Archive of Our Own ^beta

Blinking the sleep out his eyes, John chased the tail end of his dream. He didn’t believe in ‘fate’ but there was little explanation other than the dream having been a prophecy. John swung his feet to the floor and released a yawn. Birds flew over head and began to pick at his nightshirt. Lifting up his arms, the doves flew away with his nightshirt. It was quickly replaced with a oversized jumper. 

He kicked off his pajama bottoms and tugged on some trousers. It was best to keep it simple. Still the birds refused to be batted away and placed flowers in his hair. John sighed in resignation. Although he was loath to admit it, he had actually started to like them. 

There had been flowing gowns of silks and ruffles waiting for him in the cottage, but John had elected to make his own clothes, a skill he had only acquired lately. One day he had been fighting in the war, the next he had woken up in the hospital with a shoulder wound and the odd ability to sow and sing. Then without another word, he had been shipped away to the forest to live by himself. 

The military had sent him to a cozy cottage and John tried to accept the strange reality his life had become. The animals attending his needs were still taking some getting used too. 

Standing up, John twirled and hedgehogs crowded around his feet. He pranced into the kitchen and put the kettle on. While it boiled, he tried to find the right words to express the dream that was beginning to fade completely from his memory. 

John closed his eyes and began to hum. The birds began to chirp and words started to bubble up inside John’s throat. He really hated the singing. However if he didn’t sing he would start to get a headache and if he did sing it was like a shot of adrenaline through his veins. 

Best just to give in. 

“It was such a lovely dream...” Despite his best efforts, a dreamy sigh escaped John’s lips. The ears of the rabbits picked up, aware of the beginning of a musical number. 

“We were holding hands and dancing.” A surge of pleasure ran up John’s spine and the image that had began to fade came back in full force. He had been wearing a suit of sapphire and his eyes had shone like two endless pools of deep crystal blue water. John tried not to cringe. 

With a flurry of activity, he hummed and sang nonsensical emotional dribble while the creatures of the forest helped him build a statue of his one true love. It was hard not to get swept away by it and soon John found himself actually enjoying the task. It was nice living with the helpful animals but he really wanted to be with other people. Specifically a man who would fill in all the missing pieces. John wasn’t sure how he knew but he just knew that if he could find ‘that person’ the world would seem less gray. 

After a few verses, John stood back to admire his handwork. They had managed to make a reasonable copy of his dream man’s outfit and there was a mop of black curls on the statues head, thanks to some skunks. Still the face was oddly blank...

“And these for the eyes!” A rabbit jumped up and handed John two sparkling sapphires. 

“Oh, how did you know?” John took them. Although, where did you find them? Sometimes it was better not to ask. “And they sparkle just like his!” It was true. The one part that was still haunting John’s memory were the two eyes that had shone so brightly and all of his attention had been focused on him. John licked his lips and tried not to think about how good they made him feel...

With excitement almost flowing over, John placed the two jewels on the statue. “Yes, there we go. This is it!” John clasped his hands and nodded his head. He was smiling like a fool and for once John didn’t mind. 

“Okay!” The chipmunk chirped. He hopped down and joined the other animals. They had all gathered to see the final unveiling of the statue. 

John cleared his throat. “Presenting my one true love,” He was definitely not blushing, “My prince, my dream come true.” John was surprised at how much he believed the words. This truly was the one person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He turned the statue around and all the animals gasped. 

“Oh, shit!” John swore. 

“What, what?” The chipmunk clammed onto his shoulder, “What’s the problem?” 

John stared at the statue of his one true love. How could he have missed something so obvious? He had been too preoccupied thinking about the eyes. How could he not be? John brought his pinky up to his mouth and began to nibble at his nail. 

“I didn’t give him any lips.” John said in a matter of fact tone. 

“Does he have to have lips?” A deer asked. 

John’s entire body erupted into a heated blush. Keep it PG. Letting out an awkward cough, John answered. “Of course!” 

Suddenly John’s tone took on a sing-song quality. Here comes another one. John shut down his brain and let his body do the work. Best not to fight it. He was one a roll. Two songs in one morning. 

“When you meet this someone, who is meant for you.” John bent down and started to sing to the forest creatures. Birds fluttered past and John stood back up to face the statue. 

“Before two can become one, there’s something you must do.” John closed his eyes. 

The animals all offered quaint opinions about what they thought John meant. Shaking his head ‘no’, he continued with his song. “There is something sweeter,” Bending down he placed the small bird he had picked up on the head of a raccoon. “everybody needs.” 

And boy did he need it. Living in a world were you didn’t even get your first kiss until you met your true love was hard work. He had tried it once, to kiss a boy in college. It hadn’t gone as planned. John shook his head and cringed. Hadn’t gone as planned at all. 

“I’ve been dreaming of a true love’s kiss,” Suddenly John had an urge to pour tea. He supposed if he had long hair he would be combing it. Musically numbers made people do weird things. Getting out a mug, he continued to sing. “And a Prince I’m hoping comes with this.” 

He began to prance around the room. John couldn’t believe how well his body could move while he sang. Taking the rose a turtle had given him, he flitted over to the statue. “Just find who you love,” Placing the rose in the statue’s jacket, John looked longingly into the statue’s sapphire eyes. “through true love’s kiss.” 

Running his fingers over the statue’s face, John’s eyes took on a blissful, dreamy haze. He would find this mysterious man. They would kiss and everything would be perfect. John just knew his Prince would be such a special and unique person. 

“If we’re going to find a perfect pair of lips, we’re going to need a lot more help.” 

Without a second thought, John threw open the second story window and called out to the other animals. He couldn’t do it alone. John smiled and concentrated on finding the missing piece for his statue.