AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you for clicking on this story. It is intended for those who love Rayman and Ly as a couple just as much as I did in Rayman 2. While it wasn't pursued outside of concept art, I have always seen Ly as Rayman's most canonical love interest, and therefore will try my best to do justice to the wonderful characters in this world. The story starts before the events of Rayman 2, but will mostly be placed after the events of Rayman 3. Keep in mind that this is a story written by an adult Rayman fan for other adult Rayman fans, so there may be heavy topics and adult themes in this story later on. Currently the rating is "T" but will likely be upped to "M" as the story progresses. As for a posting schedule, I'm hoping to have a new chapter out once a week.

Without further rambling, I hope you enjoy chapter one!

Rayman didn't quite know what the feeling was, at first. From the very beginning he knew everything from how to walk to how to talk, and he sure as hell knew how to fight, but there was a gap in his mind he just couldn't quite figure out. Despite being instilled with so much knowledge of life and how to live it from the very beginning of his creation thanks to the hand of Betilla, he just could not wrap his mind around girls. There was one girl, however, that was particularly elusive to him; Ly the fairy.

The first time Rayman met Ly, he had sworn she was bad for him. She made his heart race, his palms sweaty, and he was certain if he had knees, they would be wobbling at the very sight of her.

Globox and Rayman laughed as they traveled through the Woods of Light. They were doing their usual routine when Rayman wasn't saving the world, and that was goofing off. Earlier that day they had made a bet to see if Rayman was faster on land than Globox was swimming in water, and they had found the perfect spot for the challenge. Running through the Glade of Dreams was a large, freshwater river, the only caveat being that they didn't know exactly where it led, or exactly how safe it would be.

"Are you sure this will be safe, Rayman?!" Rayman's big, amphibian-like friend called up to him from the water.

"Well, Globox, only one way to find out!", Rayman shouted down in reply to his cowardly companion, being his usual, adventurous self.

"Alright! You can be the one to tell Uglette and the kids what happened to me, then!", Globox shouted back sarcastically.

Rayman rolled his eyes with a smirk, then assumed a runner's stance, palms placed firmly on the ground.

"Ready….? GO!"

oOoO The Eyes of Ly OoOo

Ly sat perched atop a willow tree branch, overlooking the river that ran through the Woods of Light. This was one of her favorite places in the Glade of Dreams to ease her mind. The wind currents made by the rushing water below danced through her hair and caressed her skin with a welcoming, warm breeze. She felt one with nature here, and being a fairy, a strong connection with the world around her was a must. She assumed it would be just like any other day that she chose to come here, but something today snapped her out of her usual meditative trance.

"Help! I can't stop!", a very distressed blue creature screamed, trying with all his might to fight against the growing strength of the current.

A smaller guy, seemingly his friend, coasted on a lilypad beside him, attempting to reach out for his struggling companion.

"Globox! Grab my hand!", the smaller one called.

Clearly these two weren't aware of the strength of the water so far into the woods. Calm and collected, Ly stood from her spot in the tree. Waiting a moment for the lilypad to coast beneath the branch, she immediately kicked off of her perch, landing almost like a cat onto the floating pad the smaller man stood upon.

oOoO The Eyes of Rayman oOoO

Rayman was taken aback by the sudden feeling of something falling onto the platform he was standing on, and would have likely yelled in surprise if the landing didn't cause a ripple on the lilypad he was balancing on. Regaining his footing, he quickly turned to see the culprit.

A fairy…?

"I'm here to help." Ly looked at Rayman. "Grab my hand and use me to reach your friend. We only have a few more minutes before the river currents will become too strong to reach him."

Rayman didn't have time to question it, so he nodded and held onto the mysterious woman's hand, dropping the rest of his body into the water to reach Globox. He waded through the fast waters, wincing as the rapids became more violent by the second. Globox's thrashing form and calls for help made him easy to spot, however, so Rayman swam in his direction.

"Globox! Calm down, buddy! I'm right here!", Rayman shouted over the tides, grabbing the attention of his very distressed friend.

"Rayman! Get me out of here!", Globox yelled as he reached for Rayman with flailing hands.

After a few moments of getting slapped around by Globox in his panic, Rayman finally managed to grab one of his hands. He waded through the water with Globox in tow, making his way closer to the lilypad.

"I've got him!", Rayman shouted up to the fairy as he swam closer.

The fairy nodded at Rayman, then, after a moment, began to pull Rayman's hand with all her strength. Despite struggling to help lift them onto the plant, with her and Rayman's combined efforts they managed to get both himself and Globox back onto the lilypad. With two wet thuds, they both slumped onto the foliage. Rayman was soaked to the bone, but at least his friend was alright.

Globox's chest rose and fell quickly. "Uglette…is going…to kill me…" he struggled to say through panicked breaths.

"At least she'll have you in one piece when she does it" Rayman responded, relieved that Globox was safe.

Peeling his water-soaked frame off of the plant, the limbless being slumped upward. Suddenly his eyes caught sight of two feet standing in front of him, of which his gaze unconsciously trailed up the legs of, all the way up to a torso and then stopping at a face. He looked up to the curious woman who, from this position, now towered over him. Before him stood a tall, slender fairy. Her short, purple haircut clung to her face from the wet spray of the river, framing her likeness like a portrait. Her eyes were dark and mysterious, but her full, green lips pulled into a gentle smile. The only thing below her neckline that peeked out of her elaborately patterned yellow bodysuit was a full, purple tail, swaying in the breeze as she stood above him. She was beautiful.

"I-I-I-….", Rayman stuttered, unable to find the words to thank her.

"You're the Hero of the Glades….", The fairy said wistfully.

Her voice was so ethereal it almost echoed in the minds of anyone who heard it.

"Rayman….", she finished, mystified by his presence. She had heard stories of him, but had never seen him herself. His appearance was a dead giveaway.

A shiver ran up Rayman's spine when he heard his name come out of her mouth.

"Please, do be careful in the future, you two. We can't have the hero of the Glades or his friend getting hurt, now can we?", the fairy smiled, making Rayman blush.

"The Woods of Light is where I often reside, should you and your friend ever want to stop by. I would love to hear of your adventures sometime.", she said as she nodded at Rayman, then to Globox, before she jumped backward onto the branch of a passing tree, disappearing from their vision almost immediately.

Rayman and Globox turned to each other, both sharing an equally perplexed look.

"Globox…I think that fairy made me sick…", Rayman said to his friend, queasy from their first chance encounter with the mysterious girl.

"That's a little out of character for you to say, Rayman…", Globox stated blandly, a bit shocked by the apparent rudeness Rayman seemed to be exhibiting toward someone they had just met. "She did help save me, after all!"

"No, no, Globox! She seemed lovely and…and kind! I mean…I mean *physically* sick. Do you not feel it?", Rayman asked, looking up at his friend as he clutched his stomach.

"Well, what were you feeling when we were around her?" Globox asked, absentmindedly grazing the tree trunks of the forest with the tips of his hand as they walked along the forest path.

"I don't really know what it was…it was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. My face felt hot, and my palms were sweaty….I guess I also have this stomach ache that hasn't gone away too…", Rayman listed off on his fingers, unaware that Globox had stopped walking and was now hunched over against a tree.

"Globox…? Why did you stop?", Rayman asked.

"…I just….I just need a moment", Globox attempted to stifle the laughing fit that was about to erupt.

"What is it?! You don't think I…caught something from her, did I?", Rayman asked with worry and dread on his face.

"BAHAHAHAHAHA!" Globox couldn't contain himself anymore, the misunderstanding of the situation on Rayman's part was far too amusing for him to take.

Rayman looked at Globox, extremely confused and frankly a little irritated as to what he found so amusing about him being sick. Globox, now looking up through his tears to see Rayman's not-so-amused face, attempted to quiet himself down.

"Aaah…haha… Rayman, that is too good.", he wiped a tear from his eye, "you're not sick, not at all!"

"What?! Then you know what this feeling is?!", Rayman looks at Globox hopefully.

"I know it pretty well, having a wife and all." Globox smirked knowingly, "you've fallen for her."

Globox had never seen Rayman's face turn so red. Not even the time that they both ate one of the spiciest berries in the Glades could compare to this.

"I-I'm not!", Rayman flatly denied. No hero had time to worry about trivial pursuits like love, and he was certainly no exception.

Rayman was fed up with Globox's assumptions and was nearly considering stomping off, until a shrill voice interrupted his brooding.

"GLOBOOOOOOOX!", in the distance came a very unhappy Uglette.

"Uh oh….I'll talk to you later, Rayman-", Globox started, before suddenly having his cheek pinched by a very angry wife.

"What is this I hear about my husband going 100 miles an hour down one of the most dangerous white water rivers in the Glades?! Word spreads fast around here, you know! ….Oh, hello, Rayman, sweetie!", she said that last greeting to Rayman so sweetly it was almost enough to make him forget she had Globox's cheek in a vice grip in the other hand.

Rayman winced and waved back hesitantly, his mouth contorting back and forth from a smile and a whinge due to the secondhand embarrassment he got from witnessing his best friend's wife verbally tear him a new one.

"Oh the nerve! Do you know how worried sick I was?! I really should have-", Uglette rambled on, her voice trailing off as she dragged Globox behind her by the hand. As Globox looked back at him, all Rayman could do was make a very apologetic face and mouth "I'm sorry".

The sudden quiet was a nice change of pace to end a chaotic day. Rayman had found a comfortable place to rest in the forest like he usually did at night, but despite how nice it might have felt to be caressed by soft grass, sleep was the last thing on his mind. It was probably for the best that Rayman was alone with his thoughts now, however, as he wanted time to really think about what he was feeling earlier. Sure, he had heard stories of people in love, had friends who were in love, but he himself?

'No…I couldn't be.'

Yet despite that thought, as hours passed, he realized not once had he stopped thinking of that ethereal fairy since he saw her this morning. In fact, it was even more severe. He was a little tempted to go back to the Woods of Light all by himself.

'Maybe I'd run into her again….'

Rayman shook his head, almost as if he shook it hard enough the thoughts of her would be thrown out with that idea.

'That's enough of that, Rayman. Your job is to protect the Glade of Dreams, not to obsess over girls.', Rayman mentally chastised himself.

With an exhausted thud, Rayman slumped back down on the forest floor. The stars in the sky twinkled at him mockingly; It was very late into the night now. He had let this bother him all day.

"Alright, alright!", he shot up, frustrated. It looks like the thoughts had won.

"I'm only going for a night time walk, though. Nothing else! I can walk anywhere I please, I don't need to have a reason to walk in the Woods of Light.", he huffed to himself almost as if he said it aloud, it would make what he said true.