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Thunder rolled in the distance and Nom felt dread bubble up in his chest. Dammit. He stuffed the wood he'd been collecting in his bag and took off into the air - only to immediately get hit by a droplet of water directly in his face.
Not that he was as affected by water as the other fairies, but it was still annoying, nearly impossible to see as he flew threw the rain, not to mention how uncomfortable it was to be soaking wet. Muttering under his breath, he tightened his grip on the straps of his backpack and darted as fast as he could under branches and leaves in an attempt to avoid most of the water.
It wasn't much of a storm quite yet, only drizzling a little, and he prayed he'd make it back before it got too bad to fly in. Then, out of nowhere, he slammed right into someone and was set tumbling toward the ground, taking whoever this other person was with him.
"Sorry!" a familiar annoying voice gasped out, accompanied by laughter from both him and the other person nearby. "Oh Jesus, oh no-"
"GET OVER HERE, 4CVIT!" Katie shouted as 4c scrambled off of Nom, jumping up and taking off toward a nearby bush. Nom shoved himself up, glancing down and groaning when he saw just how muddy his clothes were now.
Katie touched down and nearly faceplanted in the dirt, stumbling after the water fairy. Nom rested his hands on his hips and watched the two of them with narrowed eyes; 4c was desperately trying to run away from her while she seemed about to commit murder.
"What in the world is going on here?" he questioned, and 4c looked down at him while he scrambled up a nearby tree, managing to grab on and haul himself up despite the water trickling down the bark.
"Don't- don't worry about it," he giggled, while Katie groaned and pulled a small pebble out of her bag, throwing it up at him. He let out a squeak and launched himself up onto a branch, just barely dodging it. "I didn't- I said I was sorry, Katie!"
His voice was high-pitched in the cute, desperate way it sometimes got, kicking his legs with a weak laugh as he tried to stand up and avoid the woman in question throwing yet another rock at him. Despite his clear panic, there was still a grin on his face, cheeks flushed a deep blue from what Nom could only assume was how long he'd been trying to get away from her.
"He tried to drown me!" Katie snapped, turning to Nom and gesturing wildly to 4c. The smaller fairy shook his head rapidly, wavy blue hair bouncing as he fluttered up to a higher branch.
"I didn't! I was just splashing you with a little bit of water!" As the man spoke, Nom caught the glint of a large raindrop slipping down to the tip of a leaf right above his head. In an instant, he was rushing forward to stander under 4c as the water splashed on top of his head while he was in the middle of climbing up onto the branch, losing his grip with some noise that was a mix between a gasp and a shriek.
Nom somehow managed to catch 4c properly, the other letting out a quiet oof as he landed in his arms. Careful of his wings, Nom helped him right himself, rolling his eyes and muttering, "You have wings, y'know."
"I'm aware of that." 4c dusted himself off, then turned to Katie, who had her arms crossed over her chest with her deep brown eyes sparkling like she was trying not to laugh.
4cvit looked panicked for a moment, before Katie spoke up, "Well, I think falling into Nom's arms like some damsel in distress is punishment enough."
"And the rocks you threw at him," Nom added, laughing as 4c's face flushed further. Maybe it wasn't just from flying around so much.
"I didn't even do anything wrong!" 4c protested, waving his hands, before taking a quick step back as Katie turned on him again. "Look, I- I said I was sorry for getting you wet again!"
As he said it, he dissolved into giggles, Katie pausing for a few seconds as her nose scrunched up. Then she suddenly tackled 4c to the ground and he let out a loud yelp of surprise, Nom laughing as the two fell and ended up rolling around in the dirt, 4c desperately trying to get away as Katie smacked him too light to really do any damage.
"Okay, well, while you two flirt, I'm gonna head back to the tree," Nom said after a few seconds, both their heads immediately shooting up while he turned away. There was a smug grin on his face at how horrified they both looked, although he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel a slight pain in his chest seeing the two of them get along in whatever way this was - not that he'd ever say that out loud. He knew they all already disliked him enough and probably wouldn't appreciate-
"No, you get back here!" Katie exclaimed, and Nom was suddenly being wrestled to the ground despite her much smaller stature, a pout on her face that was clearly taking a lot of effort to keep up with how her eyes practically seemed to glow. She planted one hand on his chest - uncalled for, he already had plenty of pressure there - and grabbed his arm with the other, keeping him pinned while 4c stumbled over, the water fairy now the one laughing loudly.
"What, did you not like me-" Nom cut himself off as 4c planted himself on his knees next to him, grabbing his other arm with a bright grin. "Didn't like me teasing you two lovebirds?"
"Oh, shut up." Katie rolled her eyes, although there was red dusted across her freckled cheeks, and there wasn't much force behind the words. 4c, on the other hand, looked a bit horrified, grip tightening as his face somehow turned even more indigo. It was a pretty color on him, Nom had to admit.
As he laughed again, he let his head fall back into the dirt, unable to bring himself to care all too much about the mud smearing all over his hair. Around him, the rain was pouring even harder now - they were going to have a hell of a time getting home, but they could think about that later. Rolling over, Katie flopped down on her back next to him, and without thinking, he reached over to brush some of her pretty red curls out of her face, only to yank his hand back to second he realized what was doing.
Quickly looking away, he tried to ignore the feeling of her dark brown eyes burning into him, instead watching 4c lay down with his back resting on one of his outstretched arms. After a moment of deliberation, Nom curled his arm around him and dragged him closer until there were soft, slender hands curling into the fabric of his top.
"I think we should just stay here a while," 4c said after a few moments, Nom glancing down at him. The other man instantly looked away and Nom's face only warmed further at the realization that he'd just been staring. Maybe there was a tiny, ever so slim chance at least these two did like him in some sort of way.
"Yeah," Katie agreed, one of her hands reaching out to rest on top of Nom's torso as she shifted closer, their sides pressing together. "I guess the rain's not that bad when it's not in your face."
"Well I think the rain's wonderful all the time," 4c huffed, and Nom reached up to ruffle his hair, earning a quiet laugh as the shorter man tried to duck away. Nom grabbed his arm and dragged him even closer while Katie snorted next to his ear.
"You're allowed to have the wrong opinion, I suppose," Nom hummed, earning a light smack on his side from 4cvit. "If you want to leave and go out into the rain again-"
"Absolutely not," 4c interrupted, pressing his face into Nom's chest. He could just barely make out his expression, the same dumb, zero thoughts grin as always on his face, and he wondered if 4c was trying to hide how happy he was here. Nom should probably be doing the same, but… well, anyone would call them crazy if they tried to claim Nom of all fairies was acting sweet.
He pushed all of those thoughts out of his mind. Later, he could start worrying about his reputation again - but at the moment, all he wanted to do was relax here while he had the chance.