Work Text:
|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|
Ethan couldn’t take it anymore.
“Y’know, for someone who doesn’t like Andy very much, you seem pretty worried about where they are…”
“You almost sounded like an old married couple, I have to be honest.”
“I love how you guys got in the boat together. How is it, sitting awkwardly close while arguing?”
The constant buzzing of his fireflies didn’t help either. “You’re sooo worried about Andy! Doesn’t sound like ‘enemies’ to me! They sure live rent-free in your head, huh, Ethan?”
As if he could possibly feel anything other than utter vitriol for that prickish, spiteful, stupidly muscular, hateful carpenter. He was only worried about Andy because he needed them. Their help- not them specifically, obviously . Plus, they refuse to believe in magic! It’d be stupid to start any type of relationship with them, and Ethan is not stupid. He also does not constantly think about the time they said he was a good boy; thank you very much.
Ethan was broken out of his thoughts by an awful stench. It smelled like burnt cabbage.
SHIT
The farmer practically tripped over himself on his dash to the stove. At the bottom of the pot lay black sludge. Ew. Sighing, he took the pot outside and dumped its contents over the railing.
“Ethan!!” The fireflies were swirling around his head like mad. “The cabbage! You ruined the cabbage, Eef!”
“I know!” He groaned. He pointedly ignored the swarm near his ear, scolding him for getting too distracted thinking about Andy. It’s not his fault they’re so annoying!
“That’s alright, I’ll just remake it- no big deal,” he muttered, pulling open a storage drawer. It was empty. Ethan shrugged and checked the one next to it; he had never been an organized person. Once again, the drawer was empty. So, he checked the next one, and the next one, and the next one, and the next one… His last stash of cabbage was now sitting in a goopy pile below his balcony. Great.
One of the fireflies broke from the group and came to rest on the bridge of his nose, causing him to go cross-eyed, trying to look at it.
“The cheese, Eef! Andy needs their cheese!” The rest of the fireflies paused before crying in outrage. “Andy’s cheese! You promised to give them cheese!”
“Alright, alright! I’ll give them their fucking cheese.”
“Oooh! He’s getting cheese for his crush! Go on, loverboy!” The fireflies gossiped excitedly, paying no mind to Ethan’s exasperation.
“Fucking gnats,” he tried not to smirk at the immediate silence as his constant companions processed the insult. And if he laughed at the overlapping apologies that followed soon after, that was his business.
|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|
“Hello? Muscly arsehole? You home?” Ethan yelled as he kicked at the door. His hands were full; give him a break.
“What do you want?” Andy asked as they opened the door. “And why are you kicking my door?”
“I’m sorry, my hand was a bit preoccupied holding a bag of cheese for you, by the way.” He dropped the bag at their feet.
“And you couldn’t use your left hand?” They slowly bent down to pick up the bag as if it were a chore to do so. Upon not receiving an answer, Andy looked back up at Ethan, and he shivered under their gaze. They continued to scrutinize him, eyes roaming over his appearance before noticing the crutch grasped tightly in the other’s grip. “Right,” they ducked their head, embarrassed.
“Yeah,” Ethan smiled bitterly. “Thought you would have recognized your father’s handiwork?”
“Sorry I don’t spend all of my time looking at you- I’m not obsessed like a certain someone -”
“Here we go again,” Ethan sighed as he massaged his temples.
“ God , you're annoying!” Andy stepped back into the house, glaring at him. “I’ve got my cheese; you can leave now.”
“Well, I actually-”
“What do you want?” The carpenter deadpanned.
“Bowls,” Ethan muttered.
Andy raised an eyebrow. “Bowls, what ?”
“Bowls, please ,” Ethan spat, already regretting coming all the way out here.
“So you can ask nicely like a good boy; you just choose not to.” They mused condescendingly. “I pity your parents.”
Ethan saw red. “Fuck off! You are such a dick, you know that?”
“You remind me every day.” Andy drawled.
“Just give me the fucking bowls, and I’ll be on my way.”
“I don’t have any bowls to give you.”
“Then fucking make some? Isn’t that your job ?” His patience was running thin. Andy was so lucky he didn’t have his spellbook.
“I don’t have any wood at the moment.”
Ethan huffed in disbelief. “What!? You ran out of wood?”
“I just said that.”
“You live in the middle of a forest !”
“I’m not going to ruin the scenery around my house. I have standards.”
“Fucking hell. When will you have more wood?”
“The next time I manage to pull Taylor away from that unfortunate bookshop.”
“I didn’t know Sticky Fingers had a knack for tree chopping.”
“They don’t, but I’m not going alone.”
Ethan bites his lip. “If I go with you, could you get me the bowls by tomorrow night?”
“Did you just ask them on a DATE?” The fireflies, who had been so well-behaved and quiet the whole time, decided that, of course, now was the perfect time to insert themselves into his interactions. He groaned internally. “Ethan and Andy sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-”
“Shut up!” He was beyond exhausted.
“Excuse me?”
Oh. Right. Andy was still here. Andy who definitely doesn’t believe in talking fireflies. Shit.
“It’s a magic thing,” He blurted.
Andy rolled their eyes. “Uh-huh.”
“Are you gonna go get wood with me or not?” The sooner the magic talk stopped, the sooner Ethan could regain his sanity.
“Fine. Wait here.” Andy dropped the bag of cheese onto a table near the door and walked further into their house.
“You’re not even gonna invite me inside?” Ethan called.
“Don’t push it, fish boy.”
If the fireflies were teasing him about his dopey smile, he was too distracted to notice.
|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|~*~|