fun.

"You know, I've never actually seen a bee...oh, wait. Once. Marcus got stung at his house by the pool. He screamed like a girl."