by R. Cooper
A lot of Flor’s work was done in the morning or the evening instead of the heat of the day. And since, as a fairy, Flor didn’t sleep much anyway, he usually got the shifts that started at dawn or just before, which he seemed to like.
He had watched Clematis eat cupcakes and fussed over the frosting at the corner of his lips and kissed him again and gotten very good at holding Clematis down and making him feel so good he couldn’t be still. In fact, Flor seemed to delight in getting him to move despite telling him to stay down, and instead of punishing him, laughed in crowing triumph before making Clematis feel good all over again.
Clematis stared at Mrs. Galarza, feeling somehow as if she could see the heat in him and the marks that had long since faded, and she did not approve. But she tutted and he spun around to go get shorts, and then he walked her dogs and came back to watch The Price is Right with her and drink sugary tea.
When he left around noon, she stopped him in the doorway to give him a handful of strawberry candies. “One of these days, you’ll let me pay you in actual money,” she told him, as if walking her dogs and making her tea was a bother. “You’re a very good boy,” she added, stretching to pat his cheek, “fairy or not. Remember that.” Then she waved him off and closed the door behind him.
With nothing else to do, Clematis went back for his key and his phone and some flip-flops for walking the city streets, and then went out with his bag on his shoulder. He had an overdue book from the city library but had hesitated to return because Tulip worked there some afternoons.
He snuck up to the drive-thru book return drop window and shoved the book in before hurrying off. He didn’t think Tulip would sense him around, but wasn’t sure and had no older fairy to ask unless he called Hyacinth.
Someone whistled at him as he went down toward the center of town when his phone reminded him to buy stamps. A pale human woman complimented his flip-flops and appeared annoyed when Clematis told her the cost and walked off without saying anything else. He stopped to pet a puppy and took a picture to send to Flor before second-guessing himself. Flor was probably at work and wouldn’t want to be bothered. Anyway, Clematis could show him the picture later.
The candies made him want real strawberries, so he bought a carton from the organic grocery store and stowed it safely in his bag. The store also had some salt water taffy from Los Cerros. He chose vanilla and caramel, then began his walk back across town to the university. He could stop by the MCC table and see who was there or eat his berries alone by the footbridge.
Fairies were supposed to love nature, but most of them had ended up in cities for safety. Even the suburbs wouldn’t have much more than a botanical garden or two, perhaps a nearby state preserve or beach. It made sense that fairies in Madera would congregate around the city parks, but the university’s gardens were the first green areas Clematis had really seen when he’d come to the city. He had wanted to get away from Los Cerros and had known some fairies who had settled in Madera. Going to the university had never been his plan, although he had half considered the community college for some practical classes. But the university had been a beacon of shine and happy humans, and the trees on campus had been in bloom, and Clematis had drifted there instead.
He still wasn’t sure why the professors had tolerated him in those early days, unless he’d amused them or they had wanted to sleep with him. Now, he suspected he was something of a mascot or a good luck charm. He didn’t mind as long as he got to stay.
The sound of yelling startled him as he approached the main gate, made him stop, along with a very young-looking human woman, possibly a freshman. Clematis exchanged a startled, slightly fearful look with her, then turned to head for another entrance.
She followed, several feet behind him, while loudly consulting her phone for directions. They reached the second entrance a few minutes after she probably realized where Clematis had led her, and once they walked through the smaller gate, gave him a shy smile before darting off. No one had ever warned her about being fairy-led, or if they had, she had ignored them.
Clematis smiled at her back for that, then continued along the footpath through the tiny grove of trees on this side of campus. These trees were not very old, by tree or fairy standards. Certain ancient trees had a faint shine to them, more than flowers or birds or fish had.
Clematis skipped the paths that led to dorms and the student theater and the history building and took the long path toward the main cluster of buildings. The other side of campus had the sports complex, which he generally avoided. But the office and admin buildings were old and sort of pretty.
He reached them and swung past the student health office and a small bookstore and café. This far onto campus, everything was quiet. He bit his lip in momentary indecision, then sighed and turned in the direction of the main gate, only to be surprised by a familiar radiance.
“Sasha!” he shouted, already smiling.
Sasha stopped, then turned slowly to follow the sound. He was frowning.
Clematis shouldn’t have bothered Sasha outside of work. “I’m sorry. It’s Clematis. I didn’t mean to bother you. I was only saying hi,” he explained as he hurried over to him.
Sasha’s expression eased into a welcoming smile. “Clematis! I didn’t expect to meet you here. Aren’t you working today?” His frown returned. “Your hours are getting even more part-time than mine, and I have classes to explain that.”
“It’s nice out today.” Clematis looked up to the blue, blue sky and tried not to think of the rainy cold gray skies on their way. “Are you on your way to class now?” Sasha was in jeans and a black T-shirt with Beethoven on the front. “Aren’t you warm, dressed like that? You should at least take your shirt off.”
Sasha balked. “The only time I ever took my shirt off in front of strangers was at the public pool when I was fifteen. Never again.” He paused and tipped his head to the side. “Do you have a shirt on right now?”
“Of course not. I’m not at work.” Clematis clucked his tongue. “The sun feels wonderful.”
Sasha took a loud breath. “Are you wearing any clothes?”
“Shorts,” Clematis informed him sadly. “Otherwise you get stopped by the police.” He looked down at his jean shorts and noticed he hadn’t buttoned them all the way up. “I don’t think I fill out shorts nearly as well as other people, but I’m not allowed to be naked right now, so they will have to do.”
“Fairies really do walk around naked?” Sasha’s mouth was very inviting and soft when he was shocked.
Clematis harrumphed. “We just don’t see the point of always being clothed. We wear plenty of clothing in the winter. Flor even wears clothes to be stylish and interesting and sexy.”
“Right, right. You’ve mentioned that.” Sasha nodded.
“I have?” Clematis peered at him. “Well, he does. But he looks sexy in almost anything. So I think he mostly does it to be stylish and interesting.”
“Don’t you—I mean, aren’t all fairies”—Sasha gestured blankly—“uh, sexy and beautiful?”
Clematis stared back at him. “Most creatures are beautiful. Everything else is individual. You, for example, have shine and nice hair, and I like the things your face does when you’re listening to music. I also feel like I would enjoy having you hold me, and you make me smile a lot. So, you understand how it’s different?”
Sasha shook his head. “I… no. I don’t understand anything.” His face was slowly turning a few shades darker. “I can hear. I know what people say about beautiful people and what they say about people like me.”
“Humans say a lot of things.” Clematis stepped closer. “But I think you’re beautiful, and you have shine, and you are kind. A werewolf or a dragon would snatch you up in a second. You should be careful unless you want one.”
Sasha closed his mouth with a snap.
“Were you heading to class?” Clematis asked. “I won’t keep bothering you.”
“You’re not.” Sasha gave a tiny shake of
his head. “And no, not for an hour or so. I was going to go sit and listen to a book. Maybe have a snack. What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” Clematis glanced around. “I have some—oh, did you want some strawberries? I know a nice place to sit, if you wanted to join me.”
Sasha seemed bemused. “Sure.” He waved to indicate Clematis should lead the way. “For a second I thought you were shy. It threw me for a moment there. Sorry.” He held out his arm, as if unbothered that others might comment.
“Your shine is great,” Clematis said earnestly and tentatively took his arm. “We’re heading toward the main gate. Are you in David’s class today?” He walked slowly, in no hurry, and because Sasha trusted him enough to tip his face to the sunshine and lift his cane from the ground.
“No. All required stuff today. I’m trying to get things I don’t like over with. Though I suppose I should try to learn from the different disciplines the way the school wants me to.” Sasha sighed. “Are there clouds today? Any signs of fall yet?”
“No, thankfully.” Clematis shuddered. Autumn was very pretty, but it meant cold. Then winter, which meant cold rain. “Although I would like some apples. Sometimes everyone goes apple picking. Not this year, though. Flor and the others seem occupied. They’d probably get annoyed at the mention of something so frivolous.”
“You pay money to go pick apples when you could just buy them?” Sasha was baffled. “My parents would have so much to say about that. Very American, I guess.”
“David or Stephanie or someone drives us all out to the country, and we drink cider and pick apples and spend time outside before the air gets too cold. Flor hates winter, so by then he will have mittens on already and drink nothing but cocoa and eat every apple tart he can. Though I think he got the cocoa so he could share it with David.”
Clematis rubbed his nose and cleared his throat, which was tight.
Up ahead, a lot more people were gathered, walking down the paths or stopping at the many tables. The MCC table was empty, which meant whoever was volunteering that day was busy helping someone.
“So it’s not about the apples; it’s about the experience.” Sasha still seemed doubtful.
Clematis let a pout into his voice. “So you don’t want to buy me cider and spend hours under a blanket in a car with me. I see.”
Sasha sputtered and blushed even more. Humans could be so adorable.
“We are going to step onto some grass and there is a bit of a slope, but we have to go up to get the best shady spot.” Clematis guided him forward, then stopped them where it was cooler. Someone had left a blanket there, along with a textbook. “You can sit down if you want. I figured you would want the shade, since you insist on clothes.”
“Even without clothes I would insist on shade.” Sasha carefully sat and then put his cane next to his leg.
Clematis sat on his knees in front of him. “Does your skin burn?” He had, once or twice, felt a sunburn start, but then it had healed before he’d ever known that particular agony. No beings were likely to have sunblock on hand, but he looked around and spotted Flor’s bag. His chest went cold and fluttery. His face was hot. Maybe the sun was too much today.
He reached up to press the back of his hand to Sasha’s forehead the way humans checked for fever. “You are very warm.” He let a pout creep into his voice. “And I thought you were turning pink just for me.” He sighed dramatically.
“Clematis!” Sasha protested but smiled at the same time. “Stop kidding around.”
Clematis hoped he hadn’t gone too far. Usually Sasha ignored his flirting. Clematis started to apologize, but then Flor’s bare feet and a cascade of golden sparkles appeared in the grass next to him.
Clematis’s stomach flipped as he looked from light brown legs to small pink shorts to Flor’s bare chest and wide-open wings. Flor’s hair was pleasantly tousled and he’d stuck a large orange lily behind his ear. His lips were softly curved in the beginnings of a smile.
Giving him a warm smile in return and making Flor happy set Clematis’s heart racing. “Flor.” Clematis’s wings stirred up a breeze to toy with Sasha’s hair. “I wasn’t sure you’d be here today.”
“I told you—or, I meant to tell you. I just got off work, so I’m here for the next few hours.” Flor studied him. “Were you off today? I wasn’t sure if—” He stopped, then flicked a look to Sasha. His wings stilled. “Hello. I don’t think I know you.” He pressed his lips together in a line, then seemed to realize it and shaped a stiff smile instead. “You’re very shiny.” He looked at Clematis again. “Clematis likes shiny.”
Clematis wasn’t sure if he ought to keep smiling. He frowned a little, but waved between them. “Flor, this is Sasha. Sasha, this is Flor.”
“Sasha?” Flor echoed. “Shiny Desk Human?”
“Flor?” Sasha asked. “The Flor?”
“You talked about me?” Flor seemed startled. Clematis honestly could not see why.
“Of course. Sasha and I eat lunch together at work. We talk a lot.” He frowned harder. “Flor’s usually friendlier than this, Sasha. Maybe he hasn’t eaten. Oh!” He reached into his bag while simultaneously gesturing for Flor to sit down with them. “I got you something.”
He held up the crinkly cellophane bag of taffy.
Flor looked at it, then him, and then Sasha, before slowly reaching out to take it. He gave Clematis a crooked grin. “Thanks. I didn’t have time to eat after work when I was running here.” He paused to glance over to Sasha again before turning back to Clematis. “You’re so thoughtful.”
Clematis ducked his head, very warm despite the shade. “Flor.”
“Isn’t he a sweetheart?” Flor asked Sasha in a stern voice. “He should be treated nicely.”
“Yeah,” Sasha agreed cautiously, head cocked to one side. “I mean, everyone should? And Clematis is one of the better things about that job. The work is easy, but the boss is a pain. Clematis likes to joke a lot to cheer me up and—erm. Uh.” Clematis had never heard anyone make that particular garbled sound before. Sasha swung his head toward Flor, then toward Clematis, before putting his hand down and curling it around his cane. “Do you think Clematis and I—” He made that garbled sound again. “No, I must be crazy.”
“You’re probably hungry too.” Clematis pulled out the carton of strawberries and put them down next to Sasha’s knee, then tapped him to let him know. “Here. Strawberries. Have some.” He looked at Flor who was staring hard at the tiny carton. “Aren’t you going to sit?”
Flor clenched his jaw. “I should go see how Tarō is doing,” he said as if Tarō wasn’t now only a few yards away unabashedly staring at them.
“Who is Tarō?” Sasha wanted to know.
“He is one of the MCC people, like Flor.” Clematis nudged the berries at him. “Eat.”
“Excuse me.” With a sharp jut of his shoulder Flor turned and went to the table.
“I am brave and heroic and quite dashing, shiny human!” Tarō joined the conversation as though he’d been waiting for this opening. “And handsome.”
“He is handsome,” Clematis agreed. “But all the MCC members are brave and heroic. I don’t know about dashing. I don’t think Mishi would want to be called dashing.”
“What about you?” Sasha finally picked a strawberry. “Are you dashing? It makes you all sound like Musketeers.”
“Ooh, I like that,” Tarō remarked. “Flor. Flor. Stop sulking and tell me which Musketeer I would be.”
“Aramis,” Flor grumbled. “Or Porthos.”
“I’m not a member of the MCC.” Clematis put his head back in surprise at the question. “I’m not like them. I’m selfish, silly Clematis.”
“Oh.” Sasha awkwardly held on to the green stem of his eaten strawberry. “I didn’t mean to bring up something painful. I thought all the beings on campus were involved.”
“There’s nothing wrong with not being a member,” Flor insisted. “Not everyone is comfortable with this level of activism or
confrontation. It doesn’t make them any less brave. Just walking onto this campus takes a lot. Clematis was the first fairy to attend this college, you know, even if he’s not officially on the rolls.”
“Really?” Sasha blessed them all with another smile. “Clematis, you never said.”
“I—” Clematis turned to Flor, who put his chin up stubbornly as though expecting an argument. What he said was true. Clematis took a breath. “I never thought of it that way,” he admitted, and Flor’s attitude instantly softened.
Sasha finally put the stem on the grass as he faced Flor’s direction. “So Clematis is here to support you?”
“Clematis is here every day Flor is here.” Tarō beamed a smug smile at everyone, lingering on Flor, who was perched on the table with the bag of taffy in his hands.
Flor looked at him with narrowed eyes.
“Well, isn’t that what you do when you’re dating someone? Spend time with them?” Sasha had a bite of another strawberry. Tarō choked.
Clematis shook his head. “Flor and I aren’t dating, Sasha.” His stomach flipped again, probably from hunger. He took a strawberry.
“Oh God.” Sasha froze. “Sorry.”
“Tell me, shiny Sasha, why did you think that?” Tarō put his chin on his hands on the back of the chair.
“Tarō,” Flor interrupted firmly. “You’re making him uncomfortable.”
“It wasn’t really anything.” Sasha dismissed it quickly. “The wings, I guess, when you got here. And for a second I thought Flor was, uh, jealous.”
“Fairies don’t get jealous.” Clematis licked juice from his lip and discarded a stem. He reached for another strawberry but paused before taking a bite. “Not like humans do, anyway. We don’t freak out about sexual stuff.”
“Oh.” Sasha bobbed his head thoughtfully, taking that in. “What about emotional stuff? If someone you loved fell in love with someone else, would that upset you—fairies, I mean?”
“I’m not really the right person to ask about that.” Clematis blamed the lack of flavor in his strawberry on it being so late in the season.