ORIGINAL: "FAIRIES" (SLASH)
Summary: What kind of human is a fairy?
Note: Same boys as in this story from last week
“Don’t drop the beer, don’t drop the beer, don’t drop the beer.” Gavin kept up the litany as he juggled the bags in his arms, searching his pockets for his keys. Anything else could be replaced tomorrow, but if he dropped the beer he’d have to go back out or risk a troll’s wrath.
He sighed in relief as his fingers finally brushed against the keys, and he pressed firmly on the little sliver fob that held them all together as he stepped forward. The chilly December night faded even as the bridge above his head lowered and walls rose up around him. Gavin carefully set the beer down on a side table and let the rest of the bags drop in a heap on the floor. Twelve bags. Quite a lot to have to carry fifteen blocks. He really need to get his registration paid so he could start driving to the grocery.
He grabbed the beer again and hooked a few of the bags around his wrist as he headed down the hall. “I got beer!” he called as he turned the corner into the kitchen.
Only to find that Klem wasn’t alone. That was…different. Gavin couldn’t remember ever seeing Klem with guests in the house. Well, except for the pair of witches that lived in the lofts down the street. They stopped by every now and then baring dubious desserts and looking for gossip.
But this wasn’t a witch. The woman sitting with Klem was absolutely love. Fine, delicate features, eyes the color of summer grass. Her pale hair fell in waves down her back-and were those leaf patterns in her tresses? He blined as he registered that her skin was just very slightly green. In fact, it was similar to Klem’s own coloring, though perhaps a paler shade. More shimmery and paste. His eyes moved to her wings and it clicked.
“Oh! You’re Klem’s sister!” The woman smiled and gave a small, girlish laugh.
“Why Klemy! Who is this? I didn’t know you’d made a new friend!” She rose fluidly in a way common only to dancers and held a hand out to Gavin. He hastily set the beer down on the counter and dropped his bags, taking her hand gently in his own.
“Uh, I’m Gavin,” he said awkwardly. “Klem is just letting me stay here for a while.”
She giggled again and took his hand back. “Really?” she asked. “That’s very surprising. It must be a tricky thing living with my brother.”
Gavin shot a look at the brother in question, who was currently looking daggers at them. “Mel,” he said shortly, “that’s enough. Time for you to leave.”
“But I just got here, Klemy!” It was the first time Gavin could remember whining sounding cute. Well, perhaps it wasn’t all that cute, because Klem definitely wasn’t looking any less cranky.
“Mel. Leave. Now.” Troll teeth were a scary thing, really, and Gavin was glad they weren’t currently bared at him. He stepped forward quickly, grabbing a beer as he moved.
“I stopped by the grocery on the way here,” he said conversationally, and tried not to wince when Klem’s glare shifted to him. “I can get some food started if you’d like. And I got your favorite beer. See?” He popped the top and handed a bottle to his roommate, turning back to the fairy princess. She was watching then with far too much amusement for Gavin’s comfort. “Would you like something?” he asked politely.
“She doesn’t want anything. She’s leaving.” Klem pointed to the door.
His sister just smiled and gave a tinkling little laugh again. “Not yet, dear brother. I want to get to know your human a little more. And you still haven’t explained why you missed last month’s dinner, now have you?” She didn’t wait for Klem’s reply, but instead turned to Gavin. “I’m Melodia,” she purred as she stroked Gavin’s arm. She gazed at him with adoring eyes, batting her eyelashes coyly. He began get a little uncomfortable when she continued to bat them after thirty seconds.
Finally she stopped staring at him and just frowned. “Don’t you find me beautiful?” she asked in confusion.
Gavin squirmed a little and considered the implications of offending his roommate’s sister. “Well yes,” he said slowly. “You’re very pretty, I guess.”
She blinked. “You guess?” she asked. Suddenly her eyes widened and she pulled her hand back. “By all that is green, you’re a fairy!” she crowed, laughing in delight.
Klem frowned. “He’s not a fairy, Mel. He’s a human.”
Gavin watched as she continued to laugh, gripping his arm to stay upright. A smile slowly slid across his own lips. “I think she’s talking about a different kind of fair,” he said gently, and that only set her off into more gales of laughter.
Klem continued to stare from one to the other. “What?” He shook his head. “There aren’t more than one kind of fairy. Well, I mean there are different types of fairies, but they’re all the magical non-human types. What kind of human is a fairy?”
His sister calmed enough to make a suggestion. “Perhaps that’s your next riddle, Klemy. Though I bet most people would be able to answer it pretty quickly.” She looked him up and down. “Well, most people but you,” she amended. She turned back to Gavin and grinned again “You can call me Mel, and I’ll have that drink now.”
“What would you like?”
“Got any whisky?” she asked.
Gavin blinked. Suddenly she wasn’t quite so girly. Huh. “Yes, actually. How do you like it?”
“Oh, that’s not the type of question you ask a girl when you first meet her,” Mel joked, and held up a hand to cut off her brother’s sputtering. “I’ll take the whiskey neat, though,” she offered as she sat back down at the table.
Gavin risked a look at his troll roommate and was relieved to see that he seemed slightly mollified by the beer in his hand. More or less. At least his teeth weren’t showing any more.
Gavin dug around in the cabinet until he came up with a bottle of Jack Daniels. Not the highest quality, but neither of them really drank enough whiskey to warrant the good stuff so it would have to do. He wasn’t even really sure where the bottle had come from. He quickly found a glass that was more or less clean and filled it with a finger’s width. He moved to hand it to Mel, but she just raised an eyebrow. A little disconcerted, he poured another finger’s width, and then another until she finally nodded in satisfaction.
She plucked the glass from his hand and neatly tossed the whole thing back in three elegant gulps, setting the glass down with a happy sigh. Gavin sat next to her with his own drink, sliding his eyes to the left so he could watch his roommate. Klem just continued to mutter to himself, puzzling through the riddle with such fierce concentration that Gavin began to feel sorry for him. The troll barely noticed as Mel struck up a conversation. They sat for half an hour or so, Klem still muttering, while Gavin promised to touch up Mel’s roots-she wasn’t quite as blonde as she looked, compliments of a troll father.
Finally, though, the fairy princess gathered her coat and glovers and prepared to leave. Gavin almost asked her to stay a while longer, a little unnerved by the way Klem was still staring at him. He could think of no good excuse, though, so he set about cleaning their glasses as the siblings said their goodbyes.
“Fine, fine! I’ll be there for the midwinter dinner. But I’m not staying overnight.” Klem’s grouchiness was obviously half-hearted, mind distracted by the riddle.
Mel smiled widely. “I’ll agree to that if you bring your pretty human.”
“Gavin?” Klem asked, surprised. “Why would I bring him?”
She leaned forward and whispered something in his ear, and Gavin watched as Klem’s skin turned a faintly darker shade of green. Uh oh. Secret out. He hastily turned back to the dishes as Mel closed the door behind her and he was suddenly alone. In an enclosed space. With a troll that may or may not be about to eat him.
“A fairy?” Klem asked incredulously.
Gavin held up his hands in defense. “Her words, not mine. I have never referred to myself as such.” His lips quirked a little. “Usually the term is a little offensive.”
Klem stepped forward, eyes narrowed. “You think this is funny?”
Gavin backed up a step. “I can explain,” he said hastily.
Klem paused, and for a moment he seemed a little lost. “Do you like me?” he asked.
Gavin watched him warily. “Well yeah. Of course. Why do you think I wanted to live here?”
Klem’s brows drew together as he attempted to work out the answer to that question. “Free rent?”
Gavin laughed a little weakly. “Well, there is that. But that doesn’t explain why I bring you new riddle books from the library. Or why I always stock your favorite beer. Or even why I spend every Sunday listening to Car Talk with you.”
Klem only looked more confused. “But I’m green. And not a nice green like Mel.”
Gavin took a step forward. “That’s true. But it only means I can’t wear certain colors while standing next to you. And I always liked the color green. Especially your color green.”
“But I’m not even nice to you,” Klem protested weakly, and now it was he who was slowly backing up as Gavin approached.
Gavin smiled more confidently. This he could work with. “Well, we can work on that,” he reassured Klem. “And anyways, I like it when you’re cranky. Keeps things interesting, and I enjoy finding new ways to cheer you up.”
“What about the whole living under a bridge and asking riddles thing?” Klem squeaked as his back hit the wall.
“Are you kidding? This is an awesome house. And at least you have an interesting job description. I think you’re the only one hung up on it.”
Gavin took one step closer, and now they were less than a foot apart.
Klem’s eyes flicked left and then right in panic. “But what about,” but that was as far as he got before Gavin stood on his toes and leaned in to kiss him.. Klem gave a small whimper but didn’t protest when his roommate’s arms wrapped around him.
Sometime later Gavin finally drew back, placing a soft kiss between Klem’s glazed eyes. “You know what this means, don’t you?” he asked.
Klem managed a “Ngh?” and Gavin couldn’t resist kissing him again.
“It means you really are a fairy prince now,” he murmured against Klem’s lips. He was pleased to note that while Klem did elbow him in the gut, the troll also continued to kiss him.
Note: Same boys as in this story from last week
“Don’t drop the beer, don’t drop the beer, don’t drop the beer.” Gavin kept up the litany as he juggled the bags in his arms, searching his pockets for his keys. Anything else could be replaced tomorrow, but if he dropped the beer he’d have to go back out or risk a troll’s wrath.
He sighed in relief as his fingers finally brushed against the keys, and he pressed firmly on the little sliver fob that held them all together as he stepped forward. The chilly December night faded even as the bridge above his head lowered and walls rose up around him. Gavin carefully set the beer down on a side table and let the rest of the bags drop in a heap on the floor. Twelve bags. Quite a lot to have to carry fifteen blocks. He really need to get his registration paid so he could start driving to the grocery.
He grabbed the beer again and hooked a few of the bags around his wrist as he headed down the hall. “I got beer!” he called as he turned the corner into the kitchen.
Only to find that Klem wasn’t alone. That was…different. Gavin couldn’t remember ever seeing Klem with guests in the house. Well, except for the pair of witches that lived in the lofts down the street. They stopped by every now and then baring dubious desserts and looking for gossip.
But this wasn’t a witch. The woman sitting with Klem was absolutely love. Fine, delicate features, eyes the color of summer grass. Her pale hair fell in waves down her back-and were those leaf patterns in her tresses? He blined as he registered that her skin was just very slightly green. In fact, it was similar to Klem’s own coloring, though perhaps a paler shade. More shimmery and paste. His eyes moved to her wings and it clicked.
“Oh! You’re Klem’s sister!” The woman smiled and gave a small, girlish laugh.
“Why Klemy! Who is this? I didn’t know you’d made a new friend!” She rose fluidly in a way common only to dancers and held a hand out to Gavin. He hastily set the beer down on the counter and dropped his bags, taking her hand gently in his own.
“Uh, I’m Gavin,” he said awkwardly. “Klem is just letting me stay here for a while.”
She giggled again and took his hand back. “Really?” she asked. “That’s very surprising. It must be a tricky thing living with my brother.”
Gavin shot a look at the brother in question, who was currently looking daggers at them. “Mel,” he said shortly, “that’s enough. Time for you to leave.”
“But I just got here, Klemy!” It was the first time Gavin could remember whining sounding cute. Well, perhaps it wasn’t all that cute, because Klem definitely wasn’t looking any less cranky.
“Mel. Leave. Now.” Troll teeth were a scary thing, really, and Gavin was glad they weren’t currently bared at him. He stepped forward quickly, grabbing a beer as he moved.
“I stopped by the grocery on the way here,” he said conversationally, and tried not to wince when Klem’s glare shifted to him. “I can get some food started if you’d like. And I got your favorite beer. See?” He popped the top and handed a bottle to his roommate, turning back to the fairy princess. She was watching then with far too much amusement for Gavin’s comfort. “Would you like something?” he asked politely.
“She doesn’t want anything. She’s leaving.” Klem pointed to the door.
His sister just smiled and gave a tinkling little laugh again. “Not yet, dear brother. I want to get to know your human a little more. And you still haven’t explained why you missed last month’s dinner, now have you?” She didn’t wait for Klem’s reply, but instead turned to Gavin. “I’m Melodia,” she purred as she stroked Gavin’s arm. She gazed at him with adoring eyes, batting her eyelashes coyly. He began get a little uncomfortable when she continued to bat them after thirty seconds.
Finally she stopped staring at him and just frowned. “Don’t you find me beautiful?” she asked in confusion.
Gavin squirmed a little and considered the implications of offending his roommate’s sister. “Well yes,” he said slowly. “You’re very pretty, I guess.”
She blinked. “You guess?” she asked. Suddenly her eyes widened and she pulled her hand back. “By all that is green, you’re a fairy!” she crowed, laughing in delight.
Klem frowned. “He’s not a fairy, Mel. He’s a human.”
Gavin watched as she continued to laugh, gripping his arm to stay upright. A smile slowly slid across his own lips. “I think she’s talking about a different kind of fair,” he said gently, and that only set her off into more gales of laughter.
Klem continued to stare from one to the other. “What?” He shook his head. “There aren’t more than one kind of fairy. Well, I mean there are different types of fairies, but they’re all the magical non-human types. What kind of human is a fairy?”
His sister calmed enough to make a suggestion. “Perhaps that’s your next riddle, Klemy. Though I bet most people would be able to answer it pretty quickly.” She looked him up and down. “Well, most people but you,” she amended. She turned back to Gavin and grinned again “You can call me Mel, and I’ll have that drink now.”
“What would you like?”
“Got any whisky?” she asked.
Gavin blinked. Suddenly she wasn’t quite so girly. Huh. “Yes, actually. How do you like it?”
“Oh, that’s not the type of question you ask a girl when you first meet her,” Mel joked, and held up a hand to cut off her brother’s sputtering. “I’ll take the whiskey neat, though,” she offered as she sat back down at the table.
Gavin risked a look at his troll roommate and was relieved to see that he seemed slightly mollified by the beer in his hand. More or less. At least his teeth weren’t showing any more.
Gavin dug around in the cabinet until he came up with a bottle of Jack Daniels. Not the highest quality, but neither of them really drank enough whiskey to warrant the good stuff so it would have to do. He wasn’t even really sure where the bottle had come from. He quickly found a glass that was more or less clean and filled it with a finger’s width. He moved to hand it to Mel, but she just raised an eyebrow. A little disconcerted, he poured another finger’s width, and then another until she finally nodded in satisfaction.
She plucked the glass from his hand and neatly tossed the whole thing back in three elegant gulps, setting the glass down with a happy sigh. Gavin sat next to her with his own drink, sliding his eyes to the left so he could watch his roommate. Klem just continued to mutter to himself, puzzling through the riddle with such fierce concentration that Gavin began to feel sorry for him. The troll barely noticed as Mel struck up a conversation. They sat for half an hour or so, Klem still muttering, while Gavin promised to touch up Mel’s roots-she wasn’t quite as blonde as she looked, compliments of a troll father.
Finally, though, the fairy princess gathered her coat and glovers and prepared to leave. Gavin almost asked her to stay a while longer, a little unnerved by the way Klem was still staring at him. He could think of no good excuse, though, so he set about cleaning their glasses as the siblings said their goodbyes.
“Fine, fine! I’ll be there for the midwinter dinner. But I’m not staying overnight.” Klem’s grouchiness was obviously half-hearted, mind distracted by the riddle.
Mel smiled widely. “I’ll agree to that if you bring your pretty human.”
“Gavin?” Klem asked, surprised. “Why would I bring him?”
She leaned forward and whispered something in his ear, and Gavin watched as Klem’s skin turned a faintly darker shade of green. Uh oh. Secret out. He hastily turned back to the dishes as Mel closed the door behind her and he was suddenly alone. In an enclosed space. With a troll that may or may not be about to eat him.
“A fairy?” Klem asked incredulously.
Gavin held up his hands in defense. “Her words, not mine. I have never referred to myself as such.” His lips quirked a little. “Usually the term is a little offensive.”
Klem stepped forward, eyes narrowed. “You think this is funny?”
Gavin backed up a step. “I can explain,” he said hastily.
Klem paused, and for a moment he seemed a little lost. “Do you like me?” he asked.
Gavin watched him warily. “Well yeah. Of course. Why do you think I wanted to live here?”
Klem’s brows drew together as he attempted to work out the answer to that question. “Free rent?”
Gavin laughed a little weakly. “Well, there is that. But that doesn’t explain why I bring you new riddle books from the library. Or why I always stock your favorite beer. Or even why I spend every Sunday listening to Car Talk with you.”
Klem only looked more confused. “But I’m green. And not a nice green like Mel.”
Gavin took a step forward. “That’s true. But it only means I can’t wear certain colors while standing next to you. And I always liked the color green. Especially your color green.”
“But I’m not even nice to you,” Klem protested weakly, and now it was he who was slowly backing up as Gavin approached.
Gavin smiled more confidently. This he could work with. “Well, we can work on that,” he reassured Klem. “And anyways, I like it when you’re cranky. Keeps things interesting, and I enjoy finding new ways to cheer you up.”
“What about the whole living under a bridge and asking riddles thing?” Klem squeaked as his back hit the wall.
“Are you kidding? This is an awesome house. And at least you have an interesting job description. I think you’re the only one hung up on it.”
Gavin took one step closer, and now they were less than a foot apart.
Klem’s eyes flicked left and then right in panic. “But what about,” but that was as far as he got before Gavin stood on his toes and leaned in to kiss him.. Klem gave a small whimper but didn’t protest when his roommate’s arms wrapped around him.
Sometime later Gavin finally drew back, placing a soft kiss between Klem’s glazed eyes. “You know what this means, don’t you?” he asked.
Klem managed a “Ngh?” and Gavin couldn’t resist kissing him again.
“It means you really are a fairy prince now,” he murmured against Klem’s lips. He was pleased to note that while Klem did elbow him in the gut, the troll also continued to kiss him.