Once Niles had made a full recovery, he knew he couldn't keep muddling through this on his own. Lucy might have tried to convince him that being with Ashton was allowed, but he couldn't move past all his hangups. And now that his own feelings had gotten confused...

If I really want to do this, Niles realized, then I can't be professionally tied to Ashton as his doctor or monitoring scientist anymore. I need to talk to Dr. Jones about getting removed from his case.

He called her up, and she invited him into the office the very next day.

Niles had hoped to be able to sneak out of the house without arousing any suspicion from Ashton, but the woodlands was way too attuned to his movements, popping up from where he was napping on the couch to investigate why Niles was by the front door.

"I'm going into the office to see Dr. Jones," Niles explained, when Ashton looked at him curiously. "I'll be back in a few hours."

Ashton got off the couch expectantly, but Niles held his hand out to stop him. "I was thinking you should stay here," he said. "I have some confidential, work-related things I need to run by her. You'll just be bored and uncomfortable in the lobby."

Ashton's face fell, but he sat down without arguing. Niles stared at him, upset by the sudden shift in the faerie's mood. He hated seeing Ashton as anything less than content and happy. The instinct to take care of the faerie was still as strong as ever.

Niles sighed. "Well... if you don't mind waiting for me..." he began, and Ashton instantly shot up again, the light back in his eyes.

Niles grabbed his keys and berated himself for being such a pushover. Looking at Ashton's bright face, however... Niles realized he just didn't have it in him to deny his sprite any simple joys.

Ashton tried to hold his hand in the car, as he always did, and Niles let him for a moment before gently shaking him off. "I need both hands to drive," he reminded the disappointed faerie.

Ashton was not to be deterred, however, as he just rested his hand on Niles' knee instead, pretending to be engrossed by the trees and houses outside so that he didn't have to acknowledge Niles' pointed stare.

Eventually, Niles sighed and let him keep his hand there. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ashton settle into his seat with a happy little smile, and he couldn't stop the corners of his own mouth from lifting at the thought of Ashton being happy.

***

Ashton was still a bit hesitant to enter the office building, probably remembering all the times he had thought that entering it would mean being separated from Niles. 

Niles nodded at the building. "Still want to go in?" he asked. "There's a garden around back you could wait in instead."

Ashton took a deep breath and shook his head. "No, no, I got this," he said determinedly. He squared his already broad shoulders and forged ahead, leaving Niles to shake his head as he followed Ashton through the door. 

Once inside and on the right floor, Niles sat Ashton down in the lobby with the strict charge to not get too antsy. "I won't be too long," he told the faerie. "So, try not to get too explorative, ok?"

Ashton nodded dutifully and picked up a magazine, looking for all the world like he was reading it as he flipped through its pages. Niles smiled at the sight. He knew better. Ashton was just looking at the pictures. 

The faerie still wasn't that confident in reading human language yet, despite Lucy's lessons. Or maybe it was because of Lucy's lessons that he still wasn't picking it up that well. Niles would probably have to start teaching Ashton himself. 

Satisfied that Ashton would stay put, Niles nodded at the receptionist and headed down the hall to Dr. Jones' office. She was already waiting for him by her door.

"Niles," the older woman said warmly, ushering him inside. "Please, come in."

Niles smiled back. "Hi, Dr. Jones," he greeted her, stepping into her office. She followed behind him, closing her door and taking a seat at her desk. "Thanks for meeting me on such short notice. I know you have another meeting in ten minutes."

Dr. Jones waved him off and then gestured for him to have a seat. "Oh, it's alright. It's not every day that you want to make the drive up here for a meeting in-person. You really live out in the middle of nowhere."

She looked at him curiously as Niles got settled in his chair.  "I must say, I was not expecting your call," she began. "You said it was an urgent matter regarding Ashton? Is everything alright? I didn't see any issues in your last report."

Niles nodded, hesitating for a moment.

"Ashton's fine," he assured her. "We're both doing well together, it's just..."

He took a deep breath. "I think you're going to have to remove me as the leading scientist in Ashton's case."

She leaned forward, looking concerned. "Oh? Why is that?"

"There's a... conflict of interest?" Niles didn't know how else to describe it.

She raised an eyebrow at him, and Niles sighed, deciding to come clean.

"Ashton has... expressed a desire for me to be his hokla," Niles explained. "I don't think it's appropriate for me to continue to work with him in a professional capacity."

Dr. Jones looked shocked for a moment, but then she leaned back in her chair, clapping her hands once and chuckling, like Niles had told a good joke.

Niles stared at her, confused by her reaction.

"So that's why he came back," she mused. "I should've figured as much. It didn't make much sense for such a traumatized faerie to return to humans."

Niles leaned forward. "Right?" he agreed. "This whole thing is so confusing. I don't... I didn't even know he felt this way until recently."

Dr. Jones shook her head and then looked at Niles seriously, her amused smile fading. "You say you learned of his feelings recently?" she asked. "So, during your initial care of Ashton, he didn't show any signs of interest towards you?"

Niles shook his head, bewildered. "No." He paused, remembering something. "Well, he was especially clingy our last few months together," he amended. "But I never would have dreamed it was because he had feelings for me. I thought it was because he was confused and overwhelmed at the thought of going home."

Dr. Jones tapped her chin. "And at any point in your care, did you ever give Ashton the indication that you had romantic feelings for him?"

Niles was shocked. "Never!" he exclaimed. "I never even saw him that way! How could I have romantic feelings towards someone who was both a faerie and a patient?"

Dr. Jones nodded, satisfied. "Alright, just making sure," she said. "I didn't want this to be some sort of ethics breach that we missed back then."

"But... isn't it an ethics breach now?" Niles asked. "I mean... I was his doctor just four years ago!"

Dr. Jones shrugged. "It's an odd gray area, but I think enough time has passed between now and when you first treated Ashton to change your status from a doctor-patient relationship. Besides, you're not exactly treating him for anything right now. And he's the one initiating the relationship even though you've never expressed interest in him."

She paused and looked Niles up and down. "So... are you considering being Ashton's hokla?" she questioned.

Niles felt his cheeks flame. His love life was never something he even remotely considered discussing with his boss.

"I... umm," he stammered. "I might have... accidentally... told Ashton... that I'd... think about it?"

Dr. Jones raised her eyebrows.

"But I don't think a relationship between the two of us is allowed, even if I did agree to it," he hurried to add. "Telling Ashton I'd think about it was just something I blurted out in the moment. It's not like it can actually happen. I doubt the ELCoF would approve."

Dr. Jones waved him off.

"The ECLoF has already ruled that Ashton is a legal human under the conditions that they've defined," she said dismissively. "Humans are allowed to form romantic relationships with each other, so under those rights, Ashton should be able to as well. Though there are genetic differences between humans and faeries, those shouldn't be an issue in this case as you two can't have children together."

Niles blushed even harder.

Dr. Jones tapped the table, seemingly having made up her mind about something. "Alright," she said. "I'll formally remove you as the doctor in charge of Ashton's case, but I still expect you to monitor him and help him adjust to a human lifestyle."

"Will Ashton... need to live somewhere else?" Niles asked quietly. "With a different member of the board who will keep notes on his case and monitor his adjustment to human society?"

Dr. Jones smiled. "I don't think we could separate him from you even if we tried," she joked, and Niles smiled back faintly. "No, we just won't assign him to anyone."

At Niles' look of disbelief, she clarified. "Like I said, Ashton is already considered a human. Humans don't have scientists watching them and recording their every move. I think he'll be fine living with you. Just keep doing what you're doing without any formal labels from the board. Ok?"

"Ok," Niles agreed. He thought that would be the end of their meeting, but Dr. Jones wasn't done.

"A woodlands who left their clan to be with a human," Dr. Jones mused, leaning back in her chair again and studying Niles carefully. "He must really love you, Niles."

Niles looked down at the table, embarrassed. "I don't even know what I did to make him feel this way," he insisted.

Dr. Jones surprised him by laughing. "Oh, I remember watching the two of you when you would come in for wellness checks," she said. "He stared at you the way a drowning man would stare at a lifeboat. I've never seen a faerie so clingy."

"See?" Niles interrupted. "That's not love. That's... desperation. I was the only place that felt safe for him."

"You didn't let me finish," Dr. Jones continued calmly. "I wanted to say, while Ashton was panicking, you treated him so gently and patiently. Who wouldn't fall in love with someone so good-hearted?"

Niles huffed a little, flustered. "So... you... you're ok with this?"

"Sure," Dr. Jones stood up, and Niles did too, following her to the door. "It's a little... unorthodox... but that's not always a bad thing."

Niles held his breath. "But what will everyone else say? The board? The scientific community as a whole? The general public?"

"Who knows?" Dr. Jones said. "But you don't have to go public with your relationships, you know. It's ok to have a private life. Besides, people love Ashton. I think they all just want him to be happy. And actually, a lot of commenters are already speculating about the nature of your relationship."

"What?" Niles was aghast, and she nodded.

"They find it odd that a faerie would become human, seemingly out of nowhere." She laughed. "But you have a lot of fans. To them, it's a no brainer that Ashton would want to be with you."

Niles just sighed, fingers automatically flying up to touch the chain around his neck, as usual. It was a nervous habit of his, something he did when he was lost in thought or unsure about something.

Dr. Jones nodded at it. "Have you told him what that is yet?" she asked.

Niles startled. "Umm, no, I haven't," he admitted. "I haven't thought about it."

Dr. Jones smiled knowingly. "I'd be curious to know what yours and Ashton's compatibility is," she said simply. "There's obviously something drawing the two of you together."

Niles immediately denied it. "There's nothing going on!" he insisted. "Like I said, I've never thought about Ashton like that."

"Maybe not," Dr. Jones agreed, already opening the door. "But you do seem to care an awful lot about him, even back then. Maybe keep that in mind as you make your decision."

***

Ashton had no idea what Niles and Dr. Jones had been talking about, but Niles came out of the office looking flushed and uncomfortable. His human stopped beside Ashton's chair and gave him a tired smile.

"You ready to go?" he asked, and Ashton nodded.

He got to his feet, deciding to be on his best behavior and not grab Niles' hand to see how long his human would let him hold it before shaking him off.

"Have a good evening, you two," Dr. Jones said, and Ashton waved at her.

Once they were in the parking lot, Ashton did grab Niles' hand, looking at him curiously to see if Niles would pull away, as he often did after a minute or so. But Niles just let him hold it, looking thoughtful.

***

There was something that Dr. Jones said that stuck with Niles, something he kept turning over and over in his mind during the whole car ride home. And that was her curiosity about their hokla compatibility.

As far as Niles knew, the only way a woodlands matriarch could conduct a hokla reading was if both parties were present. And if that was the case, then Ashton would have blindly made the decision to become human without even knowing if he and Niles were compatible.

But... that... just didn't make sense, given what Niles had learned about Ashton since living with him again. As far as he could tell, Ashton was a risk taker, but he certainly wasn't reckless or stupid. And after everything he had gone through to get back home, Niles was sure that Ashton wouldn't have made such a permanent decision without already having an idea of how it would turn out.

So, how could he be so confident in Niles? Ashton had no way of knowing if Niles would ever love him back. No way to conduct a hokla reading without Niles there.

Unless....

"Ashton," Niles began once they were back home. "Can I talk to you about something?"

The faerie looked up expectantly. Niles paused at the questioning look in Ashton's bright eyes, still taken aback by the content, unguarded look he saw there. It just looked like the woodlands was exactly where he was supposed to be, and he knew it.

Finally, he sighed. "Look, there's no easy way to ask this, but have you... maybe... gotten a hokla reading for us?"

Whatever Ashton was expecting Niles to say, it didn't seem to be that. His eyes widened, and his hand flew over to touch the woven bracelet on his wrist.

Ah, Niles thought. There it is. He took a seat beside Ashton on the couch and waited for him to say something.

After a moment, Ashton dropped his hand to his lap, a light smile touching his lips.

"You're good at this," he admitted. "Yes, I did." He lifted his wrist and pointed out Niles' dark strand of hair. "My grandmother used this." 

He smiled sheepishly. "It's rude to do a compatibility test without the other person present, but..." he chuckled softly. "You weren't exactly there."

Niles froze at Ashton's confession. Do I want to continue this conversation? he thought. What does it mean if we have a high compatibility? Will Ashton expect me to try out a relationship?

"And?" Niles found himself breathing out.

Why am I feeling so nervous? he berated himself. Am I worried about the implications of a high compatibility? Or... am I worried that it will be low?

"And?" Ashton repeated, tilting his head to the side.

Niles frowned. "Ashton," he chided, and Ashton laughed.

"It's a high compatibility," he assured Niles.

Relief inexplicably rushed through him, and Niles sat still at the feeling.

"And... what does that mean, exactly? To you and to hoklas in general?" Niles asked next.

"During a hokla reading, the compatibility reader can see glimpses of a couple's future together," Ashton answered. "It's a chance to feel out each person's personality, their strengths and weaknesses, and to see how all those things will complement their potential hokla. The reader watches for how the couple will interact with, talk to, and take care of each other. They can even feel the bond between the couple and see if the love they share is true."

Ashton shrugged at the conclusion of his explanation. "It's a very intense piece of magic. Only matriarchs can pull it off."

"And... then what happens?" Niles asked. "What do faeries usually do after their hokla reading?"

Ashton silently scratched at the couch pillow he had laid across his lap, and Niles had to pull it away before the sprite could leave claw marks in it. "Well?"

Ashton looked up and eyed Niles carefully. "Most faeries with a high compatibility decide to start a relationship with the hokla coupling ceremony in mind. But not everyone does this. It depends on what both parties want."

Niles was confused. Getting a hokla reading in the first place implied that a couple was serious about their relationship. It didn't make much sense to reject their partner after such good news. "Why would a faerie ever decide to reject someone with a high compatibility?"

Ashton looked thoughtful. "Lots of reasons, I guess," he said. "It doesn't happen too often, but I've seen it before. One of my aunts wanted to find someone with an even higher compatibility. And I had a cousin who wasn't ready for that level of commitment. It's just to tell you that the option is there."

Niles was silent for a moment, mulling it over. Ashton nudged him, and he looked up startled. "Well?" Ashton asked. "What do you think of all this?" 

Niles sighed, turning away from the flaming gold flecks in Ashton's hazel eyes. He reached up to touch the locket around his neck before remembering the way Dr. Jones had pointed it out. He put his hand back down. 

"I don't know, Ash..." he admitted. "It's a lot of pressure. And with the hokla reading... knowing that you have this expectation that things will work out between us..."

"My happiness doesn't depend on whether or not you agree to be my hokla," came Ashton's surprising answer. "I chose to become human even knowing that you might never be with me."

"But..." Niles protested. Ashton cut him off.

"I just wanted to see you again," Ashton said gently. "To be with you again. In whatever way you'll let me. Yeah, I hope it will be as your hokla. But I'll be happy just being your friend."

Niles was a bit speechless. Could someone who had given up everything for him really be satisfied with just being a friend? But Ashton looked at him with so much sincerity that he couldn't help but believe him.

"Is... there anything else you've conveniently left out of telling me?" Niles finally asked. "You know, besides your true reason for becoming human and our compatibility reading?"

Ashton tapped his chin with a claw, thinking. "No, I think that's it," he mused. He waved his hand dismissively. "I'll let you know if I remember anything I've left out."

__________________________________________________________________

A/N: Has anyone figured out what Niles' locket is yet? It's alluded to in chapter 47 of Flightless

Also, I know the slow burn is slooooow, but it will start burning soon, don't worry.

Also, also, I love how Niles is a full-grown man in his thirties, and he still feels the need to ask an adultier adult like Dr. Jones for permission to date someone. He's so silly. 

Thanks for reading and see you in the next part!