Psyche rarely visits the mortal realm anymore. Any miracles they perform, any requests they grant, are all taken care of from above so they don't have to deal with… the personhood of it all. But word gets around and sometimes, the little things are worth it.
A mortal granted beauty beyond any other, this they had to see. So they slipped into their preferred form, tying on an ascot scarf around their neck and slipping into a loose empire line dress, faint pastel blue contrasting nicely with the gardens they'd landed in. Two dark, infinite eyes scanned the park for the mortal, sure they'd know them when they saw them.
Neer lived far, far from most humans. People were… tiring. And annoying. And they had no respect whatsoever for the sanctity of a well designed and dedicatedly maintained garden. The garden which they were caring for today, as a matter of fact.
They weren't wearing anything special, just a pair of navy blue coveralls and a bandana to keep their hair from their face. The sun shone down, hot and bright on their back, but they paid it no mind. The pink dahlias they were replanting were far more important, really. The poor darlings had just been dying in the shade because, unlike Neer, they flourished in direct light.
"They're right. You are… gorgeous." they breathed out, like the first gust of wind in Autumn, cool and crisp and fresh and cruel and so, so new. They approached the human, reaching out a scarred and tattooed arm in a vague gesture of connection, or an attempt to connect.
Neer shivered as a breeze gusted over their neck but they stubbornly kept their attention on the flowers. Their dahlias looked like tiny sunsets, each one bright and immaculate, and so they kept their attention focused only on this. The only thing in the world, it seemed, that mattered.
At least, the only thing that mattered until they felt a touch on their arm in what they knew was a private garden. They swung before they could even think about it. What felt like a jaw bone crunched beneath their knuckles.
Psyche stumbled back a little, jaw setting itself back into place. Some blood trickled down past their lips, they wiped at it and only managed to smear it all over. At least their jaw had set back so quickly.
"Ah, my bad. Hello! I'm-" what to call myself? "-Eden. Eden, I'm. Uh, you live…. very alone."
Neer shook out their fist with a bemused expression, giving the intruder a careful once over. "I do," they agreed, taking a couple steps forward so they could reach up and wipe the blood off the poor kid's jaw. Unfortunately, people snuck in from time to time. This hadn't been the first incident of the kind. "And you caught me very much by surprise, Eden. It's not nice to scare people like that."
"Really? Not a big deal. Fear is just a thing. And-" they moved the hand away, "pain is just a thing. You needn't help me."
Neer laughed, reaching up to wipe away at the blood a little more insistently. It was important that only beautiful things be allowed in their garden and Eden was pretty, when they didn't have blood dripping down their chin. "My discomfort is so fleeting to you?"
"Isn't it fleeting?" their hair looked so soft, framing an impossibly alluring smile. "And your garden, it is well put-together. Almost as lovely as mine." they say down by some marigolds, hair ruffling in the light breeze.
Neer tossed their hair and it made a sound like chimes as all the little pieces of metal clicked together. They laughed again. "Oh, I'm sure. Tell me why you came here, Eden." They remained standing, not wanting to get too casual with this stranger. "Surely it wasn't just to insult me and give backhanded compliments to my garden."
"People said you were hot. I wanted to see if it was true or not. And you are. But not just physically, darling." they grinned, patting the space next to themself in hopes they might want to sit down near them.
Neer scoffed and grabbed Eden's hand instead, yanking them to their feet. "Then you can leave, darling." They let go of the intruder's hand, gesturing vaguely to the garden gate as they turned back to their dahlias. "I'm in no mood for this today. You can show yourself out."
"Moody little thing. That's not all I came for. Your mind is so… buzzing, exciting. I'd love to hear you talk more." the smile dropped from everywhere but the eyes.
Neer's smile finally dropped off their face and if their joy was a glorious thing then their annoyance was a joyless one. It was funny how one tiny frown could steal all the light from around them. How it made even the sunshine feel cold. "I'm not a little thing," they said, kneeling down beside the dahlias again. "Get out of my garden. Now."
"You're shorter than me, and you can die, obviously. You're little. But fine, I'll respect your boundaries." shit, fuck, dammit, fuck, motherfucker. Those were the words that went through Psyche's head as they slowly backed away from the tepid human.
Neer's mind caught on that second part, but… lots of people came through their garden gate. Lots of people looking for the legendary beauty. Lots of people who thought lots of strange things. "What a gracious little thing you are," he replied airily. "Gate's to your left."
"I'm not- I'm not gracious, alright?" they growled. "I could make all your flowers wilt right now if I wanted to!" a stern glare.
Neer raised an eyebrow at the sudden mood change, filing away the second part. There was lots of hubbub over them, sure, but a god would never visit their little garden. "Oh? Does it feel bad when people put diminutive labels on you?"
"No! I'm just…. okay, fine, if it helps them yes. It isn't nice." they admitted. Since the conversation was still going, should they stay, or leave? Nobody knew. Or somebody did, just not them.
(What if Psyche pops in daily to check up on Neer, and that's how they bond?)
They laughed. "Yeah. Mysterious, that. The gate's still to your left, love." The pet name slipped out before they could really think about it, but Neer had never been one to care much for formalities. "Have a good afternoon."
(Oh hell yeah.)
"I probably won't. I'm a very busy enby, you know. Much to do, much to see, probably won't see you again." they lied, and flustered, left.
The next day they reappeared with a basket of pears and some sparkling cider, sitting in the same place they'd met with the human- Neer, they knew by osmosis.
Neer laughed and spent the rest of the day considering this Eden enby who had decided to drop by. Funnier than the usual visitors, and almost sweet enough to be tolerable. They chatted with the dahlias about them until the stars rolled in.
The next day Neer was still dressed shabbily in torn jeans and an old shirt, hands red with clay as they tore out the old irises. "You're back," they said by way of greeting. "Nice basket. I thought you were too busy to see me again."
"I'm not busy anymore. Pear? I like them, they're sweet and crunchy but also kind of squishy in a good way." they blinked a couple times, looking down at Neer.
Neer laughed. "My hands are covered in dirt, love." They yanked out one of the flowers by its roots, tossing it over into a pile with the rest. "I'm not going to eat clay just because you wanna offer me fruit, even if I'm sure it's as sweet as the gesture you're trying to make."
"I could feed it to you." they suggested, then snapped their fingers above their head. "Or! You could wash your hands!" Psyche smiled, the idea was simple, but brilliant.