A/N: Gays, gals, and non-binary pals, I'm back to feed y'all in this famine with my teaspoon of MiShu.

Also, my friend sent me this video and my soul has ing transcended. Like, hello?? When's the wedding???

᠁

It’s only after Shuhua’s third round across the city district that she becomes acutely aware of the itch spreading around the base of her wings. An unfortunate realization that comes in the form of horridly tangled feathers sprouting from her back – two wingspans’ worth of discolored white.

“Oh, Heavens…” She mutters with a childish glare directed at the ugly mass of old mangled plumes, trying to ignore the incessant itching that has stretched between her shoulder blades as she goes to land on the safe perch of a nearby building’s rooftop.

In all honesty, angels don’t really need their wings to travel around. Spirit beings such as them are not bound by the laws of the physical universe, after all. Levitation and teleportation generally make for a much better mode of transportation in-between realms and crossing distances within the shortest amount of time possible, so Shuhua is more than perfectly capable of flying without them.

However, there’s no denying the usefulness of these holy wings blessed upon every angel that serve as both a safeguard and a weaponized extension of themselves – adorned with long outer feathers that can turn sharp and hard like steel blades disguised as regular white plumage, capable of absorbing or blocking any incoming damage like a sturdy shield as well.

Since there is no short amount of demons and other evil manifestations wreaking havoc upon the world or even daring to trespass the heavenly realm of God, it’s not all that surprising for the young angel to see how her wings have gotten into such a state of disrepair.

Although Shuhua isn’t entirely careless, she can be quite neglectful of her wings and go through long periods without preening them properly. Soojin or Yuqi would usually groom her feathers back at the pavilion. But as of late, the two have been very busy managing their “earthly responsibilities”, so to speak.

Given their recent ascension to guardian angels of the Third Sphere, the two older spirits alongside their fellow compatriots of the Heavenly Host are often tasked to watch over their human assignments while fending away the Hell spawns that would lurk ominously in the shadowy veil of night: malevolent entities who corrupt their hosts’ dreams into unspeakable nightmares so they can feed off their deepest fears and regrets, or the wicked underlings of Satan who influence the most vulnerable and susceptible minds into committing heinous, deplorable acts of the Seven Sins.

Indeed, it is a difficult task to fulfill, so Shuhua knows better than to distract her two friends from their duties. Especially the more tenacious ones that require complete surveillance of their human hosts due to how demons are more active and hostile during the witching hours.

Groaning loudly, Shuhua folds her wings with obvious discomfort. For a purely divine being like one of God’s heavenly envoys, even she is not exempted from temptation – the desperate urge to just claw at this infernal itch and risk actually wounding herself. Or worse, rubbing the spots raw and bare of their glorious white tufts.

“Maybe I can just… let them be for a while? At least, until dawn.” Perhaps then, Soojin or Yuqi would be available, and she could ask them to preen her feathers before they report back to the High Council of Archangels.

But Shuhua knows that it’s not so simple. Her shoulder blades will continue to itch until she attends to the condition of her wings. They haven’t been groomed in an embarrassingly long time, and now her feathers are crooked and awfully disarranged on her scruffy plumage. A far cry from the sleek ivory that she prides herself of.

Still, not willing to admit defeat just yet, Shuhua screws her eyes shut in a vain attempt to ignore the prickly sensation. It’s growing more inconvenient as time passes, but whatever. No dice. Her thoughts, however, stubbornly wander back to the itching pain flaring up along her spine in protest with increasing urgency, much to her dismay.

Alright. Avoidance is a no, then.

With a dejected sigh, Shuhua unfolds her wings and spreads them out to their full span so she can survey the damage once more. Her eyes narrow at the clumps of messy and twisted feathers that are causing her discomfort. A few look painfully broken and splayed about in a near-haphazard fashion, the sight of which fills her with dread at the thought of having to pull them out one by one before neatly fixing the good ones back in place. It’s too much work, but Shuhua still angles a wing towards her so she can reach its tip before attempting to straighten the disorderly primaries.

Her spine creaks in protest as she twists to access her wing better – particularly around the base area where the tertial and axillary feathers are located – while also having to bend it around her at the same time. It’s… uncomfortable, to say the least.

After a few more moments of cumbersome maneuvering and bothersome itchiness, Shuhua gives up entirely as she drops her shoulders with a defeated groan. All she has to show for her efforts is a small pile of feathers littered around her sandaled feet.

“This isn’t working…” Shuhua grumbles.

Clearly, she can’t just preen them herself. Her body won’t let her, no matter how flexible she is, and having such a large wingspan means having more area to cover. It’s a tedious chore for one angel to do on their own.

Throwing all caution to the wind, Shuhua finds herself on the balcony of an all-too-familiar abode – a lofty man-made structure built from the ground up, which the humans refer to as an “apartment” meant to serve as housing for its inhabitants. Sort of like the many lavish villas where most of the lowest order of celestial intermediaries reside, as well as the opulent domus of the Seven Archangels. Albeit, less imposing and extravagant without the white marble and gold ts.

A few stray feathers have begun to fall out like sunset-colored leaves raining down from the branches of their trees during autumn and are now piling around her at an unsettling rate. On the bright side, the state of her wings haven’t gotten too bad to warrant any use of her teleportation en route.

Huffing in annoyance, Shuhua rustles her wings to remove any loose feathers that may have been caught in the plumage before taking a peek through the glass doors in front of her. The sheer curtains have been drawn closed but left a small enough gap for her to see that the lights inside of the room are still on. Her eyes drift towards a lone figure across the bed, sprawled over her stomach as she absently scrolled through this magical rectangular device that humans call an “iPhone” with her chin propped lazily in her palm.

Automatically, the angel’s lips quirk up into an indulgent smile. Of course. I figured she’d still be awake at this hour.

Mindful not to scare the girl as badly as last time (she doesn’t want her face smacked with a pillow again), Shuhua gently knocks on the glass to get her attention. It startles the girl, obviously, and she whips her head around with wide eyes to find the heavenly envoy grinning back at her. It takes a split second for the girl to return it just as eagerly with a beaming smile of her own as she hurriedly climbs out of bed, her excited footsteps padding across the smooth hardwood floor when she goes to let the angel in.

“You’re back so soon,” The girl looks pleased by Shuhua’s unexpected but welcomed visit as she shifts aside for her to enter. Having done this plenty of times before, she’s learned to steer clear of the mighty wings that hang on Shuhua’s back – lest she receives a face full of white feathers. “And to what do I owe the pleasure of being graced by your presence tonight?”

A fond chuckle escapes Shuhua as the smile on her face broadens. “I feel like I should be saying that, my dear Miyeon.”

The endearment paints Miyeon’s cheeks in a flattering shade of pink as she laughs softly. Light like the tingle of a bell, and full of affection.

“How smooth of you, my guardian angel.” She jests lightly, oblivious to how the nickname made Shuhua’s feathers ruffle with pride. A playful twinkle sparks in her dark almond eyes that regard her with genuine curiosity. “But, really, what brings you here? I thought you had angel duties or something?”

Well, that was the plan. But –

“Ah…” Shuhua fidgets nervously on the spot. She hadn’t exactly thought this one through.

Seeing no other way around this besides coming clean about her intentions, Shuhua releases a sigh before reluctantly unraveling her powerful wings to their full span. Spreading them bare and open for Miyeon to gasp at once she takes in the view of their ruined state; a cluster of worn-out and neglected feathers in disarray, littering the otherwise clean floor with frayed plumes.

“Shuhua, your wings…” Miyeon whispers, her voice softer as she expresses her concern. That said, she doesn’t sound too surprised by the sight either.

To say that the proud angel is embarrassed would be a total understatement.

Shuhua bows her head slightly in hopes to hide the shame that’s painting her cheeks, opting to just stare down at their feet and feign interest in them while the girl rushes over to survey the damage. The majestic wings have sagged a little to mirror her abashed expression and seemed to have lost some of its natural vibrance from the evident lack of care. Tufts of ungroomed down feathers are poking out haphazardly under the snowy plumage, and those that haven’t molted yet are entangled together in small clumps; a few of which look painfully twisted – broken even.

“How did they end up like this?” Miyeon’s tone is laced with worry as she gingerly moves her fingers along the messy coverts of Shuhua’s wings, careful not to aggravate the neglected feathers that are splayed about in unruly fashion.

The fledgling scratches her nape, feeling a surge of warmth rising to the tips of her ears. “I, uh… haven’t paid much attention to them lately. I’ve been too preoccupied with my duties, so maintenance has completely flown over my head.” She confesses rather bashfully. “I was planning to ask my companions, at first, but they’re already busy tonight. Soojin is watching over the Soyeon girl again, and Yuqi teleported away to guard someone in Thailand. Someone named Minnie, if I remember correctly.”

“Mhm. And so, you’ve decided to come to me for help? Is that it?” Miyeon finishes for her, staring at the flustered angel with a hint of amusement on her face.

“W-Well… yes.” Shuhua admits, sorely tempted to hide her burning cheeks with her wings as they twitch behind her. A tick that happens whenever she feels shy or self-conscious. “I mean, it’s not like you haven’t preened them yourself before…”

A small giggle escapes Miyeon at her shyness, and Shuhua – young, ambitious, confident Shuhua who is on her way to becoming one of the most promising candidates in her batch to be ascended to the rank of Guardian Angel soon – pouts weakly in response.

“That’s true. I bet your friends must’ve been super impressed to see your wings in such mint condition back then.” Miyeon brings a hand up to to hide her grin.

All thanks to you. Shuhua does not say, but her benign smile is enough to express her gratitude without it being said.

“Oh, indeed. Those two looked at me as if I just committed a grave sin and desecrated the very holy grounds we’ve sworn to protect.” Shuhua adds with a snicker, finding the memory and the hilarious expressions of her two companions humorous in their own right.

Overtime, Miyeon has learned about her two friends and how they’ve recently taken up the honorable role of being guardian angels over the pair of aforementioned girls. According to Shuhua, angels are strongly advised not to disclose as much or even any information about themselves and their existence as possible. Granted, there are certain exceptions for those who are directly assigned to humans, such as Soojin and Yuqi. Even then, it’s still highly encouraged that they do not reveal their physical forms in front of mortal eyes unless circumstances deemed it absolutely necessary or inevitable.

Of course, since angels are spiritual beings, they are not confined to a single manifestation and can therefore take on various corporeal forms. Christian religion and imagery have often depicted them as human-like envoys of God with extraordinary beauty, adorned with bird wings and halos over their heads while engulfed in divine light.

Although it isn’t entirely different from how most of the Third Sphere angels choose to present themselves, their true celestial forms are… far too overwhelming and otherworldly, so much so that there’s no adequate description to describe them since words do not suffice on supernatural matters. The human mind itself is too fragile to understand the true nature of reality beyond the confines of what it can even begin to comprehend. The mere revelation of what an angel truly looks like would only break it, descending the fragile mind into a state of irreversible insanity. Any mortal who bears witness to this would surely be driven mad to the point of death.

But Shuhua was born to be a rule-breaker, and this came to the displeasure of her many higher-ups in the order – namely, The Principalities, who oversee everything and delegate orders to the lower angels. As a result, she earned herself the moniker of “rogue angel” due to her rebellious streak over the past several centuries since her creation.

Now, in her defense, their first meeting had been purely an accident. Shuhua had found herself in a rough spot after a rather violent confrontation with an aggressive demon spirit of a higher rank, which resulted in her wings getting torn up and bloody from trying to defend herself against the relentless onslaught of attacks by its curled talons threatening to rip her apart. Although she managed to successfully eliminate the evil spirit before it could enact any more harm to herself or to others, the confrontation left her at a vulnerable, weakened state that led her to collapse into a heap of sullied feathers and blood-stained robes on the balcony of Miyeon’s apartment. Far too exhausted to even muster a veil of illusion around herself in order to hide her physical form from human eyes after expending so much energy.

Next thing she knew, Shuhua had woken up on something soft and cool; the feeling of tentative but gentle fingers carding through her hair. Slow and unsure, as if doubting whether or not it was appropriate to touch her, but still caring nonetheless. Shuhua had been resting on her side with her damaged but still functional wings folded delicately against her aching back, her head cushioned by an even softer pillow with the faint scent of lavender on it. It made her feel a little more relaxed, somehow, despite being unfamiliar with her new surroundings.

Whenever she was, Shuhua knew that it just felt safe.

Especially when she took in the beauty that is God’s magnum opus hovering worriedly next to her, a girl whose presence reminded her of the afterglow of sunset and the promise of a new dawn. Beautifully warm and constant, and real — like the sun that rises and sets for eternity.

Perhaps it is against an angel’s principles to be just a little bit selfish at times. But, then again, selfishness is neither a virtue nor a vice.

And while she certainly got an earful from The Principalities for being “recklessly and foolishly irresponsible” in regards to her being seen out in the open by a human (did they really just focus on this and not the fact that she was fighting for her life against a hostile, higher rank demon?), Shuhua likes to believe that the trouble was worth it. Especially if it meant developing a unique bond with such an interesting girl in her own time, despite not being a guardian angel herself yet.

One day, she will be. And Shuhua hopes (daresay, prays even) that one of the humans assigned to her would be Miyeon; selfish as it may sound.

The faint hum from her left pulls the young angel out of her thoughts, and she feels the gentle tug of Miyeon’s hand on her arm so she can lead her towards the bed. After pushing aside her things to make room, she guides Shuhua to sit down on it before climbing in and situating herself behind her. This position gave her a full view of Shuhua’s right wing facing her, which is where Miyeon usually starts the whole process.

They’ve fallen into this routine plenty of times before as it gave the heavenly envoy an acceptable reason to visit Miyeon and hover around the human much longer than she normally would. Ingenious, Shuhua believed, and yet her intentions were so painfully transparent that Miyeon had caught onto them shortly after. It also didn’t help that Shuhua kept showing up unannounced on her balcony; her glorious white feathers in disrepair and in need of grooming.

A duty that Miyeon is more than willing to help her angel with.

With the drill ingrained in her mind like a ritual of sorts, her hands instinctively wander downward so they can tend to the lower section of Shuhua’s wing and begin straightening out the disorderly primaries. These long, asymmetrically-patterned feathers are very crucial for flight. If they become damaged or lost, one would lose the ability to fly.

Her deft fingers work effortlessly at the stiff, alabaster plumes while Shuhua flinches under them, feeling the occasional pinch here and there from having her feathers plucked and moved around, but a sigh of relief is heard afterwards as she gradually melts into Miyeon’s soothing touches. The room is blanketed in companionable silence, besides the soft humming from Miyeon that slowly transitions to her singing as she goes about her task with diligence. Her voice is smooth timbre, crystalline and soft as starlight; it could well deserve its own spot in the heavenly choirs back at the celestial palace in the sky.

“Don't give that killer smile 'cause it's a bit dangerous,

Don't stare at me like that 'cause it's so hot.”

Shuhua closes her eyes and allows to fully relax, listening to the girl’s magnificent vocals like a captivated sailor surrendering themselves to a siren’s sonata. She willingly drowns herself in that voice and the warmth enveloping her entire being; engulfed in the scent of lavender as it fills her senses. It’s a scent she has long associated with Miyeon, because it meant comfort and safety, and home — a feeling she struggles to find even up there, beyond the pearly gates of Heaven surrounded by all her angelic comrades.

But down here? Perhaps she has finally found it. Home.

Miyeon feels like coming home.

“Someone, please make it stop.

I'm getting electric shock by the look,

I'm about to run into your arms right now.

My head is warning me but my heart doesn't listen,

You press down my reason.

Mesmerized like a fool,

I don't want to reject it 'cause I already fall in love.”

After many hours of scouring through the internet and reading up on everything she can find about the anatomy of wings and the act of “preening”, Miyeon knew exactly what to do, which feathers to pluck, and how to arrange the new ones. (It’s also worth noting that this was made easier by identifying the shape and structure of Shuhua’s wings, which are more akin to those of falcons and were built for high-speed flights.)

During the first few times that Miyeon started doing this, she made an awful lot of mistakes and accidentally hurt Shuhua by pulling out the healthy feathers by accident. She had felt so guilty to the point of almost refusing to continue it out of fear that she would do more damage than good, but the angel was quick to reassure her — saying how mistakes are part of the learning process and that she trusted Miyeon well enough to take care of her — before patiently guiding the anxious girl along until Miyeon was confident enough to do it on her own.

These little encouragements, thoughtful and earnest as they are, further solidified the foundation of their growing bond together; especially given the fact that wing grooming for angels is a display of both intimacy and trust between those participating in it.

In fact, it might as well be considered a love language in and of itself.

“Due to strong yet sweet wind,

High walls collapse easily.

My heart is full that I can't swallow,

So I can't take it any longer.”

As Miyeon’s skilled hands sift through the tangled mass of feathers in her grasp, Shuhua’s entire body turns boneless even more with every pleasant that brushes through and smooths down the ruffled surface with love and care. She’s even made a few noises expressing her satisfaction whenever a damaged feather is pulled out, albeit few and far in-between. It isn’t very long until the itch begins to slowly recede under Miyeon’s touch. Her fingers might as well be their own magic with how swiftly they eased the flaring discomfort that had creeped into Shuhua’s shoulder blades, rubbing away the frustrating prickles that have irked her since.

“I love you,

I love you, love you, love you.

Baby, baby,

I love you, love you, love you.

Baby, baby,

I'm so into you like I'm insane, okay.”

The combination of Miyeon’s natural tenderness and soothing voice encompassed Shuhua in a calming atmosphere that made the whole preening experience even more enjoyable. The feeling of Miyeon’s delicate hands treating her wings with utmost care and attention sends a flock of doves to flap around in her stomach as her eyes begin to wander elsewhere, trailing along the sharp but soft features of Miyeon’s serene face and memorizing every small detail so she can commit them to her memory — the shape of her dewy eyes, the contour of her perfectly-sculpted nose, the outline of her calamine-pink lips drawn into a cute little smile that Shuhua is oh, so tempted to brush the pad of her thumb along; wondering if they’re as plush as they look.

God really spent extra time when he made you, didn’t he?

Archangel Jophiel would certainly agree.

“Don't act like a fool 'cause you look kinda cute,

Don't come too close 'cause you make me blush.”

Somehow, she ends up staring at the human’s face for too long because Miyeon suddenly glances up to look at her. They share the briefest eye-contact for a split moment with the angel being so mesmerized, Shuhua can’t help but stare at her with so much awe and admiration… and something else Miyeon can’t quite describe or put a name to as her cheeks flush a flattering pink in response to the intensity of Shuhua’s gaze.

Despite being caught red-handed in her gawking, Shuhua still doesn’t make a move to look away or shift her attention somewhere else. Even when Miyeon shyly diverts her own eyes back to the task at hand and resumes her diligent pace with a lot more focus as a way to distract herself from those deep, obsidians watching her all the while. If Shuhua’s blatant staring made her uncomfortable, Miyeon doesn’t say anything about it.

Soon enough, the girl preens the last of Shuhua’s scapular feathers attached to the base of her right wing and then proceeds over to the left one. Repeating the procedure all over again. Shuhua rolls back her right shoulder for the meantime, now that the burning itch has been significantly lessened in it. And from there, Miyeon continues to sing in that harmonious voice of hers.

“Your natural touch, oh,

Makes my heart explode,

Makes my heart grow every second.

I try to keep poker face but I fail most of the times,

How can you burn me up?

Don't knock on my door with that deadly smile,

'Cause my glass heart is fragile.

No, actually it's already opened, so just come in,

I don't care, I already love you.”

As the pile of old, worn-out feathers accumulate on the floor by the foot of Miyeon’s bed, with her fingers spread out and her hands fanning over the patches of smoothed-down feathers, Miyeon inspects her handiwork with pride. Smiling to herself while she examines the milky-white plumage that has gained back some of its immaculate glow from her extensive grooming on it. She even made sure to leave enough spaces in-between for the fresh, new feathers to grow out and replace the original plumes that were removed.

Although her wings aren’t exactly pristine yet, the glossy finish is meant to be done by dipping into one of the many cleansing pools scattered throughout Heaven for the angels’ use. Shuhua had previously mentioned that the holy water flowing through its plentiful streams are used to purify them and their wings from any remnants of skin, as well as the earthly traces that remained on their being after visiting the mortal world. It’s a practice required for every angel to follow religiously — especially after preening their wings in order to keep them flexible, healthy, and strong, since the properties of the water can serve as a spiritual safeguard against the dark, wicked energy that could damage them.

“My love turns red,

My love is in danger.”

Little did Miyeon know, she wouldn’t get to finish her song at all. Because the moment she withdraws after giving the large falcon-like wing an affectionate pet, her eyes flit back to Shuhua’s face… only to lock with those intense black eyes as tenebrous as the night itself when Shuhua meets her gaze in the middle. They twinkle back at her, like every star in the universe had collided and the remnants of which are now resting beautifully in the galaxy that is Shuhua’s eyes.

(Guess you got me where you want me.)

Without Miyeon even realizing it, her entire body moves on its own accord. Shifting from her spot on the bed as she gets drawn towards Shuhua like a moth to a flame. Her hands reach out to cup the sides of her angel’s youthful face, her thumbs those soft, pale cheeks that make her teeth itch with the urge to just bite on them playfully. Shuhua’s eyes flutter shut, and she sighs blissfully while leaning further into Miyeon’s petal-soft touch. It’s just so cute… too cute. It’s too much for Miyeon to resist that she inevitably gives into her human desires by lunging forward to capture Shuhua’s slightly parted lips with her own. Instantaneously, her heart soars beyond the clouds at the delicious contact she’s been craving for this whole time.

(Oh my God, she took me to the sky.)

A shivering gasp escapes when she feels Shuhua reciprocating it just as strongly. Wanting, yearning, needing her like one needs to breathe; like Miyeon is the breath of life filling her lungs to keep her alive. The way Shuhua kisses her back is so unapologetically passionate, it has Miyeon melting like butter as she falls into her angel’s welcoming arms. Arms that cradle the girl as if she’s the most important thing to Shuhua at this moment, the only one that truly matters to her. Not God, not the Heavens, not the angels, and not even the sea of stars hanging in the night sky above.

Shuhua wraps Miyeon in a tight embrace, her newly-refined wings encasing them both like a cocoon and blocking no one’s view from the heartfelt kiss they’re sharing. The angel shifts to lay herself back on the bed, its goose down comforters blanketing her fall, while she carefully tugs Miyeon along so she can lie down on top of her. Not once do they break their lip-lock as they settle into a different position; Shuhua’s wings still being draped almost protectively around Miyeon’s figure.

(Oh my God, she showed me all the stars.)

Miyeon straddles Shuhua while kissing her harder. She loves how their lips slot perfectly together like it was just meant to be — like they are just meant to be — and presses her chest to Shuhua’s in a desperate attempt to bring them impossibly closer. Her mind and body unravel themselves under the explorative but gentle hands caressing her, marking the skin underneath her camisole with the burning touches of an angel’s claim.

(Put your hands all over, want your smell on me forever.)

Shuhua is more than aware that she’s playing with fire at this point; acting on these extraneous urges and submitting herself entirely to her zealous ardor (with a mortal, no less). But frankly, it doesn’t matter anymore. The Archangel Gabriel could descend from the Heavens to strike her down with his flaming sword that has cut down demons in the past, and she honestly couldn’t care less about it.

Not when her arms are full of Miyeon, her breath getting stolen by Miyeon, tasting like Miyeon, and senses being overridden with just Miyeon, who promptly grips the silken material of Shuhua’s white tunic in her hands. Almost like she’s afraid to let go of the young fledgling beneath her, even though there’s no reason for Miyeon to be scared.

Shuhua isn’t going anywhere. She has found her home right in the guts and sinews of Miyeon’s heart, and it’s a home she’ll protect with every single fiber of her divine being. Heaven’s rules be damned.

“Stay with me,” Miyeon whispers, her tone somewhat begging. “Please.”

Shuhua presses a loving kiss to her forehead before nuzzling into the dip of Miyeon’s shoulder. She plants another kiss on her exposed collarbone and smiles against it when Miyeon lets out a pleased sigh — a delightful sound mixed with a hint of a whine — with her fingers curling into the hair at the base of Shuhua’s head and on her crown.

“It would be my pleasure,” The angel cheekily replies, her lips trailing along the column of Miyeon’s neck as the girl shivers against her. “Just so you know, I have no plans of leaving you… I’ll be here for as long as you want me to.”

“And if I want you to stay forever…?” Miyeon asks, sounding so adorably hopeful.

Shuhua chuckles, kissing along her God-given jawline before moving back up to recapture Miyeon’s lips.

“Then, forever it is.”

This, she promises. This, she swears.

(I don’t care that I’m addicted.)

And so, the night goes on for them. They lay on their sides, face-to-face on the small but cozy bed in Miyeon’s room, with Shuhua’s human lover engulfed in the safety of her wings. A white nest made of soft, vibrant feathers for Miyeon to curl up in as they surrounded her in their warmth, like a security blanket shielding her from the rest of the world except for the pair of stygian eyes gazing back at her affectionately; hiding her away into a secret little place meant for just the two of them. Both their hearts are at ease after confirming that, yes, their feelings were indeed returned by the one they love the most, and the new couple smile widely at each other with mutual fondness. Sharing a few pecks and lingering kisses in-between the playful touches they share while savoring this sweet moment together.

A precious secret that is kept behind closed doors and folded wings.

(I love you so much.)