Work Text:
Learning how to fly was something that Bloom had never thought about. She had always assumed that it was just something every fairy innately could do.
Boy, was she wrong.
After Bloom's transformation when the Trix had tried to mess with the dance and steal Stella's ring, she had been so proud of herself. But the day after when she and the other Winx were in the courtyard Bloom transformed and tried to fly and immediately face planted into the ground.
It felt pretty similar to how Bloom felt the first time she had tried to walk in heels. Unsteady and awkward. Bloom had always been clumsy and the new born giraffe feeling was not going to help.
Bloom was blushing hard as Flora helped her to her feet, as she and the others tried to stifle their giggles. None of them had ever seen a teenager struggle with flying the same way that children who first get their wings do. It was actually pretty cute.
"That happens sweetie," Flora assured Bloom.
"But yesterday I could do it," Bloom whined as she hid her face in Flora's shoulder.
"I mean, you were panicking," Tecna shrugged as she tried to reason with Bloom.
"Yeah, you still have a lot to learn," Stella smiled reassuringly, even though Bloom was still hiding her face and couldn't see.
"How do I even learn to fly?" Bloom lifted her head to ask. She still wasn't even used to the feeling of her wings and the weight of them on her back.
"Practice," Tecna deadpanned, making the others laugh.
"I mean, we could try to teach you the way we learnt?" Musa offered. Her dad and her mom's friends had taught her the basics and some games to help, before her relationship with her dad had soured. Though Musa wasn't sure how Bloom would feel with the more childish ones.
"Yeah, most of us would have probably remember how we were taught, like the games and stuff" Flora was quick to agree with Musa.
"I wish I learnt from games," Stella pouted, "As the Princess of Solaria I was forced to take formal flying lessons,"
"That would actually help us to plan the best course to teach Bloom," Tecna pulled out her phone to project a screen. Using her magic Tecna created a list of steps in the most optimal order to teach Bloom how to fly. The other Winx were extremely helpful with the creation of steps and ways to teach Bloom. There was only one major argument when Stella said that the jumping game Flora's family taught her to get her used to taking off was silly, and Flora really didn't like it.
Obviously, they couldn't teach Bloom everything in an afternoon, but this would give them a great start.
"First off, we have to get you used to the feel and weight of your wings as you move," Stella announced before transforming.
Bloom nodded along. That made sense, her wings did feel awkward on her back. She was overly conscious of them pulling on her shoulders. Though, they did make her stand up straighter, her mom would love that.
"So for us, our wings grew with us from when we first sprouted them," Musa explained, she, along with the others had also transformed. Musa was mindlessly hovering with her knees close to her chest. "But, for you, while your wings did grow with you as well, so they're age appropriate, you didn't know they were there so you haven't had a chance to get used to them the way we have," she continued.
"Yeah that's what Griselda said about my wings last night," Bloom nodded along. Griselda had looked over Bloom's wings and was surprised to have not seen any issues or deformations. Stunted wing growth was a common issue that happened when a fairy was a late transformer, and Bloom was the latest that Griselda had heard of.
"So, Tecna," Bloom started getting distracted at the sight of Tecna's wings, "Why do you have a, like, wing transformation?" Bloom asked, she was struggling to find the right words to ask ask about how Tecna's wings changed.
"Oh," Tecna forgot just how much Bloom didn't know, "Our wings show our magic, same as the outfits in our transformation. Because I'm from Zenith and I'm a fairy of technology, my wings represent that," Tecna shrugged. There wasn't really a specific reason, it was just how her wings manifested.
Bloom nodded slowly. That made sense, especially considering Flora's wings look like leaves.
"Okay," Stella clapped causing small sparks of bright light to get everyone's attention, "Let's try walking around so you get comfortable with your wings, then we can try dancing,"
Bloom started walking around. Her wings felt heavy on her back. Bloom had to lean forward to compensate for the new weight.
"Sweetie?" Stella asked, trying not to laugh as Bloom awkwardly shuffled forward, "Why are you walking like that?" The others were trying not to laugh as well, Tecna was even hiding the lower half of her face with her hand.
"I feel like I'm going to fall backwards when I stand up straight," Bloom explained as she focused on moving forward.
"But if you don't learn to stand up straight, you'll never get the hang of your wings," Musa explained, gently flying so she was laying down face to face with Bloom.
"What if I walk behind you? That way I can catch you if you fall," Tecna offered. She doubted Bloom was actually fall, but the comfort would help with Bloom's confidence.
"Really?" Bloom brightened, literally. She started glowing, the air around her got a few degrees warmed, and Tecna could see actual fire in her eyes, along with her hair changing into liquid fire for a few moments.
"I'm happy to help," Tecna shrugged, moving to stand behind Bloom, extra careful to avoid touching her wings.
"Okay," Bloom softly said to steady herself. She took a deep breath and straightened up. She only slightly swayed.
Musa had stayed in front of Bloom, and Stella and Flora had moved slightly closer to Bloom's sides. They all remembered how scary getting used to their wings had been, and it must be a lot harder for Bloom as she was doing this all at 16.
"Thank you guys," Bloom smiled at them, "I know how weird this must be for you," she continued, the shame and embarrassment evident in her voice.
"Bloom you're our friend, we want to help you," Flora reassured Bloom, gently pulling her into a hug. Stella flinched as Bloom hugged her back, but touched her wings in the process.
Bloom jerked back, dropping her hands away from Flora, "Are you okay? Did I burn you?" Accidental burnings were something that happened as Bloom was still learning basic control of her magic.
"No, no," Flora was quick to reassure Bloom again, "It's just a fairy's wings are special and a major way our magic manifests. So touching them isn't done lightly, and is a really big show of trust and love," Flora explained, rubbing Bloom's arms to comfort her.
"I'm sorry," Bloom panicked about her mistake. It seemed that's all she was doing lately.
"It's okay, you didn't know. Now you do," Flora smiled brightly.
"It's going to be really difficult to learn an entire new universe exists. You're going to make mistakes. And it's going to be hard. But, you're doing amazing and picking everything up really well," Stella praised Bloom's dedication and passion. Stella touched Bloom's lower back in an attempt to physically comfort her while Flora was still rubbing her arms.
With her friends support, Bloom chose to try again. Bloom turned to Tecna to start walking again.
Then, she remembered Tecna was going to watch her back and giggled as she turned to face Musa. The other four giggled as well.
Stella and Flora reached out to hold Bloom's hands and gently swing her arms. Musa was walking backwards and began talking about their history homework to stop Bloom from getting too in her head. Tecna was watching her friends with a smile. She quickly joined the conversation as she also had questions about that homework.
By the second lap of the courtyard Bloom was a lot more comfortable. The five Winx were now walking in a tighter clump so they could all talk and gossip.
Bloom tripped.
Her foot caught on some loose rocks wrong. This brought them all down like a house of cards.
But before any of them could hit the ground their wings fluttered and had them hover in a tangle of limbs above the ground. They were all tensed waiting for the impact. But it never came.
"This is so cool," Bloom breathed with a wide smile as she looked around. Then her brow furrowed in thought, "How do we get down?"
"Er…" Stella started, "Normally we'd all just slowly fly away from each other, but you're still training,"
"Give me a second," Tecna summoned one of her digital bugs to fly above them for a birds eye view, "Okay, by the look of the photo I just took, Musa, Flora, Stella and I can slowly fly away from Bloom. And then we can land and help Bloom down,"
"So I just stay still?" Bloom felt the need to clarify her role.
"Yeah, and you'll be fine," Flora assured Bloom, "Can we all move out at one or do we take turns?" she asked Tecna.
"As long as we do it slowly, we should be fine to go at once," Tecna answered after thinking for a moment.
The Winx slowly detangled themselves and the longer Bloom hovered the more she realised something. Once Bloom had stopped overthinking she actually felt balanced, and while her wings still felt a little awkward they felt natural.
Once the others had their feet on the ground and were in position to catch Bloom, she tentatively asked, "Can I try something?"
The others shared a look, "What did you want to try?" Musa asked.
"I want to try and get myself down," Bloom said focusing on the feeling of her wings flapping and how her body felt in the air. It was actually really nice.
"Okay, we'll catch you if you fall," Flora nodded.
Bloom knew she looked awkward, but she focused on righting herself and getting her feet on the ground. She didn't even stumble.
It felt almost like breathing out slowly. Her body automatically knew what to do, and as long as she didn't even think about it too hard her body would go through the motions.
The other Winx all cheered and had a group hug in celebration.
"Is flying like breathing?" Bloom asked once they had calmed down.
"Huh?" Stella had never heard that comparison before.
"Like," Bloom had to think about how to fully explain it, "Like, it's something natural that your body knows how to do it, but, if you think about it too much and get in your head, you become hyper aware and struggle," Bloom wasn't sure if she was explaining it properly.
"Kind of? It's more like walking?" Tecna wasn't sure what to compare flying to. It was something that was in a class of it's own.
"I wouldn't say walking," Stella didn't think that was the right comparison, she waved her hand in circles as she thought, "It's, like, in-between? Like, there's parts you automatically know, but you still have to learn and refine the skills?"
Bloom nodded along as she thought hard, "That makes sense. So it's a fine motor skill?"
"Yeah, pretty much, it's just hard to explain," Flora sighed with a small smile.
"That's okay. This helps," Bloom smiled at her friends, "Thank you all,"
Bloom was so unbelievably lucky to have found this group. They meant the world to her.
The other smiled widely at Bloom.
"Ready to try again?" Tecna asked, as she nudged Bloom with her hip.
"Hell yeah!" Bloom pumped her first in the air.
She was going to learn to fly, no matter how long it took.