You Are My Escape (G/T) (Completed)

9

Matt rounded the corner back into his kitchen, hair still wet. He hadn't been expecting his guest to be awake yet, and when the two locked eyes he froze in his tracks. During his shower he'd thought of all sorts of things to say when the little guy woke up, but not a single one of them was coming to mind now that it was actually happening. The silence ticked on as the two stared each other down, and Matt tried to swallow the tight feeling rising in his throat.

"Uh, hi.." He said after a few more moments, daring to step a little closer. The lack of anything was starting to make him uncomfortable. "Are you feeling okay..?"

Ezriel shook his head. No, he wasn't. He visibly tensed as Matt grew closer, but the human seemed to be aware of this and didn't take another step. What game was he playing at?

"What is it you want me for?" The fairy cut straight to the chase, deeply unnerved by the glossy wonder in the other’s eyes. "I- I won't become some trophy piece for you, or tell you our secrets or give you my magic or---"

He backed up defensively as he nervously rambled, the wobble in his voice taking the bite out of his words. He desperately wished that he had his magic, or his wings, or even a guard standing by like they always were. But he was alone here now, trapped, and he held in a yelp as his heel backed over the edge of the table. There was nowhere left to run.

"Wait a minute woah hold up, what makes you think I want any of that?" Matt interrupted with a grimace.

"Why else would you have kept me?" Ezriel asked after a moment, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I'm not the first to have been captured, I'm aware of how it goes." 

Oh. Matt paused, realizing that this looked way more like a kidnapping than a rescue from the fairy's point of view. He was quick to try and reassure him.

"Look, whatever you're worried about won't happen this time," he tried. "I don't want anything from you." 

Ezriel shook his head. "You're lying. I can tell." 

Matt didn't think he wasn't lying… but was he telling the whole truth? He thought about it for a moment, reevaluating his approach- If the old stories were actually true at all, then he knew fairies were extremely particular with their wording and hated being given vague answers. 

"I guess… I want you to get better." He elaborated, continuing until he found an answer that might work. "I want you to stay until you don't look like you're about to collapse any second again. I.. want your permission to help you, if you'll let me."

At his last offer, Ezriel's defiance began to falter and the words began to stir in his head. If he'd let him help? As if he wasn't the one in control here? Was he just trying to get him to lower his guard? It didn't feel like a lie, but he wasn't going to fall for anything. There was no reason for him to be nice to a fairy without expecting anything in return, and even if Ezriel took the human's hospitality he would still owe him for it. 

The blonde shook his head again, unwilling to believe the human's words. "Just… let me go." He demanded. Leaving was much easier than being caught up in all of this. 

"What, right now?" Matt said, looking over to the window. "I thought you hated the rain."

The fairy frowned as he followed his gaze outside, seeing that it was, in fact, still raining. His expression fell even more as he realized that even if it wasn't raining, he still couldn't fly home like this. 

A heavy silence washed over the room, settling for a minute before Matt spoke up. It was probably one of his dumbest, most impulsive ideas yet, but it was worth a shot to gain the fairy's trust even a little.

"You guys make promises, don't you? Hold people by their word?" He asked, remembering what little he'd heard about fairies growing up. Most of it wasn't pleasant.

"...It's possible to enter and release verbal contracts with humans, if that's what you mean." Ezriel answered after a moment, still suspicious. "But it's unlikely that I'll agree to form one with you."

Matt nodded, thinking it over for a long time. It was silent again until he came to his conclusion, trying to sound professional about it despite his heart pounding against his ribs. 

"Okay then, how about I promise not to take anything from you that you don't want to give, does that work? That includes permission to come closer, and answers to any questions I have, and I won't take your time by making you stay if you don't want to." He took a deep breath after getting all that out, looking him straight in the eyes.

"I just… don't want you to think that I'm gonna try to hurt you."

Ezriel was stunned into silence, eyes wide. That wasn't what he was expecting to hear at all. This was entirely different from just placing trust in him now- these were conditions that he would be forced to abide by and he wasn't even sure if Matt knew the consequences of breaking them. But he seemed serious about this, about being nice to him-- there was nothing behind his eyes but sincerity. 

Maybe this could work in his favour.

"And you want nothing from me in return, except my compliance?" Ezriel confirmed after a hefty pause, thinking everything over. This deal seemed entirely one-sided, but the prince wasn't going to complain about that. With the human following these rules he would be untouchable without permission. He would be safe.

Matt nodded in agreement, tacking on a verbal 'yes' for good measure, and some of the tension built up in Ezriel's body began to fade. 

"Okay. Deal."