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Plumage Patterned and Preened

Summary:

All settled into their nest together, there are more reasons than purely physical care for Mu Gyul and his pair of lovers - his pair of mates - to indulge in long, luxurious sessions of preening, cuddling, and kisses.

Notes:

Part of my Valentine's Spectacular of fluffy soulmate AUs, and also written for the space 'fluff' on my Trope Bingo board.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Mu Gyul stretched lazily, moaning low and long as his muscles shivered with tension, then went lax once more. Mary giggled, wriggling a little where she sat beside him, snug against his ribs and waist, and he folded his arms under his head with a smile and twisted to look upwards.

Jung In sat on his other side, though nearer his shoulder. He was smiling as well, his long fingers gracefully ruffling through Mu Gyul’s feathers. He was the best at this, particularly now he’d broadened his skill with practise other than only caring for himself, which had been his only experience for so long. Mug Gyul sighed, closing his eyes and basking in the attention from both of them until Mary’s giggle in his ear made him stir once more.

She kissed his cheek. “So much fussing you take.” she teased, and Mu Gyul pouted at her, stifling a laugh. “Your wings cry out for so much attention.”

“Can you really claim surprise?” Jung In asked dryly, and Mu Gyul twitched with surprise, then moaned again softly as those clever fingers ran through his hair, all the way to his nape, where Jung In paused to rub lightly.

“Of course not!” Mary smoothed her hands over his bare back between his wings, and Mu Gyul sighed, back and shoulders arching under her touch.

“Of course not.” Jung In agreed evenly. “Mu Gyul is, after all, a delicate-”

Mu Gyul twisted and lunged upwards - careful of his wings and Mary close at his other side, not wanting to knock her off the bed - to catch Jung In around the neck and shoulders with one arm. Jung In yelped, and Mu Gyul laughed as he wrestled his lover down to take his place, both their wings flapping. Mu Gyul was caught too close to pull away and ending up sprawled there with him, Jung In’s feathers ruffled and both their hair falling loose in their faces.

Mu Gyul laughed again and knocked his hair aside to press a kiss to Jung In’s faintly surprised smile. The smile - Mu Gyul both loved and hated that faint air of surprise that always seemed to slip over Jung In’s face when they showed him affection, sought him out, reminded him how much they needed him and cared for him - faded as Jung In wound both arms more snugly around Mu Gyul and returned the kiss.

“If you muss yourself again after all that work. . .” Mary scolded sternly from above them, a little breathless.

Mu Gyul broke away from his lover’s mouth, laughing against his jaw. Jung In’s arms tightened around him, wings shifting restlessly beneath them both - Mu Gyul had been careful not to trap them at a painful angle, but he doubted it was fully comfortable as they lay now, either.

“No, no,” Mu Gyul assured Mary, glancing up at her with a grin, “it’s Jung In’s turn, after all.” he added quickly, and she harrumphed, but nodded, a smile tugging at her lips. “He needs looking after as well.” he added more softly.

Jung In sighed as Mu Gyul kissed his cheek and pulled carefully away, disentangling himself, but let him go.

“Up, or down?” Mu Gyul asked, stroking Jung In’s right wing. He sighed, relaxing a little more even under that light caress.

“He is even taller than you are, Mu Gyul, you must be joking.” Mary huffed, and Jung In laughed, face lightening, before he twisted to slowly turn over onto his stomach, long, elegant wings coming free of his weight and settling loosely along his back and sides instead. The rich, mottled browns scattered among his original sleek black feathers all but glowed in the soft light of the bedroom, and Mu Gyul smiled as he rubbed over one of the feathers that had clearly taken its colour from Mary’s plumage.

“We manage just fine.” Mu Gyul leaned over Jung In and kissed Mary lightly before she could protest. “You know I would help you, if you cannot reach.” he teased, and she pouted, turning away with a huff and burying both hands in Jung In’s feathers, pointedly ignoring Mu Gyul.

Jung In moaned, soft and hitching with surprise, under her touch. Mu Gyul smiled and rubbed his back lightly before following suit with the feathers on his other side, a little more closely. Mu Gyul had to shift a little to a better position, coaxing Jung In’s wing out further and resettling himself against his lover’s hip, and he stretched as he moved, glancing around at his wings to be sure he hadn’t undone his lovers’ hard work at maintaining them.

The glossy feathers were perhaps not quite so neat as they should have been, but they still lay smoothly in their proper places, from the night-black of Jung-In’s plumage on the leading edge through the paler, golden browns of his own original colours and the darker tones lent to him from Mary’s. Mu Gyul folded them back properly, tucked one foot beneath the opposite thigh, and spared a moment to be grateful for their now-bigger bed - if they’d still been in the old one, at least one of them would have spilled off of it by now.

He bent to run his fingers carefully under Jung In’s feathers, rubbing the skin beneath and spreading the oils over his shining feathers, making them almost glow under the soft lighting over their bed as it was properly preened in.

Now properly cared for - thoroughly, by other hands, and on a regular basis - and rarely mussed by his day to day life, unlike Mu Gyul’s, Jung In’s wings hardly needed an extended preening session just now. However, they had no other plans for the evening, and the entirety of the next morning to themselves; My Gyul, at least, had no intention of stopping this task before Jung In had been reduced to a lax, contented puddle beneath them on the bed.

Besides, his wings rarely needed an extended preening session, much less so often as Mu Gyul and Mary gave him them, not for the health of his feathers. Mu Gyul was of the opinion Jung In could use being fussed over far more often than anyone ever had, and he and Mary were determined to make sure he was now.

Mu Gyul glanced over at his lover, smiling as he saw her half pouting, her lower lip caught between her teeth as she gently ruffled Jung In’s feathers upwards and made him shiver. Mu Gyul waited until she had preened them back down, then reached over and slipped a hand over her shoulder and behind her neck, drawing her to lean over Jung In’s back for a kiss. Mary hummed happily, her fluffy wings - now she needed a lot of preening, with all the down beneath her flight feathers, not that he or Jung In would ever, ever complain about providing it - fluffing up a little more.

Mu Gyul grinned as he released her, settling back, and brushed a hand over Mary’s wing before she pulled away with a sigh. Her fluffy, speckled wings hitched higher, then settled again, and they both returned their attention to their lover, continuing to preen and pet Jung In until he was practically purring between them.

Lying down alongside him, Mu Gyul situated himself carefully, lifting Jung In’s left wing and nudging up close to his side. Jung In, dozy and warm, cuddled against him with a soft sigh, eyes still closed.

Mary huffed, sliding off the bed and turning out the light before hopping back up beside them. She poked gently at Jung In until he stirred, and reached out for her, then grinned, clasping his hand and snuggling down on his other side, kissing his cheek. Mu Gyul ran his fingers through Jung In’s hair, absently humming bits of his latest song, lyrics running along the lines of his thoughts of their plumage, now sharing the meld of each others’ colours to form the patterns carried by true mates, and the soft feel of different feathers sliding between his fingers.

Notes:

In this AU, everyone has wings, but of a solid colour - unless and until they fly with their soulmate(s), any time after maturity, and then they develop patterns appear in the colour of their soulmate(s)' plumage.