Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[Day ??? - ???]

A blur of white movement. It ran clockwise, spinning like a propeller. Z blinked slowly, trying to ignore the pounding in her head. A propeller, no, it was more specific—what was it...a ceiling fan. Yes, a ceiling fan. 

So there was a ceiling fan above her. Different from the ceiling fan in her office. The ceiling was different too, now that she thought of it. And the bed—it tinged something in the back of her mind: she hadn’t recall going to bed—was soft below her, the pillow smelling like pine, cedar and mint.

A swipe of blue across her vision—curtains swept by a gentle wind, revealing the small square of an open window and a beam of light that illuminated the room in a cozy glow. By the dim light, it was somewhere around evening. 

She sluggishly turned to her side, blinking, trying to identify the items in her blurred vision.

A table of glass cylinders—jars, her mind supplied—were sorted into ascending size, next to a glass tank where a golden glow occasionally flickered. Beside it sat a variety of metal—looked to be—medical instruments that were put in a neat pile, right next to a portable pester and mortar.

“Are you awake?” A gentle voice sounded. Z wasn’t surprised when a blurred Tooth Fairy shuffled into the room with a small tray. She had taken off her uniform, the usual coat and gloves, in favour of the casual wear of an orange jumper and a white button up. 

Z felt the heat crawled up to her ears but managed to croak a response. 

“I’m awake, Tooth Fairy. Though I do not…this is not my office so did something happened?” 

Tooth Fairy passed Z her glasses before laying a hand on her forehead, checking her temperature. Z nearly shut her eyes at the warmth of it. 

“You fainted.” Tooth Fairy said, placing a glass of water and two tablets into her hands. “It’s the second time it happened, or so I’m told.” 

Z tried to ignore the accusation in her stare, gulping down the water and the tablets without a second thought.

“Then where am…”

“You are in my room. The spare rooms are currently taken at the moment and I volunteered to bring you here to recuperate.” She sat herself at the edge of the mattress, like a worried parent at their sick child’s bedside, rubbing her face with a sigh.

“You are confined to bedrest for at least three days.” 

It doesn’t register quickly when Z was a little confounded with Tooth Fairy’s lovely face, absently nodding at her statement before it settled into her consciousness. She shot up from her spot but Tooth Fairy had a firm hand on her shoulders.

“Three days?”

“With the way you are going, you might need more.” Tooth Fairy stated firmly. Z heard that tone only once before—she could easily recall the scene of a particular difficult visitor being chased out of the infirmary by a golden hoard of flittering wings. Those screams had echoed quite loudly in the Foundation that day. 

She sighed and tried to settle back against the headboard, hand rubbing her neck. “Then what will happen to my work? Are those reports reassigned at least? There are some documents from the SPDM that need my signature.” 

“The Vice President will take care of it.” Tooth Fairy said. “She was the one that recommended you rest for a few days.”

Z’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, that is nice of her.” 

There was a slight mumble from Tooth Fairy, her eyes narrowed at the wall, going dim as if wishing a person’s ill will. Sensing the hostility, Z gently reached for the hand that held a tight grip around her mason jar and coaxed it into hers. Smooth and steady fingers, a scar at the knuckles. She gave a squeeze and Tooth Fairy quickly settled. 

“I am sorry for the trouble.” Z said, meeting Tooth Fairy’s gaze. 

“You should be. You worried a lot of people with your overworking. You should take better care of your health.” 

“Sorry.” Z said again. Tooth Fairy stared at their intertwined fingers for a moment before standing up with the tray and the empty glass. Z swore she saw Tooth Fairy’s face go red.

“Are you hungry? I prepared some porridge.” 

“Yes. That would be nice. Thank you.” Z rose to follow her but was again gently pressed back into the bed. It wasn’t long until Tooth Fairy returned with a bowl and utensils.

They resumed their positions—Tooth Fairy sitting at the edge of the bed and Z crosslegged under the covers, slowly spooning the porridge into her mouth. Tooth Fairy seemed content to be distracted by her thoughts and the silence curled into a pleasant atmosphere. 

It wasn't until at least half of the porridge was gone from the bowl that she felt the need to ask. 

“You aren’t going to stay here and watch me eat, are you?” Tooth Fairy looked at her innocently. 

“I will if I have to.” 

Z lightly laughed at the stubbornness.  

“I am not going to disregard the doctor’s orders. I don’t want to take up your time when you have your own work piling up at the SPDM.” 

But Tooth Fairy shook her head.

“That would not be a problem. Arrangements have already been made. Especially when I will be your caretaker for the next three days.”

Z paused and slowly puts her spoon back into the bowl. Her mouth opened and shut like a gaping fish. 

“Can you repeat that?”

Tooth Fairy gave a confused expression. 

"I will be your caretaker for the next three days. Considering this was the second time this happened, it was agreed that you needed an intervention.” She stiffened, a touch of worry on her face. "Is it a problem?”

“No, no. It’s…I…” Z fumbled, reeling, searching for the words to match the feeling in her mind. The words come without warning.

“I don’t believe I warrant this kind of care.” 

The significance of what it meant registered in that beat of silence and Tooth Fairy blinked. Motionless until a decision was made in her head. She shifted closer to Z, a quiet passion burning in her eyes, so bright that Z can’t help but be enchanted by them. 

“You do.” Tooth Fairy said, trying to express the magnitude of what it was—to make sure Z saw it. 

“You do deserve this. And I want to be here to care for you.” 

Then Tooth Fairy turned away and the enchantment was broken.

“I’ll go start on the dishes. Leave the tray on the table. Make sure to wait at least ten minutes for the food to digest before you sleep again.” 

Z nodded, still wrapped in Tooth Fairy’s declaration. 

“Of course, Tooth Fairy. Thank you again.”

[Day 1 - ???]

She woke suddenly to the pouring rain. Pitter, patter it went in a steady stream, a shadow of droplets that darkened the curtains and for a moment, unease had shocked through her system—it’s been three weeks, it was too early, too soon for another to come—

She grasped her glasses at the bedside and pulled the curtains open. The world was blanketed in darkness, the natural light from the moon and stars hidden from the cover of light pollution, and only street lamps, lit in a halo of light allowed her to discern the narrow outline of nearby buildings and the blur of rain.

Z waited a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the early darkness, hand on her heart, held in bated breath—and a few more after to be sure that the droplets were falling on a downward path. 

She rubbed her neck, mumbling. “Scared for nothing.”

Aware that she would stay awake for a while, she softly sneaked out of the bedroom. A golden glow—two tooth fairies, escaped or otherwise she doesn’t know—was encircling the sleeping figure on the couch, as if deliberating where to strike.

There was an attempt to lightly swat them away, though they seemed to be undeterred, coming back like flies. It must be a natural occurrence for Tooth Fairy, her face was rested and peaceful, not at all disturbed by the lights circling around her head.

Z opted not to antagonise the creatures any further, unsure if Tooth Fairy’s curse would extend to her as well if she went too far and instead pulled up the blanket that fell onto the floor, tucking it over Tooth Fairy. A small grumble nearly made her stop, but Tooth Fairy only turned her head to face the pillows. Z tried not to think of how cute it was. 

The kitchen was standard-issued fare from the Foundation, reminiscent to an apartment. A white floor, a counter with cabinets along the wall and a stove with a small oven. Peeking through two of the cabinets, so not as to make a sound with any jostling, she quietly noted the placement of cans and containers—and one egregiously filled toffee jar—and made a small logical deduction in her head. The next cabinet she chose presented itself with a few unopened boxes of tea and a slightly diminished jar of instant coffee. 

She reached a hand out. 

Lightning flashed. A looming silhouette. Something grasped at her hand.

A low voice. “No caffeine for three days.”

Thunder sounded. Z tilted her head to better look at the profile, imposing in that bright golden glow circling her, simultaneously casting dancing shadows and commanding it away, as if to demonstrate her ability. 

She spoke steadily. “You scared me, Tooth Fairy.” 

There was a curious lilt in Tooth Fairy’s voice. “You don’t sound scared.”

“It doesn’t mean that I am not terrified.” Z said, subtly squinting at the two drinks so close to her. 

Her wrist was tugged once more—“Doctor’s orders”—and Z had no choice but to comply to the firm yet gentle persuasion, standing up from her spot and closing the cupboards. Tooth Fairy still hadn’t let go of her hand. 

“What time is it?” Tooth Fairy asked, her face turned towards the far wall. Z’s eyes, adjusted to the darkness, squinted at the darker lines of the clock. 

“Around four forty-five. Maybe four forty-eight. I’m sorry if I woke you up. You can go to your bed if you need more sleep. I know the couch isn’t comfortable.” 

Tooth Fairy hummed, leaning forwards to rest her head on Z’s elbow. Z felt her heart quicken at the soft smile.  

“I am not making my patient sleep on the couch.” Tooth Fairy mumbled.

“But your patient is wide awake after having the scare of her life.” Z quipped back, the words faltering slightly when she spied Tooth Fairy failing to suppress a yawn. 

“You are taking the bed.” Tooth Fairy asserted and Z was close enough to see Tooth Fairy’s slow blinks, the lolling of her head. Both of them could be so stubborn sometimes. Z smothered the protest on her tongue. 

They guided each other, Tooth Fairy in her familiarity of the apartment and Z in her adjusted vision, half-tugged, half-followed until there was the feel of fabric and the smooth gloss of the coffee table. Tooth Fairy plopped on the cushions and Z knelt to pick up the blanket that fell on the floor, fluffing it and putting it over the other woman. She almost turned to leave before she felt a small tug on her sleeve.

“I still wanted to speak to you.” Tooth Fairy said. “I’ve been thinking of what you said this morning.” 

Shock, confusion, mortification—it rose like a coming tide, stiffening every inch of her body.

“It doesn’t need to mean anything.” Z muttered. Tooth Fairy only shook her head—her eyes were closed but she still keen on talking. 

“Why do you think that?” She asked and that's another tone Z recognised—it was the tone Tooth Fairy used before dragging her to the school infirmary for a nap whenever she visited the SPDM. 

“I don’t know.” Z said, truthfully. “I never thought about it.” 

“Is it because you see yourself as an adult?” Z fiddled her fingers on her neck, deliberating the meaning underlying Tooth Fairy’s question.

“Maybe. I don’t think I saw myself as anything but an adult when I came here.” Z admitted, Tooth Fairy’s hand squeezing her own. “I am not a child Tooth Fairy, if that is what you are insinuating.”

“No.” Tooth Fairy agreed. “A child wouldn’t work themselves to the bone if they can help it. They play, make stories in their heads and look at the world with a curiosity that the adults lack. Then they grow, and they learn to take care of themselves as adults in their own way.”

Tooth Fairy opened her eyes and Z was pinned by a soft glare. 

“You have not been taking care of yourself.”  

There was no denying the truth. “I haven’t.” Z said, resigned. 

“You shouldn’t overwork yourself.” 

“I know.” Tooth Fairy’s head was buried into her elbow, like a cat seeking comfort. Then a whisper—

“You really worried me.”

It might as well be lightning with the way it struck Z. She only knew she was speechless and with how Tooth Fairy slightly shifted in response, she was aware of it too.

“Think about what you want to do, Z. You have a few days of free time here so think about what you want to do. We will do it, whatever it is.”

It ends with Tooth Fairy drifting off, her head leaning on Z’s shoulder. Shifting herself to a more comfortable position, Z wondered exactly what to do with the unnamed emotion buoying in her heart. 

[Day 1 - Morning] 

There was a discussion in the morning for the arrangements of the next few days. 

Now, Z had her own room in the St. Pavlov Foundation—nearly all of the personnel do due to the events of the Storm—but the place itself was in a considerably far location, at least far enough away that Tooth Fairy couldn’t keep an active eye on her. And she does need to keep an eye on her, Tooth Fairy calmly argued, adamantly convinced that Z would overwork herself when she isn’t looking. Z doesn’t attempt to justify herself—she knows it herself to be true. 

But in agreement for staying at Tooth Fairy’s apartment for the duration, there was some set-up needed for her extended stay. 

Her clothes, for one. Z was still wearing her uniform and the sweat was sticking strangely to her skin.

The trip didn’t take long. Tooth Fairy was ready to wait for an hour if needed but Z had returned to the car in less than fifteen minutes with only a small luggage of clothes and a box of several plastic-wrapped items. 

“Is this all?” Tooth Fairy asked as Z joined her in the passenger seat. 

“I don’t have much.” Z answered. “Just clothes and a few books. Most of my clothes are from my college years and I never needed to wear anything else.” A click of the seatbelt. "I ran out of shampoo. I meant to buy this weekend but..."

"That's alright. I was due for a shopping trip soon." 

Food was another thing to consider, especially when caring for a patient and Tooth Fairy had not prepared enough for herself for the week, let alone for two. Besides there was a new emerging reason to go to the shops. 

“You want to cook?” Tooth Fairy asked, surprised. 

“I am taking you up on that offer." Z said, giddy at the prospect. "I have time now. I never made breakfast, or anything really, since college.” 

Tooth Fairy nodded, looking behind her to start reversing. Z could hear the gentle encouragement in her voice. 

“I am looking forward to it.”

There’s a list in her hand with scrawled out ingredients. She wheeled the shopping cart around—or tried to, with its busted wheel—with Tooth Fairy close beside, depositing some of the common essentials for the next three days. 

At some point, Tooth Fairy disappeared into an aisle and unloaded a few more items into the shopping cart. Z glanced at the items, in slight confusion.

“More toffees?” She asked, an image of the almost full jar in the cupboards coming to mind. 

Tooth Fairy inclined her head. “It is always good to resupply on toffees.”

“Are they that good?”

“The children like them.” Tooth Fairy motioned Z forward and placed something in Z’s hand. Z blinked, unfurling her palm to reveal a wrapped piece of milk candy. 

“Your favourite. Unless I had it wrong.” 

Z shook her head, surprised. “No, it’s right. Thank you.”

Even without the small argument of the essentials of instant noodles—ultimately won by Tooth Fairy and a dejected Z who returned the packets to the right shelves—it took them longer than expected to cross the items off their list. Z had forgotten how distracting wandering around a simple store could be, with its brightly-coloured products and displays, the different prices of local and international brands that has her comparing out of habit and being temporarily taken by some of the free samples. 

By the time they had reached the counter and payed for the groceries (Tooth Fairy had wanted to pay, of course, but Z simply slipped past her and handed the needed cash to the cashier before she could offer), it was already slightly past noon. The groceries were already placed into the car and Tooth Fairy had sat down, savouring a free sample of cheddar as she waited for Z to scan through the receipt. 

A few minutes passed, Z was still scanning the paper with a slight frown on her face. Tooth Fairy peeked over her shoulder to see not the receipt, but the shopping list, with ingredients still unmarked, with a slight difference in the writing.

“Are these ingredients in Mandarin?" She asked. Z gave a slight nod. 

“Yes. I don’t know their English counterparts. I was hoping they will have some here but it might have been too specific.” Z rubbed her neck and sighed. At Tooth Fairy's persuasion, she spoke each of the unmarked ingredients in her native tongue, recoiling slightly at her roughness of the language that came from disuse. Tooth Fairy looked intrigued. 

"I never heard of them before. Are they hard to find?"

"They are. However, it isn't impossible. There used to be an old store near my university that sold all kinds of wares back when I was studying—all Asian in nature. It was the only store of its kind that I could find in a hundred-mile radius."

A smile was set on Tooth Fairy's face. It was as close to teasing that Z had seen on her. "I'm surprised you noted the distance."

"It helps me keep track of how long the journey would be. I was very conscientious of fuel costs then." 

Tooth Fairy hummed. "Would it be presumptuous to guess that this shop would have Chinese lettering on them?" Z glanced at her in confusion. 

"Among others? Yes." 

There was a crinkle in Tooth Fairy's eyes. “I believe I know where to go next.” 

The store Tooth Fairy brought her to wasn't an exact mirror copy of the one she was used to, but it was surprisingly close. A strong smell of assorted spices brought an aged smell that reminded her heavily of her old home, and she recognised a few bits and pieces among the  array of goods—a mascot or two from a piece of confectionary, some childhood medicinal balm, a brand of cooking sauce that her mother favoured. 

Z turned to Tooth Fairy, who glided behind her. “It isn’t too overwhelming, is it?” 

Tooth Fairy shook her head, the movement slightly distracted, as if taking everything in. “Just unfamiliar. It's markedly different from the grocers we just went to.” 

Z glanced back at the list, matching the ingredients to the corresponding signs in the store.

"I'll be quick." She promised, thinking of the dairy in the trunk. 

"You don't need to rush. You can take your time. I'd like to look at this place as well." Tooth Fairy responded, watching as Z darted off for her search. Z spotted Tooth Fairy in several different aisles as she crossed off ingredients from the list, frequently conversing with the elder store owner in Mandarin for some of the more hidden ingredients. The grandma was more than happy to speak to her, brightening at a kindred speaker. Her tone belied the start of a long-winded story that reminded her of her grandfather and Z tactfully cut the conversation and apologised, explaining her slight rush to the woman, who didn't seem bothered at all. 

"I understand." The grandma had said. "Time is valuable, after all. Make sure you cherish it well." 

Once she found the last few ingredients and had placed them into the basket, she completed a quick cruise through the aisles to find the familiar black-coated figure in the confectionary aisle. She was about to call out to her, until she saw what was held in her hand. She knelt down alongside Tooth Fairy. 

“I’ve forgotten about these.” Z said softly. Tooth Fairy passed the bag over to her. She turned it to see the tell-tale white rabbit logo. 

“What is it?” Tooth Fairy asked.

“It is a kind of milk candy with a consistency of a hard toffee. The outside is wrapped with edible rice paper and it becomes creamy when you suck on it." Z huffed a breath of laughter. "I remember a friend of mine being confused when I popped one in my mouth. She tried to get me to spit it out, thinking that I ate actual paper.”

Tooth Fairy must have heard the nostalgia colouring her voice and had already placed the bag as part of their purchases. 

The bustling streets and the early rush of traffic had slowed down to a crawl by the time they had packed the remaining groceries into the car. Tooth Fairy noticed Z perked up at the smell of food and had gently led her into a nearby cafe.

“No caffeine.” Tooth Fairy reminded her when they placed their orders. 

They both settled on a pair of sandwiches and a mug of hot chocolate. Z watched the marshmallow dissolve into the drink and lightly huffed, reminded by a memory. At Tooth Fairy's questioning look, she detailed the first time she burnt her tongue on hot chocolate and Tooth Fairy in turn, shared her experience of accidentally burning a tooth fairy's wing when she first made hot chocolate. As they settled into their meal, they lightly debated on the chemistry and logistics of the properties of melting tooth fairies and the comfortable chattering of conversation, no matter the topic, made the meal slightly more enjoyable. 

[Day 1 - Afternoon]

Z came out of the shower, smelling of Tooth Fairy’s soap and shampoo. She was in the process of towelling her hair when the doorbell rang. 

Tooth Fairy seemed confused at the sound, glancing at Z who shrugged back, and went to open the door. She was surprised by the visitor, judging from the temporary rise of her back. 

“You have a visitor.” Tooth Fairy called out and a small figure with grey hair rushed up to her, stopping just short of her knees. A mixture of feelings welled up in Z and she gave a fond yet exasperated sigh. 

“Hello, Vertin.”

Vertin stared at her curiously.

“Hello, Madam Z. You didn’t come to our meeting spot and I was told that you collapsed. I miss my lessons with you.” 

Vertin reached out with her hands and Z took them, letting her swing her arm. 

“The instructors aren’t being harsh, are they?”

“No.” Vertin said, joining Z and Tooth Fairy on the couch. “Just strict. Ms Diana confiscated my drawings.” 

Z had recalled speaking to a Ms Diana before, remembering her as a serious but reasonable enough woman.

“I’ll talk to her.” She promised, filing the mental note in her head as Vertin beamed.  

As much as she enjoyed the young girl’s company, there were several questions filling her mind—Tooth Fairy’s apartment was at least a few minutes drive away from the SPDM and it was clear that Vertin hadn’t made the journey by foot—and Z, out of worry if anything else, had to ask. 

“Vertin, how did you get here? How did you know where we were?” 

“I asked Ms Vila to drive me here. She’s just outside.” Vertin pointed out the window in the general direction. Glancing out, Z saw the faintest hint of the teacher’s signature blonde hair and red scarf peeking from the carpark. 

“I knew you were together with Tooth Fairy. It was hard not to know: a lot of people were talking about your collapse. Tooth Fairy was the first to notice. She carried you through the halls and arranged for you to have your sick days, so I assumed that both of you were together.”

“Carried?” Z asked. Vertin nodded solemnly. “Like a princess.” 

“Oh.” The image floated in her mind of a gallant Tooth Fairy holding her in a princess-carry. Z cleared her throat, trying to divert the blush from her face. “When you say they…”

“The people in your office, the canteen staff. Even the instructor was talking about it.”

“Of course they are.” Z mumbled, her face in her hands. There was a sympathetic pat from Tooth Fairy, who carried a neutral look but was unable to suppress the mirth in her eyes. 

However, feeling there was more than what was being said, Z raised her head. 

“I wasn’t aware that Ms Vila was added as one of your tutors. Did you tell the instructor today about your visit here?” 

Vertin kept quiet, ringing alarm bells in Z’s head. The instructors were likely running around like they have been set on fire, trying to find the missing Timekeeper. Z rubbed her neck and rose from her seat, glancing around the house for a phone. 

“Please don’t give your instructors a fright, Vertin. Tooth Fairy, do you have a—”

Tooth Fairy stood up and pressed her back to the cushions.

“Our agreement, Z.”

“This barely qualifies as work.” She said, exasperated. Tooth Fairy gave her a stern glance. 

“A phone call is still work. I can handle it.” 

She watched the figure walk away. Vertin had a curious look. 

“Are you and Tooth Fairy close?” 

Z spied the silhouette out in the dining room, in the midst of putting her coat on.

“I would like us to be. Why do you ask, Vertin?”

Vertin thought about it and shook her head. Z wondered what those observant eyes saw. 

“Regardless, Vertin. Thank you. It must have taken some effort to come here.” 

“I was worried about you, Madam Z.” 

There’s the word: worried. It stirred something uncomfortable in her and she puts it aside. 

“Tell me about your lessons.” Z said, hoping to divert from the topic. Vertin brightened and chattered on about the a grasshopper that hopped into her arms and bounded away, the smooth stones she picked up at lunch and the unfamiliar bird she spied outside the car window. The bird itself sounded familiar to Z and so she asked Vertin to wait, picking out the plastic-wrapped old, dusty book about birds she collected from way back when. There were a few minutes of narrowing and pinpointing the exact characteristics of the bird as they tried to match it to the descriptions and images in the book. 

Soon, the door sounded and Tooth Fairy returned with a basket of cookies—as courtesy and apologies from Vila, she explained, whom cited young Avgust as the reason she couldn’t come along. She also told them of Vertin instructors’ and their allowance for her to take over Vertin’s education for the day, so long as she drove Vertin back to the SPDM before curfew, reassuring Vertin that she wasn’t in trouble and that her studies would continue the next day.

Z raised an eyebrow but doesn’t press the issue, watching the subtly hidden tenseness unwind from Vertin and the excitement returned with a vengeance. 

They transitioned into board games. Vertin staring at awe at Z’s game collection, while Tooth Fairy gently chided Z’s ideas of essentials for a three-day stay. They played some non-violent games of Uno—a surprise on Tooth Fairy’s and Z’s part when they were going through the rules and realising that everyone had different house rules on how it should be played—before transitioning to battleship.

“I have Monopoly if you want to play.” Z said and Tooth Fairy scoffed at the suggestion.  

“What’s Monopoly?” Vertin asked.

“A game you never want to play.” Tooth Fairy immediately responded, leaving Z chuckling at the faux reproach. 

They did eventually play a game of Monopoly, slowly relearning the rules and teaching Vertin how to play, with Z explaining the best strategies to win, all the while innocently establishing her own properties across the board. Tooth Fairy had cast a wary stare at Z for the majority of the game. 

Before they knew it, the natural light had dimmed from the windows, leaving an orange glow, casting grey on the room and they knew it was time to leave. 

Vertin left with her hand taken into Tooth Fairy, but not before Vertin rushed up to her with bright eyes and Z had leaned forward to allow little hands to pat and ruffle her hair. 

“Get well soon.” Vertin said, giving the stone she collected before running back to Tooth Fairy, waving her goodbye. 

“Tooth Fairy?”

“Yes, Vertin?” Tooth Fairy asked, spying Vertin in the rearview mirror trying to peek out the window from her seat. 

“Was it because of me that Madam Z collapsed?”

Her hand tightened around the wheel, trying not to show her surprise.

“Why do you think that, Vertin?”

“Didn’t she start overworking when I was assigned to her?”

Checking the mirrors, Tooth Fairy drove to the side of the road and parked the car. Her hand instinctively reached for her mason jar. 

“Perhaps so, Vertin." She said, fiddling with the lid. "However, correlation doesn’t amount to causation. It is hard for me to give you a concrete answer because there was much I don't know about the situation but...although you coming into her tutelage may be correlated to Madam Z overworking, I don't believe it to be the cause. It’s not you that caused her to overwork herself.”

And because Tooth Fairy was intimately familiar with a child's heart, having interacted with many in her course of work, as well as having an innate understanding of the woman currently in her dorm, she made eye-contact with Vertin as she tacked on,

“She never saw you as a task she had to complete or a duty she had to fulfil. I understand that much.”

“Then what is it?" Vertin asked with those piercing eyes. "Why did she overwork herself?” It may be hidden but Tooth Fairy still heard the undertone of worry. 

She shook her mason jar, jolting the fairies inside. Though Tooth Fairy could speculate on the why, it wasn't hard to pinpoint when it might have started. The day of the third Storm was in itself, a premonition. Vertin had been abnormally quiet. Madam Z had been abnormally curt. Most notably, Madam Z had allowed Vertin to stay in the infirmary and had stayed alongside her in the process. 

Tooth Fairy knew she hadn't deluded herself to the hidden pain in the child's eyes and additionally, though Madam Z was always a tired person—as it was in her nature to be devoted to her job—there was something else hidden beneath the exhaustion. Something that made the bones in her knuckles itch, something that had her touching a bloodied baby tooth and an adult male incisor in her pouch as a reminder. 

She had pulled Madam Z aside after her checkup on Vertin. 

"Did something happen?”

A watery laugh. “Just work, Tooth Fairy. It isn’t anything to worry about.”

A pang of worry came regardless. “You can stay here if you need time.” 

“I know.” Madam Z responded, but it came as a bit off. As if she was saying the words but not really meaning it. 

"Z." She tried again but she had already walked out the door. 

“I don’t know the details of what happened before you came to the clinic. But I know it was related to the Storm and that it affected you both.”

Tooth Fairy gauged Vertin’s response before continuing. 

“And if I were to hazard a guess, she came to you because she was ordered to…no, it is more likely that she was ordered to do the bare minimum, even though she wanted to do more.”

“But Z couldn’t disobey orders from her superior.” Tooth Fairy said softly. “Because what could one person do against a hungry jungle?”

Tooth Fairy drove back on the road, but not before hearing a stubborn mumble from the seat behind her. 

“One person is enough.” 

A  gentle memory played in her mind—a paddle outstretched by a hand and a brightened gaze. 

Would you like to play?

“Yes.” Tooth Fairy whispered. “Sometimes one person is enough.”

[Day 1 - Night] 

They were chatting over their dinner of hastily made pasta and somewhere in-between Z prodding on her cooking skills to Tooth Fairy and Tooth Fairy's stubborn refusal to acknowledge it beyond a simple 'it's good', Z had posed a question that had lingered in her mind since the morning.

“Why I chose to be your caretaker?" Tooth Fairy repeated. Z nodded.

"If I were to guess what happened during my collapse, I assume that the Vice President had taken one look at you and assigned you immediately with taking care of me. However, with your position as the school physician and considering that you don't like any more work than was necessary, I would have thought that you would have refused and given the task to another."

"I thought I was subtle." At Z's look, Tooth Fairy elaborated. "That I didn't like extra work."

"You refused any and all invitations to assist the other faculty members unless it was directly related to your workload. I thought it was made very clear." Z said, sipping her water and half-imagining it to be tea. Tooth Fairy only shrugged, twirling her fork. 

"To your question, logically speaking I knew I was the right person for the job—I was at the right place, at the right time, with the right skillset needed to care for a person with an unhealthy perception of work-life balance.” Tooth Fairy doesn’t miss Z's sheepish grin. “But I ultimately agreed to be your caretaker because you interested me.”

“Interested you?” Z asked, confused. Tooth Fairy nodded. 

“Yes. You interested me and I wished to know you better." Tooth Fairy told her. "We only met once or twice when you were in that college exchange program and although we try to meet as much as possible, we barely see each other at the Foundation. I thought that if I didn’t leap at this chance, it would just run away from me.”

"I feel like you will be mad if I said I find it hard to believe." Z said, and a part of her registered in that moment that she shouldn't start her sentences in that way—especially because Tooth Fairy had just narrowed her eyes and had lifted her braces as if readying to rebuke—but she tried to land the rest with as much sincere appreciation as she felt. “But thank you. I’m glad it was you.”

A pause and a soft smile. "I'm glad it was too."

After collecting the dishes and Tooth Fairy lightly glared at Z to rest instead of washing the dishes, a small realisation had hit her quietly. Z pushed down the what-if that rose in her mind despite being all too aware that for the second time that day, she had seen the normally stoic Tooth Fairy blush. 

A little while later, Z was settled on the couch, pulling the blanket up and over herself before Tooth Fairy had halted her. 

“What are you doing?” 

Z gave a confused look and responded. “Going to bed.”

“On the couch?”

“Yes…?”

Tooth Fairy loomed over her. “You are a patient of mine. You should take the bed.” 

“Are you sure?" Z questioned. "It is your bed.”

“I can go a few nights sleeping on the couch.” 

“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” 

“I am comfortable knowing that you are sleeping well.”

“Well, I am deeply uncomfortable by the fact that you are not.” Z protested. 

Tooth Fairy approached her, a laser conviction in her gaze. “Tooth Fairy, what are you—”

She squealed as she was lifted up, hands scrambling for purchase before wrapping her arms around Tooth Fairy’s neck, fisting the back of her sweater. Like a princess, comes an echo of Vertin and Z’s face turned scarlet. The strong hold of her arms around her, the cashmere that smelt distinctively of Tooth Fairy, and their close proximity to each other left her in a slight daze as the fan of Tooth Fairy’s laugh hit her cheek, following the familiar path of the bedroom. 

“You’re sleeping on the bed, Z and that’s final.” 

Chapter Text

[Day 2 - Morning]

煎餅/jiān bǐng 

Method (according to the vagueness of memory): 

1. Whip up a batter of flour and water. (Add more flour because the mixture became too wet.)
2. Pre-heat a non-frying pan over low heat and pour half a ladle of batter in. Spread it around the pan. (Pour more batter to cover the breakages.)
3. Crack two eggs and spread it above the batter. (Remove the egg shells. This isn't college and you are not the only one waiting.)
4. Pour (too much) black sesame seeds. Spread it around. (It's actually enough.)
5. (Don't poke at the batter or lift the underside. It's going to leak otherwise. Remember the virtue of patience, Zhizhi.)
6. Scape it, flip it. (Ignore the damages.)
7. Add your ingredients for the filling. (Scallions, ham, lettuce, crushed peanuts, no cilantro, bean paste, chili sauce)
8. Fold it. (More sauce on the top.)
9. Cut a piece. Taste to be sure. (It's missing something...oh.)
10. Deep fry the wonton until it’s light golden brown for a repeat of steps 1 to 10. (It’s not forgotten, just late.)
11. Change step 7 for new fillings. (Why not pork-floss? How about cheese? Ketchup should work fine.)
12. Mix and match. (...What happens if you add chocolate? No, no. What's the overall flavour profile? Use that, compliment the flavours.)
13. (...actually, put chocolate in one batch. Tooth Fairy is grinning with her eyes.)

They both stared. The nicely made breakfast was made into its own fortress of its own reckoning. It had walls, barracks and—if looked at the right way—a little flag marking the top. 

A quiet click. Film rolled out of a polaroid camera.

“It’s impressive.” Tooth Fairy said, examining the shot before putting it to the side. Z gave a sheepish grin. 

“Sorry, I forgot it was just you and me. I’m used to cooking large amounts in the morning. We will just keep the rest for tomorrow or for later today. Don’t force yourself to finish it."

At Tooth Fairy’s curious look, Z elaborated. “In college, me and a few people in my dorm had set up a schedule where we had a designated person in charge of cooking for the week. I must have confused myself to make meals for six people, rather than two.”

She carefully excavated three sets of jiān bǐng from the top, explaining the different combinations of fillings from each stack.

“You had to think more rather than less—people get hungry at the most irregular times and it’s more washing at the end of the day. Besides, it is fun playing with a large amount of ingredients, it left room for creativity. Once, we dumped five cans of soda into a pot of chicken.” Z made a face. “It was surprisingly good.”

“Wouldn’t some meals be inedible that way?” Tooth Fairy asked. 

“Anything is edible so long as it fits the type of food. It took several attempts but we learnt to be frugal, as well as what combinations worked and what didn’t.” 

Z bit at her jiān bǐng, savouring the taste and texture. It’s good, a decent attempt but it’s not the same—she doesn’t think she could replicate her home’s jiān bǐng anyways. She swallowed, putting the thought out of her mind.

“It sounds like you had a different experience, Tooth Fairy.” Tooth Fairy picked out a jiān bǐng from the stack as she replied. 

“I ate out mostly. I usually bought meals that could last me the week and I heated them up when I get hungry. It was to the point where the store owner knew me and gave me discounts.”

“Have you done a lot of cooking?”

“I didn’t have much time unfortunately. I was very entrenched into my studies.” Tooth Fairy paused, unwrapping the foil, her braces unhooking itself from her mouth as she took a bite. She brightened. 

“It’s delicious.”

A sliver of pride alighted in her chest. Z couldn’t contain her smile. “I’m glad.”

After the meal, Tooth Fairy extended a hand and invited her to take a short walk around the Foundation. Z took the invitation gratefully.

Autumn had presented itself early, with a beginning chill of a breeze, ruffling her hair and the loose flaps of their clothing. The trees were swept with its welcome, wearing a warm orange hue, leaves scattering itself onto the small grass gardens below, bordered by circles of stone parapets. Z had to blink for a few seconds when she first stepped outside, shedding the image of sterilised white and the occasional black that was so constant in the Foundation, in favour of the swirl of white clouds and the pleasant warmth of the sun. 

Tooth Fairy had walked alongside her, the serene and ever-kind physician looked so carefree, holding and shaking her mason jar as she wound small questions and light conversation that made her ponder, and answer in kind. The exhaustion of the past (she would describe this past as days, and when she said so to Tooth Fairy, she had stared and answered months, with an at least, tacked on at the end) had subsided considerably in her presence and she wondered if it's only ever with Tooth Fairy that she found it so easy to breathe. 

“You’ve been asking a lot about me, Tooth Fairy.” Z noted.

Tooth Fairy tilted her head slightly, voicing. “There’s nothing wrong in wanting to know more about you, is there?”

Z shook her head. “Not at all. I just like to know more about you as well.”

Tooth Fairy smiled in amusement. “I’m an open book, Z. What would you like to know?”

Everything, she nearly said but that was much too direct. Questions once kept had risen from their hidden spaces, swimming in her mind now that there was the permission to ask. Furthermore, it was a request—there would not be a limit on the questions with Tooth Fairy, and how could she narrow it down to one? 

Z deliberated over her answer carefully before inclining her head. 

“The necklace around your neck. Would you mind telling me about it?”

In the comfort of the shade, sat on the parapets with rays peaking out from the leaves’ cover, illuminating their faces in spots of light, Tooth Fairy lifted the first tooth of her necklace, nostalgia coated in her words. 

“This is a six-year old incisor from a young girl I met in Paris. She was a very shy girl and had temporarily separated from her parents when I was exploring the Louvre Museum and decided to give her tooth as a gift.”

She caressed the tooth before directing her to another. 

“I found this in Sri Lanka. It is a custom there to throw baby teeth into the trees or to the roof-tops whenever you see a squirrel as a sign of good luck, or so I was told. Some squirrels had burrowed a little stash of baby teeth in the trees and I managed to trade some fruit for this one.” 

“This molar came from a jackalope in America. It had this large wound, likely from a cougar, and was singing a haunting melody before its passing.”  

"Then this canine…”

Z listened attentively, raptured by Tooth Fairy’s gentle tone and quiet animation. Each story known to her by heart was slowly being dusted and presented from the shelves of memory, unravelled like the ceremony that comes with unwrapping a present. And it was its own gift to see a new side of her companion, a new side of someone she holds dear. 

It was only at the last tooth that Tooth Fairy went somber. 

“This was mine.” She said, fiddling with her mason jar. “An upper molar from when I was six.” 

“I realised the difference between humans and arcanists early on. My parents had tried to shield me but the true colours of people, children especially, came out easily when they gaze at an 'abnormal' person, in the absence of adults. Even as I grew older, they were many who differentiated one between the other and are stuck on their arrogant titles. So much of it was hidden from my eyes and I felt that I had to choose one or the other. I had to adapt quickly to not be pulled under the weight of it all.”

Z coaxed her hand into Tooth Fairy’s and squeezed. Tooth Fairy smiled gratefully. 

“I thought I had to change for my childhood dream to be a reality. So when this tooth came out, I put all my promises in here, so not to forget them.”

“Have you achieved it? Your dream?” Z asked, quietly. 

“Yes. It may not have been the exact wish I had as a child, but the dreams of children changes as one grows older, and yet stays very much the same. I have traveled abroad and seen many sights; have heard much, been in a good few stories and collected many, many teeth. Little ones, mature ones. Bringing happiness, bringing suffering. Each one of them as precious as the last. It's a comfort to know that though I have changed, I’ll always be an arcanist. I’ll always be myself.”

Tooth Fairy shook the mason jar, temporarily collecting herself with the dim glow and soft fluttering. Then, a small minute bow.  

“Sorry. I did not mean to go to somber topics.”

Z squeezed her hand in Tooth Fairy’s. “I don’t mind it. I asked in the first place. Each tooth is important to you, you shouldn’t apologise for that.” 

"Thank you." Tooth Fairy had leaned against her like she did the day prior, as they took in the sights, the autumn scent, the wind in their hair. Tooth Fairy sighed, a satisfied smile on her lips. 

“Any other questions?”

Z doesn’t have to think hard about her question—

“Could you show me your collection later?”

—and happily indulged in Tooth Fairy’s smile. 

A little later, Z asked a question. 

“If it is not too much trouble, Tooth Fairy.” Tooth Fairy inclined her head, listening. “I was thinking of using the kitchen.” 

“What do you have in mind?”

[Day 2 - Afternoon]

Jars and containers on the island counter had to be put aside into the cupboards or the bedroom and ingredients were piled in its place, with two trays set on the stove, both lined with a baking sheet. 

The notebook had never been opened it for its intended purpose and it was hard to use it for anything other than remembering—the scolding voice of her grandma, rapping her gently with a ladle, the sizzle of the pan and the fry of hot oil, the stray flour that had somehow always be left on her face and her mother’s hair. 

The nostalgia so potent in her head, in her heart, she could almost taste it.

Z laid a gentle hand across tightly wrapped plastic, methodically dusting off the stray hair and the smudge of condensed liquid that found its way on the surface. She coughed up slightly from the cloud kicked up, before unwrapping the book and flipping through its pages.

There was the smudge of ink and pencil notes in structured pinyin. Tooth Fairy looked over her shoulder to examine the characters. 

“It’s my nǎi nai—my grandma’s recipe.” Z said, taken by a memory. "She gave to me before I left. I never dared to cook any of them before."

For some of the recipes, she couldn't even try—not back then. Most of the ingredients that were cheap in her homeland had been twice as expensive in her local shops, or had been unavailable for the most part. Though a part of that wondered if that was an excuse, a reason not to try. 

She flipped to a page with a childish sketch—pictured a younger Zhizhi learning the strokes—and tapped lightly on the text. 

“I think I’d like to make yuè bǐng. You might know it as mooncakes. It’s a family tradition to make them for zhōng qiū jié, the Mid-Autumn Festival and I hadn't made them in..." years "...a while."

A hand encased her own and Z looked up to see Tooth Fairy with rolled-up sleeves.

"What do you need me to do?"

She left Tooth Fairy to split the packets of ready-made lotus seed paste and red bean paste into small, similar-sized balls. Though Z would have preferred making the paste from scratch, she remembered the one time she had been stubborn enough to try it. At ten years old, she had groaned—fifteen minutes into grinding the seeds or beans into paste—at the sheer effort and arm-work needed for the task, and assigned it back to her patient father, who returned to it with the same silent persistence. 

Safe to say, she didn't want her first attempt to be so tedious.

It took some time but she had managed to make the dough and left it in the fridge to cool. Glancing at the clock to take note of the time, she joined Tooth Fairy in rolling up the paste. 

"Would you say this is too much?" Tooth Fairy asked, looking at the two—going three—trays of lined red and yellow balls. 

Z adjusted her glasses with her arm. "I believe this is the typical amount. My family usually makes thrice more if there was enough ingredients. It's a good gift to give to our neighbours and a good snack if we were ever hungry." 

They made idle conversation, with Z telling the story of the Mid-Autumn Festival, about Chang’e and her archer husband Hou Yi, about Chinese New Year and the traditions that came with it. 

“The city is beautiful in Chinese New Year.” She said. “You can’t walk anywhere without seeing red and gold.”

Somewhere in-between wrapping the paste around the dough, showing Tooth Fairy how to use the mooncake press and laughing at their lumpy first attempt, the topic had devolved into Christmas. 

“My family doesn’t celebrate Christmas, it wasn’t a big staple of ours.” Z told her. 

“Did you not celebrate Christmas in America?” Tooth Fairy asked. 

“Most of my roommates either went back home, or didn’t celebrate the holiday like me. And it’s not like it’s celebrated extensibly at the office. What is it like?”

Tooth Fairy closed her eyes. 

“There would be Christmas lights all around—ringing bells and decorations of red and green, a contrast to the white snow on every roof, tree and driveway. There will be singing in my household as we made it a habit to sing before every meal. Then, there was Santa Claus. I remembered when I was young, I waited all night to catch Santa. I even caught him in the act once, with the help of the tooth fairies. From then on, I made sure to pour him some top-shelf whiskey into the milk. He always got scolded by my mother whenever she found out.”

"It sounds fun." Absently, Z licked the paste stuck on her hands, indulging in her childish habit before realising her audience. She turned, a sheepish excuse on her tongue but was struck silent when she noticed Tooth Fairy’s looking away, blushing. 

Cute. The thought comes. A third in the tally in her head. She put it aside. 

With the pastries in the oven, Z beckoned Tooth Fairy over and showed her a metal square container, shining and blue, with clouds in the imaging. She opened the lid to uncover four neatly-wrapped mooncakes.

"As a point of comparison." She explained, cutting the pastry into one-eighth pieces, passing Tooth Fairy a piece. “It’s meant to be savoured.”

Braces unhooked from Tooth Fairy’s teeth and she nibbled into it. “I can see why. It’s very rich.”

Z examined the filling. “Usually there’s salted egg yolk in the middle. We’re lucky if we ever get those ones.” A small grin touched her face.

“My mother would say that this one is too dry. If it’s bought from the grocer, she would say it's overpriced and that it’s better to make it yourself.” 

Tooth Fairy hummed in agreement. 

“The greater the effort made, the sweeter the reward will be. I understand it. My parents and I always made the effort to make gingerbread together.” 

“I never had them before.” Tooth Fairy turned to look at her, giving a soft smile. 

“I’ll find a recipe and we can make it together.” 

Together. She savoured the word in her mind, like the mooncake in her mouth. Z found that it blended well with the sweetness on her tongue.

[Day 2 - Evening]

Tooth Fairy snatched the tooth fairies from the air with practiced precision. They tried to wiggle and scramble from her grasp but she simply deposited them in one of the many mason jars around the apartment. Z was making a quick count of the number of fairies in the glass tank when the door rang. 

Z stood up from her spot on the bed. “I’ll get it.” 

She was surprised on who was on the other side. 

“Ms Hoffman.”

Greta Hoffman combed through her hair with a discontented expression. 

“It’s past work hours, Z.” 

“Sorry, Greta. It’s a force of habit.” She invited her into the threshold, moving through the space to bring her to the small space of the living room. 

“I’m surprised you came to visit me.” Z said. Greta rubbed at her wrists.

“I figured I owe you one.”

They sat themselves on the sofa, opposite each other, several jars of mooncakes on the coffee table. Tooth Fairy had peeked out of the room, and though Z had tried to wave her off, she provided drinks for the both of them—tea for Greta and a cup of water for Z. An odd wailing sound emanated from the bedroom and Tooth Fairy bent down to whisper in her ear. “I need to handle the tooth fairies. Call me if you need me.”

Her eyes traced Tooth Fairy’s figure as she returned to the bedroom. She almost missed Greta's grunt. 

“Pining over the Campbell girl?” Z snapped her head towards Greta who stared at her, questioning. Z took off her glasses and sighed, trying to dismiss the heat from her face. 

“Is it that obvious?” Hoffman simply raised an eyebrow. 

“You stare like a dog without water.” She said. “But at least you are self aware. Not as bad as Windsong, but it’s close.”

“Windsong isn’t that bad.” Z half-heartedly defended. Greta stared straight at her. 

“The Incident.” 

“…I forgot about that.”

“Then it’s clear you need more time to rest if you’ve forgotten.” Greta indulged in a sip of tea and Z thought it was the end of it. “I wasn’t aware you preferred younger women.” 

Z choked on her water, gaping. Greta continued matter-of-factly. “She had only been here a couple of months. I didn’t think you two were close.” 

“She wanted to get to know me.” Z mumbled. Greta nodded. 

“It can’t be guilt for the car accident, would it?”

“No, no. It’s…how did you know that?”

“You should join us drinking folk, Z.” 

“I rather not.” 

Greta shrugged. “That’s probably for the best. Adler would drink you under the table.” 

Z flinched at the mention though she tried to talk past it. She may not be caught up the office gossip, but she had caught wind that the younger Hoffman had been spotted to come into work drunk in more than one occasion and was often seen disappearing into the record room.  Though Greta had made light of it, to bring up her brother so suddenly—

"None of that. " Z heard the tired tone of her voice. "Ignore it, Z. I don't care how perceptive you are, it's between me and him."

Z cleared her throat, changing the topic to lightly touch on the office and its political jungle. How were they managing in her absence, were there any issues with the handover? Greta had only shrugged—uninterested, uninvested and unimpressed—when detailing some of the events that occurred in the office. 

“They are managing fine.” Greta said curtly, a tone so deadpan it could likely be misinterpreted to be a joke. 

Then the topic came about how she had been resting for the past day-and-a-half and Z vaguely recounted some of what happened, glancing occasionally at Tooth Fairy's bedroom. On the third count, Greta had a tone that was almost soft. 

“You should go for it. Might as well. With how the Storm is going, there needs to be some happiness somewhere.”

“Mmm.” Z replied and Greta waited until she had her attention. 

“What does that mean?” Z gave a confused expression and she continued. “Is that a yes or a no? You are usually clearer than that.” Her fingers drummed across the tabletop. “You do that too often as well. Agreeing for the sake of it. Agreeing without believing your words. Why don’t you want to do it?”

Z was silent for a moment before she spoke. 

“Tooth Fairy had mentioned the same thing a few weeks ago." She resisted the urge to glance again. "I’m afraid I have developed a pattern.”

With Greta staring like a hawk, she tried to put her thoughts into words. 

“It’s not that I don’t want to do it, it just hasn’t touched my mind before this. I don’t know what to do in this situation. Surely, asking the doctor that was assigned to take care of you whether they see you in that way is a—how does that scientist put it? A certified bad move.”

“You’re asking me on romance.” Greta said the word romance like it’s the morning news. Z shrugged. 

“You brought it up. I am only responding in kind.” 

“I see.” Greta then stood up, dusting off her uniform and fixing her lopsided cravat.

“Well, I’m ending the conversation here. I do not wish to hear about romance and I have no intention to give any advice on romance.”

Z watched as she turned towards the door, pausing.  

“Besides it’s a matter of time before you do figure it out. That’s just the way you are.”

“What do you mean by that?” 

“I’ll let you sit on that, Z. Mumble about your Go pieces if you need to. I’m going to have a smoke and reread an old issue of the Flannan Isles. I expect you to figure it out by the time I’m done.” 

Right before Greta left the apartment, a small rush of noise came up behind her. She turned to see Tooth Fairy standing at the threshold, cradling that mason jar she has never been seen without. Her presence stuck out like a sore in Greta's mind—they had never interacted before now, had never needed to, and the only thing she knew about the physician was that Z had a fancy to her and that there was a betting pool on how many cars crashes would be attributed to her by the end of the year. 

Yet it seemed that the young physician wanted to talk. It's not hard as to guess at the reason. Greta hoped it was quick—her hand was already itching for a cigarette. 

“Thank you for visiting, Ms Hoffman.” Tooth Fairy said in that lilting tone, the one that slightly unnerved some of the Foundation members. “And for not telling her about Ms Constantine.” 

Greta frowned at the mention. “Now, how do you know that?” Tooth Fairy only shook her mason jar and Greta made a mental note to check the ceiling for any tooth fairies. She was glad she’s not in the office department—the few colleagues she had that worked in the office, excluding Z, were in a mental spiral because of Constantine, even though they were technically not anywhere near the Vice-President's domain. There were so many ways to say that your boss was bad without realising it and Constantine had managed to convince the office that she wasn’t shirking her duties through bribery or otherwise. 

“She doesn’t like her.” Greta said “I don’t know what happened for her to suddenly dislike her boss but I wasn’t going to push it.”

Tooth Fairy nodded, but her feet were still rooted to the doorway. 

“I wanted to ask since you have here as long as she has." This was unexpected. "Do you know what caused her collapse the first time?”

A beat. Her jaw was acting up. Tightening like that day. Greta looked away.

“I think it is obvious if you think about it.” She said, coldly. Her vision filled with the imprints of sizzling wires. She stared at the sun to shake it off. “She’s been present since the first Storm.”

“Oh.” A pause. Greta could imagine the expressions that would have run across her face in that moment. Surprise, horror, understanding, pity—the works. It wasn't hard to picture when she had seen countless times before. “I apologise.” 

Greta doesn't bother with an apology. She's a few steps from walking away before she paused. 

“Thank care of her." She called out. "She needs it.” 

Then she thought about it. It wouldn’t hurt to nudge them along. 

“She’s fond of you.” Greta looked over her shoulder, giving a stern eye. “Don’t break her heart.” 

[Day 2 - Evening]

Z had set a box of letters on the table. Their seals were broken open with an olden hue, with creases and markings as if they have been opened many a time. She seemed to be worrying away on a particular smudge that blocked out part of a written address.

Tooth Fairy tapped her on the shoulder to grab her attention. Z looked up at her. 

“I’m going to stay up for a bit.” She said. “You can take the bed—”

“We discussed this.” Tooth Fairy countered. Z gave an apologetic grin. 

“We have.” Then more resigning. “We have.”

Tooth Fairy looked once again at the letters, wondering. 

“What are these, if I may ask?”

There was this expression framed on Z’s face, gazing at something beyond her.

“Letters from home.” Her tone resigned and melancholic, her thumb still worrying over the smudge. “You don’t...you won't mind if I read aloud, do you?”

“Of course not.” Now, Tooth Fairy had worked with children, most of which don’t know how to express their feelings and she saw the subtle, silent plea on Z. “I am here to listen if you want it.” She added on, asking to be invited. 

Z pulled up a chair and allowed her in. 

It was slow, taking its time, unfolding, smoothing over the creasing, fingers hovering over pinyin characters as if it could disappear in a single moment. Tooth Fairy concentrated on Z, head bowed and hair framing her face, hiding those kind eyes that could see past an obstacle and plan several moves ahead, her first language weaving around her tongue. 

She was steady for the first few letters, a place between tense and comfortable. Then a certain word made her stop, another one made her hesitate and soft, unbidden pain began to take her, racking her in silent sobs that she tried desperately to hide. It pang achingly in Tooth Fairy’s heart when all she could do is to take her hand.

“I have heard stories," She told Tooth Fairy, wiping away the tears and snot. "Stories of people who came from another country—immigrants and migrants adapting and finding where they fit in such a new place. They learn the language with time, exposure and practice—sharpening it like a fine blade—while the language of their birthplace would be put up on the mantle. Through the years, they would never need to use it and would never see anyone else using it and the blade would grow dull and rusted and some day, they just forget." 

The rawness and pain ripped straight from her, she quietly confessed. “I don’t want to forget.” 

The aching was spilling over and the patient doctor was unable to deny the desperate want that came with seeing someone she loved in pain. Tooth Fairy slowly stood up and put her arms around her. Z clutched her ever so tightly. 

“Do you mind if I say it? Your name?” Tooth Fairy said softly. 

“My name?” Z asked. 

“The end of each of your letters.” A beat of silence. Tooth Fairy almost thought she wouldn’t say a thing but then—

“Zhang Zhizhi. Zhizhi would refer to me. Zhang would refer to my family.” 

“Zhang Zhizhi.” Tooth Fairy wrapped her tongue around the unfamiliar pronunciation. “Zhang Zhizhi.”

Z smiled so ruefully. Tooth Fairy had to ask. 

“Is it painful?”

“It is. But I don’t want it to be.” 

“Zhang Zhizhi.” Tooth Fairy said again. 

“Shì de.” 

“Zhang Zhizhi.”

Z hugged her close. 

“Shì de.” She buried herself into Tooth Fairy’s shoulder, shaking at the tail end of a sob. Tooth Fairy may not know what she’s saying but she knew the sound of regret. “Māmā, bàba, yéyé, nǎinai. Duìbùqǐ, wǒ méiyǒu huí jiā.”

She lets her hold on, smoothing circles at her back, until it eventually waned down to a small sniffle.  

“I’m sorry.” Z tried a watery laugh. “I don’t know what came over me.” 

“Don’t be. Sometimes it needs to go somewhere.” 

“Still, I never liked crying.” 

“It’s better than being angry.” 

Even in her tearful state, Z gave her a curious look. Tooth Fairy walked to one of her collections, pulled out a tooth and brought it over. 

“I like to collect teeth. But even this one—” She turned it over, the memory burning alive in her mind. The sound, the punch, the grunts of pain, the rage. Tooth fairies gathered around her and she registered the slight raise of her arcanum. 

“—is tainted in my eyes. Sometimes I have the urge to throw it out. But I would never dare throw away a precious memory.” 

“What happened?”

Tooth Fairy took off her glove, showing the scar on her hand. Z’s eyes widen in realisation, connecting the dots quickly. She doesn’t have to ask permission—Tooth Fairy offered her curled fist to Z. 

“It didn’t hurt as much as I thought.” Tooth Fairy said, shivering at the finger gently thumbing over the knuckles. “I wanted it to hurt more.” 

“Do you regret it?” Z asked. 

“Never. He deserved it.” Tooth Fairy smiled at her surprised laugh, before her expression turned rueful. 

“I acted according to my emotions when I shouldn’t. It was ugly.” She confessed. 

“It does feel ugly." Z agreed. "But sometimes we need to act by our emotions to get anything done. Whatever he did, I’m sure he was in the wrong—you’re not the type to punch someone without reason. I wish I could do that.” 

It was Tooth Fairy’s turn to chuckle. “Punch people who deserve it?”

A small curve of a smile. “In a way.” 

“Maybe one day you will.” Z chuckled. 

“One day.” 

Z moved closer and Tooth Fairy tucked her in to bury into her shoulder—sheltering the children who grew too fast in their own ways, nesting in the presence of one another. 

“Are you going to sleep on the couch again?” Tooth Fairy lightly glared at her question. 

“I am. I rather we not talk about the bed.” 

“No, I…” Z paused, before deciding to bite the bullet. “What if we shared it?” 

Tooth Fairy widened in surprise. a small oh on her lips. Her braces smacked her on the cheek, unsure on where to settle. 

“You wouldn’t mind?” 

Z took her hand into Tooth Fairy, beginning to tug her along. 

“I am the one proposing it.” Tooth Fairy spied her hand rubbing her neck, trying to will away the blush. “I’d like to do it—if you’d like to as well.”

Tooth Fairy doesn't have to think hard on her answer.

Z was the first to slide in under the covers, her head facing the ceiling. Tooth Fairy slid in after her, nerves slightly trembling. Then a hand reached out, gingerly over hers and it was too easy to let their fingers intertwine. 

“Good night, Tooth Fairy.”

“…Good night, Zhizhi.” 

Chapter Text

[Day 3 - Morning] 

There's a gentle weight on her side when Zhizhi woke up.  

It's a rare occasion for her to wake up before Tooth Fairy—the past two days when she emerged from the bedroom always saw Tooth Fairy already awake and waiting, casually flipping through a book and sipping through her morning beverage.

With slow blinks, she took in the situation.

Tooth Fairy was curled towards her, her chest rising and falling in slow breaths—an arm loosely circled around her back, above the covers, with her legs tangled around Zhizhi's own.  The distance between them had diminished sometime within the night and Zhizhi tried not to squirm at the sudden position she had found herself in.  The only thing that hadn't changed was that her fingers were still intertwined with hers. 

Her eyes absently wandered over to Tooth Fairy's expression. There's a strange desire building in her chest to see Tooth Fairy's face—to touch it, to brush aside the stray hair that had fallen over her face, to kiss—

She blinked at her hand reaching so close to Tooth Fairy's face and she closed her eyes, quietly admonishing herself, instead letting it land in the space between them.