It was late on a Friday night when Fred started walking home from SFIT through the hazy dusk that always fell over the city when the sun went down. After spending the evening mascotting at homecoming, he was exhausted and yet at the same time still buzzing with the excited energy that came from cheering on the team and performing at halftime. It had been a close victory, but the home team, the SFIT Ninjas, had managed to just squeak by, their quarterback scoring the winning touchdown in the last five seconds on the clock. Practically the entire university-hell, even a good portion of the city-was celebrating the victory right now. Fred had stuck around for a while after the game to congratulate the team, but after about an hour he'd finally slipped away from all the festivities to change out of his mascot uniform and head home. It was a Friday night, after all. And now that he'd had his fun dressing up as a kaiju for the university, he was ready to take a nice hot bath to wash away all the sweat he'd worked up from jumping and dancing around and then settle in for an old fashioned nerd movie marathon.
Maybe Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, he muses to himself as he makes his way through the city park. He'd have to see what he was in the mood for after he'd gotten some food into his stomach. Recently he'd been on something of a fantasy kick (he tended to rotate through his different fandoms depending on his mood and what was currently trending on tumblr), and that's part of the reason he'd chosen to walk home tonight instead of having Heathcliff, the family butler, pick him up after the game. He liked walking in the park at dusk-there was something faintly magical about the small forest that bordered it. The woods always looked so mysterious with only the glow of the street lamps providing faint illumination to them, and Fred felt like any number of mythical creatures could be hiding just out of view in the shadows of the trees.
He was near the edge of the park when he notices two young boys (not exactly children, but not quite teenagers either) hunched underneath the glow of one of the lamp posts. For a moment he felt concerned for them, wondering why they were out in the park this late without any adults supervising them. Were they lost? But as he draws closer he hears their rough, almost mocking laughter as they poke at something on the ground between them with a sharp stick and he finds himself grimacing. He knew that kind of laugh. It was the sort of laugh he'd heard the bullies he'd dealt with in his growing up years use whenever they were making another living being miserable. Often the laughter of the bullies had been directed at him as he'd been one of their favorite targets, and the sound of these two boys' sadistic chortling was enough to bring up some rather unpleasant memories of his own childhood.
Part of Fred was tempted to just walk past the kids and avoid causing any trouble for himself. He could do nothing and just pass on by and be home in less than half an hour, safe and sound in his own room. But he couldn't quite bring himself to do it. Whatever they were torturing, it didn't deserve the kind of treatment it was receiving. Hell, for all he knew, it might even end up dead since they seemed to have no regard whatsoever for the poor creature's life.
Fred wasn't exactly the most threatening person in the world, but he tries to make himself seem as large as possible as he approaches them, squaring his shoulders and shouting, "Hey! Stop that!"
The two boys look up at him, startled, but after taking a moment to size him up they seem to decide that he isn't much of a threat.
"Who's gonna make us stop?" the older boy drawls.
"Yeah, who? You?" the younger boy chimes in, sneering at the fanboy.
"M-Maybe," Fred answers, trying to sound brave but realizing as the older boy stands up that maybe they were a little more evenly matched than he'd originally thought-the kid was up to his shoulders, and pretty well built at that.
"I don't think so." The older boy shakes his head and then makes a threatening motion which makes Fred instinctively jerk back. The fanboy's reaction draws coarse laughter from both of the kids, and Fred feels himself flushing with both irritation and shame.
"Look, what's it going to take for you to leave that thing alone?" he asks, disgusted with himself for being so weak. "Don't you care about the fact that you're hurting another living being?"
"It's just a stupid butterfly." The older boy rolls his eyes at him. "It's not like it matters what we do to it."
"And it's going to look real cool pinned on my wall," the younger boy adds with a rather sadistic looking grin.
Okay, so appealing to their better nature obviously wasn't going to work. Well, that wasn't Fred's only option here. He knew one form of motivation that always seemed to work on jerks like these.
"What if I pay you to leave it alone?" Fred offers, reaching for his wallet and glad that he actually had some loose cash with him for once.
This seems to catch the boys' interest.
"How much?" the elder asks, raising an eyebrow.
"I've got fifty on me. Take it or leave it," Fred answers.
"Fifty dollars?" The younger's eyes seem to almost bulge out of his head.
"Is it a deal?" Fred asks, keeping his voice level.
"You bet it's a deal!" The older boy all but snatches the money out of his hand, a wicked grin on his face as he laughs and adds, "Enjoy your stupid butterfly!"
Fred sighs as the two boys run off into the darkness. So he'd just taught these kids that they could actually make money off of cruelty. Fantastic. But that didn't matter right now. He'd gotten them to leave the creature they'd been torturing alone. And even if it was just a butterfly, he couldn't have walked away with a good conscience leaving it here to spend its final moments in misery. No one and nothing deserved that kind of death.
"Please, please still be alive," Fred whispers as he kneels down next to the tiny crumpled figure on the ground. Depending on how badly it was already hurt, he might be too late already. Still, it was a surprisingly large butterfly-maybe it was sturdy enough to have survived. He didn't see any movement coming from it, but he carefully turns it over in his hands, trying to gauge the level of damage to its main body to see if there was any possibility of saving it.
As soon as his eyes settle on the creature's underside (the part that had until now been hidden by the wings), he feels his heart stuttering to a halt in his chest.
No. No way. No way. There was no possible way that he could be seeing what he thought he was seeing. It wasn't possible. These weren't supposed to be real-they only existed in stories! And yet, unless he was hallucinating (and he doubted he was given he hadn't drunk anything but gatorade that night), there was no denying what he was holding in his hands.
A fairy. He was holding a real, live fairy.
Or, at least, he hoped it was still alive. The miniscule body in his hand, barely longer than the length of his palm, was so tiny that he had no idea of how to check its vital signs. Panic rises up in his chest as the reality of the situation sets in.
Oh God. Oh God. He had just found an actual fairy-something that had only happened in the wildest of his fantasies-and yet he had absolutely no idea how to help it. It wasn't like he could take it to a doctor or even a vet. What was he supposed to do except maybe pray for a miracle?
"Please, please be okay," Fred breathes, heart pounding erratically in his chest as he does his best to search for any signs of life. The incredibly delicate rib cage of the creature seems to be rising and falling, and as he ever so gently presses the pad of his finger to it he thinks he feels the faintest of heartbeats. But it's hard to see in the darkness, and he's afraid that he might be imagining things. Finally, sucking in a deep breath for courage, he gives the fairy's side a nudge, hoping that maybe if he could rouse the creature it could tell him how to best help it.
For one horrible minute, there's no response, and Fred is convinced that it's too late-that he hadn't manage to save the fairy in time and he's going to have to dig a grave to bury the tiny body in. But then the creature's eyes flutter open and, with a cough so quiet that Fred almost couldn't hear it, slowly sits up in his palm, looking dazed and confused.
"Oh my gosh, you're alive!" Fred shouts joyously, only to realize that being so loud hadn't been the best idea as the fairy clamps its hand over its tiny ears before looking up at him in shock, its mouth forming a perfect "o" of horror.
"It's okay!" Fred says quickly, this time keeping his voice a near whisper in hopes that he wouldn't be too loud this time. "I promise, I'm not going to hurt you!"
But in spite of his reassurances, the fairy scrambles to its feet, stumbling backwards in his hand and spreading its wings as if getting ready to fly away. Fred feels his heart plunging in disappointment, but he doesn't try to stop it. As much as he wanted to talk to it-to find out everything that he could about this incredible creature-he knew it must be terrified right now and attempting to stop it would just be cruel.
Still, as he watches the fairy starts to flap its wings, it quickly becomes obvious that something is extremely wrong. After only a couple of flaps, the fairy crumples back down into his hand, a look of intense pain on its face that even Fred could see in spite of how small its features were.
"Are you okay?" the fanboy asks, desperately trying to figure out how to help. "Is something injured?"
"M-My wings," the fairy answers in a tiny, bell-like voice after a moment of silence, grimacing and looking like it wanted to be doing anything but be speaking to the human but seeing no other choice. "S-Something's wrong with them…"
"Those damn kids…" Fred growls, anger filling his chest. Those little brats! They'd injured a fairy. A fairy, of all things-a beautiful, delicate mythical being that deserved be treated with respect and care, not tortured to death! This was completely unforgivable!
Trying to remind himself to stay calm and focus on the problem at hand, Fred asks, "Where do you need to go? If there's someone who can help you, I can carry you to them since you can't fly right now!"
"Thanks, but no thanks." The fairy gives him a scathing look, obviously not trusting him, and then, without another word, slides down off of his hands and onto the grass, coming to a clumsy landing on the hard dirt and doing its best to stay upright in spite of the fact that it seemed a bit imbalanced at the moment.
Fred was about to protest, realizing that the fairy was planning to attempt to walk to its destination and thinking about all of the dangers that a fairy with injured wings might encounter here in the park after dark-anything from stray cats, who would think it a toy or even a midnight snack, to more unsavory characters like the kids who had hurt the poor creature in the first place. But then something happens that completely wipes all of those concerns out of the fanboy's mind and leaves him so shocked that he can't even speak.
A soft glow starts emanating from the fairy's body, and, moments later, it appears to be growing steadily larger. Fred finds himself scrambling back to make more room, and, a moment later, the fairy's transformation was complete. The fairy was still very much a fairy-it still had its almost luminescent green and black wings on its back. But it was now the size of an average human, perhaps even a bit taller, and Fred finds himself grappling to come to terms with what had just happened, as well as coming to terms with the fairy's appearance.
Up until now, he hadn't been able to see the fairy clearly-he'd been pretty sure that it was a guy, but when it had been so small it had been hard to tell. Now, though, it was quite obvious that the fairy was a guy. And not just a guy-a very, very attractive guy. Fred finds himself blushing a little bit as his eyes involuntarily trace over the fairy's features, taking in the deep, almost chocolate brown eyes, the soft black hair, and the adorably large pointed ears. The other man's clothes appeared to be made almost entirely from plant matter-brown leaves making up his leggings and his woven tunic that appeared to be made of green leaves fastened around his waist with a belt of tree bark. In short, he was everything the fanboy had ever imagined a fairy would look like-and also just about everything that Fred considered to be the aesthetics for a perfect guy.
"H-How did you do that?" the fanboy gasps.
The other man just gives him a cool look, seeming to feel that question didn't deserve an actual reply. He stubbornly turns towards the woods, starting to limp his way towards the treeline. But he doesn't get far. After only a few steps, he crumples to the ground again.
"Please, let me help you!" Fred begs as he races forward to kneel by the fairy's side "You're injured, you need help!"
"How do I know I can trust you?" the fairy demands, eyes flashing with suspicion as he looks over at the human but a hint of desperation making its way into his voice, as if he had finally accepted the fact that he wasn't going to get very far on his own.
"I guess you can't know for sure," Fred admits. "But I already saved you from those kids earlier. And if I wanted to capture you, I could have stuffed you in a jar or something while you were still tiny. So I'm hoping my actions speak for themselves."
The fairy stares at him incredulously for a moment before asking,"You were the one who saved me from those kids who pinned me down and were trying to stab me to death with a stick?"
"Yeah, that was me!" Fred agrees, hoping that this meant that he was making progress. "I mean, to be fair, at the time I thought you were just a butterfly. But I don't think it's right for anyone to hurt another living thing, even a butterfly, so I paid them off to get them to leave you alone. You really had me scared there for a minute once they finally left-I thought they'd already done you in. You have no idea how happy I was to find out that you were still alive!"
The fairy seems to be considering his words and then finally nods his head, as if choosing to accept them. "I was on the ground taking a rest when they found me," he explains quietly."I'd only landed for a minute, but they pinned my wings down before I could fly away so I couldn't escape. I was sure that they were going to be the end me… I must have blacked out at some point because the next thing I remember I was waking up with you holding me." He takes a deep breath before offering Fred a slightly begrudging smile and adding, "If you really did save me… Thank you. I owe you a debt of gratitude."
"Hey, it was the right thing to do," Fred tells him with a nonchalant shrug, although inside he was thrilled that the fairy actually seemed to be starting to trust him.
"I'm Fred," the fanboy adds, offering the other man his hand, only to quickly realize that he had no idea if fairies actually shook hands.
Fortunately the fairy seems to understand the gesture as he momentarily clasps the fanboy's hand in his own before letting go and answering, "I'm Tadashi."
"Tadashi," Fred repeats, enjoying the feeling of the name on his tongue. It was every bit as perfect as the rest of the fairy.
"I have no idea how I'm going to get home tonight…" The other man's eyes eyes are drawn to the dark forest line, worry clearly showing in them. "I can barely walk, and I can't fly…"
"I can help you get home!" Fred quickly offers again. Seeing the doubtful expression on the fairy's face, he urges, "Please, I just want to make sure that you're safe! There's no way that I'm going to leave you out here where only God knows what could happen to you!"
"...Fine," Tadashi sighs after a moment, his shoulders sinking in defeat. "My aunt's going to kill me for showing a human where we live, but I don't see any other choice…"
"Great!" Fred beams at him before asking. "How far is where you live from here?"
"Just a little ways into the forest," Tadashi answers, his wings fluttering involuntarily as he points in the proper direction and making him wince.
"Come on, then." Fred gently offers him his hand. "Either I can help you walk, or you can hitch a ride on me-whatever's easier for you."
"I feel like I'd have more dignity walking," Tadashi tells him slowly before sighing and adding, "But riding would get me there faster. And I know Aunt Cass is probably worried enough as it is. She sent me out to find Hiro over an hour ago-she's probably frantic by now."
"Hiro?" Fred repeats curiously.
"My little brother," Tadashi answers with a wry smile. "He has a bad habit of wandering off and going on 'adventures' on his own and usually gets himself into trouble. I guess I'm the one who managed to get myself into trouble this time…"
"Hey, that wasn't your fault!" Fred argues.
"I suppose not," Tadashi answers doubtfully. "I didn't plan on getting ambushed when all I was trying to do was catch my breath for a second…"
"See? You totally couldn't have planned for that!" Fred agrees, feeling a bit of anger again towards the boys who had hurt this beautiful creature but forcing the feeling back down so that he can focus on actually helping Tadashi.
"So, um-are you going to be okay shrinking back down or whatever it is that you do?" he asks, realizing that if he was going to be carrying the fairy back home then Tadashi was going to have to get a lot smaller again.
"Oh, right!" Tadashi flashes him an embarrassed smile before closing his eyes, a look of concentration on his face. Only a few moments later, he starts growing smaller and smaller until he's the same size that he'd been when Fred had found him earlier.
"That is still insanely cool!" the fanboy says with a grin as he offers the fairy his hand.
"Thanks," Tadashi chuckles, actually seeming slightly amused by the compliment as he carefully climbs into the waiting palm and settles himself onto it.
Once he seemed to be in a comfortable position, Fred gingerly stands up, doing his best not to make any sudden movements that would cause the fairy any more pain or discomfort than he was already in.
"You just tell me where to go and I'll follow your lead," Fred says as he starts making his way towards the woods.
"All right," Tadashi agrees, almost seeming to be smiling at him as he points towards a gap in the trees. "It's that way."
"Gotcha!" Fred nods to signify that he understands before heading in the direction that the fairy had indicated.
It takes a good ten minutes to actually maneuver their way through the dark woods, and Fred almost trips over a raised root once. But by some miracle (and maybe just a tiny bit of magic), they finally find themselves in front of what the fanboy could only assume was Tadashi's home.
Fred really had no idea what a fairy house would look like, or if fairies even had houses. As it was, what he was looking at now appeared to be an abandoned wooden crate, grown over with moss, toadstools, and other types of forest vegetation. It would have seemed like just another abandoned piece of trash if it hadn't been for the tiny door fashioned into the side of it and the faint glow emanating from inside.
"This is where you live?" the fanboy asks, glancing down at the fairy for confirmation.
"It is," Tadashi tells him.
Fred almost made a comment about how cute it was but then suddenly has a flashback to all the fantasy novels he'd read where someone had made the mistake of calling something fairy related "cute" and raised the ire of one of the tiny mythical beings. He manages to swallow the potentially offending words back just in time, instead opting for, "It's very nice."
"Thanks," Tadashi says, smiling up at the other man again.
"Dashi? Dashi, is that you?" Fred hears a tiny voice coming from the inside of the crate, and he looks down to see what almost looked like a fluffy black dandelion but turned out to be the head of another fairy poking out of the door in the side of the crate. This new fairy glances both left and right before finally looking up and seeing Fred. The tiny boy lets out a terrified squeak at the sight of the human, darting back into the house and shouting, "Aunt Cass! Aunt Cass!"
"Oh no…" Tadashi quietly groans, shaking his head. "I'd better get in there and explain before they both panic… And you should probably get going before Aunt Cass comes out here and tries to put a curse on you-or worse."
"Oh, o-okay," Fred agrees, realizing that this particular adventure was at an end and carefully depositing the fairy next to the door. "Will you be okay getting in on your own?"
"Yeah, this is close enough," Tadashi reassures him as he holds onto the side of the crate, a grateful smile showing on his face in the glow coming from the door.
"Any chance that I could come back and see you sometime?" the fanboy manages to get out before he loses his courage.
"I'd really like that," Tadashi answers, his smile growing just the tiniest bit and a rosy color lightly dusting his cheeks. "Tonight isn't a good time, I still need to talk to my aunt and explain all of this. But maybe you could come back tomorrow?"
"Yeah, that would be great!" Fred agrees, thrilled by the fact that Tadashi actually seemed to want to see him again too.
The fairy sounds almost shy as he adds, "Maybe you can even come inside for a proper visit so we can talk and… Well, get to know each other a bit better? That is, provided Aunt Cass has calmed down some and I've convinced her that you're not an 'evil human' who wants to put us on display in a museum or lock us up in a lab..."
"Um, sure?" Fred agrees, knowing full well that there was no way he could ever fit inside the tiny house but deciding to be polite enough not to say anything. Maybe Tadashi had suffered a concussion on top of his wing injuries and was a bit confused at the moment.
"All right. I'll see you then," Tadashi tells him, grinning and waving before making his way into the house, closing the door behind him as he goes.
"See you," Fred repeats softly before getting to his feet and starting to stumble his way back through the forest, feeling even more giddy than he'd felt earlier tonight when the team had won the game. The homecoming game felt like a distant memory after everything that had just happened.
A fairy. He'd just met a real fairy. A real, incredibly handsome fairy named Tadashi who actually wanted to see him again! It was almost too good to be true. But when he pinches himself to make sure that he's not dreaming, it's clear from the stinging pain that he is awake, meaning that it was all true-really, incredibly true.
Floating on cloud nine, Fred makes his way towards home, already counting the seconds until he could see Tadashi again.