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The idea had been Bloom’s. And as she sat in the darkened theater, sandwiched between her specialist and the fire fairy herself, Farah hated her for it. She wasn’t necessarily proud of her emotions, but this had to be by far the worst experience of her life, and that included nearly dying. The mind fairy’s spine was rigid and her hands were clenched so tightly in her lap that her knuckles were white. Her hazel eyes were unnaturally wide, in a conscious attempt to force herself to continue to watch the movie. She was an adult, Farah scolded herself, and she was merely watching a movie. The fact that some masked man who was stalking a bunch of teenagers in the woods, chasing them and stabbing them on the screen, had her so terrified was, in her own opinion, ridiculous. She felt a bitter resentment about her own nonsensical fear. She had faced death, burned ones, and years of being a soldier. Nothing about the movie should have been able to get to her.
The mind fairy’s eyes slid to her left, where the younger fairy squeaked. She watched while Bloom dove into her boyfriend’s chest, her hair and hands hiding her eyes as Sky wrapped his arm around her, pulling her snuggly into his embrace. The girl kept her head on his chest as she turned and brushed her hair out of her eyes, tentatively looking back at the movie. The realization of why Bloom had asked to go see a horror movie suddenly became clear. Irritation warred with envy, as the older fairy watched the way her god son adjusted to accommodate holding his girlfriend. The envy was tinged with regret when she caught him nuzzling Bloom’s hair with his nose as he whispered to her. The boy’s actions reminded her of his father, the specialist on her right, but as she watched, she saw and felt a far stronger affection between the pair than she had ever noticed in Saul. Holding back an angry sigh, Farah forced herself to turn back to the screen in front of her.
It had been Bloom’s idea, and Saul loved her for it. It had taken a lot for him to forgive the girl who had brought Rosalind back into their lives, even as he understood her naive mistake, and even as he forgave Terra and Stella, who had helped her, nearly immediately. But this moment sealed the deal for him. The movie was campy and ridiculous. The plot was bare and the gore was about as unrealistic as it could get. It was the kind of dumb movie he enjoyed. But what made it even better than simply enjoying the movie, Saul was enjoying the Farah’s attempt at stoicism. Although she would never admit it, the specialist knew that his fairy had no tolerance for horror movies. He was secretly amused, as he watched her out of the corner of his eye, at how hard she was trying to pretend she wasn’t scared. Saul could hear the mind fairy’s shallow breathing, as she tried to control herself to keep from hyperventilating. He could just make out the dilation of her pupils as the light filtered off the screen. He took note of the tick in her jaw, and the way her teeth clamped down on her lip as she swallowed scream after scream.
Finally, when she was so jittery he knew that he would be able to get away with teasing her, he casually moved. Just before the next jump scare, because movies like this one were so predictable, he gently slid his arm around the back of her chair, leaned over and whispered, “having fun?” His voice was a little deep as he tried to stay fairly quiet in the theater, and his lips barely brushed the shell of her ear. The fairy practically jumped, clearly spooked. Saul felt a moment of guilt at having a go at her, but it was only a moment. Seconds later, as the killer suddenly appeared again, Farah’s hand flew to his thigh, her nails digging in the muscle in a vice like grip. Saul grunted at the strength and the slight sting of the pressure even through his jeans. He also held back his continued amusement as he slid the arm he’d placed around her down slightly to gently rub her arm. The cheesiness of the movie was worth every penny to see Farah let her guard down, even just that little bit.
A few minutes later, and the killer hacked and slashed apart another victim. To Saul’s surprise, Farah did actually scream then, and practically leapt into his lap, turning with alacrity and throwing her arms around his neck as she buried her face in his shoulder. The specialist put his arms around his fairy, wrapping her tightly in an embrace and rubbing her back as she shook in his arms. He looked down at the top of her head, bewildered, before meeting the equally surprised glances of the two teenagers next to them. Saul shook his head slightly at their expressions, before turning back to the movie. Farah made no move to leave his embrace, nor did she look at the screen again. Every time someone screamed, her arms tightened reflexively around his neck and she pushed further into his body. The specialist tried to remind himself that it wasn’t actually a proper date, and to focus on the movie, more than the feel of the fairy in his arms.
To Farah, it felt like it took forever for the movie to end. When the lights finally came up, the mind fairy slowly extracted herself from her specialist’s embrace, still hesitant to leave the clear protection of his arms. Because it was summer, and the school was closed, Farah, Saul and Sky were staying in their apartments in Solaria proper. As such, Farah had transitioned to her “summer style” as Terra liked to call it, and her hair was down. She was grateful for the same as she let the caramel strands dangle over her face, so her companions couldn’t see her or the blush she was sporting. She rubbed her suddenly sweaty hands against her jeans and stood, trying to keep her head ducked and face turned away, as the adrenaline faded, and she was flooded with embarrassment.
They turned to follow the rest of the crowd out of the theater. The mind fairy allowed herself to drift back, distancing from her specialist, and the deep embarrassment she felt remembering how she had practically crawled into his body seeking comfort. She was silent on the ride home, unable to bring herself to participate as her mind raced while Saul first drove to the public gateway to send Bloom back to the first world and her parents, before turning back to the building he and Farah both maintained apartments in. When the trio got to Farah’s floor, both specialists got out of the elevator with her to walk her to the door. As they reached her apartment, the mind fairy did her best to control the sudden shaking of her hand while she slid the key in the look.
Farah held in a deep sigh and turned to look up at her two companions with a smile that didn’t meet her eyes. “Good night.” Then she turned and stepped one foot into the darkened room. Her hand tightened on the knob. Hesitation set in as she stared into the darkened rooms. Before it became obvious that she was hesitating, she heard Saul mutter to Sky to head up to their apartment. A warm hand settled on her lower back, and the specialist reached around her to turn on the foyer light.
Saul guided her in, shutting the door behind them. “Are you going to be alright?” He asked her gently as she stared tremulously at the rest of her darkened apartment.
“Of course.” Farah him archly, trying to save face. She turned to face her companion, appearing fully composed. Some of that composure slipped, however, at the understanding in his grey eyes.
“Its okay to be scared Farah.” He chastised her gently.
“It most certainly is not.” She retorted primly. “Honestly, it was just a movie Saul.”
The half grin he gave her made it absolutely apparent that he didn’t believe her. “Alright,” he shrugged casually, turning towards the door, calling her bluff.
Cursing herself silently, Farah found herself reaching out, grabbing his sleeve. “But, if you wanted to have some tea before you leave?” She asked.
Farah heard his warm chuckle and she desperately wanted to at least feign anger, or actually feel irritated with him, and retract the offer. But she couldn’t bring her to do so, she was too desperately terrified of being alone. Saul turned back around and laced their fingers together. Immediately she felt better. “Tea sounds good. And maybe I can search the apartment for intruders?” He suggested teasingly.
Saul bit back a wide grin as the mind fairy blushed. He tugged her further into the apartment, turning on the lights as he went. The specialist took them both to the kitchen area, making a big show of checking under all the furniture and around corners as they went, just as he had when Sky had been little and been afraid of the dark and monsters under the bed. Farah rolled her eyes, having seen him go through those motions and recognizing his teasing for what it was. But Saul saw her shoulders relax, and he could see the hit of the smile she was trying to hide.
“I’m going to go check the bedroom and bathroom.” He told her once they were in the kitchen. On a whim, he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before walking out. When he came back, the tea was prepared and his fairy was sitting at the breakfast bar, sipping out of one of her delicate china cups. A much more substantial mug sat in front of the other chair. “All clear.” The specialist announced as he sat. She rolled her eyes again and he winked.
For some time they sat sipping the tea and simply talking. After nearly a hour, Farah tried and failed to hide a yawn in her cup. Seeing it, Saul stood, stretching and clearly about to leave. The mind fairy unfolded herself and stood as well, far more reluctantly. “Sleep well, Farah.” He told her as he headed towards the door.
“Saul?” He turned at the soft, uncertain voice behind him. “You could stay? If you ah…wanted to?” He noticed the nearly imperceptible wince, as his fairy tried and failed to make it sound like anything other than her asking him. He was surprised at her continued vulnerability. They had shown each other the dark and ugly parts of themselves for years, and he had guessed at others. But his fairy had always worked to seem unflappable, it was rare she even let him see her scared. Some part of him, a left over bit of teenager, felt a macho pride, that she was looking to him to protect her. It had always secretly driven him a little crazy that such a powerful woman relied on him to watch her back.
“Of course.” He whispered, his voice hoarse with words he knew he shouldn’t say. Farah grabbed a pillow and some extra blankets from the closet and made up the couch for him. Once she had gone into her bedroom and he saw the light turn off, he sent a text to Sky, letting him know where he was, and closed his eyes. What felt like minutes later, but was probably a few hours, Saul jolted awake. Before he could even process what had woken him up, the mind fairy in the other room screamed again. Without a thought, the specialist dove off the couch and ran into the bedroom, only to see his fairy sitting up right, tumbled curls sticking to her sweat soaked face, as she stared wide eyed at the wall and panted. He was sitting next to her on the bed, brushing her hair back and gently stroking her cheeks before he knew what he was doing. “It was just a nightmare.” He whispered to her over and over as she took shuddering breaths.
Finally, she seemed to calm down. Farah was barely awake as the specialist gently pushed her back to lay down. He started to pull the covers over her, when her hand shot out grabbed the waistband of his pants in a death grip. “Don’t leave.” The fairy whispered tearfully. Saul froze, his mind nearly shut down in surprise. Despite the shock at her request, the specialist had never been able to deny his fairy anything. With a soft sigh, he lifted the blanket, even as Farah slid over to allow him room under the covers. As soon as he was settled, she curled into him, her head on his shoulder and her arm draped across his bare chest. She was tracing little nonsense patterns into his opposite shoulder as she drifted off. “Go to sleep Farah, I’m here.” He whispered, placing a gentle and brief kiss on the top of her head.
As he felt all the tension drop out of her body, he let out a deep breath, feeling himself relax as well. Having his fairy in his arms felt like a missing piece of the puzzle had just been found. Saul knew Farah had made her request half asleep and in a fear induced haze. Tomorrow there would be an awkward conversation. But as he drifted to sleep, Saul decided that maybe he would be brave enough to tell her the truth. Within moments, he too was asleep, a small smile on his face.