Author's Note: SO. MUCH. FLUFF!
Weeded
"What are you going to do now, little rose?"
"There's nowhere for you to run!"
Joey closed his eyes tightly and clung to one of the branches of his rosebush, trying to pretend that it had just been planted again. The couple had just gotten married, and he had been a symbol of that love. They'd weeded around him and watered him and pruned his branches, treating him so nicely.
Then they'd started bringing along a child, one that he'd accidentally pricked with his thorns. Luckily, the child only shed a few tears, and had returned to help his parents care for him. Another child followed a few years later, but had been kept from pricking himself by his older brother. It had been the best years of his life.
But abruptly, the care had ended. The happy little family no longer came to prune him—that was okay, though, because he was still pretty despite his bedraggled limbs. He could make do without being watered as well, because it rained often enough to quench his thirst. It was the weeds he worried about.
The weeds. Weeds that had been crawling toward his rosebush threateningly, their life-snatching roots reaching toward it like fingers. Weeds that wanted to strangle his life source, seep out all of the nutrients. Weeds that brought mean, cruel floral fairies that
loved to pick on him after they'd taken care of all the smaller, lesser plants around him.
He'd been able to hide within the safety of the thorns most of the time, peering out anxiously as the weed fairies were scratched and pricked and cut. But, as the years had passed, the weeds had gotten close enough to begin leeching all of his nutrients and water. His plant was sickly, so it couldn't protect him like it had. Now the weed fairies were flittering about ominously, waiting for him to come out to try and get some nutrients somewhere else for his plant.
Joey shuddered. These fairies were just waiting to catch him and germinate with him and cover him in their pollen. That's what they'd done to the other floral fairies, and he had only been able to watch in horror as his neighbors were raped and raped and raped until their plants died under the weed fairies' poison-like plants and they disappeared into nothingness. He had been unable to do anything.
And now that fate was going to fall upon him. He looked down at his plant and sighed sadly. He could hold out a few more days, but he knew that without the nutrients the weeds were sapping from him, his bush would die, and so would he. He needed to go get something—anything—for his rosebush.
But what if he was caught? There would still be several days until his rosebush died completely. Maybe even a week! He didn't know if he could handle forced germination that long! Especially with the amount of weeds around him!
Joey shuddered again. He had counted at least four or five different weed fairies. All of them leered at him with yellow eyes and made obscene gestures with their hands, showing him what would happen to him if they ever managed to get their hands on him. He knew that the weeds were nothing if not patient, and would probably wait for a turn unwearyingly to germinate with him. If that was the case, he'd probably just be raped without pause until his rosebush died. In any case, his end would be the same messy, torturous scene no matter which way he looked at it.
Swallowing thickly, Joey turned and flapped his wings to warm up a little. He could out-fly these weed fairies. He could. He took a deep breath, then leapt from the branch he'd been huddled on, wings flapping for all he was worth as he tore away from his rosebush.
The weed fairies had been expecting just that.
He yelped as one of the weed fairies slammed into his side, causing them to roll over the ground until they came to a stop on the very weeds choking off his bush. He tried to scramble away, wheezing, but then another weed fairy was on him, wrapping an arm around his neck to choke him and grabbing one of his arms.
Joey yelped as two more weed fairies began ripping at his clothes. "No! No! Lemme go!"
The rose leaves serving as his tunic were kilt and shredded under the violent onslaught. The blond shrieked as he was shoved onto the ground, clawing frantically at the dry dirt as the weed fairies laughed and jeered as the largest one settled behind him, between his legs. He let out a frightened sob as he felt something hard rubbing against him and shook his head, trying to block out what was happening.
The weed fairy above him screamed, and he felt the now familiar tingle of magic that meant that a floral fairy had died.
Joey hiccupped quietly, still shaken, as he turned to watch the other weed fairies scatter.
He gasped quietly as he saw a human with short brown hair swept to one side of his face and piercing blue eyes looking at him. He hoped he wouldn't be squished. Humans did that sometimes when they were startled or afraid—fairies were so easy to squish-!
The fairy gasped again as the brunet knelt before him, carefully cupping his hands around him to lift him off the ground. "Ah!" He blushed a little as he was settled on one of the human's palms, cowering down so he didn't appear to be a feisty pixie instead.
The man glanced down at the weed he'd pulled and scowled, kicking it aside, then began walking over to the sickly rosebush. "It's alright. They won't hurt you anymore."
Joey peered up at him anxiously. "T-thank you…"
"Hmm…" Kneeling again in front of the rosebush, the brunet frowned as he delicately examined some of the weaker branches. "It's sick. No one's bothered to take care of it, have they?"
The fairy shook his head sadly. "No. I've done the best I can, but we're gettin' weak."
"Ah." The man sighed through his nose, eyes wistful for a moment, then began patting around the roots. "…This dirt is barren. I suppose I could fertilize it, but…" He frowned. "I'd been hoping to move it sooner…"
"M-move?" Joey's teary eyes widened hopefully. "You'll move us to a new place with good soil and water us and keep the weeds away?"
"Well, that was my plan," the brunet stated bitterly. "I don't think the bush would survive being transplanted like this," he added, reaching his hand out to allow the fairy to light on one of the branches instead.
Joey looked down at the wood beneath his feet, feeling the throb of stubbornness of a plant unwilling to die without a fight. Turning toward the human, he crossed his arms. "We can make it."
The man smiled a little. "Are you sure? Neither of you look like you can survive the shock."
"We'll be
fine," the blond hissed, glaring at him.
The human chuckled and stood up. "Alright. I'll go get the shovel. I just wanted to make sure the bush was still here."
"Always!" the fairy exclaimed, smiling, despite the sick, nervous feeling that began building in his stomach.
"Oh… And if any other
weeds decide that messing with you might be fun," the brunet added icily. "I'll bring along the weed killer just in case. So all you have to do is point out which weed for me to shoot and they can die
slow and
painful deaths."
Joey frowned. "But what if they fairy-nap me instead?"
The human flashed him a quick, dangerous smirk. "Then I'll just kill all of them."
"Oh!" The blond blushed and covered his mouth. The answer seemed so simple that he felt silly for even asking. "Okay!"
Turning to sit heavily, the fairy's cheeks burned darker. He'd only let the children of his planters see him, and only short glances. His rosebush was in such a secluded spot that humans passing by were rare. He'd just had a conversation with a human! And it was nice!
…He'd been making sure that the rosebush was still there. That meant that he'd already known about it! Could it be that he was one of the little boys?
His wings nearly vibrated with hope. He hadn't been forgotten! He may have been abandoned, but one of the humans had finally returned! He'd stopped hoping, and now, when all was lost, the human had come to the rescue!
Joey squeaked as he saw some of the weed fairies glaring at him and dove into the center of the rosebush.
.-.-.-.-.-.
"Are you okay?"
Joey moaned as he felt something delicately brush his hair out of his sweaty face. "Ngh…"
"Hey. Answer me."
The blond moaned again as something hit his face and slowly blinked his eyes open. "Hah…?" Slowly, he became aware of blue and brown blurs. He blinked a few times, thankful when everything came into focus. Staring up into the human's concerned face, he frowned, rasping, "What happened?"
"I transferred your bush, remember?" The brunet used the tip of his finger to smooth his hair out of his face again. "Are you alright?"
"…I think so," Joey replied, lifting a hand to his head. "Oh…" He frowned in confusion as he found himself on something soft, then looked up at the human in confusion. "Where am I…?"
"When the rosebush went into shock, you passed out. I brought you inside and put you on one of my pillows." The brunet shrugged a little. "I used a washcloth as a blanket, since you're supposed to keep people who go into shock warm…"
"Oh." The fairy sat up and looked around, mouth falling open in surprise. "Everything is so big!" He looked down at his blanket and ran his hand over it. "…It's so soft…" He looked back up at the human. "What's your name?"
"Seto. Seto Kaiba."
The name 'Seto' sounded familiar; 'Kaiba,' however, didn't ring any bells.
Joey frowned and tapped his bottom lip thoughtfully. "Seto… Seto and… Seto and Mo… Seto and Mobuta?"
Seto smiled awkwardly. "Mokuba. His name is Mokuba."
"Oh." The fairy blushed. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. You were close." The brunet held his hand out to him. "It's okay. We hadn't been helping Mom and Dad long, so I wouldn't expect you to remember his name. Then the accident happened… I only just got the time to come see the rosebush. You."
Joey blushed a little more as he set his hand on the tip of one of the brunet's fingers and stood up. "Thank you." He looked up at the human and tilted his head. "I only let you and your brother see hints of me. How did ya know-?"
"Mom always agreed that you were there when we told her what we saw," Seto explained, allowing the fairy to step onto his hand. He stood and began walking out of the room. "After she died, I guess I still wanted to believe it. I almost didn't know what to do when I saw you, especially with those other fairies attacking you. Why would they do that?"
"Oh, I don't know," the blond sighed, frowning, and lifted a hand to cup his chin. "Flora fairies of the weed variety have always been known for bein' violent. 'nd I know that forcin' the fairies of the plants they're killin' t' germinate with 'em isn't uncommon, especially if the victim is the opposite gender." He sighed again and scratched the back of his head. "I don't really know why they do it. I assume it has somethin' t' do with their leechin' nature. Do whatever makes
them feel good despite how bad it makes other people feel."
"That sounds like a logical explanation…" The brunet nodded, then frowned and looked down at him. "Forcing other fairies to what?"
"Germinate!" Joey answered, scowling. "Flower fairies like to germinate whenever they're fuckin' good and ready, but
weeds—"
Seto raised an eyebrow. "What is… germinating?"
The blond looked back up at him and blink in surprise. "You know, when flowers pollinate each other. Germinating. I mean, I know that humans may not understand that definition, but it's the word we use."
There were a few moments of silence in which the human stared at him. Finally, though, he managed to ask, "Those… those fairies were going to
rape you?"
Joey frowned in confusion. "Well… yeah, that's what forced germination is."
Seto was suddenly glad he'd ripped the weed from the ground, and especially thankful that it had been the
correct weed.
"I'm starved! Ya got any good dirt around here?" the blond asked, placing his hands on his stomach. "Or fertilizer. I'm not picky."
The human raised an eyebrow at him. "Wouldn't you prefer something else?"
"…Compost! I heard some other fairies talkin' about compost once!" Joey exclaimed, looking up at him hopefully. "I hear it's s'posed t' be really good for me, too!"
Seto sighed. Somehow, he didn't think politely offering the floral fairy some sort of tea-and-crackers thing would work.
.-.-.-.-.-.
The fairy beamed as he was given a little plastic teacup of water and took a sip, then looked up at the two humans watching him in amusement. "How'd ya get stuff my size, anyway? This table, 'nd chair, an' this cup—"
"Seto had me stop by a doll accessory shop and pick up some things," Mokuba answered, picking up another package and tearing it open. "I bought you some clothes. Hm… I suppose we could get some tape as a belt if they're too big."
Joey gasped quietly as the younger human set a pair of blue pants on the table, then stood, immediately grasping the pants to pull them on. "Wow! They're like human clothes!" He made sure the pants were snug enough that they wouldn't fall off, then beamed up at the two humans again. "How do they look?"
"Fantastic!" Mokuba replied, smiling.
Seto nodded. "Suits you."
"Mwee!" The fairy hugged himself gleefully. "I like them!"
"Good," the brunet answered, lifting up a small bowl of compost and grimacing a little. He turned and tapped a little less than half a thimble full of compost onto the blond's little plastic plate. "Here. You said you wanted to try some."
Joey rushed to sit down and picked up his little plastic spoon. He looked up at the humans, wings twitching a little because he felt so welcome and happy. "Do ya treat all your fairies like this, or am I just special?"
"The other fairies in the garden—if there are any—haven't really shown themselves to us yet," Seto replied, taking the cup of tea his brother offered him. "But that's okay. We only have real emotional ties to you."
"Oh." The blond scooped up a spoonful of compost and shoved it in his mouth. He chewed it carefully, eyes closed for a moment as he thought over the taste of it and whether he liked it or not. After a moment, though, he opened his eyes and smiled at the curious expressions he was receiving, blushing in embarrassment as he turned away. "I-It's really good. Maybe you can put some of it around my rosebush, too." He peered up at them anxiously. "Or fertilizer. We're still weak."
Mokuba frowned in confusion. "Are you and the rosebush the same thing, or-?"
"We have the same life-force," Joey replied, smiling. "If it dies, I die, but it's usually pretty hard t' kill a rosebush. 'nd it's my safe place. If I hide in it, no one can get t' me." He took another sip from his cup of water, then turned back to his compost. "I eat the same things the rosebush does, but I can eat other things, too, as long as I get all the nutrients I need. We're so close spiritually, though, that sometimes flower fairies refer to their plants as themselves, or the other way around. We're the flowers, and the flowers are us."
The younger boy gasped in horror. "Does that mean we were hurting you when we pruned you?"
The blond blinked up at him in confusion. "…N-no. You… you were just makin' me pretty." He lifted a hand to his messy hair in embarrassment and looked away. "I mean, I'm the sort of plant that always looks a little wild, but I always felt better after a prunin' because my hair would be nice and stuff."
The two humans glanced at each other. "…So basically we gave you a haircut," Seto stated.
"Yeah." Joey yawned quietly, covering his mouth, then ducked his head. "'m sorry. I'm still a little tired from transplantin'."
"If you're tired, we should let you rest," Mokuba decided, then punched his brother in the arm. "Carry him. He's tired."
Seto rolled his eyes as the fairy blushed but stood and offered the fairy his hand. "Do you want to go out to the rosebush or do you want to stay inside?"
"Well, I liked wakin' up on that soft thing," Joey mumbled, frowning. "But I think I better go back t' the rosebush, so I can make sure it's doin' okay. I mean, I'm sure you guys took great care of replantin' it," he added hurriedly when the brunet raised an eyebrow at him. "But I guess it's just been so long that I'm used t' takin' care of it myself." He glanced away in embarrassment.
The human hummed thoughtfully. "I guess I can understand that. Well, here." He knelt to allow the blond onto his rosebush. "Just to warn you, while Mokuba and I fully intend to take care of you two ourselves, we do have a crew of people come in and tend to the other plants, since there are so many. Try not to let them catch you."
The fairy turned to smile up at him. "I already told ya. This is my safe place. If I don't want anyone to see me—" He flapped his wings a few times, and Seto gasped quietly as he suddenly disappeared from sight. "—Then I'm not seen." His head poked out of the middle of the bush. "Thank you for the water and compost!"
Seto could only stare as he once again disappeared. "Um… You're welcome." He stayed for a few moments, then stood, unable to help the corners of his lips quirking up into a small smile. "Quite welcome."
