Chapter Text
Prologue
When Sam first noticed his wings, at the tender age of 4, he'd been thrilled. Wings! Real ones! They seemed to ignore his clothes completely, sticking out from his back as though fabric didn't exist at all, and they were too small for flying (he tried), but whenever his mum cuddled him, the gentle strokes felt heavenly. His mum of course didn't believe him when he told her about them, just smiled and nodded in that particular way that told Sam he wasn't being taken seriously. But that was okay. The wings were his own, his very own. He liked to think that they were a present from his dad - a promise that they were going to meet again, just as soon as Sam grew up and would be able to fly anywhere he wanted.
Because Sam believed with all of his heart that his wings would grow big, massive one day, carrying him wherever he desired.
The only qualm he had with them was their colour. He didn't think black suited a policeman, a warrior of justice; he thought white would be much more fitting. But, well, he could cope with that. Batman had black wings too, after all.
**
6 years later, Sam found out that even if other people couldn't see his wings, they could still hurt them. Considerably.
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5 years later, the wings were still tiny.
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Another 5 years later, Sam wished he could hide them. Not that they ever got in the way - too tiny for that, he thought bitterly - but they unnerved him more often than not. It didn't matter that they were invisible to the rest of the world; he felt exposed, like they revealed his innermost feelings, the way they kept hanging low and refused to open up properly. He'd given up on them ever growing. They made him feel like a freak of nature.
He hated them.
**
10 years (and several aborted attempts at getting rid of them) after that, Sam had come to terms with being an oddity in his own world and thought nothing much of his wings. They were there, and that was all. Not exactly normal, but they didn't substantially impair his life either.
Or so he thought.
**
7 years later, Sam Tyler had an accident.