floriography [ stories five ]

elder tree || two

[ yeehaw i forgot literally half the plot points i wanted to use for this bc i forgot to type them up

anyway,,,, here

this ends cute and domestic bc i want it to its my birthday

stay safe!
lew. ]

——————

Somehow, that damn faerie boy ended up following Lewis when he moved.

Sure, it was nice having a reminder of home, but there were things that stung too badly to ignore. The tiny wood sorrel blooms woven into his Sunshine's hair, and the inside of this new circle looking exactly like the forest behind his grandparents' house.

"Could I give you a hug?" He asked shakily one time he made the trek to visit. He came directly there after school, his backpack still on his shoulders, weighing him down more than it should've. "And could you please not let anything get me? I just... I really miss home and—"

"Don't worry, Sorrel. I'll keep you safe." The faerie boy opened his arms, and after only a moment or two of hesitation, Lewis took off his backpack, set it down, crossed the circle, and felt at home for the first time in months.

He wrapped his arms around the fae's neck, breathing in a scent of honeysuckle and mint and somehow, even the coal mine air that made this feel like a small bit of home. And as soon as Sunshine returned the embrace, Lewis felt like he'd never want to leave.

By the time the two of them let go, tears had soaked into the thin material of the faerie's shirt, and small wood sorrel plants adorned Lewis' hair. "Thank you," he murmured. "I think I really needed that."

He smiled, gently tilting Lewis' chin upwards. "It's safe to say we both needed it." He got a little bit closer, enough for Lewis' breath to catch, enough for the human to see the little flecks of almost gold that the sunlight caught in his eyes. Enough that Lewis closed his own eyes.

It was just the faintest brush of lips, but it made him feel so warm inside.

——

Logan really looked forward to seeing Sorrel most days. He was a constant, one of the few things that could be relied upon to stay relatively the same.

"My mom doesn't like that I spend all my time out here," Sorrel mumbled, looking up at Logan with that same wonderment he had eleven years ago. Even now, a few similarities could be drawn between the five year old Logan first met and the sixteen year old currently laying in his lap.

The sparkle in his eyes, the shy tone in his voice, and even the slight freckles across the boy's nose remained the same. But he'd grown up, changed in other ways.

Logan combed his fingers through the boy's hair, faintly smiling. "It's not like you're doing anything really wrong. All you're doing is spending time with a lonely guy."

"She knows what you are. She knows that I've went inside the circle and everything. I don't wanna just abandon you, but I can't leave her behind either." Sorrel reached up to wipe his eyes, sounding so unhappy that it made Logan's heart ache.

"All you'd have to do is give me your name. You can stay with me, we can visit your mom— Anything you want."

"But... you can't leave the circle unless you're going back to your world..."

"I promise that I'll be able to. If you give me your name, I'll give you mine." Logan pulled the boy up into a sitting position, then cupped his face in his hands. "Please?"

Sorrel swallowed thickly, hands curling around Logan's wrists even as his eyes closed again. "My name is Lewis. I'm... I'm giving it to you."

Things happened all at once.

Logan leaned forward and gave Sorrel— no, Lewis, a kiss. He barely pulled away after a moment, whispering, "My name is Logan," against his lips before going in again.

The ring of rocks and mushrooms broke apart, the illusion of the Appalachian woods dissipating as the rocks crumbled and mushrooms shriveled.

And just like that, Logan was free.

——

"Hey! Get back here with my flower seeds!" Lewis called after the children, exasperated as he wiped sweat from his forehead. "Logan, control your offspring!"

"They're yours too," Logan replied, refusing to move from the blanket he'd been spread out on.

Lewis sighed, but whistled and called out, "Your other dad is gonna tell you a story if you bring back my seeds!"

It didn't take long before the two children came running back to the backyard, depositing the seed packets beside Lewis before just jumping at Logan. Obviously, Logan groaned (because the weight of small children never seems to be much until they attack you), but recovered quickly.

"Are you really gonna tell us a story?" The boy asked, clinging to his older sister's arm. At five years old, he looked almost exactly like Lewis had, which was almost fitting, given his name.

"Yeah, Sorrel. I'll always tell you stories, but you gotta stop taking Dad's gardening stuff from him. He's gonna cry one of these days over it," Logan told him seriously, wiping a stray smudge of dirt from his face.

"Sit up, babe," Lewis murmured as he joined the rest of his family. As soon as Logan did as requested, Lewis sat down next to him and tucked himself underneath the younger man's arm.

"You're doing it again," their daughter informed them, looking up with those same bright honey eyes that captured Lewis' attention all those years ago. "You're being icky."

"Its because we love each other, Sunny. You'll understand someday," Lewis replied. "Anyway... story time!"

"You're lucky I love you," Logan murmured lowly, then louder, he started his story.

"A long time ago, there was a little boy who got in trouble for something his parents did. He was taken away, turned into something different, and had to live by himself.

It was lonely, but one day, he started seeing another little boy and his mom walking past the place where he was stuck in the woods. Then finally, he got to talk to that other boy because his mom let him go out alone. That was one of the best days ever for him.

After that first visit, he was told that if he could get the other boy to tell him his real name, he'd be free to leave the circle of rocks and mushrooms that he'd had to stay in. It sounded like it'd be easy. But the other boy's parents told him to keep his name secret from people in the woods.

And finally, after eleven really long years, he finally got the other boy to tell him his name. He got free, and the two of them lived happily ever after."

"Dad..." Sunny started after a long pause. "That's the silliest story I've ever heard."

Sorrel frowned and said, "Well, I like it a lot."

"Truth is stranger than fiction, kiddos," Lewis murmured.

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[ hi this is dumb and the ending is cute and domestic and gay wow i love familial dynamics

the role reversal version of this is gonna be labeled "elder shrub" bc it has the same meaning, just,,, trees are taller and since logan's the tall one i thought it fit idk y'all i'm exhausted and i hate my job

anyway- the plotline for the reversal is faerie lewis meets human logan and falls hard for him, and eventually twists the rules a little to spend more time with him