Different Worlds
"Mitch?" He looked over from his spot in the garden. His mother had paid a ridiculous amount of money to have the entire garden relandscaped, which was kinda funny since the only time she ever stepped foot in it was to oversee the workers. She hadn't been in it ever since. It was perfect and quiet, isolated and beautiful. He almost felt like it was a gift just for him.
"Yes?" Mitch was perched on an ornate white bench, his head tilted to the side, looking quite normal and yet so unique in his black and white striped shirt, black jacket and black jeans. Scott had bought him a few outfits to wear when he came to visit, just in case he was ever seen now that they were being a bit more adventurous and wandering out of their little clearing in the woods now and then. (It also didn't hurt that Mitch's legs and backside looked delicious in those skinny jeans.)
"What are weddings like in Illyria?"
That earned him quite the confused look on that impish face. "I don't understand."
"You know, the ceremonies where people get married. Husband and wife or husband and husband or whatever."
Mitch's golden eyes just stared up at him.
He let out a sigh. "Let me guess, you don't do that."
"We have ceremonies for a coronation." He looked off into space as he considered his words. "When my father fell in love with my mother there was a ceremony when she was crowned. Is that what you mean?"
"Kind of, I guess. Here... when my mom and dad fell in love he gave her a ring to symbolize his love for her. Like a promise I guess. They had a wedding... a ceremony where they made vows to one another. It's a big deal here."
"Oh. I assume it's different for you. Your heart can fall in and out of love many times. I guess promises must be made."
Scott's face scrunched up at the response. It didn't feel right... the words didn't sit well in his chest. "Do you think that maybe some humans are different? Like.. their hearts are only meant for one person?.. or... fae?"
Mitch stared into his eyes searching for the hidden meaning behind the words. The heaviness sat in the air and he could see it there, just behind Scott's eyes as he waited for an answer. "No. Humans are humans and fae are fae. We are different and that's the way it is."
He knew he'd said the wrong thing as Scott's body slumped a bit and he'd let out a puff of air in disappointment.
"So what about us, then? What's going to happen to us?"
It was the question he had been dreading; one that he had spent countless hours mulling over and still had no answer to. "I don't know."
"You don't... " Scott didn't like that answer and he began to pace back and forth between the greenery. "So... what.. you're just one day going to go back and be prince of the fair folk or whatever the hell you are!?"
He winced at the sarcasm in his voice. He knew Scott was upset, he didn't need changing eye color to know the changes in his demeanor. "You know I love you."
"But... ? But you don't know what we are? What we will be? What we're going to do? Where we will go? Im supposed to go to college in a couple of years. What then?"
"Then you will go and you will live."
He looked like he'd been punched in the chest and Mitch instantly felt the regret of his previous statement.
"You think I can just walk away and forget you?"
"I don't see any other option."
"So this whole thing... this whole time... You've been stringing me along like this is some storybook romance. You let me fall in love with you. You LET me believe that this was endgame! Mitch, you are ... all that I want. How..." He turned and headed away from him, emotions getting the best of him.
"Please don't be angry at me."
It was barely a whisper but it caused Scott to stop mid-step and turn around. "You think I'm mad? I'm hurt, Mitch. I'm in love and confused and terrified. What are we doing if there isn't a future for us?"
"Cherishing every moment we have. Holding on to the one who holds my heart and will always. Taking it one day at a time in hopes that an answer will present itself? Being in love?"
Scott closed the distance without a word and pressed his lips desperately to the frown on his love's face. He knew he had to hold on to what he could and not waste any of the time they had by being upset. He would find a way. He would.
~~~~
"I almost forgot how warm you are." He snuggled into the broad chest, the familiar rhythm of that heartbeat bringing a calm to him that he hadn't felt in far too long.
Scott chuckled and held him closer. "I forgot a lot of things and I'm sorry for that. I"m sorry for being an idiotic teenager and I'm sorry for betraying you."
Mitch looked up at him, the fingers that had been carding through his hair stilled as he shifted. "It would not benefit either of us to dwell on the past. But we must talk. You and I know this is not lasting. Our futures..."
Scott tensed beneath him. "Don't you dare. You can't tell me you have to stay here and be Prince whoever. You tried to kill yourself, Mitch. You were going to leave them anyway. Come back with me. You can live with me and we'll be together. I swear I will make you happy."
Mitch pulled from his arms and moved from the bed, careful not to disturb the sleeping pudgeys curled up nearby, and strolled over to look out at the forest through the open 'terrace' area the tree had created for Oryn. The sky was a beautiful picture, framed by the canopy of leaves, slowly becoming a stunning orange ombré as the minutes ticked by. "This is my home."
"You nearly died. Did you somehow forget that?" Scott moved behind him, rubbing his arms as if he could somehow warm the cool skin beneath the soft fabric. "You tried to leave it all anyway. How can you stand here and say you can't leave it because you're trying to be all noble, when you JUST tried to end it all."
Of course he couldn't forget. He'd never forget the emptiness and the hopelessness that had been his previous years. He never wanted to go back there, never wanted to feel that lost again, but Scott...
He turned to look up at him. He hadn't thought it possible for Scott to be any more beautiful than he had been when they had first fallen in love, but this man before him made his pulse race and his magic stirred beneath his skin as if it knew its match was near . He wanted to give in, to say yes and run away with him and forget his former life, but it would never work. If Scott's heart strayed, faltered as mortal hearts often do, there were no guarantees he would even be welcomed back to his world. If his father discovered the truth then he would surely come after him. Even worse... he would never see his father again or Oryn or any of his other friends. It had been a selfish notion to try and end his life, one he regretted tremendously, but this... No. Sacrifices were a necessary evil.
"We must accept who we are. It was a mistake of youth to cross into your world. It is time to acknowledge truth and understand that this can never be."
"You're talking like them again."
"Like ... them? There is no them, Scott. I am fae. These are my people and this is my home. I speak this way because it is how we speak. I speak this way because it is who I am. I let myself be who you wanted and in doing so I picked up many bad habits that were not easy to break, but this has gone on long enough. I am bound to this land, to these creatures, to my birthright."
"... and what about me?"
The sad whisper chipped away at his inner armor. "I love you. You know that I love you with all of my heart, but I cannot give you this. I cannot be what you want me to be. I do not-" He was interrupted by Scott's lips and the tension melted from his body as he leaned into him, letting himself fall into the haze of euphoria that came with being this close with his love. He let his fingers slide along and then press and tug at the fabric covering Scott's waist, bunching it in his fists as their tongues met.
He could feel his magic humming beneath his skin... pooling in his palms and the places where their bodies met. It was almost as if the magic itself was content at being reunited with its mate and wanted to get just as close as Mitch did. It was several minutes before things slowed down and Scott pulled away just a few millimeters after nibbling at Mitch's bottom lip.
"Do you know why I love you?" He nuzzled their noses together again and Mitch inhaled, breathing him in. "Because your heart is bigger than Earth itself. Because your smile reminds me what happiness is. Because you were always patient with me, even when I didn't deserve it." He kissed his cheek, finger sliding up the arch of his ear, the other arm holding him steady against him when he knew his knees would go a bit weak. "Because of the jokes you tell that you think are so funny, and I don't understand but can't help but laugh anyway. I love you because you listen, you care. Because you got so excited when you saw tiger lilies for the first time that you cried."
Mitch had tears in his eyes as he looked up at Scott.
"I love you because, even though you don't celebrate birthdays here, you never forgot mine, even when I don't know how you figured out days and time and calendars just for me. I love you for every inch of you, pointy ears and hoity toity speech and all. I don't know how you did it all of those years, sneaking around, keeping up with all of my weird quirks and learning just... just so we could stay together..."
Mitch didn't know what to say to all of these words. Scott seemed to get choked up, eyes turning away just for a moment, but the tears were there when his gaze returned. He wrapped his arms around him, holding him as close as he could just as Scott was clinging to him.
"I love you. You tried to make me forget, but my heart knew... It knew it wasn't where it belonged. You think I can just fall in love with someone else and move on and be happy without you, but you're wrong. If you ask me to go away, then I can't make you want to be with me, but just so you know... you're it for me. I will walk away if you make me, but I will always... always be in love with you. My heart will always be wherever you are. If you won't come with me... please let me stay here with you."
"It is too dangerous, Scott. Father would never accept you."
"I don't care. I'll risk it. Just please don't send me away... Please don't do that to us."
They stared at one another, too many variables at play... too many hearts at stake.
~~
Oryn tilted her head a bit as she regarded the happy man. He was quite rude by fae standards, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to mind. He had a pleasant aura, and bright eyes that remained a constant mixture of amber and fern. She found herself a bit hypnotized by them and she had caught herself staring on more than one occasion.
His voice was like no other she'd ever heard and when he spoke it almost seemed to rumble through the empty space. She held out her hand once to see if she could feel it moving through the air and he'd laughed so hard as she explained her motions. She enjoyed the sound of it and her own laughter had followed.
He was funny. She decided she liked him very much.
"So what do fae do for fun? Do you have fae technology? Or wait... are you like silversmiths or something? Is that a thing?"
She smiled brightly, eyes shifting to a green that very nearly matched the others she'd been so encaptured by. "You ask many questions, Scott's Avi."
"I'm not Scott's Avi. I'm my Avi. I mean I'm just... Avi. Well, my name is really Avriel, but everyone calls me Avi."
Her smile grew. "Avriel. I like that name very much. Are you ashamed of it?"
"No, not at all. It's just easier to just say Avi. It's a nickname."
"Nickname? Is that a title?"
He laughed, eyes crinkling at the edges. "No. It's just something you call someone you're familiar with. Like a pet name. Like you call him Mitchell, but Scott calls him Mitch."
"Because he is his other?"
"Like instead of Oryn I could call you Ren..."
Her brow furrowed. "But that is not my name?"
He smiled and shook his head a bit. "No, and besides I like Oryn way better."
That brought the smile back to her lips. "And I like Avriel."
"Can I show you something?"
"If you would like." She shifted a bit with excitement. This human was turning out to be quite fun.
He showed her his hand which was empty, but reached up as if to reach behind her ear and retrieved his hand which now held a quarter.
She'd nearly pulled away as he reached forward, afraid of his intent, but as he showed her his hand and the shiny new piece of metal her eyes widened in amazement. "You have magic!"
He laughed. "No, not like you. It's just a trick... a sleight of hand."
"I am not sure what that is but do it again? Can you?"
"Only if you promise to show me some magic too."
She nodded eagerly and he prepared to do it again, except this time as he reached up his fingers caught in her hair... and the lavender strands slid between them like water. The very point of her ear peeked through and he couldn't help himself. He let his finger rest there at the tip and slide down the bottom of it.
Oryn let out a loud, rather undignified squeak and covered her mouth with both of her hands. The touch had sent shivers down her spine and tingles along her skin. She dipped her head down a bit as she let her hands fall back to her lap, eyes shifting to a deep mahogany before lifting to meet his.
He looked worried and he pulled his hand back immediately at the first sign of her distress. "Did I hurt you?! I didn't mean... I mean I was just curious."
She shook her head no, but she slid away from him just a bit and stared at him warily as if he'd meant to cause the strange reaction, the foreign sensation sitting low in her belly.
He seemed a bit amused and tried to catch her eye again. When he smiled at her she couldn't help but smile back.
"You are strange, Avriel."
He blushed a bit. "So I've been told."
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