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It was no secret that Shealtiel had some very deep rooted issues with demon wings. Luciferen had heard many complaints from Belias about their unfortunate first meeting, and he himself had witnessed it first hand. The projectile puking in his face was more than enough of a warning to keep his wings away when the angel was near him.
It was a bit sad to see though. An angel who can't fly.
Luciferen had seen his wings only once thus far, but it doesn't take much of a genius to realize that no angel, nor demon, would be able to fly with only one functional wing. On multiple occasions he had already wondered about who could have possibly done such a thing to Shealtiel. Sometimes, if he paid enough attention to the surroundings, Luciferen noticed that his companion tends to be tense and nervous whenever they pass a group of nuns, sometimes even just when passing a church. It's never as bad as when they enter a crowded area though.
He still remembers the time when the demon had dragged Shealtiel out into town on a saturday. He had heard about a store that apparently sold limited edition Saint Tails merchandise. It was mostly figurines but he had heard of a very limited, signed t-shirt.
All in all it seemed to be a perfectly normal day. That was until the afternoon rolled around and the streets filled up with humans of all ages. Shealtiel had been very visibly uncomfortable, but for some reason he had refused to say their safe word. Instead, the angel had tugged on his shirt sleeve, keeping Luciferen no further than a few inches in front of him. He was breathing hard and when the demon looked back the older angel had looked moments away from passing out from stress.
Luciferen had offered his hand then. He had hoped that it would calm Shaltiel down a bit if he knew that he wasn't alone, he only needed to say a word and they would leave immediately. But the angel had stayed quiet, only gripping the offered hand tightly, keeping his head down.
They never talked about that afternoon. The demon didn't want to pressure Shealtiel into talking about his trauma. Not anymore. They had made so much progress with their friendship but there was still that thin line he was too afraid to cross.
It wasn't until a few weeks after that, when Shealtiel mentioned how he sometimes wished he could experience the feeling of flying freely. Luciferen had hesitated for a while before he reluctantly offered, "I could fly you around for a bit. You might need to close your eyes though..."
The angel hesitated. "If that's okay with you…"
Luciferen grinned, it was another small victory for him. "Of course. I wouldn't offer it if I wasn't cool with it."
After a few minutes of consideration the demon added, "I know this nice spot where you can watch the sunset. We could go there afterwards."
The angel nodded, a small smile tugging his lips upwards. "So we're gonna finish this episode of Saint Tails and then go, yes?"
Luciferen beamed "you know me too well, Angel."
It was still a few hours until sunset, so the two of them took a walk towards the forest, away from the people. The demon was still gushing about the latest episode, complaining about minor details he didn't like, trying once again to get Shealtiel to say "Rurupi, Rurupan, Ruru-hya!" for absolutely no reason at all.
The sun slowly made its way across the sky and the two decided to fly to their destination to make it in time.
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay? You won't puke in my face again? That would really ruin the moment just saying." Luciferen grinned as the angel punched his shoulder.
Shealtiel sighed, with an exasperated grimace on his face. "As if you didn't ruin the moment by saying that. I'll be fine, Luci. Let's go before the sun sets."
Luciferen leaned down a bit, hooking his arm under Shealtiels knees and steadying him with his other arm around the angel's lower back. The older took a steadying breath, looping his arms around the demon's neck and closing his eyes.
"Alright. I'm gonna go ahead now. Keep your eyes closed, Angel." Luciferen didn't mean for it to sound so sweet. He wanted to sound gentle, to show Shealtiel that he was in safe arms. The responding nod, and the tightening of arms around his neck was enough of a response for him.
He unfurled his wings, taking off as gently as he could. Shealtiel was a comforting weight in his arms, warm, steady breaths letting him know everything was still okay. They spent a few minutes just soaring through the evening sky. The sun had begun to set, the horizon turning a vibrant red, with the colors fading to pink and then a darker blue, the few clouds that speckled the sky turning magenta.
Luciferen tightened his grip on Shealtiel. "Angel, you might wanna open your eyes and look at this. Face forward."
The angel in his arms shuddered, taking a deep breath before turning his head and opening his eyes. Light blue eyes brighten up, the sunset reflecting in them. It took all of the self control Luciferen had to not kiss Shealtiel right then and there. Now wasn't the time for this. They haven't talked about the nature of their relationship yet. For all he knew Shealtiel could be thinking of him as nothing other than a friend. If even that.
Luciferen watched as the angel in his arms took in everything in front of them, the sun slowly sinking behind the horizon, the clouds turning an even deeper shade of magenta. They might not need to make their way over to the park, right here, soaring above the trees, the sight of the sunset was worth more than any treasure in the world.
Perhaps Shealtiel glanced back at him and saw his wings, maybe it was something else, but Luciferen could clearly feel the way he tensed up, closing his eyes and burying his face in the crook of the demon's neck.
"Hey, Shealtiel? Are you alright? Do you need me to put you down on the ground?" He knows the angel could hear the worry in his voice, the obvious distress of possibly being the reason his friend is feeling uncomfortable.
He felt more than he actually heard the answer, a soft "no, no I'm alright" whispered into his skin. Shealtiel tightened his grip, lifting his head and softly, almost tenderly, touching his forehead against Luciferens. "Thank you Luci. This means a lot to me."
Shealtiel still had his eyes closed, and Luciferen took this opportunity to watch the way his eyelashes fluttered slightly, the way his cheeks flushed ever so softly. The demon took a deep breath, steeling his resolve one more time. "Hey, I'm gonna lower us down to the ground again, okay?"
The angel made a confused sound but kept his eyes shut.
Upon feeling the ground under his feet again, the demon gently set Shealtiel on the ground and hid his wings. When the angel opened his eyes, Luciferen gently cradled his cheeks. He leaned down to touch their foreheads together again, breathing slowly and steadily.
"Luci?"
"Sorry Angel, I just need a moment." Luciferen felt his resolve crumble away. The moment dragged on, both of them breathing quietly. Shealtiel raised his hand, gently putting it over the demon's wrist, stroking the skin there gently before cupping his hand.
Luciferen opened his eyes (when had he closed them?) and looked his angel's face over.
When asked later, neither of them would know who leaned in first. All they knew was that the feeling of their lips touching sparked a miniature firework inside their chests.
As the sun set completely, the two of them enjoyed the quiet of the evening wrapped in each other's embrace.