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puss_nd_bootsTitle: The Pixie’s Escapade
Chapter: Standalone.
Author: Boots
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Urban fantasy, romance, drama
Warning: Frottage, rimming, magically enhanced sex
Pairing: Shindy (Anli Pollicino) x Hiro (Fest Vainqueur)
Disclaimer: Anli Pollicino is property of Zany Zap, Fest Vainqueur is property of plug records WEST, I own the story only.
Summary: Hiro becomes one of the few pixies in history to attend the Conclave, a massive gathering of magical beings. However, the experience falls far short of his expectations – until he meets a mysterious beauty.
Comments: For the August challenge at![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
vkyaoi , which calls for fics focused on bassists, and for the Places square of my Season of Kink card. Contains references to several of my earlier stories, A Fairy’s Tale, Heart of the Ocean and The Dragon’s Destiny. (I didn’t originally intend them all to be set in the same universe, but now, it seems, they are).
In a world that humans share with magical creatures, the former very often has no idea of the existence of the latter. There’s myths and legends, to be sure, mostly based on brief encounters here or there, almost all very inaccurate as to who the beings were and what they did.
Granted, what they did varied from race to race. Fairies, for instance, used their magic to smoothly change the seasons and keep the elements of nature balanced. Werecreatures were the stewards of the various animal races they shapeshifted into – it was said, sometimes, that werewolves were all that stood between wolves and extinction.
And then, there were the races whose activities were a mystery to other magical beings – like, for instance, the elves. At one point, they were in charge of weather magic, but much of their old function had been taken over by the fairies. The fact that few outsiders entered their realms just added to the mystique – most of them lived in elegant manors within forests, invisible to human eyes of course, and seemed to socialize mainly with other elves.
So, all of these groups pretty much went about their business, sometimes interacting with each other, more often interacting with humans (some races, such as dragons, went out of their way to assist the magic-less creatures, while others, like the fairies, regarded living as a human for awhile to be a sort of training ground for character). Until the one annual event that brought them all together.
Once a year, each of these races chose one representative to send to a huge congress of magical folk called the Conclave. Nobody was really sure how the tradition started, but they all knew it was vital that it be maintained. The Conclave was when the magical world discussed what was going on in the world (especially with humans), how they could use their special abilities to help each other (and the humans), and any problems that had arose (usually caused by humans).
To be chosen to represent your race at the Conclave was a high honor indeed. Usually the leaders and high councils of each race debated for days before picking the person they felt best represented their interests – and in most cases, it was either a relative of a leader or high council member, or someone of extraordinary accomplishments. (Oh, and the elves usually sent a representative as well – but it didn’t help the mystery much, as they only spoke about matters of general importance, never about their day-to-day lives).
You could feel the tension in the magical world when Conclave time came around – who would be the lucky chosen ones? Who would represent your race this year? It was the subject of much debate in taverns and meeting halls hidden from the eyes of the non-magical.
Unless, of course, you were of one of the rare races that was indifferent to the Conclave. And one of them was the pixies.
Now, pixies were certainly one of the less-talked-about magical groups, both among humans and other magical races. But they were definitely among the hardest working. Pixies, you see, were in charge of “little miracles” - the tiny natural phenomena that saved the lives of humans or animals.
When a cat fell from a tree but was seemingly unhurt after landing, it was because a pixie caught it right before it hit the ground. Branches falling during storms that missed someone’s house by inches were diverted by the creatures. Children and animals who just missed being hit by cars were picked up and moved out of the way at the last minute.
Pixies lived in a dimension just outside the human world, and they prided themselves on being ever-vigilant, of letting their sixth senses tell them whenever there was going to be trouble that they could do something about. They were also mellow, cooperative and easygoing – to the point where they didn’t really have leaders. They didn’t think they needed them. Everyone pitched in and did their part, for their own society and for humans. Once a year, they’d all meet and pick a Lord Mayor of the Pixies – if only because they felt someone needed to be in charge in a crisis. The next year, someone else would get their turn.
Most years, when the Conclave came around, the pixies would shrug and say they had better things to do than send someone to this huge event. Indeed, in the last half-century, pixies had only been represented at the Conclave about four times.
When this year’s invitation arrived – delivered by a very serious-looking fairy prince, wings glittering in the sunlight – the current Lord Mayor opened it, read it and shrugged. “Really, what good does going to this thing do? I mean, we kind of just go about our business here.”
“Lord Mayor, sir, representation at the Conclave is necessary to ensure everyone’s best interests are being seen to. You may have a problem one of us can help you with. Or you might be able to help one of us with our problems.”
“We ain’t got no problems,” the Lord Mayor said. “We do what we do and we get by. And I don’t think we can help anyone else, either. All we do is for the people and the animals.”
“It could be, sir, that some of the methods you use could be beneficial to another group. You might be able to share techniques. You might . . .”
“I said we ain’t going.”
“But sir, every other race sends a representative. It is crucial that the best interests of all are . . .”
“I ain’t getting rid of you until I send someone, am I?”
“That’s not how it works, sir, but if you just listen to me . . .”
“Look, if I promise to send someone will you just shut up and go away?”
“Fine,” the fairy prince said. “Just make sure that you choose someone by . . .”
The Lord Mayor looked around him, saw a young man carrying a big bundle of something, and pointed to him. “YOU! You’re representing us at this Conclave thingy!”
The boy nearly dropped the bundle. “I am?”
“Sure thing!” the Lord Mayor said. “What’s your name?”
“Hiro, sir. I’m the son of . . .”
“Never you mind where you come from!” the Lord Mayor replied. “You’re one of us, that’s good enough for me.”
“Lord Mayor, this is highly irregular,” the fairy price said. “Just picking someone at random, when usually people send . . .”
“Every one of our people is as good as the next one,” the Lord Mayor said. “Any one of us would be good to send to this Conclave, you understand? And it just so happens I’m sending this boy.”
“Fine,” the prince said, sighing. “We’ll open a portal to the location of the meeting Thursday at noon. Be right here at this spot so you can step through. Either bring enough clothing and such for three days or be prepared to provide your needs with magic.” The prince bowed and disappeared.
“Pain in the ass,” the Lord Mayor said. “Honestly, wouldn’t leave me alone until I said I was sending someone to this thing.” He looked at Hiro. “You don’t really have to go if you don’t want to, boy. I was just looking to shut him up.”
“No, no, I’ll go,” Hiro said. “I’d like to see what the Conclave is like. I’ve heard about it, but I didn’t think I’d ever see it.”
“Well, okay, whatever, kid,” the Lord Mayor said. “Go, see what those stuck-up bastards have to say that’s so important, then come back to us. Least you’ll get some good food and drink out of it, right?”
“Yes, sir!” Hiro quickly scurried back toward his family’s home. The Conclave, he thought. I’m being sent to the Conclave! What will it be like, I wonder? I’ll be meeting people and seeing things and doing things no pixie has done before – and just because I happened to be in the right place at the right time!
* * *
A few days later, Hiro stood at the appointed spot, breathless with excitement.
He’d dressed in his best tunic and breeches – although pixies generally didn’t have many fancy clothes. There wasn’t much fancy about them, period. They lacked the rich-toned blue skin and elaborate facial markings of the fairies – instead, their skin was a slightly greenish hue and they had small, feather-like markings around their eyes. They had pointed ears like the fairies and elves, but theirs were much smaller.
No matter. He was looking his best for what he was quickly considering the best day of his life. I’m going to meet elves and fairies and shapeshifters and who knows what else? he thought. And I get to tell him all about what pixie life is like!
Suddenly, a ring of green light appeared in front of him – a small circle at first, then stretching out and getting taller, until it elongated into an oval as tall as he was. This is it, he thought. This is the portal! I’m going to step through it, and be in who-knows-what realm . . .
He took a deep breath, stepped through the ring, and found himself in . . . a hotel lobby? He blinked and looked around. Yes, he was in the human world. There were humans all around him. Had they made a mistake?
Quickly, he ducked behind a pillar and concentrated. Like any magical creature, pixies had human forms, and he shifted into his as fast as he could. He peeked out – and saw a human approaching him, with wavy black hair and a wide, friendly smile.
“You must be the representative of the pixies,” he said.
He opened his eyes wide. “How do you know?”
“I saw you come in,” the other man said. “Don’t worry, you were shielded from human eyes until you shifted.” He bowed. “I’m Prince Kai of the Seelie Kingdom.”
“You’re a fairy prince,” Hiro said.
“Well, yes. And I was chosen to represent the fairies at this year’s Conclave – even though I don’t really live with them anymore. I’ve lived in the human world for 15 years.”
“Really?” Hiro said. “Why?”
“I’m a musician,” Kai said. “I’m the leader of a visual kei band called the GazettE. My grandfather sent me to the human world to learn leadership. I learned it through being with a band – and decided I wasn’t going back.”
“So we’re having the Conclave in the human world because you live here?”
“I’m not the one who’s in charge of it,” Kai said. “But it’s always held in the human world – because that’s neutral turf for all of us. As far as all the humans in this hotel know, we’re just a trade convention. Come on, I’ll take you to the opening reception.”
Hiro followed Kai, quietly. If everyone is in human form, he thought, I won’t be able to tell who is what. It kind of disappointed him – he was very much looking forward to seeing other magical creatures in their true forms.
They entered a ballroom, where people stood around talking, most of them with drinks in their hands. There was a bar at either end of the room, and butlers circulated with trays of snack items.
“Feel free to get yourself a drink,” Kai said. “It’s open bar. And you might want to introduce yourself to this year’s chairman, Prince Kamijo of the Vampires. He’s over there. But the important thing is to get to know everyone and just enjoy yourself. I’ll be over there taking care of business if you have any questions – I’m one of the vice-chairs this year.” He bowed and headed across the room.
Hiro found himself alone. His dreams of mingling with other races suddenly seemed unattainable. It suddenly occurred to him that socializing with other races wasn’t something he knew how to do – and nobody was approaching him.
It seems that everyone knows everyone else here, he thought. Maybe they’ve represented their races at this thing before. Heck, maybe they come back every year.
He quickly went over to one of the bars and got a beer – usually, beer and whiskey were the only alcoholic beverages that pixies indulged in. Now what do I do? he thought. Stand here until someone approaches me? Go join one of the groups? I’m not used to this. I just do what needs to be done at home. I don’t go to . . . fancy occasions.
Hiro just sort of randomly wandered around the room, nodding and smiling at people. They didn’t nod and smile back. They just kind of glanced at him and went back to talking with whoever they were talking to.
After awhile, he was starting to feel really, really awkward. I don’t know what I’m doing here, he thought. Maybe I really don’t belong. Maybe I should just find a way to get back home. Pixies usually don’t come to these things, do they? I . . .
And then a voice said, “Hey, I don’t remember seeing you here before! Why don’t you come over here and join us?”
Finally. He looked up, and saw a pleasant-looking man with long, dark-blond hair and a big smile. “I definitely haven’t been here before,” Hiro told him. “In fact . . . I haven’t been many places at all.”
“Well, you’ll have a good time here, I can tell you!” the man said. “I’ve been here before, and there’s a party every night after the meetings. I’m Prince Junji of the Dragons, by the way. My grandfather is Ryujin.”
Is everyone here a prince? Hiro thought. Am I the only one here who’s just an ordinary magic user? Suddenly, the mellow, egalitarian lifestyle of pixies looked, well, kind of dull in comparison.
“I’m . . . Hiro,” he said.
“Cool,” Junji said. “Hiro what? You have any other names?”
“Um, no. I’m just a regular pixie, that’s all. I got picked to come here.”
At that moment, another blond approached them, this one younger than Junji. “Hey!” he said. “You’ve got ANOTHER boyfriend now, Junji? How many of them do you have?”
“He’s not a boyfriend!” Junji said. “I just met the guy!”
“That’s what they all say,” the newcomer said.
“This is Subaru, by the way,” Junji said. “He’s a selkie. Not just any old seal, either. He’s a Purius.”
“A what?” said Hiro.
“A Purius,” Subaru said. “That’s the highest rank among the selkie people. You earn it if you connect with a human who has a pure heart. See, we regularly go up on land and interact with humans . . .”
“Which is a nice way of saying they pick a human to get it on with,” Junji said.
“We choose a human and mate with them for a week. In most cases, the human doesn’t figure out what we really are – in which case, we just end the affair there and never see them again. But if they do find out? They have two choices. They can either trap us in the human world by stealing our seal pelts – or they can let us go. And it’s very, very rare to find a human willing to let you go. They’re the ones with pure hearts. If you’ve found one, you become a Purius. You can leave the sea and stay with that person every night for as long as you want, and you’re considered elite among your fellow selkies.”
He’s an elite, Hiro thought. And Junji is a prince. And I, well . . .
“So what did you say your name was?” Subaru said.
“Hiro. I’m a pixie. Just, well . . . a pixie.”
“Hiro’s never been here before,” Junji said. “I told him about the parties.”
“Just look out for the drunk guys looking to hook up,” Subaru said. “You’ll find that everywhere around here. Just last year, Jui – he’s the grand archduke of the griffins – came up to me and said . . .”
Hiro was really starting to feel uncomfortable and intimidated, no matter how nice these guys were. Everyone here is somebody, he thought. Everyone was either born important or became important.
He’d never felt uncomfortable among his own people, who considered everyone equal. But now, he was regretting coming here more than ever.
“Excuse me,” he said. “I need to find a men’s room.”
“Oh, sure,” Junji said. “Hey, it happens to everyone when they’re in human form, right?”
Hiro stumbled away and headed out into the hall. He leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath. Okay, he thought, how do I portal out of here? How do I get back to the pixie world – where I belong?
And then, he heard a voice saying, “Someone else feels like they need to get away from that crowd? I thought I was the only one.”
Oh, great – there was a man leaning against the wall near him. Not just any man, either – an extremely beautiful one. Like so many of the other people in there, he was a blond, with long hair, an oval face, large eyes, full lips, and a willowy frame.
Damn, Hiro thought. I could go for him – except he’s probably out of my league, isn’t he? If he’s part of this crew . . .
“I . . . it was a little overwhelming,” he said.
“A little? Try a lot,” the other man replied. “Everyone impressing each other, slinging around their titles, drinking and drinking. And then, somewhere in the middle of all that, they sit around and talk about seemingly important business. Then they go back to drinking and yakking. How this is supposed to help humans or the world in general, I don’t know.”
Hiro actually felt a bit relieved when he heard that. “So you don’t think you belong there, either?”
“Oh, I belong there – according to the people who sent me. It just wouldn’t do to not have us be represented at this thing. Gods forbid we not put in an appearance.” He rolled his eyes.
“Just who are you, anyway?” Hiro said.
“Shindy. Just call me Shindy. As for who I am? I’m someone who’s had enough of these pretentious things and would rather spend the weekend under a tree in the mountains somewhere.”
Hiro found himself breaking out into a wide smile. “That sounds terrific,” he said.
Kai appeared at the door, peeking out into the hall. “Oh,” he said. “There you are. We’re about to start the first meeting. Won’t you come in and take a seat?”
“Sure, sure,” Shindy sighed. He glanced over at Hiro. “I guess I’ll see you after this is over.”
“Of course!” Hiro said, too quickly. He watched the other man move gracefully into the room, thinking, at least I’ve met one person who’s understanding. Not to mention gorgeous. I mean, he’s truly beautiful. I just wonder who he is, what sort of race he belongs to . . .
He had a feeling he was about to find out.
* * *
The meeting began with the moderator introducing himself. “Good evening. I am this year’s chairman, Prince Kamijo of the Vampires. I believe we have matters of importance to all of us to discuss, but before we begin, I would like all the participants to introduce themselves. State your name and what race you’re representing. Kai, why don’t you go first?”
Kai, who was sitting at Kamijo’s right, stood up. “Prince Kai of the Seelie Kingdom, representing the fairies.”
A blond next to him stood up and said, “Grand Archduke Jui of the Griffins.”
He was followed by a pink-haired man who said, “Archduke Koichi. I’m here for the Kitsune, whether they like it or not.”
Every one of them, Hiro thought, is some kind of nobility. Every one represents a powerful race. And I’m, well, just . . . me.
He glanced across the table at Shindy, who was seated on Prince Kamijo’s left – he’d be the last to introduce himself. I just wonder what he is, he thought. He said he was sick of going to these kinds of events . . . he must do that a lot. Is he some kind of nobility, too, I wonder? And what race? Obviously not a fairy, since Kai is . . .
He was suddenly nudged in the side. “Hey! Hey, you! It’s your turn! Introduce yourself!”
Hiro stood up. “Um . . . Hiro,” he said. “Of the pixies.”
He heard whispers around the table. “Pixies?” said one person not far from him. “What’s next, inviting humans?”
“They’ll let anyone into these meetings nowadays,” another huffed.
Hiro sat back down and just looked at the table. No wonder my people don’t usually come to this meeting, he thought. We’re not welcome here, are we?
He sort of half-listened as the others introduced themselves – Prince this, Lord that, Dukes and Barons and one Marquis. He was the only commoner. Never mind that pixies didn’t have hierarchy – their lack of status just made them seem all the more like outsiders.
Finally, Shindy stood up. “Fine,” he said. “Much as I dislike this sort of thing . . .” He took a deep breath. “Prince Shindy of the Alfar, representing the elves.”
Hiro nearly fell on the floor. An elf? He was an ELF? The highest magical race there was? The elite of the elite? And royalty, yet? No wonder he said he was sick of these gatherings – he must have spent all his life going to them.
And so much for talking to him again afterward, Hiro thought. Now that I know he’s an elf and he knows I’m a pixie . . . he’s out of my league. Way, way out of my league.
“All right, then,” Prince Kamijo said. “Now, we’re going to move on to our first topic, inter-species relations. Apparently, there have been issues with some races thinking that other races are infringing on what they believe to be their purpose and duties - treading on their turf, so to speak. Who has had issues with this, and what could be done to resolve it?”
“I would definitely have an issue with this,” said one prince who, Hiro thought, had said he represented the kappa. “We seem to have an issue with the dragons over who is responsible for what matters when it comes to sea creatures . . .”
And on it went, for what seemed like forever. After the races got done hashing out their disputes with one another, the issue of just how involved magical races should be in the lives of humans came up. This led to a lot more arguing and finger-pointing. Why, Hiro thought, does everything have to be such a big deal?
“Let’s hear from somebody who hasn’t spoken yet, please,” Prince Kamijo said. “I’m getting a bit tired of the same voices over and over. Hiro of the pixies, what do you have to say about this?”
Hiro swallowed hard. He’d been put on the spot. Oh, no, he thought, I have no idea what to say at all! He took a deep breath. “Well . . . we all share the same earth, right? Humans and magical creatures? And, well, shouldn’t we all look out for each other? Use whatever abilities we have? I mean, as pixies, our main job is to help humans, but shouldn’t other people do that as well?”
He heard grumbling around the table. One nobleman mumbled, “Hopelessly naïve.” Another said, “Why did they invite a pixie, anyway?” His heart sank again. No wonder, he thought, the Lord Mayor told me I didn’t have to come. He knew what these things are like. I should have listened.
He didn’t see Shindy across the table, who was nodding vigorously in agreement with what he’d said.
* * *
When the session was over, the group adjourned to one of the ballrooms, where another party was ready to start – waiters with trays of champagne and canapes, bars ready to open. Hiro didn’t find the sight as fascinating as he did when he first got there. Quite the opposite, in fact.
But before he could shrink into a corner, a hand grabbed his arm and a voice said, “Hey, let’s get out of this place.”
Hiro turned, and saw who it was. “Shindy?”
“You sound shocked.”
“That’s because I am shocked.”
“Oh, please, did you think I wouldn’t have anything to do with you just because you’re a pixie? Give me a break. Snobbery isn’t my thing. In fact, I hate snobs.”
“You do?”
“Of course I do. I’ve been around them all my life.” Shindy steered Hiro out of the ballroom and down a hall, then out a door that took them outside the resort, into a small park-like area with sculpted hedges, plants and benches.
“You said you were an elf prince,” Hiro said.
“My father is the brother of our king,” Shindy said. “I grew up around pretention. The elves really don’t do much anymore except have parties and dances. When they do magic, it’s more to show off than anything else. We used to be the main caretakers of nature, do you know that? We were the ones who woke the animals up in the spring and painted the leaves in the fall. We designed the patterns of snowflakes. The fairies were our assistants. But over time, the elves got full of themselves. They started thinking they were too good to do their own work. They started letting the fairies take over more and more. And now . . .”
“Now they’re like the really rich humans? Lazy and bored all the time?”
“How did you know?” Shindy said.
“I’m a pixie, remember? We’re deeply involved in the human world all the time. I observe all kinds of human behavior.”
“You said that as if it wasn’t something to be proud of.”
“Said what?”
“That you were a pixie.”
“Well, compared to everyone else in there . . .” Hiro said. His face fell as he remembered the whispers and murmurs and people looking down their noses at him. Hell, he was surprised that they didn’t climb on top of their chairs so they could literally look down their noses.
“The hell with them,” the other man said. “I heard their bullshit. Acting like they’re so superior to you? Hell, you people do more to help humans and animals than most of the so-called elite races. A pixie is a good thing to be.”
“You mean it?” Hiro said.
“You were just about the only person talking sense in there,” Shindy said. “They were all going on about me, me, me. Okay, there were SOME other people who seemed sensible – Junji of the Dragons has humans’ best interests at heart. But most of them? Forget it.” He sighed. “When did we all decide we were all better than each other – and collectively better than humans?”
“You like humans?” Hiro said.
“I find them fascinating. More so than elves, that’s for sure. I mean, they have to get by in the world completely without magic. They invented technology to do it. How amazing is that?” He sat down on one of the benches. “Tell me about some of them.”
“About . . . humans?”
“The ones you’ve saved. That you’ve worked with.”
“Well, there was this family once,” Hiro said. “I diverted a tree from falling on their house during a typhoon. It was a mother and father and two daughters, and one daughter wanted to be a ballet dancer. I remember she kept going to auditions and failing – she was telling her mother about it right before the storm hit. And her mother told her not to give up, ever – that the strength of her faith alone would pull her through.”
“What happened?” Shindy said. “Did you find out?”
“I went back to check on them later,” Hiro said. “The girl had gotten into a dance company.”
“That’s great!” Shindy said. “See, that’s the kind of emotions I wish my people still had. Faith. Hope. True passion. I mean, there’s plenty of sexual passion with us – we’re a very sensual people. But no passion for life.” He looked at Hiro. “That’s what YOU have in abundance. I can tell just by the way you talked about that girl.”
Hiro smiled. “I just live the way I’ve always lived, really. The way all of us live.”
“I just don’t know why they all look down their noses at you,” Shindy said. “I really wanted to punch some of them when they were grumbling about you like that. Maybe they do it because they don’t want to admit how boring their lives have become.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” said Hiro. “When that stuff started . . . I just wanted to leave, you know?”
“Maybe that’s what we both should do,” Shindy mused.
Hiro looked baffled. “Leave?”
“Just for awhile,” Shindy said. “Remember what I said about wanting to be somewhere in the mountains?” He stood up, held his hands in front of him and concentrated. The air in front of him suddenly fogged, and the fog formed the shape of an oval slightly taller and wider than him . . . and then, suddenly, a purple glow appeared around the edges, looking like brightly colored lightning. The fog faded, revealing a window into an inviting looking mountain scene – green grass, bright flowers, moonlight shining on a stream.
“There!” Shindy said. “A portal. We go through that and that’s where we end up. Then we come back here and nobody will know we were gone.”
“But . . . if they come looking for us . . .”
“We’ll return to the exact time and place where we left, no matter how long we’re gone. That’s how the magic works. Being an elf has distinct advantages sometimes.”
“I’ve never experienced elf magic before.” Hiro walked up to the portal and looked through it. The scene on the other side definitely looked inviting. Well, he thought, there’s no harm in it if we end up in the same time and place, right?
“Come on!” Shindy grabbed his hand and pulled him through the portal. Hiro felt a small shiver . . . and then, he was standing on the grass he had just stepped through, in one of the most gorgeous evening vistas he’d ever beheld.
In front of him were vibrant green trees and acre after acre of flowers, and a sparkling river. Above him was a night sky that seemed like a bowl full of stars. The breeze bore a variety of gorgeous scents. It was like a miniature paradise.
“It’s perfect,” Hiro said.
“Isn’t it?” Shindy said. “Come on, sit down.” He sat on the banks of the river. “I’ve always come here when I needed to think, or just needed a few minutes of quiet.”
“I can see why.” Hiro sat beside the other man. He could feel the energies of nature soaking into him just from the contact with the ground. It made him feel vibrant and warm.
“It’s always been my special place,” Shindy said. “I can’t tell you how many parties I escaped from to come here.”
“You really don’t like those kind of things, do you?”
“Let’s just say they’re not my thing. And the people can be kind of dull. Sort of like the ones at that conference. I can tell you a few things about some of those guys . . .”
And for the next hour, or two, or however, Shindy told Hiro about his past experiences with the people at the conference, and they had a laugh at the expense of their boorishness – which made Hiro feel a lot better about his experiences there. In return, Hiro told Shindy more stories about his experiences with humans – his observations of their worlds, what it felt like to help and save them.
Pretty soon, Hiro was feeling better about, well, everything. He’d been willing to write this whole experience off as a total disaster. Shindy had singlehandedly rescued it for him. I’m glad I met him, he thought. He’s . . . not like anyone I’ve ever known before. I just hope we can continue to get to know each other, given that we live in different worlds.
Shindy leaned back on his elbows and let out a contented sigh. “I don’t think I ever want to leave here,” he said.
“You said we don’t have to,” Hiro said. “Not right away.”
“Nope. I’ve stayed here with a lover for a full 24 hours and gone right back to the place and time I came from.”
“Oh . . . you bring . . .”
“Lovers here? All the time.” He looked at Hiro. “I told you we’re a very sensual people. Sex is, well, a way of affection and communication for us. I didn’t know how you feel about that kind of thing, you know, sex with someone you just met . . .”
“Well, we’re open to it,” Hiro said, quickly. And, damn, he was blushing. Was he attracted to the beautiful elf-boy? Oh, hell, yes. The fact that they were both currently still in human form didn’t matter. He was sure Shindy’s true form was even more beautiful.
“Then what would you say,” Shindy said, “if I told you that one way I got through that dull as hell meeting was looking over at you and imagining you naked and all over me?”
Hiro gasped. “You . . . you were?”
“You’re adorable. Really. Not just your looks, your personality. You’re . . . my kind of guy.” Shindy reached up and stroked a hand over Hiro’s face. “So, if you want to . . .”
Hiro responded by leaning over and kissing Shindy hard. Having sex with a guy this gorgeous? In a paradise like this? Oh, he was all about it. He felt the other man kiss him back, a tongue sliding into his mouth, and he moaned, opening his lips wider, making it deeper.
When he leaned back, he said, “Shindy . . . should I shift into . . .”
“Stay like this,” Shindy said. “It’s always been my experience that sex is the most fun when both people are in human form. Human bodies are just made for fucking.”
Both men laughed, and Shindy raised his hands, concentrating. Both sets of clothes vanished, leaving them naked.
“I’ll make them come back when we need them,” Shindy said, pulling Hiro into his arms. “Right now, we definitely don’t.”
That just made Hiro laugh again, and then the laugh was swallowed up in a kiss so hot and intense that it took his breath away. He felt himself being tumbled onto the soft, soft grass, which seemed to be sending a magical charge into his body, pulsing through his veins, making him feel like every inch of him was drawing energy from the earth and using it to enhance his pleasure.
Shindy kissed his way slowly down the other man’s neck, scraping his teeth a little, enough to make Hiro shudder a bit. He’s good, Hiro thought. He’s so good, he knows just where to touch, where the little moan zones are . . .
The kisses moved lower, to his chest, and Hiro tensed in anticipation . . . until he felt a tongue swirl against his nipple, sending more small shocks of pleasure through his veins. Shindy lowered his head, and then he was sucking hard at it, making Hiro moan, grabbing the back of his head.
Hiro opened his eyes and looked up into the seemingly endless array of stars, their beauty only seeming to enhance the sensations as Shindy pleasured him, pulling his lips away to lick slowly back and forth over the hard bud again, then lowering his head to suck.
He arched his hips off the ground, moaning loudly, and he felt his new lover’s fingers sliding up and down his cock, exploring every inch of it, rubbing back and forth over the tip. This guy was driving him nuts, slowly, he was stoking the fires of pleasure into a flat-out inferno . . .
Hiro knew he wanted to give some of this pleasure back. He put his hands on Shindy’s shoulders, and the elf stopped what he was doing . . . only to be rolled on his back by Hiro, who immediately brought his mouth to a nipple, sucking at it like it was the most delicious thing ever.
“Ohh, yes,” Shindy moaned. “Keep going, please, please . . .”
Hiro reached over and rubbed his fingers over the other bud, teasing it into a hard peak, feeling the man shudder beneath him. He raised his head, nibbling the pink flesh around the nipple a little, which brought out a sharp cry and a hand gripping at his hair.
He moved his head to the nipple his fingers had been pleasuring, and sucked hard, feeling Shindy start to writhe beneath him, murmuring, “You’re a sexy little thing, aren’t you, so goddamn hot . . .”
Hiro raised his head just long enough to shift his position, rubbing his cock against Shindy’s, and the other man arched upward, starting to thrust his hips, rubbing them together. “Yes,” the elf murmured. “Fuck, yes, you feel so good . . .”
This just made Hiro move faster and harder, grinding his hips against the other man’s, leaning over to capture his lips in a hot kiss, their tongues sliding together lustfully, echoing the actions of their bodies. He felt hands grip his ass, urging to move faster, and he did, feeling hard sliding against hard, precome starting to slick both erections.
“So hot,” Shindy murmured. “You’re so hot . . .” And then his words were swallowed up in a loud moan and heavy breathing as he moved faster and harder, the two men churning against each other now, their bodies flushed and covered in sweat.
“Close,” Hiro moaned, leaning in for another deep kiss, feeling Shindy grinding against him, Shindy all over him, Shindy being the most glorious thing he had ever felt . . .
And then Shindy suddenly arched upward, letting out a loud cry, and Hiro felt the hot wetness as he came against him, just making the pleasure in the pixie’s own body grow more intense, heading faster and faster toward bliss . . .
The ecstasy hit him like a bolt of lightning. He cried out Shindy’s name, hot shudders consuming him over and over, until he collapsed atop the elf, panting loudly and totally spent – but in the most delicious way.
Hiro just clung to Shindy, closing his eyes. He was so, so very relaxed and contented right now. This was, well, the highlight of the entire event for him. When people asked him what good came of going to the Conclave, he was going to tell them, “Sex with a beautiful elf – that’s about it.”
Shindy ran his fingers through the other man’s hair. “You’re even more delicious than I thought you’d be,” he said. “I’d like to skip the rest of the damn Conclave and just spend the rest of the time here with you.”
“Why do either of us have to be there, anyway?” Hiro said. “I was really excited to go when I heard about it, but now that I’ve been there? It’s, well . . .”
“Bullshit?” Shindy said. “It is. Even things that have been discussed in those meetings won’t get done. People will make a show of doing it for a few weeks, and then things will go back to what they were.”
“So, in the long run . . . it really is an excuse for a bunch of parties, isn’t it?”
“Bingo. And there’s a lot of other people in there who, I’m sure, would rather be back doing what they normally do rather than being here.”
“What about you, Shindy? What do you really want to do? It sounds like you’re not happy being in the elf world.”
“Whatever gave you that idea?” Shindy said, dryly.
“You could always live among humans, you know,” Hiro said. “Do good for them that way. There are magical beings who do that – live among humans and use their magic in secret. Kai – the prince of the fairies – said that’s what he does.”
“And most elves think that kind of thing is beneath them,” Shindy said.
“All the more reason for you to do it!” Hiro said. “The heck with what they think! You’d probably be very happy living in the human world. And isn’t that what matters?”
Shindy leaned over and kissed Hiro’s neck. “Would this have something to do with the fact that pixies visit the human world all the time, and we’d be able to see each other again?”
“Um . . . maybe?”
“Thought so. And I like the idea. Both getting rid of the bullshit, and seeing each other some more. Maybe if we’re both in the human world at the same time, we can go on an actual date.”
Hiro laughed. “I’d probably like that.”
“Meantime . . . we can stay here longer.” Shindy brought his lips toward Hiro’s again. “Remember, we’re outside of time and space right now . . . there’s no limit on when we have to be back.”
“Good,” Hiro said. “Because I’m in no rush.”
And as the beautiful elf kissed him again, he thought that as far as he was concerned, they could stay outside of time and space forever.
* * *
It was some hours later, given that the bowl full of stars had given way to a glorious pink and orange sunrise that would have enhanced Hiro’s mood considerably – if he had noticed it.
He wasn’t noticing much else right now, given that he was on all fours and Shindy was currently running his tongue along the rim of his entrance.
When the elf had asked him to get in this position, he’d complied easily – after all, everything they’d done during the past three rounds or so had resulted in ecstasy. But he’d been a bit surprised when the other man put his hand over the cleft in the pixie’s bottom and recited some arcane words – he’d used a spell earlier in their lovemaking, but this was entirely different. Hiro felt an intense warmth flash quickly through his entire entrance and channel.
“What was . . .”
“A total cleansing spell. You’ll see.”
Oh, he was seeing, all right. And feeling. There was a hot, wet tongue rubbing directly against the sensitive flesh of his entrance, sending shudders of pleasure running through his whole body.
He’d been rimmed by a human he’d had an affair with a few years back. But that had involved a thin piece of plastic placed over the area. This . . . was direct, nothing between him and the warmth, softness, wetness . . .
Shindy pushed his tongue a little inside, wriggling it, and Hiro moaned, his hands gripping at the grass under him. “Oh, oh, yes . . .” he murmured.
The elf responded by pulling out, moving back to the entrance, circling the rim slowly, then pushing in a little, pulling out, pushing in again . . . then the tongue thrust a bit deeper, wriggling about, bringing about a louder moan.
Dear Kami, he never thought he’d feel something like this, something so hot and wet moving inside him, flicking from one pleasure spot to another, bringing about shudder after shudder. The fact that this was such a forbidden thing just made it all the hotter, made him push his ass back toward Shindy, a mute demand for more pleasure.
The tongue started a steady thrust in and out of him, and Hiro was panting and moaning uncontrollably now, thinking this was pure erotic bliss, if this kept up he was going to come from this alone . . .
Shindy pulled his tongue away – but replaced it right away with his hand, covering his entrance again, murmuring another spell. When Hiro felt warmth again, he knew that THIS was the spell they’d used for Round Two – the one that opened him up and lubricated him, getting him ready for penetration in just a few seconds. Sleeping with a powerful magic-user was a wonderful, wonderful thing.
The elf pulled himself up and gripped his lover’s hips, and Hiro felt that hard, wonderful cock sliding into him, pushing over sensitive areas his lover’s tongue had been teasing moments before. He’d never known sex this good before, and didn’t know if he’d know it again with anyone else.
“Oh, yes, Shindy,” he moaned. “Fuck me . . .”
The cock started to move within him, a slow thrust that started a steady burn of pleasure deep within him. Hiro sucked in a deep breath, just letting go, opening himself up to the sensation, to the feel of being thoroughly taken by this man.
Shindy began to move his hips faster, and Hiro felt his lover’s breathing getting heavier, the other man murmuring, “You feel so good, so goddamn good, it’s like you were made for me . . .”
This just made Hiro thrust back against him, his own moans getting louder, the hardness penetrating deeper, hitting more and more sensitive spots, and Hiro found himself consumed in pleasure again, wanting to come but at the same time, wanting to be lost in this sensation forever . . .
Shindy’s hands moved over his body, running across his back, then under his torso to gently pinch a nipple, making Hiro shudder . . . just as a hard thrust struck his prostate, bringing about a loud, intense moan, a ripple of delicious feeling across his whole body.
The hardness thrust against that spot again and again, and the hand moved downward, stroking his cock quickly . . . and the last of Hiro’s control broke. He let out a cry that verged on a scream, the ecstasy overwhelming him in loud waves that felt like they were going to never end.
Shindy thrust deeply into him, again and again, and then the other man let out a yell, pouring himself into his lover’s body, until they both collapsed to the grass together, panting heavily, not wanting to let go of each other.
Finally, Shindy rolled over onto his back, murmuring a spell to clean both of them up. Hiro snuggled against his chest.
“You’re going to wear me out,” Shindy said. “In the best possible way.”
“I’m glad,” Hiro said. “That it’s the best possible way, I mean.”
“Are all pixie boys as hot as you?”
“Well . . . there are some attractive ones, yes . . .”
“God, I can’t get enough of this.” Shindy held him closer. “I don’t think I’m ever going back to those blowhards. Well, we have to, eventually, but . . .”
“I know,” Hiro said. “I don’t want to leave, either.”
He snuggled against the other man again. What is this going to mean, he thought, for after we leave the conference? Will we really reconnect? Will I get that date? Or is this just, well, a one-night stand?
* * *
By the time they came back through the portal, it was as if a full day had passed – but they landed right in the time and place they’d left from. As it turned out, though, they weren’t alone. Several other people were standing around the courtyard they had departed from.
“Oh, great,” Hiro whispered. “Think they saw us?”
“No big deal if they did,” Shindy whispered back. “Long as they weren’t humans.”
“They’re not,” Hiro said. Indeed, it was several people from the conference – Kai, and Junji, and Subaru, clustered together with drinks in hand.
Kai spotted them first. “Hey!” he called. “Where did you guys come from? Didn’t see you come out.”
“Let’s just say we’ve been here longer than you thought,” Shindy said.
“Gotcha,” Junji said. “We were just talking about, well . . .”
“What a big waste of time this all is?” Subaru said.
“More like how we all have other things we’d rather be doing,” Junji said.
“I have a band and a boyfriend,” Kai said. “And they both need me.”
“I don’t have the band part, but I do have a boyfriend on land and tribal business in the ocean,” Subaru added.
“Got you both beat,” Junji said. “I have TWO boyfriends. Oh, and a show on a radio station.”
“Two boyfriends?” Hiro said.
“Both humans,” said Junji. “Long story. Basically, I was sent to help them out and never left.”
“The point is, there’s great parties here, but it’s all rather . . . pointless, don’t you think?” said Kai.
“Finally, someone agrees with me!” said Shindy.
“You pixies have the right idea, never attending this thing,” Junji said. “And honestly, some of the crap those jerks in there were giving you? Totally uncalled for. You guys deserve more respect.”
“We do?” Hiro said, sounding genuinely surprised.
“I’ve been trying to tell him that all along,” Shindy said, casually.
“You tell your . . . what do you call your leader?” Kai said.
“Lord Mayor,” Hiro said. “Only we change them all the time.”
“Right, well, you tell your Lord Mayor that he doesn’t have to send a representative of your people anymore,” Kai said. “You’re best off doing what you’ve always done – going among the humans.”
“Hell, we’d all be best off doing that,” Junji said.
“Well, this is my last time doing this,” Shindy said.
“Really?” Subaru said. “You’ve been at the Conclave every year for just about eternity.”
“Nope. No more. I’m going to live among the humans like you people. And, well, maybe next time I run into you all? I’ll have a boyfriend as well.”
Hiro couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope when he said that. I wonder, he thought, if the boyfriend he’s talking about is me? Okay, we just fooled around casually – but is it wrong for me to hope it might develop into more?
* * *
When Hiro went back to his own people, he got asked over and over what the Conclave was like. And he felt that he owed it to them to tell the truth.
“Dreadfully dull. Unproductive. We weren’t taken seriously. Met some nice people, though.”
“Well, then, that’s what the last guy who went said,” the Lord Mayor told him. “That’s it – nobody ever has to go to that thing again. And if they insist? We’ll tell them to stick it!”
Hiro quietly went back to his regular business of coming to the aid of humans in need. He tried to put the whole Conclave thing behind him as just something that happened, just an interlude in his life . . .
Except he kept thinking about Shindy. His beauty, his touch, his sophisticated air . . . and that magical time they’d spent in that place that seemed made for a sensual encounter, all soft grass and sparkling water and warm breezes . . .
Forget it, he thought. He probably went back to the elves, despite what he said. You won’t see him again.
And then, one day, he was rescuing a child from falling in a rain-swollen creek, pushing her back at the last minute – when he heard a voice calling, “Good job! I knew you’d be great at what you people do!”
Hiro blinked. Nobody should be able to see him – he was invisible to humans. The child would describe it as “something made me fall backwards instead of forwards.” Nobody should know there was any kind of intervention.
Which meant there was a magical being in the vicinity. He turned his head, and there stood Shindy, dressed in a stylish red shirt and white pants, looking even more gorgeous than he had at the Conclave.
“Shindy!” Hiro quickly made sure the child was okay – by this time, an adult had seen what was going on and ran toward the girl, calling out to her – and then turned toward the elf. “You . . . what are you doing here?”
“I just happened to be passing through this park,” Shindy said. “Good thing, since I saw you. I’d been hoping to bump into you since I came here.”
“Where’s here?” Hiro said. “You mean . . . you did what you said? You came to the human world for good?”
“Meeting you made me realize I couldn’t just sit on my butt among the elves forever and grumble about it,” Shindy said. “So I came to the human world, found Kai and now I’m working for his band’s management. You don’t know what a relief it is to actually DO something, rather than be around idleness all the time.”
“I can imagine,” Hiro said.
“So . . . thanks to you, I realized it was time to fully change my life. Now . . . I might be looking to change it a bit more.”
Hiro’s heart started pounding. He knew what that meant. If things worked out . . . the joke about Shindy having a boyfriend might be real, and he’d be the lucky guy. He didn’t know if any other pixies had interspecies relationships before – but he knew that as mellow as the race overall was, they probably wouldn’t give him a hard time over it.
“I might be looking to change mine a bit more, too,” he said.
“So, then . . . now that I’ve found you again, how about that date?”
“You meant it?”
“Of course I did. Now that I’ve connected with you, I want us to stay connected. I’m going to tell you how to find me, and, well . . . how often can you get into the human world?”
“They don’t put restrictions on that.”
“Good, because I want you to come here a lot.”
“You do?” Hiro was really, really trying hard to hide that right now, he was more excited than a kid at his own birthday party. It wasn’t working.
“Of course” Shindy said. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind, you know.”
“That makes two of us,” Hiro said.
“Well, then?” He leaned over and whispered the location of a nearby bar into Hiro’s ear, adding, “Tonight at seven. I’ll be waiting.”
Hiro watched the other man turn and go – back toward the new life he’d found in the human world, away from the boring sameness of elf society. And to think this all happened because we both went to one boring meeting, he thought.
By sending him to that disaster, the Lord Mayor had actually done one of the biggest favors of his life.
* * *
EPILOGUE
The one date led to another, and another, and another. Their relationship intensified from sexy fun – though they did make extensive use of the gateway to the lovely mountain setting – to a true meeting of hearts and minds.
Hiro worried at first that his people would look unkindly of him sneaking away from their own world all the time to see a lover who was of a different magical race. But the mellowness of the pixie people was to his advantage – their attitude was basically, “Eh, whatever.” (The fact that their little hideaway was outside of normal time and space didn’t hurt any, either).
And despite the fact that the last one had been so boring, they did put in an appearance at the next Conclave – to let everyone they’d met there before know that they’d become very much a couple. Kai, Junji and Subaru all approved – and they got invites to couples’ nights so they could meet their friends’ boyfriends.
For Hiro, he didn’t care any more what people of more snobbish races thought of pixies. He had the approval and love of one very special elf, and that was all he needed.
Chapter: Standalone.
Author: Boots
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Urban fantasy, romance, drama
Warning: Frottage, rimming, magically enhanced sex
Pairing: Shindy (Anli Pollicino) x Hiro (Fest Vainqueur)
Disclaimer: Anli Pollicino is property of Zany Zap, Fest Vainqueur is property of plug records WEST, I own the story only.
Summary: Hiro becomes one of the few pixies in history to attend the Conclave, a massive gathering of magical beings. However, the experience falls far short of his expectations – until he meets a mysterious beauty.
Comments: For the August challenge at
vkyaoi , which calls for fics focused on bassists, and for the Places square of my Season of Kink card. Contains references to several of my earlier stories, A Fairy’s Tale, Heart of the Ocean and The Dragon’s Destiny. (I didn’t originally intend them all to be set in the same universe, but now, it seems, they are).In a world that humans share with magical creatures, the former very often has no idea of the existence of the latter. There’s myths and legends, to be sure, mostly based on brief encounters here or there, almost all very inaccurate as to who the beings were and what they did.
Granted, what they did varied from race to race. Fairies, for instance, used their magic to smoothly change the seasons and keep the elements of nature balanced. Werecreatures were the stewards of the various animal races they shapeshifted into – it was said, sometimes, that werewolves were all that stood between wolves and extinction.
And then, there were the races whose activities were a mystery to other magical beings – like, for instance, the elves. At one point, they were in charge of weather magic, but much of their old function had been taken over by the fairies. The fact that few outsiders entered their realms just added to the mystique – most of them lived in elegant manors within forests, invisible to human eyes of course, and seemed to socialize mainly with other elves.
So, all of these groups pretty much went about their business, sometimes interacting with each other, more often interacting with humans (some races, such as dragons, went out of their way to assist the magic-less creatures, while others, like the fairies, regarded living as a human for awhile to be a sort of training ground for character). Until the one annual event that brought them all together.
Once a year, each of these races chose one representative to send to a huge congress of magical folk called the Conclave. Nobody was really sure how the tradition started, but they all knew it was vital that it be maintained. The Conclave was when the magical world discussed what was going on in the world (especially with humans), how they could use their special abilities to help each other (and the humans), and any problems that had arose (usually caused by humans).
To be chosen to represent your race at the Conclave was a high honor indeed. Usually the leaders and high councils of each race debated for days before picking the person they felt best represented their interests – and in most cases, it was either a relative of a leader or high council member, or someone of extraordinary accomplishments. (Oh, and the elves usually sent a representative as well – but it didn’t help the mystery much, as they only spoke about matters of general importance, never about their day-to-day lives).
You could feel the tension in the magical world when Conclave time came around – who would be the lucky chosen ones? Who would represent your race this year? It was the subject of much debate in taverns and meeting halls hidden from the eyes of the non-magical.
Unless, of course, you were of one of the rare races that was indifferent to the Conclave. And one of them was the pixies.
Now, pixies were certainly one of the less-talked-about magical groups, both among humans and other magical races. But they were definitely among the hardest working. Pixies, you see, were in charge of “little miracles” - the tiny natural phenomena that saved the lives of humans or animals.
When a cat fell from a tree but was seemingly unhurt after landing, it was because a pixie caught it right before it hit the ground. Branches falling during storms that missed someone’s house by inches were diverted by the creatures. Children and animals who just missed being hit by cars were picked up and moved out of the way at the last minute.
Pixies lived in a dimension just outside the human world, and they prided themselves on being ever-vigilant, of letting their sixth senses tell them whenever there was going to be trouble that they could do something about. They were also mellow, cooperative and easygoing – to the point where they didn’t really have leaders. They didn’t think they needed them. Everyone pitched in and did their part, for their own society and for humans. Once a year, they’d all meet and pick a Lord Mayor of the Pixies – if only because they felt someone needed to be in charge in a crisis. The next year, someone else would get their turn.
Most years, when the Conclave came around, the pixies would shrug and say they had better things to do than send someone to this huge event. Indeed, in the last half-century, pixies had only been represented at the Conclave about four times.
When this year’s invitation arrived – delivered by a very serious-looking fairy prince, wings glittering in the sunlight – the current Lord Mayor opened it, read it and shrugged. “Really, what good does going to this thing do? I mean, we kind of just go about our business here.”
“Lord Mayor, sir, representation at the Conclave is necessary to ensure everyone’s best interests are being seen to. You may have a problem one of us can help you with. Or you might be able to help one of us with our problems.”
“We ain’t got no problems,” the Lord Mayor said. “We do what we do and we get by. And I don’t think we can help anyone else, either. All we do is for the people and the animals.”
“It could be, sir, that some of the methods you use could be beneficial to another group. You might be able to share techniques. You might . . .”
“I said we ain’t going.”
“But sir, every other race sends a representative. It is crucial that the best interests of all are . . .”
“I ain’t getting rid of you until I send someone, am I?”
“That’s not how it works, sir, but if you just listen to me . . .”
“Look, if I promise to send someone will you just shut up and go away?”
“Fine,” the fairy prince said. “Just make sure that you choose someone by . . .”
The Lord Mayor looked around him, saw a young man carrying a big bundle of something, and pointed to him. “YOU! You’re representing us at this Conclave thingy!”
The boy nearly dropped the bundle. “I am?”
“Sure thing!” the Lord Mayor said. “What’s your name?”
“Hiro, sir. I’m the son of . . .”
“Never you mind where you come from!” the Lord Mayor replied. “You’re one of us, that’s good enough for me.”
“Lord Mayor, this is highly irregular,” the fairy price said. “Just picking someone at random, when usually people send . . .”
“Every one of our people is as good as the next one,” the Lord Mayor said. “Any one of us would be good to send to this Conclave, you understand? And it just so happens I’m sending this boy.”
“Fine,” the prince said, sighing. “We’ll open a portal to the location of the meeting Thursday at noon. Be right here at this spot so you can step through. Either bring enough clothing and such for three days or be prepared to provide your needs with magic.” The prince bowed and disappeared.
“Pain in the ass,” the Lord Mayor said. “Honestly, wouldn’t leave me alone until I said I was sending someone to this thing.” He looked at Hiro. “You don’t really have to go if you don’t want to, boy. I was just looking to shut him up.”
“No, no, I’ll go,” Hiro said. “I’d like to see what the Conclave is like. I’ve heard about it, but I didn’t think I’d ever see it.”
“Well, okay, whatever, kid,” the Lord Mayor said. “Go, see what those stuck-up bastards have to say that’s so important, then come back to us. Least you’ll get some good food and drink out of it, right?”
“Yes, sir!” Hiro quickly scurried back toward his family’s home. The Conclave, he thought. I’m being sent to the Conclave! What will it be like, I wonder? I’ll be meeting people and seeing things and doing things no pixie has done before – and just because I happened to be in the right place at the right time!
* * *
A few days later, Hiro stood at the appointed spot, breathless with excitement.
He’d dressed in his best tunic and breeches – although pixies generally didn’t have many fancy clothes. There wasn’t much fancy about them, period. They lacked the rich-toned blue skin and elaborate facial markings of the fairies – instead, their skin was a slightly greenish hue and they had small, feather-like markings around their eyes. They had pointed ears like the fairies and elves, but theirs were much smaller.
No matter. He was looking his best for what he was quickly considering the best day of his life. I’m going to meet elves and fairies and shapeshifters and who knows what else? he thought. And I get to tell him all about what pixie life is like!
Suddenly, a ring of green light appeared in front of him – a small circle at first, then stretching out and getting taller, until it elongated into an oval as tall as he was. This is it, he thought. This is the portal! I’m going to step through it, and be in who-knows-what realm . . .
He took a deep breath, stepped through the ring, and found himself in . . . a hotel lobby? He blinked and looked around. Yes, he was in the human world. There were humans all around him. Had they made a mistake?
Quickly, he ducked behind a pillar and concentrated. Like any magical creature, pixies had human forms, and he shifted into his as fast as he could. He peeked out – and saw a human approaching him, with wavy black hair and a wide, friendly smile.
“You must be the representative of the pixies,” he said.
He opened his eyes wide. “How do you know?”
“I saw you come in,” the other man said. “Don’t worry, you were shielded from human eyes until you shifted.” He bowed. “I’m Prince Kai of the Seelie Kingdom.”
“You’re a fairy prince,” Hiro said.
“Well, yes. And I was chosen to represent the fairies at this year’s Conclave – even though I don’t really live with them anymore. I’ve lived in the human world for 15 years.”
“Really?” Hiro said. “Why?”
“I’m a musician,” Kai said. “I’m the leader of a visual kei band called the GazettE. My grandfather sent me to the human world to learn leadership. I learned it through being with a band – and decided I wasn’t going back.”
“So we’re having the Conclave in the human world because you live here?”
“I’m not the one who’s in charge of it,” Kai said. “But it’s always held in the human world – because that’s neutral turf for all of us. As far as all the humans in this hotel know, we’re just a trade convention. Come on, I’ll take you to the opening reception.”
Hiro followed Kai, quietly. If everyone is in human form, he thought, I won’t be able to tell who is what. It kind of disappointed him – he was very much looking forward to seeing other magical creatures in their true forms.
They entered a ballroom, where people stood around talking, most of them with drinks in their hands. There was a bar at either end of the room, and butlers circulated with trays of snack items.
“Feel free to get yourself a drink,” Kai said. “It’s open bar. And you might want to introduce yourself to this year’s chairman, Prince Kamijo of the Vampires. He’s over there. But the important thing is to get to know everyone and just enjoy yourself. I’ll be over there taking care of business if you have any questions – I’m one of the vice-chairs this year.” He bowed and headed across the room.
Hiro found himself alone. His dreams of mingling with other races suddenly seemed unattainable. It suddenly occurred to him that socializing with other races wasn’t something he knew how to do – and nobody was approaching him.
It seems that everyone knows everyone else here, he thought. Maybe they’ve represented their races at this thing before. Heck, maybe they come back every year.
He quickly went over to one of the bars and got a beer – usually, beer and whiskey were the only alcoholic beverages that pixies indulged in. Now what do I do? he thought. Stand here until someone approaches me? Go join one of the groups? I’m not used to this. I just do what needs to be done at home. I don’t go to . . . fancy occasions.
Hiro just sort of randomly wandered around the room, nodding and smiling at people. They didn’t nod and smile back. They just kind of glanced at him and went back to talking with whoever they were talking to.
After awhile, he was starting to feel really, really awkward. I don’t know what I’m doing here, he thought. Maybe I really don’t belong. Maybe I should just find a way to get back home. Pixies usually don’t come to these things, do they? I . . .
And then a voice said, “Hey, I don’t remember seeing you here before! Why don’t you come over here and join us?”
Finally. He looked up, and saw a pleasant-looking man with long, dark-blond hair and a big smile. “I definitely haven’t been here before,” Hiro told him. “In fact . . . I haven’t been many places at all.”
“Well, you’ll have a good time here, I can tell you!” the man said. “I’ve been here before, and there’s a party every night after the meetings. I’m Prince Junji of the Dragons, by the way. My grandfather is Ryujin.”
Is everyone here a prince? Hiro thought. Am I the only one here who’s just an ordinary magic user? Suddenly, the mellow, egalitarian lifestyle of pixies looked, well, kind of dull in comparison.
“I’m . . . Hiro,” he said.
“Cool,” Junji said. “Hiro what? You have any other names?”
“Um, no. I’m just a regular pixie, that’s all. I got picked to come here.”
At that moment, another blond approached them, this one younger than Junji. “Hey!” he said. “You’ve got ANOTHER boyfriend now, Junji? How many of them do you have?”
“He’s not a boyfriend!” Junji said. “I just met the guy!”
“That’s what they all say,” the newcomer said.
“This is Subaru, by the way,” Junji said. “He’s a selkie. Not just any old seal, either. He’s a Purius.”
“A what?” said Hiro.
“A Purius,” Subaru said. “That’s the highest rank among the selkie people. You earn it if you connect with a human who has a pure heart. See, we regularly go up on land and interact with humans . . .”
“Which is a nice way of saying they pick a human to get it on with,” Junji said.
“We choose a human and mate with them for a week. In most cases, the human doesn’t figure out what we really are – in which case, we just end the affair there and never see them again. But if they do find out? They have two choices. They can either trap us in the human world by stealing our seal pelts – or they can let us go. And it’s very, very rare to find a human willing to let you go. They’re the ones with pure hearts. If you’ve found one, you become a Purius. You can leave the sea and stay with that person every night for as long as you want, and you’re considered elite among your fellow selkies.”
He’s an elite, Hiro thought. And Junji is a prince. And I, well . . .
“So what did you say your name was?” Subaru said.
“Hiro. I’m a pixie. Just, well . . . a pixie.”
“Hiro’s never been here before,” Junji said. “I told him about the parties.”
“Just look out for the drunk guys looking to hook up,” Subaru said. “You’ll find that everywhere around here. Just last year, Jui – he’s the grand archduke of the griffins – came up to me and said . . .”
Hiro was really starting to feel uncomfortable and intimidated, no matter how nice these guys were. Everyone here is somebody, he thought. Everyone was either born important or became important.
He’d never felt uncomfortable among his own people, who considered everyone equal. But now, he was regretting coming here more than ever.
“Excuse me,” he said. “I need to find a men’s room.”
“Oh, sure,” Junji said. “Hey, it happens to everyone when they’re in human form, right?”
Hiro stumbled away and headed out into the hall. He leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath. Okay, he thought, how do I portal out of here? How do I get back to the pixie world – where I belong?
And then, he heard a voice saying, “Someone else feels like they need to get away from that crowd? I thought I was the only one.”
Oh, great – there was a man leaning against the wall near him. Not just any man, either – an extremely beautiful one. Like so many of the other people in there, he was a blond, with long hair, an oval face, large eyes, full lips, and a willowy frame.
Damn, Hiro thought. I could go for him – except he’s probably out of my league, isn’t he? If he’s part of this crew . . .
“I . . . it was a little overwhelming,” he said.
“A little? Try a lot,” the other man replied. “Everyone impressing each other, slinging around their titles, drinking and drinking. And then, somewhere in the middle of all that, they sit around and talk about seemingly important business. Then they go back to drinking and yakking. How this is supposed to help humans or the world in general, I don’t know.”
Hiro actually felt a bit relieved when he heard that. “So you don’t think you belong there, either?”
“Oh, I belong there – according to the people who sent me. It just wouldn’t do to not have us be represented at this thing. Gods forbid we not put in an appearance.” He rolled his eyes.
“Just who are you, anyway?” Hiro said.
“Shindy. Just call me Shindy. As for who I am? I’m someone who’s had enough of these pretentious things and would rather spend the weekend under a tree in the mountains somewhere.”
Hiro found himself breaking out into a wide smile. “That sounds terrific,” he said.
Kai appeared at the door, peeking out into the hall. “Oh,” he said. “There you are. We’re about to start the first meeting. Won’t you come in and take a seat?”
“Sure, sure,” Shindy sighed. He glanced over at Hiro. “I guess I’ll see you after this is over.”
“Of course!” Hiro said, too quickly. He watched the other man move gracefully into the room, thinking, at least I’ve met one person who’s understanding. Not to mention gorgeous. I mean, he’s truly beautiful. I just wonder who he is, what sort of race he belongs to . . .
He had a feeling he was about to find out.
* * *
The meeting began with the moderator introducing himself. “Good evening. I am this year’s chairman, Prince Kamijo of the Vampires. I believe we have matters of importance to all of us to discuss, but before we begin, I would like all the participants to introduce themselves. State your name and what race you’re representing. Kai, why don’t you go first?”
Kai, who was sitting at Kamijo’s right, stood up. “Prince Kai of the Seelie Kingdom, representing the fairies.”
A blond next to him stood up and said, “Grand Archduke Jui of the Griffins.”
He was followed by a pink-haired man who said, “Archduke Koichi. I’m here for the Kitsune, whether they like it or not.”
Every one of them, Hiro thought, is some kind of nobility. Every one represents a powerful race. And I’m, well, just . . . me.
He glanced across the table at Shindy, who was seated on Prince Kamijo’s left – he’d be the last to introduce himself. I just wonder what he is, he thought. He said he was sick of going to these kinds of events . . . he must do that a lot. Is he some kind of nobility, too, I wonder? And what race? Obviously not a fairy, since Kai is . . .
He was suddenly nudged in the side. “Hey! Hey, you! It’s your turn! Introduce yourself!”
Hiro stood up. “Um . . . Hiro,” he said. “Of the pixies.”
He heard whispers around the table. “Pixies?” said one person not far from him. “What’s next, inviting humans?”
“They’ll let anyone into these meetings nowadays,” another huffed.
Hiro sat back down and just looked at the table. No wonder my people don’t usually come to this meeting, he thought. We’re not welcome here, are we?
He sort of half-listened as the others introduced themselves – Prince this, Lord that, Dukes and Barons and one Marquis. He was the only commoner. Never mind that pixies didn’t have hierarchy – their lack of status just made them seem all the more like outsiders.
Finally, Shindy stood up. “Fine,” he said. “Much as I dislike this sort of thing . . .” He took a deep breath. “Prince Shindy of the Alfar, representing the elves.”
Hiro nearly fell on the floor. An elf? He was an ELF? The highest magical race there was? The elite of the elite? And royalty, yet? No wonder he said he was sick of these gatherings – he must have spent all his life going to them.
And so much for talking to him again afterward, Hiro thought. Now that I know he’s an elf and he knows I’m a pixie . . . he’s out of my league. Way, way out of my league.
“All right, then,” Prince Kamijo said. “Now, we’re going to move on to our first topic, inter-species relations. Apparently, there have been issues with some races thinking that other races are infringing on what they believe to be their purpose and duties - treading on their turf, so to speak. Who has had issues with this, and what could be done to resolve it?”
“I would definitely have an issue with this,” said one prince who, Hiro thought, had said he represented the kappa. “We seem to have an issue with the dragons over who is responsible for what matters when it comes to sea creatures . . .”
And on it went, for what seemed like forever. After the races got done hashing out their disputes with one another, the issue of just how involved magical races should be in the lives of humans came up. This led to a lot more arguing and finger-pointing. Why, Hiro thought, does everything have to be such a big deal?
“Let’s hear from somebody who hasn’t spoken yet, please,” Prince Kamijo said. “I’m getting a bit tired of the same voices over and over. Hiro of the pixies, what do you have to say about this?”
Hiro swallowed hard. He’d been put on the spot. Oh, no, he thought, I have no idea what to say at all! He took a deep breath. “Well . . . we all share the same earth, right? Humans and magical creatures? And, well, shouldn’t we all look out for each other? Use whatever abilities we have? I mean, as pixies, our main job is to help humans, but shouldn’t other people do that as well?”
He heard grumbling around the table. One nobleman mumbled, “Hopelessly naïve.” Another said, “Why did they invite a pixie, anyway?” His heart sank again. No wonder, he thought, the Lord Mayor told me I didn’t have to come. He knew what these things are like. I should have listened.
He didn’t see Shindy across the table, who was nodding vigorously in agreement with what he’d said.
* * *
When the session was over, the group adjourned to one of the ballrooms, where another party was ready to start – waiters with trays of champagne and canapes, bars ready to open. Hiro didn’t find the sight as fascinating as he did when he first got there. Quite the opposite, in fact.
But before he could shrink into a corner, a hand grabbed his arm and a voice said, “Hey, let’s get out of this place.”
Hiro turned, and saw who it was. “Shindy?”
“You sound shocked.”
“That’s because I am shocked.”
“Oh, please, did you think I wouldn’t have anything to do with you just because you’re a pixie? Give me a break. Snobbery isn’t my thing. In fact, I hate snobs.”
“You do?”
“Of course I do. I’ve been around them all my life.” Shindy steered Hiro out of the ballroom and down a hall, then out a door that took them outside the resort, into a small park-like area with sculpted hedges, plants and benches.
“You said you were an elf prince,” Hiro said.
“My father is the brother of our king,” Shindy said. “I grew up around pretention. The elves really don’t do much anymore except have parties and dances. When they do magic, it’s more to show off than anything else. We used to be the main caretakers of nature, do you know that? We were the ones who woke the animals up in the spring and painted the leaves in the fall. We designed the patterns of snowflakes. The fairies were our assistants. But over time, the elves got full of themselves. They started thinking they were too good to do their own work. They started letting the fairies take over more and more. And now . . .”
“Now they’re like the really rich humans? Lazy and bored all the time?”
“How did you know?” Shindy said.
“I’m a pixie, remember? We’re deeply involved in the human world all the time. I observe all kinds of human behavior.”
“You said that as if it wasn’t something to be proud of.”
“Said what?”
“That you were a pixie.”
“Well, compared to everyone else in there . . .” Hiro said. His face fell as he remembered the whispers and murmurs and people looking down their noses at him. Hell, he was surprised that they didn’t climb on top of their chairs so they could literally look down their noses.
“The hell with them,” the other man said. “I heard their bullshit. Acting like they’re so superior to you? Hell, you people do more to help humans and animals than most of the so-called elite races. A pixie is a good thing to be.”
“You mean it?” Hiro said.
“You were just about the only person talking sense in there,” Shindy said. “They were all going on about me, me, me. Okay, there were SOME other people who seemed sensible – Junji of the Dragons has humans’ best interests at heart. But most of them? Forget it.” He sighed. “When did we all decide we were all better than each other – and collectively better than humans?”
“You like humans?” Hiro said.
“I find them fascinating. More so than elves, that’s for sure. I mean, they have to get by in the world completely without magic. They invented technology to do it. How amazing is that?” He sat down on one of the benches. “Tell me about some of them.”
“About . . . humans?”
“The ones you’ve saved. That you’ve worked with.”
“Well, there was this family once,” Hiro said. “I diverted a tree from falling on their house during a typhoon. It was a mother and father and two daughters, and one daughter wanted to be a ballet dancer. I remember she kept going to auditions and failing – she was telling her mother about it right before the storm hit. And her mother told her not to give up, ever – that the strength of her faith alone would pull her through.”
“What happened?” Shindy said. “Did you find out?”
“I went back to check on them later,” Hiro said. “The girl had gotten into a dance company.”
“That’s great!” Shindy said. “See, that’s the kind of emotions I wish my people still had. Faith. Hope. True passion. I mean, there’s plenty of sexual passion with us – we’re a very sensual people. But no passion for life.” He looked at Hiro. “That’s what YOU have in abundance. I can tell just by the way you talked about that girl.”
Hiro smiled. “I just live the way I’ve always lived, really. The way all of us live.”
“I just don’t know why they all look down their noses at you,” Shindy said. “I really wanted to punch some of them when they were grumbling about you like that. Maybe they do it because they don’t want to admit how boring their lives have become.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” said Hiro. “When that stuff started . . . I just wanted to leave, you know?”
“Maybe that’s what we both should do,” Shindy mused.
Hiro looked baffled. “Leave?”
“Just for awhile,” Shindy said. “Remember what I said about wanting to be somewhere in the mountains?” He stood up, held his hands in front of him and concentrated. The air in front of him suddenly fogged, and the fog formed the shape of an oval slightly taller and wider than him . . . and then, suddenly, a purple glow appeared around the edges, looking like brightly colored lightning. The fog faded, revealing a window into an inviting looking mountain scene – green grass, bright flowers, moonlight shining on a stream.
“There!” Shindy said. “A portal. We go through that and that’s where we end up. Then we come back here and nobody will know we were gone.”
“But . . . if they come looking for us . . .”
“We’ll return to the exact time and place where we left, no matter how long we’re gone. That’s how the magic works. Being an elf has distinct advantages sometimes.”
“I’ve never experienced elf magic before.” Hiro walked up to the portal and looked through it. The scene on the other side definitely looked inviting. Well, he thought, there’s no harm in it if we end up in the same time and place, right?
“Come on!” Shindy grabbed his hand and pulled him through the portal. Hiro felt a small shiver . . . and then, he was standing on the grass he had just stepped through, in one of the most gorgeous evening vistas he’d ever beheld.
In front of him were vibrant green trees and acre after acre of flowers, and a sparkling river. Above him was a night sky that seemed like a bowl full of stars. The breeze bore a variety of gorgeous scents. It was like a miniature paradise.
“It’s perfect,” Hiro said.
“Isn’t it?” Shindy said. “Come on, sit down.” He sat on the banks of the river. “I’ve always come here when I needed to think, or just needed a few minutes of quiet.”
“I can see why.” Hiro sat beside the other man. He could feel the energies of nature soaking into him just from the contact with the ground. It made him feel vibrant and warm.
“It’s always been my special place,” Shindy said. “I can’t tell you how many parties I escaped from to come here.”
“You really don’t like those kind of things, do you?”
“Let’s just say they’re not my thing. And the people can be kind of dull. Sort of like the ones at that conference. I can tell you a few things about some of those guys . . .”
And for the next hour, or two, or however, Shindy told Hiro about his past experiences with the people at the conference, and they had a laugh at the expense of their boorishness – which made Hiro feel a lot better about his experiences there. In return, Hiro told Shindy more stories about his experiences with humans – his observations of their worlds, what it felt like to help and save them.
Pretty soon, Hiro was feeling better about, well, everything. He’d been willing to write this whole experience off as a total disaster. Shindy had singlehandedly rescued it for him. I’m glad I met him, he thought. He’s . . . not like anyone I’ve ever known before. I just hope we can continue to get to know each other, given that we live in different worlds.
Shindy leaned back on his elbows and let out a contented sigh. “I don’t think I ever want to leave here,” he said.
“You said we don’t have to,” Hiro said. “Not right away.”
“Nope. I’ve stayed here with a lover for a full 24 hours and gone right back to the place and time I came from.”
“Oh . . . you bring . . .”
“Lovers here? All the time.” He looked at Hiro. “I told you we’re a very sensual people. Sex is, well, a way of affection and communication for us. I didn’t know how you feel about that kind of thing, you know, sex with someone you just met . . .”
“Well, we’re open to it,” Hiro said, quickly. And, damn, he was blushing. Was he attracted to the beautiful elf-boy? Oh, hell, yes. The fact that they were both currently still in human form didn’t matter. He was sure Shindy’s true form was even more beautiful.
“Then what would you say,” Shindy said, “if I told you that one way I got through that dull as hell meeting was looking over at you and imagining you naked and all over me?”
Hiro gasped. “You . . . you were?”
“You’re adorable. Really. Not just your looks, your personality. You’re . . . my kind of guy.” Shindy reached up and stroked a hand over Hiro’s face. “So, if you want to . . .”
Hiro responded by leaning over and kissing Shindy hard. Having sex with a guy this gorgeous? In a paradise like this? Oh, he was all about it. He felt the other man kiss him back, a tongue sliding into his mouth, and he moaned, opening his lips wider, making it deeper.
When he leaned back, he said, “Shindy . . . should I shift into . . .”
“Stay like this,” Shindy said. “It’s always been my experience that sex is the most fun when both people are in human form. Human bodies are just made for fucking.”
Both men laughed, and Shindy raised his hands, concentrating. Both sets of clothes vanished, leaving them naked.
“I’ll make them come back when we need them,” Shindy said, pulling Hiro into his arms. “Right now, we definitely don’t.”
That just made Hiro laugh again, and then the laugh was swallowed up in a kiss so hot and intense that it took his breath away. He felt himself being tumbled onto the soft, soft grass, which seemed to be sending a magical charge into his body, pulsing through his veins, making him feel like every inch of him was drawing energy from the earth and using it to enhance his pleasure.
Shindy kissed his way slowly down the other man’s neck, scraping his teeth a little, enough to make Hiro shudder a bit. He’s good, Hiro thought. He’s so good, he knows just where to touch, where the little moan zones are . . .
The kisses moved lower, to his chest, and Hiro tensed in anticipation . . . until he felt a tongue swirl against his nipple, sending more small shocks of pleasure through his veins. Shindy lowered his head, and then he was sucking hard at it, making Hiro moan, grabbing the back of his head.
Hiro opened his eyes and looked up into the seemingly endless array of stars, their beauty only seeming to enhance the sensations as Shindy pleasured him, pulling his lips away to lick slowly back and forth over the hard bud again, then lowering his head to suck.
He arched his hips off the ground, moaning loudly, and he felt his new lover’s fingers sliding up and down his cock, exploring every inch of it, rubbing back and forth over the tip. This guy was driving him nuts, slowly, he was stoking the fires of pleasure into a flat-out inferno . . .
Hiro knew he wanted to give some of this pleasure back. He put his hands on Shindy’s shoulders, and the elf stopped what he was doing . . . only to be rolled on his back by Hiro, who immediately brought his mouth to a nipple, sucking at it like it was the most delicious thing ever.
“Ohh, yes,” Shindy moaned. “Keep going, please, please . . .”
Hiro reached over and rubbed his fingers over the other bud, teasing it into a hard peak, feeling the man shudder beneath him. He raised his head, nibbling the pink flesh around the nipple a little, which brought out a sharp cry and a hand gripping at his hair.
He moved his head to the nipple his fingers had been pleasuring, and sucked hard, feeling Shindy start to writhe beneath him, murmuring, “You’re a sexy little thing, aren’t you, so goddamn hot . . .”
Hiro raised his head just long enough to shift his position, rubbing his cock against Shindy’s, and the other man arched upward, starting to thrust his hips, rubbing them together. “Yes,” the elf murmured. “Fuck, yes, you feel so good . . .”
This just made Hiro move faster and harder, grinding his hips against the other man’s, leaning over to capture his lips in a hot kiss, their tongues sliding together lustfully, echoing the actions of their bodies. He felt hands grip his ass, urging to move faster, and he did, feeling hard sliding against hard, precome starting to slick both erections.
“So hot,” Shindy murmured. “You’re so hot . . .” And then his words were swallowed up in a loud moan and heavy breathing as he moved faster and harder, the two men churning against each other now, their bodies flushed and covered in sweat.
“Close,” Hiro moaned, leaning in for another deep kiss, feeling Shindy grinding against him, Shindy all over him, Shindy being the most glorious thing he had ever felt . . .
And then Shindy suddenly arched upward, letting out a loud cry, and Hiro felt the hot wetness as he came against him, just making the pleasure in the pixie’s own body grow more intense, heading faster and faster toward bliss . . .
The ecstasy hit him like a bolt of lightning. He cried out Shindy’s name, hot shudders consuming him over and over, until he collapsed atop the elf, panting loudly and totally spent – but in the most delicious way.
Hiro just clung to Shindy, closing his eyes. He was so, so very relaxed and contented right now. This was, well, the highlight of the entire event for him. When people asked him what good came of going to the Conclave, he was going to tell them, “Sex with a beautiful elf – that’s about it.”
Shindy ran his fingers through the other man’s hair. “You’re even more delicious than I thought you’d be,” he said. “I’d like to skip the rest of the damn Conclave and just spend the rest of the time here with you.”
“Why do either of us have to be there, anyway?” Hiro said. “I was really excited to go when I heard about it, but now that I’ve been there? It’s, well . . .”
“Bullshit?” Shindy said. “It is. Even things that have been discussed in those meetings won’t get done. People will make a show of doing it for a few weeks, and then things will go back to what they were.”
“So, in the long run . . . it really is an excuse for a bunch of parties, isn’t it?”
“Bingo. And there’s a lot of other people in there who, I’m sure, would rather be back doing what they normally do rather than being here.”
“What about you, Shindy? What do you really want to do? It sounds like you’re not happy being in the elf world.”
“Whatever gave you that idea?” Shindy said, dryly.
“You could always live among humans, you know,” Hiro said. “Do good for them that way. There are magical beings who do that – live among humans and use their magic in secret. Kai – the prince of the fairies – said that’s what he does.”
“And most elves think that kind of thing is beneath them,” Shindy said.
“All the more reason for you to do it!” Hiro said. “The heck with what they think! You’d probably be very happy living in the human world. And isn’t that what matters?”
Shindy leaned over and kissed Hiro’s neck. “Would this have something to do with the fact that pixies visit the human world all the time, and we’d be able to see each other again?”
“Um . . . maybe?”
“Thought so. And I like the idea. Both getting rid of the bullshit, and seeing each other some more. Maybe if we’re both in the human world at the same time, we can go on an actual date.”
Hiro laughed. “I’d probably like that.”
“Meantime . . . we can stay here longer.” Shindy brought his lips toward Hiro’s again. “Remember, we’re outside of time and space right now . . . there’s no limit on when we have to be back.”
“Good,” Hiro said. “Because I’m in no rush.”
And as the beautiful elf kissed him again, he thought that as far as he was concerned, they could stay outside of time and space forever.
* * *
It was some hours later, given that the bowl full of stars had given way to a glorious pink and orange sunrise that would have enhanced Hiro’s mood considerably – if he had noticed it.
He wasn’t noticing much else right now, given that he was on all fours and Shindy was currently running his tongue along the rim of his entrance.
When the elf had asked him to get in this position, he’d complied easily – after all, everything they’d done during the past three rounds or so had resulted in ecstasy. But he’d been a bit surprised when the other man put his hand over the cleft in the pixie’s bottom and recited some arcane words – he’d used a spell earlier in their lovemaking, but this was entirely different. Hiro felt an intense warmth flash quickly through his entire entrance and channel.
“What was . . .”
“A total cleansing spell. You’ll see.”
Oh, he was seeing, all right. And feeling. There was a hot, wet tongue rubbing directly against the sensitive flesh of his entrance, sending shudders of pleasure running through his whole body.
He’d been rimmed by a human he’d had an affair with a few years back. But that had involved a thin piece of plastic placed over the area. This . . . was direct, nothing between him and the warmth, softness, wetness . . .
Shindy pushed his tongue a little inside, wriggling it, and Hiro moaned, his hands gripping at the grass under him. “Oh, oh, yes . . .” he murmured.
The elf responded by pulling out, moving back to the entrance, circling the rim slowly, then pushing in a little, pulling out, pushing in again . . . then the tongue thrust a bit deeper, wriggling about, bringing about a louder moan.
Dear Kami, he never thought he’d feel something like this, something so hot and wet moving inside him, flicking from one pleasure spot to another, bringing about shudder after shudder. The fact that this was such a forbidden thing just made it all the hotter, made him push his ass back toward Shindy, a mute demand for more pleasure.
The tongue started a steady thrust in and out of him, and Hiro was panting and moaning uncontrollably now, thinking this was pure erotic bliss, if this kept up he was going to come from this alone . . .
Shindy pulled his tongue away – but replaced it right away with his hand, covering his entrance again, murmuring another spell. When Hiro felt warmth again, he knew that THIS was the spell they’d used for Round Two – the one that opened him up and lubricated him, getting him ready for penetration in just a few seconds. Sleeping with a powerful magic-user was a wonderful, wonderful thing.
The elf pulled himself up and gripped his lover’s hips, and Hiro felt that hard, wonderful cock sliding into him, pushing over sensitive areas his lover’s tongue had been teasing moments before. He’d never known sex this good before, and didn’t know if he’d know it again with anyone else.
“Oh, yes, Shindy,” he moaned. “Fuck me . . .”
The cock started to move within him, a slow thrust that started a steady burn of pleasure deep within him. Hiro sucked in a deep breath, just letting go, opening himself up to the sensation, to the feel of being thoroughly taken by this man.
Shindy began to move his hips faster, and Hiro felt his lover’s breathing getting heavier, the other man murmuring, “You feel so good, so goddamn good, it’s like you were made for me . . .”
This just made Hiro thrust back against him, his own moans getting louder, the hardness penetrating deeper, hitting more and more sensitive spots, and Hiro found himself consumed in pleasure again, wanting to come but at the same time, wanting to be lost in this sensation forever . . .
Shindy’s hands moved over his body, running across his back, then under his torso to gently pinch a nipple, making Hiro shudder . . . just as a hard thrust struck his prostate, bringing about a loud, intense moan, a ripple of delicious feeling across his whole body.
The hardness thrust against that spot again and again, and the hand moved downward, stroking his cock quickly . . . and the last of Hiro’s control broke. He let out a cry that verged on a scream, the ecstasy overwhelming him in loud waves that felt like they were going to never end.
Shindy thrust deeply into him, again and again, and then the other man let out a yell, pouring himself into his lover’s body, until they both collapsed to the grass together, panting heavily, not wanting to let go of each other.
Finally, Shindy rolled over onto his back, murmuring a spell to clean both of them up. Hiro snuggled against his chest.
“You’re going to wear me out,” Shindy said. “In the best possible way.”
“I’m glad,” Hiro said. “That it’s the best possible way, I mean.”
“Are all pixie boys as hot as you?”
“Well . . . there are some attractive ones, yes . . .”
“God, I can’t get enough of this.” Shindy held him closer. “I don’t think I’m ever going back to those blowhards. Well, we have to, eventually, but . . .”
“I know,” Hiro said. “I don’t want to leave, either.”
He snuggled against the other man again. What is this going to mean, he thought, for after we leave the conference? Will we really reconnect? Will I get that date? Or is this just, well, a one-night stand?
* * *
By the time they came back through the portal, it was as if a full day had passed – but they landed right in the time and place they’d left from. As it turned out, though, they weren’t alone. Several other people were standing around the courtyard they had departed from.
“Oh, great,” Hiro whispered. “Think they saw us?”
“No big deal if they did,” Shindy whispered back. “Long as they weren’t humans.”
“They’re not,” Hiro said. Indeed, it was several people from the conference – Kai, and Junji, and Subaru, clustered together with drinks in hand.
Kai spotted them first. “Hey!” he called. “Where did you guys come from? Didn’t see you come out.”
“Let’s just say we’ve been here longer than you thought,” Shindy said.
“Gotcha,” Junji said. “We were just talking about, well . . .”
“What a big waste of time this all is?” Subaru said.
“More like how we all have other things we’d rather be doing,” Junji said.
“I have a band and a boyfriend,” Kai said. “And they both need me.”
“I don’t have the band part, but I do have a boyfriend on land and tribal business in the ocean,” Subaru added.
“Got you both beat,” Junji said. “I have TWO boyfriends. Oh, and a show on a radio station.”
“Two boyfriends?” Hiro said.
“Both humans,” said Junji. “Long story. Basically, I was sent to help them out and never left.”
“The point is, there’s great parties here, but it’s all rather . . . pointless, don’t you think?” said Kai.
“Finally, someone agrees with me!” said Shindy.
“You pixies have the right idea, never attending this thing,” Junji said. “And honestly, some of the crap those jerks in there were giving you? Totally uncalled for. You guys deserve more respect.”
“We do?” Hiro said, sounding genuinely surprised.
“I’ve been trying to tell him that all along,” Shindy said, casually.
“You tell your . . . what do you call your leader?” Kai said.
“Lord Mayor,” Hiro said. “Only we change them all the time.”
“Right, well, you tell your Lord Mayor that he doesn’t have to send a representative of your people anymore,” Kai said. “You’re best off doing what you’ve always done – going among the humans.”
“Hell, we’d all be best off doing that,” Junji said.
“Well, this is my last time doing this,” Shindy said.
“Really?” Subaru said. “You’ve been at the Conclave every year for just about eternity.”
“Nope. No more. I’m going to live among the humans like you people. And, well, maybe next time I run into you all? I’ll have a boyfriend as well.”
Hiro couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope when he said that. I wonder, he thought, if the boyfriend he’s talking about is me? Okay, we just fooled around casually – but is it wrong for me to hope it might develop into more?
* * *
When Hiro went back to his own people, he got asked over and over what the Conclave was like. And he felt that he owed it to them to tell the truth.
“Dreadfully dull. Unproductive. We weren’t taken seriously. Met some nice people, though.”
“Well, then, that’s what the last guy who went said,” the Lord Mayor told him. “That’s it – nobody ever has to go to that thing again. And if they insist? We’ll tell them to stick it!”
Hiro quietly went back to his regular business of coming to the aid of humans in need. He tried to put the whole Conclave thing behind him as just something that happened, just an interlude in his life . . .
Except he kept thinking about Shindy. His beauty, his touch, his sophisticated air . . . and that magical time they’d spent in that place that seemed made for a sensual encounter, all soft grass and sparkling water and warm breezes . . .
Forget it, he thought. He probably went back to the elves, despite what he said. You won’t see him again.
And then, one day, he was rescuing a child from falling in a rain-swollen creek, pushing her back at the last minute – when he heard a voice calling, “Good job! I knew you’d be great at what you people do!”
Hiro blinked. Nobody should be able to see him – he was invisible to humans. The child would describe it as “something made me fall backwards instead of forwards.” Nobody should know there was any kind of intervention.
Which meant there was a magical being in the vicinity. He turned his head, and there stood Shindy, dressed in a stylish red shirt and white pants, looking even more gorgeous than he had at the Conclave.
“Shindy!” Hiro quickly made sure the child was okay – by this time, an adult had seen what was going on and ran toward the girl, calling out to her – and then turned toward the elf. “You . . . what are you doing here?”
“I just happened to be passing through this park,” Shindy said. “Good thing, since I saw you. I’d been hoping to bump into you since I came here.”
“Where’s here?” Hiro said. “You mean . . . you did what you said? You came to the human world for good?”
“Meeting you made me realize I couldn’t just sit on my butt among the elves forever and grumble about it,” Shindy said. “So I came to the human world, found Kai and now I’m working for his band’s management. You don’t know what a relief it is to actually DO something, rather than be around idleness all the time.”
“I can imagine,” Hiro said.
“So . . . thanks to you, I realized it was time to fully change my life. Now . . . I might be looking to change it a bit more.”
Hiro’s heart started pounding. He knew what that meant. If things worked out . . . the joke about Shindy having a boyfriend might be real, and he’d be the lucky guy. He didn’t know if any other pixies had interspecies relationships before – but he knew that as mellow as the race overall was, they probably wouldn’t give him a hard time over it.
“I might be looking to change mine a bit more, too,” he said.
“So, then . . . now that I’ve found you again, how about that date?”
“You meant it?”
“Of course I did. Now that I’ve connected with you, I want us to stay connected. I’m going to tell you how to find me, and, well . . . how often can you get into the human world?”
“They don’t put restrictions on that.”
“Good, because I want you to come here a lot.”
“You do?” Hiro was really, really trying hard to hide that right now, he was more excited than a kid at his own birthday party. It wasn’t working.
“Of course” Shindy said. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind, you know.”
“That makes two of us,” Hiro said.
“Well, then?” He leaned over and whispered the location of a nearby bar into Hiro’s ear, adding, “Tonight at seven. I’ll be waiting.”
Hiro watched the other man turn and go – back toward the new life he’d found in the human world, away from the boring sameness of elf society. And to think this all happened because we both went to one boring meeting, he thought.
By sending him to that disaster, the Lord Mayor had actually done one of the biggest favors of his life.
* * *
EPILOGUE
The one date led to another, and another, and another. Their relationship intensified from sexy fun – though they did make extensive use of the gateway to the lovely mountain setting – to a true meeting of hearts and minds.
Hiro worried at first that his people would look unkindly of him sneaking away from their own world all the time to see a lover who was of a different magical race. But the mellowness of the pixie people was to his advantage – their attitude was basically, “Eh, whatever.” (The fact that their little hideaway was outside of normal time and space didn’t hurt any, either).
And despite the fact that the last one had been so boring, they did put in an appearance at the next Conclave – to let everyone they’d met there before know that they’d become very much a couple. Kai, Junji and Subaru all approved – and they got invites to couples’ nights so they could meet their friends’ boyfriends.
For Hiro, he didn’t care any more what people of more snobbish races thought of pixies. He had the approval and love of one very special elf, and that was all he needed.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-16 04:46 am (UTC)Shindy makes a perfect elf, and I think he and Hiro have great chemistry together. A magical spot outside of time is the perfect place for a rendezvous, and Shindy made great use of magic spells to keep things hygenic!
As always, thanks for participating in the challenge.