Chapter Text
“I'm just saying, that bee was picking a fight!”
The two faeries walked into the heart of the pixie dust tree, ready to collect their daily share of pixie dust from the cubbies that the dust-talents would put the small leaf packs in. One was silent with a notepad made of leaves in his hands, though was unlikely to be taking notes on what the light-talent was saying.
“Chase, it was a honeybee. They're harmless unless you somehow irritate them,” the scribe-talent lectured, keeping his eye on his pack of pixie dust as one of the dust keepers carelessly tossed it down from one of the top shelves, barely managing to catch and hand it to the light-talent to pour over his wings without spilling any.
“There was murderous intent behind those eyes, Deacon,” Chase muttered, stepping up on his tip toes and pouring out the pixie dust onto the translucent pair of wings attached to the other's back, patterned with gentle swirls and wavy lines. A strict difference between the two faeries was their wing patterns. Obviously, no two faeries had the same patterns, though while the scribe-talent's was wavy and gentle, Chase's was.. quite the statement piece, to say the least. The swirls seemed to have little care for elegance or perfection and instead preferred to mimic the loop of a snake wrapped around a branch.
Deacon sighed, wings fluttering lightly beneath the rations of pixie dust as he slid out another leaf bag from the cubbies to pour the contents onto Chase's wings. “Look, just don't get into fights with honeybees. Frankly, it's annoying for the animal-talents, and there's just no reasonable excuse,” he continued to lecture. Chase was beginning to think that lecturing him was one of Deacon's hobbies, by now. “They're basically harmless! Just leave them alone and they'll leave you-”
“Move it, slow pokes. Some of us do more than just chat and sit like ducks, you know,” another fairy hissed, shoving the pair aside and scooping up his own pixie dust rations and scattering them over his own delicate wings, fairly larger than all the other fairies' wings to aid with flying. A fast-flying-talent.
Chase made a point to glare at the fast-flier, his pixie dust being less of a clean coating than usual thanks to the shove in the side. As if Deacon's hands weren't shaky enough already. God, how he hated fast-flying-talents. Sure, they were useful and did their jobs moderately well, but geez, were they infuriating. To him, they should've been the most cheerful of all the fairies. Being able to fly at what probably felt like supersonic speeds would make anyone have at least the little bit of fun, and yet, they somehow always managed to be the most sassy and stuck up fairies in Pixie Hollow.
This one, in particular, seemed to have it out for Chase specifically. Nox. Though, the light-talent preferred to call him ‘Buddy’, for it seemed to irritate the fast-flier, likely because of how demoting the nickname sounded, for it wasn't known for being exactly as elegant or fancy as the name Nox sounded.
“Well good morning to you, too,” Chase scoffed out, flitting excess pixie dust off his wings and strutting over to Buddy's side, hands propped onto his hips as he looked at the way the soft glow of the pixie dust reflected on the other's pale skin, shimmering off the black of his hair and the ice of his eyes… To be honest, Buddy wasn't the worst looking guy in all of Pixie Hollow. He would be one of Chase's top 10 if not for Alistair, the famously known singing-talent with a perfect hair swoop and even more perfect singing.
“You're later than usual,” the light-talent continued on, chestnut eyes tracking the fast-flier's movements as he poured his share of glittery, magical dust onto his own, larger, and more graceful, wings, his coils and loops more elegant and natural than Chase's wild and unpredictable ones.
Buddy's pixie dust retrieving pattern was one that was easily recognizable. He would never come at the dusk of dawn or the middle of the day, but rather just when the pixie dust tree had filtered out and only a few stragglers remained behind. Right at the beginning of the normal fairy breakfast time. Honestly, Chase never understood why this fast-flier never seemed to enjoy being around other fairies so much that he'd rather wait for his pixie dust share than just arrive with everyone else.
“Silence, arm rest,” Buddy hissed back, the sound of his voice matching the spikes of an unsmoothed, where it was unpredictable whether his tone would turn soft or resharpen at any given moment. “It's not your business whether or not I'm ‘on time’ for anything, anyways. You don't even have a set schedule.”
That earned a scoff from the light-talent.
“Yeah, because I'm not a schedule-obsessed freak like some people,” he shot back, arms crossing over his chest as he stared up at those icy blue eyes challengingly, trying to seem taller than he actually was by puffing his chest and getting on his tiptoes. It wouldn't work, obviously, but it made him seem tough.
“It's not being obsessed, it's called being organized, you simple-minded brat.” Buddy then decided the conversation was over and showed it by turning and flitting out the somewhat doorway in the pixie dust tree that lead to the outside world of giant bees and flowers.
Chase scoffed, the dismissive attitude of the fast-flier clearly getting on his nerves, just as intended. Nearly every time he interacted with Buddy, he was reminded of why he hated fast-flying-talents.
Though, he shrugged off the encounter, turning to look at the other fairy that had been too engrossed in his own messy journal of stories to bother with paying attention to the encounter that had occurred between Buddy and Chase. The soft glow of the pixie dust in the hole behind the shelves reflected on one side of Deacon's face, illuminating his cheek in a gentle gradient.
“Well, guess I'll catch you later?” Chase finally asked, catching the scribe-talent's attention in the blink of an eye (and nearly causing him to drop his little notebook of stories).
“Ah- Ehm, yeah, yes, probably, yeah,” Deacon stuttered out, snapping his notebook abruptly, trying (and failing) to give the illusion that he was watching the entire interaction.
Chase rolled his eyes before returning his stare back to the giant doorway that lead to outside, watching as a soft breeze flew a fairy or two off course and fluttered the petals of a few daffodils. A ladybug or two would sneakily make its way away from the animal-talents, distracted by a really good looking leaf to land on or two, before it was herded back into the group.
It was truly fascinating to see all the business that lied within such a small yet large area known as Pixie Hollow. It was odd to think that what would seem like such a miniature and unimportant area to the humans was actually the homes of the very fairies that aided the changing seasons. Without them, the seasons would never alter.
And despite having such an important job like helping the flowers photosynthesize by directing sunlight to them, Chase still longed to be with the singing-talents.
Though, he took a breath, ultimately deciding that he would choose to embrace the abilities that were given to him rather than trying to pester the singing-talents into letting him sing with them and flitted off to work.
–
Guiding the lights today was much more difficult than it had been in the past, it seemed.
Buddy, being himself, kept antagonizing Chase by blowing the flowers into other positions, and, by the time Chase finally noticed the flower was no longer where he thought, the sunlight was already in position. So, each time, he had to restart, and the cycle repeated.
Irritated when the fast-flier had once again ruined his sunlight positioning, Chase decided to get a little payback. He began looking around to finally locate Buddy, eyes scanning the area (rather loosely, but it got the job done). Mainly, Pixie Hollow was a clear area. A few small paths cut through the field of beautiful flowers here and there, but in the made of it all was the pixie dust tree, a gentle glow illuminating the entrance that fairies would enter to pick up their pixie dust rations. A forest lay not too far from it, which could could a possible Buddy hiding spot, though Chase highly doubted it. The fairy absolutely loathed getting dirty, and the forest was full of dirt everywhere. The flowers would be a good place to hide, given the fact that Chase was above and they were below…
Ah, there he was.
Smirking mischievously, staring up at Chase through pitch black spikes, was Buddy, unaware that he was in Chase's sights. Chase couldn't help but grin as he gathered a small bit of sunlight in his palms, the warm sensation filling him with a sense of excitement as he envisioned what was to become of the sly jerk known as Nox.
As soon as he saw Buddy flit out from behind the flower from the corner of his eyes, he spun around and flashed a bit of the sunlight in his direction, not necessarily anything dangerous but enough to momentarily blind someone.
Chase grinned as the fast-flier immediately darted out of the way from the sunlight, a small giggle nearly escaping his lips as he raised a golden eyebrow at the other. “What, afraid of a tan that badly?” he taunted.
Buddy scoffed at that, a smirk taking over his offended expression and decorating his face in an almost delightful way. Almost. He coughed lightly, though, drawing his amusement back where it originated and crossing his arms over the window revealing his chest, one that was likely requested to be included in his top, as they usually were.
“You say that as if I'm not as tan as I need to be,” he replied smoothly, flitting up to be a little higher up in the air than the light-talent.
He just always had to be taller, didn't he?
Chase did a one over the other's ironically milky skin, the sunlight from above painting it and illuminating the fairy in a glow that nearly mirrored the aura of the pixie dust that fluttered off his wings and onto the ground below in small, almost carefully picked groupings, each one more elegant than the other.
“Tan? You look as white as the petals of a flower,” Chase shot back, his grin stretching wider as the fast-flier mocked(?) an offended gasp, those icy blue eyes sharpening at those uttered words.
“Well, I would rather have the skin of a flower petal than have the voice of a screaming human child,” Buddy hissed out, almost seeming proud with his insulting skills. “I'd stick to being a light-talent if I were you, truthfully. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to return to doing my work.” And with that, Buddy nodded as if he had truly succeeded in showing Chase up in an unspoken competition before flitting back down beneath the cooling shade of the petals to ‘work’ (sit around and rant to Violet, another, older, fast-flier, while she actually worked).
“Oh, of course! Because lounging around is soooooooooo much more important than talking with someone other than Violet,” Chase said as he flew forward to catch up with Buddy, which was more difficult than thought, given the other's intensely quick way of flying.
“Talking with anyone other than you is more important,” Buddy replied simply, seeming to pick up his flight speed as he noticed Chase flying alongside him, his fluttering wings buzzing like that of a bee's, though just barely noticeable beneath the replies the pair shot back and forth, almost like a game of ping pong.
A huff of annoyance filled air fled from Chase's lips as he only quickened his own wings to keep up. Who knew participating in all those flight races as an early newcomer would come in handy. “That's rich coming from someone who looks like they fell in a puddle of mud and came out bedazzled in it,” the light-talent shot back.
“Seriously, don't you have anything better to do than bother me all day?” Buddy asked, coming to a rather abrupt stop and nearly throwing the other fairy off course with the suddenness. “The day just started. Surely you can't be done with everything already? Though, I wouldn't put it behind someone as irresponsible as you to try and get out of working this early. Fairies like you are always looking for shortcuts.”
“Wha- What's that even supposed to mean, ‘fairies like me’?!” Chase bristled, jerking to a stop and flitting back to hover in front of the fast-flier, eyes piercing daggers into the other's soul. “I do not always look for shortcuts! You're the lazy toadface who always lounges around instead of putting the proper breezes in the air! Thanks to you, the pollen distribution isn't fully delivered through the mainland!”
Buddy rolled his pale diamond eyes, a band coming up to prop firmly on his hip as he swayed lightly through the air, almost looking bored of the conversation. “Please, we're doing just fine in pollen distributions. Queen Clarion said to hold off on it for a while, anyways,” he denied.
Chase narrowed his eyes in belief that wasn't there, staring up into the fast-flier's gaze for what seemed long enough for a fresh coat of paint to dry. He would be lying if he said he didn't want to mess up that annoyingly silky black hair, though that was purely just to see the other fairy disheveled and out of order for once in his life rather than seeming oh so effortlessly put together all the time. It wasn't like he was in denial over anything, either. He had always been quite aware of his attraction to people of the same gender and never had been one to back away from an opportunity to pursue a potential crush, though Buddy wasn't one of them. He could never be one of them. After all, he was nothing like Chase's type. Chase preferred tall, strong, handsome, strong winged fairies over delicate roses such as Buddy. Totally the opposite of what he was going for.
Stuffing his internal monologue of thoughts away, he tilted the small leaf cup of sunlight up to flash it back in Buddy's eyes, simply for the heck of it.
“Ugh- Would you stop that?!!” Buddy snarled, swatting at the sunlight holder and flitting back to spare his eyes from the strain of the light.
“Hey-! I need that for my job, y'know,” Chase insisted, swiping his leaf pack of sun out of Buddy's reach and holding it close as if it were a flower petal that was worth protecting. “It's not my fault you're just in the way of it.”
“Oh, of course, the job you were supposed to be doing instead of bothering me,” Buddy began, “how could I forget?” He let silence pass through the air, not bothering to further continue on with speaking while he conjured up a minor gust within his palms.
“What, speechless from my excellence?” Chase nagged, dipping his fingers in the sunlight just to get a feel of the warmth (as well as to have somewhere to look besides that stupidly baby soft face.) “I know, it can get overwhelming. Feel free to take a break. Not everyone can withstand the greatness of my-”
The words were cut of by a quick fwoop of air, sending him flying into a nearby flower and earning a yell of protest from one of the gardening-talents who had been trying to grow said flower larger than it had initially been, flying off in a flutter of rage after only getting a dizzy laugh in reply from the light-talent. Chase looked up and saw Buddy smirking down at him slyly, quickly disintegrating into a look of mock concern as he flitted down to meet Chase's gaze.
“Oh, dear, I am just so terribly sorry about that,” Buddy purred, the smile in his voice audible despite the display of ‘fear’ for the other fairy. “I truly didn't mean to do that whatsoever. You see, I was just trying to do my job. It's not my fault you were in the way of it.”
Chase gasped as his words were repeated back to him, scooping up his pack of sunlight he stood to push himself off the petal of the flower he had landed on. “Oh, you're in for it now, hot topic,” he warned before propelling himself into the air and aiming a few beams of sunlight at the fast-flier, to which the other dodged almost effortlessly and blew gusts of wind at Chase.
The two fairies could be seen goofing off from even the furthest lake, the trails of pixie dust they left behind visible glittering through the air as they dodged the other's attacks and shot their own, somehow never seeming to tire. Each blow of wind Buddy sent towards Chase would occasionally knock him off course, though he always managed to flutter back into the air and shoot at the other with the sunlight he had collected, while Buddy would be momentarily blinded by the brightness. Truthfully, it was simple child's play, nothing that could get too extreme.
Until one gust of wind was far too powerful for Chase to gain his bearings before he hit the rough bark of a tree.
A choked gasp shoved its way out of his throat as he crippled to the ground, wings no longer fluttering with the same life they did before and instead flapping in a pitiful attempt to slow his fall. He didn't quite know that he had fallen onto the soft cushioning of a toadstool before he felt the soft thump of a fairies feet landing on it beside him and the quiet, almost distant “Oh god oh god"s of the fast-flier.
With Buddy's assistance, Chase reluctantly sat up with a pained groan, his back on fire and sending a tingling burning throughout his whole body. He really underestimated the power of fast-fliers. He looked up at Buddy with squinted eyes, struggling to make out anything other than the concerned gaze that danced across his face in a mockery of the content calmness that used to play there.
“How bad is it…?” Chase rasped out, giving his wings a small flutter before feeling another painful wave of heat zap through his body and giving up on moving them at all.
“I-It, uh.. I mean it- N-Nothing looks broken,” the other fairy managed to stutter out, hands extending and curving back in towards his chest as if unsure whether to offer assistance or if doing nothing was simply the way to go. “S-Sorry, I didn't mean… I didn't think it would…”
“Buddy, it's fine, I know you didn't do it on purpose,” Chase murmured, each word sending a ripple of pain through his body, emerging from his wings and spreading slowly through his back like paint dripping into a puddle. “Can you get the nursing-talents?”
“I don't think that would work very well,” Buddy advised, kneeling down and reaching out his hand toward Chase's wings, looking at him for silent permission to touch them. Getting a nod of confirmation, he reached out a hand and lightly, carefully, brushed it across the expanse of Chase's now crippled wings, whether it was for comfort or examination Chase wasn't sure, but it worked both ways. “We flew quite the distance from Pixie Hollow… It should be better to fly back, but with your wings…”
“You could always carry me,” Chase replied, trying to ignore the way his wings wanted to flutter under the cool touch of the fast-flier's hand.
Buddy immediately bristled at that, practically glaring at the recklessness of the idea. “On what?! You'd fall off if I flew you on a leaf, let alone a petal, and this toadstool can't-”
“I meant in your arms, Buddy,” Chase said hastily, already sensing the wave of thoughts and complaints that Buddy would have against the “illogical” idea.
The fast-flier nearly fumes at being called “Buddy”, the nickname an insult that drove him mad to his very core, though didn't bother to further comment on it as he pulled his hand from Chase's ruined wings. “Yeah… right. I knew that.”
And thus, with a quick and easy swoop, Chase was lifted into an oddly caring embrace against the other's chest, knees held in one arm while his waist was supported by the other. He couldn't help but feel a little vulnerable in the position, something he absolutely hated feeling. He wasn't some sick damsel in distress. A little wing injury never hurt anyone. So, he crossed his arms over his chest, expressing his distaste for the current position he was in, though found himself involuntarily leaning into the oddly soothing embrace of the jerky, annoying, fast-flier-talent fairy that was Buddy.
The next two hours cascaded like a leaf blowing away in the wind, briefly slowing to ease by carefully before returning to its journey of mindless wandering. Once Buddy had safely managed to get them to the hospital-like area within Pixie Hollow, Chase wings were thoroughly inspected and treated before the fairy came to a conclusion.
“For the most part, you'll be safe to fly,” she began, straightening her glasses as she held out a leaf package of medication out to Chase, who stood in front of her after flitting around the room a bit for her to inspect his flight pattern. “You're still limping a lot, but it's nothing that'll keep you on your feet. Take one of these twice a day, morning and night after eating and put a cool rag on your wings before bed. A cool rag, not a cold rag.”
Chase nodded a silent ‘thank you’ to the nursing-talent, taking the pouch and stuffing it into his pocket before walking out of the examination room and out into the lobby, where Deacon and, surprisingly, Buddy waited, Deacon tapping the heel of his foot anxiously on the ground, the action only coming to an end once he saw Chase return from the room looking completely healthy aside from the slight waviness in one of his wings.
Immediately, he sprang up from the trimmed toadstool seat, storming over to Chase and only pausing in front of him to quietly whisper-yell at him, trying his best to be aware of the other patients within the lobby. “What happened?!! Are your wings okay?? Why didn't you fly out? Is something ripped?” he asked, the barrage of questions only the beginning of many, many more that Chase was not looking forward to having to answer.
He opted for a nonchalant shrug, fluttering his wings gently behind him. “Doc says they're basically fine. Just gotta take some meds for a while and I'll be good,” he replied simply, taking out the pouch of medication and shaking it lightly in front of Deacon.
“You still haven't mentioned how this all happened!” he shot back, unsatisfied with the answers he was getting. That was the annoying thing about Deacon. Of course, there were about fifty thousand more, but this was the main one; he never gave up on getting a direct answer if he thought he could do it.
A pause passed between the two fairies as Chase considered whether or not to tell the truth about what happened. On one hand, it'd be nice to finally have something pinned on Buddy's back to constantly tease him about, to never shut up about. On the other hand, Buddy was the one who had saved him, and he supposed he owed something to the fast-flier for that at least.
“I just fell into a tree when trying to fly away from a bee,” Chase muttered instead, his gaze falling to Buddy, who was still standing in the far end of he room, his own delicate wings folded gently behind him. “Nothing serious…”
That seemed to do the trick, at least for the time being. Deacon rolled his eyes, though didn't try to press the other fairy any further before looking over at the door. “Well, good. You still have a job to do in the flower field, you know. You should take the rest of today to rest, but then-”
“Chase,” Buddy cut I'm, stepping between Chase and the scribe-talent, his stance unusually fidgety and eyes not seeming to have quite figured out where they wanted to lock yet, darting from place to place, but anywhere except Chase's eyes.
Chase flinched at the sudden interjection, stepping back to get a better view of the fast-flier's anxious gaze, unsure whether to be hesitant of what the other was preparing to say or anything else. “Yeah…?” he finally replied, the end of the word being dragged out slowly before coming to a finish.
Buddy cleared his throat, finally mustering up the necessary courage to stare down into Chase's eyes, firming up his eyes and speaking. “I… apologize… for knocking you into the tree earlier. It was… something I didn't think would happen, so, in return for the… incident, I am offering my assistance for anything you need until your wings are better.”