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“Uh, Lio? Do you know where these feathers are coming from?”
Galo held up said feather to Lio’s view. Lio, who was shrugging on his jacket, frowned.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Why would I?”
Was it Galo’s imagination or was there a guilty flush on his cheeks? Weird.
“I thought maybe one of us had tracked some in here, but this is the third time I’ve found them in the bathroom,” Galo informed his boyfriend.
Lio turned toward the door. “I’ve got to go,” he said. “It’s just a feather. Forget about it.”
Lio disappeared out the door. Galo stood there in the small foyer, studying the white feather in his fingers. It wasn’t just ‘a feather’. It was one of about a dozen Galo had picked up over a period of a week or so. Galo could have written them off if he’d only found them once, but this was getting ridiculous. What kind of bird could have shed it anyway?
Galo put the feather in the trash, resigned to the fact that he wouldn’t be getting any answers yet.
Lio arrived home with take-away in hand. They sat together on the sofa, Galo’s arm slung behind Lio’s neck. Lio looked comfortable, so Galo thought that it’d be a good time to try taking their relationship further. Lio had, so far, been standoffish when it came to intimate touches, but Galo hoped that he was starting to warm up.
“Hey, Lio. Can I kiss you?” Galo asked frankly.
Lio stared at him, eyes wide. “Are you seriously asking me if you can kiss me? Out of nowhere?”
“Uh, yeah? Is that okay?”
“It’s weird,” Lio grumbled. “But, okay.”
Lio shifted to face Galo. He looked so adorable that Galo wanted to take a picture. Galo brought his lips to Lio’s. Lio didn’t seem to have much experience with kissing, but he’d learned fast under Galo’s tutelage. Galo hoped that he’d be the only person Lio ever kissed.
Galo’s hand moved to Lio’s hip, and Lio didn’t complain about it, so Galo thought he’d try to push a little further. He slid his hand beneath Lio’s shirt, and Lio stiffened. Lio broke the kiss, turning his face away from Galo as Galo withdrew his hand.
“What’s wrong, Lio?” he asked.
Lio stood and made for the bathroom without responding. Galo sighed and punched a cushion. Lio could be incredibly frustrating at times. Galo had no idea why he was so willing to engage in kissing, but bolted like a frightened rabbit when Galo tried to touch certain parts of his body.
The thought that maybe someone had hurt Lio in the past was one that made Galo furious. He’d tried to get Lio to talk about it, but Lio always insisted that wasn’t it. If that wasn’t what was wrong, then what was?
Lio returned from the bathroom about twenty minutes later and settled back on the sofa next to Galo.
“Sorry,” was all he said. He sounded like he meant it, so Galo chose to let it go, though Lio had not given him any explanation for his behaviour.
“That’s okay. I don’t want to upset you.”
Another few days passed, and Galo found those feathers in the bathroom again. Disturbingly, some of these had blood on them. Galo was getting downright suspicious. He was one hundred percent sure that he wasn’t tracking the feathers into the apartment, so that left Lio as the culprit.
Galo found Lio in the bedroom, putting away his laundry.
“Lio, there are more of those feathers in the bathroom, and some of them have blood on them. What the fuck is going on?” Galo demanded.
Lio’s face lost colour as he froze, shirt in hand. That confirmed to Galo that he knew something about the feathers that he wasn’t telling Galo.
“Why are you asking me?” Lio snapped, defensive. “How would I know?”
“I don’t know. Because you’re the only other person living here?” Galo retorted. “I’m not bringing them in here. I just want to know where they’re coming from, Lio!”
Lio looked away, lips pressed together. Galo decided to try a different tactic. He approached Lio and took hold of his waist. Lio let the shirt drop to the bed.
“Sorry if I sound mad. I’m not. I’m just worried about you. What’s the big secret? I thought we could tell each other anything, yet I feel like you don’t trust me.”
Lio sighed, before looking up at Galo. “You can’t tell anybody,” he said. “I mean it. Not even your friends. It’s really important, Galo.”
Galo nodded seriously. “I won’t tell anybody,” he said.
“All right.” Lio pulled away from him, then turned. He started to pull the hem of his shirt out of his waistband. The fabric slid up to reveal the pale plane of Lio’s back. It looked normal, up until his upper back was revealed.
There were angry, half-healed wounds on each side of Lio’s back near his shoulder blades. They looked very recent and painful.
Galo tentatively let his fingers brush just under one of the ragged wounds and Lio shivered.
“This is horrible,” Galo murmured. “Let me get the med kit.”
“It won’t help,” Lio said. “They’ll be just as bad next week. They never entirely heal, Galo.”
“What? What are they?”
Lio yanked his shirt back on and turned to Galo, his face somber. “They’re wings,” he said.
Galo laughed. “People don’t have wings, Lio,” he pointed out.
“Normal people don’t have wings,” Lio rebutted. “I’m not normal.” Lio scrunched up his face. “They grow like cancers. No matter what I do, they just keep coming back.”
“Lio…did you do that to yourself?” Galo was appalled at the thought, and he hoped Lio would shake his head in denial, but Lio nodded glumly instead.
“Cutting them out is the only way to stop them growing, but it’s never permanent. That’s why you keep finding feathers. I try to clean them up, but I never find all of them.”
“Shit, Lio. You must be in so much pain. You should’ve said something sooner.”
Despite Lio’s protests, Galo got the med kit anyway. After tending to and bandaging the injuries, he suggested that Lio take some painkillers and lay down.
Now Galo understood why Lio never slept on his back. No doubt he was always too sore. Lio lay on his stomach, cheek pressed to the pillow. Galo rubbed the small of his back. For the first time ever, Lio wore no shirt to bed.
“You’ve got to stop cutting them, Lio,” Galo informed him.
Lio snorted. “And let them grow? Do you have any clue how big they get, Galo? I’d never be able to hide them.”
“Have you tried? There must be a way,” Galo insisted. “A bulky jacket or something? Please, Lio, just let them grow. If we can’t figure something out, then…I guess you can cut them again. But please try something else first. I hate the thought of you hurting.”
“I shouldn’t have told you,” Lio muttered.
But Galo knew that Lio had just agreed to his request, despite the fact that Lio hadn’t expressly said so. Galo ran his fingers through Lio’s hair as Lio closed his eyes. Galo remained by his side until it became obvious that Lio had slipped into the darkness of sleep. Galo wondered if he was flying in his dreams.
Five weeks later, Lio stood in front of Galo as Galo inspected the large appendages sticking out of his back. The wings were covered in soft white feathers that Galo couldn’t resist touching. He let his hand run along the surface of one wing.
“They’re incredible,” he gushed admiringly.
“They’re a fucking nuisance.” Lio tucked them tight against his back as he turned to face Galo.
Galo threw him a sweatshirt. “Try that,” he suggested. “If you keep them folded in like that, I think they won’t show much.”
Lio pulled on the shirt. Just as Galo had expected, there were a few odd bumps, but nothing too obvious. It was almost as if the wings had been designed to be concealable.
“See? You don’t need to cut them off. It’ll be fine,” Galo said.
“As long as nobody sees me with my shirt off,” Lio responded, cynical as ever.
“I’m the only one who ought to be seeing you with your shirt off,” Galo returned.
“Are you?” Lio’s response was dry as he headed for the kitchen.
Galo bent down to pick up a shed feather from the floor. They’d have to be careful about that as well. Galo tucked the feather into the top drawer of the nightstand. Now that he knew they were Lio’s, he wanted to keep them.