Work Text:
Rumble*
You sigh when your home trembles for the hundredth time, your bed wobbling and your precious jars clattering elsewhere. They'd be falling and shattering on the ground right now if you hadn't already secured them to their shelves a few days ago. The same can't be said for your precious books though. You whine quietly when you turn to where they'd fallen awkwardly, and stand up to put them back.
“It's been a week now and those obnoxious humans are still stomping through the forest over their foolish dispute.” You whisper to yourself as you pick up the thrown books, pouting when you find a few dented covers and creased pages. You didn't know much about the battle going on outside your window except that it was over a marriage. At least that's what you pieced together after a few overheard comments from the forest dwellers. A marriage proposal from a princess from one kingdom was rejected by the prince from another. It all sounded dumb to you, most human affairs do,but it never failed to make you grateful that you weren't one of them. Not anymore anyway.
Years ago you had been given an opportunity to become a fairy and belong to the forest for the rest of your days, and you still don't regret accepting it. The entity had warned you that the transformation was permanent and that you'd never again be able to return to the world of your loved ones. You had told it that that would be fine , because you had no loved ones to return to. So now you reside here in your home tucked deep in the forest, undisturbed and undetected,the memories of being human fading further as the years go by. Well, undetected except for the few old ladies that know of your existence and leave little treats and offerings for you( A common concern of yours is that they won't know it's actually you that's taking them, and someday stop visiting altogether, that or die of old age. The thought always makes you want to cry).
You're in the middle of nailing thin planks to the front of your bookshelves( sure you wouldn't be able to read them for a while, but at least your precious books won't face any further sullying) when your house shakes again. This time it's not an irritating tremble caused by stomping boots, but an aggressive shake caused by something landing heavily just outside. The jolt is so strong that it shakes your hand just when you're about to swing your hammer, forcing it to land directly onto your thumb.
You squeal, the sound coming out a melodious twinkle, something that's been ever since you became a fairy, and grip your thumb tightly. You hold it to your lips as you stumble to your window, avoiding the books that didn't get to be secured in place, and look out the window with angry and pained tears pricking your eyes. This has gone way too far. The next human you see is getting a bagful of pollen powder directly in the nostrils. It wouldn't kill them but they'll be sneezing for quite a while-! Your thoughts come to a pause when you look out your window.
You almost scream again,when you see just what it was that landed against your home. It wasn't a nearby smoke bomb or even a haphazardly thrown sword. It was a human. A human laid against your outer wall. You cover your mouth and throw yourself away from the window, landing on your behind. You'd talked big earlier but you didn't actually want to see a human! You don't think you even actually have any pollen powder right now.
You sit in silence, waiting for something to happen, but nothing does. Even the consistent rumbling of feet that's been going on for a week, is gone. You slowly crawl back to your window and peek over the edge, squeaking and running away again when you see the human is still there. It takes you two more of these before you realize. The human is unconscious. After a lot of pacing and thought, you grab one of your daggers and drip one of your jars of ember essence onto the blade. You watch as it glows red for a moment before returning to its metal shade. Once you've taken a few deep breaths, you clutch your weapon, carefully push open the window, and step out with your wings softly fluttering to keep you in place.
You calmly scan the woods around you. The forest is quiet. The battle is over for the day and the animals have been scared away for now. You shake your head when you see the littered helmets, swords, and shields on the forest floor, ugly stains on a natural canvas. You turn your head towards the unconscious human being on the ground. Flying just the tiniest bit closer, you notice that it's a male, his big body unconcealable under his…. Shabby armor. Why is his armor so poorly maintained? Your eyes drop lower and you gasp when you see the dark patch near his torso, that was gradually seeping larger . You quickly zip closer to get a better look, and cover your mouth when you finally witness the broken arrow in his side. It had been a long time since you'd seen something so awful, the wildlife shielding you from such things.You fell to your knees for a moment, in shock, before quickly looking around for something. You had to remove it right? It couldn't stay there. You scramble quietly before pausing.
“ It'll cause him pain though won't it?” You think to yourself sadly, not at all wanting to make him suffer more than he already has. It isn't until then that you remember a certain powder you have in your satchel. You pull out the small velvet bag and squish it gently in your palm, the powerful powder swishing inside. The entity had only given you a small amount of this, for emergencies it said, and to this day you still haven't used any. Could you really use this on a human? The same beings who'd just been trampling through your environment and disturbing your peace? You look at his wound again, your eyes drifting up to the pained look on his face, and sigh. You reach into the pouch and sprinkle a pinch onto the arrow, whispering “minitus” as you do, and watch it and the wound shrink before your eyes. Once it's down to the size of a small toothpick, you slowly reach for the tiny thing. Hopefully it won't hurt and he won't awaken. Deciding to help him is one thing but being seen by him is not something you want,so you almost jump out of your skin when the human groans, his voice causing you to freeze like a deer in the woods. You sit perfectly still until the crease in his eyebrows softens and his face is calm once again.
“ My goodness.” You gasp quietly and sit back on your heels, holding a hand to your beating heart. That was absolutely all you could handle. You'd done the righteous deed and helped out an injured person, so now you'll go back to your lovely little life alone in the middle of the forest. He'd awaken on his own eventually right? Then he'd be on his merry way, perhaps wondering if a goddess had shown him mercy and healed his wounds. Humans tend to make up their own tales about things.You stand and brush the cold soil off your knees and get ready to fly back through your window when you hear a soft sigh from the human. Turning back slightly, you see the peaceful look on his face, the sight somehow making something in your chest ache.You glance around you both and slowly drop back to your knees next to him. The sun had dipped below the horizon long ago and incoming night air was already beginning to nip at your pointed ears. It was going to be cold tonight, you knew.
Once again you glance at the vulnerable being beside you, his long eyelashes fluttering softly as his large chest rises and falls slowly, and your gaze softens. You sigh deeply for quite possibly the hundredth time today.
“Oh great entity, what am I about to do?” Is all you say before pulling the velvet pouch back out of your satchel.
***
The bubbling coming from a pot is all that can be heard as you stand in your fragrant kitchen, staring off into nothing. You wearily look over your shoulder at the bed by your nook window. Sleeping there is the human you brought into your home. In your favorite spot to read and wrapped in your softest blankets. After all these years of doing everything in your power to stay hidden, you had really brought a human into your home.
“I must've gone mad!” You cry quietly with your hands over your mouth and turn back towards your stove. Not only is he a human being, a species you despised even when you used to be one, he was also a strange man you'd met when he was unconcious.What if he were to try and harm you? You had no idea what this man was like when awake and healthy. Healthy…
“Oh!” You exclaim when you suddenly remember the pot you've been pacing and puzzling in front of. Quickly, you grab a wooden spoon and stir the contents, the creamy liquid and diced vegetables swishing and swirling as you do. You then grab one of your favorite wooden bowls and scoop a decent helping inside. After slicing a piece of bread and pouring a cup of cold water, you add the humble meal to a tray and walk over to the bed by the window. Watching his face carefully, you step closer and when he still hasn't suddenly stirred, you place the tray on the side table. With a near silent huff, you sit on the stool near the bed, finally have a moment to gain your bearings. You sigh again and lean back to look at your ceiling, mindlessly rubbing the bandages on your thumb.
Sedately, you turn your head towards where his stomach laid under your blanket, thinking back to a few hours ago when you'd brought him inside. The hardest part had been getting him in the bed and getting his armor off really, because he was quite heavy, but everything else went rather smoothly. Even if you didn't have much experience with helping others to guide you, you cleaned and bandaged his wound neatly( you didn't even run away when he grunted due to the sting of the purifying alcohol). Since then, he's just been sleeping peacefully, doing the resting part of his healing.
Your eyes drift up to his face next. You'd noticed this before as well, but he was quite an attractive male by your standards, in every physical regard. He had a hard to ignore body. Large but not too large, with firm muscles. A trait that you've never been able to deny liking. His face was pleasant too. Most might miss it because of his peculiar nose that resembled a tree branch to you( you wonder if birds perch on it when he rests after training) but he had a firm jawline, and on it a small beard and full lips that were lovely shades of tan and coral. And his eyes. All you knew about those is that they were framed by long lashes and thick eyebrows.
“Goodness, with the way I'm describing him, one would think that I let him in here because I was seduced.” You chide yourself with warm ears and a shake of your head. When you hear a soft groan, you jump and lift your head back towards his face and watch as he frowns and stretches. He was waking up! You silently look around for something and nothing at the same time. Should you cover your face? Maybe you should grab a weapon? You don't have much time to quietly flail before your eyes land on the ones blearily opening. You gasp when his eyes blink open fully and focus on you. Not a breath escapes you while he watches you silently for a few seconds, before closing his eyes again.
“ Haah. You've finally gone to the other side, Usopp. Why else would you wake up to a goddess hovering over you? Unless this is just a dream. I'm not sure which possibility I prefer actually.” He sighs with a content smile on his face and you just blink as he mumbles to himself. You're contemplating backing away slowly until you realize that he must be disoriented. You'd be baffled too if you suddenly woke up in an unfamiliar place. You're about to try and speak to him when he suddenly says something else.
“She really was quite the beauty too. If this is a dream I'm not sure I want to wake up.” He hums, blissfully unaware of his actual reality. You cover your mouth with your hand, surprisingly finding the situation slightly amusing. He hadn't even opened his eyes again since they'd first met yours and yet he was calling you beautiful. It was endearing to say the least.
“Excuse me.” You call out softly, so as not to startle him. He jumps a little anyway, as if he wasn't expecting you to speak to him, and turns his head towards you slightly. You falter when his round eyes land on you again.
“Oh! Um- yes? Miss dream goddess?” He replies and you have to cover your mouth once more. You contain yourself and speak up again.
“ This isn't a dream.” You tell him and he sighs before closing his eyes again, making you tilt your head.
“ Then I must be dead.” He says calmly as if he's come to grips with his nonexistent fate,and your eyes widen.
“No, you're quite alive.” You frown in concern. Silence passes between you two as he lays quietly. You worry that he may be in a state of shock, but isn't that only when you hear bad news?
“So I'm alive huh?” He says quietly with a peaceful smile still on his face. You're just about to blow a sigh of relief when his eyes suddenly snap open. You yelp when he quickly sits up and screams at the top of his lungs before standing onto your bed. He backs himself against the wall by the window and looks at you as if you had turned into some sort of ghost.
“ So this isn't a dream?! This isn't some sort of heavenly resting place inhabited by a gorgeous goddess?! Where am i?! And what do you plan on doing to me!?” He screeches as he points a trembling finger at you. After getting over the initial shock from his unexpected hysterics, you straighten your back and clear your throat.
“ Where you are is in my home, and what I plan to do is kick you out if you don't get a hold of yourself!” you frown, raising your voice a little too. Hopefully he didn't notice the way your hands tremble. You knew it was a possibility that he could actually be a crazy man but you didn't know it'd be true. Although, with the way he was shaking it looked like he was more frightened by this whole ordeal than you were.
“Your home!? Why did you bring me here!?” he yells again, supposedly accusing you of capturing him. You huff and stand up, making him flinch a little.
“ Because-! You- you collapsed outside of my house! And as much as I wanted to, I couldn't bear to leave you there!” You holler back, feeling a burning in your nose as tears start to pool in your eyes. The exhaustion from the day was catching up to you, making you act differently than normal.
“Collapsed?” He asks quietly with big eyes and only then does he process the pain spreading around his torso, the adrenaline from waking up in a foreign place rapidly fading and no longer keeping him oblivious of it. You watch him and slowly sit as he plops back onto the bed. He looked shocked as if he didn't even remember falling unconscious.
“Oh yeah, the battle! I remember I was shot out of the tree I was in!” he gasps and you watch silently as he recalls everything.
“And you said I fell outside your house? But we weren't fighting near any houses.” He murmurs to himself and you brace yourself when he turns and opens your window.
“W-wha-?” He shudders as he looks out at the towering trees outside, their trunks being much, much larger than they were before he passed out. You prepare yourself as you listen to him struggle to find words, and plug your ears right as he begins to scream again.
“AAAAAAAAH! WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ME!? I'M THE SIZE OF AN ANT! I'M THE SIZE OF A BUUUUUUG!” His voice rings throughout the woods. Even in his new size, his wails are loud enough to shake the birds resting in the trees.
***
“Haaaaah.” You exhale as you finish rubbing on the last of your oils, therefore finishing your little nightly routine. The human had eventually passed back out after the shock of finding that he'd shrunk, so you took the opportunity to take your bath. It has gotten so late and at some point while you were bathing it had started to rain. You yawn and pull on a shawl before making your way back to your den. When you step out you see the human is looking out the window but he jumps when you walk in. You both look at one another, each of you trying to think of something to say, until he turns towards you.
“I uh-! found the food you prepared for me. Thank you!” He says energetically and bows his head to you a little. You had completely forgotten about the meal you made. You look over at the tray and find the dishes on it entirely empty. Your chest swells a little at the sight, until you realize that he was probably just hungry after not eating all day.
“ It was no trouble. It must've been cold by now.” You respond quietly while you stand awkwardly in the center of the room. You can tell there's something else he wants to tell you, but you're not sure if you want to hear it or let it be swallowed by this atmosphere. Instead of letting his nerves get the best of him though, he quickly sits on his knees and bows slightly. You look at him with wide eyes as he begins to speak.
“ I apologize for the way I behaved earlier! You went out of your way to dress my wounds and give me food and shelter, when you could've turned me into a frog or something! I greatly appreciate it!” He thanks you loudly and his voice projects in the small room. You simply stand there and stare at him, at a bit of a loss.
“It-it's really alright! Don't bow, your wounds could-. A frog? Why would I turn you into a frog?” You start before noticing the rest of his sentence. Sure, you had a variety of different powders and essences, but you couldn't cast spells or change someone's appearance. Mildly irritate someone's sinuses, or give them a slight burn or chill maybe, but that was the extent of your influence on anyone else.
“Well you're some sort of a witch aren't you? Or a sorceress?? That's how you were able to shrink me right? I panicked because I thought you were planning to harm me, but you've been surprisingly kind.” He rambles innocently with curious eyes. You feel your wings flutter agitatedly underneath your shawl. The only reason you were able to shrink him was due to the forest entity's power, but it's not like you could explain that to him.
“ I am not a witch! I'm a-.” You sigh but immediately widen your eyes when the human topples out of bed and leans close to you.
“A fairy!” He completes your sentence with excitement. You just gasp, his large brown eyes and long lashes directly in front of yours. Time stands still as you watch his thick hair puff around his shoulders and feel his breath brush against your face. The tip of his long nose is right up against your own.He breathes heavily, a big grin on his face, and you find your breathing pattern unconsciously matching his.
“A fairy! You're a fairy aren't you! I knew it! My father used to tell me stories a-about little people that lived amongst the trees! They had homes that never felt lonely and wings that always shimmer!” He stutters in his enthusiasm. You hiccup a little, overwhelmed by how close he is and the way he's looking at you, like you're spectacular. You quickly, but gently, push him back onto the bed by his shoulders, not sure where else to put your hands. He sits down but continues to look at you in awe.
“Yes, I am a fairy.” You sigh bashfully as his eyes get even bigger. You don't flinch this time when he stands up again, struggling in his excitement to say what he wants.
“This is incredible! My father was telling the truth! Fairies really do exist! I- ugh!” You gasp when his eyebrows pinch together in pain. Quickly, you help him rest back onto the bed. In all the fervor that he was reacting to every new bit of information you gave him, it's not surprising that he may have strained his wound a little.
“Would you- refrain from getting so emotional?! You haven't even had a full day to heal.” You scold as you re tighten his bandages, making him wince. He takes a few deep breaths before gaining his curiosity back.
“I have to ask miss, what's your name? My mother always said fairies have nice names, like they were hand picked by the forest itself.” He asks enthusiastically. When you do nothing but look at your hands, he thinks about it before speaking up again.
“Would you prefer if I told you my name first?” He proposes and you look back up at him before nodding curiously. You can't remember what he had said it was in his haze earlier, and you actually would like to know the name of the first human being you've spoken to in years. The first person you've ever invited into your home as well. Once he gets your confirmation, he sits up a little straighter and pokes a proud thumb to his chest.
“I am the famous prince Usopp! That battle outside was for my sake, you see? But I just couldn't bear to watch my men throw their lives on the line alone, so I stepped in to aid them. And that's how I ended up hurt like that.” He boasts confidently and you squint your eyes the tiniest bit, confused. You had heard chatter from the birds that the prince was a blonde man with eyebrows that resembled a whirlpool.
“So your name is Usopp.” You nod and say softly, and he feels his heartbeat pick up just a little at hearing his name from your mouth. Back in the kingdom it was always used during a scolding or when he was teased by friends, but with you it sounded like an entirely different word. One that was heavenly. When you notice him gazing at you, you clear your throat, assuming that he was waiting for you to give your name.
“ I am Y/n.” You say quietly, not elaborating any further with a last name,and Usopp feels his ears tingle. Your name sounded much better than his own and he found himself with the urge to use it as soon as possible.
“Y-Y/n huh?! That's very beautiful.”
“My mother was right.” He says softly, and there's a far away look in his eyes as if he's reminiscing. It makes you wonder. A silence falls over the two of you and you both sit quietly, no longer sure what you want to say. You figure he has more to say, maybe more questions to ask, and surprisingly you find yourself wanting to answer them, but it doesn't seem like the conversation will be continuing tonight. You awkwardly clear your throat and he startles out of his daze.
“ Oh uh- sorry I-!” He begins to apologize. As a human he was probably making you uncomfortable by being in your home. The least he could do was keep a pleasant atmosphere, but here he was thinking about his long since gone parents.
“No it's ok.” You say softly shush him before glancing into his eyes. He gives you that same gaze he did before, like you were someone magnificent. You know you're technically a magical creature now, but that didn't necessarily mean you felt different than you did when you were human. The attention made you oddly squeamish, and you decide that you've had enough of this day. You quickly stand up out of your chair, and he looks up at you with wide eyes.
“ Well! It's extremely late and you've had a long day, perhaps you'd like to bathe and get back to resting?” You say while nervously backing towards your hallway.
“Wow! You have a bath in here? Where do you get the water? A stream?” He asks before struggling to get up and you immediately rush back over to help him. You both can feel your faces start to burn when your hands take hold of his bare bicep, and you glance at one another before looking away. You step back and instead lead him towards your itty bitty bathroom, that was more of an indent in the back of your house than a room, with a hovering hand.
“ There's a hollow in my tree that collects rain water and somehow, it always rains when I need it to. It's during the drier months that I have to take a trip to a nearby stream at the beginning of the week.” You explain and find yourself wondering why you're telling him all this, but judging by the intrigued look on his face, your guest didn't mind. Usopp sits on a stool while you fill the tub and then heat the water with a little ember essence.
“ Well um- I'll-I'll leave you to it.” You sputter as you both stand in the awkwardly tight space together. You close your eyes as his broad shoulders seem a little more distracting than they were just a moment ago. You're about to leave when you hear his voice.
“Th-thank you! For everything.” He says sincerely, looking at you with serious, big, brown eyes that you find your heart stuttering at. The longer he looked at you with them, the more you felt something unfamiliar stir.You contemplate continuing on your way, something in your mind telling you to disregard him and be off to your room. But when you look back at his eyes and the long lashes framing them, you feel the same feeling you did when you decided to bring him inside.
“Of course. Goodnight…. Usopp.” You say quietly before quickly flitting off to your bedroom, leaving him in shock, the sound of his name in your voice bedazzling him once again.
“Goodnight Y/n.” He says quietly.