Snowflake was like no fairy he had ever met before. Given, he had never even seen a winter fairy until that day. He was a rule follower, so when winter was known to be dangerous for warm fairies, he stayed as far away from the border as he could.
Crossing into winter was scary. What if the frost didn't work? He could have ended up flightless. But when Clarion excitedly burst into the dining room that evening telling them about the new working method and how she wanted to properly introduce her boyfriend to them, there was no way Hyacinth was going to say no to her. So he picked up his last remaining courage to cross.
He had his arms wrapped around her when Hyacinth spotted Clarion in winter. He watched her detach herself from him and pull him with her. She introduces them and he warmly shakes each of their hands. "I'm Milori. It's great to finally meet you all. Ree speaks so highly of you."
It's strange hearing the nickname she reserved for her closest friends come out of this stranger's mouth. Milori's voice was deep and calming and his accent was one he had never heard before from his side of Pixie Hollow. He was well-built with wide shoulders, sharp facial features and pale skin, but still boyishly handsome. Nothing like what he was used to back home. Hyacinth couldn't deny that despite how different they looked, they were a good match somehow. Like they complimented each other almost. Well, this was the guy that broke a wing for her. There's no beating that.
"Sorry about the snow maker, that was my fault." He hears him direct to Redleaf. The minister looked like he was about to start a fight but Clarion shuts him up before he could start.
"Well, broken things can be fixed, right?" He smiles through the pain.
"You know, I've heard so much about you, I almost can't believe this is our first meeting." Sunflower said enthusiastically.
Milori replies something quite charmingly but Hyacinth is focused on how Clarion looks at him like he individually placed all the stars in the sky just for her. It might have been the happiest he'd seen her.
"Lord Milori!" a voice erupts from behind them.
They turn to see a stout fairy with a staff and a taller elegant fairy making their way towards them. "The weather's so lovely, you picked a great day to bring the warm fairies here." Snowflake says. "It's so nice to see you again."
Oh my god.
It's like once he saw her he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her mid-length platinum hair fell smoothly over her shoulders and her eyes were the lightest blue he had ever seen. Her wings were slim and pointy, resembling those of a fast flyer. He still remembered that she wore a long sleeve baby blue dress. Were all winter fairies blessed with such good bone structure? He didn't think cheekbones like hers were possible. The only way to describe her looks which would do her justice is as if someone carefully carved her out of the finest piece of marble.
She introduced herself as Snowflake. Ironic since she was a glacier fairy and not a snowflake fairy. She invited them out to ice skate. Hyacinth was by no means a natural like Mary was, but with Sun and Red learning from the prodigy herself, he got some alone time with Snowflake.
"First time here?" She asked.
"Isn't it the first time for everyone?"
She chuckles, "I guess you're right. Not for Clarion though, she came a few times in secret before making the rule."
"You knew about her and Milori?"
"Yes, he told me about her a long time ago. You didn't know?"
"Redleaf and I found out after the freeze." He said. "I can't believe I had no idea. Mary and Sunflower knew though, just sometimes I wonder why I didn't"
She smiles sympathetically, "You need to understand, she was a young new queen. Some fairies must have had their suspicions on whether she was a fit queen. It wouldn't help if she was publicly having a relationship with a winter fairy. You know how divided it was back then. She couldn't let them think she was distracted or not serious about her work"
He's silent for a moment, "I guess I didn't think about it that way."
"Sometimes us girls prefer to share things with other girls. But I'm sure she thinks of you highly as a friend." She smiled, before flying off to help Sunflower who had slipped on the ice.
And even though he was slightly humbled the first time they met, he still thought about her way more than he would admit.
Maybe he didn't know much about romance but he completely missed the wingman attempts from his friends. Sometimes they needed to tell him straight up that he was supposed to make a move but what did he know?
She loved going to the theatre. Ever since she could cross over she never missed a show. She would even go alone if none of her friends were available, but that wouldn't happen because Hyacinth would always make time for her, even if it meant breaking his routine. And that's where they were on the day he would never forget.
It was getting dark outside when Hyacinth and Snowflake return to the Pixie Dust Tree, the theatrical show this time being slightly longer than normal but no less engaging. "I should be heading home soon. It's getting late."
"You know you can stay over right? I'm sure we have extra rooms. You can just take one of them."
"I know, Ree has been so kind to give me one, but I find I don't like staying over here. It's too warm and a little hard to sleep. I don't know how Milori does it, maybe his girlfriend is all her needs." she laughs.
Speaking of Milori, "Have you guys seen Clarion?" Milori approaches them, looking somewhat frazzled.
"No, we just arrived." Snowflake points out, "How did you lose your girlfriend, aren't you two always together?"
Milori shoots her a look, "I've been looking all over, she's not in our room, not in her study, the cooking talents said she didn't turn up for dinner either."
"Did she say anything about leaving? Sometimes she spends her time with Mary outside the tree." Hyacinth says.
He shakes his head as the three of them continue into the tree. "She can't be with Mary as I just saw her having dinner with Sun."
"You need to calm down. Clarion wouldn't have gone far." Hyacinth reassures. "Have you checked the library?"
Milori shakes his head silently to which Hyacinth lets out a chuckle. "Come, let's go to the library."
They make their way through the quiet hallways to the library, "Clarion works in the library when she needs a change of scenery sometimes." Hyacinth explains. "The library is where she ends up whenever her work piles up more than normal. You know how she is with getting things done so she will work herself to the bone and usually she's passed out by the time we find her."
They push through the heavy double doors and into the large library filled with shelves upon shelves of dusty literature. It would be empty if it wasn't for the familiar glowing figure at the table near the corner of the room. Just like Hyacinth predicted, her head rested peacefully in the crook of her elbow, her wings drooped down her back. Snowflake and Milori glance at his proud smirk at finding her before Milori smiles endearingly, walking over to the sleeping fairy.
"Ree, Sweetheart," He gently shakes her awake. "You need to get up."
Clarion hums, blue eyes meeting his and brushing the stray baby hairs away from her face, "Is it late?" Her voice is raspy from sleep.
"Just after sunset. Why don't you come to bed?"
"Mm, I just have to finish this one small thing first, after this I'll go to slee-"
"No, Clarion," He scolds, "If it's one small thing you can finish it tomorrow." He pushes the things she had been working on away and helps her up from the bench. "You need to stop overworking yourself. Look how exhausted you are, it's not good for you and you know it. I'm going to take you to bed now and make sure you have enough sleep to last you the week."
She pouts but still lets him wrap an arm around her to lead her away. "Goodnight." She smiles sheepishly at the two before they're out of sight.
"How did you know where she was?" Snowflake inquired.
The minister laughs softly, "When you live with someone for three hundred years, it's easy to pick up their patterns." he shuts the double doors behind them when they exit. "For example, her favourite flowers are calla lilies but her next choice are always forget-me-nots although they are rare in Pixie Hollow. In the summer she often opts for a colourful bouquet instead. And her favourite dessert is strawberry shortcake, or anything strawberry flavoured really, it's always the one she takes first."
He leads Snowflake to the balcony. "Do you like her?" Snowflake asks, not meeting his eyes as she gazes out into the dark Pixie Hollow. It truly was beautiful at night with the few golden glows from the lanterns of night owl fairies' homes.
"What?"
"Clarion. You seem to learn a lot about her." she says, her eyes downcast.
He's silent for a moment. "I did." He confesses. He did. But his heart yearned for someone else now. "I don't anymore."
Snowflake turns back to him and lets out a breathy laugh before speaking. "I used to have a small thing for Milori a long time ago." she said. "Just for a very short while. He's a very capable sparrowman, very sweet and caring. Lots of girls liked him but not one of them knew him as well as I did. Maybe Clarion did but at that point they were broken up. I wanted to tell him but I knew he still loved her. And how could I love someone who's heart clearly belonged to someone else?" she sighed. "So I got over him. Plus, I think I can do better." She smiles.
"They are built for one another. It would be wrong for them to be with anyone else." Hyacinth agrees.
He watches her dress flutter with the breeze. Her white slicked back ponytail was so perfect, not one hair out of place. Her eyes were the lightest blue he had ever seen. Her wings were slim and pointy, resembling those of a fast flyer. They were also tinted blue from the dust that let her cross. Her dress was the exact same shade as her hair. She was so perfect.
Hyacinth tries to be perfect everyday. He is never late, his work is done with the utmost precision, he tried to be the perfect sparrowman for the girl he used to like, but at the end of the day, he found himself a mess. At the end of the day, he was still the minister with the worst luck, the fairy that continues to stumble over his words at meetings no matter how hard he practised, and he wasn't the perfect fit for his queen. How could he be the better partner she deserved?
"I notice a lot of things about you too." He breaks the silence and gets her attention. "You save the best for last when you eat. In the case of your salads, it's always the rocket leaves first and then the tomatoes. I think your hair is your safety blanket of some sort because you're always touching it when it's down, especially when you're speaking in one of the meetings, and it's always down when you come for meetings." He watches her hand dart to the end of her ponytail and pulls it over her shoulder, fiddling with the end like what he said was true.
Snowflake chuckles softly to herself, "I'm not a great speaker, I've never found it easy to make friends, which is probably why I don't have many. I have this thing where I think once fairies see me they hate me immediately, and I know it's probably not true but I can't help but think that."
"It's the furthest from the truth." He says quickly. "When I first saw you I thought you were so cool, like you're so sure of yourself."
She smiles, leaning her arms on the railing and staring off into the distance. "It can't be further from the truth. If I think about it, Milori made all my friends for me. At least you have tons of connections outside our group of friends. All I have is you all."
"But you got close with everyone on your own so you must be doing something right, and you seem very comfortable with me. I wasn't very good at making friends either. It took me a lot of practice to get to where I'm at now."
The last remaining lights in the fairies' homes begin to flicker off. Hyacinth would usually be ready for bed right now but tired was the furthest thing he was feeling.
"Are you comfortable with me, Cinth?" Snowflake asks, stepping closer to the minister.
He's taken aback but he doesn't move away. He meets her eyes, "Of course I am. Why do you ask?"
"I don't know why I feel so comfortable talking about this with you. I've never told this much to anyone, not even Milori or Dewey who I was closest to. I didn't know if they would understand."
"I understand you."
She tilts her head up to look at him, her expression unreadable. Gently she touches his arm. For a split second her eyes dart to his lips, but he doesn't have time to think because the next moment her soft lips are on his. His eyes flutter close. Oh god was this really happening? He wants to touch her. Should he touch her waist? What if she doesn't like that?
"Hyacinth, stop thinking." Snowflake breaks the kiss, putting the hand he hovered at her side on her hip herself. "You can touch me, it's okay." She was much more aware of her surroundings than he thought. Another observer it seems.
In normal Hyacinth fashion, he was about to apologise but she kissed him before he could, almost like she could predict his next move. It might have been the best day of his life as her lips moved in perfect rhythm with his.
"I like you. A lot." He said once they broke the kiss.
She chuckles, god he loved her smile. "I know. I like you too." She slips her hand into his. "Now, will you walk me back to my room? Maybe I'll learn to tolerate the warmth tonight and we can make out more in the morning."
"I am a morning person after all." He grins, taking her back into the tree.
He understood it then. They were both trying to be better. But they would never need to try to be perfect for one another. They already were.