Glass wings chapter 3 (lemonjuice)
this took a hot minute to finish but we here, huge thank you to zyan for putting up with my nonsensical writing at points and having a lot of patience. this is where the lesbianism kicks in, enjoy!
ao3 link
Lemon shook herself, standing in her human form early in the morning wasn’t something she liked. Her body wasn’t used to this, it begged for more sleep, but she put it down to having only just woken up. Making delivery rounds once a week was a nice routine, but it was the getting up early that was painful. She got paid for selling pixie dust, albeit her own dust, so that was probably the only good part of waking up early.
Her mind wandered as she grabbed the bottled dust, thoughts lingering on that loneliness that had seeped into her the previous night. It got the better of her sometimes, deep down the knowledge that her loneliness was her fault would eat her up given the chance. It was easier to dismiss, not give the thoughts the room to flourish and hurt, but that was easier said than done. At least today would provide some connection, delivering to people she knew, even if she was only a commodity to help their businesses they treated her well, so she could never truly know their motives. Pixies were looked down upon, that knowledge had been instilled in Lemon from an early age. It was hard hiding your identity when your business is selling pixie dust - though people just thought she had managed to trap the pixie, or that she got it voluntarily. It made Lemon more of an outcast than ever, but she felt it was better than the danger of people knowing who she was.
Walking in her human form felt unnatural, Lemon wanted nothing more than to fly, shaking off the tiredness and reluctance that she had woken up with, but now wasn’t the time for that. Getting caught out now wasn’t an option, not when Juice was probably around somewhere, thinking she was getting up to some misdeed.
“Lemon, what are you up to this early?” Juice appeared next to the pixie, smiling slightly at the squeak of surprise she let out. The fairy looked her over, noticing the downcast eyes and posture smaller than normal. Something was wrong.
Juice wanted to ask her, but something told her there wouldn’t be much of a reply. Instead, she put a supportive hand on her shoulder, Lemon turning to her with a grateful look.
“I gotta make some deliveries,” Lemon spoke somewhat meekly, her eyes not meeting Juice’s.
“Well, do you need any help? Maybe some company?” Lemon blinked, was Juice offering this because she wasn’t opposed to being around her? The feelings that they were making progress had been ripped apart by her mind the night before but maybe there was something. She looked at Juice, eye’s hopeful, earning a smile that felt like a side of the fairy that she hadn’t gotten to see. A more human side.
Maybe, this was her opening up ever so slightly? ---
The walk to their first stop was fairly uneventful, few words were exchanged, but Juice noted the closeness when they walked through the most populated part of the village. Lemon’s eyes were trained on the floor the minute people were in sight. She stared, eyes blank with an emotion Juice couldn’t quite make out.
Whatever it was, it shifted as they turned on a side street. Her face got lighter, more at ease as they approached a small bakery. Juice knew it to be the one Ilona ran; she went there to get cakes with Kiara every so often, when the younger fairy insisted she needed to get out of her duties and have something nice for once. It became a rare occurence the more things came up, but Juice loved those moments, loved feeling something other than an almost suffocating responsibility.
“Oh? Hey Lemon. You brought a friend with you today?” The woman behind the counter smiled at the pair, although she seemed to eye up Juice somewhat suspiciously. The fairy shifted nervously, something about those eyes told her that she was already getting judged and all her moves were going to be watched. It was unsettling to say the least.
“Ilona!” Lemon bounced, grinning while walking over to the blue-haired woman. They held a brief exchange that Juice couldn’t make out. Although the way Ilona’s eyes flickered from her to Lemon did nothing to resolve the nervousness she felt building.
“Not to be rude Lem, but why is she with you? She gives off an ‘I'm better than you’ energy.” Ilona glanced at the cold looking blonde. Her face gave no clue to her emotions and it was unnerving.
“Juice? No, she’s nothing like that! She’s really sweet, just not great with people.” Lemon smiled in response. Ilona guessed from that smile that this Juice woman was to be trusted but the stoicism left her weary.
“Wait a second, you’re a fairly frequent customer, with Kiara. You never look thrilled to be dragged here.”
Juice froze, she wanted to melt into the ground right there. Ilona’s face was suspicious, looking Juice up and down for something to clue her in on her attitude. Something didn’t add up with the kind girl Lemon spoke of and the cold, aloof air she gave off. “She likes to bring me here, saying I’ve been inside for too long. It’s not because of you, your cakes are always good.” Juice wasn’t really sure how she sounded, but judging by the tentative and soft look Lemon was giving her, her voice was probably giving all her nerves away. A hand squeezed her shoulder lightly, taking the small blonde by surprise. The pixie’s expression was enough to settle the messy feelings down.
“Well, if Lem likes you, I can’t judge you too hard.” Ilona swatted a hand in a gesture of trying to move the subject, though her eyes still carried a scrutinising gaze. It wasn’t hard to notice the other girl’s unease, and it was easier not to get too into it.
Lemon nodded in acknowledgement before handing Ilona a bottle of pixie dust, her grin growing when handed a bag of coins.
“Lem, don’t forget your tip!” Ilona smirked at the hyper girl, handing her a piece of cake before glancing back to Juice and handing her a second. “One for your friend too.”
“It’s so sparkly, how did you—?” Juice questions softly voice, her voice trailing out of a strong anxiety still present. Staring at the cake. It was normal looking, apart from the way it gleamed yellow in the light.
“Oh, that’s why Lemon makes weekly deliveries. Turns out, putting a bit of pixie dust into a cake makes it sweeter, also gives it more energy.”
Juice nodded, trying it when Lemon urged her to. She thought the pure glee on the pixies face was just her being dramatic, but the cake proved her wrong. It felt like something in it was flowing through her, flushing the lingering anxiety away and filling her with a feeling that she could only associate with Lemon.
The pixie herself felt something shoot through her at watching Juice enjoy the cake. She knew of the effects, making the person who ate it feel happier and somewhat better overall. Watching it hit Juice was entertaining, her body loosening it’s stoic stance to a more comfortable one, her attention directed at Lemon with a small smile.
----
“Are you following me for the other delivery I have to make? I think Pri’s a little easier to deal with than Ilona, she likes everyone, so you’ll be fine,” Lemon spoke as they walked, the twinge of concern in her tone making Juice feel something she couldn’t quite name, nor did she know if she wanted to.
Despite being intimidated by Ilona, she held out hope that maybe the other person would be easier to deal with. There was also the part of her that screamed in protest at leaving Lemon’s side. Was it because of her job to keep an eye on the pixie? It was something to think about later.
“Yeah, I can’t trust you on your own, can I? You’d end up in some type of danger.” Lemon laughed at the response, something about that brought that feeling back but Juice pushed it to the back of her mind to deal with later.
Entering the shop, they sawee a brunette struggling with many small bottles of various things off a shelf. She suddenly turned towards the door, dropping something with a loud clang that made Juice flinch. “Lemon! Ah, my favourite delivery girl, also the only delivery girl I know, come to think of it. You’re here just in time, I just ran out of pixie dust for the potions I need to make today.” The brunette grinned when Lemon and Juice entered, she gave off an air of being easy to get along with, and suddenly Juice began to understand it.
“Hey Pri!” Lemon beamed, the familiarity the pair clearly had was lost on the small blonde behind them. Juice watched, unsure of how to react.
“What’s my name?” “Priyanka!” The pair laughed between themselves, before Lemon noticed her the fairy looking bewildered, as did Priyanka.
“Oh, Lem has a friend! You good? She isn’t tiring you out is she? She does that, but we love her anyway.”
Despite wanting to respond, Juice found herself frozen. She laughed, the girl in front of her was funny but the idea of speaking was slowly fading the more she stood there. “This is Juice, she’s really sweet, but girl cannot talk to people.” Next to her, the energetic girl bounced, poking her friend teasingly during the introduction, feeling even more bubbly when she got a small smile in response.
They would have continued, pushing past the awkward introduction to some socialising before Priyanka remembered why they were there in the first place. But someone appeared from the back room, sending Juice into shock when she realised it was one of the higher up fairies from the council, Tynomi. What was she doing here?
“Pri, are you talking to yourself? What’s taking you so long?” She glanced at Priyanka, smiling slightly at the rushed look on her face, and the way she had clearly grabbed too many bottles but refused to admit it. That was when she turned to the side, noting a somewhat familiar looking girl with bright yellow hair and—
Why was Juice there?
“Tynomi? What are you doing here?” Juice blinked, seemingly reluctant to speak up but knowing she needed to, this situation would be too much to deal with if she fell too silent. “I could ask you the same question, aren’t you supposed to be on duty right now?” Tynomi eyed her up, suspicious as the other girl looked somewhat avoidant. She kept her gaze focused, eyes glancing down due to the difference in height.
“I am, my duty right now includes being with this weirdo.” Juice poked Lemon in the shoulder lightly, leading to the pixie letting out a smirk, lightly shoving her in response.
Tynomi watched them, amazed to see the typically cold and unsociable leader so comfortable around another person. That was something to keep an eye on.
“Ty! I’ve mentioned Lemon to you before, this is her and her friend Juice, do you two know each other?” Tynomi smiled in greeting, shaking off the mention of her knowing Juice with a small shrug. Juice herself just stared blankly, not knowing how to respond.
“You could say that, she’s the quiet young fairy leader I was telling you about a few days ago.” She whispered the last part so only the brunette could hear before nodding at Juice. Unknowingly, the pair exchanged very similar information, only telling of a council member, not the current leader of the fairies.
“I got your pixie dust, here you go, Pri.” Noticing the tension, Lemon switched the topic, exchanging the bottle with a grin.
“Thank you! I have a few potion orders to sort through, so I can’t chat for long, but thank you for coming today. Nice to meet you, Juice!” The brunette bid the pair goodbye, Tynomi following her wordlessly.
“She’s nice.” Juice stood, somewhat dumbfounded at the whole interaction.
“Told you she was easy to talk to.” Lemon was just as confused, but equally amused. The shock on Juice’s face at seeing Tynomi was amusing, but the tension left in the air made both of them want to leave as soon as possible.
----
“Where are you going?” For what had to have been the fourth or fifth time, the fairy questioned, barely able to keep up with the energetic pixie, flying at a speed no one that small should be capable of.
“A cool place! We’re almost there.” Lemon felt a desire to bring her new friend to her favourite place, not quite knowing why but deciding to follow her instinct. Hearing the soft complaints and questions every so often was far too amusing to pass up. “Look!”
Lemon gestured to the scenery in front of them, seemingly untouched by anyone. It took a minute for Juice to fully take it in, watching the pixie turn into her human form, sitting beneath a tree, sheltering herself from the early afternoon sun. Her eyes shined in awe, staring up at the tree tops surrounding them before her eyes cast downward to a small river. Uncharacteristically calm, but Juice sensed this was something she was privileged to see.
“It’s beautiful around here,” she spoke softly, not wanting to disturb the blissful gazing of her companion. She got a nod in response, before the pixie turned to her and patted the grass next to her, staring expectantly.
Sat under a tree, in a quiet but comforting company wasn’t how Juice thought she was going to spend the day, but it was a rare moment of calmness that she knew to savour. They became rarer the more she focused on responsibilities, providing duties to the fairies. Her mind ran off, thinking of the things she had to do before the slight craving for a simpler life hit. One like Lemon, unaware of much other than her own existence, just trying to have fun and keep herself entertained.
“You just wanted something, anything to yourself, I'm sorry I came off so strongly when we first met. You’re a really nice person, Lemon.” Juice could see the surprise and light disbelief in Lemon’s face.
“I mean, it wasn’t just that. Part of me was thrilled for the attention, negative or positive, it was something. Living alone gets lonely, and I've never really had any family. There was one person, but—” Lemon’s voice trailed off, she wasn’t ready to reveal everything about herself. Tears pricked at her eyes just thinking about it all; she wanted nothing more than to forget half of the things she’d done, but they’d sit and haunt her like an old ghost, showing their faces when least expected.
“I get the feeling, being alone. It’s hard, people terrify me. You’re easy to deal with, and it’s partly my job to see you a lot right now, you’re an exception, Lem. Leading is hard, you don’t get a lot of free time, the limited time I have to see my friends, or even make some, it's too hard so it left me alone.” Juice turned to Lemon, her expression a mirror of the warmth and kindness in Lemon’s eyes. They sat, quiet, taking in what the other said and only exchanging a few words. A comfortable silence enveloped the area, neither girl wanting to interrupt it or the feeling of connection that was starting to form between them.
“Juice, if you ever do feel really alone and need someone, I’ll be here for you. I like you.” Lemon’s energy shifted, her eyes brightened at the revelation of them finally connecting. Her words were soft, but clearly earnest. Something told Juice that this was something to remember, the kind of thing she’d think about in the dark moments when she felt like no one was there, the moments where her feelings were suffocating.
“Same for you, Lemon. I’ll happily keep you company any time I can.” Watching her face grow even happier, smile winding into a grin and her eyes crinkling it happiness, Juice felt an unfamiliar rush. Something flowed through her and she finally felt at peace. Something was changing, she was okay with that. She had hope, an optimistic thought that Lemon was there to stay, she would do everything to see her as happy as in that moment.
