"Ashton," Niles asked one day, nearly three weeks later. "Could I help you wash and comb out your hair today?"

The faerie, who had taken to reclining in a makeshift hammock by the office window whenever his compression bandages were off, turned to look at him. He reached up hesitantly and pushed his hair out of his eyes. Ashton had beautiful hair— light brown curls that fell loosely past his shoulders. 

However, it had grown matted and dirty after months of imprisonment and neglect. Woodlands had certain customs about their hair, so Niles assumed the hospital staff didn't want to mess with it while Ashton was comatose. But even after the last month with Niles, Ashton couldn't seem to be bothered to try to detangle it.

He did very well keeping himself clean otherwise. The miniature washroom was equipped with both a shower and bathtub, but Ashton couldn't use either because of the bandaged wound on his back and the cast on his leg. So, Niles had just shown him how to fill up the bathtub and then clean himself with a damp towel and soap. Most winged faeries bathed in shallow water anyway, as they didn't like getting their wings wet, so Ashton did fine taking care of himself.

But Niles assumed that it was both too daunting and low priority of a task for him to tackle by himself. He had thought about offering to help during his first few days with Ashton, but the poor faerie was in hysterics every time he went near him. After a month together, however, he had started to calm down a little and only cried about half of the time when Niles picked him up or touched his back.

Ash briefly looked Niles in the eye and nodded once before looking away again. Niles was surprised, but pleasantly so.

"We should do it before we put your bandages back on," Niles said. "So that they don't get wet."

Ashton nodded again, and Niles noted that he looked distinctly pleased at the idea of going longer without his bandages. Niles looked away to hide his smile and pretended to rummage in his desk drawer for a comb. The little faerie was getting to be quite expressive.

Not long afterwards, Niles had Ashton set up in a reclining chair next to a basin of warm water. Niles had gone ahead and covered the surgical pad with some cling wrap and surgical tape, much to Ashton's obvious disappointment. But at least it wasn't a full wrap, so Ashton would just have to settle, Niles thought.

"Here, lean back and close your eyes for me," Niles directed. Ashton swallowed nervously, his breathing shallower than Niles would have liked, but he did as he was told. Working out the mats in his hair took the better part of two hours, even with the aid of a detangler solution and comb. 

Ashton was tense for the first part of the detangling, his entire body rigid with misgiving. But once the mats were out and Niles moved on to washing his hair, the warm water won him over, and he eventually relaxed to the point that he fell asleep in the chair. Like most water sprites, Ashton seemed to be particularly sensitive to touch, and Niles figured that he would like the feeling of warm water on his head and neck.

Niles watched his face as he worked. Ashton looked much more peaceful when he was asleep. Gone were the tired lines and mistrustful glances. Though, it almost seemed like the mistrustful glances were happening slightly less often these days. Ashton frowned in his sleep, and Niles smoothed out the lines between Ashton's brows with his pinky. "I really hope you're going to be ok," Niles whispered to him.

When he was finally done, Niles couldn't bring himself to wake Ashton up and interrupt his peaceful sleep, so he took his time drying his hair with a small towel. Ashton's hair was longer once all the mats were out, landing just below his shoulder blades, and Niles noticed that he had a strand of hair woven into a thin braid near the right side of his neck. 

He touched it gently, curious as to whom the red strand belonged to. No braids on the left side, he noted. No hokla. Ashton is probably too young for the soulmate ceremony, anyway. Woodlands faeries weren't allowed to officially decide on a soulmate until they underwent the geant and their aging changed and slowed, which didn't happen until faeries were in their late twenties or early thirties.

Done with his hair, Niles moved the water basin away from the chair and slipped a pillow behind Ashton's head. The faerie shifted a little but stayed asleep, so Niles quietly placed his laptop onto his desk and put his glasses on. Might as well get some work done while Ashton was asleep. And this way, he could stay nearby for when he woke up.

***

Ashton couldn't say what possessed him to accept the human's offer to wash his hair, but all of a sudden, there he was, reclining in a chair and waiting for Niles to get started.

He squeezed his eyes shut at the human's quiet instruction, and he soon felt Niles' fingers touch his hair. Ashton couldn't help but flinch a little, his body rigid and his breathing uneven. What did I get myself into? He wondered, horrified to find himself in such a vulnerable position. 

But part of him felt relieved, too. He hadn't thought about his hair until Niles had pointed it out, but touching all the mats today made him realize how bad it had gotten. He almost felt glad when the human offered to help, though now he felt otherwise.

He gripped the armrest of his chair in an effort to stay calm as the human carefully began picking out each knot in his hair. Not that anything hurt; Niles was impossibly gentle by both human and faerie standards. Ashton doubted that even faerie hands would be as careful.

Time wore on, and Ashton wondered how long he had been sitting there. It didn't really matter to him— he was used to staying still for long periods of time, as he would spend days on end in a cramped glass jar in a dark closet. This chair was more comfortable than the glass jar had been anyway. Eventually, he heard the Niles human tell him that he was going to move on to washing his hair, and he soon felt warm water flow down his scalp.

He inhaled sharply at the new sensation, startled. It felt nicer than anything he had felt in a long time, and his body slowly relaxed into his chair. Even Niles' fingers felt nice, gently massaging the soap into his hair. Ashton felt like he was drifting away, a welcome relief.

When he opened his eyes again, everything was quiet except for a familiar clacking noise next to him. He turned towards it slowly, wincing at an odd crick in his neck.

The Niles human was seated at the desk, working on his laptop. He glanced at Ashton out of the corner of his eye, and his fingers paused over the keyboard.

"Hey, Ash," he said softly. "How was your nap?"

Nap? Ashton reached up to rub his neck, and a pillow slipped out from behind him to land on the desk. I don't even remember falling asleep, Ashton thought. How did I feel comfortable enough with the human touching me to fall asleep?

"Ah, does your neck hurt?" Niles asked apologetically. "Sorry about that. I didn't want to move you. I thought you might be scared if you woke up somewhere different from where you had fallen asleep."

Oh. That was thoughtful, I guess. Ashton paused and looked away. He didn't know what to think, so he just reached up hesitantly to touch the ends of his hair. His fingers slipped through it easily, and he looked up at the human in wonder. Niles smiled at the look on his face. "Feels a lot better, huh?"

Ashton nodded and looked away again. He wanted to say thank you, but the words just didn't come out. Niles didn't seem offended by his silence, however.

"I'll get you lunch in a minute," he explained to Ashton. "And then we'll wrap up your back again, ok?"

Ashton stared at the desk unhappily but nodded again. The Niles human paused at his disappointed silence. 

"Or," he began, and Ashton perked his ears up. "Since it's such a nice day out, we'll have a long lunch in the garden and then put your bandages back on. You'll get some more time with them off if we do that. How's that sound?"

Ashton jerked his head up and wasted no time in nodding furiously before the human could change his mind. The Niles human smiled at his enthusiasm and soon got up to go into the kitchen.

Ashton breathed a sigh of relief at the human's absence, and he looked down to see that Niles had propped his crutch up on the chair beside him. Oh. That was thoughtful, too. Ashton glanced at the door before slipping from his chair and disappearing into his carrier, waiting to go out to the garden.

***

It had taken a while for Ashton to notice, but now that he ventured out into the garden instead of hiding in his carrier, he could see all the work that the human put into maintaining the garden. Even without his wings to sense it, Ashton could tell that it was teeming with magic. That's what happened with well-tended plants. The more they were taken care of, the higher their magical output, both in quantity and quality. This human really knew how to make things flourish under his care.

Because of the abundance of magic, Niles' garden was full of pixies, some visitors, and some semi-permanent residents. He set up faerie houses throughout the garden, and the fence posts around the whole area were carved with protection runes. From what Ashton could tell, all faerie visitors were expected to send a bit of their magic into the runes whenever they entered the garden to keep the protection charm working properly. Visitors and long-term residents alike were required to follow a certain set of rules so that everyone could stay safe and respected.

Ashton had never seen such a place before. It was truly a paradise for garden pixies, and the pixies who stayed there were surprisingly orderly— they were still loud and constantly in the way of things, but they were much tamer than any pixie Ashton had ever met. Ashton figured that they didn't want to risk messing anything up when they had such a good thing going. There was always food, always shelter, always friends. And they could come and go as they pleased, so there was always a mix of old and new faces. 

The pixies loved it, and they seemed to adore the Niles human, too, constantly fluttering around him and clamoring for his attention. Niles would often have to stop his work to play with them by letting them swing from his fingers or tossing them lightly in the air. If he ignored them, they tangled themselves in his hair or jabbered into his ears until he took off his work gloves to gently hold and redirect them.

Ashton rarely interacted with the pixies, as they always crowded around Niles when they went outside. Since Ashton preferred to keep his distance from the human, he didn't really get the chance to meet the pixies. A few of them would flutter up to him from time to time and bombard him with curious questions, but the Niles human always called them back to him when he noticed Ashton getting overwhelmed.

The pixies' behavior puzzled Ashton to no end. Pixies were mischievous and liked to play around with humans, but they rarely let humans close like this. How had they all collectively decided to trust this human so wholeheartedly?

The Niles human had set up a blanket for him, which Ashton was resting on quietly after lunch. Without his bandages on, he liked feeling the sun warm his torn back while the breeze tugged lightly on his newly detangled hair. He was just dozing off when felt the ground pulse faintly, and he opened his eyes in surprise. The vibrations only grew stronger, and he suddenly realized they were human footsteps, walking towards the garden.

He gasped and dove into the flower bed that Niles was weeding, and he felt the human gently brush his hand over the leaves of the plant he was hiding in. "Ashton?" He heard Niles say, sounding confused. "Are you alright?"

Even if he had wanted to, Ashton didn't have a chance to respond, as an unfamiliar human voice called out to Niles. He hunkered down into the dirt and put his hands over his ears, barely breathing.

"Oh, hey Melissa," he heard Niles say. "What can I do for you?"

"Niles, there's a pixie stuck in my bird feeder again," came the disgruntled reply. "Can you please help her out of there? She yells at me if I get near her."

Ashton heard Niles get to his feet and brush the dirt off his knees. "Oh boy," Niles sighed. "Sure. Do you know which one it is?"

"How am I supposed to tell them apart?" The woman replied. "None of them ever let me close enough to see their tiny faces. You're the only one they'll listen to."

Niles laughed, and Ashton tried to slow his breathing. "What color wings?"

"Yellow, I think."

"Ah, that would be Emmie. Yup, I'll get her out in no time. Sorry about that, Melissa. She's especially curious."

The human voices and footsteps faded away, and Ashton continued to lie still, his heartbeat gradually slowing. Eventually, he heard Niles come back, a shrill pixie voice accompanying him.

"Em, hon, you can't keep climbing inside bird feeders," Niles was saying. "I won't always be around to fish you out when you get stuck."

"But Melissa has the best bird seed!" A tiny pixie voice argued back. "I can't help it!"

Niles sighed. "Ok, ok, I'll ask Melissa what brand she gets, alright?"

"It's not the same," came the huffy reply, and Niles laughed. "What, you like getting stuck in bird feeders, is that it? Is it part of the thrill?"

Ashton didn't hear the pixie reply before Niles was back at the flowers. Ashton startled as the human brushed the plants aside, and he stared up at the Niles human, speechless.

"Hey, Ash," Niles said, smiling down at him. "Just wanted to check on you. We'll go inside in a few minutes, ok?"

He let the leaves close back overhead, and Ashton lay in the foliage, tense and confused. Why did the human tolerate all these trouble-making pixies? Why wasn't he angry at the one who had caused a mess for his neighbor? 

In Ashton's experience, faeries should avoid doing anything to garner a human's attention. They most certainly shouldn't intentionally break the rules and do something that might make a human mad. Yet these pixies did whatever they wanted, and the Niles human just let them get away with it. 

After a few minutes of confused contemplation, Ashton got up and stole back to the cat carrier that lay nearby, waiting for Niles to take him inside. 

_______________________________________________________________

A/N: I love the imagery of Niles just trying to mind his own business in his garden while a bunch of excited pixies swirl around him. The poor guy just can't catch a break. 

Thanks for reading and see you in the next part!