Tit for Tat

by JS Harker

  “I am on a major sugar rush. I’m fine. Really.”

  “You sound out of sorts. Exhausted, maybe?” Flynn said.

  Derek was torn. Having Flynn worry about him felt nice, but he didn’t want to be a burden. He didn’t feel safe enough to drive to his dorm, though. He smoothed out one of the points on Flynn’s green collar.

  “Yeah, maybe tired,” he said softly.

  “There’s a couch in the workshop. You could lie down on it.”

  He’d be within feet of Flynn, who wanted to help take care of him. Derek had done way worse at keggers last year. “You know what, a nap sounds like a great idea.”

  With Flynn’s help, Derek got on his feet. Flynn went over the fence first, not using the gate. He made it look so easy, as smooth as a video game character with fantastic programming. As Derek climbed over, he snagged his foot on the rail. For a horrible, sudden moment, he flailed through the air. Face-planting was inevitable.

  But Flynn caught him. He had such amazing, strong arms, and he smelled of evergreen and fresh snow.

  Derek grinned at him, and Flynn gave him a small smile in return. There was no anger or annoyance in Flynn’s eyes. He looked ready to laugh, but not with any malice. A laugh burst out of Derek because, come on, he’d gone full-blown weird dork. Needing a rescue by a practical stranger from a potential witch and talking about fairies, and then tripping over himself, only to have the guy he liked happen to catch him. It was like something out of a storybook.

  Flynn laughed in a nice way. He drifted his hands over Derek, and Derek wanted to press closer. Instead Flynn stepped back and nodded down the path through Wonderland. They started on their way across the mall. He stayed close, ready as if Derek would need help.

  Derek might since his head continued to spin. Flynn cared about him. Derek. The guy whose only boyfriend cheated on him because he was such a loser. Only Flynn looked at Derek like he was someone interesting.

  Which he so wasn’t, and when Flynn figured him out, he’d get bored and move on. Derek stumbled a step and held on to Flynn’s arm. Between the giddiness and the fresh wave of doubt, his insides were twisting and turning. He should’ve eaten something besides the candy cane.

  “I should really lie down.” Derek put a hand to his head, but it didn’t help stabilize him.

  Flynn supported him more, and they made their way to the workshop. There was some disagreement between him and Gregory, but Derek wasn’t listening closely. Coats covered the couch in the corner of the shop. He tossed them off to the side, only wincing after he’d discarded them. Those belonged to people. He should be nicer to other people’s stuff. Using his own coat as a blanket, he got comfortable on the couch.

  Flynn took a seat at the sales counter. He looked less blue in the lighting of the workshop.

  Derek was alone with Flynn, but instead of feeling good, he was getting sick. Sleep would hopefully ward off his roiling stomach.

  “I’m sorry,” Derek mumbled.

  Flynn frowned. “For what?”

  “Making you take care of me. I don’t know what happened.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Flynn said, the conviction in his voice as comforting as a soft blanket.

  Derek wanted to believe him. “If I’m in the way, kick me out.”

  “You won’t be.”

  “But if I am.”

  Flynn hid a smile behind his hand, but Derek saw it. “If you are, I will.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” Derek closed his eyes, and all he could see was the angry woman yelling at him. He opened them again. Flynn was definitely watching him with some sort of mix of amusement and maybe desire. That might still be Derek’s mind playing tricks.

  But he could take a tiny risk. Derek snuggled down into the couch. “Flynn, if some evil witch cursed me with a coma spell, would you try to wake me up?”

  “A coma spell,” Flynn repeated.

  “Like Sleeping Beauty or Snow White.”

  Flynn had a glimmer in his eye like Derek hadn’t said something completely ridiculous. “Those curses are usually broken with a kiss.”

  Heat flared in Derek’s cheeks. He could be brave. Just this once. “Well, I give you permission to wake me from a coma spell with a kiss.”

  “Then I will do my best to wake you from a sleeping curse, should one happen to you.”

  “Sleeping curse, that’s the name for it,” Derek murmured. His eyes felt super heavy.

  As he drifted off to sleep, he was sure he heard Flynn talking. Maybe to some customer, but it didn’t sound like English so much as sighing breezes and tiny cracks of wood.

  Chapter Four

  LULU hovered over Derek before flying over to the sales counter and landing beside the register. The casual passersby wouldn’t spot her. In the language of Winter, she said, “How much magic did you pack into those things?”

  Flynn lowered his voice to a whisper. “He’s fine.”

  “He saw me.”

  Derek had mentioned her. Flynn shifted uncomfortably on the stool. He hoped he hadn’t hurt Derek with the magic. “Most people can.”

  “They see the light or me in a haze. He complimented the pattern in my wings.” Lulu paced to the end of the counter and squinted in Derek’s direction. “He might believe in magic. He is young.”

  “He’s an adult by their standards,” Flynn replied.

  “He is young to them the same way you are to our kind,” Lulu said with a wave of her hand. “Everyone thinks you’re old enough for decisions, and you’re just silly all the time.”

  Flynn sighed and leaned on the counter. There was no sense arguing with her that he knew what he was doing. Mostly. Some of the time. He stayed half-turned so he could watch the counter and Derek.

  All right, considering Derek’s behavior was Flynn’s fault, maybe he didn’t make the best decisions at times. But in sleep, Derek’s features softened even more. If they were in a field or a forest, Flynn could reveal himself properly as what he was, and then he’d gently wake Derek with a kiss.

  The old ones talked about finding mortals and seducing them to live in the feylands. Some of those mortals grew old and bitter for their capture. Flynn didn’t want that for Derek. He wanted to see him happy.

  A teasing thought kept playing through Flynn’s mind. Derek wanted to be wakened with a kiss. He’d given permission, though he had said it under the influence of magic. It would be more than enough for most fey. Flynn would rather see if Derek believed in witches, curses, and stories when he was his normal self.

  Lulu rustled her wings, the bell sound drawing Flynn’s attention. “Oh no. You’re getting silly about him already.”

  Flynn huffed. “Will you let it rest?”

  “He’s human.”

  “He’s cute and adorable, so I can like him, can’t I? We didn’t come here to find new ways to hate his kind.”

  Lulu took off from the counter. “Be careful with your heart. They don’t give theirs as honestly or easily as you do.”

  Before he could tell her she assumed too much, she flew past him and out to the greater part of Winter Wonderland. She was wrong. He knew how to protect his feelings. A little fascination didn’t mean anything.

  Derek shifted in his sleep, and Flynn settled into watching him.

  Blazing iron. Fascination might easily become something more.

  The remainder of his shift went by in the steady, even pace human reality insisted upon. Few shoppers came to the counter. Every moment in between, Flynn couldn’t help keeping an eye on Derek. At first he worried the magic might put a sleeping curse on him after all, but Derek continued to stir from time to time. A half sigh, half moan escaped his lips—the sound so utterly human and unconscious Flynn wondered if Derek ever made the sound when he was awake.

  Most likely it was one of his noises during moments of passion. What did he dream about under the influence of magic? Were his fantasies simple lusts, easily satisfied and without further yearnings?

  Derek was a curiosity.
A mystery in need of answers.

  The workshop door opened, but Flynn paid it no mind until it slammed shut. He jumped. Gregory had an angry glare again. It twisted his otherwise pretty face out of shape. He got such a way whenever he spoke about Derek, and having him in close proximity had brought out the same emotion.

  “He’s still asleep?” Gregory demanded.

  “No,” Derek said sleepily. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Asshole.”

  So much for waking Derek with a kiss. Flynn’s right ear twitched. He really shouldn’t be disappointed.

  “It’s closing time,” Gregory said. A malicious grin lit his eyes. “We need to strip. Nate always changes in the bathroom, but we get naked in here all the time.”

  Red stained Derek’s cheeks. “Yeah, well, it’s not hard to see you almost naked. It’s on your dating profile.”

  “I know. I’ve had so many swipe rights lately. How are you doing in the dating arena?” Gregory shot a look at Flynn before turning to Derek. “Still aiming way out of your league?”

  “Pick a metaphor,” Derek grumbled as he stood. He looked embarrassed or ashamed, unable to meet Flynn’s gaze. “Thanks for letting me sleep, Flynn.”

  Flynn had no idea what just happened, but he could tell it upset Derek. He wished he could dismiss Gregory and tell Derek to stay, but they had responsibilities. As much as he could with his voice, he tried to be supportive. “You’re quite welcome. I was more than happy to help.”

  Derek’s tiny nervous grin came back for a fleeting moment before he left.

  Gregory stepped out of the way of the door. Once Derek was through, he rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner. “I cannot believe you let him stay in here.”

  Flynn closed the shutter over the sales counter. He took his clothes from the shelf over the couch. “Why not?”

  “Because if he can’t handle his pot, he shouldn’t be sneaking it at work.”

  “Pot.” Flynn frowned. He knew this one. “You mean marijuana, the plant?”

  “Yeah.” Gregory pulled down his clothes and began shucking off his uniform. “Derek’s too brainwashed by rules to do anything else, though I’m surprised he did that. He used to get weird when I smoked it. If we lived in Colorado or someplace where it’s legal, I bet he wouldn’t have a problem.”

  Flynn wanted to ask where Colorado was and if it was another country or state, but Gregory mocked him when he asked “obvious” questions.

  Gregory snorted. “I can’t believe he got high at work. No one else is going to believe it either.”

  “You plan on telling others?”

  “Of course.” Gregory was in the middle of changing his clothes. “Everyone keeps waiting for me to apologize and mean it or something, but he broke up with me. Wait until I update Facebook and everyone hears how not perfect he is. His manager is a friend of my mom’s, and once she tells him, Derek is so losing that job.”

  Since it would be a consequence of the magic in the candy canes, Flynn would be responsible for the discharge. He’d wanted to share something special with Derek, not ruin his life. “Don’t. Please.”

  “I don’t know why you like the guy, but the world deserves to know he’s such a hypocrite.”

  “Maybe you’re wrong,” Flynn said. “Maybe he didn’t know what he took.”

  “Which makes it even more awesome that he did,” Gregory said. “He’ll finally get the meaning of ‘innocent mistake.’”

  The whole incident was Flynn’s fault. He grabbed Gregory by his arm. “You can’t tell on him.”

  “Try to stop me.”

  “I’ll tell our boss you use the workshop as a hookup spot.”

  Gregory paled. “How do you know about that?”

  Lulu had spied him once in the first few days they spent at the mall. Flynn wasn’t about to reveal his source. “All that matters is I do and our boss doesn’t. Unless you want him to, you won’t mention what happened to Derek to anyone.”

  Gregory glared at him. “Fine. Whatever. I won’t.”

  They finished changing their clothes in silence, and Gregory didn’t even sneak peeks of Flynn’s near nudity like he usually did.

  When they emerged from Santa’s Workshop, Derek was picking up trash in the play area. Gregory shook his head. “Wow. He’s so bad at flirting he thinks that qualifies.”

  Flynn frowned at him. “Why did you date?”

  “I honestly have no idea what I saw in him.”

  Gregory needed to phrase his statement the other way. Derek was kind and polite. Flynn wasn’t sure how he could ever be attracted to someone like Gregory, unless his physical charms were greater than Flynn thought. His body was too common among the fey. Haughtiness was common too. Gregory would easily blend in with other fey.

  Derek, with his warm touch and expressive features, would stand out, especially in the Winter Court.

  “Since he’s doing our job, I’m going to go,” Gregory said.

  “I’ll see you later,” Flynn replied.

  Gregory headed off, and Flynn was happy to see him leave. Flynn approached Derek hesitantly, picking up a few stray toys along the way. The children never put them away in the snowbank boxes. A stuffed Santa lay abandoned with three of the reindeer. Flynn put them with the other toys.

  “Sorry about earlier,” Derek said. He tossed another empty coffee cup in the trash. “He gets under my skin. It’s stupid that I let him.”

  “So don’t let him.”

  “I wish it was that easy.” Derek scratched his head, then moved to another piece of trash. “Sorry about the freak-out. I don’t know what happened to me.”

  Flynn stilled. He should tell Derek, if nothing else to prevent a recurrence with the other candy cane. “It’s all right.”

  “Was there anything weird in those candy canes?” Derek asked.

  Answering that question directly would expose the magic Flynn had done. He had to dance around it. “Like what?”

  “Drugs? I’ve never been high before, but I’ve never eaten something and seen a blue fairy either.”

  “There weren’t any drugs,” Flynn said. Derek would believe he had an answer, and Flynn hadn’t lied.

  “I must have been completely wiped.” Derek sighed. He seemed tired still but calmer. “I’m starving. Do you want to get dinner? I want to pay you back for helping me out.”

  Flynn had been doing his part to take care of his mistake. “You don’t need to.”

  “I want to.”

  “You already paid me by cleaning up.” Flynn nodded to the trash Derek still held in his hand.

  “I don’t mind. I needed something to do, and, well, Wonderland obviously means a lot to you and the kids. It should look nice.” Derek shrugged and threw away the last of the trash. “I’d say I can’t believe people are such jerks leaving trash behind, but you saw that woman earlier.”

  Flynn closed the snowbank boxes. “You must see the worst in people.”

  “The most selfish.” Derek led the way toward the gate out of Wonderland. “It’s a snapshot. I’m sure they’re not always like that, but that’s how they can be with me.”

  “You have hope they are better people.”

  Derek nodded emphatically. “Yeah. A tiny bit. It’s hard with everything going on, you know?”

  Flynn didn’t know what “everything going on” meant. People used the phrase a lot, and its meaning seemed utterly subjective. Asking for clarity would show ignorance. Flynn wasn’t ready to take the chance Derek might be as mean as Gregory if given the opportunity. He had a tiny bit of hope too.

  “Sorry, I’m being weird,” Derek said. He was looking away again, the misery surfacing in his frown.

  Perhaps a test of Derek’s attitude wouldn’t turn out badly. Flynn desperately wanted to make him feel less alone. To reach out. “You’re not. I don’t always understand what people mean. The way you speak can be very odd.”

  “Is English not your first language?” Derek asked.

  English wasn’t the f
irst language for most humans, let alone fey. Flynn held open the door to the outside, relishing the first brush of real cold he’d felt in hours. “It’s not, so idioms are hard to understand.”

  “Where are you from?”

  Another question Flynn didn’t want to answer. “You mentioned dinner?”

  “Yeah!” Derek became more rigid, his whole body more excitable. “I kind of wanted to pay since you helped me out, but you said cleaning up was payback. If you still want to share a meal, that’d be cool. Unless you don’t want to. You don’t have to.”

  Flynn had to hold in a smile. He didn’t want Derek to think he was mocking him. “I’d love to share a meal.”

  “Awesome. Anywhere you want to eat?”

  Humans had too many options, and Flynn didn’t know enough of them to choose one. “I’ll try anything, but I don’t like spicy food.”

  Derek nodded and then led the way out into the parking lot. “I know a diner not too far from here. Serves breakfast all day.”

  American breakfast food was one of the greatest parts of Flynn’s stay in Wisconsin so far. Everything could have either meat or sugar added to it. “That sounds great.”

  They made their way to Derek’s car. A car. Flynn liked to look at them sometimes on his way to work. Fey never needed such things since they traveled on the wind when they had to cross a long distance. Nobles showed their status with sleighs or chariots. A vehicle was an extravagance. The materials chosen, the beasts used to pull them, everything made a statement.

  Cars seemed similar to Americans, though there were many more common cars than there were common sleighs. Derek’s was small, and had four doors. It was green on the outside and dark gray on the inside. Wrappers and paper bags covered the passenger seat. Derek scurried to pick up the trash and throw it into the cluttered back seat.

  Flynn gently pulled on the door handle, and it sprang open for him. He let the door swing wide. Tracing his hand along the edge would likely be weird. Humans didn’t go around fondling cars.

  “Sorry about the mess,” Derek said.

  “It’s fine.” Flynn took his seat and shut the door. He felt a little like being stuck in the mall again. In the open air, Winter was easy to touch and call upon. Inside the mall or the car, Flynn felt out of touch with it. The missing familiarity was a little uncomfortable.