Nothing left to safe

2

"Oh dear, that looks bad. Where were you.. you shouldn't have been out on patrol today.." You look at him, considering a lie, that you had to cover for a 'friend', but decide against it. Only this time, you will trust him. Only till you can stand on your own, till you aren't bleeding after every few moves.

"I.. uhh.. got into an argument.. with a co-worker. I-It was my fault!-", you admit, wincing as the cloth touches the wound. You notice how Zepherus gets a little less careful at wiping away the blood and you instinctively push his hand away, losing balance and are barely caught by his cold hands again.

"Woah, sorry dove. I didn't mean to hurt you.. I just-" you interrupt him, your voice slightly shaken by the growing pain from the sudden movement. "It's fine. I just got a little spooked."

"Oh, okay.. So, Veles, who hurt you? Could you give me their name?" he asks softly, a little odd for the current situation. You shake your head, begging any higher beings to not let Zepherus push further. And to your luck, he sighs, grabbing some bandages. Turning towards you, his eyes meet yours and he smiles at you again. Probably just trying to make you feel better.

And it does help. You notice yourself smiling back, the pain seemingly dissolving in the warmth radiating from him. You feel his hands against your waist. They are still cold, but at the moment that feels nice. It feels soothing against the pounding wound on your right-hand side. He carefully wraps the bandage around your waist and you notice that his hands brush against your skin a few more times than needed. And surprisingly, you enjoy every bit of it.

Letting your eyes off of Zepherus' face, his black, silky wings fall into your view. They look so fluffy, calling for you to touch them. Without second thought you lean forwards, your fingers brushing against the silky feathers and seconds after, the wings move back, rather cold arms wrapping around your torso, hands touching your own wings.

A heart-filled laugh is flooding your ears. You feel your cheeks getting hot, and hope they aren't turning bright red. But when you look him in the eyes, you notice his cheeks are also tinted pink, his ears almost glowing red. You, too, start giggling, feeling so light.

Ever since that dooming day, you were about 16, the day Venus bled out, you carried a weight you didn't know about. And suddenly the world seems so much lighter. So much brighter. "Heavens! Veles, why- You know what, if you wanna play with my wings, just ask, alright dove?", Zepherus says, letting go of you. You slowly stop giggling, nodding as an answer.

He just nods back, turning his back to put the unused, clean bandages away. And suddenly the world loses colour.

The weight is back. You notice the way the tears building up, leaving you no control over your emotions. You know you can't stop them, so you just try to be quiet as the tears run down your pinkish tainted cheeks.

Zepherus turns back to you, his smile dropping, twisting into.. what..? Disgust..? No! Worry, yeah.

"Hey! Hey, darling.. did you hurt yourself during the fall? I didn't hurt you, did I? I- I'm so sorry if I did!", the words fall out of his mouth, driven by the worry in his eyes. He rushes to your side, dropping on his knees to look you in the eyes and grabbing your hands with one of his, the other carefully wiping away your tears. You lean into the touch, trying to smile as the tears won't stop running. " 'm fine, not hurt", you whisper, your voice not letting you say much more.