by JS Harker
Mom waved a hand dismissively. “It’s all right. I wanted to give you more crap, but I know you haven’t gotten a decent break in the last hour because that’s how long I’ve been lurking.”
As if the universe needed to prove her point, the line behind her continued to swell with more customers. Derek needed to hurry their conversation, though he felt like a jerk for doing so. “Anything you need help with?”
“Natalie already helped me with your sister’s newest overpriced demand.” Mom held up a shopping bag from his store, and then she raised her other arm to show him a gift bag with a giant glittery snowflake. “I’m halfway through my batches. I brought you some.”
Derek took the gift bag. Inside were six different types of cookies, each in a plastic baggie. Some were favorites, some weren’t. He put the bag next to his feet. “Thanks.”
“Good luck on your finals, sweetie.”
“I’ll call or drop by soon. Promise.” He meant it, but he wasn’t sure how doable it was. He’d likely forget between the tests, papers, and work shifts.
“I hope so,” Mom said. “Your father and sister want your rocky road fudge. According to them, I don’t make it right.”
“I handle nuts better.”
Natalie snorted, Mom sighed, and Derek grinned. Why couldn’t he be confident with Hot Guy?
Derek thanked his mom, said goodbye, and put the cookie bag with his coat. He promptly forgot about it as he worked through the double shift. The extra hours were nice, and working with Michael to close the store was old routine. By the time Derek could leave, he was exhausted.
Worse yet, Winter Wonderland had been dark for an hour. So much for introducing himself. Derek put on his hat and coat, grabbed his cookie bag, and headed for the main exit.
Hot Guy left the gingerbread house the same moment Derek stepped out of his store. He wore his street clothes again, and after locking up, he strode toward the same set of doors Derek was walking to.
There he was. Man of his recent dreams. Derek froze in place. He’d written off the possibility of running into him, but he had the perfect opportunity. He needed to do something—anything—instead of imitating an ice sculpture. One little word; maybe a few more would follow on their own. Screw Gregory and his perfect flirting techniques and the massive weight of insecurities he’d thrown onto Derek during their breakup. One simple little word. He could manage that.
He cleared his throat. “Hey.”
Hot Guy smiled, which thawed Derek into some kind of motion, and climbed over the fence in a movement of sheer grace. Cats didn’t have anything on him. “Hello.”
Oh, right. More words. “Hi.”
Wait, he’d said that. Derek’s cheeks were on fire, but he forced his mouth to keep going. “I mean, hey. And I keep saying that. Sorry. I’m Derek. I work at the toy store.”
Hot Guy grinned some more, but he wasn’t laughing, so Derek was pretty sure that was a good sign. “I know. I’ve seen you. I’m Flynn.”
Derek must be so tired he was delusional. “You noticed me?”
“Yes. Even if I hadn’t, Gregory complains about you every day you both work.”
And probably compiled every one of Derek’s faults for Flynn. In detail. There would be no fresh chance with him. “Oh.”
Flynn continued walking. Derek tagged along a half step behind. They weren’t exactly walking together or apart, which was either annoying or creepy because Derek couldn’t make words come out of his mouth. Gregory talked about him. Flynn probably thought he was a loser and never tried to get out of his shell. All the confidence in the world couldn’t overcome that.
As they reached the exit, Flynn half turned as he leaned against the door to open it. “I generally don’t pay attention to what people say about others.”
“Awesome!” Derek blushed harder, especially since Flynn laughed. It wasn’t a mean laugh, but it made Derek self-conscious. “I mean, Gregory can be a jerk. So I’m glad you don’t take him too seriously.”
“Gathering my own information is important. People have a habit of lying.”
They stepped outside. The brisk cold made Derek shiver, but Flynn straightened his shoulders. Derek closed his coat tighter. “Gregory’s the worst about that.”
“That’s an exaggeration, though, isn’t it? Since you don’t know every human on the planet.”
“Or off of it,” Derek said.
Flynn frowned.
Derek pointed at the night sky. “I think the International Space Station has a couple of people on it.”
“Space station?” Flynn asked. Judging from the look on Flynn’s face, he’d never heard of it.
Weird. Derek thought everyone knew. He shivered. “You know, big metal thing that circles the Earth doing research?”
“But—space, isn’t it a void? How do they survive?”
Okay, Flynn’s face was completely serious. There was plenty Derek didn’t know about the universe, but he wondered how Flynn didn’t know the bare minimum of space exploration. Maybe some schools were doing that poorly in teaching their kids. Or maybe it wasn’t that important to other people like it was to him once upon a time.
“It’s all enclosed. It’s got oxygen and food and everything,” Derek said.
Flynn stared up at the night sky. “How do people get to it?”
“It’s not easy. Training and rocket fuel.” Derek glanced around. “Where’s your car?”
“I walk.”
It had to be below freezing out. “I could give you a ride home.”
“That’s all right. I enjoy walking.”
Snow, ice, and cold severe enough to chase Derek’s balls up wasn’t really his idea of a good time, but Flynn seemed content with his plan. The only problem was Derek hadn’t built any kind of standing to flirt with Flynn, and they were about to go their separate ways. There had to be something he could do to make this more meaningful for Flynn.
The cookie bag. His mom’s cookies were the best, and while he’d miss having the sugar pick-me-up as he studied, he could stop by his parents’ house sometime soon and get more.
He thrust the bag toward Flynn. “Uh, here! Welcome to the holiday retail season.”
Jesus, he was such a loser.
Chapter Two
DEREK held out the gift bag. He had a nervous expression, and he seemed to be uncomfortable. He’d been that way the whole time Flynn spoke to him, but Flynn had misread humans a few times. Derek had a reason for his behavior, not that Flynn could guess at it. The bag had a large shimmering snowflake on the side, and it glinted a thousand tiny colors under the parking lot lamps. Flynn desperately wanted to take it for the pretty decoration, and he itched to find out what was inside. The wind picked up a hint of sugar as it blew across the top of the bag.
Humans made cookies this time of year. Many families passing through Santa’s Workshop talked about making them or taking them places or sending them to family. They mentioned chocolate and sugar and cinnamon. It was one of their many customs this time of year, and he longed to partake in it because sugar was perhaps one of the best human discoveries ever. He needed to know if there was a difference between what was available in a store and what was made in a home.
However, taking the bag meant accepting a gift from Derek. Gifts were signs of favor or devotion. Among the fey, such actions required reciprocation. The practice stemmed from rules upon rules of etiquette. An equal exchange prevented anyone owing another being. Owing, in the world of the fey, meant the person who felt owed could demand repayment. It didn’t seem like such a problem in the human world, but Flynn had heard too many stories about fey who wound up captive to humans. He couldn’t risk his freedom.
Technically fey social code only dictated he give something in return. He could accept the bag and give Derek a box of spiders. Most mortals didn’t like them.
But Derek was handsome, and the eager, half-scared look in his amber eyes was endearing. Flynn wanted to encourage him. Too many humans complained their way
through their routines to complacency. So far Derek had gone to and from work without talking to Flynn, no matter how many times he looked longingly in Flynn’s direction. Derek was putting forth an effort and taking a risk to expand his world.
Flynn liked that about him most of all.
“Thank you,” Flynn said as he took the bag. Rummaging through it would be rude. He could wait. Reciprocity wouldn’t, but he wasn’t sure what to give. His ears twitched as he tried to think of a solution.
“You don’t take those off?” Derek asked.
“Take what off?”
“Your ears.” Derek touched one of his own. “Those are prosthetics, right?”
Flynn touched the tip of his ears. They hadn’t grown longer. According to Lulu and the elders in Queen Mab’s Court, they could grow to an exaggerated point or round into humanlike ears if a fairy stayed too long in the human world. Older fey had longer ears, too, but Flynn was young, and his ears were the same as when he’d woken that morning. He didn’t think the points were obvious compared to a human’s. He must have miscalculated.
“Crap,” Derek said softly. “Those are your actual ears, aren’t they?”
“Yes.”
“I’m an insensitive jackass. I’m sorry.”
Flynn wasn’t quite sure where he’d committed a fault. The observation? Had he been too blunt? He stopped tugging on his ear. “It’s all right?”
“Okay. I should probably get going.” Derek shoved his hands in his pockets and turned away.
He seemed so miserable. Flynn had to change that somehow. “Wait.”
Derek spun back. He had a little hopeful smile. Yes, definitely an attractive man, with the way his eyes widened in surprise and his cheeks reddened in the winter wind. “Yeah?”
“I have something for you,” Flynn said.
Flynn reached into his jacket pocket. It was empty, but with a little magic, he conjured two candy canes. They were imbued with magic. Anyone who ate the candy would ingest a tiny bit. Flynn held them out to Derek.
“Thanks,” Derek said. His smile broadened as he twirled them in his fingers. “Will I see you tomorrow?”
“I work the afternoon shift.”
“Same.”
“Then it’s likely we’ll see each other.”
Derek seemed in a better mood. “Great. Have a good night!”
“You too,” Flynn said, a smile breaking out on his lips. After a long work shift, it was nice to share a pleasant moment with someone new.
Derek headed for a small green car. Flynn walked toward the highway, checking over his shoulder to see if Derek remained on his path.
Lulu shifted under Flynn’s collar, no doubt peeking around to double-check they were alone. Once Derek’s car started, she flew out in front of Flynn. Pixie dust dropped from her pale blue skirt as she fluffed it, and more fell from her translucent blue wings. Her brown skin shimmered, and she left a glittery trail.
“You could’ve waited until we made it to the woods,” Flynn said.
“That’s too long,” Lulu replied. She kept pace with him. “And this way I can still race after that human and get the candy.”
“No.”
“You handed him two!”
“I know.”
Lulu flew in front of his face, bringing him to a halt so he didn’t run into her. “They’re filled with magic.”
Flynn stepped around her. “I’m aware of what I gave him.”
Lulu rushed to catch up to him. She landed on his shoulder and held on to his collar. “You can’t give a mortal two candy canes. They’re irresponsible by default.”
“He gave me the bag and what lay inside. That counts as two gifts, so I had to give him two in return. You can’t take them back. That’d be rude.”
Giving up on the argument, Lulu sighed. “Why must you be so fascinated with them?”
Flynn rustled the bag, trying to get a glimpse inside of it, but he could only spot plastic and the tiniest bits of cookies. “You are too.”
“That’s because they make some amazing things, and their young have clever imaginations.”
“The big ones do too,” Flynn replied.
“Most give up on it.”
Flynn wanted to argue the point, but he didn’t have any evidence or information. Grown humans didn’t seem the same as the smaller ones. They didn’t believe in magic for the most part. Flynn wasn’t willing to believe that all of them had closed off hope. Like Derek, the mysterious man whose laugh occasionally rang out so clearly Flynn ached to know the cause.
Flynn stepped from the pavement onto a snow mound, not sinking into the pile but walking straight over it. He remained on top of the patch between the parking lot and the sidewalk along the highway. The road was busy with cars, so there were too many potential witnesses to use any magic. He didn’t mind. The night was cold, and a tingle on his tongue foretold an upcoming snowfall. The walk home would take an hour without magic, but after being inside the contraption of concrete and steel all day, he longed to stretch his legs and drink in the cold.
Lulu scurried under his collar.
“The coast is clear,” Flynn said.
“Look again,” she whispered.
She was right. Down the road, a man waited at the bus stop. In his dark jacket and dark clothes, he blended into the poorly lit area. Something about the man bothered Flynn. He radiated anger and bitterness to such a degree Flynn picked up his pace to pass him quickly.
All his haste, and yet he still wound up meeting the man’s gaze. There was a spark of recognition. A cold brush through Flynn’s magic as solid as a sudden crack through ice.
If he didn’t know better, he’d swear this man was a fairy. But he lacked the right resonance with Flynn’s magic. Even the Summer fey were a note in the same chord. The man seemed utterly devoid of music or magic besides the momentary familiarity. Flynn hurried to put distance between them, checking over his shoulder to see if the man followed. He stared after Flynn but stayed at the bus stop.
Facing forward again, Flynn muttered, “You said no fey was so near our portal.”
His collar muffled Lulu’s voice. “I said it wasn’t likely.”
“If we’re caught—”
Lulu reemerged, and she straddled Flynn’s shoulder for stability. “I have permission to be anywhere I like. My queen wants us to find unusual new homes. You’re the one disobeying your mistress.”
“Because her rule is stupid. We’re never going to learn about humanity if we stay in the woods. They don’t go there as much as they used to,” Flynn grumbled. His parents hadn’t believed him, which was one reason they didn’t know where he was. “The mortal world changes so rapidly. We have to know everything we can if we’re going to save the feylands. It might not be in danger today, but soon. I can feel it, and your queen knows it. I think Queen Mab does too.”
“You don’t have to convince me. I’m old enough to remember a bit of how things used to be.” Lulu fluttered her wings, more pixie dust coating Flynn’s shoulder. “Besides, I like the structures humans build. When can we go somewhere with more people?”
“I’m not sure. That costs, and I can’t afford to miss work.”
“Living like one of them is your problem. A little magic and you could have anything you wanted.”
Flynn held up the gift bag. “I got this by behaving like a mortal.”
“Bags are plenty. Too plenty.”
“There are cookies inside. I hear not all recipes are the same.”
“Oh! Why didn’t you say so?” Lulu dropped into the bag and then poked her head up. “These presents are worth two candy canes.”
Lulu was his elder. Being smug toward her would be rude, but Flynn thought about it.
After a few more blocks, they reached a long patch of forest that would take them the rest of the way home. Flynn took a deep breath and resettled his core. The cold was his center, the place from whence his magic came. A constant, like breathing. The snow, the wintery wind, the dea
d leaves were as much a part of him as his heart. Winter invigorated him and made him homesick.
Home was near, though. A gate to the feylands existed within a half hour of the cabin they stayed in. He’d found the ad looking for a home sitter on the internet. Humans cared so much for their property and so little for others at times they baffled him. But at least with this arrangement, Flynn had a furnished place to stay instead of trying to construct one in the woods. House-watching gave him the opportunity to examine a human domicile more closely. They kept so many strange things as keepsakes.
As soon as they were through the cabin door, Lulu flew to the shelf she’d remodeled. They’d removed the knickknacks the owners left so she could build a house from aluminum foil and surround it with stacks of bright copper pennies. A string of LED lights ran along the inside edge and plugged into the wall far below the shelf. The colors reflected off the sewing needles attached to the shelf’s edge with glitter glue.
Flynn set the gift bag on the coffee table and took out the plastic baggies of cookies. There were little round balls covered in powdered sugar, chocolate chip cookies, cookies with M&M’s, an oatmeal cookie, peanut butter ones with a grid impression on top, and ones that smelled like they had honey for their sticky center.
“Which ones should we try first?” Flynn asked.
Lulu came out of her house wearing a nightgown and flew down to the coffee table. She paced between the cookies. “They smell so good.”
Flynn’s stomach gurgled with hunger. “I know.”
Lulu stopped by the honey cookies. “These?”
Flynn gave her one and took one for himself. It tasted of honey, fruit, and sugar. “Mmm.”
Lulu swallowed her bite of cookie. “Oh, these are good. But if the human eats both candy canes—”
“Blazing iron, Lulu.” Flynn rolled his eyes as he plopped onto the couch. “It’s not like he’ll sprout a tail or breathe fire. The worse thing that could happen is the magic makes him run out into winter naked.”
Frowning at him, Lulu said, “You know that kills mortals, don’t you?”