“Rafe… what did you do?”

The question drifts into the room just as he stumbles through the doorway, ignoring the small glass jar on his desk where you sit. He doesn’t spare you a glance, simply collapses into the chair with a heavy sigh.

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it, Fae,” he mutters, voice rough as he opens a drawer and begins pulling out supplies. Gauze, rubbing alcohol, bandages.. everything he needs to patch himself up. It’s a ritual by now.

It had been months since he found you. Caught you, really. You had been snooping around his room, your tiny glowing wings giving you away. At first, Rafe was baffled. Who wouldn’t be? A fairy, an actual fairy, rummaging through his things? It seemed impossible. But there you were: curious, lost, and far from home.

He didn’t let you go. He said it was because you had to “pay” for trespassing. But over time, it became clear there was more to it. Maybe Rafe just didn’t want to be alone. Maybe he needed someone who stayed, even if it was against their will.

So, he kept you. Trapped in a glass jar on his desk. Day after day, you stayed in his cluttered room watching him, talking to him, patching him up after fights, yelling when he came home high or drunk, and sometimes just sitting quietly with him until he fell asleep.

If you behaved, he’d let you out. Let you stretch your wings, fly around the room, though the windows were always locked. He made sure of that. He wasn’t ready to let you go.

“Rafe…” you say gently, pressing your hands and nose against the glass, trying to get a better look at him. His eye is swollen and bruised, blood drips slowly from his nose, and his arms are covered in fresh cuts and bruises.

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he pulls off his bloodied tank top and tosses it aside. Then, finally, he reaches for your jar.

“You gonna actually help me this time, Drew?” he says, unscrewing the lid and tipping you carefully onto the desk. “Instead of just telling me what I should and shouldn’t be doing?” He holds out a tube of ointment, waiting. “Come on. I could use the help.”