"A Strange Bond"
Note: TF regrets yelling over the phone, but he still has some questions for Alpha, and he visits her first thing in the morning as promised. They have a much-needed conversation, and it's decided that he'll sleep at her place that day, while she catches up on the sleep she missed the night before. TF witnesses one of her nightmares firsthand. Mild content warning for a frank discussion about adult matters, and TF being a nervous virgin, but nothing racy happens. Just talking.
"Chapter 22: Heart to Hearts"
March 25th
Tooth Fairy's wings carried a familiar ache when he landed just outside of Alpha's house. Even with his smaller wings, he was a much stronger flier than any of the female Tooth Fairies before him had been, but that didn't mean that he was immune to fatigue. Last night, he had flown faster than he usually did, wanting to finish his rounds as soon as possible. Now his body was paying the price.
But what of the damage that was done to her body? He still had no idea how bad it was.
Over the course of the night, his anger had receded only to be replaced by guilt. Alpha had been hurt, injured in a fall of some sort, and he had yelled at her. Not just yelled, but yelled at her. Like her, he had a stubborn streak, and that part of him tried to rationalize it. This had scared him, and being scared often made him angry. Men weren't supposed to get scared.
Just like men aren't supposed to cry, right?
The thought had come unbidden into his mind, and he realized what he had done. He had taken it out on her. She had seen him scared before; she had seen him angry before. What was he really angry at? Was it her? No...not really. She was associated with the real cause, hence his confusion.
He wanted to get his hands on whatever it was that had chased her. He wanted to take back his words from the night before. He wanted to keep her safe, always, and he knew that he couldn't. That made him angry, and that was what scared him.
But he still had questions.
Tooth Fairy stood on her front porch for nearly three minutes, trying to figure out what he was going to say, and trying to muster up the courage to knock. He didn't know what he would see when she opened the door, but he knew it would be upsetting. Would she be upset with him? She had every right to be, he thought.
Then the porch light went on, and the curtains moved. Tooth Fairy gave an uncertain wave, and the curtains closed again. For a moment, he thought she wouldn't open the door, though he wasn't sure why he thought that. Then she did, and he stared.
Alpha had a large bruise on her temple, one that looked to be several days old, and several mostly-healed scratches on her forehead and cheeks. She wore a gray T-shirt that had 'In My Defense, I Was Left Unsupervised' printed on the front of it in white, but he didn't notice this at first; his eyes were drawn to her bare arms. From her wrists all the way up to where the sleeves began, her arms were peppered with scratches, bruises, and one rather nasty-looking cut that had clearly been stitched. Why she wasn't wearing a bandage on that, he could only surmise. Heaven only knew how many injuries her clothing hid!
She gave a tired smile, but it seemed forced. "Hey...want to come in?"
Tooth Fairy looked stricken as he reached out with both hands, but stopped just short of touching the bruises on her arms. "Gods, Alpha...What happened?"
"Not out here," Alpha stood aside, and she closed the door once he was inside. "Last night, you said you had some questions..."
Tooth Fairy hung his aviator cap on one of the wall hooks and walked with her as she went to sit on her bed, wanting to assist her, but afraid to touch her. Her steps were slow and careful, like those of an elderly person who feared losing their balance. "I said a lot of things last night. Things I shouldn't have said."
"Pff, why not?" Alpha sat down, but gingerly. This was the only indication that she was in any pain at all, because it didn't show on her face.
"I had no right to be mad at you, and-" He never got to finish his sentence, because she covered his mouth with her hand.
"Let me stop ye there." Alpha removed her hand and rested it on the mattress. "Ye had every right to be mad at me. I'm mad at me. And there's no 'should' or 'shouldn't' with things like that. Feelings are just that; it's how ye feel. It's what ye do with it."
"So, what I did was tell you off when I knew you'd just been hurt," Tooth Fairy shook his head. "That wasn't okay."
Alpha shrugged, then a frown line appeared between her brows, there and gone in a flash. The movement had hurt, and she made a mental note to watch that. "To be honest...it didn't really register. I was more concerned with gettin' home, and gettin' away from Winnie-the-Pooh on steroids..."
All color drained out of Tooth Fairy's face, and a wave of cold washed over him. "You were chased...by a bear?"
"It's happened a few times, luv. I'm faster'n they are." Alpha took his hand.
"Then...what...how did..." Tooth Fairy shook his head, wishing he could get his mouth and brain to synch up, but she knew what he meant.
"Well...I didn't know the area well. When the bear stopped runnin' after me, I thought I was scot free...no pun intended..." She made a little face. "I didn't account for possible changes in the terrain, and I didn't know about the ravine. Basically, I pulled a 'Buttercup' and went arse-over-teakettle down a steep incline. Then I texted you, and you know the rest."
"I don't know why you're making jokes. I see nothing funny about any of this." He looked at the bruises on her arm, then removed his hand from hers and reached for her shirttail. He glanced back up at her, wordlessly asking for her permission to lift the back of her shirt, and she sighed and turned in her seat to grant him access.
He slowly lifted the fabric, being very careful not to touch her skin, and his breath escaped in a long, drawn-out exhale at what was revealed to him. Nearly her entire back was black and blue, with shades of green, purple, and yellow thrown in, making the bruises look like they'd been there for much longer than the eight hours or so that they had been. She had crossed her arms over her front to keep that part of her shirt in place, and when he lifted her shirttail high enough he saw why. She wore no bra, and with the pain she had to be in, he could understand why! He lowered her shirt again and shook his head. "I'm so sorry..."
Alpha turned back towards him, taking his hand again. "If ye want to be sorry it happened at all, then fine. Trust me, I am too. But if you're apologizing for yelling, ye can save it, 'cause there's nothin' tae forgive."
Tooth Fairy shook his head and folded his arms as he got up to pace. "It's not just that. You don't even know why I yelled in the first place."
"Then tell me," She gently urged.
He huffed and shook his head. "Because I'm a selfish jerk, that's why..."
"Oh, rubbish..."
"No, it's true. All I could think about was how losing you would affect me, not how it would affect this place, and not how much pain you were in at the time. I..." Tooth Fairy ran his hand through his hair a few times as he paced, and finally he sat back down beside her. "I-I got scared, and because of that I got mad. And it was out of my mouth before I could even think about it."
"And those were all very reasonable things to be feelin' at the time. They were," She insisted when he shook his head. "I remember there bein' a few close calls with Andrew, and I had to hold back from turnin' him over my knee. I don't believe in that kind o' punishment, but the temptation was definitely there."
"Well, you're not my kid, you're my girlfriend..." He rubbed his face with both hands, almost in a self-comforting gesture. "But you're gonna go out there again, aren't you? And again. And again."
"Yes," She answered simply.
"Gods...What'm I gonna do if something happens to you? What are they gonna do?" He gestured vehemently at her front door.
She considered for a moment before responding. "A new leader would be chosen. But why would anything happen? I'm nearly five hundred years old, Roy. I've survived this long. And I have one very good reason to stick around."
"What's that?"
"I'm lookin' at him."
Tooth Fairy shook his head and put his hand on her forehead as if checking for a fever. The gesture was almost playful. Almost. "Just how far did you fall, Alpha?"
She scoffed lightly, took his hand, and kissed it. "I dunno, luv, I forgot to bring me tape measure."
He gave a snort that sounded like it wanted to be a laugh, and folded his hands as he looked at the floor. "How many times have you gotten hurt?"
"I don't know," Alpha said honestly. "Four hundred years is a long time."
"I don't get it. How can you be so cavalier about this?"
She stifled a yawn against her fist. "I'm not cavalier, I'm just tired. But look...You remember that baseball, right?"
"Tch, how can I forget?" Tooth Fairy's eyes flicked briefly in her direction, then resumed their staring contest with the floor.
"Every time we go up to the surface, we're taking a risk. In fact, every time anyone on this planet leaves his home, he's stepping out into the unknown. Does that mean we should all be shut-ins, and not do what we need to do?" Alpha paused for him to answer, but the only answer she got was a slight shake of his head. "You take a risk every time you fly in a storm, and that worries me. Does that excuse you from doing your job?"
"No...and I hate storms." He replied.
"And I hate hunting. I hate killing things. But we need to eat. So...there you are." Alpha's expression softened when he lowered his head even more, and she touched his shoulder. "Can I have a hug?"
She was asking for one, but she got the feeling that he needed it more than she did.
"I don't wanna hurt you..." He mumbled. He wasn't anywhere near tears, but it was obvious that these recent events had him extremely upset.
"Ye won't, luv...just be gentle."
Tooth Fairy turned to her and opened his arms, and even as she nestled in close he was afraid to touch her. His hands just barely came into contact with her back. "Well, I'll give ya this much...Your pain tolerance is through the roof. If I was bruised up like this, I wouldn't even wanna move."
"Heh...I'm just glad I don't own a swear jar."
"I haven't heard you swear all that often," He observed, letting go when she sat back again.
"Well, let's just say I dropped a fair few F-bombs and an assortment of other profanities when I stepped in that bear trap. Wouldn't that have come in handy last night..." Alpha smirked and knocked her elbow against his, and he finally smiled.
"Totally forgivable." He yawned, and then she yawned, and they both excused themselves at the same time.
"Heh..." Alpha shook her head and looked at the clock. "You should probably go get some sleep."
He nodded, preparing to get up, but a nagging suspicion stopped him. "Did you sleep at all last night?"
"No," She reluctantly admitted. "Couldn't get comfortable. Pearl gave me somethin' for sleep and for the pain, but I don't like takin' it. Ye wake up feelin' a little fuzzy in the head and hung-over, and no fun beforehand to make it worth it. Plus, I wasn't hungry, and you're supposed to take it with food."
"Well, why don't you take it now?" He asked.
"Still not hungry," She shook her head. "I'll have something later. Maybe take it then."
Tooth Fairy nodded, then looked over at his aviator cap, which still hung on the hook. It just didn't feel right to him, the idea of leaving. He was tired, there was no denying that, but he had a feeling she was in a lot more pain that she was admitting to. But he didn't want to invite himself, either. He looked back at her, and saw that she had her head in her hands. "Alpha?"
"Aye?"
"What is it?"
"Headache..."
He frowned. "You hit your head?"
Alpha snorted, then hissed sharply as her muscles protested at the sudden movement. "I hit my everything, Roy. Pearl says I'll be fine, and I've survived worse."
Tooth Fairy shook his head and folded his arms. "Yeah, that makes me feel a whole lot better about leaving you here alone...Do you need me to stay?"
"I need you to sleep," Alpha gave him a wry look.
"Then we need the same thing," Tooth Fairy uncrossed his arms and turned to face her more fully. "Do ya need company, or..." Oh, that doesn't sound creepy at all, does it? "I mean, not for that, but...you know, just for company."
Alpha smiled. "D'ye know how cute ye are when you're nervous?"
"Uhhh...no, not really." His smile was, indeed, a nervous smile.
She didn't even have to consider the matter. "You can stay over, if you want. You might want to bring a pillow from home, though. Mine's not big enough to share, and it'll save us arguin' back and forth about who gets it."
"Well, it's your pillow, you should get it."
"And you're my guest. See what I mean?" She grinned.
"Well...okay, I'll be back in a few. Uh...mind if I change into PJ's? I hate sleeping in my clothes." Please don't let her think that's weird...
"Whatever you're comfortable with," Alpha got slowly to her feet and walked off.
"Wait, where're you going?" Tooth Fairy got up as well.
Alpha stopped, rolled her eyes, and turned to face him. "I have to pee."
"Oh."
He turned crimson and hastily called up a Fairy Ring to take himself home. Upon arriving in his living room, he facepalmed so hard that it hurt. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"
Although, now that the subject had come up, he figured he might as well do the same. After brushing his teeth, he showered and changed into a set of blue pajamas with a white molar pattern on them and grabbed one of his pillows. As an afterthought, he raided his fridge for a carton of eggs and some bacon. He knew from before that she didn't have either of these things, and he wanted to do something nice for her when they woke up.
Alpha was brushing her teeth when he got back, and he stashed the food in her fridge as he called out, "Hello?"
Alpha spat, then poured herself some mouthwash. "Welcome back."
"Uh, sorry about that last question. I dunno where my brain went." He apologized.
"Och, don't worry about it." She swished with mouthwash and came out of her bathroom, then she looked him up and down and gave him a thumbs up. "Nice jammies."
"Nah, they're kinda goofy. It's almost laundry day, and I didn't figure on anyone ever seein' 'em, so..." He cleared his throat. "Uh, so, which side you want? Wall or edge?"
"Wall's good with me," Alpha smiled and got into bed, then gingerly scooted over to let him in. Her bed was a double bed like his, so even though there wasn't enough room for two people to sprawl out, they still had plenty of room to be comfortable. Or she would have been comfortable if she wasn't so damn sore.
Tooth Fairy settled in beside her, facing her instead of facing away this time, and as soon as they made eye contact he covered his face and snickered.
"What's so funny?" Alpha asked, wearing a confused smile of her own.
"I don't know!" He shook his head, and then he realized that he did know. This was different from the two times they'd shared a bed before. He wasn't sick, nor had he just finished having a good cry. He was perfectly well, and if it wasn't for the fact that she was recovering from a bad fall, this might be considered inappropriate. Or would it? After all, they were both adults...
He met her gaze again, and shrugged. Five hundred years old, and I'm getting the giggles like a fifty-year-old...
"Ye're a wee bit uncomfortable, aren't ye?" Alpha smiled, tucking her right arm under her pillow and trying to ignore the pain that lanced down her side.
"More like nervous," He admitted, tucking his left arm under his own pillow as his wings gave a small flick. "Silly, huh?"
"Want me to face the wall?"
Tooth Fairy shook his head, then stifled a yawn. "No, I just...Well, I'm just gonna address the elephant in the room. If both of us were completely healthy and unhurt, I don't think I'd wanna risk something like this...Not yet, anyway. I...never mind."
Alpha nodded, smiling at him as he turned red. "Well, I'm glad ye want to respect my boundaries. And I want to respect yours. But I'm curious...Can I ask ye somethin'?"
His heart immediately began to pound. "Uh, sure..."
She propped herself up on her elbow. "When the subject came up yesterday...well...ye looked a bit scared. I'm not that intimidating, am I?"
Tooth Fairy hid his face again, and didn't answer.
"Why...ye really are scared, aren't ye?" Alpha whispered.
"Not of you..." He mumbled, keeping his hand over his face. "It's stupid..."
Alpha had a pretty good idea of what was bothering him, and she asked in as gentle a tone as she could manage. "Is it because I'm experienced, and you're not?"
He groaned, embarrassed, then nodded. "I wouldn't know what I was doing...I don't even know if there's been anyone else, other than...Well, I have a lot to live up to, and it is kind of intimidating."
"Roy..." Alpha reached out, but decided that touching him now would be a bad idea. "I won't do anything you're not ready for, you know that. And yes...there were two others after Alexander. Not at the same time, of course..."
Tooth Fairy uncovered his face and blinked at her, but he wasn't too surprised. She was nearly five hundred years old, after all, and that was a very long time to be lonely. He knew that very well!
"Does that bother you?" She asked him, concerned now.
He mulled this over, then shook his head. "Why would it bother me that you were able to be happy for a while? It's just...going back to my wings again...they're not a trait that my people like to pass on. So, I never had any luck there. And then I found you, and now that it is a possibility, I don't know what to do with that. I just...I wouldn't want to be...well, a disappointment."
"Well...first off, I'm glad ye trust me enough to tell me that," Alpha said quietly, settling her head back on her pillow. "And second...there's plenty of time to learn. And that time isn't now, so there's nothin' to be nervous about, is there?"
Tooth Fairy sighed, relieved to have this out in the open, and he shook his head. "No...Guess I'm being kinda silly, huh?"
"Not at all. Knowin' what I do, it makes perfect sense to me. Now, let's get some sleep."
"Okay. You need anything before we do? I can get it, so you won't have to get up." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
"You're sweet," Alpha gave him a light peck on the cheek. "But no, I just want to sleep."
"Okay," He leaned in and kissed her, then settled down and closed his eyes. "Night, sweetheart."
"Night, Wintergreen."
They were safe.
Tooth Fairy woke up seven hours later to a soft sound he couldn't quite identify, and it took him a moment to realize where he was and what that sound was. He was at Alpha's house, and he had spent the morning there. She was still in bed beside him, but now she faced away from him, and she was crying softly. "Hey..." He whispered gently, reaching over to touch her hair. "Alpha, what's wrong? Do you have pain?"
No answer. Just intermittent, quiet sobs, punctuated by the occasional whimper. She was crying in her sleep.
Tooth Fairy sat up and laid a soft hand on her arm. "Alpha, it's okay...You're dreaming. Wake up. Alpha?"
"No...no..."
This was so hard to watch! He leaned over so that his mouth was next to her ear. "Alpha, please wake up...It's okay...You're safe...Alpha, wake up..."
Alpha's eyes shot open, and he sat back just in time to avoid having their heads collide. She didn't even register the pain of such a sudden movement as she whipped around to stare at him in disbelief. Then, realizing that she was awake, she flung her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest.
"Whoa! Hey...easy...it's okay..." Tooth Fairy was badly alarmed by her sudden, stormy fit of sobbing, and all he could do was hold her and wait it out. "It was just a dream. You're safe...I gotcha...I gotcha..."
"You...you were..." Alpha could hardly get the words out as she tried to calm down.
"What?" He whispered, petting her hair.
"You...y-you were...you were dead!" She gulped. "I saw...and..."
He shook his head, and just kept doing what he was doing, not knowing what else he could do. This was breaking his heart! "But I'm here...It's okay. I'm not dead, I'm right here. Shhh...shhh..."
"I-I know..."
It wasn't long before she was able to stop, and when she sat back he could see that the bruise on her temple wasn't quite as dark as it had been before. "Oh, it's lighter."
"Huh?"
He pointed to her temple, then looked at her arms. "They're all a bit lighter. How's your back?"
Alpha sniffled, folding her legs so that she sat cross-legged, facing him. "It's there. I'm sorry about that...I mean, jumping at ye like that..."
Tooth Fairy shook his head and turned to face her, sitting the same way. "If I had that kinda dream about you, I'd be pretty upset myself. And relieved to wake up and see that it wasn't real!"
"Aye...Still, talk about a rude awakening. Ye want breakfast?" She asked, changing the subject.
"How 'bout I do breakfast, and you stay here?" He offered.
"You can cook?" Alpha asked, then winced. "That came out wrong."
Tooth Fairy laughed softly. "I've bucked a lot of male stereotypes, in spite of my best efforts. I'm no Alton Brown, but I do all right. Just let me know what's off-limits and what's up for grabs."
She finally gave a genuine smile and nodded. "Aye, all right. But I'll help; I need to get up anyway. Stayin' still too long isn't good, either. Ye get all stiff."
"Okay," He shrugged and turned away, swinging his legs out of bed.
Alpha generally didn't keep much food in her fridge at any given time, mostly because she lived alone and didn't want it to go bad, but she did have bread and a jar of strawberry jam. The extra food in her fridge came as a pleasant surprise, which earned Tooth Fairy a hug and a kiss, and between the two of them they put together a good meal.
As it turned out, despite Alpha's previous speculations on the matter, Tooth Fairy did not suck at cooking. In fact, he was very good at it, though bacon and eggs weren't the best foods to judge a person's cooking prowess by.
"Where did ye learn how to cook?" Alpha asked him as they cleared the table and started on the dishes.
"My father, believe it or not..." Tooth Fairy looked pensive, but not upset. "He hated cooking, but with my mother's job..."
"Oh..."
"He had to do a lot of things he didn't like doing. It was on him to watch my sister and me while she rested up, and part of that meant cooking the meals." Tooth Fairy was privately surprised that discussing this didn't bother him.
Alpha was trying to get some understanding of the distant man who had raised such a kind son. She took one of the clean frying pans and dried it, then put it away. "He didn't want to watch the two o' ye?"
"Mm..." Tooth Fairy quirked his cheek in thought, then shook his head. "More like he didn't know how to relate to us. He tried, he really did. And it wasn't really his fault..."
"Oh..." Alpha leaned on the counter and draped the dish towel over her shoulder while he scrubbed the pan he'd used to cook the eggs. "D'ye want to change the subject?"
He shook his head and handed her the skillet, starting in on their plates. "No...I just never really talked about him much before. I mean, I loved the guy, and it always kinda hurt that he kept us at a distance. But knowing what I know about my grandfather...Now he was a piece of work. I never met the guy...thankfully."
Alpha wanted to ask for specifics, but she didn't want to push him, so she simply nodded.
"Just from little things my dad let slip here and there, he was a pretty violent guy. We were just lucky our dad was nothing like his dad. Not once did he ever lay a finger on either of us...but he was so guarded all the time, I never really knew what he was thinking. But I think...maybe...he was afraid of making the same mistakes his father made. So, he never let himself get too close."
"That's really sad..." Alpha didn't know what else to say.
"Yeah...Aaanyway, I learned to cook by watching him. And when we were old enough, my sister and I took over, and he went off and did other chores around the yard. More, quote unquote, 'manly' chores." Tooth Fairy smirked. "I don't know who was more relieved to have that silent presence out of the house, him or me..."
"Well...he must've known what he was doing, because you make a great sunny-side up." She smiled.
"I try," He smiled back and handed her a plate. "So, what were your parents like?"
"Well...I did feel the back o' me mum's hand a few times, but she never really beat us. And trust me, it was deserved! Had a smart mouth." She put the plate away, and waited for the next one, which he gave her with a smirk.
"Nooo, not you!"
Alpha swatted him with the towel, and he responded by kissing her forehead. "No, they were good parents. Some things...it's a little hard to remember now. My Da was quick to laugh, and his face would turn red when he had his evening dram. And he told the best stories."
He nodded, handing her the cutlery and draining the sink. His brown eyes were soft. "Miss 'em?"
"Sure, I miss 'em," Alpha smiled back as she dried the knives and forks before putting them away, and she tapped the side of her head with her finger. "But I keep 'em right here. It's not the same, but...it's something."
Tooth Fairy nodded slowly and whispered, "Yeah." Then, realizing that his hands were still covered in soapy water, he rinsed them off and took the towel she handed him. "I miss mine, too. I don't think about 'em a lot, though. There was never the same...uncertainty that there always was with Brinna. Y'know?"
"Aye," Alpha nodded and looked up at the clock. Still plenty of time. Maybe they could play a board game, if he didn't want to leave. When the silence became awkward, Alpha moved off a bit and stretched. She was still sore, but the pain wasn't quite as bad as it had been before. "Well...we've slept, and we've eaten. Now what?"
"Hmm..." Tooth Fairy rubbed his chin. His stubble was growing in a bit, and he was still in his pajamas, but...ah, the heck with it! He didn't have to go to work for another six hours or so, and Alpha was on an involuntary vacation while she healed. "You still got that scrabble board?"
"Not a bad idea!"