Title: Teitolina
Character/Pairing: Various, Teito/Mikage
Notes: This was born late at night, and was never supposed to leave the theoretical. On the other hand, the world always needs more crack, right?
Once upon a time, a man was given a seed, to take care of and nurture. He didn't question the woman who pressed it into his hand, and that night, he planted the seed in a newly purchased pot. But our story isn't about him.
The seed becomes a sprout, and the sprout becomes a shoot, and the shoot grows into a beautiful flower that blooms early one morning under a shower of water. Fia Kreuz smiles gently as the petals unfurl, and if he's surprised to see the small boy curled in the center of the flower, it doesn't show.
He calls the boy "Teito Klein," a small pun he allows himself. Teito is, of course, a blank slate, for all his apparent physical maturity; he smiles without understanding, a soft, innocent glow. A tiny, pure, child.
Teito doesn't remember how he came to live here, in this great big palace of stone and iron. Some days, he thinks he remembers warmth, and gentleness, but everything here is so cold and hard he feels he must have dreamed it. There is ice all around him, in the gazes of the strangers who come to see the tiny little man, barely as large as their thumbs, - "A fairy, a fairy!" one small child squeals, but the words hold no meaning - ice in the bearing of the man who places him high atop a windowsill at night, so he can't wander about. Ice so plentiful, it permeates to his core.
It's a night like any other, only it isn't. The window is open merely a crack, and Teito has a small light to see by, and these two things aren't important to him until the moment the boy appears at his side, peering at him curiously.
It's not something as silly as love at first sight, because that only happens in fantasy worlds, fairy tales, and dreams, and besides, Teito doesn't even know what love is, beyond a word with little meaning. But the boy - the fairy - Mikage - smiles at Teito, curious and open and trusting, and Teito finds the warmth that he's been craving all this time.
Flying is amazing. There's no way to explain it, the thrill of the wind dashing against his skin, through his hair, Mikage's arms tight around his waist. Teito hadn't been sure; he doesn't like touching people, and was Mikage really sure he could carry both of them on those flimsy wings? ("Well, for someone your size, it shouldn't be a problem") and what if he was missed? But he's glad. Even if he never leaves the ground again, this memory is enough, a small point of light locked in a drawer in his heart to keep the cold at bay.
Mikage is fascinated by this small boy who isn't a fairy. He scowls, and he huffs, and he doesn't say much, but Mikage sees the way his eyes glow when they fly, and it's beautiful. He wants Teito to stay with him always, so he can see that brightness again and again, until the gruff exterior melts away to let the light shine like a beacon. And Mikage is a prince among fairies, accustomed to getting what he wants, though his parents taught him not to abuse it.
All he needs is to convince them to allow Teito to stay in their court. He promises Teito he'll come again in the morning; Teito doesn't stop scowling, protests that "I don't see why you want to, I'm fine," but Mikage sees the gratitude. He wonders how lonely it must be, to be the only small one in a world of such big people.
Permission is as easy as he'd expected, and Mikage flies back in on his pink dragonfly as the sun is slipping over the horizon, only to find he has to hide as soon as he steals inside. The humans are in a furor, a large man with a silver ring that cuts into his flesh the loudest. From what Mikage can gather, Teito is missing. Mikage's breathing skips a beat, and he catches the attention of the first animal he comes across, a graceful ladybug.
It turns out she can't speak, and her eyes are sorrowful as she mimes something he can't quite catch. Again and again, patiently, she tries, and Mikage finally recognizes the motions ("He was kidnapped?" A nod. "By who?" A crouch, a leap, a flick of her tongue.) and hops back onto Burupya, set on tracking down these amphibian menaces.
Teito struggles the whole way to the pond, until whoever is holding his back gives it a powerful kick; with no breath, Teito gasps to recover as he is dropped unceremoniously on something hard.
When the fabric falls away, it's daylight, and Teito finds himself staring at four ugly toads. They stare back.
He's no good at cleaning, but it seems that it's what he's been taken for - one of the toads in particular, a loud, vain, pampered idiot - insists that he mop this, and dust that, and polish this, because "We have a show to run, and we don't have the time for servant tasks." Teito doesn't know why he was taken - it certainly seems like a lot of trouble - but when Shuuri gets drunk off of lily nectar and slides webby fingers under Teito's shirt, Teito has an idea.
He clubs the toad in the nose and leaps off of the boat. He might not have made it, as Shuuri roared in anger and the other toads came running, if a large swallow hadn't landed on a branch within striking distance. Teito freezes, as do the toads; the bird eyes them curiously.
"And what," he asks, "Do we have here?"
Teito knows two things. One, the bird is very, very big. Two, if the bird leaves, he's doomed, having lost the element of surprise.
But he still won't ask for help.
Hakuren, as it turns out the bird's name is, is a pretty smart guy. But he's incredibly self-absorbed; he managed to understand that Teito was in trouble, and pulled him out of that situation, but then he flew off with nary a word more. Teito kicks a pebble into a thicket of weeds. He's lost, though he doesn't know what he's looking for anyway. Going back to being prodded and stared at on a daily basis doesn't seem appealing, but it's the only place he knows.
Wistfully, he thinks of Mikage's promise. It would be nice to have a friend here. And Mikage can fly.
Mikage lights on the edge of the toad's boat, but it's empty. He pokes through their belongings, feeling only vaguely guilty - they did kidnap Teito, after all, so it's not like they're stand-up guys - but even that lends no clues. They've vanished, taking Teito with them. He can only hope they're still close, as he and Burupya shoot into the air once again.
Teito stops to rest inside an old log. He doesn't want to take the time, but his legs threaten to buckle if he doesn't.
He falls asleep like that, curled against an old mushroom.
The girl is singularly unhelpful, Teito decides, as Ouka flits around him, pulling at his clothes. Sure, after being dumped in the river and dragged through the wilderness, they're not exactly pristine. But he doesn't get why she cares, and she's been steadfastly ignoring his questions about where the hell he is and "Can you just stop for a second and listen?"
He never should have fallen asleep, he mourns, as she presses him into new, feminine clothing.
It turns out that Ouka has a motherly streak, and so Teito finally leaves her loaded down with a variety of food, a change of clothes, and directions to the fairy vale. It makes him feel guilty for his initial unkind thoughts.
And then the beetle mistakes him for a girl and kidnaps him, gagging him before he can explain, and Teito is going to maul the butterfly girl next time he sees her.
At least the situation is easily remedied when Frau realizes Teito is lacking several important points of female anatomy, and drops him unceremoniously outside the beetle's hall.
Mikage worries. The first real frost is scheduled to come soon, and his parents can't hold it back for long. "Because," his mother says, "Everything needs the winter to rest, so they can bloom again in the spring."
Sometimes Mikage wonders if Labrador always thinks in flower, or if it's just when he talks to him.
Hakuren shows up out of nowhere, as Teito is attempting to inch his way down a tree. His appearance is startling, and Teito slips; Hakuren plucks him out of the air as though he's nothing more than a dandelion seed, and deposits him on the ground.
"You do get yourself into messes," the swallow says, and Teito scowls at him. He doesn't need some stupid bird patronizing him, and besides, it's his fault Teito fell anyway. He would have reached the ground on his own... eventually.
"Do you know where the vale of the fairies is?" Teito asks bluntly, instead of bothering with a response. Hakuren's eyebrows fly up.
"The vale of the fairies? Is that where you are trying to go? Then I, as a gentleman, shall find it for you!"
He swoops off without further comment, and Teito barely refrains from smacking himself in the forehead. The least the bird could have done was take him along.
Burupya is a true, trustworthy friend, but the steadfast dragonfly can only do so much against the cruel, violent winds; a sudden gust sends him spinning to the ground, and Mikage plunges into icy water before he can regain his bearings.
The frost catches Teito by surprise - a sudden darkening of the sky, a quickening of the wind, and then the temperature drops rapidly. He stumbles to the nearest shelter - an old boot, patched and finally abandoned - limbs already numb with cold, and curls up in the lining of the shoe.
He wakes in a room with no windows, musty and damp. It's considerably warmer, and he peers around curiously. It's a homely room, practical and plain. Teito pushes a quilt away and stands.
Konatsu the fieldmouse is a strange character. He's pretty no-nonsense, but for some reason he has a fixation with this mole that apparently lives down the way. He drags Teito along to meet the mole, though Teito protests, because "Hey, I pulled you in out of the cold, you can at least do me this favor."
Teito doesn't understand why he thinks it's important, but he shrugs and follows Konatsu down the dark path with only a mild frown.
The moment he lays eyes on Ayanami, Teito is chilled to the core in a way even the cold outside can't mimic. He can't explain it, but something about the mole makes him want to run, as far and fast as he can, never stopping.
Ayanami doesn't keep them, but he pulls Konatsu aside and whispers into his ear, and the way Konatsu glances at him makes Teito sure that he's the subject of the secretive words. He shudders, inexplicably, when Konatsu takes his elbow and drags him back to the mouse's home.
"But - Mikage," Teito stammers, the first words that come to mind. Konatsu fixes him with a cold look, and Teito swallows against sudden dread. He doesn't want to hear the words that come next.
"The fairy prince? He died, kid. You're better off staying with the commander."
Teito feels bonecrushingly empty. He wonders why, staring through dry eyes at the boy who speaks of his friend's demise so blandly.
Oh, he realizes, fingers clenching in the quilt. Konatsu's breathing is nearly silent in the darkness. I'd forgotten what it's like without hope.
No place to go - but Teito can't stay, anyway. He slips out of Konatsu's cave, without a care to the cold. Freezing would be better than spending an eternity trapped as Ayanami's... pet. He circles around trees in the predawn light, hoping that it'll confuse his trail enough to make it not worth following him, and heads deeper into the forest as the sunrise breaks over the horizon.
Mikage opens his eyes, and a tiny caterpillar stares back.
"You're awake!" the boy chirps, grinning brilliantly. Mikage sits up and realizes his clothes are drenched, and a puny fire blazes dangerously close to his left arm.
"What happened?"
"Sis fished you outta the river, and she said we hadta unfreeze you! She's over there now!"
Mikage turns to where the boy is pointing, and sees a lovely butterfly hanging familiar clothes on a line to dry (or freeze, as the weather would have it).
Ouka doesn't know where Teito is now, but she points Mikage in the direction she'd seen him last, and he thanks her warmly, for that, and for saving his life. She pushes him away, says "Go find him. He's waiting, even if he doesn't know that yet," and Mikage whistles for Burupya, who knocks him over in his enthusiasm to see his owner again.
Teito stumbles across Hakuren entirely by accident. There's no reason for him to go around the left side of the tree rather than the right side, but he does, and he discovers the swallow collapsed with only the roots for shelter.
Teito manages to build a small shelter to pass the night, and hopes that it'll be enough. He curls close to Hakuren, for warmth, and tries to stop shivering long enough to sleep.
He wakes when a wing flings him against the edges of the shelter, crouched and ready to flee again if he has to. But Hakuren apologizes when he gets his bearings, and Teito gradually relaxes - but, more importantly! Hakuren has found the vale of the fairies, he says! And Teito must come!
"It's no use," Teito replies, turning away. He's so very tired - the cold always seems sharper after becoming warm, no matter how briefly. "Mikage's dead anyway."
Hakuren doesn't take no for an answer, Teito discovers as the swallow grabs him and launches into the air. Flying with Hakuren is nothing like flying with Mikage, either, all lumbering lurches and sharp curves to catch the wind.
But it gets them there.
Teito stares at the desolate wasteland in front of him, and turns to Hakuren angrily.
"What the hell is this?" he asks, and doesn't let Hakuren answer when he opens his beak to speak. "This is nothing more than a pile of dead stumps and old rocks!"
He's still staring sullenly, Hakuren having long since given up on trying to explain and flown away, when the branch he's sitting on bends underneath the weight of someone else. Teito turns, and he freezes when he sees who it is.
"Mikage?" he asks, and flings himself at the other boy without waiting for an answer.
Teito's still not quite sure what made him do it, but Mikage doesn't fall over until Teito pushes up and kisses him, and then they fall together in a tangle of legs and arms and wings and, well, magic.
And if there's one thing Teito has to say about his new wings, it's that they itch.
Queen Labrador and King Castor are open and welcoming (although something about Castor scares Teito and Labrador is unfathomable) and somehow kissing a fairy means that he's now a fairy, or he was a fairy all along and the kiss woke that part of him, or it's all some grand cosmic plan for a fairy tale ending. Teito finds he doesn't really care.
And he does, after a fashion, live happily ever after.
But he'll never call it that, because living with Mikage is a whole new type of problem. But that's another story.