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She clutched the silent babe to her chest as she followed the wails of the child she bore six months ago. Atsumu was her greatest treasure, a shining light in her otherwise dreary world and she’d be damned before she let some capricious, duplicitous creature steal him away from her.
She stomped through the faerie wood that had frightened her so much when she’d first crept through them, searching for a miracle. After a decade of trying to conceive, her husband left her for someone who could give him the heirs he needed. Before he’d left, she’d been too faint-hearted to follow the rumors and tales of magical, wish-granting beings that had a habit of leading desperate humans astray, but without a husband and his estate to look after, she had nothing left to lose.
What had found her stumbling around that night almost looked human, but the proportions were wrong. Its limbs were stretched out, its fingers too long, with an extra knuckle in each digit. In the dull light of the full snow moon, its hair looked blood-stained as it defied gravity and its eyes glowed like dying embers in its ghostly pale face.
“Oh?” It grinned at her, its teeth oversharp. “What is a little morsel like you doing in my neck of the woods, hmm?”
She averted her gaze as quickly as possible and pulled the bundle of offerings she’d prepared from her pocket and kneeled down to lay it at the creature’s… feet.
One of those long, bony fingers reached down into her field of vision and unrolled the bundle to reveal a sparrows heart, a copper coin, her jeweled wedding band, a lock of her hair, and her most beloved childhood toy, a simple rag doll made from bright strips of fabric her mother had made for her when she was three.
The sharp nail at the end of the finger spears through the sparrow hear and she can hear the sickening squelch as it's crushed between the creature’s teeth.
“What would you ask for with such a generous offering?”
“A child of my own fer me to bear and bring into the world myself.”
“No stolen children? How boring.” Despite the creature's words, it sounded delighted that she’d done her research. “Of course, there will be a price.”
“Of course,” she repeated, “but I may make the conditions.”
“Oh, you are knowledgeable! Very well, what conditions? A girl with onyx ringlets? A boy with your eyes? Perhaps you want a lucky child or a talented, successful one?”
“I will pay whatever price I must, but the child will not be harmed. Even if I cannot pass yer test, the child will not suffer for it. No death, no curses. No harm of any kind.”
“Very well. I accept your conditions.” Its hand reappeared before her, this time with a plump, ripe peach in its palm. “Eat this before you leave the wood then bury the pit at the southwestern corner of your home.”
She hesitated before reaching for the fruit. One of the very first things one learned about these creatures was to never accept any food they offer.
“This fruit is part of my end of the bargain. I swear there will be no ill effects from your eating of it.”
One of the second things one learned was that they cannot lie. She took the peach and rose to her feet, saying nothing as she turned to leave. She took the first bite as she walked away, and in the autumn she birthed a beautiful, plump-cheeked baby boy.
Now, fifteen months after she’d made her bargain, she found herself back in the wood, following the sounds of her child calling for her.
“You give him back, ya wretched monster! Ya agreed he would not be harmed! What danger-free life could a human child live with the likes of you?”
Suddenly, the creature appeared before her, her baby cradled in its spindly arms. “Are you sure this one is even yours?”
Of course, she was sure. When she’d heard her baby’s faraway cries and rushed to his nursery, she’d nearly been relieved to see him sleeping peacefully in his crib. But as she looked closer, she realized that the child in her son’s crib was not her son at all. He was identical in nearly every way, but when she brushed a thumb over his rosy cheek, he opened his eyes and looked directly at her, but did not reach for her or babble a greeting as her boy was prone to do. She peered closer at this Other child and noticed his eyes were closer to silver than gold and the downy tuft of hair was a shade or two too dark.
At that moment, she knew the creature had left her a changeling. And though she bore no ill will toward the faerie child, she could not let the one she’d brought into the world be taken away. Unwilling to leave the babe behind in her pursuit, she quickly wrapped a scarf around her torso and lifted him from the crib to settle him into the makeshift harness. Her heart felt heavy as the babe lay his head against her chest and popped his tiny fist into his mouth, just as her son tended to do.
“I know which child is mine,” she glares up into those creepy, glowing eyes. “I’ll be taking him back now.” She held her arms out expectantly. Her heart melted as her son reached out to her as well.
“And what of the one in your sling?”
“Ya don’t hafta worry fer him, just give me back my baby.”
It gnashes its teeth at her but reluctantly hands the boy over.
She cradled him to her chest beside the other and turned to walk away. “Yer cooperation is appreciated. Good night.”
She heard a crash behind her but she didn’t pause until the creature was looming over her again, its hair whipping around its head in a phantom maelstrom. “The faerie child is not yours.”
“I’m keepin’ him anyway. Clearly, ya ain’t fit to take him if ya were so willin’ to abandon him ta me. Ya wanted to trick me into raisin’ him, then raise him I will.” She glowered up at it, daring it to challenge her.
It narrowed its eyes at her before lifting its chin. “So be it, but there will be a price for this one as well.”
“I’ll pay whatever I must.”
“Perhaps you will,” it mused before conjuring another peach in its left hand and two acorns in its right hand. “Bury this peach whole at the southeastern corner of your home and tuck these acorns into their sleep clothes for three nights starting tonight.”
She nodded and took the proffered items, then started to walk away.
“One more thing before you go,” it whispered against the back of her neck making her shudder. “If I see your face in my wood again, I’ll take your head and display it for all to see what happens to those who defy me.”
Her breath stuttered and she nodded again before clutching her boys close to her and carrying them home.
☽◯☾
Twenty-one Years Later
Osamu clutches his brother’s shirt and tries his best to keep his legs tight around his waist to make himself easier to carry. He buries his face in Atsumu’s hair and croaks, “‘M sorry, Tsumu.”
“The hell’re ya sorry for? It ain’t like it’s yer fault ya got sick like this. ‘S prolly a faerie thing like Ma said. ‘S’why I’m haulin’ yer ass through these creepy ass woods.”
That wasn’t the only thing Ma said.
“I can’t go with you, Atsumu. I’m sorry. You’ll have to carry this burden on your own.”
She hadn’t meant for Atsumu to literally carry him, but two days into their journey, Osamu had become too weak to walk on his own for more than an hour or so at a time. Now, he really is a burden and he hates that his brother is having to haul him around. They aren’t going to make it to wherever they were hoping to get to at this rate. Tsumu is strong, but not even he can endure carrying Osamu for an entire day without consequences.
Osamu sighs. “Why is this takin’ so long? Ma said the faerie she saw found her in an hour or so. We’re on day three an’ we ain’t seen nothin’ but trees.”
“Maybe ‘cause she went on a full moon? It ain’t like we coulda waited for the right time to take ya,” Atsumu grunts as he readjusts his grip on Osamu’s thighs. “She knew you gettin’ sick was a sign of somethin’ wrong.”
It’d made sense that she’d known; Osamu had never been sick a day in his life before. Where Atsumu got seasonal colds, a rough bout of bronchitis when they were 11, and even the chicken pox when they were 4, Osamu had never been affected. When he’d refused to eat dinner because he didn’t feel well, his mother had gone pale and rushed to find a calendar.
Osamu will never forget the despair on her face when she realized it was exactly six months after their birthday and twenty-one years since the day she’d defied a faerie to take him home with her and Atsumu. His mind still whirls when he thinks about learning that he’s not actually human, that he’s not really Atsumu’s twin.
The bag their mother had packed for them sits heavily on Osamu’s shoulders, though its contents are few. Two acorns, four peaches–two from each of the trees at the corners of their house, Osamu’s grey baby blanket, Atsumu’s pale yellow baby blanket, three locks of hair–one from each of their heads, and a fist full of copper coins. What little food they’d packed is gone, eaten the night before. If they don’t find what they’re looking for soon, Atsumu may have to forage for them since he’s shit at hunting.
Osamu is pulled out of his thoughts when Atsumu stops walking. He glances around and notices that they’ve stopped beside a small stream.
“Figured we’d take a break here,” Atsumu says, squatting a little so Osamu can climb off his back.
Osamu unwraps his legs from around Atsumu’s waist but keeps his grip on his shoulders as he tries to keep his balance. He follows Atsumu to the stream and allows him to help him to the ground so he doesn’t just fall on his ass. For the next few minutes, they scoop water into their hands and drink their fill.
When his thirst is sated, Osamu sits back, resting his weight on his palms, and looks up at the sky through the canopy of trees while Atsumu continues to slurp water from his palms. A cracking twig catches his attention and Osamu turns his head to follow the noise. His arms nearly give out at what he sees.
“Tsumu,” he hisses, tugging on Atsumu’s shirt. “Tsumu, look.”
“What?” Atsumu hisses back, turning his head to glare at Osamu but his gaze catches on the same sight that has Osamu enthralled. “Holy shit, Samu,” he breathes.
Osamu nods, too stunned to verbalize his agreement. On the other side of the creek, about five meters from them stands a ghostly white stag. He’s as tall as a small horse, his twisted antlers only adding to his massive height. As they watch, the creature lowers its head to drink from the stream. The movements of his head cause the sun to glint off his antlers, the tips sparkling like diamonds even as whisps of cobwebs twist around the branches.
He’s astonishingly beautiful and wholly otherworldly. Osamu can’t tear his eyes away, even as the stag lifts his head to stare directly into his eyes.
F O L L O W M E
Osamu shivers as the sounds of the forest seem to harmonize into two words. The stag turns and begins to walk away. Osamu gasps and struggles to his feet, stumbling into the creek to follow it.
“Samu! What the hell!” Atsumu scrambles after him, easily catching up and stopping him with an arm around his waist. “What’re you doin’!?”
“We gotta follow him, Tsumu!” Osamu weakly struggles against his brother’s strong grip. “He said to follow him! Didn’t ya hear?”
“What are ya talkin’ about? It’s a giant ghost deer, it can’t talk!”
“But I heard it, Tsumu. I swear I did. He looked right at me and told me to follow him.” He turns to stare Atsumu right in the eyes. “Please, Tsumu. We’ve been wanderin’ around fer days, what real difference will it make if I’m just goin’ crazy and hearin’ things?”
Atsumu stares at him for a long moment before sighing. “Ya gotta point there. That’s the most otherworldly thing we’ve seen so far in these damn woods, so hell, maybe it will lead us to a faerie.” He releases Osamu and spins around. “C’mon, let’s go follow your damn talkin’ deer.”
Osamu swallows a laugh and puts as much strength as he can behind jumping back onto his brother’s back. Once he’s settled as comfortably as he can be, Atsumu turns around and starts to walk in the direction the deer had headed.
He pauses after one step.
Osamu frowns and looks up to ask why he stopped, but his words get caught in his throat when he sees the deer in the distance stopped ahead of them, looking back as if to see if they’re following him. “Keep goin’,” he whispers. “He’s waitin’ fer us.”
Atsumu lets loose a long string of curses as he begins marching toward the deer. The deer huffs out a cloudy breath, even in the warm spring air, then swings its massive head forward and starts to walk ahead.
Osamu doesn’t know how long they follow the deer, but he knows it's long enough for Atsumu’s arms to begin to shake with the effort of holding him. Osamu is about to tell him to stop and rest when the deer turns to walk around a tree but doesn’t appear on the other side.
Atsumu stops walking. “Where did it go?” he pants.
“I dunno.” Osamu frowns at where the deer disappeared. “I guess keep followin’. Try goin’ around the tree and see what happens.”
Atsumu takes a moment to readjust his hold on Osamu’s legs then keeps walking. Osamu does his best to cling to Atsumu’s back so he doesn’t have to rely on his own strength so much, but he already feels half as strong as he did when he woke up that morning.
When they reach the tree, Atsumu slows down. They look at and past it but don’t see the deer anywhere. Atsumu takes a deep breath. “So, just… around that side, right?”
“I mean, I guess?”
“Shit. Here goes nothin’.”
They both hold their breath as Atsumu steps around the thick, knarled trunk of the tree. The view in front of them changes when they move past its weather-worn bark.
“What the hell?” Atsumu gasps. “Tell me I ain’t the only one seein’ this?”
“You ain’t the only one seein’ a field with a freaking mansion in the middle of it where the forest was a second ago if that’s what you’re seein’,” Osamu answers.
“Well, good to know I ain’t alone in the hallucination.”
“What if it ain’t though?” Osamu takes a deep breath, feeling how the air is different than it was before they stepped around the tree. He taps Atsumu’s shoulder twice and loosens his legs from his waist. Atsumu loosens his grip on his legs and bends a little for Osamu to climb down. “What if this is exactly where that buck was leading us?”
Atsumu turns around to face him, massaging his forearms as he peers over Osamu’s shoulder. “D’ya think if we tried to walk back around the tree we’d be back in our forest, then?”
“Hell, maybe,” Osamu answers, turning to follow Atsumu’s gaze. “I’d rather not find out if we can’t make it back here, y’know?”
“Yeah.” Atsumu spins in a circle, taking in their surroundings. He frowns. “Why does it look like apple pickin’ season? It’s April, ain’t it?”
Osamu peers around as well, noting the bright colors of the leaves on the trees. “Magic of the realm?”
“Gods, I hope it’s that and not, like, a time warp or somethin’.”
Osamu grimaces in agreement. He looks back to the mansion standing tall and proud in the middle of the field. “Should we go see if anyone is home?”
Atsumu takes a deep breath. “That’s why we’re here, right? Let’s go.” He turns to Osamu. “You wanna walk?”
Osamu nods, reaching out to drape his arm over Atsumu’s shoulder for support. Atsumu wraps his arm around Osamu’s waist to keep him steady and together they make their way toward the imposing structure.
The closer they get, the more details come into view. The dark grey stone walls have ivy growing up them, along with some kind of climbing flower that Osamu couldn’t begin to name. In fact, in the back of the mansion, there is a sprawling garden of bright blooms that are as beautiful as they are unknown. They steer themselves away from the garden and toward the extravagant veranda.
The closer they get to the entrance the more Osamu feels like they’re being watched. He swivels his head around to see if he can spot who (or what) is spying on them, but he can’t seem to figure out where the feeling is coming from.
Finally, they reach the huge double doors. On each door lies a knocker shaped like an onyx fox head, eyes embedded with emeralds, and large golden rings that appear to be clamped between their teeth. Atsumu reaches for the one closest to him, but before he can grab the ring, the door swings open. The twins blink at each other, then shrug and make their way inside a grand entryway.
“Sorry for the intrusion,” they mutter simultaneously when they step through the door.
Osamu leans heavily against Atsumu as they walk along the long hall, his strength reserves nearly depleted. He really, really hopes they’ve found what they’ve been looking for this whole time. Atsumu tightens his grip on him and mutters nonsensical encouragements. The more Atsumu helps him, the more Osamu feels grateful to the faerie that left him in Atsumu’s crib when he was a baby.
They reach the end of the hall and find themselves standing in front of another set of double doors. Osamu sighs wearily. “Should we knock?”
“That won’t be necessary,” an unfamiliar voice says from their left.
Both men jerk their heads toward the voice and find themselves staring at the most beautiful stranger Osamu has ever seen. The first thing he notices is his eyes, golden yellow with a slitted pupil like cat’s rimmed in charcoal and gold. His features are equally as sharp with high cheekbones, a firm jawline, and a pointed chin. His hair is midnight black and parted in the middle to frame his face in wispy curtains. What really catches Osamu’s eye though are the long, tapered ears peeking out of his hair, golden hoops and dangling gems adorning each elongated peak.
“Yer a faerie, right?” Atsumu asks bluntly. “That’s why ya got the ears, yeah?” He lifts his free hand and uses his thumb and pointer finger to mime a point at the end of his own ear. “We need yer help fixin’ my brother.”
Osamu grits his teeth and jabs his finger into Atsumu’s ribs. “That ain’t how you get their assistance, ya scrub. Show some damn respect, would you?” He turns toward the fae. “Sorry about him. I’d say it’s just because we’ve been travelin’ for days, but he’s usually an ass.”
The faerie lifts his brows slightly, and something like amused surprise flits across his features before returning to his previously stoic expression. “Your… brother is correct. We do not often offer favors without expecting something in return. However, if you’ve come to bargain, I’m more than happy to hear what you have to offer.”
“Oh, uh,” Osamu coughs and shrugs the bag from his shoulders, and hands it to Atsumu. “We weren’t sure what to offer in this situation, to be honest. The only information we have comes from our ma, and she set out to make a very different bargain than what we’re trying to make.” He lets go of Atsumu and leans against the cold stone wall so Atsumu can dig through the bag and lay out their offerings.”
“Ah.” The faerie peers down at the collection and Osame sees his lips twitch. “This is all very cute, but I cannot-” His gaze sharpens and he focuses on the little pile. He reaches out and touches his fingertips to the acorns, hissing as if they burned him, and rips his hand away. “Where did you get those?”
“The faerie ma made a deal with told her to tuck ‘em into our bedclothes for three nights after she brought us both home,” Atsumu answers, frowning down at the acorns. “Why? What’s wrong with them?”
“Nevermind that for now. What is wrong with you?”
Osamu gulps at the intensity of the faerie’s stare. “Oh, uh, well. I’m sick when I’ve never been sick a day in my life before. I can hardly stand or walk on my own anymore. Had to be carried most of the way here. I can’t sleep and I can barely eat. I’m just… I feel like Death has me in a chokehold and I can’t wriggle free from its grip.”
The faerie frowns. “What else did your mother receive from the faerie she made the bargain with? And what were the terms of the bargain?”
“Ah, I guess Ma couldn’t get pregnant with the man she was married to, so he left her.” Atsumu starts. “She told us she didn’t have anything to lose, so she went into the woods and asked the first faerie she met to give her her own child to bear in exchange for a few items in her pack like these.” He gestures toward the pile and continues to relay the story their mother had told them before they left. “Then the fucker tried to steal me and replace me with a changeling, right? But ma chased him down and ended up taking us both home.”
Osamu points at the fruit in their pile. “The white peaches are from the peach pit that it told Ma to eat and bury by our house as its end of the bargain. The yellow peaches are from the one it made Ma bury whole when she took me with them. They grow year-round, regardless of the season, if that means anything to you.”
“Changeling.” The faerie’s eyes narrow at Osamu.
“That’s what Ma said, anyway. I didn’t know nothin’ about it until I got sick.”
Atsumu nods. “Ma didn’t want him to feel different or anything like that so she just raised him as if she’d given birth to him herself.”
“Hm.” The faerie takes a step toward Osamu. “May I touch you? It will be easier for me to assess your curse with physical contact.”
“Curse!?” Both brothers exclaim.
“Of course. Why else would you be sick if you’ve never been sick before? Especially if you are one of us and human sickness does not affect you.”
Yeah… Osamu is still not sure how to feel about not being human. It’s a shock to his system every time he thinks about it. “Right. Uh, sure, you can touch me if it’ll help.”
“Wait.” Atsumu steps in front of him. “Does this mean yer gonna help us?”
“If I can, yes. Then we’ll make our own bargain.”
Osamu can see Atsumu’s jaw flex, but he eventually steps aside and allows the faerie to approach Osamu. He holds out his hand and Osamu assumes he wants him to place his own in it. He begins to reach out, then hesitates. “Y’know, I usually know someone’s name before I hold hands with them.”
The faerie blinks at him. “You may call me Suna.”
It’s Osamu’s turn to blink. He hadn’t expected it to be that easy. “Uh, nice to meet ya, Suna-san.” He does his best to remember what his mother had taught him about dealing with faeries. Be polite and watch how ya phrase yer words. “You can call me Osamu and him Atsumu.” Never thank them. “We appreciate yer consideration.”
He lowers his hand into Suna’s palm. His hand is surprisingly warm, but Osamu is distracted by the way his blood feels like it’s fizzing up under his skin at Suna’s touch. Suna squeezes his fingers tightly for a moment before releasing his hand. He takes a step back and clears his throat.
“I cannot see past the glamor that hid you for so long in the human world. We’ll need someone to remove it before I can assess the true curse.”
“Okay, so where do we find someone who can do that?” Atsumu asks.
“Finding them will not be necessary.” Suna opens the door behind him. “Riseki, have Sakusa meet us in the sitting room and have some tea brought up as well.”
“Yes, sir,” says a voice from behind the door.
Suna closes the door and strides past the brothers. “Follow me.”
They look at each other, then shrug, following the faerie through another door into a fine parlor with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out into the garden and a large fireplace with plush chairs facing it. At the other end of the room is a round table with matching couches on each side.
“Sit wherever you like,” Suna says, gesturing toward the table with one hand and the fireplace with the other. “Sakusa and the refreshments will be here shortly.”
“This Sakusa person gonna turn Samu back into a faerie?” Atsumu asks bluntly as he slumps down on a couch.
Osamu sinks down next to him and elbows him in the ribs. “You can ignore him, Suna-san. Tha- we’re grateful for your hospitality.”
“The hell, Samu? It was a valid question! Ain’t you curious what ‘removing glamor’ is supposed to mean?”
“He won’t be turned back into one of the folk,” Suna says before Osamu can answer. He stands at the window and doesn’t bother to turn around as he talks. “He’s always been one of us. The fact that he shares your face and human features is a direct result of the magic that created him when your mother made her bargain. Sakusa is skilled with glamor and should have no trouble removing it.”
“Does that mean I’ll look completely different once it’s gone?” Osamu asks, worried he’ll never recognize his own face once the glamor is removed.
“Perhaps, depending on what manner of kinfolk you turn out to be. We won’t know until Sakusa is finished.”
Right as he says it, the door opens and a tall figure walks in. Osamu watches him wearily as he pauses inside the door and stares at them. He’s nearly as beautiful as Suna, his hair ink black and framing his face in soft ringlets. His ears are pointed similarly to Suna’s, but where Suna’s eyes are green and cat-like, this newcomer’s eyes are pitch-black pools with no white to be seen. Osamu shivers at the sight of him, but he can hear Atsumu’s breath wheezing out of his lungs as he stares.
The newcomer wrinkles his nose at them, then turns to Suna. “Suna, there are vermin on your couch.”
“Fuckin’ excuse me?” Atsumu starts to stand, but Osamu grips his arm and tugs him back down.
“Shut. Up. Tsumu,” he hisses.
“You’re as charming as ever, Sakusa,” Suna says blandly, finally turning away from the window. “I need you to remove the glamor from the changeling so I can examine his curse properly.”
“Your pardon, my lord,” a soft voice says from behind Sakusa before a squat… creature with dark brown skin and willowy white hair side-steps him and brings a tray with tea cups and a teapot, along with a plate of tiny pastries, and places it on the table in front of Osamu and Atsumu. It bows to Suna before leaving as quickly as it came.
Atsumu starts to reach for a pastry, but Osamu tugs on his sleeve again to stop him. Atsumu glares at him but Osamu makes a face and tries to mentally remind him what their mother told them. Never eat or drink any food they offer.
Atsumu scowls and sits back, crossing his arms over his chest, and resumes glaring at Sakusa as if it's his fault personally that faerie food is dangerous to humans. Sakusa lifts an unimpressed eyebrow at Atsumu’s petulance.
Suna chuckles and leaves the window to stand beside Sakusa. “I see you’ve been well informed. You have my word that the tea and cakes are safe for humans to consume.”
Osamu tries to decipher any possible double meanings behind his words, but before he can come to a conclusion, Atsumu has already plucked a pastry from the tray and chucked it into his stupid mouth. “‘Preciate it,” he says with his cheeks stuffed.
Osamu sighs and buries his face in his hands. He keeps watch on Atsumu from the corner of his eye, but he doesn’t seem to be feeling any adverse effects from the food. Suddenly, he feels absolutely exhausted, as if the final dregs of energy he's had reserved is finally used up and he can’t even sit up anymore. He slumps against Atsumu, his stomach roiling, though he hasn’t eaten since the day before.
“Wha-! Samu!” Atsumu grips him tightly, pulling him gently against his chest. “C’mon! Ya said ya’d help him if Sakusa took off the glamor, or whatever. Can we hurry it up, now? He prolly ain’t got much time left!”
Sakusa’s voice sounds far away from Osamu’s ringing ears, but his eyelids are too heavy to lift to see if he’s actually as far away as he sounds. “And why should I help you with your little human problem?”
“Take a closer look at that glamor and you’ll see why,” Suna answers.
Just as the ringing becomes too loud to bear, it’s cut off so abruptly that Osamu gasps and opens his eyes to see Sakusa peering down at him. He reaches out a hand to Osamu’s face but before he can flinch away, Sakuse jerks his hand back with a hiss, not unlike Suna had done with the acorns.
“Unseelie,” he snarls accusingly at Suna.
“Yes.” Suna doesn’t even blink at Sakusa’s ire. “Specifically, Tendou.”
Sakusa’s sneer turns into disbelief. “I thought he wasn’t making deals anymore.”
“Perhaps they were the last.” Suna shrugs. “Hell, maybe they’re the reason why he stopped. Their story is quite intriguing. Are you not curious as to why the changeling is here with the boy whose face he was given?”
Sakusa squints down at them, then looks back at Suna. “Why?”
“Apparently, the boy’s mother chased him down the night he switched them, demanded her child back, then took them both home and raised them as brothers. Twins.” Suna tells him with an amused lilt to his voice. “I’m assuming this curse is the price for taking the changeling. Twenty-one years of loving him, only for him to be snatched away by sickness. Tendou couldn’t do anything to the human because he was protected by the bargain, but the changeling is fair game, I guess.”
“The hell he is,” Atsumu growls. “I’ll kill this Tendou bastard myself if I have to.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Sakusa rolls his eyes. “First of all, a puny human like you wouldn’t stand a chance against Tendou. Second of all, even if you did, killing him won’t lift the curse.”
“Well, then will ya hurry up and take the glamor off my brother so Suna can tell us what will lift the curse?”
Sakusa glares at Atsumu and Osamu lifts a shaky hand to pat Atsumu’s arm across his chest. “Be nice, Tsumu,” he mutters. “He won’ help if yer bein’ an ass.”
Suna steps up behind Sakusa. “Ushijima foolishly chose Tendou over you. This, at the very least, will piss Tendou off, putting a damper on their bliss.”
Sakusa’s lip curls. “Fine.”
He reaches for Osamu’s face again and Osamu does his best to stay perfectly still. Just before Sakusa’s fingers touch his skin, he makes a motion like he’s grabbed something with all of his fingertips and pulls his hand back. The movement makes Osamu feel like he has dried glue stuck to his face and Sakusa is peeling it off. The air around them feels heavy and smells of the forest after a heavy rainstorm. Once Sakusa pulls his hand back to his shoulder he repeats the movement, this time the peeling glue sensation spreads to his neck and the back of his head. As Sakusa continues the pulling motion, more and more of Osamu’s skin feels like the top layer is being pulled away. When the sensation reaches the bottom of his feet, Sakusa’s free hand hovers over Osamu’s chest as if searching for something.
He pauses. He looks up at Osamu and says, “This will probably hurt. There’s nothing I can do about that.”
Before Osamu can respond, Sakusa braces the heel of his left hand at the bottom of his sternum, then stacks his right hand on top before pushing down with abrupt, heavy force. Osamu almost feels like the middle of his spine is going to crack, but he’s immediately distracted from that when he feels something lodge itself up into his throat.
He chokes and his lungs immediately seize at the lack of oxygen. His body convulses as he claws at his throat.
“Samu! Samu! What the fuck did you do!?” He hears Atsumu panicking and desperately reaches for his brother’s hand.
“Turn him over. Quick!” Suna raises his voice to be heard over Atsumu’s swearing.
Strong hands flip him over like a ragdoll and one arm braces him against a firm chest while the other swings with a balled-up fist directly into his diaphragm. Osamu instinctively heaves, the hard thing in his throat dislodges and he coughs and coughs until it flies out of his mouth and lands on Suna’s expensive-looking rug.
Osamu wheezes and collapses back against his savior, blinking tears out of his eyes to look at the thing that nearly killed him.
A single peach pit.
“What the fuck,” he croaks.
“Osamu! Holy shit!” Atsumu wedges himself between the couch and table as he sinks to his knees on the floor and pulls Osamu to him in a desperate hug, the body that had been holding him up easily letting him go.
Osamu weakly wraps his arms around his brother and tries to steady his breathing. He can’t believe he nearly died over a stupid freaking peach pit. As he glares down at the offending seed, long, pale fingers come into his view to drop a pristine white handkerchief over it before scooping it up. Osamu’s gaze follows the hand up, up until he’s looking at Sakusa’s blank face.
“This was holding the magic that concealed you in the human world. From now on, if you want to appear fully human, you’ll have to use your own glamor,” Sakusa says before moving to the fireplace to chuck the peach pit, handkerchief and all, into the flames.
Tearing his eyes away from the sparking fire, Osamu peeks behind himself to see Suna straightening to his feet and dusting invisible dirt off his knees.
Osamu clears his throat and rasps, “I appreciate you not letting me choke to death, Suna-san.”
Suna looks down at him and pauses. He blinks once. Twice. Then he clears his own throat. “It wouldn’t have done anyone any good to see you die today.”
Osamu scowls and turns back to Atsumu who finally lets him go in order to lean back and take a look at him. “Hi,” he says weakly to his other half.
Atsumu’s eyes widen as his gaze flits over Osamu’s face. “Jeez, Samu. This is so fuckin’ weird.”
“Is it bad?” His face screws up in apprehension. “Do I look that different?”
“I mean, no? But ya also don’t look just like me anymore. Nice ears, by the way.”
Osamu gasps and brings his hands up to his ears, feeling the tops of them where they taper into soft points. Not nearly as long or dramatic as Suna and Sakusa’s ears, but still very much not human. “What else is different?”
“Well… yer eyes are, like, literally silver now. Yer face just kinda seems… sharper now? Like any lingering baby fat just got sucked out and replaced with cheekbones.” Atsumu scowls and pokes at his own soft cheeks. “And I’m pretty sure I saw fangs when you talked.”
“Hah?” Osamu runs his tongue over his teeth and feels how his canines have grown into sharp points. He opens his mouth to poke at one with his finger. “Holy shit.”
“Yeah, no kiddin’. Also,” Atsumu’s gaze lifts to linger on Osamu’s hair. “Maybe we knew something when we dyed yer hair in high school. It’s silver again.”
Osamu reaches up to pull a lock of his bangs from his forehead to see the color in the light. “Woulda saved me a lotta money to have this back then.”
“Osamu,” Suna says behind him, making Osamu jump at the unexpected interruption. “Now that the glamor is gone, I should be able to examine the curse more closely.”
“Right,” Osamu mumbles, sighing as he’s reminded that the peach pit was only the latest problem that’s tried to kill him. “Help me up, Tsumu.”
Atsumu rolls his eyes and stands up before reaching down and pulling Osamu up as well. He guides Osamu back to the couch and keeps him steady as he sits properly on the cushion, then plops next to him. He grabs a couple of pastries and holds one out for Osamu who scowls and shakes his head. Atsumu scowls back and shrugs before shoving one in his mouth.
Osamu rolls his eyes but is distracted when he sees Suna pouring a steaming cup of tea. He grabs a small pot of honey and uses the dipper to pull some from the pot before dropping it gently into the tea, stirring it until the dipper is honey-free. Once he sets the honey and dipper aside, he grabs the cup and holds it out to Osamu.
“Drink. It will make your throat feel better.”
Osamu’s stomach clenches, but he can’t deny that his throat is very, very sore. He begrudgingly takes the cup and brings it to his lips for a few careful sips. He sighs in relief as the tea soothes his throat and is pleasantly surprised when his stomach doesn’t immediately protest the beverage. “You were right. This is helping.”
Suna nods then pushes the tea tray aside and sits on the table so that he’s directly across from Osamu. “I guess you’ll be happy to know that you’re not one of the wild folk, what with your mostly human-like features. Simply put, we’re gentry.” He gestures from himself to Osamu to Sakusa, who has perched himself on the armrest of the opposite couch. “I’d say with your silver hair, eyes, and relatively small ears, you’ve got Nixie in your blood somewhere.”
“Huh. Does that make a difference with what yer about to do?”
“No,” Suna shrugs. “I just thought you’d like to know. I wouldn’t sing around humans anymore if I were you. Unless, of course, you want them to drown themselves in the nearest body of water.”
Osamu scowls. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Suna hums and leans toward Osamu. “You ready?”
“‘S it gonna hurt him like Sakusa’s treatment did?” Atsumu asks, mouth full once again.
“It shouldn’t,” Suna answers. Which isn’t a no but Osamu will take it.
He shifts the teacup into his left hand and rests it on his thigh then holds out his right hand to Suna. “Let’s get this over with then. I’m really fuckin’ tired.”
Suna stares into his face for a long moment before reaching out and clasping his hand between both of his. Once again his blood feels like it’s fizzling under the contact, but Osamy is distracted from the sensation when a faint, reddish glow emits from Suna’s palms and begins to travel up his arm. Despite its warm color, the power feels like a chilly wind caressing Osamu’s skin. He suppresses the urge to shiver and does his best to sit completely still for Suna. It doesn’t take as long as Sakusa’s power to cover his entire body, but when he’s completely covered in Suna’s glow, Osamu feels as if his blood is slowing down in his body and he couldn’t move voluntarily if he tried.
He panics. He lifts his gaze to lock on Suna’s and is startled to see his slitted pupils expanded to cover nearly his entire iris. Those eyes hold him captive as he stops struggling against his immobility, something about Suna’s gaze telling him he’s safe. As soon as that thought crosses his mind, the spell is broken and Suna releases his hand, the glow and wind chill dissipating in an instant.
“So, can ya fix it?” Atsumu asks, leaning into Osamu’s space.
Osamu automatically pushes his face away. “Let the guy think, ya scrub.”
Suna scowls and rubs his forehead. “Unfortunately, I do not know how to break this curse. I will have to do some research before I can really help.” He sighs. “I can, however, slow the curse down and contain it so that it won’t affect you physically until it reaches its conclusion. Judging by your rapid decline, I’d say you were supposed to be consumed by the curse within the week. I can slow it down and give you at least a month. Maybe six weeks, at most. However, if we cannot break the curse within that time, it will fulfill its purpose immediately and you will die… and possibly take Atsumu with you.”
“WHAT??” Both Osamu and Atsumu ask at the same time.
“I can’t say for sure,” Suna says, shrugging. “But it is possible that Tendou could have piggybacked an additional curse that includes Atsumu since his deal with your mother made it impossible for him to be harmed by him any other way.”
“Oh, hell, no,” Osamu growls. If he weren’t so pissed off he would’ve paid more attention to the fact that the growl was more animalistic than any he’d emitted before. “I’ve had time to come to terms with the idea of me dyin’ but I ain’t about to take Tsumu with me. I couldn’t do that to Ma.”
“Don’t even fuckin’ say that, Samu! I ain’t dyin’ and neither are you! I didn’t carry yer sorry ass all the way here just fer us to kick it. I’ll hunt down that Tendou asshole and beat the cure outta ‘im if I have to.”
Sakusa scoffs as he did the first time Atsumu made the bold statement. “As if you could touch him. He’s protected by his king.”
“That the Ushijima dude who didn’t want yer prickly ass?” Atsumu snipes back.
An unholy light burns behind Sakusa’s fathomless eyes as he glares at Atsumu. “Watch your tongue, rat, before I rip it out.”
“Atsumu, please,” Osamu sighs before Atsumu can retort. He grabs his hand and gives it a squeeze. “We got bigger problems right now.” Turning back to Suna, he says, “Name yer price, Suna-san. Whatever we can give ya, we will, if ya give me that extra time and help us break the curse.”
Suna tilts his head in consideration. “I want nothing from your brother.” Atsumu clicks his teeth but stays mercifully silent. “However, after the curse is broken, you will owe me one favor to be paid at the moment of my choosing.”
“Ya want me to agree to somethin’ without knowin’ what it is?”
“Seems a reasonable price for your life, does it not?”
At first glance, sure. But Suna could ask for anything. He could ask for Osamu’s life-long servitude or a game of checkers or Atsumu’s heart on a platter, and Osamu would have to give it. He’s… he’s folk whether he likes it or not, and his word is binding. He’s going to have to trust Suna not to completely fuck him over. Osamu doubts Suna would go through the trouble of getting the curse removed just to kill him, so he’s pretty sure his own life is safe.
“As long as the favor you ask for causes no harm to Atsumu or the woman who raised me, I’ll agree to your terms,” Osamu says carefully.
The corner of Suna’s lip twitches. “Very well.” He holds out his hand, and after a moment's hesitation, Osamu shakes it. “Good. Now, unbutton your shirt. The seat of the curse is in your chest. It probably sat nestled quite nicely beside that peach pit.”
Osamu scowls down at his chest. He supposes that’s why his heart still feels like it’s pumping sludge instead of blood. He raises shaky hands to the top button of his shirt, but his arms immediately feel fatigued from being held up, and his fingers are too clumsy to slip the button through the hole. “Fuck,” he mumbles.
Gentle hands grab his own and guide them to his lap. “Don’ worry ‘bout it, Samu. I gotcha.”
Atsumu’s deft fingers easily undo each button. When he’s finished, he pats Osamu’s hands again and sits back, gesturing at Suna to begin.
“Thanks, Tsumu,” Osamu doesn’t look up from his hands as he says it.
“‘S what big brothers are for, Samu.”
Osamu huffs out a laugh and finally lifts his eyes. “Patch me up good, Suna-san. I ain’t sure I can handle the indignity much longer.”
Once again, Suna’s lips twitch, but his face stays otherwise blank. He rests his hand on Osamu’s chest. “This will not be comfortable,” he warns.
Osamu closes his eyes. “Jus’ do it.”
Osamu’s teeth clamp shut and a strained groan punches out of his throat. “Not be comfortable,” that asshole said. He feels like his lungs are being scrambled and his ribs are being separated from his sternum to rattle around like loose change. Distantly, he can hear Atsumu’s voice and he thinks he might be holding Osamu’s hand but it’s hard to tell with the black hole in his chest stealing his attention.
A scent fills Osamu’s senses that stings like ice in his lungs, dark pine and holly berries overwhelming as red tinges the edges of his vision, even with his eyes closed. Slowly, so slowly, warmth returns to him, the harsh winter scent replaced by woodsmoke and apple cider. The skin on his chest burns slightly, but it’s a relief compared to the vortex from before. Osamu endures it all until, finally, his entire body feels weightless, like every burden he’d been carrying for the last several days was washed away.
For the first time in recent memory, Osamu takes a deep, painless breath. He opens his eyes to see Atsumu peering at him from above. “Ya okay there, Samu?”
A helpless laugh escapes Osamu’s lungs. “First time I’ve felt good all week.”
Atsumu’s eyes go glassy. “Glad to hear it.”
Osamu squeezes his hand, then moves his gaze down to his chest where Suna’s slim hands still lay. In between them in the very center of Osamu’s chest lies an image of an oak tree similar to the one he and Atsumu followed the white stag passed to find Suna's estate. Its trunk is twisted and gnarled with age and its leaves are the yellows, oranges, and reds of autumn.
“Well that sure is… something,” Osamu says, bringing a hand up to poke at the tree. His eyes widen as a tiny leaf falls from the tree and lands at the base of the trunk. “Uh.”
“Tattoos ain’t supposed to move,” Atsumu says, peering over Osamu’s shoulder.
“It’s not a tattoo. It’s a physical manifestation of the spell I used to contain the curse.” Suna takes a deep breath and gingerly removes his hands from Osamu’s chest. “Consider it an hourglass of sorts. Once the final leaf falls from its branches, your curse will be released and it will instantly fulfill its purpose. Our goal is to break the curse before then, obviously.”
Osamu knows what Suna is saying is important, but he can barely comprehend the words when the skin on his chest where Suna’s hands had been aches as if they took a chunk out of him when they were removed. He rubs at his chest with the heels of his hands, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. He blinks heavily up at Suna who has removed himself from the couch to stand beside Sakusa. Suna’s face is blank, but his eyes are trained on Osamu’s hands and his own hands are clenched at his sides.
Before Osamu can think too hard about it, a wave of exhaustion rolls over him and he lets out a jaw-cracking yawn. Atsumu pats his arm. “Ya’ve been through a lot today, Samu.” He turns to their host. “Ya got a spare room for us to crash in in this mansion of yers, Suna-san?”
Suna finally tears his gaze away from Osamu’s chest. “Of course. I’ll have Riseki show you to your rooms when they are fully prepared and arrange for proper meals to be delivered to them. For now, you may rest here.” He turns to Sakusa. “Your assistance is no longer needed, Sakusa. We can discuss compensation in my study.”
Sakusa turns away from him and heads for the door, waving his hand. “Consider it a boon for your hospitality, Suna. Just do not ask such a thing from me again.”
And with that, he leaves the room.
Suna turns back to them. “I must return to my duties. I would recommend you stay in this room until Riseki comes to retrieve you. Tomorrow, we will discuss further our current options regarding Osamu’s curse. Good night.”
With a polite nod, he turns and exits the room, leaving Osamu and Atsumu alone.
Osamu is thinking about napping until this Riseki guy shows up, but Atsumu starts shoving at his shoulders. “What the hell, Tsumu,” he mumbles as Atsumu manhandles him into an upright position.
“Just com’ere,” Atsumu pulls him in close to give him a proper hug. “Fuckin’ hell, Samu, I really was startin’ to think I’d hafta go back to Ma without ya. Now it feels like we have a real chance at fixin’ ya so we can both make it home, y’know?”
He feels Atsumu’s hot tears against his neck and wraps his own arms around his brother. “I do know, Tsumu. We’re gonna figure this out together and then we’re gonna go home and eat some of Ma’s peach cobbler.”
Atsumu laughs against his neck but it comes out sounding like a sob. “Only you would be thinkin’ about food at a time like this.” He pulls back and wipes at his face. “I’m not sure I wanna eat another peach in my life after watchin’ you hack a pit up on the rug, though.”
“Eh,” Osamu shrugs. “I ain’t eaten a proper meal in a week. I’m this close to gnawin’ on the couch leather, so cobbler sounds great.”
“Please do not try to eat any of the furniture,” a new voice says from the doorway.
They both look over and find a tall male with broad shoulders, black hair, and tapered faerie ears. But what really makes him stand out is his juniper green skin. Osamu knows he and Atsumu are probably being rude for staring, but come on, they’ve never met a green person before.
The green guy clears his throat and shuffles his feet. “Lord Suna requested that I show you to the rooms you’ll be staying in for the duration of your stay. Kindly follow me,” he says, taking a step back out of the room.
They scramble to their feet, Osamu hastily refastening a few of the buttons on his shirt as Atsumu grabs their bags. They’re halfway down the hallway when Osamu finally realizes he’s walking under his own steam. He’s tired and hungry and sore, but he no longer feels weak and fragile. “Damn, it feels good to walk on my own again.”
“S’nice to not hafta lug yer dead weight around anymore.” Atsumu nods.
Osamu rolls his eyes at him and turns his attention to their guide. “So, I take it yer Riseki?”
“I am,” he answers, glancing back at them.
“What do ya do around here, Riseki?” Atsumu asks.
“I am the assistant to the steward of Lord Suna’s manor. Aeovin is busy enough with her own duties, so I take the brunt of the extra tasks.”
“Sounds like a pain in the ass,” Atsumu mutters.
“On the contrary, it is an honor to be chosen as a part of Lord Suna’s household.” Riseki folds his hands behind his back and holds his head high. “Many here are indentured servants who must work for Lord Suna until their bargained time is finished. Those are the servants who end up with the less appealing jobs.”
Osamu wonders if that’s the favor Suna will ask him for if he lifts his curse. One hundred years of cleaning his toilets? Sweeping his chimneys? Weeding his massive garden?
Osamu really doesn’t want to think about it. Instead, he says, “Ya keep callin’ him Lord Suna. Is he really a lord then?”
Riseki pauses to stare bug-eyed at him as if he’s asked a question with the most obvious answer.
“What?” he asks defensively. “I was raised in the human world. They don’t exactly teach faerie hierarchy 101 in human high school.”
Riseki’s brows twitch, but he eventually sighs and resumes walking, leading them to a grand staircase. “Lord Suna is one of four lords who hold the four territories of the Autumn Court for King Kita. Lord Suna holds the Northeast, Lord Omimi holds the Southeast, Lord Akagi holds the Southwest, and Lord Ginjima holds the Northwest. The Northwest used to belong to General Ojiro, but since King Kita took him as his consort, his place is beside the king.”
Well, that is a lot of information that Osamu will probably never need to know. Or, hell, maybe if he does become indentured to Suna, he will need to know these things. Should he start calling him Lord Suna now?
Atsumu interrupts Osamu’s spiraling thoughts. “What about Sakusa then? The little dude that brought us tea called him Lord too.”
“Lord Sakusa is visiting from the Winter Court. He and Lord Suna are old friends, I’m told.” He stops talking as he enters a new room. “This room and the one connected to it through that door have been prepared for you. Vernihd, the kobold who brought you the tea in the parlor, will bring you your dinner soon. Each room has a bath prepared with minerals and oils to soothe your bodies after such a long journey. You may use any of the clothes you find in the wardrobes after you finish bathing.” Riseki gives them each a short bow and turns toward the door. “You have only to ask any servant you find for me by name if my services are needed as Lord Suna has placed you both in my care. For now, I shall bid you good night and return to my regular duties.”
He hightails it out the door before Osamu can thank him which is just as well. “Somethin’ tells me that we ain’t his favorite duty as assigned.”
Atsumu snorts. “Well, I can’t say I’d wanna take care of a couple of strangers who wandered into our house neither.”
Osamu agrees but doesn’t bother saying anything about it. Instead, he wanders about the room, marveling at the casual opulence of the space. “Ya want this room or the other one?”
“Was kinda hopin’ we’d have to share,” Atsumu grumbles. “I guess I’ll take the other one, but I’m leaving the door between open. Scream if ya kidnapped, kay?”
Osamu can’t help but smile at the old sendoff. “You, too. And use that bath of yers. Ya stink.”
Atsumu turns in the doorway to pull his eyelid down and stick out his tongue. “Speak fer yerself jackass.”
Osamu scoffs for show but knows Atsumu is right. They both haven’t bathed in far too long. It’s not any wonder that Sakusa called them vermin at the sight of them. Sighing, he walks behind the screen separating the bathing area from the rest of the room, and strips out of his dirty traveling clothes. He leaves them on the floor for later Osamu to worry about and dips his hand in the bath, pleased by the warm temperature, then climbs into the clawfoot tub carefully to avoid splashing water onto the floor.
Beside the tub is a shelf with many stoppered bottles and jars. Most have labels but with ingredients instead of indications on whether it's shampoo or soap or whatever. Sighing again, he starts with the closest one and dips his finger into the bottle. It feels too oily to be a good shampoo. He returns it to the shelf and grabs the next jar, only to find some kind of powder inside. And so he goes until he finally finds something that seems like the right consistency for washing his hair. Which he does. Twice.
After grabbing a sponge and using a bar of handmade soap to scrub his body down, Osamu sinks into the tub to enjoy the rest of the water's warmth until a knock sounds at his door.
“Your dinner, sir,” says a soft voice from behind the door.
Osamu’s stomach growls and he quickly stands, grabbing a towel from the rack above the soap shelf and stepping out of the tub. He wraps the towel around his waist as he hotfoots it to the door. “Come on in, Vernihd-kun. Yer my favorite person right now.”
The kobold blinks impassively up at him but enters the room carrying a large tray with two dome-covered plates, two cups, a pitcher of water, and a jar of salt.
“Ya can just set it on that table,” Osamu points to the small table between two chairs beside a bookcase. “Don’t worry ‘bout Tsumu. I’ll call him in here when he’s done with his bath.”
“Very good, sir,” Verhihd says, bowing quickly before retreating back out of the room.
Osamu shrugs and considers starting without Atsumu, but decides he’ll be a good brother for once and goes to retrieve him so they can eat together. “Yo, scrub. Hurry up, I’m starving. If ya ain’t in my room in two minutes, I’m startin’ without ya.”
When he doesn’t get a response, Osamu steps through the conjoining door and into Atsumu’s room which is just as extravagantly decorated as his own, though the color scheme is different. He pokes his head behind Atsumu’s screen and asks, “Tsumu, ya wanna eat or what?”
He doesn’t get an answer, though, because Atsumu is fast asleep in the tub, head pillowed against his own shoulder and a sponge barely caught in his loosened grip.
“Oh, Atsumu,” Osamu sighs. He must be exhausted from the days spent supporting him and the stress from the journey and the curse and everything else going on around them. Osamu’s grateful that Atsumu seems to have managed to wash his hair before passing out. Ruffles the wet strands to wake him. “Tsumu, wake up. Ya, gotta eat, then we can go to bed.”
Atsumu’s eyes flutter and he groans. “Fuckin’ tired. Lea’me alone.”
“No can do, asshole. Get outta the tub before ya turn into a raisin.” Osamu gently tugs on Atsumu’s hair. “C’mon. Up, up!”
Atsumu grumbles out a long string of swears that Osamu doesn’t bother to listen to as he reaches for Atsumu’s towel. Osamu helps keep him steady as he steps out of the tub, then gives his head a good rubdown with the towel to wake him up a little more. “There ya go. Dry off an’ get dressed, then meet me in my room fer supper.”
Atsumu grumbles some more but it sounds compliant, so Osamu leaves him to go get dressed in his own room. By the time he’s found a soft pair of pants and some kind of long-sleeved tunic that doesn’t feel like it’ll rip at the seams across his chest, Atsumu shuffles into his room similarly dressed.
“Shirts ain’t big enough,” Atsumu complains as he plops into one of the chairs by the bookcase.
“Noticed that too, huh?” Osamu joins him in the other chair and grabs the plate closest to him. When he lifts the lid, the delicious scent of the food wafts up toward him. “Oh, this was definitely worth getting outta the tub for, Tsumu. Don’t forget to sprinkle salt on yers, just in case.” He nudges the jar toward his brother.
On each of their trays sits three small birds, roasted and stuffed with some kind of spicy dressing that Osamu had never seen or smelled before but it’s delicious when he finally takes a bite. Once they start eating, they don’t stop until all that’s left on their plates are a pile of tiny bones and leftover gravy.
“Damn, that was good. Gonna have to talk to the cook about what those spices were in the stuffing.”
“Prolly some magic faerie shit ya can't get back home,” Atsumu says, standing from his chair and stretching. “Do ya care if I crash in here?”
Osamu would never admit it, but his heart warms at the idea. They’ve been through a lot and so much about Osamu has changed in the last few hours alone, but the fact that Atsumu still loves him and trusts him enough to sleep beside him still makes Osamu feel unreasonably happy.
“Why would I care about that, ya scrub? Let’s go to bed already.”
They crawl into the bed that’s more than big enough for the both of them. Osamu falls asleep to the sound of his brother’s easy breathing and thoughts of what the next day would bring.
☽◯☾
The next day brings Vernihd too damn early, but he brings breakfast with him so Osamu can forgive him. Once he and Atsumu are finished with their meals, they poke around in their wardrobes some more to see if they can find some day clothes that fit. The best Osamu can do is a pair of black trousers and a white linen shirt with laces at the neck and wrists that makes him feel like a pirate. Atsumu managed to find a tunic that buttoned over his chest, though the rest was left to hang loosely around his waist.
They leave their rooms to see if they can find their host and work out a game plan for the next few days while they try to figure out how to break Osamu’s curse. Osamu spots a skinny, toad-skinned creature with needle-like teeth and only four digits on each hand carrying a pile of blankets to a room across the hall. “Excuse me,” he says to them, “Riseki told us to ask one of y’all if we needed him fer somethin’.”
The creature nods. “If you return to your rooms, I’ll make sure he comes to you soon.”
That isn’t what Osamu wanted to hear, but it’s not his place to question it at the moment. “Sure, we’ll wait.”
Osamu tugs on Atsumu’s sleeve and leads him back to his room. Once they’re through the door, Atsumu stops him with wide eyes. “Samu,” he pokes his head back out the door and looks up and down the hallway. “Who the hell were you talkin’ to?”
Osamu blinks at him. “Yer tellin’ me ya didn’t see the, uh, faerie creature carrying the blankets?”
Atsumu slowly shakes his head. “Are you crazy or am I?”
“Neither, I think,” Osamu frowns. “It’s prolly glamor, right? I can see things now ‘cause I’m like a full faerie now or whatever.”
“Right.” Atsumu scowls. “I don’t like not bein’ able to see things.”
“Maybe there’s somethin’ I can do to help with that. We’ll have to ask Suna. I don’t think I’ll be a very good faerie for a while, though.”
“Well, I think that’s prolly a good thing.”
Before Osamu can respond, Riseki appears at the door. “You sent for me?”
“Yeah. Glad ya got here so quick.” Osamu nods. “We were hopin’ you could take us to Suna-san so we can talk to him about everything. We wouldn’t have bothered ya, but we didn’t know where to go.”
“Right, of course. Lord Suna will be attending his usual duties this morning, but he told me to take you to the library. He will meet you there when he is able, and in the meantime, you are welcome to begin research. He has left out a stack of books to start with.”
“Well it’s better than sittin’ around and doin’ nothin’,” Atsumu shrugs when Osamu looks at him.
Osamu nods and gestures toward the door. “Lead on, then, Riseki-kun.”
They follow Riseki out of the room and Osamu notices many servants scuttling around the manor as they travel down the staircase and turn to a different hallway from the night before. Every time he sees someone, he peeks at Atsumu to see if he notices them, but Atsumu doesn’t seem to see anyone but Riseki in front of them.
Atsumu notices the attention and sends Osamu a questioning look. Osamu points at a creature with an owl body and a vaguely human-like face perched in the rafters. When Atsumu follows his finger, he must see nothing because he shakes his head. He turns toward their guide and asks, “Hey, Riseki. How come I can see you but not any of the other servants?”
Riseki glances back at them and then peers around the hall as if just now noticing the servants bustling around doing their chores. “Ah, it’s the nature of the wild folk to glamor themselves from human eyes. I suppose we should have you taking precautions against glamor and enchantments as much as possible. The chances of you being without your brother, myself, or Lord Suna present are slim, but an unprotected human in Faerie is a temptation many would not be able to resist, even in the Seelie courts.” He pauses outside a large set of double doors. “I will string you a strand of rowan berries to wear around your neck myself.”
“Oh,” Atsumu blinks. “Th- ah, I appreciate that a lot.”
Riseki shrugs. “It wouldn’t do to have Lord Suna’s guest needlessly harmed or toyed with.” He reaches out and opens the double doors to reveal a large room, the walls lined floor-to-ceiling with bookshelves filled with books. “I also recommend you turn your socks inside out at the earliest opportunity so you don’t get led astray should you leave the manor.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Atsumu murmurs, looking around the room in awe. “Holy shit that’s a lotta books.”
Osamu hums in agreement. He spots a table near a large window with books piled on it. “That the stack Suna wanted us to look at?”
“Yes,” Riseki answers. “You are, of course, welcome to read anything else in the library, but Lord Suna is hoping those hold the answer to resolving your curse. You may take the books out to the garden if you feel you’ll be more comfortable out there.” He waves toward a smaller set of double doors with glass panes showing the sprawl of colorful flowers and manicured shrubs past a lovely stone terrace. “I’ll also have tea sent over if you’d like.”
“That would be great, Riseki-kun,” Osamu says, sitting at the table and grabbing a book off of the stack closest to him. “We’ll be here whenever Suna is ready.”
“Very good,” Riseki bows quickly and leaves them to their studies.
“Didn’t think we’d have to do homework,” Atsumu grumbles and grabs a book for himself.
“I guess it makes sense if we don’t know how to break the curse.”
“Yeah, but still.” He opens the book and immediately lifts his arms with an exasperated groan. “What the hell? What am I supposed to do with this, Samu?” He lifts the book and shows it to Osamu, who doesn’t see anything wrong with the book.
“What do you mean?”
“What do you mean, ‘what do you mean’? How can I read the book if I don’t even know what language it’s in!?”
Osamu grabs the book. “What the hell are you talking about, Tsumu, it’s in Jap-” He stares closer at the pages and blinks. His brows furrow and he peers down at his own book, but the same thing happens. He doesn’t recognize the alphabet the books are written in, but he can read it if it’s his own native Japanese. “Huh. Okay, so. I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe check all the books and see if you can find one you can actually read? I don’t even know how I can read this, to be honest. Some kind of faerie language hack?”
“This faerie woo-woo shit is really startin’ to piss me off,” Atsumu gripes, plucking another book from the pile. He makes an annoyed face and chucks it aside.
Osamu does his best to ignore him as he flips through the book he grabbed. It’s about changelings and as much as he wants to know more about himself in that regard, there doesn’t seem to be much about curses left on changelings. He sighs and sets the book aside to grab another one. This one seems to be a how-to manual for breaking curses. It’s actually a little fascinating to see the different ways a curse can be broken, from saying someone’s name three times to true love’s kiss to burning a lock of hair. The biggest problem he can see though is that to break the curse, one has to know the purpose of the curse, along with the variables that make it specific to the cursed object or individual.
Osamu can guess the purpose behind his curse is to hurt his mom, but he doesn’t know for sure, and he definitely doesn’t know how the curse was placed on him or when. Maybe the acorns…?
Before he can ask for his brother’s opinion on the matter, the doors to the library open, and Sakusa strides inside.
“To what do we owe the pleasure of your company, Sakusa?” Atsumu asks, his teeth clenched in annoyance.
Sakusa pauses by the table and scrutinizes him. “You don’t actually think my presence is a pleasure.”
“Gee, what gave it away?”
Sakusa doesn’t answer. Instead, he says, “I’ve always found the human’s ability to lie to be fascinating. You can just open your filthy, rotting mouths and say whatever you like. You could tell me the grass is blue, that you were born in the spring, that my hair is straight. Any untruth you could want, you could just say. It’s maddening.”
A wicked grin stretches Atsumu’s lips but Osamu interrupts whatever stupidity he is about spew. “Sakusa-san, are you here to help us study?”
“I’ve entertained the idea of flipping through a book or two, but that is not the reason I came here.” He pulls a stoppered vial out of his pocket. “I overheard Riseki informing Suna about your brother’s impairments. This is water from a spring in my home territory simply called the Spring of Truths, though it will not save him from being enchanted should an individual decide to skirt around Suna’s orders to leave you two alone. Riseki mentioned something about rowan berries for protection against that sort of thing.” He finally turns back to Atsumu. “I would highly suggest not taking it off after you receive it. Neither the True Sight nor the berries will save you, however, if you decide to try eating enchanted foods without salting them first.”
“Appreciate the heads up, I guess.” Atsumu sits back in his chair and crosses his arms, staring pensively at the vial of water.
“What can we do to repay you for such a kindness, Sakusa-san?” Osamu asks, not comfortable feeling indebted to Sakusa.
“I have a very strong feeling you’re going to have to travel to the Spring Court to confront Tendou directly. I know Suna is trying to avoid that outcome, but I don’t think he’s going to be able to figure out how to break your curse from here.” Sakusa taps his fingers on the edge of the table and Osamu notices that the tips of his fingers are black as if they’d been frostbitten. “When he announces the trip, I want you to insist that I come with you. He’s not going to want me to go, but I do, so when the time comes, say whatever you need to say.” He turns to Atsumu. “Tell whatever lie you have to tell to make sure I leave with you when you go.”
“Why do you wanna go so bad?” Osamu asks.
“That is none of your concern,” Sakusa snaps. “Do we have a deal or not?”
“With the True Sight, will I be able to read these damn faerie books?” Atsumu asks.
Sakusa blinks down at the books. “I cannot say for certain, but I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to.”
“Fuck it, I’ll take it. Ya’ve gotta deal.” Atsumu holds his hand out for the vial.
Sakusa turns to Osamu. “The deal is for you to make.”
Osamu looks at his brother and then at Sakusa. “Will your presence at the Spring Court interfere directly with our goals?”
“No. I want to go for personal reasons that have nothing to do with you and little to do with Tendou.”
“Then I accept,” Osamu says.
‘Very well,” Sakusa hands Osamu the vial, it feels like an icicle in Osamu’s hands. “You’ll have to do it for him, it will hurt too much for him to finish the job on his own.”
“It’s gonna hurt?” Atsumu asks.
“Most things in Faerie do,” Sakusa replies before grabbing a handful of books and taking them out to the garden.
Atsumu watches him leave then turns to Osamu. “Let’s get this over with then.”
Osamu nods and rises from his seat and moves to stand behind Atsumu’s chair. “Tilt yer head back.”
Atsumu complies and Osamu unstoppers the vial, fractals immediately forming around the rim of the vial and he thinks it feels impossibly colder in his hand. He supposes magical water doesn’t freeze no matter how cold it gets.
“D’ya think I have to keep my eyes open? Ya know I was always shit at usin’ eye drops.”
“He just said pour it over yer eyes. I can’t imagine anyone would be able to keep them open fer that.”
Atsumu sighs and closes his eyes. “Just do it, then.”
Osamu braces his free hand against Atsumu’s chin and presses the crown of his head to his stomach to keep his head from moving, then slowly pours the water over Atsumu’s right eye. Atsumu immediately jerks in his hold with a pained hiss but Osamu keeps going, moving to his left eye. Atsumu brings his hands up to rub at his eyes and Osamu doesn’t bother stopping him as he continues to pour, figuring that rubbing it in will only help the cause.
“Fuck, Sumu, it feels like yer dumping ice picks into my eyes,” Atsumu says, a tiny hiccup at the end of his sentence.
“‘S almost empty, Tsumu. Just a little more.”
He dumps the rest over Atsumu’s eyes, watching helplessly as the water turns to icy tear tracks on Atsumu’s temples. He tosses the empty vial aside and rubs at them with his thumbs, breaking them away and flinching when they hit the floor, splintering into pieces.
“Okay, okay. Try to open yer eyes now, Tsumu. I gotcha. He can’t lie, so what he said about the water has to be true. Just open yer eyes, yeah?”
“Hurts, Samu.”
“I know, I know, but you can do it.” Atsumu manages to crack his eyes open. “There ya go. Wouldya look at that? Now yer eyes match mine again, except they’re gold instead of silver.”
The statement is enough to startle Atsumu into opening his eyes wider to stare up at Osamu. “They ain’t just brown anymore?”
“Yer eyes were never ‘just brown’, Tsumu, but yeah, they’re all shiny now, like gold.” He presses his forehead to Atsumu’s. “You can see me though, right? Ya ain’t blind or nothin’?”
“I can see. Everything seems brighter than it was before.”
“Good. That’s good. Have a look at one of the books and tell me what you see.”
Atsumu blinks a couple of times and sits up straight. He rubs away his tears, but more roll down his eyes immediately. “Ugh, when will I stop crying?”
“Who knows? Maybe when yer eyes stop hurting. Maybe never. Maybe that’s the price for using the water like that.”
“Don’t say that,” Atsumu groans. “The price was helping Sakusa get to the Spring Court.”
That was Sakusa’s price to give it to them, not the enchanted water’s price. But Osamu doesn’t say that. He just watches as Atsumu grabs one of the books and opens it to a random page.
He gasps. “Holy shit. How does this chicken scratch even makes sense?”
Osamu grins. “Who knows, but I ain’t gonna question it.” He moves back to his seat. “Let’s try to prove Sakusa wrong and find me a cure before we have to go anywhere.”
“Hell, yeah.”
☽◯☾
It only takes the rest of the morning for Osamu to realize that Sakusa is probably right. They’ve been leafing through all these books, but they can’t seem to find anything useful. By the time Suna makes his appearance, Osamu is ready to start breaking things. The sight of three servants trailing behind Suna with trays of tea and food is enough to placate the wild thing beneath his skin.
“I thought we should have lunch in the garden,” Suna says, pausing at the table. His servants continued toward the garden doors. “Is Sakusa still out there? I saw him through my window an hour or so ago.”
“Well, he hasn’t come back in through here, so I would assume he’s still out there,” Osamu answers.
“He’ll probably join us then,” Suna nods and then turns toward the garden doors.
“Goody,” Atsumu grumbles sarcastically even as he rises to follow Suna. Osamu silently agrees and follows as well.
Suna leads them to a round table in the middle of the garden. Sakusa is already seated at the farthest side and watches them approach, a large spread of food in front of him. Osamu’s mouth waters at the sight, ready to take a bite out of everything he can see. Suna takes a seat directly across from Sakusa, leaving Osamu and Atsumu to sit between them.
Once Suna starts eating everyone else digs in as well. Osamu happily takes a helping of everything he can reach, not quite knowing what everything is, but not really caring either. The meat is juicy, the vegetables are seasoned perfectly, and the wine compliments it all very well. He hums happily when he takes a bite out of a bread roll to find it still warm in the center.
Atsumu chuckles. “Good to know ya still love food over everything else, Samu.”
Osamu isn’t even embarrassed. He looks over at Suna and swallows his bite before saying, “My compliments to your cook. I’m impressed.”
“I’ll be sure to let her know,” Suna tells him, lips quirked. “She’ll be happy to know that she pleased my guests.”
Osamu just grins at him before returning to his meal and almost misses the way Suna stares at him, but when he looks back up, his gaze is still latched on Osamu’s face. Osamu pauses with a spoonful of seasoned rice halfway to his lips. “What?”
Suna blinks at him and turns away. “I’ve been thinking that between research sessions, you should be tutored on the ways of Faerie and on how to use your own magic. It wouldn’t do for you to ignorantly show disrespect should someone important come around, nor do I think you would enjoy mistakenly enchanting someone.”
“Well, I don’t plan on singin’ anytime soon, but yer prolly right. Riseki looked at me like I was nuts when he realized I knew nothing about yer role in the Autumn Court.” Osamu shrugs, knowing it’s not his fault. “I don’t mind learnin’, especially if I don’t gotta look at more of those boring-ass books fer a while.”
Suna huffs out a silent laugh. “Then I shall do my best to spare you from the dullness of research starting this evening after dinner.”
“I’ll help you,” Sakusa says, surprising everyone at the table. “Nixies come from my home territory, after all. Singing isn’t the only way they can lure hapless victims to their deaths.”
Osamu shivers at the thought. “Good to know. I appreciate all the help I can get.”
Sakusa sends him a look and Osamu understands that this favor goes hand in hand with the one for the spring water. He expects Osamu’s support if they have to travel.
“I’ll help, too,” Atsumu says. “I trust ya not to kill me while you practice usin’ yer glamor an’ shit.”
“Won’t ya just see through the glamor now?” Osamu asks, pointing at his own eyes.
“Yeah, but…” Atsumu peers over Osamu’s shoulder. “The, uh, little dudes pruning the roses behind ya have this weird little shimmer around them. I’m assuming that’s how I know if something is using glamor.”
“They are gnomes,” Sakusa mutters absently, keeping his eyes on Atsumu. “You seem to be sensitive to magic.”
“Prolly ‘cause I’ve been connected to a faerie since I was a baby.” Atsumu shrugs and continues to eat.
Osamu snorts. “Or maybe ‘cause you were technically conceived through Ma eatin’ a magic peach. No mortal man and all the biological processes involved.”
“As it should be. No man deserves her.”
Osamu nods in agreement and finishes off his glass of wine.
When everyone is finished eating, they all head back to the library. Suna frowns at the pile of books that Osamu and Atsumu have already gone through with no results. He peers around the stacks, then heads over to a rolling ladder and pushes it over to a new shelf. He climbs it about halfway and starts pulling an armload of books off before climbing back down.
“You can continue with that stack, I’ll start on these,” he says after settling down in an armchair beside a window.
“D’ya really think we’re gonna find an answer here?” Atsumu asks.
“My family gained its reputation for being curse breakers. It’s how we earned our position in the Court. This library is compiled with centuries worth of knowledge my family has collected. It will take us a while to get through it all, assuming we have to look through everything. Of course, we are hoping to find the answer before we exhaust all of our resources.”
“And if we can’t find the answer here?” Osamu asks, though he already knows the answer from Sakusa.
“Then we’ll have to, as your brother said, hunt Tendou down. Though, I think we should try diplomacy before violence,” Suna smirks at Atsumu.
“I still think beatin’ the answer outta him will go faster,” Atsumu growls.
“Perhaps,” Suna says. “But the repercussions for harming a king’s consort without just cause are not a price I’m willing to pay.”
“Truly a shame,” Sakusa mutters from his perch in a window nook on the other side of the room.
Atsumu sends him a crooked grin. “Keep that up, Sakusa, and I might just grow to like ya.”
Sakusa merely sends him a look with one sharp brow raised, making Atsumu grin wider.
Osamu rolls his eyes and grabs a stack of books and joins Suna in another armchair at the window, enjoying the afternoon sunlight streaming in. Suna blinks up at him and Osamu just smiles before burying his face in a book. He’s not sure why he wants to be so close to the faerie lord, but he always feels oddly content whenever they’re around each other. Perhaps it’s the tree on his chest, a connection to the one who put it there.
Or maybe it’s because the night before he’d dreamed of cat eyes and warm skin against his own.
☽◯☾
Somehow the days drag by, and yet before Osamu knows it, two weeks have passed. Their days have become a sort of routine. In the mornings, while Suna takes care of his affairs, Osamu and Atsumu have taken to wandering around the estate since they’d been given permission to do so. The first thing Osamu did was find the kitchens and Suna’s cook, Banoe. He often ends up in the kitchens, bothering the Bwka for her recipes and secrets. He can tell she’s secretly pleased by the attention, but he also knows how annoying it can be when someone wears out their welcome in one's kitchen, so he always leaves when she tells him to go.
Atsumu spends his time trying to befriend as many of the household staff as he can, confident in his role as a guest in the Lord’s home and the string of rowan berries around his neck. Most of the folk don’t seem to mind the curious little human wandering around asking what they are and what they do, though some do snap at him as if the only thing stopping them from taking a bit is their oath to obey Suna.
And when they aren’t bothering the staff, they’re rooting Sakusa out of whatever nook or cranny he’s managed to hide himself in so they can get a headstart on Osamu’s training before Suna finds them for lunch. Atsumu seems to have some kind of sixth sense where Sakusa is concerned, so it usually doesn’t take too long to find him.
They’re in the garden with Sakusa walking Osamu through the basics of identifying poisons that affect faeries just as well as humans when Suna joins them with his usual lunch procession. Osamu feels his presence before he even walks through the doors.
Lunch has always been one of Osamu’s favorite times of the day, but these days it’s not just because of the food. He looks over as Suna approaches, admiring the way the sun highlights the soft strands of his hair and turns his eyes into pools of amber. He’s stunning, and Osamu is starting to hope that whatever favor Suna asks of him, it will be one where he gets to continue to see him every day.
Their afternoons are filled with dry pages and ancient texts from Sunas of the past. Osamu looks forward to and dreads the time they spend in the library. While the reading is terribly boring, the time he gets to spend basking quietly in Suna’s presence is worth it.
Suna has taken to telling Osamu stories that have passed on from his forefathers when he comes across a relevant passage in whatever book he’s reading. He’s discovered that Suna’s genuine smile is small and brittle, but it makes his eyes sparkle in a way that turns Osamu’s heart in his chest. Osamu knows how his lip curls in disdain when he comes across something distasteful. He knows how his eyes flash in surprise when Osamu says something clever to one of his family’s anecdotes. He knows how Suna absently taps on his teeth when he’s reading and how his head tilts to the side when he discovers something he’s never come across before.
Osamu feels silly for noting all of these little things about someone so completely out of his league, but something about Suna has been digging itself under his skin since he first laid eyes on him. Every night since he’s been in Faerie, Osamu has dreamed of him, his eyes, his hands, his voice. The feeling of his own blood fizzling in his veins at the barest hint of skin-to-skin contact. Osamu doesn’t know what it all means, but he knows he wants to live long enough to find out.
So he flips through the books for hours. He allows Sakusa to teach him what he knows about the Nixies from the Winter Court and is warming up to the idea of trying out his voice on a tiny scale. He listens diligently as Suna walks him through the different kinds of glamor and how it’s often used against humans and how the innate magic of the folk protects them, but it’s a double-edged sword. He holds his breath when Suna touches his chest to see how his spell is holding up against the curse.
When Suna takes his hands away, Osamu looks down at his chest. “Almost half of the leaves are gone.”
“It’s holding up quite well, all things considered,” Suna nods. “Probably three weeks left.”
Osamu sighs. “I haven’t decided if it’s better or worse to know when my expiration date is.”
Suna’s brow furrows. “You are Folk. You shouldn’t have an expiration date at all.”
“Well, it ain’t like faeries never die, right? Y’all just don’t age like humans do.” Sakusa had explained to him that many folk choose to ‘return to the earth’ when they’ve been around long enough. “That reminds me, I’ve been meanin’ to ask how old you are. If ya don’t mind tellin’ me.”
Suna raises an amused brow. “I could be so old that I don’t remember.”
Osamu blinks. “Are you?”
His eyes light up with amusement. “No. I’m a toddler by faerie standards. Not even half a century. Neither is Sakusa if you were wondering.”
“Huh. Riseki?”
Suna huffs. “Same age as you.”
“No shit?” Osamu laughs. “He’s so stodgy, though.”
“He’s just very serious about his job, which is good for me.”
“Well, I guess I’m glad for it, too,” Osamu says, tugging on the collar of his shirt. “We told him our shirts were too small and the next day they all fit perfectly fine. That’s the kind of service our Ma would’ve killed for when me and Tsumu were groin’ up like weeds.”
A peculiar look falls on Suna’s face, but before Osamu can ask about it, he turns away. “Would you like to try glamoring your brother today?”
Atsumu’s head perks up at the question. “Only chance I’m gonna give ya to order me around, Samu. Ya better take it.”
Osamu narrows his eyes. “Take the berries off then.”
Atsumu shrugs and pulls the strand of rowan berries over his head, setting them down on an end table, then moves to stand in front of Osamu.
“Most humans won’t be standing around waiting for you to glamor them, but this is good practice if nothing else.” Suna shrugs.
Osamu nods and takes a deep breath, feeling the magic in his blood, bringing it to his voice as Suna and Sakusa coached him to do. “Miya Atsumu. Bring me a red rose from the garden.”
Immediately, Atsumu turns toward the door leading outside. He disappears into the shadowy dusk in search of a red rose.
“Holy shit. D’ya know what I would’ve done fer this kinda power over his bratty ass in high school?” Osamu can’t help the slightly hysterical laugh that escapes him.
Not even a minute later, Atsumu returns with a long-stemmed, red rose. His eyes are glazed over as if he’s in a trance and his hand is bleeding where he’s gripping the thorns.
“Shit, Tsumu!” Osamu panics. “How do I stop??”
Suna grips the back of his neck. “Accept the rose, so he can finish his task.”
The warm hand grounds him as he reaches out with a shaky hand and gently pries the rose from his brother’s hand.
“Just let the power go. Cut the puppet strings. His will is currently your own, so take yours back so he can have his.”
Osamu clenches his fists, heedless of his own palm being punctured by the same bloody thorns. He stares into Atsumu’s vacant eyes and pulls the magic back toward his own core. “Come back, Tsumu. You ain’t any good to me as a mindless robot.”
Atsumu blinks and gasps, stumbling back into Sakusa, who catches him by the arms.
Osamu sighs and slumps against Suna. “How do y’all just do that to hapless humans? How do ya justify taking away their will?”
“I suppose it’s easier when one doesn’t love the humans they’re glamoring. Most folk also were not raised amongst humans and are therefore not so empathetic to them.” Suna answers. “One main difference between Seelie and Unseelie, however, is each individual's willingness to use humans as slaves or malicious entertainment.”
“Well, then I guess I should be grateful that we stumbled across you and not them, huh?” Osamu tears his eyes away from his brother to look up at Suna.
“Indeed. I am grateful you ended up here as well.” Suna reaches up and drags his thumb across Osamu’s cheek, wiping away a tear that he hadn’t even been aware he’d shed.
Osamu can’t bring himself to sink into the moment like he really wants to, not with the sight of Atsumu’s mindless gaze seared into his mind. He turns his head to look at his brother who’s cradling his injured palm in his other hand. He stumbles away from Suna and lurches toward Atsumu. “Tsumu, I’m sorry. I’m-”
Atsumu flinches and it breaks Osamu’s heart. But then he lifts his head and looks Osamu directly in the eyes, his golden gaze burning. “I agreed to do it, Samu. Stop feelin’ bad about it, okay?”
“But-”
“No. I might not have had control of myself, but I could still see what was going on around me. Like, I wanted nothing more than to get you that damn rose, but I still saw the horror on yer face when I handed it to ya. You ain’t got nothin’ to apologize for, okay? I know ya ain’t gonna do that again any time soon.”
“Goddamn right I ain’t,” Osamu mumbles, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Here,” Sakusa says, holding his handkerchief out to Atsumu.
Atsumu nods his thanks and grabs the handkerchief, his fingers brushing against Sakusa’s. He wraps it around his injured palm and ties it off with his teeth before saying, “Damn, Sakusa, yer hand is freezing.”
“Yes, well-” Sakusa’s retort is cut off when Atsumu grips his hand in his uninjured one.
“For real, though. I thought the black fingers were, like, an aesthetic thing, But are they actually frostbitten? Aren’t ya from the Winter Court? Shouldn’t ya be immune to cold or somethin’?” As Atsumu rambles out his rapid-fire questions, he folds both of Sakusa’s hands between his own, massaging his fingers.
“Oh,” Suna breathes, watching them with wide eyes.
Osamu looks between them all. “What?”
“He shouldn’t be able to do that,”
“Huh?”
Suna shakes his head. “It’s not my place to say.”
Osamu squints at him but turns back to his brother and Sakusa, watching as Atsumu continues to fuss over Sakusa’s cold hands while the faerie just stares at him with a shocked expression on his face.
“Seriously, Sakusa, is it just the type of faerie you are or-”
“Kiyoomi,” Sakusa interrupts, leaning toward Atsumu.
“Hah?” Atsumu glances up at him and startles at his earnest look and close proximity.
“Call me Kiyoomi.”
“I- okay, Kiyoomi.”
The corners of Sakusa’s lips quirk up at the sound of his name from Atsumu’s lips. “I’m very glad I met you, Miya Atsumu.”
“Ah, perhaps we should call it a night,” Suna suggests, scratching the back of his neck. “A lot of excitement has happened tonight, so I think we’ll be better off picking up tomorrow.”
Sakusa tears his gaze away from Atsumu just long enough to meet Suna’s eyes and nod in agreement.
“Right,” Suna’s mouth quirks. “We’ll leave you to, uh, talk and whatnot.” He looks at Osamu and nods at the door.
Osamu nods back but before he follows Suna out, he grabs Atsumu’s rowan strand and slips his back over his brother’s head. “So ya ain’t wanderin’ around alone later without it.”
Atsumu’s shell-shocked expression flickers and he sends Osamu a faint grin. “Thanks, Samu. I’ll see ya later.”
“Yeah. Goodnight, Sakusa-san.”
“Goodnight, Osamu,” Sakusa answers, his eyes never leaving Atsumu’s face.
Osamu follows Suna out the door and as they’re walking down the hall he can’t help but ask, “Ya really can’t tell me what’s goin’ on in there.”
Suna sighs. “I’d prefer not to go into details, but I can tell you this. Sakusa is Sluagh.”
“Bless you,” Osamu says automatically.
Suna snorts. “It’s not that complicated. Anyway, his mother, much like yours, was desperate for a child, but faeries aren’t known for being fertile. So, his mother made a child out of ice and snow, onyx and black seagrass. She stole a child’s heart and placed it in the chest of her snow child and used her magic to invite a soul to inhabit the body and turn it into a real child. The biggest problem with this process, besides murdering someone else’s child, is that any wandering soul can take hold of that body. More often than not, the soul that inhabits a Sluagh’s body belonged to someone who was so evil, they weren’t given proper funeral rites.”
“Yer not about to tell me Sakusa is evil are you?”
“No,” Suna purses his lips. “He’s not evil, but he is cursed. When his mother found out he could never touch her, she brought him here to meet my father, who tried to break the curse. He never could. Nor I, for that matter.” He glances back down the hallway as if he can see his friend through the walls and doors between them. “And perhaps it’s not broken even now, but just the fact that Atsumu can touch his skin without his own skin freezing is a bit of a miracle.”
Osamu laughs incredulously. “Well, he always did say he was special. For what it’s worth, I’m happy for Sakusa, even if the idea of him and my brother makes me wanna die a little inside.”
Suna chuckles but the rest of the walk to Osamu’s room is comfortably silent. When they reach his door, Suna gives him a short bow. “Goodnight, Miya Osamu.”
“Goodnight, Suna…” He raises an eyebrow in expectation.
Suna’s lips twitch. “Rintarou.”
Osamu grins and steps into his room. He closes his door until just his head and shoulders are visible. “Goodnight, Sunarin.”
Suna looks startled at the nickname, but Osamu only sends him one last cheeky grin before closing his door.
☽◯☾
When the day comes around that Suna finally decides that what they’re looking for isn’t in his library, the branches on Osamu’s tree are nearly empty. Suna assures him that his spell is holding up and that the effects of the curse cannot reach him until the last leaf falls, but Osamu wakes every morning with a heavy sitting on his chest and he can’t help but count his remaining minutes.
One week. Seven days. Roughly 168 hours, give or take how long it takes the last leaf to fall.
It will take them two days to reach the Spring Court. Suna has already sent a message to the Summer Court’s king letting him know that they’ll be traveling through his territory.
Osamu sits with him in his study where he’s found himself spending more and more of his time, content to watch Suna work, putting his affairs in order so that his steward can keep the place running while he’s gone.
“I was never meant to rule this place,” he murmurs, organizing a stack of missives. “My father has older children, but they all prefer solitary life in the wild. Only my youngest sister stays with me for any extended amount of time.”
“But she’s not here now?” Osamu asks.
“Her closest friend is from Akagi’s territory in the Southwest. Riseki told you about him, yes?”
“Briefly.”
“Hm. He’s older than me by quite a lot, but he’s still bursting with the energy of the young. Sometimes I feel wizened and ready to return to the earth, I want to leave this place and never come back. I understand why my wayward siblings hardly ever come around. This place… it’s almost not worth being here with my father gone.” Suna looks up at Osamu. “Or it used to be. Osamu, I must thank you. You and your brother have brought life back into this house and that is a debt I cannot ever truly repay.”
The words sound odd coming from Suna’s lips, the words awkward in a way that one can tell Suna knows they’re meaning but has never had to say before. He knows that Osamu will take the thanks for what it’s intended and not take advantage. Osamu appreciates the trust, but the earnest look on Suna’s face is what really causes his heart to race.
Leaning forward over Suna’s desk, he grips his hand in his own. “For what it’s worth, yer people love ya, Sunarin. And I know they appreciate everything ya do around here. I… I wanna be able to come back here after we visit the Spring Court. I wanna bother Owaefyn in the kitchens until she kicks me out. I wanna keep watchin’ Tsumu’s baffled face every time Sakusa initiates contact. I wanna get rid of this curse so I can live how I’m supposed to. Without an expiration date.”
Suna looks at him with something like wonder in his eyes but before either of them can say anything else, Aeovin, Suna’s steward, opens the door.
“My lord, if you have any intention in leaving this morning, then you should hurry up and get dressed for traveling.” She flits her damselfly wings pointedly.
Suna smiles softly, an expression reserved for the pixie he so admires. “Of course, Aeovin. I just hate the thought of leaving you alone so very much.”
She scoffs. “You and your pretty words. Go and finish what you started when you allowed those grubby boys into your grand hall.” She sends Osamu a sly wink.
“Yer a testament to all that is good in Faerie, Aeovin,” Osamu grins at her.
“Do not attempt to flatter me, Miya. You need to go as well.”
“Yeah, yeah. Ya love us. I can’t say it if it ain’t true.”
“You only need to believe that it’s true.” She sniffs, pointing her nose up in the air.
“I’ll miss ya, too,” Osamu says rising from his seat. “And yer right, we don’t have any time left to waste. I hope I get to see you again, but if I don’t, it truly was a pleasure, Aeovin-san. Please continue to take care of Sunarin.”
“The boy would be lost without me.”
“That’s certainly true,” Suna says, ushering Osamu out the door. “Come on, let’s leave her to her job before she tosses us out the window.”
Once the door closes behind them, Suna cups Osamu’s cheeks in his palms and rests his forehead against his. “I’m not giving you up without a fight, Miya Osamu, so don’t you go around saying your goodbyes. I’m bringing you back. You, your brother, hell, if your mother isn’t too attached to the human world, she’s welcome to stay here, too.”
Osamu feels his eyes start to water. “You mean that?”
“Of course, I do. There’s plenty of room here.”
Osamu pulls him into a hug. “Thank you, Sunarin. Fer everything.”
Suna stiffens at the contact, but almost immediately melts into it to hug him back. If there’s one thing Osamu has figured out about faeries, it’s that they crave interaction and touch nearly as much as humans do. Perhaps that is why revels are as wild as they are. They want that connection.
“SAMU! Where are ya!” Atsumu’s holler startles both of them into letting go.
“Leavin’ Suna’s study! Whaddya want?” Osamu hollers back.
“Want ya to hurry up and get ready so we can get outta here, ya scrub,” Atsumu replies, barreling down the hallway. “We’re burnin’ daylight here.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Osamu rolls his eyes, but the sight of Sakusa trailing behind his brother reminds him of a debt he owes. He turns to Suna. “Yer not plannin’ on makin’ Sakusa stay here, are ya?”
“Well,” Suna looks over at his friend. “I was planning on asking him to stay. Taking him to the Spring Court didn’t seem like the best of ideas a couple of weeks ago. But in light of recent events, I can’t really see any reason he shouldn’t accompany us.”
“Well, that’s good, ‘cause I insist he comes with us. If fer no other reason than to keep Tsumu occupied and outta his own head.” There, bargain fulfilled.
Atsumu squawks something about not needing a nanny, but Sakusa just nods and smiles at Osamu. “You can count on me.”
“Appreciate it.” Osamu laughs, then grabs Atsumu’s hand. “Let’s go, scrub. You ain’t dressed fer ridin’ either.”
They race to their rooms to get ready for their journey which will decide Osamu’s fate.
☽◯☾
The next morning they leave the Summer Court castle at the crack of dawn. King Oikawa had insisted they stay overnight instead of “camping in the woods like wild folk”. Osamu found himself liking the flamboyant king, something about him reminding him of his brother. Maybe if he makes it through the week, they can stay for a longer visit on the way back to Suna’s estate.
As their small group continues to travel east toward the Spring Court, Osamu thinks about the revel they’d walked into the night before. Travel weary and hungry, they’d gratefully accepted a place at Oikawa’s table. Hearing about revels and experiencing them are two different things. Watching folk ranging from painfully beautiful to horrifyingly hideous dance and drink and make merry was a whirlwind that Osamu got swept up into as soon as his belly was full. The memory of Suna’s genuine laughter is one he’ll take to his grave no matter how long it takes him to get there.
“Does King Kita host revels often,” he finds himself asking Suna.
“Of course,” Suna nods enthusiastically. “He’s not as ostentatious as King Oikawa, but he loves his people and his people love to party. He doesn’t often join in the revels themselves, though I’ve witnessed Aran drag him into a dance circle or two, he knows how to keep his people happy.”
“Aran?”
“General Ojiro Aran, Kita’s consort and the leader of his army. I’ve known him since I was a boy. He was great friends with my father.”
Osamu hums in acknowledgment, unwilling to delve into the matter of Suna’s father when there’s already so much going on. Maybe after everything is over, Suna will be willing to open up to him about it.
So many things he wants to do after. He’s hoping more and more that he’ll get a chance to see them through.
“I think I’d like to go to one of Kita’s revels one day,” he says, thinking of dancing with Suna again.
“Revels happen, at the very least, every full moon. I’ll do everything that I can to make sure you get the chance to go to many.” Suna doesn’t look back at him, but Osamu doesn’t need to see his face to know the stubborn set of his brows and the serious curve to his mouth.
Osamu kicks his horse into a trot until he’s even with Suna’s mare. “Keep makin’ declarations like that, Sunarin, and I might start thinkin’ ya like me.”
“One shouldn’t make assumptions so recklessly,” Suna says primly, not looking at Osamu, who just grins at the non-answer.
Sakusa joins them on Suna’s other side while Atsumu flanks Osamu. “We’ll be in Spring soon,” Sakusa says, squinting at the trees surrounding them.
Osamu looks around as well, noticing how the heaviness of the summer trees is starting to thin out as the leaves get smaller. More and more are showing flowers that would have already blown away if it truly were summer. It’s odd watching the seasons go backward. And in such a short amount of time, too.
The sticky heat of summer cools off into the fresh, fragrant air of spring and Osamu shivers at the difference. “How long until we reach the Spring Palace?”
“We’ll arrive in the late afternoon,” Suna answers as they follow the path that starts to veer southeast. “Ushijima’s stronghold sits in the southeasternmost corner of his territory.”
“Stronghold, huh?” Atsumu asks. “No fancy digs for the Spring King?”
Sakusa scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Opulence does not equal defenseless. Every kingdom’s capital will have defensive measures. Waka- Ushijima just prefers to have his more visible than the others. He doesn’t mind if it makes him seem unapproachable. In fact, I think that’s the general idea.”
“Ushijima is not nearly as sociable as the other Seelie monarchs. Of course, he hosts revels and is unfailingly polite when interacting with his peers, but I’ve always felt like there’s a detachment from it all. The speculation and rumors around him taking a known Unseelie trickster as his consort range from Tendou knowing his true name and secretly controlling him when no one is looking to them actually being in love and happy together.”
“What makes you think that last option is so absurd?” Osamu asks.
“Who said I did?” Suna doesn’t look at him. “Either way until I see it for myself, it’s nothing but rumors and speculation.”
“Just the idea of Ushijima letting someone that close baffles me, though I suppose my opinion on that matter is biased,” Sakusa says, staring hard at the backs of the guards leading them along the trail. “Even so, it’s harder to imagine Tendou actually allowing himself to be tamed. Consigning himself to one king’s side? One court. And a Seelie court, no less. It’s no wonder folk are still speculating.”
“Can I ask what happened with this Ushijima guy, Omi?: Atsumu leans over his horse to address Sakusa. “Ya don’t have to say if you don’t wanna.”
“Not much to say. I was foolish and allowed myself to believe that his affection for me ran deeper than it actually did.” Sakusa reaches up to drag his fingers through his curls. “After all, who could truly love someone they could never touch?”
“I love you,” Suna says casually as if pointing out that the Sakura blossoms look lovely because they always do. “Perhaps not in the way you crave, but you cannot say you are unlovable when I’m sitting right by your side as I always have. I don’t need hugs from you when your company fills me with such warmth that it stays with me even when you are away. Ushijima Wakatoshi may be a king, but that does not mean that he can’t also be a fool. And fool he is for not accepting you as you are when you are, as the Miyas say, a fucking delight.”
Osamu and Atsumu burst out laughing and Sakusa tries to hide his own smile but fails miserably. “Well since they’re hardly tolerable, I’m not sure if I should accept that compliment.”
Atsumu scoffs. “Excuse you, I am a fucking delight. And if anyone doesn’t see that then that’s their loss.”
“Which is my point entirely,” Suna jabs his thumb in Atsumu’s direction. “But with decidedly less eloquence.”
Sakusa huffs out a laugh. “Thank you, Rintarou.”
Suna reaches out and wraps his hand around Sakusa’s wrist cuff. “This has always been more than enough for me, Kiyoomi. Don’t forget it again, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Man, I’m starving. Can we take a break soon?” Of course, Atsumu ruins the moment.
“Damnit, ya scrub! Can’t ya use some tact? What kind of delight can you possibly be when ya are the way ya are?”
“A fuckin’ spectacular one, weren’t ya listenin’, Samu? Jeez, and everyone says I’m the rude one!”
Osamu opens his mouth to retort, but his stomach grumbles before he can say anything. “Whatever, Tsumu, I guess I could eat.”
☽◯☾
The setting sun has long shadows preceding them as the palace comes into view. Osamu is exhausted from the hard pace they’d set to make the trip take the least amount of time possible. He aches in places he didn’t know could hurt and he wants nothing more than to curl up in the nearest bed and take a 40-year nap.
The last thirty minutes of their journey seem to drag on forever, but when they finally, finally reach the guarded gates, Osamu has never been happier to see a couple of ugly ass trolls in his life. He knows he should probably listen to what Suna and Sakusa are saying to get the guards to let them in, but he doesn’t have the energy to care. His chest feels heavy and his breathing is starting to hurt.
Fuck.
The guards let them through and Osamu takes a peek inside his shirt to look at his tattoo and is dismayed to see that he’s got a mere seven leaves left when that morning there’d been two dozen.
“Rin,” he croaks.
Suna glances over at him and then down at his exposed chest. “What! No.” He stops the procession to tug Osamu closer to himself for a better look. “There should be more time.” He presses his palm to the center of Osamu’s chest, his hand glowing red as he checks his spell. Abruptly, he jerks his hand away with a curse. “That devious, infuriating fir darrig! I’ll eat his fucking heart if-”
Sakusa slaps a gloved hand over Suna’s mouth. “Do not finish that sentence. You know better. Calm down, and tell us what’s going on.”
Suna closes his eyes and takes a deep breath through his nose. Then another. Finally, he nods and Sakusa lets him go. “He put a failsafe on the tail end of his curse. If Osamu gets too close to him, he’ll die. And since we still don’t know if Atsumu’s life is connected to Osamu’s, it’s best to assume that it is. Therefore, neither of them should get too close.”
“How close is too close?” Osamu asks.
“I don’t know.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, so the next time a leaf falls, let’s see where we’re at and figure out a plan from there,” Osamu suggests.
No one seems to have a better plan, so they continue toward the palace doors. They just pass through them when the next leaf flutters away from its branches.
“It happened,” Osamu tells them.
They pause in the doorway. Suna frowns at Osamu’s chest then looks around the large foyer they’ve entered. “Okay, so you should only lose one more by the time we make it to the receiving hall. By now, they’ve been informed that we’re here and will be waiting for us. When we get there, you two go into the room, but not one step further. Stay back by the doors. Please.”
“We will,” they both say.
“Good. Let’s get this over with.”
They follow a new set of guards to the grand hall. Osamu and Atsumu obediently hang back as soon as they walk through the door. Suna and Sakusa continue forward until they stand at the foot of the dais, once there, they each sink to one knee with their heads bowed.
“Sakusa Kiyoomi,” A booming voice says, and Osamu realizes it’s coming from the man sitting on the throne. “Suna Rintarou. What brings you here so unexpectedly?”
“Is it really that unexpected? We request an audience with your consort.”
“Hmm?” A new voice hums. “What could you possibly want with little old me?”
A tall, lanky figure steps out from behind Ushijima’s throne. He’s got wild red hair and eyes, too-long fingers, and skin as pale as the snow moon. His wicked grin shows teeth so sharp that Osamu can see them from across the room.
“Yeesh,” Atsumu mumbles. “Well, I’m sure he's got a great personality.”
Osamu barely suppresses a snort at his brother’s sarcastic comment and elbows him as a warning to keep quiet.
Suna looks up at Tendou. “Twenty-one years ago you cursed a changeling when the human child’s mother you’d intended to switch him with took them both from you. We’re here to ask how to break that curse.”
“Oh?” Tendou’s eyes light up with mischief. “And what would you give me for such information?”
“What do you want?” Sakusa asks.
“Hmm, well, twenty-one years ago I wanted that woman’s head served to me on a silver platter.”
Osamu growls low in his throat, and Atsumu elbows him.
“And now?” Suna asks.
“Hmm? Oh! I want for nothing these days! Perks of my position, I suppose.” He grins at them, then his eyes stray to the back of the room and he lets out a delighted gasp. “Oh, you brought them here! Look at them, so grown and handsome. What did she name you, changeling? I’ve always wanted to know.”
Osamu lifts his chin. “Tell us how to break the curse and I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
“Oh? Did the babe learn how to bargain? Did your mother teach you that?”
“Ma didn’t tell us anything about ya until I ended up sick.”
“Oof, and you talk just like her, too.”
“Well, she did raise us on her own, so.” Osamu shrugs.
“Hm. And what about you, Atsumu? The last time I saw you, all you did was scream.”
Atsumu mirrors Osamus's shrug. “I could start screamin’ again if ya want? Fer old time’s sake.”
“I’ll pass,” Tendou says drily, then perks up again. “Welp! It was delightful to see you all again, but I’m afraid your time is up!”
“Satori…” Ushijima says, a thousand meanings behind the one word, but only Tendou seems to know what they all say.
Tendou tilts his head back and sighs at the rafters. “Oh, Wakatoshi, you are making me soft in my old age. Fine.” He levels a look at Suna. “His name and I’ll give you your answer, though you will not like what it is.”
“I’ll do what I must,” Suna says.
“Oh, but perhaps even that won’t be enough.” He taps his chin. “Okay! Enough chatter, this bargain deal ends soon! I’ll have his name in five, four, thr-”
“Osamu!” all four visitors shout.
“Osamu, hmm? It suits you.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Osamu replies.
Tendou just laughs, and Suna stands. “We upheld our end of the bargain, now tell me how to fix him. Please.”
Tendou’s sharp gaze snaps back to Suna. “Oh? Oh. Oh, Suna. Suna, Suna. I think you’ve known the answer for a while. You just wanted to be wrong. But you’re not. The one curse that no Suna has ever been able to crack.”
“Tendou, no,” Suna shakes his head. “Why?”
“Hmm, because I knew her house was closest to your woods. And I wanted her to suffer.”
Suna doesn’t say anything, he just sinks back to his knees, clutching his arms around his middle, and leans forward until his forehead touches the floor.
“For what it’s worth,” Tendou continues, “I would choose differently now. I couldn’t understand that kind of love and devotion back then. But now? I would break this curse myself right now if I could.” His eyes roam from the two faeries before him to the brothers standing in the back. “Truly, I am sorry.”
“Is Atsumu’s life connected to Osamu’s?” Sakusa asks.
Tendou frowns and closes his eyes. “Yes, it is. He lives so long as Osamu does.”
The tension in Sakusa’s body gives out and he slumps against Suna’s back.
“This doesn’t look good fer us, Tsumu,” Osamu says, reaching out for his brother’s hand.
“Yer right, Samu,” Atsumu clutches their hands together tightly.
Osamu coughs and looks down at his chest. Only two leaves left.
The sound of his cough must have pulled Suna out of his despair, because the next thing Osamu knows, he’s standing right in front of him. “Osamu.” He pats at his chest. “Osamu, I’m so sorry. I can’t- I can’t fix this! I can’t do anything about this!”
“What is it?” Atsumu asks, his free hand cupping Sakusa’s face. “What’s the key to breakin’ the curse?”
A hysterical laugh escapes Suna’s lips. “True love’s kiss.”
“Oh.” Osamu blinks. “Oh, um. That- that might not be as big a problem as we think?” He says hesitantly.
“I know you feel things for me, Osamu. I feel them, too.” Suna looks directly into Osamu’s eyes. “We’ve only known each other for a few weeks but I’ve been drawn toward you since I first laid eyes on you. Even when you were glamored so well.” He leans in and rests his forehead against Osamu’s as he’d done outside of his study. “But it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter that I love you, how very much I love you. It doesn’t matter if you love me back just as much! A faerie’s love will never be the key to a true love’s kiss. We’re, we’re too fickle, too capricious. We love too hard or not hard enough and it’s never what the curse wants!”
“Then kiss me anyway,” Osamu says.
“Huh?” Suna leans away just enough to look Osamu in the eyes.
“Kiss me anyway. If ya love me as much as I love you, then I don’t wanna die without kissin’ ya at least once. And if the curse breaks, then that’s great! But if not, at least we can’t say we didn’t try.” He reaches out to gently grip Suna’s pointed chin. “Kiss me, Sunarin. I’ve been wantin’ ya to do it since I first looked into those pretty cat’s eyes of yers.”
“Okay,” Suna nods and closes his eyes.
Osamu closes the distance between their lips and kisses him gently. His entire world shrinks down to the feeling of Suna’s soft lips against his own. He’s so lovely, and Osamu can’t believe he’s been given this opportunity. When he pulls away and opens his eyes, he sees that Suna has tears running down his cheeks. Osamu smiles and wipes them away. “Worth it.”
“Right,” Atsumu squeezes his hand. “Glad ya got yer rocks off, but can we do this now? We’re on a bit of a time crunch, Samu.”
“Gimme a break, Tsumu. What else am I supposed to do when the most beautiful guy I’ve ever seen confesses to me?”
“Uh, wait until after ya break yer curse so you can smooch him anytime ya want?”
“As if you would’ve done anything differently.” Osamu rolls his eyes.
Atsumu makes a face and mocks the words before tugging Osamu into a hug. “Whatever, ya scrub. C’mere. I’ve loved ya fer longer than I can remember and I’m gonna love ya until the day we die.” He tilts his head up and kisses Osamu’s forehead.
Almost immediately, the pressure in Osamu’s chest eases. He pulls away from Atsumu to cough a few times, hacking up a foul-tasting sludge and spitting it out on the ground. “That’s fuckin’ disgustin’,” he grimaces.
“Ah, that’s probably the dirt from the lover’s tomb. Awful stuff,” Tendou says, skirting around the sludge. “How did you figure it out? How did you know that would work? I didn’t know that was possible.”
“That’s always how the trope goes, ain’t it?” Atsumu asks. “If it ain’t the love interest, it’s the family member.”
Osamu points at Atsumu. “And it was a faerie’s love in Maleficent.”
“Right, exactly.”
“What?” Suna asks.
The brothers look over to find four dumbfounded faeries looking at them, including the king.
“What, what?” Atsumu asks. “Y’all don’t tell stories around here? Write books that ain’t about battle strategy and curse-breaking? Like, I get that ya don’t have movies, but no plays? Puppet shows? Anything?”
“Of course, we have those things, but what does that have to do with a faerie’s love breaking a curse somewhere else?” Sakusa asks.
“No, no. Maleficent ain’t a place, it’s a movie based on an old, uh, fairy tale. In the old version, the curse is broken by the girl’s “true love” a dude she met in the woods once.”
“They also danced together once upon a dream,” Osamu interjects.
“Right, yeah. Anyway, when they retold the story from the villain’s point of view, the faerie who cursed the girl in a fit of rage-” he looks pointedly at Tendou “-ends up loving the girl, when her parents ‘sent her away to protect her from the big bad faerie queen’. But like I said, she ends up watching the girl grow up and loves her like her own daughter. So when the prince fails to wake her from her slumber with a kiss, Maleficent gives her a kiss on the forehead as like a comfort thing and the girl wakes up.”
“If it ain’t the love interest, it’s the family member,” Osamu repeats Atsumu’s statement. “Something, something unconditional love conquering all.”
“Fascinating,” Tendou says, his head tilted in thought.
“Right. So, am I officially curse-free now? No more hidden surprises waiting fer when I turn thirty or whatever?” Osamu asks him.
“Hmm? Oh, if there are any other curses on you, I did not put them there.”
“Well, that’s a relief.” He turns to Suna. “Can we go now? I’d like to find somewhere where I can make out with my hot faerie boyfriend.”
Suna laughs and turns to Ushijima. “Are we free to leave?”
“You may go, but you are also invited to stay. I’m sure you traveled hard to get here, so please feel free to stay for the night. I can have rooms prepared for you very soon.”
“Rest sounds great, too, actually,” Atsumu whines. “If I have to get back on a horse right now, my legs’ll fall off.”
Sakusa glares at him. “No, they would not.”
Atsumu laughs. “You’ll learn about sarcasm and exaggeration, yet, Omi-Omi.” He grabs Sakusa’s hand to play with his fingers.
Osamu shrugs. “As long as Tendou promises not to curse me again, I don’t mind staying.”
“That is a promise I don’t mind making,” Tendou says. “Free of charge. I swear no curses will fall upon you or your brother from me or on my order.”
“Appreciate it,” Osamu nods.
“Then, welcome to our home,” Ushijima says, tucking Tendou under his arm, making the trickster curl up against him like a cat. “And Kiyoomi, congratulations.” He glances down at his and Atsumu’s entwined hands with a slight smile before turning to leave. “Someone will be along momentarily to show you to your rooms.”
As soon as they’re alone in their room that a cricket-legged grig leads them to, Osamu turns to Suna, draping his arms over his shoulders, and is absolutely delighted when Suna’s hands automatically go to his waist. “So, Sunarin, I promised ya a favor once the curse was lifted. You got anything in mind fer that?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
“Ya ain’t gonna make me polish yer silver fer the next hundred years, are ya?”
Suna snorts. “No, nothing like that.” He leans down and brushes his lips over Osamu’s before pressing in for a proper kiss. It takes them a few minutes to break away, but when they do, Suna sighs. “Yep, I’ve decided what I want from you.”
“And what is that?”
“Every night before you go to bed, if you are within a reasonable distance and physically able, you are to give me at least one kiss.”
Osamu grins at him. “Deal.”
They seal it with a kiss.