The pixie child was wary of Niles and Ashton at first, but Niles soon realized it was because they were strangers, not because they were humans. It shocked him to see how little Seb seemed to care about their size. Like Rylan, he wasn't scared at all.

Unlike most new pixies, who tended to ignore him, Niles caught little Seb peeking at him and Ashton whenever they went out into the garden, staring from behind a faerie house or the safety of a bush. Niles always smiled and waved when he noticed, causing the pixie to scowl and disappear.

Ashton had no such interest in keeping the same respectful distance that Niles did. To Niles' horror, he made a game out of finding Seb, often ignoring the little thing until the pixie crept closer and closer... until he was close enough to catch off guard.

It started out small at first. Ashton would let Seb think he was going unnoticed whenever he snuck forward. Once the pixie felt like he was in the clear and congratulating himself on his stealth, however, Ashton would suddenly yank aside the foliage of whatever bush Seb was hiding in and greet him with a big hello.

Seb would always jump and curse at Ashton, who would laugh hysterically as the angry faerie flew away. Niles watched this unfold several times, unsure if he should intervene, but Seb would always be back in a new hiding spot the next day, and Ashton would start it up all over again.

While Niles wasn't a fan of the game, he let it slide... until Ashton turned the simple game of hide and seek into hide and catch.

Niles didn't realize what Ashton was doing at first, as he was often in another part of the garden whenever Ashton found Seb. In fact, it almost seemed like Seb was following Ashton around with how often Ashton found the pixie instead of Niles.

But this afternoon, Niles happened to be nearby, and he watched in disbelief as Ashton found and then snatched up the little pixie.

"Ashton!" he hissed as Ashton slipped the still-yelling Seb into his shirt pocket. "Why are you playing with him like that? You're scaring him!"

"He likes it," Ashton responded simply, and Niles stared at the wiggling little form in his pocket, where Seb was clearly kicking him.

"Do not!" piped up a muffled little voice, and Ashton grinned.

Niles continued to glare at him, half a mind to reach into Ashton's pocket and pull out the little pixie himself.

Why is Ashton treating Seb this way? he wondered in disbelief. He knows exactly what it feels to be played with like this.

But then Ashton reached out to touch his cheek and silently pointed at his pocket. Niles snapped out of it long enough to look, really look, and he saw that... Seb was still in Ashton's pocket. Still struggling, sure, still punching and kicking away, but... not leaving.

The opening to Ashton's pocket was uncovered. It would have been the easiest thing in the world for Seb to climb out. Yet he continued to thrash around and curse at Ashton for his oafish behavior.

Ashton smiled at Niles. "It's ok," he assured him. "He's alright."

Niles looked down with a huff, not liking how easily he gave in after a simple touch from Ashton.

"I am not alright!" Seb yelled. "Get me out of here right this minute!"

Ashton rolled his eyes. "If you come out, you have to help with the gardening," he warned the little pixie, and Seb immediately quieted down.

Ashton raised his eyebrows at Niles, who choked back a quiet laugh. Ashton suddenly reached around Niles to slip Niles' phone out of his back pocket. Niles watched, curious, as Ashton typed out a message to him.

We've been playing this game all week, the message read. He'll fall asleep in a minute. Just watch.

It was Niles' turn to raise his eyebrows, but sure enough, after a few minutes of weeding, Ashton pulled his shirt pocket away from his chest to let Niles get a good peek at the sleeping faerie inside.

Niles just shook his head in disbelief, and Ashton smirked. "It's the heartbeat," he explained, patting his pocket back into place. "Makes them drowsy. Plus, Seb's still growing. With the way that pixies burn energy, he really should be sleeping more than he does. He gets cranky when he's tired."

"Then he must always be tired," Niles pointed out, and Ashton laughed.

They continued working for a bit. "I'm sorry I upset you," Ashton said suddenly, and Niles looked at him in surprise. "With how I was playing with Seb."

"Oh." Niles looked back down at his hands, unsurprised by how accurately Ashton had read his mood. Ashton was always good at picking things up from him. "I was just... surprised, I guess. I thought that you of all people would never grab a faerie."

Ashton winced a bit. "Yeah. Ordinarily I wouldn't. But the way Seb's been begging for attention reminded me of my little siblings, and they always liked games like this. So, I gave it a shot."

He held his hands up at Niles' stern look. "I was fully prepared to let him go if he seemed scared at all," he hurried to add. "But he looked like he was having the time of his life yelling at me."

Ashton laughed. "You should have seen him. He was all huffing and puffing and kicking at me. But he didn't fly away, even though I just had him sitting in my hands. It's not like I was keeping him there."

He shrugged a bit, a warm breeze tugging his wavy curls across his eyes, the sunlight burning the light brown color golden. "And when he was even closer to me the next day, I realized that he liked the game. So, we've been playing all week. I don't think he's had that kind of attention in a long time."

Niles nodded slowly, and Ashton reached out to touch Niles' hand. "But I'm still sorry," Ashton repeated, hazel eyes earnest. "I know how much you care about faeries and want them to feel safe and respected."

Niles smiled at his sincerity and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I appreciate the apology," he said. "And I know you respect faeries, too. I'm fine." He nodded at Ashton's pocket. "Especially since you were right. Seb really did like that."

Ashton grinned back. "So, I have your permission to keep playing with Seb?" he asked, and Niles rolled his eyes.

"I will step in if I think you're being too rough," he warned. "Or if Seb doesn't look like he's having a good time."

"Seb always looks like he isn't having a good time," Ashton pointed out, and Niles sighed.

"Then I guess we'll have to play it by ear," he said. "We don't really know him that well yet. I'm sure we'll figure out when he's pretending to be unhappy and when he actually is."

***

The little pixie grew much bolder after that, no longer sneaking up on Niles and Ashton and waiting for them to notice him. Now, he flew up to them outright, complaining about one thing or another, until Ashton managed to catch him and show him something in the garden to distract him or slip him into his pocket for a much needed nap.

Eventually, Ashton even brought Seb into the house, and he and Niles watched, amused, as the little pixie explored everything, his little hands busy as he turned things over and tried to open cabinets and drawers.

He was especially fond of the TV, and Ashton had been more than happy to show him a movie one day. After that, the pixie would pop by every now and then and look longingly at the TV until someone turned it on for him.

Having Seb around was a new dynamic, and though it took Niles a while to get used to the way Ashton handled the small pixie, he soon realized that Ashton's big brotherly style of rough housing and teasing seemed to be exactly what Seb was seeking out, as Rylan was often unavailable.

Unfortunately, despite Rylan seemingly wanting a little brother, it became abundantly clear that he didn't know what to do with one. He was gone a lot of the time, and even when he was around, he didn't seem to know how to act around Seb.

To be fair, Seb wasn't the easiest person to get along with. A blustery and aggressive winter faerie, Seb apparently got all the frost and bite of winter without its other redeeming qualities. He was constantly giving Rylan the cold shoulder or yelling at him to go away.

Poor Rylan was so bewildered that he'd just accept Seb's scolding before flying off. But that just made Seb sad. So, the little pixie kept seeking out Niles and Ashton instead, even though that meant getting teased relentlessly by Ashton.

At least Niles could always be counted on as an ally against Ashton, and Seb often took advantage of that by ducking behind Niles to get away from the teasing older faeries. Days with Seb became chaotic, loud, and unexpected, and Niles found that he enjoyed every minute of them.

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A/N: A summer faerie like Ashton and a winter faerie like Seb is essentially "an unstoppable force meets an immovable object." Ashton's over here having the time of his life while Seb is feeling personally attacked. They are both having a great time. Seb just likes having an excuse to yell at someone. 

Thanks for reading! See you in the next part!