Chapter Text
“Must you leave?” George murmured into his mate’s neck. Bob was leaving today to go back to his masters and he didn’t want to let him go.
Bob held him close, “I must, beloved. But I’ll be back soon, alright? You’ll be all better by then, won’t you?”
George nodded and looked up at him.
His mate dragged him into a long and deep snog, much to the chagrin of Paul who was Standing. Right. There.
After maybe three to eight minutes, he cleared his throat. Then he cleared it again. A bit louder? Nope.
“Excuse me?” He finally said.
The lovers parted lips and George giggled into his clawed palm. (He hadn’t bothered with a full transformation and as such, his hair was made of feathers, his eyes were still owlish, and his nose was yellower and harder than was fitting for a human.)
The two watched Bob take off, turning into a rather small brown owl as he went out the broken window. Paul sighed after him, what a world he was now a part of.
George stared longingly after his mate, hating to him see go. But as was their nature, they served their masters before themselves.
He turned to John’s human and bowed. “Thank you for your help. I can see what John sees in you.”
Paul couldn’t help but blush as he bowed back. “Least I could do, since it was my fault you were kicked out.”
George shook his head, “John’s temper can't be helped. Wizards aren’t stable beings.”
Paul wasn’t sure what that meant, but he didn’t like it.
“I should go to him.” George said. “He’ll be worried.”
“Yes, he was.” Paul told him, remembering the man’s concern when he’d visited.
George smiled youthfully, “Goodbye.” And in a flurry of feathers, he was gone.
He flew through the forest, sweeping under and over branches, greeting the animals as he went along.
The cabin was quiet when he arrived and as the owl looked up at the sun’s position in the sky, he realized that it was time for prayer.
And indeed, John was bowing before the altar; the smell of sage was in the air. He waited until the wizard finished his incantations and stood up before making his presence known through a hoot.
John’s head snapped up and he put on his glasses. “George, you’re back!”
The owl transformed into a human and bowed. He had no chance to speak before John had picked him up in a hug and spinned him around.
“Oh I’m so sorry, George!” Cried John after he put him down. “I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”
George tssked. “It wasn’t your fault,” He said. “Stupid foxes. Paul’s small friend fixed me up.” He frowned as John reddened at the farmer’s name. “Is everything alright between the two of you?”
John smiled falsely and nodded madly. “Of course!”
George just stared at him.
John deflated, “...no.”
His owl led him to one of the sofas, taking one of the blankets to cover himself up. “What happened?”
John buried his face in his palms, pushing his glasses up. “I’m afraid I was rather rude. I’ve embarrassed him.”
“I don’t follow.” George said with a frown.
John hugged himself, looking even more vulnerable than usual. He cleared his throat. “The other day Elton came over and he, uh, made some jokes.”
George shrugged slightly, Elton making jokes was nothing new.
John’s glasses had turned a bright red. “Um, sex jokes.” He looked down, “About me and Paul.”
George hooted in comfort. “I’m sure he didn’t mind.” He murmured kindly.
The wizard shook his head. “That’s not it. Paul...he said he felt a tension between us. I, I, a sexual tension.” He looked up at George, “Do you see that?”
His owl didn’t immediately deny it, as John had hoped. Instead he hummed with a frown. “I suppose,” He started, “That you would make a nice couple.”
John winced. “No, I don’t think so.” He shook his head vehemently.
“Why not?” George asked gently.
His master spluttered, “Well, for one, he’s human! And humans are, well they are- not clean! Not clean is what they are! And I’m a wizard, wizards have to be clean, don’t we? Yes, we do. And besides, he’s probably a very sexually active person and I’ve never done anything of the sort, I wouldn’t want to disappoint him-“
“John.” George interrupted sternly. “Do you really believe that? You should have seen how he acted when I kissed Bob, he was as red as a poppie fairy!”
John groaned into his arms.
“I can tell he’s interested in you.” His owl declared. “Are you interested in him?”
John didn’t know what it was like to be interested in someone but he did know what it was like to not be interested. “I...perhaps.”
George smiled, “Talk to him, then. You deserve to be happy, Johnny.”
You deserve to be happy, George had said to him. And as John saw the farm coming up, he wondered if he would get what he deserved. Following the faint aura of the bracelet he’d given Paul, John got off his horse and walked around the property until he found the farmer inspecting a batch of carrots.
John walked behind him silently and then cleared his throat.
Paul jumped a foot in the air and turned around violently, swinging the carrot like a weapon.
Startled, the wizard let out a spell that disintegrated the vegetable and covered them in orange bits.
For a moment, the two oranged men stared at each other.
John blushed. “Sorry about that.” He tried to smirk, “Now you don’t have to chop it, at least.”
Paul blinked at him, then a smile broke out on his face and he chuckled. “Yeah, I guess that’s a plus.” He was glad John had appeared, fearing that their past meeting would have completely shattered their friendship.
There was silence as each of them thought of something to say.
John suddenly recalled his excuse for visiting and dug into his satchel. “Here I brought this for you.” And he held up a jar with a colourful butterfly flying around inside.
Paul stared at it in awe and confusion. “Wow, it’s beautiful.” But why had John brought it?
John offered the jar to him. “It’s a minstrel butterfly. She’ll fly around the property, but never leave; they keep evil spirits away.”
The farmer smiled softly. Once again, John was giving him ways to keep safe. He’d gotten so worried about how he’d reacted against George that he’d forgotten what had attracted him to the mysterious man in the first place. John was soft. He was a soft, perhaps delicate creature that had been hidden away in a forest all his life. He reminded John of a nervous squirrel that, while curious to explore the world, could be scared away with just a sudden move. Paul has made a sudden move the other day, but the squirrel had returned. He looked up at John after taking the jar. “Thank you for this, luv.”
John grinned delightfully. He’d never been called that before.
Paul cleared his throat and avoided the other’s gaze. “I, um, I’m sorry about what I inferred the other day- I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I was just-“
John shook his head. “It’s alright.” He promised. “I’m sorry too, if I was blunt.” He blushed slightly, “I was just, um, freaked out? A tad. Because well, well I…”
“Have never been with anyone?” Paul inquired tenderly.
John nodded quickly and looked down.
“That thing Elton said, about your connections to the faeries…” Paul left the sentence to hang. He couldn’t help but be curious, but didn’t want to outwardly pry.
The wizard’s glasses turned brownish red and he sighed. With a nod, he spoke in a vaguely upset tone. “There was a human,” He said, “Called Brian. He was raised by the fae after a changeling took his place. I’d met him many times, but after my Aunt died he and I became very close.” Brian had visited every day, cooked and cleaned for John, helped him find a familiar, comforted him during long nights...he’d been a real friend. John wrapped his hands around each other, “A year later, he invited me down to the faerie realm. I was young, inexperienced with dealing with the fair folk, and I trusted him.” A grave mistake.
Seeing John tense up, Paul led him to a bench where they could sit down. “Listen, if you don’t want to talk about it-“
John shook his head and took off his blue glasses. “No, it’s fine. You’re my friend, I trust you.” He cleared his throat and kept going. “There was a great feast and Brian, he kept encouraging me to eat and eat. I hadn’t tasted food so delicious since mimi had died, so I did. And near the end, with all the faeries watching...he fed me a Posadh flower.” He paused.
Paul rested a gentle hand on the wizard’s back and whispered, “What does the flower do?”
“It’s not what it does, it’s what it means .” John mumbled. He took a deep breath and unconsciously leaned back into Paul. “The connection Elton was talking about is... marriage. I’m married to Brian and I hate him.”
Oh. Paul wasn’t expecting that. He didn’t know what to say. What words could ever make up for that violation? “What happened to him?”
John faced away from Paul and sniffed. “He’s still down there.” He raised a hand and showed a red tattoo of a lightning bolt that covered his palm. “This keeps him away from me. After I escaped the fairy realm with David and Mick’s help, I made a deal with them. As long as they continued to aid me in blessing the land, I would not demand a separation.”
Paul was seething. How dare that man try and trick John into giving himself away. “What a bastard.”
John chuckled wetly. “It’s not his fault. He could have been a great man, but the folk stole him and twisted him.” He shrugged, “It’s his nature.”
Paul didn’t understand how John could be so calm about it, but then again, he supposed it had been a long time ago.
“And because of that,” John carried on, “I never sought relations with anyone. I...I’m better off alone.”
Paul moved his hand from John’s back and took up his hand instead. “No one’s better off alone.”
John put his glasses back on and looked at Paul. “I’m not what you’re looking for.” He whispered. “I’m unstable, you saw me. I’m awkward and rude at times, ignorant of important things-”
The farmer had to interrupt him. He took John’s other hand and squeezed. “John luv,” He said, “You’re exactly what I’m looking for. You’re a brilliant man who was done a great wrong. There is so much to relationships and love.” Paul smiled, “Please, let me show you.”
John swallowed as he looked into Paul’s passionate eyes. Maybe George was right, maybe John did deserve a happy ending. “I...I’ve never been kissed.” He admitted, lenses red.
Paul’s eyes flickered down to the wizard’s lips and he licked his own. His eyes moved back up, “Can I change that?” He asked boldly.
After a moment of hesitance, John nodded.
So Paul did. And if the flowers bloomed a bit more and the birds sang a little louder- well, John couldn’t really help it.
It was a quiet night at the Cavern, with a mere ten or so people scattered around drinking. A strange face sat at the bar, nursing a whiskey and jotting down some words on a thick leather journal.
The bartender could see right away that the man wasn’t from Liverpool, he looked like he came from the South- all cold and glares. Still, nothing wrong with a man doing his job. “So what brings ya to our Liddypool, then?” He said, purposely exaggerating the accent so as to maybe bring a smile out of the stranger.
The man didn’t laugh and for a moment it seemed like he wouldn’t answer the question at all, but then, after shutting his journal, he looked up.
The bartender stepped back and nearly dropped the glass in his hand. The man was missing an eye, with a long scar running from his long curly hair to where his neck met his shirt. He made a frightening sight, especially when he smirked.
“Let’s just say I’ve come back to finish a job.” Said Phil Spector, the feared witch hunter. “I’m here to get rid of something…”
“...unnatural.”