A little over a week after Lucy arrived, she invited Ashton to join her and Niles in a weekly tradition. Apparently, Lucy and the Niles human watched movies together every Friday night, and they were both very excited to introduce the tradition to Ashton.

After explaining what a movie was (Ashton had been horrified at the idea that there were people trapped behind the TV screen), they spent ten minutes arguing about something called pizza, and then another twenty on what movie to show Ashton. 

Lucy wanted something called deep dish pizza, which Niles kept insisting was a terrible way to introduce someone to pizza. And as soon as they resolved that issue, and the pizza arrived, they couldn't decide on a movie. Lucy wanted "action" while Niles said they should watch something calmer for Ashton.

"Ok, ok, no action," Lucy was saying, holding up both tiny hands dramatically. "But hear me out: Bill and Ted."

Niles started to protest, but Lucy interrupted.

"It's literally perfect for Ashton!" she insisted. "He'll get a whole history lesson on top of being wildly entertained! What better way to introduce him to human culture than this?"

Niles kept shaking his head. "It's too... out there for Ashton," he said. "He won't get it at all. And it's fast-paced and loud. I don't want it to stress him out."

"Well, let's just ask Ashton what he wants, shall we?" Lucy countered.

And then there was a little pixie in his face, big red eyes blinking at him expectantly.

"What do you think, Ash?" she pressed. "You agree with me, right? You want to watch Bill and Ted, too, right?"

Ashton was speechless. He had no idea what to say, and he glanced up at the human for a clue about what Niles wanted him to do. But Niles wasn't even paying attention to him; instead, he was busy fiddling with a long black box and pointing it at the TV. Ashton jumped when the screen flickered to life and then flinched again when Lucy poked him for an answer.

"I don't... I don't care," he finally got out. "You choose."

Lucy whirled around to face Niles. "Ha!" she crowed, stabbing a teeny finger up at the human. "He doesn't care! We're going with my movie choice!"

"But..." Niles began, and Lucy interrupted him.

"No buts!" she said firmly. "You picked the pizza; I pick the movie. That's the rule. And I'm even being nice by not insisting we watch a Bruce Willis action movie this time."

Ashton watched the whole thing unfold from his seat on the couch, unsure if he should be frightened or amused by the passionate debate. He had never expected to see a human bullied by a pixie smaller than his pinky. Things quieted down once Niles and Lucy reached their agreement, and Niles ruffled Lucy's hair before he left to go get snacks for her from the kitchen.

Ashton stared at Lucy after Niles had walked away, watching as she fixed her hair and settled into the couch to wait. She glanced at Ashton and noticed him staring. "What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shook his head, so she shrugged and laboriously tugged a corner of the TV box into her lap to flip through the things on the screen.

"Why do you let him touch you so easily?" Ashton heard himself say. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand, startled at his own question.

Lucy turned back to look at him and blinked. "We're family. It would be weirder if we never touched each other, wouldn't it?"

Ashton opened his mouth and then closed it again, furrowing his brows. That didn't exactly answer his question, but he didn't know how to clarify what he was asking. So, he just stayed silent.

Lucy grinned. "You look like you have something more to say," she prodded.

Ashton looked down at his lap and noticed that he was clasping his hands together tightly. How could she be so nonchalant about being around a human? And why didn't she understand how strange her behavior was for a faerie? 

Humans were dangerous. They did whatever they wanted to you. It didn't matter how much they seemed to like you one day or if you were perfectly obedient and did whatever they wanted. You couldn't protect yourself by trying to fight back or even by playing by their rules. Their mood always dictated what happened to you, and you would always be powerless to stop it.

Ashton blinked away tears that he didn't know were forming, suddenly feeling very tired and small.

"I don't feel safe here," he whispered. "I don't understand how you do."

Lucy didn't respond right away, and Ashton was too scared to look up. He couldn't bear to see the pitying look that was in everyone's eyes when they looked at him. He hated that look. And he hated himself for being pathetic enough to warrant it.

"You know, I was always interested in Niles, back when we were kids, " Lucy finally said. "His dad loves plants, so they had a big garden in their yard. I spent a lot of time there— not just for the plants, but also to watch Niles. I really liked the fact that we were around the same age. I used to pretend that we were friends and would make up games that we could play together. "

Ashton was surprised by her tone. She didn't sound pitying. She sounded like she was carrying out a perfectly normal conversation in response to a perfectly normal comment. 

"But, as it turned out, Niles was watching me just as much as I was watching him. I didn't realize it at the time, but he's annoyingly observant. My glamour skills weren't very good, and he noticed I didn't look quite like a butterfly. I got swiped down by a neighborhood cat one day, and he rushed out to chase off the cat and to help me."

She laughed a little. "I was really freaked out, but one of my wings was sprained. I had run out of magic, so I couldn't heal myself and get away from him. But it turned out that I didn't need to. Niles wasn't like most kids after all. He's always been gentle, and he's never been touchy or grabby like most human kids are."

"Anyway, all he did was keep his distance from me and ask where I was hurt. Then he told me to wait for him while he got a first aid kit. He came back outside a minute later, looking all serious and professional, and he helped me clean and bandage the cuts on my side. His dad's a vet, and his mom's a surgeon, and Niles has always wanted to be just like them. So, he took patching me up very seriously."

Ashton finally looked at her and saw that Lucy was smiling fondly at the memory. 

"Oh, and then he told me he would wait for my parents with me." She sighed. "I... was on my own at that point, but I was too scared to tell him that. So, we sat out there for hours, just waiting. I think he finally figured it out, because he asked if I wanted to wait for them inside his house. And that's it. My parents never came, obviously, so I met his parents and stayed the night. And the next night. And the night after that. Eventually, I told him that nobody was coming to pick me up, but it didn't matter by then. He and his parents were already expecting me to stay with them. So... I just did. Faeries were 'discovered' a few years later, so, eventually, I went to high school and university with Niles. I came to live with him when he moved out, and I'm really happy here. He's like my very, very big little brother."

Ashton blinked at her. He had never heard of a faerie living with humans like that, like they were one of them.

Lucy pushed the TV box off her lap and stretched. "Anyway, that was a long answer to your short question. Bottom line is, I'm not like this with other humans, and I would never suggest that you be, either. But Niles' hands are the safest place I know. I travel a lot, but no matter where I go, Niles always feels like home. I feel safer with him than I do even with our own kind."

Ashton didn't know what to say. Even he could see that Niles was a very, very nice human. And of all the humans that Ashton had had the displeasure of meeting, Niles clearly had the gentlest touch. But just because being handled by Niles wasn't a particularly unpleasant experience, it didn't mean that Ashton enjoyed it.

Niles returned, handing small bowls to both Ashton and Lucy. Lucy started munching away happily while Ashton stared at his bowl suspiciously. He had already tried the pizza earlier and could barely stomach it. Niles had had to make him something different so that he would eat.

Lucy noticed him eyeing the bowl that Niles had given him and grabbed a handful of food from it. "It's popcorn," she explained, holding it up for Ashton to see. She popped it in her mouth and looked back at the TV, where Niles was just starting the movie.

Ashton had seen a TV before and had even glimpsed flashes of a movie, but he had no idea what to expect. So, he sat there, utterly confused, as he tried to figure out why everyone on the screen was wearing strange clothes and yelling at each other. He couldn't help but doze off a few times, too, which meant he would tune back in at the weirdest spots and have no idea what was happening.

Sometime during the movie, Lucy abandoned her bowl on the couch to crawl up onto Niles' lap. She sat on his leg and leaned against the front of his hip, pulling his hand over her and holding onto one of his fingers. Ashton kept sneaking glances at them, feeling unsettled at her ease with the human.

By the time the movie was finally over, Lucy had fallen fast asleep, tucked up under Niles' arm. Niles glanced down at Ashton and pointed to Lucy. 

"I'm going to put her to bed," he whispered. 

Ashton nodded and watched as Niles carefully shifted Lucy from his lap to his hand. Her head rolled to the side, and she mumbled something in her sleep. Niles got up and carried her into the bedroom. Ashton figured he was setting her in the miniature house that sat on the floor by his desk. Lucy slept there most nights, though sometimes she slept on the pillow next to Niles or in the human's shirt pocket. Ashton didn't see how that was a good idea, but Niles didn't move much in his sleep, and he didn't move at all when he slept on his back with Lucy in his pocket.

Ashton sat on the couch quietly, waiting for Niles to come back and get him. Without Niles to pick him up, Ashton still couldn't get up or down with his broken leg.

Niles returned a minute later and held his hand out to Ashton. Ashton just stared at it, hugging his arms around himself. 

"Can I pick you up?" Niles asked, after it became apparent that Ashton wasn't going to move. 

Ashton squeezed his eyes closed and nodded. He felt Niles lift him up enough to slip his free hand underneath him, and then he was off the couch. Niles kept his other hand cupped around Ashton as he walked into the bedroom, setting Ashton down by his carrier and handing him his crutches.

"Good night, Ash," Niles said. Ashton nodded once and stumbled into the carrier, his legs feeling like jelly from the short trip. He curled up under his blankets and closed his eyes, the images from the movie flashing across his mind. The last thing he remembered thinking about was of warm, gentle hands, reaching out to him and holding him close. And then he was asleep.

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A/N: So, Lucy was adopted into Niles' family when she was just a kid. She doesn't know how to be a proper faerie as a result, though. She's too dependent on human technology, food, and culture. And, of course, she could never leave Niles. 

Thanks for reading! See you in the next chapter.