Paper Airplanes (Ereri - SNK)

Tremors.

This chapter is ouch, but I'm not going to apologize because if I was sorry, I wouldn't have done it. ;)

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The afternoon is surprisingly cool; a breeze brushes over my skin, lifts my hair, ruffles Levi's wings as he stands at the very edge of Wall Rose, his wings halfway extended. I watch him from several meters away; he's impeccably still, like he's waiting for the right moment to leap off the edge. As a result, I'm wracked with nerves - I know he's got wings on top of the fact that he's already passed...but the idea of him freely jumping off the fifty-meter high wall is the opposite of comforting.

"Calm down, kid," he says, the wind carrying his voice to reach my ears.

Dammit. He can feel my uneasiness, even if just a little. And then I realize my heart rate is elevated and curse myself; I'll never get used to that.

"Are you sure it's safe with all this wind...?" I call back, but I know it's a ridiculous question.

"You kidding? The wind makes it easier."

I press my lips together and resolve to just watch. Levi's toes hang off the edge of the wall; he goes back to being still as a statue, listening and waiting, until he suddenly crouches and bounds off, just like that. Like a child, I scurry over to the edge and look down just in time to see him swooping back up, wings fully extended and the cool breeze  beneath them, carrying him higher with ease. As he ascends, flapping several times, I swear I can see him smiling at me.

That has to be what freedom feels like...

He swoops around me, catching different currents of air and banks lower before ascending again. I long to join him, to be able to take to the sky and soar wherever we want, boundless and eternal.

The reality that I can't swarms around my thoughts like wasps. It's a kind of jealousy I've never experienced before.

* * *

That evening, we end up back in my room. I can't get the images of Levi's flying out of my head; every time I shut my eyes, all I see are his dark feathers catching the sunlight, ruffling in the wind as his body moves swiftly, smoothly through the air - a sight I'd never seen before, nor one I thought I'd ever see.

Levi lays across my chest, his warm wings spread lazily out across the bed, our feet tangled together and his head tucked into the side of my neck. He's so warm I can feel myself beginning to sweat where our skin is pressed together, but I can't say I mind, and the coolness of the basement is enough to contrast his welcoming heat.

"Feeling better?" he murmurs. I can feel the low vibration of his voice through his chest.

"Mhmm..." I hum contentedly. I've almost completely forgotten why I'd been upset in the first place.

But my brain never lets me forget completely or for long, and the flash of a memory strikes its way through. Levi must feel me tense, because he trails his fingers gently down my side and presses his lips to my neck. He must think I'm lying...

I allow him the access, though, letting his lips press more firmly into my neck before he moves around, peppering my skin with his damp lips. My eyes flutter shut, and I let him distract me. It works much too easily, too, as his mouth finally finds mine, nipping my lower lip lightly with his teeth before his tongue finds its way in, and I welcome him eagerly.

Despite his claim to lack experience, Levi's always been an excellent kisser. The fact that I've got nothing to compare it to is meaningless to me - he knows just what to do to cause goosebumps to rise across the skin of my limbs, to send an electric thrill right down my spine and ignite the ends of my nerves with pleasant heat. He captures even the quietest of involuntary sounds eliciting from the back of my throat, every light gasp and slightest breath.