P I X I E - D U S T

A/U Teaser: Growing up Irvine was not one to believe in mythical or fantasy-like creatures. That was, until he met her. One-shot. Selvine. selphiexirvine

- - - - -

"When people stop believing, that's when we truly die."

- - - - -

Yellow. It was such a simplistic color, yet so bold and very unique in it's own way. However, it wasn't the most manly of hues to grace a rainbow, and as such, Irvine refused to tell anyone it was his favorite. The memory was too precious. He felt as though if he shared it with someone, it would lose it's value. It would no longer belong to just him, but someone else, too. He could be oh-so possessive of precious things.

It was somewhat amusing to him, a young man of twenty-four, holding onto a childhood memory the way he did. Yet for some reason, he couldn't let it go. Even now, years later, he could close his eyes and allow that day to replay beneath ebony lashes. Vivid, seemingly everlasting. Perhaps the reason was because he told no one, and thus he was able to recall it in such detail. Then again that could just be his mind justifying the selfish hold he had on it. Had on her.

Ahh. Her. Irvine could still picture her in his mind as though she were right in front of him. Eyes of bright jade, a playfully impish smile, tousled auburn hair, untamed. Her head tilted to the side as she hummed a spunky tune to herself, swinging her small gangly legs back and forth in time to it's childish rhythm. She was perched upon a high ledge, or rather a rock that had some how come to be placed by a miniature waterfall. She was a tiny little thing, the rock easily twice, perhaps even three times her size.

She was engulfed by the gray mass, her small hands clinging to it's rough exterior, moss tickling her skin. It was by mere chance, or perhaps fate, that Irvine was able to meet her. He was around eleven at the time, tall for his age, which would say something for his future height, shoulder length brown hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. Fallen strands hanging loosely in the front, brushing against a dirt covered cheek as the boy moved. Or rather, ran, for it seemed as though he were chasing a cream colored butterfly through the woods.

His feet crunching beneath various twigs and leaves as he made his way deeper into the forest, hands outstretched, desperately trying to clutch the small insect. He had a fascination for beautiful things, flowers, animals, and insects. It was no surprise that he would grow into the romantic womanizer in his future years, yet still managing to attain the title of a loner. Irvine, even as a boy, always enjoyed his alone time, feeling as though no one could really understand him.

That same desire is what drove him off to play by himself on this very day. That, and perhaps because the other children at his orphanage were busy pretending to fight dragons, rescuing non-existent princesses or catching fairies. Irvine believed in none of these, it was true that he was the eldest in his 'home', but even into his younger years he never believed. There was no such thing as happily ever after, and if those weren't true nor were the beings that inhabited those fairy-tales. Besides, it's not like he had ever seen one before.

The boy's pace slowed halfheartedly as the butterfly fluttered up a small cliff, the sound of splashing water against rocks nearby. Irvine frowned, his innocent face twisting into a pout as he looked for a way up. Azure eyes skittered about before landing on a some rocks positioned in such a way they resembled crooked stairs. As he made his way over to them and began climbing the over sized things, his mind wandered. The sunlight from the mid-afternoon day gracing his figure as his eyes glazed over in thought.

Earlier the children had been talking about pixies inhabiting this forest, mischievous fairies that liked to play around flower beds, waterfalls and mushroom covered trees. The idea in itself, to Irvine, was just an escape from their current situation. A small fantasy to take their minds off the horrible circumstances that they had found themselves in, Irvine never was the optimist. He felt he was far too intelligent to waste his time chasing ideas that never existed.

"Nghh..."A small grunt escaped him as he managed to hoist himself up onto the last ledge, swinging his body over it and gasping as he clumsily got to his feet. His breath came out in soft pants as he brought a hand to his forehead to wipe away the slight sweat that had formed, eyes moving to focus on the butterfly, resting on a small moss-covered rock off to his right.

Dazed, he moved foreward slowly, still deep in his thoughts. Why then? If he was so sure these things did not exist...why did he still hope? Maybe it was this thought that distracted him to the point where he did not hear the humming off to his left. His real reasons for chasing the butterfly were not to really catch it. It never was.

"Now you decide to stop, well I got you now!" He said to himself aloud, a triumphant smile on his face as his hand was outstretched to grasp the delicate thing. The humming stopped. In place of it, was the slight whizzing sound followed by a slight ping. The boy stared dumbfounded as the butterfly flew away, but not because it flew away. Instead, he stared because a rock was chucked in his direction, barely missing his hand.

"If you touch it's wings, it'll die." A small high pitched voice spoke up, obviously annoyed. Irvine blinked, standing upright before turning, eyes locking on her. She was a beautiful yet fragile looking thing, large bright green eyes, thick lashes, short cropped hair that flared outwards in a unique yet messy way. She was perched upon a large moss covered rock, her expression huffy, body tilted back so that she could look at him without actually moving.

"Were you trying to kill it, you big meanie?" She continued, Irvine's eyes drinking her in, her and her bright yellow dress. No reply was given so instead the girl merely looked away and went back to humming, a different tune this time. After another moment of stunned silence the boy blinked, a small flush spreading across his cheeks.

"I...didn't know. I would never hurt it..." He trailed off softly, the girl not replying, instead continuing to hum, looking out over the waterfall as she swung her legs back and forth to it's childish tune. Irvine took a couple steps foreward, captivated and wanting to learn more.

"Who...who are you?" His eyes seemed to light up as she stopped humming and turned to look at him again.

"You should be asking what I am, not who." She replied playfully, her voice sounding like a pretty chime in the wind.

"What? I don't get it. What do you mean by what?" Irvine looked at her confused, not daring to move, afraid she might disappear before he could get an answer.

"Why, I'm a pixie of course." The girl said it so matter-of-factly Irvine almost believed her words without them even registering. He eyed her incredulously. She was certainly pretty enough to be a pixie, and he didn't see any shoes on her feet, nor nearby for that matter. However she was still the size of a normal young girl, and his thought pattern wavered.

"Aren't you too big to be a pixie? And don't pixie's have wings? Besides, those things aren't real." His tone only seemed convincing, beneath it was an undertone screaming; prove me wrong.

"Shh! Don't say things like that!" The girl seemed genuinely frightened, her eyes meeting his directly and looking almost sad, he was immediately taken aback. "If you say that I'm not real or I don't exist, I'll die."

"W-What!? No way!" Irvine stuttered at first, becoming angry with her, why he didn't exactly know. Perhaps it was that he was more angry at himself for suggesting something that could possibly kill the breakable form before him.

"Really! Every time a person stops believing, a pixie dies." She murmured sadly. "That's how my parents were killed..." She looked down then up again. "...you don't want me to die too, do you?"

"N-No! Of course not!" He responded immediately, moving to kneel next to her.

"Then promise me you'll believe." The pixie's eyes met his pleadingly, he couldn't say no. Irvine had a weak spot for girl's in need, and this fantastical creature was no different.

"I believe you, I believe that you really are a pixie. Pixie's are real." She smiled at that, which only caused Irvine to blush. She patted the space next to her on the rock, insinuating that she wanted him to sit next to her. He did so eagerly, never taking his eyes off of her. As soon as he did she began to talk, about everything. How when someone was sprinkled with pixie dust they'd be able to fly, how she was actually a princess of a kingdom and that she slept inside a hallowed out mushroom. Evidently she had a pet firefly and all pixie's were wingless until they had their first kiss.

Irvine wanted badly to give her those wings that she longed for. He didn't even realize that the sky had darkened in the time that he had met the Pixie and she had began talk about her home. He looked at her softly, wondering if this was what it felt like to have a 'crush' or something much deeper. While she was in mid-sentence, talking about how she always felt so alone without her parents or any siblings, he grabbed her chin forcefully, yet still gently, turning her head to face him.

Her eyes widened, her sentence dying as the boy pressed his lips messily to hers, attempting to mold them against his in an inexperienced manner, his eyes closed. She just kind of froze which only caused the boy to feel embarrassed and incapable. Wasn't she supposed to be kissing him back or something? He got his answer. She decided to go with that something, after a moment longer of shock she pushed him off the rock somewhat roughly, a startled gasp escaping her.

However, that gasp was soon replaced with a shrill high-pitched scream, as Irvine lost his footing and fell off the ledge of the cliff, hand outstretched desperately, eyes wild as the Pixie jumped foreward, hand also outstretched to grab him. She succeeded, but only in taking his hand and falling with him. Her eyes, wide with horror, was the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness, his body hitting the water roughly, like a rag doll.

He had no idea how long he was out when he awoke, cold and soaked to the core, body aching. Irvine winced, his forehead stinging as his eyes fluttered open, pain jolting through him as blood trickled into his gaze. He wiped it away tiredly as he wondered where he was and why he was in such pain. Then, it came back to him, hitting him with such force he would have fallen had he not already been lying down. He gasped, jumping to his feet as he whirled around, shouting in dismay.

"Pixie!? Pixie-Girl, where are you?! ' He called in horror, hoping she was not dead. It took a few more moments for him to realize that he was in fact on land and not in the water, where he had most obviously fallen. Meaning...she must've survived and dragged him to shore so that he would not drown. Gasping at this realization he studied the pond where they had fallen, thanks be to Hyne it was deep enough to not kill them, but only bang them up a little.

Despite this he searched the area thoroughly, the morning light allowing him to see, however it's meaning not registering. After he was satisfied that the Pixie had gotten away safely instead of being mortally injured and dying off on some corner, the boy collapsed into a heap, exhausted. Irvine was grateful for the Pixie-Girl saving his life, even if she had been the one to push him as the result of him-He blushed heavily, his fingers touching his lips softly. That's right, he had kissed her. Given her that first kiss she needed. She must've dove into the water with him before flying back out, clutching him and laying him on land. That's how they must've survived.

Even though his heart was aching with not being able to see her at this moment, he closed his eyes, a slight smile on his lips as he allowed himself to indulge in a fantasy for the first time. Logic escaping him for the moment, as he fell asleep. Years passed, and every day he came back to the same spot, calling out for the pixie-girl. Although she never did come, that never stopped him from talking with her. Irvine would sit on her rock and tell her about what was going on in his life, no one ever did reply but that never wavered him.

At least, not until he was sent to an academy, too old for any parents to want to adopt and no longer able to visit her rock. Sometimes he wondered if the Pixie Girl ever did survive that fall, but by asking himself such a question was doubting what she said. That she really wasn't a Pixie. And that, was something he could not bring himself to do. Even after finding out that everything she told him applied to Fairies and not Pixies, he could still not bring himself to doubt her. The word Pixie suited her more than Fairy, anyways.

In the back of his mind he thought himself pathetic, a young man of twenty-four, still chasing butterflies through the woods, only this time at a laid back pace with the hopes of seeing a glimpse of that other world he experienced as a child. Irvine wondered what had possessed him to drive back to his old orphanage, follow one of the many butterflies that happened to inhabit the area, back into that very forest. Where he met that Pixie-Girl, where he stole her first kiss.

Perhaps it was chance, or fate. He liked to believe in the latter of the two as he climbed those exact same crooked-looking steps of earth, only this time he didn't have to hoist himself upon them. Ironic, how a butterfly would choose the exact same path as one did years before, resting in that same patch of moss where flowers now sprung.

"Gotcha." Irvine smiled slightly, having to lean down to reach it, his now long hair spilling over his shoulders, barely kept together with the loose ponytail. Some things never did change. He blinked, curious as the butterfly flew away, a small pebble hitting a place nearby with a ping.

"You really never learn, you big meanie." A high pitch voice addressed him with a hint of humor, not quite the same voice he remembered, but still, familiar. Irvine froze before regaining his posture and turning to face the owner.

He never did stop believing.

"Because no one wants to believe a lie."

- - - - -

dedicated to my boyfriend Kieran

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this! I haven't written anything in a really long time, and for some reason I was inspired to write this particular fiction. Pleaaase, R&R or else I won't have much desire to write anything in the future. Your feedback is key for me to continue. Thanks!