#i DO wanna write more fairy bkg tho....

[sipsteainanxiety]

you found him by accident, curled up inside the head of a tulip.

the forest near your cottage had a vast variety of flora that you liked to catalogue in your free time. flowers with velvet petals that glowed when the moon was waning. red vines that grew longer when they felt eyes on them. trees that seemed to have a sort of sentience to them when they thought they were alone.

there were just so many different plants out there with properties you could only dream of. you spent countless evenings wandering through shrubs and overgrowth, a small journal in hand that you opened whenever you found a new specimen to document. it was a lovely way to pass the time, and you made use of your findings to aid in developing new medicines or salves for you to use.

today in particular, you walked in a direction you had not before and found yourself standing in a small field surrounded by trees. you breathed in deeply, relishing in the fresh air that swirled calmly around you. the sky was tinged with the gradient of dusk, burnt oranges and nebular purples easing into each other as though from a single painter's stroke.

you spotted a patch of flowers to your left and headed over to it to see if any of them were new to you. there was a mix of cerulean-colored flowers with petals shaped like stars and sunshine tulips that waved gently with the summer breeze. you crouched down, one of your hands reaching out to gently caress the vibrant green of a tulip's leaf.

you opened up your journal and started jotting down descriptors for the cerulean flowers, pondering in your head what to call them. their color clashed with the bright yellow of the tulips in a way that you found interesting. it meant they both thrived in similar conditions. it didn't look like one was out competing the other either. that was good.

you scribbled away for a moment, then looked back up to inspect the cerulean flowers. and that's when you noticed a small splotch of red—stark against the vivid green of the leaf it was on. you blinked and squinted your eyes at it before learning forward to swipe your finger across it. it smeared onto your index finger and you brought it up closer to your face to inspect quizzically.

it... it almost looked like... blood?

you looked back at the flower leaf you had found the splotch on and noticed there were more small splashes of crimson scattered along the leaves and stems of a few flowers. they seemed to lead in a certain direction, so you followed the trail of blood with your eyes until you noticed a larger splash on the leaf of a tulip. the yellow of the tulip's petals had some smears of ruby red on the outside—from what you could see, it was the only flower with blood on its petals... especially as smears. you shuffled closer to that particular tulip and peered at it curiously, your breath soon hitching in your throat.

there was a fairy curled up inside the head of the tulip.

he was in a small ball, using the petals to shield him from the outside. but what really caught your attention was the crimson that stained his clothes to an almost deep burgundy. it made you lift a hand to your mouth, your eyes darting all over his small form so you could take note of his injuries that you could see. one of his wings—an iridescent thing that shimmered even in the remnants of the sunset—was torn diagonally across its center. you couldn't make out how severely he was hurt, but he looked bad.

you couldn't just leave him like this. even from your height, you could see his ash-blond hair sticking to his color-drained face that was scrunched up in pain. you abruptly shut your journal and tucked it in your pants pocket. then carefully—so, so carefully—you plucked the tulip the fairy was in. you were cautious, gentle, as you rose to your feet, your hands cradling the tulip head so as to not jostle the fairy around too much.

you were quick as you made your way back to your cottage, your steps carefully calculated to avoid tripping over anything. your eyes lingered constantly on the fairy in your hands, checking to see if his small chest was still moving. it was, but just barely. you bit at the inside of your cheek. could you even do much with the state he was in? you didn't know. but still, you had to try.

you practically barged through your cottage door, shifting the tulip head to one hand so you could clear a section of your table stacked with jars of pastes and salves. you grabbed a piece of soft cloth from a drawer in your little kitchen and folded it a few times before setting it down on your wooden table. then you looked down at the tulip.

fuck, how were you going to get him onto the table?

you didn't want to move him too much, but you didn't really have a choice, it seemed. you started plucking some of the petals, letting them fall onto the table so you could make an opening. then, as you willed your hands to stay as still as possible, you slid your fingers underneath the fairy's body.

he really was quite small. you'd have to guess he was around five inches or so, though being curled in a ball made him look even smaller. he made a rough noise once you'd gotten your fingers under him and you immediately froze. he settled down after a small moment, and you let out a breath of air before you carefully moved him so that he was on top of the cloth you'd set out.

from then on, you were in healer mode.

you grabbed a nearby lantern so you could see what you were doing, allowing the flickering tangerine light to cast itself warmly across the table. then, you bustled around your cottage, hands snatching up items ranging from cotton balls to jars of ointment and a needle with thread. you had a pair of tweezers somewhere in your room that you snatched up as well as some bandages and a small knife to cut them into smaller pieces.

you set everything onto the table, then grabbed some more pieces of spare cloth and a bowl of warm water. you pulled over a chair and sat down, the fairy resting in front of you with all your materials surrounding him.

he had moved from his curled up position, thankfully, and was now stretched on his back. even in his sleep he was in pain, you noticed, eyeing his scrunched up brows.

you had to be nimble as you cut down the center of his dark green shirt to reveal his wounds. there was a deep gash along his abdomen that was still bleeding. he also had a smaller one below his collarbone. you soaked a cotton ball in some of the water and used the tweezers to press it gently to his stomach. you hoped he hadn't punctured anything significant.

you had to replace the cotton ball multiple times before the gashes stopped bleeding. you wiped away the rest of the blood from his upper body, then grabbed one of the salve jars so you could open it and smear some of its contents across his wounds. the salve had healing properties—hopefully it would help prevent infection so you could start to stitch him up.

after that, you wiped your fingers and started prodding gently at his legs. he had some pouches and what looked like a small sword attached around his waist. you fumbled slightly as you removed them and set them to the side. then you murmured a small apology as you pulled off his pants to see if he had any injuries on his legs.

there was another gash across his right thigh. when you pulled off his boots, his left ankle also looked tender. you wondered what had happened to him to make him get this messed up. you stopped the bleeding on his thigh and wiped down his legs before you applied more of the salve. you did your best to wrap his ankle in bandages. it wasn't your best work, but well, his foot was fucking tiny.

glancing at his blood-soaked pants, you grimaced. there was no way he was going to wear that. you could probably wash them and hope that he woke up after you slipped them back on.

the salve needed a few more minutes before it would get absorbed into his body, so you stood up and grabbed his pants so you could toss it in another bowl of warm water and soap. maybe you could make him another set of clothes. you had the sewing materials, after all. you'd have to take rough measurements, though.

you returned back to the table, noting that his face had relaxed slightly from its pained grimace from before. you carefully pressed your index finger to his forehead to check the temperature—he was a bit hot. that wasn't good, but it was expected.

you ripped up a smaller piece of cloth and soaked it in some cold water before you placed it on his head. then you got to work with stitching his deeper wounds.

it was tough work, using your smallest needle to sow him together. you kept pausing and glancing up at his face to see if he would wake up, but he was out cold. you felt like you were a child, playing operation on a doll. except, what you were dealing with was very much alive and was currently depending on you—albeit unknowingly—to stay alive. the thought made you swallow heavily and focus harder on stitching.

after what felt like ages, you cut the thread and tied it off, your hand wiping across your forehead to get rid of the perspiration there. he hadn't needed many stitches—really, only his thigh and abdomen required them. you opened another jar and smeared another paste across his wounds before you completely wrapped him up in bandages. then you eyed his wing.

he'd been somewhat laying on it all this time. you weren't really sure what to do for it. it wasn't bleeding, but it did look painful. you settled on gently pushing him onto his side and dabbing a salve over the tear before you slapped a bandage patch on both sides of it. that would have to do for now.

you moved him onto his back once more and covered him with a piece of cloth large enough to act as a blanket. you stretched your arms out as you glanced out one of your cottage windows. it was dark outside—how long had you been working? the tips of your fingers hurt from all the stitching and careful motions you had to do. you flexed your fingers and looked back at the fairy.

his face had smoothed down into a somewhat peaceful look. you let out a sigh of relief and slid the now-warm piece of cloth off his head. he had blood on his cheeks and neck—you'd been hesitant to wipe it away, but now you could since you were finished taking care of him.

you grabbed a piece of cotton and soaked it with water. then you started softly wiping it along his face and a bit through his hair. his face scrunched up again. you were trying your best not to move too roughly to wake him up, but he still stirred. you froze, breaths bated, as his eyes squeezed shut before he started slowly blinking them open.

the first thing you noticed was the color of his eyes—crimson like the very blood he’d been soaked in. they were hazy as he squinted up at the ceiling, but they sharpened surprisingly quickly once he realized he was no longer hiding in a flower. and once they swiveled around to land on you, you saw them shrink into tiny pinpricks.

a beat passed where all he did was stare at you.

then he lunged towards your hand—that had been hovering by his face with the cotton ball pinched between your fingers—and promptly sunk his teeth into your thumb.

“yeowch!” you yelped as you dropped the cotton ball and snapped your hand back, shaking it slightly as though that could get rid of the sting you felt. his teeth were fucking sharp, what the fuck. you grimaced at the beads of blood that welled up from the tiny pricks on your thumb before you looked back at the fairy.

he'd taken your momentary distraction to stumble to his feet, teeth bared in a snarl, and lunge for his tiny sword. it had been drawn and was pointed at you, the blade gleaming at you in the flickering light from the lantern. it... wasn't much larger than a needle, but you still raised your hands up in surrender.

"whoa! hey!" you kept your voice low and soothing. it was obvious he was wary and maybe slightly panicked as his eyes darted about to take stock of his situation. they landed on you and his snarl seemed to deepen. "be careful! you're really hurt."

"you!" the fairy growled at you, his voice surprisingly raspy. he swayed a little on his feet, but seemed to cement himself. you eyed him cautiously. "you're the hag who lives in the shitty hut in the forest."

hag?! why this little— "i'm gonna pretend that you didn't just say that," you said cooly, lowering your hands slightly. you were not going to throw this little fucker across the room, you weren't. "you know who i am?"

"'course," he spat out, the glare on his face unwavering. there was still a smudge of blood on his cheek that you hadn't been able to clean before he'd woken up. "everyone in the damn forest knows who y'are with how y'keep stompin' about."

"i don't stomp." you frowned, your lower lip jutting out a bit in a small pout. "if you're so knowledgeable on who i am, then you know i'm not gonna harm you." his lips twitched at your words, but he didn't say anything. you continued, "relax. i found you in a flower and brought you back to my home to stitch you up." you gestured one of your fingers up and down his body.

it was then that he seemed to register the bandages that were on his torso. he looked down at himself, his free hand running along his stomach, before he realized he had no pants on. his face turned red as he snapped his head back up to snarl at you. "you—!!"

"i didn't do anything, your clothes were just very bloody!" you rushed out, heat crawling up your neck. "i'm sorry i had to cut open your shirt. your pants are in that bowl soaking." you pointed over to the other bowl you'd put it in that rested on the other side of the table. "i could probably... make you some new ones..."

the fairy's jaw tensed for a moment, his grip tightening on his sword. he was holding himself a bit awkwardly, but seemed to hide his pain well, especially with his tender ankle. though, you still noticed the way his face was a bit pale, sweat lingering on his forehead. he shoved his sword back in its scabbard and struggled to suppress his limping as he walked over to the makeshift bed you'd made for him.

he snatched up one of the pieces of cloth to wrap around his body. you watched him curiously. his hands trembled minutely. "what are you doing?"

"'m leavin'," he snapped at you, shooting you a glare that dared you to protest. the hair on his head practically bristled with his irate mood.

"right," you replied dryly. "and how do you expect to get anywhere in your condition? you'll reopen your stitches if you haven't already. and with your ankle and wing being busted you've got no chance of getting very far at this time of night."

he frowned at you as though considering your logic and looked over at a window to see the deep darkness that consumed the outside. he scowled at it, then looked at himself once more and the blood-soaked cotton balls that surrounded him. you waited patiently as he seemed to think, his wings moving slightly—shakily. then he scoffed loudly, aggressively ruffled the spiky hair on his head, and plopped himself down on the cloth-bed. an admission—albeit reluctant.

"fuck you," he grumbled. you tried not to roll your eyes. this fairy was so rude—were all of them like this? you hoped not.

"wonderful. nice to know you have a brain in that small head of yours." he shot daggers at you at your words, but you paid him no attention and started collecting all the garbage on the table. you got up to toss everything in the trash and moved all the medicinal supplies to the side to use later on. the fairy watched your every move, his gaze sharp as though trying to catch you doing something bad.

you grabbed some bread to put on a napkin and set it somewhere next to him. he eyed it like it had just stabbed him in the gut.

"you need to eat something," you told him as you pushed the bread closer. "and you need to rest. i'll have to keep checking your wounds to make sure they're healing properly."

he only gave you the stink eye and made no move to rip off some bread. this time you actually did roll your eyes. he could be stubborn all he wanted, but he'd have to give in eventually.

you sighed quietly and moved away from the table. you were too tired to deal with this right now. your back ached from being hunched over him as you'd tended to his wounds. "i'm going to bed. please remember that i'm here to help you—it's my job. if you need anything, just ask." he didn't say anything else, only glared as you walked away to get ready for the night.

within the safety of your room, away from his burning gaze, your shoulders slumped. you didn't know he was going to be so... be so prickly, but you supposed it was expected. whatever. you didn't regret taking care of him—it was only the right thing to do. you grumbled to yourself as you got ready for bed, avoiding the kitchen area of your cottage to give the fairy some alone time and privacy.

you slid into bed and tugged the covers up to your shoulders. still, you did not sleep. you only stared up at the ceiling, the light from the kitchen lantern glowing through the cracks in your bedroom door. you couldn't hear anything apart from the occasional hoot of an owl from outside and the crickets that chirped just under your window. you blinked tiredly. the light went out after a few moments.

you sighed and rolled over as you closed your eyes, wondering if he would stay or if you would wake up to an empty house once again.

#lets call this an au of my dragon bkg au where hes a fairy instead #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugou x reader #meet cute<3 #tw blood #tw injuries #katsuki x reader #bakugou x you #bakugou imagine #probably not gonna write more bc this literally lowkey follows dragon bkg #okay no its highkey #im sensing a pattern... #i DO wanna write more fairy bkg tho....