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“You woke up with wings?”
Yellow nodded, feeling shy under Purple’s astonished gaze.
She’d texted to meet up at Purple’s treehouse in the middle of the night because of a sort-of-emergency, to which Purple immediately responded. And when she arrived, her jaw dropped at the sight of her newly winged girlfriend. Yellow wasn’t nearly as excited about it as Purple seemed to be; to her, they felt less like a gorgeous set of wings and more like heavy blankets of chicken feathers weighing down her shoulder blades. She also had to tear out small holes in the back of her shirt for them to fit through, which was very much not a plus.
“I don’t know where they came from,” Yellow said, glancing back at them. They were almost similar to Purple’s wings — the ones obtained after inheriting the Valkyrie Queen sword — except Yellow’s more awkwardly drooped. “It looks like the ones I got during the lucky block situation? But logically, they shouldn’t just pop up like this.”
Purple hummed. “Maybe you just got… lucky?”
Yellow felt her lips twitching upwards. “Seriously?”
“I had to say it! Anyway, I think they’re very pretty,” she said. She reached out a hand, then paused. “Can I touch them?”
“Oh, uh, yeah.”
Purple ran her fingers through them. It felt weird, as Yellow suddenly had these new limbs and nerve-endings that she’d never had before, but she’d be lying if she said it was unpleasant. Purple lifted Yellow’s wing to get a better look at it, the dim moonlight seeping in from the treehouse windows and landing over all the pearly-white feathers.
“They’re a bit like mine,” Purple said quietly, her own wings fluttering. “Yells, we’re matching!”
Yellow could feel heat rushing to her face. She adjusted her glasses, looking away. “Yeah...”
There was a brief pause. Purple allowed the wing to fall from her fingertips, stepping around so she was in front of Yellow, searching her expression. “Do you not like them?” she asked.
“I mean, I thought they were cool at first,” Yellow began. “But there’s a slight issue.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“I have no idea how to control them.”
Purple looked at the wings again, then at Yellow. She rocked back and forth on her toes. “Well,” Purple said slowly, “It just so happens that you’re dating someone with expertise in wings…”
She batted her eyelashes, a move which Yellow recognized as Purple’s lethal method of persuasion. It worked.
“Yes, you can teach me how to use them.”
Purple grinned and leaned in to plant a kiss between Yellow’s brows, who tried not to let her own heart explode. “Perfect. We’ll be the best flyers the world’s laid their eyes upon.”
How could she say no to that?
So the next morning, Yellow snuck out early — she wasn’t prepared to explain the whole debacle to her friends yet — and left a note that she’d gone to visit Purple. Purple was already waiting for her at the foot of her treehouse, bouncing on her toes. When Yellow walked closer, Purple gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Before Yellow could recover from her very reddened face, her girlfriend was already talking.
“Okay, first off,” Purple said. “Can you move them at all?”
She blinked out of her daze.
Ah, right. Wings.
“How?”
Purple stepped behind her, inspecting her wings from the back. “You gotta think hard about your back muscles. It’s a bit weird at first, but it starts feeling like a second set of arms after you get used to it.”
Well, okay. Yellow was good at thinking hard. She bit the inside of her cheek, pouring all her focus into her wings. Eventually, she heard an “ow!” behind her. Yellow whirled around, eyes round and a rush of embarrassment heating her face.
Well, apparently she could move them, but it resulted in her accidentally whacking her girlfriend. Not the most desirable outcome.
“Sorry!” Yellow said hurriedly, reaching an arm behind herself to force the wings to fold back in. “I didn’t know they’d do that, are you alright?”
Purple laughed, covering her mouth with the palm of her hand. “I’m okay, I’m okay. Look, you got it to move!”
“I guess…”
“Can you do that again?”
Yellow tried (facing Purple this time), once again honing her attention in on the wings. They stuck out again, so clearly Yellow had some control over them, but they just stayed in that position. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to get them to fold on their own.
“Why do they keep going all the way out?” she grumbled, pushing them back.
“Okay, try that one more time,” Purple said, “but put in a teensy bit less intention into it.”
She tilted her head. “Less intention?”
“Mhm.”
That was totally not confusing at all. She could do that, right? Right.
…To no surprise, the wings completely jutted out again. She let out a grumble, trying to shove her wings into a folded position again.
Purple’s eyebrows furrowed, reaching out to gently pry Yellow’s hands away. “Careful. It might hurt if you’re too forceful with it.”
She was starting to feel frustration crawl under her skin. She sighed, allowing Purple to carefully fold the wings herself.
Purple eyed her carefully. “You okay?”
“Hm?”
“You have the same look you have when you’re thinking too hard.” Purple gestured to her face. “Eyebrows pinched together, pout on your lips. What’s wrong?”
“I’m just trying to get these things to work right,” she mumbled. She gave her wings an experimental twitch again. It flung out, once again proving that Yellow had absolutely zero handle on her own wings. Who decided using these should be so difficult?
Purple slipped her hand into Yellow’s, giving it a light squeeze. “How about we take a break?”
“But I haven’t made any progress.”
“You can move them a little,” Purple said. “That’s still progress.”
Yellow disagreed. Purple got used to her own wings in a matter of seconds, but here Yellow was, trying to figure out how to even release them. Maybe these wings were just broken; considering they appeared out of nowhere, it didn’t seem like an impossible idea. That, or Yellow was plain incompetent and needed to practice more.
“We can go get boba,” Purple drawled out.
…But boba (which she loved) and time with her girlfriend (who she loved even more) was pretty tempting, so Yellow agreed to it.
Purple took her to the Outernet, buying her a drink and sitting down at the cafe’s outside area. A fancy little umbrella spanned out over each table, with greenery lining the cafe’s walls — the exact kind of style Purple enjoyed — and light conversations floated along the air. Purple scooted her chair over so she could sit beside Yellow, who savored the sugary drink in her hands.
She was having a fun time, but it didn’t mean she could completely forget about the new development sticking out behind her. A few people sent looks towards her as they walked by, probably focused on the weirdly drooping feathers. Yellow’s wings unconsciously folded further in, her body shrinking just the slightest bit.
“I think they’re staring at me,” she murmured, looking to her girlfriend.
“No, they’re captivated by you,” Purple said confidently. She took Yellow’s hand, kissing the back of it. “Your wings are just as stunning as you are, after all.”
Despite giving the cheesiest compliments, she still managed to make Yellow flush every time. “Purple!”
“What? I’m stating nothing but fact.”
Purple pulled her in to plant more kisses all over her face, and Yellow couldn’t help but smile. She cradled Purple’s jaw in her hands, placing a peck right at her lips, and Purple leaned in for another one. She could see Purple’s wings fluttering a little behind her, and it made a laugh bubble up.
Her lips pulled away. “What’re you giggling at?”
“Your wings,” Yellow said. “They always flap when you’re happy. It’s so cute.”
“So do yours.”
Purple gave her one last kiss before turning to her dessert, sinking her fork into the pastry. She held a chunk out to Yellow, who gladly took a bite of it.
They spent the next two hours or so exploring the city. Purple showed Yellow a few clothing stores that sold items designed to accommodate wings, as well as any other sights Yellow hadn’t come across before. But unlike Yellow, who wanted to make herself smaller when people stole a glance at her, Purple walked with pride and garnered awed stares. And it made sense; Purple was confident with her wings, she looked elegant. Yellow didn’t feel that for herself, but if Purple was so certain that Yellow’s were beautiful, Yellow figured she hopefully would at some point too.
They went back to practicing after their cruise around the city. Yellow suffered a few more failed attempts, but Purple encouraged her the whole time. She felt a bit of frustration build, but when the sun began to dip below the sky she finally called it a day. Purple suggested going up to her treehouse, and Yellow followed her up the ladder, stepping into the humble build and plopping down onto the bed.
“These things are impossible,” Yellow said, her eyelids weighing heavy. Purple sat down beside her, the mattress sinking as she did so.
“You have a whole new set of limbs,” Purple said. “It’s gonna take a bit to get used to them.”
“It only took you like, what, a few seconds to use your wings?” Yellow sighed, reaching up to adjust her glasses. “It’s been a day and I can barely move mine.”
“Okay,” Purple said slowly, “But I was using an elytra for months before that. I already had flying experience. And just because you need more time doesn’t mean you can’t do it at all.”
Yellow pursed her lips. Purple had a point, she supposed. While Yellow didn’t enjoy the feeling of not figuring something out immediately, it was true that skills took time.
Purple scooted closer to her, bumping her shoulder. “Besides, I see potential. Give it two weeks and you’ll be a natural.”
Yellow’s heart fluttered. “You think?”
“Trust me. Pair that with some fire charges and every monster you come across is done for.”
If Yellow’s learned anything from playing bedwards that one day, it’s that she loved throwing those things from the air. The corners of her mouth curled upwards.
“Guess so.” She shifted in her seat, her voice falling softer. “And… thanks for helping me, by the way.”
“Of course. I’m always happy to help my girlfriend.” Purple pressed her lips against Yellow’s cheek, earning her a light flush. After a moment, she adjusted herself to sit up straighter. “Now, one of the most important parts about new wings. Do you know how to clean them?”
“Uh.” Yellow looked away, her wings pulling in closer to her body. She hadn’t thought of that part, actually. Maybe she could’ve researched it earlier that morning, but she was much more focused on ‘flying is cool and can help me build redstone stuff’ rather than the ‘oh yeah I need to take care of these things’ part. “I poured soap on them. Does that count?”
Purple sighed, giving her a playful eye roll. “I’ll lend you some of the solution I use later,” she said. “I can help pick out the dirt for now, if that’s okay with you.”
Yellow hummed a yes at the suggestion, shifting herself so Purple had better access to her wings. Purple’s fingers gently ran through the wing, already taking a feather between them. She thought it’d feel weird, but it was actually… quite relaxing. Her wings untensed even more, fully stretching out.
“Looks like you can do that,” Purple said.
She turned her head. “What?”
“You just unfolded your wings, didn’t you? And I wasn’t slapped in the face with feathers.”
“Oh.” Yellow blinked, eyes darting to her feathers. Indeed, it expanded out on each side of her. A tiny sense of triumph bloomed in her chest as she gasped. “I did!”
“Knew you could.”
Purple spent the next few minutes sifting through her wings – now successfully opened! – taking out any debris that might’ve snuck into the feathers. Yellow sunk into it, deciding she enjoyed the calming activity, and also deciding that she’d ask if Purple would be open to doing this more often. If there’s anyone she trusted with her wings, it was Purple.
(And Yellow was a bit too lazy to learn how to clean all her feathers on her own, but that was only a tiny reason).
After Purple deemed it finished, nighttime had already settled over them, and the two decided to sleep at the treehouse for the night. Yellow cuddled up beside her, head settling in the crook of her neck.
“Am I just gonna have to sleep on my side forever now?” Yellow asked.
Purple chuckled, her arm lazily wrapping around Yellow’s waist. “You can still try to sleep on your back. You’ll just have to get used to it.”
Yellow huffed, her hand curling around the hem of Purple’s shirt. Purple pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, pressing a light peck between Yellow’s eyebrows, who left a kiss on her cheek in return.
“We can practice more tomorrow, ‘kay?” Purple said.
Yellow was already on the verge of sleep, warm in her girlfriend’s hold. “Mhm.”
And even if she knew it would be a challenge, she still looked forward to it.