Silver and Gold

Still slowly burning... don't worry, sex is coming in later chapters. I'm just enjoying the feels. XOXO, Im

*****

Gneiss swirled her wineglass as she looked out over the crowd in the Meeting Tree from her ornately embroidered chaise lounge. As usual the enormous tree echoed with the sounds of faeries laughing, dancing, and mingling. Nearly all the seating areas had been filled early in the night and the party was in full swing.

The air was charged with sex and frenetic energy. The dance floor in the center of the hollowed out tree was already filled with undulating bodies. She watched as a group of faeries stumbled into one of the lounging areas at the edge of the dance floor and tumbled down in a pile of writhing limbs.

Mal and Daniella were seated on the dais at the far end of the tree, watching the festivities. Daniella was sitting on Mal's lap and he was whispering something in her ear. Daniella's eyes were trained on a female faery riding her lover at the edge of the dance floor. Mal was lazily stroking a hand up and down Daniella's thigh. Gneiss wouldn't be surprised if the two of them ended up fucking right there on the throne. It wouldn't be the first time.

She shifted to look around the tree again. She'd lost track of Feldspar. When they'd arrived he had taken one look at Mal and Daniella on their throne and had walked off into the crowd. Watching Feldspar work the crowd was like watching a rabbit move through a field by tracking the waving grass it left in its wake. She couldn't see him, but everywhere he'd been the faeries were louder, brighter, happier. He had that effect on people. It was hard to say if it was a subtle bit of magic or just his natural charm. He was hilarious and charismatic when he was on, and these days he took pains to make sure he was almost always on. She scanned the crowd, trying to trace the trail of euphoria he'd left as he moved around the tree. The last time she'd had eyes on him he'd been draining a nearly overflowing glass of mead before disappearing again into the throng.

That left her with Nephrite, her other long-time roommate. Nephrite sipped her wine and gazed out across the frolicking faeries. She saw Gneiss scanning the crowd and gestured across the tree. Feldspar was laughing uproariously with a few faeries standing near the entrance to the tree.

"He is a remarkable actor," Nephrite said, playing with a strand of her silken black hair.

Gneiss sighed deeply. She ran a hand through her pixie cut and frowned. She had to agree with Nephrite. Feldspar was a good actor. If she hadn't known him for half her life she would have trusted his easy laugh and playful banter. "I despise seeing him like this," she said. "I miss hearing his true laugh."

"As do I," Nephrite agreed.

Gneiss sighed. "I feel as if I have tried all that I can to help him. Nothing seems to make a material difference."

Nephrite made a noncommittal noise. Gneiss looked sharply at her friend. Nephrite was quiet, and because she was quiet she was able to watch in a way that most could not. Gneiss had learned many years before that though Nephrite spoke infrequently, when she did it was imperative to listen.

"What have I missed?" she demanded.

"What was it that Feldspar wanted from Mal? The one thing that Mal was never able to give him?"

"He wanted Mal to stay with us."

"Yes, but why?" Nephrite pressed.

"I suppose he was in love with Mal."

"Yes, precisely. He always hoped that Mal would fall in love with him, and when he finally, unequivocally ended the relationship all of Feldspar's hopes were dashed. Feldspar has always been romantic at heart."

"I love him," Gneiss groused. Nephrite gave her a dry look. "Yes, alright, fine. I can admit that I'm not what he needs right now."

"Do you think you and Mal together were what he needed?" Nephrite's tone was quiet and sharp. Gneiss frowned as the question settled in her stomach, leaden and painful. She sighed. No, she and Mal had never been wholly good for Feldspar. As good as the sex had been, as good as their friendship had been, Feldspar had always wanted something more. Gneiss steeled herself and met Nephrite's eyes and the quiet rebuke there.

"No," she said evenly. "We were not, and I admit we should have been more careful with Feldspar's heart. What am I to do about it now?"

Nephrite hummed. "Feldspar needs to be with someone who looks at him the way he used to look at Mal. He also needs friends who respect his feelings and at least make an attempt at amends for past carelessness."

Gneiss sucked her teeth. "I have tried -- I cannot just produce a new lover for him out of thin air." Nephrite clicked her tongue dismissively in response. Shame and frustration warred within Gneiss. Nephrite wasn't wrong. She needed to find a way to make it up to Feldspar, and so did Mal.

*****

Silver blinked in the multicolored lights of the Meeting Tree and paused in the doorway taking in the scene. The wild faery music pulsed through him, fiddles, pipes and drums calling to him to join the mass of wild joy on the dance floor.

He scanned the room for the green-haired faeries who tended the orchards and gardens. He had brought back some seeds he wanted them to help him grow for a kitchen garden. His black thumb was legendary, but they could get anything to thrive. The tree was packed wall to wall and the party had already reached a feverish pitch. He silently cursed himself for getting carried away making cheesecake, even though the extra time had resulted in flawless, creamy texture. Now it was late and everyone he had wanted to talk to was probably smashed, high out of their mind, or screwing on the dance floor.

He spotted a few shocks of green hair in the mass of bodies on the dance floor and sighed. He was tempted to just go back to his place, which only made him feel more like an out-of-place loser. He would take a quiet beer with friends over a gigantic rave any day.

Just as he was about to go, a peal of loud laughter caught his attention. Silver looked toward the sound and froze. Feldspar was a few dozen paces off to his right, with a group of faeries hanging on his every word. Feldspar ran a hand through his golden hair, pushing the slightly sweat-dampened curls back from his face as he talked, his other hand still gesturing wildly. Silver couldn't help but take in the perfect lines of Feldspar's body. His shirt was tight over his honey skin and every time he moved it revealed a strip of taut skin at his waist. Silver wanted to grab Feldspar by the hand, find a dark corner, and rip his shirt off. The tantalizing glimpses of skin weren't nearly enough.

Silver shook his head and cursed silently. He was losing it. He glanced back at the door. He could leave and Feldspar would never know he'd been there. He wanted to get to know Feldspar, but not here. Not now. Not at this party. He felt off-balance and out of his element. The idea of Feldspar realizing that he didn't fit in at all was unsettling.

Silver had spent more than his fair share of time thinking about the faery man. He'd obsessed over the way Feldspar had lit his body on fire in their one night together months before. Little snatches of Feldspar had taken over his brain: Feldspar laughing with his friends; Feldspar sparring with the Lord of the Wood, sweat dripping down his smooth chest; Feldspar moaning in delight over a banquet; Feldspar floating serenely in the crater lake, Feldspar, Feldspar, Feldspar. All those little Feldspar snippets had coalesced into a full-blown, teenage-obsession-level crush. All he was missing was a Feldspar poster above his bed.

It was mortifying. If he left quickly he'd be spared the risk of humiliating himself. He reminded himself again why he needed to get his feelings for Feldspar under control. One: Feldspar was the Lord's Sword. He lived in a completely different world from Silver that was all high magic and dire consequences and fated lovers. Two: Feldspar seemed different since Silver had returned. He still laughed and joked, but there was a deep undercurrent of sadness that worried Silver. He wasn't sure Feldspar was in the right headspace for a relationship. Three, last but definitely not least: Feldspar was a flirt who slept with people all the time. Their one night together had meant everything to Silver, and probably nothing to Feldspar.

As Silver debated, the group of faeries broke into laughter again. Feldspar's laugh was coming out in choked barks and there was tightness around his eyes. Silver frowned. That had to be the fakest imitation of Feldspar's real laugh he'd ever seen, though nobody else seemed to notice. They were still laughing and slapping Feldspar on the back. Silver moved toward the group without thinking. All he could think was that he needed to rescue Feldspar. Whatever was happening, he clearly wasn't enjoying it.

"Hey guys," he called out as he approached. His heart hammered in his chest. This was the worst part of any party: the moment right before finding out if you fit in. He knew there were a fair number of the faeries in the Wood who didn't trust him. In their view any faery who spent half the year among humans was hardly a faery at all. The faeries with Feldspar watched his approach, their faces ranging from disinterested to disdainful.

None of that mattered when Silver locked eyes with Feldspar. Feldspar's strained laugh stopped and his face broke into a beautiful grin. He was looking at Silver like he was the only life preserver on a sinking ship. It was adorable and embarrassing at once. Silver felt himself smiling back as he shouldered his way to Feldspar's side.

Feldspar made introductions and effortlessly included Silver in the group, bringing every conversation around to Silver's travels or cooking. Silver felt himself relaxing and actually enjoying himself, even though the other faeries were still a bit aloof. All that mattered was that his stories had Feldspar guffawing with real laughter and wiping away tears. He was hyperaware of how close he was to Feldspar. The air between their bodies seemed to vibrate like an open current. Every time Silver spoked, Feldspar leaned slightly closer to him, making the air crackle between them. He kept catching Silver's eye and giving him the dopiest smile. Silver liked this version of Feldspar. He knew it wasn't smart, but he loved being the one who brought out this happy, relaxed Feldspar.

At a lull in the conversation one of the other faeries pulled out a vial of white powder. "Shall we take our trip?" he said. He held it out to Feldspar, belatedly shifting his gaze to invite Silver as well. Silver stiffened but he said nothing. He felt all the faeries' eyes on him as all his awkwardness and nerves came back to him tenfold. He didn't dare look at Feldspar. The last thing he wanted was to be a wet blanket if Feldspar had been planning to party with these guys.

Feldspar leaned even closer to Silver and the back of his hand brushed against Silver's, feather light. "A generous offer, but none for me tonight," Feldspar said.

The faery holding the vial laughed in a way that made Silver want to punch him. He was looking at Feldspar like he couldn't believe what he was saying. "Tomorrow then," the faery said knowingly. He barely looked at Silver, taking his mute head shake as a foregone conclusion. The other faeries snorted the powder and drifted off, lost in their own world. Silver watched them blend into the writhing, wild crowd of the party. He hated the way they had made him feel, and hated even more that he let them affect him. He had never felt like he fit in, and now seeing the way that they treated the Lord's literal golden boy he wondered if it had more to do with some faeries just being assholes than who either of them were.

"Would you like to join me for a drink?" Feldspar asked, gesturing toward a partially enclosed sitting area nearby. A low divan had been set against the wall of the tree and piled with embroidering silk cushions, surrounded on either side by a silk canopy. Silver nodded and Feldspar took his hand, guiding him through the crowd. Silver moved a low table carved from a tree stump over and Feldspar set two glasses of wine down on the table. They settled on the divan, their sides close but not touching.

As soon as they got comfortable Silver felt Feldspar tense. He glanced at him and saw a flash of irritation flit across his face. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Feldspar glanced at him guiltily and took a huge sip of his wine. "Of course," he said. Silver watched him for a second and then let it drop. He saw a faery passing with a platter of his mushroom appetizers and waved her over, glad for something that he knew would put Feldspar in a good mood.

"These. Are. The best," Feldspar exclaimed as he grabbed one off the considerable platter and popped it in his mouth. He moaned theatrically. "Leave the plate," he said, his voice suddenly the voice of one who had commanded legions. The other faery's eyes widened and she nearly dropped the plate onto their table in her haste to obey.

Silver choked on his wine, half laughing, half flustered. He couldn't help but flash back to the time they'd fucked. Feldspar had started out so soft and subby, all doe eyes looking up at him as he knelt to suck Silver's cock like a pro. By the end of the night he'd taken control, grabbing Silver by the hair and taking him roughly from behind. Both versions of Feldspar had been perfect and it drive Silver to distraction thinking about the possibilities they could explore. Apparently the next time he wanted to unleash Feldspar's latent dominant side all he needed was a plate stuffed mushrooms.

"Those are magic," Feldspar said, pointing at the plate he'd already emptied.

Silver laughed. "Those are literally the least magical thing in this entire place."

"No, you're magical." Feldspar insisted. He rested the side of his face against the wall, facing Silver. "I'm so glad you came tonight. I was feeling so awful, and then you fed me those and I could not even remember why I had been upset. Where'd you learn to make them?"

"Funny story, actually. My buddy, Brody, the one at Le Cordon Bleu. I love him but that dude is one beer short of a six-pack, especially when we were younger. I met him at this little bistro in Saint Louis. We were both working prep in the back and he was always getting in trouble. The kitchen manager couldn't stand him, and Brody fucking loved finding ways to screw with him. He'd do stuff like come in early and switch the direction of the fridge door, or change all the pens in the entire restaurant to bright purple ones. Just pointless stuff like that to drive the manager crazy.

"So we're there prepping for the Saturday night rush on a holiday weekend, expecting the place to be completely packed. We were way overbooked plus we were short-staffed. The kitchen manager comes in completely freaking out. He'd ordered beets for the salad special and our supplier didn't have them. He was almost gonna cry, and just sure he was gonna get canned."

Silver paused. He glanced at Feldspar giving himself a moment to bask in the warmth of Feldspar's rapt attention. He gestured impatiently for Silver to continue.

"Right. So the kitchen manager was practically screaming and pissed off at Brody, saying all this stuff about it being his fault. I'm still not sure what happened, Brody would never say. Whatever he did, he never copped to it. But he stopped what he was doing right there and grabbed all these random things from the fridge and whipped out these incredible mushrooms as a replacement appetizer. He didn't have a recipe, it was just pure flow. Those were the result: the most popular appetizer the restaurant had ever had. We had to run out partway through the dinner rush to get more mushrooms from every grocery store within a fifteen minute radius."

Feldspar laughed. "These were his creation? Your friend must be the most magical human I have ever heard of."

"Yeah, he can be a lot, but he's also a genius in the kitchen. He did eventually get fired for screwing with the manager one too many times, but we always kept in touch. It was great seeing him in Paris."

"Sounds like a good friend," Feldspar said with a long sigh.

Silver snorted in response. "Yeah, he has his moments. He's way wilder than me. I kept telling him when I was in Paris that he's gotta slow down. We've both known chefs who did so much coke it permanently messed up their sense of smell. And more than one that had to go to rehab for drinking or pills. But he's a good guy, just.... Like I said, he goes a lot harder than me."

Feldspar thought back to how close he'd been to snorting... he wasn't even sure what those faeries had been snorting. Hot shame flushed through him as he wondered what Silver thought of him. He'd always enjoyed a good party but even he knew he'd been flirting with disaster the last several months. His friends didn't seem to notice, nor would most of the faeries who saw him as the life of the party. He had a feeling Silver saw through his act.

Silver saw the flicker of discomfort on his face and scooted closer. He bumped Feldspar's shoulder with his own and smiled at him. "Relax, I'm not straight-edge or anything."

"The last six months have been... a challenge," Feldspar said. He gestured vaguely in front of them. Silver followed with his eyes. Directly across from them in Feldspar's line of sight the Lord and Lady were wrapped around each other on the dais, moving sinuously, mouths open in ecstasy. He looked back at Feldspar's pinched expression as understanding dawned on him.

"Oh shit," Silver said as the pieces fell into place. Normally taking a new lover would not mean the Lord broke up with his existing ones. Faeries didn't operate that way. But the Lady wasn't a faery, she was human. Of course she had wanted the Lord to herself. Humans were like that.

"You got Twilighted," he murmured. Feldspar gave him a blank look. "They're Edward and Bella, and you were..." There was no nice way to finish that sentence, he realized too late.

"Superfluous?" Feldspar filled in. Silver gave him a sympathetic look. "Jilted? The butt of a cosmic joke?"

"That's not what I was going to say. More like, I can't believe the Lord bowed to a human's sensibilities."

"He loves her," Feldspar said with a small shrug. "Deeply."

"Yeah, but he chose her," a woman he'd known for mere months, "over you?" a faithful lover, ally and friend he'd known for decades. Feldspar nodded jerkily at Silver's words, both spoken and implied. Silver narrowly stopped himself from saying more.

As he processed all that Feldspar was telling him, Silver tried to overcome the sinking feeling in his stomach. He had had a crush on Feldspar for a long time, and it had only gotten worse after they'd slept together. Realizing now that Feldspar had been rebounding hard at the time -- that he was clearly still rebounding -- was jarring. It did explain a lot, though. Silver gave Feldspar a sympathetic look. "That sucks," he said. "I can't believe he did that to you."

"Yeah," Feldspar said in acknowledgement, sighing again. "It gets worse. Did you know he made me?" Silver shook his head, surprised Feldspar would mention something so taboo. Faeries were not born, but made when another life was sacrificed.

"In the Lord's younger days he dominated on the battlefield. I was the product of a particularly fierce battle. So many fell that day that I was created... accidentally," the final word came out so quietly that Silver had to strain to hear him. "It was so long ago I hardly remember it. I suppose I thought," he sighed and glanced over at the dais. "-- that I was special because he made me. That some day he would stop just fucking me and fall in love with me." He sighed and stared up at the ceiling and made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. "Just listen to me. I can't believe I just told you all that. Honestly, I am getting better."